6,000

01/03/2013 10:30 pm
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Exactly 5 years and 5 days after the serpent’s solar panels were connected to the grid they clocked up the magic 6,000 kilowatts. It’s a pissy little 1kw system on a west facing roof so that is a reasonably good performance
These days it would cost less than half of the $5,000 it was back then but it would be a veritable nightmare sorting out the kosher from the crap. And the serpent would not be getting 47 cents for every unit sold back to the grid. These days in spite of being cheap as chips, solar panels are only worth the bother for big users.

Those panels were just one out of a hundred things on a certain ‘to do’ list started back in May 2007. Every now and again I indulge in such bouts of wishful thinking. A relic from the ancient days of 5 year plans from your local socialist utopia or maybe just a bit of wishful thinking

Sometimes you make a 5 year plan and forget all about it. Then years later those bits of paper with all that wishful thinking just turn up out of nowhere long after the initial enthusiasm has worn off. But the spooky thing is that a bunch of things have been ticked off. So somewhere deep in the recesses of the dark cobwebbed corners of the mind it has been remembered after all
So for that reason alone it is worth indulging in such list making and wishful thinking. After all even a 50% fail rate probably results in more stuff getting done than if the list never existed

So with this in mind started the first list of 101 things in 1000 days way back in May 2007. Managed to complete 48 of the 101 things on the list and another 18 were still in progress but the most significant thing turned out to be how the list alerted the serpent to possible opportunities that would have remained otherwise unnoticed. The very wishful ‘Earn 20% of income from other than work sources’ item was almost in the same league as “Win the lottery”
But the fact it was there made all the difference. When such an opportunity did indeed present itself, it was time to give it a second look rather than dismiss it outright. This one decision directly influenced other items on the second incarnation of the 101 things in 1000 days list

That one finished last week. It was pretty much abandoned after a bunch of Howlers from a certain toad last year but even before then was looking most miserable indeed
The final score ended up being a very sad and pathetic 17 ticks on the list for things completed and 18 items in progress. That left a ridiculous 75 items not even touched
But one of these 17 completed items was probably worth at least 20 of the completely and totally failed 75. Had aimed for paying $40,000 off the Lair but had managed to add an extra $16,000 to that and got rid of the whole thing entirely. A large part of achieving this goal was directly related to devoting all that non work derived income from the 2007-2010 list to increasing the house payments.

And now that the frumpy and ever so ancient serpent is still not gainfully employed, this single item along with the solar panels from the previous list have proved most useful and significant indeed.

There will be a new list but a bit less ambitious. It will be two years long instead of nearly three and will include only 5 things. But the big difference is that while each of these five big ticket items can be expanded to ten steps each to make a total of 50, unlike the old lists they are all part of a bigger picture rather than just a random collection of interesting or useful things to do

The hottest summer on record in this bit of Oz has well and truly nuked the serpent’s garden and the next six months will be devoted to tree planting and other devious means to keep that evil yellow blob in the sky from sizzling the soil next summer.

6,000

01/03/2013 10:30 pm
izmeina: (oro)
Exactly 5 years and 5 days after the serpent’s solar panels were connected to the grid they clocked up the magic 6,000 kilowatts. It’s a pissy little 1kw system on a west facing roof so that is a reasonably good performance
These days it would cost less than half of the $5,000 it was back then but it would be a veritable nightmare sorting out the kosher from the crap. And the serpent would not be getting 47 cents for every unit sold back to the grid. These days in spite of being cheap as chips, solar panels are only worth the bother for big users.

Those panels were just one out of a hundred things on a certain ‘to do’ list started back in May 2007. Every now and again I indulge in such bouts of wishful thinking. A relic from the ancient days of 5 year plans from your local socialist utopia or maybe just a bit of wishful thinking

Sometimes you make a 5 year plan and forget all about it. Then years later those bits of paper with all that wishful thinking just turn up out of nowhere long after the initial enthusiasm has worn off. But the spooky thing is that a bunch of things have been ticked off. So somewhere deep in the recesses of the dark cobwebbed corners of the mind it has been remembered after all
So for that reason alone it is worth indulging in such list making and wishful thinking. After all even a 50% fail rate probably results in more stuff getting done than if the list never existed

So with this in mind started the first list of 101 things in 1000 days way back in May 2007. Managed to complete 48 of the 101 things on the list and another 18 were still in progress but the most significant thing turned out to be how the list alerted the serpent to possible opportunities that would have remained otherwise unnoticed. The very wishful ‘Earn 20% of income from other than work sources’ item was almost in the same league as “Win the lottery”
But the fact it was there made all the difference. When such an opportunity did indeed present itself, it was time to give it a second look rather than dismiss it outright. This one decision directly influenced other items on the second incarnation of the 101 things in 1000 days list

That one finished last week. It was pretty much abandoned after a bunch of Howlers from a certain toad last year but even before then was looking most miserable indeed
The final score ended up being a very sad and pathetic 17 ticks on the list for things completed and 18 items in progress. That left a ridiculous 75 items not even touched
But one of these 17 completed items was probably worth at least 20 of the completely and totally failed 75. Had aimed for paying $40,000 off the Lair but had managed to add an extra $16,000 to that and got rid of the whole thing entirely. A large part of achieving this goal was directly related to devoting all that non work derived income from the 2007-2010 list to increasing the house payments.

And now that the frumpy and ever so ancient serpent is still not gainfully employed, this single item along with the solar panels from the previous list have proved most useful and significant indeed.

There will be a new list but a bit less ambitious. It will be two years long instead of nearly three and will include only 5 things. But the big difference is that while each of these five big ticket items can be expanded to ten steps each to make a total of 50, unlike the old lists they are all part of a bigger picture rather than just a random collection of interesting or useful things to do

The hottest summer on record in this bit of Oz has well and truly nuked the serpent’s garden and the next six months will be devoted to tree planting and other devious means to keep that evil yellow blob in the sky from sizzling the soil next summer.
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Snatched from the latest 101 things in 1001 days list

A mixture of important, urgent and just plain crazy

Just counted and there's 40 on the list
Will be interesting to see how many of those of those get ticked off. This time some of them are going to get specific dates and times attached

Lurking in the Lair

1.Plant 10 varieties of chili including nasty nagas,ghost chillis and Trinidad Scorpion
2.Be self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
3.Install ceiling insulation and whirly bird ventilation
4.Install drip irrigation in the garden
5.Make the garden drought proof for December till end of February

Out and about

13.Watch the summer solstice sunset at Cottesloe Beach
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto


Goblin Business


29.Earn 30% of income from other than work sources
30.Pay $20,000 off house
Goblin Gossip )
31.Write a will
32.Do 100 Buy Nothing Days )
35.Keep credit card balance in the black (or less than $200 in the red)
Been in the black since the start of this new list

36.Do the $20 groceries challenge at least 6 times (spending less than $20 on food for a week)

Geekish Things

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
41.Use a graphics tablet to develop ideas for designing tarot cards
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place

Bookish Bits


52.Read "Against the Gods"
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 6 science fiction novels
Including "Kraken""The City and the City" and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Enter and win Nanowrimo (ie write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November)
59.Learn to make handmade paper


Sybil Says

61.Create a Book of Shadows

64.Design and create a Tarot deck - split up because it is waaay too big for one goal
65.(Major Arcana)
69.Read "Hands on Chaos Magic" and do more than half of the exercises
25/05/10 Chapters 1 and 2

