Craig Constantine

Letting go of possessions →

Published October 4, 2018 · All posts on Oct 4

In theory, we can let go of every single possession. Sure, for practical purposes, we’ll need at least one outfit and shelter and a way to eat and use the bathroom. And even more practically, we’ll need a house and things to wear for a job and so on. But letting go of a possession that you don’t absolutely need for practical purposes is theoretically possible. So what stops us?
~ Leo Babauta from, How to Let Go of Any Possession – Zen Habits Website

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This skill—and it is totally a skill that I had to practice and practice and practice—is one I USED to struggle with. Years ago, it was definitely fear that was holding me back from letting go of possessions.

Today is it 100% the guilt that I do not want to incur by throwing things into a land-fill. I have a cubic yard of books… not worth a dime, and I’ve already spent a ton shipping hundred of books all over the world racking up points in bookmooch.com—you want these books? I have TWO Davis Mark 15 marine sextants, …want one? I have a great chain saw that’s probably worth a couple hundred if I had a few hours to waste [I do not] dealing with idiots on Craig’s List. …want an old Jeep that’s fun to play with off road? …how about a perfectly working ink-jet printer? …a swage-fitting tool? …how about a one-hundred-year-old, fully restored billiard table?

I’m serious. Hit reply, or join the mailing list and hit reply tomorrow…

Hard surfaces →

Published October 3, 2018 · All posts on Oct 3 · Sleep

The assumed paradigm is that a mattress is essential to good sleep just like a chair is essential to sitting. But why did mattresses become mainstream? When did the buffalo robe and pile of leaves go out of fashion? Could a good night’s sleep be had if, for instance, we slept on a sandy beach or the equivalent? Why did ‘they’ start saying a firm bed is best, and still provide a two to three foot thick ‘system’ of mattresses just to get you to that ‘firm bed’ effect?
~ Patrick Clark from, Sweet Dreams On A Hard Surface: The Ergonomics Of Sleep – Carolina Morning

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I wish I’d found this 12 years ago. It took me forever to figure out a lot about sleep. I’m still working on the shoulder range-of-motion required to side-sleep without a pillow. (I still wake up feeling like I’ve dislocated my sternoclavicular joint.)

…anyway, yes, harder and flatter is unquestionably, always better for me. If I’m having trouble sleeping, I sometime get up, and get out my favorite, 1-inch-thick, inflatable air-mattress on the floor—so so comfortable . . . with my fave silk-cotton-blend sleep sack . . . and my fave little pillow . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz every time.

Sandro Widmer: ParkourONE, studying coaches, and open minds →

Published October 2, 2018 · All posts on Oct 2 · Movers Mindset

Sandro Widmer: ParkourONE, studying coaches, and open minds

What can we learn about the intersection of philosophy, personal growth, and structured systems within the practice of parkour?

Sandro Widmer discusses ParkourONE’s TRUST concept, his current research and movement journey. Along the way he describes his time in America, and the struggles of studying parkour coaches. Sandro also reminds us to walk through this world with an open mind, as we can never fully understand each other’s experiences.

I think what’s most important is to walk through the world with an open mindset. Be tolerant, be open-minded, and have a smile on your face.
~ Sandro Widmer (27:00)

The conversation explores the philosophy of ParkourONE, focusing on the TRuST concept that emphasizes values such as respect, modesty, and trust. This philosophy is visualized through the fingers of a hand, representing key principles like “no competition” and “courage.” ParkourONE’s unique approach to training and community building in Switzerland and Germany is discussed, highlighting the organization’s layered membership process and the responsibilities of its members.

The discussion transitions to Sandro’s master’s thesis on how personal philosophy influences coaching methods. He shares his methodology for collecting data from Swiss parkour coaches and explores topics such as open versus closed exercises and how parkour principles can be translated into broader life lessons. The conversation concludes with reflections on cultural exchanges during international training events and the importance of maintaining an open and tolerant mindset.

(more…)

Your quality of life →

Published October 1, 2018 · All posts on Oct 1 · Self-improvement

When you’re trying to stay focused on the actions, thoughts will come up and attempt to occupy your attention again. Most thoughts are not useful in the moment; they’re just conditioned mental reflexes, and there are triggers all over the place. To keep your attention on what you’re doing, make a general policy of dumping a train of thought unless the thought determines the next action you take. Nineteen times out of twenty, it doesn’t, and you’re better off ditching it.
~ David Cain from, How to Improve Your Quality of Life by up to 90 Percent

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There’s a serious down-side to this once you’re good at it: The rest of the sheeple don’t think this way, so interacting with them requires a bit more effort.

