It's a new year.  

It's a time for change. I

t's a time for renewal.

Its all of those things and more. Unfortunately, I have gotten off to a slow start with a bout of COVID running through my family.  I have been sick for about 2 weeks, but am finally feeling better. The say Omicrom is "mild" but I would disagree.  It is not as dangerous as the other variants, but I would not call it "mild."  We have been stuck in the house for two weeks. No fun.  

If there was a good thing about being sick in the house, it was that I had a lot of time (when I wasn't feeling terrible) to work on house stuff. We cleaned up a room or two - rooms that have been disorganized for years - and generally started to get it in line for the upcoming year.  we talks about travel plans for this year and made some tentative decisions.  Travel, of course, will continue to be difficult.  But we can still make plans. I also got my home office cleaned up and functional for more work.  

Getting ready for the new year.  I am as optimistic as ever.  Always. 

This is a test - trying to make it work again

Enough!

I have have enough of the banning and censorship. We have given these big tech companies a tremendous amount of power.  they know almost everything about us.  They have our likes, hates, habits, and privacy.  We have given this to them freely with the promise to connect to each other.  

And what do they do with all this power . . They restrict us from communicating with each other. They divide us at every opportunity. And they classify us into arbitrary categories with computer algorithms. 

The Internet is Freedom

The internet is freedom and can be again.  There are many capable, open source solutions from companies that are not trying to market to you constantly, gathering and selling your information where you as the product. Ownership is the key.  Dont give up your information. Dont gave up your privacy. Be judicious with the services you chose to use.  Use the ones that treat you best.

Bye Bye Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

I will be posting here again, and NOT on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. These companies have lost their purpose.  They have fallen victim to the mob. Maybe they will figure out that they are social networks  . . designed to be social and encourage communication, not restrict it. I hope they figure this out, but I don't think they will. 

Find Your Own Voice 

There are many places on the Internet to find your voice. Stop posting on platforms you don't control. Post and comment and communicate on places that you do. You will have better and closer relationships, have full control, and wont get canceled because you wear the wrong hat or say something someone doesn't like.

I have started trying to read more and recently discovered audiobooks. I didnt think I would like audiobooks, but they're quite good. I listen while driving to and from work. Very efficient use if time and keeps me off the news. Typically when I read an ebook or hardback, it's at night just before bed. I often doze off and forget important parts. With an audiobook, I can read it anytime and I am usually focused - driving, walking, exercising.

The one thing I have had to adjust to with audiobooks is the lack of notes. But I'm working on a solution to that. Kindle and Kobo have won the price and note battle for reading, but audiobooks win the convenience battle.  Still examining cost issues too. But so far, so good.  Will continue to mix up hard covers, ebooks, and audiobooks as I read more. 

So far I would recommend Kobo, AudiobooksNow, and Downpour as sources of audiobooks.  I am using the Bound app to listen on the phone, mostly because I can fine tune the playback speed.  I find that 1.25 is too fast, and 1.0 is too slow.  I prefer 1.15-1.2, which I can get on Bound. 

I should have the top "rcjackson" twitter profile

Well, I have started posting to this blog again.  Off and on . . off and on  . . for almost a decade of blog posting now. But here is the funny part. I went to add my twitter profile to this site.  It's a simple process.  Go to the url of your twitter profile page and insert the link.  So I did that the way most people would. I typed in my twitter handle (@rcjackson) and "twitter" into a Google search bar - and wa la, your twitter profile page should pop right to the top. I should have the top result.

Except I don't.

So Why is That?

Death sucks. Life is much better.

I am surrounded by death. I suppose that we all are. 

I am heading to my third funeral of a close family member in three years. My Uncle Ray died last week. I had not seen him in quite some time, but he was only 10 years older than me. We spent a lot of time together when I was younger. I was the little kid always hanging around him that he couldn't get rid of. He was the epitome of cool in the 70's - surfer, long hair, athletic, and drove a beat up beach car. After a couple of rough starts, he settled down in Tennessee, married a wonderful women, and raised a caring family. Then he contracted cancer. And now, I am on my way to Memphis for his funeral, taken too early at the young age of 63.

Me, Ray, and Christopher in 1998

In June, my grandmother died. She was the most elegant lady I ever met, right up to the end. At 94, she lived a long and successful life, but I know she wanted to live longer.

