First off, what have I been doing since my last post?

Well as I noted in my Digital Declutter 2024 post, my focus was to read more books. And that’s what I have been doing.

During my digital declutter, I finished reading one book. That book was Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia. Great book if you’re interested in how to live longer, while maintaining a high quality of living.

A little after my digital declutter ended, I finished reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. Excellent book if you’re trying to understand how/why we make the decisions we do with our money.

At the moment, I’m currently reading a few other books:

• C# 12 and .NET 8 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals – Eighth Edition by Mark Price — this is work related and is just me trying to catch up with the latest in the .NET field.
• Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky — I never finished reading this, so I decided to read this again from the start.
• Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual by Jocko Willink — I finished reading this already but am re-reading just because I want to. I’m also trying to build more discipline into other areas of my life, so I thought it would be the perfect book to read.
• The Will of the Many by James Islington — high fantasy novel from the same author who wrote The Licanius Trilogy, of which I’m a fan of.
• Word On Fire Bible Volume II: Acts, Letters and Revelations — currently making my way through Acts of the Apostles book and surprised at how interesting the stories are.

What have I been doing other than reading books? Well with the extra time from not having to write on here, I've been trying to finish video games (currently near the end of Final Fantasy XV), playing video games with the kids/family (Stardew Valley is a great local co-op family game), helping the kids get better at baseball, catching up to TV shows (Jack Reacher is pretty good), taking longer naps, and many more.

So that's what I've been up to recently. Before I end this post, I also wanted to cover other things that I wrote about on this journal, namely Digital Gardens and my note-taking practice.

I'm still using Obsidian to take down notes. In fact it is still my primary note-taking app and that probably won't change for the foreseeable future.

I still have a Digital Garden, if having a collection of linked notes is what's considered one. But I don't subscribe to the idea of planting seeds or growing trees to grow my digital garden. If anything, what I used to call my Digital Garden, is now really just a personal knowledge base or a second brain. It is a repository of everything I've read and noted down, available for me to reference when I need to.

I also no longer follow the Zettelkasten way of taking down notes. I simply could not keep up. I do not have the mental bandwidth at night, nor do I have the time to go through my notes without burning out. That said, I've taken some practices that worked for me and simplified it.

I still do a daily log or what they call fleeting notes, and I still do a reference or literature note when reading a book. But I don't spend time processing notes the Zettelkasten way. I will link notes under a specific theme and leave it at that.

Taking a page from James Clear (author of Atomic Habits), my bare minimum requirement for my notes are, that they are in digital form and that they are searchable. And since I use Obsidian for note-taking, searching notes is easy. Storing notes in a text file with support for using Markdown is just icing on the cake.

So now we get to why I haven't been posting on here.

I mentioned above that I had a variety of reasons for not posting, but in this update I want to cover just one: I avoided writing on this blog because it was stressing me out.

Back in 2023-08-01, I ran into the Living a Simple and Quiet Christian Life video by Alex Wilson. Watching that video forced me to re-evaluate my online activities. It changed my perspective on blogging, especially blogging under your real name. Regarding this blog specifically, that same day I wrote this down on my bullet journal:

I don't want the fame and recognition. I mean yes, I want a little of it, but I don't want all of it. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm actually scared of the attention, the popularity, the fame. I think it is the source of stress on my websites/blogs where I don't hide behind a pseudonym or an anonymous persona.

Maybe it's time for Dino's Journal to come to an end.

This is not the first time that’s happened. I’ve always just pushed through after a short break. But I’m also aware of the fact that I keep running into this issue over and over. When I was going through my digital declutter, I was at peace, because I didn’t have to worry about what I’m writing on this blog. After my digital declutter ended, the thought of writing something for this specific blog/journal was stressing me out instead of bringing me relief.

And so that's why I haven't posting on here.

And this is why, on a number occasions before, during and after my digital declutter, I have contemplated bringing this blog/journal to a close. It’s not that I have ran out of things to share or write about. It’s just that, I felt so much peace not having to worry about something I wrote in this blog, or what I will write for this blog.

