Category: news

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The photos this month (above and below) are from a visit to Kent Park on 15 Feb 2026.

Puppy — Teacher and Trainer

I just returned from a high intensity interval training workout with our puppy. He likes to walk slowly, and then periodically sprint up hills. Typically I let him choose when we go for a walk, the duration of the walks, and where we walk. The workout he’s chosen coincidentally is considered one of the best fitness exercises available.

Our puppy is a wonderful teacher … in fact… he doesn’t teach, he does. I know about the benefits of deep breathing and have studied the practice many times over the past 40 years, but it’s nice to have inspiration from someone who is a regular practitioner with perfect form. He likes to be held at about 4 feet in the air when the cold wind is blowing, so he can face into the wind and breathe the air. When he does this, I can feel him deeply filling his lungs as his chest expands out. He seems to combine the breathing practice with deep relaxation and meditation.

Throughout history, dogs have had an active role in spiritual life. According to Google,  “these dogs are historically linked to Asian monastic and spiritual gardens” …

• Shiba Inu: Often associated with Japanese Shinto shrines and traditional Zen gardens.
• Tibetan Spaniel: Bred as “little lions” to sit on monastery walls and turn prayer wheels.
• Lhasa Apso: Known as “Bark Lion Sentinels,” they guarded the interior of Tibetan temples.
• Pekingese: Considered sacred guardians in Chinese Buddhist temples.

In a pursuit of enlightenment, an alternative to having a dog living in the home would be to travel to Tibet and spend several years in a mountain monastery with Buddhist monks. Yet, that’s not a practical option for most people.

Dogs seem to bring a lot of insight and wisdom from their time in the wild that predates domestication (prior to 15,000 years ago). Given the length of time that dogs have had to evolve, you would think they’d be playing poker by now. Yet, instead, they choose to spend their days napping, going for walks, eating, socializing, playing, sleeping, and cuddling. They are either not very evolved, or, as I’m beginning to suspect… they are highly evolved and living an admirable lifestyle.

New Tech for New Challenges

I’ve recently upgraded all of my tech devices. I bought a new Apple laptop to replace my older Mac mini desktop computer. I also refreshed my aging iPhone and Apple Watch with current models. All of these devices now have extended battery life and fast recharging, which has been very helpful. Longer battery life allows for utilization from 20% to 80% while still having all-day operation. This results in batteries having a longer usable lifespan.

My life these days continues to be spontaneous, as I respond to our household needs, client tech requests, and the interests of our puppy. For video calls or phone calls, I will typically move to the living room to keep our main office quiet. Some of the tech work I do needs to be accomplished away from my desk while I’m mobile, out on service calls. On longer days and longer on-site support sessions, I’ll keep up with incoming emails and text messages throughout the day. So, the upgraded more mobile office has been essential.

Increasing Costs

Over the past few years, some of the services I rely on have doubled in cost from one year to the next, in some cases, year after year. To keep up with what seems like 100% inflation, I’ve worked more hours. I feel sorry for people who already have two or three jobs, and are struggling to get by. Other services are experiencing 50% inflation, such as the recent increase of a Microsoft 365 subscription from $100 per year to $150 per year.

Some of the price jumps seem unnecessary, arbitrary, and artificial. The cost for a gallon of milk recently went from $10 to $20 per gallon overnight, and stayed at that price, then dropped down to $10 per gallon again. At that price, a 42 gallon barrel of milk would be $420 to $840 depending on the price of milk in any given week. That’s for specialty grass fed local organic milk. By comparison, a 42 gallon barrel of oil is about $65 right now. The milk I buy is the store brand from a local grocery store. I’m using this example of pricing for specialty milk as an illustration of price fluctuations.

In recent years, we’ve seen flareups of global instability which impact the supply chain of electronics resulting in unexpected shortages of availability and increases in costs. There’s a rash of military conflicts happening again this week. I sense that such instability can have unpredictable outcomes for finance and other areas of life.

Last week, on February 25, I went to fill my car with gas. The price on the pump was $2.80 / gal. for the cheap gas and $3.50 / gal. for premium. I kept driving instead of filling up. I’d heard that gas prices in Iowa were at $1.85 per gallon, and I was determined to save that $15 on my next fill-up. I drove further and found the cheapest gas in our area which is about $2.36 per gallon for the store brand station. I didn’t have time to do a deep dive into the nuances and subtleties of politics and gas prices. Apparently I’d need to buy a new car designed to run on the $1.85 per gallon (E85) gas before I could benefit from the savings. The break even return on investment could be 7 years. Last week, I simply needed to fill the tank on the car I have and don’t have time to look into a long-term investment.

So, I’ve been working on accommodating market fluctuations and making my work sustainable while continuing to provide affordable tech support for the people in my community.

