Who says you can’t work from an iPad?

On 2019-07-232024-05-17 By JohnIn awesome, life, workLeave a comment

In fairness, I wasn’t doing any low-level dev work — no code. But was doing some higher-level management type work. So, this whole remote/iPad work thing has started to make sense for me in some limited cases.

Key to the Kingdom…

On 2019-07-222024-05-17 By JohnIn radioLeave a comment

…if the kingdom is actually the very narrow gateway of communication.

I ordered a 3d-printed iambic key from an Etsy vendor called The Cheap 3D Printer.

Had to take the cover off to adjust the contact points and return magnets. Also, this really depicts how straightforward and simple it would be to build a key. The magnets are arranged to oppose each other, providing the return force and the electrical contacts are nothing more than a few screws.

So, why pay somebody US$35 for this? Easy:

I don’t have a 3D printer
I don’t have the motivation to explore and experiment acquiring the parts to assemble one
Its creator already did all of the design and refinement work
Oh, and you can get one from a selection of colors — you have about 121 different colors to choose from

Also, the going rate for iambic keys is, frankly, obscene.

It’s more comfortable to use in my current state than the straight key that I had learned on previously. I’ve misplaced my own timing, so dots and dashes, currently, aren’t. The available alternative of using an iambic key is agreeable. Not perfect, of course — and the dexterity/timing problem is still around, but this does make CW more accessible.

It also helps to have a couple of 3M Command Strips under it to ensure I don’t slide it around the desk. In time, my sense of touch and dexterity will improve.

Hitting Rock Bottom?

On 2019-07-212024-05-17 By JohnIn life, tbiLeave a comment

Go have watch, and listen, and resonate:

…or a Shattered Assumption of the kind that blindsides you at 4PM… on a Friday… right before a holiday weekend… with family arriving to lazily and quite happily spend the week with you… while at the same moment, ambulances rush to take your broken body and very shattered life to a trauma center where dozens or hundreds of people work hard to save you. And you don’t have that realization until that groggy, amnesic period after awakening from the prolonged coma.

Oh… wait… sorry.

You know, a few years before that happened, I’d come to the conclusion that the best way to grow would be to step outside of your comfort-zone. Far beyond your comfort zone.

Detach yourself from any of the comforts one might enjoy in their daily life: restaurants, work, your home, people you know — even the city or nation that you know.