A Second Look At 2022

It's the time I look back at my 2022 blogs to give myself feedback. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, correcting errant blogs, and sharing changes. The ten blogs are also the 2022 best blogs.

1. Can I Be Overqualified?
Date: Mon Jan 10
Summary: My college educations, past experiences, and current job training disqualifies me for job openings.
Feedback: All jobs except my second company on the job training was required. The training included the commercial real estate market, SAP, Salesforce, and a proprietary online sales transaction system.

Some hiring managers and recruiters ignore me because they anticipate I master the job in six months. I become bored afterwards. I think back to my past jobs. I mastered the basics in six months. I fully mastered the job in one year. I became Wally from the Dilbert comics.

Almost all career counselors, professional career consultants, and college job placement centers their information is outdated. The best source for job information is job searching. Read the job descriptions. Read the job requirements.

My job training is currently in the endgame; in other words, there's nothing more to learn. New skills to learn are planned.

2. Boring Can Save Your Ass
Date: Wed Jan 12
Summary: Complete the boring responsibilities.
Feedback: Patience is required to complete the long assignments. The work can be tedious. The job is completed. Goals accomplished.

The person or people connects the dots backwards. Reverse engineer the process. They're not boring thinking back. The boring process wasn't boring. The formula is pressure and time.

3. Life Is Good Because It's Predictable And Certain
Date: Thur Jan 20
Summary: People are relaxed and secured because the knowns are clear and present.
Feedback: Bombshells were fired. It has been a long time since the bombs were launched. Most bombshells were planned. 2023 was good bombshells fired and bad bombshells fired for family members and friends. Personally, the safeties on my bombshell devices are removed. I don't know when the bombshells explode.

4. Accuse Slackers Accurately Because You Also Waste Time
Date: Sat Jan 29
Summary: Everyone is slacking off. Everyone.
Feedback: It takes another distraction to disengage the present distraction to go back to work. For instance, I'm on my phone watching a random YouTube video. Somebody walks in the room. I disengage watching a random YouTube video. I go back to my responsibility. Negate a distraction with another distraction.

The Information Age is also the Distraction Age.

5. Stop And Smell The Roses And Read Your Receipt
Date: Thur Feb 3
Summary: Slow down.
Feedback: I remember the moment when I shop at a grocery store from time to time. I also remember the moment when I feel rushed. I say to myself, "Hold on. One at a time." I realize the older I age, the more I say the sentence to myself.

6. I've Been Doing Everything Correct Mostly
Date: Thur Apr 12
Summary: I realized decades later I was mostly correct.
Feedback: I reiterate the sentences, "Nobody told me I have been walking the correct paths. I have stronger confidence I'm earning my successes correctly. I tell myself everything has been well. I tell myself I'm correct."

Nobody told me my path to success is correct. Nobody taught me a system. I self-discovered my system. The system is common knowledge and common wisdom: eat healthy, exercise, read books, sleep well, never stop learning, learn from mistakes, always meet new people, minimize watching TV, and ignore anything toxic. I hope timing, luck, chance, and opportunity favors me. Don't be a nice person. Be a good person.

7. Dear Abby Advice On Blind Love, Guilt Trip, And Truce On Wedding Day
Date: Fri Apr 22
Summary: Dear Abby hits the home run on three advice for an abusive girlfriend, a physically dependent boyfriend, and an alcoholic soon-to-be daughter in-law.
Feedback: I add one comment for both abusive girlfriend and daughter in-law. Give it time. Be patient. The chances the couples stay together are slim. Life returns to normal in time. Life returns to a relaxing state soon. Furthermore, there is a tolerance limit for his fiancee's drinking problem.

8. I Got Stuff Done Because I Didn't Play Video Games
Date: Wed Jun 29
Summary: A rare day I become bored because I caught up.
Feedback: The blog title and the blog content don't make sense. The first paragraph is being bored because I completed all responsibilities. The second paragraph is playing video games. I was confusing the first paragraph and the second paragraph. I take the blog back.

The full disclosure is I played another classic video game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo all night on Jun 28, 2022 and Jun 29, 2022. I slept in the early morning. It was a miracle I finished all priorities and responsibilities. I stopped playing Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo on Jul 2, 2022. The priorities and responsibilities continue to motivate me minimizing playing video games.

9. Grading My Past Years On A Curve
Date: Sun Jul 17
Summary: I raised the letter grades from 1998 to 2021.
Feedback: I forgot about the blog. Good. There should be no curve grading in real life. I take the blog back.

10. No Mulligan, No Do-Over, No Second Chance Going Back To San Jose State University
Date: Sat Nov 19
Summary: I didn't want a mulligan when I attended San Jose State University.
Feedback: I take the title back. Yes Mulligan, Yes Do-Over, Yes Second Chance Going Back To San Jose State University. There is one simple reason. The semesters, the classes, the majors, the student services, and the extracurricular activities are irrelevant. The do-over is grow up; in other words, earn it. I take the blog back.

The following blogs are honorable mentions: We Make The Same Mistakes Twice and Too Much Distractions.

Top 2022 Pics

Here are the top four pictures I took in 2022. They’re sorted from the start of the year to the end of the year. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and sharing changes. Enjoy!

Merry Unmotivational Christmas

Bad Christmas. Sad Christmas. Depressed Christmas. There was no joy. The Christmas flow went against you. Expectations unfulfilled. The plan backfired. You're not alone.

There were multiple reasons some people were unhappy on Christmas Day. Some reasons could be controlled. Some reasons couldn't be controlled. I share my below expectations family Christmas. There was no desire for a good Christmas. Some family members didn't check their personal problems at the door. A few family members worked to make a happy Christmas. A few family members put in the time and effort to create a good Christmas. Few successes. Many failures. Everyone contributed to a less stellar family Christmas regardless of working or not working. I admit I contributed to a less stellar family Christmas. I should have been stronger. I should have been courageous.

All leisure activities including birthdays and holidays require planning. It's an oxymoron work and effort must be completed for play and fun moments. Chaos is the result without work and effort. Chaotic leisure is not leisure. The rewards pay off after the work and effort are completed sincerely and satisfactory.

Dec 26

Dec 25 is another bad day at the office. Everyone experiences bad days. Blame life, destiny, karma, timing, and luck a bad day happened on Christmas Day.

Life moves forward. The bad Christmas doesn't matter next year. Correct the mistakes. Hope the next Christmas is better. A suggestion to overcome a bad Christmas is go back to the basics. Follow the common wisdoms sincerely. Sleep well. Eat well. It's okay to splurge processed foods. Get to work. Be busy.

Highlight and Favorite 2022 Tweets

Here are my 11 highlight Tweets and 2 favorite Favorites Tweets in 2022. The goals delaying one year are relearning from my mistakes, reinforcing my lessons, reminding myself my moments, refreshing acquired knowledge, rediscovering new wisdom, and sharing changes. Follow me @inin61. Enjoy!

Highlights

Jan 3: @HistoryInPics, The last photograph of the Beatles together. August 22, 1969 at John Lennon's countryside estate Pic Link

Mar 3: I paid over $5 a gallon for gas at $5.27 earlier today. It was a first in #raymondshistorybook.

Apr 18: condone: to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like); accept and allow (behavior that is considered morally wrong or offensive) to continue. #mynewwordoftheday

May 5: Job candidates can get hired by ignorance. Pic Link

May 13: It's brought to my attention the word "analysis" can't be spelled without the letters a-n-a-l.

Jun 27: There were 48 stars in the American flag during World War II. Alaska was admitted to the Union on Jan 5, 1959. Hawaii was admitted to the Union on Aug 21, 1959. #mytriviaoftheday

Sep 7: 109 degrees was a record high temperature in San Jose yesterday. My personal record high was 120 in Las Vegas during my Summer 1997 vacation. #raymondshistorybook

Sep 15: YouTube safety video a car crashes into an electrical pole. Stay in the car. Exit the car only if in danger. Exit jumping down feet together because of electrical touch potential. Walk short shuffling because of electrical step potential Video Link

Sep 29: superficial: existing or occurring at or on the surface. Appearing to be the true or real only until examined more closely. #mynewwordoftheday

Sep 30: Customer: We take the deal with no money down. Salesperson: No, money down.

Oct 13: The three major market indices reached new 52 week lows. The Consumer Price Index is +8.2% year over year. Dow Jones new 52 week low 28,660.94 and closed 30,038.72, NASDAQ new 52 week low 10,088.83 and closed 10,649.15, and S&P 500 new 52 week low 3,491.58 and closed 3,669.91.

Favorite Favorites

Jun 16: @BleacherReport, Warriors 21-0 run Pic Link

Jun 30: @LarryBeilABC7, As you watch the madness unfold with KD, Kyrie, Harden, Simmons, Ayton etc, understand the value of @StephenCurry30. The rare superstar who thinks TEAM before himself. Impossible to quantity how much his attitude & leadership are worth to the Warriors

I Correct Be Patient And Go For The Long Run

I thought of the "be patient and go for the long run" when I was a student at San Jose State University. The wisdom was correct. The attitude was correct. The adaption was incorrect. The execution was incorrect. I did it wrong. College life was too much fun and too little learning. Obviously, any student read the book, attended the lectures, and passed the exams to graduate. I took life for granted. Outside the classroom was unproductive growth.

I'm doing the "be patient and go for the long run" correctly decades later. Work. Give everything time. Take everything one day at a time. Build a little every day. Add the little accomplishments for the big goals. My job training approaches the endgame. I learn investing following WallstreetBets since Jan 2021. I'm training for a 10k marathon since 2021. I'm close to the 6.2 miles. My longest distance is 6 miles. It took me six months to read Harry Potter from Sep 2019 to Mar 2020. I researched two hours every Sun from Jul 2019 to Nov 2019 to build a new desktop. Furthermore, medical scientists continue to research the COVID-19 virus since 2020.

I was irresponsible then. I'm responsible now. It's okay for immediate fun and leisure. Work for most of the week. Take a break for a few. I did none of these as a college student. Perhaps, my biggest regret was being a naive person in my 20s. The regret is forgiven. My life catching up continues.

Black Friday 2023

The Black Friday 2023 shopping was a week event. I shopped offline and purchased online before the true Black Friday and on true Black Friday. I made a Cyber Monday purchase. There was a little of everything such as false advertisements, good luck, good timing, and items sold out. All purchases were gifts, practical uses, and family uses except the bag of powdered donuts. No splurges. The Fitletic running accessories were delivered. All other online purchases were picked up at their respective stores. All retail stores online and offline offered fewer Black Friday deals like Black Friday 2022.

Mon Nov 20

Three Coke 2-liter bottles and a Zyrtec 60 count tablets bottle at Walgreens Black Friday Week Sale.

Tony's Chocolates made in Belgium and Nyakers Holiday Gingersnaps a product of Sweden at World Market. The 10% member exclusive coupon food and drinks was added days before the 20% off excluded food and drinks coupon expired.

Tue Nov 21

ASICS GT 2000 Running Shoe purchased online at DSW. An additional 30% off the reduced price.

Driver side front door and back door belt moldings at Livermore Toyota. Black Friday sale, nationwide free shipping, and dealer discount. The parts were approved to be purchased for a body shop repair order.

Fri Nov 24

Hostess Powdered Donuts at Nob Hill. No Black Friday sales interested me. The sale price was a regular weekly ad price. I wanted to exit with a purchase.

