A peek into the mind of a sleep deprived software developer, husband, dad and gamer.
Back in October of 2019, I had the clutch replaced on my daily driver, a 2013 Mazdaspeed3. The clutch started to slip as I neared 90,000 miles on the odometer. From then on, it just started to slip more and more. All I could do at that point was to get the clutch replaced. Here is a list of parts that I had to purchase to get it replaced.
It is a rainy Friday in Texas, time for another music log.
The first song for today is “What Would Love Do?” by Scott Stapp. If you don't know who Scott Stapp is, he was the vocalist for the rock band Creed, which was one of my favorite bands back in high school. I don't remember why they've disbanded, but the rest of the band members are still making music in another rock band, Alter Bridge.
Anyway back to the song, this is a beautiful song about the power of love. Not the cheesy corny kind, but the kind of love that stops you from giving in to your rage. I really love the lyrics on this song.
Go ahead and throw it in my face Remind me of each of my mistakes Turn on me tell me I'm wrong that it's all my fault I feel I'm losing control Putting my fists through the wall This is the place that I break I can't take anymore I see the fear in your eyes I'm frozen standing still in time
What would love do? If it were here in this room, standing between me and you. What would love do? It would look in my face and stop me from hurting you. That's what love would do
Journal Entry – 033
Picking up where I left off, with entries from back in October and November...
No entries for Monday and Tuesday because I'm so busy at work.
The 2019 Mazda CX-5 loaner car I have is pretty good. It has noticeably less body roll. If it wasn't raining, I would be curious to see how it reacts when I push it.
An #idea I had is to start collecting Catholic medals, like patron saint medals. I could bring a different one in my pocket every day.
The Silk Peach-Mango Soy Milk yogurt is pretty tasty.
Research on deindividuation theory has been conducted in numerous settings (not just driving) and has found that when we feel anonymous, we’re more likely to disregard societal norms for behavior.
Basically, it’s easier to get mad at someone when we don’t know them because we’re less likely to be held accountable for it.
“It’s the same reason why people feel like they’re entitled to be angry on certain social media platforms,” Dr. Himanshu Agrawal (a psychiatrist at the Medical College of Wisconsin) explains.
Since we rarely know the person in the car next to us (and since we also have a box of glass/steel between us and them), driving creates that sense of anonymity, making it easier for us to lash out.
When I decided to read this article, I was doing so because I wanted to learn more about road rage and how to avoid it. I didn't expect to run into this gem. This article basically says that one of the causes for road rage, is also responsible for the sad state of communications online. If you really read into it, it does make sense.
Link: Why We Have Road Rage and How to Combat It
Tags: #Bookmarks #Cars #SocialMedia
Journal Entry – 032
Picking up where I left off, with entries from way back in October...
The more expensive a car, the more money you lose through depreciation. Say the rate of deprecation is 40% for a 2-3 year old car. This is how the numbers would look:
$30,000 x 40% = $12,000 $60,000 x 40% = $24,000
If you bought a car that cost $30,000 brand new, you would have lost $12,000 to depreciation. If you bought a car that cost $60,000 brand new, you would have lost $24,000 to depreciation. That's the amount for a brand new car from a mainstream/non-luxury brand.
One of my goals this year is to be able to do more pull-ups. Currently, I can only do 2 in a row. I want to be able to do 5 in a row before the end of this year. This pull-up guide from Nerd Fitness seems to be exactly what I need.
Journal Entry – 031
Picking up where I left off, with entries from way back in October...
Went full throttle in 4th gear on this morning's commute. I felt the clutch slip... definitely felt the clutch slip. My Cobb Accessport reported max boost of 20 psi (max boost for a stock Mazdaspeed3 is around 15-16 psi), but the car didn't really feel like it was going fast. It was like all that boost wasn't getting transformed into power. The car roared, but it didn't really accelerate like it was getting 20 psi of boost.
Whew, got stuck in two meetings where I stood up the whole time. They should put a treadmill in that conference room.
For my first music log for 2020, I'm starting off with a band I've rediscovered on Spotify, The Cranberries. Listening to their songs transports me back to my high-school/college days. It is very unfortunate that their vocalist passed away as they were finishing up their latest album. Dolores is one of those singers with a unique voice and singing style. You could easily tell if The Cranberries were on the radio because of how she sang.
First song for today is their hit song “Zombie”. This is one of those songs that defined a generation, a generation that was growing up during the 90s. It was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar so it has something of a sentimental value to me.
This is a great song to learn on an acoustic or bass guitar. The chord pattern is so simple, Em – C – G – D, so all open chords. You could play this over and over again in what would be a fun jamming session with friends.
Award-winning psychologist Bruce Hood draws on research from his own lab and others around the world to explain why psychological ownership is an emotional state of mind that governs our behaviour from the cradle to the grave, even when it is often irrational and destructive. What motivates us to buy more than we need? How does our urge to acquire control our behaviour, even the way we vote? And what can we do about it?
Timely, engaging and persuasive, Possessed is the first book to explore how ownership has us enthralled in relentless pursuit of a false happiness, with damaging consequences for society and the planet – and how we can stop buying into it.
Sounds like a very interesting book. Adding it to my “want to read” list.
Link: Possessed – Why We Want More Than We Need
I only learned about this book after reading an interesting article that the author wrote for Aeon, regarding material possessions and how they shape our identity.
I’m done offering a stupid newsletter...
I’m done offering free ebooks as incentives to signup...
I’m done creating courses that I have to spend hours creating only to discover that no one is signing up because I don’t get enough traffic.
I’m done sharing my writing five times a day on several different social media sites...
Damn! Dan must have been really fired up when he wrote this. To clarify, he is railing against what he calls the traditional model of blogging. I don't think he is railing against blogging in general, or writing on the web for that matter.