In honor of the largest prime number (so far) being discovered recently, I present to you, Eight Random Facts!
2. I remember where I was during Buffalo's comeback against the Oilers. Do you? (Only thing that helps dull the pain...Tech's comeback against Minnesota in '06.)
3. I'm a huge science and (ancient) history nerd. So if you ever start talking to me about those, especially as they relate to the Bible, you better have some time.
5. Other subjects to avoid talking with me about if you don't have time: Star Wars and LOST.
7. I met Courtney when she visited the church I attended. For the first few weeks, I had to ask my sister to remind me of her name so that I could go talk to her. So, if I forget something important, it's not because I don't care. :-) (Oh, and I didn't tell her about this until AFTER we got married, of course.)
11. A family trait (on my mother's side) is a pointy toenail on the little toe. Really, it's more of a claw than a toenail. A pain to keep trimmed down.
13. When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a Paleontologist when I grew up.
17. (Obligatory, but sincere, nod to my wife) She is the epitome of Proverbs 31.
19. When I was little, I would get my mom to buy old phones and electronic items at garage sales so that I could take them apart and see how they work. There's a medical term for this now. It's called the Knack.
I've lost track of who's been tagged, and who hasn't, so if you're reading this and you haven't been tagged, well...
So, evidently the Ryder Cup came and went this past weekend without me knowing about it. A shame. Even though I don't watch much TV anymore, I would have at least liked to have followed it on the net.
But good news! The Cup is back in American hands for the first time since 1999! If I'm remembering right, that was the year the Americans and their oh-so-strange shirts won on an impossible putt by Justin Leonard.
Jeff and I were watching in his apartment, and we ran out chanting "USA! USA!".
And, yes, we probably did look as silly as the above pic.
We all know that driving aggressively has a negative impact on gas mileage. But it wasn't until I did the math and some experiments with the real-time fuel consumption display in my Jeep that I realized the extent to which the driver could have an effect.
Typically, my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee would get around 18 mpg. (It's rated at 15/20, city/highway.) Well, with a little tweaking of my driving habits, I am now pushing 22 mpg. That might not seem that big of difference, but do the math.
[price of gas]/[gas mileage] * [miles per month] = [cost per month]
With gas at $4 and driving 663 miles per month, here's the cost difference between the two.
If we can do the same thing with out minivan (which currently gets about the same mileage, and which we drive about 3000 miles per month), then our savings would be $100 more! Considering we spend about $400 on gas each month, that would equal over 25% savings!
So, what did I do to make that big of difference? I didn't go anywhere near the "hypermile" route. (Google search the term for an idea of how extreme, and dangerous, some people get, even getting an Insight up over 100mpg average.) All I did was drive the speed limit (which you should be doing anyways), accelerate just a little slower from stop, and let the car coast on the highway when able. That last one, for me, was the big difference maker, because I was always trying to maintain my speed at the limit, which caused unneeded acceleration for short stretches on the highway. Now, I keep a lighter touch on the gas pedal and am amazed at the difference it makes.
An added bonus: The relaxation of not rushing around everywhere in your car, and laughing at the Accord flying by you that's getting less mpg than your SUV.
You are SUCH an engineer, but I have to take issue with one statement. As I continue to fly by and shake my fist in your general direction (metaphorically of course) I will still beat your struggled 22 mpg in your Jeep with my pedal-to-the-medal 30 mpg in my Camry (same as an Accord)! LOL You're point is well taken though, the easier you drive the better your efficiency. There comes a point of diminishing returns though exemplified in the fact that the national speed limit of 55 was repealed.
You mentioned that your goal is to save 30%-40% at the grocery store from coupons. We went last night and, thanks to my wife, saved 82%! Check her post out and you could do it too.
Those that know me know that I have a full plate when it comes to my time. Between a 7-5 engineering job, preaching, raising three young kids, and finding time to spend with my wife, there's not a lot of leeway. The time spent on the engineering job is non-negotiable, so what usually ends up suffering is either the time I spend with my family or with church related things. Which, frustratingly, is completely opposite of my mindset and priorities.
Obviously, I can't add an hour to each day. So, instead, I'm going to have to find a way to better leverage the time I do have.
Which leads me to Getting Things Done. It is a book that presents a productivity system that's simple to understand, but somewhat complex to put into practice. I'm going to give it a shot, and hopefully in the process I'll get more organized and more accomplished.
A summary of the main points:
Clearing your mind.
What sold me on this method (at least so far) is it's emphasis on not relying on memory for tasks. Inevitably, I only remember a task when there's no way I can complete it, only to forget it when I can. Terribly inefficient, and a perfect candidate for improvement.
So instead of trying to remember everything, it says to commit tasks (and information) to a trusted system, be it paper based or digitally based. That way I can just look at my recorded task list, see what needs to be done, and use my mind instead to creatively find solutions for the task.
Organize tasks by context.
Instead of having one long list, though, it suggests breaking it up by context. This solves the problem of having too long of a list with several tasks on it that cannot be done at any given time. So task lists are broken up so that whatever list you are looking at, you can get anything done on that list in the setting you are in, i.e., at home, at work, running errands, etc. Knocking out small tasks, then, is a breeze.
Always assign a next action
This is probably the biggest productivity tip of the book for me. Don't let tasks remain vague. For each task that needs to be completed, don't set it aside until you record the very next physical action that needs to be done. For most things this is simple, as most tasks are physical actions. But some some "simple" tasks are actually several steps long, and if you don't decide what the very next thing you can do to get the ball rolling is, then you'll always be stuck in the pre-planning stages.
Do anything that takes less than two minutes immediately
This one will be tough for me, but it makes sense. If something takes less than two minutes to do, just do it. Otherwise, it would take longer than that just to record a note to do it later, and most likely even then, it may never get done.
Well, hope that wasn't too boring or informative. I would definitely suggest checking out the book from the library if you're interested. Like I said, it can get complex in places, and it's a little dry in others, but it seems like it should be a good fit for me.
You should check out www.rememberthemilk.com for a good digital way to keep track of things to do/things done. If you use gmail it can be integrated straight in and it's compatible with mobile phones or iPod Touch.
You should set up a Linked In profile so I can get my connections up. It's a professional social networking site that's becoming accepted by the business world as a good gauge on people's networks.
Yep, regarding Jonah's motives, his heart was wrong, even while others responded to his preaching. Paul even commented on the problem in Philippians 1:15-18.
