Meaningful

Is what you do on a daily basis meaningful to you?  

Yesterday, Erin asked me to mow the lawn. It was the first time that we mowed this year so you can imagine how overgrown it was (we live in Kansas).  As I was mowing, I remember thinking these several thoughts: 

• Wow, our lawn looks really shitty!
• As shitty as our lawn looks, I really don't give a shit. 
• I don't find meaningfulness in giving a shit about my lawn. 
• I wish I had rocks for a lawn so I wouldn't have to mow and I could get back to doing things that are more meaningful to me. 
• How does the guy with the immaculate lawn across the street find any kind of meaningfulness in giving a shit about his lawn?

I admit, the last takes am unnecessary jab at people who care for their lawns, which is completely fine. People find meaningfulness in different places. 

Others would ask the same question about some of the things I find meaningful:

• Brewing my own beer.
• Roasting my own coffee. Every. Single. Week. 
• Studying for the MLC Exam (If I pass this exam, it will not qualify me for a promotion in my current position. It gets me closer to a certification that will also not qualify me for a promotion in my current position.) 
• Reading incessantly. 
• Getting rid of shit.
• Going for a hike.
• Riding my bike.
• Running. 
• Journaling (who's going to read these in the future and give any kind of shit about them if they survive entropy or the Trump administration?)
• Writing in this blog. 

These things are meaningful to me. Meaningful. This word has been floating around in my mind a lot. I let it dominate. Trying to figure out why things are meaningful will bring on the unnecessary ponderings of whether I'm having fun or am happy. To that, I will defer to Matt Inman's "How to be perfectly unhappy."

Focusing Rhythmically

Part I: Scheduling Deep Work

I'm slowly making my way through Deep Work by Cal Newport. Although I am not yet finished, I can tell that this will be a game changer and have a significant impact on my life.  Let me fill you in on how it has changed my life in the past week.

In the Rule #1 section, Work Deeply, Newport discusses the four philosophies of working with depth. As soon as I read about the example and case study of Brian Chappell, and what Newport describes as the rhythmic philosophy of deep work scheduling, I knew I had found gold.  

Chappell was finishing up his dissertation when offered a full-time job, along with an arrival of his first child. His failed attempt at scheduling 90 minute chunks of time - the amount of time that intense focus can be sustained in a work period - in an ad hoc manner led him only to a single chapter written in his entire first year. 

This drove Brian to begin waking up at 5:30am every morning and working until 7:30.  He would then go to work totally finished with any kind of dissertation obligations for the day. This resulted in getting a chapter written every 2-3 weeks.  

It was this concept that totally resonated with me.  I admit, I am weird in the fact that I don't need an alarm to wake up this early and start working (after making a cup of joe, of course).  My morning routine has usually consisted of snoozing or slumbering restlessly later than this natural wake up time, enjoying a cup of coffee while I leisure read either the news or a book, and then having a quick bite before heading out the door.

This changed last week.

My first week of rhythmic deep work scheduling began on Tuesday, February 28th and this has lasted through today.  I've used most sessions for my own MLC Exam studying purposes, with the exception of one day last week which I used for class preparation when I got a little behind. 

These deep work sessions will continue beyond passing the MLC Exam. Studying for this exam will be replaced by working on publications, further professional and personal development, or anything else that requires intense focus. Eventually, I can see filling that time with learning a language or a musical instrument.

Part II: Nobody Really Gives a Shit

Newports 3rd rule is to quit social media. Check.

OK, so I quit for different reasons than he gives, but the deed is done. Now, after reading about the reasons he gives, I'm pretty sure I will never go back. I really appreciated and admired his analysis of what the draw to Facebook is in the first place.

Prior to Facebook, he describes, it took a lot of work to get a significant number of people to read whatever you write. Facebook created an avenue to get a lot of people to read whatever you want to blabber on about. There seems to be this code of "you like my stuff and I'll like yours."  It is highly addictive.

But here is the kicker. If/when you quit Facebook, and if you don't announce it on Facebook before doing so, nobody will notice. OK, by nobody, I mean out of the 400 Facebook friends that you have, 395 will not notice.

That is kind of a hard pill to swallow. The masses don't care what you have to write or say. If they do, that took some very hard work to get to that point, and it most assuredly did not happen on Facebook.

This has me thinking a lot about what I'm writing, and the content that I want to produce. Do I want to write something that the masses will eventually find their way to?  Do I care to reach them?  Maybe I just like writing whatever it is I like to write, and find it meaningful to reach the extremely small number of people that actually do read this.

I don't know. It does give me something to think about. 

A Fisherman's Buoys: The Most Influential Books of 2016

I've only read five of these books. But I plan to read them all.

First, I should mention the book Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Although I read this book in 2015, I believed it has paved the path to all of my future reading by putting a name on a philosophy that was already part of my being.

When it comes to human psychology and philosophy, I think labeling is important. Prior to reading Minimalism, I was like a fisherman floating around an endless sea every now and again finding a spot that was good for fishing.  Then I would aimlessly set out again to find another good spot, sometimes getting lost in the process. Once I had read the book, it was as if monstrous-sized buoys with LED lights were placed in all of my good fishing holes. Not only could I easily see them now, but I could navigate between them with ease.

The buoy system is my philosophy of Minimalism. The buoys themselves are the tenets of that philosophy, focusing on passions, relationships, contribution, health, and growth.  How I decide to navigate between them defines my psych, I suppose.  It was this navigation that led me to all of the books I decided to read in 2016. 

So, which were the most influential? (A total of 33 books were read in 2016, just FYI).

• Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
• Give and Take by Adam Grant
• The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
• Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig

One of my passions is reading. There are several books I have read for the pure enjoyment of reading them or to learn something new.  One such book that I found very moving was Half the Sky. It is a tough book to get through, but a very important one.  It opened my eyes to a world I think very little about in my own little bubble, and that is the way women are treated globally.