So does this mean this blog/journal is coming to an end? Sort of. This will most likely be my last post on here. I'm not deleting this blog/journal, but I most likely won't be publishing new content either.

I'm also not planning to abandon Write.as. I still have a number of other blogs on this platform and I plan to keep posting to those for the foreseeable future.

They say people start writing to a journal when they're going through something important in their lives. I guess that journey for me has come to an end, this journal has served its purpose.

I appreciate everyone who've taken the time to read my posts on this journal. It has been a blast. Thanks for reading and peace be with you all!

Tags: #SiteUpdates #Reflection #Blogging #DigitalDeclutter #DigitalGarden #NoteTaking #Zettelkasten #TheEnd

How I use my Bullet Journal — a great practical guide to using a bullet journal.

#InterestingReads #BulletJournal

An idea: instead of just keeping old blog posts lying around, why not print them and turn them into a self published book? Then you can store them in a bookshelf at home.

This idea was somewhat inspired by this post by Kin Lane.

#Blogging

God never gives you a dream that matches your budget. He's not checking your bank account, he's checking your faith. ~ Mark Walhberg

#Quotes #Spirituality

Selective Ignorance is when you pick and choose what you want to focus on or what you want to learn, instead of taking in everything that's available out there. You want to consider doing this, because we don't have time to learn everything. So, you have to be selective. It is as Ness says, a form of intentional knowledge.

Source: Selective ignorance: cultivating intentional knowledge in a chaotic world

^ This is also a great way to help avoid information overload.

#AvoidingInformationOverload #DigitalMinimalism

One of the best things I've learned a few years ago: I don’t need to have an opinion on everything. There are things that are beyond my control and it’s pointless to wallow in them. Having an opinion on everything is like paying attention to something that didn’t ask for your attention.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFQkXanEd5/?utmmedium=copylink

#DigitalMinimalism

https://john.do/today/ — seems to be was good advice for starting/restarting a blog. Unfortunately navigating to that page seems to elicit some warnings on the browser, so browse at your own risk.

Anyway, my takeaway from this was: Writing is all about putting down your imperfect thoughts and ideas into paper. This allows you to reflect on your thoughts and ideas, and then go from there.

#Blogging #Writing

Series: #JournalEntry Tags: #InterestingReads #BulletJournal #Blogging #Quotes #Spirituality #AvoidingInformationOverload #DigitalMinimalism #Writing

Creating habits: how long does it take to form a habit? — the title pretty much explains what this article is about.

So, how long does it take to form a new habit? Apparently, it takes an average of around 66 days, or 2 months, to form a new habit. That is way longer than what is normally mentioned in articles or magazines I’ve read. That means if you want to build a habit of doing pull-ups right after waking up, you need to consistently do it for 2 months straight.

After reading this essay, Peter Thiel's Religion, and finding out about the idea of mimetic theory, of us imitating others, my mind was opened up. I'm starting to see it around me. Most of everything we do is imitation. I don't quite know yet what to do with this new found information, but I'm excited to find out more about it.

Blogging and Digital Gardens

A digital garden is where you go to think. And once you've sorted through your thoughts and ideas, you go to your blog to write it all down, then share it to the rest of the world.

Splitting one big blog/website into smaller more focused blogs/websites, is you, the author, shifting the responsibility of categorizing/filtering content away from the reader. Instead of the reader having to deal with figuring out how to only subscribe to content on your website that they like, you break it up for them so it is easier for them to pick and choose what to follow or subscribe to. It might not be the most efficient use of your resources or your time, but it is more respectful of the readers time.

The more I work on my digital garden, the more I become convinced that my Digital Garden as it is in Obsidian, does not need to be shared online. What needs to be shared is the content, which already makes its way into my posts on my various blogs/websites.

Nutrition

Always wondered why most recommendations for eating chicken is to eat one that doesn't have skin on it. Well now I know. That's because chicken skin has high amounts of saturated fat.

Why does that matter? It matters because saturated fat can increase your LDL (bad cholesterol). So, if you are trying to keep your cholesterol in check, take off the chicken skin before eating it.