Three Coke 2-liter bottles at Walgreens Black Friday Week Sale.

NewJean 2nd EP at KLOUD K-Pop Store. The Korean music package wasn't on their Black Friday sale.

Running belt, water bottle and its pouch holster, and running bib string toggles at Fitletic. 30% off Black Friday sale.

Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary Magical Mirai book at Kinokuniya. 10% off selected items purchased at their website.

Mon Nov 27

Farberware Classic Dial Kitchen Timer at Kohl's. Cyber Monday discount codes applied.

The Minimums To Live

A human being lives comfortably with the minimums. The minimums are food, shelter, and clothing. A shelter is a room, a bathroom, and a kitchen for those who want to get technical. Intuitively, a shelter is a roof with the basic amenities.

Many people take food, shelter, and clothing for granted. Many people focus their attention too much to their phones, the next TV show to binge watch, the next celebrity gossip, the next professional sports trade, the next must own stock, the next urge moment to play video games, and their work. Many people forget to stop, to breathe, and remind themselves who we are. More people neglect to stop, breathe, and appreciate their present life. The present life can turn the worse anytime and anywhere. The certain becomes uncertain.

More Minimums Than The Minimums

There are more minimums than the initial minimums food, shelter, and clothing. Today's Information Age communication using cell phones and computers connected to the internet are minimums. A radio is a valid and legitimate substitute. There are non-electrical minimums. Detergent, dishwasher soap, pots, pans, mattress, basic first aid, fire extinguisher, towels, toothbrushes, degreaser chemicals, and pens are good examples.

Maintain the minimums proactively. They're not boring. Living life becomes easier.

Update On A Past Blog

There are common statements on things and people. Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. Life is uncertain. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people.

I remind myself there are false losers. People do everything correct. The outcomes are unfavorable. The results are poor. These people lost. I wrote These Young People Are False Losers on Aug 7, 2022 from a dream about a group of young educated men unsuccessful through no fault of their own.

Normal Adolescents At Chipotle

I ate a late lunch at Chipotle at the 3:00pm hour on Fri Dec 8, 2023 because of shopping. A nearby middle school ended the school day. Students walked home. A few of the students congregated at a small retail strip mall. The fast food restaurant was 90% occupied with students. A few seats were unoccupied. The restaurant workers were prepared. The front end was fully staffed. The cooks were preparing the food. It was loud inside.

Witnessing the middle school students was no different when I attended middle school. Students socialized. There were no parents; although, I saw a couple of parents picking up students in the parking lot. Cell phones were prevalent; however, nobody was individually silent self-occupied with their own phone. They used their phones for conversation topics. They used their phones to pay for their orders. They used their phones calling their parents. The students acted and behaved like normal adolescents. Their parents taught them well. Their parents trusted them and their circle of friends. I didn't have cell phones in school. Socializing and friendships are the same today and the same yesterday regardless of the trends or technology.

A Silent Thinking Appreciating My Present Life In Writing

Today's blog is take a deep breath. Today's blog is another time to say thank you. I'm grateful for my present life who I am, what I am, where I am, when I'm living today, how I am, and why I'm the present person. Strength, intelligence, health, wisdom, and motivation are the highest. Confidence and self-esteem are the highest. I acknowledge my parents for their assistance. I'm indebted to friends and to people who helped me be who I am. I tribute the two moments which are the day I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008 and The Shawshank Redemption movie on Sat Sep 21, 2019. I don't take life for granted.

Job training continues. Job searching continues despite a tough job market. I exercise four days a week. I maintain a clean body. I minimize eating junk foods. I read books. Spending is controlled. Expenses are checked. I learn life skills. I listen to music. I listen to podcasts. I write blogs. I watch one movie a week. I maintain a clean household.

Destiny, life, karma, the stars, the heavens, and the powers that be are acknowledged. Timing, luck, chance, and opportunities are respected. I want my life to get better. My life can get worse which isn't. I understand patience to be happy. I comprehend the lessons learned from mistakes. I'm conscious of intuition. Thank you to everything. Thank you to everyone.

Update On A Past Blog

I give sincere thanks again for the people who assisted. The blogs are Acknowledgements on Jul 10, 2022, My Two Grandfathers on Jul 3, 2018, and Top Ten Thank Yous on Nov 22, 2014.

I count my blessings again such as my brain, my health, food, and shelter. The blog is Be Grateful Day on Aug 14, 2016.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog November 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. Fewer COVID-19 headlines continued. Another slow month except the Thanksgiving week which was the fastest week of the year.

Wed Nov 1. Watched the World Series Game 5 bottom of the ninth inning Texas Rangers at Arizona Diamondbacks.

Fri Nov 3. Shopped at Lucky's first thing in the morning.

Thur Nov 9. Ran errands with my dad shopping at Costco, Lowe's, and an auto body shop for an estimate. I saw the Costco food court selling roast beef sandwiches.

Fri Nov 10. Shopped at O'Reilly's Auto Parts Store and Books, Inc.

A new COVID-19 variant HV.1 is spreading. HV.1 is an omicron subvariant first detected in late Jul overtaking other strains including the Eris EG.5 variant. HV.1 was 25% and EG.5 was 22% of the total cases as of late Oct. Cases and hospitalizations declined since the late summer surge. Other mutated strains noted include the BA.2.86 or Perola and the JN.1.

Tue Nov 14. The Annals Of Internal Medicine published a study 20% of people taking Paxlovid experienced rebound infections. Patients were still infected meaning they could spread COVID-19. The drug maker Pfizer said 2.3% of people rebounded. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) recommended Paxlovid for people age 12 and older with high risk of COVID-19 complications. The CDC also recommended people tested positive isolate for five days.

Fri Nov 17. First rain storm of the autumn and upcoming winter season.

Tue Nov 21. Shopped at Walgreens for their Black Friday weekly sale. Shopped at Cost Plus World Market using a Black Friday coupon.

Wed Nov 22. The CDC reported 15% of adults and 5% of children received the latest COVID-19 vaccine as of mid Nov. Hospitalizations increased; however, lower compared to the same time last year.

Fri Nov 24. Late morning Black Friday shopping at Big Lots, Nob Hill, and Walgreens. The Mimi's Cafe restaurant building at El Paseo was torn down.

Mon Nov 27. 10% of COVID-19 cases in the US was the BA.2.86 which tripled from two weeks ago. HV.1 and EG.5 variants were the dominate strains. The World Health Organization (WHO) said early data suggested no worse or no different symptoms than previous strains

Tue Nov 28. The WHO granted the Novavax updated vaccine emergency authorization use for people age 12 and older. Novavax was authorized in the US in Oct 2023. The updated vaccine targets the XBB lineage. Novavax's updated vaccine uses a traditional protein-based technology.

Wed Nov 29. The US life expectancy increased 1.1 years from 76.4 in 2021 to 77.5 in 2022 according to the CDC. The life expectancy was 78.8 in 2019. A decline in COVID-19 deaths, COVID-19 vaccines, and declines from cancer, heart disease, and intentional deaths are factors. On the other hand, pneumonia, flu, malnutrition, kidney disease, birth defects, and perinatal deaths increased.

Thur Nov 30. Picked up Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases at a Korean music store Kloud KPOP and Kohl's. Also, recycled metal and paid fees at a county building.

The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer for false COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. Pfizer claimed its vaccine is 95% effective. Paxton claimed the efficacy is misleading. The clinical trial data and vaccine recipients showed lower effectiveness. The lawsuit seeks Pfizer to stop the false claims and to fine $10M for violating the Texas consumer protection laws.

Matching Connections Between People Get Along With Each Other

I dreamed last night I played softball at a privately owned softball park. The softball park consisted of many softball fields, batting cages, a soccer field, and a central building for administrative, operations, and cafeteria.

The first part of the dream I played in the left outfield. Each team required four outfields. I played between the true left fielder and center fielder. No balls went my way. The left fielder was a grade school child. He caught all the fly balls hit his way. He fielded all the ground balls hit his way. The game ended. The grade school child was recruited for another softball team.

The second part of the dream I wondered around looking for a team who needed an outfielder. I found another team. There was a two minute interview. The team accepted me. The weirdness was the second game I played was inside the narrow rectangular office suites of an industrial building. The entrance of the office suite or the reception was the infield. The first office suite with no windows was the shallow outfield. The second office suite with windows at the back was the deep outfield. The captain, vice-captain, and I played the outfield at the second office suite. There was a fourth outfield who didn't appear in my dream.

The game started. The team played poorly. All three of us couldn't catch fly balls defensively. The team couldn't get on base offensively. It was three batters up and three batters down. The opposition scored runs without problems. There was in-team fighting and arguing. I asked the umpire named Mr. RR about the maximum seven runs scored per inning rule in the middle of the game. The umpire acknowledged the rule. The opposition scored seven runs in their inning. The umpire told the captain of the opposing team to switch sides. The captain was angry.

There was enough time in the one hour of gameplay for the final four batters to step up to the plate. I was batter number ten. I hoped at least of the three reached base for me to bat. The opposition didn't send a pitcher. Mr. RR pitched for the opposition. One of the three batters reached second base on a double. I approached the batter's box. Mr. RR gave me a wink. The first pitch was in the middle of the plate. I hit the ball deep to the outfield or the second office suite for a two run inside the park home run. The team celebrated at home plate and at the dugout like we won the championship. The game ended. I woke up.

I finished the dream consciously lying on my bed. The team went to the central building cafeteria. We ate pizza. We drank beer. There were smiles. There was socializing; although, some of the conversations was drunk talk. There was singing. There was joy. Everyone connected. I established the connections. It took one action to combine a group of people. It took one event to bring togetherness. It took one moment to be together. It took one person to spark a group of people to become together.

Rename Past Blogs Titles Because The Original Title Are Incorrect Or Misleading

I rename 26 past blogs because the title is deceptive. The title doesn't explain the blog content. The title relating to the text makes no sense. 15 of the 26 or 58.70% blogs are between 2007 and 2009. 18 of the 26 or 69.2% blogs are between 2007 and 2010. Four blogs reference cooking. Three blogs reference taking life for granted. Technically speaking, these past blogs are updates on a past blog.

Update On A Past Blog

Original Title: Free Bird
Date Written: Apr 15, 2007
Renamed Title: Cooking Solves The Problem Being Stressed And Do Something Solves The Problem Being Bored
Explanation: I posted two life tips still valid today. The first tip is cooking destresses a person. Cooking is an activity to take a break. Cooking minimizes eating processed foods. The second tip is avoid being bored doing something out of the ordinary. For instance, I became sick in Apr 2022. I relaxed such as catching up writing blogs, watching old DVDs, and listening to old CDs to recover.

Further, I wrote, "Do something, anything, . . ." which became a life motto when I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008.

Original Title: A Lesson On Life Yesterday
Date Written: May 5, 2007
Renamed Title: Practice Personal Responsibility
Explanation: I learned personal responsibility on my second month working at Cisco. Nobody was going to help me with my assignments. I was responsible to learn what I didn't know. Asking for help was the last resort.

Original Title: A Moment Being Selfish
Date Written: Jul 12, 2007
Renamed Title: My Dream Home
Explanation: I thought how I live life owning a home. I cook my meals, park my car in the garage, and invite friends and family for social activities. The last paragraph is true today: . . . I think about the millions of people who can't afford a home. It's sad, yet life is unfair.

