Hiddennode

My grandmother, Christian Dorothy Daigreponte, passed away earlier today. She went in her sleep after eighty-nine long years of life, love, and hardship. Hers was not a peaceful life, as there were always trials and tribulations. She was not the easiest person to deal with during the twenty-six years I had known her, but one memory I will always have is her unconditional love for her children and grandchildren, despite what troubles she may have had in showing that love.

In the wake of her passing, I hope that a peace can finally come over the issues my family has had these past few years. May my brothers and father find some solace between themselves and let a troubled past lie. I know not what may finally come from this, but I do not wish for any more life trauma to come into their lives or my life.

Whatever there is beyond life, may you find peace.

Justin Diehl

Yeah.. there’s a new MMO coming out today and it’s also my wedding anniversary weekend.  FYI, I’m busy for the next few days…

Hiddennode will be updated on Monday though, so check back then.

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We’re almost a month into the new year already and things are starting to take shape. In the past few weeks I’ve found myself being far more productive, focused, and driven than I have in the months leading up to the change of decades. I’ve returned to some old favorite activities and have taken up new causes to change how I act and behave. Anyone reading this realizes one such is the new focus on working on my blog, so I’ll leave that one to rest while I go over some of my other recent changes.

Today, as I discussed in a post last week, I’m taking more strides towards weight management. I haven’t started up the exercise portion of the practice but my changes to what I diet on and when are becoming more noticeable. I started my new efforts to begin the day with a hearty breakfast, and slowly end with a very tiny meal for dinner. I’ve been doing it in reverse and I’m wagering that it really hasn’t been helping my metabolism in the least bit.

I guess Wednesday is my “talk about the diet, health thing” day.

Oh yeah, and thanks to a post over at the F7lans forum, I bought a hula hoop to try to learn to exercise with.

Don’t you judge me.

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I spent the morning fidgeting with my phone again. Did I mention I have a new phone? It’s the Motorola Droid, running Google’s Android operating system. Let me tell you, I’m loving this device. So much that I’ve stopped carrying around my iPod touch completely.

Just a quick review of what the Droid is before we start: The Droid with Google Android OS is part of the growing trend towards smart phones for consumers these days. There’s an app store, touch screen capabilities, and many other useful functionalities. It’s available through Verizon for $199.99 with a two year contract.

Last year I made heavy use of my iPod Touch (purchased 10/08 for $200.00 for 8GB at Best Buy) but while the PDA functionality and app store were great the lack of consistent internet was annoying. I wanted an iPhone but I did not want to switch to AT&T. Had the iPhone been useable with Verizon without all the jumping through hoops and jail breaking, I’d have happily bought it (and by proxy probably more Apple digital products). And not to use the ad campaign, but the Droid does do what I need it do. Would I rather an iPhone? Right now I’m either/or. Both are great but the Droid is on my carrier. iPhone isn’t.

The apps I’ve found so far in the android market have been great. Lots of useful tools and services. Additionally, there’s a number of great games I’ve found, both native as well as rom emulators. I’ve started using Gmail and other Google services even more because of the easy integration. I’ve signed up for Google Voice and Google Reader. Even started listening to the Gmail podcast because of the new tools I’m using.

My only complaint regarding the Market is the lack of a certain app I want. Where’s my Kindle app Amazon? Maybe I need to look for another reader app. All I’ve heard is a lot of public domain books and similar items available. That’s nice and all… but I want NEW books to spend money on. Older or public domain books are great, but most of the content I want to read isn’t free.

Now there are some things about the phone that make me go “bleh.” The sliding screen gets annoying when it moves when I want it to stay still. The back of the battery case comes off often enough for me to have to check it each time I get up or sit down. The lack of native multi-touch on most apps (The droid can do multi-touch, Google just didn’t build the functionality into most apps).

The Weight is also very noticeable. This thing really stands out in weight compared to my iPod Touch. I’m used to it but it’s still awkward. Not a problem in normal use, but when the phone is opened to reveal the keyboard, the weight is quite noticeable.

