I should have published a blog post last year summarizing my goals and resolutions for 2023. I missed that, so there’s a bit of a gap. Regardless, we’re back on track and motivated to blog!
This was an eventful year. I took new jobs within Lockheed Martin and the National Guard. Shalene wrapped up her graduate coursework, leaving only a thesis for her last semester. We traveled quite a bit to visit family and friends, and we purchased a minivan to help with that.
Shout out to Will Larson (@lethain) for inspiring some updates regarding how I format my annual post. Also, here’s my accountability to Matt Mullenweg’s (@photomatt) request for a blog post as a birthday gift!
2023: My 2 #s
The impetus for this goal came from the Fat Loss Made Simple episode of The Art of Manliness podcast. My two numbers (plus a bonus) that I tracked:
Health—Get back to <10% body fat
Wealth—Become financially fluent in Harper Aviation’s business and numbers
Knowledge—Read or listen to 52 books
Health
I dipped below 20% body fat (and 200 lbs) by the end of the year. I had been lazily doing 15-20 mins of lifting and then hopping on the exercise bike to be able to read something on my iPad. The reading was motivating, but I wasn’t sweating much by the end of my workouts. By recognizing in autumn that I had a goal due at the end of the year, I re-focused my efforts by tracking calories, using intermittent fasting, and recommitting to difficult workouts.
Wealth
This one’s tricky. The legal side of things was the holdup. Our paperwork is set to go through any day now (as soon as I review the final draft and sign). Once the purchase agreement goes through, I’ll be able to register Harper Aviation with the State of Colorado and then open a bank account. Until now, Rick has been handling everything in QuickBooks. I have made significant progress in manufacturing, however, and I should be able to spend the next year dialing in our per-unit cost and updating our standard operating procedures.
Knowledge
I accomplished this one. A separate blog post will follow with my ratings, and I’ll come back to add a link here: [post]
My 5 Fs Framework
I’ve used my “5 Fs Framework” for several years. The 5 categories that matter to me all start with “F”: Family, Faith, Finance, Fitness, and Flight. I reviewed them weekly in my journal. I didn’t have any particular goal in mind but would instead rate myself on a scale of 1–10 on how I felt I did that week in each category. Did I take on more work around the house? Did I fly a lot, working on PC progression? How were my workouts?
It was more qualitative than I had hoped for, but I did notice a few trends. I also found that a weekly accounting of progress for all of my goals was too much, so I’d end up skipping it entirely. I should start implementing a quarterly check-in instead.
2024 Goals + Resolutions
My 6 Fs Framework
I’ll be attempting a new and improved Jonny’s 6 Fs Framework™. I’m adding fulfillment this year and trying it for a spin.
Family
Develop a weekly routine of meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal prepping
Faith
Develop a regular habit of scripture reading (I could be more specific here, but I currently don’t read at all, so anything “regular” is an improvement)
Attend the temple quarterly
Finance
Identify a project and start learning Python to produce something by the end of the year
Start my master’s degree
Fitness
Score 540 on the Army Combat Fitness Test
Flight
Make pilot-in-command (UH-60L)
Start my private pilot license
Fulfillment
Complete 6 drawings I’m proud of
Complete 4 woodworking or home construction projects
Publish 4 blog posts
Read or listen to 52 books
Journal weekly (focused on introspection and retrospection, not a chronological recounting of the week)
Her Needs + Love Language
Perhaps my favorite marriage resource is the book, His Needs, Her Needs by Dr. Willard Harley. He outlines the typical husband’s top 5 needs, as well as the wife’s. Pair that with The 5 Love Languages, and you’re golden. Both books were gifted to me one birthday by a close family member, and His Needs, Her Needs is now our default wedding gift.
Benjamin Franklin is known for his self-development plan of pursuing virtues, emphasizing one trait for some time, and then moving on to the next trait he wants to improve. I intend on utilizing Dr. Harley’s top 5 needs for wives, plus Shalene’s love language of words of affirmation, and I’ll cycle through one each month to make sure I focus on what matters to her.
[#1] Affection
[#2] Conversation
[#3] Honesty and Openness
[#4] Financial Commitment
[#5] Family Commitment
[Love Language] Words of Affirmation
Thank you to Shalene Henderson, Beth Barber, and Jeremy Newman for reading and providing feedback.
This year totaled 65 books. To be clear, I’m less concerned about remembering everything; I love the cross-pollination of ideas much more. I’m going for quantity and listening at ~2.5X speed. The more ideas I gather from different disciplines, the more I draw parallels from seemingly unrelated fields. This is my sweet spot.
I’ve divided up all the books I read this year by the rating scale I use for my Book Notes page. Let me know if you want any of the notes I took for a particular book, and I’ll post it and share a hyperlink.
5 Stars: Loved It (24 books)
Non-Fiction
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks
The Book of Mormon
It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell
Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut by Nicholas Schmidle
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel by Kati Marton
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
Master Your Time, Master Your Life: The Breakthrough System to Get More Results, Faster, in Every Area of Your Life by Brian Tracy
Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life by Marie Kondō
Tough: My Journey to True Power by Terry Crews
About Face: Odyssey Of An American Warrior by COL (ret.) David H. Hackworth
Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by Tim Higgins
A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times by Mark T. Esper
Everyday Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth—And How You Can Too by Chris Hogan
The First 100 Days of Platoon Leadership Handbook: Lessons and Best Practices by U.S. Department of the Army
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi
Persuade: The 4-Step Process to Influence People and Decisions by Andres Lares
Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual by Jocko Willink
Fiction
Spider-Man: Blue by Jeph Loeb
Daredevil: Yellow by Jeph Loeb
From the Dead (Moon Knight, #1) by Warren Ellis
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Note: I have really enjoyed reading short stories
4 Stars: Liked It (21 books)
Non-Fiction
The Lego Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination by Jens Andersen
The Folly and the Glory: America, Russia, and Political Warfare 1945–2020 by Tim Weiner
The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War by Craig Whitlock
Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau
Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor by Anna Qu
The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America by Timothy Snyder
The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion by Eliot Brown
The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything by Mike Rothschild
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova
Joker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell
Topgun: An American Story by Dan Pedersen
Disney’s Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World by Richard Snow
Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior by Ric Prado
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Plan for the World by Timothy J. Keller
Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire by Brad Stone
Fiction
Shadowland by Andy Diggle
Batman: Death by Design by Chip Kidd
D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire
Note: I’m not sure if I should capture myths as fiction or non-fiction
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, vol. 1: Aphra by Kieron Gillen
Iron Man, Vol. 5: Rings of the Mandarin by Kieron Gillen
3 Stars: It Was Okay (14 books)
Non-Fiction
Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys by Joe Coulombe
Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA by Marc E. Polymeropoulos
The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower by Michael Pillsbury
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century by Fiona Hill
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry
First SEALs: The Untold Story of the Forging of America’s Most Elite Unit by Patrick K. O’Donnell
The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better by Thatcher Wine
Fiction
Freedom™ (Daemon #2) by Daniel Suarez
The Lone Drow (Forgotten Realms: Hunter’s Blades, #2; Legend of Drizzt, #15) by R.A. Salvatore
2 Stars: Disliked It (5 books)
Non-Fiction
Leadership in War: Essential Lessons from Those Who Made History by Andrew Roberts
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
Fiction
The Thousand Orcs (Forgotten Realms: Hunter’s Blades, #1; Legend of Drizzt, #14) by R.A. Salvatore
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1) by Robert M. Pirsig
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director’s Cut by Jhonen Vásquez
1 Star: Hated It (1 book)
Non-Fiction
N/A
Fiction
Infinity (Avengers, #4) by Jonathan Hickman
Put On Pause or Quit
Non-Fiction
A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Heroes, #1) by Jin Yong
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Fiction
N/A
Analysis
Here are the stats on the books I read this year. Next year, I hope to compare how that data has changed over the past few years as I started collecting it. Here’s my Google Sheet.
The categories I tracked were Format, Rating, Female Author, and Person of Color (POC) Author.
I’m merely curious about the format, and I’ve definitely shifted away from paper books over the years.
For rating, the goal is to read better since there are too many to even get to the best books in a lifetime. I’m not sure how to reconcile that with books that I didn’t enjoy yet changed my perspective on something.
For female and POC authors, I want to break away from the monotony of reading only white, male authors. That’s not to say one is better than the other, but diversity is to be applauded, and I am neither female nor a person of color. By reading from their perspectives, I can “level up” my thinking by taking on someone else’s viewpoint.
GoodReads
Follow me on GoodReads to see me hit next year’s goal!:
In the spirit of less is more, I significantly downgraded my stack of resolutions and goals this year.
Resolutions
Do something aviation-related each day
I really want to be a competent, reliable pilot and invest in my trade. I will (and have been) using some time each night to study. Instead of sitting down every few days and investing 2 hours in reading through manuals, I can read a little bit each night. I’ve been using iOS Reminders to help. I get a notification at 1900 each night, which is approximately 2 hours before I’m in bed reading.
Develop my hobbies
I’d like to invest more time in non-TV extracurriculars. Here are some things I’ve been wanting to put more time into:
Running
Woodworking
Video games
Drawing
Reading
Writing
Journaling
Music (including clarinet)
Goals
Make it to RL1 status as a pilot
A pilot’s readiness level (RL3 up to RL1) is tied to what tasks you have proven to an instructor you are competent on. As an RL3 pilot, I can only fly with instructor pilots. As an RL1 pilot, you never have to fly with an instructor pilot, and you can fly with any other pilot-in-command. Part of my job is being useful, so getting to the level where I don’t need to be flying with an instructor all the time gives me flexibility in my training schedule and gives the unit some reliability in having another “fully trained” pilot ready to take on missions.
Form a close, local friendship
We had great friends that we could call up on short notice while we were at flight school. We were all brought together by a shared experience, and everyone basically had the same schedule, too, which made things so simple. Now that we’re back to the Denver Metro Area, people are spread out more, and everyone’s getting pulled in different directions.
In 6 years of marriage, we’ve moved 6 times, and I haven’t had strong in-person relationships outside of flights school since college.
I heard of this distinction on a podcast, but I like the phrasing “weekday friends” versus “weekend friends.” I’m close with a lot of people at work (i.e. weekday friends), but none of those relationships have grown to the level where I’d call someone up on the weekend to hang out (i.e. weekend friends).
So, I’ll be spending some time investing in my relationships with people. I have someone I’ve been playing racquetball with and another friend that I just went to a concert with. We have plenty of “dinner friends” that we invite over, too.
Weekly Reflection
I also updated my Weekly Recap journaling template to reflect each week on my 5 Fs: Family, Faith, Finance, Fitness, and Flight. I’m also going to hyperlink to this post, so that every week, I can review what I subscribed to.
In preparation of reviewing 2021, I took the time to re-read my post last year’s post—2021 Resolutions + Goals—and I reviewed my weekly recap journalling template. My goals morphed throughout the year.
I had also forgotten about my distinction between a resolution (more of a vague theme for the year) and a goal (a task to complete).
On top of reflecting on accountability to strivings throughout the year, a lot has also happened in terms of life impact:
I graduated Army flight school becoming a commercially rated helicopter pilot, as well as an Army pilot
We moved back to Denver
My sister moved in with us (it’s hard negotiating a roommate again)
My older daughter started kindergarten
My wife started a master’s degree
I started back at work
I returned to my unit and am working through progression as an Army pilot
Here’s the breakdown of everything…
Resolutions
Year of the Family
I’ve tried to find little ways to connect with the girls more. I’ve employed them helping me in the garage just as my dad did. I get it now. I need to find more of my hobbies that I can share with them, because they’ll be excited to just be together. They sure like tape measures 😉
Emphasis on Mental Health
Journaling—Writing in a journal is how I work out my thoughts. I’m much more articulate in my writing than in spoken word. I like finding my way through a problem as the words get typed out. This is an easy way for me to release the pressure building up, like how in Getting Things Done, once it’s out of your head and stored somewhere securely, you can relax.
Therapy—I did see a counselor in flight school, which helped me find ways to deal with the stress of a military schoolhouse, as well as navigate my relationship with my kids better (i.e. finding things to do with them).
Solitude—I love my morning alone time. I need to use that, though, for self-development more. I’d like to wake up, do my scripture study, journal, and exercise all before starting work.
No Social Media on Phone—I’ve been off-and-on with this one for so long, but it’s working out having it on my iPad to play around on before bed but not on my phone where I’ll reach for my device instead of being present.
Stretch Daily with Intention
This one started out pretty good, and I was using a buddy’s ROMWOD subscription to close each day in a thorough stretch, but it just didn’t last. I am finishing my workouts with a 6-minute stretch using the Precor 240i Commercial Series StretchTrainer at the gym. I don’t feel more flexible, and it’d certainly help with my neck, but slow and steady progress, I suppose.
Honor the Sabbath
Honoring the Sabbath has been a good mindset to come back to every Sunday.
Documentary Sunday—We haven’t done one of these in a long time. It’s a nice break in our media consumption, but Shalene’s in a master’s program, so she does a lot of heavy reading on Sundays.
No Video Games—I’ve been consistent with this one!
No Studying—I have not been consistent with this one.
No Caffeine—Nor this one. The idea here was that I have the time and space in my schedule to nap, so choose a nap over caffeine.
Goals
Read the Book of Mormon
My thought process here is that if I’m reading 50+ books per year, I ought to put some of that time toward one of our most important religious texts. I started feeling guilty about not making progress, but I kept saying I’ll do it when we move back to Colorado. I started the audio version in October and wrapped up in January. I’m going to call this a win, because I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten another iteration of the Book of Mormon in this year.
Read The Saints, Volume 1
This is both an overarching narrative of the early members of my faith as well as many personal stories of individuals. I started it at the beginning of the year in an effort to read more religious books, and it’s been really easy to pick up and put down with how short its chapters are.
Read One Academic Paper per Week
The thought was that I would read an academic paper each week to start preparing for a master’s degree and thinking about potential theses or research topics. I’m ultimately pursuing a non-thesis master’s, but I’d like a PhD after that, so it’s still relevant. I was just too busy studying for flight school to take on some more serious reading.
Be Google-free
I’m definitely not Google-free, but I’ve transitioned a lot of my stuff away from Google. If there’s a viable non-Google option, I’m trying to go for that. I’ve been using Brave with Duck Duck Go, but Army websites basically only work with Chrome. I’m still using Gmail, but I’d eventually like to host my own server and not use Google. We’re using Google Calendar for now, but the more I think about it, the more I’d prefer Apple over Google, and they almost always have a comparable product.
Marriage Meeting Template
Finally, a goal that has gone really well! We’ve been earnestly attempting to have a sit-down marriage meeting every Sunday. I’ve continued to refine our template in Evernote that progresses us through the conversation, tracks action items, and helps discuss calendar items. Here’s the current version of my template.
Journaling Template
Here’s what the second half of my weekly recap journaling template looked like for the year:
2021 Resolutions
Family
Year of the Family—Already discussed.
Marriage Meeting—Already discussed.
Faith
Honor the Sabbath—Already discussed.
Read The Book of Mormon—Already discussed.
Read The Saints, Volume 1—Already discussed.
Finance
Entrepreneurship—I already have two jobs, but I thought that by bringing up entrepreneurship each week, it would keep me frosty looking for new ideas. In fact, there has been a company I’ve been working to take over, it has just stalled out a bit. I need to get going on that again 🤔
Fitness
Stretching—Already discussed.
Caffeine—I wanted to limit my caffeine consumption because I’m pretty dependent on it every day (okay, cut me some slack, what American isn’t?). I notice it makes me more irritable, and I don’t drink water without my lil flavor packet that has caffeine. I feel like it’s a vice, and I would have better regulation over my day without caffeine. But we also run ourselves thin, so could I actually survive? TBD. I did attend a 3-week Army course where caffeine wasn’t allowed, so it’s possible I guess.
Mental Health—Already discussed.
Flight
It doesn’t get better than graduating flight school! Now to work my way through the progression process with my unit and become a capable and competent Aviator.
Sustainability
It’s really important to me to do what I can for the environment. I probably didn’t need to be journalling about it every week (and I often didn’t), but in the same way I liked reflecting on entrepreneurship each week, I liked keeping this top-of-mind, because it matters to me.
I ironically enjoyed my 2020 Annual Review notes much more than my 2021 Resolutions + Goals post. It felt much more manageable and much more…me. It gave me the freedom to dabble in things that excite me rather than feel beholden to self-imposed constraints. It’s hard to be halfway through a year and still feel obligated to hold myself to the vision I had for future Jonny at the beginning of the year!
I’ve previously used and stuck with the rating scale I use for my Book Notes page. Here are all the books I read or listened to in 2021!
5 Stars: Loved It
Non-Fiction
The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians by David M. Rubenstein
Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America by Jeff Ryan
Billion Dollar Brand Club: The Rebel Startups Disrupting Industry Empires by Lawrence Ingrassia
Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment by Dave Hollis
Restoration: God’s Call to the 21st Century World by Patrick Q. Mason
The Magnolia Story by Chip Gaines
Dare to Fly by Martha McSally
The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy by Jon Gordon
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
Grant by Ron Chernow
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
Fiction
Forever Home by Jenna Ayoub
Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle, #4) by Christopher Paolini
Brisingr(The Inheritance Cycle, #3) by Christopher Paolini
Eldest(The Inheritance Cycle, #2) by Christopher Paolini
Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1) by Christopher Paolini
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) by Ernest Cline
Guardians of the Galaxy/All-New X-Men: The Trial of Jean Grey by Brian Michael Bendis
Star Wars: Thrawn by Jody Houser
House of M by Brian Michael Bendis
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
4 Stars: Liked It
Non-Fiction
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham
Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability by David Owen
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson
Hidden Figures by Margot Leet Shetterly
Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel
Titan by Ron Chernow
Fiction
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
Star Wars: Darth Maul by Cullen Bunn
FF by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Hickman
Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection Volume 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
Spawn Origins, Volume 1 by Todd McFarlane
3 Stars: It Was Okay
Non-Fiction
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski PhD and Amelia Nagoski DMA
The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
A Patriot’s Calling: My Life as an F-16 Fighter Pilot by Dan Rooney
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg
Kill Chain: Drones and The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins by Andrew Cockburn
Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division by Jimmy Blackmon
Fiction
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin by Tim Siedell
Judge Dredd: The Cape and Cowl Crimes by John Wagner
Star Wars, Vol. 2: Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon by Jason Aaron
Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes by Jason Aaron
Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth by Dan Slott
Black Widow: The Name of the Rose (Black Widow (Black Widow (2010)) by Marjorie M. Liu
Spawn Origins, Volume 6 by Todd McFarlane
Road of the Patriarch (Forgotten Realms: The Sellswords, #3) by R.A. Salvatore
Promise of the Witch King (Forgotten Realms: The Sellswords, #2) by R.A. Salvatore
Once an Eagle by Anton Meyer
2 Stars: Disliked It
Non-Fiction
N/A
Fiction
Justice League, Vol. 1: The Extinction Machines by Bryan Hitch
Teen Titans, Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best by Benjamin Percy
Spider-Man & The X-Men by Elliott Kalan
52, Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns
FF, Volume 2 by Jonathan Hickman
1 Star: Hated It
Non-Fiction
Ungodly Soul Ties: How to identify and Break Them (Spiritual Warfare Book 4) by Nellie Odhuno-Shani
Note: I actually enjoyed quite a bit of the book, but she started peddling blatantly false information
Fiction
Batman, Incorporated by Grant Morrison
Put On Pause or Quit
Non-Fiction
What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture by Ben Horowitz
Fiction
1984 by George Orwell
2021 in Data
To continue last year’s simple data analysis of the types of books I read, I used a Google Sheet to review whether or not I’m branching out in my reading or staying the same. I’d say I’m largely keeping to my known genres of fantasy and sci-fi for fiction and self-help and (auto)biography for non-fiction.
Unfortunately, my go-to types of books tend to lean white and male. Please make recommendations for female and people-of-color authors and books you enjoy or books from another genre!
Rating—My sum of 5-star and 4-star books decreased by 15%. I’m not sure if I should care or not. Part of me wants to only be reading good books, but at the same time, I value diverse perspectives, and I strayed out of my comfort zone in some aspects. Interesting to note, but I’m not hung up on it.
Format—I read way more comics this year, which I really enjoy. I’m glad to be getting back into a medium that meant a lot to me growing up. I hope to tie reading more comics to drawing more, too. My total percentage of physical reading (paper + digital) excluding comics decreased by 3.3%. Not bad.
Reading physical, non-fiction books reinvigorate me when I’m not in school already reading a bunch. Flight school is over, but I still feel compelled to study every day to keep up on it. My non-fiction reading suffers, but audio is still booming! I prefer reading hardcover paper books for fiction and Kindle for non-fiction (easier to take notes).
Female Author—My percentage of female authors increased by 4%, which is great. I didn’t consciously try to improve this as much as I thought I would, so I’m glad it increased, but I definitely need to find more female authors I love reading.
POC Author—I’m not sure if this is a good metric to track or not, because I find myself googling the author and having to make somewhat of a snap-judgement based on their Wikipedia picture. It also dawned on me that I members of other religions or of the LGBTQ community aren’t included. Maybe I just need to change this to “different from me” if the point is to get a variety of perspectives? I dunno. This one’s hard to track and find accurate information on. Two examples came to mind:
Esther Perel is a Jewish woman from Eastern Europe. Her parents survived the Holocaust. Does person of color just mean not of European descent? Under that definition, she wouldn’t qualify, but she still brings such a different worldview to the table.
G. Willow Wilson is an American convert to Islam. That is definitely a unique perspective, but wouldn’t be a POC.
Feedback is always welcome. Again, I’d love some recommendations for female and people-of-color authors.
I recently stumbled onto the work of Eli Dourado (@elidourado). The thread produced by a simple tweet (see my response) coupled with a recent article he wrote has fueled a lot of inspiration for me this week. Combine that with Elon Musk’s new XPRIZE for carbon capture, exploring discussions on Clubhouse surrounding innovation, and reading that NASA’s willing to buy regolith from a private company, and you’ve got the perfect storm for me—a scanner—to reevaluate everything…again.
In a moment of weakness and overwhelm, I emailed Eli laying out my dilemma about pursuing higher education and asked for some wisdom. I’ve been thinking since hitting send, and I stumbled onto a few key concepts that will help me. It was definitely one of those situations where once I laid it all out, the solution was easier to see—even if I couldn’t retract that email 😬
Paradox of Choice
I think about situations where I wish I had less freedom to choose. If only I didn’t have so many options, it would be easy for me to choose which option is best for me. That sounds nice at first, but is that what I actually want? Of course not.
Maybe even worse, I find myself wondering about the “what ifs” that can’t happen. What if we didn’t have kids, and I could spend today alone with my wife, I think to myself after a particularly difficult morning wrangling kids. What if I had moved to Seattle instead of Denver? The list goes on. It’s counter-productive exercises, though. I just have to remind myself that instead of dwelling on what could have been, how can I make my current (or future) situation better given my current constraints (kids, location, etc.). In fact, engineers love constraints. As one of my professors regularly said, on an unlimited budget, anyone can build a bridge, but an engineer does with the least amount of material possible.
So, in an era of FOMO, the real question becomes, “How does one stop keeping their options open?”
College
I’ve been through this situation (i.e. decision paralysis) a number of times. I remember flip-flopping almost daily for weeks on deciding between attending Boise State University (BSU) and the Virginia Military Institute. I chose BSU and thrived, but that only lasted for a year. I married a girl who taught middle school on the opposite side of Idaho.
I transferred to Idaho State University (ISU), and I resented it for my first year, because I had been comfortable. Ultimately, though, while I preferred the modern feel of BSU and being situated in a downtown area, ISU’s smaller-feeling campus consistently provided opportunities I never would have gotten at BSU. Examples include:
Leading our ROTC program as the Detachment Commander
Discovering and falling in love with economics because my double-major had to change when I transferred universities
Serving as a student government senator for my college
Winning money for two business ideas (SpaceSpace, Toast Dance) at Shark Tank-style pitching competitions
Career
My last year at uni, my wife and I narrowed down where we saw ourselves ending up. Picture a Venn diagram of where we’d like to live and where there is a high concentration of aerospace jobs. Seattle, Denver, and Boston were our finalists, and I started looking for jobs. I interviewed with those three states’ National Guard units, too. I continued to apply to jobs (totaling over 300; I kept track) but had no luck. Ironically, it wasn’t until I misunderstood part of the process and locked in my commitment to the Colorado National Guard that I could focus on a much smaller market of opportunities and land a job. In that case, “keeping my options open” hurt me, preventing me from leveraging my job search.
FOBO
Ironically, I relistened to a podcast (Spotify) on accident just yesterday, and it brought up FOBO: fear of better options. I usually don’t have an issue with FOMO—fear of missing out—unless I think about what rad companies like SpaceX or Relativity Space are up to. Lately, though, FOBO is what has kept me from committing.
General Patton’s quote comes to mind: “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite time in the future.” Everyone out there has a different path, and the devil’s in the details…of execution. At Lockheed, there are vice presidents with just a bachelor’s degree. Has that hurt them? Apparently not too badly. So in reality, the “worst” that can happen is that I get an irrelevant degree but have fun along the way.
There’s also a great parallel in marriage. In a world of 7.8 billion people, there is certainly a better match for you out there, but it’s more about what you invest in a marriage than the person you marry.
Segments of My Career
I’ve recognized a better framework for how to perceive my career. I’ve essentially split it up into 20-year segments, and while it will absolutely fluctuate, this exercise was helpful to take some of the mental load off of me in terms of constantly thinking about my career. I’ll also note that flexibility is key, as opportunities I never imagined will present themselves.
Building Technical Skills (26-46)
I graduated from college at the age of 26. If I stick with my civilian and military jobs for 20 years, I can retire from both at 46, locking in a dual-retirement and removing some of the risks of starting a business on my own. These years are also critical as I build technical expertise—particularly because I want to work on hard tech, not software.
I look up to young entrepreneurs, and I wish I could jump in and join them right now. Caleb Carr comes to mind. We’re the same age, and he’s the President and CEO of Vita Inclinata, a technology company innovating on stability for helicopters and cranes. I could be really jealous, but I recently listened to a podcast with Michael Dell saying he was motivated by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, because they were 10 years older than him and not married, and he wanted a family.
Harvard Business Review also published an article in 2018 sharing that the average age of a startup founder is 45. That fits with my plan!
Leveraging Technical Skills (46-66)
While I would love to be a Forbes 30 Under 30 wunderkind, I have many competing priorities that I’m not willing to let go of. For example, Elon has been divorced several times. I’m not willing to let my marriage fail.
Once I’ve banked that double-retirement nest egg, I can break out and start a company to change the world. I’m following tech and startup news in the meantime, constantly jotting down ideas for addressing problems. In fact, I’m working on a few side-projects that could go toward saving for that future business.
Sharing Technical Skills (66-86)
After a lengthy technical career, I’d love to give back. I’m not the guy who loves differential equations or some of those knee-deep-in-theory courses. I’d love to teach at a university, though, exploring new ideas and getting others excited about their careers. I’m not even sure it’s possible, but it’d be so fun to teach a mixture of German, entrepreneurship, economics, ROTC, and engineering. I can dabble in all of my interests at the end of my life having “proved” and accomplished what I want to.
I’d also love to angel invest along the way, and maybe being at a university is the way to get the next generation involved in tech.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Shalene Henderson, Abel Birk, and Matt Schock for proofreading and providing feedback.
Appendix: Vetting Ideas
Tim Ferriss: Is this a full-body yes? Is this a no-brainer (don’t just ask if it’s a good idea)? (Podcast)
Derek Sivers: If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”. (Post)
Jonny Henderson: What role is ego playing?
Example: If I could learn all of the content involved with a degree without receiving the credibility that comes with the degree (i.e. not actually graduate), would it be worth it?
My Northstar → “Because: Astronaut” → Is this getting me closer to astronaut or is it shutting doors? (Example: MBA vs. MS in AeroE)
Misc
Have I considered: Good, better, best
Have I considered: energy management not just time management
I’m not sure if I’m thinking about this “correctly”, but I’m approaching resolutions and goal-setting differently this year: I’ll do both. I split them up into two categories:
Resolution = prompt for regular reflection
Goal = task to complete (think checkbox)
I’m working on building my toolkit for each goal before I’m knee-deep in 2021 with old and new forms of stress vying for my attention.
Resolutions
Year of the Family
This year, I’ll finish up flight school, and we’ll move back to Colorado. For our entire marriage, the focus has been on me: “When Jonny graduates college, we’ll…,” we moved to Colorado for my job, now we’re in Alabama for my military career. Shalene and I have had some difficult talks, and we decided that what works best for our family is letting Shalene “go first” for once.
Financially, it makes more sense for me to get my master’s first. There will be an increase in pay and opportunities, and my company will pay for it. For Shalene, she will mostly continue with her current teaching career with the possibility of picking up teaching community college. We’ll have to pay for her degree ourselves. But the big takeaway was the emotional vs. rational side of investing. She hasn’t had personal fulfillment for quite some time. She received validation through teaching, but as a stay-at-home mom, that affirmation largely went away. By getting her degree, she’ll be able to grow personally, investing in herself and her career. I’m anxious to get going, but I’m also happy to step aside for once.
That means that this year, I’ll be working my engineering job, working toward qualifying to fly with my unit, and taking care of the family so that Shalene can focus. It’s totally out of my comfort zone because I live to work (stay-at-home dad is my nightmare), but I’m excited to take on a new challenge.
I have also come to realize that there is perhaps no investment in the long-run greater than cultivating an amazing relationship with my family now. I’m learning, because it doesn’t come easily, but I’m excited to get there. Of course, I’ll have to ride the brakes a bit and get out of the “I’m going to win at this” mentality 😅
Emphasis on Mental Health
I have always had grit, passion, drive, and ambition, but 2020 finally had me addressing some concerns. I have a natural conviction for self-improvement, so mental health is a personal emphasis for me in 2021. The pandemic, racial tensions, and election season of 2020 brought about a lot of stress for everyone, and I think we can all agree that self-care became critical.
Some small things I’ve identified to help with this resolution include:
Journaling—I currently use journaling as a way to trap my family history in the amber so to speak, but I’d like to use it more intro-/retrospectively and sit down to tease out ideas and thought patterns. I haven’t found a system that works for me yet, but I’d love ideas if you have them.
Therapy—I started seeing a therapist, which has been phenomenal. I’ve toyed with the idea for a long while, but finances have always been a concern. TRICARE takes care of it while I’m down here, so I’m glad I’m taking advantage of the opportunity. A military leader on Twitter “gave me permission” in a sense when he tweeted about speaking openly to his unit about using therapy. I’m fighting to not try to “win” at counseling either.
Solitude—This parallels with journaling, but a Twitter friend (@CoShelbysmith) published an article on solitude that really resonated with me. It confirmed something that I had never put words to in that I am an extrovert, but I require solitude to have the energy to be outgoing. Find time for me, so that I can be there more fully for others.
No Social Media on Phone—I’ve left a few platforms in the past year or two, but Twitter still has a hook on me. I’m going to delete social media from my phone, focus on what I can share with others (I’ll use Buffer), and leave social platforms for in-browser use on my laptop only. This will help me read more (my Pocket queue is insane) and think more philosophically about what ideas I’d like to put out there—become a producer instead of just a consumer.
Stretch Daily with Intention
I have long wanted to be more flexible. I’m finally getting started with real intent. The plan is to get in the habit of daily stretching with the end-of-year objective of being able to touch the floor from a standing position and to touch my toes from the seated position (legs stretched forward). I’m excited about how increasing flexibility will augment my performance in other areas like running, weight lifting, etc.
Honor the Sabbath
I’ve been following David Perell (@david_perell) for a while now, and although he doesn’t claim to be religious himself, he has become fascinated with the idea of a Sabbath. Our family has shifted our approach to the Sabbath over the years, and there are things I’d like to do to make it less casual but still a day of rest.
One lovely consequence of keeping the Sabbath day holy is that I’ve had to reprioritize my week to make sure I’m free on that day. By doing so, both my family and I can count on being together on Sundays, so I have more latitude during the week to disappear and study, knowing I take Sundays off.
Some things I have implemented:
Documentary Sunday—We watch less TV and instead, we look for documentaries/docu-series to watch together. That ensures we don’t run into violence, sexual content, swearing, etc. as much when we’re trying to break away from the world for a day.
No Video Games—I decided that video games are not for Sundays, and it has worked pretty well for the past few weeks that I have implemented it.
No Studying—This one is really difficult. Throughout college, I studied, worked on projects for school, and crammed homework on Sundays. There was no surviving without using every hour of every day. Now, though, I find that it all comes down to a lack of planning. Implementing some rules like this just forces me to be more deliberate with my time.
No Caffeine—I drink a lot of caffeine (the Walmart version of caffeinated Crystal Light), but there’s really no reason to on Sundays. In essence, I’m trying to wean off my dependency, but also give myself permission to nap more.
Goals
Read the Book of Mormon
I realized that out of the 52 books I read last year, the Book of Mormon was not one of them. It isn’t that long, and I should be reading it every year.
Read The Saints, Volume 1
This one isn’t too difficult, but it is a break-away from my traditional genres. Our emphasis in Sunday School this year is the early history of our church, so by reading this book on the founding of our restored religion and the pioneers that worked to make it happen, I hope to gain a greater appreciation for my heritage.
Read One Academic Paper per Week
In college, I would print papers and articles out that interested me. Granted, I was involved as a research assistant and as an intern for the Department of Energy, but my desire to learn hasn’t stopped. I still have several articles printed out in a desktop vertical paper holder, and I haven’t touched them in over a year.
This is both a tidying and a learning goal. It should pay huge dividends as I work toward higher education. My current plan is to get my Master’s in Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Space Resources. I’m interested in studying in-space manufacturing, so I hope that by reading one paper per week, I’ll be able to converge on a “hole” in what is currently researched and find my niche.
Be Google-free
I’m already Facebook-free (deleted Facebook, Instagram, and quit WhatsApp), but now I’m working to be Google-free. I’ve thought about it off and on for a while now, but Google charging for their photo service was the last straw. While every company is incentivized by profits, I trust Apple a heck of a lot more than I trust Facebook, Google, or Amazon.
I’m working to transition away from Google. By the end of the year, I hope to only have a Gmail account for junk mail and a Google Drive account for Google Sheets (man, there’s no service as convenient; Excel is just different, ya know?) and for whenever I need to collaborate with others (like proofreading an article).
I’d love to hear your thoughts on solutions. I’m already using Signal and Evernote to replace some of the Google monopoly, and I’m looking into ProtonMail, calendar solutions, and others. Hit me up!
Marriage Meeting Template
Shalene and I have implemented a weekly marriage meeting, and it needs some refreshing. We’ve been using a mix of structure pulled from author Marcia Naomi Berger on The Art of Manliness podcast (episode) and conversations between Tim Ferriss and Ramit Sethi on The Tim Ferriss Show (episode), but it hasn’t quite fit our needs. It feels like we’re going along with it just for the sake of the structure we’ve committed to. I’m working this year to further engrain the habit of meeting weekly, as well as determining what structure works best for us.
Reflections
Another idea I’m toying with is revising how I group my resolutions/goals in domains. I’ve previously used my 5 Fs: Family, Faith, Finance, Fitness, and Flight (i.e. my Army Aviation career). Some things I focused on from last year like caffeine usage, I can classify as a sub-goal of fitness. Other goals like my regular emphasis on sustainability, is more of a conscious effort that I plan on continuing. So maybe my next article will be about how to classify my goals. I might reorganize this post in that newly developed context at some point, but we’ll see.
Thanks to Shalene Henderson, Stuart Summers, and Katie Sedlmeyer for proofreading for me.
If you’d like to be one of the people I ask to help review, let me know 🙌
I’ve had lots of little steps of progress in this one. It’s still clunky, but our recycling system (storing in the garage and driving it ourselves to the facility) at home has improved to a sustainable point. It no longer causes a lot of tension between my wife and me.
We have started saving food scraps (potato peels, etc.) in a gallon-size Ziploc bag in the freezer, then we turn it into the veggie broth in the Instant Pot when it’s full. That not only reduces how much broth we buy (i.e. packaging and transportation), but it also gives the scraps a second life and starts the decomposition process, reducing volume and lifecycle in the trash process.
I’ve repurposed a lot of wood this year, too. I have bought some tools like a jigsaw and a crowbar to tear down pallets, I took apart someone’s mantle that they were throwing away (one could even say I “dismantled” it 😏), and we’ve upcycled some things people were throwing out. My wife and I have worked as a great team!
In our little military community, everyone is so transient that people throw away a lot of good stuff. We found some wood-and-metal barstools that we upcycled for our home, as well as some wooden chairs and a Step2 plastic kitchen set. In fact, we gifted them the upcycled kitchen set (wife’s idea!), and we wrapped the rest of the girls’ Christmas presents in brown paper, which we then recycled.
I would say we’ve also been more deliberate in what we purchase. We canceled our Amazon subscription last year, and we’ve been looking to support small/local businesses more. I admit, though, that we started using Amazon Prime again since we splurged on Christmas to get two expensive gifts using our credit card rewards points 🥸
Another point, and I won’t get too political, is that in the 2020 election, I paid particular attention to how candidates at all levels spoke about the environment and climate change. That may be the single most important issue to me as a voter. In fact, in an episode of the podcast Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions, Bill suggests that on an individual level, there is perhaps nothing as effective as voting in those who will be stewards of the environment, because it is at a government level that these changes need to happen.
Start Another Revenue Stream
I have loved the weekly emphasis on this goal. I’ve worked to make it happen, and I just had too much competing for my time this year. Plus I need a good idea, right?
I’ve riffed on a few possibilities with my brother-in-law, but none of them panned out. It was still a great exercise, though.
I did stumble into something that I think will work, and while it isn’t launched yet, I do have a logo and a domain name. I’m working on building a simple website and determining which products (I’m narrowing designs down) I will make. I’ve built some prototypes though, so it’s legitimately coming along!
In summary, I do not have another source of revenue, but I’ve laid the groundwork to make it happen in 2021! 🤨
Deliberate Caffeine Consumption
I didn’t make much progress on this goal. I teetered on and off of caffeine. My best streak without caffeine was while I attended a three-week military course where I didn’t have access to any caffeine. I still use my “drink packets” (e.g. Dragon Fruit) and drink yerba mate, although here in Alabama, it always feels too hot to drink mate.
