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Project: A Short Story

This week in wanted to begin a writing experiment for myself. A while back, me and my partner purchased the Ronald Dahl box set for my daughter. I’ve been wanting to try and read to her again on an evening and I thought what better way to do that than to ask her to put forward her ideas and write it. As we walk up this morning, we build a story of the blue monster who is scared of dollar bills. In this story, a driver arrives with a package (like Amazon) of fake dollar bills which explodes in transit. The driver still manages to deliver the dollar bills (go figure) and the blue monster accepts only a single dollar from the driver. However, the blue monster is supposed to be scared of dollars. Additionally, he has 5 dogs: 2 sausage dogs, 1 husky, 1 sheep dog and 1 pug (one of the sausage dogs is called Marko).

As this week I'm running a concurrent experiment with regards to cooking Japanese fooding. I research their storytelling methods. In the West, we typically focus on good vs bad and the Heroes Journey. Both of these structures are familiar to us. However, I want to explore a different storytelling structure. So, I sit down to write:

A good structure of Japanese stories is Kishōtenketsu. Here we work within a 4 act structure:

Ki

Sho

Ten

Ketsu

On a piece of paper, I write (in pencil) the 4 numbers out to split my thinking into 4 segments.

I think we'll largely focus on Ki to begin with. During Ki, we need to establish the setting, characters and situation. We already have our main character, the big blue monster. As I like alliteration, let's call him Basil. Basil the Big Blue monster.

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Project: Attempting a Japanese food style week

Recently, I’ve been watching these Japanese YouTubers:

And then this one:

Whilst there is plenty of admire about them, this week will focus solely on food. I’ve long been curious about the Japanese diet and its impact on longevity. With this in mind, I wanted to try and borrow their cuisine style for a week. So, I begin by getting out the pressure cooker. 

This will be used for the rice cooking. I may use it for other things as well. However, for now it will be the rice cooker. Here is where I encounter my first problem: I don't have any rice. So, this allows me some time to think about what I'm going to try and make first. I browse the BBC Good food section but don't find what I'm looking for. Instead I turn to Google and find this interesting search result, but why is Teishoku 定食 (pronounced tay-show-ku).

After Googling the word, I come across this picture which I think does a great job of summarising it.

I then get curious, YouTube the term and watch these videos. 

And this one

And also this one

I'm then curious about the structure/backbone of this so I Google it and get this delightful website that explains it with gorgeous animations. I begin by picking up some rice from my local Supermarket. This way I will always have some in to cook with. I pick up some chicken (the protein). 

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Last year, for reasons I can’t quite remember, I came across a creator who inspires me to this day. For the simple reason that he posts consistent reels, every week, without fail.

This inspires me for the sheer dedication to the task. His name is Halb Mensch and I’ll include a snip of his page here.

Why is that impressive?

I have always admired those who are in creative fields who have the ability to manage their time and creative energy into regularly updating. I’m reminded of a particular quote that’s often used in football (for people like James Milner) which is that availability is the best ability. 

So, with that in mind, I am scheduling to upload a weekly review of what I’ve done on a Morning at 9 a.m.

What about the projects videos?

Nobody more than I is aware of committing to something but then not finding the time for it. However, it’s been stewing in my noodle this week so ill look to cover that topic tomorrow and where I’m at with it. I suppose it’s helpful in these moments to try and explain the creative headspace. Last week I picked up 2 new lens and a flash. The intention was to use the inspiration and begin filming wonderful cinematic videos immediately. However, inspiration doesn’t always translate well to real life results. Poles I think I was perhaps a bit too optimistic with what I could achieve to begin with. 

Another consideration which I have given all that much thought to (which I should have done) was the time commitment. For anybody who has ever worked with video ever, you’ll realise how silly this statement will sound. However, I had genuinely thought tripod shots would be just as easy as a photo from my iPhone.

What are the next steps?

In this moment, what I would like to do is try to get some practice in. I find that the more intimidating something is, the less likely I am to get over the initial hump to do it. So, with that in mind, I plan to create these lovely little weekly reels to keep myself accountable from a creativity perspective (in the same way I try to update a post here each day) and then gradually I'll look to work on longer form content. 

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Upgrading My Camera Gear

A few days before the end of the year, I used AI for perhaps the final time to suggest me some equipment to purchase along with what I already have for my camera set up. To recap:

I have a Canon EOS 2000D body and I have 3 lenses to go with it:

Canon 18-55mm

Canon 40mm

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Black Lens

Now, I'd asked ChatGPT to generate me a list of things that I could get to go with it and here's where I got confused. 

It's all about lighting

One of the suggestions was to buy an external flash. However, one look at Amazon these days is enough to stress you out with information overload. Amazon once upon a time had a great App design, but now I see so many sponsored products that it's a struggle to know what's genuine. Almost immediately I stumble upon the brand Godox which (Seems to be) is considered the industry best in this respect. 

Then I go browsing for reflectors. Again, the suggestion from a few threads I've read seem to suggest the Neewer 5 in 1 which works well for my needs and Amazon sell a stand that would hold the reflectors which I think is a great idea. 

Further Confusion

A friend of mine then suggests to me about soft boxes. They weren’t on my list (which is another reason why speaking to a person is better than speaking to an AI). If I’ve understood it, then he’s explained it well.

A soft box helps to project the line, e.g, if you use an external flash, then the soft box projects the light in the shape of the box. A reflector then reflects the light based on the colour of the reflector and plus the angle. 

Obvious Conclusion

What I take from all of this is that there will never be a single correct answer here. Instead, it’s about what I want to shoot and what I want to achieve.

Outside Sources

I look to YouTube to try and get the concepts explained to me. The first one I watch highlights how working with a softbox helps to create different light environments.

However, this soft box has the lights built into the device which makes me wonder: why am I buying an external flash?

Then, YouTube recommends this video which is helpful for a myriad of reasons. The main one being that both use refractors, but both handle soft-box lighting in 2 separate ways.

Late night shopping

I have a general rule of thumb. If I don’t understand why I don’t need something, I don’t buy it and that’s the case today. I understand why you would need reflectors but the situation with flash/soft boxes still eludes me. So, with that in mind, I spend a bit of time looking at lenses.

Here is where I think I understand. They have 2 lenses which I like:

Canon EF 50mm

Canon EF-S 10-18mm

One is better for portrait photography, whereas the other is a wide angle lens. 

Am I wasting time and effort here?

It occurs to me that whilst I’m spending a lot of time thinking about the means of getting better quality photos into the camera, I should also give some consideration to the editing process of photos.

I go back to a process map that I created a while ago to review my editing stages during my process.

Signs from the universe

On Thursday morning, I load up YouTube and get 3 videos recommended to me which seem to be what I’m looking for:

Immediately after watching this, I realise I’ve been focusing too much on what I don’t have, rather than what I do have. I then move onto the next video

Almost immediately, the creator talks about using a wide shot. This aligns nicely with my intuition. My gut feeling was telling me that I needed to get a wide lens, but I was umming and arring. I also like this second creator, mind you, I like them both. So, I subscribe. Lastly, I get so inspired watching this 3rd video that I pause half way through as my mind is made up.

While I’m walking, I have a ponder about cinematic story telling. You often hear about the 3 acts and this seems to be a general rule of thumb for these videos structures. When I have an idea for a cinematic video, I'll need to practice on writing and building a 3 act structure to tell the story.

While I’m out shopping, the 2nd hand store near me sells the 50mm but not a wide angle lens. Onwards to another shop.

Plot twist

Eventually, I reach the shop I need, but plot twist, they don’t have any lenses whatsoever in stock. Disappointing but it forces me to recalculate. I could use the 18-55 for establishing shots, the 40 for medium shots and then use the 50mm for a close up. So, I head back to the 2nd hand store to buy the 50mm lens.

A Pleasant Surprise

While I’m in the store, I see the 50mm but then I also see a Canon EF-S 10-22mm! Okay now we’re cooking with gas. I’m able to pick up the 50mm and the 10-22mm. 

But Wait, there’s more

I notice on the shelf that there is an external flash! Is it compatible with my camera? It is! So, after heading to the supermarket and buying food for the family, I head back to pick it up. I have never used an external flash before so this is a first for me. All that remains now is to test the quality and see what I think.

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The First thing I Did In 2025

First thing I did in 2025 was watch the new Natalie Lynn video

All My Dreams Became Memories.

I stumbled upon Natalie in what feels like last year (this is a joke I wont use very often) and found myself amazed at the rawness of her style. 

I don't remember what I was watching around the time that brought her to my attention, but I'm glad that the universe introduced me to her style. 

Natalie Lynn Makes Cinematic Videos that Feel Like Journal Entries

Why share this?

Todays post isnt about some kind of burst of creativty I experienced. Rather, I wanted to highlight a creator who has inspired me. I think if I wanted to expolore film making a bit more, than Natalie would be the person who would guide me in whatever I chose to do.

Where we start

If you haven't seen her borderless series, then you should. I'll leave a link to it here. 

BORDERLESS

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A (Hopefully Perfect) Daily Schedule

Late Monday evening I got to thinking about my plans for the new year. I also took some time to reflect on the blog posts that I've been making over the past couple of days and how I feel about these mini creative projects. Over the course of this year, I've found myself engaging in a myriad of interests. Earlier this year (and a bit of last year), I fouynd myself enjoying seeing peoples posts on r/onebag and one person who indefinitely travels had me inspired to create my own one bag. Then I got quite interested in nutrition and how to optimise that. All in all, it's been a varied year but as we go into 2025, I want to maintain this creative hot streak I'm on and I decided to build in a schedule/calendar into Google to help me with this. 

..

..

I begin by pencilling in sleep. It may sound silly, but I think if I can get my sleep to a good and regular place that will be one of the main things off my list. I then schedule breakfast from 6 until 7. I don't always ensure that I have breakfast, so I'm scheduling it now from 6 until 7. I also like the idea of a morning walk… Back in 2018, I set a goal for myself to walk 10,000 steps a day and a miss that defined goal. It was a bit easier back then because there was more commuting but I'd like to come back to that hobby. I also would like to introduce 9-10 as being a wind down hour. I don't quite know what this will look like but last night I found myself glued to my phone after 10 p.m. which definitely caused my bad night of sleep.

Slow start

Honestly, my mind is blank with what I need to put here. I have set my wake up time and sleep time (that I'll roughly stick to). I decide to do a test for Tuesday evening and see what stages of the evening naturally occur.

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A Template for Short Form Content

On Saturday night, I was experimenting with video modes on my Canon camera. Now that I have 3 lenses, I’d like to have video in my arsenal as well as photography. Additionally, I’d like to be able to share these creative projects in different mediums. I’m comfortable with writing and taking photos but not so much for video which means that this will be a perfect opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone. Where to begin?

I ponder for a few minutes about whether or not to bother with a hard task before telling myself to grow up and get some ideas on the page (meaning screen).

I return back to some YouTube shorts that I made a few months ago and naturally find that I want to cringe at myself. However, and this provides a nice opportunity to share some advice. Just because you have learnt from time that you could make something better with newly acquired knowledge, do not be ashamed of what you have created before. It takes a lot of courage to create something and send it out into the world. 

So, with being kind to myself in mind, I come back to the template that I was using previously. 

Introduction: I would open with an introduction question, and then introduce myself.

Steps: I would then list the steps I took to get to the outcome. 

Conclusion: conclude by wrapping up the video with a call to action.

I think it's also worth reviewing what I don’t like about these videos now that some time has passed.

The music over the top isn't pleasant.

The confidence in my voice could do with some work.

The narration feels woody

New Avenue

I then spend the Monday morning watching an instructional video on how to make TikToks (I feel old). It’s here I realise that the issue won’t necessarily be the means of making the content but my own skills in filming, narrating, script writing and editing. However, being kind to myself again, I know I should start gently.

How To Make TikTok Videos (The COMPLETE Guide For Beginners!)

With that in mind, I spend the morning taking notes on a video which teaches how to use the Tik Tok interface. 

It’s here’s find myself wondering whether creating content on a new platform altogether is worth it. After all, if nobody I know will see it - what’s the point? However, remembering wise words of advice from Brian Eno and Rick Rubin - I carry on,

I set up my TikTok account

And away we go.

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Testing Out A New Canon Lens

A new camera lens

Recently I was in my local CEX when I saw a Telephoto lens on the shelf. I did some research and found that it would compliment my current crop of lens' nicely. 

I have an 18-55 which came with my Canon EOS 2000D camera. I then picked up a 40mm lens which I have been using for portraits. However, I didn't have a telephoto lens but now I do. To begin with, I watch a few videos on YouTube, this way I’m able to get some initial thoughts from others. I also pick up an interest in video which I’ll save for a later project.

On Sunday, I take the camera (and lens) out with me for a long walk. I start by initial taking some photos of my family which I won’t be sharing here. I then break from the pack and begin to photograph anything that catches my interest. Initially I focus on trees and hope that a bird will sit still long enough to capture it. However, I then find a cat which is hiding in a bush (perfect opportunity to test out the zoom).

I then encounter a magpie! Thankfully he perches right at the top of a branch to make it easier for me to get him. It’s her I notice a slight flaw in the lens: the focus.

Herein lies the issue. This lens is meant to allow me to capture subjects in motion. Whilst this is happening, I have to have the focus set to autofocus. Otherwise the shots are, more often than not, out of focus.

As you can see above, although a lot of the shot is in focus, a lot of it also isn’t in focus. I'll have to go back and check my settings to see if there's something that I'm missing here. Often, I find the subject that I want to shoot, point the camera and adjust the focus until I'm happy with it. Here though I feel like something is off. 

We later decided to take a walk to our Supermarket, on the way I spot a pigeon. Again though, I have to get the manual focus on the pigeon before then using auto focus to take care of the final 5%.

After we leave the supermarket, we then spot another pigeon. Again though I experienced the same issue. I had to focus manually before then using autofocus take care of the rest. 

Verdict: All in all, I'm happy with the ability to get closer photos with the enhanced ability to zoom. However, I still need to go back to the drawing board to work out why the focus isn't as smooth as it should be. Perhaps it will always be a limiting factor with this lens. I can only experiment more to find out.

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The Perfect Winter Breakfast?

I have a bit of a problem: I never eat breakfast.

Recently I had a flash of inspiration whilst trying to find containers for leftovers on Sunday when an idea occurred to me, why don’t I use all the containers I already have to try and speed up breakfast?

I use one overnight oats container, a small 310ml container, a smoothie bottle and of course I like a good cup of tea.

I then realise the biggest challenge here will likely be the spices. So, I use some (still) unopened dressing pots to help me pre-prepare the spices. 

For this breakfast, I'll be using the following spices: ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, cardamom pods and whole cloves.

Into 1 container I add ½ tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg.

To another container, I add ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves.

Lastly, to the 3rd and final container I add ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 3 whole cloves, 3 lightly crushed cardamom pods , ¼ tsp ground ginger.

Now it's time to assemble all of the dry ingredients. I measure out 50 grams of rolled oats, 1 tbsp of chia seeds, 1 tbsp of raisins and 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts.

Next, I add banana to my smoothie along with 150ml of milk, 1 tablespoon of almond butter and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.

Lastly, I chopped up 1 orange and add it to the container.

Now it's time to assemble it all. I add the oats to a pen, add the spices and 200ml of milk.

Then I add the spices to 250ml of water.

I then add the spices to the smoothie and move my oranges into view.

I then add these 2 pans to the hob. The oats I'm just cooking until I reach a consistency that I like but the tea will be on for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, I blend the smoothie and pour it into a glass. The oats are soaking up the milk nicely and after a few more moments I add in a teabag and let it steep for 2-3 minutes. I then remove the teabag and add 250ml of milk before bringing up back up to heat.

And voila! I add a sprinkle of nutmeg to the top of the chai latte as well as some maple syrup into the tea and cover the oats.

Verdict: Overall, I thought this was a lovely and filling breakfast. The challenge isn't necessarily about the taste, but more about whether it's time efficient? To that question, I have no answer. It took over an hour to put this together this post so I will pre-prepare the ingredients tonight and see if it saves me time tomorrow.

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Project Number 42: Turmeric Latte

Introduction: (Project Number: 42; Project type: Task; Goal: to successfully make a turmeric latte).

Planning: (Materials: utensils, milk, spices, honey, milk whisk; Time: 10 minutes; Budget:  N/A)

Learning: (Research:  Google/ChatGPT; Skills: drink preperation).

Execution: (I begin my pouring in 1 cups worth of almond milk. I then add 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and ground ginger, 1 pinch of black pepper and to begin with - I add 1 tablespoon of honey but then double up with 2 tablespoons which gives it the sweetness that I like).

5. Reflection: (Outcome: I made this once before and found that there were still gritty bits towards the end of the cup but on this occasion, it wasn't to be. All in all, I thought it was delightful and had the desired effect of making me feel quite sleepy; Lessons: sweeten to taste when it comes to working with honey. 1 may be enough for some people but 2 was the right amount for me). 

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Project Number 40: A Harry Potteresque Story.

Introduction: (Project Number: 40; Project type: Task/Story/Epic/Initiative/Strategy/Goal/Vision/Purpose; Goal: to write a story people will enjoy).

Planning: (Materials: food; Time: 1.5 hours minutes; Budget: £0)

Learning: (Research: Google; Skills: writing, AI prompts, story writing).

Execution: (This weekend I was visiting family and we stumbled upon a particular topic. I was asked by somebody about Harry Potter. We talked about the perceived failure of the Fantastic Beasts series and that was when an idea for a project struck me. I should make a little story to fill that gap that tries to capture that feeling. I go back to this website (Fantasy name generators. Names for all your fantasy characters.) that I have used in the past. I decided to bring back a name that I had generated before which was Ebba Littletree. Once upon a time had the start of a story that was far too broad to realistically complete. My first point of call is to imagine what Ebba might look like. Here, in full disclosure, I will use copilots AI generator whilst I'm fleshing out the details. I fully intend to pay an artist in the future for this. So, we need to generate what Ebba looks like. I imagine she's sorted, say 5 foot 6. We'll say that she has blonde coily double braided hair with hazel eyes. We'll say that she has soft skin and prominent high cheekbones. Here is what it gives us.

It's added some freckles which are evident on her right cheek and nose. This may be something that we use as a particular characteristic of hers. DALL E 3 then gives some additional prompts to add. The first will be to make her wear a cloak and the 2nd will be add a magical spell effect around her. What I get doesn't 100% fit the description of what we're looking for but it will do for now.

Next we're going to need to create some backstory for her. I picture her to be the youngest of the family. Her family have all excelled in their careers and were brilliant students at Hogwarts. So let's make her the youngest of 5. Maybe she's the youngest and also the only girl in the family so all the older brothers give her a hard time. In that respect, character wise she would be dogged, determined, stubborn, prone to being too focussed. We'll say she was born in 1997).

Edit at 20/08/2024 22:27. Tonight I was talking with my partner about the upcoming Fable release. We talked about how Fable didn't limit its scope to say a specific town (like Silent Hill 2 did which I am personally also excited about playing). Instead, it allowed smaller stories to happen within the scope of Albion. So, with that in mind, I'll borrow some components from Fable now for this story as well. Mainly I'll focus on a large enough land region to allow multiple stories to happen within it. I'll also give some thought to magical components as well as animals/beasts/plants.  I head back to our fantasy generator website, although I won't include the descriptions of these things just yet. I ask it to produce a description for some plants and then some animals. We then use our AI friends to generate images of these plants and creatures.

Epigaea Quadrifolia

Buxus Armeniacum

Euonymus Spurium

The Dotted Pheasant

Hell Locust

Friday, 23 August 2024. On the topic of Ebba being the youngest and that she was the youngest of 5, her brothers names are: Reuben Littletree, Brighton Littletree, Thomas Littletree and Jackson Littletree. Their parents names are Layla and Brooke Littletree. I then use the generator to come up with the town of Goulcrest. I like this name as the 2 words separated make me think of Ghouls from Fallout and crest makes me think of the coats of arms that we see. There might be something worth exploring in that idea and perhaps it could be linked to royalty.

Saturday, 24 August 2024. When I think about Ebba’s brothers, I wonder what they would be like. I imagine at least 1 became a death eater which is a source of shame for her family, and I wonder whether it would be something she gets teased about. I picture it being Reuben. I picture that she’s the opposite of her brothers who were more interested in potions and DADA. She would enjoy herbology. I would imagine students make quips at her, often taunting her for having a death eater brother who went to Azkaban for his involvement in the war.

5. Reflection: (Outcome: a character profile and some descriptions/images of plants and creatures which exist in the lore; Lessons: I find the more that I have elaborated on Ebba, the more those ideas generated other ideas. I've also found AI generators to be not that helpful when it comes to specifying what not to include. Several times it was asked not include a tail and include 6 legs but in the end I just gave up trying to get it to very specifically generate what I wanted and accepted what I had).

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Code of Conduct

As I approach my 50th project, I thought now would be a pertinent time to lay out some ground rules for myself and this blog by developing my own Code of Conduct which will give this blog (and those reading it) a clear expectation of what they can expect from me and this blog. Expect this to be a live document which is updated over time but will still be the guiding structure which I will operate under.

Project Types: I often begin my posts by specifying the project number. These are unique to me and refer to a master list which I run to keep me organised. However, I often specify a project type. Below is the guiding principle of these types.

Task: these projects are completed within 24 hours, will include at least 3 photos and at least 100 words.

Story: these projects are completed within 7 days. A story contains 7 Tasks.

Epic: these projects are completed within 28 days. An epic will contain 4 stories.

Initiative: these projects are completed within 84 days/3 months. I will use my template each time to ensure continuity and familiarity with my structure.

Posting Frequency

I will aim to upload and/or update once per day.

I will publish my upload and/or updates at 17:30 GMT.

Quality Standards

I will aim to ensure that all information I share is well-researched, accurate and proper citations are cited where necessary.

I will aim to ensure that posts are proofread to maintain a high standard of grammar, spelling, clarity and alignment with project type specifications.

Engagement and Feedback

I will aim to respond to comments within 24 hours.

I will remain open to the idea that what I can do today can be done better tomorrow and will be guided by reader feedback as well as my own internal affiliation for continuous improvement.

Ethical Considerations

I will aim to always create projects based on my own ideas. However, where this is not possible, I will always credit sources ands inform you of where inspiration comes from.

I will always remain transparent about any sponsorships, affiliate links, uses of artificial intelligence and uses of random generators.

Edits: 27/12/2024.

As part of a reflection at the end of 2024, I've realised that this limiting structure has hindered my creative productivity rather than supported it. For 2025, I'll look to make the following changes:

I will stop using the template that I have been using up to this point. Reason: you as the reader/s don't need to sit a template which support me in structuring my projects and thoughts. Going forward, it will return to a more normal text and photo format.

I will stop numbering my projects. Reason: Whenever I skip a number, it looks rather silly. And it puts more pressure on me to complete a project which I may have felt inspiration for in the moment but when I sit down to work on it doesn't fill me with the same excitement to create.

I will stop using Artificial Intelligence. Reason: over the course of this calendar year, I've felt a certain anxiousness towards the idea that artificial may replace our creativity. By using it, I take part in supporting that very issue. Therefore, I'll stop using it.

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Project 37: Health and Wellness

Introduction: (Project Number: 37; Project type: Strategy: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle for a Year: Commit to a regimen of exercise, nutrition, and sleep).

Planning: (Materials: BRITA Water Bottle; Time: 1 Year; Budget: N/A)

Learning: (Research: Google, YouTube, ChatGPT; Skills: self-discipline, statistics, cooking, nutrition, physical fitness).

Execution: (As part of my lifetime goal of trying to live a strenuous life, I asked ChatGPT to list 100 items for each of the 10 mentioned strenuous topics. One of the suggests under resilience and endurance was 'Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle for a Year: Commit to a regimen of exercise, nutrition, and sleep'. I then asked it to expand on what would be considered the main pillars of health and wellness and it suggested the following:

Regular exercise

Balanced Nutrition

Mindfulness and Meditation

Adequate Sleep

Hydration

Social Connections

Limiting Stressors

Holistic Therapies

Continual Learning

Regular Health Check-ups

After I get this list, I then go back to ChatGPT and ask it to turn the above into daily, weekly and monthly checklists. Lately, I'm finding that I'm struggling to remember all of the things that I'm supposed to be collecting empirical evidence for. I then get started with it. All of this will be a work in progress so I'm not looking for perfection here but rather continuous improvement with my health. Perhaps the easiest to start with will be adequate sleep. My sleep routine is quite good already and I'm able to track my sleep through my Apple watch.

Friday, 23 August 2024. Sleep wise, I slept for over 8:23 hours last night and my Apple watch informs me that I had a good night of sleep. Food wise, I had a berry blast smoothie which I then add an assortment of nuts to. I also added some peanut butter for the healthy fats. I drank 600ml of water. For lunch, I have a ham and cheese sandwich and for dinner we cheap out by having chicken nuggets with a pasta n sauce. I also drink a 2 litre of cola which isn’t as healthy as only drinking water.

Tuesday, 27 August 2024. Today I haven’t eaten well, at all. I didn’t eat anything for breakfast. At lunch I visited the supermarket, and I picked up ingredients so that I could make butternut squash soup for dinner. I also picked up some microwavable burgers which I know are absolutely terrible for me, but I didn’t clean the container for my smoothie or tub for my overnight oats. I have completely let myself down because of it. For dinner I’ll be having the butternut squash soup and will prepare ahead of time my breakfast, so I eat very nutritionally tomorrow.

5. Reflection: (Outcome: a structured plan to improve my well-being; Lessons: when it comes to trying to do quite a lot, it's best to put together a checklist of sorts).

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Project Number 40: A Harry Potteresque Story.

Introduction: (Project Number: 40; Project type: Task/Story/Epic/Initiative/Strategy/Goal/Vision/Purpose; Goal: to write a story people will enjoy).

Planning: (Materials: food; Time: 1.5 hours minutes; Budget: £0)

Learning: (Research: Google; Skills: writing, AI prompts, story writing).

Execution: (This weekend I was visiting family and we stumbled upon a particular topic. I was asked by somebody about Harry Potter. We talked about the perceived failure of the Fantastic Beasts series and that was when an idea for a project struck me. I should make a little story to fill that gap that tries to capture that feeling. I go back to this website (Fantasy name generators. Names for all your fantasy characters.) that I have used in the past. I decided to bring back a name that I had generated before which was Ebba Littletree. Once upon a time had the start of a story that was far too broad to realistically complete. My first point of call is to imagine what Ebba might look like. Here, in full disclosure, I will use copilots AI generator whilst I'm fleshing out the details. I fully intend to pay an artist in the future for this. So, we need to generate what Ebba looks like. I imagine she's sorted, say 5 foot 6. We'll say that she has blonde coily double braided hair with hazel eyes. We'll say that she has soft skin and prominent high cheekbones. Here is what it gives us.

It's added some freckles which are evident on her right cheek and nose. This may be something that we use as a particular characteristic of hers. DALL E 3 then gives some additional prompts to add. The first will be to make her wear a cloak and the 2nd will be add a magical spell effect around her. What I get doesn't 100% fit the description of what we're looking for but it will do for now.

Next we're going to need to create some backstory for her. I picture her to be the youngest of the family. Her family have all excelled in their careers and were brilliant students at Hogwarts. So let's make her the youngest of 5. Maybe she's the youngest and also the only girl in the family so all the older brothers give her a hard time. In that respect, character wise she would be dogged, determined, stubborn, prone to being too focussed. We'll say she was born in 1997).

Edit at 20/08/2024 22:27. Tonight I was talking with my partner about the upcoming Fable release. We talked about how Fable didn't limit its scope to say a specific town (like Silent Hill 2 did which I am personally also excited about playing). Instead, it allowed smaller stories to happen within the scope of Albion. So, with that in mind, I'll borrow some components from Fable now for this story as well. Mainly I'll focus on a large enough land region to allow multiple stories to happen within it. I'll also give some thought to magical components as well as animals/beasts/plants.  I head back to our fantasy generator website, although I won't include the descriptions of these things just yet. I ask it to produce a description for some plants and then some animals. We then use our AI friends to generate images of these plants and creatures.

Epigaea Quadrifolia

Buxus Armeniacum

Euonymus Spurium

The Dotted Pheasant

Hell Locust

Friday, 23 August 2024. On the topic of Ebba being the youngest and that she was the youngest of 5, her brothers names are: Reuben Littletree, Brighton Littletree, Thomas Littletree and Jackson Littletree. Their parents names are Layla and Brooke Littletree. I then use the generator to come up with the town of Goulcrest. I like this name as the 2 words separated make me think of Ghouls from Fallout and crest makes me think of the coats of arms that we see. There might be something worth exploring in that idea and perhaps it could be linked to royalty.

Saturday, 24 August 2024. When I think about Ebba’s brothers, I wonder what they would be like. I imagine at least 1 became a death eater which is a source of shame for her family, and I wonder whether it would be something she gets teased about. I picture it being Reuben. I picture that she’s the opposite of her brothers who were more interested in potions and DADA. She would enjoy herbology. I would imagine students make quips at her, often taunting her for having a death eater brother who went to Azkaban for his involvement in the war.

Tuesday, 27 August 2024. I’ve noticed on Tumblr that there is a lot of love for the Marauders. I feel like this was an area of the series which could have been explored further so I’m going to adapt it into mine. I’ll have Ebba’s dad Brooke be part of a Vampire family or something to that effect (akin to Lupin). He’ll be one of a group of 4 guys who go around causing havoc in their school days but there is a bigger story afoot which I will explore in a bit more detail. For now, I’ve documented it.

Wednesday, 28 August 2024. Today I’ve been thinking about plot structure, especially the plot of the main storyline. The hero’s journey is a popular plot structure which I’ll look to utilise here. I first discovered this plot structure through this video. We start by establishing the ordinary world. Here we have Ebba who lives in Goulcrest with her family. I imagine that her family life is settled. Although her brothers tease her as she’s the youngest of the family and they all did well at Hogwarts, it’s still a loving family which is guided and moulded by her mum and dad.

Thursday, 29 August 2024. Today I’ve been thinking about the word class of adjectives. Soon I’ll want to start writing the story itself. I’ve found in the past when I’ve tried to write stories or novels my writing can come across as being a bit wooden. So last night I started to flick through a dictionary to see how many adjectives I could identify that may make for great word choices to add to my collection. It turns out, there are quiet a lot of choices I could make when it comes to adjectives. I’ll continue to try and experiment.

5. Reflection: (Outcome: a character profile and some descriptions/images of plants and creatures which exist in the lore; Lessons: I find the more that I have elaborated on Ebba, the more those ideas generated other ideas. I've also found AI generators to be not that helpful when it comes to specifying what not to include. Several times it was asked not include a tail and include 6 legs but in the end I just gave up trying to get it to very specifically generate what I wanted and accepted what I had).

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Project Number 23: Lemon Tart

Introduction: (Project Number: 23; Project type: Task Goal: to successfully make a lemon tart).

Planning: (Materials: food, utilities; Time: 6-8 hours; Budget:  N/A)

Learning: (Research:  Google, ChatGPT, Paul Hollywood; Skills: cooking).

Execution: (I add 1 1/4 cups of plain flour, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a food processor.

I then blend it all together.

I then add 1/2 cup of cold, cubed and unsalted butter.

I then blend it with 1 egg yolk until it just comes together.

I then rolled it out onto a floured surface.

I then wrap it in clingfilm and add it into the fridge.

I then press it into a dish.

I then cook it with baking beans on top of the parchment paper.

Here I will confess that the first time I made this, I only poked it once in the centre. The 2nd time I poke it plenty.

I then apply a layer of egg wash which is a tip that I take from the Paul Hollywood book 'How to Bake'.

I then cook it for 10 or so minutes, just to have it firm up the pastry.

I then measure out 200 grams of granulated sugar.

I then add in 3 large eggs and whisk it all together.

I then add in 120 ml of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.

And a pinch of salt.

I then whisk It all together. I then add in 1/2 cup of melted butter.

I then stumble upon a realisation. I'm missing quite a lot of photos for my lemon tart but I'll fill in the final steps that I can't document due to not having photographic evidence. I had allowed the short crust pastry once cooked to come to room temperature and then I placed it in the fridge to chill. I then, much later made the lemon mixture. I then added the lemon mixture on top of the short crust pastry which I then add to the oven for 20/25 minutes. I don't want it to burn so I cook it for as long as I can within the parameter of 20-25 and until I notice it starting to crisp a bit too much. I then take it out of the oven and leave it on the side to cool down to room temperature. I then add it to the fridge for a while. I made this over the course of a long Saturday. I was going for an Italian theme and I also made a lasagne with a tomato, mozzarella and basil starter. I also had a lovely glass of red wine (I think Chianti).

[sohushygrayness]

Introduction: (Project Number: 38; Project type: Task; Goal: to make a blended feast of lemon panna cotta, tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich and a carrot and ginger drink).

Planning: (Materials: food, utensils; Time: 3 hours; Budget: £10)

Learning: (Research: BBC Good Food, ChatGPT; Skills: cooking, juicing).

Execution: (I start by making the panna cotta ahead of time by filling a bowl with water.

I then add 3 gelatine leaves to the water and let it sit for 5 minutes.

I then get the saucepan.

I fill it with 250ml of full-fat milk, 250ml of double cream and 100 grams of sugar.

I then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

I then add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

I then add the zest of 2 lemons.

After 5 minutes of cooking the mixture, I remove the leaves from the water and shake them dry.

I then mix the 3 gelatine leaves into the mixture.

I get out 4 ramekins.

And add the mixture to the 4 ramekins.

I then leave them to chill on the side and add them to the fridge for 1 hour.

Reflection: (Outcome: 4 successfully made ramekins; Lessons: this was my 2nd attempt at making these. In the first one, I had accidentally forgot to put the sugar in the mixture which meant that the actual panna cotta's were foul. I threw them away and then made them again with the correct recipe).

[sohushygrayness]

Project 31: Growing an Apple Tree

Introduction: (Project Number: 31; Project type: Goal; to successfully grow an Apple tree).

Planning: (Materials: apple seeds, kitchen towel, Ziploc bag; Time: 10 minutes; Budget:  £5)

Learning: (Research:  Google; Skills: plant care).

Execution: (Feeling somewhat inspired by seeing a green shoot for the start of my lemon tree. I thought it would be a good project to see if I can also grow an apple tree. I begin by removing the seeds from the apple core.

I then rinse them with luke warm water to remove any the pulp. I then dry the seeds with a paper towel.

I then prepare the seeds by placing the seeds on a moist paper towel. I fold the towel to cover the seeds completely.

I then bag the seeds by putting the paper towel with seeds inside a plastic bag and seal it.

I then place the bag in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for (according to the internet) 6-8 weeks. I will check periodically to ensure the paper towel remains moist but not soggy.

Edit: Sohushygrayness at 15/08/2024 18:50. I decided to take the Apple seeds out of the fridge and change the kitchen roll. As you can see from the photo, there looks to be some discolouration going on.

Some of the seeds have germinated and have small roots starting to grow.

The paper towel is drenched and probably has exceeded the 'lightly dampen' threshold that I'm often suggested online.

I start to then move them onto a clean paper towel.

And then fold them up again.

This time I do indeed 'lightly water' the paper.

And place it back in the bag for an additional 3 weeks.

Reflection: (Outcome: some germinated seeds; Lessons: it's interesting that Apples require cold to try and bring them out of their shells. I would have thought that you would cultivate them in the same way as lemons, but no. So, lesson number 1 is that Apple seeds require cold to germinate. Lesson 2 is to ensure that you regularly check on the conditions they're in when they're in the cultivation phase).