Spirituality

Heard these lyrics in a song:

Show me all your scars and I'll show you the cross.

Yeah, we all have our scars, we all go through our own suffering. But take a look at what Jesus, the son of God, endured on the cross for you and me. Let that put your scars and suffering into perspective.

You cannot change God no matter how hard you pray. God will do what He wants because He is God and you are not. The key though is that He always wants what's best for you. So even if He does whatever He wants, it's always taking into account what's best for you.

^ Thought inspired by one of Bishop Barron's Daily Gospel Reflection.

Misc

Found this pretty cool and free Anime Avatar Maker.

Writing is addictive to me because just like woodworking, we are creating something tangible that can be shared with other people.

The same feeling or motivation that drives secular people to share their causes online, is the same feeling or motivation that drives religious people to share the Gospel. Its finding something that you are so invested in emotionally, that you cannot help but share it with other people.

This applies to anything that hits you on an emotional level. If it made you feel something, you will more than likely want to share it with others.

Tags: #JournalEntry #Bookmarks #BuildingHabits #MimeticTheory #Blogging #DigitalGarden #Reflection #Nutrition #Spirituality #Christianity #Writing

Personal Publishing Principles — this is a great read for someone interested in creating/maintaining a personal website or a personal blog.

One good tip that was shared in that post is that a personal website/blog is the perfect place for you to experiment with your own ideas. Not everything will work out of course, but keep trying and some will.

This also tells me that if your personal website won't allow you to do that, then you probably have a professional website as opposed to a personal one.

‘Pics or it didn’t happen’ – the mantra of the Instagram era — extremely good read on the use of social media, and how it changes the way we think and go about our daily lives.

One of the problems with social media that is highlighted in this essay, is that while social media gives everyone a voice, everyone on social media is also speaking at the same time. This means that if you want to be heard, you will want to speak louder, and you'll want to do so more often than everybody else. If you don't, you risk becoming somebody who shouts into the void with nobody even glancing your way.

So you can see how this can make people addicted to constantly posting photos, status, updates, etc... Each post becoming grander and grander just so you can get more eyeballs and hopefully likes/comments on it.

Christianity

From Mk 10:46-52:

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

This gospel passage is a great example of being persistent with your prayers. Bartimaeus kept calling out to Jesus even as he was getting reprimanded by the people around him. He was being told to shut up, but he kept calling out anyway. And eventually Jesus answered his call. The lesson here is to be persistent with your prayers.

You could argue that he kept on calling because he was blind and desperate. True, that seems to be a valid point. But then, why wait till you're blind and desperate before you persevere in your prayers? I feel like you open yourself up to more gifts and blessings from the Lord, if you don't wait till you're blind and desperate.

When Jesus says,

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate Father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”

... what He means is that any of those cannot be loved more than God himself. To be a disciple means to put everything else second to the love of God.

Source: Bishop Barron, Word on Fire Bible Volume I, p386

There is a beautiful comment on this Youtube video from Christian Gospel that goes like this:

GOD is like oxygen. You can't see HIM, but you can't live without Him! The GOD that fought with David is the same GOD that will fight with you & for you! Your next chapter will be amazing. GOD is changing your storyline to happy & healed!💕❤🙏🙌

“GOD is like oxygen. You can't see HIM, but you can't live without Him!” Love that analogy!

Reflections

One of the great things about social media is that it made it really easy to give everyone a voice (see interesting read above). The problem is, it comes with a price. You pay for it with your data and attention.

People who weren't on social media before, didn't have the urges to post photos or post status updates. It makes me think that this is something that has turned into a habit over time. And since it's become a habit for most people, it is hard to stop.

Writing for yourself is writing to a private diary or journal. Writing to an audience is when your writing is shared to the public.

Quotes

What is weird? Someone who is different? Or someone who is different than you? ~ Sensei Wu, Ninjago

Ninjago is easily becoming my favorite kids TV show. It is filled with insightful quotes like this one. Sometimes I feel like they made the show for adults, just as much as they made it for kids.