71.Create a serpent version of "Advanced Potions Making" (scrapbooking with a wicked twist)


Munchies


76.Find and make 6 recipes with chickpeas
77.Find and make 6 recipes with lentils
81.Make pesto instead of buying it
82.Make garlic soup
84.Make Mango and Chai Lassi

Odds and ends


87.Declutter and tidy the kitchen cupboards
88.Keep them that way
89.Master the Dark Art of Hyperbolic Crochet
94.Do a permaculture course
96. List 50 things that make the Izzie happy )



Corn and Kitsch

97.Read 3 Dan Brown novels
1 "Angels and Demons" 30/05/10 - 06/06/10
This is much more fun than expected. Izzie loves a good conspiracy


99.Read at least 3 books even worse than "The Alchemist"
izmeina: Strange Spiral Clock (Time Turner)
Snatched from the latest 101 things in 1001 days list

A mixture of important, urgent and just plain crazy

Just counted and there's 40 on the list
Will be interesting to see how many of those of those get ticked off. This time some of them are going to get specific dates and times attached

Lurking in the Lair

1.Plant 10 varieties of chili including nasty nagas,ghost chillis and Trinidad Scorpion
2.Be self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
3.Install ceiling insulation and whirly bird ventilation
4.Install drip irrigation in the garden
5.Make the garden drought proof for December till end of February

Out and about

13.Watch the summer solstice sunset at Cottesloe Beach
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto


Goblin Business


29.Earn 30% of income from other than work sources
30.Pay $20,000 off house
Goblin Gossip )
31.Write a will
32.Do 100 Buy Nothing Days )
35.Keep credit card balance in the black (or less than $200 in the red)
Been in the black since the start of this new list

36.Do the $20 groceries challenge at least 6 times (spending less than $20 on food for a week)

Geekish Things

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
41.Use a graphics tablet to develop ideas for designing tarot cards
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place

Bookish Bits


52.Read "Against the Gods"
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 6 science fiction novels
Including "Kraken""The City and the City" and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Enter and win Nanowrimo (ie write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November)
59.Learn to make handmade paper


Sybil Says

61.Create a Book of Shadows

64.Design and create a Tarot deck - split up because it is waaay too big for one goal
65.(Major Arcana)
69.Read "Hands on Chaos Magic" and do more than half of the exercises
25/05/10 Chapters 1 and 2

71.Create a serpent version of "Advanced Potions Making" (scrapbooking with a wicked twist)


Munchies


76.Find and make 6 recipes with chickpeas
77.Find and make 6 recipes with lentils
81.Make pesto instead of buying it
82.Make garlic soup
84.Make Mango and Chai Lassi

Odds and ends


87.Declutter and tidy the kitchen cupboards
88.Keep them that way
89.Master the Dark Art of Hyperbolic Crochet
94.Do a permaculture course
96. List 50 things that make the Izzie happy )



Corn and Kitsch

97.Read 3 Dan Brown novels
1 "Angels and Demons" 30/05/10 - 06/06/10
This is much more fun than expected. Izzie loves a good conspiracy


99.Read at least 3 books even worse than "The Alchemist"
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
The latest 101 things in 1001 days list

Lurking in the Lair

1.Plant 10 varieties of chili including nasty nagas,ghost chillis and Trinidad Scorpion
2.Be self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
3.Install ceiling insulation and whirly bird ventilation
4.Install drip irrigation in the garden
5.Make the garden drought proof for December till end of February
6.Grow 12 varieties of medicinal plants
7.Grow 12 varieties of poisonous plants
8.Reduce water usage to 50% of water bill from 2010
9.Reduce electricity usage to 50% of 2010 average
10.Grow Lucerne, chia, coriander and buckwheat for the bees
11.Find a way of getting the essential oils out of oranges and eucalyptus
12.Lure galahs and corellas to lurk around the Lair

Out and about

13.Watch at least one summer solstice sunset at Cottesloe Beach
14.Visit One Tree Hill (Orcland) at Full Moon
15.Organize schedule for 2012 Grand European Tour
16.Visit Tasmania
17.Visit the Art Gallery's Patricia Piccinini exhibition
18.Visit the Country Gardens Festival
19.See the wildflowers in bloom
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto
22.Visit 6 gardening shows
23.Visit 6 Open Gardens
24.Visit 6 permaculture or organic gardens for inspiration

Goblin Business

25.Do the Izzie taxes online
26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 6 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
29.Earn 20% of income from other than work sources
30.Pay $40,000 off house
31.Write a will
32.Do 200 Buy Nothing Days
33.Buy 4 bookcases
34.Sort out the Broom Cupboard
35.Keep credit card balance in the black (or less than $200 in the red)
36.Do the $20 groceries challenge at least 6 times (spending less than $20 on food for a week)

Geekish Things

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
38.Learn Linux basics
39.Get a 500gb (or larger) external hard drive for back ups
40.Back up important files at least once per month
41.Use a graphics tablet to develop ideas for designing tarot cards
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place
44.Find 101 nice things to say about Bill Gates
45.Invent an alphabet
46.Translate the numbers from 0-144 in an Izzie invented language
47.Translate the Babel text also
48.Design a font

Bookish Bits

49.Reread "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
50.Reread "Stadt der Traumende Bucher"
51.Reread “1984”
52.Read "Against the Gods"
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 6 science fiction novels
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Enter and win Nanowrimo (ie write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November)
59.Learn to make handmade paper
60.Make at least one handbound book from scratch – paper and all

Sybil Says

61.Create a Book of Shadows
62.Learn to recognize Aquarius, Pisces and 10 other non zodiac constellations
63.Visit Astrofest or an astronomical observatory
64.Design and create a Tarot deck - split up because it is waaay too big for one goal
65.(Major Arcana)
66.(Court Cards)
67.(Number Cards)
68.Do the 13 steps in Leslie Kenton's “Journey to Freedom”
69.Read "Hands on Chaos Magic" and do more than half of the exercises
70.Find a cauldron and brew something in it
71.Create a serpent version of "Advanced Potions Making" (scrapbooking with a wicked twist)
72.Make a suitable Sybil Space upstairs in the Lair

Munchies

73.Cook at least two dinners a week for six months (or 50 times)
74.Invite the Dursleys over for Dinner
75.Bake sourdough bread at least once
76.Find and make 6 recipes with chickpeas
77.Find and make 6 recipes with lentils
78.Try out a Vietnamese Restaurant
79.Try out a Korean Restaurant
80.Make dark chocolate moon truffles
81.Make pesto instead of buying it
82.Make garlic soup
83.Make pasta from scratch
84.Make Mango and Chai Lassi

Odds and ends

85.Complete the Cat's tarot writing exercises
86.Complete the Rostrum Advanced Program (Public Speaking)
87.Declutter and tidy the kitchen cupboards
88.Keep them that way
89.Master the Dark Art of Hyperbolic Crochet
90.Make a Hexenecke in our Garden of Arcane Delights
91.Make a frog pond
92.Plant a bird friendly native garden on the verge (full of evil critters such as banksias, grevilleas and acacias with the odd evil South African import such as King Proteas
93.Design a quilt
94.Do a permaculture course
95.Send 50 thank you cards
96. List 50 things that make the Izzie happy

