Category: news

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above and the one at the bottom of this page are from 4 Aug 2025 taken during a visit to Trader Joe’s in Coralville.

EXPANDED HOME AND WORK SPACE

In last month’s update I wrote about our new home and work space. Since that’s a big news item, I thought I’d mention it again. Read the update for more details. [Read]

This month will be focused on downsizing and decluttering to make sure the new space is really optimized. I’ll plan to share more in a future update once things take shape.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

The photo below is from 4 Aug 2025 taken in the plant department at Trader Joe’s.

Greetings

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from 3 July 2025 taken during a nature walk. In moving soon to an expanded home and work space, I’m looking forward to an opportunity to create a habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. At the bottom of this page is a photo taken on 2 July 2025 of a lake that was along the road while I was out on a service call.

Expanded Home and Work Space

In September we’ll be moving to a new home and work space. My tech support business has been growing over the years, and since the pandemic it has really expanded as people continue working remotely. I’m actively supporting over 300 people in our city, and their needs are increasing.

Since 2001, I’ve been living in spaces of about 150 to 300 square feet per person. The smaller living has been inspired, in part, by some nuns in Canada who had me visit as a guest to teach them about technology. My lodging was a typical Monastic cell. I was inspired by that minimalism and their entire lifestyle.

Tiny living is a challenge when running a growing business. I’ve used storage facilities and commercial office space rentals over the years, but that results in some inefficiencies and costs. So, having just about everything under one roof will help.

With two of us working from home and all four of us needing living space, it was difficult to find a place that would accommodate our living and working space needs, while being close to Iowa City, and within a reasonable budget. Homes and multi-room apartments are very expensive. Some rentals in Iowa City are as much as $1,200 per person as they are geared toward student living. Downtown, a one-bedroom condo of about 1,000 square feet is selling for $572,000 which would have $341 per month HOA fees plus $8,658 annual taxes. That’s over $1,000 per month in taxes and fees on top of a mortgage payment of over $3,000. These are just two examples of the current housing landscape in Iowa City. Much of what is available is impractical and certainly out of our reach. Lower prices result in trade-offs such as older high-maintenance homes with long commute times. There are certainly other examples of lower-cost housing in Iowa City, but the examples I’ve given are illustrative of what is not uncommon on the market.

After many months of searching, we found something modest that meets our needs and is centrally located for serving the Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty communities.

I was writing more about housing and my home life when I lived in a 10′ x 7′ tiny house from 2003 to 2009. Since that time my home and dwelling situation is fairly typical and there’s not much of interest to share. Even so, I’ll plan to share more about my new space in the months ahead.

The bottom line is that it should allow me to be more efficient, to do more, and to give more of myself to others. It also facilitates some of my off-grid and sustainability goals.

Supporting Those Aging in Place

There is a growing “aging in place” movement that seems to be increasing due to the economy and the rising cost of independent living centers. So, those who are recently retired, and not so recently retired, are doing more from home. That’s where I’ve seen an increase in the need to provide tech help to people who are using their computers and tech devices more to stay connected to friends, family, and groups. I’m adjusting for this new demand and offering creative low-cost tech solutions for people aging in place. We also have a wonderful local group called TRAIL of Johnson County that supports those seeking self sufficiency in retirement.

Visual Time Stamp Notepad

I continue to use the 1440 time tracking system that I developed for time accounting. I described it in my February 2025 update. It is a grid/table layout on four pages — two sheets of paper printed back to back. Each box in the grid represents a minute with two long columns for each hour. This system allows me to track and account for each of the 1,440 minutes in a day, from 5AM to 10PM, with two additional columns for late night or early morning hours outside of the normal 9PM to 5AM sleeping time.

Below is a template showing page 1 of 4 for a day. I update the page heading for each new month. I maintain the file as a word processing document with a table. Above each column, I can write in “B” to indicate some entries in that column are billable. At the bottom of each column I can notate billing totals or other project/task totals in hours and minutes. The template has remained mostly the same over the years, although my notation system and ways of using the system are improving. Using the time grid as a notepad allows me to write a short note with visual illustrations and a built-in time-stamp of every entry.

