When at the mechanic, jog

I took my daughter's car to the mechanic this morning to fix an oil leak. The shop said it would take about two hours. What to do while they worked on "Baby"?

Go jog!

I missed this morning's run, so this was my opportunity to make that up. I used the same Podrunner track that I listened to yesterday, with which I jogged at a 19 minute mile pace. Today, however, with similar weather conditions, I logged a 3.3 mile circuit at a 17:30 minute mile.

Yesterday's Jog

Today's Jog #1


My plan was to jog all around the shopping center near our mechanic until I reached Starbucks. After claiming my free drink and taking an appropriate break to give the mechanic time to finish the work, I would then jogged back to the shop to get the car. I am writing this first draft as I enjoy my latte and feel great joy for the first 3.37 miles of the day.

After a nice break at Starbucks, I jogged the rest of the way back to the mechanic, about 1.47 miles at a slightly slower pace (17:49 minute mile):

Today's Jog #2

So, when you are waiting for something, consider going for a walk instead of sitting around.

The Daily - Sunday, October 7, 2018 (AM)

SHORT RUN BETTER THAN NO RUN

This morning's jog was short (less than a mile) and that's OK. At least I was able to get out there and log some time on the road. This, of course, does not preclude a longer run later this afternoon or evening. Or perhaps I will use mowing the lawn as my cardio for today. Or maybe I will do both. Let's see what the energy level is as the day progresses.

USE A PASSWORD MANAGER!

In several of the security-related podcasts I listen to there have been in-depth analysis of the state of password security and why it is impossible for humans to produce (much less remember) hundreds of random-character passwords that are safe to use. The only solution: use a password manager. I have been using an old password manager called PINs. Although it is an older Windows-based program, I have been able to successfully run it under Linux. If you have an older system and you want a fast and low-resource password manager, then PINs maybe a good choice for you. I have been able to run it from a USB drive for years, although this has been curtailed as many environments no longer allow USB devices to connect to their machines.

Another password manager I think is worth considering is Keepass. This application is free, open source, and runs in Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, and other platforms.

Many security experts recommend Lastpass as one of the best password managers. The fact that you can have one account and all your passwords are accessible anywhere you log in (home, work, smartphone, tablet, etc.) is a great feature.

In the past, security experts had recommended using a root part of a password with a variable portion to make passwords easier to remember. For example, you could use something like "Mypass" + "Face" + "99" to make up a password for Facebook. Hackers have figured this scheme out and, experts indicate, using this makes it easier for a hacker to break into other accounts once they have one of your passwords.

The best approach:use a password manager and generate random-character passwords for each site/application, and make each password at least 16 characters long. Passwords should contain upper and lower cases, numbers, and special characters. Just as important: change your critical account passwords every three to six months. A password manager can alert you when a password needs to be updated. All websites allow you to change your password as long as you can provide your current password. Changing your passwords regularly prevents hackers from breaking into your accounts using old lists of hacked passwords that are readily available for sale.

The Daily - Saturday, October 6, 2018

NO MORNING EDITION

The morning edition today just did not happen. Don't get me wrong. There was time to get it done. There was material to get it done. There was no energy to get it done. And, to be honest, I felt free to skip it. The advantage of having a small, unpaid membership is that there is flexibility for creativity. Honestly, the reason for the two daily editions was to help me write more often, avoiding the nightly rush to get a post in before the end of the day. It is a self-imposed challenge and, as with such comes the ability to choose. Today, I chose to rest, to sleep a lot, and to take a day off from many of the regular routines. My body was calling for it, my mind was calling for it, and my spirit was calling for it. And that is what happened: a day of rest.

HEALTH & FITNESS

Another "Zero" day? No way!

I woke up right on time and, although I had a slow, sleepy start, I did go for a 2.5 mile jog and it felt fantastic! I have missed my jogs the last three days. During the jog I thought I should start a daily running challenge and see if I can jog for 31 days straight. If so, then this would be Day 1. :-)

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Another thought that flowered during my morning run is that it would be helpful to keep up with the "streaks" and then report on those at the end of each week, perhaps on Sunday. Having a list of streaks has helped me stay on track with several aspects of self-improvement. I will work on the idea this week and will report on it on Sunday, October 13.

FINANCES

After much research and consideration, we have decided to self-finance my MacKenzie's Honda. Having the money in the bank was one consideration in favor of the decision. MacKenzie is putting half of the asking price, and I will be putting the other half. The strategy is not ideal and it leaves is a bit vulnerable because we are taking most of her savings and all of our emergency fund for the transaction. On the other hand, this will save us money (in finance charges) and it will reinforce in MacKenzie the value of saving for major purchases.

The money that MacKenzie is putting in is money I will reimburse her. I want this car to be her high school graduation gift. How the repayment will happen is interesting and a bit unusual, and I will go into that tomorrow.

KAVANAUGH: IMPEACHABLE?

Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed, as expected, by the Senate. There are many that have advanced the notion of an impeachment procedure at some point. This would require that the Democratic party have control of the House. Only one time in the history of our nation has a Supreme Court Justice been impeached (Samuel Chase, 1805) and he was acquitted of all charges (March 1, 1805).

Great family rules

While visiting friends this weekend, I saw these great family rules on one of their walls:

I cannot read who the original author is. I tried to find it on the web. I am posting this without intent of copy right infringement and will gladly remove it if so requested (or I can post purchase information on behalf of the company). I will try to get more information on this as soon as I can.