Love Note

This moment

This moment the sound of your voice

Lighting the air around me 

with beautiful notes

This first time I stopped to listen and see

And take it all in

Love notes 

They’ve been here all along

Joining of Days

 Listen that breeze, how it calls you, how it cries out

In watery screams

But it is not human they tell us, we must then

Esteem tree and bird more highly than innocents

Reach out your fingers

Anguish in water while the sharks feast convenience

Let the blood cry out from the ground will no one hear?

Stand for me because I can not stand for myself

Abandoned scraps out like so much refuse or sold

Reap a profit for the harvest line your pockets

Excusing and deaf

This is not the end from the bones crawl survival

Hateful are the eyes

Eyes of devils peer through their sockets the maelstrom

Not my holocaust

Escaped and rescued and healed marching to the fray

We march with you by your side and for those slaughtered

Now is the time 44 steps keep up the pace

And hold the line and cry “over my dead body”

Zever stop ever

I will never stop

Praying for the innocents resting in the hope

And watching for the Judge to step forth and begin

Reaping the harvest of vengeance and pressing out 

Those grapes of His wrath and avenge the innocents

Yes, He will Avenge

Acrostic FootNote

 I can’t even begin to describe the loss of words, the anguish, the rage.  The slaughter of the innocents has taken a turn for the worse.  Likely it has been happening for years, but the promotion of slaughtering the innocents to children is beyond any words I can describe

111111111911

 We stand before a hall of witnesses of all those who gone before have hazarded their lives, some to return only part of who left, some to return covered by our nation’s flag.

Watching to see what we will do with the gift of liberty bought with their sweat, their tears, their blood.

Watching to see what manner of men will stand in the gap, carry the torch, and prevent those who would take from us what was so sorely purchased

These farmers

These pioneers

These migrants

These freed from bondage

These merchants and artisans

These warriors and soldiers

Who will stand?

Who will step forward?

Who will leave mother father sister brother in tears

Who will leave wife son daughter

Embracing as if for the last time

As for some it is

We must above all else honor these and offer our hand of gratitude and ensure the next generation knows the value of that for which these have paid and the terrible price

Written Nov 9, 2017

Feathers lighting falling ever striking never terra

Find them pluck them dip them stroke them seal the fates of all men

In the air this time of year we sweep the feet o’er the chair

 

Handy Dandy Notebook Usage Guide Update

 

Handy Dandy Notebook {HDNB} Usage Guide Update

Purpose

The Purpose for this Guide

• This guide hopefully will help others decipher my notebooks
• Maybe it will be useful for others interested in using their own notebooks
• Ultimately, it is a reference for me when using Notebooks, especially in remembering the symbol ology to use for the notebooks

The Purpose for using Notebooks

Posterity

• I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that after my wife lost her mom, I realized the potential of leaving behind something for my kids that they might appreciate. Maybe they will learn more about who I am than they would have otherwise known. If it is not helpful for them, at least I know that they have a tangible connection available to pass along if they choose, etc.

Unplug

• At the advent of smart phones and other mobile tech, it was hailed as a masterpiece of time saving productivity among other advantages.
• One unforeseen (at least from users) consequence was the extensive time consumption and unnecessary complexity of making things simpler.
• Notebooks help minimize screen time by
• providing an alternative interface that yields similar or better results
• being a workplace to do many of the same functions formerly provided by tech devices

Everything Book

There are lots and lots of ways people use notebooks. In many cases, they dedicate a single notebook for a single purpose. i like to put everything in my notebooks. I have a few exceptions as specialized “collections” because their purpose uses so much space in a notebook. On the other hand, I have some minimized collections that would otherwise waste space that left a lot of unused space, etc. Here are the main uses of my (Handy Dandy) Notebooks