Nutrition and Health Practices

This year I’ve had some success with wellness goals that I’m pleased about. Here’s a summary.

• Electrolytes — This year, I increased my water intake and began using a slightly better water pitcher filter. Using wide mouth insulated stainless steel drink bottles, I’m able to have water that is fresh and cold. This promotes a desire to drink more water. In July, I started adding some powdered natural electrolytes to my water for one serving a day. That seems to have helped boost energy and an overall sense of wellbeing. I think my enthusiastic water consumption without any electrolyte replenishment had been zapping my energy level a bit.
• Glucose — For about 20 years I’ve been exploring ways to regulate glucose. I first shared about this in November of 2014. In March of 2015, I arrived at a system that could bring glucose down from averages in the 300 range back to normal levels from 80-100. However, that system was not sustainable due to many factors. This year, after many revisions, and personalizing a system for my own needs, am I starting to achieve stable close-to-optimal levels. That’s resulted in better energy levels and overall improved health.
• Magnesium — I take a few inexpensive supplements based on actual personal deficiencies. For example, if my Vitamin D levels are low according to lab results, I’ll take the correct daily dose of Vitamin D to achieve ideal levels. In recent months I started taking a magnesium supplement. Initially the common recommended dose was too high, I determined based on some of the side effects. I reduced that to about 25% of what is common and find that dose works well for my needs. This seems to have helped with energy, sleep, and muscle development.
• Nutritional Drink — I spent many months this year testing all of the nutritional drinks being advertised. I made an effort to evaluate them based on the impact, if any, on my health. When I didn’t find any that worked well for me, I decided to try one that I’d started using about 20 years ago. A half-dose seems to work well for me.
• Vitamins — For a long time, I hadn’t been consistent with my vitamin routine. In recent months I’ve made an extra effort to take my nutritional supplements. This requires coordination with meals for optimal absorption and digestion.

Wellness Outcomes

The above list of nutrition and health practices have resulted in some hopeful wellness outcomes which have helped guide some decisions. For my daily work, I rely on clarity of mind, creative thinking, and the ability to multitask. I need acute vision, hearing, and even smell for my work. For example, the noise from a failing hard drive provides an insight into the type of failure, and thus a proper diagnosis for data recovery. A computer power supply that stops working may have a specific smell if a component has burned out. The tech work I do is a multi-sensory type of work. I recently needed to rely on some typed commands that I’ve not used since the 1980s. That requires a clarity of memory for details.

So, with this in mind, I think about how well my overall health will hold up over the next 20 to 30 years. This impacts my career and retirement planning, which in turn impacts my long-term and short-term financial planning.

Knowing that much of one’s health is genetic, and having multiple family members passing away of natural causes by age 59 has been something I think about. That’s motivated me to preemptively address health issues before they happen, finding cures before they are needed. The success I’ve had in that regard has shaped my long-term planning, including how I anticipate my future home and work space needs. Given current circumstances I’m leaning toward an expectation for a longer life-span than I might have anticipated ten years ago. I have a page on this topic of planning — “Long-term Planning. Short-term Preparing.”

Support Requests — Radio Shack

I recently responded to someone writing me from Taipei, Taiwan regarding my Radio Shack experience in California about 40 years ago. I was able to respond to their request, offering a link to a newsletter from the 1990s that might guide them to the information they were looking for. That newsletter was the type of document I hope to have in my digital library once I’ve completed assembling it.

I regularly receive requests for help and information which require a search of my library of computer files and scanned documents spanning about 40 years. In the months ahead, I hope to create a larger library of reference materials to draw from on a variety of topics.

This will require digitizing over 100 boxes of materials including documents, audio tapes, photos, and video tapes.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

The photo below is of a lake on 2 July 2025, when I was on the road doing my computer work and stopped to take the picture.

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from 19 Jun 2025 at the Prairie Hill Cohousing community. This is an ecovillage in Iowa City that provides pollinator-friendly plants, native prairie grass preservation, buffalo grass ground cover, a diverse wildlife habitat, LEED certified housing, and other eco-friendly features.

Fitbit Wellness Wearables

I recently started using a Fitbit and find that the weekly email reports are a great way to review how I’m keeping up with my walking goals and review sleep quality reports. To me, it seems like the Fitbit report is a very usable summary of overall wellness. I prefer it to other wearable devices I’ve used.