Corn and Kitsch

97.Read 3 Dan Brown novels
98.Read the Twilight Series
99.Read at least 3 books even worse than "The Alchemist"
100.
101.
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
The latest 101 things in 1001 days list

Lurking in the Lair

1.Plant 10 varieties of chili including nasty nagas,ghost chillis and Trinidad Scorpion
2.Be self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
3.Install ceiling insulation and whirly bird ventilation
4.Install drip irrigation in the garden
5.Make the garden drought proof for December till end of February
6.Grow 12 varieties of medicinal plants
7.Grow 12 varieties of poisonous plants
8.Reduce water usage to 50% of water bill from 2010
9.Reduce electricity usage to 50% of 2010 average
10.Grow Lucerne, chia, coriander and buckwheat for the bees
11.Find a way of getting the essential oils out of oranges and eucalyptus
12.Lure galahs and corellas to lurk around the Lair

Out and about

13.Watch at least one summer solstice sunset at Cottesloe Beach
14.Visit One Tree Hill (Orcland) at Full Moon
15.Organize schedule for 2012 Grand European Tour
16.Visit Tasmania
17.Visit the Art Gallery's Patricia Piccinini exhibition
18.Visit the Country Gardens Festival
19.See the wildflowers in bloom
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto
22.Visit 6 gardening shows
23.Visit 6 Open Gardens
24.Visit 6 permaculture or organic gardens for inspiration

Goblin Business

25.Do the Izzie taxes online
26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 6 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
29.Earn 20% of income from other than work sources
30.Pay $40,000 off house
31.Write a will
32.Do 200 Buy Nothing Days
33.Buy 4 bookcases
34.Sort out the Broom Cupboard
35.Keep credit card balance in the black (or less than $200 in the red)
36.Do the $20 groceries challenge at least 6 times (spending less than $20 on food for a week)

Geekish Things

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
38.Learn Linux basics
39.Get a 500gb (or larger) external hard drive for back ups
40.Back up important files at least once per month
41.Use a graphics tablet to develop ideas for designing tarot cards
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place
44.Find 101 nice things to say about Bill Gates
45.Invent an alphabet
46.Translate the numbers from 0-144 in an Izzie invented language
47.Translate the Babel text also
48.Design a font

Bookish Bits

49.Reread "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
50.Reread "Stadt der Traumende Bucher"
51.Reread “1984”
52.Read "Against the Gods"
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 6 science fiction novels
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Enter and win Nanowrimo (ie write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November)
59.Learn to make handmade paper
60.Make at least one handbound book from scratch – paper and all

Sybil Says

61.Create a Book of Shadows
62.Learn to recognize Aquarius, Pisces and 10 other non zodiac constellations
63.Visit Astrofest or an astronomical observatory
64.Design and create a Tarot deck - split up because it is waaay too big for one goal
65.(Major Arcana)
66.(Court Cards)
67.(Number Cards)
68.Do the 13 steps in Leslie Kenton's “Journey to Freedom”
69.Read "Hands on Chaos Magic" and do more than half of the exercises
70.Find a cauldron and brew something in it
71.Create a serpent version of "Advanced Potions Making" (scrapbooking with a wicked twist)
72.Make a suitable Sybil Space upstairs in the Lair

Munchies

73.Cook at least two dinners a week for six months (or 50 times)
74.Invite the Dursleys over for Dinner
75.Bake sourdough bread at least once
76.Find and make 6 recipes with chickpeas
77.Find and make 6 recipes with lentils
78.Try out a Vietnamese Restaurant
79.Try out a Korean Restaurant
80.Make dark chocolate moon truffles
81.Make pesto instead of buying it
82.Make garlic soup
83.Make pasta from scratch
84.Make Mango and Chai Lassi

Odds and ends

85.Complete the Cat's tarot writing exercises
86.Complete the Rostrum Advanced Program (Public Speaking)
87.Declutter and tidy the kitchen cupboards
88.Keep them that way
89.Master the Dark Art of Hyperbolic Crochet
90.Make a Hexenecke in our Garden of Arcane Delights
91.Make a frog pond
92.Plant a bird friendly native garden on the verge (full of evil critters such as banksias, grevilleas and acacias with the odd evil South African import such as King Proteas
93.Design a quilt
94.Do a permaculture course
95.Send 50 thank you cards
96. List 50 things that make the Izzie happy

Corn and Kitsch

97.Read 3 Dan Brown novels
98.Read the Twilight Series
99.Read at least 3 books even worse than "The Alchemist"
100.
101.
izmeina: (Don't panic)

101 Things

 

This will be the entry where Izzie keeps the updates and progress reports on the grand 1001 project.  Will be adding dates for progress and completion as we go along and only occasionally making updates as proper posts.


Nothing like having this list as the first post for the next 1000 days as a reminder notice to keep on track and take one step at a time. Will be interesting to see how it compares to all those other unsuccessful anti-procrastination measures




 

 

Another wicked idea stolen from cat_irix

"The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Cross them off as you do them, and add the dates. Include the date you started the list and the finishing date. (You can use this handy calculator to help figure out the finish date.)

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic.
1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities."


The Izzie 101 List

Lurking in the Lair


1.Plant almond, avocado, fig, pecan, walnut and mulberry trees (20 June 2007 ......5/6)
Replaced the walnut - which will not grow well in this climate with a lime and mandarin tree (23/09/07)

2.Be self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
3.Install solar panels and connect to grid
(request for application  5/9/07)
(got written quote 16/10/07- next thing is filling in the application form)
(signed contract for 1kw system 24/10/07)
(submitted government rebate and electricity company applications 8/11/07)
(installation of import/ export electricity meter 03/12/07)
(panels installed 14/02/08) Due to a stuff up, the electrician did not turn up
(connected to grid 23/02/08)

4.Install 2 rainwater tanks for the garden
5.Create a Circle Mandala garden (07/07/07 laid sawdust on some of the paths)
6.Grow 12 varieties of medicinal plants (29/05/07 ......2/12)
7.Grow 12 varieties of poisonous plants
8.Reduce water usage to 50% of  water bill from 2006
Better late than never. Should have read the meter on the start day. But got a bit distracted
Monday 13th August 2007 = 171.612 kilolitres
Tuesday 11th September 2007 = 202.800 kilolitres
30 kilolitres in as many days - there's got to be a leak somewhere. This seems ridiculously high
Friday 2nd November 258.731
Monday 5th November 261.811 Most strange indeed considering the serpent was absent over those 4 days
End of year reading
Water = 313.990 kl
Leak found and fixed 02/01/08
1st February 2008 = 331.384
19th February 2008 =341
Bill arrived 07/08 usage  was 160 kilolitres for 180 days
That's 40% of 06/07 usage and 60% of 05/06 usage so we'll consider this goal achieved

9.Reduce electricity usage to 50% of 2006 average
Monday 13th August 2007  = 6941 units
Tuesday 18th September 2007=7023
New Meter set to zero - 03/12/07
End of year readings
Electricity = 96
Gas = 0291
Friday 1st February 2008
Electricity = 139
Gas = 293
Since getting a new fridge for Christmas,  daily electricity usage has gone from just over 3 units per day down to just over 1 and since Saturday our usage is a decadent minus 4 or more units ;)