The sliding scale I use for my business is still based on the rate structure that I established in the 1990s. These days I’m using the sliding rate structure for profit sharing and rewarding customers for certain goals such as sustainability (making older computers run longer), digital literacy (learning), self-solving problems, and checking with me about possible scams (pop-ups, emails, and text messages). I reward people for these things.

Adjusting Workload for Long Term

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, my workload increased significantly. I began working 16 to 20 hours a day to keep up. Some days, a flood of phone calls, emails, and text messages would result in a flurry of activity. Handling the tech crisis needs of many people can be like working in an ER during a hurricane. I go from one urgent support call to another. Placing a priority on helping those in need, the administrative tasks pile up until the rare slow days provide an opportunity to get caught up a little.

Now, after 5 years, I’ve begun feeling some fatigue and exhaustion creep in. Going forward, I know it’s not sustainable to maintain this level of work, so I’ve been reducing the number of people and businesses I serve. I’m now focusing primarily on the people I’ve been serving for the past 20 to 30 years.

I’ve let go of some business customers since those can have unplanned urgent big support needs that disrupt a dozen other service calls. For requests from potential new customers, I am referring many of those people to other providers in the area — unless it’s a simple request. I’ve been supporting and encouraging local public initiatives that foster digital literacy and access to tech support, such as Repair Café and also tech classes through the Iowa City Public Library.

I appreciate the flexibility and understanding of many people during the recent months. I look forward to being refreshed to serve a smaller number of people better.

Burn Out and Battery Depletion

On a few occasions, I’ve attempted to start our car and found that the battery was depleted down to almost nothing. We have a portable jump starter, so I’ve been able to get it charged up again. Eventually, too many occurrences of battery drain will damage the chemical composition of a battery and it will need to be replaced.

I’ve had many days when I feel like my body and mind are at 10% and I keep pushing forward through the day. Something important to me is that I serve people with focus, attention, clarity of mind, and sustained strength. So, even when I feel exhausted, I reach deep down and give everything I can with a genuine smile.

The adjustments I’m making now to reduce my workload will hopefully allow me to not repeatedly work to and through exhaustion. I don’t want to reach the point of permanent burnout where I can’t recharge. I’ve seen that happen to people.

Health Hazards of Tech Work

Years ago I read a startling article about the dangers of tech work. To refresh my memory on the topic, I searched Google just now and found a good summary: “IT work poses significant health hazards primarily due to sedentary behavior, poor ergonomics, and high mental stress. Common risks include musculoskeletal disorders (neck/back pain), repetitive strain injuries (RSI), eye strain, obesity, and cardiovascular issues.” [Source Report]

I’ve used exercise, motivational music, and nature to bring balance to my tech work. I hope to keep that up moving forward.

To address concerns of repetitive strain injuries, I use a mouse and a trackpad simultaneously, switching off from my left hand to my right hand. So, by the end of a 20-hour workday, I would have only 10 hours of strain on my hands. Apple computers have a system-wide voice to text function so much writing can be done by speaking. This further allows for resting the hands. There is also a system-wide easy zoom feature to adjust the entire viewing area regardless of the current program, app, or task. All of these things help reduce fatigue.

Monthly Tasks

There are about a dozen monthly tasks that I try to get started on at the start of each month. When my monthly newsletter is posted in the last hours or minutes of the last day of the month, that reflects how it’s sometimes a struggle to get everything done each month. This month, I’m trying to get an early start on the task list to help reduce pressure at the end of the month to get everything done.

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]

Featured Photos

Below are the featured photos for this month. They are from a visit to Kent Park on 15 Feb 2026.

GREETINGS

Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well. The featured photos for this month are from a visit to Kent Park on 31 Jan 2026.

Puppy Life — Feeling Relaxed

Upon arriving home with our adopted puppy, I wanted the experience to be smooth as possible with minimal disruption for the puppy. I thought one way to do that would be to sleep on the floor next to him — as would be typical for a family of dogs. He seemed to welcome that little bit of continuity. The second element of familiarity would be to initially spend time together — napping, playing outside, eating, running errands, and sleeping. He seemed to like that togetherness.

The arrival of the puppy seemed to be perfect timing. I had a light workload due to the holidays and was ready to get some rest. Nothing is more restful than taking a nap next to a puppy for a day … or two … or three.

After a few days, I began to sense a feeling similar to being sedated or having a rise in the body’s dopamine levels. So, I asked Google, “Does the human body release a drug when spending a lot of time with a puppy?”