• Bullet Journal (Bujo [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]])
• There’s alot about this method that I found was so similar to how I first started my notebooks. I have adopted many of the “bujo” methods, while adapting it to fit my established techniques.
• Commonplace Book
• Collections of quotes and references to tidbits of knowledge are the approximate definition of Commonplace books. I will cover more details on how I use this concept in the upcoming ‘Technique’ section
• Zettelkasten
• So this one is a little challenging for me to describe because I started this collection some time before I started my journey with HDNB’s. In fact, if you are reading this note, you are likely seeing it in the Johnny Bravo Index setup (JBex). I might as well go into it a little here in this section. After many attempts at finding a system simple enough yet robust enough, I have started recently a variation of the ‘Johnny Decimal’ system. To spare you the details, I will let you explore that topic on your own. Needless to say, I very much like the idea of a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) collection. The common modern adaptation of the Zettelkasten (1950s era) system is with Notes software (I’m currently typing this note on one called Obsidian, which I like the best). The JBex has a capability of being both handwritten and software based.
• Hand-written notes I use for notes that hold a more archived position. These are readily available to anyone with all my notebook volumes at hand
• Software based notes and Hand-written notes hopefully are interchangeable and compatible with each other.
• Software notes I reserve for notes that might need to be handy on the go. So far, there are much fewer Software notes, but over time, that could change.
• Daily Planner
• Probably more than any other use, I rely on daily planning and time management aspects of the HDNB.
• This is a blend of the Bujo format and the traditional Day Planner format
• For about 15 years, I used software task management and planning software. It’s still more efficient to use software, but I will discuss that more shortly. Before exploring Bujo, I had a blend of software and notebook systems to plan the day. Now I am almost completely managing all my planning (except for my monthly calendar) on paper with my notebook which has been my goal since I realized it might be possible, etc.
• Travelers’ Notebook
• As far as I know, a travelers’ Notebook is simply a portable pocket size multi-purpose have some paper on hand notebooks in a convenient to carry cover. My first 20 volumes have not technically been travelers’ notebooks, but they have generally been the same size. I have not yet tried the method, and in fact, I currently plan to use a handy size (A5 I think) notebook for most notebook uses and have a pocket size travelers’ notebook on hand to take whenever I go ‘off-road’. The idea is that the two variations will have anchor points to direct the reader between the two variations when a switch occurs.

Productivity

• As mentioned previously, a significant purpose and probably the main use I have for Notebooks is to manage my day to day work obligations.
• This is not limited to just planning my day, but you will find that most of the content is focused on that purpose.
• You might find it boring, but you might also see a little of how my mind works in how I plan my days and how I use the plan to care for all the things I do, etc.

Technique

Ok, the part you’ve waited for. For me, the challenge is to not leave anything out. I will try to cover everything, but I can’t guarantee it will be exhaustive. Here we go…

Indexing

• To be sure, the key to making the use of the HDNB is the ability to find what I need to find, whether it’s where I left off from before or looking for information written previously, Indexing is very much the critical technique to make this a practical way of using the Handy Dandy Notebook.
• There are a number of reference indices which may or may not be independent of each other. I am going to try to cover them all here…

The Master Index

• The Master Index is one or more volumes that act solely as a reference to all volumes of notebooks as well as other indices in use with them.
• The Master Index will give an overview summary of each volume and an indication of how many instances of certain activities can be found in the volumes.
• Recently I added additional references to the JBex PDM to help find the notes for all the covered topics of “permanent” notes…

The Volume Index

• Each Volume has a main Index. As the name implies, it lists all the significant contents and where they can be found.
• The key to success with the Index is to be sure to add the new content to the Index. Later, this will make it a breeze to find what you need

Collection Indices

• Some collections (refer to the Bullet Journal Method [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]) are so big, they rate their own volume referred to simply as collections.
• Each Collection will have an index that may or may not follow the HDNB format. The index will hopefully be easy to navigate (at least, that’s its intent).
• As of the publication of this update, there is not a master index of collections. The Collection Titles will hopefully mitigate the need for a separate index.