10.Grow Lucerne and Lupins for mulch  (02/06/07 The little buggers are now sprouting. Will need to plant some more)
11.Find a way of getting the essential oils out of oranges and eucalyptus
12.Lure galahs and corellas to lurk around the Lair

Out and about

13.Watch at least one  summer solstice sunset at Cottesloe Beach
14.Visit One Tree Hill (Orcland) at Full Moon
15.Organize itinery for 2010 Grand European Tour
16.Visit Tasmania
17.Visit the Art Gallery's Egyptian Exhibition (21/09/07)
18.Visit the Country Gardens Festival   (2-5 November 2007)
19.See the wildflowers in bloom (05/09/07) But it was so lovely, will be back for more
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto
22.Visit 6 gardening shows
(10/04/08 Garden Week 1/6)
23.Visit 6 Open Gardens 
(09/09/07 Josh Byrne's garden.....1/6)
(02/11/07 Jan Barry's artist garden in Bridgetown ....2/6)
(03/11/07 Lavender Garden in Bridgetown .....  3/6)
(05/11/07 Avonlea in Bridgetown  4/6)
(28/03/08  Holbrook Garden in Nannup  5/6)
(11/05/08 Dan's Garden in Victoria Park  6/6)

24.Visit 6 permaculture or organic gardens for inspiration
 (02/06/07 City Farm Permaculture Garden  1/6)
 (09/09/07 The Painted Fish and Josh Byrne's garden  3/6)
(04/11/07 Harriet's Patch Bridgetown 4/6))
(06/11/07 Earthwise Permaculture Garden 5/6)
(25/05/08 FERN Permaculture Garden 6/6)

Goblin Business

25.Do the Izzie taxes online (taxes done and big juicy refund cheque arrived but not online so it doesn't count)
26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 12 jobs
28.Start Chartered  Accountant  registration and study
29.Earn 20% of income from other than work sources
30.Pay $40,000 off house
31.Write  a will
32.Finish making Snowflake Bear
33.Buy 4 bookcases  (7th August 1 bookcase as a present ... 1/4)
34.Sort out the Broom Cupboard (24-25 January 2008)
35.Decorate Dolores's Den (Started the pink and fluffy evilness 20 July 2007)
(02/01/08 Only a bit of tidying and a new pink and fluffy carpet remains on the to do list)
36.Toss 10 things for 101 days (18 October 2007.......90/101)
(15 March 2008 lots of tossing in preparation for some very special visitors .........101/101)

Geekish Things

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
38.Learn Linux basics
39.Get a new Preciousss ( we don't really need one but we wants one)
40.Back up important files at least once per month (February 2008 - complete back up)
(10th August  bought a new one touch back up external hard drive but still working out how the hell to use it)
This one's been on steroids. Due to losing everything not saved since our backup of 02/01/08 before the Great Crash, been seriously vigilant on this one and backed up the whole Izzie user folder once with absolutely everything in it including iTunes, all piccies and documents. Also backed up the more mundane stuff several times too
41.Learn to use a graphics tablet
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
(Got them all in the one place but not watched any of them yet .... 31st August 2007)
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place
44.Find 101 nice things to say about Bill Gates
45.Invent an alphabet
46.Translate the numbers from 0-144 in an Izzie invented language
47.Translate the Babel text also
48.Design a font

Bookish Bits

49.Reread "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
50.Reread "Animal Farm"
51.Reread “1984”
52.Read the Potter series again from start to finish
(Philosopher's Stone - 27/11/07 to 07/12/07)
(Chamber of Secrets 08/12/07 to 31/12/07)
(Prisoner of Azkaban 02/01/08 to 06/02/08)
(Goblet of Fire 07/02/08.......)
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 12 science fiction novels (7 June 2007........1/12)
1- Dante's Equation - Jane Jensen ... finished 7 June 2007
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Finish reading “Against the Gods”
59.Learn to make handmade paper
60.Make at least one handbound book from scratch – paper and all

Sybil Says

61.Follow five planets
62.Recognize 12 or more Constellations  (28 May 2007 ...... 1/12)
1 Scorpio 28 May 2007
63.Buy a telescope  (Uncle Vernon has given Izzie one as a present but two lenses are missing  21/03/08)
64.Find four unusual or beautiful tarot decks (01/6/07 ........3/4)  Completed 12 June - thanks to the Cat ;)
65.Design a tarot deck
66.Learn the properties  of the SEP field
67.Learn to use it and other protective shields
68.Do the 13 steps in Leslie Kenton's “Journey to Freedom”
69.Do 3 random acts of kindness each day for 101  days straight
70.Acquire a goblet or chalice – preferably with images of serpents on it ( 9th August 2007)
71.Reread the Izzie green spiral notebooks from 2002
(02/01/08 Started with January 2002)
72.Make a suitable Sybil Space upstairs in the Lair

Serpent Snacks

73.Try one new recipe every month for 6 months
(Split pea soup - it was supposed to be dhal but did not quite work out that way  29 August 2007........ 1/6)
(Another attempt - a much better consistency but still a bit bland and boring 05/12/07 2/6)
(Finally got it right - just as well as the ma and pa were the guinea pigs  11/01/08 3/6)
(Mayonnaise made from scratch - it was going so well but then got a bit impatient and it curdled. What a total waste of free range eggs and extra virgin cold pressed olive oil  08/04/08 4/6)
(Onion and celery soup  pretty good for total guess work  09/04/08  5/6)
74.Invite the Dursleys over for Dinner
(invite for Friday 11th January)

75.Bake sourdough bread at least once
76.Find and make 10 recipes with chickpeas
(2nd August 2007  Chickpea curry 1/10)
(12th February 2008 another improvised curry 2/10)
77.Learn how to cook at least 10 Juicy Beetroot Cafe dishes
78.Try out a Vietnamese Restaurant  (Viet Hoa 27/10/07 A bit boring and bland)
79.Try out a Korean Restaurant   (25 August 2007)
80.Make dark chocolate moon truffles
81.Make pesto instead of buying it  (09/04/08)
82.Make garlic soup
83.Make DIY Dukkah and Zaatar
84.Make Mango and Chai Lassi

Odds and ends

85.Adopt a Buchling (or even better - Become One)
(Buchlings are utterly adorable one eyed creatures obsessed with books who dedicate themselves to one writer and learn all their works word for word. We thinks that Anthony De Mello or Douglas Hofstadter are the most likely candidates for adoption)
86.Complete the Rostrum Intermediate Development Prgram (Public Speaking)
(Still got five speeches left on this list including a poetry reading, leading a discussion, conducting a tutorial or workshop and a competition speech)
87.Declutter and tidy the kitchen cupboards (28/05/07 ......4/13)
(03/01/08 10/13)
(10/01/08  13/13)

88.Keep them that way
89.Master the Dark Art of Feng Shui Sabotage
90.Make a Hexen- Ecke in our Garden of Arcane Delights
91.Make a frog pond
92.Plant a bird friendly native garden on the verge (full of prickly critters such as banksias, grevilleas and acacias with the odd evil South African import such as King Proteas)   (30/05/07 Completed but sort of cheated since it's in a different location than originallly intended. But will be doing the same thing on the verge also)
93.Design a quilt  (bought a gorgeous quilt book from a second hand book sale 13/10/07)
94.Find a nice fractal computer program
95.Do something useful with it
96.Make a Serpent Seal so that we can find a worthy use for those green and silver letter wax sticks

