Fall is my favorite season. This is the time I try to spend as much time outdoors as I can before winter rears its ugly head again. I don't know if I'm going to make it to Maplewood again this year (the park in the picture above), but I'll be walking in Icelandic, Turtle River, and the trails in the city as much as I can. It's good practice for Penelope to walk as much as she can, and good exercise for me!
Writing update
My writing update this month is that I'm still working on launching the HUGE nonfiction project. It's taking a lot of pre-planning and research (and, GASP!, outlining; something I never normally do), so most of the "writing" so far has been research notes.
I also tend to do that wishy-washy writer thing of loving the project one minute ("This is such a GREAT IDEA!!!"), and hating it the next ("This is the STUPIDEST idea I've ever had!!!")
But, I think that's what every writer everywhere has said about at least a few of their ideas, lol, so I'm trying to push through the "geez this is stupid" moments. I need to wait and judge it once I actually have a good chunk of content TO judge.
I have no idea what the timeline for this project is going to be, though, since I've never quite done a project like this before. When it does release, it will likely release under a pseudonym since it's so different from what I usually do.
Reading Update
Very little recreational reading is getting done this month. When I do read, it's reference materials for my non-fiction project or lecture notes from my computer class, etc.
I have a whole shelf of books that I stocked in the camper at the beginnig of summer, and I haven't hardly touched them!
What I'm watching this month
I have actually taken a few moments of downtime over the summer to watch a few movies! Since I can't remember if I've mentioned any of them before, I'll just list them all here.
- Dune 2
- Wonka
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Saltburn
- Parasite
- Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- Transylvania 6-5000
For me, that's A LOT of movies, lol.
Classes Update
I'm still learning Spanish through Duolingo and 3-Minute Spanish at Skill Success.
I'm still taking my HTML/CSS course through Udemy, and I'm still doing the full-stack engineer program at Codecademy.
I'm still also taking my microbiology course, but I generally only get to it about once a week or so. It's a little less interesting to me than the others.
And I've added a crash course in Python just in case I need a base of Python knowledge for my computer class at the university.
Speaking of my computer class at the university....it started, and I am terrified, lol.
I appreciate that there is no textbook for the class. Or, more accurately, I'm thrilled that I don't have to pay $100 to $200 for a four-month membership to some learning platform for the class. I don't mind buying textbooks. Collecting them is another weird hobby I have. Until a few years ago, I even had all my textbooks from way back in my accounting days (and would still have them if they hadn't gotten water-damaged).
But I hate the current trend of buying a subscription to have short-term ebook access and premade assignments/quizzes/etc. I'm sure it's a lot easier for the professors, but I still prefer to have something tangible at the end of a class. For people who would normally sell their textbooks back at the end of the semester, the subscription thing is a bit of a racket. Most of the time, the prices are almost as high as a textbook, and there's no chance of any kind of mitigation of the expense by being able to sell it back at the end!
But I digress!
Why am I terrified of the class? Since it's a computer science class, I expected it to be highly documented, and it's not. At least not from the current information/documents/folders for the class. Many classes have folders for assignments, for exams, for weekly lessons. There are only lecture note files for this one. Even the syllabus gives little clue as to what to expect, other than that their will be 6-8 assignments and some quizzes. Most of the time, a class syllabus will include a schedule that gives a week-by-week break down of what will be covered and what would be due on what days. Nope. There's none of that. "The unknown" gives me anxiety.
In addition, there seems to be an expectation that everyone is already well-versed in Python....oops!
I thought this course was supposed to be a sort of survey course: learn to program by learning to dabble in several programming languages so that you can see the similarities/differences and establish a good standard base so that any future languages you encounter will be easier to learn. And so far, that does seem to be the purpose of the class.
The problem lies in the fact that he keeps referencing Python. He also said that in the class, we will basically be doing each program four times, once in each programming language, and everyone will probably want to "start with Python since that's what you already know and will be easiest." GULP!
It reminds me of the first time I "went back" to college. I first attended college in 1987, and my computer class involved boot disks, green, text-based displays (no GUI), and dot matrix printers. We were thrilled when we could create a program that would print out Xs and Os that formed a pattern on the page that looked like a dog.
When I returned to college in 1995, computers had changed a lot. They were starting to be more widely used, but not in any of the jobs I'd had as an adult. So my advisor suggested I take a short seminar type class that had been specifically designed for "older than average students" to get them familiar with the computers that they would be using A LOT during their time in college. (side note: to let you know how ancient even this "new-to-me" tech was, the first spreadsheet/database program I learned in this second go-round at college was LOTUS!)
So I signed up for this two-hour class on "Learning Computer Basics for College." I walked in the room and sat down at a computer. I hoped they were providing boot disks, because I didn't have my old one anymore.I marveled at the full-color screen with the weird little pictures on it. I wondered about the purpose of the weird pod thing tethered to the computer.
The instructor walked in, greeted us, and then said, "Grab your mouse and double-click on the 'Welcome to Computer Basics' icon."
What???Mouse???Double-click???Icon????
My hand shot up. NONE of those words made any sense to me.
Of course, by four years later, I had switched my major to computer science, had learned enough HTML to create my own website (CSS wasn't a "thing" back then), and left college early to take a job at a software company, lol.
