50. Write about a news event from when you were still in school and how it made you feel.

One news event that I haven't written about is the California Energy Crisis of 2000. It marked the first time that I heard the word deregulation and will always have negative connotations for me.

For me, I didn’t suffer too much as the occasional blackout only inconvienced me. For some, such as people connected to devices that needed constant power or were hit with rates that lead to financial instability, it was devastating.

In addition, it lead to a recall of the governor that lead to an absolute joke of a political race that still echos to this day.

49. Do you have a set of rules or guidelines for your life? Did you write them? Why do you use them?

One of the key guidelines that I’ve set for myself is that I treat people the way that I want to be treated. People should be treated with the respect and dignity of being a human being and an understanding that you will not know what their story in life is.

I know at one point it time, I wrote down a series of principles that I’ like to strive for in my day to day life. Unfortunately, it’s in a folder somewhere that I can’t find. I think I should start scheduling time to go over these things in the future.

I’m also getting back into using themes in my life and recently [wrote about my desire to be more intentional.](https://Intention - Mandaris) How am I going to go about that? I haven’t quite planned, I have the concepts of a plan.

48. Have you ever had a brush with celebrity? Write about It.

I once met Arj Barker after one of his comedy shows in Sacramento, CA. I used to follow him a little bit on twitter but haven’t looked into what he’s been doing since I stopped using the service.

It looks like he’s got a new comedy album, so I’ll queue that up for my drive to work.

47. Do you consider yourself to be an international person? Why or why not? If so, write about people you know or have known from other countries.

No.

Most if not all of my identity is made from the influences in my vacenity. Although I do read some comics made in other parts of the world, most of what I work with is local.

Now, I do have some friends that I interact with in different parts of the world, but most of their life is outside of what we talk about.

I tried doing a pen-pal thing this year but it hasn’t really worked out like I thought it would.

Maybe next year, but I don’t think I’ll have any margin to do much as I’ll be too focused on local politics and the fact that my oldest daughter will be graduating high school

46. What is your all-time favorite story to tell from all the jobs you’ve held?

It was New Year's Eve of 1999. I was working the night shift at a grocery store and it was packed with people buying last minute necessities for when the world shuts down.

It would echo again during the shutdown in the heights of Covid.

I think it was one of the worst days working there as I helped people fill their carts with gallons of water at the same time that they grabbed 2 liters of caffeine free diet coke and Twinkie’s. Honestly, if all the computers went down, I don’t think we would make it too long. I haven’t done anything to change it and have hidden away that fear and just hope things don’t go down that road.

45. What do you remember being a big deal to adults during your childhood or teenaged years?

The first thing that comes to mind is the OJ Simpson trail. I didn’t know who he was at the time. All I knew was that he was driving on a white truck down the freeway with the police following him.

I feel that it’s partially because of the verdict that came after the Rodney King beating that some people feel that this was win for us.

But I don’t know who us was in this discussion.

I feel that the discussions about the case have made me a better person as I was learned about different topics related to it. For example, marriage equality and what things do we bring and take away from a relationship; how someone can be found guilty or innocent and continue to have legal issues related to the matter; what is legal and what is justice.

There have been many jokes related to this trial and I’m sure that there are a lot of different takes on it and sadly many similar cases that don’t have the same media coverage.

So, it’s still a big deal to this day.

44. Are you an exerciser? What physical achievement are you most proud of? Ever play any sports?

I know that I’m happier when I exercise. I am the best version of myself when I exercise.

I, unfortunately, do not carve out boundaries to do the exercise that would make me happy. Even the time to do a quick 15-20 minute walk.

If you are reading this, feel free to poke me about this.

I used to play soccer and do cross country when I was younger, but I haven’t done much of that since.

I feel that my proudest physical achievement is when I ran a half marathon. It was a lot of walking, but I was really happy to have done it.

Who knows, in this next year, I might have to get into body building just to keep my sanity.

43. What’s the last trip you took? Was it fun? Why or why not.

The last trip I took was to visit family during the Christmas holiday. I would say that it was fun. There was a little tension in that we don’t all have the same political views, but we put that all aside and just focused on what was important.

The presents.

No, I’m joking.

I got to play my favorite card game, Uno: No Mercy, and was able to completely dominate all the little kids in the house.

We also had a whole lot of food and was stuffed.

I know this isn't Friday, but I really want to finish these post ideas before the end of the year.

42. Write a #FollowFriday with the names of your favorite bloggers or social media follows and why you like them.

Leon Mika

I think I interact with his blog more than anyone else’s this year because he has a lot of things that I’m interested in. I met him via the Hemispheric Views discord.

James’ Coffee Blog

I met him view the IndieWeb European meetup. He writes quite a bit and has a number of experiments going on.