Original Title: Something New To Me
Date Written: Aug 6, 2007
Renamed Title: People Thanking Me Is New To Me
Explanation: The first time in my life people thanked me. The first time in my life people helped me. The first time in my life people appreciated my presence. Beforehand, I thank other people, I helped other people, and I appreciated other people.

Original Title: One Lunch Day In 2000
Date Written: Aug 9, 2007
Renamed Title: I Saw A Homeless Person One Lunch Day In 2000
Explanation: The specific lunch day I saw a homeless person with a sign saying all hope is loss. I should have purchased a sandwich for the homeless person.

Original Title: A 12 Year Mistake
Date Written: Aug 12, 2007
Renamed Title: Making No New Friends Was A 12 Year Mistake
Explanation: The renamed title is self-explanatory. I failed to make new friends from college to beginning cosplaying at anime conventions.

Original Title: I Wake Up, Now What
Date Written: Jan 5, 2008
Renamed Title: What Am I Doing In My Life?
Explanation: The renamed title is self-explanatory. I questioned how I lived my present life. I worked at Cisco, I lived at home with my parents, I watched anime, I worked out at the gym, and I read books. Marriage and moving out of the house were afterthoughts.

Original Title: Runners Stop And Walk
Date Written: May 31, 2008
Renamed Title: Run To Get One Done Or Walk To Get Them All Done
Explanation: Physical fitness is irrelevant. I paraphrase the last paragraph: Two choices. The first choice is run completing tasks hastily increasing the chances for errors. The second choice is walk completing tasks one at a time decreasing the chances for errors.

Original Title: Straight From My Gut
Date Written: Oct 18, 2008
Renamed Title: Straight From My Gut Trust Intuition
Explanation: I realized my intuition helped me through fearful moments. I realized my intuition saved me from tough situations.

Original Title: Point A to Point B. Where's Point C, D, E, F, G, . . .
Date Written: Oct 26, 2008
Renamed Title: Don't Take Life For Granted
Explanation: I shared past moments I took life for granted. Never stop improving. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Original Title: How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It?
Date Written: Jun 4, 2009
Renamed Title: Some People Have The Charisma, Good Vibes, And Good Looks
Explanation: There are people who attracts other people to them. I questioned my charisma, good vibes, and good looks.

In particular, one friend attracts people at anime conventions. High school educated, worked in retail, overweight, talked slowly, learns slowly, and a standard geek. I saw him conversing with new groups of people most of the time I saw him. The same friend watched an anime convention masquerade from the side stage because he got a press pass.

Original Title: My Solution To Solve Problems
Date Written: Jun 20, 2009
Renamed Title: Cooking Skill Can Solve Some Problems
Explanation: Cooking may not solve world problems. Cooking can solve some personal problems. One less personal problem is one less problem the world deals with.

Original Title: I'm Keeping The Door Closed
Date Written: Dec 27, 2009
Renamed Title: I Say No To Death
Explanation: I'm not ready to die.

Original Title: Gratitude
Date Written: Dec 28, 2009
Renamed Title: No More Taking Life For Granted
Explanation: Another reminder don't take life for granted.

Original Title: Riding On Bad Luck
Date Written: Dec 31, 2009
Renamed Title: Riding My Car's Tire On Bad Luck
Explanation: I shared past moments I had a flat tire.

Original Title: A Lesson Learned Tonight
Date Written: Feb 2, 2010
Renamed Title: There Are No Guarantees In Life
Explanation: I learned the life lesson when Conan O'Brien agreed to a $45 million settlement to leave "The Tonight Show," with $33 million to O'Brien and the staff receiving $12 million from NBC. The Jay Leno Show and O'Brien hosting The Tonight Show were failures.

Original Title: Dumb and Dumber
Date Written: Mar 28, 2010
Renamed Title: Don't Spend Time With Dumb People
Explanation: You may become dumb if you spend time with dumb people. I repeat, "[Don't] lower yourself to get along with the friend or group. Whether you continue to spend time with the friend or group is another discussion.

Original Title: A Frozen Dinner
Date Written: Jul 9, 2010
Renamed Title: Try Eating New Foods
Explanation: Eating new foods can add a little excitement. Eating a new junk food is approved.

Original Title: 23 Is Too Short
Date Written: Jan 28, 2011
Renamed Title: A Friend Died At Age 23. 23 Is Too Short.
Explanation: A friend died from sickness complications at age 23. I blogged what my life was at age 23.

Original Title: I Know It Lifestyle
Date Written: Dec 9, 2011
Renamed Title: A Dynamic Life Or A Predictable Life
Explanation: There's no right way or wrong way to live life. Either choose a predictable and routine life or a dynamic and "on the fly" life.

Original Title: Ice, Ice, And More Ice, Baby
Date Written: Mar 13, 2013
Renamed Title: Ice Is Important In A Residence
Explanation: Every freezer must have ice.

Original Title: What Is Wrong With This Picture?
Date Written: Apr 4, 2013
Renamed Title: What Is Wrong With The 2003 Raymond Mar In This Picture?
Explanation: This picture refers to me. I critically analyzed my appearance in 2003. The short answer is I looked pathetic.

Original Title: What Happened?
Date Written: Jul 28, 2013
Renamed Title: Connect The Dots Backwards Life From Mar 2007 To Jul 2013
Explanation: I looked back at in my life from Mar 2007 to Jul 2013. There were mistakes including taking life for granted, failing to earn my successes, and being weak. I corrected a few. The mistakes I failed to correct continued to affect me.

Original Title: Frustrating, Adjusting, Taking Action, Changing
Date Written: Aug 13, 2013
Renamed Title: The 2013 San Francisco Giants Adjustments
Explanation: I wrote my opinions how the Giants took action to adjust and to change.

Original Title: Bringing Home Meals
Date Written: Oct 30, 2014
Renamed Title: Meal Preparation Describes A Person Or Family
Explanation: Pay attention to the meals when people meet other people for the first time and families meet other families for the first time inside their residence. The meals are signs how the person or people live their daily lives. People or families who cook are more happier. People or families who don't cook are less happier.

Original Title: There's An A In Overachieving
Date Written: Oct 11, 2020
Renamed Title: The Oakland A's Are Overachievers
Explanation: The professional baseball team lost 10 of its past 11 postseason series on Oct 2020 when the A's lost to the Houston Astros. Management trades its star players at the prime of their careers; in other words, sell high, buy low for which buy low is acquire young baseball talent at low salaries or old veterans at the end of their careers. Ownership is cheap.

I also wrote 1+1+1=3 which is one superstar plus good coaching plus good management or good ownership equals a championship.

I Worked At Bad Companies

Luck is part of the reason people have good careers and people have bad careers. Anyone who says luck is not a factor knows nothing. I worked at five companies after I graduated at San Jose State University. The first two companies were in the commercial real estate industry. The first company went bankrupt which was bought out by a competitor. The second company went corporate for better or for worse. I say better because there was a chance a corporate manager solved their problems optimistically speaking. The third company was Cisco. Cisco was Cisco. Cisco is Cisco. Cisco is an old dinosaur company people still want to work. The fourth company was a retail start-up which went out of business six years later. The fifth company was a growing company with too much politics. My department was one of the worse departments.

Where are the good companies? Companies cared in past generations. Management cared. The workers stayed in one company throughout their careers. They retired in the same company. Companies cared about their workers during retirement. There was professional nurturing. Openness was natural. Employees and management encouraged each other. Wealth spread out. There was support. I got your back. You got my back. Opportunities were plentiful. Today's companies consist of politics, complaining, people care about themselves attitude, and personal shields on the defensive every minute. People who hate their jobs leave the company instead of helping management solve problems. Google or Alphabet is not a good company. The outside public believes Google is a good company. The inside workers tell the contrary stories.

It's A Fair Question

Good questions. Bad questions. Either way they can be fair questions. Nothing wrong. They are honest questions at the appropriate time and place. The person asking can't be attacked.

Are you honest?

Did you earn it? What did you do to earn it? Did you deserve it?

Are you entitled?

Are you a grade A person or a grade C person?

Is it your fault?

Why did you include him, her, it, or them? Why did you exclude him, her, it, or them?

Are you paying your share?

How much time did you apply?

Disclose your advantages. Disclose your disadvantages.

Is the answer correct? Are you correct?

What are the rules?

Happy Living An Alternate Life

My current life is the George Costanza from Seinfeld when he was unemployed and lived with his parents. I can live a life working in a crappy dead-end job while spending my free time watching TV and playing video games. Unacceptable. The life is a loser. I can upgrade somewhat. I live a life working in a white collar and dead-end job, struggle financially, spend time with weak friends, practice unhealthy habits, find little time to learn life skills, and spend little time job self-training. The idea adults must move out of their parent house just to move out of their parent house is questioned. The global pandemic exposes the truth independence can be overrated. Living independently may be deceptive independence is the way to live an adult life.

If anyone asks me if I'm happy, then my answer is I'm working on it. If anyone asks me if I'm happy yes or no, then my answer is yes. I accept my alternate life hoping its temporary.

Forget the average life. Forget the B's, C's, and D's graded life. Grade A life or grade F life. Success or failure. There is nothing between success and failure. I have nothing to lose. I'm fortunate I still have a choice how to live my life. I don't take the choice for granted.

Update On A Past Blog

The world is happy when I'm happy. I reference the last paragraph in Happy Life on Dec 21, 2010. Happy life is for everyone. Happy life must be earned and worked on. Happy life never comes to you and me on a silver platter. Go out and get happy--a happy life.

Point Blank Movie 5,464 Days Later

I can't explain why I watched the movie decades later. I watched Point Blank (1967) starring Lee Marvin tonight. The movie is part of a three DVD box set I purchased at the Chronicles Of Crime store in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on Nov 18, 2008. The other two DVDs are The Departed (2006) and Bullitt.

The Departed (2006) starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg. The movie won four Oscars including Best Picture at the 79th Academy Awards on Feb 25, 2007. Bullitt stared Steve McQueen. The movie included one of the best car chase scenes in movie history. The two cars were Bullitt's 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT and the bad guys' 1968 Dodger Charger 400 Magnum in San Francisco, CA.

Update On A Past Blog

The Point Blank movie reminded me of another decades old purchase. I wrote The Big Book Of Beatrix Potter 5,902 Days Later on Nov 16, 2021. I purchased the book on Sep 2, 2005 at Half Price Books in Washington state. I finished the book on Oct 30, 2021.

Top Ten Plus Ten Equals Top Twenty All-Time Favorite Movies

There are 32 movies in my all-time favorite list from my About Me at my personal webpage Innovate Infinitely. I reduced the list to 20. It's time to rank my all-time favorites because I wrote The Shawshank Redemption is my new number one movie on the Update On A Past Blog on Apr 12, 2022 I've Been Doing Everything Correct Mostly replacing Good Will Hunting.

Here are my top ten plus ten equals top twenty all-time favorite movies.

20. Wall Street. A favorite for investors and salespeople. Michael Douglas won Best Actor for portraying Gordon Gekko. "The most valuable commodity I know of is information," said Gekko.

