Blended Living

I once read that a wealthy person isn’t someone who has everything, but a person that doesn’t need anything else.  How does that apply to time?   What is time freedom or wealth?

Is it in someone that is so here and now, that there is no regret of the past and no want of the future that he or she just purely exists in the now?  If we were singularly spiritual beings that could be nirvana.

We are more however.  Perhaps its the ease at which we can feed our brains, then rest them while we feed our bodies, and then feed our emotional needs, then go around again.  Some rest time for all of them, some fantastic unity when we use all of ourselves.  Sometimes fast, sometimes slow.  Like a symphony with the brass, winds, strings, and percussion in balance.   There are solos, alternating melodies and backup, teamwork that creates more than the pieces.  There is fun and joy and those moments that aren’t.

The Asics running tights and Brooks top were keeping me warm enough, yet not too much with another thin long sleeve TShirt.  It felt a little colder than the first run which was around 50 degrees F.  Its darker much earlier and I’m not used to seeing so many other runners in Central Park this far after sunset.

Past the first hill, I’m breathing really hard, but otherwise feeling great.  I think its about 45F, since I’m not sweating at all and I don’t see my breath.   Down the hill now and things are starting to fall into sync.  Not having run enough the last month, I convince myself to take it easy.

Ahead of me I hear some horses, and they are majestic, with their loud hoof beats and nostril flares of white smoke blowing out in front of them.  Its a couple of New York’s Finest and one of them are trying to get his horse to go into a gallop.

I can’t resist the urge and I run faster.  The trailing rider and her horse reluctantly speed up here and there, just enough to make it interesting for me, as if they know I’m trying to catch up.  I run with them for a quarter mile or so.  The hoof beats are thunderous now – I try to entrain to their beat.  The two horses are not quite in sync and I can’t quite ‘feel’ the rhythm.

Out of breathe as they take the turnoff, I slow down near the south end of The Lake and I am pleased.  To turn back or keep going now?  I decide its not that cold after all and keep going down to Columbus Circle.  As I hit that last hill near Sheep’s Meadow, I see that its 29F – I was totally off about the temperature.  The way back home was more quiet and cold without my 4 legged running partners.

Not entirely sure why I stopped in the Radio Shack and purchased this, but lately been in a more spontaneous mood – and I guess I wanted to test this device out for quality.  I know that the math adds up.  $40 for the device and first year of service, and $20 more per year for unlimited domestic phone usage.

It’s a little device that plugs into the USB port on your XP or Vista computer and on the other end you plug in a standard phone.  Takes about 5 minutes to load the software and register, and you choose a new phone number and then can make unlimited calls.

So far it works really well.  In my opinion its not quite rock solid like an old landline, but its very good voice quality, and there is some latency, but not too long.  If it didn’t work out for me I was thinking of sending this off to a relative so that they can keep in touch with their parents in another state for cheap.

On the packaging it states that you can use this in other countries, and your callers will appear to call you in whichever area code you choose when you register.  The Magic Jack is available at many Radio Shacks or you can order online.  I’ll review more later on after using it for about a month.

There’s 44 days left in the year, and the weather seems to finally decide that it is winter.  Just yesterday we were blessed with 65 degrees and a last chance to show off those late summer fashions.  I think I saw more miniskirts than ever before during a quick walk thru lower Chelsea.

Overnight, and I was up all night, the cold came in around 4am.  Suddenly my block is filled with fallen leaves while just a few days ago I wondered how long my tree lined street would remain verdant.  Like the markets lately these leaves lingered but when they were to fall, they fell quickly.

I like to observe society and do things just a bit differently.  Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I am making a couple resolution due by year’s end. 

1. Learn winter running. 
2. Lose those last 10-15 pounds.
3. Arrange my life so that I have those 2-3 hours daily to start and finish what I’m passionate about.

This way you hit the ground running January 1st.

This is a video of new google features that you can load on your phone.

I’m watching my DVR and thinking how it was a time freeing technology at its onset.  Humorously, later on after programming in all my favorite shows and being at the mercy of finite video storage space and near infinite interests, I remarked with a colleague that I am in a race to see all the shows on my DVR before they “fall off the bottom”.  What freed me has enslaved me now.

On this viewing, John Updike is being interviewed by Charlie Rose and the topic of getting better at your craft in later years is being discussed.  This coincides with his ‘Widows of Eastwick’ which is a 30 year sequel to ‘Witches’.  (I wonder would “Witches” the movie be a good candidate for blue Ray viewing?)  The topic of how Clint Eastwood getting better as a director and actor comes up, how he might be the exception.   They mention how conductors get better in age and perhaps its because of all the arm movements that helps them live such long lives.

My mind escapes to wondering if that is purely the physical, or is it perhaps a clear example of blended living (the act of conducting involves the left and right brain, the physical, emotional, and perhaps spiritual).  Then I wonder if the Wii games will foster a new generation of longer lives.  Is there a Wii conductor game with New York, Philadelphia and other great cities’ symphony versions?  What a contrast to Grand Theft Auto pick your city version.  I doubt there is a Musical Conducting for Dummies book.  I think about adding some workouts with music and a lot of arm movements.  I wonder if Yoga is a starting point for a new workout, or best left alone as it is. [Most enduring multicentury  things are fairly mature]

Its fun to allow this SoC (stream of consciousness) to run along, until it becomes senseless gibberish (have I lost you already dear reader ?)  At many other times it is really true original thought.  Looking for the crevices between disparate fields, new combinations of old and current, east and west, modern technology and old world thought.  Some (most?) SoC could go into morning pages.

“Time Shifting” has been a fun read so far, and as it hasn’t seemed to be slow, I’ve spent more time reading 65 pages than most other books.  Ironic for the topic and title.  I guess in alot of my other reading there is so much overlap that I can pretty much scan past whole chapters but not in this one.  More details on this topic to follow.