Joe Not Art

I met him from the indie web as well. He’s always doing stuff to help the community and I really appreciate him.

Mark Sutherland

Another person from the Indie web. He doesn’t blog as much but he’s always been very helpful in pointing me in the right direction for web development.

Miraz Jordan

Miraz has a lot of wonderful things to share.

41. What is your relationship with your phone? Does it make you happy or sad? Do you get a new one frequently or infrequently?

When the iPhone first came out, it was the only material possession that I wanted. It had the promise of being everything that I could technically want in one device in my pocket. I wasn’t able to afford it at the time, most people weren’t as it was $600 dollars and I was expecting my first child.

I later got one, but it has never really made me happy.

I’ve been content to be able to while away hours playing games and surfing the internet.

I’m grateful when it give me correct information about traffic and weather.

I do get enjoyment from taking and looking at pictures and I think that is the closest that I come from being happy about the phone.

Because it has come with costs that I didn’t expect.

Interruptions from telemarketers.

Things claiming to be news but advertisements about things that I have no interest in.

Time that I should have been paying attention to other things but was concentrated on my screen.

It’s a complicated feeling and is part of why I don’t get a new one frequently.

I'm actually very happy to have this question.

40. What is the most scared you have ever been? Can you write about it? (Don’t dig up trauma for a blog post)

One event that comes to mind that isn’t very traumatic is a moment when I was first dating my girlfriend (now wife). We were celebrating our one year anniversary of dating and had gone to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. I thought it was going to be a nice trip with us relaxing by the beach and playing the midway games.

I hadn’t thought about rides that are offered on the boardwalk. In fact, we had arrived early and none of the rides were operating at that time and all you could hear was the calming waves of the ocean.

That’s when it happened.

My wife suggested a rollercoaster.

I hadn’t told my wife that I actually was afraid of rides. Maybe some part of me thought that it would never come up or that everyone feels the same way.

I though the best way to get out of this was to go on another ride. A ride that had a shorter line and was right next to the rollercoaster.

How bad can it be?

The ride was called The Fireball.

I thought it just rocked back and forth and did a little spin here and there.

I was wrong.

I flipped 180 degrees. I was upside down and I hated it.

I screamed quite a bit and it became one of the key moments of our relationship as I was VERY honest with her about things that made me uncomfortable. I would try them and keep and open mind.

But man!

I still hate rollercoasters.

45. What do you remember being a big deal to adults during your childhood or teenaged years?

The first thing that comes to mind is the OJ Simpson trail. I didn’t know who he was at the time. All I knew was that he was driving on a white truck down the freeway with the police following him.

I feel that it’s partially because of the verdict that came after the Rodney King beating that some people feel that this was win for us.

But I don’t know who us was in this discussion.

I feel that the discussions about the case have made me a better person as I was learned about different topics related to it. For example, marriage equality and what things do we bring and take away from a relationship; how someone can be found guilty or innocent and continue to have legal issues related to the matter; what is legal and what is justice.

There have been many jokes related to this trial and I’m sure that there are a lot of different takes on it and sadly many similar cases that don’t have the same media coverage.

So, it’s still a big deal to this day.

39. What do you like to read? Books, newsletters, doomscrolling, blogs, paper magazines?

My favorite thing to read are comics. I’ve enjoyed comics since I was a kid and would read the funny pages in the newspaper. When I was younger, my favorites were Calvin and Hobbs, Bloom County and The Far Side. I didn’t quite get all the jokes in Bloom County at the time, but it was so different from things like Garfield and Peanuts that it really stood out for me. It was also easier to grasp the satire for me than Doonesbury. I feel that The Far Side had the most impact on me because of its single panel nature. I had a collection of books, mugs, and shirts with different comics.

38. How do you feel about writing? Is it often cathartic, fun, a chore?

I genuinely enjoy writing. I feel that it gives me a creative outlet and allows me to see my thoughts in words. I don’t consider myself prolific or especially gifted when it comes to the written word, but I feel that sharing my thoughts online might help someone else out there. Another version of me who might feel the same way and didn’t know how to put it in the right way. Or, is looking for that one resource that I’ve linked to on my blog.

I don’t have as much fun editing my writing. I do like writing tools and there are certainly a lot of options available. So many that it sometimes stops me from making longer pieces.

37. Do you have any good or bad stories from your relationship with social media or Internet communities?

A story that comes to mind happened when MySpace was starting to take off. My roommates sister was visiting for the first time and some of the first questions for me was how many followers that i had and whether I could put her in my top 8.

I don’t remember her name or anything else but that really left an impression.

Here it was in front of me… The gamification of increasing a social network of strangers.

