"The Door to December" by Dean Koontz

I recently finished reading "The Door to December" by Dean Koontz. I have been a fan of his for many years (ever since I read "Lightning"), and this book is a great read. It explores the effects of scientific experimentation mixing the occult and paranormal phenomena. This is a definite page-turner from start to end.

The Minimalists

Have you heard of minimalism? I briefly mentioned it in my 2014 Challenges post.

I first became aware of minimalism through Leo Babauta at Zen Habits. Then I was introduced to the Minimalists website ran by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.

When Joshua and Ryan announced their 2014 Tour and I found they were coming to Columbia, I volunteered to help anyway I could. So I will be taking pictures of their visit. They will be in Columbia on May 17 and in Charleston on May 18. Tickets are free! :-)

Joshua and Ryan recently started a new Minimalists Meetup site. I applied and was selected to be the leader for the Columbia group. We plan on meeting at least once per month to talk about making our life's better through minimalism.

Come join us! It is free. It is simple.

Picture of the Day: 2014-01-05

It is (about) time: more minimalism.

These two clocks (with batteries that have been dead long ago) have been sitting on a bookshelf for years. They will now go to charity. Part of the steps to rid our home of unused, unneeded "stuff".

(Sorry the picture is blurry — probably all the dust on the items. <G>)



Picture of the Day by Victor Gascon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://gasconjedi.blogspot.com/.

Picture of the Day: 2014-01-04

My new desktop: clean, uncluttered

I have finally cleaned my desk. It is now fairly uncluttered. I installed a new LED light so that I can see better when it is dark. I keep my water bottle near all the time.

I use a traditional Day-Timer and my electronic calendar to stay organized. I accomplish more when I write tasks and appointments down by hand. I once was completely electronic (I loved my Palm Pilot) but things have changed and I find myself better off this way. But I am also sure things will change again and I may go completely electronic in the future.


Picture of the Day by Victor Gascon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://gasconjedi.blogspot.com/.

Picture of the Day: 2014-01-03

Running at Sesqui State Park - no danger of me exceeding the speed limit. :-)

View from new bridge at Sesqui State Park

One of the many pleasures of running is being able to capture great pictures. Even if you don't run, just walking outdoors will present you with many photo opportunities.

Have you noticed that no two sunsets are quite the same?


Picture of the Day by Victor Gascon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://gasconjedi.blogspot.com/.

Picture of the Day: 2014-01-02

Minimalism, step 1: five bags, one room

The kids and I cleaned out our guest room. This donation went to the Kidney Foundation. One room down, several more to go.


Picture of the Day by Victor Gascon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://gasconjedi.blogspot.com/.

Picture of the Day: 2014-01-01

Today, I have two pictures to share with you.

January 1 run with the Columbia Running Club! Great way to start the new year!

All structures are unstable, impermanent.

As I was running I came upon the above structure and could not help but to think of Eckhart Tolle's story of unstable structures.

Licensing:
 
Picture of the Day by Victor Gascon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://gasconjedi.blogspot.com/.

2014 Challenges

Happy 2014!

Here are my challenges for the new year. These are my opportunities for growth in 2014.

1. Picture of the Day: I will publish at least one picture evey day. I am undertaking this challenge in memory of my friend David Martin who passed away unexpectedly in 2009 at the young age of 39. He had started a similar challenge back then.
2. Daily Blogging: I currently have five blogs, and I will update at least one of these every day.
• Victor's Journey: my personal blog (which you are currently reading)
• Victor's Technology Corner: a blog about computers and technology in general
• Fitness is LIFE!: a journal about fitness and health
• My fitness blog at SparkPeople
• Motivate, inspire … live!: a blog about my public speaking journey
3. By December 2016, I will be back at 180 pounds and be fit and healthy. I will do so by:
• Exercising daily
• Eating healthy
• Resting enough
• Recording my activities and nutrition using SparkPeople
4. I will be more active in minimalism and will remove at least one thing I do not need from my life everyday.

Thanks for sharing my journey!

PS: I am pre-dating this post so that future posts can make sense. For example, I already took the pictures for several days and will be posting them separately.