Also, the OS has a habit sometimes of “locking up.” Typically if I’m closing or opening a new program, but it’s still a hassle when the only way I can use my phone is after pulling out the battery and rebooting. Even when I jail broke my iPod touch, it never locked up like this.

There’s still many more features I’m learning and getting used to, but more and more I love this device. Admittedly I’m hesitant to call the device a phone. That’s probably the least used feature of the Droid I use. In fact, if Skype could hurry up and make a full version of their App, I’d be using that as well for more services.

Despite the flaws, I love the phone. Probably would love any smart phone really, but I’m happy with the one I have, so much that we’re considering getting one for my wife when she’s up for a discounted renewal late this year.

Obvious question is obvious: So do you have a smart phone? Which one? How are you using it? Have any cool apps you’d recommend?

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I was looking through some of my archive this morning, and noticed a post I created back in August (Living and writing). Five months ago, I had apparently been really focused on exercise and it was having a positive impact on both my health as well as my writing. In fact, I notice over the last five months at least a third of the posts have related to health or being active in some major way. So it’s on my mind a lot and with this being the new year, maybe I need to actually get myself into gear with all of those great plans.

Thinking about the writing when looking at the archive, I also notice most of my blog posts are about two-three weeks apart. One wonders why the readership here has never really “sparked.” Perhaps I can change that. I can make enough time in the morning to exercise and write if I actually go to sleep when I’m supposed to. There isn’t a single thing that should keep me up past 12am on any given weeknight and that would let me wake up around 7.

So maybe that’s what I have to do now. Write and exercise. It’s a good combination and I think it’ll lead me to a more fulfilling place in terms of my desires. Now, mind you, I won’t be writing a blog piece every weekday. There is only so much I can write about without focusing more on reporting on things. Yet, there are pieces of flash fiction I could write every other morning, posts to write over at TDC, and projects tied into my game creation work. There’s always something to work on available, so I frankly don’t have a viable excuse to not do something creative each morning.

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Huh, guess I missed starting up the New Year with new posts.

Welcome to 2010, the year we get our shit together. At least, that seems to be the overall view many people have been presenting over the last few weeks. It’s a common thread that with the change of the Gregorian Calendar we like to set new goals, new ideals, and new resolutions for the coming 365 days. Most won’t make it, but we at least put that initial effort out there. The fact it’s also considered by many to be a new decade also helps convince us that we need to have this change of pace.

(Just a quick aside at December 31^st, 2009, at midnight, the second it became 0:00:00 am, it’s 2010 exactly and the end of the decade. The microsecond it becomes 0:00:00:01 am, it’s now the second decade of the year. To those who use the “We count to 10” argument, you’re right, at exactly 2010, it’s still the first decade of the century, but a second later, it’s not. 10.00001 isn’t part of 10.)

I’m no different. There are a few ideal things I’ve got planned for the coming months. My biggest bit is that I’m focused on sharing a piece of flash fiction weekly on my website. Admittedly, I’ve already fubbed this last week so to make up for it I’m sharing three pieces this week. One story has already posted, a set of three “One-Hundred Word Stories” have already been written for Wednesday. I just need to write one for Friday. Next week I’ll be back at the once a week schedule.

Going forth with the idea of resolutions, what have you been considering for this year/decade? Have big plans that are unique to you or going with some of the classics like “lose weight?” Always interested to hear from you all.

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Okay, I’ve bitched about my weight before in the past. I’ve talked about how I did great here, poor here, and lose and gained after this and that. Well, the juggling stops here, because as of January of next year, I am officially on diet using a big motivator.

Money.

That’s right, starting in January me and my wife will be going to a diet clinic getting doctor guided dieting methods. I don’t know the details of the clinic just yet, but we’re finding them out as we go. Ideally this will help us stay focused and on track with our food plans, and maybe, just maybe, I can become healthy enough that I won’t be in pain all the time. That I’ll be able to walk the distance a normal person can. That I’ll feel good about how I look.