Did you know, for example, that the U.S. is the worst among developed countries and ranks 61st globally in maternal health?

The Primal Blueprint has changed my life health-wise. I now live as Grok would, the fictional primal being referred to quite often in this book.

Republic, Lost has educated me and given me the depth I will need in order to make the contributions that I want to make in society. In particular, advocating for Represent.US and Our Revolution.

Daring Greatly has done wonders for my personal development and growth. I cite this often now, and most recently on the first day of my statistics classes.

Although Give and Take may fit more into the contribution and growth categories, I'm using it here to highlight my relationships with people. In Give and Take, you will read about givers, matchers, and takers, and it will get you thinking of what type of person you are in life. When I thought critically about my relationships with students, I feel like I've been more of a matcher. This book has been very influential in how I will develop relationships with students from now on as I strive to be more of a giver. 

When a Bloody is a Prior.

A Delicious Homemade Bloody Mary with Homebrewed Coffee IPA as a Chaser

A close second to a delicious craft beer is a spicy Bloody Mary with all kinds of pickled items and a slice of bacon for garnish. I have found an amazing recipe for one made from scratch called the Elixir Bloody Mary. The link will not only give the recipe, but it also includes a short video on how to effectively make one.

I've taken the liberty to also add other items to it along with the pickle and bacon garnish. The celery stalk, olives, and a pepperoncini are all my additions. Also, instead of Tabasco, I use whatever hot sauce I have on hand, which is usually far superior to Tabasco and almost always hotter. This results in a top shelf, spicy-ass, Bloody Mary.

This isn't a post about Bloody Marys, however.  It is actually about an intention to go running or biking (or engage in some other physical activity) later in the day. 

Are you going to pass up one of these bad boys because of that? Or, alternatively, will you not pass one up, but then use it as an excuse to not go for that run or bike ride later?  

Why?

I was on a run around Washburn's campus one evening when I remembered I had a Bloody Mary that morning. It is different, but nowhere near impossible. Not too long ago, a few friends of mine joined me in drinking 12 oz. of Founders Breakfast Stout before a 4 mile run. We all finished just fine. In fact, I don't think any of us would have done better or worse had we not partaken in this consumption. 

The point isn't to drink before working out. Indeed, it generally is not a good idea.  The thing I want us to think about is why some of us choose to make it an excuse, or let it into our head that we simply CAN'T do whatever we set out to do because of something that really doesn't have to be an excuse.

I'm not sure about the science behind it, so I probably shouldn't be even suggesting this. But, which of the following seems like the healthier option?

1. Having a Bloody Mary in the morning, and then vegging out all day.
2. Having a Bloody Mary in the morning, and then having a low heart rate 30 minute jog later that day.

Yes, obviously there is a more comfortable 3rd option... 

3. Having a low heart rate 30 minute jog in the morning followed by a Bloody Mary. 

Or, an even better and healthier 4th option...

4. Having a low heart rate 30 minute jog in the morning and skipping the Bloody Mary.  

The 4th option is too boring, and the 3rd option is always what we shoot for, but sometimes life gets in the way and we're faced with a given situation. That given (which is sometimes referred to as a prior), is that we've already had a Bloody Mary.  

Now your options are 1 and 2.  It is that simple.  If you're trying to be healthy, you know which option you should choose. 

Time Spent Watching TV

I'm not watching TV right here, but it is on inside.

We are awake approximately 960 minutes per day. With 366 days during the leap year of 2016, I was awake for very close to 351,360 minutes (350,400 minutes during non-leap years, just FYI). 

This is also approximately how long you were awake during 2016. So, how did you use your time? 

In 2016, I kept track of the amount of TV/Movies I watched. I added 500 minutes as an adjustment for all those times when I was sitting in a restaurant or sports bar and there was a TV on the wall, or I was at another person's home and their TV was on.  These times I did not log. My total time: 15498 minutes. 

That is 4.41% of my time, or about 42 minutes and 20 seconds of TV/Movie watching per day, on average. Counting days in terms of awake time (960 minutes rather than all 1440 minutes of a 24 hour day), I watched TV for 16 total days of my life in 2016.  

Many of you know that I don't watch very much TV. Erin and I don't have cable. We've canceled Netflix. Still, I've managed to be in front of the tube 42 minutes each day.  

When I think of what I could have accomplished during those 16 days, I get a little nauseous. What if I practiced playing the guitar for those 42 minutes each day?  What if I practiced learning Finnish?  

I could probably play guitar somewhat decently by now, or perhaps speak, write, and read fluent Finnish.  

It is a little unreasonable to think I can utilize all of that time. We all need some of our time to be entertaining, and there were several shows and programs that I thought were very worth my time. On the same token, there are many more programs that I would have been perfectly fine having not watched. 

If interested, here was my list for 2016. I've italicized all those that I believed worth my time in terms of the quality of the movie, the company I was in, the educational aspect, or the pure entertainment value.  