36. What do you remember about your first computer and learning to use it?

The first computer that I remember using on a regular basis was a Tandy from RadioShack. I don’t feel that I really appreciated it because it was hard to use. I was younger and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t get things working on it. This was especially bad when I would attempt to run shareware that I would get from different magazines and grocery stores. Yes, they sold software at my local grocery store right next to the checkout and candy.

35. What is your typical day like from the time you wake up until you go to bed?

I think this is a nice little compliment to a post I did recently about my goal of being more intentional. The only thing that is typical about my day is the time that my alarm goes off. After that, I get out of bed, make coffee for my wife and lunch for my kids. Then drop them off at school and see where the chaos takes me until I pass out for the night. In between that, I try to make it to all the things on my calendar.

34. Write a book review of the last book you couldn't put down.

I already wrote about the last book that I finished, but wanted to talk about the book that I’m currently working through which is How to calm your mind by Chris Bailey. I picked it up after listening to an interview that author was doing on the Mac Power Users podcast.

I’ve been feeling a little lost recently and I feel that having a sense of inner peace will definitely help me in the coming months and years.

This is an interesting question because I've heard of people saying that most people are single issue voters and we recently had an election where someone complained about the price of eggs being a key factor in how they voted.

33. What are five issues that have affected your political life?

1. Being a minority
   There are many things that are related to this and people have written many books and articles on this subject. It’s part of my identity.
2. Being unemployed at one point in my life
   I was a new father and having a no income really affected me. Who was I if I couldn’t do the things that I had set out to do? It was one of the lowest points in my life and it still affects me to this day.
3. Seeing some of the inequalities for women
   It’s kind of sickening on how people view women. It’s not enough to recognize that they are our mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters. They are human beings and should have the same standing.
4. Having the Columbie shooting happen when I was in high school I remember being in the hallway and being ushered into a class room for safety where the teacher had news broadcast discussing the event as it happened. I remember seeing the students running from the school. Sad to say, we haven’t done much to fix the situation since. Even sadder, I remember feeling a little relieved during the start of the lockdown for the COVID pandemic because I wouldn’t have to worry about a school shooting.
5. Access to things that make your life better I really appreciate being able to do things such as go to college, the library, and other public works. There are also programs available for you to find the help you desire to help you with various things. I have several posts where I list places you can go for help.

This was actually a pretty hard challenge for me and I appreciate the opportunity to write out some of my thoughts and feelings.

32. What is your perfect record album?

I feel that Off the Wall by Michael Jackson is the perfect record album. This is essentially the same answer for me as prompt 24.

31. Is there a particular country other than your own that fascinates you? Why?

Not Really.

I’m a homebody and ignorant of the outside world.

I think there was a point in my life that I looked at Brussels. I half remember it being a place that would welcome remote work, but I feel that was before the pandemic and a huge influx of people going over there and raising the cost of living.

This is a pretty big milestone when it comes to working through these prompts.

30. What is something you are passionate about and why?

It is an interesting time to think about this. What is passion? And am I passionate about anything right now? I feel that I could wheel out the standard answers - such as “family”, “giving back”, “movies”, etc. - but it doesn’t feel right at this moment in time. I think I’m just growing numb as so much has been happening in the last couple months/years. I love my family. I love writing on my blog. I love spending hours reading comic books. These things get me out of the bed in the morning and keep me awake at night. Are these examples of “passion”?

29. Can you make a list of 20 moments in your current or past life that you would classify as sublime?

I would say moments with my wife and children have been sublime. It's very rare that I feel that kind contentment with life.

I want to be get back into my writing.

28. Do you have an /Interests page on your blog? What is on it or what would you put on one if you made it?

No, I do not have anything other than an /about page on my blog. I sometimes have trouble writing about myself and leave something like this as a project for future me to do one day.

If I was to make one, it would have comics, music, and movies listed. The second draft would have my favorite musical performers (Michael Jackson, Jameroquai, Daft Punk). The third draft would include things about web development and accessibility. Followed by a fourth, where I’d write about writing and how it’s so important that I left it to the last part of my fourth draft.

27. What kind of decorations do you have in your workspace? What do they mean to you?

The place that I’m currently working has a “hoteling” requirement. This means that I’m required to book an appointment with a cubicle within an allotted set two (2) days a week. We can only book a cubicle 2 weeks in advance and we’re only required to be here two days, there is no guarantee that you’ll get the same cubicle. Also, if you do not book the time someone else can sit there. You can’t book a cubicle and not sit there.

So, it discourages us from taking the time to decorate the workspace.

They’ve tried to make it more “fun” by placing pictures up of excited places, but it’s roughly the same 8-10 pictures in a certain group of cubes.

It’s not all bad, I do have access to a cafeteria and a printer.