I really need this, especially considering I want to go to Dragon*Con this year. If I’m this big when I get to the convention, I won’t be able to do nearly half of what I want. That’s an unacceptable waste of money.

It’s scary though, I’ll give you that. Damn near terrifying thinking of just how strict things will be. At the same time, though, I’m eager. I want to lose the weight and spending $70.00 a week to do it is a great motivator.

I will be posting the results of these weight-ins once they start. I don’t know my exact starting weight right now, but If I had to guess, I’d say around 395-400. Yeah, I’m that big. And just think, when I had my heart surgery two and a half years ago, I was 345. Disgusting…

Now I just wonder if I can get my insurance to help cover it.

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Oh I have a busy weekend coming up. There’s going to be family, friends, and social gatherings to attend to that all fall between Saturday and Sunday. Creative projects are coming to a head. Plus I get to spend more time connecting to my community. Busy but it’s going to be fun.

First, we’re gathering for early Christmas setup and not doing gifts this year in our normal fashion. Instead, we’re having a baking party. From the email my wife sent to the attendees, I’ve been listed as an official tester, a role I intend to shine in. It will be good fun seeing my sister-in-law and some of her children and their children and significant others. Besides… Raven is going out of her way to make my favorite peanut butter cookies.

Second, myself, Dakota, and Andrew will be recording episode one of Trans-Dimensional Cafe. We’ve already recorded two other “non-public” episodes to get into the swing. Some hiccups with recording the last two episodes, but we’re staying on track with getting episode one created. I’ll be posting whenever a new one comes up, until folks get tired of it.

What is Trans-Dimensional Cafe? Well, to sum it up in a sentence: It’s a casual conversation about gaming, writing, TV, movies, and other entertaining and constructive projects. Why the name? I don’t know, but it sounds cool. Are we going to make some sort of theme around it? Maybe, but not so much at first. Being entertaining on our own merit is more important in the long run.

The final spark of the weekend is on Sunday, when I have my book club meeting. It’s our second meeting, so I’m excited to see how it goes. I’m still working on reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, but for a genre I don’t normally read I’m really enjoying the book. I’ll give a review after this Sunday I think. Again, I’m looking forward to meeting my neighbors more at these meetings. The last batch of three really were fun to chat with. Between the four of us, we’ve had a pretty diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. I have a feeling I’m going to gain a lot from them in the coming months.

My weekend is pretty full from these events. That said I still have a few smaller things I need to take care of. I’ve got some Second Life work to manage, I need to find a new theme for this blog, I need to craft an entry for the jsamueldiehl.com site, and a few more minor details I’ll take care of in the second half of the week.

So, this post’s question: Continuing the holiday theme, what are your plans for getting ready for the end of the month? Are you buying or have you bought already? Did you plan out a nice trip for family or friends? Are you treating celebrating Christmas the American holiday or are you celebrating Christmas the spiritual holiday? Always happy to hear from you.

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Thanksgiving has come and gone. The past four days were glorious moments of family, friends, and of course, food. We’re entering December and the heart of the holiday season and frankly, I think my diet has already had it. This morning I threw away an apple fritter from Friday, some pumpkin bread from turkey day itself, and tonight I’m tossing out the mini-cupcakes and cookie cake from Saturday. Far too many sweets in my house. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ll be eating bad again come 25 days from now, but I can do my best to not during the three and a half weeks in-between.

That said, I’m going to also need to start burning these calories if I’m expecting to actually still lose weight this holiday season. I’m off to a bad start but it’s never too late to turn that around. First I’m going to start walking during one of my breaks at work. Second, I’m going to try to add in walking either in the morning or the evening at home. Likely in the morning because by the time I get home the chill will already be heavy in the air. That and it’ll be bad for my sleep schedule to get worked up that soon before heading to bed.