Have you gotten tired of all this negativity about the global recession yet?  Unfortunately more bad news is likely to follow, as more jobs are lost.  Hope you stay solvent and ride this out.  It is after all a cyclical business the economy. Boom follows bust eventually – just like the seasons. It reminds me of the concept of cyclical time and linear time in “Time Shifting”.  There is growth and rest, not an endless series of higher highs.  Cultures that resist their societies’ tug for linear time thinking are happier.  That will be an essential ingredient to a good blended living recipe.  Otherwise no endless supply of time saving devices like the DVR will answer the rising need.  Its like time inflation.  Are you under time poverty?  Be here now. Be happy.

If you know me well, you know that I will likely be reading several books at once.  In fact if you have had more than a casual conversation with me, I will likely be engaged in several simultaneous conversations.  What’s nice about that (besides the aggravating confusion, and occasional humorous misunderstanding) is that it allows for some original insights.

I’m currently reading “Predictably Irrational”,  “The Forex Trading Course”, “Leading with Kindness”,  “The Little SAS Book”, “The Blended Learning Book”, “Time Shifting”, a couple books on mental discipline, an aikido book, and a couple python programming books.

This current mix brought me back to a moment years ago – exactly about this time of year during the last recession.  I decided to make a living trading stocks.  There is nothing like learning to trade and trying to pay your bills to focus you.  But that was 6 years ago- and another story.

What lesson that came out of that period was how I could be trading or preparing to trade for hours and I mean hours and hours and yet come out even or worse down for my efforts.  Other days i was so in tune with the process, the markets, and the psychology(both mine and other traders) that I could place one trade in the morning and justify my decision of not looking for a “job”.  On those days I might go into the park with a good book and walk or read in the sunlight.  That life went on for a while – what I and another friend later termed “The Year of Sundays”.

I yearned for an existence that balanced my efforts and growth.  To be profitable enough, and not sacrifice myself to the churning markets.  That “market” can and will take the naive or greedy and spit you out.  I didn’t know what to call this calling- but blended living seems a good name now.  To take the pieces of our lives – the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical parts and give each its due each and every day.  The right mix.

I tried to fine tune the process.  A rather enjoyable personal version of my own “Ground Hog’s Day” – except I didn’t want to ever escape.  Wake, get the mundane out of the way, anchor, assess myself, target goals, protect against risks, take a break, compile trading ideas, watch the market and CNBC, listen to Bloomberg radio, zone in on a trade, wait it out, and exit.  Then I’d work out, or take a walk, or do the other daily rituals that prepare our days.  I was done by noon most days.  

It sounds enviable, yet it was very intense.  Early on, I would have to take a nap some days.  I wish I was a runner back then.  The lessons learned from “Run less, run faster” would have paid off handsomely.  I wish “Enhancing Trader Performance” was written earlier.  Still the 40 or so trading, finance, psychology books I read prepared me enough to let me trade for almost 2 years.  My account size is what forced me back into the 9 to 5 employment life.  You can’t make 5 or 6% and spend 8-12% and expect to keep that going for long.

But I’m still looking for the right mix.

It was finally cold enough to give my new running gear a test flight.  The Asics running pants or tights were perfect in the 50 degree weather as the sun was setting.  The wind just cut through them as I headed out walking, but as I picked up the pace, they proved to be very comfortable.

The leaves were falling in Riverside and made for a slight obstacle course as I headed down the hill and didn’t want to hit a wet patch and suddenly slide.  The setting sun made for some colorful hues as the choppy Hudson waters sparkled and danced for me.  Too bad I ate too recently and couldn’t hit my stride just right.  A couple miles was all I was good for today.

Still it was nice to be out there, not inside on these darkened days and nights.  The 20 minutes was enough to raise my spirits and put in another payment on my health mortgage.  These days that end so abruptly take their toll, so I’m trying to make it a point to be outside more under the sun.  That and the full spectrum bulb over my computer take off the edge of winter.

How many times a week do you wish you could just have someone text your cell with a reminder for those little pesky tasks you have?   Check this site out

http://www.ohdontforget.com/

You type in your cell number, when, and the message.  ODF does the rest.

I had some problems when I first used ODF, but after adding support for my “ported” number it has worked flawlessly since.  No more late library books, forgotten grocery items, late appointments, etc.

The local diner had this movie poster for Boleyn Girl that seemed to stay in the window for months.  I guess it planted the subliminal idea to watch it.  Tudors caught my eye and I watched a couple episodes on cable.  ScarJo and Portman are certainly pleasant to look at, yet all this didn’t prepare me for nor justify this movie.

Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of watching a really good documentary without any household names produced with a scant budget.  Shot in something much less than what a modern High Def LCD can handle, the documentary stood on its merits.  Boleyn Girl on Blue Ray perhaps promised so much more and as eye candy it delivers some sweetness here and there – a vista of what the makers thought England appears like  centuries ago, a lingering shot on a curvaceous woman, the countryside with its hues.

However the movie otherwise stunk.

Which brings me to signs of when a movie just stinks.

• You start wondering how long this movie is
• don’t really care about the characters
• wonder if this sucks or you’re sick or something
• does your movie companion like this?
• how much longer is this movie?
• I’d walk out but I’m watching this at a friend’s
• you start calculating the odds of another blackout
• there is relief when she says this SUCKS
• its so bad you can’t even really shred it apart afterwards – its not worth it.

I would normally rate this on a scale to 10 bucks – but this was a no sale.  This ‘movie’ neither moves or is moving.  The rise to power story is hackneyed, the royal soap opera robotic, blind ambition characters flat, and the tragedy disinteresting.