Collection 1- Bible Notes Indexing

• Introduction to Collection 1
• Bible notes have been part of my Bible reading and understanding as far back as I can remember.
• The difficulty with Bible notes has always been finding notes when I need them
• I tried notebooks, notebook paper, and writing notes in the margin of my Bible
• Margin notes are the best method I thought there was, but once I moved on to a new Bible, I had to leave my notes behind
• Collection 1 Notes have bi-directional compatibility
• This helps find notes for a passage as well as help migrate to a new Bible
• When I take a note for a passage,
• I mark in the margin next to the verse the collection where the note is found
• Then, I place a dot at the beginning of the Bible book next to the chapter number. If the Chapter numbers are not yet listed, I write down all the chapter numbers at the beginning of the book. If the chapter number is already marked, there is no further action needed in the Bible for the Note
• Then, I place a dot next to the book of the Bible in the Bible table of contents.
• In the Notebook, I have an index of all the books of the Bible
• When a book of the Bible gets the first note, I find the next blank page and start the index for that book and list the chapter numbers
• Then, I annotate the page number next to the book in the index of Bible books
• Next to the chapter on the Bible book index, I list the page where the note is found
• This makes it easier to find the note when seeing the reference written in the Bible margin
• Topical Index (TheoJex) [[10.05Spiritual_TheoJex]]
• Very similar to the JBex, the TheoJex is found in the same collection with Bible notes.
• When a passage fits into a Bible Topic, I annotate it and add the page number to the TheoJex to help find the notes and passages related to the topic
• Migrating Annotations to a new Bible
• Step 1- Open the new Bible and the old Bible to the Table of Contents and mark the books of the Bible in the new Bible to match the old Bible
• Step 2- Go to each Bible book that has a dot in both Bibles and copy the chapter numbers and the dots next to the marked chapter numbers
• Step 3- Go to all the marked chapters in both Bibles and copy the margin referenced annotations
• – This might be time consuming but is a minimal amount of time needed to migrate the notes.

Collection 2- Master Task/Action Log

• By trial and error, I have found that this Collection is only beneficial in using smaller notebooks with room for a few weeks of use
• Collection 2 is helpful as a master index or log of Actions planned (especially recurring actions)
• The steps for using Collection 2 are really rather simple:
• Prepare your pages for logging actions (some columns will use pencil and others will use ink)
• Date- Planned date to complete the action write in pencil and once completed, enter the completion date in Ink
• Task # - This is a reference to use when placing actions in the HDNB: The Task # has two parts
• 3 Digits for the creation date MDD format (Oct- 0, O, or o; Nov - N; Dec- D) followed with ‘.’
• 2 Digits to uniquely identify the task, start with 01, then 02, etc.
• Priority Indicator- Based on When it needs to be done, how important is it, or a combination
• (F)lash- Tasks to complete in the next 6 hours (rarely used in the Action Log)
• (I)mmediate- Tasks to complete in 48 hours
• §riority- Tasks to complete within 21 Days
• ®outine- Can be completed any time
• Description- Use as much space as needed to describe the action
• Tags- optional, but can be helpful to find action categories
• When migrating actions to a new volume, or when consolidating actions to decrease the number of pages, assign a new task # to the migrated tasks

The Johnny Bravo Index

• [[00.04Noble.Butcher.2024]]
• The bulk of the JBex at least early on, once completed will be in the HDNB in lieu of the PKB
• Notes that are of a generally archive nature (in terms of need for access) try to file in the HDNB
• Notes that need to be readily available should be added to the PKB (Obsidian)
• Without going into the other forms, I will summarize the use of JBex in HDNB
• For volumes that can be filled in a short period of time (undefined):
• JBex references should be minimal by referencing the PKB/Obsidian full index
• Begin with a collection page that anchors the JBex for that Volume then expand as needed to accommodate any notes added
• For Travelers’ Notebooks
• Designate one of the 3 notebooks as a semi-permanent index/reference volume
• Instead of filling out the entire JBex, fill out each tier as it is needed for new notes
• For full-size volumes i.e. volumes that take a significant amount of time to fill
• Fill out the entire JBex for topics that are currently in use and expand as needed