I do, however, feel like caffeine consumption is directly tied to my periodic moodiness and irritability, so it will remain something I monitor in 2021.
Focus on My 5 Fs
Family
This was a steep learning curve and one that I still don’t feel “done” with. Naturally, you can’t “win” at marriage or parenting, so there isn’t a box to check saying things are up to par, but being intentional has made a difference.
My wife and I have tried to be more deliberate about a weekly marriage meeting. We’ve tried to go on dates, although COVID and kids at home have made that significantly more complicated.
With the girls, I’m trying to find things to do with them. We watched a rocket launch on TV, we’ve gone on walks or bike rides, we’ve played restaurant, etc. I’m trying to find things the girls can do with me that help us connect. I’ve watched some cartoons with them that I enjoy (e.g. Star Wars, Avatar, etc.), we’ve tried drawing together, I got some games through Steam that I grew up playing (Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, Putt-Putt, etc.), and I’ve had the older of the two help with building projects.
Faith
Incidentally, we haven’t been to church just about all year, so this one was a particularly difficult goal. We’ve been having church on our own at home nearly all year, and we only recently started participating via Zoom with our local congregation. Admittedly, I have liked the autonomy.
I’ve been writing faith-based essays to study topics more deeply. I also invited a friend to study the same topic together each week followed by a discussion on Sunday. We’ve only done it twice so far (we started the last week of 2020), but it is already going much better for me to be able to study with a purpose.
Finance
This is the most money we’ve ever had. I finished paying off my student loans, so we are finally completely debt-free. We also don’t worry about money right now, and I’m trying not to take it for granted and still be frugal.
We’ve got some potentially big purchases coming up, so we’re mapping things out. We need to revisit our budget, too. This year, we move back to Colorado (significantly higher cost of living), and Shalene starts her graduate degree.
Fitness
Wow has this one has slipped. I thought I would surely keep up on my fitness as I have for the past several years, but the constantly fluctuating schedule that accompanies flight school has wreaked havoc on my routines. Fitness has been extremely difficult to pin down on when exactly I will exercise.
I purchased a year-long subscription to BeachBody, knowing that I can commit to the Insanity workouts. That’s been good for cardio/HIIT. I haven’t been as good about running (pace-wise, not consistency), but I am starting to get back into the gym to lift.
Flight
I went from not flying to flying, so goal complete! In all seriousness, though, I need to figure out a rhythm for studying and staying on top of my responsibilities.
Draw + Share 12 Drawings I’m Proud Of
I intended on one drawing per month. That did not happen, and I’m left cramming many of the drawings at the end. That pressure, though, helped me overcome the immense mental barrier brought on by the difference in where I want to be artistically and where I currently am. I actually think the burden of drawing last-minute helped, and I look forward to drawing regularly now as opposed to procrastinating and building it up in my mind as overwhelming.
Wow, okay—hold the phone. I went through my two sketch-books, and best I can tell, I already have a bunch of drawings, and I need to give myself more credit 😱 I’ve been more productive than I thought! I can spend the last few days of the year sketching some new things and polishing up some older drawings, getting them posted rather than stressing!
The biggest “win” from this goal was rediscovering my love for drawing (and comics). I plan on doing this much more regularly 🙂
Here’s a list of my drawings with links to DeviantArt, where I posted them:
In addition to accountability to last year’s resolutions, I’ve also taken the time to think about some activities that I really enjoyed spending my time doing:
German
I have absolutely loved speaking more German this year. It started by showing up to PT early each morning and practicing Duolingo in my car. I got a German stickbuddy during Common Core, so I’ve been using German almost daily. During the holiday break, I facetimed with my host-family and a good friend in Germany, again being able to practice my German. It has become a huge part of my identity, and I plan on keeping that skill polished. I would be devastated to lose my ability to speak, so I need to find opportunities to practice. I’ve thought about watching Netflix in German (they spend significant energy perfecting dub-overs in other languages), and I’d like to speak German more with the girls to help them learn.
Reading
My Goodreads goal was 52 books in the year, which I accomplished! You can see my write-up on what I read last year for more details.
Journaling
Get into a routine of journaling will pay huge dividends. I think best through stream-of-consciousness mediums like talking out loud or by working through my thoughts on paper. Right now, I journal once per week, but it’s more of an accounting of events rather than introspective. I’d like to journal introspectively more often.
Website
I’ve finally gotten my personal website to a spot where I like it and can just incrementally build upon what I’ve got. I’ve had a lot of fun working on it, and maintaining it will continue to provide value to me for both fulfillment and organization, as well as others as I share what I love and have learned.
Woodworking
I’ve invested in tools, materials, and techniques all year. It’s been so nice having a garage and driveway here. I’ve loved applying my love of building to a more physical medium than CAD. It has also been awesome having projects that I’ve built be around for others to comment on and admire. Some of the bigger projects include: dining room table and bench (article pending), TV stand, a decorative mountain shelf, and a blanket ladder.
Video Games
I have actually taken a lot of time this year just to kick back and relax guilt-free. I’ve been able to fit some games into my schedule, and I’ve enjoyed it greatly! I often feel it a waste of time, but in 2020, who cares?! Here’s what I’ve been playing this year:
I’ve divided up all the books I read this year by the rating scale I use for my Book Notes page.
Note: I only included subtitles where necessary for clarification.
5 Stars: Loved It
Non-Fiction
Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Cribsheet by Emily Oster
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
Grant by Ron Chernow
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Washington by Ron Chernow
Inside the President’s Helicopter by Gene Boyer
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
Antarctic Tears by Aaron Linsday
Range by David Epstein
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Fiction
Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle
Adulthood Is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
4 Stars: Liked It
Non-Fiction
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Moroni’s Guide to Surviving Turbulent Times by John Bytheway
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, & Jim Huling
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Note: I’d like to re-read this one
Prepared by Diane Tavenner
Hughes by Richard Hack
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Educated by Tara Westover
Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham
Fiction
Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore
Spawn Origins, Volume 1 by Todd McFarlane
Hellboy, Volume 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
3 Stars: It Was Okay
Non-Fiction
Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella
Pale Horse by Jimmy Blackmon
Kill Chain by Andrew Cockburn
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Note: I hated the tone of his voice (i.e. prideful) throughout the book, but I actually, to his creditt, think about the book’s principles all the time
The Like Switch by Jack Schafer
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Good to Great by James Collins
Fiction
Spawn Origins, Volume 6 by Todd McFarlane
Deathstroke, Volume 1: The Professional by Christopher Priest
Sword of God by Chris Kuzneski
2 Stars: Disliked It
Non-Fiction
A History of the United States in Five Crashes by Scott Nations
Fiction
N/A
1 Star: Hated It
Non-Fiction
N/A
Fiction
Dune by Frank Herbert
Put On Pause or Quit
Non-Fiction
Instructions for British Servicemen in Germany, 1944 by Library Bodleian
The Box by Marc Levinson
Fiction
N/A
Analysis
This year, I also paid attention to the types of books I was reading. The first step was data. I created a Google Sheet and plotted the data I felt were relevant, such as the gender of the author and whether or not the author was a minority. I hope to diversify my reading a bit more than the typical successful white male authors in business I gravitate toward. That has been at least one of the blessings of the 2020 chaos—an added attention on the benefits of diversity, inclusion, and equality.
So first, I go some data. Now I can readjust. Please make recommendations for female and people-of-color authors and books you enjoy!
I also realized that my list of authors I’d read anything by is entirely white dudes. I want to fix that.
Sorry that I’ve been MIA—I’ve started flying, and it’s been overwhelming but so rewarding! I’m finally finding a moment to update everyone
PRODUCTION
Drawing
AirPods—While on a conference call, I picked up my leadholder and sketched my AirPods case, trying to focus on shading and highlights, which I have never been able to wrap my head around. I’m actually pretty happy with how it has turned out!
Diablo—I started working on an old sketch that I put down. The proportions are off, but I didn’t let that deter me. Rather than correct them, though, I made it my own to prevent losing momentum. I easily get overwhelmed while drawing.
Logo for Son of Henry—I settled on a brand name for my wood projects (more on that later), and I developed a logo for the brand, Son of Henry. I used the font, Bitter, from Font Squirrel from Font Squirrel.
Writing
I finally published an article I’ve been sitting on for a while titled Perverse Incentives and the US Army. It’s a fun blend of economics and military 😌
Even publishing another Sunday Shares has been therapeutic to get thoughts out and to reestablish the habit of writing
Website
This work has been a bit stagnant and is still a monumental task (in my mind anyways). I think the difficulty comes from not completely understanding what I want to use my website for. Is it an online portfolio and résumé, a collection of random lists and favorites I want to share, just a blog, a mix of all of the above, or something entirely different? I think I may organize my website menu into:
HOME | BLOG | PERSONAL | PROFESSIONAL | ABOUT
I’d love feedback.
Build
Mountain shelves—This was a fun and quick project I cranked out. In fact, I made three so that I could give away two. I shared it on Reddit (apparently now removed), and got some people who wanted to buy them. I hadn’t thought of selling them online, but now I’m noodling on how to get my brand and website figured out.
Dining table + bench—This is the gift that keeps on taking. I’m working on epoxy for the top of the table and bench to eliminate the grooves that food keeps falling into, but first, I have to put on a different urethane (water-based) so that the epoxy will stick. I also had to order another two gallons of it. I’m ready to have this project behind me. I should have planed it, but I didn’t have access to the woodshop when I initially went to build it—all in the name of experience, right? 🤷🏼♂️ Check out V1 on Reddit. I’m currently working on drafting up the bill of materials and will publish a build article once I get the epoxy figured out.
Harry Potter wands—I used ¾” dowels from Lowe’s and had planned on turning them on the lathe at the woodshop. The guy had to leave, though, so that left me with the drum sander. I tried the mounted belt sander but almost hurt myself twice (one wand got thrown somewhere never to be seen again, and another got sucked in between the guard and the belt, shredding the belt), so I did them all entirely with the drum sander…Lessons learned. They were a hit, though!
Book data charts—I build a Google Sheet where I plugged in the data from the books I read this year, and I’m trying to extrapolate useful information. For example, am I happy with the number of female or people of color authors I’m reading or should it increase? “What gets measured gets managed,” right?
Pumpkin—The Empire did nothing wrong.
Son of Henry—I’m working on putting together an online store. So far, I’m thinking about selling the mountain shelves, Harry Potter wands, military coin holders, moral patch displays, and hopefully expanding into some other ideas. I’d love some tips 🤓
Sorry for an article behind a paywall; I used Pocket to read it. Anyways, the gist is that while the parties themselves are divisive, the real issue is between the America that eagerly follows and engages with politics and the America that just wants results. It reframed our political system in a way I hadn’t considered.
Watch
Video: Cooking with Eva | Episode 2: Cookies (YouTube)
I put together another video of Eva and me cooking. It has been a “productive” way to connect with one another, and our extended family has loved it.
At one point back in…I wanna say 2010, I was in a music funk and was really craving something that I couldn’t quite articulate. I discovered “Randale” by Kraftklub on Tumblr and instantly fell in love. They’ve quickly become a favorite band. It helps that I was (and am) a total Germanophile, but their sound is also unique and fun.
I’ve been listening to this song on repeat all week as I’ve been studying. Good vibes! Mord Fustang always pulls through, and he even liked my tweet about the song
I love Acquired (@AcquiredFM) to begin with, but I especially loved the second half where they just riff on different business ideas and how they could work.
Learn
Concept: BallotReady
I used BallotReady to help me figure out who to vote for in this election, specifically the lesser-known and -publicized local candidates. You put in your address, and it generates your ballot. It then walks you through why one might vote yes or no, then you can make your choice and print off your results to easily populate that ballot.
Concept: Sans-serif vs. slab serif vs. serif
In designing the Son of Henry logo, I had to figure out what is in a font. My brother-in-law steered me toward using a slab serif, which turned out to be just the right blend of modern and sleek with traditional and craftsman. It’s worth digging into the Wikipedia article if you’re interested in design. Here are some slab serif fonts that got me thinking: Top 10 Most Popular Slab Serif Fonts.
Ponder
Idea: Getting involved with climate change
I had a conversation with a Twitter friend, Shelby Smith (@CoShelbysmith), on how to be more active in climate change. It was so refreshing to exchange thoughts. It was unique to use passive, long-form communication (i.e. email) to get the creative juices flowing and to have a record of what we had talked about. I look forward to future discussions and how to make meaningful change on both the micro and macro levels.
Quote:
(Feel free to download and/or share)
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
I’m an economics nerd. While I majored in mechanical engineering, econ was my passion, and I was so close to a double-major. Oh well. I suppose that’s what grad school is for. Anyways, one of my favorite concepts from the discipline is incentives. You might think of economics as the study of money, but a more widely accepted understanding is the study of scarcity or the study of choices under constraints. So boiled down, money is just a framework for really studying choices. That’s why it can bounce between business and social sciences departments; it’s heavy on psychology.
When I think of incentives, my mind immediately jumps to the “cobra effect.” From Wikipedia:
The term cobra effect originated in an anecdote that describes an occurrence during India under British rule. The British government was concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi.The government therefore offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially this was a successful strategy as large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, enterprising people began to breed cobras for the income. When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped, causing the cobra breeders to set the worthless snakes free; the wild cobra population further increased.
Three strong examples of perverse incentives that come to mind regarding the military:
Medical
I’m a pilot-in-training at Ft. Rucker and recently got super light-headed after PT. I nearly passed out (probably fatigue and dehydration), so Cadre had me get labs done just as a precaution, thinking it might have been blood sugar. I was put on a down-slip (i.e. no training) until bloodwork and an echocardiogram came back. I missed my start date for the next training course, which made me pretty bitter. I understand the idea of wanting a helicopter pilot to not involuntarily blackout, but that wasn’t what happened.
In airing my grievances to some fellow LTs (as LTs do), one mentioned getting stung by a wasp and breaking out in hives. LT X got permission to go to UrgentCare (after declining to call 911) to get something simple to clear it up. That’s an automatic down-slip, which the LT didn’t know. That LT got pulled from Common Core and has to wait for the next course to come around in about a month.
So to clarify, the culture of Aviation is to suck it up and say nothing, in case it prevents you from flying. That is clearly the opposite of ensuring pilots are at their peak health while flying multi-million-dollar airframes complete with expensive equipment and priceless Soldiers as cargo.
WiFi
In the recent past, there were security concerns at drill about doing government work on WiFi, so it was removed for us M-day folks. Well, the requirements for online training, etc. were not reevaluated, and the supply of government-issued laptops is very limited. What was the solution? Mobile hotspots. Great. Mobile hotspots have got to be more secure, right? 🤦🏼♂️
Ammo
An all-too-common situation on Range Day is a surplus of ammo left over after everyone has qualified on their weapon system. It is far simpler (i.e. less paperwork and/or questions) to use up all the ammo than to turn unspent ammunition back in. What is the unspoken solution? It gets wasted in a bush. In an age of increasing transparency and scrutiny of military budgets, this seems like a simple fix. There has to be a better way to turn in ammo. Perhaps an amnesty system similar to the amnesty boxes already on installations could be implemented. Units can train to the standard, not to the requested supply. The extra ammo gets collected like brass does and sent back for inspection or kept within the unit for the next range.
Conclusion
In my brief encounter with the Army thus far, there has been nothing more frustrating than proposing a newer, more efficient way of doing something only to be shot down with the classic, “That’s just the way the Army has always done it.” The Army needs to take a deep look at its internal incentive structures, especially with the urgent push for recruiting and retention. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the comments on r/Armyaviation’s 10 year ADSO is official post.
It took some time in our marriage for my wife and I to reconcile our very different design preferences. I love modern, sleek, and minimalist while she prefers a more sophisticated colonial-style home. We eventually fell into “rustic industrial” as a healthy blend of the two.
We needed a new TV stand to keep the kids from touching the screen. I dug around on Pinterest, and I found a design we liked, which served as a great foundation, but it was missing a lot (bill of materials, step-by-step instructions, etc.). I had fun reverse-engineering the project, and I altered a considerable amount in the process. I’m sharing it for anyone interested. I give credit to the original designers—Rose Lemke and her husband—for the inspiration.
Dimensions
Entire Unit
Height: 33 ¾”
Width: 65”
Depth: 17 ⅞”
Upper Shelf
Height: 1 ½”
Width: 65”
Depth: 17 ⅞”
Media Shelf
Height: 1 ½”
Width: 23 ¾”
Depth: 9 ¼”
Clearance:
4″ from top of media shelf to bottom of upper shelf
18 ¾” from media shelf piping to top of lower shelf
Lower Shelf
Height: 1 ½” (kinda)
Width: 18 ⅜”
Depth: 48”
Clearance:
5 ⅛” from bottom of shelf to floor
20” from top of lower shelf to bottom of media shelf
Note: Not all of these are required. I’m slowly building my tool collection knowing that my next project is building a dining room table and bench and that we’re saving for a fixer-upper, so the tools will get used anyways. Feel free to substitute other tools or get creative with what you have!
Electric sander
2X Sawhorse
Circular saw
Miter saw
Hand plane
Caulking gun
T-square
Quick square
Lumber crayon
Carpenter pencil
Carpenter pencil sharpener ($3.98)
2X 36” bar clamp
Safety glasses ($6.97)
Mechanix gloves
Instructions
Upper Shelf
Drill 3X holes for the the pegs (⌀¼”, 1”-deep hole) spaced 6″ from the ends and one centered. Note: I had to cut both ends shorter for size, so I would bring those pegs in to about 12″ from the ends.
Insert pegs, add Liquid Nails, and tap together with a rubber mallet.
Note: While I had a few pegs laying around, I also had to make some. Simply cut a ⌀¼” dowel into 2″-long pieces
Use bar clamps to hold together until dry
Cut 7X underside pieces using 6″-wide planks (17 ⅞” in length)
Drill holes, insert pegs, add Liquid Nails, screw slats, and clamp to dry
Lower Shelf
Drill 3X holes for the pegs (⌀¼”, 1”-deep hole) spaced six inches from the ends and centered
Insert pegs, add Liquid Nails, and tap together with a rubber mallet
Use bar clamps to hold together until dry (I stacked it on the top shelf and clamped to dry at the same time)
Use some scrap planks as braces to reinforce the bottom shelf and screw in
Media Shelf
Cut two slats of 6″-wide planks to size
Note: You can do whatever you need, but mine was about 2′ long to hold a Roku, Apple TV, and a Blue-ray player.
Zigzag with Liquid Nails
Screw together and let dry Note: I marked my top and bottom with a lumber crayon
Finishing
Sand with 60 grit sandpaper (very course)
Clean off with a shop brush (and a wet rag if desired)
Coat with pre-conditioner using a rag or brush
Let dry for 15 minutes
Stain with a brush
Let dry
Wipe off excess stain and apply a second coat if desired
Apply topcoat
Let dry for 4 hours
Gently sand and wipe the topcoat, then apply a second layer
Let dry for 24 hours
Piping
All piping will need to be degreased
Dilute degreaser in a bucket (see dilution chart). The degreaser does strip away some of the black material, though, so dilute appropriately based on how much you want to preserve.
Gently rub the outer surface of each piping piece with a rag and the degreaser. You’re just trying to get the gunk off, not strip away all the black coating (unless you want it off).
Allow to dry. I left in the sun in my driveway, and it took maybe 5 minutes to dry.
Assembly
Screw piping for base together.
Note from the original post: “With threaded pipe you need to keep working in a line so if you start at one point and need to tie back into that you will need a threaded union which allows you to tie two pieces together.”
I over-tightened it through the threaded union joint (narrow portion) and then unscrewed it as I screwed it into the union. It held, albeit a little looser than I would have liked, but you screw it into the top anyways, so it ends up sturdy.
Attach top shelf with the top-side down and the legs sticking up into the air
Attach the media shelf to the underside of the top shelf
Flip TV stand right-side-up (i.e. standing on legs) and attach the bottom shelf
Put a piece of paper or cardboard against the back of the power strip and punch holes to show where the mounting screws fit. Hold that against the backside of the top shelf and drill in size small screws until they’re mostly in with the head of the screw remaining. Slide the power strip on to those holes. Use a twist-tie or zip-tie to secure powerstrip cord down one of the pipe legs, hiding the cord behind the TV stand.
Situate TV atop the stand and your media players (Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, etc.) on the media shelf. Hook up all the cables. Screw pipe clamps onto the backside edge to collect the cables neatly out of sight. Attach furniture straps.
~Enjoy!~
Lessons Learned
Degreaser will take off some of the black coating. Use a less concentrated solution. I did 3:1, and that took off a decent amount, greying the black coating
I “learned” how to use pegs. I wish I would have used more throughout, but as an experiment, they worked. Now I just need to get my hands on a biscuit joiner. 😬
I didn’t think wiping the stain off was necessary, but because I put on a pre-conditioner, the excess just sat on top of the wood. I needed to wipe it off and apply a second coat.
The epoxy will bubble. I just waited for the first coat to dry then applied a second coat. I should have sanded it first and ensured I put that second coat on within four hours. I waited too long, but it still turned out alright.
Can I reuse brushes? I ended up throwing some brushes away after the stain, etc. dried on them. I talked to my dad, though, and he said to use some paint thinner.
How do I dispose of degreaser? Mine was biodegradable, so I wasn’t too worried about it, but what if I had paint thinner to get rid of? Is there a convenient way to dispose of all these chemicals?
I didn’t use enough Liquid Nails. It was my first time using it, so I was hesitant, but next time, do not use sparingly 🙂
Compare/contrast using an electric sander, a hand plane, a belt sander, and an electric plane. I used an electric sander and a hand plane, but I wasn’t happy with either.
More clamps or better clamping
Tip from Repair Shop: put painter’s tape on a piece of wood and lay that tape side on the Liquid Nails or wood glue to keep from gluing together. Now you have a brace you can clamp down to spread that pressure across the joint
I should have stained down into the cracks before assembling, but whatever. 🤷🏼♂️
The summer of 2018, I interned at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a Department of Energy (DOE) lab in Idaho Falls, Idaho (how many times can I fit “Idaho” in the same sentence?). And while it wasn’t my top choice at the time, I’m so grateful in retrospect, because it has had a substantial, lasting impact on how I view the world and how I work in a professional setting.
Fear of Better Options (FOBO)
I applied for and was offered two opportunities. One was through the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. It bypassed the lab itself and was instead the DOE bankrolling my pay. Essentially, I would be a free intern to the lab if they just placed me. The research area I was picked up for would be studying the processing of biomass.
The other internship was what appeared to be a dream opportunity. In a partnership between Virginia Tech and Germany’s Technische Universität Darmstadt, I would be interning in central Germany modeling the dust coming off of brake rotors for the automotive industry.
I’m not sure which opportunity sounded more boring, but one of them was in Germany!
I remember going for a run to clear my head (I was also training for a marathon) and make a decision. I would give my decision later that morning. After I returned, it was clear to me that I’d be going to Germany. I opted to give my dad a call after that run, though. He didn’t persuade me one way or the other (I’ve always appreciated that about him), but instead, he helped me lay out some points I had never considered. For one, I knew that going to Germany would be leaving my wife and daughter at home all summer with her parents. That was the only thing holding me back, and it certainly didn’t feel fair for me to do that to her. Ultimately, as she always has, though, she offered to let me do whatever most helped my career and even what would make me happiest.
I was so sure after my run I’d go to Germany, but after talking with my dad, I knew I wouldn’t regret staying in Idaho with my family.
The crux, though, was having two great options. It’s so easy to decide when it’s good vs. better, but in this case, both would be fantastic. That FOBO can cause analysis paralysis. The self-reflection I did on how I think through problems has stuck with me and proven a very valuable tool in future decisions.
INL
The internship itself was pretty repetitive and largely entailed the work of a scientist rather than an engineer. One silver lining is that I definitely left knowing I wanted to work as an engineer. Our goal was to characterize biomass as it came through our giant machinery and determine what moisture- and ash-levels were most efficient for processing.
Energy has also been a big passion of mine for a while. I savored the tours of nuclear facilities, nerded out over the cyber-physical security of our grid, and developed an appreciation for government-funded research.
Finding Value
Several components made the experience valuable:
Thank You Cards—Part of being an intern was that a certain percentage of my time was meant to be used for personal development rather than for my program. I even won the superlative for the intern that attended the most events (getting paid for professional development and not work? I’m all over that!). After each event, I wrote a thank you card to the presenters/speakers stating three things: (1) Gratitude for their time, (2) my background, such as university and ROTC, and (3) a request for 30 minutes of their time to ask follow-up questions. I would send them off through our internal mail system, and more often than not, they or their admin assistant would schedule a meeting. I met with team leads, directors, a vice president, and even the COO of the whole laboratory. I got to deep-dive with the lab’s most brilliant minds and ask them pointed questions about career progression. I’m still connected with most of them on LinkedIn, and I make it a point to interact with them from time to time. My favorite cards are Opie’s Paper Company (Black & White). They’ve got a great design and texture, and they work for any gender or level of professionalism.
Audiobooks—One unintended consequence of being stuck with tedious, repetitive work was the opportunity to think and listen. I am a meticulous notetaker, so I’ve always been worried about getting into audiobooks. I love podcasts, though, so I gave it a try. My first one was Zero to One by Peter Thiel. Gamechanger. I’ve never looked back. I instead adapted my notetaking to bullet points rather than direct quotes. You can see my book notes here.
Networking—I formed a lot of friendships while I was there, but I was also deliberate about it. Plenty of people clock-in and clock-out, never really interacting with people. I also knew I was an intern, so I doubted people would want to form a strong connection with such a temporary employee. I started out by cleaning the communal fridge. I signed up on the roster (which didn’t seem to be getting much use), brought in supplies, and left a funny note (Something to the effect of: “Sorry if I preemptively threw away your moldy food while cleaning the fridge. Look for your Tupperware in the sink. ~Jonny the Intern). That got me into a social circle, though, and we started having a weekly journal article discussion. In fact, I signed up to lead one on space mining!
Double-dip—I finagled college credit out of the whole experience, too! I made my case that I should be able to receive 3 credits for Advanced Economics Internship. It also just so happened that an economics adjunct faculty member from my university was in my work department. I established a great connection with him, and he helped to further foster my love for economics. It never hurts to ask.
Getting Involved—I played Ultimate frisbee during lunch, I attended Toastmasters, and I tried out anything that would fit in my schedule. It was a blast.
Deliverables—There were a few strings attached to the internship including a research paper and a poster for the annual intern presentations. You can read my paper here, and you can catch a glimpse of my poster in the header photo. I’m dang proud of that paper! These deliverables also gave me something tangible to share with potential employers. That helps sell your case when it can feel like you’re throwing a net into the ocean.
Ultimately, every experience is what you make of it. I never regret choosing to spend the summer with my wife, daughter, and in-laws. Honestly, my wife and I both forgot I had that opportunity in Germany until I wrote this. I walked away from my summer at the INL having worked extremely hard and read copious amounts of research, and I regularly use what I learned.
I’ve taken some time off due to training. Furthermore, I’ve also been trying to determine what it is I want to get from my website and what I want others to resonate with. I’ve missed publishing Sunday Shares, and I’m okay with it just being for a while. I don’t need to have it all figured out right now; I’ll just keep having fun.
PRODUCTION
Writing
I’ve got two rough draft posts waiting on a few things. One is on how I used a question to discover a path for reaching a future goal (i.e. living in Germany), and the second is on perverse incentives in the military. They’ll get published eventually. Let me know if you’re interested, and I can expedite them.
Website
Personal Site Overhaul
I’ve been diving into some favorite personal websites of others and compiling notes. I’m working on overhauling my own site. I’m sure I’ll turn it into a blog post down the road, but for now, here are my work-in-progress notes.
Book Notes—Check out my tweetstorm on using HTML5 to update some notes. Here are all the ones I’ve added to my Book Notes page:
I love how many different projects Dean is involved in. I get so excited reading about people working on physical projects, and there’s no disputing the influence Dean has had on society.
I had never made this connection before, but I absolutely value my alone time. In fact, I usually get 1.5 to 3 hours every afternoon when my girls (daughters and wife) take a nap. I relish that time. I read, write, and organize. I’m grumpy when I don’t get that solitude.
She’s gotta work on how she names her articles, but this was a great read on entrepreneurship and “taking the plunge.” It’s also where I got the video below. Thanks, Polina! 👋
It gave me chills watching it, but over those 14 minutes, I talked myself into jumping. It was a valuable exercise, and I know I’ll revisit this video when I’m headed into something scary.
The legendary Guy Raz (@guyraz) interviews the founder of Ring, Jamie Siminoff (@JamieSiminoff). It’s so refreshing to hear about a product founder instead of (no offense) just software. As a mechanical engineer, I’m obviously more infatuated with excellent product design and invention, and Jamie delivers (no pun intended)!
Learn
Concept: The Bill Gates Line
Back in 2018, Ben Thompson outlines what he dubs “The Bill Gates Line” which is the threshold defining what a platform is. I had never really taken the time to understand and differentiate what dictates a platform, but this makes a lot of sense. A connected idea (h/t @thepitchshow) is asking whether something is a product or a feature. Their investors often asked whether a platform could clone their idea quickly. If so, it’s a feature, not a product (think Snapchat vs. Instagram Stories).
Ponder
Idea: Reclaiming Father’s Day
I’ll revisit this to turn it into a full post, but I’ve never liked the limelight that comes with Father’s Day or birthdays. This year, I made it about celebrating those I am a father and husband to, not about being celebrated as a father. That totally changed my outlook, and I’ve started a new tradition for myself.
Quote
(Feel free to download and/or share)
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
I’ve recently stumbled into a new passion: vexillology—the study of flags. It’s a little odd, I know, but I’ve gotten so into it that I changed my bookmark for reddit to be r/vexillology so that it’s the first thing that I see!
My collection is minimal. Shalene gave me a Colorado flag for Christmas, and I picked up an American flag for Flag Day.
There aren’t too many flags I see myself flying outside, but here’s what’s on my list currently:
Army Flag—This and the Colorado flag will be my “daily flyers”, since there aren’t as many rules governing how to fly these versus the American flag (see U.S. Flag Code)
Bavarian Flag—I hope to fly this one during Oktoberfest season (three weeks)
German Flag—I’d probably only fly this during the World Cup or on November 9th to commemorate the anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling.
I’ve been focused on an upcoming training (SERE) that I thought was happening yesterday but I was rescheduled for another time. It’ll end up being a good thing, since I’ll now have a bunch of staff duties allowing me to get things done, but it definitely killed my Production-to-Consumption ratio this week as I focused on getting ready. Anyways, enjoy!
PRODUCTION
Website
Cleaned Up Categories—I narrowed down the post categories to Sunday Shares, Journal, Topical Essay, Leader Profile, and Business Spotlight. That should summarize well what I write.
Email Collector—I’m looking into solutions for how to effectively collect everyone’s emails to notify you weekly when I post. I’ve currently got a pop-up set, but I’d love suggestions if you’ve worked with this before.
What a cool article! I’ll have to go through SERE soonish, so this was a great article to give me some peace of mind on a hush-hush training where the mysteriousness contributes to the psychological anticipation.
Watch
I’m not sure why both of the videos this week ended up as regrettable decisions, but they made me laugh…
Song: “Mind (feat. Kate Boy)” by Slow Magic (Spotify | YouTube)
I discovered this song via the Proof Fam Faves 2018 playlist (Spotify), and I’ve come to really like Slow Magic in general. It’s exciting when one song leads you down a wormhole of a newly discovered artist!
The way Steve (@FutureJurvetson) spoke to each of his book recommendations was so elegant. I enjoyed the episode mostly for how articulate he is, and the fantastic book recommendations were a bonus. If you’re unfamiliar with him, he’s a venture capitalist and sits on the boards of SpaceX and Tesla.
Podcast: Michael Mayer – Pseudonymous Social Capital and Bottomless Coffee – [Invest Like the Best, EP.124] | Invest Like the Best (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
I get excited about physical products. Finally, someone is innovating on hardware and not just software. Don’t get me wrong—my life has been significantly improved through software. I just find it…boring as a mechanical engineer. I love that Michael Mayer chose to solder together his own scales until they were just right and then use that to fuel his business model.
If you’ve ever felt bad for being “behind” because you didn’t start a discipline “early enough” – read this book.
I get Thomas Frank’s (@TomFrankly) weekly newsletter, and this concept really stood out to me, because I consistently feel this way. One of my favorite books of recent memory was Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a World of Specialists by David Epstein. It felt so validating to realize I don’t want to be the person to be the best in the world at something. I find energy in the cross-pollination of many ideas across several disciplines.
Quote:
(Feel free to download and/or share)
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
Happy Flag Day! Coincidentally, it’s also Army Day—hooah! We took down our Colorado state flag this morning and put up our newly purchased United States flag. I did hesitate to buy an American flag, though. I thought about buying an Army flag instead, which doesn’t have nearly as stringent rules as the American flag. It’s a lot of responsibility, but I’m excited to learn more about a specific flag for a change, although U.S. Flag Code is no joke.
I’m working on a long-form piece related to white privilege, racism, and the Confederacy. I’m really excited to share it with ya’ll. After publishing this Sunday Shares, I’ll link to my Google Drive doc in case you want to provide feedback before I finalize the essay. I’ve loved doing all this research to form my own opinions.
CONSUMPTION
Read
Tweet:
Children should be raised the same way muscles are built:
Expose them to the largest setbacks they can recover from.
I’ve found that people who’ve only “won” growing up are quite fragile and have a disproportionate fear of failure.
I actually found this last week after going down the vexillology wormhole. I just searched Spotify for the word, wondering if anyone had done music related to it (I honestly don’t know what I expected to find…), and I happened across Deadmau5!
Podcast: This week on Shark Tank – Mark Cuban joins to talk UBI | Yang Speaks (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Andrew Yang—former presidential candidate and founder of Humanity Forward—interviews Mark Cuban, and they discuss how they would change the structure of government and voting as well as how people interact with the government.
Learn
Concept: Dutch Baby Pancakes
Shalene calls them German pancakes, which didn’t sound right—plus, I had never had them in Germany. I heard them called Dutch Babies when I first had them. After a quick Google search, it turns out that all of those names are correct, however, it’s definitely an American dish (Wikipedia). By the way, what is it with our habit of naming things after other ethnicities, but then it’s truly an American concoction?
It represents the spectrum of acceptable political views at any given time. I had never heard of this until someone mentioned it in a tweet, but it seems extremely relevant given the political discourse happening over the fast-paced social media platforms these days.
Joseph Overton was the director of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and this term was coined after he died.
Guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren. This week, I’ve been super into vexillology—the study of flags! I’m not even that into historical flags. I mostly love the designs. In fact, I’ve been lurking on r/vexillology and r/logodesign for some time now, and they’re still my favorite subreddits.
Production
Drawing
Lightsabers
I needed to get back to drawing. In fact, I’ve been wanting, craving, and toiling with getting back into drawing for years now, but the gap between where I’m at and where I want to be is so large, it’s discouraged me. I thought this would be a fun way to incorporate some of my recent interests (I’ve been watching Clone Wars and Rebels with my daughter and playing the mobile Heroes game). So I finally got around to sketching again and drew up some lightsabers. I love how personal they are and how they represent the user. It ties in well with this week’s focus on symbols and good design 🙂
Henderson Family Flag
I did some flag designs based on my family crest. I finished four design ideas, and I’ll throw up 5-8 this week. I’m also working on my wife’s maiden name, too, although their crest has less symbols to work with 😬
Website
Book Notes
I spent some time adding books to my Book Notes page, but there’s something buggy going on with the formatting. I’ll have to revisit these, because any new additions end up crashing the page.
I was listening to a podcast on what a world flag would look like. Apparently, there’s already such a thing! I’ve also been doing some brainstorming all week on what flags I would design, and when considering an Earth flag, the two designs that I had in my head are very similar to James W. Cadle’s “Flag of Earth” (so good!) and u/thefrek’s design (or even more designs). Another that is great would be Philip Kanellopoulos’s “Abstract Earth Flag”. If you’re interested in more conversation about it, check out this Quora post.
Roman Mars, the host of the 99% Invisible podcast, knocks this one out of the park. He gives his TED talk on his passion for the often forgotten city flags.
The whole album is great, and I first discovered @killparis through @ToastDance. I’ve been casually loving his jams ever since, but I’ve made a concerted effort to tune in this week.
Podcast: Vexillology (FLAGS) with E. Tory Laitila | Ologies with Alie Ward (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
This was a great dive into my obsession with flags this week. As a side note, her podcast dives into different fields of study. This was an off-the-wall episode that brought a lot of fun ideas up.
I remember discussing this question briefly in my econ class when the health econ professor was our substitute. It’s obviously relevant to today, and I think Difference Wiki has a lot yet to be explored! 🤨
Ponder
Quote:
(Feel free to download and/or share)
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
What an amazing week for space! I’ll get there, but be forewarned: this post is media-heavy. 😬
Production
Another week focused on training, but I have done some more drawing. Excited to post to DeviantArt soon! I’ve been working on a few essays to share with you, too. Soon. I promise!
I’ve been reading more of Joe’s articles, and he’s such a fantastic writer. He articulates himself so clearly and has, in my opinion, very original ideas. I wish I could be friends with the guy. Maybe I’ll randomly bump into him in Colorado 🤷🏼♂️
Video: Launch Recap: NASA and SpaceX fly Astronauts to the Space Station | NASA (YouTube)
Holy Hannah. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the SpaceX launch, we’ve gotta work on your priorities. Shalene and I both got teary-eyed watching. What an incredible experience!
My end-game is astronaut. A friend asked this weekend what my pre-launch song, during launch, and post-launch songs would be. Well here you have it:
Pre-launch: “The Avengers ” by Alan Silvestri (Spotify | YouTube)
Tony Stark has always been my inspiration, and there’s nothing like the Iron Man and Avengers soundtracks to get me amped. I listen to three superhero soundtrack songs before big events like PT tests or when I interviewed for Blue Origin. I love the top YouTube comment—“Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for our national anthem”.
