Category: Uncategorized

Smart phones are attached to us at all time. When we have a moment of free time, we pull them out. Have to go to the bathroom, we take them out. Walking the dog, we take them out. There is no reason that we are doing so, but we do it anyway. We want to find something to give us another hit. I am guilty of this myself. I have come up with a plan to overcome this issue, and there is a reason to do so. Not to fight back against Apple, or Google, or big tech. But to get your life back. To think clear again, to have more time to do what you really want, and to have a moment to yourself.

I decided to call it Intermittent Phoning, yes it is based off of Intermittent Fasting. The idea is simple, I use my phone during certain hours of the day. I wait until noon to look at my phone, and I am done with it by 9pm. I also don’t let myself consume any media (music, podcast, video) until 3pm. I find that doing so allows me to think clearer throughout the day. I am not going to sit here and make it seem like this will change your life. But I find it helpful. I find myself less stressed out, and I don’t find my mind racing. I also find that I focus better. I know when I am working on something I can’t escape to my phone, which we have come so accustomed to. And if I’m not busy, I do what I really want to do with my free-time. I pick up my guitar instead of picking up my phone. Imagine if every time you would have pulled out your phone, you instead picked up a book, how many more books would you have read?

By following this schedule, I find my time more directed when I do use my phone. There is certainly useful stuff on our phones. But when I give myself full rein to do what I want, I spend a lot of time doing useless stuff. When I only have a certain amount of time, I focus on what I want to get done. I answer emails that need to be answered, I book reservations, I buy the vitamins I forgot to order.

The idea is simple, but the outcome will compound, especially if you are someone who uses their phone for many hours a day. Gaining back a few hours everyday to focus on what you want to get done and need to get done adds up quickly. Give it a try, the worst thing that could happen is you miss a few hours of your Tik Tok feed.                                                                              

A Holy Week Amid a National Tribulation

I get the Wall Street Journal delivered every Saturday. Reading the paper, one of my old man hobbies. There’s something extremely enjoyable about reading the newspaper. The feel, the smell, everything about it is awesome. I really enjoy the crossword puzzles too.

I enjoyed this piece, it ties together what is currently going on in the world with Holy Week and Easter. I don’t have much to add, it was just a feel-good article for me.

Smittens Carrot Cake

I have continued to try new baking recipes. I enjoy cooking, but I can’t get to the grocery store for ingredients right now. For Easter, I decided to bake my first carrot cake. I couldn’t have asked for it to come out any better. The ends also got caramelized and made then a little crunch, which was awesome. The most difficult part of this recipe was grating the carrots. It was a pretty good rotator cuff workout though. My shoulders can definitely use that.

I decided not to make the Maple frosting and went with a traditional cream cheese frosting. For the frosting, I went with the recipe from Joy of Baking.

Disney +

I don’t usually watch movies or TV shows. I watch some sports, but I just find my time better spent doing other things. Now with some extra time on my hands and looking for a good way to spend time with my girlfriend, we took to watching movies on Disney+.

We set a goal to watch all of the classic Disney animated movies. We are both 90’s kids so watching these movies is so nostalgic and brings back memories. So far we have watched Hercules, Aladdin, Lilo & Stitch, and Wreck-it Ralph (this isn’t a classic but still really good).

Watching movies on Disney+ has been a great way to relax. I haven’t been in the mood to watch or read anything serious. Along with that, the older Disney movies are great. They have great stories and great characters. I always have to point out the things in the movies made before the 2000’s that would offend 1/4 of the US now.

Beer of the Week: Port City Golden Export Lager

Port City, located in Alexandria, VA, has a lager series going where they release a lager every 4-8 weeks. Each lager they release differs from the others, and they seem to be brewed based on the season that it will be released. More info about the lager series can be found here, but this is what they have to say about the Export Lager:

ABV: 5.8%

Based on the blonde export lagers invented in late-19th century Germany, our Golden Export Lager balances a subtly sweet, toasty malt character with spicy, floral hops. Slightly stronger than the related Helles and Pilsner styles, Golden Export still aims to refresh.

I enjoyed this beer a lot. It’s a pretty refreshing beer while still having some alcohol going on. It also has some spice that reminds me of a Marzen, a beer meant for the fall. I feel its perfect for early spring, where some days it’s warm and some days it’s cold, and it tends to rain a lot. I called it the “perfect deer hunting beer”

I am going to publish an article every Friday about some things that I came across from the previous week. This is inspired by the Ben Shapiro Show where he has a segment of things he likes and things he hates. So without further ado:

King Arthur No-Knead White Bread 

With the COVID-19 shelter-in-place still in effect, I have been cooking a lot. I figured I would try my hand at making bread. This was my first time making bread and it came out amazing. I have been using it with for sandwiches, toast with eggs, or just with butter and jam.

For someone who never made bread before it was super simple. All that was needed (kneaded?) was all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, and water. I cold fermented this one for 24 hours, which is what they recommend, although you can do less if you are in a rush, and up to 7 days. The loaf that I am baking this weekend will cold ferment for 4 days. They said that it will have more of a sourdough taste if it sits longer.

Sandbag Training

With my gym being closed for a month, I decided I needed to get weights for my apartment. All the kettlebells, dumbbells, plates, and even pullup bars are sold out.

I ordered a large canvas seabag from Amazon. I also got three 0.5 cu ft bags of pea gravel, contractor bags, and duct tape from Home Depot. Altogether I spent $40, $20 at each store.

Three 0.5 cu ft bags of pea gravel is about 150lbs. I divided the pea gravel up into different garbage bags by weight. Two 50lbs garbage bags, 25lb bag, two 10lb bags. I then wrapped the bags in duct tape to reinforce them. I can now put the bags I want into the sea bag. This allows me to adjust the weight based on the exercise I am doing.

The sandbag is no barbell but I can still have a solid workout with it

Trikos Team Dog

I adopted a dog last week and I am learning more effective ways to train him. I came across former Navy Seal Mike Ritland on Youtube. That then led me to his site teamdog.pet. I paid $6.50 for the month. It is usually $12.99 but I was easily able to get a 50% off coupon online.

So far the videos have taught me a ton. Everything from training, to nutrition, and so on. It is a bit overwhelming because it seems like you need to make a complete lifestyle change with your dog, but just need to take it slow.

It is great for puppies, newly adopted dogs, and even an older dog.

Beer of the Week: Von Trapp Helles Lager

Von Trapp is a brewery in Vermont, with a focus on Austrian lagers. Their Helles lager is a crisp, clean beer, with some interesting flavor and a little hop aroma. I called it a really good party beer. It’s a crushable, light beer with really good flavor.