2019 Winter January 30 Wednesday

#Purple_Days_and_Golden_Nights

#My_Journey_19

#Winter_of_19

30 degrees this morning (feels like 23 degrees), 64% humidity.  No walk yesterday (medical appointment and work schedule), plan on walk/swim later today.  I am going through an internal debate on how to schedule walking, swimming, exercises using devices I can use at home and machines I can only use the the fitness center.

At my medical appointment yesterday, I kind of took the initiative and avoided the lecture about losing weight by bring up that maintaining/losing weight was still a problem I am working on.  

The Doctor asked me if I had any “new hobbies” and I told him I was short of time now and I was trying to look at ways I could save time!  I am always open to new hobbies or experiences, but I also have to make a decision on where the time will come from for any new hobbies! 

While it is cold, looking at other parts of the country, it could be much worse.  Also, it is strange that 22 degrees in the sun and no wind can be much nicer than 43 degrees, cloudy and windy!  

Not that I am a fan of any temperature lower than 72 degrees, but I have to live with what nature provides!  

I always think of February as the last “real” month of “real Winter”, which isn’t really true, but it makes me feel better.  As I have noted before, I really feel like March, April and even the first two weeks of May can be really vicious, with temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s which really feel cold!

I am always surprised at some of the “attacks” I hear and see on “digital assistants” like the Google Mini and the Amazon Echo.  They are really amazing devices, at extremely low prices (compared to the benefit) and actually work pretty well.  

Also they are frequently on sale for 50% or so of the “list” price.  

I feel like it is a comparison with the early cell phones, which were derided as for “Yuppies” until people actually experienced one and realized how great they were!

I don’t recall the first iPhone’s ever really going through the “hate phase”, although a lot of people didn’t see the benefit until they actually got one or saw one in use.

Siri, perhaps because it was new and had a big “Wow” factor never seemed to go through the “hate” stage, although unfortunately Apple seems to be slow to upgrade Siri with new features and keep up with the competition.  

Anyway I am thinking of giving a speech (to Toastmasters) about the benefits of the Echo and Google Mini.  There are a lot of benefits an very few drawbacks.  

My only problem is knowing that I am using only a small part of the true capacity of the Echo and I know it. 

Kind of like the Siri “shortcuts”, which are truly wonderful, but it is difficult to develop “shortcuts”, kind of like it is difficult to develop “routines” for the Echo. Note I said “difficult” not important.  

Years ago, I read a book by Scott Peck, where he said “if you put enough time into it, you can do almost anything, the decision is whether it is worth your time to do it”.  (Or words to that effect).  Although it can’t be taken literally, it has a lot of truth to it. 

That’s it for now, Wednesday, January 30, 2019.

#resist