Ascent: “Sonne” by Rammstein (Spotify | YouTube) It does feel slightly sacreligious to be playing a German song as an American astronaut, but let’s chalk it up to cultural exchange. Sonne is the German word for “sun,” and if you look at the translation, it’s very relevant. I would’ve picked this song even if it wasn’t about our star, though. It’s one of the songs that I love working out to. Also, fair warning, the music video is really peculiar in true Rammstein fashion.
It’s not a perfect fit, but I can’t go wrong with KP. A close second was “This is How We Do,” but that felt too…selfish for a moment I’d be sharing with the rest of the world. “Firework” is more of a celebratory song, and it brings up a lot of old memories. I could’ve gone with something more spot-on like “E.T.” or something with a more on-the-point message like “Daisies” or “Rise,” but this one fit for reasons I can’t articulate other than it feeling right.
Ben and David knock another out of the park. They go into amazing detail on how SpaceX has made it through its ups and downs and what their future business model will look like.
This week I finally started flight school! Looking forward to getting going. It went zero-to-sixty in no time at all! 😅
I came across the idea of a “production vs. consumption ratio” this week. While I’m not entirely sure production should be larger than consumption, I think that tying consumption to production is a necessary framework so that action is affiliated with learning. So I want to try emphasizing production each week. It’s a new idea to me, so cut me some slack, but from now on, I want to focus on what I’ve made to share with you each week.
Production
Website
I finally made my website secure! It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. Note: This Sunday Shares is rolling out on Monday because the website was giving me grief…
My Book Notes page is up and running again after some issues. I’ve fixed the page and added a new book to it (mentioned below).
This article is about Don Lind, a Latter-day Saint astronaut, speaking about his experience. It’s sprinkled with spirituality, but his journey is truly incredible. For one, he was on the next Apollo mission to the moon before NASA canceled it. Man, can you even imagine? Wild.
Book: Inside the President’s Helicopter by LTC Gene T. Boyer and Jackie Boor
This is one of the most interesting books I’ve read lately. Back when the Army and the Marines shared the duty of flying for the President, pilot LTC Gene Boyer served under several administrations (LBJ, Nixon, and Ford). It was both a motivating book as a flight school student and a unique take on former presidents. Visit my Book Notes page for more details and quotes.
Watch
Video: How Easy Is It To Program a KAISU Welding Robot? (YouTube)
My buddy’s the handsome blonde speaking throughout the video 😘 Their company is rad! They specialize in robots, but they also whipped up a new ventilator unaffected by supply chain issues on short notice.
Video: SpaceX Returns Americans to the ISS on Wednesday!
Sure, we’ve had Americans traveling to and from the International Space Station regularly since the Space Shuttle retired, but the reason this is a big deal is that we’ve been buying seats on the Russian Soyuz rocket. An American company—SpaceX—is flying private astronauts to the ISS on Wednesday, and you should tune in! This is going to be truly amazing. Watch it live on Wednesday on SpaceX’s launch site (no pun intended) at 4:33 PM Eastern.
Listen
I’ve expanded a bit to broaden my taste in music. I’m looking to feature a new artist each week so that I go searching for new music each week rather than just waiting for my favorite artists to release new songs.
Every once in awhile, I’ll come across a song that I can listen to on repeat for seemingly forever. I’m then able to add it to my Mindless Study playlist, which is unique in that I normally can’t study to words with lyrics. After a while, though, certain songs fade into the background. This one’s now on that list, and I’ve been loving it!
Per Thomas Frank’s (@TomFrankly) recommendation, I finally checked out I See Stars. They didn’t disappoint! I love electronic-y metal and rock (Breathe Carolina, for example), so this fits into my routine music selection nicely. Their album, Treehouse (Spotify), is what I’ve been enjoying.
This is one of the most insightful, data-driven discussions on how to open the economy I’ve heard. They utilize cell phone data and in-store observations to categorize both industries and specific businesses based on the likelihood of spreading the virus.
Tool
I came across Bookcision through an article by The Digital Reader. I was looking for a way to export my Kindle notes to archive in Evernote and post to the Book Notes page on my site. It highlights how terrible Amazon is at UI/UX.
Why on earth does Amazon not put more effort into Goodreads?
This wasn’t initially an issue for me, but I recently listened to Maria Popova’s interview with Tim Ferriss where she laments:
Honestly, I feel that problem has not been solved at all in any kind of practical way. So, the way that I do it is basically a bunch of hacks using existing technologies. Perhaps, I’m just unaware, but I don’t think there’s anybody designing tools today for people who do serious heavy reading. There just isn’t anything that I know.
So, what I do is I highlight in the Kindle app in the iPad, and then Amazon has this function that you can, basically, see your Kindle notes and highlights on the desktop or on your computer. I go to those. I copy them from that page, and I paste them into an Evernote file to have all of my notes in a specific book in one place.
Also, the formatting is kind of shitty on the Kindle notes on the desktop where you can see all your notes. So, if you copy them, they paste them to Evernote with this really weird formatting. So, it tabulates each next notes indented to the right. So, it’s cascading, the long cascading thing that shifts more and more to the right of the page and move down.
Ponder
Idea: Will we move away from a salary tied to cost of living, now that so many companies are going remote?
As companies adopt “work from anywhere” policies, local governments should compete for knowledge workers to move to their city.
A large number of people can now choose where there they want to live.
Cities should create marketing campaigns & incentives to earn their business.
Greetings, loved ones. I’m back bringing you my favorite finds from recent memory. Feel free to let me know what you think. Also, if you have ideas on how I could tweak this to be more beneficial, efficient, etc., share with me!
A brief article that brings some non-obvious approaches to getting your office space (or wherever you’re working these days) organized. My two favorite concepts shared:
Establish a common file naming convention such as DATE_PROJECT_FILENAME. Then, you can always find what you’re looking for. I see this pairing perfectly with the PARA Method. I’ve experimented with date formats, and I don’t love the YYYY-MM-DD format, because it isn’t obvious to everyone what order it’s in whereas the military format (see post’s title: 17MAY2020) always works, but it doesn’t sort alphabetically.
Organize your desk according to natural workflow tendencies. We read left to right, so put inbound items on the left, work in the middle, and outbound on the right. It brought the GTD Method to mind, establishing a personal file inbox.
This is a brilliant series by WIRED on YouTube featuring experts in their field explaining a concept—in this case, gravity—to people of varying understanding. It gets more and more fascinating the higher up they get. In contrast, it also highlights how much they actually know, breaking down complex topics enough for children to grasp the basic concept.
Obviously I will always promote my girl, KP, over anything else. Enjoy this fantastic, acoustic-heavy song that has some classic Katy to it but is still a fun, new jam. The music video looks super hipster, and I still can’t spell “daisies” correctly on the first try.
This is just a fun playlist that I’ve got in my study folder. No lyrics and a great rhythm, I’ve added this one to my rotation for when I need to be in the zone.
Podcast: 418. What Will College Look Like in the Fall (and Beyond)? | Freakonomics Radio (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
This episode has the presidents of Arizona State University, Boston University, and American University speaking to how they’re handling the autumn semester amid COVID-19. They address several topics like expanding housing in a crowded city, price tiers for online vs. in-person courses, and how to address 25% of your student body being international students possibly not returning to campus.
Act
One of my favorite subreddits is /r/udemyfreebies. They post whenever Udemy has a deal for a free course. It reminds me of my buddy who’s mom had a rule that she could never buy anything full-price at Hobby Lobby, because everything is always 50% off at some point. Same idea with Steam. Why buy anything full-price when it seems like everything is always on sale?
Anyways, give them a follow. I’ve picked up a bunch of courses (and haven’t used them because I wasn’t invested, but that’s an entirely different topic…), but they’re there for when I want them!
I started iOS App Development For Beginners – No Swift Skill Required for a business idea with my brother-in-law until we opted to focus attention elsewhere until we got to the point where we actually needed the app (I’ll share more on that another time, I’m sure), and the quality was fantastic.
Learn
Concept: Natural Light
I’ve been doing some reading on why natural light is so important. It’s one of those things I could sense was important but didn’t have anything concrete to back my hunch up.
Two recent pivots have had me thinking more about this: a change in jobs and moving to a new house.
With regard to the job, I went from a narrow part of a building connected to the main structure through sky bridges. Our area was only seven cubicles wide, and the whole building was floor-to-ceiling windows. I absolutely took that for granted. I moved from that more modern, naturally lit building to an older, beige-colored office without windows. I never paid it much mind, but now the difference is obvious.
We also recently moved from a ground-floor apartment to a townhome. The apartment had blinds that made it annoying to open and shut regularly, and all our windows pointed toward another apartment building, so direct sunlight was very limited. Contrast that to our new townhome where we’ve got massive windows on the ground level, and my study desk sits right next to a window. It’s been a gamechanger.
My biggest take-away from the article is that fluorescents flicker imperceptibly, and that strains our eyes without even knowing it!
Ponder
Idea: 4 Most Essential Skills
I’m a huge fan of David Perell. Recently, he tweeted:
A message to my future children: “Learn to sell. Learn to write. Learn to speak. Learn to code.”
That got me thinking. While you could certainly be successful with the ability to code, I think you could swap that for leadership and have a much more adaptable skillset:
I would replace “code” with “lead”. I’m on a great trajectory and anticipate not having to code. Granted, it certainly wouldn’t hurt, and I can do *some*, but I don’t think it’s necessary like the others https://t.co/EL16CPFhkB
All my life I have dreamed that by my work mankind would at least be advanced a little.
I came across this quote in Washington’s Museum of Flight. I was designing a rocket for my senior design project at the time and reading Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. It was such an incredible museum that filled me with awe and emotion as I walked through the history of rocketry while quite literally devoting a majority of my final year in college applying the principles discovered by these titans. For further reading, the “founding fathers” of rocketry are widely considered to be Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (Russia/USSR), Hermann Oberth (Germany), Robert Esnault-Pelterie (France), and Robert Goddard (USA).
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
I’m still playing around with formatting, so feel free to provide feedback, but I’m experimenting with adding a theme to some newsletters. This week, I focused a bit more on disinformation. Many of the things below all kind revolve around that topic. Hope you enjoy~
I stumbled into this article, but it really resonated with me. I left Facebook because of politics and wasting time and, although I occasionally find myself involved in both of those on Twitter, it’s at least more of what I’m looking to engage with for either insightful discussion or to broaden my perspective.
The author here highlights how spreading wrong information is bearing false witness. It was eye-opening to see how prevalent this issue is, and he takes an exceptionally eloquent approach to break the issue down. I’m jealous of his writing (and formatting)!
This hilarious video by JP Spears will serve as a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek counter to Elon Musk’s worldview shared in the podcast below.
Listen
Podcast: Renée DiResta: Information Warfare | North Star Podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
Ms. DiResta researches online propaganda and even consulted the Senate on the Russian tampering with the election. One of the most interesting points is that “common knowledge” isn’t argued for regularly. No one wakes up and makes it their daily mission to say the earth is round or that we should get vaccinated. And yet, that’s exactly the approach from flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers. It is their mission, and she details losing out on a California bill specifically because of how organized an anti-vaccination campaign was.
Podcast: Joe Rogan Experience #1470 – Elon Musk | The Joe Rogan Experience (Apple Podcasts | YouTube)
As a self-proclaimed “Musketeer,” I’ll fully admit that I idolize the guy. What he has accomplished is nothing short of astounding. That being said, I don’t always agree with him. I can’t think of a single futurist that isn’t also a contrarian. He recently shared that Tesla is suing the county government for imposing COVID-19 restrictions, and they may leave California entirely.
While I am a proponent of shelter-in-place, he makes an interesting point about data reporting for hospitals. Everything is better with economics, right, so we’ve got to look at incentives. When suburban and rural hospitals across the country are having to furlough staff due to diminished capacity, there is a financial incentive to inflate COVID-19 deaths for government funding. Elon specifically refers to the death of someone with COVID-like symptoms but dies of other conditions. He states that such instances are getting reported as coronavirus deaths, which they would of course not be.
Act
My biggest take with COVID-19 is that even with the economy reopening, we should all be wearing masks. My understanding is that wearing a mask doesn’t stop the wearer from getting sick, but it does prevent others from getting sick if you’re carrying it. Therefore, the most vulnerable population isn’t protected by wearing a mask in public; it’s everyone else that needs to be wearing a mask for them.
And what’s the big deal? It’s a little inconvenient, but it could have a significant impact. Heck, it’d be worth it if it had any reasonable impact, so let’s do it. I’m excited about the culture change in the US related to germs. Handshakes are out, and I will shame you for not washing your hands after using the bathroom.
Ponder
Quote: Kevin Kelly
Extraordinary claims should require extraordinary evidence to be believed.
WEBSITE UPDATES
Updated podcast page—Added North Star
Fixing book notes page—HTML is breaking the builder
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
Greetings from down South! We moved last weekend on short notice, so I missed a few posts, but I’m back to share a few things I’ve been especially intrigued by.
Read
Article: IT’S TIME TO BUILD by Marc Andreesen
I really enjoyed this article on reevaluating America in response to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. It’s a futuristic and imaginative approach to rebuilding. The article invokes the disaster response philosophy of “build back better.”
A favorite excerpt:
I expect this essay to be the target of criticism. Here’s a modest proposal to my critics. Instead of attacking my ideas of what to build, conceive your own! What do you think we should build? There’s an excellent chance I’ll agree with you.
Watch
Video: Woodturning – A Coffee Mug
This is a fun woodworking video on using a bunch of different methods to create a coffee mug. It’s also very therapeutic watching something so intricate being crafted from start to finish.
Video: Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly: Be passionate. Be courageous. Be your best.
A mix of politics, astronaut, and inspirational. I loved hearing Gabby and Mark lead us through their experience.
Listen
I’ve been passively interested in urban planning and architecture for quite some time. I started to dig up some podcasts on how we think about cities. Here are some interesting listens, and please share some resources with me if you have any favorites!
Podcast: American Cities in the Age of COVID-19, with Dr. Edward Glaeser | Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw (Apple Podcasts)
An intellectual discussion on the politics of cities and COVID-19 cash handouts.
Disclaimer—There are plenty of things I don’t agree with Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) on, but his opinions are well thought out, and I appreciate the discussions and guests on his podcasts even if they just better define my stance on issues.
Podcast: Alex Danco: Amazon, Cities, and Disruption | North Star Podcast (Apple Podcasts)
I love this discussion on how data giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple fit into cities and what that looks like from a privacy standpoint.
Podcast: Ryan Singer: Design and Consciousness | North Star Podcast (Apple Podcasts)
As the head of Project Strategy at Basecamp, Ryan has no formal training. He discusses how software as a field is so new that he draws from architecture for great design and aesthetics.
Act
I need some work on John Lee Dumas’s “LBNI—learning but never implementing” concept. I consume so much content (specifically audio), but do I ever act on it? Well, sometimes.
Generally speaking, I pull nuggets from everything I consume, and at the very least, it helps me form and refine opinions about the world, but there are so many things that fall by the wayside and never get implemented.
Granted, sometimes that’s deliberate. Meditation and cold showers are two things I have said no to after giving them a shot. I’m sure I’ll revisit them down the road sometime, but for now, I’m not interested in incorporating them.
Learn
Partnerships: NASA announces return-to-moon contract winners (LinkedIn)
NASA’s long-awaited contracts for missions to get us back to the moon have finally arrived! This is a big win for the future of space. As a Lockheed Employee, I am thrilled at the National Team partnership and excited to cheer on peers in the aerospace industry.
Ponder
Idea: Is a degree the only way to be “qualified”?
We consider doctors someone who goes through medical school and residency and is formally trained on how to perform their profession. Does the same apply to every career field? Certainly not, but what about those where formal training is mandated by society, government, etc.?
Can you be an economist without formal training? Can you be an engineer without an engineering license? Can you be an accountant without your CPA?
I tend to frown on those that consider themselves engineers when they don’t have a degree in engineering, but then you get people like Adam Savage or Elon Musk who have so much institutional knowledge and on-the-job training and self-taught skills that does it really matter that they don’t have a degree?
I definitely want a surgeon or someone overseeing the construction of a bridge to have a degree, but then again, if safety is the concern, should Elon Musk be running companies that create autopilot vehicles or rocketships?
So then is it just that they need to be surrounded by the right people? I wouldn’t call the CEO of Microsoft—a company known for its software—a software engineer, but I would call the President of the United States—a political entity—a politician. On the flip side, I would call them both executives. So then it can’t just be the position that they hold.
I’ll probably expand this idea into a short essay to elaborate more. I’d love feedback on my line of thought.
Quote: Henry van Dyke
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. I am particularly interested in how to share this newsletter with you regularly. I post it to Twitter and LinkedIn. Would you rather receive it as an email? Do I need to set up an RSS subscription? Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
I’ve been thinking a lot about graduating seniors. Maybe it’s my love of economics or even my desire to mentor others, but I’ve been working with a lot of college students to find internships/jobs at my company. I’ve reviewed a bunch of résumés, and I’ve recommended plenty of candidates through my company’s referral portal.
I don’t remember where I read it, but years ago, I heard that there was an influx of master’s degrees as the 2008 financial crisis prompted people to stay at or return to school in lieu of finding jobs that weren’t available. This COVID-19 situation could be eerily similar.
One suggestion I had for those I’ve been talking to is for a summer project. If you’re going home for the summer to stay with your parents rent-free, then you’ve already got a leg up. The idea is to work backward from the job you want. I wanted to work for a company like SpaceX or Blue Origin on the cutting edge of rocketry. I went to a small state school that didn’t have an aerospace program, so working backward from my dream job, I decided to design a high-powered rocket for senior design to put me on the map. If my degree or internships wouldn’t catch their eye, my design project would have to be grand enough to do so.
So, those college students that can’t find an internship, I would suggest the following:
Identify your dream job
Backwards-plan how to get there, identifying the skills that would be necessary to get hired
Identify a project that interests you, builds the required skills for the job that you want, and that you can (and will) knock out over the summer
For example, if I wanted to build rockets in the aerospace industry, I might pinpoint the following skills and translate them into actions for a project:
Design for assembly/ design for manufacturing ➔ Build a CAD model and 3D-print it using your university’s lab. Share your CAD files on Thingiverse or GrabCAD
Attention to detail; technical writing ➔ Document everything. It will not only help you develop the ability to communicate more precisely (email chains are an unfortunate workplace reality), but you will also be able to extrapolate lessons learned from the data you track. Should you do this project within the framework of a senior design course or a university club, you now also have some documentation to pass onto those who come after you. My team’s legwork paved the way for a successful team the next year. As an added bonus, you now have a deliverable to share with potential employers at career fairs or during the interview process.
Coding in C# ➔ Code an Arduino to track the altitude, speed, and acceleration of your rocket and then post-process that information to provide location and trajectory data.
Material/structural testing ➔ 3D-print several designs and construct a test for your component/assembly and/or use SolidWorks simulations to prove your designs.
Planning ➔ Use Microsoft Project or Excel to develop a Gantt chart, updating regularly with projected vs. actual work. This not only demonstrates some of the business skills a company is looking for, but it also helps you determine how you work on tasks and better project the time it will take you to complete them.
Interpersonal relationships and accountability to your work ➔ Establish a mentor-mentee relationship with a professor, family friend, etc. and report weekly on your accomplishments. If the individual has a technical background, he/she may be able to provide you some feedback to steer your design. If your mentor lacks a technical background, this will further refine your ability to communicate technical information to a layperson.
Take your career into your own hands. These are uncertain times for sure, but there are still plenty of things you can be doing to ensure your success.
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.
Guten tag! Another week down, and I’m slowly refining this newsletter. I’d love feedback on the format and content (e.g. did I go a little hyperlink-crazy?). Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).
I’ve been rereading Tony’s article. There are a lot of these tricks I’ve implemented, but I’m working on adding a few more, and it’s always worth revisiting every year or so. The author provides very actionable advice. I’ve added it to my Articles page.
Here’s a favorite excerpt:
The problem with most productivity systems is that they break. As a result, a lot of productivity nuts spend a lot of their time creating new productivity systems over and over again. This, obviously, is not productive.
For that reason, where possible, I suggest that you choose messy systems over rigid systems. The ultimate messy system that I know you’re all familiar with is the paper notebook. A paper notebook gives you incredible flexibility: you can take notes however you want, write drafts, sketch outlines, draw pictures, write to-do lists, etc. A to-do list app just doesn’t allow for that.
The downside to paper notebooks is that it’s impossible (or at least very hard) to find an old note.
Watch
Video: How Rwanda Built a Drone Delivery Service
Truly impressive and inspirational engineering, Zipline is a company that uses autonomous drones to parachute-drop medical supplies to rural or otherwise inaccessible (e.g. flooding) areas. This is a company that gets me excited to be an engineer!
Listen
Songs: “Carefree (feat. LeyeT)” and “Stuck on You (feat. Phil Good)” and “Can’t Forget You” by RAC
Both “Carefree” (Spotify, YouTube) and “Stuck on You” (Spotify, YouTube) were both released in the path month or so, and I’ve been jammin’ ever since. They’re both lots of fun, and we can expect a new album from RAC titled BOY on 8 May 2020.
Podcast: Office Ladies
I didn’t think I’d like this as much as I do! Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) host Office Ladies (Apple Podcasts, Spotify). They watch each episode of The Office on their own, take lots of notes, call fellow castmates or crew, and then they break down the show episode by episode. It’s so much fun for fans. It makes for easy listening while working, even when words can sometimes be distracting. Excellent job, ladies!
Act
In a recent podcast I listened to, Jason Fried (founder of Basecamp) talks about how his company is Facebook-free. I love it! I’ve been off of Facebook and Instagram for a long while now, and I haven’t looked back. The last of the Facebook apps I’m on is WhatsApp, but I only use that to text friends internationally.
I recently picked up Signal (signal.org), so I plan on switching over to that where possible—it’s even Edward Snowden-endorsed! I do need to find some solutions for those international contacts, but I just don’t trust Facebook apps on my phone or with my data.
The next companies with targets on their backs are Google and Amazon. While I’ll never truly eliminate either, I can mitigate the information they collect from me and sell off. Seriously, even writing that makes me cringe. How are we okay with those business models?!
Learn
Concept: Pfand
Sorry for German words two weeks in a row, but I’ve thought about this concept for a long time. In fact, a friend and I pitched ideas for a business related to that concept back in college.
Anyways, the idea behind Pfand is that all bottled products charge you, say, an extra 0.25€. You overpay for your bottle, and then when you return the bottle, you’re refunded that change. It encourages people to recycle. A side benefit is also mobilizing the homeless to recycle in exchange for the Pfand people have deposited on those bottles.
It looks like a vending machine that sucks in your bottle on a conveyer belt, spins it around, scans the barcode, and takes it in. They’re in grocery stores, among other places. Here’s a short video if you want to see it in action: Lidl Pfandautomat.
Ponder
Quote: G.K. Chesterton
I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it.
I recently tore through Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You to Be Rich. In it, other than the nitty-gritty details about how to get your finances in order (easily the best $8 I’ve ever spent), the main takeaway is to find the 85% solution to your problems. Essentially, overcome analysis paralysis through settling for a slightly less-than-perfect answer, but one that saves you a significant amount of time, effort, and anxiety.
This is applicable in so many domains!
One example I’ve applied is through applying Naval Ravikant’s advice on quitting books. He advocates for a simple approach: You don’t get worked up about skimming and quitting a blog post once you get the relevant information, so treat books the same way. There isn’t time to read every book, so you need to concentrate on the best books. For more on this, check out Johnny Uzan’s “Everything I Knew About Reading Was Wrong.”
Another strategy is for promoting change on a macro level. In The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss posits the question about sustainable change. Which is easier—one person living vegetarian the rest of their life or several friends all doing one vegetarian day per week? Sure, we’d significantly cut back on greenhouse gases from the industrial farm industry if we would all just go all-in on a vegetarian lifestyle, but is that really sustainable? I don’t think so.
Back to finance. We recently found ourselves in the exact situation Ramit discusses: most people won’t make a move toward financial security because they’re paralyzed with finding the best solution. I’m sure we could have found a much better fund for our kids’ 529s and my wife’s Roth IRA, but we went from not having anything in place to a very reasonable option, capitalizing early on that compound interest. It reminds me of Peter Thiel’s book, Zero to One. It’s much harder to go from nothing to something than it is to iterate on an 85% solution. By getting investment accounts started, I’ve taken the stress off of not saving for our futures. Now, when I find some time, I can log back in and play around with the funds our accounts invest in. Or not! Anything is better than nothing, and our money will continue to grow.
This is a hard lesson for perfectionists like my wife and I. That last 15%, though, is exponentially more difficult. I leave you with an expression a military instructor used frequently: “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
Welcome! I’m excited to be sharing new finds with you this week. Please share feedback with me on what you enjoyed the most. I’m especially interested in how you find the format (i.e. sections). Comment below or reach out via Twitter: @jonnymhenderson.
Read
Article: P.A.R.A. I’ve been using PARA for some time ow. It’s a fantastic system for organizing your digital (and physical) files across all the platforms you use (i.e. platform-agnostic). I’ve listed it on my Articles page as a must-read, and it truly has helped me always be able to find the file I’m looking for.
Watch
Video: Eva’s Cooking Show—Episode 1: Pancakes
Shameless self-promotion here, but a friend shared a video of a toddler cooking and asked that I send one of our daughter. We had a ton of fun making it, and it made for a great quarantine bonding activity 🙂You can watch it on YouTube or below:
Side note—I found the YouTube Audio Library for the background music, which is free (public domain) and creative commons licenses. Such a handy resource
Listen
Song: “Ode to the Mets” by The Strokes
Their new 2020 album, The New Abnormal, is a fun listen. I have never actively listened to them other than “Reptilia”, which I loved from Guitar Hero, but this one is sweet jam (maybe strawberry?). Listen on Spotify or YouTube.
Podcast: North Star Podcast
In my last newsletter, I shared how I’ve been really enjoying getting to know David Perell better through his work. I listened to his podcast this week, and really enjoyed several of the guests he had on. Here are some episodes to get started with:
Austen Allred: The Future of Education—Austen (@austen) founded Lamda School, a free coding education that then gets 17% of your salary (if you make more than $50k) for two years to earn back their costs. Many of their alumni have gone from minimum wage to six-figures. It’s a fascinating look at turning such an old system upside down.
Jeff Morris Jr.: Building a flexible mindset—Jeff (@jmj) is someone I’ve been following for a while now, and this episode is fantastic. He previously worked at Tinder and Lamda School. I loved his story about writing letters as a kid to famous people and getting responses!
Do
Tool: Todoist
I’ve picked up Todoist again for use as a reoccurring daily checklist. I’ve never been great with checking a digital task management system (I tried it for homework in college), but the reoccurring tasks paired with badge notifications have helped. It’s still a work-in-progress, but I love the natural language where you can type “daily” or “every morning” and it will set the repeat schedule. It’s free for personal use.
Learn
History: Reinheitsgebot
There’s a very old German law, Reinheitsgebot (“purity order”), governing the ingredients and pricing of beer that dates back to 1516. “The basic law now declares that only malted grains, hops, water and yeast are permitted.” Essentially the government determined the quality of what would pass for German ber. Here’s a fun, quick overview.
There’s also a brewery in China founded by Germans in 1903 that “is China’s second largest brewery, with about 15% of domestic market share,” adheres to this law, and it’s now publically traded. Pretty rad.
Ponder
Quote: John W. Gardner
Some people may have greatness thrust upon them. Very few people have excellence thrust upon them. They achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly, by “doin’ what comes naturally”; and they don’t stumble into it in the course of amusing themselves. All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.
I was skeptical at first, not having really refined how I use Evernote yet, but the Evernote Web Clipper has proven to be a powerful tool. I take screenshots all the time, and this perfectly captures full webpages! I combined this with an Evernote folder titled “*Inbox📥” (the asterisk just puts it at the top of the list)from the popular Getting Things Doner® system, and now, it drops it all into a folder for processing at a later date 🙂
Person: David Perell
I’ve been following David Perell on Twitter (@david_perell) for some time now, and he shares a lot on writing and developing an audience. One audacious claim that’s got me thinking quite a bit was when he tweeted, “My Twitter account is more valuable than my college diploma.” I’ve been trying to write daily now, and it has made me much happier to be doing something for myself that is both creative and productive.
And now, to combine this with my first share, here’s an Evernote Web Clip of David’s 30 March 2020 newsletter.
Company: Precious Plastic
I stumbled onto Precious Plastic while looking for ways to do-it-yourself recycle at home with regular, household consumables like plastic bottles and tin cans.
They’re an open-source movement to get people shredding plastics, extruding, and selling (if they want). I’d love to get my hands on some of the machines. They’re fairly pricey for a hobbyist, but certainly affordable considering their capacity. There’s also such a strong community committed to making it happen, from business support to troubleshooting.
They also share the plans to let you build your own machines rather than purchasing their kits.
Music: “Embrace” by PNAU
I don’t know what it is about this song, but it just gets me going. Check it out on Spotify or Youtube.
Productivity Tip: Twitter Lists
I culled those I follow on Twitter down to just 6:
This was in an effort to (1) curate my newsfeed with higher-quality content and (2) spend less time on Twitter. And it works! I’ve largely read everything by those people after 5-10 mins of scrolling.
To keep track of other’s I’m more passively interested in following, I added them to topical lists. You can view some lists I’ve made here.
As a planner, I am always focused on what the next step is. In fact, it makes living in the present pretty difficult. I’m itching to create something—specifically a business. One of my 2020 resolutions is to create an additional revenue stream this year. It’s ambitious, but I hope it will temporarily satisfy the craving since I have so much going on right now.
I also feel “behind,” because I’m 27—3 years away from 30. Silly, I know, but that’s kind of the expectation, right? In the age of the internet, 20-year olds can “make it.” It’s so prevalent that Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, coined the term “hustle porn” and actively fights against it. In fact, with all the press billionaire presidential candidates have been receiving, I fell asleep last night thinking about how I will make my fortune. I can get hyperfocused on financial success sometimes and lose perspective.
I always have to remind myself to slow down and that I’m on a very deliberate and rewarding career path. My near-term plan is to complete Army flight school for Black Hawks (1-1.5 years to complete) and then work on a master’s degree (3 years to complete). I’m looking at one or both of the following:
My company will pay for the degree, and I’ll only owe them one year after completion (not that I’m specifically looking to leave). That means, I’m open to other opportunities in 5 years (age 32). It’s a great path, and, although it feels a bit slow, I feel like it will line me up for a better spot. In fact, I think about this all the time:
Age when they became billionaires:
Mark Zuckerberg: 23 Bill Gates: 31 Tiger Woods: 33 Jack Dorsey: 35 Jeff Bezos: 35 J.K. Rowling: 38 Mark Cuban: 40 Elon Musk: 41 Richard Branson: 41 Sheryl Sandberg: 44 Oprah Winfrey: 49 Michael Jordan: 51 George Lucas: 52 Warren Buffett: 56
I also think about all the time I have outside of work to develop myself. Granted, a lot of that time doesn’t belong to me—I have a family. I absolutely owe them time, and I have to remind myself that (1) my peers aren’t developing an additional career path in parallel (i.e. military), and (2) most of them don’t even use that free time to “get ahead”. They enjoy themselves.
I’m certainly not behind, but I do have to deliberately slow down and remind myself to live life. That, I think, is my spouse’s greatest superpower. She gives me perspective. Until then, I need to focus on being the best I can be in my current roles.
What follows is a compilation of all the books I read or listened to last year. I’ve only included subtitles where necessary for clarification. You can also find me on GoodReads at here:
5-Stars Loved it
Non-Fiction
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Engineering Jobology 101 by Eric Wardell
Own the Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus
Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher
Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey
The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang
Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss
The Perfectionists by Simon Winchester
Skunk Works by Ben Rich
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Achtung Baby by Sara Zaske
Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage
Call Sign Chaos by Jim Mattis
Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The Department of Mad Scientists by Michael Belfiore
Fiction
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Delta-V by Daniel Suarez
The Road to Vengeance by Judson Roberts
Sea of Swords by R.A. Salvatore
4-Stars Liked it
Non-Fiction
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang
Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
The Reinventors by Jason Jennings
Make Your Bed by William McRaven
The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen
Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump
She Comes First by Ian Kerner
Year of No Sugar by Eve Schaub
Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D by David Kushner
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
Loonshots by Safi Bahcall
Fiction
The Spine of the World by R.A. Salvatore
Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter by Kelly Thompson
Mockingbird, Vol. 1: I Can Explain by Chelsea Cain
Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons by Patrick Rothfuss
3-Stars It was okay
Non-Fiction
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
He Comes Next by Ian Kerner
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie
Fiction
Use of Force by Brad Thor
Deadpool: Back in Black by Cullen Bunn
Mockingbird, Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda by Chelsea Cain
2-Stars Disliked it
Non-Fiction
Foundation by Isaac Asimov (quit early)
Leaders by Stanley McChrystal (quit early)
Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler (quit early)
Fiction
N/A
1-Star Hated It
N/A
Put on Pause
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto
Energy Civilization by Douglas Reynolds
The Campfire Chronicles by Michael Ayoub
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Note: I only included subtitles where necessary for clarification.
I’ve been thinking constantly about how to impact the consumer pain-point of in-home recycling. Like every other person who likes solving problems, I’ve got a note file (I use Evernote) on my phone keeping stock of random thoughts and ideas that either I’d like solved or could one day spin up into a business.
I reached out to a friend’s brother who works for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado asking about opportunities to impact municipal solid waste (residential trash and recycling). I was first clued in to some of the jargon and problems while working at the Idaho National Laboratory as a bioenergy technologies intern. He couldn’t meet with me, as he now works remotely from another state, but he offered to connect me to a friend—Andrew Maxey, the co-founder and CEO of Vartega.
Who They Are
Vartega’s overall purpose is to recycle carbon fiber. According to their website, “Vartega has developed a low-cost grade of carbon fiber through the use of its patented recycling process. This grade has mechanical properties similar to virgin material. Vartega’s recycled fibers are used in broad ranging applications including nonwoven fabrics, thermoplastic pellets, and 3D printing filaments.”
They share that carbon fiber waste can be as high as 30% throughout the manufacturing process. They take carbon fiber waste—a high-value, low-volume material often from the automotive industry—and turn it back into a usable material that they can sell back.
We connected over an email introduction and quickly set up a 30-minute call. My three main questions (with their respective answers) for that first call were:
How did you get from “zero to one” and start prototyping real hardware? First, they got funding. Vargeta utilized Colorado’s Advanced Industries program. They also partnered with a university. It’s best if you’ve got an anchor like a university.
Do you have a materials background? No; Andrew’s got a BS in Mechanical Engineering + his PE license. He started in technical sales, then moved to the oil and gas industry. Andrew’s a generalist and prefers to be that way.
Andrew believes that the future of recycling is in chemistry. Mechanical recycling has been well established. If he were to start over, he believes that lithium-ion batteries are the next big thing and are ripe for disruption.
How does your spouse come into the picture as a founder (i.e. mine is very risk-averse)? Andrews married with 4 kids, and he treats his wife as a co-founder. She shoulders risk and stress, too. If it’s not working for those you love, it won’t work for you either. He gave his wife veto power, which enables her as a cheerleader/advocate, wanting him to succeed.
A Visit to Vartega
We then set up a visit, and I got to tour their facility in Golden. It’s a relatively new location for them, but they’re up and running. It was exciting to see their equipment and meet some of their staff.
Outside the Vartega building.
After a brief tour, we sat in the conference room to chat. More questions:
How was your experience with the Techstars accelerator? Find a program and location that works for your business. Treat it as a tool in your toolbox. Manage your expectations, and don’t expect to be the next Airbnb just for participating.
Risk Management One early employee didn’t take a salary for the first 6-months, but his wife was working, so he was okay for the beginning.
Andrew runs a transparent company with open dialogue between him and his employees. If they’re looking for another job, he discusses what Vartega can do for them. In the case of that early employee, they made it work to start him on salary.
Accept that planning and sacrifice are necessary with startups.
Fundraising It sucks, and it’s hard. Pitch to relevant investors. Andrew’s naturally optimistic but appreciates team members with diverse perspectives. It’s definitely mentally taxing raising capital, though.
“People overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a year.”
What follows are my “themes” for goals with some initial projections at what I want to improve on. I plan on taking intervals of time and setting a “sprint” goal to double-down on one specific thing for, say, 2 weeks or 30 days, while keeping the broader goals in mind.
Less Waste and Consumerism
This has been top of mind a lot lately. I can’t get quite as extreme as I could if I were a bachelor, especially with kids (sorry, but we won’t do cloth diapers), but I can take steps to reduce our impact.
I thought about this a lot while I worked a seasonal position at Target stocking food shelves. With all the brands of soup, even, I would think, “Why do we need over 30 flavors of canned soup?! What happened to, you know, cooking?” Asking that question also gave me time to reflect on my own habits, though. We can all do more. Heck, I’m even willing to pay more for recyclable packaging!
Inevitably, Christmas also had me thinking about waste. For one, gifts for the sake of gifts drive me nuts. I’ve prepared a list of gifts that would thrill me, so you know it’ll go over well. Otherwise, you could get a gift that would be convenient from my Amazon list. For the holidays, we want to start doing 4 gifts wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine:
Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear
Something to read
Heck, this could go for birthdays and other events, too.
Less waste is also one of the reasons I plan on donating to the Yang 2020 campaign for my birthday. See Reduce Packaging Waste on his site.
Start Another Revenue Stream
This one’s important for me for two reasons. First, I’m getting restless and I need an entrepreneurial endeavor. Second, I’m doubling down on building wealth so that we can get a house after flight school.
Right now, the top idea is a project with my brother-in-law that I’m excited about. It involves content creation, event planning, and learning how to code!
Deliberate Caffeine Consumption
This is my last true vice, and it also ties into less waste. I pound the caffeinated drink flavoring packets. Granted, I have kids that don’t sleep, and I dilute it heavily (mix into 40oz instead of 16oz), but the packages are single-use plastic, plus my Hydro Flask lid gets gross.
I promised myself I’d quit and start drinking—dare I say—plain water when the girls sleep. This is the year! I’ve knocked the energy drinks and soda, both during college. This is the last step. We’ll see how flight school goes…
In the meantime, I’ve transitioned to Mio, since the plastic containers are recyclable.
Draw and Share 12 Drawings I’m Proud Of
I plan to publish them to Deviant Art (I’m ~jonnymhenderson). This is a very reasonable goal to get me back into drawing and to finish drawings I start. I’m notorious for having a sketchbook full of half-sketches.