The Final Five

97.Begin a business from home (06/07/07 obtained a home business guide book from small business centre)
98.Sort out our munchies hoarding problem  (18/10/07 Days of not buying unnecessary nibbles  100/1001)
(January 2008 20 days of not buying munchies)
(February 2008  13 No munchies days)
(March 2008 19 No munchies days)
(April 2008  15 No munchies days)
99.Find five books from our present collection to read (Izzie's reading these days is largely online or from local libraries)
1 Finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows"  26 July 2007
2 Finished "Wishcraft" by Barbara Sher 13th October 2007
100.Find five things to be thankful for each day
101.Finish everything on this list

Intending to post regular updates around new moon time each month. Will be interesting to see if leaving an "Izzie Eyes Only" list always as the first visible LJ entry and seeing it all the time will serve as a source of inspiration or just another excuse for procrastination. Past experience with lists has often resulted in things getting achieved almost subconsciously long after you think you've forgotten they were ever there

PS 1001 Days from today gets the Izzie to Friday 19th February 2010.  A most uninteresting looking lot of numbers indeed. But whatever the clock says, hoping to get most of the house and garden stuff done by Wednesday 2nd January 2008

PS Moved to a new list as this one is getting too cluttered
Still the same old stuff but removed all the completed goals from the first 365 days.


The latest incarnation 

Six Lists

10/02/2010 10:00 am
izmeina: (Don't panic)
A short squiggle to sort out the stuff on that list

The Most Important Things

26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 12 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
30.Pay $40,000 off house
31.Write a will
40.Back up important files at least once per month
65.Design a tarot deck


The Most Urgent

26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 12 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
31.Write a will

The Hardest

27.Apply for 12 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
30.Pay $40,000 off house
38.Learn Linux basics
44.Find 101 nice things to say about Bill Gates
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
65.Design a tarot deck
97.Begin a business from home
98.Sort out our munchies hoarding problem

The Easiest

51.Reread “1984”
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
80.Make dark chocolate moon truffles
82.Make garlic soup
83.Make DIY Dukkah and Zaatar

The Cheapest

49.Reread "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
51.Reread “1984”
52.Read the Potter series again from start to finish
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 12 science fiction/fantasy novels
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Finish reading “Against the Gods”
59.Learn to make handmade paper
98.Sort out our munchies hoarding problem
100 Keep credit card balance under $$600

The Dearest

14.Visit One Tree Hill (Orcland) at Full Moon
16.Visit Tasmania
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto
39.Get a new Preciousss ( we don't really need one but we wants one)
97.Begin a business from home

960/1001

09/01/2010 11:46 am
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Been a long long time since a proper update on the infamous 101 list.
Aside from slacking off somewhat since last August or so, then got distracted by Nanowrimo where a whole month got dedicated to stuff that was most definitely not on the list including skipping the scheduled 900/1001 update

So some quick comments on the current Work in Progress
And The Original of the Species

The latter part of 2009 is noticeable for the appalling lack of progress with ticking things off the list

The present score is

44 completed
20 in progress
4 already failed
and the rest soon to join them

Some of the items on the list turned out to be ridiculously ambitious and will need to be broken down into smaller steps for the next list which will also begin in May. A 3 month break is probably a good idea. Can use the time for plotting and planning the next nano novel and making the new list of course

Will be sticking to the structure of 8 categories each consisting of 12 items plus a miscellaneous collection at the end. That way it is easier to see which areas are out of balance when it comes to ticking off the things

Most of the gardening, travel and domestic stuff got done pretty early over the 1,001 days even the very big items such as the rain water tank and solar panels. In fact, if not for the incentive of the list, it is likely they would have remained no more than wishful thinking and day dreaming

So while a score of 44 completed items is not even half way there - with a 30 day effort of nanowrimo intensity - could possibly push it up to 50 - it's still a lot more than would have gotten done without the list
There's still some low hanging fruit out there. Even made a separate list using the categories of most important, most urgent, hardest, easiest, most expensive and cheapest

It sure is scary just to see how many items falling in the categories of both most important and most urgent are not amongst the completed ones or even the works in progress
Will need to use some of the tricks from nano to put an end to procrastination on that front

So now with the finishing line in sight, here's to 40 more days of list craziness.

960/1001

09/01/2010 11:46 am
izmeina: Strange Spiral Clock (Time Turner)
Been a long long time since a proper update on the infamous 101 list.
Aside from slacking off somewhat since last August or so, then got distracted by Nanowrimo where a whole month got dedicated to stuff that was most definitely not on the list including skipping the scheduled 900/1001 update

So some quick comments on the current Work in Progress
And The Original of the Species

The latter part of 2009 is noticeable for the appalling lack of progress with ticking things off the list

The present score is

44 completed
20 in progress
4 already failed
and the rest soon to join them

Some of the items on the list turned out to be ridiculously ambitious and will need to be broken down into smaller steps for the next list which will also begin in May. A 3 month break is probably a good idea. Can use the time for plotting and planning the next nano novel and making the new list of course

Will be sticking to the structure of 8 categories each consisting of 12 items plus a miscellaneous collection at the end. That way it is easier to see which areas are out of balance when it comes to ticking off the things

Most of the gardening, travel and domestic stuff got done pretty early over the 1,001 days even the very big items such as the rain water tank and solar panels. In fact, if not for the incentive of the list, it is likely they would have remained no more than wishful thinking and day dreaming

So while a score of 44 completed items is not even half way there - with a 30 day effort of nanowrimo intensity - could possibly push it up to 50 - it's still a lot more than would have gotten done without the list
There's still some low hanging fruit out there. Even made a separate list using the categories of most important, most urgent, hardest, easiest, most expensive and cheapest

It sure is scary just to see how many items falling in the categories of both most important and most urgent are not amongst the completed ones or even the works in progress
Will need to use some of the tricks from nano to put an end to procrastination on that front

So now with the finishing line in sight, here's to 40 more days of list craziness.

750/1001

13/06/2009 10:42 am
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's now more than two years since starting this list. It is a most magical thing indeed, exerting its influence in strange and mysterious ways
Progress is not at the rate of 3 items a month which would be necessary to complete all 101 items in 1001 days.
But without this list as motivation and inspiration, it would be a whole lot less

As there's only 250 days left, got to thinking about which items are looking most likely to get added to the Too Hard Basket. Most of those involving travel - due to lack of time and funds would come under that category
Will be ticking off learning Linux from that list as Izzie is not geekish enough to know how to make penguins compatible with the Mad Mac
Getting a new computer also got tossed on to the fail pile as being a totally unnecessary and decadent luxury. Especially since less than a month ago, the Ma has been having serious problems with her glitzy and glamorous metallic MacBook just at the time of the warranty expiring. It did have a happy ending - only just but made Izzie infinitely more appreciative of her ancient 1995 model which while somewhat sluggish with its 256mb memory, has otherwise been very reliable and well behaved all those years. Apart from being too old to be compatible with the new Firefox and Skype, it still does all the other stuff without grumbling

But it was seeing the eeenie weeenie Eee pc in various stock take sales and stuff that Izzie realized that it would the perfect means to kill 3 birds with the one stone
It's got a Linux operating system along with Wifi, Open Office and a whole pile of other open source software and even though it is so so cheap and cheerful and very small, it still counts as a new computer. And it's even got Skype and the new Firefox.

