Observation on Planet Hawleywood

Don't Start Now

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

After my most recent bout with bladder cancer I was ruminating and spending time on a support board online. I read a post where the person was anxiously awaiting thier first 3-month checkup after their first TURBT. They complained about the anxiety.

Feelings I knew all too well.

Having done this twice now, I did not want to shit on their parade, but I also wanted to warn him about putting all his eggs in that first 3-month checkup basket.

The Perfect Weekend

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This weekend is kind of a big deal. Carrie and I are celebrating our birthdays. Hers is tomorrow, Saturday, August 30. Mine is Sunday, August 31. Labor Day is on Monday, September 1. A three-day weekend where our birthdays land on Saturday and Sunday. The stars have aligned.

What are the odds? Seriously. Let’s find out. How many times has this happened since we’ve been together? Not a lot. This weekend is a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of deal.

15 Sentences That Live In My Head Rent Free

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fear doesn’t stop death; it stops life.
If it costs you your peace, it’s too expensive.
People only see the decisions you made, not the choices you had.
Never take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.
The magic you’re looking for is in the work you’re avoiding.
Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what they’re built for.
Ambition without action turns into anxiety.
To live a life most people don’t, you must be willing to do what most people won’t.
You can do anything, but not everything-focus.
If you want to make the wrong decision, ask everyone.
Those who don’t move won’t notice their chains.
It’s okay to live a life most people don’t understand.
If someone could only see your actions and not hear your words, what would they say your priorities are?
You can’t have a new reality with an old mentality.
No risk, no story.

Fuck your productivity system. Seriously

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

From Reddit

Fuck your Notion templates that took longer to set up than actually doing the work.
Fuck your 27 different colored highlighters for “time blocking” - you’re not mapping the genome, you’re writing a grocery list.
Fuck your morning routine that starts at 4AM. The only thing you’re optimizing is your caffeine addiction and sleep deprivation.
Fuck your pomodoro timer. If I wanted to live my life in 25-minute chunks, I’d go back to high school.
Fuck your inbox zero - emails multiply like rabbits anyway. Who are you trying to impress?
Fuck your 17 different productivity apps that all sync together in some ungodly digital centipede. You spend more time maintaining this shit than actually working.
Fuck “deep work” when you can’t even focus long enough to finish reading this post without checking your phone.
Fuck your habit tracker that’s giving you anxiety because you missed one day of meditation and now your perfect streak is ruined.

Here’s what actually works: Do the fucking thing. That’s it. Stop reading productivity on Medium. Stop watching YouTubers tell you how they organize their day in 15-minute intervals. Stop buying notebooks that cost more than your hourly rate.

Goodbye (again) old friends

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I bought these shoes in July 2023. I have another pair of “comfortable shoes” for walking, but these have been my exercise shoes.

Since I put these into the rotation last August 1, I have walked almost every day. According to Samsung Health, I’ve walked just under 2.5 million steps in a year.

I’m retiring these shoes today after logging just over 1100 miles. I am replacing them with a new pair just like them.

On Journaling

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Summer 2024. I’ve gone back to writing in a notebook.

On May 28, someone posted a deal from meh.com in a Slack channel at work about a sale on the Panda Planner by Rocketbook. I’d heard of Rocketbook during my recent obsession with e-ink writing devices, but this was an opportunity to check them out for $20 and maybe get a handle on my day-to-day better at the same time.

Turn Losing Into Learning

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

SSC: Analyze your loss by asking three questions:

Start: What weren’t you doing? What can you start doing differently?
Stop: What did you do wrong that you should stop doing?
Continue: What was working and should be continued?
Reference: The Index Card that Changed My Life

I am a digital hoarder

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

You’ve amassed hundreds, or maybe thousands of (fill in the blank with whatever digital goodie you hoard - e-books, video files, meme photos…etc.).

More than you could ever read, watch or enjoy. You want to delete half, maybe more. You want to feel less anxious when you see that directory.

You want to believe that you can prune it down to something manageable. Something you could actually use.

But then you realize that you may never find some of those things again. Plus, you’ve got tons of storage. Deleting will only increase the anxiety that you’re deleting the “wrong” thing.

I like Fall

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Salem 2023 - Day 2

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Observations from day 2

It’s October! We’re very excited! Everybody got a good night’s sleep. And there are turkeys! This morning there was full-on, Thanksgiving turkeys just walking around the parking lot checking out the cars (our included) like it was their job. If you ask me, I think that portends that it’s going to be a good week.

Turkeys!

9:35 AM. We got to the Beverly station and found that the train’s going to be late. Like over an hour late. Hey, you know, life goes on. Everything will be fine.

5 Years Later

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a strange 5 years.

I started this journey at 335 pounds in August 2018.

I got as low as 210 pounds by December 2019

I then entered my “2nd Fat” and managed to get back up to 289 pounds in September 2022.

These days I hover between 225 and 230 pounds.

Low-carb, avoiding processed foods, walking and intermittent fasting. Sometimes all of those things and sometimes just one or two. Like any other addict… one day at a time.

We are ready to rock.

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Waiting in the theater for https://metallica.filmTrying to resist taking a photo of our crowd with the caption: if you’re here tonight, remember to make your colonoscopy appointment tomorrow.#metallica #metalrules #gettingolder

Night One

Night Two

Blue Sky Garden Update

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Look at these results!