Google Maps

Today I was able to report on some road conditions using Google Maps and Android Auto. Just that one report was able to inform more than 1,200 drivers. I don’t have the monthly summary from Google for my June contributions, but in May there were more than 2.2 million new views of my maps content which is much more than the visits to my website. The monthly Google Maps reports are good motivation to keep contributing, and being inspired to know that my efforts are helping others.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

Greetings

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from today on my morning walk, 1 Jun 2025.

Work-Life Balance

I’ve been able to reduce my workload to free up time for daily walks, adequate sleep, and to be more available for family. The reduction of work has been made possible in various ways.

• MEDIA DIGITIZING — Our local public library now has a digital media studio where patrons can accomplish various tasks including digitizing old VHS video tapes and audio cassette tapes. These are services I’ve been offering for years, usually at a discounted fee. So, it’s time consuming and a financial loss for me to offer the service. Having a local free public resource available helps open my calendar for the main tech services I provide. I’ve donate financially to the library as a way to support the tech services and resources they make available.
• TECH CLASSES — Tech classes are also available at our local library. About 15 years ago, I was privileged to be the first person to use the new computer lab at the library for free public classes. I’m happy to see that initiative has grown.
• TRAINING APPRENTICES — I’ve been able to train apprentices who can take over for me to provide specialized support for businesses and organizations. The training involves instruction in the skills specific to the scope of work the people will be doing. Documentation I’ve created over the years serves as a guide and has the specific steps unique to each organization or office.
• INTERNET SERVICE — In the past, it made economical sense for people to purchase their own modem and WiFi network equipment rather than rent from their Internet service provider. In recent years I’ve begun suggesting that people rent network equipment from their internet service provider. This gives them access to low-cost or free setup and phone support which can save hundreds of dollars. This shift has saved me many hours of on-site work and drive time.
• APPLE REPAIRS — I received training from Apple to be a qualified service technician able to work in an authorized Apple service center. So, I feel comfortable doing some small repairs on Apple equipment. However, those repairs can be time consuming, tedious, and are susceptible to the occasional mishap during a repair. Delicate tiny flat cables can get damaged, or screens already strained from stress can crack. I much prefer sending that work to the Apple repair center we have in our city. So, I’ve been sending people there in recent years. Also, an authorized repair center or store is the only place people can get in-warranty work done.
• BIG BOX STORES — Some simple services can be provided economically by big box stores like Best Buy or Staples. So, when my schedule is full, I might refer a new caller to one of those service providers.

Whenever possible, I like being a tech support person who can facilitate and add value, without the stress of being the only person people have to rely on.

Long-term Planning. Short-term Peparing

There are some careers where multiple employees can do the same job. When I was in high school, I worked at a fast food restaurant. If I needed to take a sick day, there were a dozen other employees who knew how to cook the fries and burgers, or serve soft ice cream in a cone.

With the career I’ve had since high school, providing personalized tech support to hundreds of people, there are not a dozen other people who could step in and provide the same level of service. There’s an additional sense of responsibility to make sure people have the basic information they need to operate their computers, websites, and services. This can be in the form of documentation provided to their next tech support person.

There are fall-back plans. For example, if I were to be unavailable in the future, if there is a subscription I’ve been paying for, that would need to be paid by the customer directly. An on-screen renewal alert would make this clear, such as with antivirus software. I do this with all of the automated systems I put in place. If a subscription isn’t automatically renewed by me, the person knows to reach out to me or renew it directly. This minimizes disruption.

In 2022 I created a document on this topic and called it “Long-term Planning. Short-term Preparing.” If I live for another 40 or more years, I need a long-term plan in place to make sure I can do that in a perpetually sustainable way. I choose a diet and exercise routine that is likely to sustain me for a long time. I avoid things that might shorten my life. So, I’m prepared for another 40 or more years. Yet, I also need to be prepared for what happens if I don’t live to be over 100 years old. I know of many people who passed away before they reached my current age. That knowledge prompts me to take time out for vacations, spend time with loved ones, and do some of the things a person might otherwise wait on.

