As October rolls into November

I have quite a bit of work to do on my little list. I have been working on the Odie park project. Last weekend I took her to the North Triangle neighborhood. We walked around gazing at old homes, smelling leaf piles, and visiting two parks: Nokomis and Parkovas. We also recently visited Coquillard Park. A good blogger would have taken some fabulous pictures of said parks. I however am simply a record keeper of my own list, and not a blogger. Since the following list is merely South Bend parks, it is clear I have a long way to go.

() Belleville Park Evergreen Ln. at Meadow Ln. 43.65
() Belleville Softball Complex In Belleville Park 0.00
(check) Boehm Park Edison Rd. at Rose St. 30.00
() Boland Park Corpus Christi Dr. at Tomahawk Trail. 21.03
() Brownfield Park Riverside Dr. at Angela Blvd. 2.70
(check) Coquillard Park Campeau St. at Arthur St. 7.16
() East Bank Trail Angela to Niles along Railway 1.10
(check) East Race Waterway Niles Ave. at Washington St. 5.10
() Elbel Park Auten Rd. at Quince Rd. 313.25
() Erskine Park Miami Rd. at Ireland Rd. 120.00
() Forestry 0.00
() Fredrickson Park South Bend Ave. at N. Jacob St. 14.24
() Fremont Park Fremont St. at W. Hamilton St. 2.00
() Gwen Stiver Park St. Joseph St. at Lasalle St. 0.38
(check) Howard Park Jefferson Blvd. at St. Louis Blvd. 11.49
() Keller Park Riverside Dr. near Sherman Ave. 16.91
() Kelly Park Howard St. at St. Peter St. 1.10
() Kennedy Park Olive St. at Westmoor St. 38.56
() LaSalle Memorial Park Portage Ave. near Ribourde Dr. 1.56
() LaSalle Park Washington St. at Camden St. 39.80
(check) Leeper Park Michigan St. at Park Ln. 25.72
() Lincoln Plaza Park N. Kenmore St. at W. Bulla St. 1.10
() Marshall Park Byron Dr. at Springbrook Dr. 9.00
() Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Linden Ave. at College St. 6.00
() McKinley Park Helmen Dr. near Manchester Dr. 1.10
() Morris Green Park St. Joseph St. at Colfax Ave. 0.70
() Muessel Grove Park Wilbur St. at Vassar Ave. 17.26
(check) Nokomis Park Lafayette Blvd. at Marquette Ave. 1.94
(check) Northside Blvd. Walkway Riverbank Sample to Greenlawn 32.50
() O'Brien Park Michigan St. at Walter St. 22.60
(check) Parkovash Park N. Lafayette Blvd. at Parkovash Ave. 1.65
() Pier Park Lafayette Blvd. at Parkovash Ave. 0.50
() Pinhook Park Boland Dr. at Riverside Dr. 42.69
() Plaza Park Jefferson Blvd. at Monroe St. 5.50
(check) Ponader Park Maple Lane Rd. at Douglas Rd. 10.38
(check) Potawatomi Park Mishawaka Ave. at Greenlawn Ave. 62.18
() Pulaski Park W. Western Ave. at S. Walnut St. 6.32
() Randolph Street Park Randolph St. at Sampson St. 2.00
() Ravina Park Indiana Ave. at Lebanon St. 0.40
() Riverside Manor Park Glenview Dr. near Viking Dr. 5.48
() Riverside Park Riverside Dr. near Darden Rd. 2.58
(check) Rum Village Park Ewing Ave. at Gertrude St. 160.00
(check) Seitz Park St. Joseph River at Washington St. 0.30
() Shetterley Park Riverside Dr. at Leland St. 2.66
() Sorin Park Sorin St. at Patterson Dr. 0.55
(check) South Bend River Walk 0.00
() Southeast Neighborhood Park Fellows St. at Keasey St. 9.50
() Studebaker Park Calvert St. at High St. 23.94
() Tarkington Park Hickory Rd. at Hepler St 10.96
(check) Veterans' Memorial Park Twyckenham at Northside Blvd. 16.11
(check) Viewing Park Northside Blvd. at Notre Dame Ave. 4.00
() Voorde Park Keller St. at Kenmore St. 14.00
() Westhaven Park Sussex Dr. at Grove St. 5.68
() Wheelock Park Between Laurel Rd. and Harvest Dr. on Darden Rd. 72.00
() Woodlawn Park Riverside Blvd. at Woodlawn Blvd. 16.56

Last night I began to read Mayflower which is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Nonfiction - but I've discovered to read what I'd like, I need a little more flexibility than I gave myself.

My working vacation

I am about 3 hours from home attending a summer school. This school is distinctly off topic and has become (more or less) a chance for me relax and escape my every day life. I am certainly learning from the sessions, but I'm not working on my own research. Of course, my brain is doing some back-burner type work. I was able to sketch out a piece of code I intend to write in the next few weeks that should be a major step forward in my ability to automate my work.

I finished the book John Adams by David McCullough last night. I started a week or so before and became entirely engrossed in the life of a man I knew too little about before now. I loved the book and learned about how John Adams work and influence permeated both his time and mine. Wow.