“Children are perhaps the most unmistakable evidence of goodness in a world so bogged down by suffering and anger.” ~ Jared Zimmerer, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute

Parenting

Is the internet hurting the youth? — Gary Vee — seems like excellent advice on how to handle kids and their use of the internet.

For those who don't want to click the link because they're allergic to Instagram or Reels, the advice is this: Build your kid's self-esteem first before letting them loose on the internet.

Tags: #JournalEntry #Bookmarks #Blogging #SocialMedia #Christianity #Spirituality #Reflections #Writing #Parenting

I say new because I've had a journal entry series before. If you are a returning reader, you've most likely even read them. If you are a new reader, then you missed out on a number of cringe-worthy personal posts. And that's part of the reason that series came to an end. I somehow outgrew that phase and no longer wanted to write about overtly personal stuff.

So, for this new series, one of the things I want to focus on is just sharing what I've learned. Instead of this journal/series being about “What's been going on with my life?”, I want it to be more about “What have I learned today?”

Also, I won't commit to a schedule for posting. It could be once a month, once every 4 months, or even just once a year. Whatever it will turn out to be, I'll write one when I feel like writing. So before that urge to write fades, here goes.

Interesting Reads

The Power and Joys of Turning Off — Great post on the simple joy of going offline.

Every Blogging Option Sucks — Pretty good round up of current blogging options. While the author didn't end up choosing write.as, it did fairly well compared to the competition.

Praxis and the Indieweb — Great read on the potential and challenges with the IndieWeb. It is an interesting take because most of everything you read online about the IndieWeb is all positive. This is the first one I've read that tries to argue against it.

But perhaps the most important thing I've learned from reading it is mentioned in the quote below:

The problem is that this construct fails in two key ways, legal and conceptual. Legally, any and all content that you post to a silo is no longer “your content”.

The quote is talking about the idea of POSSE: Publish Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. It's basically posting content to your own site first, then syndicating it elsewhere. But there's a problem with doing that. If you post the same photo that you posted on your site, onto a social network like say Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you end up giving them ownership of that photo.

Yikes. Was totally not aware of that.

Reflections

A problem with my Weeknotes posts is that I have to decide what gets included on a post, based on what I’ve written down during the week. If I wrote a lot, then there are a lot of decisions to make.

This is one advantage that impromptu blogging has over my Weeknotes posts. With impromptu blogging, I only write down what I want to write about. And I only ever do it when I really want to get something out.

And this is why this post is a “journal entry” and not another Weeknotes post.

We live in an age of distraction, not an age of doubt. ~ Father Joshua Whitfield (Sunday Homily)

All I can say to that is, amen Father Joshua Whitfield.

Actually... I can say a few more. I think what Father Joshua was saying, is that the challenge with the people of today, is not that they doubt, or that they don't have the capacity to believe in the existence of a creator. The challenge with people today, is that most are distracted by social media, the internet, and so many other things and activities, that they never find the time and solitude to think about the answers to existential and theological questions like:

• Where did we come from?
• Why are we here?
• Where are we going?
• Is there more to life than this?
• Does God really exist?
• What happens to us when we die?

Is it wrong for me to say that finding answers to those questions, is more important than say, checking up on your Instagram feed tonight? Or even dare I say, more important than publishing that new blog post? I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Tags: #JournalEntry #Bookmarks #Reflection #Blogging #Spirituality

Why? Why are we doing all this? Why do we feel the need to do all this? Does anybody else think that's not normal? I've been asking myself those questions for months now.

There's lots of advice on what to do to take control of your data online. For instance, you should have all your blog posts and photos under your domain name, so you keep control of them. And if you're not concerned about that, there's lots of advice on what platform is the best for photo-blogging, long-form blogging, micro-blogging, etc... There's all sorts of advice regarding the best ways to manage your data online. But no one seems to be asking the question, why?

Why do we need to post photos of our lives online? Why do we need to document everything that's happened to us? Why do we need to have all of this data online?