I know of a doctor who died of a stroke at the age of 32 just five days before completing her residency. I can think of other examples where people were finishing one chapter and ready to begin the next when their life ended unexpectedly.

So, for that reason, I want to live as someone who doesn’t have much time, but I also want to live frugally as someone who has plans for a long life ahead.

Writing Topics

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

Tech Writing

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

Subscribe

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

Thanks

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from my morning walk on 4 May 2025.

Artificial Intelligence

Robots and automation have been able to replace humans in manufacturing, shipping, transportation, warehouse work, and other tasks.

Artificial intelligence seems to be capable of replacing much human thought labor. Already we see AI systems capable of reading scripts and delivering high-quality presentations. People who previously modeled for stock photography have been replaced by convincing AI humans. Also, the photographers are no longer needed.

Recently, billboards in San Francisco boldly stated “Stop Hiring Humans” in what appeared to be a promotion for AI services. [Learn More]

AI services increase the productivity of individual employees, allowing only a few people to do the work of many. Some people who are knowledge resources within organizations or companies can now be directly replaced with AI making it possible to quickly assemble information in an intelligent, concise, and actionable presentation.

Some estimates indicate that half of all white-collar jobs will be eliminated by AI. [Sources: Business Insider and ZDNET]

I’ve noticed with my own work, that AI-enhanced search results save me a considerable amount of time, reducing the cost of what people pay for me to solve a technical challenge or research a product purchase decision.

For business owners, robotics and artificial intelligence can increase productivity and profits, while reducing costs — more income and fewer people to share it with.

There has been a long-awaited expectation that the wealth of a few people at the top will trickle down to the many who are at the bottom — something first called “trickle-down economics” about 100 years ago. Unfortunately, that has yet to materialize. It’s not yet clear what will become of the many millions of people who may lose their jobs in the future to AI.

The video below explains more and offers some suggestions to those heading into career paths that seem poised to be replaced by AI.

TECH GUIDES

Some of the tech guides I create are in response to common questions that I get from several people having the same issue. By writing up a thorough guide, everyone can benefit from the resource without having to pay for the time it takes to find a solution for a problem.

An example recently was a guide I wrote for users of Yahoo! Mail who recently found that the Yahoo! Mail system had changed significantly without much advance notice. Here is a link to that guide — https://iowacitytech.com/2025/03/06/yahoo-mail-original/

I’ve had phone calls and emails from people across the country expressing their appreciation and gratitude for that guide. It’s a good feeling to get that kind of positive feedback.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well.

The photo above is one that I stylized on 7 Feb 2025 using the Prisma filter app with the cartoon filter effect.

Green Tech

I’ve enjoyed having some opportunities recently to help people keep their older computers by upgrading them. Installing more memory and a solid state drive (SSD) can help speed up older computers and keep them running for a few more years. This allows people to continue using a familiar computer, and wait to buy a new one. Sometimes this takes a big commitment of time beyond what is financially practical. So, I usually volunteer some time and materials to keep the overall cost down.

In October, updates for Windows 10 will only be available for a $30 fee to cover an extra year of updates. There is also a three-year extension option available. I’m going to work with people who have perfectly good older computers to ensure they can get the updates they need to keep going.

Recycling Old Devices

People regularly give me their old computers, hard drives, and other tech devices for recycling. Cords and cables can be dropped off at Staples for proper handling. However, many tech items need to be securely erased or reset, and that process can be time consuming. So, lately I’ve been catching up on the many boxes of old equipment — erasing hard drives, resetting phones, and clearing out other items before dropping off for recycling or shipping to centers that provide dedicated services for reclaiming usable materials. It’s a very time consuming aspect of the work I do, but it’s necessary. It wouldn’t be practical to charge for my time since the devices themselves have little or no value. Most people would just throw them in the trash if they could, or be tempted to drop them in a recycle bin without proper erasing.

Tech Guides

Some of the tech guides I create are in response to common questions that I get from several people having the same issue. By writing up a thorough guide, everyone can benefit from the resource without having to pay for the time it takes to find a solution for a problem.