Blue Sky Campus Garden Update

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I normally take a photo each week and update my post, but today I took a short video to show the jungle that the plots have become.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Everything in a browser

Sun, 21 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I made an effort today to do my weekly routine from the Chrome Browser on my Linux Laptop. I had to install it and sign-in and set up some extensions, but now it looks and acts pretty much just like my Chromebook.

It was more of an experiment to prove that I can interact with my note system from anywhere. Given access to Google Chrome, it’s even more seamless.

On one hand, I revel in the familiarity of a common system that gets the tool out of the way and lets me do the work I want to do. On the other, I worry about lock-in and the ability to convert this information to other formats or access it from other entry points.

The Important Stuff Will Come Back

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t buy this theory that simply writing things down somehow reduces stress. All it means is that those things are now on a piece of paper or some kind of digital list, usually in our pocket at all hours of the day, mocking us for not being able to finish them. Maybe instead of optimizing our means of capturing ideas, we need to optimize our brain’s spam filter. Good ideas and important reminders will rise to the top, and if we think about them once we’ll think about them again. Matt Wood - The Important Stuff Will Come Back

Sense of Adventure is high

Sat, 24 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Taking Notes

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve taken a keen interest in note-taking in general and recently I’ve been obsessed with how other people do it.

I’ve always taken a keen interest in note-taking in general, and recently I’ve been obsessed with how other people do it.

There tends to be a push toward avoiding information silos while at the same time making your content available or at least putting it online where it can be found, (even if you specifically aren’t writing for mass consumption).

Chuck 5.0

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Today I am 50. This is one of those big birthdays.

Being a technical-minded person and realizing there have been a lot of changes in the past year, I decided I needed to document these changes in a proper changelog:

Notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Your Version Number

Chuck v5.0 – 2019-08-31

Chuck v5.0 debuts the first version in over 15 years wherein all diagnostic tests have passed without a margin of error.
Several changes have been implemented in an effort to improve stability and reduce wear and tear.
Increased overall CPU speed by one year (linear) and overall memory has been given an upgrade
Fixed bug to remove the embarrassment of exposed chassis to the sun, water, air, and sand

Added

3 Fictional Characters

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

“Describe Yourself In 3 Fictional Characters” was an online forum game in which participants select fictional characters from popular media that they believe demonstrate various aspects of their personality.

Here’s mine.

We Are The Champions

Mon, 06 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

*Now, devotees may argue that one sport or game is inherently better than another. For me, sport is actually a chance for us to have other human beings push us to excel.*Robin Williams as John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

If this blog somehow survives me and is read sometime in the future, I would be remiss if I didn’t include an entry today.

Last night I watched the Cleveland Cavaliers become the first major sports team in Cleveland to win a championship in my lifetime.

So Glad It Wasn't Me

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I had to be part of someone else’s bad day, and it sucked.

Please keep confidential, unknown to at this time. Meeting is scheduled for 9:00 tomorrow, in the conference room. Please have someone get his laptop shortly after 9:00 and disable him from the system. Please also have someone discreetly gather his personal items from his work area and bring them to the conference room as quickly as possible.

A two-office, business casual, programmer / driving instructor

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

So, we’re in the empty parking lot and Ashley’s practicing maneuverability with the new car, when a guy pulls up and asks me if I do this (teach driving) professionally?

Me: Ummm… no.

Him: If I gave you a couple bucks could you teach my mom how to do this (referring to the cones)?

Me: Tell ya what, we’re up here most evenings. If we’re here, I’d be glad to help.

Ohhhh Fuuudge! (Again!)

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

What a difference a year makes!! Last year I surprised my wife and daughter by driving by the site of the house where they filmed some scenes from that Christmas Classic “A Christmas Story” What a surprise to find out that we were invited in, and they were planning on renovating the house to it’s big screen glory and opening it up to the public!

See that tan house on the right of the picture? That’s what we were in line to see.

Just like downtown

Fri, 05 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Every payday for the last few months, I’ve been walking to the bank at lunch. I get some cash for our Westside Market trip on Saturday and a roll of quarters for laundry at home. I also get myself a little lunch money and treat myself to a lunch in the big city.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’d enjoy dining alone every day. Once every couple weeks, however, is kind of cool. Lunch is usually a couple slices of pizza from Sgt. Pepperoni’s in the Arcade, but sometimes it’s an Italian Sub from Quizno’s or a Ham ’n Turkey from Subway. Whatever is on the menu, the atmosphere is the real attraction.

Ohhh... Fudge!

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

A Christmas Story House, Cleveland, circa 2005

On the way home from the Westside Market today, I decided to surprise Carrie and Ashley by taking them over to the house that “A Christmas Story” was filmed at. It took them both a couple of minutes to figure out where I had taken them, since the house has been renovated significantly since the movie was filmed, but imagine our surprise when we were all invited inside for a tour!

Just in time for Thanksgiving

Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Last night, Thanksgiving tapped me on the shoulder. Let me explain.

There I was standing on Superior waiting for my bus to go home and looking right into the snow and wind. I kept hunching my shoulders and turning around to avoid the cold and thinking to myself how much I hate winter and I hate the cold and I can’t believe they didn’t let us go home early and it’s so freaking cold and everything sucks, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.