Love Dare - Day 4

I ended up putting off the fourth day until Monday as it was almost impossible to do over the weekend. Breaking into your daily routine is easy enough, the issue was that my routine was what the dare asks for! I still asked what I could help with several times over the weekend, but it really wasn't fulfilling the intention of the dare so I didn't count it as completed.

Monday was different however, not that it was easy to find a time to "break in" as Courtney and I contact each other fairly often throughout the day for one thing or another. I am lucky enough to be able to go home for lunch as well, making it that much harder find a time in my routine that truly fulfills the dare.

For the record the fourth dare is:

Love is Thoughtful
Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.

I ended up calling in mid-afternoon and we had a nice discussion about how her day was going. I asked if there was anything I could do for her and the answer was no. I tried again today but I had already assisted with the important task for the day, watching Austin so Courtney could take her Yoga final. Maybe I'll find something tonight (other than doing the dishes) to help her, but I feel that I understand the principle of the dare and have met it's goal.

I read the next dare this morning and it looks like the fairly simple ones are over, I am curious to see how the remainder of the day plays out and just how much I'll be willing to post tomorrow.

Out with the old, in with the new

One of the submissions for the Radical Innovation in Hospitality design competition really got my imagination going. The idea was to change an unused oil rig into a resort and spa powered by renewable energy sources. Inhabitat has the full description of the structure and the alternative energy ideas.

But I thought, why stop there? If it is possible to convert an unused oil rig to a self sustaining structure, why not work to make it an energy generating structure? If you didn't make the platform a resort but a small town that existed only to house the personnel required to service the equipment and support the workers then it should start out with a small output.

On top of that if you focused on making the available external energy producing areas as efficient as possible (4 wind turbines instead of one, as many high gain solar panels or Sterling engines as possible) and using the area around the rig for as many wave action energy generators as is feasible there should be significant energy output. If you add in some of the ocean current turbines that are currently being tested in Europe there is the possibility of not only testing a large number of renewable energy sources in real world conditions but also of producing a significant amount of energy per platform converted.

The two major obstacles to this being effective as an energy generation program for consumer consumption are means of delivery of the surplus energy and the regular storm season in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hurricane issue is already a factor for active oil rigs and would have to be similar for any fixed platform in the gulf. There would have to be a way to secure the equipment prior to a storm strike, which may limit the amount of energy producing equipment that can be deployed at a single location. It would also mean an interruption in services that is unpredictable but could be mitigated by having a large number of functioning platforms spread all along the coast.

Means of delivery all depends on how the energy generated is intended to be used. Tankers are used to carry the oil but unless an extremely efficient flywheel system or other energy storage system is developed direct electricity transportation may not be feasible. New power lines could be run but may not be cost effective in particular for platforms that are far off shore. However if the electricity generated is used to create Hydrogen fuel that could be transported with relatively little modification to current natural gas tankers.

I am amused by the idea of old oil platforms being used to generate the fuel of tomorrows vehicles. It feels like a fitting rebirth for existing infrastructure.

Love Dare - Day 3

Yesterday was about building on the previous two days by not being selfish. The reasoning used in the Dare is interesting, so I went with it even though that is not all I think of when I envision myself being selfless. But it is a lot easier to see:

Love is not selfish
Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It's hard to care for something you are not invested in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says, "I was thinking of you today".

I let Courtney know that on the way home I needed to ship a package for an item I had sold on ebay, but I also took that extra time to stop by Floribunda. I bought all of the yellow tulips that they had, they are Courtney's favorite. I rang the doorbell and waited for a more dramatic effect, she was very surprised (and pleased) when I presented them to her. Guess I'm doing something right!

Love Dare - Day 2

The second dare is a continuation of the first with the addition of acting out kindness. Acting kind is also something that I have been working on, and was much easier to do that I expected. It doesn't require grand acts, it can be done many times a day in small ways. I find it enjoyable not only to do something for the woman I love, but I also enjoy accomplishing things even if they are small in the grand scheme of things.

The second Love Dare is:

Love is kind

In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

I tried to do more than I have been, I took care of the dishwasher in the morning and set it to start running shortly after everyone gets up for the day. I put away the clean dishes and organized the kitchen some. That night I made dinner for everyone (beef and pea pods over rice) and timed it for when Courtney would get back from errands so we could eat together. I waited a to make our plates few extra minutes so that we could actually sit down together, and refilled her water just before she got home so it was ice cold.

Everyone really enjoyed dinner, despite using two pounds of steak and almost three cups of rice there was only enough left for a small lunch. Everyone had two servings, so I guess I know what to put on the favorites list!

Love Dare - Day 1

After a little bit of back and forth over how I should approach it, I have decided to start on "The Love Dare". I had a few reservations due to the religious nature of the book and the preaching is very heavy in some parts, but if you can get past that the message and method is sound.

Some of the dares are very personal, so I may not post what I have done for each. But I will post the days dare, minus any overtly religious content that is supplied with it. I am also planning to skip or replace the days that say no more than "pray" or "read the Bible" as they are not directly related to my goals here.

Before each dare there are a few pages of direction and clarification about the meaning of the dare and how it pertains to a healthy relationship. If you intend to pursue "The Love Dare" yourself I recommend purchasing the book for the additional information it provides.

I started two days ago, here is the first dare:

Love is patient
The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although Love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret.

There isn't a lot to say about what I did and how I did it. It is something that I have been working on already as one of the basic tenants of having a better relationship. I did make sure to let Courtney know when I was happy about something she did or said, and made an extra effort to compliment her.

I'll add day 2 later today, and try to keep the updates within a few days of when I complete a dare. While the idea is to complete the 40 dares in as many days, real life often interferes. I'm not sure a real schedule applies, I'll be playing by ear.