POTD – 12/365

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Fresh

In remembrance.

I’m not one to post very personal things to social media, I’m just not – never have been/never will be, for reasons I need not get into here. In this case I will make an exception.

Today marks two years since my father passed away. I have very fond memories of him, and like with many fathers and sons, things happen where the agreement of things don’t occur 100% of the time, but I will say this – he always provided for me in a great number ways, and has been there. The photo above was a small memorial ceremony, held at my uncle’s house – the releasing of balloons in remembrance of him

You’re still missed.

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POTD – 11/365

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Fresh

…and you’re complaining about that download time, huh?

So, yeah… New Year’s Day, early in the wee hours of the morning, there was a celebration of another type going on at my job. The photo above explains it all – it’s a certificate marking a historic event of a flyby of a mission by NASA and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.

In short, I’ll explain what happens next, a process that is typical of all space missions that gather images for relay back to earth for science processing. Such images are stored on the spacecraft, just as you would save them to your mobile device, computer, or the cloud, until transmission to earth takes place. The New Horizon spacecraft has SSD (solid state drives – hard drives) that store the images taken of Ultimate Thule as the flyby occurred. In this case, during the flyby, it was known that the spacecraft would “go dark” (meaning that there would be no communications with Earth) as the camera was taking the photos – all could go successfully or there could be any kind of anomaly – either way neither could be known in dark mode. Fortunately, communication back to Earth after the flyby sequence essentially meant the spacecraft saying “Hey, my SSD is full and I’m going to start sending you images back to you!” – which is just what began happening. The interesting thing with the design of this is NASA wanted to study the images as soon as possible BUT in order to do so, low resolution images are the first to be sent because of their size with respect to the distance from Earth the spacecraft is. It will be *two years* from now until any hi-res images will reach Earth. So…the next time you’re crying about how lonnnnnng it’s taking to download your file (raises hands)….think about the Ultima Thule images 😏🙂.

Peace…

Fresh

Posted in Daily Musings, Photography, Spaceflight and Space Exploration, Technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

POTD – 10/365

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Fresh

Playing the numbers…

Greetings good people.

I’ve never purchased a lottery ticket, but definitely been “living by the numbers” for almost ten years.

I have been working out in the gym, solely (aside from those varied hiatuses) with pen and pad, pretty much regularly after college. The Nike+ iPod Fitness tracking system made me start tracking runs way back in July 2010, when I read a cover story in this July 2009 issue of Wired Magazine. I had never run before hand, but got sold on the concept, especially being a data hound, naturally. I went from the Nike+ iPod system to the NikeFuel Band to the Fuel Band plus the Apple Watch, and after Nike retired Fuel Band use, it’s down to the Apple Watch.

I’ve always been a data trend head and fitness trackers readily provide you with such data instantly. That aspect has been, and is, more desirable than the more seemingly popular “gamification” of fitness tracking. As saud above, I’m using the Apple Watch as my only fitness tracker now and I’m one of five admins in the Apple Watch Fitness Fan Facebook Group.

Similarly, I’ve jumped on the self-quantification bandwagon (albeit mildly) using the Gyroscope app. I like what it offers but just can’t jump in with both feet for reasons that would better be explained elsewhere.

I’m still part of the Nike+ posse. If you train with the Nike Run Club or Nike Training apps or use Gyroscope, feel free to follow me, I’m @ Mr. Fresh on both platforms. Information links are below.

Blessings,
Fresh.

References
1. Nike Training Club
3. NikeFuel Band (now discontinued)
4. Nike+ iPod Run Tracking
5. Gyroscope – The Operating System For The Human Body
6. Apple Watch – Fitness – Close Your Rings

Posted in Daily Musings, Fitness/Training/Nutrition, Nike Fuel, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

POTD – 9/365

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Fresh

“Things that make you go hmmmm…”

Greetings readers….

As I was writing checks to mail some bills to be paid (yes I still write checks AND use the USPS to pay bills🤣), I saw, what I’ve seen since I’ve been paying bills, on the back of this envelope below…

For some reason, for the first time, I was like…”Why have I seen this on bills and bill envelopes all my life….who in their right mind would try to pay a debt with stamps?”

Enter our friend, Google Search. Turns out, it appears stamps were considered legal tender in the US, according to the Stamp Payment Act is 1862:

The Stamp Payments Act of 1862–“Section 1 of the Act provided for the use of postage stamps as currency for government debts valued at less than five dollars. “

Postage stamps have served as money in areas as diverse as America, Europe, and the Far East. During the American Civil War merchants, struggling with a shortage of small coins, began the practice of making small change with postage stamps. Daily purchases of stamps increased fivefold in New York City alone, and individual stamps circulated until they became too dirty and tattered for recognition. John Gault, a Boston sewing-machine salesman, proposed the encasement of stamps in circular metal discs with transparent mica on one side showing the face of the stamp. Soon the metal side of the discs was bearing inscriptions of advertisements; one series of encased stamps bore the slogan, “Ayer’s Sarsaparilla to Purify the Blood.” Denominations of encased stamp money ranged from 1 cent to 90 cents, and one rectangular encasement had three 3-cent stamps, making a 9-cent coin.

The government took up the idea of postage money and begin issuing postage currency in denominations of 5-, 10-, 15-, and 50-cent stamps, and some of the postage currency was even perforated around the edges to resemble stamps. The postage currency soon dropped any association with postage stamps and became simple fractional currency in denominations of 3 cents to 50 cents and bearing the inscription “Receivable for all U.S. stamps.”