An example recently was a guide I wrote for users of Yahoo! Mail who recently found that the Yahoo! Mail system had changed significantly without much advance notice. Here is a link to that guide — https://iowacitytech.com/2025/03/06/yahoo-mail-original/

I’ve had phone calls and emails from people across the country expressing their appreciation and gratitude for that guide. It’s a good feeling to get that kind of positive feedback.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well.

The photo above is from a walk on 22 Jun 2023 and the photo was stylized this year on 6 Jan 2025 with the Prisma filter app using the Aqua filter effect. I’ll put the original photo at the bottom of this page for comparison.

Reclaiming WellBeing Time

Over the past 24 years, since the year 2000, I’ve been using the same hourly rate as a fixed amount for calculating what I charge for tech services. My costs have slowly increased over the past 24 years, but I’ve looked for ways to be more efficient so I can keep charging the same amount.

In the past few years, I’ve seen some costs double from one year to the next. A service that might have been $50 per month, suddenly doubled to $100 per month at the time of renewal.

Over the past few years, I’ve had to increase the number of hours I work per week in order to keep up with the cost of running the business.

At times., that has resulted in less sleep, less time with family, less exercise, less time in nature, and sit-down meals replaced with grabbing some string cheese from a convenience store on my way to the next appointment.

Starting this year I’m going to reclaim some of that essential personal wellbeing time by increasing my base hourly rate by a modest amount. I’m thankful for the many people who regularly pay me more than I ask for, and I appreciate those who have told me I should increase my hourly rate. This year I’ve begun doing so. Perhaps it will be another 24 years before I need to raise my rates again.

I think getting some balance back in my life will help me better serve all those who depend on me, and be more present for family as well.

1440 Time Tracking

Years ago, I developed a simple time tracking system to account for every one of the 1,440 minutes in a day. I call it the 1440 Time Tracking System. The method involves having a sheet of paper with a grid that covers 5 hours. By printing double-sided, and using two sheets of paper, 20 hours can be accounted for. That covers the typical 16-hour day, plus some space for any additional non-sleeping time.

In the past, most of my work involved in-person scheduled appointments lasting 1-2 hours each. In recent years, my days have become more fragmented. Now the bulk of my work involves responding to numerous text messages, phone calls, and emails every day. Most tech problems can be resolved remotely. Some service calls can take a few minutes. Others require 2-3 hours.

My goal is to solve people’s tech problems in the most convenient and efficient way possible that best serves their needs. That’s my main goal. If it best serves others for me to address many spontaneous requests coming in, then I’ll do that. I’ll figure out how to make the business revolve around what works best for people’s needs.

It’s not practical for me to send someone an invoice for a 6 minute phone call. It could take almost that much time to manually create a detailed receipt and process a credit card payment which requires entering the person’s address, phone, and email for a not-in-person PayPal transaction.

Instead, I keep an open tab for people who I work with regularly. Then I send a single cumulative bill. That saves them time, requiring only a single payment for a full month of tech help. It saves me time by having to only sent out one invoice instead of a dozen.

In the past I’ve used the minute-by-minute method time tracking for journaling and tracking how much time I spent on various categories of tasks during the day, such as identifying how much time I spend on social media.

Recently I’ve been using this time tracking method for billing and general time accounting. It helps with focus also. In days when many demands are competing for my attention, I can be more purposeful and intentional about how I’m spending each minute without getting overly fragmented.

Some tasks can be done in parallel. In general, multitasking can be done when the tasks use different parts of the brain and body. Here are some examples:

• Being on a phone call while going for a walk.
• Drinking coffee and reading a book.
• Driving and listening to an audio book.
• Doing dishes while having a conversation.
• Reading emails, eating breakfast, and listening to music.
• Listening to music while doing general housework or sorting papers.
• Talking to someone and using sign language to communicate with another person uses different areas of the brain. It’s a bit challenging, but possible.

There are some tasks, like walking in nature, that one may want to fully experience and enjoy without distractions. Or, giving someone your full attention. But other activities can be done in parallel.

The 1440 time tracking system allows for easily tracking two or three parallel tasks.

The tech support I provide typically requires 100% of my attention. If a computer is updating and I have a few minutes to do some other task, I can easily track my time to make sure I don’t bill for those non-work minutes.