Movies/TV	Time
Mozart in the Jungle S1 & S2	480
Everest	121
Bridge of Spies	142
Spectre	148
Sicario (2 viewings)	242
Suffragette	106
Creed	133
The Guard	96
Vikings S3	450
Mad Max: Fury Road	120
The Big Short	130
Spotlight	128
The Revenant	156
The Martian	144
The Americans S1	612
Fortitude S1	528
Star Wars: The Force Awakens	138
House of Cards S4	635
Deadpool	108
Van Wilder	92
Sherlock Holmes: The Abominable Bride	44
Californication S1	348
Game 7 NBA Finals	140
The League S6	288
Bosch S1 & S2	1020
Walking Dead S5	672
Palio	91
Magic Mike XXL	115
Fargo S2	530
Whisky Tango Foxtrot	112
Hail, Caesar!	106
Better Call Saul S1	460
Daredevil S2	700
The Fundamentals of Caring	97
Tallulah	111
Ip Man	106
Beasts of No Nation	137
River S1	360
The Hateful Eight	187
Dope	103
Vikings S4	450
The Last Man on the Moon	95
Cartel Land	100
Brooklyn	117
Sons of Anarchy S7 Ep1-Ep6	345
Luther S4	174
Mr. Robot S1	460
Game of Thrones S5	560
The Nice Guys	116
Eye In the Sky	102
Anomalisa	90
Triple 9	115
Knight of Cups	118
Midnight Special	112
The Lobster	119
Star Trek Beyond (2 Viewings)	244
The Man Who Knew Infinity	108
The Kettering Incident S1 e1	50
Sausage Party	89
Central Intelligence	107
The Intern	121
Supermensch	85
Pricele$$	58
Hell or High Water	102
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	134
Citizen Koch	90
Pay 2 Play	87
The Jungle Book	106
Zootopia	108
~ Adjustment for TV in other places	500
Total Time Watching TV/Movies 2016	15498

The Resolutions of Twenty Seventeen

Upper Iowa River flowing through Decorah, IA

New Year resolutions are usually not my thing. Minimalism admonishes one of the negatives of goal setting, which is what resolutions seem to be.  It is good to have goals, but it is also good to understand that goals can sometimes evolve, morph, or even disappear completely as life (or shit) happens. 

With these things in mind, I'm going to write a few of mine down. This list has evolved over the last several weeks, and I imagine it will continue to change and evolve as 2017 progresses. 

Personal

• Maintain a weight between 163-169 lbs. 
• Ride my bicycle 2017 miles.
• Watch less TV and fewer movies than I did in 2016.
• Remain off of social media.
• Make my own limoncello, orangecello, and ginger beer.
• Kayak all the lakes, rivers, and small bodies of water in the Topeka area (including Perry and Clinton Lakes)
• Complete at least one triathlon

Work/Career Related

• Work toward creating an SBG/SE2 Professor of Actuarial Science position through the Washburn foundation and Security Benefit Group and SE2 in Topeka. 
• Pass the MLC Exam through the SOA
• Explore NSF grants that will build either the pure or secondary education math programs
• Submit at least two papers for publication in a peer reviewed journal. 

Community 

• Firmly establish the Topeka Chapter of Represent.US
• Follow Through with my role as the Secretary of the Greater Topeka Hall of Foamers.

Along with resolutions, one should also have a plan to achieve or stick with them. I won't go into my work or community related plans with this post, but I will spell out some actions I will take on my personal (health, growth, and passions) list. 

To maintain the weight I would like, I plan on having two weigh-ins a week, on Tuesday and Friday mornings.  Ideally, most all of my weigh-ins will be between 165-167.  With the amount of travel that Erin and I do, I'm going to allow myself no more than 4 weeks of being above 169 (this could be as few as 4 weigh-ins or as many as 8). 

I plan on riding 17 miles tomorrow (Jan. 2) since the temperature is supposed to get as high as 60, just to get it down to 2000 as quick as I can. I really like to ride my bike and use this activity as my favorite kind of exercise. The purpose of the resolution is to try and get myself to do what I like a lot more often. This may be my most lofty resolution, but I'm going to give it my best. 

In 2016, I kept track of the amount of TV and movies I watched. I will blog about this near exact amount soon. This year, I plan on keeping track again.  I want the number of minutes that are consumed with this activity to decrease in 2017.  Since this time is approximate (but a very good one), I mean to decrease it significantly enough to be certain it was an actual decrease (say, well over 1500 minutes less).  

After the election, I quit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It is possible, just to let you know, and I'm enjoying life a lot more. I want to remain off of social media in 2017. 

My friend and mentor, John Mullican, makes his own limoncello and orangecello and it is amazing. I want to make my own, too.  Also, I want to make my own ginger beer a few times this year for the purposes of some state-of-the-art Moscow Mules. 

We bought a kayak out of season at the end of 2016. Erin and I kayaked this year in Maine during our East Coast Extravaganza, and during our 6th anniversary celebration in the Des Moines area. I was instantly hooked, and want to delve into the sport. At the first sign of some warmer weather, I'll be taking it to Shawnee Lake.  

Upon adopting the Primal Blueprint style of living, the training for runs, rides, and races has become much less taxing on our bodies. Running, riding, and exercising in general has become so much more easier to insert into our everyday life now that we are familiar with Primal Endurance.  Besides the swimming, I feel like I'm ready for a sprint triathlon right now.  I just need to get the swimming in this summer.  

Do you have resolutions? Take some time to make a plan! Otherwise, you may see those resolutions drop off in February, and this will just be another year, instead of the great year of 2017! 

HOO-Gah

When I picked up a few DVDs I had on hold at the Library, I browsed the new book section even though my list is getting very big and I don't really have room to add another one.  A book popped out at me, though, and I couldn't help myself. I had to check it out. It is called The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen.

Erin and I are enjoying Decorah, IA at the moment. If you are not familiar with the community, it has a very strong Nordic influence. Bringing such a book on this trip was appropriate.

Our Airbnb stay is on the outskirts of town and the house has a very Norwegian feel. This enhanced our already cozy experience.

When I woke up on my first morning here, I sat on the couch and looked out at the snow covered bluffs while catching up on my news for the day. My Tuesday morning briefing from the New York Times highlighted an article that was written on Christmas Eve. It is called Move Over, Marie Kondo: Make Room for the Hygge Hordes.

As minimalists, the name Marie Kondo jumped out (although I have not read her book about tidying up) and so I needed to check this article out.

The artcle introduced me to the term hygge, which is pronounced like the title of this post. It translates closely to cozy, and is becoming a national phenomenon in Denmark. The Danes are consistently some of the happiest people in the world, and their continuous quest for hygge may be why.

