Posted on

About This Blog

None of us are single faceted. We all have a variety of interests – some more important, some less. I intend to write about mine and hopefully that will encourage some others to do the same or engage.

This blog, at this writing (January 20, 2019) will include a variety of topics. Maybe it will help me generate a little income on the side for my business, or maybe it will just be. In either case, by writing about what I love or am experiencing, no harm, no foul. It will be value added to ME. Maybe I will grow from the experience – which is always a good thing.

Some of my topics are –

The Third Wave. This is based on an idea from one of my favorite futurist authors, Alvin Toffler. The concept is that mankind went through an agricultural age, then an industrial age, and now we are in the third age – data and information. How does that impact us, what can we do as a species to thrive in this age?

What working from home means to me. Includes how I manage it, how I modify my own (and my family’s) behavior, and what is involved in keeping balance.

Certification path. I have been an analyst for a number of years now and was an IT manager and systems operator in prior years. Recently I decided it has been quite some time since I have taken any courses or certifications. I am getting my DBA certs. What does that mean? How does someone go through the process? What is involved, and where does it take me?

Project management for non-project managers. I am not really a project manager, but sometimes have to act like one. How to cope? I will discuss those ideas in this category.

Forex Trading. I have been trading for a few years, and I am starting to show a turn around. Will be sharing that portion of my life – the good and the bad – with the intention of improvement.

Healthy living. Like most people, I have been modifying my diet and exercise. In January 2018 I became a vegan. I also swim at least 4 days a week (preferably 5) and am incorporating other things in my routine.

Positive living and positive energy. Why do we no longer talk about our goals and dreams as people – as a society of human beings, why have we turned to far inward? Have we lost our spirit of adventure, learning, and growth? Or is this a mis-perception? This is my more rambling esoteric category. One bound to bring conflict and discord but I think an important discussion.

So, that is the initial list.

Posted on

Super Powered Oatmeal

One of the first things I did on my accidental vegan journey was to switch to oatmeal in the mornings. I’ve always liked it occasionally, but making it a regular daily thing has been vital for me personally. I wanted this recipe to be the first thing I shared for that reason. I have this almost every day and it really keeps me powered up and going strong.

Ingredients
Steel cut oats
1T Amaranth seeds
1T Flax seeds
1T Hemp hearts
1T Chia seeds
Natural sweetening (I use maple syrup) to taste
Topping

Make the oatmeal according to the directions. I don’t like mushy food, so that’s why the steel cut matters for me. The taste and texture and completely different. I add the amaranth seeds into the water with the oatmeal.

In my bowl I combine the remaining seeds.

When the oatmeal has finished cooking add it to the seed mixture – combining as you add.

Top with the sweetening agent (to taste) and then I usually like a crunch like a natural granola or even peanuts on top of mine. Dried fried, or fresh fruit – you decide. One thing I really like about this meal is that it is very versatile.. Simple and quick as well.

Posted on

Essentrics – Day 3

Today my muscles were tense in advance and even during the class. But I knew what that meant. Do what you can and you will feel better afterward. And I did.

I had to stop and shake it out a few times – particularly with arms. I also found that the outer shin was quite sore. This area is always a problem for me any time I start exercising. So I am used to that feeling and know that the stretching will alleviate that.

As with yesterday, I felt very energized after the session and much more focused as I start my day.

Posted on

Figure 8 Day 1

Today is my first day with Figure 8. I plan on doing this for cardio and for fat burning. I will be following their exercise guidelines, but as a vegan the nutritional plan is not my focus. If you are interested in my dietary intake I am blogging about that separately.

First, I reviewed the materials and the instructions. I like the simple way they start out with the basics for the first few days. Easy enough on day 1 – tomorrow we will see!

My plan is to incorporate this into my lunch routine. Should be a nice kick in the middle of the day and just long enough to get it in!

