I’ve since learned that standing joint locks are very much low percentage techniques. Not going to work. I’m learning joint locks in judo, and the key to their successful application is immobilization or at least stabilization of the rest of the body.
...but upon further research, I found that it’s not very useful, at least for fighting, is not trained with significant live resistance, and doesn’t seem very edifying even intrinsically.
...so, you could say that I didn’t really complete this goal. I hit 80 a few times, and then as I got more into judo and other kinds of working out, I stopped doing daily push-ups entirely. This is a good test of will and a decent exercise if you’re not doing anything else, but at this point, it has little utility for me.
The cello that I took a chance on and bought for cheap was pretty crappy, and I can’t stand to practice on it. Also, I don’t really feel like working on it. So, synth cello for me, it is!
For a few weeks, I had this real estate plan, wherein I’d buy a building that I could rent out for more than the monthly mortgage payment. Ha! No one is selling buildings that are basically cash machines like that. Also, if you lose your renter, you have to foot the mortgage yourself, and I found that I can handle the payment for very few commercial buildings. Well, at least I found out.
I forgot about this goal, but I did make two games:
http://chaos.corrupt.net/notes/index.php?10310
http://chaos.corrupt.net/notes/index.php?10315
They’re not going to be fun for everyone, but they amuse me and at least 1-2 other people, so I think they fulfill the terms of this goal.
Oh, yeah, I forgot about this. I think my desire to shred out leads has waned once again. I like playing, but I can’t really make myself practice with a metronome every day. I’m tempted to cancel this, but I’ll leave it around for a while, just in case.
I probably had down this a month ago. And a capella, you can get away with murder, especially on tricky passages like “Don’t even stop in my station and attack while your plan failed, hit the rail like Amtrak.” I just tried it against the instrumental, and it took four tries before I got all the way through without mistakes. So, I’ll continue to work on it this way. And I feel pretty good about it.
Also, I’ve realized I have a voice that’s more like the RZA’s than the GZA’s.
OK, I finally got some speaker stands. They suck, but they do the job. So I can move the speakers off the pool table as well as all of the other crap.
I’ve reduced my meat intake (which hasn’t really resulted in any physical change), but it’s too much work to eat a certain amount of meat every day consistently.
After reading about what it takes to do this, I’ve decided it’s not worth it. Also, the fireflies are gone now.
My parents have a high-speed internet connection finally, so I can just use Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop to help them out and show them what to do without having to go through the exasperating phone walkthroughs.
I’ve decided to learn traditional judo instead of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll try BJJ.
Heh, I called up home warranty service, and they sent out a plumber. The plumber just hit this fuse circuit breaker button that I thought applied only to the sockets right next to it, and it started working again. They still charged $60 for the visit. Next time, I’m hitting every button in sight.
I did a lot of work on this, albeit not intensely, this Sunday while watching TV at my parents’ house. I think it helped me make it feel more naturally. I can get it smoothly at 92 bpm now. The upstroke accents aren’t that distinct, but I can definitely feel them and don’t throw myself off-balance doing them, and that’s what’s important here.
Practicing while standing up and not watching TV is defintely more effective than the alternative, though. That should be obvious, but sometimes you need simple ideas like that proven to you.
Clean at 130 bpm now.
Sixteenths, all down sweeps or all up sweeps: 84 bpm
Sixteenths, alternatiing down and up sweeps: 84 bpm
Things are naturally more awkward up at the 21st fret than they are at the 9th, and that’s the biggest bottleneck. So, I always start the exercises up there now.
I think this could be something with a bit of beat reworking and rearranging. Probably not in a week, though, which is the periodic deadline set by this goal.