19. Office Space. The cult classic is a must watch for all white collar workers. Aged well.

18. Clerks. The cult classic is a must watch for all retail workers. Aged well.

Side story: I worked at Blockbuster Video in college. The store manager kept Clerks in the new releases section years after the movie was released on VHS.

17. Hot Fuzz. A comedy, action, mystery, and plot twist combined. I laughed for a long time during the beginning.

16. UP! An underrated Disney and Pixar movie. The people who say UP! is an all-time favorite other people gives them shocked looks. The movie needs more love.

15. Parasite (2019). The rock is just a rock at the end of any day. The first foreign language movie to win Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars.

14. A Few Good Men. I watched the movie for the first time in May 2017. Beforehand, I watched the famous Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth" scene every time I see A Few Good Men. I understand the quote. Tom Cruise is a good actor.

13. Stand By Me. Four kids with too much time in their hands took a weekend trip to find a dead body. I realized Stand By Me was my first coming of age movie as an adult. I wished I had their life wisdom when I was a child because they were wiser than my childhood.

12. Aliens. My personal four star science fiction movie. A 100 out of 100.

11. Toy Story. The only movie I watched in the theater nobody stopped laughing. A movie experience is positively strengthen when audience members react with everyone else.

10. Black Hawk Down. The movie producers did a good job adapting the book. I read the book. If the producers followed the book, then the movie was too complicated. Too much flow interruption. Too much politics. Too many characters to remember.

9. Titanic. The only movie I watched three times in movie theaters. I watched the movie twice in 1997. The third time was IMAX 3D on Apr 2012.

8. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. A family classic for all ages. Watch the original version.

7. Casablanca. Schedule a night with your significant other to watch the romantic drama with the most quoted movie lines in history. I'm sad to say I watched the movie once.

6. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The movie should have won Best Picture instead of Annie Hall.

5. Saving Private Ryan. My personal all-time favorite war movie. The movie should have won Best Picture instead of Shakespeare In Love.

4. The Dark Knight. The movie was all Heath Ledger. A 100 out of 100. If I name my favorite evil character, Heath Ledger's Joker comes to my mind first.

3. The Godfather. I include The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. Organized crime, drugs, power, greed, revenge, and the past. The Godfather Part II takes the upper hand because we see Vito Corleone in his early years.

2. Good Will Hunting. I watched the movie for the first time in Feb 2014. I believe if I watched the movie between 1997-2000, I could have experienced my grow up moment then instead of Sat Oct 4, 2008. "It's not your fault," said Sean Maguire.

The 12 remaining movies for honorable mention: 12 Angry Men, A League Of Their Own, All The President's Men, Ben Hur, Breaking Away, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, La La Land, Little Miss Sunshine, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, The Princess Bride, and The Sound Of Music.

1. The Shawshank Redemption. A friend in college watched The Shawshank Redemption in the theater. He told me the movie was boring. I watched the movie 9,108 days later from the date of release Oct 14, 1994 on Sep 21, 2019. No spoilers. There is a reason the movie is number one in iMDB's Top Rated 250 Movies.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog October 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. There were fewer COVID-19 headlines. COVID-19 positive rates leveled after a summer spike. More mask mandates are coming back. The month went by slow; however, the more I think about Oct, the more I convince myself the month went by fast. The end of the day Oct went by slow.

Mon Oct 2. Shopped at Smart & Final first thing in the morning.

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman won the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine for developing the mRNA vaccine. The mRNA vaccine technology is used to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The letter m stands for Messenger. mRNA tells the cells to produce antibodies.

Tue Oct 3. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 12 and older. The vaccine is protein based which targets the EG.5 strain and XBB omicron subvariant. Protein based vaccines gets the body's immune system to recognize small modified pieces of the virus it's targeting.

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) is no longer distributing the white vaccine cards. Recipients should contact their state health department's immunization information system to keep track of their COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Thur Oct 5. My morning errands were smog check for my car, AAA, and Safeway.

Fri Oct 6. A study published in the Lancete's EClinicalMedicine journal stated a person who feels sick long term and tested negative for COVID-19 may have long-cold. There are other respiratory infections related to the common cold and not related to COVID-19. It's too soon to determine the number of days defining long in long-cold. The symptoms include the common respiratory virus and the flu.

Four family members found guilty of conspiracy to defraud people by selling a COVID-19 miracle cure containing a toxic bleach. The product was called Miracle Mineral Solution under the guise of the Genesis II Church Of Health And Healing.

The CDC published a study 63% of hospitalizations Jan-Aug 2023 were people ages 65 and older. All other age groups admissions declined. 24% of all hospitalized patients were up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations. 90% of COVID-19 related deaths were people ages 65 and older. 155 people died due to COVID-19 on average per day. The majority were over 70 and/or immunocompromised. 43% of people ages 65 and older received the previous bivalent booster shot available from Sep 2022 to May 2023. 1.14 million people in the US died due to COVID-19. 52,000 people died in 2023 as of today.

Sun Oct 8. Watched the Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers Sunday Night Football 1st quarter, 3rd quarter, and 4th quarter.

Mon Oct 9. Shopped at Lucky's first thing in the morning.

Thur Oct 12. Went to a satellite Kaiser Hospital campus in the afternoon. There was no vaccine because supply ran out.

The Department Of Health And Human Services said 7 million Americans received the latest COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines available are Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Novavax. Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are recommended for people ages 6 months and older. Novavax is recommended for people ages 12 and over. 18 million people received the 2022 bivalent booster at the same time last year. 56.5 million people received the bivalent booster as of May 2023 which is 17% of the US population.

A concern is the latest vaccine unavailable to children. One problem is distribution delays. People reported trouble finding doses or problems with their insurance.

Fri Oct 13. Arrived at the same satellite Kaiser Hospital campus at 8:20am. There was a line in front of the entrance. Vaccinations opened at 9am. I waited 20 minutes for my vaccine shot.

Wed Oct 18. Pfizer increased the price for a five day treatment Paxlovid at $1,390 for the commercial market. The federal government paid $529. Paxlovid is the COVID-19 antiviral drug which has been free since Dec 2021 when the FDA authorized the drug. Pfizer sells Paxlovid to health insurers in 2024. Pfizer plans to subsidize copays for commercially insured people from 2024 to 2028.

Tue Oct 24. Bank Of America, Costco Business Center, and helped my dad run an errand.

Wed Oct 25. Cruise operator Carnival was found negligent in an Australian class action lawsuit. The Ruby Princess liner departed from Sydney on Mar 8, 2020 for a 13-day cruise to New Zealand. The liner returned to Sydney 11 days later. 663 passengers were infected with COVID-19. 28 people died.

The lead plaintiff Susan Karpik sued for $230,000 in damages. Karpik was awarded the cost of her medical expenses because she didn't experience long COVID-19. Carnival refunded all passengers on the Ruby Princess. Carnival offered free cancellations for cruises on Mar 9, 2020. All cruises were suspended on Mar 13, 2020.

Thur Oct 26. The CDC reported from a survey of thousands of Americans 2% of children and 7% of adults got the latest version of the COVID-19 vaccine. The latest version targets the XBB.1.5 omicron variant. The government transitioned distribution from the federal government to commercial. Case numbers are low; however, 18,000 are hospitalized and 1,200 people die on average per week.

Mon Oct 30. Went to O'Reilly Auto Parts and Toyota.

Tue Oct 31. Bay Area counties Santa Clara, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Sonoma hospitals, clinics, and long term care facilities must follow county mask mandates. The counties fear an increase in COVID-19 and RSV cases. The mask mandates begins on Nov 1, 2023 and ends on Mar 31, 2024.

The CA state positivity rate was 6% in mid Oct. Santa Clara County wastewater transmission data indicated medium levels at the end of Oct.

Update On A Past Blog

I'm living my last hours of borrowed time being unemployed from the blog Unemployed Borrowed Time I wrote on Apr 27, 2018. The borrowed time has been lasting at least five years with a COVID-19 global pandemic delay. I don't know what happens when time is up. I don't know my actions when time is up. Death is at the bottom of the outcomes list. I continue doing the best I can staying sharp.

The Times Are Changing continues. I wrote 2020 was a year of significant changes including government shelters in-place, black lives matter, modified professional sports seasons, and online school learning. I wrote the blog on Sep 17, 2020. Some 2023 significant changes are inflation, Ukraine war, climate changes, former President Donald Trump's criminal charges, and the Gaza Strip war.

I also wrote Beelzebub collected the bills past due during the 2009-2010 global recession. Beelzebub collects today. There are more people he made deals before the global pandemic. There are more bills past due.

The times are changing.

Throwback Blog: Me Versus My Sinus Infection

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Me Versus My Sinus Infection written on Apr 3, 2011. I got Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. The blog is my personal cautionary tale how I take care of myself when I'm sick. What do I do. What don't I do. Don't fight fatigue; take a nap. No NyQuil. No orange juice from concentrated. Yes to milk chocolate. No DayQuil. Yes to water; however, no eight glasses a day. No vitamin C tablets. No green tea. No cranberry juice. No pomegranate juice. Yes to Coke. Yes to fully cooked meals. No to saline solutions. No to codeine. No to Nasonex. No to chewing gum. Yes to sleep. No to Ricola. Yes to Chloraseptic throat lozenges. Yes to being calm.

Further, I minimize eating junk food. Eat healthy meals. Eat something when hungry; for example, Snickers candy bars are better than Pop Tarts.

I got a minor stomach flu after my RSV. I blogged Me Versus My Stomach Flu on Apr 14, 2011.

I wrote three more sinus infections blogs: Me Versus My Sinus Infection II on Sep 25, 2011, Me Versus My Sinus Infection III on Mar 11, 2012, and Me Versus My Sinus Infection IV on Dec 7, 2012.

The month of March I battled a sinus infection. I want to document the days I got infected and how I treated myself. I continue to fight my sinus infection as of the time I posted the blog. This sinus infection is one of the worse I can remember. I document the events by date:

February 2011. I experienced many days of fatigue. I took many naps in the afternoon. There were days I fought fatigue by avoiding afternoon naps or sleeping early and skipping homework.

Mon Feb 28 to Sat March 5. Sickness developed. I felt really tired on Sat Mar 5. I should have went home after an event in the afternoon. I took NyQuil and drank Whole Foods orange juice in the evening.

Fri Mar 4. Purchased Trader Joe’s orange juice and milk chocolate.

Sun Mar 6. Cough developed.

Mon Mar 7 to Fri Mar 11. Full sickness. I had trouble sleeping most of the week. I skipped my De Anza classes.

Mon Mar 7. Stopped taking NyQuil and DayQuil.

Tue Mar 8. Sickness got worse. I forgot to drink water. I applied Visine because I had red watery eyes.

Wed Mar 9. Took 1,000mg vitamin C, drank more coke, drank green tea, and drank 100% ocean spray cranberry/pomegranate juice once. I resumed drinking water. I applied Visine again because I had red watery eyes. I coughed mucus that included blood. The mucus cough went away at night time.

Thur Mar 10. Stopped drinking green tea. Drank more coke. Best night sleep of the week.

Fri Mar 11. Got worse. I got a bump below my right ear and above my jaw line. I researched online. Some websites stated my lymph node was swollen because it fought a foreign substance. My guess was I ate a piece of sausage partially cooked. The sausage looked cooked from the outside. I took a few bites and my bump appeared immediately. I made the choice to visit my doctor on Saturday. He has office hours in the morning all Saturdays except the last Saturday of the month.