Future Logs, Reviews, and Migrations

• General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
• Include Events and Planned Actions
• When Reviewing and Migrating, include monthly summaries based on the daily summaries for that month then update the Master Index

Monthly Logs, Reviews, and Migrations

• General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
• Migrate Upcoming Actions and events from Future Logs for the coming month
• Be sure to only use pencil for items planned (in the future)
• When a pencil is not available for planning an item, log the item in the daily log to be migrated to the monthly log once a pencil is available
• When reviewing logs at the end of the day, write the summary of the day in the Monthly Log in ink for that day after erasing anything in pencil
• When starting a new monthly log, include the day of the week next to the day of the month
• In most cases, there will be a place to add notations for any specified activities from the day

Daily Logs, Reviews, and Migrations

• General Information: [[00.04Carroll,Ryder.2018]]
• The Daily Log is where the real action takes place
• The steps for prepping for a day on the daily log refer to this task on Todoist
• One of the non #67Productivity/15BuJo techniques I use in the HDNB is the daily planner hours to track the events for the day (future and past). I also try to include when I complete actions throughout the day.
• Divide the page in an approximate 25%/75% split- 25% section is for the reference to the items in the 75% section. The 75% section holds all the items listed in order of planned sequence
• Use the remainder of the page by discretion for any additional items to add following the planned items (otherwise, keep a remainder equal to the space used to plan the items for the day)
• The Daily Log is also an open canvas for any other purpose chosen

Volumes and Sizes

• We are currently using Pocket size and Handy Size
• Handy Size will be the standard size for normal use
• Carry a pocket size volume in the Handy Size or a Traveler’s Notebook available
• Use the pocket size for parenthetical purposes when carrying the handy size becomes inconvenient.
• use anchor notations to indicate where each volume continues from the other

Notations

Daily Log Notations

• Use a bullet symbol (a dot like the bullet marked at the beginning of this line) to indicate an action
• Mark a completed action with ‘/’
• Mark a deferred action with ‘>’
• Mark a migrated (to another volume or external collection) action with ‘>>’
• Use ‘!’ to indicate a priority task in front of a bullet Action
• Mark and idea with ‘!’
• Mark a goal with ‘@’
• Mark events with a small circle like the symbol for degrees
• Mark notes or comments with ‘-’
• Mark Permanent Notes with ‘=’ be sure to include the tag and the JBex for the permanent note
• Mark notes to share with colleagues with ‘<’
• Mark notes to disseminate to subordinates with ‘v’
• Mark notes to report to superiors with ‘^’
• Indent for sub-tasks, sub-points, etc. with appropriate markings
• Indent but do not mark anything that is writing on the next line (like a sentence continued to the next line)
• Mark a title of a chapter, collection, or page with ‘##’
• Mark a tag with ‘#’
• Mark items that have more details in the notes with a ‘*’ or star
• Mark items that have more information in email, todoist, etc. with ‘…’
• Mark An action to schedule an event with a bullet followed by an event symbol

Monthly Log Activities

• These are specified activities that are summarized in the Master Index
• Mark Fitness with ‘/’
• Mark Creativity (like artwork) with ‘-’
• Mark Ham Radio with '\ ‘’
• Mark games with ‘|’
• Mark sailing with ‘left side of a box’
• Mark dining out with ‘right side of a box’
• Mark prayer requests with ‘top side of a box’
• Mark productivity with ‘bottom side of a box’
• Mark no caffeine with ‘circle’
• Mark tea only with ‘filled in circle’
• Mark outdoors activity (like camping) with ‘^’
• Mark Army/War Stories with ‘v’

Written May 4, 2017

 That aire is once again as so many times before

Words that cast forth and etch

So much fluffery, and so much persona

It really is untitled, raw, untempered

That burning that drives and derives destines all to something

For me it is words, and those on parchment and bits

What once haunted me, I can wield… It has no power over me

PKM

 Here's a sharable link to my notes.  Work is in progress to migrate them from Evernote with an upgrade:

https://t.ly/y3XZD

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XIUEgLEXyco6wRYeLoqwmG5_dkab8u6u

Last Christmas!