While I work on a project, I can have my hands busy doing the work, while speaking and transcribing notes that describe the work being done. Emails, text messages, car mileage logs, screen shots, and sometimes photos of equipment are a few other ways I can keep track of the work I do. This helps me go back and review work, especially when further research and follow-up is needed.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

Greetings

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from a walk in Kent Park on 21 Dec 2024.

Tracing Back With Gratitude

In times of reflection, I like to think about positive things in my life and trace back to when, where, and why they began. It helps for understanding and is an opportunity for gratitude. Most of the habits and practices I benefit from and enjoy today have roots back to when I was a young person: bicycle riding, walks in nature, photography, writing, nutritional mindfulness, regular exercise, meditation, reading books, minimalism, contentment with simplicity.

What surprises me is that I don’t have a dozen different teachers, coaches, mentors, or celebrities, who influenced my life. There were moments and experiences:

• Sticking the rear wheel of my bicycle tire in the Missouri River at the start of a bike ride across Iowa that would run over 300 miles to the Mississippi River.
• Walking through a park in Washington, D. C. with winding dirt trails and a canopy of trees that, to me, was what I imagined a rain forest might look like.
• Learning about photography with an Olympus Pen EE film camera that would use 35mm film to take half-frame photos, turning a single 36 exposure roll of film into 72 photos.
• Learning about “jogging” for the first time, and realizing I was winded at and out of shape on my first attempt. I would eventually run as far as 21 miles.
• Learning to be an enthusiastic writer, revising and refining my writings with one of the first word processing programs.
• Having my mind and outlook challenged and expanded by reading eclectic books like Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.
• Meeting an Indian guru who taught me meditation when I was a young teenager.

There is a long list of these experiences where I have an image of a significant event in my life that sparked an interest in something good, and then many related experiences that followed.

There is one person who was present during every single one of the above mentioned significant life events: my father. Somehow, paradoxically, one of the busiest and most productive people I know, also had time for me and others.

There was a Zen-like simplicity, seemingly effortless, at suggesting a book to read, movie I might like, or a new activity. Yet these simple acts were very impactful.

There’s much to be grateful for, and as these experiences guide my own life, I look for ways to use the same kind of Zen-like simplicity to have a positive impact in the lives of people I know.

No New Year’s Resolution

When starting a new year, it is difficult not to reflect on possible changes for the year head. There is a lot of reinforcement around us for the practice of having New Year’s resolutions. I usually have some goals defined for the new year. However, this year, I decided to just wait and welcome whatever would come and let go of whatever would go.

A special offer on ebooks and audio books prompted me to think about reading as an alternative to social media — as task during break times, when resting the mind, or when waiting in line at the grocery store. I decided to choose some books that were life changing in my high school and college years. It’s been fun to read those books again after decades have passed, and see how they influenced my life.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is one of the books. I’m reading and listening to the Stephen Mitchell translation. It’s a poetic book of teachings and wisdom. I plan to write about the book at some point. One of the general teachings in the book is about how having defined goals may cause us to overlook opportunities and experiences that were not on our list. Instead, being open to what unfolds will help a person broaden their awareness and experiences. That teaching is expanded on in the Tao Te Ching, and it fits with my approach to entering the new year without a specific list of plans.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photo above is from a visit to the New Bo Market area in Cedar Rapids on 26 Nov 2024.

Google Maps – Photos and Reviews

In the photo above, the “Hose Co. No. 4” building is Scribe Stationer — a stationery store with journals, pens, candles, tins, art supplies and more. The tiny green house is an historic structure and Airbnb location. I’ll share some more photos below. These are examples of the photos I post to Google maps, along with reviews of stores, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and other destinations.

I have over 9,300 total photos shared to Google Maps. In November there were 2.3 million new views of my reviews and photos. As of December, there have been a cumulative total of 55.7 million views for the photos I’ve posted to Google Maps. The millions of views are the result of so many people using Google to lookup information about popular locations.

There’s nothing particularly spectacular about the photos, but they are useful to those who are looking up information. It’s a different style of photography than my usual nature photos.

Click on any photo below for a larger gallery view.

WRITING TOPICS

I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.

TECH WRITING

If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site. 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]