Sat Mar 12. My doctor was closed on Saturday. I went to the San Jose Medical Center Urgent Care. The doctor diagnosed me I had a sinus infection. He prescribed me an anti-biotic. He also told me to take Mucinix D and use a saline solution.

I went to Costco to purchase my anti-biotic and a three pack of saline solution in aerosol cans.

Sat Mar 12 to Fri Mar 18. Significant improvement. I slept well all days. My cough was in control. I attended classes. I returned the saline solution to Costco because my second can failed to spray the solution up my nose. I used a squeeze bottle solution my dad had for a total of 5-7 times throughout the week. The last two times I used plain warm water.

Mon Mar 21. Post nasal drip acted up again. My guess was the cold temperatures when I was out of the house on Fri Mar 18 and Sun Mar 20 affected me. I was sensitive to the cold. I’m sensitive to hot weather when I’m healthy.

Tue Mar 22. I visited my primary care physician. He prescribed me five extra days of anti-biotic, codeine, and Nasonex. My doctor said the doctor at the urgent care center prescribed me a “powerful” anti-biotic. My doctor said sinus infection takes a long time to recover. I don’t have bronchitis.

I went to Costco to get codeine and Nasonex. I took codeine and Nasonex before I went to sleep. I went to sleep hours later.

Wed Mar 23. I chewed gum to help control my cough in the afternoon. The gum failed to control my cough when I went to bed. I started to drink warm water. I took codeine and Nasonex before I went to sleep. The cough was the worse when I was lying in bed trying to sleep.

Thur Mar 24. I stopped taking codeine. I continued Nasonex and drank warm water.

Fri Mar 25. I turned on the heater in the house to 62 degrees in the morning. I never turn on the heat in the mornings. I wore a heavier jacket and a scarf to keep warm when I’m outdoors.

Sat Mar 26. I stopped taking all medications. I started to drink Trader Joe’s hot cocoa. I continued drinking green tea and took 1,000mg of vitamin C.

Mon Mar 28. I went back to the gym for a light workout. I was still cold sensitive.

Tue Mar 29. I started my stretches before I workout at the gym. No gym, just stretches. I did 75 sit-ups.

Wed Mar 30. I slept late because I drank tea late. I coughed a lot; however, the coughing stopped immediately when I slept with blankets. I continued drinking warm water and Coke when I ate lunch and dinner.

Thur Mar 31. I stopped drinking Coke. Today was unseasonably warm. I was still cold sensitive such that the morning and the evening I wore long sleeve shirt and pants. I coughed when I wore short sleeve shirt and shorts. I went to the gym for a light workout. I coughed a little. I felt mucus dripping down my throat causing mild irritation. I was able to sleep regardless.

Fri Apr 1. I took 500mg of vitamin C instead of 1,000mg. Coughing and mucus dripping down my throat continued infrequently. Weather was unseasonably warm I brought warmer clothes in case I get cold when I’m out of the house.

Currently. Mild cough and mucus dripping down my throat continues infrequently. I have two or three major coughs lasting at least five seconds. The mucus drippings are good because mucus is moving the foreign substances away from my body. It’s treating me from my sinus infection. I can still sleep. I drink plenty of water. I maintain my thinking I’m cold sensitive.

Q&anp;A

I ask myself questions to understand and to prepare myself the next time I have a sinus infection.

What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV? I blogged RSV in March 2008. March 2008 was the last time I had to visit the doctor for a sinus infection. I heard about RSV in the news. Now that I think about it, I have RSV which is my sinus infection. My recovery took me weeks three years ago. The same is happening now. There is no cure. I had to battle and tough it out gradually going back to my normal routine just like what I’m doing now.

What was your treatment if you didn’t need anti-biotics from a doctor? I took 1,000mg of vitamin C, drank green tea, ate Trader Joe’s chocolate because it controlled my cough, drank Simply Orange, ate lots of fruit, took Ricola to control my cough or Chloraseptic throat lozenges to relief itchy throat when I slept, and drank Coke.

Ricola stopped working after the next sickness. I suspected store bought orange juice I drank this time contributed to making my sickness worse. I avoid drinking store bought orange juice for the rest of my life.

My personal treatment worked in 2009 and 2010.

What sickness do you usually get? Stomach flu or coughing with post nasal drip sinus infection or not.

Why do you blog your sinus infection? I want to reference how I recovered my sinus infection or RSV and share to everyone how I recovered.

There were days you showed improvement. Then you got worse. What do you think happened? I ate partially cooked sausage on Fri Mar 11 which I think gave me an infection that lead to a sinus infection. I failed to keep warm that happened on Fri Mar 18 and Sun Mar 20 which I think gave me the RSV. It was a double whammy.

Could you have prevented the sickness? Take naps when I was tired. Eat when I’m hungry. I remember my family and I visited Monterey. I ate little during the one day trip and I got sick days later. The symptoms were the same as my sinus infection; fortunately, my personal treatment was enough for a full recovery.

My eat when I’m hungry attitude saved my Fall ’10 quarter. I ate lots of Pop Tarts and candy bars. I believed I managed to avoid getting sick despite eating all that junk food.

Sleep off the fatigue instead of fight it.

I believe another contributing factor was my personal haircut lady at my salon. She was sneezing and had a stuffy nose when she cut my hair.

What could you have done differently? The sleepless nights coughing should have told me my sickness was serious and I needed a doctor to examine me. The doctor might need to prescribed me prescription drugs.

Too Many 5's And 6's Dice Rolls Playing Axis & Allies

Axis & Allies made by Milton Bradley Company was a board game I played in high school. I sucked. I remember there was a chance I win one game. There were five of us. I teamed up with a straight A student friend who was like the late Steve Jobs without charisma. He knew how to play the game. We were the Axis. I played Germany. He played Japan. The other three friends were the Allies Russia, Great Britain, and United States.

My friend guided me where to put my soldiers, tanks, and planes. My friend suggested where to attack, where to place my armaments, and when to save money. He wanted to win. He wanted me to win. He cared. We lost. What happened? The answer was I rolled too many 5's and 6's. I rolled too few low numbers to attack and to defend. I rolled too few low numbers to win battles. Pathetic. My friend suggested a different method to roll the dice. Unsuccessful. My fault? Yes. Bad luck? Yes.

Two of the three friends playing the Allies were smart students. They enrolled in advanced classes. One of them could bowl a 200 score. The other friend was fluent in English and Spanish.

Tabletop Gaming Curse

If there is a term for bad luck playing tabletop games, then give me the term; otherwise, I assign myself the tabletop gaming curse. I realize connecting the dots backwards bad luck factored in my losses. All games involving luck include dice rolling, drawing cards, drawing tiles in Mahjong, and spinning I experience more bad luck than good luck. The odds are in favor of my opponents. The over 50% probability are in favor of my opponents.

Likewise for my present life. I lost count the number of times I was the second choice for a job hire. There were job hires cancelled due to a director overriding the hiring manager, budget cuts, and breech of procedures not my fault. Curses are meant to be broken. I don't know how to break a bad luck curse.

There Are Stories Every Time We Breathe

Today's another too many blog reminders there are stories. There is a story every day. There is a story every second. You don't have a story every day; for example, you don't write to your parents you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I don't have a story every day. 99.9999% of the daily stories the world doesn't know. There are too many. You don't know them all. I don't know them all. 99.9999% of the 0.001% of the daily stories the world does know the world doesn't care. Almost all of the 0.001% are boring--not newsworthy for anyone's time. Feedbacks, responses, and reactions are opinions. Regardless, live your life by creating stories. Do you best to create intelligent stories.

Update On A Past Blog

Perhaps, there are stories can be another life guarantee. I wrote a blog titled My Six Guarantees on Dec 11, 2021. Benjamin Franklin said two of my six guarantees which are death and taxes. My four guarantees are everyone is weird, everyone changes, everyone has problems, and there are 24 hours in a day and seven days a week.

Emotionally Draining

The 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs saw all three teams with 100 or more regular season wins eliminated in the best of five divisional rounds. The 90-win Philadelphia Phillies defeated the 104-win Atlanta Braves 3-1. The 90-win Texas Rangers defeated the 101-win Baltimore Orioles 3-0. The 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0. The Dodgers and Orioles were the first time multiple 100-win teams who didn't win a postseason game. The Orioles were never swept during the regular season.

In addition, the Rangers defeated the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in a best of three wild card round. The Diamondbacks defeated the 92-win Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in a best of three wild card round.

Full disclosure. I watched zero innings of the wild card and divisional playoffs. I'm not a professional sports journalist. I share my intuitive opinion. I believe winning 100 or more games was too hard. The 2023 season was emotionally draining. There are past 100+ win teams winning the World Series; for instance, the 2022 Houston Astros won 106 games, the 2018 Boston Red Sox won 108 games, the 2016 Chicago Cubs won 103 games, and the 1998 New York Yankees won 114 games. According to Wikipedia List of Major League Baseball 100 win seasons, 116 teams won 100 or more regular season games in a season as of the end of the 2023 season. 68 of the 116 teams played in the World Series (.586). 38 of the 68 teams won the World Series (.559). 38 of the 116 total teams won the World Series (.328).

The three 100+ win teams experienced winning emotional fatigue. The winning high was over when the postseason began. The winning feeling was over when the postseason began. Supplemental emotions or auxiliary emotions were required to reach 100+ wins. The three teams clinched a postseason spot. The 100+ wins meant nothing if the teams couldn't win postseason games. I'm sure physical fatigue and mental fatigue were nonfactors. Winning inspirations were jaded. No winning emotions feelings. No championship.

Emotional energy is unsustainable. Emotional energy depletes faster than physical energy and mental energy. Emotional energy is the easiest to achieve maximum. Emotional energy is the easiest to achieve empty. Physical and mental are more important than emotional. Skills, abilities, and knowledge are more important than feeling good. Is motivation or desire an emotional feeling? Is motivation or desire a spiritual feeling? Or is motivation or desire mental for which motivation is a state of mind? I have said motivation is more important than intelligence. I may have contradicted myself.

Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Human Influence

Another possibility is rigged games. Las Vegas casinos and sports bookies influences the games for which the underdogs won the series.

The National League Championship Series best of seven Phillies lead the Diamondbacks 2-1. The American League Championship Series best of seven Astros and Rangers are tied 2-2. Both series standings are as of today's blog.

Full Information Acquired

A person feels good when everything is fully understood. All information acquired. The person has the knowledge. The truth is known. All lies are called out. The feeling is free. Relaxation. Relief. Acceptance. It's like small claims court television shows. The judge knows the facts. The judge issues a judgement.

Regardless, the person must keep the door open. Investigations, research, job assignments, plans, due diligence, and learning are examples. New information can be discovered. The full information is incomplete. Mistakes are made. Changes are made. New opinions are expressed. Circumstances alter the knowledge. Facts are questioned. Always keep the eyes, ears, sound, taste, and touch senses open for anything new.

