Eclectic Update and QOTDs

Definitively didn’t have to worry about warming up for kung fu this weekend… with temps up in the high-twenties-C even in SF it was plenty warm for practice Sunday morning. Welcome to summer!

Warm weather aside, kung fu was great. Practicing with Evan last Thursday, testing some of our tai chi positions/structure I was remarkably linked, so much so that it surprised me. For Sunday I brought along my nice finished waxwood staff and did the Nine-Provinces Eyebrow Height staff set a few times — something I hadn’t done for a while.

Also amusing was while I was teaching my class on Friday, I had us doing some simple sparring drills (any two punches) and as we faced off it was real instinctive for me to reach out just to touch my partner’s hands/arm — to connect to them so I could feel their movement. Very tai chi-ish, I had to keep reminding myself to set up more traditionally. My partner had also done a bunch of wing chun though, so it was kind of natural for him to want to make that contact as well. Very interesting to see that develop out of the blue (and interesting to see where it goes too, over time).

Been riding my bike to work again, nice to get that out and going and stop using the car. Studying away for my upcoming arch exam. Enjoying my new lunches. Working on new rules for Silhouette. Getting ready to update some standards at work and CAD to go with them. Seeing friends. Discovering things.

A while ago I bought some new laundry soap from Mugwart Maggies, have used it a few times now, and damn am I ever impressed. A soap that a) has no harsh chemicals and is made from vegetable soap (ie, 100% biodegradable) b) smells mighty fine (I ordered unscented) c) cleans like a charm and d) costs less than the regular petrochem stuff from the store? Rock on.

The following are quite amazing:

“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.”

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”

“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

Who spoke them? Albert Einstein. Very cool.