 

This one has no Title... Make a suggestion

 

Centennial Madness

 

From the Hip

 

Army Stories- AIT

 I know I've mentioned alot about AIT already and might repeat a few things, but I guess when you reach my age, that's to be expected.  We still had to stand in the chow line at Parade Rest, but we had more time to eat.  I don't know if every meal was enough time to take as much time as we wanted, but it was much more leisure eating than Basic.  In general, the base is very linear with two main avenues forming like the legs of a triangle.  The one leg was the shopping/recreational area like PX, Commissary, Fast Food, Bowling, Clothing Sales, etc.  The other leg included Barton Field which was in my mind the main feature.  Along one side of the field, the 'back' side were most of the units.  Ours was on the far end close to the wood line.  The other side of Barton field was the Base Command HQ and all the signal corps for that matter and alot of the trianing 'Halls'.  Signal Tower is the icon of Ft. Gordon.  I think SGM Mercado (one of my heroes in the Army) was a prominent figure there.  The units ao's are rectangular 3 or 4 stories with halls that are along the length of the building.  The halls have similar rooms on either side of the hall.  I think my room was on the second floor.  I had a wall locker and a bottom bunk and shared the room with 5 or 7 other trainees.  One feature that stands out it an overhang below the window.  Outside that always seemed like a patio.

Ok, Whatever

I never claimed to be an Artist

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNIV6fl_5E_rmiGTKp8phRJG3JZrX4Qx8ju_bJq 

Things I Remember

 More stuff I remember about Basic Training

We marched wherever we went.  Chow, the Shopette, almost all our training sites.  Several times, it was and even with rucksacks, ouch, my feet, etc.  I remember the gas chamber.  My mask wasn't working that well to begin with, but when we took them off, Oh it was Awful.  I remember struggling on the PT runs.  It was dark so early in the morning.  I was just trying to keep in formation and follow the recruit in front of me.  I remember working hard to do well on the PT Tests, First Aid training, Heavy Weapons training.  I remember when we did M16 weapons qualifications.  Our training was to put the nose on the charging handle.  The air was strong with the smell of gun powder and occasionally, the ejected brass burning hot until it was time to police up the range.  During qualification, the recoil busted my nose to start bleeding.  I think the Drill Sergeant was proud that I kept going.  Later, I found out that firing in hot weather was hard because of the sweat burning and blurring my eyes when I was trying to aim.

Poets Make too Much Ado about Nothing

 

Things I Remember- Army Stories

 Things I remember about Basic Training

The building for our barracks had four or five branches or wings.  There were two or more floors and the ground floor was a covered bay like a parking garage kind of area. The arms room was under there too.  The chow hall was part of the building, maybe but definitely very nearby around the corner, etc.  We were on the 2nd floor.  I think 2nd Platoon of E co. The Black Lions.  It was an open bay with bunks and wall lockers making small cubicles for two bunks.  Drill Sergeants had an office toward the front. Latrines were toward the back.  Everything in our wall locker, which also had a side table, had to all look the same, squared away, dress right dress, in its own spot, etc.  Hats/headgear at the top also squared away.  Shoes and boots placed under the bunks, dress right dress.  Hanging uniforms/everything had to be evenly spaced in the lockers.  Meals were rushed.  In line at Parade Rest then a few minutes to eat what we could.  No talking allowed and there was no time for that anyway.