Too Much Fun Is Too Dumb

Minimal brain thinking is needed for most fun activities. The purpose of fun is resting the brain. The purpose of leisure is relaxing the brain. A brain is not needed to watch TV, watch YouTube, play video games, and browse social media. There is a limit on fun. A fun life 24 hours a day is not fun. A fun life 24 hours a day is counterproductive. A fun life 24 hours a day the brain becomes dumb. Intelligence decreases by eating too much processed foods, having too much sex, and accumulating fun junk. Although, there was a Seinfeld episode titled The Abstinence where George became smarter when he couldn't have sex with his girlfriend due to mononucleosis; on the other hand, Elaine became dumber because she didn't have sex with his boyfriend to help him successfully pass his medical licensing exam.

How does a person live an intelligent life and live a fun life? My answer is fun and intelligence are the outcomes after work is completed. Work is done. Daily goals are successful. Intelligence is either maintained or increased. However, don't work to maintain intelligence indefinitely. Find new work to increase intelligence. Fun is rewarded. Furthermore, physical fitness is required, plenty of sleep is required, and financial discipline is personally enforced.

Ignorance is bliss. On the other hand, use your brain or lose your brain.

Boredom Is Better Than The Alternatives

Good health, decent shelter, books to read, a bed to sleep eight hours, good intelligence, and no debt. These are boring. These boring are better than alternatives. The alternatives include bad health such as chronic sickness, shelter too cold during the winter, illiteracy, less than six hours of sleep, poor mental comprehension, and rolling debt into debt.

The assignment is complete. The project is final. *fill in the blank* is successful. The task is finished. Take everything one at a time. The process is not boring looking back. The process is not boring connecting the dots backwards.

Boredom is better than doing nothing. Motivation is not boredom. Motivation is better than doing nothing.

Update On A Past Blog

I posted my Inspiration Cheer Up on my webpage. Click Inspiration Cheer Up File to download the .pdf format. The file is as-is with explicit edits. I mentioned the Inspiration Cheer Up at Why Do I Pray? on Aug 3, 2014. I mentioned reading the Inspiration Cheer Up is part of my spirituality at My Spirituality Discovery on Jan 11, 2015. The Inspiration Cheer Up is my personal bible.

Some Poor People Wake Up Early To Get The Worm

The early bird gets the worm is a common life wisdom. Some successful people believe poor people sleep late at night and wake up late the next day. Some rich people believe poor people are lazy there's no need to wake up in the morning. The sleep late and laziness are incorrect.

Money is a motivator. Lack of money is also a motivator. Some poor people wake up early to get the sale. Some poor people arrive early for assistance. The early bird gets the worm applies to all people. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, coupons, limited supply, grand openings, pandemics, and YOLOs. It's life.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog September 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. COVID-19 positive rates increase. Mask mandates are coming back. People tired of the summer heat are looking forward to cooler weather.

Mon Sep 4. First lady Dr. Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time. Mild symptoms. President Joe Biden tested negative. The first lady was isolated at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The first time Dr. Biden tested positive was Aug 16, 2022.

Tue Sep 7. Watched the fourth quarter at the five minute mark of the first 2023 NFL season game Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs.

Fri Sep 8. Shopped for books at Books, Inc.

Sun Sep 10. Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted no huge hospitalization and death rates given the recent increase in COVID-19 infections. Fauci said the chances are low because of vaccines and immunity. Fauci was formerly the White House pandemic adviser. He's currently a professor at Georgetown University. Fauci doesn't believe the government imposes mask mandates.

Mon Sep 11. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated COVID-19 vaccines Pfizer-Bio N Tech and Moderna which targets the omicron variant XBB.1.5. The two vaccines are approved for people age 12 and older. The two vaccines are approved for emergency use for children age 6 months through 11 years old. These vaccines use messenger RNA which teaches cells how to make proteins triggering an immune response against COVID-19. The vaccines don't target the current dominant variants; however, the vaccines provide protection against the current dominant variants. EG.5 or Eris is the dominant strain mutated from omicron or a descendent from omicron representing 21.5% of all cases. XBB.1.5 is declining.

Vaccine manufacturers sell their vaccines to private markets instead of the federal government because the US COVID-19 public health emergency ended in May 2023. Private insurers and government medical programs such as Medicare pay for the vaccines. 17% of the US population received the Sep 2022 booster according to the Center For Disease Control (CDC).

Wed Sep 12.The CDC approved the latest COVID-19 vaccines for people age 6 and older.

Shopped at Lucky supermarket.

Sat Sep 16. Shopped at Lucky supermarket.

Tue Sep 19. Shopped at Lowe's, Costco, and The Home Depot.

The CDC reported hospitalizations increased 7.7% from 19,068 in Sep 9 to 20,538. The last time hospitalizations reached 20,000 was Mar 2023. Hospitalizations was 150,674 on Jan 15, 2022 during omicron.

The Sonoma County health officer Dr. Karen Smith ordered health care workers who work with patients to wear face masks starting Nov 1, 2023 and ending Apr 30, 2024. The facilities affected include hospitals, clinics, and any indoor patient care building.

Wed Sep 20. American households can receive at-home COVID-19 tests for free. Each household requests four free tests at covidtests.gov. President Biden said the administration provided $600 million for 200 million more COVID-19 tests.

Thur Sep 21. The federal government isn't paying for the COVID-19 vaccine. Some people said their insurance isn't covering the $125 to $190 vaccine cost. One suggestion is contact the insurance company for a reimbursement. The federal government can pay for the vaccine for people who pays a co-payment or for the uninsured with the Bridge Across Program for 2023. Some counties offer free vaccines at clinics for those who qualify. COVID-19 vaccines should be covered by insurance.

New masking orders in the Bay Area. Masks are required for all health care facilities except for children under 2, people with pre-existing medical conditions, hearing impaired, or wearing a mask creates a work risk problem in Santa Clara County. Masks are required for all health care facilities and jails in San Francisco County. All people in health care facilities must wear masks in Alameda County. All health care workers in all health care facilities must wear masks in Contra Costa County; however, patients or visitors don't need to wear masks. All people in health care facilities must wear masks starting on Nov 1, 2023 in San Mateo County. Masks are required for all health care facilities, homeless shelters, and jails in Marin County. Napa County and Solano County follow the mask mandate state guidelines.

Sat Sep 23. Quick errands at O'Reilly Auto and Chevron.

Mon Sep 25. A scientific research published in Nature found differences in blood for long COVID-19 patients compared to non-long COVID-19 patients. Long COVID-19 patients have lower levels of the cortisol hormone. Cortisol makes a person feel alert and awake. Long COVID-19 is a biological illness. 18 million Americans experience long COVID-19 in 2022 according to the CDC.

Merck's antiviral drug Molnupiravir can cause the virus to mutate. The drug was one of the first available to doctors. The drug weakens or destroys the virus and reduces the amount of COVID-19. However, COVID-19 can survive treatment resulting in mutated versions spreading to other people. Molnupiravir is sold under the brand name Lageviro. There is no evidence the drug produced more COVID-19 variants. The study was published in Nature journal. Worldwide sales dropped from $1 billion in the third quarter of 2022 to $200 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Wed Sep 27. The Department Of Health And Human Services announced medical insurance companies pay for the latest COVID-19 vaccine. The companies said technical problems caused their clients to be charged for the vaccine.

Thur Sep 28. Masks are mandatory in hospitals and nursing facilities in Marin County starting on Nov 1, 2023 and ending on Mar 31, 2024. Children under the age 6 and people with valid medical reasons are exempted. Masks are recommended in medical clinics and outpatient health care settings.

Fri Sep 29. Shopped at Smart & Final and Costco. There were more shoppers at the 10am hour. More people wore masks.

I Earned Playing Video Games

I hand washed and hand waxed my car for the first time on Sun Sep 24, 2023. I was in sixth grade the last time I hand washed a car. My dad told my brother and I we don't wash the family car anymore because he didn't want to take us to Chuck E. Cheese as a reward.

I played a video game and watched a movie in the evening. The job was completed. I earned the leisure. I didn't earn the leisure to play video games in Oct-Nov 2007. I helped my dad and his friend install a new roof for the friend's house every Sat. I didn't want to help. My attitude was uncooperative. I assisted with some effort. I thought about playing video games many times throughout the day. I played video games without feeling guilty for a poor effort on Sat's nights.

The roofing installation might have been completed sooner if I gave it 100% effort.

Instant Bullets Blog Sep 23, 2023

*2 X 0 = 0. Double nothing results in nothing.

*Combat The Snitch Economy. A secret shopper doesn't rat out the employees. He or she gets paid to eat and always gives a positive review.

*Condoms are 98% effective. Condoms are 2% ineffective. Prevent the 2% failure rate. Don't ejaculate inside a woman wearing a condom. Pull out the penis before ejaculating inside the condom. It's better than unplanned pregnancies. No birth control is 100% effective.

Further, condoms are one time use. Use once. Throw away.

*Open the windows. Close the windows. Summer season. The house is cooler inside. The weather is hotter outside. Windows close. On the other hand, the house is hotter inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows open.

Winter season. The house is warmer inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows close. The house is cooler inside. The weather is warmer outside. Windows open. It's a judgement call.

*The Perfect Bid. Watch The Price Is Right Documentary on the Showcase Showdown perfect bid. The documentary explains the truth when Terry Kniess bided perfectly on his showcase with help from Ted Slauson in 2008. The documentary is free with ads on YouTube Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.

*virile: having strength, full of energy, and a strong sex drive. Pronounced ve-ril. For example, some women find bald men quite virile.

*Steve Jobs: Some people say, "Give the customers want they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page." The quote is from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson on page 567.

*premeditated: an action thought out or planned beforehand. Full conscious willful intent and a measure of forethought and planning. Thought of or planned before being done. Planned in advance with a purpose; no accident. Done deliberately. Planned in advanced. Planned. Calculated. Deliberate.

*Christmas One Week Later. My acceptance to the families celebrating Christmas one week later. These families are poor. These families take advantage of the after Christmas sales. No right or wrong.

*Teenage Pregnancies. Here are some YouTube videos on teen pregnancies: I Think I'm Having A Baby Abc Afterschool Special Full, Some Girls (1987 documentary on teenage pregnancy), Teenage Pregnancy in the 1950s, and When Teens Get Pregnant (1982)

*I Heart Trivia. There are four chambers in the human heart. Listen to Neil Young - Heart of Gold (Official Audio) by Neil Young. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant. Sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson are members of the band Heart.

*The Renaissance. The renaissance short definition is rebirth or revival. Michaelangelo created the statue David between 1501 and 1504. Leonardo da Vinci is considered the most diversely talented person. Venus is standing on a seashell in The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.

Oregon Ducks Head Coach Dan Lanning's pregame speech before defeating the Colorado Buffaleos 42-6 The Cinderella story is OVER! - Dan Lanning's speech before Oregon vs. Colorado. "This game ain't gonna be played in Hollywood, it's gonna be played on the grass."

I Have A Brain

I'm lucky I have a brain. Physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual are strong. Physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual are connected to my brain. Strong minds and strong bodies complement each other. Motivation or desire is focused. There is no point doing nothing. I might as well do something, anything to increase my chances of earning freedom. I do something, anything to seek new adventures and to experience new experiences. Use my brain or lose my brain. Take nothing for granted.

I can't imagine my life without a brain. I don't want to imagine my life without a brain. I see, hear, read, taste, and feel stupidity. I see, hear, read, taste, and feel unmotivated people. I'm lucky I'm not stupid. I'm lucky I'm motivated. I made more of my share of life mistakes. I assure the world lessons are learned. I assure the world more intelligent mistakes are made. I continue living a life with a brain.