Check back on day 2 to find out how that goes… 😉

Posted on

Essentrics Day 2

While it was hard to initially motivate to start this morning, I did it. And all I have to say is WOW. I had no idea how tight my body was. The movements were slow and fluid. The stretch was amazing. This is going to be a GREAT way to start my day! I feel energized and muscle pains I typically feel first thing are much much lighter.

I can honestly say I feel a bit of a rush from this. Which lets me know that this is a great add on.

I did the very first 30 minute workout. My plan is to do that for the next two weeks then move to the next one. Really – this is a phenomenal way to start the day. Looking forward to day 2!

Posted on

Essentrics – Day 1

I have the full DVD set. I decided to start with Mobility & Bone Strengthening for Beginners. Day one, I watched the video. That’s it. That was my only goal – watch the video and PAY ATTENTION to what was needed.

While it looks simple enough, day 2 will tell the tale. I love how fluid and smooth the movements are. I cannot wait to start first thing tomorrow! Wish me luck and you will find out how it goes in the morning!

Posted on

Fitness plan for the New Year

I turned 55 this month.

I am approaching fitness as a 3 tiered project. Cardio, flexibility and mobility, and building lean muscle mass and endurance.

Swimming has been a go-to for me for over a year now. At one point, I was swimming more than a mile a day. The struggle with that is it takes a large amount of time. It takes me about 2 minutes to swim a lap (50 yards total) as I do the breaststroke. 1 mile is 60 laps. I can comfortably take 45 minutes a day – I swim at lunchtime so that is impractical and just not working out. Cutting my swimming back to 40-45 laps has been ideal. It does, however, leave a gap. Swimming will help me in overall fitness as well as building lean muscle mass and endurance. I will be moving swimming to an evening activity (after 7pm) as it can be very relaxing – particularly if I do a 15 minute hot tub afterward.

I am adding two new fitness regimens this year. One is Essentrics. I am planning on completing certification frankly as I see this as a bridge for people in my age bracket to increase and improve our quality of life. This will be my morning starter plan. I will do this activity from 6am – 7am.

The second new fitness regimen will be Figure 8. I plan on incorporating this at lunchtime. This will be my cardio. As I will be doing this at home, I can comfortably do an hour long session. While swimming does elevate my heart rate to around 105-110 bpm, I need something more reliable that pushes it a little higher. This activity will happen somewhere between 11:30 am and 1 pm meeting schedule driving that timing.

I plan on blogging about each of these separately so please stay tuned!

Posted on

Weekly Update 5/12/2018

As expected, the ideas are evolving.

  1.  I am going back to the drawing board on the EA.  It just isn’t doing what I wanted it to do, which is to provide quick, reliable, and easy income anyone could use.  I am rethinking it, and will return to this.
  2. The autotrading system I implemented is going very well.  This is not one I developed so I cannot sell it, but it will create a reliable income stream for the business.
  3. I am back into crypto-currency.  Using Cointracking.info, I can manage what my account looks like so that I can buy low and sell high much more efficiently.  Everything is tracked for tax-time, and I can autoupdate information from the exchange I am using.  This will be another great investment strategy for the business.
  4. DBA work continues as does the search for other income streams for the organization.
Posted on

Weekly update

All trading for the week closed for this particular system.  I think it works, but will run the tests another couple of weeks before beginning coding.  Redesign of the system process flow will be completed today along with sketching out some ideas that I see as enhancements for future release.

The initial game plan is something simple that can just run with wins outnumbering losses, but pips captured adding 70-80% improvement week over week.  That’s a lot to ask.

Good week, learned a TON and even applied it for a couple days.  Just need to keep moving forward.

Posted on

Analysis update 4/26/2018

Here is what I found this week.  I have been monitoring and really looking at what is happening market-wise vs the trades I have been entering.   I have decided to modify the strategy and make it truly my own.  I will be updating the business strategy based these findings.  Essentially I have been stopped out all week this week again.  Still in the black over all, just know we can do better.