And of course I lost my son 3 years ago. He was 21. Nothing more need be said about that. It's all here. No one should have to deliver their son's eulogy.

The one thing I have learned through all of this is how little control we have. We all have worked out how life should go, but it rarely goes the way we want it to. Unexpected things happen. Sometimes good ... sometimes not. All we can do is enjoy the good times so we are prepared for the worse. 

Don't be afraid to live your life, because death awaits us all. Often, when we least expect it.

Things often don't turn out like you think they will, or think they should. Don't get to the end of your life wishing that it had turned out different. Make it different now.

RCJ

Goodbye 1818 .... we hardly knew ya. 

It's fate was sealed by Hurricane Micheal on October 10, 2018 - the forgotten storm.  Demolished to concrete and rubble 10 months later.

A fitting end to our time in Lynn Haven ...

I have gone back and forth, back and forth on blogging and social media.

There are some solid reasons to do it.  And some not so solid reasons.

I have learned how to create and maintain my own website(s). I have had several over the years that run the gamut from personal blogs to business sites. They are all hard to maintain - well, I wouldn't say too hard - more like time-consuming. And I don't have a lot of free time.

So, I am moving my personal blog back to Posthaven.  The Posthaven platform site has been dead for a while - no updates or even blog posts on what they are doing.  But it does still work, is easy to use, and not too complex.  I will trust the founders of this platform to do what they said they would do, which is provide an easy to use platform, maintained forever.  The founders are young (relatively) and both still active doing other things online and in Silicon Valley - so I remain hopeful that they will keep its promises. 

What does that mean for me?

I struggle with Facebook and social media.

I really don't trust Facebook at all with any personal information. I hate how they always change and default your privacy settings to "public" and who knows where all this information is. I have tried to keep my presence there limited. But, I have to admit, it does have some good parts - keeping in touch with family and friends.

My life would probably be better without social media

So I will go back to that for a while.  Complete food, news, and social media fast for 24 hours twice a week.  Twice is tough.  Once is much easier.

Will report back here at some point when I feel like it . . .

I began trying out the fasting trend last fall. Eventually, I settled on 24 hour fasts as the best for me. Noon to noon.

My goal is for two 24 hour fasts a week - typically Tuesday and Thursday, but sometimes Monday and Wednesday.  During the week is the time to do it. Its too hard to do on the weekend.  The reason why is not what I would have suspected. You see, eating food is a social experience and so fasting is that much harder to do when other people are around. The expectation is that you will eat with them, and it is very difficult not to do so.  The actual fasting part (voluntary denial of food) for 24 hours is surprisingly not difficult. Once you have done it a few times it becomes much easier, especially after you determine the time when you will naturally feel hungry. Mine, like most, is in the evening. 

I also added social media and news fasting to my routine. I, like many, spend way too much time on social media.  My particular social media drug of choice is Twitter.  Twitter makes it about as easy as possible to consume more "news" than anyone possibly can.  So for 24 hours (sunup to sundown) I go on a social media and news fast to coincide with my food fast. Instead of being on Twitter or Facebook, I read. Instead of watching or listening to the news on the radio, I listen to a podcast, music, or watch a film. 

I feel much better after fasting. Stomach is not bloated. Brain is not fried. I feel . . . refreshed. 

I have been pretty slack on fasting this year so far - often don't do it at all or get in one day a week at best.  I am going to really try to focus and be disciplined about it for the rest of the year and see what happens. Basically, a four month experiment. I will let you know how it terms out.

Three months from the Kiawah Island Half Marathon.  Already up to 11 miles.  But they have not been easy.  

Didn't do any base work at all this week - that makes for a rough Saturday.

Started at sunrise, but will have to get up earlier to beat the heat and run in the dark from here on out.  At least until it cools down, which is November here in Florida.  I did beat the rain though and got a pretty start. No complaints here.

I hate to say it but my wife has gotten me into watching the Gilmore Girls

8.1 on IMDB -  not bad.

And I must admit, I kind of like it.  Very girly, but pretty good.

Just watching the Sore and Boils Alley episode. Very sought after name.

yeah right.

Edward Curtis was on a mission.

You can read more about Edward Curtis below:

• A 2012 Smithsonian Magazine article about his quest
• The Official Edward Curtis Gallery
• The Edward Curtis Collection at the Library of Congress
• Northwestern University Edward Curtis Digital Collection
• A 2018 Cowboys and Indians article celebrating the 150 anniversary of his birth 

Curtis is really a unique story and photographer.  He gave up everything to pursue his dream. His images are hauntingly beautiful  and hypnotically human at the same time. Take some time to go through his massive collection. Curtis doesn't disappoint.