Focus on My 5 Fs: Family, Faith, Finance, Fitness, Flight
I came up with “My 5 Fs” while sitting in the NGAUS conference trying to think about what truly matters to me. These about sum it up! Taking a page from Tim Ferriss’s Past Year Review, this is a way for me to focus on what makes me happy and what will have a lasting impact.
Family—From Leaders Eat Last: “A study…found that a child’s sense of well-being is affected less by the long hours their parents put in at work and more by the mood their parents are in when they come home.” I’d like to double-down on spending meaningful time with my wife and kids. In His Needs, Her Needs, it discusses a wife’s need for the husband to be a good father. That requires 15 hours per week for her and an additional 15 hours per week for quality family time.
Faith—Deliberate and consistent scripture study and prayer
Finance—Apply the principles and action items from I Will Teach You to Be Rich to automate expenses, set goals, and start building wealth.
Fitness—Focus on APFT and ACFT test scores.
Flight—The first step in developing this priority is starting flight school. I report April 10th!
I’ve finally graduated and started in the “real world!” With that, though, comes a massive shift in schedule. I no longer have gaps between classes where, as long as my assignments are done, I work on what I want.
Now, it’s a 40-hour workweek tracked with bureaucratic meticulousness, so even if I’m applying the principles from The 4-Hour Workweek, I have to hit my 40 hours.
With a newborn, a stack of unread books, hobby projects brewing, flight school around the corner, etc., I’m finding it difficult to massively reprioritize now that school doesn’t determine my focus for me.
In discussing this with a mentor, he said that as long as he’s home by 6PM, his wife is happy, and he’ll go in as early as he needs to so that he can be home by that hard deadline.
I’ve also found that one of my biggest sources of frustration is unmet expectations. Now, here I’m specifically referring to not getting things done when I had plans to be productive. This is largely due to parenting commitments.
Instead of getting frustrated when things don’t work out, I’ve worked my schedule to work for me:
4:30AM Wake up—I established this habit long ago so that I could get work done while everyone slept and have more time at home with my family after school.
5:00AM Feed the baby—I wake my daughter up early, feed her, change her diaper, and put her back down to buy my wife more time to sleep in.
6:00AM Gym—I always feel better starting with fitness, and it’s important for me to be healthy.
7:00AM Start work—Most of my peers are there by 7:30AM.
11:30AM Lunch—I use my lunchtime to (1) recharge so that I work more effectively in the afternoon and (2) for personal development. During lunch, I read. I have articles printed out, a non-fiction book I’m working through at work, and I bring my fiction book from home. I read what I’m feeling, and I use it as a chance for “feeling productive” and fullfillment. I know I won’t get to read and take notes at home with the kids.
5:00PM Leave work—I’m home by 5:30PM at the latest, my wife has dinner ready, and I co-parent.
By tweaking my system to work for me and my family, I’ve felt much happier, productive, and fulfilled.
I liked my experience with Medium, and I’ll definitely be writing more. It’s a very clean and sleek writing process similar to Microsoft Word’s focus mode. The minimalism is perfect to crank out some solid writing.
“If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.”
[Project] Marvel Stories
I’ve long wanted to write and illustrate my own comic. I’m constantly coming up with ideas for characters, powers, and storylines. Before diving head-first into such a daunting task, I decided to play around with some characters and worlds I’m already familiar with. Here are two of my short stories that I wrote using Iron Man:
I’ve been pretty disinterested in Facebook for a while now. It’s mostly parents and businesses…This handy web app was recommended by a programmer friend. It lets you open up and edit Facebook getting rid of all the clutter. It’ll even hide posts with pre-selected keywords from your newsfeed.
Now, whenever I go to Facebook, my newsfeed doesn’t show up. It’s let me focus on the few notifications that build up and checking in on friends I actually care about rather than endlessly scrolling through photos of babies and dogs that I’m uninterested in. It’s been a great productivity booster!
[Music] Best of Star Wars Spotify Playlist
This playlist is fun and familiar, and I’ve been using it to study lately.
Another fun bonus is that the play bar morphs into a lightsaber. Spotify has been good about playing to the nerd culture like they did with the Stranger Things playlist.
[Reading] Kindle Comics
I’ve combined the powers of my local library, Overdrive, Kindle, and Amazon to bring free comic books to my iPhone! I was initially super opposed to the idea of reading digital comics, but it has proven fantastic for several reasons:
I can easily take high-quality screenshots for sketching later (I’ll share some sketches next time).
It zooms in and takes away the guessing game of which panel to read. You simply swipe and it zooms as is appropriate to read and view the art. It does a phenomenal job.
I now have access to a plethora of comics I would never have purchased but have loved to read!
It’s made reading comics much more casual again. I can whip out my phone wherever and jump back into a distant yet familiar world.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve sent out some recommendations. Well, the wait is over! Here you are…
[Book] Non-Fiction: The 4-Hour Workweek
This book has forever been on my reading list. Tim Ferriss is my favorite podcaster, and I already dove in and loved The 4-Hour Body (affiliate link) by him, as well. It was only a matter of time before I took on reading his entrepreneur’s toolkit to develop a business (dubbed “muse”) that develops cashflow and freedom to refocus on other opportunities (not slack off). I cannot recommend it enough!
You can get it on Amazon (affiliate link) or on Audible (affiliate link), but I don’t ever see myself listening to a non-fiction book—I like taking notes too much.
This sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card was a masterful take on military strategy, game theory, and psychology. It was fascinating to read essentially from the perspective of Ender’s mind. I bought the movie and watched it a year or two ago, didn’t care for it, but then picked up the book this summer. Absolutely loving the book, I rewatched the movie, and the film was fun knowing what parts they pulled, but I don’t think it’s a good standalone film.
[Game] Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
Man. I’ve always loved this game. It’s hands-down my favorite video game of all-time. Now that I’ve been an avid reader of RA Salvatore and have started playing DnD, the game 1) makes so much more sense (mechanics, etc.), and 2) is so much more fun when it comes to lore and how things fit in. I’m not sure what got “enhanced”, but I would’ve purchased the original regardless.
[Project] Composting
I’ve started composting! I’ve always been interested in composting to (1) help keep things out of the landfill and (2) to recycle nutrients for free fertilizer. My in-laws have a big garden, so it seemed only natural to start composting. I built it out of 3 pallets. I should have made it a bit bigger, and I’ve struggled to maintain the proper ratio of browns-to-greens. Anyway, my summer internship is in biomass, so this is my own little homebrew project!
Full on the same day after cleaning up the yard.
A healthy start
[Quote] Drizzt Do’Urden
“Fortunate circumstances do not equate to high principles.”
~Drizzt Do’Urden, Legacy by RA Salvatore
[Article] StarCraft II Unit Development
I came across this article as Blizzard updated. It’s really interesting to hear all the game design. I could see myself getting really into competitive StarCraft gameplay.
A lightly-edited journal entry from 11 March 2018.
Last night, Shalene and I saw The Greatest Showman in the Bengal Theater. After the movie, I thought it was decent, but as I’ve been thinking about it all day, I’ve really enjoyed it. There were a lot of things I learned from the movie!
Entrepreneurship
The biggest highlight for me was someone finally got my entrepreneurial mindset and not just desire but the fixation with and necessity for achievement. My passion pushes me to my limits all the time. I’ve really struggled with work-life balance.
Family
The second point that was very evident as I watched was how PT Barnum’s drive pulled him away from his family. During the movie, though, he figured out what was most important to him and was still able to succeed even as he dedicated energy and time to be with his family. It was reminiscent of when I read Elon Musk’s biography and told myself that with all the success he’s had, he’s gone through two divorces.
During the movie, I decided that my summer home with the family was more important than killing myself my last year to get that B.S. Economics. I’m giving it up and sticking with a minor.
Shalene has also been very (albeit sometimes begrudgingly) supportive of my adventures, especially for someone so risk-averse. That was also echoed in the movie as Charity sang, “However big, however small, Let me be part of it all. Share your dreams with me. You may be right, you may be wrong, But say that you’ll bring me along, To the world you see.”
In-Laws
The last takeaway is that I’m super lucky to have extremely supportive in-laws. This was key, as when I was a missionary, I quickly picked up on just how important in-laws would be.
I posted a status on Facebook to get the word out on Hibernate Storage taking off, and they (not sure because of the joint account…) shared my status to spread the word! In fact, I’ve never felt I’ve had anything to prove to them.
I’ve been listening to the music non-stop! You can find it on Spotify here:
Also interesting is this blog post by Carly Findlay on disabilities and the cast of the movie. I found it while trying to look up the cast for the performers, which the movie did a terrible job of listing in the credits.
I’ve always been kinda weary of Facebook. I recently read this article—”Get your loved ones off Facebook.“—, and now I’m even more paranoid.
I really don’t use Facebook all that much anymore.I haven’t had the app on my phone for years now. The only reason I still have it is to maintain connections with those who aren’t followers on other platforms (I’m all about Twitter)—mostly older folks and Germans.
In fact, the only two selling points on Facebook for me are: (1) Groups, and (2) Marketplace. I maintain contact with people through Groups, and Marketplace takes away the mystery of a sketchy meet-up on Craigslist.
Interview with Co-Founder of Airbnb Joe Gebbia
I don’t like having two references to Tim Ferriss in the same post (or two posts in a row, for that matter), but this is the most fun I’ve had with a podcast in a long time! Tim Ferriss’s Interview with Joe Gebbia, a co-founder of Airbnb (YouTube, Apple Podcasts) is hilarious and his journey is fascinating and tenacious.
Hibernate Storage
My friend and I are starting a business! We’re launching in April after a year’s worth of work after winning $6,300 from the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge hosted by Boise State University’s College of Innovation + Design. Check out our website: hibernatestorage.com. We’d love any feedback you have for us! Share in the comments below!
Opportunity Cost: An Econ Degree
Ironically, I had a major opportunity cost analysis in my life pop up: do I pursue a B.S. Economics or stick with the minor. It all arose when I met with my advisor. I petitioned to have my Engineering Economics and Management course count for both my ME and econ tracks. She approved and mentioned that I was only a few classes away from a bachelor’s. Well, I love economics, and I double-majored for a majority of my academic career. Turns out, though, that I was seven classes away from graduation. That’s not close; that’s an entire semester (and a 21-credit semester at that…)!
In talking with Shalene, I decided against it. I’d love to, but I have a good internship for the summer where I’ll get to spend time with my family, and I know I’ll eventually get an MBA, so the material will be picked up down the road.
It was, nonetheless, an extremely difficult decision.
Quitting a Book
I’ve long struggled with quitting a book once I’ve started it. It sits on my shelf staring back at me, taking up headspace until I finish it. I had my first brush with this when Shalene bought me a book from the middle of a series one Christmas. It took a lot out of me to say I was done!
I’ve thought about this a lot ever since stumbling across a GoodReads tweet:
I’m about to ditch a book for a better one, but I feel really guilty about it, since I’ve made it so far…
Fiction, stop reading and move on to another book. Life is too short to spend time on a book you’re not enjoying. Non-fiction, stick with it. Usually, it’s a challenging subject and if I want to learn anything then I have to keep going.
It wasn’t until I came across Episode 97 (Apple Podcasts) of The Tim Ferriss Show where Naval Ravikant (CEO of AngelList; @Naval) that something really stuck: we have so little time that it’s much easier to treat a book like a blog post. If you skim the blog post and move on, you don’t feel guilty. Why do any differently with a book. If it has the information you want/need, great! If not, move on.
Musketeers
So I have this idea. How do I articulate to people that I’m an Elon Musk cultist?
We need a word to describe members of the Cult of @elonmusk 🙋♂️, similar to how @katyperry has her KatyCats. I propose “Musketeer”. Let’s make it happen 👊🚀 pic.twitter.com/4LKZIJ9aYs
I recently had a birthday, and although my love language is definitely gifts, I’ve started to lose interest in “things”. I’m not by any means minimalist, but I can’t think of any must-haves right now. Instead, I think it’d be sweet if I could continue to build my stock portfolio. I use the app, Robinhood, and while you can’t gift/transfer stocks yet, I’d just put that money towards an investment rather than belongings. And ultimately, if I were to lose that $5-10 stock, it would’ve been free money for me, and the value gained is a lesson learned.
Falcon Heavy
First off, if you don’t follow Elon Musk on social media, what are you even doing using those platforms? He took his futurist company, SpaceX, to the next level with the launch of his Falcon Heavy rocket—the most powerful non-government rocket ever. And he launched his Tesla Roadster playing David Bowie’s “Spaceman” to Mars. Yes, literally hoping to end up in the orbit of the Red Planet. The man is a marketing genius.
It’s disappointing knowing you’ll never be able to leverage one of your company’s rocket launches to put another one of your company’s products into orbit and generate massive free advertising.
Amazon has this cool thing where if you bookmark smile.amazon.com, they will personally donate to a charity of your choice! I set mine up to donate to The Planetary Society. Founded by Carl Sagan and currently run by Bill Nye, I’m excited to move the work forward in my own way!
If you’ve got Amazon Prime, then wait no longer—Humans is a fantastic show that has an I, Robot vibe with a Stranger Things-esque mystery to it. Shalene and I loved it! It pushes you to think of implications related to technology implementations in the future.
Boomerang for Gmail
A Gmail add-on I’ve been messing around with. Boomerang allows you to schedule emails to be sent at a later date/time or to “boomerang” them back to yourself at a later time as a reminder. For example, a friend sent me a Google Calendar invite for a meeting. I accepted the invite which put it on my calendar, then boomeranged the invite email to myself, which arrived 2 hours before our appointment. There’s also a slick feature that measures how “reply-able” your email is using metrics that evaluate your subject line, words in the body of the email, etc. and helps you rewrite your email to increase the chances of a response.
This is a friend from school. Knowing him, it’s hilarious, and he was the one who showed it to us. No shame!
Podcast: College Info Geek
One of my all-time favorite podcasts is The College Info Geek Podcast. They’re two socially-capable nerds that bring a geeky flavor of humor to real-life issues that students (and everyone in general, really) will benefit from. Two episodes that I recently listened to that really caught my attention were “How to Automate Your Life (Ep. 194)” (Apple Podcasts) and How to Not Get Hacked: 9 Tips for Securing Your Digital Life (Ep. 187)” (Apple Podcasts).
Automization—I’ve become obsessed with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets lately, opting to have a computer complete repetitive tasks for me. One such example is the Reading Calculator I built so I can keep track of how many pages per day I need to read in order to finish an assigned book before a presentation at the end of the semester. In fact, if I were to go back to school and weren’t allowed to study mechanical engineering, I’d get a computer science degree.
Security—The second episode was particularly interesting because I have done an internship in a secure facility where security (especially cybersecurity) was a priority. I remember having a conversation with my roommate about security and privacy once, and he said that our generation just doesn’t care, admitting that we were both in the same boat. Who cares if you see our Facebook profile or LinkedIn? Well, this episode addresses a good point, which is you’re not normally targeted individually but rather, your weak security puts you at risk as hackers comb through massive collections of profiles, etc.
I follow a Spotify playlist titled “Electronic: Study no words“, and I really liked a song that came on. Check out “Heart on Wave” by Slime Girls (Spotify | YouTube). It’s got a retro, side-scrolling video game sound to it.
App: Acorns
I came across the Acorns app back in 2015 but haven’t really done anything with it until now. Whenever you swipe your card to make a purchase, it rounds up to the nearest dollar and throws the change that it rounded up with into an Exchange-Traded Fund (definition). It’s an easy way to invest, and you just select the risk-portfolio you want. Sign up using my link, and we’ll both get $5! Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions. I’m not sharing it for the sole purpose of earning money. I actually think it’s a sweet app!
Tool: Google Sheets
I’ve been going crazy for Google Sheets and their templates! I found this great site, SmartSheet, with some free coded templates. You just go to File > Make a copy…, and bam! You’ve got the sheet! Don’t click Add to My Drive, or else you’ll have the restricted template that’s accessible to everyone but still owned by SmartSheet.
Additionally, I’ve come to love Slides Carnival for their free, crisp, and clean Google Slides templates. You just follow the same “Make a copy” step above, then edit the file for your presentation! A few of my favorites are Viola, Banquo, Cordelia, and Imogen.
Pondering: Tax Reform
I’ve been trying to think of a one-page tax system like Rand Paul proposed in the 2016 election. What if we had a 15% flat corporate tax with maximum deductions of up to, say, 2% only attainable through registered charities and international financial relief and aid? Then, the government can focus their efforts on reinvesting in America. I often think of the sticky situation we’re in. Do we have enough funds to help the suffering citizens of Syria and to overhaul all of our highways and interstates? No. But what if the government only had to focus on internal issues while capitalism and its incentives handled the international financial contributions? Just a thought. What do you think?
Quote: Alexander Graham Bell
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
Venture capitalist Chris Sacca’s article, “Hanging up my spurs.“, was a fun read, but it also got me thinking about (1) opportunity cost and (2) pivoting. I’ve been focused on the opportunity cost of decisions I make specifically related to time commitments. I’m learning to say “no” like never before!
Book: Artemis
I freakin’ loved this book. My mind was melting with how much research went into each page of it! It combines economics, space, and engineering. It’s the second book by the author of The Martian, Andy Weir. Cannot recommend it enough—and it’s on sale (Amazon)!
Song: “Wide Awake (Kaskade Mix Radio Edit)”
Kaskade did a fantastic job mixing a refreshing take “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry (Soundcloud).
Video: Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge
Toast Dance. Shameless self-promotion. Hope to win some money! Any feedback on our pitch would be greatly appreciated!
Education: Differential Equations Explained
Even after taking DifEq, I still don’t even know what a differential equation is. I know vaguely what they look like and that they’re important in engineering, but I took it in an 8-week summer class from hell. In doing some research on compressor dynamics through the mechanical engineering department, I knew I needed to understand what DEs were, so I googled it. I stumbled across a GitHub project titled Differential Equations Explained that make so much more sense!
When it comes to math, I need to be able to visualize what’s happening. I had such a hard time in Linear Algebra because I couldn’t understand things like eigenvalues and eigenvectors. It was all too abstract! The application of math is where it really connects for me.
Hope this helps!
Podcast: TechStuff
The technology of Stranger Things (Apple Podcasts). It’s a fascinating listen that opens the curtain on film and TV production.
Quote: Erin Hannon
“When you’re with someone, you put up with the stuff that makes you lose respect for them.”
~Erin Hannon, The Office (S9:E5 Here Comes Treble)
Although I am so ready to graduate, I will most definitely miss how semesters segment my year and give me a chance to reflect. I’ve really liked the opportunity to pause, think back, and hit reset for a new term of work. Part of my projects over break included revamping my personal website and blog. It’s still very much a work in progress, but I’d love feedback on it! Also, lemme know if you like the format of this post. I suspect I’ll do a lot more of them. Anyway, here are some cool things I’ve come across:
Article: Hobby Lobby Bible Museum
I came across a fascinating article about how the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby have quickly accumulated one of the largest and most expensive collections of biblical artifacts. They plan on opening a museum in Washington, DC!
Tech: YouMute(r) Google Chrome Extension
I’ve gotten in the habit of pulling up my YouTube Watch Later list while I cook or clean in the kitchen. This handy Chrome extension has been so nice! It mutes all ads on YouTube videos. I suppose it’s also great for the content curators, as I usually sit through the whole ad since it’s silent.
Podcast: Warren Buffet
I really enjoyed the episode of Listen Money Matters which lists their accumulation of tricks and habits from Warren Buffet. The episode is titled “22 Life Changing Lessons From Warren Buffett” (Apple Podcasts).
Music: Ellie Goulding
A cover of Elton John’s song, Ellie Goulding does a freakin’ fantastic job of performing “Your Song” (Spotify), and it’s still one of my favorites by her:
Elon: My Man!
He’s at it again, this time, sending his Tesla Roadster to Mars:
With it being the start of a new year, everyone is always focused on the “new me” that they’ll strive for. I used two methods to review 2017, and I’ve taken a different approach to 2018.
2017 #1: Review of Resolutions
I set out to have several SMART goals that I’d work in throughout the year. I accomplished some, others I worked on but let them die, and others I barely touched. I am, however, learning with every year what makes me the most effective at pursuing things I want to improve on or accomplish.
My 2017 resolutions were as follows:
Become a Confident Swimmer—I went swimming a few times out of obligation, and I came across the Total Immersion technique that I know will be the game changer, but I still haven’t put much towards this one.
Learn C#—I acquired the necessary software and worked my way through an online tutorial series, but without a project to apply my skills to, it died at the conclusion of the tutorial.
Read the Book of Mormon in German—Accomplished! I did, however, find that I got very little out of it spiritually other than establishing a habit of daily scripture study. This goal is a large part of why I now wake up at 0430. I do better accomplishing the difficult, tedious, boring stuff before starting my day while my girls are still asleep.
Code My Own Website—While I didn’t code it myself, I did get a website up and going. It’s still fairly rudimentary, but the hardest part is out of the way! With just a bit of touching up, it’ll be ready to list on my résumé! I’d love any feedback you can provide.
Max My Army Physical Training Test—While I didn’t hit a 300+, I got up to 284, which is very competitive and the highest I’ve ever gotten. I also used the Freedom Journal to stay accountable to this one. I wish I had started earlier, rather than honing in starting in the fall semester.
Become Confident Drawing from Memory—I didn’t do much drawing at all, but I found that the Inktober challenge pushed me to be better! I still need to upload those to my Deviant Art page…
Read 6 Books—I knocked this one out of the park! See my 2017 Reading List post.
Make Headway on My Book and Comic—I did lots of writing, but no drawing. I even shared one of my pieces on reddit!
To my credit, I had best intentions in setting SMART goals, and I held myself accountable after the first quarter of the year, but that was about it.
2017 #2: Past Year Review (PYR)
I discovered this method through Tim Ferriss’s 5-Bullet Friday. I’ve mentioned that newsletter before, and I encourage you to subscribe. It’s a lovely little dose of the new and intriguing every end-of-the-week. He shares:
Here’s my list after sorting through 52 weeks of Google Calendar:
My nature is to be interested in everything, but here are my top conclusions based on this exercise:
I am made to be an entrepreneur. I won’t be happy unless I’m pursuing something for myself.
I long to be creative, and reading, writing, and drawing are all activities I enjoy, would like to become better at, and I find each of them productive hobbies (developing a talent as opposed to watching Netflix).
I hate being trapped in meetings—especially when they’re unnecessary and/or poorly run.
I really enjoy learning in general, and am specifically interested in economics and German, to name two.
Time with friends and family mean a lot to me.
I love to write based on researching a topic I’m unfamiliar with.
I love to both give and receive gifts, and it happens to be my #1 love language.
I love weddings.
I love challenging myself physically (Ex. Advance Camp, rock climbing, improving APFT score, running a half-marathon, etc.).
I am appreciative of the military training available to me.
I love taking notes on a good self-help book.
I enjoy being a behind-the-scenes leader and helping things fall into place (Ex. S4).
I love to travel, and I find great joy in doing so with friends and family.
I need to take time to be creative as well as time to reset and clean out my system from all the multitasking and build-up that bogs me down.
2018: Top 5 Goals
Instead of setting super specific goals for 2018, I have picked up on a trend of what makes me generally happier and what I long to do more of. There are, certainly, things outside of this list, but here’s what I’m most interested in pursuing:
Read more
Write more
Draw more
Speak to Eva solely in German
Run a full marathon
Shalene and I also set goals as a couple:
Attend the temple every other month
Don’t talk negatively about each other to others and in general
So that’s it! We’ll do this again in March to stay accountable.
I put my star rating next to each book and, where possible, linked to my GoodReads review. I use the following system, adopted from Google Reviews:
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Disliked it
⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was okay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it
Complete
I’ve been so much better at reading this year! In fact, I made it a goal to read 6 books in 2017, and I surpassed that! I’ve realized over the year that reading brings me joy as I jump into a fictional story, and that it is a much better decompression and release before bed than using my phone or playing games. Here’s what I’ve read:
School Reading
The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—This is a collection of essays written by grad students exploring various aspects of the Japanese culture. I found it fascinating to dissect a culture down to micro-level components of culture you wouldn’t be familiar with without living there
Schachnovelle (⭐️⭐️⭐️)—An intriguing story with an exciting hook on how a chess master became so good.
Der Besuch der alten Dame (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—The plot twist in this was fantastic, and caught me totally off guard. I had a fun time reading this, as I was able to understand the plot and a lot of the message hidden between the lines even in a foreign language.
Leaders Eat Last (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—The author does an exceptional job using case studies to teach critical leadership lessons. I think this should be required reading for anyone in a leadership/management position. Can’t recommend highly enough! We read this book as 4th-year ROTC cadets.
Non-Fiction
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—The author, Tim Ferriss, does an incredible job of breaking down the human body into data points and experiments. It tackled several key issues that I’m interested in exploring more, it’s exceptionally well-formatted, and its littered with case studies of individuals throughout the book.
Das Buch Mormon (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—Naturally, I’m a big fan of the Book of Mormon, as it’s the keystone to my religion. I believe all religious texts should be classified as non-fiction. I read it in German to keep up on daily scripture study as well as language practice. I finished it today (31DEC17) to complete a resolution for the year and so it would make this list!
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing Your Money (⭐️⭐️⭐️)—As given by the three-star rating, it was okay. I only liked it because it gave a few insights I didn’t know before, as well as a few actionable steps. I wish it had more examples of “save this much now, retire with this much later.” I finished this book so it’d make this list.
Exile (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—Book #2 in The Legend of Drizzt (my favorite series) by my favorite author, RA Salvatore.
Sojourn (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—Book #3 in The Legend of Drizzt series that finishes out the prequel trilogy.
Starship Troopers (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—This was a fantastic read after attending Advance Camp, and it complimented my military training well! I wouldn’t have appreciated it, however, without my summer training as it can get pretty technical in military lingo.
Short Stories
The Education of PFC Shane (link or PDF) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—This is a fun read set in the StarCraft world.
The Egg (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—A fantastic read for the devout religious individual or for the atheist. A fascinating story
Deathstroke: The Professional (⭐️⭐️⭐️)—Fun because it’s Deathstroke along with some of the WildC.A.T.S, but overall, not that great.
Justice League: The Grid
Thunderbolts: No Quarter
Iron Man 2.0: Asymmetry (⭐️)— I was going through my collection, and I’m disappointed that I ever bought this. Not impressed at all. A storyline without much substance that could’ve been really good, in fact. Scattered and hard to follow, and not very interesting. The digital coloring was great for some of the volume but overall, it was poorly done.
Infinity Gauntlet (⭐️⭐️⭐️)—A fun read since the movie is coming out. It certainly had its “doom and gloom” moments where you thought there was no way for them to make it out followed by a twist in favor of good. I find the older comics, especially the art style, very difficult to read, however.
Civil War II (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—My favorite iron man armor yet. I love the faceplate!
Single issues—A couple of single-issues I picked up over the summer
Team 7 (2012 DC) #3 (Variant A) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)—I love Deathstroke, and this was my first exposure to Grifter
Spawn WildC.A.T.S (1996) #3: Devil Day (Part 3 of 4) (⭐️⭐️⭐️)—I love Spawn, and Grifter appeared again!
Moon Knight (1985 2nd Series) Fist of Khonshu #3 (⭐️⭐️)—The best part of this comic was getting to see the old ads from the 80s
Work in Progress
This has been quite the year of starting books. Unfortunately, there are several (especially non-fiction) that I’ve stopped reading but am still interested in finishing. Here’s the list:
Energy Civilization: The Zenith of Man
Ranger Handbook
The Hobbit
His Needs, Her Needs
In addition to that, I have a shelf of several books that I’m waiting to start, as well as an itch to continue RA Salvatore’s series.
Here’s to a new year of new adventures and stories!
I’ve really enjoyed both Tim Ferriss’s 5-Bullet Friday newsletter as well as Kevin Rose’s monthly newsletter, The Journal. Both give their followers a few items of fun discoveries throughout the week or month. I have so many things that I enjoy that I’d love to share with those I care about (and those who would listen). I’m fascinated by so many things, and I also love writing, so here’s my attempt at some form of fun structure to share my hottest finds of the week.
Politics: Net Neutrality
By texting “RESIST” to 50409, you start a “conversation” with resistbot, which helps you draft and send electronic letters to your legislators (House, Senate, Governor, and President) on your behalf to fight Net Neutrality. It takes away the excuse of apathy.
Music: Purity Ring
I’ve been finishing up my video for the Katy Perry concert, and Purity Ring opened for them. That launched me into exploring a new genre, and I’ve really enjoyed their style. I’ve already written about some of my favorite songs of theirs, but here’s a free download of “bodyache (LIONE Remix)” by Purity Ring I came across today.
Podcast: Launching a Satellite into Space
In 4th grade, I was such a good speller, that the teacher gave me and this girl, Amy Rodriguez, a bonus word: “satellite”. Glad I initially spelled it wrong as an adult. Anyway, I don’t know how I came across this podcast, but I loved this four-episode series on launching a satellite into space! In fact, it has inspired me to investigate using a CubeSat as a senior design project next fall semester!
The following are links to the Planet Money podcast episodes in the Apple Podcast app:
I really enjoyed this TED talk on a convicted murder and burglar who learned to read, write, and spell in prison, then applied his newfound skills to develop a curriculum for prisoners to become financially stable after prison. He’s an activist
Tech: iOS Screensaver for Mac
I came across some sweet minimalist space wallpapers (specifically this one), and I wanted to use a still wallpaper as my screensaver, rather than the traditional Mac slideshow. I did some googling and fell in love with Option #8 in an article on changing up your screensaver. Now, my screensaver looks like an iPhone, and it just spices things up in a new way!
Quote
“On your journey through life, make sure your biography has at least one extraordinary chapter.”
After Advanced Camp, I shipped off for an internship with the Army through the Cadet Troop Leading Training (CTLT) program. I worked (get ready for it) under the following hierarchy in descending order (as best I can piece together):
US Army
Army Materiel Command
Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM)
Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC)
Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD)
Modeling and Simulation Division (MSD)
Measurement and Modeling Services (MMS) Branch
Day 1, 10JUL2017 (Mon)
I sat on a plane in Louisville, KY for a while before they said that the weather in Detroit was going to delay the flight for quite a while. I would’ve missed my connection, so I exited the plane and boarded a flight to Atlanta. Upon landing in Atlanta, my flight was delayed for weather, so I finally arrived in DC at Reagan around 0130 instead of 2200. I was pretty bitter because CDT Fink’s school bought him a last-minute ticket that had him leaving Sunday before graduation, so that got changed at camp to a direct flight. My school planned ahead, and I got screwed. Oh well. Our supervisor, a Major, picked me up and took me back to Post.
Day 2, 11JUL2017 (Tues)
The next day started at 0900. I’m sure it was a lot of in-processing and touring. We only spent 3 hours doing stuff and were cut loose at noon. It ended up being perfect because I had a really bad infection on the tip of my finger. It started to flare up the night before, and it was the spot where they did the finger-prick to check for iron at the blood drive on Saturday. Swell. Literally. It was a sensitive balloon of pus. They drained it with a syringe, though, and gave me some drugs. That ended up being complicated, too, because they sent me to the pharmacy with a prescription for a different “Johnathan Miles Henderson”. The only reason I caught it was because the guy’s birthday was in the 80s.
After that mess was figured out, it was onto putting out the next fire. The lady-sergeant at BYU-I messed up my orders and didn’t include a rental car. It got resolved, but we somehow had to figure out how to get back to Ronald Reagan in DC. Without a car. Luckily, I was able to call up Patrick, who took us there. We picked up our rental and went to Bdubs. It just so happened to be Traditional Tuesday, so our order was like $10!
Day 3, 12JUL2017 (Wed)
Day 3 had us in a minivan driving around campus with a young lady that works at Ft. Belvoir as a civilian full-time who is also an officer in the US Army Reserves. After work, we went and saw Spider-Man: Homecoming with Katie at The Alamo movie theater. I actually wasn’t super impressed with the movie. I think they did a fantastic job, and Tom Holland plays a great Spidey, but even with my Tony Stark in it, Homecoming couldn’t knock The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield out of my Top 5! Looking back, though, and having rewatched it, it was very well done.
Day 4, 13JUL2017 (Thurs)
During my first few days on the job, a two-star General came to receive demonstrations on all the research at the facility. The General scooped us Cadets up and had us tag along to see everything. It was fantastic. So much future tech to see.
That night, I went home, grabbed my siblings, and we went to Reston Town Center for lack of things to do. Not as fun as I remember, and it was initially awkward, as they adjusted to being around me again after so long.
Day 5, 14JUL2017 (Fri)
A particularly beneficial opportunity for us was our lunch with a few Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). They gave us advice on how to interact with the Enlisted side of the Army, as well as on how to succeed as a fresh 2nd Lieutenant with no real knowledge of the Army.
Later, I had a follow-up appointment at the hospital. They said my finger was healing fine! After the hospital, I darted back to Ashburn for a delicious dinner with Walt, Blair, and Katie at Carolina Brothers BBQ, followed by a game night. My two favorites were The Grizzled and Fuse.
Day 6, 15JUL2017 (Sat)
Saturday was a blast. What started as hoping to jump on an organized trip from DC to NYC through Ft. Belvoir ended up being Katie and I paving our own way. We bought tickets for like $40 each. We were on the shadiest of Asian tour buses, checking in at what could’ve been an underground money laundering operation in DC’s Chinatown. We took the 4-hour bus ride up, and I didn’t pull any punches. I wanted to see it all. I had a list that, for the most part, worked out. We had a good time and certainly got our 10,000 steps in! My list was as follows:
✔️9/11 Memorial—This was Stuart’s biggest recommendation. The outdoor memorial was fantastic. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow us to go into the museum. This would be the only reason I feel the need to return to NYC.
✔️Empire State Building—Underwhelming
✔️Statue of Liberty—Saw it from across the pond
✔️Broadway Street
❌Wall Street
✔️Times Square
✔️Brooklyn Bridge—Drove under in our Uber
❌Central Perk—The restaurant from Friends. It literally doesn’t exist, and I was heartbroken.
✔️Central Park
❌Grand Central Station
❌Shawarma—Food of the Avengers
✔️United Nations HQ—Just barely missed the window to go in. I’d like to see it sometime. It was cool from the outside, though.
✔️NBC store—JJ’s recommendation. They moved locations though, and I wasn’t about to waste more time on it.
✔️Midtown Comics—Pretty cool! I picked up Captain America: White, which is part of the colors series by my favorite artist, Tim Sale. It’s been on my list for a while. Ironically, it’s still sitting on my shelf, and I haven’t read it yet.
Other favorite memories included eating Shake Shack for the first time, stopping by the Disney store, trying to find food to eat (we really wanted Japanese ramen, but ended up grabbing pizza to eat on the bus ride home), and bonding with the ghetto bus riders. I also asked our Uber (who hauled us across town from the 9/11 Memorial to catch our bus) where Avengers Tower was. He didn’t get it. I did, however, steal a kiss from the security dog at Trump Tower!
Day 7, 16JUL2017 (Sun)
I was able to attend church in the congregation where I grew up (Brambleton Ward). It was fantastic! I didn’t tell anyone that I was coming, and I scooped up Connor and my sisters to attend with me. I got to say “hi” to President Holtom and Jonathan Linton, my youth leader growing up. Another tender mercy was sitting down where I did. A couple walked in and sat in front of us. They looked familiar, so I asked them their names. I had guessed correctly—it was the Dowdles. I grew up with their daughter, Stephanie. So good to see them again. After church, I stopped by to see the Cottones and was there for forever. They were excited to see me, and Bonnie kept forcing food on me (I wouldn’t have it any other way!).
Day 8, 17JUL2017 (Mon)
Our 8th day was fairly uneventful in comparison. We had an Officers lunch (just our immediate supervisor and his supervisor) at the golf course club. Later, we ate a delicious dinner at Pica Taco there in Alexandria.
Day 9, 18JUL2017 (Tues)
Tuesday, our Measurement and Modeling Services department went out for lunch at and MSS lunch at a Peruvian chicken place, followed by an evening out at Great Falls with Fink, Katie, and Sadie (her pup). This was on Fink’s list of things to do, which was fun, because I wouldn’t have picked it myself, but ended up loving it. How had I never (if memory serves) been there, when I grew up right around the corner?! That night, we had Mookie’s BBQ.
Day 10, 19JUL2017 (Wed)
Apparently uneventful.
Day 11, 20JUL2017 (Thurs)
We picked Shalene up! So good to see her. Long overdue. We had been away from each other for 41 days! A guy at work had recommended a local Japanese restaurant, which Fink took his girlfriend to, and they loved it. So that night, Fink, Shalene, and I went, but it was only mediocre. Turns out, we went to the one Fink tried, but not the one that was originally recommended.
Day 12, 21JUL2017 (Fri)
After a delicious lunch at Bozzelli Bros. Deli on Post, the rest of the night was a circus. We had gifted my family an Olive Garden gift card two years in a row with the stipulation that they all have to go out to dinner together. Well, we finally forced them to use it when we were all out there (and not just because it’s Shalene’s favorite). We stopped by to see the Cottones beforehand since they wanted to meet Shalene, thinking it would be a short visit. Bonnie doesn’t work that way! I also forgot to call in a reservation to the restaurant. I never go out to eat in a big party, Shalene and I just show up! We invited Walt and Tamara, who were kind enough to exercise a little patience with the family. They did invite two other friends (Patrick and Cynthia) as a back-up in case it didn’t work out. It was a fine time, though! Walt and Tamara got to meet Shalene, and we all had a good evening just chatting!
Day 13, 22JUL2017 (Sat)
We woke up Saturday morning, drove to Ashburn, and grabbed breakfast with Blair and Zee at IHOP. My favorite server, Tori (a black boxer), was still working there, and she is hilarious. It was fun to have a little double-date. It was also the first time I had met Zee, oddly enough (we’ve interacted through social media plenty). Afterwards, we packed up the fam (those who would go) and headed down to see Monticello and the University of Virginia. It was supposed to be everyone, but Jenna didn’t sleep well the night before, Patrick was his usual self, and Robert was working. Unfortunately, that meant we’d all fit in one car except for one. Dad opted to sit out, which was sad because he had never been.