As Erin and I (and our friend Rob) discussed hygge, I was saying it as if I were Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman, and we were getting quite a kick out of it. This will inevitably become part of our being. Thus, the reason behind my sharing it with you.

Agora Arts is a quaint little shop in Decorah, which has always been closed during our usual visits around Labor Day. We found a Story People print called Some Kind of Ride that will go up on a wall in our home soon. It is very fitting.

Feels like some kind of ride but it's turning out just to be life going absolutely perfectly. 

Hope you've found some hygge for yourself over the holidays, and you continue to find it throughout 2017.

HOO-Gah!!

When Depth is Important

In my last class of Theory of Interest, I began describing an idea that we had already learned in a very complex, convoluted way when a student interjected, "Why wouldn't we just do it the easy way? When would we ever want to use this method?"

I answered him honestly, and told him that in the real world, you would never use this complicated method.  Then, I used the opportunity for a teaching moment about depth.

We can all walk away from an amazing presentation in which we felt we learned a lot, but what we have actually received is a surface level understanding.  Sometimes, that is all we need or desire.

Until it comes time to apply it, talk about it, or write about it. At this point, you are slapped in the face with a huge disconnect from seeing someone else apply it, talk about it, and write about it, believing you can do the same, and then ending up like Homer here:

Depth becomes important.

In my own life, I have been reading all I can about how money corrupts our government. If you've spent any length of time with me, you've heard me talk about it. The depth I've had to go to in order to do that much is vast. There is so much more that has moved me that I want to share, but I haven't gone to the depth I need to in order to convey it in a sensible manner.

The best thing I've noticed about getting off of social media, is that I'm talking to people more. I'm engaging in conversation more. I find reading and writing a very important part of gaining depth, but I've been missing out on discourse. This is a key part of personal growth.

Have you seen a good documentary lately that was moving? Could you speak at length about it, and bring me to the same level of heart-rending emotion that the documentary brought you to? Probably not, unless you pick up a book or two or three about it, write about it (in a journal or blog), and practice communicating it to others.  This is when depth is important.

Rule of Thirds on Motivation

Topeka just finished its 2016, "Those Who Lead, Read" program last week. I'm excited that they will be continuing the program in 2017.

On November 10th, Erin and I attended a presentation on Leadership Through Self Discovery & Vulnerability. The presenter was Elizabeth Lenherr, the Director of Learning and Development at Advisors Excel in Topeka.  The books she centered her presentation on were Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" and Brene Brown's "Daring Greatly." 

During the discussion at the end, a gentleman offered a simple rule of divvying your time among mentees, friends, and mentors. He cited Tai Lopez as the source for this inspiration. The idea is that you should be spending about a third of your time each with 

• Those who you can mentor, educate, or inspire in life
• Your peers, friends, and co-workers, or those on your same level
• Those who are far superior than you in areas that you want improvement

These fit perfectly into three of my five areas of philosophy: contribution, relationships, and growth. (Passions and health are the other two). 

In reflection on my own personal growth, I've come to realize that mentors are what is missing in my life.  

So, what am I going to do about it? 

1. Identify the areas in my life where I want some serious growth. 
2. Find some individuals that are far superior in those areas identified in 1.
3. Find a way to get past my extreme independence and the mentality that I can do anything or figure anything out on my own.
4. Reach out to them with a email, phone call, or a face-to-face interaction.

The first time I typed that up, I skipped what is now number 3.  I sat there and pondered the list without the current number 3 and tried to figure out why something so simply put was not so simple. 

Shame. Vulnerability. 

I first have to admit and embrace where I am deficient before I can get better. 

Meta Level Up

In David Allen's "Getting Things Done", he talks of next actions. 

Sometimes, what makes it on our To-Do list is too vague, or just too big a project to be jotted down so simply. To tackle such things, you need next actions. Sometimes, these are hard to come up with. 

Whenever I struggle with next actions, I remove myself from the situation and level up, metaphysically speaking. I think in terms of the writer of my life. Since I'm writing it at this moment, it doesn't have to be myself in the situation. For example, it can be Dirk Diggler. 

So, it is now my job to write about what Dirk Diggler is going to do next to get this job done. This frame of mind helps the brainstorming go a little easier. (Especially if it someone you aspire to be like, or simply a super version of yourself. The use of Dirk Diggler is not a good example at all here, and is used primarily for humor.)

This 'leveling up' method works great with other things in life besides next actions. 

In Adam Grant's "Give and Take", I read about someone who was able to become a good negotiator for himself and his family by leveling up. He was able to eventually make a break through and negotiate better raises, better rent, and better other things in life by playing a role of a mentor for himself. He asked himself how he would instruct someone else to negotiate for themselves in the same situation. Then he followed those instructions and played the part of the mentee.

Next time you have a chore on the to-do list and are having a hard time coming up with a next action, try leveling up. Ask yourself, "What would Dirk Diggler do?" 

Living Primal

On our East Coast Extravaganza, I told Erin that I was ready to commit to any kind of diet that she wanted to go on. I was heavy, low energy, and wanting to change something.  

She first started us out on a three-week body transformation. The goal was to transform us from carb burning vessels into fat burning vessels.  It was similar to, but not exactly like Mark Sisson's 21-Day Transformation. Mark's Primal Blueprint philosophy was what we eventually adopted. 

At first, I didn't think it would be something sustainable. I was skeptical, just like I am of any diet program. How do you make something a lifestyle rather than just a diet?  Since 2009, I've simply been on a rollercoaster of going back and forth from overweight to normal, overweight to normal. I would like something that eliminates the roller coaster and keeps me at a normal weight. 

And I think I've found it. 

Time still has to dictate whether this will work in the long run, but I have high hopes. There are a lot of things that you have to give up living a Primal Blueprint lifestyle. Grains are the toughest. As skeptical as you may be about giving up grains, when you read the science behind what grains do to our bodies and learn about our diets from an evolutionary biological standpoint, and then feel the difference in energy and hunger levels, it is easier than you think to remove grains from your diet. 