The answer came back:

Yes, your body releases a natural “feel-good” hormone called oxytocin when you spend time with a puppy. Often referred to as the “love hormone” or “cuddling chemical,” oxytocin is the same substance responsible for bonding between mothers and infants. Interacting with a puppy—or even just making eye contact—triggers several physiological changes:

• Oxytocin Spike: Increases feelings of trust, relaxation, and empathy.
• Lower Cortisol: Reduces the body’s primary stress hormone.
• Dopamine & Serotonin: Boosts these neurotransmitters, which help regulate mood and combat depression.

The response from Google went on to explain: “Research shows this chemical reaction is mutual; your puppy’s oxytocin levels typically rise during these interactions as well.”

I’ve seen mother dogs appear to be in a similar relaxed state around their puppies. They also seem to lose interest in anything except caring for their puppies, which is probably a result of the hormones described above. A squirrel or rabbit could go past them and they’d ignore it, preferring to stay with their puppies. That’s what I was feeling. I no longer had a dozen interests, but was focused on the puppy.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

When I was growing up, probably between the ages of 5 and 7, after school I would walk up the street to the top of the hill to visit a neighbor’s house where I would watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and other Public Television after school shows.

As I recall, that neighbor had a color TV set, which would not be common until a few years later. At that time, most TVs were black and white. The show began broadcasting in color on February 10, 1969, starting with its second season. Mister Rogers had a captivating and thought provoking way of story telling. I really enjoyed his show. He had a positive message and taught people to be kind to others, as well as teaching about other values and virtues.

At that age, the brain is still developing, and, according to Google, the brain can “physically reorganize and strengthen neural pathways based on environmental input. This process, known as experience-dependent plasticity, allows specific regions to expand or refine when stimulated by activities like music, language, or visual arts.”

So, for children growing up learning the positive messages from Mister Rogers and similar shows, their brains would “strengthen neural pathways based on [that] environmental input.”

It seems possible that people who are taught to value kindness and empathy may react more strongly when they see those traits exemplified in puppies and dogs, thus amplifying the changes in oxytocin, cortisol, dopamine, and serotonin described above. That might explain why I was feeling even more relaxed than might be expected.

Mother Dog Mindset

After a few days, when I first spent an hour away from the puppy, I noticed the severe relaxation lift a little bit, and I was able to get some work done.

However, I wanted to maintain that ‘mother dog mindset’ because I felt it was important for puppy parenting. With that sedated puppy-focused mindset, having the initial puppy pee or poop on the carpet didn’t really bother me. If things got chewed and destroyed, I wasn’t bothered. Spending every waking and sleeping hour with the puppy didn’t seem like too much of a commitment.

At one point, after some wrestling with the puppy, one of his sharp teeth grazed my head and left a cut that seemed like it might need stitches. I was a little concerned about a possible infection, such as sepsis, so I went to Urgent Care to have that looked at. They said it should heal up okay and told me to watch out for any signs of infection.

About a week later, I ended up in the ER from a severe case of dizziness, which I thought might just be some type of unrelated vertigo. Given the possibility of a serious antibiotic-resistant infection (MRSA), the team of masked medical specialists went to work quickly doing a full blood workup, testing for any heart issues, and running me through an MRI to check for any brain related causes. All the test results came back indicating that I’m in great health. So, that’s good news. The vertigo took a few weeks to completely go away.

These trips to Urgent Care and the ER were mellowed by the mother dog mindset. I wasn’t frustrated.

I found that taking occasional breaks from the puppy seemed to help reduce the dizziness. The puppy smell is part of what seemed to contribute to the dizziness. That smell diminishes over time, but initially is strong. It’s a calming smell, similar to what dog or cat paws smell like. We were initially spending 24 hours a day with the puppy, and because he’s a small breed, he often sleeps near one’s head. This is combined with the puppy nose pushed into one’s ear and quietly snoring, it becomes like a multi-sensory puppy experience.

So, imagine puppy cuteness, puppy empathy, puppy smell, tiny nose and snoring sounds. I think just about anyone would get dizzy with all that.

Calculating Dog Years

A Google query on calculating dog years reports: “The American Kennel Club states that the first year is ~15 human years, the second is ~9, and each subsequent year is ~4–5.”

After bringing the puppy home, in the initial 24 to 48 hours, I began to notice the puppy had some interesting behaviors. Because Google didn’t exist in the years when I was younger, it wasn’t possible to ask AI about animal behavior. I’ve been a renter over the past 26 years, and the properties where I rented did not allow pets, and I didn’t have a pet since prior to the Internet. This was my first pet in the internet era.

Today, AI can review all known writings, research, and knowledge to answer just about any question about puppy behavior. I learned that there are many instinctual behaviors of dogs that were established prior to domestication, more than 15,000 years ago.

So, basically the best way to calculate the age of a dog is to take its current age according to human years, and add 15,000 years to it. Then the behavior of puppies and dogs make more sense.