Finished my 3rd Warrior Dash - this one in my own backyard - Panama City, Florida.  The Warrior Dash was brought to Panama City by a partnership between two local tourist development boards.  It was originally planned to be an all-day event, but the organizers cancelled all of the  afternoon waves, presumably for poor demand.  

It wasn't too crowded at the race, but the weather wasn't great either. Lower than expected demand could also be because of slowing interest in obstacle type races. the Wall Street journal reported slowing demand for all obstacle type races and the Warrior Dash in particular:

Warrior Dash participants declined from 600,000 in 2012 to 350,000 in 2014, according to a public relations firm working last year on behalf of Red Frog Events, the Chicago-based operator of Warrior Dash.

WSJ, 2016

That said, it was fun.  We had a small group of friends (mostly older - 40s and 50s) that ran it. It wasn't overly challenging - more similar to my first Warrior Dash in 2012.  The 2013 event I ran was harder. It almost seems like they were making it tougher to compete with the Spartan Races and Tough Mudders of the world. That must have been a losing battle, because this race was back to basics. Challenging, but something that anyone could do with just a little prep.

It was muddy, for sure. But the mud wasn't as bad as I have seen in previous races. There were a couple of interesting and challenging obstacles.  The pallet walk was hard, especially if you were shorter and had a hard time reaching the supporting cords. The walls were easier than I have seen before, but they still gave a few some problems. The slide at the end was surprisingly fast - I almost burned my hands from friction trying to slow down a bit. I finally just let go and let to take me where it would. 

No turkey legs at the end, but they still did have fuzzy horned hats. Food was acceptable. Entertainment not bad. But mostly these races are about friends and family. Accepting and completing a challenge with them. And as long as that dynamic continues. I expect that these races will continue to survive.

Would I do it again?  Sure.  Not certain when, but I would.  It was a fun way to spend a Saturday, get out of the house, and enjoy the weather. So if you have an opportunity - especially if a race is close to you - I highly recommend running one. Fun, Family and Friends are always a winning combination.

The Warrior Dash is coming to the Gulf Coast of Florida  . .  and I am running it!

This would be my 3rd warrior dash over the last 6 years.  I ran my first one in Lake City in 2012.  It was pouring and we saw a lady in front of us snap her ankle falling off a wall.  But, it wasn't that hard. I have to admit that we were nervous at first, but at the start line, we saw a 300 lb guy in a batman outfit. So the idiot rule kicked in - "if that idiot can run this thing, I certainly can."  My brother in law Ronnie, his son, Trace, and my son, Christopher ran it with us. 

I ran my second Warrior Dash in 2013 in Birmingham with my friend Curt.  It was a little harder than the first one, but still fun.  The mud pits were a real challenge to get out of. And some of the walls were tough, but nothing insurmountable. Not like the Spartan Race . . . that is a whole another story.

So this will be my 3rd.  I am six years older and in my 50s now.  I have a feeling that I will be one of the older ones on the course.  But  . . who cares. Ronnie is running to with me again, and so is his wife Tina. None of us have really trained, although I did run some and feel comfortable there.  Upper body could be tough though - will probably strain or pull something.  

Only tomorrow knows.

Tom Brady's Thumb . . . fully armed and operational

In the also category of things you don't see in Florida - temps in the 20's.  Here in North Florida, it gets below freezing maybe a couple of times a yea, but never lasts more than a few days - tops.  And rarely gets below 28 or so. 

Woke up this am to this:

Here is something you don't see in Florida too often . . .snow.

Woke up this morning and saw this in my backyard at around 5:45.  It didn't last and never stuck anywhere.  But it was snow.  Only the second time I have seen snow in my 20+ years of living in Florida.

The latest evidence on the Russian "hacking" of our election and country shows that the "hacks" are the journalists, not the Russians.

The State of Journalism Now

Russian Hacking and Punishment 

Proof of Hacking is Lacking

The U.S government's report on the Russian hacking has been largely debunked. In the last several days security companies have dug into the technical geeky material and said it proves nothing.