This sort of thing has happened so often. An unexpected opportunity will arise and if not for the list it would have remained unnoticed and unrecognized.
Earning 20% of income from other than work sources was one of those wishful thinking dreamy silly sort of goals. Never really expected it to materialize in the real world. But when one of the folks at work heard that Izzie had a room or two spare and wanted to rent them, how could we miss such an excellent opportunity?
The extra income is chopping big chunks from the mortgage but will need to go peeking for the balance at the beginning of this list in order to fill in the progress report for item number 30

So back to the latest score

Completed Items 42
In Progress 24
Already Failed 2

The Original List

The Latest Incarnation

Progress Reports

750/1001

13/06/2009 10:42 am
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's now more than two years since starting this list. It is a most magical thing indeed, exerting its influence in strange and mysterious ways
Progress is not at the rate of 3 items a month which would be necessary to complete all 101 items in 1001 days.
But without this list as motivation and inspiration, it would be a whole lot less

As there's only 250 days left, got to thinking about which items are looking most likely to get added to the Too Hard Basket. Most of those involving travel - due to lack of time and funds would come under that category
Will be ticking off learning Linux from that list as Izzie is not geekish enough to know how to make penguins compatible with the Mad Mac
Getting a new computer also got tossed on to the fail pile as being a totally unnecessary and decadent luxury. Especially since less than a month ago, the Ma has been having serious problems with her glitzy and glamorous metallic MacBook just at the time of the warranty expiring. It did have a happy ending - only just but made Izzie infinitely more appreciative of her ancient 1995 model which while somewhat sluggish with its 256mb memory, has otherwise been very reliable and well behaved all those years. Apart from being too old to be compatible with the new Firefox and Skype, it still does all the other stuff without grumbling

But it was seeing the eeenie weeenie Eee pc in various stock take sales and stuff that Izzie realized that it would the perfect means to kill 3 birds with the one stone
It's got a Linux operating system along with Wifi, Open Office and a whole pile of other open source software and even though it is so so cheap and cheerful and very small, it still counts as a new computer. And it's even got Skype and the new Firefox.

This sort of thing has happened so often. An unexpected opportunity will arise and if not for the list it would have remained unnoticed and unrecognized.
Earning 20% of income from other than work sources was one of those wishful thinking dreamy silly sort of goals. Never really expected it to materialize in the real world. But when one of the folks at work heard that Izzie had a room or two spare and wanted to rent them, how could we miss such an excellent opportunity?
The extra income is chopping big chunks from the mortgage but will need to go peeking for the balance at the beginning of this list in order to fill in the progress report for item number 30

So back to the latest score

Completed Items 42
In Progress 24
Already Failed 2

The Original List

The Latest Incarnation

Progress Reports
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Izzie has been a bad bad serpent slinking around gardens and graveyards in possession of a new toy.
The seed for such a wicked treat was planted about a week ago while following a link to a totally unrelated story in Wiredmagazine
(The resident frog and the serpent had been talking about the Goblins of Wall St and the geekish math freaks so Izzie went searching for a recent radio program about that very topic)

Seen the wee beastie in a department store yesterday but they had sold out of the more basic Windoze free versions. But it turned out that Myers - the department store in the city not only had plenty in stock but much cheaper too. It's stock take sale time.
So got to drool over all the pretty penguins and open source software. It's got Skype, Picasa, all sorts of Googlish Goodness, Firefox and Open Office. Just the sort of thing to appeal to a Scrooge Serpent. Especially that it's less than half the price of the Windoze versions. It's also only got an itsie bitsie teenie weenie 8gb storage space but that problem is easily solved.

So now we've got our own Baby Linux laptop - we thinks that netbook is the proper term. But going over to the ma's tonight and back at work on Monday so will have to wait till later in the week to test drive the new toy.
Soon will be able to tick off 3 whole things on that evil 101 list
Such an insidious thing it is indeed. Most magical one could say.
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
Izzie has been a bad bad serpent slinking around gardens and graveyards in possession of a new toy.
The seed for such a wicked treat was planted about a week ago while following a link to a totally unrelated story in Wiredmagazine
(The resident frog and the serpent had been talking about the Goblins of Wall St and the geekish math freaks so Izzie went searching for a recent radio program about that very topic)

Seen the wee beastie in a department store yesterday but they had sold out of the more basic Windoze free versions. But it turned out that Myers - the department store in the city not only had plenty in stock but much cheaper too. It's stock take sale time.
So got to drool over all the pretty penguins and open source software. It's got Skype, Picasa, all sorts of Googlish Goodness, Firefox and Open Office. Just the sort of thing to appeal to a Scrooge Serpent. Especially that it's less than half the price of the Windoze versions. It's also only got an itsie bitsie teenie weenie 8gb storage space but that problem is easily solved.

So now we've got our own Baby Linux laptop - we thinks that netbook is the proper term. But going over to the ma's tonight and back at work on Monday so will have to wait till later in the week to test drive the new toy.
Soon will be able to tick off 3 whole things on that evil 101 list
Such an insidious thing it is indeed. Most magical one could say.
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's two years now since starting the wicked 101 List.
An interesting experiment for a procrastinating serpent.

Just been playing with the pruning shears trimming off the clutter. If clutter could be the correct word to use for completed items and all the time, money, work and worry involved
But the list is all about looking forward to the future and not resting on past successes. Not to mention that a list of remaining items is a more useful guide for planning and productivity than a list of ticks

Like most folks embarking on such a project, it starts with enthusiasm but rapidly slows down as reality and serpent nature take their course. Most folks have long ago fallen by the wayside before the end of the second year
To maintain the rate needed to finish the list would mean ticking off around 3 items per month - even more if catching up is required. So that would mean a minimum of 15 completed items from the start of January to the end of May.
But the map is most definitely not the territory and the score is a rather less respectable 7. May is most likely the only month in the last two years which reached the required 3 completed items

The lowest hanging fruit got picked in the first months of the year. These included baking sourdough bread and making Mango Lassi. Reading "Animal Farm" also did not require too much effort and was the cause of much nostalgia and enjoyment
Only one item on the very long list of unfinished Goblin goals got ticked off. This list contains both some of the most important and the most urgent items on the Izzie list and is the source of much shame for our total lack of ambition and discipline
The one item that did get the tick was just about the least expected of the lot of them. Earning 20% of income from other than work sources was one of those wishful thinking dreamy silly sort of goals. Never really expected it to materialize in the real world. But when one of the folks at work heard that Izzie had a room or two spare and wanted to rent them, how could we miss such an excellent opportunity?
The extra income is chopping big chunks from the mortgage but will need to go peeking for the balance at the beginning of this list in order to fill in the progress report for item number 30

The other big ticket items were on the gardening front. One by accident and two by a lot of slow and steady plodding progress. But it certainly was fun. That's one of the wonderful things about gardening - you never know what you're going to get and you learn it by doing it. Practice makes perfect.
The most recent achievement was the rainwater tank. Was hoping to have it before the March Equinox and start of the rainy season. But lack of loot got in the way and the rainy season was delayed and did not start until the very day the tank got connected.
The ma and pa still don't know about it yet. Will be interesting to see if they squeal about yet another waste of money or maybe they will want one too
Getting stuff done is starting to become a habit for Izzie. It's sort of scary