Usher in the Kingdom

 

Army Stories- Things I remember about Basic Training (BT {boot} Camp)

 Things I remember about Basic Training and AIT.  Well, there's a lot I can still remember but these may not be in order. I remember the first day went until about 1 or 2 am.  We had lots of waiting, lots of paperwork, lots of vaccines.  We got out uniforms on the last day before we went to our actual training unit.  I remember these rows of benches where we got lots of briefings.  My very first sleep in the Army was about one or two in the morning from a very busy day.  I was on the top bunk in a room filled with bunks filled with sleeping recruits.  I was very tired which I think was the intent.  We were up very early the next day to continue to inprocess to the Army.  I remember having our newly issued Duffle Bag with all our uniforms and boots.  I remember wearing the uniform for the first time so proud and how the boots were hard on the feet.  We had to mark the back of one pair at the top with white paint marker so we could alternate days of wearing each pair.  The tread on the boots resembled the tread on WW2 Jeep tires.  The Drill SGT boarded the bus and gave us the first exposure to Military intimidation.  I think his words were something like, "This is the last time you are going to make me wait on you!"  From that moment, we had to run to get where we were going, etc. I'll try to write more later.

Element of Forgiveness

 

Army Stories

Things I Remember

GI Joe was a big thing with us kids in the neighborhood. Playing Army and any number of other things got my interest. At first, I wanted to be an Air Force pilot. In time I discovered that meant the Air Force Academy. At some point I decided it wasn't going to work for me. Then I decided Navy Aviation was the way to go. In short, college was not a good option for me. Mostly because I was ready to be done with school. "...need a break..."

I decided the best option would be submarines, so I finally had a solid plan. Find a Navy recruiter after I graduate high school, and I would be on my way. A short time later I got a call from the Army Recruiter. Shortly after, I was on contract for the Army.

Just before graduation by about 6 weeks, I was in an accident and was temporarily disqualified from enlisting. So my ship out date was gone. In June, I was able to go with the church youth group to Indiana for a mission trip. My experience there started me thinking of working in full time missions. Somewhere in the process of working through my journey, I advised my recruiter of my thoughts. I don't remember exactly what he told me, but he did convince me to keep my commitment to the Army. I guess by then I had a new contract for November. My final trip to MEPS has only one memory for me. The TV was playing a requests only Music Video channel that only had one request the whole day, "Just a Friend"... There were a number of friends and family who came to see me off at the Airport. As I walked down the ramp to board the plane, I could only think of one thing, "I am making a really Big Mistake"

What U Hate?

Army Stories

 I remember growing up not able to sleep without an electric fan, but that problem was sol1ved on my first night of Basic Training

Fleeting Moments

 

They are all Fleeting Moments

Here for only a Moment

Then forgotten Forever

At the end of Each Day

Look to the Western Sky

You will find There

A Blazing work of Art

The New Old

 Just so you know, I am publishing alot that I have written over several years.   I don't have lots of new material (yet).  Just bear in mind that this material is from a long period of time, etc.

Snail Mail Logic

Last week as I continued to get back into sending letters, it was time for a note to my granddaughter. Thinking on the idea this morning, the novelty of snail mail became apparent to me. Other than cards at Christmas and packages we order online, we can usually only anticipate getting bills and junk mail delivered by postal workers. Email was once a breakthrough technology (about thirty years ago). For the past twenty years or more, several waves of social media platforms have become popular and later replaced by the latest phenomenon. I can’t help but imagine how refreshing it must be to go to the mailbox to find a letter handwritten by someone I know.  Maybe it’s not the same effect as seeing snow day pics on instagram, but what was once considered obsolete and untimely could find fresh appeal if we would give it a little jump start.

My motivation for getting into letter writing had more to do with wanting to expand on my writing venues; however, a very nice residual effect has been receiving responses from friends and family in the mail. 

If you’ve never had the experience of writing or receiving letters by mail. I hope you will give it a try. I can assure you that when your friends see a letter arrive from you, it will put a little smile on their faces.

Twilight

 

Silence

 

Voices, can you hear?

Under the cold white blanket

Tell me what they say.