It appears that this act has never been repealed, such that now, creditors must dictate that cash or stamps can’t be sent as payment for a debt.

Interesting….

Enjoy your day/night

Doug

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POTD – 8/365

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Fresh

“Coffee, tea or…”

Greetings all….

Some of you remember the rest of that cheeky line often said by stewardesses (yes I’m saying “stewardess” vs “flight attendant” for a reason) in TV and movies back in the day.

I’m one of the minority that never regularly drank coffee. Not to say I NEVER drank it at all, but not as the norm. Tea has always been my drink. Not being a tea connoisseur, I don’t drink many different kinds nor do fresh brew from tea leaves, etc. Bag tea works, and while Lipton regular tea is high in antioxidants, I like Tetley better.

This morning it was bottoms up for sure – Lipton was the choice (’cause someone drank all the Tetley in our kitchenette at work🙄)

Seize the day…

Peace,

Doug

Posted in Daily Musings, Photography, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

POTD – 7/365

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Fresh

Bottoms Up!

While waiting in Miami for my connecting flight to Maryland from Jamaica, I spied this present reminder of Southwest Airlines commitment to customer service. The bright blue popped as I wondered what the word “comat” meant. I should know as I used to work for Continental Airlines in the late 80’s, for a hot second.

Have a great day!

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POTD – 6/365

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Fresh

Greetings all…

Well, winter is well underway, complete with associated temperatures in many places. For those experiencing those temps, are you ready for summer yet?

The pic below was taken from my driveway almost three years ago to the day. For a cold day, it was a really nice sunset that caught my eye as I got out of the car. Sunset colors can, at times, be invitingly vibrant. I don’t recall seeing similar during the last few winters, but will definitively be on the lookout.

Hope you had a good first weekend of the new year.

Peace,

Doug

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POTD – 5/365

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Fresh

“Get away, let’s leave today, let’s get away!
Let’s leave today, let’s get away
Let’s get away!
Let’s leave today, let’s get away”

ThIs is the lyrical hook to Earth, Wind & Fire’s smash 1977 hit “Getaway”, the essence of something I think about all too often but hardly get a chance to do, or so it seems.

You know how it is, the daily grind-never enough hours in the day- always have things to take care of-things.

I fully realize the importance of extended relax time, especially away from the major distractions we are presented with in this day and age. The key is to make that realization happen. This past July was one of those times…and much needed/appreciated.

Peace…

Doug

Posted in Daily Musings, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

POTD – 4/365

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Fresh

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road” – Jack Kerouac, On The Road

Greetings all.

In my 30 years of working as a professional, there was only a span of two years where I didn’t drive to work. That span of time, 1988 to 1990, was when first moved to Washington, DC (June 1988 to be exact). It was then I caught the Yellow Line from Gallery Place to Crystal City everyday. Other than that, I’ve driven with commute times as little as ten minute and as much as (with traffic on a bad day) 60 mins (I was stuck in the big snowstorm of 1998 between Reston and DC for 8 hours trying to drive home). After all these years, I’d easily sacrifice the sometime long waits for the subway train in order to relax on the way into work versus fighting with rush hour traffic, etc.

Today’s photo is en route home one afternoon from work. On a the best of days, it’s a 35 min commute, partially on the Beltway and I-95. This small stretch has many different looks. This one I caught was a quick minute emptiness ahead with the at just the right angle…before the rain…Hope you enjoy it.

Peace,

Doug

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POTD – 3/365

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Fresh

“…and on the third day…”

Greetings everyone. We’re just about at the tail end of the work week, and that’s a good thing (for me, anyway).

I run. I started running of my own volition in July 2010, when I started tracking my runs using the Nike+ iPod fitness tracking system. It’s really that technology which got me interested in fitness tracking to start with. Thing is, I’m not a runner…I don’t profess to, nor aspire to be one. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either, I do it solely, in short distances at a time, for the cardio aspect. That said, I’m all into Nike’s concept for fitness training and use their Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club apps both on my iPhone and Apple Watch. The watch has been my main tool for fitness tracking since July 2017 and I’m one of five admins in the Apple Watch Fitness Fans Group on Facebook. I’ve run only two 5Ks in the last eight years, BUT, I do believe there is an advantageous aspect to running for fitness (maybe I’ll come to love it more…but not more than bodybuilding/strength training💪🏽).

Whenever I do run outdoors, I choose the local community college track versus the neighborhood or trails. While I’m counting laps, monitoring my pace via visual cues from either mobile device, and tracking whatever improvement I hope to gain this time around, sometimes I see this gent in the photo below. While I am no way a fast runner, he is far slower than me, YET, he presses on with consistency, barely appearing to pick his feet up off of the asphalt, but nonetheless, maintaining his forward motion and progress.

 

Right now, I’m in the midst of completing a 15K Nike Run Club Challenge that started on 31 Dec, last month, and ends at 11:59pm on 6 Jan. I’m more than half way done, running every morning a little before I work out. This morning, during my run, he crossed my mind – as a dose of external motivation that fuels my internal inspiration.

Peace,
Doug

References:

1. Nike Run Club
2. Nike Training Club
3. Apple Watch Fitness Fans (Facebook)
4. Nike+ iPod Running

Posted in Daily Musings, Fitness/Training/Nutrition, Photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments