Mercury Retrograde Page

Sometimes there are things you want to know. It may not be useful to everyone; however, some people may find this page of use. I designed a page that shows the current status of Mercury retrogrades.

At first, I thought that I could build the calculations myself, and learn how to do this all myself. After buying some books on Astronomy and trying for about three weeks to do the calculations in perl. Well, to be honest, it was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be.

There was however a solution. Someone had taken one of the books, Astronomy On The Personal Computer by Montenbruck and written it in PERL. This was most useful, as they had already done the work, and translated the PASCAL programs into working PERL code.

I did have to ask for directions, but they were most helpful, and I was up and running in no time. So it didn’t actually take very long to get a working solution if you don’t count the time I spent trying to do the calculations myself.

Here is the link to the page I designed: Mercury Retrograde

This should be a fully functional page with the time in GMT -7 time zone for when the next Mercury retrogrades will be. It should work for as long as my site is up and running. It took a lot of effort to make this work. I was happy to have it done. I really was.

The calculations are provided by Astro::Montenbruck perl module, and the results are stored in a database, which PHP uses to get the date and time. It also shows the current status if Mercury is direct, or in retrograde.

It was a fun project to work on, I learned a lot about it. So head your browser over to the page I made, and check it out. You never know how the next Mercury retrograde is going to be. Sometimes, those can be real pain the ass.

Check the rest of my website out while you are there. Lots of content, and things I’ve been working on for the last year or so. Thanks for reading my blog, and taking the time to check this out. Much appreciated.

Written by: Ctopher Thomas, A Real Misfit

Photo Credit: Image by Bruno Albino from Pixabay

A Brief Guide On How To Write

The Basics In A Nutshell

In simple terms, writing is thinking for your audience. They are going to have to think every word you write. Therefore, your authors voice has to be easy and gentile enough that the reader can understand it.

People in general, they don’t like to have to think too much. So if your writing can be a guide to helping them think, so much the better. However, your authors voice has to be enjoyable to endure thinking what you say.

In the simple terms, you have to make a nice thoughts connected with enough thoughts that the reader can picture, and sense the environment you want them to experience.

So write nice, and make the reader enjoy thinking what you write. If you can write clearly, then the reader will enjoy thinking what you wrote.

Conclusion

In simple terms, that is the idea in a nutshell. So be kind, write in such a way people will enjoy thinking what you wrote.

Written By: Ctopher Thomas, A Real Misfit!

Photo Credit: Photo by Matias North on Unsplash

Sanity IQ Quiz

Take your results with a grain of salt. However, there might be some fun to be had by playing. Give it try, unless you try; you never really know. You want to know, right?

This was a project in my spare time that was something to do for fun. I guess I have strange idea of what fun is. To each their own, you know?

This is a relative safe game to play. You might like your results, which would be a good thing. It will give you something to do. Give it a shot. Go play now.

Sanity IQ Test

Creative Fuel – Guide To Success

How to have more creative fuel to burn

In order to be really creative, you have to have some fuel to burn. It is the process of using this creative fuel to create new work that produces a work of art. But if you are on empty how in the world do you fill back up?

You should prime yourself with this article about Calibrating For Success, then make use of this article.

The process is different for different people. However there are some things that will help inspire you if you use them correctly. Sometimes you have to fill the tank with good stuff. Other times you have to starve the beast and let hunger do the job.

Sometimes, you have to a little of both. So what works for me is that of careful meditation. By using a thoughtful approach I’m able to have creative fuel, and burn enough that work is completed.

Have More Than One Project In The Fire

Sometimes it helps to have multiple projects. This gives you a backup plan for when things don’t go as expected. By having more than one project to work on, you can stay busy and keep your flow going. Being able to do other projects also enables you to learn new skills. If you are always pushing new boundaries then you always be growing.

If you learn new skills you will find they come in handy in other areas of your work. It all adds up in the long run.

Do More Than Humanly Possible

You have to be doing a great deal of work. This requires doing more than humanly possible on a regular basis. You have to get to be so darn good that people take notice of you and your work.

If you plan carefully, it is possible. You have to be diligent and calm and relaxed. Then you have to work your butt off like never before. It is possible, you just have to be willing to do what is difficult.

Therefore, if you starve yourself from unnecessary activity, you have more time to do good stuff.

Be Careful What You Use For Creative Fuel

Too much TV will bum you out. Try listening to a lot of music. Change your music up enough that you are listening to old and new music from a wide variety of genres. Try listening to classical when you are sleeping at night. Its a great way to effect your dreams and your mood.

Therefore, these are some tips to get you started. Find out what works for you.

Written by Ctopher Thomas

Visit my Website Here.

Photo Credit: Photo by Ricardo Rocha on Unsplash

My Digital Chaos – Quick Guide

Quick Guide

One of my goals is to make life better for everyone. After thinking for a long time about what I could personally do to make life better, this list was compiled.

Each week we will release a new tip. So stay tuned and follow the story to help make your life better, and maybe someone else’s life better too.

The point is to stop living like zombies and start living. Pretty soon life will be better for everyone.

Watch the video here–> Video Removed. maybe someday.

Week 1 Journaling

Keep a journal. It’s really simple. Everyday write down either with pen and paper or by typing it, the important thing is to journal for ten minutes every day. It’s best if you can write first thing in the morning just after waking up during your first cup of coffee.

Keep a journal for a few years and always review them every few months.

Week 2 Bad TV Habits

Stop watching TV. This one is a bit tricky. Really though if you want to be happy, you have to start living. Real people get their emotional stimulation from direct interaction with other real live people. Cats get their pixelated decaf from watch the tv.

For the next year, unplug your tv set, and spend the time you would be watching tv to do something more interesting. Like learning.

Week 3 Meditate

Ideally you should spend at least an hour meditating every day. This is quiet time that you spend in contemplation. If you’re too busy to meditate for an hour each day, then spend two hours, because you need the practice.

This will sharpen your mind. This will make you smarter. And better the rest of your life. It’s worthy of doing, and will help you in your daily life.

Week 4 Practice Compassion

If you practice compassion in your daily life, with all that you go about doing, when sudden problems arise, like someone cutting you off on the freeway, you have already prepared to handle the situation. Danger lies when something catches you off guard and throws you for a loop. Be prepared and practice compassion ahead of time, that way you don’t have any surprises.

Week 5 Listen to Music

Listening to music stimulates your mind for better creativity, and dealing with life. Ideally you should be listening to music as much as possible. Make a ten hour play list, and listen to it for a year everyday on repeat.

Notice how you feel? Also you should be listening to music when you are sleeping at night. Try some classical music. It will keep you going.

Week 6 Food and Stuff

Watch what you eat. The better food you eat the better you feel. Everyone should have access to good wholesome food that doesn’t make you feel like crap. Speaking of which, when you eat, set a timer, and see how long after you finish eating before you have to use the bathroom. If after two minutes you crap your pants the food likely isn’t that good.

Week 7 Coffee

Get enough coffee. After drinking coffee for a while, notice how you feel. Drink as much as one half gallon of coffee a day. If you’re doing everything else right, this shouldn’t bother you.

Just don’t brew your coffee so weak that it looks like tea.

Week 8 PEMI

Record your Physical, Emotional, Mental, and Intellectual scores a few times everyday to track your progress. The goal is to be Sustainable and function at 100% of your capacity. If your not working at 100% then find out what is hurting your performance.

This app is available now. It’s called PEMI. Look for it.

Week 9 Creativity

Be creative. You should have some ways of expressing yourself that are positive ways to make life good. Take up a hobby doing something creative that makes you feel good. If you take up art, don’t be afraid of making bad art, just make art.

Enjoy the experience. Do something creative like writing, or making music, or drawing. Find your creative edge and work to master it. There is something for everyone. Find your groove.

Week 10 Tell Someone Else!

Blog your experience. Share your journey as you go through these processes with others. As you’re working on all ten of these items all at the same time, your growth will start to progress and you will find yourself being productive and competent.

Captains Log

Lost Love

This underground account of the lost love that was only possible. Although it wasn’t practical. Adults forget the secrets they once knew. Mostly because the system tries to beat out any trace of wisdom or knowledge. Anything that isn’t hidden in Poetry.

Even then your odds are based upon the probability of pi. Speaking of odds, this reminds me of a story that I wrote some sixteen years ago. It was bad timing for a story. It was however good practice and there was something that was needed to be recalled.

Those that listen to the wind, and hear the voice in the running stream. Those of us know of higher callings in life than the rat race and its bone chilling hate.

Those that know what it means to know kindness. Those are the ones that know of truth. You will find it in most dogs that haven’t been abused. However it is never seen in a cat. They lack the very basic fiber to know the difference and lack the ability to be like a dog in any way.

Be Like Fido

A paradox of absurdity is trying to make cats turn into dogs. It’s messy and the cats don’t like it. That is to be more specific that it is mostly bad for the cats. The dogs however find that the cats who abused them, will benefit from knowing better understanding. If nothing else perhaps for a short time in their brief lives.

There was this dream from my childhood that I remember of being in a garden. There was a tree that was so pretty. It was in the fall of the year and the tree was losing its leaves. As the light wind blew the tree’s leaves started to rain down, and in the maelstrom there was one that I caught as it fell through the air.

This is to say that as a leaf was blowing in the wind. I caught one before it touched the ground. However in a dream anything could be magic and this was no different. The garden disappeared and there was a lady who is my equal that met my gaze.

She says to me, “It was not by chance that you caught that leaf falling through the air, and you and me are right as rain.”

“Who are you my dear that I may know more?” I ask her with my eyes full of wonder and my heart feeling warmer and lighter than any dream.

Dreams

“You will know who I am, no words can describe our bond.” Then she took the leaf from my hand and said, “Now go into the world and be born again. Find me if you dare, but Remember to wake up before the sleeper wakes.”

Then upon closing my eyes I was born new in a fresh world with oxygen and a place that was strange. Although it is wonderful, and very different.”

I had no idea what was in store for me. To say a heap of living would be an understatement. It’s been more like a dream that makes your head hurt, and your body ache.

Looking through the streets with no name, and finding none that would match the divine soul I was looking for. What is a man in need to do? They ask for help. In such a dream like world, even asking for help is seen as weird to the dream. They don’t know how to make heads or tails of the situation.

If they could help, would they? It might be it would defeat the purpose of trying to keep the dreamer asleep. Would they want you to wake up too soon? Then there is also the risk of over sleeping and being late to the party.

Both are bad. Try navigating through the world looking for someone that doesn’t want to be found. Is it a game of hide and seek or just the careless wind blowing in the south?

Wind Blows Bleak

Speaking of which in a dream does the wind actually give a damn where it blows? That is absurd, to think the wind thinks it blows. The wind exists, we think it blows but to the wind it’s just existing. Need you really define the wind as blowing to know it exists?

In a dream, people will try to show you fools gold, and pictures of desire that leave you as empty as an old bottle of booze. However like that empty bottle of booze dreaming while dreaming is absurd and leads to confusion like having drank that bottle of booze.

Creative Environments

Creative Advice

This is a short essay I wrote about creative environments. It’s not a complete book, it is however only some very basic ideas to help people get started. It is by no means complete. Hence it is not perfect. Please don’t base life upon this document. It’s not a guide, it’s not even any good. To be honest no one will ever read it, because I’m not perfect.

This is however some idea when the chet hits the fan how to deal with some tough times. Life isn’t always perfect. Neither is everyone living. To be honest my condition isn’t this bad; it just feels like it. Most days I’m in a lot of pain. I based some of my document on problems that could face, and what people can do under similar conditions.

I hope that you are never faced with problems that require you to use this document. Life can be rough and to make it a man has to be tough. I never thought that I would have to get this hard, this tough, and this mean.

It’s sad that they wouldn’t help me, and they certainly wouldn’t help me make it better. Only a few more failures on my part and they will have destroyed my personality in whole. It’s only taken twenty years of trying to break me down, destroy my ego, and humiliate me in ruthless isolation. Such effective tools.

Get Busy

Make life better for everyone so people don’t need this document. However if they make life so bad that everyone needs a copy, then I will have failed. Therefor here is the link to the document that is of use in harsh conditions. When the only thing keeping you together is your creative lifestyle; this may help!

Knowing The Path and Walking The Path

Enlightenment an Essay

Finding enlightenment can not be understood through teaching. No matter how many times you read this essay, you will not become enlightened as per se. You may be able to find a path that will lead to enlightenment. The journey is strictly up to you as your own being. That said, take this as you find it as suited to your own tastes.

Most people find thinking a difficult task. Some even feel the act of thinking is painful. Perhaps society has made the very act of thinking so difficult that most people prefer to avoid it all together. I have found that thinking can be painful emotionally and mentally.

To achieve enlightenment requires that one be able to endure a great amount of that kind of pain. The process may be worth while, but why re-invent the wheel if a simple teaching would not solve the problems with the added avoidance of unnecessary pain and suffering?

The problem is that most people are hard headed and without some amount of discomfort and pain they will not be able to experience the essence of the teaching. That said, you understand that mediation is only an exercise in controlling your thoughts and the amount of pain necessary to attain understanding. It’s not the pain that brings the understanding, but the effort that is put forth.

Training

As any athlete would tell you it takes a lot of pain in training to have the endurance of winning a competition or event. Likewise true understanding requires sacrifice of personal self and sacrifice of comfort to attain.

True understanding is common yet unrealized. Many people wonder why they have pain but don’t think of the cause of the pain and only seek comfort to the suffering. But to have true understanding a person would avoid the problem that causes the pain in the first place. So how do you find enlightenment without suffering the pain of thinking painful thoughts?

Well somethings are possible and if you’re an exceptional person you may be able to attain such a feat without suffering more than a mere headache from the effort put forth. Perhaps an extraordinary person could achieve such a feat, perhaps. I know that I would like to save you that pain that I have come to know to arrive at this point. While I may have attained a deeper understanding, and perhaps true enlightenment to a degree. If I can save others from hurting, perhaps there is a way.

No one wants to read everything I have ever talked about or written or said. No one wants the reward without the effort, or that is to say everyone wants the reward without the effort.

Beyond all teachings, there are just a few basic points. Be kind in word and deed without using or resorting to harsh words. Enjoy what you have without feeling the need for always to improve or gain more. A humble person may have less and be more happy than those who are too prideful.

Understanding The Path

Understand simple things and simple principals. Without rushing to conclusions you will find that everyday until the day you die is a learning experience that you can benefit from. With that said, don’t let a day go by that you don’t learn or think something new. May your pain be minimal and your joy be great.

The biggest mistake you can make is to think you are an expert and to rule out every possibility that you don’t agree with in the process. Because true understanding and enlightenment is more than what an expert can understand but less than a common sensible person will do by instinct. Study yourself before you pass judgement on someone else.

An Important Truth

People that do creative things. The end goal is not to become a writer, or photographer, or painter. What we really want is the journey that takes us through all of the experiences that come with being creative.

The end result is not to be just one thing, but to become a competent reasonable being; with talent, hard earned skill. What we really want is the courage to risk it, and the endurance that it builds from the long line of failures and small successes.

Not only do we want to be creative, we want to inspire others to do likewise. Secretly we are calling others to say, “Yes, I can.” It’s not about getting credit, or being most popular, it’s the adventure seeking desire inside us to dare to be outside the box.

Be Brave

This doesn’t come easy. Or cheep for thrill seekers. It takes a lot of pain, hurt, and endurance to keep going. When you write, no one reads it. After you take a lot of photographs, no one likes them. You know what you have? The desire to create. Don’t let their lack of applause stop you from doing what you love. Likes and shares are over rated anyways.

The truth is we want a better life. We believe others should have a better life too. We want them to see through the distraction of this world and build skills now. It’s not about what you did ten years ago. It’s about right now, it’s about the patience, skill, courage, and determination you have to keep going now.

Do what you can to make life cool for someone else. Most people don’t know this, you can reference William Blake who said that life is joy and woe, and when we understand this safely through life we go.

Climb The Rock

I will tell you a secret, when faced with a rock and hard place; climb that rock. It’s the only way out. You may not understand now, but someday you will. Keep going. Even if people don’t listen, and they don’t want to believe. If you believe long enough, they will come around to understanding.

Remember the advice of Rudyard Kipling, “The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf.” I have been a lone wolf far too long. When at my wits end, my motto is: “Fight until I’m dead.” It’s not over, not by a long shot. So keep going, keep believing, and keep dreaming. It helps if you have some love.

You can live the life you want, do what you can to inspire people along the way. Do not strive to be famous, rather strive to be the best you possible. You don’t get credit, the rewards are from what you help others to do. Live carefully, but no so carefully that you fail to do your best. Risk normal for greater rewards, like peace of mind, meaningful lasting friendships, and love.

Today is the day!