Please Stand By
Learning As I Go #13
Greetings from a damp, overcast, and most chilly Piedmont, where pollen and carpenter bees are usually my nemeses at this time of the year. But, as we keep seeing and hearing, things are different now.
Like everyone else, it seems, we’re hunkered down and holding our collective breath until normal service — or something like it — resumes.
Change of Plans
We cancelled our planned trip to Nova Scotia in May-June. This was a sad decision to make as we’d been planning and looking forward to it since last year. But the thought of it hanging out there in the future when we don’t know what the future will allow made us decide to cancel. We have a blank slate for the rest of the year now and can reassess what we want to do when the time is right.
What My Day Looks Like Now
As someone who likes his comforting routines, my days follow my old routine as much as possible.
I shower and dress as if for work and keep to my usual start/stop times. I tend to favor hyperscheduling every hour of the day so I don’t drift. The schedule can be altered as needed, but I like having a map for the day.
I exercise with my kettlebells twice a week. We take a walk through the neighborhood every afternoon to get sunlight and fresh air; the azaleas have started popping from last week’s warm weather and spring colors are starting to burst forth.
We’re lucky to be able to work from home so my “office” is the dining room table, where I can spread out. This lets me keep up with washing the dishes throughout the day (the Aeropress is getting a 3-coffees-a-day workout from me).
I don’t get what people are saying about finding things to do while confined to indoors. I always have too much to do. My evenings are spent writing newsletters or doing my coaching homework (more on that below); I stay burrowed into that till bedtime.
The End is Not Fixed
I wrote and posted the following on Facebook last week and it seemed to resonate with some people.
…
Two things I remember calling on from when I went through a rather dark time 10 or more years ago.
The first was from a counselor of mine who said “This experience will serve you. We don't know how, or when, or what it will look like when it appears. But it will serve you.”
The second was a blog post by Ben Casnocha, who reproduced words of comfort from an old professor to a young student who was uncertain about her life path. I don't know why I find comfort in these words, but I do. Here's the quote:
Don't think too much and don't worry (advice from someone who did too much of both). Dewey has a lot to say about being on the road. The most important thing is to give up the idea that the end is already fixed. It is happening in real time. Be in what you are doing, and always remain open — there are opportunities that will be created that don't even exist yet. Just be there. They'll come.
This experience will serve you. The end is not fixed. Stay in it. Just be there.
Accountability Coaching
Over this past weekend, I and about 12 other folks joined my coach Mary Schiller as she taught us the basics of accountability coaching.
I've worked with coaches for years on issues general (time management, spirituality, well-being) and specific (nutrition, fitness, starting a business, even leaving the world of academe — talk about a specific niche). I've learned a lot, gained a lot, and shared what I learned with friends.
But the missing piece to a lot of coaching or learning programs — whether in-person, in a book, or online — is putting that learning into action.
Which is what I love about accountability coaching. It helps the client take the tiny daily steps needed to make their goals a reality.
My goal as part of the training was to spend 20 minutes a day finding a friend who's willing to let me experiment on them for 4 weeks. So this message to you constitutes a step toward my own accountability!
If this kind of coaching sounds interesting to you or someone you know, please pass their info to me and I'll schedule a call with them.
And Nonsense, Because That’s What This Newsletter Really Wants to be About
Origins of the Please Stand By Screen — Xtra Kredit on the Skooled Zone - YouTube (the good stuff starts at 1:04). The screen apparently plays a part in a series of games called “Fallout,” which you’ll hear referred to in the narration.
Here is a good ‘n’ nerdy comment left on the video:
A very good recounting, but you left out two moderately important facts:
Every part of the design serves a purpose in calibrating the set and camera. The squares check aspect ratio (8 squares by 6 squares is 4:3); the wedges in the center check the horizontal and vertical alignment; the dotted lines check for high-frequency overcompensation; the wide bars at the bottom check for low frequency response; the corner circles check beam focus at the edges; the numbers give you the number of scan lines; the diagonal shaped wedge checks amplitude distortion; and even the Indian head is used to check brightness and contrast, much like similar images used to calibrate the gamma of our monitors now. (Sub-fact: The test pattern was replaced by the SMPTE color bars when color television became commonplace.)
Unlike previous test patterns, the Indian head could be used as either a card or as a vacuum-tube signal. Ironically, while the tubes were preferred for calibration (since you couldn't set them up wrongly), the cards eventually became popular as artwork. The tubes, alas, were mostly junked -- they're quite rare these days.
This Week
Working from the dining room table till further notice. I had the Bull City Commons newsletter mapped out but shelved it. The physical distancing required to contain the coronavirus has understandably disrupted our operations. So a rethink and pivot on what to write about is in order. Our monthly business meeting and all our circle meetings will now be on Zoom, so lots of folks are getting familiar with that now-essential tool.
Every day, spending 20-30 minutes on my accountability goal and supporting my fellow coaches on their goals.
As for movies: must be a sign of the anxious times, but we find ourselves revisiting comfortable old favorites. Last weekend it was Topsy-Turvy; this weekend, it may be Sideways or Mrs. Dalloway or The Norman Conquests or Waking Life.
Be well.
I’m Michael E. Brown. One of my goals with my website and this letter is to keep in touch with friends and correspondents.
Learning As I Go is published on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month unless it isn’t.