Selected The Price Is Right YouTube Videos Bob Barker Era

Television game show host Bob Barker past away on Aug 26, 2023 at the age of 99. Barker hosted Truth Or Consequences and The Price Is Right. I watched The Price Is Right during my summer vacations from grade school and when I'm sick on school days. Here are some of my favorite Price Is Right pricing games.

Punch-A-Bunch. Contestants punch a hole to reveal a winning cash paper.

EPIC Price Is Right gamble! It pays off BIG! Bryan ignores his wife to give up $5,000. Watch Bob Barker's poker face.

Sweet Senior Is Shocked When She Wins $10,000 Playing PUNCH-A-BUNCH! - The Price Is Right 1984. Watch Bob Barker's poker face on her first punch.

Sound the Alarm! TPIR Contestant Wins $10K Playing Punch-A-Bunch! - The Price Is Right 1985. The contestant's reaction is shaking.

Fun Contestant Wins $10K With First Punch Playing PUNCH-A-BUNCH! - The Price Is Right 1983. The contestant dances a winner.

Shell Game. Contestants guess where the ball is hidden under a shell.

A "Dirty Rotten Trick"/cheat on playing Shell Game -- The Price is Right. The contestant cheats and gets away with it.

Three Strikes. Contestants draw numbers to the price of the car or strikes from a bag.

Wow! TPIR Contestant Makes History Winning 3 STRIKES Without a Strike! - The Price Is Right 1984. The contestant draws numbers only with many miss guesses.

Contestant Makes TPIR History When She Plays a PERFECT GAME of 3 STRIKES! - The Price Is Right 1984. A perfect game no strikes and no miss guesses.

The Price is Right - Jonathon Berg PAINFULLY LOSES "3 Strikes"! (Friday, May 12, 2000). Contestant doesn't win the $41K Lincoln Town Car last number after drawing five consecutive numbers even with the one strike chip rule.

The Price is Right: April 2, 2004 (Longest playing of 3 Strikes!). The UCSC Banana Slug student doesn't win the $40K Lincoln LS after drawing many numbers and guessing many times even with the one strike chip rule. Time stamped.

Race Game. Contestants place the correct prices on four prizes in 45 seconds.

The Price Is Right Super Fan Quickly Beats RACE GAME While In Heels! - The Price Is Right 1983. Wearing heels!

Savvy Contestant Gets Four Prices Right on First Try During RACE GAME! - The Price Is Right 1984. Contestant guesses correctly the first time.

The Price is Right - Pregnant Race Game Perfection!. Nothing to worry. Victory in 9 seconds.

Switcheroo. Contestants insert blocks with numbers to complete the price for five prizes.

TPIR Contestant Goes For EVERY PRIZE While Playing SWITCHEROO - The Price Is Right 1983. Contestant takes a chance with three correct to win all five prizes.

The Price is Right 99 Year Old Contestant. The contestant played Switcheroo with a broken timer.

Other Videos

One of the Worst The Price Is Right Players Ever. The dumbest contestant wins Ten Chances. My all-time favorite.

The Price is Right - Little Sweet Surprise. A five year old boy from MA is given gifts which includes 1980s GoBots and Transformers Dinobots.

Excel Tips I Tweeted

Here are my Excel tips from my Twitter @ININ61.

*Aug 11, 2023: Use EDATE() to return a date a number of months away. =EDATE("6/11/2023",1) returns 7/11/2023 +30 days. =EDATE("8/11/2023",-1) returns 7/11/2023 -31 days. =EDATE("2/29/2024",12) returns 2/28/2025 +365 days. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1690037846034563072)

*Jul 25, 2023: Left click the plus sign New Sheet on the worksheet tabs along the bottom inserts a new worksheet. Double left click New Sheet inserts a new worksheet and user renames the worksheet. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1683930698934280192)

*Jun 8, 2023: Press Alt, O, D to open the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager window. Press Alt, D, S to open the Sort window. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1666924039124963329)

*May 29, 2023: Press Ctrl+Shift+F to open Format Cells window Font tab active. It can be faster than Ctrl+1, F which also opens Format Cells window select Font tab. One less key stroke. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1663339001967939585)

*Apr 25, 2023: Excel table opened. Column filters on. Press Alt+Shift+Down on a column cell or press Alt+Down on a column header to open the filter drop down menu. Immediately press E to begin typing the search filter. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1650989145823793152)

*Mar 14, 2023: Display a decimal number as a whole number and fraction. Cell A1 is 333.33. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 333 1/3; =TEXT(A1,"# ??/??") returns 333 32/97. Cell A1 351.67. Cell B1 =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 351 2/3. 314.25 returns 314 1/4. 4.34 returns 4 1/3. #exceltip RM: Initial draft is Display a decimal number as a whole number and a fraction using the TEXT function. Cell A1 is 333.33. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 333 1/3; =TEXT(A1,"# ??/??") returns 333 32/97. Cell A1 is 351.67. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 351 2/3. Cell A1 314.25. Cell B1 i=TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 314 1/4. 4.34 returns 4 1/3. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1635779231727886336)

*Dec 19, 2022: Press Ctrl+F to open Find and Replace window. Press Find Next search downwards. Hold Shift when pressing Find Next search upwards. (Tweet ID-1604903555747311617)

*Nov 23, 2022: Double click an option in a dialog box or pop-up window instead of pressing OK to execute. For example, press Ctrl+Shift+= *equal sign* to insert a row. Double click Entire row instead of selecting Entire row and pressing OK. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1595497363715420161)

*Sep 28, 2022: Extract unique values or extract duplicate values. Cells A1:A7 is a fruit table. Cell A1 is the column header. Cell C1 is =UNIQUE(A2:A7,0,0) returns unique values. Cell E1 is =UNIQUE(A2:A7,0,1) returns duplicate values only [--Apple and Orange are duplicates, formula returns Apple and Orange.] #exceltip (Tweet ID-1575184416179003392)

*Sep 16, 2022: Excel worksheet with multiple blank rows unconnected to be deleted. Select the entire cells. Press Ctrl+G. Press Special. Select Blanks. Press OK. Right mouse click a selected cell. Select Entire row. Press OK. Multiple blank rows deleted. #exceltip RM: Okay to select the leftmost column of data instead of the entire cells. (Tweet ID-1570830416139157505)

*Aug 29, 2022: Select all cells in an Excel table except the column headers. Press Ctrl+Spacebar, Shift+Spacebar. Or point cursor to the upper left of the Excel table. Cursor turns into an arrow pointing down and right or southeast. Single mouse click. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1564344389182185472)

*Jun 14, 2022: Left mouse click a calculation on the status bar to copy to clipboard. Paste anywhere. Highlight cells A1:A10. Left mouse click Sum: 55. Paste the sum 55 on cell B1. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1536811675348652032)

*Jun 7, 2022: Copy a cell or a text in Excel or another program. Press Alt+Ctrl+V to open the Paste Special window. There must be something to be pasted for Alt+Ctrl+V to work. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1534256145094782978)

*Apr 15, 2022: Press Alt+*number* to use the tools in the Quick Access Toolbar. My three tools are Format Painter, Speak Cells, and Select Objects from left to right in Excel. Alt+1 activates Format Painter. Alt+2 activates Speak Cells. Alt+3 activates Select Objects. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1515084816261152769)

*Jan 7, 2022: Scroll left and right on a worksheet without using the horizontal scroll bar. Hold Ctrl+Shift, scroll up and scroll down on your mouse wheel scroll the worksheet left and right. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1479586187027222529)

*Dec 29, 2021: Use TEXTJOIN to combine text from multiple cells. Cells A1 is Apple, A2 is Orange, A3 is Banana. Cell A5 is =TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A1:A3) returns Apple, Orange, Banana for which TRUE ignores blank cells. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1476318390008442887)

*Dec 17, 2021: Press Shift+F2 to insert a New Note in a cell. Press Esc, Esc to save note and exit. Edit an existing note press Shift+F2. Save edit and exit press Esc, Esc. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1471999977983340547)

*Nov 1, 2021: Excel press Alt+Ctrl++ (plus sign) to zoom in. Excel press Alt+Ctrl+- (minus sign) to zoom out. Excel press Alt, W, G to zoom in at selected cell. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1455324557909192709)

*Sep 3, 2021: Use Excel to print the file names in a folder. Click Data-->Get Data--From File-->From Folder. Click the folder in Browse window. Click Open. Click Load. A pivot table is created with the file name, dates, extensions, and path. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1433949522053328896)

*Aug 20, 2021: Cell A1 is 1. Cell A2 is 2. Cell A3 is 3. Cell A4 is 4. Cell A5 is 5. Cell A10 is =SUM(A1:A5). Press Ctrl+' on cell A10 highlights cells A1:A5 used in formula. Press ESC to exit. Also, press Ctrl+[ selects cells A1:A5 used in formula. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1428835342447112193)

*Jun 24, 2021: A faster way to switch Excel windows is View-->Switch Windows-->select Excel window or Alt, W, W, number for which the number references an open Excel file. It may be faster than Ctrl+F6. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1408182043725352962)

*Jun 10, 2021: Use LEN and SUBSTITUTE to count specific characters in an Excel cell. Cell A1 is mississippi. Count the i's =LEN(A1)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A1,"i","")) returns 4. LEN of mississippi is 11. LEN and SUBSTITUTE replaces the letter i with nothing returns 7. 11-7=4. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1403165898676998144)

*May 25, 2021: A quicker way to copy and paste one time use. Copy the cell or cells to copy Ctrl+C. Go to the cell to paste and press Enter which is a little quicker than Ctrl+V. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1397294669780766723)

*May 25, 2021: Use F4 to paste multiple times. Cell A1 is Today is Tuesday. Press Ctrl+C to copy. Go to cell C5. Press Alt, E, S, Enter to paste using Paste Special. Go to cell G5. Press F4 to paste. Go to cell G8. Paste F4 to paste. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1397293933739143168)

*May 12, 2021: Use Excel TRUNC function to return a number without its decimal number. =TRUNC(7999.51,0) returns 7999. =TRUNC(7999.49,0) returns 7999. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1392612685137678343)

*May 12, 2021: Use Excel INT function to round down nearest integer. =INT(7.9) returns 7. =INT(7.1) returns 7. =INT(-7.9) returns -8. =INT(-7.1) returns -8. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1392611926908096512)

*Mar 25, 2021: Press Alt+Enter in an Excel cell to insert a new line or insert a line break. Alt+Enter also enables Wrap Text. To wrap text without line break, Alt+Enter, Ctrl+Enter, F2, Backspace, Enter. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1375245314588696577)

*Jan 16, 2021: Excel table shortcut keys. Ctrl+Spacebar selects a column, Shift+Spacebar selects a row. Access the filter drop down menu press Alt+Down Arrow if cursor on the column header; otherwise Alt+Shift+Down Arrow. Access drop down menu Alt+Down Arrow. #exceltips (Tweet ID-1350646794649104385)

*Sep 21, 2020: The CONVERT function takes a measurement and converts to another measurement. Cell A1 is 50. Cell B1 is =CONVERT(A1,"sec","hr") converts 50 seconds to 0.013889 hours. Cell C1 is =CONVERT(A1,"in","ft") converts 50 inches to 4.166667 feet. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1308290224846327808)