Ars Techinca's security correspondent stated that the "White House fails to make the case" that the Russian hackers interfered with the election. Similarly, Wordpress security site, WordFence, showed that the code used by the hackers, according to the U.S. government's own report, was Ukrainian in origin and freely available to anyone on the internet. Additionally, the IP addresses in the government report do not show Russian involvement. 

Now to be clear, theses reports don't say the Russians were not involved, only that the purported proof the U.S. government provided is not really proof at all and doesn't show what it purports to show. The government could be holding back additional information, but the report they published is not convincing anyone that can understand it.  But that has not stopped the media from going into hyperdrive. 

"The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!"

Unlike the hilarious 1966 movie with Carl Reiner and Alan Arkin (Emergency! Everybody to get from street!), this hyperbole has real world consequences. Sanctions, diplomatic expulsions, and the result of the election had every journalist looking for Russians everywhere. And you shall find what you seek. The Washington Post, in particular, seems to be finding Russians under every rock, nook, and website. First, the Post claimed that Russian "fake news" was all over the internet, citing a previously unknown group, Prop or Not. Prop or not listed websites that it claimed were arms of the Russian propaganda services - basically any website that said anything good about Russia. These claims turned out to be false, and it appeared that the Post did not do any basic vetting of this group's claims prior to publishing its story. Of course, that was only after the story spread like wildfire all over the internet, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Then, just this past week, the Post again published a story about Russian "hacking" of our electric grid.  This would be very concerning - if it were true - but it is not. Again, the Post did not appear to do any basic vetting of this claim. They did not contact the Vermont utility in question before publishing the story. And it turns out that the computer which had the malware code on it was an independent workstation not connected to the electric grid. The headline and story were highly misleading. The Post later retracted it, stating that:

"An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid."

After several years, I am switching the site to a new CMS.  Going to try Joomla. I was getting tired of Wordpress and looking for something easier.  Looked at the new blogging platform, Ghost.  I started to switch over but found myself messing with javascript, node.js, and cloud server stuff.  It was simply too technical for me.

I have been working on and off with Joomla for a few years now. I like it.  It is just complex enough that it is challenging, but string enough to develop a legitimate website. So, I figured I would rather learn Joomla a little better and concentrate my knowledge in one flexible and effective CMS.

I am using Easyblog and a third party template.  Let's see how it goes. 

You will see some slow changes here, adding a analytic section, updating the styling, adding more information, making autopost to twitter.  Its all rather exciting.

Recently, I decided to go on a quest. Not a find the Ark of the Covenant kind of quest. I would rather not have my head explode. But the kind of quest that is difficult and challenging, but not impossible.

I am going to try to run a marathon or half marathon in every state in the United States.

This very well take me the rest of my life. Probably the best case scenario is to run 2 marathons every Spring and 2 every Fall. That is four races a year. At that pace, it will only take me twelve and a half years to cover all the states. At my current age, that puts me in my 60's. So I would still be running 4 marathons a year into my 60s. And that is the best case scenario. If I cut back to 2 races, I will be still be running in my 70s. Well, a true quest is not supposed to be easy.

Chris Guillebeau writes a lot about quests on his blog and in his book, The Happiness of Pursuit. According to Chris, a quest is defined as:

- “A quest has a clear goals and a specific end point.”

- “A quest presents a clear challenge.”

- “A quest requires sacrifice of some kind.”

- “A quest is often driven by a calling or sense of mission.”

- “A quest requires a series of small steps and incremental progress toward the goal.”

I think running 50 half or full marathons all over the country should qualify. It does for me at least. And I am the only person that counts.

I must admit. I am not the first person to think of this. There is actually a website and club devoted to the 50 state half marathon challenge. I am not that motivated to join the club, going to try this on my own. But it seems motivational if you need some extra motivation to do something like this. I am doing this because I enjoy long slow running and after my Marine Corp Marathon quest completion last year, I could use something else to keep me running, motivated and in shape. Plus, it will have some travel benefits too.

So, here is to my quest. Announced here for the world to see. Best case scenario, 12-13 years. More than likely, much longer. But then that is the fun of it now, isn't it?

For 2015, I am running in a race a month. I didn't decide to do this until last week, so we will just skip January. Maybe I can make it up with a double month sometime during the year.

The reason is simple. I need a little focus to keep me on the road. And a race is just what the doctored ordered for some focus. I don't plan on always running hard in these races, but once you are in a race, its hard to back off. It is still race after all.