I’m still near 400 pounds and frankly, I’m tired of it.

Hey, are the rest of you trying to balance the tastiness of the holidays with staying healthy and eating right? It’s not an easy feat, especially with the scores of temptations out there. Let me know what ways you’re cutting back and staying active.

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Things the last few weeks have been interesting. There’s been a lot of good change in my life in the last few months with most of them focused on the last three weeks. Between my new attitude about my domestic life, my creative and inventive projects, and my desire to just get things done, I really feel like my life has moved into another slot in the wheel and grinded forward a dozen steps.

In the past quarter, I’ve managed to start a new job with an old company, begun working on projects I’ve dreamt of for years, and lay out plans for domestic projects that both needed to be done and wanted to be done.

Domestically speaking, there are a couple of projects I’ve started that I’m proud of. I’m making moves every Sunday evening to clear out some of the boxes left over from the move four years ago. This mostly involves purging items in the garage and organizing what’s left behind. It’s cost some money to buy the shelving but it’s really worked out. I’ve been at this three weeks in a row and I’ve found the simple pleasure of working with my hands.

Additionally, I’ve ordered parts for a project I’ve been planning for years. A friend pointed me to monoprice.com, an inexpensive site for computer, A/V, and network wiring. For under $50.00 I’ll be able to hook up the old media PC to my TV and Stereo in the living room. I’ll be able to sign up for things like Netflix or make purchases on iTunes and watch them on the much larger screen. Not to mention Hulu and my music I’ve bought. Parts should be in by this Monday or Tuesday (they were on their way to Jacksonville around 12:06 AM Friday).

Day job professionally speaking, the new job I started in September is going great. I’m with a company I used to work for a year ago. It feels great being back and the work, while challenging, is enjoyable. I enjoy my coworkers and I think they enjoy being around me.  Generally speaking, being a permanent employee at a company that acknowledges me for my achievements is a great change of pace. Hoping this time the job lasts longer than a year.

Night job professionally speaking, I am lacking in the book production mindset. I’ve been writing but I haven’t been doing as much as I intended. I did start NaNoWriMo this year, but starting is just about all I did. A million excuses but basically I’ve been lazy about it. I am slowly getting back on the horse but it’s not as fast as I’d like it to be.

Speaking of creative measures, after three years of listening to podcasts and wishing to start one, things have come to pass. My friend Dakota, myself, and Andrew, a new friend who has audio engineering experience with podcasts are starting up a weekly or bi-weekly project. The name is tentative until episode one goes up in December, but so far we’re happy with Trans-Dimensional Cafe. The show is going to be a forum for discussion about geeky interests, writing, gaming, and lifestyle. We’re recording several episode zeroes to get into the swing of a format as well as raising out comfort level with speaking into the recording stream. I believe by mid December we’ll do fine with recording and releasing episode one. Episode 0-2 was recorded tonight and compared to how the first recording went, we were great. Thirty minutes to record with most of the audio actually useable. I’m very pleased.

Finally, tech speaking, I’ve reformatted my computer for the first time in two years. It’s about time frankly, but it’s come at a cost. Namely, I’ve lost all my contact details in terms of email addresses as well as archived mail items. Ugh. If you are someone who’s had email correspondence with me, please email me at jdiehl AT hiddennode.com so I can get your latest contact address.

The reformat has fixed a number of annoying bugs, and I have nearly all of my old programs reinstalled. I’ve limited the number of games I have installed, as well as the number of programs I can have installed at once. Basically I’ve formatted my drive into two partitions and only allocated about 50gb’s to my XP installation. When I do install 7 sometime next year, I’ll probably just buy a new drive to put it on.

That’s my current life activities in a nut shell. Future plans include the entertainment project, writing more, and Dragon*Con next year (more on that later). For now, I’m getting in gear.

What about you? Are you keeping busy? How goes your projects? Let me know if the busy bug has bitten you too.

Take care all,

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