Helped Davin build a makeshift house using Lego blocks. I can now see why the wife likes helping Davin with his Lego blocks; it is fun.

Last week, the Dallas Mavericks won a game that I watched on TV. I guess I’m not cursed after all haha. They just suck this early in the season.

After that win, they went on to play an excellent game against the Denver Nuggets. Jokic hit the buzzer beater to send the game to overtime. But unlike the previous seasons, the Dallas Mavericks were able to close this game out. They need more games and wins like this, to develop their ability to close out games.

Then on the next game, the Mavs get another win against the Magic. They're starting to play better as a team now. Luka is also starting to play like the MVP candidate that critics say he is. He admitted to being out of shape when the season began. But he is starting to look like the competitive Luka that I saw in last season's NBA bubble in Orlando. Things are now looking good for the Mavericks.

Managed to get some exercise done while watching the Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets game. Not a bad way to watch the game.

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One thing I really like about the TSWBI Eco-T Fountain Pen is the transparent ink reservoir. Makes it easy to see how much ink is left. It is also fun to see the ink sloshing inside the reservoir.

One thing I don't like about it, is that it feels scratchy when writing. I tried flushing the pen to see if it improves ink flow. It did improve ink flow a little, but it was still scratchy.

So, I tried changing the way I gripped it. I usually hold pens in an unconventional, almost upright manner. I tried holding it in a more reclined angle. And now more ink is coming out. The more reclined I hold the fountain pen, the more ink comes out and the less scratchy it feels. It's actually starting to feel great writing with this fountain pen.

Halfway through The Light of All That Falls. I’m constantly astounded at how grand and epic the story is. It is a story spanning thousands of years. And yet, they all weave in together beautifully. It is probably the most complicated story I’ve ever read. But it is complicated in a good way. It makes me wonder how in the world the author even thought of writing a book like this.

Some nice quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas.

“All fear arises from love; since no one fears save what is contrary to something he loves.”

That’s true. And is something to reflect on whenever fear is blocking your way forward. Maybe this quote can remind you to ask yourself, what is it that you really fear in the first place? Or in other words, what are you scared of losing?

“May I not desire to please or fear to displease anyone but you.” ~ The Wise Ordering of One’s Life, St. Thomas Aquinas

This is a good reminder for me to not seek validation elsewhere except above.

One of the thoughts I had last week was to combine my Dev blog and this journal into one. This is the 3rd or 4th time this idea has surfaced in my head. Soon I'm going to do something about it.

Caleb is starting to get better at walking unassisted. Last week, he was able to take 4 steps before falling down. Pretty soon, he is going to be walking away from Coney and me. He's growing up so fast!

Just discovered that Microsoft Teams now has Markdown support. Wonderful!

The AC fan in my Mazdaspeed3 started to make a ticking noise last week. The sound goes away when I turn the fan off. Doesn't seem to be related to engine speed or the AC kicking in.

Anyway, I just spent money on a new clutch and a suspension refresh. So, getting another issue so soon is annoying. But the car also has over 106,000 miles already. So, it's not like this is an unexpected breakdown. Just hoping it is an easy and affordable fix. Repairing the car is still cheaper than buying a new car.

Listened to the Top Songs of 2020 playlist that Spotify generated for me. Without having gone through all the songs in the playlist, I have to say that “Skeletons” by Heartist has got to be one of, if not, my top song of 2020.

On the third episode now of the k-drama IRIS and it keeps getting better and better. I didn't have to wait for a few episodes for it to become entertaining. Love the soundtrack, the developing story and the characters. Oh and Kim Tae-hee is so pretty in this show.

Have gotten the wife addicted to Minecraft. Was talking to her about the stuff I learned in a tutorial for the game. She tried them out while playing on the Switch. Pretty soon she was buying the game on her old gaming PC. Thankfully, the game runs really well on that old gaming PC of hers. Unlike Minecraft Dungeons LOL.