It was hotter than sin that day. So sweaty and sunny. I came to have mad respect for how much of a renaissance man Thomas Jefferson was! We had a good time though, and after we got to see the sites at Monticello, we drove through UVA’s campus, as I was heavily considering grad school in aerospace engineering there. Shalene and I agreed that we’d ultimately end up in Virginia, as it’s both a perfect blend of all of the defense engineering jobs and historical sites.
Day 14, 23JUL2017 (Sun)
After a terribly long Saturday of driving, we woke up really early and drove down to Yorktown, where we got breakfast with Brandon and Janet at Food Craft (only like a mile away from JJ and Alyssa’s old house!). After breakfast, we headed to Busch Gardens with JJ and Alyssa. They have a season pass, and Shalene and I got in for free (military members get a free trip for themselves and 4 dependents per year)! It was so fun just being with JJ again. It was also the first time I had met Alyssa and the first time Shalene had met either of them. Shalene got super sick from the Viking ship ride, swinging back and forth, plus there was a storm warning that shut down the rides for a while. We ended up chilling in the German village “bierzelt” and played Ellen’s Heads Up for a while. Just spending time together was enough.
Day 15, 24JUL2017 (Mon)
Monday, Shalene was supposed to hang with my dad, but she had a much-needed rest day coming her way. She stayed home to recuperate from a summer babysitting alone, and after work, I grabbed Chinese, and we stayed in the room watching shows. There was also a big storm that day that dropped a tree limb inches away from the rental car!
Day 16, 25JUL2017 (Tues)
On Tuesday, Shalene and Katie went to Mt. Vernon and some other local sites, while Fink and I got to tour the experimental airfield and take a tour of DC in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter! Afterwards, we had a fantastic lunch at Mission BBQ, my new favorite Nova restaurant!
Day 17, 26JUL2017 (Wed)
Wednesday, we went down to Quantico to talk drones with another program, then we took Shalene to the airport. Goodbye wasn’t quite so hard, as I’d be home in a week-and-a-half.
Day 18, 27JUL2017 (Thurs)
On Thursday, one of the employees at NVESD took us on a group trip to Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of Unknown Soldier. He was an excellent guide and gives tours often. He even knocked on the Tomb Guards’ quarters and got us a tour! We got to speak with a few of the Soldiers who serve at the Tomb. Wow! Incredible standards and discipline.
Day 19, 28JUL2017 (Fri)
The next day, we loaded up into the van and drove up to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. We met up with a bunch of other Cadets, including one from my Platoon at Advance Camp, and toured the facility, including all of the Army’s new Cyber assets! A Major General met with us and presented each of us with a challenge coin—my first one came from a two-star General! After getting back, I went over to Jarrod’s for a game night. His roommate, Luke, was there, as well as an old high school friend, Brendan! We played Betrayal at House on the Hill.
Day 20, 29JUL2017 (Sat)
Saturday morning, I hit NovaCon with Jarrod and Luke. It was lots of fun! It was at The Ritz-Carlton in Tyson’s Corner, and Jarrod’s sister, Jenna, had a booth with her friend. I picked up a lot of cheap comic books and shook hands and chatted with Barb and the teacher from Stranger Things, as well as the dad from Flash and Lady Deathstrike from X2 (she loved my widow’s peak). Overall, it was a pretty good event for it being their first year. Afterwards, I went to Under Armor with Patrick, and he hooked me up with new running shoes, shorts, and a shirt since he worked there. Then, for my mom’s belated birthday, I treated her to Pei Wei, and we got to catch up one-on-one.
Day 21, 30JUL2017 (Sun)
Sunday morning, Fink and I woke up, picked up Katie at a nearby gas station outside of Post, and headed down to Quantico for The Freedom Fighters 5k/Half benefiting the Semper Fi Fund. It was our (Fink and I) first half marathon. We kept talking about how we regretted signing up for it, especially after a grueling camp experience, but it was a blast. My headphones quit on me at the starting line, so it was a full race with just my thoughts. We ran through Prince William Forest Park the whole time (map of route), which kept the entire course shaded and cool. It was fairly hilly for the last half, but I managed to maintain ~10 min/mile for all but the last mile! It’s the farthest I’ve ever run in one go, and I finished in 2:16:36. After the race, we really wanted chicken and waffles, so we went to Waffle House, which doesn’t even sell them. Instead, we went to IHOP, and I wanted to die after eating way too much.
Day 22, 31JUL2017 (Mon)
The next day, I was sure to try the chicken and waffles in the cafeteria at work—so delicious. That night, we met up in Manassas to get Cafe Rio with my mom and the siblings.
Day 23, 1AUG2017 (Tues)
As you can see, this trip revolved around food haha! We tried Thai Herbs for lunch, which was alright. I was glad to branch out and try some new things. There were a few dishes I loved (Kapow Chicken and Green Curry Chicken), and others I did not…
Day 24, 2AUG2017 (Wed)
There’s a machining and wood shop in the facility where we worked, so we asked for a tour. It was super interesting going through and seeing their capabilities. They even said that their resources are there to make the Army function and that when we get to our units, we can request things to be made through their facility, provided our unit has the funds! That night, we collected nighttime images for one of our projects. It had to be totally dark, as we were collecting thermal imaging, and the ground had to finish releasing its radiant heat. It was also Fink’s birthday, so he celebrated a day late.
Day 25, 3AUG2017 (Thurs)
On the 3rd, we had lunch at Mission BBQ, made last-minute preparations, and then presented on our projects that we worked on while in the facility. We processed so much data for so long, that afterwards, the project manager said he had been waiting years for the results we provided the facility! We’ll also have an opportunity to publish as the research comes to a conclusion! We got dinner at Chipotle, then I drove home. My dad, myself, and another sibling or two went and got froyo at Zinga, then Dad grabbed some Dominos next door. There was a 3-star General sitting in Dominos eating! How random. But I suppose that’s Nova for ya. Then we picked up Robert from work. It was great seeing him in action, in a position that’s pushed him.
Day 26, 4AUG2017 (Fri)
On our last day at work, the staff took us out to El Paso, we said goodbyes, then we hit the road! Fink and his girlfriend, Erin, drove separately from me since Erin wouldn’t be coming home with us. We headed out to Westover, Maryland, where his family had rented a beach house for a reunion. I was super nervous at first, but I ended up having a great time. I beat Fink and Erin there, though, and I was driving through corn fields late at night trying to find a house in the dark after Google Maps cut out. It was a good time haha!
Day 27, 5AUG2017 (Sat)
I actually had a lot more fun than I anticipated! I didn’t get in the water at all (it was windy and choppy), but I read a lot out on the beach and started a giant puzzle on historic Virginia. I also facetimed Shalene and Eva before we ate.
The crab was so good! We ate a ton of crabs that we caught ourselves as well as a bushel covered in Old Bay that someone picked up locally. What an experience. Those suckers sure make you work for their meat! We left much later than I had hoped, so I eventually had to trade out driving with Fink for the last 30-45 minutes. We did, however, finally get our Lucky Charms milkshakes from Burger King—an internship-long quest! They didn’t taste like what I had expected, and I don’t think I’d get another one, but we had been talking about it for our entire internship.
Day 28, 6AUG2017 (Sun)
Sunday morning, we hit the airport. We got all our bags checked and went to the USO. We had never been before, but apparently, most US airports have a military lounge with free wifi and tons of snacks—Monster, microwave meals, popcorn, trail mix, protein bars, etc. Not the lame stuff.
My flight to Minneapolis was fine. I slept most of the flight. I was super uncomfortable, but really tired. The flight from Minneapolis to SLC was also fine. I had to wait in SLC for an extra 1.5 hours, though, as they repaired my plane. Shalene wasn’t super stoked about that. She had shown up to the airport early because she was so excited and ended up hanging out for 2.5 hours with Eva…Luckily, Jim, Sue Ann, and Sara brought Stephen and Tara’s kids down, too. They at least had company for a while. It made for a perfect end to a tough and rewarding summer!
Internship Experience
As for what I did during my internship, I’m not allowed to talk about most of it, so this is what I have on my résumé:
Worked in the Measurement and Modeling Services (MMS) Branch of the Modeling and Simulation Division (MSD) of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. My involvement covered two projects:
Thermal Imaging Field Data Collection
Collected day- and nighttime thermal and visible-spectrum images of various weapons systems at eight different positions
Non-Imaging Based Human ID at Far Ranges
Completed Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Group 2 Social & Behavioral Research Investigators training program
Analyzed visible spectrum-based videos for cardiac signal detection
Analyzed cardiac signal for heart rate variability analysis for the purpose of human ID
Analyzed videos collected at various ranges and resolutions, generated databases, and used those databases to understand the limitations of range and resolution on human ID
Provided feedback to developers for improving the Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Wrote §5.4.2 Process of Analyzing Data and §5.4.3 Score Heart Rate for ID sections of GUI user manual
Wrote title and abstract for work-in-progress research paper
Results, user manual, and GUI will be used as part of an NVESD program
Have you messed around on Robinhood at all? It’s an easy way to start to learn how to invest. I’ve loved it. I just drop in $5 per month to play around with and become familiar with stocks.
The app is nice, though, because they don’t charge you. They earn their money on the interest your money accumulates while sitting in limbo (when you sell an app and leave money in the app without investing it for a while). It’s very popular with millennials in experiencing investing for the first time. It’s also sleek and has an easy user interface.
I’m sitting on 5 shares of Tesla ($TSLA) and 1 share of Zynga ($ZNGA). I picked up Zynga through the promotion they have: use my affiliate link, and we both get a free stock! (Go to robinhood.com if you don’t want to use my link).
I need to play around on /r/RobinHood more, too. Just happened across it!
Army Personal Fitness Test (APFT)
I’ve been working towards my Freedom Journal goal—max my APFT with a score of 300+ by 28DEC17—and I’ve consistently improved my score each time I’ve taken it! My latest score was a 283 on 13NOV17!
Push-ups: 75 reps (score: 100 [max])
Sit-ups: 79 reps (score: 99; personal record)
2-mile Run: 14:19 (score: 84; personal record)
Total: 283
Gotham Seasons 3 & 4
Just before Stranger Things 2 dropped on Netflix, we tore through Gotham Season 3 on Netflix! It gets darker and weirder this season, but we can’t help but love it! We’ve been catching up on Season 4 on Hulu since we finished Stranger Things, and we can’t help but feel that it might be getting too gory. I love how they work in so many minor characters like Professor Pyg and Tigress. Also, they did a fantastic job incorporating Solomon Grundy. I love watching the show for how they’ll spin each new character.
Inktober
I’ve been much more active on Deviant Art as of late, and there’s been an October challenge—”Inktober”—floating around, that I started using to push me to draw more. It’s helped! I need to be better about it though. I’ve been so swamped lately. I’m still not done with the challenge and we’re about done with November! But nonetheless, it’s pushed me to draw things outside of my norm, and I’ve actually loved how it’s stretched my boundaries! You can find me on DA at ~jonnymhenderson.
StarCraft II
Well, Blizzard finally dropped SCII to free-to-play, so I deleted Heroes of the Storm (HotS), RuneScape, and Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) to make room for SCII! Oh man, I’ve freakin’ loved it. So fun. I love the universe it’s set in, the storytelling, and the familiarity with a modern twist. It’s lovely, and I’m only a few missions into the Terran campaign!
Katy Perry
Holy Hannah! Shalene surprised me with tickets! I didn’t think it would happen, since her concert in SLC was on Black Friday, and this is the year where all the extended family was in Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving (as in all our babysitters). She did it all behind-the-scenes, and we went! It’s one of the few concerts where our musical tastes overlap enough to enjoy it together. She finally told me beforehand because I wouldn’t let it go and kept trying to make plans so that it would happen. She was worried I’d be stubborn enough to work it out on my own!
The concert was fantastic, and I’ll be sure to clue you in on it more when I’ve got my video all stitched together. Be watching for it!
Purity Ring
They opened for KP, so naturally, I’ll “rave” (see what I did there) about these Canuks! I’ve been loving their songs. At the concert, it was really hard to hear what she was singing, because of the sound, but I thought it’d make for amazing background study music. Now that I’m home and can throw in headphones, they’re actually great! PS They also co-wrote 3 songs with Katy: “Mind Maze”, “Miss You More”, and “Bigger Than Me” (Wikipedia). Here are a few of my top picks by them:
It’s got a pirate-Irish vibe to it, but then it drops into a dope EDM track with an almost Donkey Kong Country sound to it. And was that a panflute I heard…? I fell in love with the artist for his website where he says:
“As a content creator it can be frustrating and hard to find music that both fits your content and is free to use. I have created this site to make it as simple as possible to soundtrack your videos without any legal mumbo jumbo.”
The second season was so cool! I was talking with a friend about the show. I think that Season 1’s biggest perk was novelty—a nerdy, 80s psychological thriller? They totally pulled it off like we’ve never seen before. Season 2 was just extremely well written and every episode (except for 7…) left you on the edge of your seat. Also check out this episode of the podcast, Song Exploder: Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – Stranger Things (Main Title Theme).
Dungeons & Dragons
My favorite video game, Neverwinter Nights, is set in the D&D world of Forgotten Realms, and my favorite book series, The Legend of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore, also takes place there. It only makes sense that I give D&D a shot. I’m working on putting together a group and will probably play DM myself for a while. Super excited to take nerddom to the next level.
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Brain.fm + Focus Keeper
I’ve been using this insane study combo of Brain.fm and Focus Keeper (free MacOS & iOS apps). The former being ambient study music and the latter being a timer that works off the Pomodoro Technique (focus for 25 mins, then take a 5 min break). I’ve been using my breaks to be creative, either writing or drawing. It’s been a lot of fun, and it keeps me motivated throughout a long study sesh. I’ve also found time for me!
First off, let me just say that Advanced Camp was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Up until that point, it had been taking 19 credits last summer while Shalene was pregnant. I feel lame for saying camp was hard. Granted, it was meant to be, but nothing individually was actually too difficult. The conditions under which we performed them, however, are what made the entire course overwhelming. But I’m reminded what our Brigade Commander said, and that is they only have 30 days to evaluate us, so they get their evaluations in such a short amount of time by breaking us down and seeing how we do under difficult conditions.
I suffered through disgusting levels of heat and humidity, poison ivy, and sleep deprivation, but the hardest task I was asked to perform was to lead my peers. It’s a much different ballgame when you are given MSIs and MSIIs to lead, as you’re their senior. But for a leader to be yanked out of a group of MSIII strangers, well, that’s when things get especially difficult.
While my “life experience” is still limited, I came from a much different position than most cadets—exchange student, missionary, married, a daughter who spent lots of time in the NICU, and just the fact that I’m 24 when most were turning 21. I had confidence and capability where others were still building their skillset. I was lucky with the platoon and squad I was given, though. I couldn’t have done it without great peers to lead.
The rest of this entry is a compilation of notes from my notebook as well as a timeline of what we did while we were at camp. All of my highlights are in orange text. At the end is a list of documents we were given. Let me know if you have any questions or if you find anything that could be improved upon.
4th Regiment, B Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad
Initial counseling: “There is no limit to what we can accomplish if we do not care who gets the credit”
Commanding General MG Christopher Hughes
Potential topics for discussion within briefing
The hard right and easy wrong
The first two years of 2LT
we recognize/honor those who take risk, willing to embarrass themselves
introverts don’t know how to communicate with extroverts
how do we cooperate, collaborate, and graduate
a successful leader uses Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to know where to start
care more about subordinates’ needs than your reputation
rehears responses to compliments/critiques
“Always do what is right realizing that doing what is right is the most difficult way to solve the problem acknowledging that it will be unpopular with those you lead”
“do your dishes” ➔ the unpopular decision is to maintain standards
physical checks on all equipment
“not fair” is never okay for an officer
sunburn can field an Article 15
“A good leader will go out of their way to give their subordinates ‘the why’”
builds trust and challenges you as a leader
“The cat’s ass” is a phrase that can be interpreted as positive or negative ➔ be clear in how you communicate
Read and understand the Constitution
Last year, about 95% of the 3,300 cadets got top 1-2 choice
Two things from science
successful in Army if you love fitness
Good at landnav/can read music means better at utilizing brain (critical thinking)
3rd is to take s.o. successful and intuitively say “he’s got it” ➔ PMS review
Read what GEN Mark Milley says. We’ll be at war with either Iran, Russia, North Korea, or China in 10 years
Camp increased intensity due to intense warfare ahead
Train to be miserable. An invasion is such
How does the leader stay motivated?
“Moral and sacred responsibility” to protect troops
find yourself in a reflective state
about 1/5 will be as impressive as you think they ought to be ➔ help the other 4!
“jealous regard for the honor of one’s unit” ➔ reg. def. of spirit de corps
Books by Daniel Golman on emotional intelligence (in the following order):
find s.o. who doesn’t look like me and understand diversity
share your bear traps and goldmines
List of things I needed from Shalene: Mio energy, Crystal Light energy, electric tape, Twizzlers, Sharpie, pens, socks, gallon ziplock bags, body glide
Arm immersion therapy—dunking bare arms into ice water for 15 seconds to cool core temperature
FLRC AAR—I was SL for Bridge Lane
Sustains
Communicated well
Stood aside to assess
Resilient and calm
Improves
Delegate to specific individuals
Don’t delegate to a team
didn’t understand any of the minute-of-angle stuff
memorize oaths ➔ “book ends”
Oath of Enlistment
Flag Funeral Presentation
LTC [Name]: “The best thing we get to do is lead soldiers”
Spot request for tampons aka “bullets”. CPT [Name] said, “Cadet, let me make this easy for you. Count how many full magazines you have…Oh, we’re not talking about bullets?”
MTC AAR—Me as PL for 3rd iteration
Sustains
My RTO suggested figuring out radios
LDA
One of our SLs didn’t have a radio ➔ SL to SL for LACE
Improves
Didn’t talk to previous leadership
used straight-line pace
SLLS halt
SCAT
Time on OBJ
Mid-Cycle Counseling
Ranked middle of PLT
improve: delegation and improving results
Top third of squad
trouble formulating plan under stress
good critical thinker
My goals
tunnel vision
fix lack of delegation
peer leadership
execution
follow-through
critical thinking is there, but I need to execute!
good plan now vs. great plan later
MSG [Name] said I’m a perfect blend of listening, respect, etc. needed for an officer
Company FTX AAR
The CG wanted dirty, wet, and funky
Mission
Evaluate leadership
crucible for mental fortitude
tactics
complex missions allowed for mental agility testing
repeated stimuli answered with SOPs reducing cognitive load. Mental agility for first encounters
domain knowledge was only a single subset of evaluation ➔ competencies
trust but verify (use belt and suspenders)
mission variables (water, maps, etc) add training value in plans in low-risk environment
inflated fire (Ex: MG on file)
no talking with family ➔ econ prospect theory ➔ negative utility from less ↑ than positive utility from gain
basic needs allow you to relate better to your soldiers
20 mins ➔ individual vs. group ➔ think total man hours
Documents
Most of the Cadets I went to camp with did not have these for whatever reason. My Cadre emailed them all to me. They’re stored in my university Google Drive account, and the links take you to the view-only file. You’ll still be able to download them, though.
Back from training this summer! I had amazing experiences and really pushed myself to the limit (not that I had much of a choice). I also gained valuable friendships and connections. More on those to follow in other posts. Some goodies since I’ve been back…
Focus
I try to read an article I have saved to Pocket every day, otherwise, my list of articles get’s to be infinite and overwhelming. In an Evernote blog post titled How to Avoid Focus-Stealing Traps, this quote on types of focus resonated well with me:
Goleman casts the types of attention…into three general categories. He argues that we can have “inner,” “outer,” or “other” focus, or focus on the self, other people, and the world around us. The most successful of us develop and balance out this “triad of awareness,” because “a failure to focus inward leaves you rudderless, a failure to focus on others renders you clueless, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided.”
Morning Routine
One of my favorite parts of returning home—aside from loving the heck out of my wife and daughter—is to be in a set morning routine again. I didn’t let jet lag get to me. My first day back, I set the alarm for 0530 (which felt like 0730 coming from the East Coast) and got to it. It’s been really therapeutic to know I have some structure—especially coming from military training. It’s looked a little something like this:
0530 Wakeup
0535 Play around on social media while my water heats up for yerba mate 0540 Bathroom break
0550 Play a round of Heroes of the Storm
0610 Read 4 pages of Das Buch Mormon
0645 Journal or blog
0715 Misc housekeeping on my laptop
0800 Eva wakes up
Silicone Icecube Tray
Tim Ferriss likes to ask what recent purchase of less than $100 has brought joy or impacted your life in a positive way. I don’t know why I ever bothered with plastic icecube trays that are terrible to use. A silicone tray is blowing my mind. You can pop a single cube out at a time, and it’s actually easy! I love it and will be getting another one. They’re about $4 at Walmart.
A Résumé for Elon Musk
I am constantly pouring over my résumé to tweak and improve it. I also love Elon Musk. This Business Insider post was a match made in heaven. A company built a résumé (PNG version) for Elon and, although it’s not perfect, it paints a very good picture of how to stick to a single page. It’s also creative and fun and has given me ideas on how I can alter mine. Funny enough, my current résumé is based on a guy who got hired at SpaceX right out of his undergrad.
I’d buy the Washington Capitals. Being from Virginia, we didn’t have any professional teams. DC was the closest bet, and all their teams (Redskins & Nationals) aside from the Caps suck. I don’t know anything about DC United, though.
I actually loved penguins so much growing up that my favorite team was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Back in middle school, my dad bought me an old jersey off of eBay and took me to a Penguins vs. Caps game on my birthday! He loved me enough to take me to a home game while I wore the bitter rival’s colors. I walked away with a Capitals hat, though, so I’ve come around since then.
Game I Loved as a Kid
A lot of my favorite video games, actually, come from watching my dad play when I was a kid. Serious Sam is one of the games I enjoyed watching him play. Apparently, there’s even a new VR version on Steam! Pretty cool. Nothing like shooting harpies with cannonballs in Egypt.
Half Marathon
I signed up for my first half-marathon! One step closer to running a full. It’ll be in the heat and humidity of the Virginia summer. I’m running the Freedom Fighters Half in Quantico which benefits the Semper Fi Fund. Pretty excited. I’ve been slowly upping my game, recently, and hit 9.8 miles as my new “Farthest I’ve Ever Run” run (you can follow me on Strava). Just fighting off runner’s knee and jamming to new podcasts.
Podcast Episode I’ve Loved
One of my recent discoveries is NPR’s new How I Built This podcast. I specifically loved the TOMS: Blake Mycoskie episode. Serial entrepreneurs fascinate me, especially when they have novel ideas. This one gave me some creative thoughts to bolster SpareSpace.
Haribo Pico-Balla
We’re slowly starting to dip into our supply of candy and chocolate we brought back from Germany. I never had these while I lived there (there are so many Haribo flavors), but I absolutely loved them! In fact, I ate them all before I could take a picture! They’re fairly similar to Hi-Chews in taste and texture, but the shape and flavors are different. Find them on Amazon.
I recently submitted an application for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) scholarship. I had previously applied as a freshman at Boise State but didn’t get the award. There’s only one winner per state of a $1,000 scholarship, a membership, and a tour of a local military base and its engineering assets.
This go-around, I’m a much more developed writer and researcher. I wanted to share a few things I learned throughout the process.
Cross-Pollination
I have always been a huge advocate of grouping. Similar to the idea of temptation bundling (see Freakonomics podcast episode “When Willpower Isn’t Enough“), I try to group tasks to minimize time spent on tasks. Some examples I’ve utilized are:
Practicing my language skills with the Duolingo app while I feed my baby
Reading while on the exercise bike at the gym
Listening to a podcast while I walk to school
Catch up on my YouTube “Watch Later” list while cleaning the house
Pairing Netflix documentaries and folding laundry
You can see how each task on its own would take a significant amount of time, but by effectively pairing two tasks, I can get twice as much done.
This semester, I established a relationship with Dr. Doug Reynolds—a petroleum and energy economist and professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks—and used his expertise as a reference in three different sectors: my health economics course, my professional and technical writing course, and the SAME scholarship. I was allowed to choose my topic for a term paper in my econ course (health implications of nuclear energy) and the subject of a final group project for the writing class (survey of energy usage in the US), which was the perfect setup to tie in my engineering background. My health econ professor gave me one of Dr. Reynolds’s books, which led to me reaching out. When the scholarship came along and discussed the implementation of the Smart Grid and microgrid systems in the US, I knew I’d be able to pick his brain.
I kept my questions concise and to the point so as to respect his time. It was a great success! I earned an A in both courses and am awaiting the results of the scholarship.
Writing
Taking the professional and technical writing class was literally just for fun. As a freshman at Boise State, I decided I wanted to pursue a certificate in technical communication. When I transferred to ISU, that option wasn’t available. I jumped at the chance to take the class solely because I was interested, even though it bumped me to 21 credits for the semester (I originally tried to take 26, but the school decided that was too much. Oh well…).
While I wrote out the entire essay, it is absolutely critical to have a fresh pair of eyes read it over. I had three different proofreaders take a look!
Another bonus to the essay was the term “literature review”, which Wikipedia defines as:
“a text of a scholarly paper, which includes the current knowledge including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and do not report new or original experimental work”
I’ve always wanted to get my feet wet in research, but have never been an expert. This might open a door to publish an article as a collection and review of other sources out there! I’m excited to pursue this.
Research
This was a wildly fun essay. As mentioned before, I legitimately love to write. What I learned most from this scholarship application, however, is that I also love to research. I previously worked for Canvas Strategy as a content marketing manager, ghostwriting articles for companies. It was a really fun job and introduced me to learning how to research. This essay, however, sealed the deal!
I printed and read between 10-20 articles for what was only a three-page essay! I highlighted, took notes, cross-referenced, then organized my structure on scrap pieces of paper. I’m very visual. Momentum built as it all pieced together, and I was very pleased with my final work.
Résumé
As part of this process, I had to account for my involvement in extracurriculars. I polished my résumé and included a copy on top of the requested document.
When I was applying to the Virginia Military Institute, their application had certain fields you had to fill in, but I also called and asked if I could send them a résumé in the mail to be considered with my application. They said yes, and ultimately, I was accepted. I’ve found that maintaining a current copy of my résumé has opened doors where speed was key. It’s not that difficult either. I check it a few times throughout the semester, but especially after finals.
References
The last part of the application was a letter of recommendation. Luckily, I know my department chair really well, and she provided the necessary recommendation. It did, however, fall during finals week, so I was really worried she’d be too busy. This prompted me to make a mental note for next time: ask for the letter of recommendation as soon as I open an application. I had saved the scholarship to my desktop for later and didn’t open it until I was ready to start applying. I could have saved myself a lot of worrying had I opened it, skimmed through it, and sent a request for that letter ASAP!
Summary
The takeaways from this application in addition to the fun brought on by the assignment itself definitely made the process worthwhile, regardless of the result. I learned about using my sources to their maximum potential, saving me lots of time; reiterated my love of writing in taking on this challenging paper; discovered literature reviews, allowing me to, in fact, get involved in research now, rather than waiting until I’m an expert; updated my résumé to reflect my most current undertakings; and lastly, I realized the importance of honoring others time and staying on top of task management.
The whole thing started in the summer of 2016. I was interested in being more involved as an entrepreneur and was looking for another venture to undertake. My brother-in-law, Stuart, mentioned at one point wanting to go into his own business, so we met up in Old Town at The Red Poppy Cafe for a “brainstorm brunch”. He pointed me towards Dr. Jeff Street at Idaho State and his new project, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED). It’s a wing of the business building that incorporates different organizations like the Small Business Development Center.
Dr. Street had just the project for me! He was pushing to get ISU involved in the annual Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge. Our school has never competed before, so I became the spokesperson of the initiative, forming ISU’s first team.
Development
I have a mental “mastermind list” of friends I bounce ideas off of or who are very good in their respective field. It’s perfect for starting a business, so I messaged my buddy and fellow ROTC cadet, Tim. We started working on a project, hoping to incorporate both of our fields of study to add to our résumé. He’s a nursing major, I’m in engineering, and we’re both in ROTC. We landed on a field medicine device for military use. That quickly transformed into an idea for a field workstation that collapses into a rucksack. Our problem, however, was that we were trying to take a solution to a problem, not the other way around.
Eventually, after weeks of going nowhere, Tim mentioned a friend, Jeff, who also uses him as a sounding board. Jeff’s a computer science major minoring in entrepreneurship at Gonzaga University. Without really ever making the connection until then (and having never met Jeff myself), all three of us have wanted to own our own storage units. For a class project, Jeff’s team had developed the idea for SpareSpace, a college student storage solution. His partners had no intentions of taking it further than the scope of the class project, so Jeff brought it to us. The three of us now had a problem.
SpareSpace addresses three issues:
Square Footage—College students commonly want to leave their belongings locally for the summer (especially out-of-staters or international students). Most students, however, can’t fill up an entire storage unit on their own. SpareSpace is itemized storage, where you pay per item per month, only getting charged for the space you’re using. On our side of things, we can now play Tetris with everyone’s belongings in our warehouse, tagging each item so we know where it’s at.
Truck—Everyone has that one friend who has a truck, and everyone asks that same friend to move their couch. SpareSpace does pick-up and delivery, helping the customer maintain their friendships!
Finals—Moving always overlaps with Finals Week. No one wants to stress about where they’re going to leave their things when they should be studying. On top of that, your friend with a truck? He has finals, too. SpareSpace offers streamlined coordination of moving at designated pick-up sites on campus through our mobile app.
The Competition
Thursday, we pitched our idea briefly to a panel of ISU admins, then headed to Boise. When we got there, we attended a workshop on crafting a company’s positioning statement, then had a meet-and-greet dinner on the top floor of the Zion’s Bank building. The IEC had a few gifts for us, including a sweet hiking day bag. After the dinner, we split to finish our presentation items.
Friday, we pitched to three panels of judges. It was a pretty cool experience. For the first group, our presentation had formatting issues. We downloaded our Google Slides presentation as a PowerPoint and forgot to check it.
In some cases, the judges gave great feedback. Most of them were investors, CEOs, or other business executives. One in particular—Scott Crouch, CEO of Mark43—said he operated a similar business for police evidence and gave us some things to implement. Another judge said his daughter (and everyone at her school) uses our urban competitor at her university in LA and that this idea would happen with our without us.
After the pitches, we had a few workshops on angel investing and intellectual property. The latter of the two was put on by Bradlee Frazer of Hawley Troxell, the lawyer for Boise State! Then, we got a tour of Boise Trailhead and Trailhead North—Boise’s hottest entrepreneur hangouts.
Results
Next up, everyone had a booth in the BSU Alumni & Friends Building for the public to come see our ideas. Those were also judged, but we were pretty unimpressed with our competition. We had a couple of boxes with labels, bubble wrap and bubble gum, and peanut M&Ms and packing peanuts. We went for modern and minimalist. We thought we were pretty slick.
It turns out that ISU had a great year. We made up 11% of the applicants, 25% of the finalists, and took home 31% of the winnings. SpareSpace won runner-up in the most congested category (Tech, Consumer Product, or Service), and we brought home $6,000, plus the bonus $300 given to every finalist team.
The Future of SpareSpace
Our team is in a bit of a tight situation. Tim and I are both ROTC cadets with summer training and internship commitments. Jeff is also gone for the summer for an internship. So basically, no one is here nor available to run our little operation. Furthermore, Tim and Jeff graduate and move on next spring, so it’d just be me for that summer if it got going. We’re not really in a position to launch, which is unfortunate, because our idea is solid, and the market needs us. We ultimately opted for a soft launch that didn’t work out, due to the timing of the competition, so we plan on just splitting our winnings.
At a minimum, we each have gained valuable transferable skills and learned the ins and outs of business development. Personally, I’ve taken some of my winnings and am learning how to invest in the stock market. To new opportunities!
First things first, I need a catchy name. Please help! I enjoy the rapid-read of Tim Ferriss’s 5-Bullet Friday, which I’ve adopted, but I need a way to name these posts to capture what I’m doing without being boring. Go!
New Jam
It’s clearly been awhile since I’ve posted one of these. I found “Trampoline” by Kero Kero Bonito back in March, and loved it! Enjoy. It’s an electronic vibe mixed with a hint of Japanese, similar to Porter Robinson’s style.
Cause
Okay, so I’m really excited about this. I look around and realize how much 1) people need money for projects, and 2) how much people hate fundraising. In fact, yesterday, I did a workout circuit at the soccer and track field at my university, and the concrete stands were rubble. You couldn’t even sit there!
I stumbled back onto DonorsChoose.org, which is a website designed for helping public schools fund projects they need. I searched for my ZIP code, and Learn The German Language was one of the first projects that popped up! I want to help them so bad. It’s local, and it’s German! They’re only $250 away from reaching their goal, and this would increase enrollment in my second major at ISU. Please donate if you have the means!
This is just the beginning for me. I really want to take on a fundraising project.
Semester: Accomplished
Boy howdy. This has definitely been my easiest semester yet. Because I’m double-majoring, and I need to work around Eva’s schedule this year, I took mostly business classes. I pulled straight As, except for an A-. It’s infuriating. It was a 92.76%, which didn’t get rounded to the 93% I needed for an A.
In other news, I’ve had an insane spike of productivity and self-development. I’ve taken on new projects, crossed many things off of year-old to-do lists, and have been having lots of fun. I’m home all month as Mr. Mom until Shalene’s done with school and I leave for my internship.
I finished writing about Germany (see Heimfahrt), posted my photos on Facebook to share, built a planter box out of pallets I took apart a year ago (summer classes got in the way), and have been enjoying being able to read.
Wikipedia
I have forever wanted to become a contributor to Wikipedia. I finally jumped on it (in the middle of doing something else), and was giddy the entire time. And what better place to start than Tim Ferriss’s page?!
I have an old Wacom Bamboo tablet I bought off a guy on DeviantArt back in high school. The stylus collected a ton of dust, so I used a Lysol wipe to clean it off since the grip was sticky. Well, now it’s worse. The wipe must’ve stripped the grip of its finish, so it’s just sticky rubber now. I got creative, though, and coated it with a nail polish clear top coat. It’s bearable now. The only downside is that it’s not entirely compatible with Mac, so I miss out on the button features.
StarCraft
Holy Hannah. I’ve been playing the crap out of StarCraft now that school’s out and Blizzard released the original for free!
Slow Carb Diet
Now that school’s out, I’ve had much more time for meal prep. I also don’t need to take my lunch anywhere (no more worrying about refrigeration or smells). I’ve been reading Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Body and implementing changes. I feel great, and have been eating significantly less food on this diet without feeling hungry or tired! I haven’t even been craving sweets! I wanted to give it a test run for a month before going to camp in June (MREs are definitely not slow carb). It’s been more expensive, but it’s forced me to eat healthier and get creative!
It finally happened! Not only did I fulfill literally years of daydreaming about returning to Germany, but Shalene’s lifelong dream of visiting the historical Fatherland came true. It was one exhausting trip, but we couldn’t help loving every minute of it.
Day 1 & 2—Travel
We dropped Eva off on Thursday, but our journey began on Friday, March 17th. We drove down to Grandma and Grandpa Wiser’s. We left our car with them, and they took us to the airport. Time together was minimal because Delta advised us to be there 3 hours early. Well, it only took us 20 mins to get through TSA and down to our gate (this would never happen at Dulles!), so we got Café Rio. Unfortunately, on this flight, we weren’t slated to sit next to each other. The employees at the gate tried, but we both had middle seats so anyone who could trade for us to be next to each other would be giving up an aisle or a window. The guy said that we’d just have to meet up in the bathroom…not sure if there was added connotation there.
I sat next to a guy and made small-talk, intent on stealing his seat. He ended up being a cool guy! He got his undergrad and masters at the School of Mines in economics and mineral economics respectively. He’s now working on his PhD at the University of Southern California specializing in the economics of happiness. He was headed to Holland to attend a conference in that field. Well, I planted a seed and let it be, not wanting to pester. He eventually turned to me and said I can have his aisle seat to trade away, since he was going to knock back two beers (St. Patrick’s Day), then sleep. So Shalene and I ended up next to each other after all! Little did I know, it was to the benefit of her former neighbor. The guy’s TV stopped working! Shalene and I were pumped because Delta had the whole 3rd season of Gotham, but we ended up just trading seats back and forth throughout the flight to share her working TV. Shalene watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I watched Dr. Strange.
I was totally impressed with the entire travel experience. Delta now offers a crazy array of films and TV shows for free, a hot towel, and free drinks (even alcohol) on all international flights! It was a great airline, and KLM lived up to the same standards on the other 3 legs of our round-trip flight. KLM had these delicious wraps, too!
It was a 10-hour flight to Amsterdam, then we had a 6-hour layover. We wandered the airport, which was lots of fun, but that lasted 2 hours tops. The next 4 hours was miserable as we tried to find somewhere to catch a nap. There were lounge chairs throughout the whole airport, but it was now Saturday afternoon (changing time zones), so the place was packed! To make matters worse, the floors were tile so Shalene couldn’t lie down. We tried sleeping on a long bench sort of thing, but it didn’t last. Eventually, a chair opened up, which Shalene took, and I curled up on a padded cushion.
The airport really was cool, though. The bathrooms were so sleek and modern. The one thing that threw me off, though, was that there was a woman in the bathroom cleaning it while it was in use. I walked up to a urinal and she told me it wasn’t clean yet. She then proceeded down the line of urinals, scrubbing and waving us over one at a time as they opened up. So I was literally peeing in a newly-cleaned urinal while she was cleaning the one right next to me. In reality, it isn’t that weird, but culturally, it threw me for a loop.
Another cool thing about the airport was a giant digital clock that displayed analog. It also had a moving shadow of a man behind the clock face who would erase the minute hand and paint a new one as the time changed. Pretty cool. Another huge thing in the airport was all the tulip shops. They even had these really expensive hand backs that looked like tulips and closed with a drawstring.
We eventually made it onto our plane, and couldn’t have been more excited—or tired. We landed in Munich, got our bags, then walk out and sat in a café waiting for the Gerblingers. I had my back to the main section of the airport, so it was Shalene who spotted them. Gabi, Hubert, and Hannah were walking towards us, and it was so surreal.