And now, here I am, going down that technology road again. But I don't know Python...yet. And I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep my Communications Major/Information Systems minor, or if I'm going to switch my major (or minor) to computer science.
Of course, I could just try to finish out my communication major and drop the IS minor (which I hate, anyway; databases = meh!). I only have a few classes left (and the dreaded experience conundrum) for communication, anyway. Then I could re-enroll as a computer science major and see how it goes.
Those decisions will wait until another day, though. For now, I'm just going to try to get through this semester and this class. How this class goes may very well be a huge factor in the eventual decision.
Art update
I have been to carve out a couple of painting sessions, but not nearly as much as I would like.
I even decided to spoil myself and bought Dr. Ph. Martin's iridescent inks when the price. They had been on my wish list for over a year, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on buying them when they are so expensive. But now I've been too busy to use them yet, and that sucks!
This month's playlist.
The ten songs I'm listening to on repeat. There is a bonus song this month, just because I couldn't narrow it down to ten.
Pupdate #1
After Booboo passed away, I really did not want to get another dog. Not just because of all the usual reasons, but because of Bruce.
As much as I love Bruce, he's been a handful. He's unlike any dog we've ever had before. He's my dingo-dog problem-child. He's SO high energy, I really think that there is auggie in his bloodline. I've never seen a corgi that can be put in a sit beside you and then go from that sitting position to spring up and bite you on the earlobe. That's NOT what corgis are known for.
He's smart. He learned the "sit" command after three tries, no joke. But he's also impatient and has adhd, so I have to keep after him about going potty when we are outside, or he gets distracted and forgets. He's two-and-a-half years old, and I have to badger him like he's a pup! He never has accidents in the house; he just forgets to go when he's outside. When I leave the house, about 50% of the time, he still screams and throws himself against the door. He goes from dead asleep to tearing through the house at the slightest noise, and he has a horrible high-pitched bark that makes my eardrums pop.
Just as an example, "ball" is everything. When we go outside, and I throw the ball, he's quiet while he runs after it. But as soon as someone else catches the ball, he screams his high-pitched bark repeatedly while they bring the ball back to me and I throw it again. I'm sure the neighbors think he's being beat the whole time. And if he catches it, he brings it to me, and then drops it, and then resumes the high-pitched screams until I am able to pick it up and throw it again. It really is miserable.
So I didn't want a new puppy because I've already got my hands more than full with Bruce AND I don't want him to be an influence on a new dog.
But, we got a new puppy. So now I'm trying to make everything work. I'm trying to figure out a way that we can all be happier AND to help him be a better big brother for his new sister.
First of all, I don't want him to feel replaced or discarded because of the new puppy. Second, it's not his fault (nor ours) that he isn't what we expected. We've owned other corgis and know what to expect from the breed...and he's not like the other corgis. But still: not his fault. I've been working on some ideas to embrace his high-energy personality.
So we created a snuffle area in the yard. A neighbor was selling one of those outdoor kennel run things. We unfolded it and used it to make a perimeter around a section of the yard. Now I can take Bruce out there, toss some kibble around, and he has to snuffle through the grass to track it all down. The only thing Bruce loves more than "ball" is "snacks." Supposedly, snuffling helps dogs with anxiety, helps mitigate or reduce cognitive decline, and can burn as much energy as a walk.
We've also started buying brain games (puzzles), and he's GOOD. The only problem is that he's SO good, it's going to cost me a fortune to keep buying new puzzles for him!
The first one I bought was like those old slider puzzles from when we were kids. Beneath each tile is a treat. You can only move one tile at a time. So to get to the treat in the upper left corner, for example, you have to move the other tiles, one at a time, in the right sequence.
The first time, it took him an hour or so to get all the treats. The second time, it took him twenty minutes.
So I think we will try scent training, too. I just have to decide which kit looks good on Amazon and get it. I don't know if that will be as engaging for him, since he doesn't have a lot of patience. But it's worth a shot. And starter sets aren't too expensive.
The AKC also recommends agility for dogs like him, but I've given that up. I had a small, kinda chintzy agility set I bought for Murphy (he was never interested in it and looked at me like I was nuts). I've tried it a few times with Bruce, but he's way tooooo impatient to pay attention to what he is supposed to be doing.
I'm just hoping we never get to the point where I have to start keeping a small flock of sheep in order to keep him happy, lol.
Pupdate #2
The new pup is doing great! She's been camping twice, and she seems to really enjoy it. It's hard to keep Bruce from influencing her, as it seems she's chosen him as her favorite brother, lol. But I'm doing my best.
She's done very well in her training so far. Potty accidents are few and far between. She plays quietly or naps in her playpen when I'm working from home, and she is fully crate trained and knows the "crate" command.
She has a lot of the same attitude and sass that Honey Booboo had. When she annoys Bruce too much, and he starts to get mad and escalate, she doesn't cry or run away. Instead, she attacks back. She's not afraid of anything or anyone. She also seems to realize she's got everyone wrapped around her little dewclaw. I think she's going to be a good companion for adventures.
That's it for this month. Until next month, Stay Spooky, my friends!
~~Here be monsters . . . and corgis.~~