In an age where we are more connected than ever through the internet, why is it that we feel more alone, especially when we are offline? In an age where we can add hundreds of people to our friends list, why is it that we feel like we don't exist if we're not posting online?

Is it because we feel like we are missing out on everything happening online? Is it because of FOMO? Is that why we keep posting status updates, keep sharing photos, keep writing blog posts?

Or is it because we feel like we don't exist if we don't see a piece of ourselves online? Is it because we feel like we don't exist if no one comments or likes our posts online?

“Hey, hey, look over here, I've uploaded a new photo, I've shared a new blog post, I've got a new Instagram story, I'm playing a new video game, etc... I'm still alive. Talk to me.”

I say that, because I believe that's one of the reasons driving this constant need to share online — to remind other people that we exist.

At least that's the case for me. Is it the same for you?

I still can't wrap my head around it. The internet has allowed us to connect with more people than we could ever be connected with, on a personal level. And yet, we feel more isolated than ever before.

And I think that highlights another issue. Our basic human need for social connection is not getting fulfilled. Not with the way we live our lives nowadays.

Because it's so easy to connect with other people online, that's what we end up doing. But I can't help but feel like, that's why it's not enough. The online connections and interactions we engage in, are not as fulfilling or satisfying, as the personal interactions that used to be a staple of our everyday lives.

Of course the pandemic is not helping things right now. But we have been living this way before the pandemic. It's not like this is only a problem now.

No matter how many photos we upload, how many status updates we make, how many blog posts we share, there's still something missing. We're still constantly checking that feed. We're still waiting for those likes to come in. We're still waiting for the confirmation that let's us know, that other people know we're still alive.

On the flip side, all you need is just one game of Settlers of Catan with family and friends. The resulting satisfaction from that social interaction is... immeasurable.

I've been thinking about how the older generation lived. With no smartphones in their pockets, they didn't have portable cameras to bring with them when they ventured out into the real world. It also means that even if they brought a camera with them, there was no way to instantly share a photo afterwards. And even when they got home, there was no social media app or website waiting for them to upload all the photos they took that day. So, I'm thinking that they most likely didn't have these constant urges to share everything online.

To be able to go out, do things and live life without feeling the urge to share everything online — how liberating must that have been? I would love to be able to experience that — to not even have the urge to share online a beautiful photo that I just took. To not even have the urge to share the really good song that I'm listening to right now. To not even have the urge to write a blog post about the crazy thing that happened to me or to the world today.

However, knowing what I know now, it seems impossible to go back to that naive way of living.

I believe that the technologies in the world that we live in today, has altered the way we think about life. And more importantly, it has altered what it means to be alive. It is not enough now to know you're alive. You also have to prove it to the rest of the world too — because otherwise, it feels like you don't exist.

Tags: #Reflection #DigitalMinimalism #Blogging #SocialMedia

Each one of us who have been baptized in the Christian faith, are all prophets in a way, because we are expected to spread the word of God.

I have tried doing that on this journal. Every once in awhile, I talk about God, I talk about my faith, I share some Christian music, I share some interesting homilies like this one. And whenever I do, I notice that I would lose readers and subscribers. It has been a stumbling block for me. Sometimes, I ask myself, what's the point of doing so, if no one is listening?

But towards the end of his homily, Bishop Barron does two things:

• First, he quotes Chapter 5 from the reading itself. “Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.”
• Second, he quotes Mother Teresa. “We are not called to be successful. I leave that up to God. We are called to be faithful.”

And all of a sudden, my stumbling block is gone. I have no more excuses.

I shouldn't worry if I lose readers and subscribers because I try to share the word of God. On the contrary, I should expect opposition when I take up this task.

And as it was written in Ezekiel 2:5 — it doesn't matter whether people listen to me or not. The point is that they would have known that there was a prophet in their midst. The point is, that I as a baptized Christian, took on the role of being a prophet to my own people. The point is, that whether I was successful or not, I was faithful to the word of God.

And so now I'm curious. To the people who read this journal, does this kind of content turn you away? Why do you follow this journal? What kind of content on this journal made you subscribe?