And what is great, is that it doesn't have to be for good.  As long as you stick with the diet 80% of the time, you will lose and/or maintain a healthy weight.  Anything that doesn't assume and allow a little cheating now and then will simply not work. As James Crumley said, "never trust a man who doesn't drink." 

We arrived home from our trip at the end of June. It has now been 4 months since we got back. Here is a snapshot of my weight logging app, Libra. 

The Primal Blueprint may not be right for you. Here are some things I like about it that you should try and find in any kind of diet and/or workout plan.

• It should not depend on purchasing THEIR product. Selling products is okay. After all, the people behind all of these diets are making this philosophy their life's work, so they have to make an income. 
• It should be a lifestyle, not just a diet program or just an exercise program. 
• There should be a lot of research done (look for a thick bibliography). 
• After a month of practicing the lifestyle, you should KNOW whether it is something you can stick with. Ask yourself...
• While in the losing stage, is it near effortless? While it the maintaining stage, it it completely effortless? Do you have more energy as a result? Are you sleeping better?  Are you less gassy and/or bloated? Was the health screening looking top notch (or better than it was)? (All of these should be answered with yes. Otherwise, find something else).  

What has really changed in my life is the way I work out. After reading the Primal Blueprint and browsing Primal Endurance, which delves in to more detail of the exercise portion of the Blueprint, I found out that my own workouts were not sustainable. It made sense, as I've noticed I have to change things up every so often as I get burned out.  

I quit running in 2014 because I hated it. Now, it is back on the list of things I do again, because I'm not destroying my body doing it anymore. 

I started CrossFit style workouts earlier this year, but had to back off of these intense style workouts.  I have still maintained some of the CrossFit philosophy of changing up workouts almost every time I go to the gym, but now the intense ones are much less frequent.  I found out that these types of "sprint" style workouts should only be done once every 7-10 days.  All your workouts in between shouldn't get your heart rate above 0.75*(210-age).   

That is really easy to do exertion wise, but really hard to do mentally. It feels like you're going to tip over on a bike. It feels like you're walking instead of jogging. But the benefits are amazing. There is an amazing science here that you are privy to. You just need to check it out from your local library. 

Giving at Work

Givers, matchers, and takers make up this world. Which are you?

Adam Grant, in his 2014 book, "Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success", describes these three types of people. It has been a fantastic read so far, and I have already begun looking for more ways that I can be a giver in my life. 

Washburn University has Employee Wellness Program Incentives separated into three Tiers.  At Truman, I was able to enjoy the rec center at no cost. It was free for faculty. Although it can still be free at Washburn, it isn't until you go through a 3 Tiered process.  

The first of these Tiers is simply to schedule a health screening and have blood drawn.  The next two are a little more activity based and require you to complete 6 different activities.  For example, in this Tier 2 Wellness Action Sheet, you can check off the third box by nominating someone for the Living Well at Washburn Award.

Who do I know that lives well at Washburn? My mentor and friend, John! That's who!

• He has lost around 25 pounds this year by sticking with a Whole 30 diet. 
• He and his wife Melanie, while visiting Taos, NM this summer, hiked along the Rio Grande Gorge. John, by himself, hiked Mt. Wheeler a couple times. 
• For 2016, he is getting close to biking 2016 miles.  Whether he makes this goal or not, he has definitely biked over 1500 miles, and that is a pretty awesome year of biking. 
• John and Melanie cook amazing meals in their spectacular kitchen. Erin and I were fortunate enough to have dinner at their place with them one Friday evening. 

What an easy way to give at work. There are awards galore at Universities and the workplace. I'll admit, that up until reading about givers and takers and how that relates to me, I have always looked through awards for the ones that I could win, and wondered what I would have to do to get one. This is a "taker" type of mindset, and I'm glad I never acted on this self-serving behavior. 

When those emails come to my inbox informing me of awards on campus and asking for nominations, I will now give them pause. What an easy way to be a giver in the workplace, by thinking of someone who you believe deserves it, and taking a few moments to write up a nomination!  

Quitting Facebook

Two days after the election, I decided to quit Facebook. I went through the motions of quitting Facebook about a week prior, but couldn't push the button to deactivate. Facebook actually makes it difficult, by informing you of all that you will be missing out on and not have access to if you decide to deactivate. During the process of deactivation, they do a wonderful job of asking "Are you REALLY sure you want to do this?"

What they aren't good about, is informing you of the freedom that will come.

It took the election for me to recognize that Facebook is worse than Fox News. It allows post-truth politics to propagate unchecked. This played a huge part in getting a racist and misogynist elected president. Soon after quitting, I began seeing the headlines about this concern.

Since quitting, I have realized that it was an addiction for me, and it was something I needed to quit. It has only been 10 days now, and I still catch myself thinking in terms of postable experiences throughout my day. I'm ashamed of myself.

Here are some pros and cons I've thought about:

Pros.

• The next time many of my friends and family see me, they'll be a little more excited to see me and hear about what I've been up to. It will genuinely feel like a lot of time has passed since we've seen each other, and we will actually have something to talk about and catch up on. I'm saving all of my 'postable' moments for when we next get together.  We'll actually have to talk and stuff because we won't be able to say, "Oh yeah, I saw that on Facebook."
• I have now escaped this world of enabling and promoting a "fitting in" type of attitude. Brene Brown, in her book "Daring Greatly" describes the difference between fitting in and belonging. Facebook seems to me as an ultimate competition of getting likes, laughs, and loves, all which equate to some superficial fitting in. I'm tired of this game, and I'm ready to belong somewhere. That somewhere is not on Facebook.  
• My phone stays charged all day now.
• I spend much less time on my smartphone now. This means more time for productivity. I've noticed this in a huge way. 
• I have been forced to reach out and communicate in ways I feel are more fruitful and expressive. 
• Not everyone is on Facebook (including me now), so I when I organize events, I will be sensitive to this idea and not just discount or not invite people that are not on Facebook since, dammit, they should have been if they wanted to be invited to this event.  And even if they are on Facebook, sometimes they don't check it all the time. 
• I can now converse with people more easily. I have things to talk about. I can begin to decrease the frequency of the word "Facebook" in my conversation. No longer will I say, "Oh yeah, I saw that on Facebook" or "You may have seen this on Facebook, but..."  No longer will I be interrupted by individuals with "I saw your post about that on Facebook."  
• Freedom. Sweet, pure, freedom. 