The whole way home, Hannah was singing. We recognized a few songs from Moana, plus she’d sing in English every so often. When we got home, Magdalena was watching Fixer Upper! How bizarre. We had a delicious Brotzeit where Shalene tried tons of meats and cheeses, loving every second. I, of course, had a long overdue reunion with Spezi.
I was originally embarrassed by my German. It’s not like I had any choice but to speak it, however, I was still slow to ease back into it. Shalene actually followed along decently well! Magdalena’s English was amazing, and she was eager to practice. Hannah and Barbara had just started to learn, so they tested the waters when we pressed them. Hubert knew English but would say everything in German first (even when addressing Shalene) before speaking English. Gabi didn’t speak it, but she understood English well enough. Gabi and Shalene were opposites with the language ability, but they understood each other decently, especially as they used their hands.
I stayed up to wait for Tanja and Lukas, while Shalene went to bed, but I didn’t last long. We slept hard that night.
Day 3—Augsburg
We woke up Sunday (first at 4AM because of our zeitgeber [I owe my use of that word to Mrs. Cornett from middle school]) around 9 or 10 and kicked off the day with a Weißwurstfrühstück—my favorite German food. Shalene doesn’t care for mustard, so she wasn’t impressed, but you know she dove into the breadbasket for those rolls!
As we were getting ready, Barbara hung out with us. She told Shalene to wear her owl earrings (like Tanja, she’s obsessed with owls). We also gave Hannah and Barbara each a one-dollar bill, which they thought was pretty cool.
Shalene, Tanja, and I picked up Mirjam Wiedemann (Mima), and we headed to Augsburg. We went to the Fuggerei, which was project-housing for the poor—the oldest of its kind in the world. It was extremely nice, however, and we could see ourselves living there haha. There was also an air raid bunker with a few displays. One thing that stood out was when Shalene mentioned how cold it was during the day in that bunker, yet the people had to sleep in the bunkers in February’s winter during WWII because of the bombing. Lots of Augsburg was damaged.
We met up with Steffi Bröll and got lunch at Henry’s Coffee World at the Rathausplatz, or town hall square. A funny misunderstanding was when we ordered Mohnkuchen. Mima raised concerns about us as Mormons. She said if we couldn’t drink tea or coffee, we probably couldn’t have Mohnkuchen, using the English word “opiate” to describe its ingredients. I looked it up…poppyseed cake haha! We had Spezi and hot chocolate then ordered some poppyseed cake, then ordered fries, but with each order placed individually and seemingly in reverse of normal order. We didn’t plan on being that hungry, but it grew on us.
Inside the Rathaus was the Goldener Saal—golden hall—which we didn’t pay to go into, but it was amazing when we peeked in. Downstairs was also a whole display on the history of Augsburg. One thing I didn’t know was that Augsburg was formerly known as Augusta, named after Augustus Caesar since it was part of the Roman Empire.
We stopped by the famous Augsburger Puppenkiste, which is a famous marionette theater, before heading home. The journey back (a short 30 mins) had Shalene squirming, and we had to find a gas station for her to *ahem* use the bathroom at. That turned out to be more problematic than anticipated since everything in Germany is closed on Sundays.
That night, Gabi made Käspätzle, and it was a total hit. Shalene loved it. It’s one of those dishes that require a lot of work, so I didn’t get it much when I was there, but (and I hate describing it this way), it’s a regional “mac and cheese” baked into a casserole by layering Spätzle noodles and all different types of cheeses. To complete the dish, you throw fried onions on top.
Andrea showed up that night to say hi, and the rest of us (Tanja, Lukas, Magdalena, Shalene, and I) played SingStar. Anyone facing off against Tanja will lose.
Day 4—Nürnberg
Well, I got up at 4:30AM (12:30PM Idaho time), and just decided to stay up. I was on my way to eat something when I bumped into my host-dad, who was barely clothed as he got ready for work. Business as usual.
I ate, chatted with him while he read the newspaper, and then my host-mom and sisters when they came out, reading in between conversations.
Mima picked Shalene, Tanja, and I up, and we headed to Nürnberg, or Nuremberg in English. I didn’t know much about the city. In fact, I had been there once, but only for a 3-day rock festival, and we weren’t there to see the city. We just hiked a few miles from the train station to Zepplinfeld for Rock im Park.
We parked, dropped Tanja off at an audition for the orchestra there, and hit the Tracht (traditional clothing) shop to buy Shalene a dirndl! It was actually one of the easiest shopping experiences I’ve ever had. We wandered around looking at dresses when Mima says, “How about this one,” holding up the dirndl Shalene ended up buying. She tried it on, then we found a blouse, and were done! I walked over to the men’s section and picked up a shirt, that I then tried on and bought. So easy. Eva’s dirndl was trickier. We bought her a pink-and-green dress for when she’s 3 or 4. Until then, she’ll have to settle for a lederhosen onesie! Gabi also had a friend make handmade matching jewelry.
Next stop: Documentation Center Nazi Party Rallying Grounds. It was an amazing memorial to WWII. The building is an edgy, modern design that overlaps with part of the “conference center” that Hitler never finished. I learned a lot at the museum. One of the points that stood out to me was that Hitler became rich off of selling Mein Kampf. There were lots of French students that were running around being noisy and disrespectful, so Shalene was pretty bothered.
After the museum, we met up with Tanja, who was down after her audition. We got döner, naturally (Turkish kebab), then did some shopping. We bought a cuckoo clock, a few gifts for friends and family, some Kraftklub CDs as well as a kids song CD, and chocolate. Plus, we picked up some Disney movies—there’s no such thing as the Disney Vault in Germany—since they’re each only like 10€!
Mima had to bounce, so Tanja, Shalene, and I hiked up to the castle, then caught the train home, where we took a nap. So exhausted!
Day 5—Dachau & München
We spent two days in Munich. The first day, we were meeting up with my friend Jonas. We quickly found out that although Shalene and I would have fun reflecting on the experience, we would not make good partners on The Amazing Race. We were dropped off with plenty of time to buy a ticket, but the machine to buy tickets wouldn’t take our 50€ bill, which is all we had. Our bank had locked our credit card the day before (unbeknownst to us) since we hadn’t filled out the paperwork to say we were traveling, even though we had gone in to ask questions and no one said anything about it to us. The train station office couldn’t make change, and neither could the store nearby. So I said, “Forget it. Wir fahren schwarz.”
Essentially, my plan was to hop on the train and just tell the ticket checker that we have cash, but the machine wouldn’t allow us to purchase a ticket. We missed our train because of all the troubles, so we went over to the track and waited. I didn’t know what to do. Every day we were in Germany, Verizon texted us asking if we wanted to activate international calling. It’s only $10 per day to have the same access and features as we did in the US. No sweat. I replied saying to activate it. It didn’t work. I called Verizon. They were doing maintenance and couldn’t help me for an hour. To top it all off, we were to purchase a group ticket, picking our friend up along the way, so if we didn’t tell him in time, he’d get on the first train without a ticket (potentially getting fined), and we wouldn’t catch up to him for 30 minutes.
Shalene asked if we could just ask someone to borrow their phone. I initially shot it down. First off, the Germans keep to themselves and aren’t outwardly friendly to strangers. The phrase “Man macht das nicht” or “One doesn’t do that” comes to mind. Secondly, I didn’t consider myself a tourist when I was there. I spoke German, and I knew my way around. I didn’t need help. But I panicked, and eventually said she was correct. I asked someone to shoot a text to Jonas for us, and he asked if I just wanted to call. It worked out great since Jonas was also running late. We met up with him on the train and were on our way to Dachau, the first concentration camp.
It was definitely interesting and humbling to be where the atrocities of the Holocaust once happened. I was a little surprised with how bare it was, though. When I lived there, they sent me on a field trip with the 10th grade to Austria to see Mauthausen, a work camp. There, you got to walk down the same steps into the deep quarry the prisoners were forced to work in. At Dachau, they had reconstructed a housing facility, but the rest were bare lots with placards and numbers. There was a museum, where we watched a movie (I fell asleep and felt horrible—jetlag was killer), we took an audio tour around the grounds, and took lots of pictures. The coolest part to me were the placards with inscriptions of the US military groups that came to liberate the camp. Another oddity were the three churches on the backside of the camp, with the crematory in the woods off to the side. In fact, it was so odd, because it felt like a fairy tale, walking through a beautiful grove of trees to what appeared to be a picturesque cottage. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
After Dachau, we headed into the big city. We met up with my host-brother, Stephan or Hubbi (an affectionate nickname as the little version of Hubert). First on the list was food. We were starving! We went to Tegernseer Tal Bräuhaus, a really traditional restaurant and brewery.
He showed us around, but the weather totally detracted from the beauty of the city. We saw Residenz (an old palace), Marienplatz (the central square), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (the university where my host-bro studies), and the opera house where my host-bro plays in the orchestra. We also got ice cream, then walked through the English Gardens, which were dead and grey since spring hadn’t fully hit yet.
After we had hit the entire city by foot, we talked to the train station and Jonas’s girlfriend, Anna, picked us up in Augsburg. We ate dinner at their apartment and had a blast. Her family owns a farm and a little store, and they get to live in an upstairs apartment as part of an office building. It’s a sweet set-up, and they get it for cheap since her parents’ asking price is too much for people in the city and goes unrented.
Day 6—München
We started by gathering up our friends in Tanja’s car and headed to the train station. We had Shalene, Tanja, Bartschi, Jana, and I. A friend of Tanja’s (Kathi) met up with us in the city.
First stop: Das Deutsche Museum—the largest science and technology museum in the world. It was insane. Shalene was super uninterested going into it but immediately had a great time finding that so much of the Industrial Revolution she teaches would come to life. The first exhibit we hit was Bergbau (mining). The entire exhibit was literally like walking through a mine. They had constructed tunnels with displays built into the walls. It ended up being our favorite exhibit!
Continuing on, we saw exhibits on machines, electricity, energy, the environment, boats, the history of aviation, and so much more. It was overwhelmingly enormous. We wished that we lived nearby and that we could spend an entire day on each exhibit.
We wanted to buy a mobile for Eva in the gift shop, and we really liked two: hot air balloons and the plants. We anticipated that the prices would be steep, but they were actually insane. But we did pick up some cool things there. I got a mechanical engineering book in German for when I’m a business magnate and have my own office.
For lunch, we went to this restaurant, Hans im Glück, which was straight out of a fairytale. The whole restaurant looked like it was a treehouse indoors! There were trees from floor to ceiling and all the lamps on the walls were birdhouses. The food was delicious!
Afterward, we hit the Viktualienmarkt briefly, then headed over to Munich’s favorite tourist attraction, the Hofbräuhaus. It’s actually not very cool, but you’ve got to go to check off the box.
We took the train back to Wertingen, had Gabi’s homemade Apfelstrudel (words cannot describe its deliciousness), and played SingStar. Benni got off of work and came to join us, too.
Day 7—Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Originally (as in version 459 of our travel plans), we were slated to go to Salzburg on Day 7. We decided, however, that a 6-hour roundtrip train ride wasn’t worth it for only 6 hours in the city. Instead, Bartschi picked us up and we drove to Rothenburg o.d. Tauber. It was a beautiful city, and ended up being our favorite destination of the entire trip!
It’s an old medieval city still surrounded by a wall. We absolutely loved just walking through the streets. Every house was a different color, and the weather—chilly and foggy—kept a lot of the tourists away. We felt like we had the city to ourselves!
The big two sites that we saw were the Mittelalterliches Kriminalmuseum (Middle Ages Criminal Museum) and the Käthe Wohlfahrt Weihnachtsdorf (Christmas Village).
The Criminal Museum mostly revolved around torture. In fact, my German teacher in high school had flashcards on different torture methods, and I’ve always wanted to visit the museum. And here we are, stumbling on it by chance! It was so cool. The whole place was filled with models, ancient texts, and replicas of methods for torture, criminal justice, and law. It was such a cultural thing back then, too. They even had a visiting exhibit on Martin Luther and witches.
The Christmas Village—a seriously impressive store of Christmas ornaments and decorations—is world famous. Unfortunately, they don’t allow picture taking inside. It’s Santa’s secret village. But let me just tell you. I didn’t think it were possible to have a store that revolves around Christmas stay in business year-round. But their prices explained it all.
Because it was such an old city, the way the roads were laid out led to some crazy intersections. One, in particular, had a super-slanted house that all the other tourists wanted to take pictures with. It was pretty cool, but hard to tell from a picture how crooked it really was.
After we were finished looking at things, we spent an absurd amount of time looking for a place to eat. We even stopped into a bank or something and asked an employee where they liked to eat. She said there’s a food cart outside the city wall that makes literally everything out of potatoes. It was a hard pass from me. Turns out, we fell into the brief window during the off-season where restaurants shut down between lunch and dinner due to a lack of demand. So we went hungry and drove home.
We were so tired and slept most of the way home while Bartschi was our chauffeur. I promise we felt bad. He first took us to the bank where we were able to withdraw cash to pay people back from when our card was down. Then, he took us to his parents’ clothing store and hooked us up with a traditional-style hat for my father-in-law, Jim. We had been on the hunt, but he’s got a big noggin. My head is also huge, so as we were shopping, I’d try on hats and they wouldn’t fit. But it turns out, Bartschi’s dad was selling hats, then stopped and still had two in storage he wasn’t looking to sell anymore. He just gave it to us!
After an early adventure ended for the day, we went out to the trampoline with Hannah and Barbara for a bit, then watched Finding Dori in German. Gabi also made us a supposedly traditional Bavarian toast, eggs, and ham dinner.
While Shalene took a bath (they have a giant tub), Gabi showed me pictures from last Christmas. She makes nativity sets as a hobby, and there’s a big showcase every winter with some of the other local displays!
Day 8—Schlösser
On Friday, Hubert took the day off and drove the two of us plus Gabi down to the little town of Schwanngau, home to the world’s most famous castle. Before hitting our tours, we sat at a restaurant to eat by the lake, but they were closed until later for lunch. So I had a Spezi, Shalene and Gabi drank hot chocolate, and Hubert had a beer. It ended up being really chilly that day, but we sat there until our tour, making fun of tourists taking pictures by the lake.
We toured both Schloss Hohenschwangau then Schloss Neuschwannstein. There’s an interesting distinction when it comes to castles. There are two types: a Burg and a Schloss. A Burg refers to a military fortification and is often part of city names such as Salzburg, Austria. A Schloss is more of a palace or manor meant for royalty to live in.
Hohenschwangau belonged to Maximillian II, the king of Bavaria. This castle was beautiful. The detail invested into each room was amazing. We paid for the audio tours, so you select your language and walk through with a little speaker next to your ear. A tour guide walks through with you and activates the sound file for each room you’re in.
We took an extremely crowded bus up the windy trail to Neuschwannstein. Ludwig II, the son of Maximilian II, inherited the throne to Bavaria and built himself this castle. It wasn’t ever finished, however, because he 1) ran out of money, and 2) was dethroned before he could finish. In fact, he had several sites all around that he was building and only ever finished one. So, while iconic from the outside, the inside wasn’t as spectacular as his father’s castle.
On the way home, we had to make a pit stop at the “mountain cheese” store. My host parents spent $75 on cheese and fish there to take home! The Germans love their cheese, and I can’t blame them. We finished the evening with an air pellet shooting competition between villages and a solid game or two of foosball.
Day 9—Ulm
Gabi drove us to Tanja’s apartment on Saturday morning. I asked her about a few people I remembered, including the creepy music teacher I had at school there. She told me that he ended up marrying and impregnating one of his students as soon as she graduated. He’s at least 50. Anyway, Tanja lives with her boyfriend, Lukas, above his parents. They’ve actually got a pretty sweet setup.
Kathi was already there, so the five of us packed into Tanja’s car and drove to Ulm. When we got there, we wandered through the streets to our predetermined brunch location. It was a little café called Choclet, and it was packed! We had to stand around for quite a while until people got up to leave. Luckily, we ran into Lukas’s best friend from school. He was there with his girlfriend and their new baby. They were cool to talk to, and it gave us something to do until we ate, but it also triggered mad homesickness for Shalene. Being gone from Eva so long was really hard on her, and Saturday was the worst.
I ordered the Choclet Exclusiv, while Shalene stuck to the “American Breakfast”. After we ate, a family friend of Lukas’s named Gabby showed up. She’s a funny lady who gives professional tours of Ulm. Additionally, she’s also a professional speaker, and people pay her to speak at their weddings, funerals, etc even though they don’t know her. She’s just good at telling stories. We thought that was so odd!
She burned through that city. We saw so much and were given so many details in such a little time. We saw the Rathaus (city hall) and the Stadthaus (no real translation, but it’s a city building meant for gathering), then hit the Ulmer Münster (Ulm Minster [similar to a cathedral]). Those Germans cranked out the 4th tallest building to come before the 20th century, and it’s still the tallest church in the world! There was a little competition, and the Cologne finished their cathedral to be a bit taller, breaking the record a the time.
It came about because Ulm’s church sat outside the city wall, so they decided to build one inside. It was originally a Catholic church, but now it’s Evangelical interestingly enough. The whole town converted back in the 1500s. During WWII, most of Ulm’s center was destroyed, but the minster was left alone, surprisingly!
In fact, we spent a lot of time there, and the history was fascinating. It took something like 500 years to build because they halted construction for so long.
We also visited the famous Fishing District, saw the Guinness world record-holder for most slanted building (even more than Pisa…a key is hanging from the roof so you can see the gap), and divide between Ulm and Neu Ulm split by a river.
We got ice cream, then headed home. We went home, Shalene took a nap, and I started working on my résumé in German to hopefully land an internship there next summer! While Shalene was napping, Mima had some extra time and was in town, so we went to get even more ice cream. We just hung out and chatted, eventually making our way home to wake up Shalene for a goodbye.That night, we got dinner at Stark, a local restaurant owned by my host-dad’s cousin, with Hubbi and Tanja. My host-mom works there and makes all their Spätzle! We played Ellen’s Heads Up game and SingStar with Tanja, Jana, and Benny. I was only ever able to beat Tanja at SingStar once—”Burn” by Ellie Goulding. If only there was a KP song. She wouldn’t stand a chance.
On an alarming side note, the youngest two had lice. And they had been stealing my snapback to wear all week. Luckily, we escaped unscathed. It was still terrifying, though.
Day 10—Wertingen
Unfortunately, there was no sleeping in for us. To top it off, Germany honors daylight saving time a few weeks after us. So we got hit with it again in Europe on top of jetlag! We woke up and packed, then hosted a family brunch with all of Gabi’s siblings, plus the grandparents so that I could see everyone. It was a blast, and there was an overwhelming amount of food. We also made sure to get a family photo on the tractor…
We stole a nap (food coma), then said our goodbyes to Benny and Jana. We went on a walk throughout Wertingen. We got ice cream, then popped into what we thought was a restaurant. It was just a bar, and it was filled with people that all turned their heads to glare at us as soon as we walked in. They didn’t even have food, so we kept going on our walk.
When we got home, Bartschi stopped by to say adios, but he stayed much longer than anticipated because we started making pancakes for everyone. Next stop was Oma. We went downstairs to say goodbye, then turned in for the night.
Day 11—Travel
We woke up way too early, showered, finished last-minute packing (toiletries, etc.), and said our goodbyes to the host fam. It was a Monday morning, so Hannah and Barbara had school, and Magdalena had work.
Hubert drove us to the airport, and we went and stood in line for a flight to Egypt for a while until we made our way over to our actual terminal. The flight to Amsterdam was decent, then we had another 6-hour layover. We paid 2€ for a 5-minute, automated massage chair, but it was totally worth it. I was getting lots done since I had a fat stack of papers and magazines that I’ve been saving to read. So I was just decluttering my home office by reading abroad. Shalene was going stir crazy though.
Eventually, we got on the plane and flew home. I watched Moana (“Viana” outside the US), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and an episode of Pure Genius. I read some more and didn’t sleep a wink. We finally got home around 7PM, then had a 2.5-hour drive back home. I was dead tired. I drove maybe an hour before switching Shalene out. She didn’t last long by herself either, so we both ended up playing music loud and singing just to survive.
I’m making this list as more of a personal resource, but one that I feel others would be really interested in. I haven’t been into reading non-fiction or engineering fiction (a term of my own crafting), but I’m really looking to stretch my brain in new ways. This will be a living document. All the book links are to Amazon, and I am not paid by them in any way. I’m also looking to get more into long-form blogging.
I took to subreddit, /r/AskEngineers to ask a broader audience books they’ve found that emulate The Martian. Post: Other Engineering Fiction Like The Martian. They said the genre I’m looking for is “hard sci-fi“, which is based on real science. Here’s my post, followed by a compiled list of the recommendations:
Become a Confident Swimmer
This one has been deferred to the second half of 2017 so I can max my PT test in April.
Learn C#
I’ve almost finished the Brackeys tutorials! I only have the interfaces and generics videos left. Additionally, I just ordered Arduinos for ASME, and we’re working on them Monday. So this goal is definitely making headway.
Read Book of Mormon in German
I’m 7% done and just made it through 1 Nephi. To keep up, I have to read just barely over 2 pages per day or 8.3% per month.
Code My Own Website
While I haven’t done any coding, I’ve certainly made headway using the College Info Geek tutorial. It’s insanely thorough, and I’m building it now. Once I make it through a little more progress on C# and get my site live just using the included builder, I’ll shift towards more HTML coding to modify what I’ve got. I won’t share the URL yet because it’s still extremely rudimentary, but know that it’s happening.
Max PT Test
With it being March 1st, my final APFT is 49 days away. I’ve got to step it up. I was sick all of last week, and I’ll be gone to Germany for a week. I need to make sure that I kill this test. I’m close. I just have to boost sit-ups and run. I know I can. I just have to do it. It’s crunch time. No more lollygagging at the gym.
Read 6 Books
I’m 47% done with The Japanese Mind (a book I’m reading for school) and 29% done with The 4-Hour Body. Follow me on Goodreads to see my updates. I started reading The Man in the High Castle, but it reads very awkwardly, and I didn’t get into it. What I’m really excited about is my solicitation for The Martian-esque books from /r/AskEngineers.
Become Confident at Drawing from Memory
This one has fallen on the backburner because I find the motivation to draw very difficult. I was going steady for a few weeks while I was really into Heroes of the Storm, but I need to find more characters I’m stoked to draw. Plus, my premium DeviantArt membership timed out, so I’ve been less involved. I need to finish an art trade I started with my sister…
Make Headway on My Book and Comic
This has made some progress but is always halted because I can’t see to draft up my character bios enough to incorporate into a story. I need to put more time into this.
Sick and Dying
A buddy of mine turned me on to Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Severe Cold + Flu, and I’ve never looked back. It doesn’t taste great, but it’s bearable when mixed with Super Orange Emergen-C (another one of my go-to remedies).
KP
If you haven’t watched Katy Perry’s new music video, then what are you even doing with your life?! Check out Chained To The Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) right meow!
Article I Read Why Learning to Code is So Damn Hard is a great read on the difficulties and trends of learning code. I definitely feel that way, and I’m still in the beginning stage (I’ve been teaching myself C# through online tutorials). I know I’m going to crest the hand-holding ridge, and that terrifies me. How do you even bridge the gap between basic knowledge and an actual solo project?!
Bad Advice: “You Gotta” In an interview with comedian, Jerrod Carmichael, he says that the worst advice being spread around nowadays always starts with “you gotta”, in that you don’t have to do anything to be successful. You do you.
Exercise Snacking
Dr. Martin Gibala, an expert in high-interval training (HIT), shares in an interview about the concept of “exercise snacking” where 3 10-minute intervals throughout the day might be better than a single structured 30-minute routine. I dig it! I definitely feel like exercise advice is always contradictory (only do cardio vs. only do weights, etc.), but this is one that seems to be backed pretty well.
Let’s set the stage. It’s 5AM. I’m fast asleep, with my alarm set to go off in an hour. Shalene has been awake for two hours at this point. She’s anxiously awaiting my awakening. I stir. She get’s excited and thinks I’m awake. She then says my name and proceeds to drop a major issue on me before my day has even started.
She’s been awake thinking about our Germany trip. This past Friday started our 1-month countdown for our belated honeymoon. I’ve checked and double-checked, and our passports are current. Well before the sun even crests the horizon, she wakes me up to tell me that her passport is still under her maiden name, but our tickets are under Henderson.
All the tickets are under my email, so even though she had been awake and thought about digging through the filing cabinet and figuring all this out herself, she didn’t have any of the ticket information. She had to just lie there and wait for me.
I told her there was nothing I could do about it and went back to sleep. I, of course, dreamed about these stupid passports for my last hour of weekend sleep. After a restless 1.5 hours (I hit snooze, naturally), I got up, showered, and went to meetings for church. I came home to get the family for the actual church service, and no one was ready. Shalene was still panicked over the tickets.
I called, they changed her name on the ticket to her maiden name, no questions asked. Good as gold. Right as rain. Situation averted. Jonny saves the day again.
Tool
Ya know how every presentation you’ve ever given has technical errors because of different versions of PowerPoint or trying to go between Mac and PC? VLC media player is a great, free, downloadable program. I can always play videos on my Mac. My dad actually got his work to adopt the program for all of their laptops, too. Super convenient.
Craving
Walmart has a delicious, affordable, fresh-tasting salsa by Fresh Cravings that I can’t get enough of. Get Medium Restaurant Style Crave Salsa (16oz).
Nerd Out
The Last Ring-bearer is a fan-written sequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy written by a Russian scientist. I haven’t read it yet—in fact, I haven’t read any of the LotR books aside from The Hobbit, but they’re on my list to read. It’s nearly as long as a full LotR novel, and the gist of it rides on the proverb of “history is written by the victor”. It’s from the perspective of Mordor as a technologically-advanced, industrious nation. Free PDF download on the translator’s website.
Awakening
New workout routine and epiphany about cardio weights. I was at the gym and a friend said to move my rest between reps to 30 seconds and it should help my cardio. I use the app Full Fitness (love it!) to track my workouts, and it had a pre-programmed runner’s workout routine included. I tried it out, and it was all weights, no cardio, but I was sweating during my lift like never before! So I’ve altered my workout to be weights with minimal rest then cardio.
Science Rules
I absolutely loved The Martian by Andy Weir (see Books Read in 2016), and I was recently thinking about the plausibility on surviving of potatoes. Live Science has an article outlining exactly that! Luckily, I’m a sweet potato lover, so I could manage longer than most, right?
Living in the Now
Cal Newport is a guest speaker on The College Info Geek Podcast in What We Learned from Reading “Deep Work”. He speaks to the concept of deep work he is famous for. It totally opened my mind into how I need to work. I can’t have my phone nearby when I’m doing homework. I can’t just check Facebook when I get bored with a TV show. It’s a lot about being in the present, but also the added benefit of focusing on work. Even further, he talks about the addiction of distractions and how to build your discipline to really be free from all these externalities.
New Show
I went through Netflix one day and added a whole bunch of shows to my list. The only qualifications were that they 1) were TV-14 or below (I don’t do TV-MA or R), and 2) had decent ratings (or sounded appealing enough to outweigh mediocre ratings). My most recent find is Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories. It’s in Japanese (I love it! The culture fascinates me) so I watch with subtitles. It’s all about a diner that’s only open between midnight and 7AM. Each episode, you’re introduced to a new dish and a new person’s story. I always have an intense craving for ramen when I watch it.
Playing
Can’t get enough of Blizzard’s Hearthstone. Free download. I’ve got it on my Mac and iPhone. I’ve been missing going to the ole Game Parlor in Sterling with my pals. I was into Magic the Gathering for a while, and this is very similar (and less costly! haha). Check it out! My Battle.net username is starkexpo#1538.
Podcast The College Info Geek Podcast has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts. It’s two geeks with social skill dissecting user-submitted questions as it pertains to college, productivity, and careers. They’re funny and super insightful. Highly recommended!
Product
The Google Chrome extension, StayFocusd, has become my new saving grace. It allows you to set “banned” sites and how long you’re allowed to spend between them all in one day. Facebook, Twitter, and reddit—10 mins of wasted time per day allowed.
Food
Weißwurstfrühstück (“white sausage breakfast”) is hands-down my favorite German food. It’s tradition to only eat it before noon and is one of the few culturally acceptable times to have beer before 4PM (“Kein Bier vor vier”). My drink of choice, however, was Spezi—orange-flavored cola.
Music
“Indian Summer” by Jai Wolf. I came across it when looking for Madeon- and Porter Robinson-esque sounds.
Mantra
“If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.” Apparently, this originates with Getting Things Done by David Allen1, but I’m sure I came across it on a podcast. I’m almost certain it was an episode on The Tim Ferriss Show while discussing meditation.
I’ve liked the Tim Ferriss 5-Bullet Friday format due to its conciseness and spontaneity. I’ll run with it and keep it as a format for a while since I don’t have a ton of time between classes and want to be putting something out regularly. I’m sorry, but Tim get’s mentioned a lot in my posts.
Jammin’ To “Chinchilla” by Feed Me. I came across this song through the subreddit r/EDM. And it’s way good. I’ve been looking for something echoes the sounds of Porter Robinson and Madeon.
Looking Forward To
In March, Shalene and I are going to German for spring break (10 days total). It’s just around the corner, and we’re having fun finalizing plans. I’ve been using Trello, and bouncing ideas off of friends and family. We really wanted to see all of Germany—especially Berlin—but we’re staying local to Bayern and Austria to minimize dead-time on the train. Tim Ferriss talked about half the reward of a pre-planned trip being the anticipation, and boy was he right! It’s getting real!
Nerding Out Over
Trump’s wall. Not that it’s happening, just that a structural engineer took the time to break it down for us on imgur. I came across it on the subreddit r/AskEngineers. Pretty funny!
Skill I’m Honing
Drawing! Follow me on DeviantArt. Looking for requests, art trades, friends, accountability, etc. Need ideas on new things to draw. I’ve been sketching out superheroes and characters from StarCraft, but I’m running out of things to keep my momentum.
Something That’s Blowing My Mind
I’m reading 4 books at once! I’m still working on The 4-Hour Body and The Japanese Mind. I’ve also picked up The Man in the High Castle as a fiction novel. It’s been on my list of what to read next, and I don’t like reading more than one book at once, but at night, I’ve gotta have something fiction. Additionally, I’m reading the Book of Mormon in German (one of my resolutions), so I’m spread pretty thin haha! You can follow me on GoodReads. My resolution for the year is to read 6 books so this would be two-thirds of my goal knocked out hopefully by the summer!
Hi there! I recently moved over to WordPress from the Blogger world! The change was prompted by my business page, Prism Social, where I felt Blogger had reached its limitation—WP has a whole lot more functionality as a website platform in addition to just the blog. I was also really frustrated when Google did away with their Blogger app for iOS. I’ve long been interested in WP, so here we go!
I figured that today, I’d take the format of Tim Ferriss’s 5-Bullet Friday. You’ll hear me talk a lot about him. He’s a favorite podcaster and author I follow. Every Friday, he put’s out a newsletter consisting of five bullets just tossing out some fun things he’s been pursuing or thinking on. It ain’t Friday, but I’m gonna go for it (minus the bullets)!
Side note: Let me preface this by saying that I don’t receive any affiliation money. All the links are for your convenience, not for my own profit.
What I’m Reading
For my BA German for Business degree (one of many pursuits), I have to take a comparative literatures class. I petitioned to allow for Cultures of East Asia. My class is online and is concentrated on the Japanese culture. Fun fact: I love Japan and even took Japanese 101 my first semester at BSU. My intent was to minor in Japanese but decided it would be too much for me to pursue such a difficult language and engineering at the same time.
The scope of this class consists entirely of reading The Japanese Mind and answering true-or-false 10-question quizzes each week. It’s fascinating and would make for an interesting read regardless of your familiarity with the culture. Each chapter is an essay on a specific aspect of the culture. Chapter 1 was aimai, or “ambiguity” and dives into the indirectness associated with the Japanese.
What I’m Listening To
My wife got me into podcasts while we were dating long distance (a four-hour drive one-way). She just started a new one called The Charged Life with Brendon Burchard. It’s not really my thing—10-minute weekly pep talk—but one line jumped out at me. In the “4 Ways to Become More Disciplined” episode, the host highlighted the necessity for social celebration of accomplishments. He stated that if you do something hard, but don’t celebrate it with your friends, then you don’t get excited about the next difficult thing you accomplish.
A Product I Can’t Live Without
It wasn’t until I got back from Germany that I did anything with my hair. And I mean anything. It was thick, bushy, and unruly. August 2011, I took my best friend and his then-girlfriend to my haircut. I had looked up a couple pictures I wanted to emulate, and I let the hairdresser (Jennifer) go to work. She finished with a gel on the top and a matte paste for my cowlick right up front. I’ve since switched to the paste for everything up top. I would not be the man I am today without Garnier Fructis Style Surfer Hair Power Putty.
What I’m Playing
During the regular semester, I have no time for video games. Whenever a break hits, though, I get back into it pretty hard. Winter Break was all about Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm. Out of all the characters, I’m only familiar with the StarCraft crew. I’ve never made time for StarCraft II, though, so it can still be hit or miss. My favorite’s Zagara. Gotta love the Zerg! Add me with my BattleNet tag: starkexpo#1538.
Something I’m Excited About
I’ve always known that I wanted to get an MBA, but with what emphasis? For a while, I thought entrepreneurship. Then economics. Then I changed my minor to econ, so that ruled out the MBA option. I’ve been working on a market research project for one of my social media clients, and I stumbled across my answer. The Technische Universität Berlin (Technical Univerity of Berlin) has an MBA in Energy Management, and it’s all in English! First off, Berlin is my favorite city in the world. Second, I’ve thought about running for public office at some point—only for a term or two as a public service—and energy would be a great platform! It’s also very relevant to my professional interests in engineering and project management.
Fin
Fun format? What’d you think? I had fun talking about all the random things that have my attention lately. Hopefully you did too!
Back in my Books Read in 2016 post, I talk about how I actually do have plenty of free time! Oftentimes, I choose to allocate that towards unproductive things like Netflix and video games. I realize I can’t just be a productivity machine, but I’ve identified things that have previously been whims and wishes on developing talents that make me happy and set SMART goals for each one, ensuring accountability in 2017. I’m also using Trello to keep myself organized.
Here’s the condensed version of my list of 2017 resolutions in case you didn’t want to read the entire post. I’ve outlined them each in a bulleted list here briefly and then expanded further.
Become a Confident Swimmer—Physical Goal
Learn C#—Professional Goal
Read the Book of Mormon in German—Spiritual and Developmental Goal
Code My Own Website—Professional Goal
Max My Army Physical Training Test—Physical and Professional Goal
Become Confident Drawing from Memory—Developmental Goal
Read 6 Books—Developmental Goal (this could be any of the goals, depending on which book)
Make Headway on My Book and Comic—Developmental Goal
Become a Confident Swimmer
I’ve tried to keep them diversified, spreading them across physical (2), developmental (4), spiritual (1), and professional (3) goals. Now for the extensive list—enjoy and provide feedback for me!
Storytime: At scout camp, you start out by qualifying as a swimmer in the lake. One year, I was basically drowning the whole time trying to hold my oversized swim trunks on. I touched the dock to reorient myself and my shorts, and they wanted to kick me out, but I explained, and they said to carry on and finish.
I’ve always been a terrible swimmer, even having taken lessons as a kid. It comes down to efficiency. I don’t use my legs at all—they just drag behind me.
A video of me drowning in Upper Palisades Lake from a recent hiking trip for your viewing pleasure:
Not only would this make me feel on top of the world, but it’s also a lifelong cardio workout.
SPECIFIC: Become a confident swimmer by 1) form habit of swimming Saturday mornings, and 2) following Tim Ferriss’s method on being a better swimmer
MEASURABLE: Become comfortable in swimming regularly and able to control breathing
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: End of summer 2017
Learn C#
I came to this goal through the failure of ISU’s engineering clubs. I’m the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, with the Society of Automotive Engineers as a sister-club. Engineering students, however, don’t care about their résumés while in the midst of strenuous curriculum, so participation has been extremely low. I’m tired of my future being out of my hands. To internalize this problem, I decided to teach myself C#. It’s a coding language for Arduinos and has other robotics applications. This way I’m continuing to build my résumé without being at the mercy of my peers.
SPECIFIC: Become confident with C# by 1) finishing the YouTube tutorial series by Brackey, and 2) take on a coding project to prove skills
MEASURABLE: Complete coding project as a test of skills
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: Before the end of the spring semester
Read the Book of Mormon in German
Both a spiritual and a personal development (German) goal, this is a carry over from last year. I’ve already read more this year than last, though, so we’re off to a good start! haha
SPECIFIC: Read the BoM in German for the sake of reading it through, as well as to practice German
MEASURABLE: Complete
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: Before the end of the year
Code My Own Website
In high school, I started to teach myself HTML. This is an opportunity to add another coding language to my toolbelt, as well as to launch a site to host my blog and market myself.
SPECIFIC: Continue to learn HTML through W3Schools tutorials
MEASURABLE: Complete
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: End of the year
Max PT Test
Maxing my PT test would seal the deal for branching Army Aviation. I need to work on sit-ups and interval running for my two-mile. I already max my push-ups.
SPECIFIC: 1) Maintain regular workout schedule, 2) cater PT plans to APFT, and 3) establish personalized and APFT-oriented workout routine
MEASURABLE: score of 300+ on APFT
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: April 2016
Become Confident Drawing from Memory
Growing up, I either wanted to be an engineer or a comic book artist. This is helping me revive a flame of the past. I really do enjoy drawing, but wish I was better at it (especially drawing people).
SPECIFIC: 1) Complete one legit drawing per week, 2) practice drawing from memory, 3) popcorn drawing challenge, 4) take an illustration class, 5) accountability by posting to DeviantArt each week
MEASURABLE: Be able to draw Iron Man and Batman from memory in any position
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: End of year
Read 6 Books
This is the same as last year’s reading goal (I read 5/6, by the way!). I’ve decided I need to better allocate my relaxing time towards something like reading, rather than Netflix or video games.
SPECIFIC: 1) Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (I love the Freakonomics podcast), 2) The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, 3) one of the marriage books gifted to me by Julianne, 4) Sojourn by RA Salvatore, 5) Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, 6) some other unnamed fiction novel. Average 1 book every 2 months
MEASURABLE: Complete. Track progress in GoodReads, and record page count each week
ATTAINABLE: Yes
REALISTIC: Yes
TIME-BOUND: End of year
Make Headway on My Book and Comic
I’m an idea guy. My iOS Notes app and my Google Docs are full of half thought out ideas. Well no longer! I really do want to start putting pen to paper in a way that will really stretch me!