So... on w/ a much needed update to my 101 list:
Completed Goals
18) Make a batch of freezer jam.
54) Visit the Pizza restaurant near Lake Michigan.
62) Visit a local winery.
69) Develop a successful composting system.
71) Grow a crop of corn.
73) Clean and organize the contents of both desks.
87) Train Odie to stay at doorways.
92) Watch no television for one month. I'm well over a month w/ no TV!
101) Do not allow yourself to complain of boredom.

Partially Completed Goals:
4-7) The coding goals: I have been coding a lot recently. The work has been modular enough that I need to learn to tie it together under a header file. I compile often enough that I should write a Makefile. I'll get there in the next few months I hope.
9) Read 10 of the National Book Award winners in fiction (2/10).
10) Read 10 of the Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction (3/10).
11) Read 10 of the Modern Library’s 100 Best Nonfiction (1/10). Thomas Sowell completed!
12) Have a conversation in Portuguese. I wrote a long email in Portuguese and purchased my textbooks for fall.
13) Be able to name all of the U.S. Presidents in order... Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson.... Polk... Lincoln, Johnson, Grant... ummm.... McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama... wow, I hope my partial list is correct. I feel as though I've missed a few. I should know this.
14) Become an architecture geek. I think I know how to recognize the Federal style.
15) T.A. a graduate level class. It isn't official, but I have a request in.
28) Run a 5K. I ran the last three mornings. About 2 miles every morning. Today was a rest day. Tomorrow I'll try to go a bit further.
32) Master a tri-cep push-up. I'm getting better at these.
52) Visit 10 Presidential Historic Sites. In about a week I'm going to the Gerald Ford Presidential Library.
53) Go on vacation without a car. This is very non-specific, but I don't plan to rent one in Costa Rica.

Goals for the week:
1) Discover a holiday to celebrate
2) Think up thoughtful/random gifts.
3) Study a bit for my candidacy exam so I can someday earn a Masters.

another saturday!

Date	5/22	5/31	6/5	6/9	6/11	6/16	6/23	7/2
Miles	1.5	1.3	2.2	1.5	1.3	1.5	2.4	1.5
Minutes	16	14	23	17	13	16	28	15

I think I'm missing a run between the 23rd and yesterday. I know that I went for a run/walk with the puppy, but that definitely doesn't count. I am relaxing on this MUCH needed 3 day weekend. I can't believe how tired I let myself get over the course of the last month.

Over the last week I read a book called March by Geraldine Brooks. The novel is the 2006 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. I chose the book for its very interesting main character: the patriarch of the Louisa May Alcott's March clan. I found myself absorbed in the broader background created by Brooks for Alcott's young women. It was an admittedly nice break from the compelling but dense economic and historical evaluation of entire philosophies and visions by Thomas Sowell.

As for my other goals: I did indeed code the honeycomb lattice on top of my existing hexagonal lattice. Also, I wrote some shell scripts that should prove quite useful if I continue my current work. I updated my website and I'm baking some bread this evening after it cools off.

I have been diligently NOT watching TV. It has been so nice.

Completed Goals
18) Make a batch of freezer jam.
54) Visit the Pizza restaurant near Lake Michigan.
62) Visit a local winery.
69) Develop a successful composting system.
71) Grow a crop of corn (greater than knee high by the 4th of July)
73) Clean and organize the contents of both desks
87) Train Odie to stay at doorways
101) Do not allow yourself to complain of boredom

Partially Completed Goals:
9) Read 10 of the National Book Award winners in fiction (2/10)
10) Read 10 of the Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction (2/10)
11) Read 10 of the Modern Library’s 100 Best Nonfiction (0.5/10)
64) Make a point to use the local libraries (I have a card and I'll make a trip there soon enough)
70) Clean the oven twice (1/2)
80) Pay off student loans (I have one left, the interest is very low)
81) Pay off my car loan (I'm getting there. It should be paid off in a year)
82) Organize and fully document my financial information (I'm slowly work on this)
92) Watch no television for one month (I'm about half through this goal)

This week's goals:
1) Get a make file working
2) Bike to and around St. Mary's
3) Read something about architecture
4) Reinforce commands w/ Odie (look and come).

Reading List

Reading books (and NOT news/blog articles) is very important. I was the student in school who always brought a book from home so that I could read when I finished my classwork. Even in college I would occasionally fill time between classes merely reading a book for fun. I definitely spent a few spring and winter breaks holed up on my sofa reading novel after novel. Over the last few years, much of my reading has shifted to Internet time. The quality of the content and my concentration has degraded steadily.

The Goals project has been doing me a lot of good. Even if I don't finish the list, my use of time and focus has greatly improved. I have been reading actual books, building websites, and shell scripting on weekends. I've been gardening, cleaning, playing tourist, and loving my life.

I finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy about a week ago. It is a difficult book to put down. The story opens in the cold, dark reality of two survivors and demands complete attention. I found myself engrossed in the moments when the characters literally had no food and finding some was their entire focus. That is a concept that I have never even come close to experiencing.

While there are many stories that explore some post-apocalypse world, I have only read two: The Stand and The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. These books are among my favorites. While they have very dark moments, those books have light in them. I will probably re-read them. I cannot imagine reading The Road again. It simply is not that sort of book for me.