Cons. 

• I'll miss out on many significant life events of my closest friends at the time they are happening. I will have to wait until they share it with me through some other avenue or simply wait until we see each other again. 
• Facebook seems to be one of the primary ways to organize group events. I'll miss out on group discussions happening in brewing clubs, softball groups, poker groups, etc. 
• Facebook was a great place to store and organize photos. 
• Facebook made it easy to invite a crapload of people to events as long as they were on Facebook. 
• There are more cons, but I'm biased in my decision to quit Facebook, so I'm going to quit trying to think of them. 

Quitting Facebook is extreme, I get it. It is not necessary for many people that aren't addicted like I was. Many Facebook users have much better control than I did, and don't need to go to this extreme. 

The Benefits of a Chore List

When the magnet is like this, it is time for me to unload (and flip the magnet). 

On a recent excursion to Iowa to do some biking with my father, I got an idea from the most unlikely of people: my step-aunt Twyla. Erin and I had gone up to bike on Sunday and Monday, July 3rd and 4th.  After our bike ride on the 4th, we were having a small get together at dad and stepmom's place.

Twyla and my stepmom Marilyn began talking about how having a holiday on a Monday throws them out of whack.  I remember internally rolling my eyes wondering how this could be possible (recall I am an academic with summers off), when she began to describe what she usually does on a Monday.  I seem to recall watering the plants and changing the sheets to be a few on the list.

The more I gave weight to it, the more I thought it made sense.  Creating a list like this would provide me with a schedule of the things I need to get done week-to-week. Also, instead of just getting things done as they come up, it would prevent having days where tasks accumulate and all intersect on the same day.

Creating a List

On the top of several pieces of scratch paper, I put titles such as "Weekly", "Fortnightly", "Monthly," "Quarterly", etc.  The top half of each paper I devoted to household chores, the bottom half I devoted to personal goals/check-ups.  For example, on the top part of Weekly, I would put things like "take out trash" and "roast coffee" and on the bottom part of the Fortnightly page, I would put something like "haircut."

I found it completely unnecessary to make a daily list, because these are the chores that are daily and do not need a reminder. Each day, I know I need to do them. Take our dishwasher magnet for example.  It is almost a daily routine of emptying and loading the dishwasher. Sometimes it can stretch to two days.  As you can see, we already have a way of communicating that the dishwasher is OK to empty or load.  

Once I got several things down, I added particulars.  How do I divvy all these things up to the different days of the week?  What things could be done every month, but would be nice if they were done fortnightly? Anything I found that would answer the previous question or something similar, I would put on the more frequent page, because I want to avoid being "thrown out of whack."  If I have to miss something on a particular day (say, because the 4th of July falls on a Monday), I want it to be completely fine for it to wait until the next cycle.  

Now, on Tuesday evenings, whether we are out of coffee or not, I will roast coffee.  On the occasions where there is no question that the amount of coffee we have will last another week, I will skip roasting.  Roasting coffee is now on my calendar on Tuesdays for another two months, at which point I hope it will be a habit, and I no longer will need the calendar.

Roasting coffee even though there is still some of last roast left.

Implementing the List

Alexa, our Amazon Echo, has been a great help.  On Monday evenings at 8pm, she lets out an alarm that reminds me it is trash day.  I only need to remember if it is also a recycling week or not, which I can ask Alexa if I can't remember.  

Every other Friday morning, my phone will remind me that it is a haircut morning.  I'm different than most individuals in that I cut my own hair, and have been doing so for as long as I remember.  Going a month without a haircut is not a big deal (neither is 6 to 8 weeks to be honest), so if it is a traveling weekend, or if I happen to be in a hurry on that particular Friday morning, I can skip it.  

On Thursday mornings, the bed now gets stripped and the sheets get put in the washer.  This may sound gross, but Erin and I were never on a bed sheet schedule, and would wait until one or both of us were grossed out by our own sheets before finally changing them.  This is both lazy and unhealthy.  Now, if we're gone somewhere on a Thursday, or happen to miss a week, we are still doing WAY better than we used to.  

By implementing the list, we are no longer overwhelmed with several things at once.  We also have things added that will now get done in a timely manner rather than waiting until we're both grossed out.  

Consistent and Complete

Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorem proved that the title of this post is impossible for any set of axioms that you adopt.

On one of my many walks between home and office, I thought about the significance of this and the human psyche.  I place myself, and the axioms and tenets that I adopt, into an incomplete category.  This is where I have found the most comfort. I am more comfortable in a framework that is consistent in my day-to-day learning and understanding of the world. Incompleteness isn't comfortable by any means, but I've accepted the fact that there are things that are true within my system that cannot be proven within that system.  This means, confusingly, that I cannot accept some "truths" as true, since I do not have the capability of knowing them to be "true."

Then I began to think of those who take more comfort and embrace a complete system of axioms and tenets. Within their system, these people have the ability to accept "truths" that I cannot accept, because they can be proven and are acceptable within their system.  However, this complete system of theirs is inconsistent, and hence has contradictions by Gödel's theorem.

Nobody likes inconsistencies, either.  So, those that take more comfort in a complete system either go the Walt Whitman route: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes," or they take the following stance.

Life is full of complete and consistent people. Whichever one you are, we need to remind ourselves that the other person could be inconsistent or incomplete, and that there's no changing that.