*Sep 18, 2020: Display the number zero as n/a or as a blank cell in Excel using Format Cells. Numbers are between 0 and 99,999. \n Cell A1 is 0. Cell B1 displays n/a custom format cell #,###;;"n/a". Cell C1 displays blank cell custom format cell #,###;; #exceltip (Tweet ID-1307048633209171973)

*Aug 14, 2020: Excel Microsoft 365 view the same worksheet in multiple windows View-->New Window or Alt,W,N. Likewise for Excel 2016 View-->New Window. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1294340056790966272)

*Jun 18, 2020: Excel format cells tip. Cell A1 is My number is *number*. Press Ctrl+A1-->Number-->Category-->Custom-->Type. Under Type, type "My number is "#. Press OK. User types a number in Cell A1 instead of typing My number is *number*. Cell A1 displays My number is *number*. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1273699206100746240)

*Jun 2, 2020: Shortcut keys to insert an Excel new worksheet and name the new worksheet. Shift+F11, Alt, H, O, R, type worksheet name. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1267943510088380417)

*May 19, 2020: Excel users press F1 opening the Help pane instead of ESC. \n The shortcut keys to close are Ctrl, Space, C when the Help pane is focused. It can work with other task panes. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1262812478276161536)

*Apr 23, 2020: AutoFit column size hover the mouse between column identification letters and double-click. The double-click resizes to greatest length. If you want to AutoFit column size at shorter length, select the cell with shorter length text on column, press Alt, H, O, I. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1253405685947088896)

*Jan 3, 2020: Press Ctrl+G to open the Go To window. Cursor is at cell G100. User wants to go to cell J5. Press Ctrl+G, type J5 at Reference, press OK. Cursor is at cell J5. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1213233121530826752)

*Jan 3, 2020: Press Ctrl+' to copy the exact Excel formula above a cell. Press Ctrl+Shift+' to copy the value from the Excel formula above a cell. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1213232369559228416)

*Nov 9, 2019: Audit Excel formulas for consistency. Highlight a column of formulas. Press Ctrl+Shift+\\ (Backspace). Highlighted cells afterwards are the inconsistent formulas. Press Ctrl+\\ (Backspace) for a row of formulas. #exceltip https://t.co/PvZNH0vxvv (Tweet ID-1193279270426050560)

*Oct 26, 2019: Hold the Ctrl key when clicking cells in a formula. The comma separators are automatically inserted. e.g. SUM function hold Ctrl clicking cells A1, B5, C9, D10. Result is =SUM(A1,B5,C9,D10) with commas automatically inserted. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1188157535238230016)

*Sep 13, 2019: #exceltip Cells A1:A20 contain integers. Need to add 100 to each integer. Type 100 at cell C1. Copy cell C1. Highlight cells A1:A20. Home-->Paste-->Paste Special or Alt, H, V, S. (Tweet ID-1172579024549240832)

*Aug 10, 2019: View two worksheets in two windows in the same Excel file. View-->New Window or Alt+W+N, click on another worksheet on new Excel window. See the two worksheets. Can arrange the Excel windows View-->Arrange All such as Tiled or Horizontal. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1160280578081427456)

*Jul 13, 2019: An efficient way to format cells consistently is save the cell formatting. Home-->Styles-->Cell Styles-->New Cell Style. Complete the attributes including the style name and formatting. Keyboard shortcut Alt+H+J opens Cell Styles. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1150135338360119296)

*Jul 13, 2019: Ctrl + F1 to collapse the ribbon or pin the ribbon. Another method to collapse the ribbon or pin the ribbon is double click a menu object such as Home, Insert, or Data. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1150134239985192960)

*Jul 3, 2019: Highlight an Excel table without the headers. Hover cursor to the top left of the table to see a diagonal arrow pointing down and right or southeast. Single click. Table is highlighted except the headers. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1146612561208467456)

*May 21, 2019: Slicers and a total row are available for a table itself. Right mouse click anywhere on the table-->Table-->Totals Row to insert a total row. Table Tools-->Design-->Tools-->Insert Slicer to insert a slicer. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1131022721372917760)

*Apr 25, 2019: The Excel AVERAGE() functions include cells containing zeros calculating the average and excludes blank cells. If you must include zeros for display and not in average calculation, then type ">0" in the criteria; e.g. =AVERAGEIF(A1:A30,">0"). #exceltip (Tweet ID-1121525498733944832)

*Apr 1, 2019: Excel short cut key to insert today's date in a cell is Ctrl+;. Excel short cut key to insert current time in a cell is Ctrl+Shift+;. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1112790426795171840)

*Mar 19, 2019: Type CHAR(13) in an Excel formula for a carriage return. A good use for CHAR(13) is a formula label for a chart. e.g. ="B4label = "&B4&CHAR(13)&"B5label = "&B5&CHAR(10)&"b6label = "&B6 #exceltip (Tweet ID-1108126732781932544)

*Feb 19, 2019: One way to print selected cells in an Excel worksheet is File-->Print--> under Settings first drop down box select Print Selection. A quicker way is Ctrl+P, under Settings first drop down box select Print Selection. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1098063153655513089)

*Feb 18, 2019: Use DOLLAR(number,decimal places) to add the dollar sign in an Excel cell. =DOLLAR(5,0) is $5. ="I won "&DOLLAR(5,0) is I won $5. ="I won "&DOLLAR(5,2) is I won $5.00. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1097715959853240320)

*Jan 18, 2019: Select an entire column. Select column B type B:B. =COUNTIF(B:B,A1). Select multiple contiguous columns. Select columns E to G type E:G. =VLOOKUP(A1,E:G,3,0). #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086449171849142272)

*Jan 18, 2019: Split a column or separate a column with a common character Data-->Text To Columns. Can save time instead of writing formulas. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086448132123049985)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to open the Excel Page Setup window is Page Layout-->under Page Setup group click bottom right arrow. Short cut keys Atl+P+S+P is another way. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086447268968853505)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to add text to a header or footer is Insert-->Text-->Header/Footer. View-->Page Layout double click Add header works, too. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086445724911337472)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to rotate an Excel file orientation from portrait to landscape and vice versa is Page Layout-->Orientation-->Portrait or Landscape #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086444720065105923)

*Jul 30, 2018: #exceltip A table with named columns. Create a helper column to filter the table. OR criteria =OR([column1]="Hat",[column2]="Fred",[column3]>25). AND criteria =AND([column1]="Cat",[column2]="Ratbag",[column3]>=63). (Tweet ID-1024066197233397760)

*May 21, 2018: Excel tip. Logical formula equal sign = is case insensitive. Cell A1 is rad. Cell A2 is Rad. =A1=A2 returns TRUE. ="rad"="Rad" returns TRUE. #exceltip (Tweet ID-998668958629687296)

*May 9, 2018: Excel tip. Cells A1:E10 have numbers. Highlight cells A1:F11. Press Alt + =. Excel adds =SUM() to F1:F11 and A11:F11 adding the rows and columns. #exceltip (Tweet ID-994300830109990912)

*Apr 11, 2018: In Excel, Alt, I, R inserts new row above. e.g. Cursor on cell A5. Press Alt, I, R. New row inserted at row 5. #exceltip (Tweet ID-984157390948843520)

*Feb 2, 2018: Excel tip. Highlight or select multiple cells. Pressing tab moves active cell only to highlighted or selected cells. e.g. highlight A1:E5. Press tab active cell cycles highlighted A1:E5 cells only. (Tweet ID-959575640021151744)

*Dec 20, 2017: Excel tip. Alt, E, A, F clears cell formatting. Alt, E, A, A deletes entire cell. (Tweet ID-943688412753666049)

*Nov 27, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl+Left click the left arrow at the worksheet bar scrolls to the first sheet. Ctrl+Right click the right arrow at the worksheet bar scrolls to the last sheet. (Tweet ID-935247792712249344)

*Nov 7, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl + Shift + L inserts the Filter on a row of column headers. (Tweet ID-928092804617707520)

*Nov 7, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl+X to cut a formula in a cell. Paste the formula in another worksheet same file. The pasted formula in the new worksheet contains the cell references referencing the originating formula. (Tweet ID-928092562694402048)

*Oct 3, 2017: Excel tip. Right mouse click sheet scroll arrows a list of all the sheets in the Excel file appears. Select the sheet to view. (Tweet ID-915325707617673216)

*Sep 18, 2017: Excel tip. Deactivate GETPIVOTDATA cell referencing in pivot table. File->Options->Formulas->uncheck Use GetPivotData functions for Pivot... (Tweet ID-909952106169171968)

*Sep 7, 2017: Excel tip. Use integer INT() function to remove decimals. =INT(16.98748754) returns 16. Likewise for INT(16.11245478) and INT(16.45487897). (Tweet ID-905873049810984960)

*Aug 15, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl + Shift + ~ converts a cell to General format. General format useful to see what's really in the cell. No format deception. (Tweet ID-897542826581426176)

*May 3, 2016: EOMONTH(A1,1) returns 6/30/14. EOMONTH(A1,-1) returns 4/30/14. EOMONTH(A1,-1)+1 returns 5/1/14. #exceltip (Tweet ID-727711932099264512)

*May 3, 2016: Use EOMONTH() to find the last day of a month. Cell A1 is 5/3/14. EOMONTH(A1,0) returns 5/31/14. EOMONTH(A1,0)+1 returns 6/1/14 #exceltip (Tweet ID-727711362898612226)

*Mar 2, 2016: Under Data tab, there's a Get External Data Excel wizard importing data from various database. No need open database. #exceltip (Tweet ID-705175893849714689)

*Jan 7, 2016: TRIM function removes excess spaces before and after a text string including excess spaces between words #exceltip (Tweet ID-685233340509626368)

*Nov 18, 2015: The AVERAGE function ignores cells with text when calculating the average. #exceltip (Tweet ID-667071715919327232)

*Nov 17, 2015: 3-D cell reference steps: 1 Click on first sheet. 2 Highlight range. 3 Hold Shift key. 4 Click on last sheet. Source ExcelIsFun #exceltips (Tweet ID-666759708796059648)

*Nov 15, 2015: Use Alt, E, A, A shortcut key combination to clear cells content in Excel #exceltip (Tweet ID-665840573140496384)

*Jun 10, 2015: Excel tip: Press Ctrl+Enter after typing a formula in a cell to keep the cell with formula active. (Tweet ID-608731198718758913)

*May 13, 2015: #exceltip =RANDBETWEEN(x,y) generates a random number between x and y. x and y are numbers. (Tweet ID-598642900793044000)

*May 11, 2015: #exceltip Sometimes an Excel formula converts number into text. To convert text back to number, add zero, multiply by one, double negative, (Tweet ID-597696951363112000)

*May 11, 2015: #exceltip Press Ctrl + Shift + ` or ~ button to convert a cell to General format. (Tweet ID-597688670691328000)

*May 6, 2015: #exceltip Column A has numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Sum is 15. On Cell A6, press Alt + = (Alt and Equal). Excel adds formula =SUM(A1:A5) (Tweet ID-596149904935784000)

*Jul 26, 2012: Excel tip. The Format Painter copies a cell's format settings including font, color, and format. (Tweet ID-228568175074213000)