Weeknote for 3/8/2020

Learning

🙂

Last week I (1) reread a lot of William Atkinson’s anti-mnemonics book, (2) filled out my list of mnemonic devices, (3) listed over 30 memory palaces I could use from my life, (4) got a handle on the ways Lynne Kelly uses her rapscallions (mnemonic characters), and (5) nailed down one of my key difficulties in using memory techniques, which is my mind’s slowness at forming creative mnemonic associations. This realization has resolved the question of when I’ll get back to working on my mnemonic substitutes dictionary: this week. Mnemonic systems are already good for memorizing numbers, and this dictionary will give me a way to memorize everything else.

I also (6) introduced myself on the Art of Memory forum, and hopefully I’ll have some good conversations there.

Life maintenance

😐

My life maintenance projects could use a boost.

Diet

I’ve been sticking to my diet, but my weight is hovering, and I suspect it’s because my metabolism has slowed to compensate. Maybe exercise would help, so it’s convenient the weather is getting nicer and my memory project has given me a reason to walk around the neighborhood.

Sleep

I’ve had spotty success getting myself back on schedule, and it’s because I’ve been giving myself excuses to stay up in certain circumstances. So I need to reprioritize sleep and sacrifice other things when necessary, and to do that I’m going to set my bedtime intention in the afternoon and plan my evening accordingly.

Music

🙂

Our church’s new sound system was installed over the weekend, and our team got to try it out on Sunday, which mostly worked out well, so now the congregation can hear everything clearly wherever they are in the sanctuary, and the instrumentalists have individual mixers that we listen to through headphones, which is really an improvement over our old setup.

Bible

😐

I got through my Bible listening for the week, Deut 5-Neh 11. Sometimes I end my listening late in the day and don’t really have time to note my reactions, so I’ve gotten a bit behind on that.

Movies

😎

At the beginning of the week I finished The Godfather Part II, and it certainly sets up a rich scenario for reflection and speculation and analysis, so if Part III is as mediocre as I hear, I’d agree that II is the best of the series. My favorite scene was when Kay makes her stand.

Friday I watched Bird Box, which I knew almost nothing about, and it’s another movie that stuck in my mind afterward, with ruminations on its psychology. In some ways it has a typical plot for a survival horror, but it’s also a cosmic horror with very surreal elements, so of course I loved it, and I was intrigued to find out it’s based on a novel, which I will be listening to because I need to know more.

Birthday

🙂

Saturday was my Douglas Adams birthday, and I’d thought about planning something for it, but I ended up waiting too late and not feeling like setting anything up anyway, so I let it be a normal day and hung out at a couple of my favorite spots around town, and I ended up dropping by Jeremy and Heather’s and playing Mamma Mia! with them. Overall a pretty nice day.