SPECIFIC: Write 100 words per week; drawing from memory goal
MEASURABLE: screenplay and rough sketches of first volumes done
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read 6 books. Not bad, right? That’s only one every other month. My previous year’s goal was 12, but it soon became apparent that it was not plausible as a full-time student with so much on my plate—false.
The biggest issue was how I chose to allocate my free time. I love to multitask. If I can latch onto something that I enjoy that doubles as being productive, I’m all about it. For example, I often trade listening to music for listening to a podcast. Get it?
Anyway, there will be more on this when I share my 2017 resolutions. This is all about what books I finished. And considering the whirlwind of things we’ve had to endure this year, I’m very pleased with having finished five.
Homeland
by R.A. Salvatore
My wife, Shalene, and I decided to get each other a book last Christmas. She’s easy—historical fiction, preferably WWII. I can’t go wrong. I am super picky, though. It takes me a long time to get through a book, so I want to be sure I like it. It was a swing and a miss, and I returned what she got me.
I stumbled across the first trilogy of The Legend of Drizzt series (15 in total; featured in 31 books total, although not always as the main character) bound together as one. I read the whole series in high school and couldn’t put them down. It’s a series set in the world of D&D with a Lord of the Rings feel to it. It’s not as dense, though, so I imagine it’s a smoother read with a better flow than LotR.
The Martian
by Andy Weir
I had actually never heard of The Martian until the movie came out, and even then, I hadn’t seen any of the previews, so I didn’t think anything of it. Our university, however, has a free movie theater that shows movies a few months after their release, so I figured, “Why not?” Holy Hannah. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time—I absolutely loved it!
The book was an engineer’s dream. The main character is both a mechanical engineer and botanist, so it’s very sciency. I had so much fun, especially with a personal interest in aerospace.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance
Back in August, I wrote a more extensive post outlining this one. Needless to say, Elon Musk is an incredible visionary and is a role model for my future career in engineering and entrepreneurship.
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
by Chris Kyle
I had just finished my last book and was looking for a new story to get wrapped up in. I was at my in-laws’ and asked if they had anything. I rummaged around in the basement, finding this bad boy sitting on the shelf. It had been on my list to read for a while.
It had a similar flavor to another favorite military book on the operation that took out Osama bin Laden. I love reading about the military, especially those that are particularly intense (e.g. Navy SEALs). Plus, growing up, I’ve always wanted to be in the military. I’d love to think that I’m building the mental fortitutde to one day take on the Navy SEALs training, but I’m slated for the Army.
Exile
by R.A. Salvatore
It was time to read a fiction novel again, so I cranked out this one in place of watching so much Netflix in my free time. Another great read. This was also fun because I’ve always wanted to write a fantasy book. My imagination went wild while I read this sequel.
I’ve had a few days to explore a good chunk of the iOS 10 features. It can be glitchy, but remember that this is a massive overhaul update, not the tiny modifications like Apple normally does. Additionally, the only way things will get better is if we troubleshoot for them and provide feedback.
Here are a few thoughts:
Messaging This one is probably the craziest of them all. The messaging pane has been totally overhauled, allowing 3rd-party apps within chat (I’m a fan of Sea Battle, the Battleship equivalent by the GamePigeon app), plus other special effects like invisible ink texts or texts arriving in a flash of confetti as it gets opened.
You can now also “react” to messages received, like on Facebook. Your options are: “heart”, “thumbs up”, “thumbs down”, “haha”, “!!”, and “?”. You can access these options by using 3D Touch.
Emojis Apple re-stylized all the emojis to look more like the Android emojis. I’m not a fan. I’ve always appreciated how the Apple emojis didn’t look like the other platforms. They also added several new emojis. The most notable ones have been the squirt gun, the gay pride flag, skull and crossbones, and a male/female version of nearly all people emojis.
In the new messaging system, you can also type a word, switch to the emoji keyboard, and replacement prompts highlight words in orange that have a corresponding emoji!
Apps Apple has overhauled several of their own apps. Photos and Apple Music have a totally new look. I’m not a fan of the new Photos (it’s a knock-off of Google Photos, which I use heavily), and no one likes Apple Music. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but why would you, when options like Spotify make way more sense? But luckily, the iPhone now lets you delete native Apple apps, like Stocks. Careful, though. If you delete an app like Calculator, it won’t be available when you swipe up anymore.
Apple has developed the Home app for things like smart lightbulbs or garage doors. You can now collaborate in Notes, similar to a Google Doc. I’m not sure if there’s live editing or not, however.
The native clock also comes with a new Bedtime feature, where you say when you want to wake up and how long you want to sleep, and then you can set reminders on when to get to bed. It also tracks the quality of your sleep.
Apple has opened a lot of options for 3rd-party apps. Spotify, for example, now has more accessibility options. WhatsApp also responds to Siri now. Facebook has now taken the iOS update and allows you to upload a panoramic photo from your iPhone, and it turns into a 360° degree photo on the Facebook platform!
User Interface The thing that’s tripping a lot of people up is the new lock screen and home button. The default setting upon updating your phone is the “Raise to Wake” feature (To disable: Settings➔Display & Brightness➔Raise to Wake). It as a very anti-Apple feel to it. Personally, I hate it. I liked it to begin with, because all you had to do was lift your phone up into a vertical orientation to see notifications. But that also means you can turn on things like the flashlight from your pocket, since the screen can be activated by orientation.
The second half to the Raise to Wake feature is the new unlocking system. To get to your iPhone’s home screen, you put your thumb on the home button to activate the Touch ID function, but the phone won’t actually open to the home screen without clicking the home button. The point of it all is to be able to interact with apps from the lock screen rather than opening your phone to the app itself, but I haven’t met anyone who likes the new unlocking method.
Apps also open and close much faster, which is nice. There is a double-pane home menu when you swipe up. This is also great for Spotify users, since you can swipe left to access your Spotify music.
3D Touch—There are lots of new options there. Play around with it!
And lastly, possibly my favorite feature is that when someone leaves you a voicemail, your iPhone takes its best guess as to what the message says and writes up a transcript for you!
Now Get Out There, and Use It! I hope this helped! iOS 10 is seriously the biggest update Apple has launched in a long time. This ought to be a decent guide in helping you maximize some of the newer options available!
My wife got me into podcasts when we were dating, and thank goodness for that, because it was a 4-hour drive one-way to see her each weekend! It became an easy way to substitute listening to music while I was on-the-go, learning rather than vegging.
This blog post was initially inspired by my now outdated post on The List App, but I knew I wanted to say more than I could type on my phone. They’re each hyperlinked to iTunes so you can find them (boo Android).
This is the latest podcast I’ve stumbled across. It’s super helpful in answering college student related questions as it pertains to productivity and university life. It’s helpful in a very general sense, though, so don’t discredit the guy right away, just because you aren’t in school anymore.
This guy is the legitest of the legit. A self-proclaimed “human guniea pig”, Tim experiments on himself in building the best routines and habits for an efficient and creative life. Each episode revolves around a very well-conducted interview of some expert or master of anything from coding to business to the military. definitely worth listening to.
This is a fun podcast because NPR (the host program) goes through all the homework of researching TED talks, then picks 4 or 5 to be combined into a theme for a single podcast episode. They even bring the speakers onto the show, exploring a little bit more thoroughly whatever it was they were talking about on stage.
Song Exploder is not only totally fun, but it’s also rad. They take artists and break down how they create music. Each episode revolves around a single song from a specific artist, and they interview the musician, composer, etc. to see what was going through their mind or what inspired them.
I first bumped into this one by way of the Freakonomics podcast episode interviewing Tim Ferriss! While it does revolve around economics, it’s not as textbooky as a college class would be. Instead, it dives into how Uber is a huge data source for economists, the betting pools of soccer games, and even the presidential elections. Give it a go. It’s a fun one.
These episodes only last 10-15 minutes. It’s like sitting around a story with Dirty Jobs star, Mike Rowe, as he tells a story about someone relatively famous the way he heard it, leaving the big reveal until the end.
This one is tougher to listen to on a regular basis, but I love it. It’s all about love and sexual intimacy between you and your spouse in your marriage. This couple hosts a very open discussion on a lot of topics we all think about but might not know how to discuss. Several of their ideas have seriously opened doors for communication within my marriage. They’re rockstars.
Honorable Mentions
These are podcasts that I have loved or listen to still, but aren’t at the forefront of my priority list. Here it goes:
StarTalk Radio: hosted by famous astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, plus a comedian co-host, and often features Bill Nye the Science Guy
The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes: a podcast interviewing guests on what it means to be great. There’s a little more of a business emphasis here than Tim Ferriss’s podcast.
National Defense Magazine: this one’s great to stay up-to-date on the latest military tech and regulations
Serial: super well-known, I didn’t like season one, which followed a murder, but season two on Bowe Bergdahl was great!
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: this might be biting off more than you can chew, but each episode is about three hours long and tackles a piece of history like how WWI started and progressed.
Slow German: a great podcast to refresh on my German, only…I don’t listen to it slowly
foundr: a great publication that started putting out a podcast as well, highlighting entrepreneurs
BrainStuff: a short, 3-or-so-minute podcast that answers everyday questions
Startup Grind: interviews with prominent industry figures, designed to help entrepreneurs succeed in starting a business
TechStuff: hosted by How Stuff Works, these guys dive into a ton of technology-related topics throughout history as well as in modern-days
EOFire: short for “entrepreneurs on fire”, John Lee Dumas (affectionately JLD) literally puts out a new interview every day of the week. It because too much for me to keep up with, and it hogged all my memory, but he does an incredible job of finding entrepreneurs and asking what their biggest failure was and how they overcame it.
This app is actually pretty legit. I first came across it in Tim Ferriss’s interview of BJ Novak, the actor that plays Ryan Howard in The Office. The List App is the brainchild of BJ as a way to eliminate the millions of entries in your Notes app, and instead has created a social platform around living and shareable lists. The app even generates prompts to inspire you to create more lists.
Some of the lists I’ve created for 1) just organizing my thoughts, and 2) to have fun:
Another sweet feature is that you can make your list “public”, opening other users to the option of sending you suggestions to add to your list. For example, if I missed an amazing restaruant here in Poky, someone could hit me up and say, “You forgot X.”
It can get pretty fun. Like anything still experiencing growing pains, it’s hard to get people to adopt, but once you find a couple of friends, it works great (think tumblr before it was big).
Holy Hannah has it been a whirlwind for our family. In mid-August, we had a trip out to Virginia planned (where I’m from) to see family. My exchange program that sent me to Germany needed help in New Jersey processing the incoming Germans that are going to attend high school here. Shalene was still in the point of her pregnancy in which we wouldn’t need permission to fly. But we were cleared by the doc anyway.
The day that we were to fly out of Salt Lake, Shalene had her bi-weekly doctor’s appointment. Bad news—her blood pressure was high, and her flying privileges were revoked. We were, of course, super bummed, but due to my commitment and pre-purchased ticket (we got a voucher for Shalene’s), we drove down to SLC.
Hurdle #2 was getting to the airport a whole 24 hours too early. My flight was set for 11:59PM, to which I rounded to midnight in my head. So I showed up thinking I was leaving the “next day” (same night) at midnight, when I was actually an entire day early. So I stayed with my grandparents there in Salt Lake for a day (that always a hurdle in-and-of-itself, too—for both parties, mind you).
An Unexpected Turn
I had just gotten off the phone the next day with my mom, finalizing plans, and about to head to the airport when my mother-in-law calls me, and says that after running more tests, the baby is coming within 72 hours by an emergency C-section. That was obviously a gut-punch. Sue Ann said that Shalene’s platelet count was so low (the stuff in your blood that makes it clot), and her blood pressure was so high, that she could’ve gone into early labor on the plane or even could have experienced a stroke or seizure.
After being shaken for a bit, trying to figure out what to do, I went to work. I called my exchange program. The lady was super understanding, said that she’d handle everything, hoped that I’d volunteer with them in the future, and that I need to go be with my wife. I told family, and Shalene’s side arranged a ride for me up to the hospital.
At this point, I still think that Shalene and/or the baby might die. A bit of miscommunication in the panic of a hurried phone call. So I’m super shaken. But my brother-in-law drives up from Lehi, hands me a Mountain Dew (I had just given up soda two weeks prior), and says, “Here. You’re gonna have a long night,” then we drive up to Malad, ID, where Shalene’s sister, Sara, met us to take me the rest of the way.
Shalene and I spent many long days and nights in the hospital, listening to seemingly conflicting “expertise”. It felt like an emotional rollercoaster. Almost like Christmas. “You’ll get to meet your little one tomorrow.” “Just kidding, we’re sending you home.” “Psych, your vitals are through the roof!” It was pretty draining.
Shalene was put on magnesium, high blood pressure medication, and even got to go home for a little while. Ultimately, she wound up right back in the hospital to be on bed rest and monitored.
On a positive note, we got to know all the super-nice nurses really well, and I had all the Diet Coke a guy could want!
Surprise Surgery
My second week of school, I finished PT, then went to a couple of meetings I had set up. Then Shalene calls me and says that she had met with the perinatologist (Perinatology is also known as maternal-fetal medicine), and the baby hadn’t grown in two weeks. They made a decision together to consider the baby and Shalene as two separate patients, and scheduled a C-section for that night.
I raced up, emailed my professors about missing the next day, and we got ready for Shalene’s operation. An answer to prayers was when they ran blood work again and reported that her platelets had jumped by a count of 30,000, which was bizarre, considering the steroids to try to bring them up did nothing. So right before going in for her surgery, they said they’d give her a spinal tap, where she’d be conscious, rather than general anesthesia, knocking her out.
We were both really nervous, but I got to sit in and hold her hand. When the time came, they had me look over the blind, and tell Shalene what gender our baby turned out to be. A girl! After they cut the cord, they handed our baby girl over to the next room to stabilize, before wheeling her off to the NICU.
What followed was a lot of pain on Shalene’s end, trying to figure out pumping for breast milk, juggling classes and coursework for Jonny, and long nights on the phone updating family.
On the Up-and-Up
Our little daughter turned out to very much own the name Evelyn “Eva” Summer Henderson. Evelyn is a longtime fave of Shalene’s, Eva is my favorite German name, and Summer because Shalene’s maiden name was Summers. We totally didn’t anticipate the confusion over Eva, though. Guys, it’s like Eva Mendes, not Eva Longoria.
She was born 2 lb. 12.5 oz. and 16 inches long. She’s itty-bitty, but is doing super well! She is breathing on her own, her feedings have increased, and she’s off of the lamp to help prevent jaundice.
The NICU is super family-oriented, and is great for us as stressed out parents. They want us there every morning at 10AM for the doctor’s rounds, and every three hours, we can hold her, change her diaper, and check her temperature.
One Week Old!
Today, little Evelyn turned one week old. It is seriously crazy to imagine how long this past month has been, and how well she’s doing. For a comparison of size, we got her an alligator to take pictures with on all the milestones, to capture how much she grows:
For everyone’s convenience, we’ve shared one of our Google Photos albums with you, so we don’t overload everyone’s Facebook newsfeed:
Additionally, you should not feel obligated to get us anything, but we know some of you (especially family) will. To make things easier, we’ve put together an Amazon Baby Registry:
Thank you all for your support, love, and prayers. It’s been a trip, but we’ve arrived, and we’re off onto our next adventure!
My favorite games tend to be the sneaky stealth games. I usually end up playing some kind of shadow, rogue character. So Splinter Cell was an instant fit. With the military vibe, coupled with the suspense of getting caught, it made for a totally fun game.
A random side note: I had a Navy SEAL game on the PS2 that I was struggling with. I remembered playing Splinter Cell, and used a similar technique. I picked a sniper weapon for my primary, and walked around with my pistol most of the time. It worked much better for me.
Neverwinter Nights
I love the Dungeons & Dragons universe. This game was so fun for me. I loved the quests, the customization, and the storyline. My favorite book series is The Legend of Drizzt, and he’s even mentioned a couple of times throughout the game. Aaah! I just love this one.
StarCraft
I quickly fell in love with everything about this game. I would read the lore, watch the storyline videos, and even read a book (Queen of Blades). I remember going to work with my dad on the weekends when no one was at the office, and we’d all play StarCraft together. My buddy and I would also always play throughout high school. Team Zerg all the way!
I haven’t played the second one yet, though…
Pokémon: Gold Version
For Christmas one year, my brother and I each got a Gameboy Color with a Pokémon game. Obsessed with Pokémon as a child, I spent every waking minute on that thing, burning through countless AA batteries. Our generation will never know the pains of the wormlight.
Batman Arkham Series
Never has there been a better superhero game than this series. In fact, never has there been a superhero video game I have enjoyed playing (aside from City of Heroes). Why is it that they all suck?!
This series seriously busts out every obscure character from the Batman universe to come kick the caped crusader’s butt. But that, of course, never happens.
Skyrim
Exploring is usually my favorite part of a game, so Skyrim’s open-map concept kept me entertained for sooooo long! I rarely pursued quests. I just looked for caves. Unless there were bears in the caves. Those things killed dragons more often than not!
It’s no secret that I am a huge Elon Musk fanboy—what engineering student isn’t? But it didn’t always start out that way. In fact, I have only know about this guy for a year or two. I’ve always described my future career as wanting to be Tony Stark. One day, my roommate said to check out a video titled “Elon Musk: How I Became The Real ‘Iron Man’“, a 45-minute interview with Bloomberg.
I immediately fell in love. I was so intrigued by an engineering mind literally trying to change how humans interact with the planet. I also grabbed ahold of him as a real-life role model for just about exactly what I wanted to do, proving to myself (and hopefully others) that my chosen career path was plausible.
I followed him and everything he was up to across social media and by googling articles about him. It soon became an obsession akin to my love of Katy Perry. Only this time, it was a geek obsessing over another geek.
In May 2015, tech writer Ashlee Vance (@ValleyHack) published the first biography on Elon Musk with his direct input. I knew I had to have it. That wouldn’t come to fruition, however, until February 2016, when Shalene bought me the book for my birthday. It’s titled Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.
The author goes into extensive detail, outlining the addresses of the company as they jumped from building to building, growing even larger. The only complaints I have about his writing style are 1) he uses a lot of the same descriptions on the same spread (e.g. “watermelon-sized motor” or “Musk Co.”) and 2) that he can be pretty casual sometimes, using words like “stuff” or “guy”. But a majority of the time, I appreciated that casualness as the novel dove deeper into technological jargon.
The book is seriously inspiring, though. Like watching the Olympics, you think to yourself, Man, these guys are how old and doing these things, and the biggest challenge I’ve overcome today was getting out of bed before noon? It really made me question what I want to do with my life. There are so many companies out there taking advantage of a boom in a certain market. But do you really want that to be your life’s work? Not me. I want to go down as a visionary and futurist, actively trying to make the world a better place by looking at it from a different angle.
My biggest takeaway, however, is that Elon and I have very different leadership styles. He is to be admired for setting overly ambitious goals for his companies, which his employees then rise to, but at what cost? I am not willing to sacrifice my marriage for the sake of my career, no matter how noble the cause.
A couple of weeks ago I was “sicky Ricky”. Allergies knocked me on my butt this year, and my sinuses were insanely inflamed. In fact, I ended up with bronchitis out of the deal.
Because I was so sick, I missed both a Statics and a Physics exam one Friday morning. I had tried studying all evening, but eventually I hit a threshold where I knew I wasn’t going to school the next day.
I slept on the couch, since I knew it’d be a rough night. It hurt to breathe and swallow, there was a crazy amount of pressure in my face, and my eyes were watering. I tried watching Netflix until I fell asleep of shear exhaustion.
I woke up to a pounding on the door. I got up, looked through the peephole and recognized my landlord, Rod. He was in the middle of replacing our dishwasher, so I was expecting him. I yell, “Hold on,” and run to throw on clothes. There was another pounding, and I thought to myself, “He has a key. Why doesn’t he just come in?” I opened the door, and there were two Pocatello PD officers standing there. The one who was knocking visually recoiled when I answered the door, immediately asking if I was alright. I was a mess, answered, “No,” and that I was dying of allergies.
They said that my professor was worried because I didn’t show up for an exam that morning, and that it was super unlike me. What a pal! I was seriously blown away that that would happen! I had a missed call from the university, so I’m betting my professor notified Public Safety, and when they couldn’t get ahold of me, then sent the coppers a knockin’.
How many of you can say a professor called the cops on you? Not many, I imagine. And it’s usually not something to brag about. But this professor is a rockstar. He gave me his cell number and told me to call him throughout the semester if I ever had questions with homework, etc.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately. My wife and I had a conversation about how we’re spending our time a few weeks back. We were both very independant before we got married. I ignorantly assumed that we would both be able to keep our independent personalities with a bit of crossing of paths for dinner and nightly snuggles. False.
Turns out, as I got more and more involved in school, work, and extracurriculars, Shalene picked up some things at school that she wasn’t completely sold on. She didn’t want to be a distraction when I was doing homework, so she did what she could to extend her workday.
Man, that hit me hard. I had never thought of how selfish I was being, but because of who I am, it really took a sit-down intervention like that to shake me out of it.
Here’s the deal. At the time we were having this conversation, I was taking 18 credits, working a job, running a business, trying to maintain PT scores for ROTC, got a time-consuming assignment for church (executive secretary), running a club as president/founder, participating in another club as treasurer, involved in yet another club, and started playing rugby. I had also only been married 6 months at that point, so you can throw a newlywed onto that list.
I revel in the praise of “I could never do that”. And because I am doing “that”, I get a heavy dose of pride injected straight into the ego.
But, while we were discussing the fact that we never spent actual quality time together anymore, I remembered stumbling across this bad boy back in December:
A photo posted by A Wealth of Wisdom (@thinkgrowprosper) on Dec 21, 2015 at 3:14pm PST
I loved it so much that I took a screen shot. While I didn’t physically create a list, I “woke up” to the haunting fact that I didn’t get any fulfillment out of anything I was doing. I had a bunch of activities on my list that would be a bullet point to tack onto my résumé, but they were restricting me from pursuing things that really mattered.
I have found great wisdom in the words of Derek Sivers, a successful entrepreneur when he says “No more yes. It’s either HELL YEAH! or no.” In essence, if you’re not super excited about something, say no, and then you have time to do things that come up as you go along. You can read more on his blog about it here.
A great example was picking up rugby and taking an indoor rock climbing class. Shalene and I are both in pursuit of finding some physical activity (or any activity, for that matter) that we can be passionate about. We totally envy the people who can go to the basketball court and shoot hoops for hours, or the girl who keeps her hiking boots in the back of the ole Subaru hatchback for impromptu ascents.
Rugby was about trying something new and wanting to be a college athlete, but it was also for points on my Order of Merit List (OML) “commissioning application” for ROTC. You get points for participating in things, that all factors into your national ranking as a cadet, and then ultimately, your status (active duty, reserves, or National Guard) and job in the Army. I wanted that sports point.
In the end, though, rugby wasn’t a great match, and practicing in the snow left me dead and broken at the end of every night to where I couldn’t muster the motivation to work on homework.
Priorities!
We broke it down. My top priorities are my relationship, my grades, ROTC, and church. Everything else comes second to those. Grades were slipping in tough engineering classes, I wasn’t going to the gym to better my PT scores, and Shalene and I had no quality time together anymore. In fact, she stopped telling me what happened in her day, not wanting to pile on additional stress to my hectic schedule.
It was at that point, broken and uncertain, that I figured out that being busy doesn’t mean you’re successful.
What really makes me happy is being romantic, being an entrepreneur, and working towards a career in engineering. I committed to dropping rugby, decided I wouldn’t be involved in so much, and really make time to expand my business, Prism Social, and spend time with my wife.
By the time Christmas rolled around, we hadn’t even gotten 10 thank you cards for our wedding mailed, so an actual Christmas letter was implausible this year. But we felt like we should give you an update nonetheless.
Us
As you probably know (I mean, we were in the Blackfoot AM News), we met back in January, and dated through the Spring. We wrote a few blog posts about our experience meeting (included at the bottom of this post).
Per usual, the both of us are always way too busy. As the youngbloods in our ward, we headed the Ward Christmas Party, each accepted one or more callings, and were the speakers for the Ward Christmas Program.
It’s also been a good year of growing closer together. Shalene learned I don’t like cottage cheese in lasagna, just as I have learned not to jump out and scare her…often.
Shalene
Work has been good. Last year, she helped with the Future City competition (where we met), and also kickstarted a new government competition class, We the People, where they break down the branches of the government. The legislative branch is their competition, and for judicial, they have to act as the prosecuting and defense attorneys for controversial historical court cases that could have gone either way (i.e. the Nurnberg Trials where the Nazis were dubbed war criminals).
Back in May, Shalene went on a week-long Carnival cruise with some girlfriends from her singles ward. Belize, Honduras, and Mexico were all on the travel plans. She was able to pick up a lot of cool trinkets and cultural knick-knacks to show off in her classroom, as well as visiting Mayan ruins and returning home with a great tan.
A majority of her summer was spent planning a wedding, so not a whole lot to report there.
Church-wise, Shalene is a District Supervisor for visiting teaching, as well as the Relief Society Night Leader (monthly activities). She’s pretty stressed out with all that she’s got going on, especially as we approach competition time with both Future City and We the People. She’s got her work cut out for her.
She has also thoroughly enjoyed decorating our house. Luckily, her mom is just a short drive a way, so we’ve been able to borrow a few little things here and there as we’ve also started building our fair share of decorations. On that note, we reorganize the storage shed we share with the downstairs neighbors on a monthly basis, just to stay on top of everything!
Break has been good. She’s been able to catch up on sleep and read a lot. She starts back up with a new semester on Monday.
Jonny
I’ve worked a bunch of jobs this year. To name just three of my eight:
Following a dream I’ve had for a long time, I joined my roommates, Corden and Myles, along with a friend, Chad, at Sound Wave Music and Lighting Design as an assistant DJ. Basically, I got paid to play dope jams and eat expensive wedding food every weekend. It kept me traveling back to Boise every weekend, which made for a healthier transition to Pocatello, where I didn’t know anyone.
Ever the entrepreneur (I was selling my homework door-to-door throughout elementary school), I decided to follow my passion for business and social media and registered Prism Social with the state, starting as a social media consultant. Show us some love on social media. Our handle for everything is @TheSocialPrism.
I’ve also finally landed a job that’s actually relevant to my field of study. I’m an outreach assistant for the College of Science and Engineering. Basically, we travel to elementary and middle schools and play Bill Nye the Science Guy to get the lil munchkins high on science to consider going into a STEM major. I even got to present at Shalene’s school a few months ago.
School is kicking my butt. Because of who I am, I can’t settle for simple. I’m double-majoring in Mechanical Engineering and German for Business and Professions, with a double-minor in Marketing and Military Science (aka ROTC). I just recently flunked Calculus II, entering my final with a C+ and leaving with a D-. I’m not discouraged (although I worked super hard), and I’d say it would be an easy A next semester, except I’m taking 21 credits on top of my two jobs.
Speaking of ROTC, I contracted with ISU’s Army ROTC program. They own me, but they also pay for my school. It’s a good opportunity, because as soon as I graduate school, I’ll be an officer in the Army, so I won’t be looking for a job. I’m not sure what I want to do yet, but I’m thinking of going Aviation and flying Apache helicopters.
In my singles Ward, I taught Gospel Doctrine. In our new ward, I’m an Elders Quorum teacher, which, in my opinion, is more difficult because of the manual we use.
Overall, I’m doing well. Between being a newlywed, operating a business, and going to school full-time (21 credits will be a little more than full-time…), I’m treading water until graduation!
Here I am, publicly posting my 2016 goals for accountability. Before I highlight them, and explain why I chose them, here’s my post on my 2015 goals. I, uh…didn’t do so hot. In fact, I was surprised what my goals are, not even remembering them. So I’m posting this year’s goals in my office.
My goals came from figuring out what areas in my life need improvement. Talents, reflection, learning, relaxation, fitness, and spirituality were the goals I decided on, and so then I picked measurable resolutions to keep me on track.
Drawing project every month
This one’s important, because I have a talent for and enjoy drawing. If I had to pick an alternate dream career, it would be as a comic book illustrator. That being said, I’m a long ways from drawing professionally. So once a month, I’ll identify something to work on (shading, drawing from memory, etc.) and get cracking!
Blog once per week
One of my 2015 goals was to blog every day—which I did! It was a total pain, but I nailed it on The Hate List. I’m glad it’s over, so now I’m switching to this blog as a way to express myself on a weekly basis.
Read six books
Last year, I set a goal to read 12 books, or one per month. I read two, and almost finished another two or three. So that didn’t go so well. I decided that in my spare time, I’d rather fill it with reading than Netflix or mindless scrolling on social media. So that’s the idea. Read to relax.
Six-pack abs
This was a goal last year. It’s always been a dream, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in with a commitment to go to the gym 6 days per week. So here’s a measurable fitness goal.
300 on PT test
For ROTC, we take a Physical Training test every month, which consists of 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. My goal is to get a perfect score of 300. I’ve scheduled out time to go to the gym outside of my MWF 6AM training, so here’s to a new year, new me.
Read the Book of Mormon in German
This is for German as much as it is spirituality. I want to be reading scripture every day. It’ll improve my mood and, hopefully, give me hope, and keep my head on straight for a super tough semester. I’ve only ever read the Book of Mormon straight through once (pathetic, I know), so I wanted to do it again, while working on German—Two birds, one stone.
I’m laying in bed, unable to fall asleep. Today started out rough. Debating politics had me fired up, followed by a Calc quiz that I was totally unprepared for.
Luckily, I had Institute afterwards, my mind being calmed a little. When I got home though, I still couldn’t focus. I put on some hymns, and went to work, getting everything I needed to get done today before lab.
Our ROTC lab was a cold one. Informative, but chaotic, with dropping temperatures and fading sunlight. After finishing up an hour after our official end time (per usual), we formed up, with me eager to contract. We were dismissed though, so I approached the captain asking if we’d just do it the next time.
He cursed for forgetting, called everyone back into a horseshoe, had me come up, and I took the oath. It was an oath to serve my country in the name of God and justice.
I couldn’t stop grinning ear to ear. Everyone shook my hand and congratulated me. I felt on top of the world. It has taken me so long to get here, my journey (hindsight 20/20) guided.
I’ve always wanted to serve in the military, “earning” my rights (not necessary, but a personal conviction). I always wanted to be a Marine—a Devil Dog—and held an unnatural bias against the Army (inherited from my dad because of his dad’s tendency to exaggerate). I never considered the Army, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I didn’t get to go to a military service academy, and the Virginia Military Institute wasn’t in the cards either. Although I’ve been on the path for as long as I can imagine, my immediate journey started with a phone call to Mr. Ryan Hansen, Boise State’s recruiting officer for the Army ROTC program while I was still on my mission. I had come to know his dad in my first area, so I had his phone number written down nearly the entire two years.
I explained that I wanted the military science minor but had zero intentions of ever joining the Army. He said to just give it a try, and if I don’t like it, I can walk away scotch-free within my first two years.
I fell in love during our Fall FTX. I had so much fun, and we were only playing Army! It was that weekend (General Conference weekend), that I knew the Army was the road I’d take.
And now I’m here. I worked my butt off to get here. I’ve taken the PT test nearly every week for a month-and-a-half trying to get a score of 250. I woke up early to run with Mohlke, I went to the gym every night on my own, and Parsons paced me in my run. I made it. Mentally and physically. It took everything I had, though. I seriously considered if I could take it morale-wise to fall short every Monday I tried again.
I thought of Dad in the police academy a lot. I thought of Shalene. It was hard to realize that my best still wasn’t good enough. But I didn’t let it get me down. I went back in and killed it, scoring a 267!
I did it. I needed that mental strengthening. I can already feel how much it’s boosted my confidence.
In talking with Shalene tonight, I remembered my days of wrestling. I think it returned for the glory more than an appreciation for the sport. Everyone always thought I must be tough as nails since I wrestled (no easy feat).
My approach to ROTC is the same I am lot of ways. I like standing out from my peers. I can’t tell you how many times people have given reasons why they can’t do ROTC—”It’s too early” or “It’s to tough”. That’s what keeps me going.
A well-executed, suspenseful film on finding faith. The Cokeville Miracle, although a story about a community of members belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), sticks to a generic Christian, only incorporating generally recognizable elements to Christianity.
The only three hints of LDS elements are 1) the church building, 2) the dressy attire when attending church, and 3) as the father is rediscovering his faith in church, the children are singing “A Child’s Prayer“, a song out of the LDS Children’s Songbook.
The premise is that a man and his wife hold an elementary school hostage with a bomb and several firearms. The bomb goes off, but none of the children or teachers are killed—a miracle! Only the female would-be bomber is killed, and the male bomber commits suicide.
I also saw this film with my fiancée, a middle school teacher. It made me thoroughly question what I would do if I were present in the situation. What would you do? As a teacher? As a parent?
TC Christensen also took the amazing opportunity to recognize the miracles around us every day. What miracles have you seen in your life?
Most prolific in the film, I would say, was the text in the ending credits. It states that not all situations like this turn out to be miracles like in Cokeville, Wyoming. We don’t know why. But it also highlights how not all lepers or blind individuals in Jesus’s time were healed.
I don’t feel the need to justify marrying the girl of my dreams, but I do feel I can offer some insight as to why it happened so quickly. Personally, I always had an inner hatred for those who met, dated, and got engaged all within a short period of time. I have some very close friends who maintain the same philosophy, and even jokingly threatened me should it happen that quickly. I set a barrier for myself so as to not fall into the cliché Mormon trap: my rule was that I wouldn’t even consider marrying anyone I had dated less than six months. Six months isn’t even that long of a period of time, but even then, I broke my rule. Here are some of the reasons why:
The List
Recently going through and cleaning up my iOS Notes app, I came across a list I had made of what I was looking for in a girl:
someone I find attractive
funny
witty and clever
surprises me
can keep up with me
adventurous and spontaneous
appreciates my passion for Germany
likes to travel
successful and has lofty goals
The three most important qualities to me—aside from the obvious attractive, same morals, etc.—were someone who can keep up with me (I like being out and doing things), someone who can appreciate my passion for Germany (such a major part of who I am), and, not on the list, is someone who pushes me to a new level of confidence. She met and exceeded all items on the checklist. Well, she at least thinks she’s funny. I’m willing to work with that.
The Contrast
In Mormon culture, marriage and family are very important to us. That has fostered a culture of casual or “exploratory” dating where it is acceptable to go on dates with several girls without showing any real commitment to one in particular. You learn what you like, and start to pair off. You aren’t a player for “getting around”, but rather, there is a mutual understanding of being able to have fun with member of the opposite sex, narrowing in on “your type”.
In my Young Single Adult Ward (my church congregation is comprised of 18-30 yr. olds) at BSU, I’ve been dating 18 yr. olds. It’s been an interesting experience. They’re young and naïve to the world with their first year of college usually being their first experience away from home. They’re still figuring themselves out, which is fine, but I’m much further along than that.
Shalene is 26 years old, graduated with two degrees and a minor, holding many jobs and responsibilities while at school, served a mission, and has been teaching for two years. Her being older has meant that she is very familiar with herself. She’s got it figured out, she’s mature, and collected. She knows herself—quite the contrast.
An interesting concept as part of my exchange to Germany was that 17+1≠18. Although we physically age one year, the maturity gained through our experience is much more than one year’s worth. I’ve always been very independent and goal-driven, so I needed someone of the same caliber (not to discredit those I’ve dated).
The Basics
Dating within the LDS/Mormon church has made it that much easier. While I don’t pretend that there are differences, my opinion is that most Mormons are either committed or not committed to following the doctrines of their beliefs. It is much more evident, as well. When someone says he or she is Catholic, you aren’t really sure what that means. They could be practicing, raised but are not practicing, or consider it a heritage/tradition rather than a religion, and so forth. You aren’t really sure what their beliefs are. It’s much less black-and-white than the LDS church, in my opinion. When you say Mormon, you’re usually pretty sure what you’re getting into.
The Familiarity
While being able to list off qualities of the other person doesn’t constitute a strong relationship, it certainly adds to it. Neither of us thought it would go anywhere actually, but we learned pretty quickly that the other was much different from anyone we’ve dated before, and that we couldn’t keep away from each other. We’ve been FaceTiming every night for months. I’m confident that I can tell you more about Shalene than perhaps any other person on this planet, besides maybe my father and my best friend, JJ. I’ve taken the time to get to know her on a not-so-superficial level, unlike most of the conversations we tend to have. We also learn habits, quirks, etc. through observing them over a long period of time. Shalene and I cut to the chase and just asked a lot of questions, actually trying to get to know one another.
The Distance
Certainly not the most ideal of circumstances, distance has only enhanced our relationship. We’ve been able to have space in our relationship—time on our own to figure things out when emotions aren’t in control. When I brought up that we were thinking of getting married to my grandma, she told me I’d know it’s time when I couldn’t stand being away from her.
The Communication
While I haven’t been at this long, the most important thing in my relationship with Shalene has been communicating openly with one another. I’m very calculating in how I present things, but Shalene cuts all corners and bluntly asks what’s on her mind. It’s taken some getting used to, for sure, but it’s changed the way I think about communicating with others. It’s so much simpler just saying what you’re thinking. It takes a lot of the confusion and misunderstanding out of questions that might already be awkward or difficult to understand. That openness and honesty has helped us avoid many misunderstandings with one another.
The Reason While I don’t believe in soulmates, I sure do believe that certain people are brought into our lives for a reason. I always maintained that if I went to BYU, for example, I’d have found another girl probably just as righteous and cute as Shalene. But the more I learn about our relationship, it’s less about who it could have been and more of how I want it to be Shalene. I’m not worried about a “missed opportunity” because Shalene compliments me so well and is such a good fit for what I was looking for that I know she’s “the one”. I really do believe that God has had a hand in bringing us together. Too many “coincidences” happened to make this whole thing work in the first place!