I am curious to hear your thoughts. Please leave me a comment below, or for private messages, send me an email.

Tags: #Spirituality #BishopBarron #Christianity #Bookmarks #Blogging

Don't force yourself to blog when you don't want to.

This is a rule or tip I've seen from other bloggers in the past. But I didn't really internalize it, until I made blogging less of a priority in my life.

I always had something to say. In fact, I kept writing down thoughts and ideas into my journal, so that I would always have something to say. But soon enough it became like work to me. More of a chore instead of a fun hobby.

Nowadays, I'm finding that it's okay to not have anything to blog or write about. It's okay to not want to do any blogging or writing whatsoever. It's okay to... gasp ...want to do something else.

Write, when you have something to say. Take the time to do something else, when you don't.

Keep it fun or you'll risk burning out.

Tags: #Reflection #Blogging #Writing

I loved the ease of publishing new software development content to this journal using write.as. But I didn't really like how it all turned out. Specifically, I thought it was jarring to be reading a post on SQL Server, then hit the homepage to find posts on video games and God. It felt awkward to me.

So, I decided to once again start publishing software development posts to a dedicated software development blog. This time around, instead of going back to a static site generator, I spun up a new dev blog on write.as. I'm hoping that the ease of publishing new content outweighs the drawbacks of having yet another website to maintain. We'll see how it goes.

The new dev blog is still very much under construction. But I wanted to get this notice out there in case some people are wondering where the other software development posts have gone.

Anyway, that was all I wanted to say regarding the new dev blog. Now for a slight update on how I've been doing after I've traded blogging for family time.

I'm honestly enjoying not needing to post so often to this journal. I have a lot more free time at night and I've been using it to play Minecraft Dungeons with my son. It's a great video game for father and son bonding time. We recently just defeated the Arch-Illager and the Heart of Ender. And we've just started on the Jungle Awakens DLC. I might write some Game Logs post for it, if I have some spare time. We'll see.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you all have a good weekend. Thanks for reading.

Tags: #SiteUpdates #Blogging #SoftwareDevelopment

You might be wondering, where is this coming from? It’s coming from the realization that my kids are growing up so fast. My eldest son for instance, is going to start school this year.

I fear that I'm losing my time with them. That window where they think it’s still cool to play with dad, I feel like that window of time is shrinking every day.

Twenty, thirty, forty years from now, I don’t want to regret not spending enough time with my kids. And let’s be honest, time spent with your kids is never going to be enough. They will grow up and eventually leave to have their own families. You can't hang on to them forever.

I’m sure I’ll have more time to write when my kids are older. Maybe then I can sit down and write blog posts for however long I want. For now though, I need to get it done as quickly as I can, so I can go back to being a dad and a husband as soon as possible.

So, does that mean I'll stop publishing posts on this site? Not exactly. It just means that I'm no longer prioritizing writing longer posts on this site. Instead of carving time during my day to write, I'll just make do with whatever spare time I have left. That means I'll most likely gravitate towards shorter posts whenever possible.

I also discovered during my latest digital declutter, that I hated having a weekly deadline for posts. During the digital declutter, I felt liberated knowing that I didn't need to have something published by the end of the week. Having to publish something on a schedule now feels like a chore to me; it feels like work. I already spend my day chasing deadlines at work. I would rather not chase deadlines during my off hours as well.

And so that means that I will no longer publish a Weeknotes post every week. I'll do one when I have enough spare time, but otherwise I won't be prioritizing it. Even with the new format I just unveiled recently, I still think it takes too much time to complete. It's time that I'd rather spend with my family. I would have to really, badly want to write one, to publish one on this site.

And so, that's my piece for today. I just wanted to get it out there. At this stage in my life, I feel like focusing on the kids, who are growing up so fast, is the right thing to do. Blogging, personal websites, those can wait.

P.S. Once again Cal Newport's “Digital Declutter” proves its value in showing me what's more important in life. I highly recommend giving it a try when you can.

Tags: #Blogging #Parenthood #DigitalMinimalism