Tags: #Weeknotes #Basketball #Bookmarks #FountainPen #Minecraft #TVShows #Heartist

There's a new Head First C# book that just came out this month! I still have the first one that came out back in 2010. This was the book that started me on the C# path. If you want to learn C#, I definitely recommend picking up the new version. In fact, I'm going to buy a copy for myself as well.

I wish I had more time to write blog posts that are focused on just one topic. One issue I see with my Weeknotes post is that a single post covers a bunch of different topics. In my mind, those topics should have their own blog posts. But the fact of the matter is, I already have a day job. And it involves writing code, not writing prose. And so unfortunately, I've resorted to bundling everything up into a single Weeknotes post, just so I can get something out. It's not exactly the setup I want, but it's what works for me now.

That said, I did make an effort to try and move topics into their own posts this week. So watch out for those.

I'm going through the Gatsby tutorial and am having fun with it. I am doing the tutorial to learn how to make a static site blog using Gatsby and consequently, React. I was surprised to find that the Gatsby tutorial covers React topics really well. I think it doubles as a good intro to learning React.

I plan to switch from Wyam to Gatsby for generating my dev blog sometime in the future. I figure, if I want to master React, then I have to force myself to use it as much as I can.

Started watching Tony Robbins – I am not your guru. I haven't finished it yet. It's an interesting one that dispenses some good life advice. Here are some good quotes I've picked up from the documentary film:

Everyone needs a compelling future. Everyone needs something to move towards. If you don’t have something to move towards, you settle for where things are. ... The problem with people is that they think they shouldn’t have any problems. Problems are what makes us grow. Problems are what sculpts our souls. Problems are what make us become more. Life is happening for us, not to us. ... This is what you were made for. You were made to love unconditionally. And the more we do, the more we experience the “human” in humanity. We experience our true nature. And we feel deeply alive.

~ Tony Robbins

Finished watching Gun Gale Online. It was a pretty entertaining show. I give it a 4/5 rating.

The motivation for some characters seemed a little far fetched, but I enjoyed the show for the most part. I loved the Battle Royale fights, the combat strategies, the tactics, the duels — it was all fun to watch. I also liked that there were only 12 episodes. It didn't feel like like a drag, which is what Sword Art Online felt like at times.

I also got a kick out of the frequent references to Sword Art Online in Gun Gale Online. This idea of creating two different anime that could reference each other is genius! That does mean that you have to watch Sword Art Online Season 1 to understand the references thrown out in Gun Gale Online.

Started watching the The Mandalorian Season 2. I've watched 3 episodes so far and I think it's better than Season 1. I thought the progression of the story in Season 1 was a little unfocused. It went all sorts of directions. But in Season 2, the Mandalorian is laser-focused on his quest at hand. And so the story revolves around his all-important quest, which to me makes for a more interesting watch.

I have noticed that I have trouble finding time to create my weekly plan on Sundays. This is because I'm trying to watch over the kids the whole weekend, to give the wife a break. So I'm thinking, instead of doing the weekly plan on Sunday, maybe I should do it on Friday night instead.

When you find things you genuinely enjoy, don’t let anyone else make you feel bad about it. Don’t feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy. Celebrate them.

~ No more guilty pleasures! by Austin Kleon

I really enjoyed the 2020 Mazda CX-5 loaner car that I was driving while the Speed3 was in the shop. I think it's a great daily driver.

Got the Speed3 back sometime this week. Eibach Pro-kits are definitely a mild drop. It even looks stock sometimes. But having driven it for over 100,000 miles, I can tell that it is dropped.

I'm getting so much frisson listening to the Guild Wars 2 OST. I'm listening to it while doing code reviews 😀 Kinda makes me realize how I sometimes take the game's OST for granted. Listening to it outside of the game makes me want to login and play.

Watched a YouTube video talking about the Top Quality of Life Fallout 4 Mods for the Xbox One. Out of the ones presented in the video, my favorite has to be the companion tracker. Makes finding specific companions so much easier. Anyone who's played the game knows how much of a pain it can be to track down Dogmeat 😀

Tags: #Weeknotes #Blogging #Bookmarks #Meta #TVShows