The Commitment As Mormons, we don’t practice cohabitation before marriage. It takes the commitment out of marriage by giving you a free trial. No matter how much you “experience” living with the other person, it will never be the same as when you’re married, because you still have a way out if it doesn’t work, so you’re less inclined to strive for a successful relationship. Shalene and I are excited and ready to be loyal to one another, each fulfilling their investment into a strong and healthy relationship.
Hopefully some light has been shed on the relationship I have with Shalene. I love her with all I’ve got. I don’t expect you to necessarily understand how our relationship has evolved so quickly and how we came to the conclusion in just a short few months that we’re ready to spend the rest of our lives together, but now you know, at least, that I’ve considered all my bases. I’m a intellectual, rather than an emotional thinker. I made this decision, and it’s the right one for me.
First of all, before we get into the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, a brief synopsis of what has happened in the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) up until this film could prove insightful for those of you who don’t always have your nose buried in a comic book:
Now that you’re all up to speed on what has happened, I have mixed feelings on this one. I expected so much, and a lot of my expectations were met. But the second installation in the Avengers Trilogy left more to be wanted. Given only a 75% by Rotten Tomatoes, the first Avengers received a well-deserved 92%, coming in at 17% higher than its sequel. a 92%. Here are some of my issues:
Story Line
I’m sure it will grow on me. Personally, I hated The Dark Knight Rises the first time I saw it. But I’ve come to love it since. Having rewatched Age of Ultron with friends last night, I can say my opinion is already getting better.
I think the overall storyline was alright. It felt kind of predictable at the end, but hey, the concept was good. In Forbes Magazine’s review of Age of Ultron, they outline five things that the film did poorly:
‘Age of Ultron’ is too sappy for no reason, and without a payoff.
‘Age of Ultron’ has a serious pacing problem.
Unfortunately, the action scenes don’t improve matters.
We’re introduced to too many new (and old) characters, but not all the best characters.
Unfortunately, the villain is lame.
I agree with them for the most part. Going through, there was plenty of unnecessary back- and side-story. The whole movie felt pretty jumpy as you watch it, switching from the story to the action pretty frantically. Personally, I love the culminating of all these supers. That’s part of the reason, I think, that X-Men did so well—they were a very diversified team, constantly adding new elements to the general aesthetic of the film as a whole. There’s certainly variety brought to the Avengers, but it wasn’t done as well as it could have been. And lastly, James Spade was a great Ultron, but I don’t think he was portrayed well from a writing standpoint.
As a sidenote, I understand the appeal of 3D, but having watched it in both 3D and “normal” versions, I’d much rather watch it in 3D, but only because the standard version hurts my eyes because of they way they filmed it. I’d rather go without, but hey. They did well.
The Vision
I’m not too familiar with this character, but from what I knew going into the movie, they didn’t quite do him justice. A synthezoid (human in every aspect except being made of synthetic organs) built by Ultron, he runs off of solar energy powered by the Solar Jewel in his forehead. A great artistic interpretation to make it instead an Infinity Stone (Marvel Wikia). He even marries the Scarlet Witch (a fellow Avenger) and together they have two children (which is beyond me, since he’s, ya know, a robot). I’m glad they changed his costume. He looked ridiculous in the comics, especially for an android. Being such a powerful character, and the story line seemingly revolving around his creating, he has minimal screen time clocking in at a mere eight minutes and forty-one seconds (Vulture). Again, more to be wanted.
I will say, though, that I’m glad Marvel found a way to update the Vision’s appearance while still giving a shout-out to his comic book self. The comic costume was pretty unrealistic for a crime-fighting robot…
The more powerful of the Maximoff twins, Iron Man states in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade that “the Scarlet Witch has the power to alter reality—which makes her the most powerful and dangerous entity in the know universe.” And in the House of M storyline, she did just that. She said, “No more mutants,” and BAM! Nearly all the mutants on Earth lost their powers (unknown as to why some kept their’s), while others just died. Her powers were portrayed much more like Jean Grey’s, who has telekinesis (able to move things with her mind) and mind powers, allowing her to control others. So we’re dealing with another Loki of sorts. I understand that she’s in her early stages of development, but coming from a comic fan, I was waiting the entire movie for her to just lay down the hammer—although I suppose they have Thor for that…
Scarlet With also didn’t have much screen time coming in at 20:59, with significantly less portion of that her using her powers and contributing to the storyline (Vulture).
Hawkeye
They took a weird turn with this character’s backstory that I felt was totally irrelevant to who the Avengers were. Marvel usually does a good job at balancing out the story-building with the action, but I felt like too much emphasis was placed on the story here, especially since it was pretty irrelevant.
Tony Stark
Still funny throughout the movie, but no amazing one-liners like he’s known for. And for being the brilliant mind he is, why didn’t he see this coming? I know he does his own thing, and, like the Hulk, that’s why Fury kept him close (better an unstable ally than an enemy). But still! His technology never ceases to amaze, though. I loved it he walked out of his armor and left it in Sentry Mode. And then, of course, there was Veronica (see below in Spoilers).
I just found our archvillain evil robot bent on destroying humanity to be too funny. He came across too human. He was passive-agressive and he tried to make him witty all the time. I get that he’s Tony Stark’s “baby”, but he’s still a robot. I also understand that the origin they adopted for the MCU made sense for what they were trying to achieve, but comically speaking, he was created by Henry Pym aka Ant-Man. If Marvel is rolling out an Ant-Man film only months after The Avengers 2, why not just keep it canon? It was clear they were playing off of the Ultron-6 model: “Ultron later returned and took over the Vision mind forcing him to rebuild his body at the Avengers Mansion using stolen Adamantium [Vibranium in the MCU]” (Marvel Wikia). While it didn’t quite go down like that, there were striking similarities. Forbes did a great job summarizing my overall feel for Ultron as a villain:
Ultron is a really terrible super-villain. He’s a “villain of the week” at best, and not even a very good one. He’s supposed to be this enormously powerful AI that can use the internet however he pleases, yet he barely does anything other than find ways to blow things up. That doesn’t sound like a hyper-intelligent and adaptable being, it sounds like a cartoon villain….Ultron was stymied in his attempts to gain access to nuclear codes. That does not mean a more clever villain couldn’t have used his technological capabilities to start a war. He didn’t bother to create any chaos, any distractions for the heroes outside of the twins. A better villain would have thrust the world into chaos prior to his big destroy the world segment. Ultron failed to do anything particularly interesting in this regard.
He also plays to the classic, evil stereotype of thinking his plan is “the one”, while not realizing that it is actually evil and ridiculous. Here’s an overview of who Ultron is to give you a background:
Spoilers New Avengers At the end of the movie, it says “New Avengers Headquarters”. Immediately, I think, “Does that mean the new headquarters for the Avengers or the headquarters for the New Avengers?”
Black Panther Ultron takes over Crocodile Dundee supply of vibranium to make the Vision’s body. Banner mentions him getting a brand on his neck that means thief in the Wakanda dialect. Wakanda is a country in Africa and is the only known source of vibranium. Black Panther is also the king of Wakanda where he later rules with his spouse, Storm of the X-Men. We’re all lined up for an excellent flick.
Thanos Yes! I can feel Infinity War already!
Captain America vs. Iron Man The contention between Rogers and Stark was tangible. We’re all lined up for Captain America 3: Civil War.
The Hulkbuster Armor I think the idea of constantly replenishing Tony’s armor while fighting the Hulk was brilliant. Done so well. Director Joss Whedon states: “You know, I just decided to call it Veronica because [Bruce Banner] used to be in love with a girl named Betty, and Veronica is the opposite of that” (Cinema Blend).
When you’re in the planning stages of a long road trip, a poppin’ playlist is key. Because conversation dies, and you can’t sleep if you’re the one driving. Unfortunately, this trip was a bunch of bachelors (my roommates and I). We’ve done a road trip down to Vegas together before, though, and we had a rad playlist thrown together. “Our song” that we played literally every time we got in the car was “Kanye” by The Chainsmokers. Going off of that, I stumbled across “Hold My Hand” and knew it would be this trip’s “Kanye”. After a long—and I mean LONG—weekend trip to and from San Fransisco, California, we knew still jam to it. Enjoy~
If one song could be my anthem for Mondays it would be, “Just another Manic Monday.” I swear EVERY Monday I frantically scrabble to get ready, to get out the door somewhat on time…and yet….I fail miserably. April 20th was not an exception. That morning I woke up, and attempted to pull myself together.
Once school started, things started to mellow out and get back into routine. In fact, I was ahead of the game and feeling rather productive that day. I even found time to research textbooks and curriculum for next year’s We the People class and sent an email to the principal, Mrs. Dortch and the vice principal, Steve Andrew. It was then at lunch that Mrs. Dortch and Mr. Andrew used that email against me. 😉
Mrs. Dortch casually suggested meeting with me during 6th hour’s We the People class to discuss this new curriculum…stating that Mr. Andrew could watch my class for a few minutes while we met. I didn’t think anything of this. It was out of the ordinary for me to meet with the administration. This suggestion made total sense in my mind.
At exactly 2:45pm, Mr. Andrew casually walked into my 6th period class. The students were busy working and I was at my desk grading. I filled him in on what the kids were working on and I went quickly down to the principal’s office. Surprisingly Mrs. Dortch and I had a very productive meeting. She held her cool quite well. After only six minutes, Mrs. Dortch received a text message from Mr. Andrew that she was needed back in my classroom. Made sense to cut the meeting short. We walked back down to my classroom together, continuing to talk about next year’s classes. It wasn’t until I opened my door that I realized all was not routine and normal.
Staring back at me were 15 students with phones and tablets. Mr. Andrew himself had a camera out and focused on me. I literally took a step back into the corner. It was then that Jonny stepped out and walked towards me. Everything felt like a dream and blur. I was so surprised and caught off guard. Never before had my personal life and my work life collided like this before! I even asked Jonny if this was really happening….BEFORE I said ‘yes,’ when he asked me to marry him. [so embarrassing]
After I said a hesitant yes….don’t ask me why I said yes so questionably. I KNEW I wanted to marry him and had already decided I would say ‘yes,’ I was just sooooo surprised by everything! I realized that the hall was filled with onlookers; students and teachers eagerly watching and waiting in anticipation, loving their involvement. I am so grateful that Jonny included “my kids” and friends in this. My kiddos will forever remember their involvement in our relationship and so will I. I love Jonny so much and I love picturing a future with him. So goodbye Miss Summers, hello Mrs. Henderson!
Shalene and I had previously talked about marriage. In fact, we were planning on it. We had a schedule lined up of who would visit when, we made checklists, she bought a dress, but I had yet to propose. Being the traditional girl she is, she said that I had to ask her father for permission before proposing. Of course, I would have done so out of courtesy regardless of whether or not she asked. But that made it particularly tricky for me. How was I supposed to arrive, talk to her dad, and propose, all while keeping it a surprise, when our trips were scheduled like they were?!
It’s obviously really important to the female populace when it comes to all things wedding-related. I knew I would have to figure something out. I started tossing ideas around with my roommates. I jokingly suggested having the kids propose for me, to bring it full circle back to when she had her students get her my number. And then it clicked! Her students! It totally would be awesome to include them, as they “made it happen”. On top of that, she would never expect me to show up to her school. So I checked my schedule, picked a Monday, when my schedule would be most open, admittedly skipped two classes, and drove out to propose.
Shalene is good friends with her vice principal (VP). They went to ISU together, and they currently carpool to work, as neither of them live in Blackfoot. During our nightly FaceTime sessions, I started extracting critical information: the three key students to the whole operation, what the vice principal’s name was, etc., all the while building my plan for a monumental proposal. I contacted the VP and set things in motion. Both he and the principal were in.
I showed up as planned, hid out in the VP’s office, and he went down to Shalene’s classroom. He said that the principal wanted to discuss next year’s curriculum with her (she had submitted material previously that morning). He was to cover her class while she met with the principal. Thinking nothing of it, being fairly routine, she headed down to her office. She’s really outgoing and friendly, so I heard her laughing and chatting with the office staff while walking through the office past my hiding place.
A knock on the door—”The principal’s door is open, so don’t say anything. Follow him and he’ll take you down to her classroom.” We make it to the end of the hall. I walk into a giddy classroom of 8th graders. The VP mentions that he told them that I was coming, but not why, turning the time over to me. I announce that my plan was to propose. Lemme tell you. I have never seen 8th graders so excited as when I told them to get their smartphones out! I assigned half of them to picture-duty and the other half to camera crew. The stage was set.
I hit off to the side in the corner adjacent to the door, the vice principal texted the principal with the go-ahead, and the principal told Shalene that she was needed in her classroom, but that she was to walk down with her and continue to fill her in on her plans for the curriculum. Shalene assumed it was an issue of discipline, and so off they went.
Shalene opened the door to her entire class giggling, pointing their phones at her, the VP sitting in her chair with his camera trained on her. Like a deer caught in headlights, she froze, totally confused as to what was going on, letting out a, “What the….?”
Out I came. She stammered, totally confused, “You’re not supposed to be here.” I got down on one knee, called her by her full name, and asked her to marry me. Her not having caught a hint of any of this going down, everything caught her totally off guard. She described it as a dream, and asked if this was really happening. I knew she would say yes, but doubt flickered through my mind when I wasn’t met with an immediate, ecstatic and resounding “yes”.
But don’t fret—she agreed, and I put the ring on her finger. The hallway was packed with spectators, and the crowds cheered. I wasn’t marrying just any teacher—she’s the favorite. I wrote my phone number and email up on the board, gave the students orders to send me any footage they had, we chucked the deuces up, and blew that popsicle stand. Her vice principal covered the last fifteen minutes of class, while we strode out of that school having never felt taller in our lives.
Needless to say, I’m a legend at the Idaho Science and Technology Charter School. I could practically be their mascot. I’ve brought them so much positive publicity. We were featured in the unknown world-reknowned Blackfoot Morning News. See: Article pg. 1 & Article pg. 2. A parent thought our story was so cute, that she called the paper. Now, there’s a lot going on in Blackfoot on any given morning, but they found time in their busy schedule to stop by the school the next morning, and we were on the front page by Wednesday. #ThisIsHowWeDo
I owe a lot to the students and faculty. The kids “made it happen”, as we say. The VP was also critical in pulling this off. He suggested sending her out of the class to the principal’s office. He even insisted on driving that week for their carpool, knowing that I would want to whisk her away after school.
This love was rekindled when I stumbled across Buzzfeed’s “32 Pictures That Will Give You Intense Elementary School Flashbacks“. The wooden castle park in my hometown of Sterling, Virginia had it goin’ on! That place became anything and everything I wanted it to be. The best and worst memories were made on that splintery death trap. Gone are the days of regulation-free fun. I can vividly remember it being replaced with a cheap, plastic-paneled park that was no fun to play on. Curse you regulatory committees!
The coolest and most convenient app for any student, you scan the barcode of a book and select which citation you need (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc), and it automatically types it out for you! Unbelievably convenient. It saves so much time and stress! There are online sources like Citation Machine, but you have to manually enter everything. This app gives you everything you need in a quick shot of the barcode (similar to a QR-code reader). It also allows you to edit the fields to insert page numbers, etc. Go get it on the App Store! It’s free!
This is my new favorite app. It’s so freakin’ convenient! Not only can you save it on your laptop/desktop browser as a plug-in, Pocket lets you snatch a webpage from online and save it locally to your phone, so that you can read it later offline. This is perfect for me. Whenever I hop on Facebook, I can get caught up in the infinite scroll of the newsfeed, clicking left and right on the whims of whatever catered ads present to me. This allows me to get on Facebook, scroll for a hot second, save anything I might find worth reading for later, then get on with my rigorous schedule. That way, I can read it between classes or when I’m stuck somewhere with nothing to do or not enough time to start anything big. It’s the perfect app for the on-the-go!
I started Just Jonny as more of a journal where I could post stories or thoughts to keep people at home updated. It’s been nice having an “audience”, though, and it keeps my writing honed, rather than just writing out of obligation. It started as a continuation of my weekly emails, where I’d post a synopsis of my week so people back home felt connected to what I was doing. This is what I want to make my “new project”.
My idea is this: post daily, but have a theme for each day (mimicking Instagram’s #mcm, #wcw, and #tbt sort of idea). I’ve thought long and hard about this one. I am an eclectic individual with a vast range of interests that have seemingly nothing to do with one another. A sample: Katy Perry, super heroes, technology, German, spirituality, etc. So because The Hate List has taken off so well, I think I just might be able to pull this off. I think I think I’ve converted my audience to my writing style and sense of humor, rather than my content. Assuming that’s correct, my little cult will read whatever I post (Ex. I saw Iron Man because I love superheroes, but I became a fan of RDJ, and will now watch a movie because he’s in it, even if there aren’t superheroes).
My tag for just about everything is some variation on “starkexpo”. I’m going to run off of that, rename this blog Henderson Expo, and have the daily themes, using “expo” as a way to display my personality though inter-connected posts. The idea has always been with me, but I tweaked the execution from how a friend runs her blog. This is my rough draft:
Music Monday: songs, bands, albums—the works
Tech Tuesday: Anything and everything tech, from apps to Elon Musk to Apple
Comic Wednesday: new comics come out on Wednesday, so the theme’s consistent. My favorite superheroes, new movies coming out, and sketches I do, since I draw a lot (or at least want the accountability of “having” to draw weekly)
Deutsch am Donnerstag: German language or culture related post every week
Free Friday: No theme. Free range to write about whatever!
Story Saturday: I’ve mostly sold people on my story telling. I write to entertain. They’re longer posts, but it saves me from having to retell the same story all the time.
Spiritual Sunday: a convenient way to display spiritual thoughts and maybe reach some people I wouldn’t otherwise have much contact with
It’ll be a crazy amount of work, but I think I can devote Sunday entirely to writing every week. So there’s no theme to the blog as a whole, per se, except that everything is related to me, if that makes sense. And what I mean by that is that I regularly get texted pictures related to Batman, Katy Perry, etc, because I tend to obsess over something, rather than just like it, so people instantly relate those things to me. I think that will help it “sell”.
This will also be an opportunity to collaborate with other bloggers I’m friends with, as well as giving me a prompt to crank out content where I otherwise would be at a loss.
When asked what I do for a living, the following is asked in this EXACT order:
#1. What do you teach?
#2. What grade/age level do you teach?
#3. MIDDLE SCHOOL?!?! Seriously….Wow, it takes a “special” person to teach that age group.
Yes, it does take a special person to teach 11-14 year olds. BUT, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Because, every day is an ADVENTURE.
My side of the story:
After months of preparation, my kiddos and I were off to Boise to participate in the State Level Future City Competition. We were all excited for our trip….but I was probably looking forward to it the most. A day off from school. My own hotel room. A T-Shirt. A DAY OFF FROM SCHOOL. Who wouldn’t be want to spend their weekend with a group of hormonal, pre-pubescent adolescents?
My students rocked the competition. Unfortunately, they didn’t do as well as they would’ve hoped. In the spirit of helping encourage and lift them out of their discouragement, I put myself in the forefront of distracting them….which was just embarrassing myself. After my students found out I thought the “Segway Guy” was cute. We, in a 100% purely JOKING manner developed a FAKE plan to have a couple of my students act as my wingmen and get his number. Needless to say, the joke was on me. My students thought this would be a “great” idea and should be acted on immediately.
It was at that moment, in mid-discussion of this joke that Jonny walked right into my students trap. Seventeen kids immediately gathered around him. I on the other hand ran to the opposite side of the conference room. I watched the train wreck from a distance. I knew the only way I could save my self-respect, pride and social graces was to talk to him. So embarrassingly Jonny and I spoke for the LONGEST three minutes of my life. (All while students took pictures, sat nearby and yelled encouraging comments.)
I regretted teaching middle schooler’s at that moment….
Yes, I ended up texting Jonny. I had too. I found out later on that one of my students got his number by telling him I would buy him dinner if he successfully got his number. (Which I did agree too…thanks KFC $3.00 meal.) But still….he told Jonny that!? Oh gosh…this seriously was horribly. I simply texted Jonny that I appreciate him humoring my kids and I apologize for the situation. That was it. I’ll admit Jonny was good at texting. He brought his A game and I agreed to go on a walk with him when I returned to Boise a couple weeks later.
The walk turned into more texting, talking, a trip to Poky, to Boise, Idaho Falls, Face timing every night…all leading up to this one crazy adventure. A culmination of a fast-paced, strong connection with someone who was stranger to me only a couple months ago.
Teaching middle school is always an adventure. This embarrassing adventure just happened to work out in my favor this time. Thanks kids!
P.S. I have to humble Jonny a little bit here. He thinks he is such a charmer and can woo any lady, but the reality is…I have a few tricks up my sleeves and I have helped him tons!
*****Disclaimer*****
I promise I am not an awkward, desperate, or unprofessional person…despite how much this embarrassing story makes you believe it.
I participate in the Boise State ROTC program. When I earn my degree, I’ll commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. To commission, I turn in a résumé of sorts. One thing they look for is “cadet points” earned through participation and volunteering. I decided to step it up and take a more active role in the community. Per usual, I got quite the story…
Boise State hosted the Future Citiy Competiton where middle schoolers build better cities. The concept this year was “Future in Agriculture”. For a whole four hours, I taught kids how to ride a Segway. The BSU College of Engineering literally only has Segways to show off technology at events we host haha. I ain’t e’en mad!
After the Segway closed down for lunch and judging of the competition, I looked around at the displays. About the third table in, I recognized a lot of the kids, since they came through the line for the Segway about five times each. I started asking them questions about their project. Being an engineering major, I was legitimately interested in what these little Einsteins were putting on. But I noticed a few kids standing off to the side, almost as if they were waiting for me to finish my conversation.
At a pause in conversation, I turned to the youngins waiting to my left, and they jumped at the opportunity, exclaiming that their teacher thought I was cute, wanted my number, and said she’d buy them dinner if they got it for her (I came to find out that I am worth Tucano’s).
Per usual, I aim to please, so with amusement, I write my name and number down on one of the tyke’s name tags, and they scurry off. I turn back to the table and continue asking questions, since I’m genuinely interested. Without much delay, the kids come running back and belt out, “She wants to meet you!” I chuckle and ask where she is. They point. Across the entire conference room, there she is, standing there, embarrassed laughing
We chatted for a second, but it was all superficial, she was embarrassed, and closed conversation with, “Well cool. See ya later,” or something to that effect.
I was at the gym a little while later that day when she texted. I was caught a little off guard, since it had only been a couple of hours, but I shrugged it off, figuring she was on a long bus ride home with nothing to do. Luckily for her, my texting game is on point. So if my in-person charm didn’t get her, I won her over with my texts.
I made mention that I’d be over in eastern Idaho Valentine’s Day weekend, and that we should meet up. She also brought up that she’d be in Boise a week or two later, and invited me over to her hotel. Sketch 😳
She came up, I met up with her, then we just went on a walk on the Greenbelt. It ended up being 5 or 6 miles! The coolest thing, though, was that she was never boring. She held a conversation the whole time. I was impressed.
I went with my roommates a week later on a pre-planned trip to Pocatello and Rexburg. She came and got me, then showed me around Idaho State University (ISU), where she was apparently a big deal. She apparently has a picture in the College of Education and everything. Yet to be actually be confirmed, but it was cool. She was really involved when she went there. She wrote the freakin’ tour booklet for the campus—so she was the right one to have show me around.
We got Indian food, stopped by her brother’s house (she hadn’t seen him in a month or two), then she drive up on a hill that overlooked the “city” and just wanted to “get to know each other”. Let me take any doubt out of your minds upfront: she had just gotten on antibiotics for strep throat. There was no way I was letting anything happen.
She came up a couple weeks into February for one last meeting—a training for one of the competitions her students participated in. We went to dinner at Boise Fry Company on Friday. To be honest, we had joked about kissing, but I was so nervous that I kept putting it off. This time, though. I set the situation via text to where thee was no getting out of it. I showed her around downtown after dinner, then we went back to her room, and I got over it and kissed her. She was a fan, to say the least…
The best, however, is yet to come. She takes me back home, and like no one is home. We’ve all got this dope app called Find My Friends, where you can share your location with others. All of my roomies and I share it with each other, so I flip open the app to figure out where everyone’s at.
I double-take—THEY’RE ALL AT THE HOTEL! At first, I figured my phone just had to load, but I kept hitting refresh with no changes. I call up Myles. “Hey, what’re you guys up to?” “Oh, ya know. We’re just out getting pizza.” “Don’t you lie to me! You’re all at the hotel!”
Our roomie, Logan, works for Dominos. They dressed up, the three of them, as pizza delivery men, went to the hotel, and said they had a delivery for this girl. The guy handed a room number right over.
First of all, three delivery men? He didn’t find that suspicious? Secondly, Corden was in yoga pants. And lastly, he didn’t ask for any proof or whatever. At the least, he could’ve buzzed her down.
I died. So freaking funny. The next day, we both got out of work/meetings early. We hadn’t planned on seeing each other again. We expected it to be a “weekend fling” of sorts, but nothing would happen after. Wrong. She came over for a bit, then I had to feed the missionaries, so we went to Noodles & Co. I invited a buddy that works with me (the only other normal soul in the library) to go with us, since he loves this story. So they met her, as one of the missionaries knew her from the Missionary Training Center in Provo!
She came back over for a bit, but then I had a date afterwards. Long story short, we fell for each other in a weird, fast, awkward situation sorta way. We facetimed every night until I randomly took a trip to see her that weekend.
The whole deal is so strange and funny. What started as a boring trip to Boise “ended” with her (well, her students) finding herself a man~
The stereotypical tribute you’ve all been awaiting! Man, my girl killed it! I’ve been waiting for weeks for her performance – the highlight of her career facing the biggest audience she’s ever been up against, and she most certainly did not disappoint! I even started using Twitter again, just to maintain a constant feed about how the show was going haha.
I was baffled at first, by the choices of Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott. One thing I knew for sure, though, was that we could expect “Last Friday Night (TGIF)” because Missy did a remix featured on Katy’s album, Teenage Dream, on which the original was also released.
Surprisingly, no TGIF. I don’t think any of us were complaining, though, as she prowled out onto the field belting “Roar” on her giant, polygonal Saharan beast!
A photo posted by Jonny Hender☀️ (@starkexp0) on Feb 4, 2015 at 12:40pm PST
She also sang “Dark Horse” on a life-size, Harry Potter-esque chess board, “Teenage Dream”, “California Gurls”, and headbanged to “I Kissed a Girl” with Lenny jammin’ on the electric guitar. Needless to say, it was quite the impressive show. The only part I didn’t understand is why Missy played such a big role…It was Katy’s performance! Regardless, they did a couple of Elliot’s songs. Lame…
Katy pulled some impressive stats, averaging “118.5 million viewers and a 48.2 average household rating, both of which are also records. Perry earned 3 million more viewers than last year’s halftime show.” (NFL) Within hours, there were memes about how she was dressed, and a new internet sensation – her backup dancer dubbed #LeftShark – as he “failed” the dance routine to “Teenage Dream”. Apparently, though, he did just fine:
“The choreographer behind the performance has spoken out on the whole situation, saying lefty “nailed” that “goofy” vibe they were going for. HA.” (Seventeen. Let me be clear: I do not frequent teeny-bopper websites [however I love the trashy gossip magazines at the registers], I was merely doing “research” haha…)
To top it off, though, was a classic case of nostalgia~
Today is for this girl. She had the dream, always believed in herself & her worth. Today she is the one smiling. pic.twitter.com/9jMh3hWubz — KATY PERRY (@katyperry) February 1, 2015
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it’s exciting to see it trending on Facebook for a movement of tolerance in the community. It has never been about discriminating against others. We are firm in our beliefs, in that we sustain unchangeable laws (or commandments) from God, but we are hopefully leading our lives in a way that shows our desires to follow Christ.
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Greetings friends! If you could do me all a favor and just sign a quick petition. CBYX is the State Department scholarship opportunity I had to serve as a youth ambassador to Germany, and funds are getting cut by 50%, if not extinguished. Those of you who know what this program has done for me, think about those to come, in additon to the relationship between our country and one of the strongest countries in Europe. Danke!~
“We the undersigned respectfully request that the U.S. Department of State reverse its recent decision to cut the funding for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) by 50% and restore its support to $4 million to prevent a drastic reduction in participant numbers. The United States and Germany are two of the world’s most powerful nations and leading economies, and CBYX has played a vital role in fostering cultural exchange, building understanding and strengthening ties between our two nations for more than three decades. The result is one of the strongest and most cooperative alliances of the last century.”
Quite possibly the most exciting email I’ve every received. Okay not really, but when I had to submit a request to join, I was honestly worried I wouldn’t make the cut. Growing up and throughout high school, I was a closet-nerd. Now I’m pretty open about it. A close family friend puts it: “A closet geek that hides it well with a rich social life.” With that being said, now that I have my in, I will slowly take over this Comic Book Club, becoming their supreme overlord, while they praise my social capabilities and ability to interact with the female populace. It is now only a matter of time…
1) Pray every morning and night 2) Read my scriptures every day 3) Read 12 books 4) Achieve six pack (for the ladies) 5) Become comfortable and confident with dancing 6) No sweets 7) Become a strong swimmer
As a child, I always had it in my mind that I was either going into the field of robotics engineering, or I would serve in the military. I remember having that idea as a wee lad, with some other random career choices along the way.
In third grade, I was applying for FUTURA program in my school district. “The Loudoun County FUTURA program seeks to enhance and to develop the intellect of fourth and fifth grade students who have been formally identified asgenerally intellectually gifted.” Formally identified? Don’t act like you’re not impressed. So anyway, I had to submit a project as part of the application. I don’t remember what the requirements were, but I composed a profile on tanks. What third-grader does that?! It was sweet though. Right on the front, a family friend helped me to silk-screen my hand drawn picture right on the front.
In fourth grade, I thought astronaut would be cool.
In fifth grade chorus, we were doing some concert that featured a song where selected students got to voice what their career goals were. At the time, my ideal was to be a “rare animal DNA hunter”. I wanted to prance around the Amazon with tranquilizer darts subduing Earth’s fiercest beasts collecting blood samples for cloning and who knows what.
It was the year 2008 that changed it all! My previous debacle was whether or not I’d work as an engineer or serve in the military. I remember walking out of the movie theaters having just viewed Iron Man thinking – “I CAN DO BOTH!”
From then on, I knew that defense engineering was the career path for me. Not to come across as egotistical, although it does play to the part, I’ve always known I’m bound for something greater than the average. I feel like I consistently define myself by “above and beyond” experiences like going to Germany, serving a mission, and moving away to college on what appears to be a whim.
I thrive in the “important people” crowd, and love thinking about a career in something I’m as passionate about as I am in defense. My résumé is as important to me as my social security card.
I hold mostly moderate-conservative political and economical views, so the arms topic is important to me. When I was in Germany, I was in Englisch Konversation as a courtesy to the Germans trying to learn English. The class read an article on Texan college professors debating as to whether or not they should be armed in the classroom. The class had a discussion on gun control, and literally out of 30 or so students, I was the only student to side with the right to bear arms.
It’s something important to me, and I feel (especially now that I’m participating in ROTC) that it’s a key fundamental in making America so renowned.
As for what I hope to do now, I’m double majoring in mechanical engineering and German with the hopes to work for Heckler & Koch, a distinguished German firearms manufacturer. Even the SEALs use their sub-machine guns, the HK MP5. From there, I’d like to own my own defense engineering company comparable to Lockheed Martin or Northrup Grumman, eventually broadening my horizons to all forms of technology, similar to Honeywell or Mitsubishi. I very much relate to and admire Elon Musk for owning three very different technological enterprises.
I’ll be sure to remember the little people when I’m famous.
I was using part of my afternoon to get caught up on all the clutter I’ve had laying around. I found a list of quotes I recorded while on my mission and decided to digitalize it for future use. Here are the two that stuck out to me
Our life is a gift from God. What we do with our life is our gift to God. It is not enough to be good. You have to be good for something ~President Hinckley
It dawned on me today that I hadn’t recognized Christ enough in my Christmas. While I recognize that the world would go on without recognition of Jesus (and often does), it’s a special time to reflect on the reason for the season.
I am about to weave you a saga that rivals that of Homer’s Odyssey.
It all started in what I like to call “The Delivery.” In response to a group text I shot out to my co-dwellers, Mr. Myles “With a Y” Young granted me access to his rare, holographic Daewoo (the Bigfoot of the auto industry) on the condition that I deliver him to his DJ gig at the Boise Art Museum. Mission: Accomplished.
I pick up Aspen for the annual ROTC Military Ball. It’s like Harry Potter’s Yule Ball, but with less butterbeer. Anyway, Aspen was looking fine as ever, naturally (I wasn’t going to take just anyone), and we make an appearance. Supposed to arrived between 5:30pm and 6pm?
So anyway, we put on a face and pretend like we’re interested in everyone. We shake some hands, make some introductions, then get our picture taken by none other than the Susan Hessing! I served in her ward! She is most widely recognized for her popular pic of Sierra Sandison wearing her insulin pump whilst sporting her bikini at the Miss Idaho Pageant. So these pictures were on point. We haven’t received our digital copies yet, so this is just a sample of what we brought to the evening. Photo courtesy of a fellow second-squader dressed as Mr. Bean:
Aspen all of a sudden freaks. I’m trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Her high school nemesis is to my six. The Regina George of my date’s compulsory education was present and a fully-participating member of the ROTC program here at Boise State. I really tried to get them some face-time, but Aspen didn’t appreciate that. Heh.
Anyway, we went through the receiving line. In case you were wondering, I was disappointed when I didn’t get anything. I seriously thought it was food. Newp. Just some handshakes with the cadre (big words defined here).
We move over towards table 12, and who am I sitting with? My nemesis! This guy was an MSIV (Military Science 4th year). That means he doesn’t have to do anything we do. He’s basically just admin, running labs and PT tests. That’s where my hate first started festering. He was counting my push-ups on my first test and didn’t count 10 of mine for not getting my chest to the floor when the measure of an Army push-up is elbows at a 90-degree angle. So there. I hate him.
The night went on in formalities and traditions. There was a “1920s theme” which consisted of a few silhouettes of old cars or instruments, plus a couple of stars. Anyway, dinner was a disappointment. We had to place our orders for the caterer a month in advance, and they still ran out! No tri-tip for Cadet Henderson 🙁
We also had to do skits. The MSIs (me) were the clear winners with our Army Strong Shake Weight infomercial.
There were some speeches, some roasting of the cadre, and we closed. We weren’t supposed to leave until the Lieutenant Colonel (the head of our program) left, so we were left with three options: the dance floor (complete with 60-year old DJ and his pop-polka music), Christmas trivia, or socialize with whomever until the LTC left. We went with the trivia, the obvious choice in the given situation, although still not ideal.
We finally left. It was my roomie Logan’s birthday, so we thought we’d get him a cake and play Just Dance on his newly acquired Xbox 360. But then, a thought that would change the entire course of the evening, nay grander! – the course of my being – floated to the forefront of my consciousness. We were going to Myles’s DJ event!
So we pull up to the front of the Boise Art Museum, knowing that Myles and Corden (my other roomie) were DJing a Christmas party for a law firm. I whisper to Aspen that it won’t work unless we’re confident, tell her to grab my arm, and we walk up to a few people standing outside. I lead with, “Hey, sorry we’re late. Where is it that we’re supposed to go?” This lady tells me that it’s just in the back of the museum and that that they’re out of food, so I need to hit up the open-bar. I thank her and give the door a tug. Locked, with a sign reading, “Private Party”. But Museum Peon #1 comes to the rescue and lets me right in. I walk up to my roommates at the DJ stand, clasp my arms around their shoulders, and say, “This is my favorite song!” They both just turn around with big grins shouting, “Yes!”
So then we stride over to the bar. I just get Red Bull. Then I turn to Aspen and tell her that it isn’t enough just to show up and take their drinks. We need to mingle. She tells me I’m going to get us caught. There are only 20-30 people at this party. It’s not a huge deal, so the likelihood of someone knowing we don’t belong was high. Still, though, I go for it. I sit down next to this lady who was 40 or 50 and ask her her name. She divulges and asks me mine. I reply in full German accent, “I’m Stefan. I work in zhe mail room. No one knows me! I’m just trying to get to know people.” I ask what she does for the company, and she tells me her husband is one of the partners. Bingo. Just for some perspective, this company, Givens Pursley LLP, pulls in over $1 million every day. I catch a big name on the first cast. Her husband then comes over, and she introduces me as Stefan. I say hello, chat for a couple seconds, then excuse myself. Mingle: Complete. One of the partners of the company was convinced I worked for him.
I’m back over at the DJ stand now and can’t find Aspen. No worries. I just wander around checking out some of the art. It’s pretty dang cool. I end up back at the DJ stand, and the lady who let me in initially was standing there chatting up my roomies. I asked her (picking up the previous conversation) what’s good at the bar that night. She said she’s drinking a girly drink, like a strawberry daquiri. “Well I’m not getting that!” Then she explained how they were out of Red Bull (while I was drinking it right in front of her), so I couldn’t get an Irish trashcan. “Just get something on the rocks. You can’t f***ing go wrong with that!”. I go back over to the bar and get another Red Bull and comment, “Oh nice – Malibu. I’ll have to get that next time.” I can thank Germany with my familiarity with liquors. There were, I think, two bottles of Malibu at my 18th birthday party, among an impressive array of other hard drinks. It was my host-sister’s fav.
Anyway, after being around Corden and Myles so much, I tell Aspen that we either need to leave or dance to avoid suspicion. She says, “But you don’t dance. Do you want to?” Just then, a sudden flashback to my Mentor of Adventure, Drew Scott, and his immortal words: “Do it for the story!”. “Yes, for the story,” I declare. It lasts all of two seconds when I notice two older women, arms around each other’s shoulder, whispering and pointing at us. I grab Aspen’s arm. Time for our exfiltration!
On our way home, Aspen and I were giddy with how the night had played out. Our confidence was at an all-time high. She related it to the Impractical Jokers said she didn’t have the confidence to do that kinda stuff! I just said I don’t like dancing. We agreed on a trade: confidence for dance moves. Aww yea! We also decided to make this a regular thing. We’ll start with weddings. They’ve got the biggest guest lists, the best cake, and we can always use the “+1” or “we’re with the DJs” excuses. Corden said their company has at least four weddings every weekend and that he’d let us know where the biggest one’s happening.
And that was how a weekend changed the course of my life, bringing me one step closer to Tony Stark-dom.
