The Case Against a Digital Journal

I have mentioned I have been keeping a journal since May 1989. I use my journal to record my thoughts and ideas and I use spiral notebooks to do this. I do not keep a digital journal - unless you count this blog - and, to be perfectly honest, I don't consider this blog to be my journal. I write about topics that are important to me but I definitely save my personal thoughts and ideas for a spiral notebook. I have flirted with making this blog more personal, but ultimately, no, that's not the purpose of this blog. I plan to keep a spiral notebook as my journal indefinitely. This article - Why writing by hand is still the best way to retain information - Typing might be faster, but longhand stays with you better. - makes the point that writing with a pen or pencil means retention is more likely. I agree with that.

Welcome to the Haystack

Lyz Lenz was a columnist who wrote opinion articles for the Cedar Rapids Gazette newspaper. Until she was fired... I disagreed with her political slant - extreme Liberal is how I would label her. When I read a Liberal column - for example, by Leonard Pitts Jr. - I will use Scotch tape to keep it in my 10 Year Journal project because good writing is good writing. Lenz? I put used Scotch tape to keep her articles in my 10 Year Journal project because reading bad writing is a reminder to me what NOT to do. This is her blog: https://lyz.substack.com. I poked around enough to find some fairly decent writing. Just to warn you - the website is a haystack.

23100 pages about ME by ME - Evidence I am a Selfish Man

I know that I am a selfish person. I know that about my personality. I know that I think about me a lot because I have 23100 pages across 103 physical notebooks.

Finally! A Title For My 10 Year Journal Project!

Understanding and Using Batch Files

I just purchased this book: https://store.tips.net/T002509_Understanding_and_Using_Batch_Files.html
The following is what sold me on the book, which is not available in the link above:

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Good morning! I'd like to share a small story with you that is only partially tongue-in-cheek. Bear with me for a moment, if you don't mind. I remember when I was young, and we would tiptoe around the house, making sure we didn't disturb my dad as he was working on his computers. (It always seemed we had more computers in the house than people, pets, or anything else our friends had.) In the evenings we would gather around the family hearth as the wind whistled by the windows. Dad would tell us stories from the early days of computing as firelight flickered on the walls. He would thrill us with stories of programs acquired and scare us with tales of data lost. We would learn the importance of word processors, the power of programming languages, and the wisdom of backing up your data. As I sat near my dad's knee, paying rapt attention to his every word, I always wondered how he was able to do such marvelous things with computers that, by today's standards, had less power than my cell phone. One day, not long ago, I was talking with dad. Though he is older and grayer now (heh!), it still amazes me that he was able to do so much with his systems in the days before Windows. So, I asked him about it. His answer? Batch files. Yep, batch files. I'd never heard of them. (Or, if I had, I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention.) So, I asked him to explain how they used to work. He mentioned that batch files were still available in Windows, which surprised me even more. As he started to show me how to use batch files, I began to suspect that there were are lot of other people in the same boat as me, not having any idea what batch files were or how they could be used on today's Windows systems. This led me to suggest that, perhaps, dad would want to put together an e-book that would provide the explanations and offer the examples necessary so that you (as well as myself) could learn how to put batch files to work. Well, dad just got the e-book done. I'm pleased to announce the immediate availability of Understanding and Using Batch Files, a brand-new e-book that answered all my questions (well, all my questions about batch files) and opened up a side of Windows for me that I didn't even know existed. I invite you to take a look at this awesome e-book, as it can provide a "behind the scenes" peek at how batch files work and provide the knowledge you need to put them to work for you. You can find out more information about Understanding and Using Batch Files at this site: https://store.tips.net/T02509 I've priced this e-book at a very affordable level ($24.99), but I also know it is our company's long-standing tradition to have a special sale whenever an e-book is released. So, for a limited time (through October 3) you can get your own copy for only $17.49. That's 30% off the regular price! I invite you, again, to consider this great offer. You won't find better information about this powerful Windows feature anywhere, and now you can get it at a great price. To get the complete details visit this Web page: https://store.tips.net/T02509 Don't delay; this special offer is available only for a couple of weeks; it ends on October 3, 2018. Thanks for your continued support of WindowsTips!

—Eric

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Organization Recap

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As a follow-up to the Kirkwood class on 10/23, I liked it. I liked Jennifer and Jenny, the teachers, and I can envision taking them up on their offer to come to my house and look at what I have in the den and to offer suggestions. I learned a lot in the class and I won't regurgitate all the content of the class here - attend the class if you are in the Iowa City area - but I will say, one thing that came from attending is that I should have the disposition that I have a specific amount of space and when that space is full, I don't get any additional space.

I have broken that rule. I know I cannot abide by that rule.Why? Well, I have some plans.