Springtime won't be a problem here in North Florida; the weather is beautiful and the races are plentiful. The issue will be during the summer months. It is really hot here in the summer, and the races are few and far between. From my initial look, there is not one single race scheduled within 50 miles of my home in June, July, or August. I will find something, even if I have travel a little.

Tentative Race Schedule so far

• Feb: Bay Education Foundation 5K

• Mar: Anglers 5K

• Apr: JL Rabbit Race 5K or Runway Race 10K

• May: Race Judicata 5K

More to follow . . .

I just finished reading No Easy Day - The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen.

Bottom line, I found it enjoyable and recommend it.  

Why did I read it? 

 Of course, like many Americans, I admire what the Navy Seals were able to do on that night. That kind of mission typifies everything that is admirable about the Seals.  Excruciatingly planned, mission-focused, and prepared for every contingency. I wanted to read a first hand account of the mission in all its horrifying detail; not some press or movie hyped up propaganda.  And from what I can tell, mission accomplished.

What did I like about it?  

Those that know me, know I still miss the Navy . . . occasionally.  I suppose that after spending 4 years in school, then another 10 years or so in a squadron afterward, my brainwashing was complete.  No doubt, I do miss the unit camaraderie, the sense of purpose, and the feeling of serving something bigger than yourself.  This book has a lot of that.  And it brought back many memories of hanging with the meatheads in my squadron.  It explains, or at least describes, the warrior culture fairly well.  It's about accomplishments and results, not excuses; adapting to circumstances, not complaining about them  This is a message that is largely missing from our culture today.  And I am glad that some still follow that creed.

What didn't I like about it?  

If you are looking for untold secrets of the operation or of special operations in general, this book will disappoint.  The author seemed to make a special effort to make everything a first hand account, and no secrets were revealed.  I knew most of the details of the operation before I read the book from other sources. This book didn't tell me anything new.  It just helped fill in the gaps.  It is also not a literary masterpiece.  It is well-written, but in a straightforward, no nonsense style.  There are not many big words and flowery language describing the author's feelings at any given time or what it is like to be in combat in Southwest Asia.  Instead, the story is very matter of fact, and the cadence measured and steady. I actually appreciate that style, but others may not.

This is the first book I have read in my "Going Dark" campaign.  I plan on taking a little time each day to shut off the computers, phones, and other electronic pacifiers in our lives and, instead, spend some time "in the dark," cut off from the electronic world, with only me and a book or a magazine.  I want to enjoy reading for readings sake again. So far, so good.  Next month, I plan on reading The Cloud Atlas, the book on which the new movie out now is based.  It is supposed to be excellent, and will be my first fiction read in a long time.  I tend to gravitate toward non-fiction.  Wish me luck . . and see you for a book review in another 30 days.

Competed in the Running for the Bay 10K in Apalachicola on Sunday.  It was a decent race, and I ran fairly well.  Didnt quite hit my goal time, but I did set a new personal record for a 10K and finished 3rd in my age group.  Not too bad, although I shouldn't be too excited about the new personal record.  This is only my second official 10K.

It was an early start - 0715 Eastern time - pitch black on the walk to the starting line.  Sun didn't break the horizon until about 30 minutes into the run.  But it was cool and crisp for October in Florida.  Pleasant running weather.

This race is my last tune up before my half marathon in 3 weeks.  Going to do a 12 miler this weekend, then start tapering off until half marathon race day in early November.  I used the Galloway run-walk-run method the whole way.  It worked well.  I felt like I still had energy in the tank at the finish.  Even my wife said I looked a whole lot better crossing the finish line this year than my 10K last year.  When I pressed, she said "Last year you like you were dying coming across the finish; this year not so much."  So . . . at least I have that going for me :)

Here is a picture of the medal I got for finishing.  Looks pretty good.  I like the green.

[caption id="attachment_159" align="alignright" width="216"] Running for the Bay 2012 - front


[caption id="attachment_160" align="alignleft" width="216"] Running For Bay 2012 - Back


 

Ran 10 miles today for the first time. It wasn’t easy.

I ran 9 miles this morning, and in the words of the immortal Michael Stipe, I feel fine.  Tried the Galloway method on the run and it was a big success.  A little over and 11:30 pace, which is what I hope to do for the upcoming half.  Basically, I ran a full mile longer than last week, but did it 15 minutes quicker.  Burned over 1200 calories.