But it’s also a chance to be a positive influence on the world, so there’s that. I suppose it’s a question of whom do I place first, myself or everyone else. Care to guess my answer? (Hint: In case of sudden loss of cabin pressure, whose oxygen mask are you advised to put on first?)

We are all stupid →

Published September 30, 2018 · All posts on Sep 30 · Self-improvement

Meanwhile, privately, we all know that much of life consists of trying to hide the extent of our own stupid-aspect, while accentuating the smart stuff so that others might think we’re made of it through and through.
~ David Cain from, The Problem Is That We Are All Stupid

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Hey now! …if you’re going to call it like it is, that’s just not fair.

If only there was some way that I could… you know, apply self-awareness and self-assessment to work on my stupid-aspect. How cool would that be?

Small changes →

Published September 28, 2018 · All posts on Sep 28 · Self-improvement

Watching TV, for example, or playing massively multiplayer online games, can feel relaxing and even stimulating at times. But those hours spent relaxing and stimulating yourself can really add up, and when you tally the eventual sum of the life benefits, it ends up awfully close to zero. Many other leisure pursuits (complaining, ATV riding, shopping) often end up the same way.
~ Peter Adeney from, The Surprising Effect of Small Efforts over Time

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I try not to get all preachy about how I think everyone should live their lives. After all, I’ve still plenty of room for improvement.

But just in case you are still wasting your life doing any of the above . . .

What are the odds? →

Published September 26, 2018 · All posts on Sep 26 · Self-improvement

What does such a statistic have to do with your personal chance of success? Nothing at all.
~ Steve Pavlina from, What Are the Odds of Becoming a Black Belt? – Steve Pavlina

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This has nothing to do with martial arts.

If you—you reading this right now—are NOT making mistakes, you are not learning.

Put another way: If you are always certain—or if you can’t take action until you are certain—then you are not doing the work you need to be doing.

Triage →

Published September 25, 2018 · All posts on Sep 25 · Self-improvement

The practice of triage is a challenge of consciousness. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when you’re staring at a project screaming for your attention. But you still need to muster the awareness to ask, “Is this the most important thing that must be done by me right now?” Whenever you fail to ask this question, you can bet there’s a more important project being stalked by the Grim Reaper.
~ Steve Pavlina from, Triage – Steve Pavlina

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There are many variations of this. My favorite is currently a large note above my desk which reads…

2018: “HELL YES!” or “no”

Regardless, Covey’s quadrants are an excellent way to triage things.

I’m adamant however, that one’s goal should be to do nothing in Covey’s quadrants 3 and 4—things which are “not important”, wether they are urgent or non-urgent. See also, Time management.

Don’t turn on two-factor authentication →

Published September 24, 2018 · All posts on Sep 24 · Internet Tech

Before you require a second factor to login to your accounts, you should understand the risks, have a recovery plan for when you lose your second factor(s), and know the tricks attackers may use to defeat two-factor authentication.
~ Stuart Schechter from, Before You Turn On Two-Factor Authentication… | by Stuart Schechter | Medium

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I repeat: Do not enable two-factor authentication until you understand how it works and what you are doing. You know who is usually locked out of your car, house, etc. right? You are!

This is a great article surveying a myriad of things you should consider before enabling two-factor security. Yes, it is more secure, but that means it is also more likely that you’ll lock yourself out, permanently.

So…

Are you currently really good at keeping track of passwords and security questions?
Do you use a unique password for every service and web site?
…are the answers to your security questions completely random things you made up and stored in your security system, or did you really use your easily-learned mother’s maiden name?
…and is your “security system” not post-it’s on your monitor, but rather a real, secure, system?

And how about…

Do you have a system in place to give your beneficiaries access to your stuff—and ways to permanently lock-and-destroy things you don’t want passed along?

…if not, then turning on two-factor is not a good idea. You’re about to make things even more complicated when you are currently not doing the basic things well. Instead of blindly enabling two-factor authentication, you should move off of the bell curve and stop being an easy traget.

Step one: Learn how to use a password manager like 1Password or LastPass, and start using unique passwords.

Aerosols →

Published September 23, 2018 · All posts on Sep 23

The annotated version of the visualization (shown above) highlights the GEOS FP model’s output for aerosols on August 23rd, 2018. On that day, wildfires caused huge plumes of smoke to drift over North America and Africa, three tropical cyclones took place in the Pacific Ocean, and high winds over the Sahara caused wind-borne dust particles to fill the sky. All of these produced aerosols which are represented in the visual by different colors.
~ Matt Williams from, Look at all the Aerosols Pushed into the Atmosphere, from Fires, Volcanoes and Pollution. Even Sea Salt Thrown into the Air from Hurricanes – Universe Today

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I’m not sure if I’m more impressed by the beautiful composite photo and the science that went into it, or if I now just want to never inhale again.