And once again - a big Thanks to the Cat for the original inspiration that made it all possible
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's that time of year again. Time to dust off the list and see what has been done and remains to be done

Also time to get out the pruning shears to remove the clutter of completed items

101 Things in 1001 Days

The List )
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's that time of year again. Time to dust off the list and see what has been done and remains to be done

Also time to get out the pruning shears to remove the clutter of completed items

101 Things in 1001 Days


Lurking in the Lair 4/12

5.Create a Circle Mandala garden (07/07/07 laid sawdust on some of the paths)
7.Grow 12 varieties of poisonous plants
Wormwood
The wolfsbane seeds are still sitting in the freezer waiting for winter
11.Find a way of getting the essential oils out of oranges and eucalyptus
12.Lure galahs and corellas to lurk around the Lair

Out and about 5/12

14.Visit One Tree Hill (Orcland) at Full Moon
15.Organize itinery for 2010 Grand European Tour
16.Visit Tasmania
20.Go whale watching in Albany
21.Stay overnight at Rotto

Goblin Business 8/12

25.Do the Izzie taxes online (taxes done and big juicy refund cheque arrived but not online so it doesn't count)
Last week (24 October 2008) finally went to the ATO website to download their evil software but met an unexpected obstacle. So unless the idiots at the Evil Empire bring in Mac friendly software between now and October 2009 this one rates as a big FAIL.
26.Finish CV
27.Apply for 12 jobs
28.Start Chartered Accountant registration and study
30.Pay $40,000 off house
31.Write a will
32.Finish making Snowflake Bear
33.Buy 4 bookcases (7th August 1 bookcase as a present ... 1/4)

Geekish Things 12/12

37.Find and learn five free open source software programs
38.Learn Linux basics
39.Get a new Preciousss ( we don't really need one but we wants one)
40.Back up important files at least once per month (last complete backup 11th June 2008)
(last backup of document files and new music files - 8th August 2008)
(last baby backup 30th December 2008)
(last complete backup 16th January 2009)
(last baby backup 3rd April 2009)
41.Learn to use a graphics tablet
42.Sort out and watch DVD collection
(Got them all in the one place but not watched any of them yet .... 31st August 2007)
43.Sort and put all computer related stuff in one place
44.Find 101 nice things to say about Bill Gates
45.Invent an alphabet
(06/06/08 Chosen which sounds/letters to include. Next step is choosing the order before finally turning to the main game which is inventing the squiggly bits)
46.Translate the numbers from 0-144 in an Izzie invented language
47.Translate the Babel text also
48.Design a font

Bookish Bits 11/12

49.Reread "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
51.Reread “1984”
52.Read the Potter series again from start to finish
(Philosopher's Stone - 27/11/07 to 07/12/07)
(Chamber of Secrets 08/12/07 to 31/12/07)
(Prisoner of Azkaban 02/01/08 to 06/02/08)
(Goblet of Fire 07/02/0 to 06/06/08)
(Order of the Phoenix 21/06/08 to ......)
53.Read "Lord of the Rings" from start to finish without skipping all the boring bits
54.Read “This Perfect Day”
55.See all the Matrix movies
56.Read 12 science fiction/fantasy novels (1 March 2009........3/12)
1- Dante's Equation - Jane Jensen ... finished 7 June 2007
2 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho 22/02/09
3 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 01/03/09
57.Read “M C Escher – Visions of Symmetry”
58.Finish reading “Against the Gods”
(18/04/09) Finally picked up where we left off many moons ago)
59.Learn to make handmade paper
60.Make at least one handbound book from scratch – paper and all


Sybil Says 7/12

62.Recognize 12 or more (Zodiac) Constellations
(1 Scorpio 28 May 2007 ..... 1/12)
(2 Saggitarius 27 May 2008 ...... 2/12)
(3 Libra 6th June 2008 ..... 3/12)
(4 Virgo 2nd July 2008 ...... 4/12)
(5 Capricorn 6th August 2008 5/12)
(6 Aries 31st October 2008 6/12)
(7 Taurus 31st October 2008 7/12)
(8 Cancer 1st November 2008 8/12)
(9 Gemini 27th January 2009 9/12)
(10 Leo 3rd March 2009 10/12)
65.Design a tarot deck
(The Queen of Cats has sent Izzie the most seriously snaky sourcebook of ideas ever 29/05/08)
(Got several blank card decks each with 100 cards 06/12/08)
(General ideas for each suit and rough drefts for the first and last of the 22 Major Arcana 22/01/09)
66.Learn the properties of the SEP field
67.Learn to use it and other protective shields
(Desperately seeking such useful devices since the latest dementors' visit this week 16-20 March 2009. Found some good stuff and it is now a case of learning and using it)
68.Do the 13 steps in Leslie Kenton's “Journey to Freedom”
69.Do 3 random acts of kindness each day for 101 days straight
71.Reread the Izzie green spiral notebooks from 2002
(02/01/08 Started with January 2002)

Serpent Snacks 5/12

76.Find and make 10 recipes with chickpeas
(2nd August 2007 Chickpea curry 1/10)
(12th February 2008 another improvised curry 2/10)
(17th July 2008 Chickpea and Tomato stew 3/10)
(8th September 2008 Hummous and felafel 5/10)
(6th March 2009 Moroccan spiced chickpeas 6/10)
(27th April 2009 Cabbage and red chickpea stew 7/10)
77.Learn how to cook at least 10 Juicy Beetroot Cafe dishes
(21st January 2009 split pea dhal 1/10)
(3rd February 2009 pasta salad 2/10)
(15th May 2009 cauliflower cheese 3/10)
80.Make dark chocolate moon truffles
82.Make garlic soup
83.Make DIY Dukkah and Zaatar

Odds and ends 4/12

85.Adopt a Buchling (or even better - Become One)
(Buchlings are utterly adorable one eyed creatures obsessed with books who dedicate themselves to one writer and learn all their works word for word. We thinks that Anthony De Mello or Douglas Hofstadter are the most likely candidates for adoption)
89.Master the Dark Art of Feng Shui Sabotage
(Been reading some very interesting books about Feng Shui itself. Some silly and some sensible. But the motive for this goal no longer exists as the bitch who inspired it is no longer boss at our day job)
91.Make a frog pond
93.Design a quilt (bought a gorgeous quilt book from a second hand book sale 13/10/07)

The Final Five 4/5

97.Begin a business from home (06/07/07 obtained a home business guide book from small business centre)
98.Sort out our munchies hoarding problem
(January 2008 20 days of not buying munchies)
(February 2008 13 No munchies days)
(March 2008 19 No munchies days)
(April 2008 15 No munchies days)
(May 2008 20 No munchies days)
(June 2008 18 No munchies days)
Got the rest of them listed until the end of December but will post the numbers some other time

100.Find five things to be thankful for each day
101.Finish everything on this list
Not finished but replacing with something more realistic, specific, measurable and useful
100 Keep credit card balance under $$600
(In the black since 15th August)
(No longer in the black but still well under $$600 03/11/08)
(Finally back in the black and intending to stay that way 17/12/08)
(Still back in the black. So far so good 21/03/09)
(The goblins are still in their box. It's becoming a habit 01/05/09)
101 Do one Livemocha lesson per week
(most recent lesson 10/06/08)
Guess this last one counts as a complete and total FAIL

Last edit Monday 25th May 2009
izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
It's two years now since starting the wicked 101 List.
An interesting experiment for a procrastinating serpent.