There is at least one important thing I've learned as a consistent person who accepts his incompleteness, and that is there are a lot of complete people out there that do not want to hear about nor accept how inconsistent they are.

Which are you?

I'm reading Gödel, Escher, Back: An Eternal Golden Braid again this summer because I love this book, and it fosters thought experiments like these.

Your Comfort Zone

When I teach hypothesis testing in statistics, I often introduce it using a courtroom scenario. Ideally, the courtroom, jurors, lawyers, and judges would all work in such a way that the probability of convicting an innocent person () and the probability of letting a guilty person go free () would both be equally small.

The important thing to understand is that they are indirectly related. You cannot make both of them be as small as you would like. If you decrease one, the other increases, and vice versa. So, you need to find a compromise, or a “comfort zone”.

I’m all about improving myself and following my own personal philosophy, whether that be fueling my passions, focusing on my health or personal growth, developing relationships, or contributing to society. What I have noticed, however, is that the more time you give to one, that can mean the less time for another. Where is that comfort zone?

Let’s use health as an example. To rank your happiness and/or comfort in each category, we’ll use a 0-1 scale. Suppose you set out to lose 20 pounds a while ago because that’s what you thought needed done. You were at a 0.5 on the happiness scale and knew that losing 20 pounds would put you at a 1.

In this setting, let’s make the level the compliment of your health happiness level. So, it is currently at 0.5 and you want to decrease that down to 0 by losing 20 pounds.

Suppose you have lost 10 pounds, are halfway there, but are at somewhat of a plateau. Even though you are only halfway to your goal, you notice your happiness scale has increased more than halfway to 0.90 (you’ve decreased your level down to 0.10). But you also notice something odd. Your relationships’ happiness/comfort scale has decreased. It used to be at 0.99 and has now come down to 0.90 (that is, your has increased to 0.10 from 0.01).

Perhaps you used to socialize with certain people that went out for Mexican food every week. Because of this new health kick you’re on, you had to cut that back to once a month.

Balance. We forget about this sometimes, and find ourselves running back and forth on a five-way teeter-totter (if you can imagine such a thing). When we’re feeling great about one thing in our lives, and down about another. we run over to that side.

Maybe we should realize we shouldn’t try and get to 1, and that in order to achieve a nice balance in our lives, we should embrace the comfort of 0.9. In other words, we don’t need amps that go to 11.

​

My Political Pipe Dream

According to my Facebook feed, it looks like there is going to be a big election in 16 months. Here is what I would like to happen.

First, I would love for you to inform yourself of Represent.Us and the Anti-Corruption Act. This short video may help.



If you're mildly interested (albeit still doubtful) and want to be a part of this, let me recruit you.

Next, suppose for a moment that everyone visited ISideWith.com and took some time out of their day to take the quiz that is available there. Further, suppose that for the questions that many people couldn't answer because they were not knowledgeable enough or didn't have an opinion, they took a little time to research those issues so that they could provide answers to the quiz.  Let's explore some possibilities.

Upon finishing the quiz, the website would compare your answers with those of the candidate's and inform you on how much you agree and how much you line up with each candidate. Who you will vote for and support becomes a no-brainer. Upon knowing how much and where you line-up with each candidate, what else do you need to know? Will seeing an advertisement on TV in support of a candidate with whom you agree on only 11% of the issues persuade you to change your mind even if it is a great ad? Will a negative attack ad on the candidate with whom you agree on 95% of the issues persuade you to change your mind and not vote for them?

What are we doing, America? If you watched the video above, around the 0:43 mark you would have been informed that US elections are costing us 6.5 billion dollars. Think of the infrastructure that could be built. Think of the increased salaries that public educators could have. Think of the tiny chunk we could take away from our national debt. As much as so many of you hate paying taxes, at least they're going to something. Where is that 6.5 billion dollars going? And why aren't you getting a little more upset about that?

Alas, money is too powerful, and I'm very skeptical any of this will work. Yet, I will try.

A Thirst for Coffee and Knowledge

One of my many passions is Coffee. I've thought about it a lot since 1996. Only recently did I pick up a book by Kenneth Davids called Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying. It was shocking to find out this book is in its 5th edition (2001), with its first edition coming out in 1976. This knowledge of coffee has been at any person's disposal for the last 39 years.

Even if I wind up in a career outside academics, I will always remain a lifelong learner because of my thirst for knowledge. Reading, writing, and thinking isn't just a passion in my life, it is a necessity. Without books and journals, I would be lost in a desert without water.

To me, seeking knowledge is like water. I need it. This need sometimes narrows my view of the world, because I delude myself into thinking that everyone else has that same need, or that if they do, that they satisfy it in a way that is even remotely similar to my way.

"Grinding coffee fresh is the single best thing you can do to improve the quality of your coffee... grinding it immediately before brewing is a first and essential step to experiencing it at its peak."  - Kenneth Davids

Once coffee is ground, it only takes a few hours for it to go stale. Grinding coffee exposes the pleasant oils that are in the coffee bean which begin evaporating immediately.

I didn't want to give you chance to look away or stop reading, and hence, you may have the feeling that some information about coffee just came at you from right field. Well, there you have it. That infomation won't affect you at all if you aren't a coffee drinker. More interesting thoughts and questions come to mind for those of you that are coffee drinkers, and have just obtained that information.

What will coffee drinkers who purchase and drink pre-ground coffee do with this information?  Some will reject it as false, because this information does not fit into their world of coffee drinking. The Folgers or Maxwell House ads they watch and the smell that comes out of their freshly opened container they just purchased leads them to believe something differently. They seek for truth no further. Regardless of how false they believe the swiftness that staleness embraces ground coffee to be, that speed remains true.

Then there are those that don't care. They continue to purchase and consume pre-ground coffee, admitting that they have been privy to this information and concede its point. But why? Why don't these coffee drinkers do anything about it?