• the current 10 Year Project is due to conclude on 12/31/2021. I'll be 52 when it ends.
• after I finish that 10 Year Project, I have a vision of embarking on yet another 10 Year Project, which would begin on 1/1/2022 and conclude on 12/31/2031 - I'd be 62 when it ends.
• after I finish that 10 Year Project, I have a vision of embarking on yet another 10 Year Project, which would begin on 1/1/2032 and conclude on 12/31/2041 - I'd be 72 when it ends.

Each of the 10 Year Projects after my current 10 Year Project involves purchasing 24 x 200 page spiral notebooks - so I have 48 more notebooks to purchase - which means I will have 72 notebooks, if I follow through with the plans above on 12/31/2041. I should also mention I currently have Rubbermaids in the sump pump storage room that contain my journals from 1989 on. I don't really look at them often, but it comforts me to know I can go back and look at them. I have reread my college-era journals in the past. There was a period of time after Karen and I were married when I used my "journal" to Scotch tape drafts of songs I wrote and (I think) returned college term papers / assignments in my journals at the expense of not writing about what was happening. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to NOT stop writing about 'life' at the expense of doing what I was doing. It's kind of a black hole as I know there were many things happening in life that I could have wrote about but, because I didn't, I cheated myself.

The other part of that equation is that I was drinking booze from when Karen and I married on 8/7/1993 until 12/31/2010. I had a couple of false starts on journals during those 6355 days (17 years, 4 months, 3 weeks, 3 days), but there wasn't anything like what I am doing now. I remember I did intend to have a 40 year project, that would last from 1/1/1995 - 1/1/2035. I had figured out there were 14600 days, if I multiplied 40 x 200 even though, in reality, there are 14610 days. I had a vision that I would write a single page every day for those years. I would purchase 73 x 200 spiral notebooks and number the pages as I do in my current 10 Year Project, which is, for my current volume / section, there are 78 pages, so it is numbered "1-77" and the back of that page is numbered "2-76" all the way to the end of the section. The last 'front' page is numbered "77-1" and the back of that page is my "Epilogue" page, which has been numbered as "78-0". The idea is I would start at "1-14599" on page 1 of that 40 Year Project and that, on 12/31/2034, I would be writing on page "14599-1" as that project concluded.

As just mentioned, that 40 Year Project became using Scotch tape to capture my past instead of writing about my future.

This is the logic in my head that prevents me from believing I will be able to abide by the rule that you only get a specific amount of space for storing your things. Currently, in the den, there is not room to store 48 x 200 page spiral notebooks. Currently, in the den, there is not room to store the notebooks I used from 1989, through college, and the first years of our marriage. If I did have that room in the den, I wouldn't have those notebooks in Rubbermaids in the sump pump storage room!

About Being Unforgiven and an Update about my Journalitis

no No NO - I have never cheated on my wife and no No NO - I never will!

But I know husbands who have cheated on their wives and I know wives that have cheated on their husbands. All of that to say, damn! I can't imagine the pain of what this guy on Quora has been going through since his wife passed away!

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One other comment about this subject. I attended a Bible study a couple of years ago about the Book of James. One of the most powerful things I heard during these weekly sessions is when the father-in-law of one of my friends talked about cheating on a spouse. He said, paraphrased, that he couldn't imagine what the conversation with God would be like - to have to tell God in your prayers what the cheating spouse had done and to ask for forgiveness from God for that sin. In the years since I heard him say that, I've often pondered if the men and women - my friends - woke up on the morning they cheated on their spouse and knew they were going to cheat or if it was a spur of the moment / heat of the passion decision. I have never asked them and I can't say I would ever bring it up in conversation with them.

It is something I sometimes write about in my private journal, though, which you will never read. I am currently writing in Volume 19, section IV, which was originally scheduled for 10/2018. Through excessive writing, I'm over a year ahead of my pre-planned schedule. The other month / years in this volume are as follows:

1. Section I: 06/2020
2. Section II: 10/2019
3. Section III: 02/2021
4. Section IV: 08/2017 ---------- I just mentioned this above
5. Section V: 11/2012 ---------- only previously used volume in this notebook

I haven't mentioned my journalitis, but it rages on within the 10 Year Journal Project!

Editor's Note: This is the link to the Quora article: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-revenge-against-a-cheating-husband-and-his-mistress

8609 Days in Pursuit of an Answer to the Question

Editor's Note: After careful deliberation, this post has been deemed too personal to publish on this blog. The contents of this post have been printed and placed within Volume III, section IV, of the spiral notebook used in the Ten Year Project. The labels for the post are provided as a clue about the contents of this post.

Write It In PEN

Three Ways That Handwriting With A Pen Positively Affects Your Brain