Zen Puppy

In the first days, on a trip to the back yard, in the snow and cold, I opened the door for the puppy to go outside and go to the bathroom. He stopped in the doorway, closed his eyes, and breathed in the cold air. He seemed to meditate there in the doorway. Then he went outside a short distance, stopped, sat in a certain spot, and just breathed in the cold air deeply while looking off into the distance for a period of time.

He has a very Zen-like way of living in the moment. Given that he can draw from instincts that are 15,000 years old, his “moment” spans thousands of years. At least, this is how I like to think of it.

I decided instead of teaching him our ways, I’d try to learn more about his ways. Having a friend who is like a Zen master with 15,000 years of insight is a great opportunity for growth.

Puppy Life — Health Impact

Since the start of the pandemic, in March 2020, my workload increased. To keep up with the demand, I would typically go to sleep at 9 PM or 10 PM and then wake up about 4 or 5 hours later. It was common to have a 16-20 hour work day.

Rather than teach the puppy all of my bad habits, I waited to see what his routine and interests would be. Eating, napping, playing, going for walks, and sleeping fill most of his day.

Now I’m typically going to bed at 8PM and getting out of bed around 7AM. Within that timeframe I sometimes get 8-10 hours of sleep. The puppy doesn’t like it if I don’t stick to that schedule. So, I’m sleeping when he sleeps, going for walks when he wants to go for walks, and mostly eating meals on his schedule — morning, noon, and end of day.

Even with his bathroom breaks during the night, my wellness tracker reported that my sleep duration and quality had gone up. The puppy-induced relaxation made it easy to go back to sleep. My weight is down to the lowest it’s been in a long time. I’ve lost about 45 pounds in recent years, but had reached a plateau that was hard to break through. Finally I’ve gone below that weight. I got an alert on my smartphone telling me my screen time was down 78% from the previous week (a result of having the mother dog mindset). From my trip to the ER, I learned that my blood oxygen has increased, my blood pressure is down, my relaxing pulse is down, and other vitals are looking good.

The puppy has really had a positive life-changing impact. He’s an inspiration and fund to spend time with.

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 sunset photo above is from 4 Dec 2025 on returning home from an on-site service call.

Busy Start to New Year

As with last month’s newsletter, this month I’ve been so busy that I’ve not had much time to dedicate to writing. I hope to get caught up with sharing some news next month.

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 sunset photo above is from 11 Nov 2025 on returning home from a rural service call.

Year-End Tasks

In past years, the period of time from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year’s Eve would be quiet for me, and an opportunity to catch up on year-end paperwork. However, in recent years, my work tends to get busier at the end of the year. I hope to adapt to the trend in the year ahead by doing more of my administrative tasks and billing in the moment rather than waiting for the elusive ‘down-time’ that seems to happen less often. I’ll plan to take time in January to close out my remaining 2025 tasks.

Puppy

After many years living in apartments that didn’t allow pets, we now have our own home and we finally have a puppy who is a great source of inspiration. We’re focused right now on all the work involved with raising a puppy, in addition to the joy they bring. I plan to share more in the months ahead.

Two Offices

We’re feeling more settled now with our new (to us) home. It took a while to unpack and also get some the needed repairs and upkeep done.

I have two small work areas which are in different rooms — each optimized for specific work.

My main office area is where much of my administrative work gets done, such as remote support calls, responding to emails, scanning papers, and other tasks that can be done while at my desk.

My other work area is for the tasks I do that require special tools, cables, parts, and equipment. It tends to be a little more cluttered, but that allows me to find most of what I need when setting up computers or making repairs. The second office area is optimized for that kind of work.

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 10 Oct 2025 taken while out on a service call.

Keeping Busy With Home and Work

My tech work and home chores / repairs have been keeping me quite busy these days. I’ll report more in the December newsletter about all that.

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 21 Sep 2025 taken on a drive through the Oakdale campus.

Returning to Routine

October was spent unpacking and settling in after our big move in September. In the past few weeks I’ve been returning to a normal work schedule and routine. I appreciate everyone being patient with my limited availability over the past two months during our move.

I originally planned to setup a Google business listing for our new location, but I really want to be available for the people who I already serve. There are a few hundred people who currently rely on me for tech support. While some days are slower than others, I could benefit from having some additional time to keep up with the administration of running a business. I also want to be available when people reach out for tech help.

In recent years, to maintain availability, I’ve mostly been referring callers to local service providers depending on their needs. In-warranty repairs and services are only available through authorized sources, so I help people make contact with those who can provide that support. For people associated with the University of Iowa, I try to connect them with on-campus resources.

For many calls I get, people just want some reassurance about their tech problems, or guidance about next steps. Many of the support requests that come in can be solved in a few minutes or less. This helps me preserve my time for the people who regularly rely on me.

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 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]