Just been playing with the pruning shears trimming off the clutter. If clutter could be the correct word to use for completed items and all the time, money, work and worry involved
But the list is all about looking forward to the future and not resting on past successes. Not to mention that a list of remaining items is a more useful guide for planning and productivity than a list of ticks

Like most folks embarking on such a project, it starts with enthusiasm but rapidly slows down as reality and serpent nature take their course. Most folks have long ago fallen by the wayside before the end of the second year
To maintain the rate needed to finish the list would mean ticking off around 3 items per month - even more if catching up is required. So that would mean a minimum of 15 completed items from the start of January to the end of May.
But the map is most definitely not the territory and the score is a rather less respectable 7. May is most likely the only month in the last two years which reached the required 3 completed items

The lowest hanging fruit got picked in the first months of the year. These included baking sourdough bread and making Mango Lassi. Reading "Animal Farm" also did not require too much effort and was the cause of much nostalgia and enjoyment
Only one item on the very long list of unfinished Goblin goals got ticked off. This list contains both some of the most important and the most urgent items on the Izzie list and is the source of much shame for our total lack of ambition and discipline
The one item that did get the tick was just about the least expected of the lot of them. Earning 20% of income from other than work sources was one of those wishful thinking dreamy silly sort of goals. Never really expected it to materialize in the real world. But when one of the folks at work heard that Izzie had a room or two spare and wanted to rent them, how could we miss such an excellent opportunity?
The extra income is chopping big chunks from the mortgage but will need to go peeking for the balance at the beginning of this list in order to fill in the progress report for item number 30

The other big ticket items were on the gardening front. One by accident and two by a lot of slow and steady plodding progress. But it certainly was fun. That's one of the wonderful things about gardening - you never know what you're going to get and you learn it by doing it. Practice makes perfect.
The most recent achievement was the rainwater tank. Was hoping to have it before the March Equinox and start of the rainy season. But lack of loot got in the way and the rainy season was delayed and did not start until the very day the tank got connected.
The ma and pa still don't know about it yet. Will be interesting to see if they squeal about yet another waste of money or maybe they will want one too
Getting stuff done is starting to become a habit for Izzie. It's sort of scary

And once again - a big Thanks to the Cat for the original inspiration that made it all possible
izmeina: (Don't panic)
It's been a long long time since Izzie 's New Year's resolution to pull in the purse strings and be a parsimonious python on a ration of 100 silver sickles a week

Was keeping score of progress, always going 20% or so over target each week and always intending to do better next time
But then there was an unexpected twist to the Serpent's Tale. Two froggie tenants moved in and suddenly Izzie had to find silver sickles for extra stuff in the kitchen but more importantly a big fat $400 to replace the leaking loo cistern.
Needless to say - such unusual expenses do not count towards the weekly ration of one hundred silver sickles. But it did totally stuff up the cash flow
Along with adjusting to the new routine where suddenly the serpent no longer had the run of the whole house, slacking off on the weekly bean counting regime become a new bad habit.

After using the first month's rent to pay for the plumber, the rest got added to the mortgage goblins' share so the new source of rent revenue made no difference to the Izzie disposable income

In the end, figured that seriously sticking to the original target would leave Izzie without a life. 100 silver sickles is not what it used to be when slinking around the supermarket. But there'd need to be some attempt at discipline

So the compromise was to allow $250 for spending per fortnight and $750 for the house goblins. Any extra cash more than that would get added on the credit card to save for a rainy day. Well - a rain water tank to be more specific.

Did pick up a few simple and obvious tricks. As many "Buy Nothing Days" as possible - usually Sundays and Mondays, not grocery shopping when hungry and simply staying away from temptation

But in spite of all the best of intentions and sneaky tricks, the old munchies hoarding habit is still slinking below the surface. Not as bad as it used to be but still an issue anyway.

Sometimes it's better to just use and enjoy the stuff we got that constantly be on the prowl for more. And that is definitely a habit that the serpent is getting into

After four months of the Froggies lurking in the Lair, also bit the bullet and finally gave them the four weeks notice that we'd be putting the rent up from $100 to $150 per week for the pair of them.
Silly Izzie set the price way too low to start with. That's because we let them have the element of surprise in the first place. Asking if we got a spare room one Saturday and then wanting to move in a week later. That was around the time of the bushfires over east. Should have insisted on at least two more weeks of freedom - time to declutter and dust the Lair and get an idea of the going rates for rooms around here.
Had a bit of time since then to do a bit of 'market research' and stop playing "Mother Christmas" Izzie's reputation for evilness has suffered irreparable damage among the other Froggies at work.

So soon will be able to add even more to the house goblin account and get it paid off faster. Also got to tick of the "Earn 20% of income from other than work sources" box on the 101 list. It was not in the manner originally intended but it sure meets the criteria.
And by the end of the week, there'll be another big fat juicy tick off that list - one that we should have completed at least 6 months ago.

666/1001

21/03/2009 10:20 pm
izmeina: (Don't panic)
Well. Izzie's two thirds of the way through the 1001 List and things are looking somewhat miserable

In order to keep on schedule, the score should be 66 completed and 35 in various stages of progress.
But the map is not the territory. The reality falls rather short of such lofty heights
Presently a total of 38 have been ticked off totally - all done and dusted
Another 38 have not even been touched and three of those already clock up as failed
That leaves 25 in various stages of progress. Some almost complete and others not even half way there

At this stage it has become quite obvious that some of these single items have far too many components and should really have been broken up into four or five separate goals
As some one has already pointed out - designing and making a deck of tarot cards is more like 78 things rather than just one. Not quite in the same category as reading "Animal Farm' which could be done in a few hours if not in the mood to appreciate the subtle details of such a wonderfully snarky story

Results goals also seem to be much more successful than process goals. Doing something 33 times over the 1001 days is much easier to stick to than once a month. It's much more flexible and missing out once does not mean complete and utter FAIL
Although in the case of making back ups of computer data - it would be a bit silly to do it that way. The whole point of that particular item was to try to create a habit

Then there's woolly goals such as becoming self sufficient in herbs and vegetables
A bit hard to know when that one has been achieved. It might have been more useful to require a certain variety of herbs and vegetables or to specify the size of the harvest

But even though progress is rather less than desired, it is still a lot more than would have been the case without such a list
There's also another interesting side effect. Sometimes things just pop up unexpectedly that assist with something on the list. The ma and pa know nothing at all about the list but that did not stop them leaving that telescope wrapped up under the Christmas tree.
And you would think that a goal like earning 20% of income from other than work would be linked to progress on the goal of starting a business from home. But that one got ticked off from the most unexpected source of some one at work asking if there was a spare room to rent in the Lair.

At this stage with just under one year left to completion, it makes sense to concentrate on a few important goals and to complete them rather than to end up with a a half baked and unfinished list
A nice mix of the urgent, the easy and the important and abandonment of the most likely impossible - all the ones involving lots of money or traveling long distances to overseas destinations

The Goblin goals are the most important but also the most boring.

So once again the totals

Failed 3
Completed 38
In progress 25

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izmeina: a snippet of Escher's circle of serpents (Default)
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