"Freshly roasted coffee is at its best about a day out of the roaster. If it is kept in an airtight container as whole, unground beans, it can remain splendid if ground & brewed in a week to ten days. But by three weeks out of the roaster, it is well on its way to listless mediocrity." - Kenneth Davids

Now that just makes some of you downright angry, doesn't it?!?  Why did I have to go and give you information like that? Your ignorance was so blissful. You never used to care when the coffee you purchased was roasted, but now you're going to have to check, aren't you?

It was like the first time somebody pointed out the fact the countless people exit the bathroom without washing their hands, and that they actually have to touch the door handle on their way out. I remember first having that brought to my attention, and having a similar reaction. Dammit! That's all I'll ever think about when coming out of a public restroom. Truth. It is all I ever think about, now.

It is truly fascinating what people do with new information.

It was a weird journey for me connecting my love of learning about and enjoying coffee with learning in general. There is a certain bliss in both ignorance and information, as well as both apathy and enthusiasm, and we all must coexist somewhere on this multi-dimensional spectrum. The challenges of this coexistence is just life. I'm getting pretty good at it.

The Pen is Blue. Or, Why I Try Not to Pay Attention to Politics Anymore

The Pen is Blue

There are certain facts and happenings in the world that should be the center and launching point of all politics in my opinion. These facts present us with issues that need dealt with, for which we all have differing opinions. 

The issues and problems that need to be solved are what is represented by the Blue Pen. The pen is blue. Let's debate what to write with the blue pen.  

This, in my view, is how politics should work. But, alas, it doesn't work this way.  

Examples of Blue Pens

1. Global warming, climate change, or global wierding, whichever you would like to call it, is happening. It is happening because of what we're doing. 

2. Vaccinating children is necessary to prevent life threatening diseases. Vaccination does not cause autism.

3. Humans have evolved from lower life forms over millions of years.

4. Making abortion illegal causes more harm to women and does not decrease the incidence of abortion. Creating legislation that makes abortions harder to obtain has a similar effect. This is a historical fact.

5. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and transexuals are people, too. Their orientation is just that. It wasn't a choice. They deserve equal rights and freedoms as everyone else.

Why I Try Not to Pay Attention to Politics Anymore

Given all those blue pens above, we aren't discussing what to write with the blue pens. Instead, we're trying to convince all of you that the pen is actually blue. This has become a huge waste of my time. 

In several cases, 40-50% of Americans don't think the pen is blue. That just means 40-50% of Americans have been misled, have been lied to, have eaten a big piece of bullshit pie, or are just plain stupid. The pen is blue. The GOD DAMN PEN IS BLUE!

So, I try my best to smile, get on with my day, and ignore the fact that a large portion of you think a blue pen is some other color than what it actually is.

Minimalizing

The Instigator: Getting the Job at Washburn

In early February, I made an announcement that I would be stepping down as Chair of the Department of Statistics at Truman State. I had made this decision earlier in the semester, but was waiting for an opportune time to make the official announcement. The reason for this decision was because my wife and I are living in a long distance relationship at the moment. She is the Highland Community College Perry Center Director in Perry, KS.

I wanted to make sure that the Department of Statistics had more stability than my life. I wanted the flexibility needed in traveling back and forth on any given weekend. As a small side note, I really didn't enjoy being chair. It was a great experience, and I will be a better faculty member as a result, but I'll just say it really wasn't a passion of mine. 

About a week or two later, Erin brought the position at Washburn to my attention. A tenure-track position was listed as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Actuarial Science. The title of the position is a little deceiving, however, as it requires teaching mostly statistics and actuarial mathematics. 

My plan was to search the following academic year, but a position like this seemed to fit me well. The only problem was that the applications had started to be reviewed in December 2014. I assumed I was WAY too late. 

After contacting the Chair of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Washburn, I found out that they had identified top candidates and had invited them to campus, but that I should still apply. 

Well, okay then.  

I applied. Two days later they called to invite me to campus for an interview on Monday, March 9th, the first day of my Spring break. On Friday, March 13th, after the last candidate interviewed, they called me to inform me I had been selected for the position. I called the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on the following Monday (March 16) and accepted the position after negotiations. 

Minimalizing

That week, Erin listened to the audio book "Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life." She wanted me to read it so badly, that as soon as she got back to her place in Lawrence, she ordered the paperback on Amazon to be sent to me. Interestingly enough, after reading it, I found that this action in itself goes against the minimalism philosophy. I could have checked it out through Mobius. But... whatever. 

This truly excited me. I immediately wondered if Erin could actually minimalize as much as I could (figures that I had to turn this into a competition). I don't have the collections that she has. I don't have the sentimentality that she has toward inanimate objects. I knew it would be tough for her. 

It is tough for both of us. The rewards, however, are worth it. 

The book, and the essential essays you can find here, highlight five main things on which you should focus for a meaningful life. 

1. Health

2. Relationships

3. Your Passions

4. Personal Growth

5. Contribution

What you will find in thinking about your day to day activities, is that most of the shit that you own, and most of the shit that you do, does not contribute to any of those five areas. What may shock you at first, is that you don't even know the passions you have in your life. You should let that be a HUGE SLAP IN THE FACE.  

If you don't know what your passions are in life, then you've been letting your daily routine, and all of your stuff get in the way of discovering these passions. Imagine coming home to a place without cable, without internet, without a TV; a place where all you had were the essentials to living. What would you want to do? If your answer would be to go to somebody else's place to watch TV, that is borderline pathetic, but at least you'd be working on your relationships. 

One of the main points that I thought screamed loudest in the book was to try and associate more pain with NOT CHANGING.  Understand that the long term pain of regret from eating that piece of cake, from not working out, from not doing anything, is greater than that short-term pleasure that you are receiving from eating that piece of cake, and from plopping your ass down in front of the luminescent television.