2017 Personal Goals - Month 5 Update

5 Months in.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1
Month 1 - 191.1
Month 3 - 190.0
Month 4 - 189.6

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.
Month 4 - Finished book 1 of 2 of the complete stories.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 4 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 3 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 2 to go.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 11 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 10 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 9 to go.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.
Month 1 - 6 items done. 44 to go.
Month 2 - 8 items done. 42 to go.
Month 3 - 18 items done. 32 to go.
Month 4 - 19 items done. 31 to go.
Month 5 - 37 items done. 13 to go.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of finishing the windows.
Month 2 - 1 item done, window sill installation. 7 to go.
Month 3 - 3 items done.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.
Month 2 - Been working steadily on getting my Master's Thesis publishable.
Month 3 - Spent most of the month working on the Master's Thesis.
Month 4 - Continued to work on Master's Thesis

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.
Month 1 - Working my way through the pile steadily.
Month 2 - Slowly working through it.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.
Month 2 - Rereviewed Star Wars and watched and reviewed Harvey. One of the Sci-Fi list and one on the Fantasy list.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

----------------------------------------Items of Note---------------------------------------------------

I completed my goal of writing one post everyday of the month of May. Well this boosted my current number 8 goal from 19 items done to 37 items done. Not too shabby, however that goal didn't leave much time in the way to do anything. Back to working on the other stuff.

2017 Personal Goals - Month 4 Update

4 Months in.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1
Month 1 - 191.1
Month 3 - 190.0
Month 4 - 189.6

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.
Month 4 - Finished book 1 of 2 of the complete stories.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 4 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 3 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 2 to go.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 11 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 10 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 9 to go.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.
Month 1 - 6 items done. 44 to go.
Month 2 - 8 items done. 42 to go.
Month 3 - 18 items done. 32 to go.
Month 4 - 19 items done. 31 to go.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of finishing the windows.
Month 2 - 1 item done, window sill installation. 7 to go.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.
Month 2 - Been working steadily on getting my Master's Thesis publishable.
Month 3 - Spent most of the month working on the Master's Thesis.
Month 4 - Continued to work on Master's Thesis

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.
Month 1 - Working my way through the pile steadily.
Month 2 - Slowly working through it.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.
Month 2 - Rereviewed Star Wars and watched and reviewed Harvey. One of the Sci-Fi list and one on the Fantasy list.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

----------------------------------------Items of Note---------------------------------------------------

I spent a good chunk of time writing for my new gig at AiPT! and I also went to Star Wars Celebration and Disney World. I plan on getting back on track this month with a writing goal to write one complete something (post, blog article, etc,) every day. 

2017 Personal Goals - Month 3 Update

3 Months in.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1
Month 1 - 191.1
Month 3 - 190.0

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 4 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 3 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 2 to go.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 11 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 10 to go.
Month 3 - Read Idylls of the King. 9 to go.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.
Month 1 - 6 items done. 44 to go.
Month 2 - 8 items done. 42 to go.
Month 3 - 18 items done. 32 to go.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of finishing the windows.
Month 2 - 1 item done, window sill installation. 7 to go.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.
Month 2 - Been working steadily on getting my Master's Thesis publishable.
Month 3 - Spent most of the month working on the Master's Thesis.

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.
Month 1 - Working my way through the pile steadily.
Month 2 - Slowly working through it.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.
Month 2 - Rereviewed Star Wars and watched and reviewed Harvey. One of the Sci-Fi list and one on the Fantasy list.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

----------------------------------------Items of Note---------------------------------------------------

Again, I spent most of my extra time this month getting my Master's Thesis set for publication submittal. I finished up the major figures that needed fixing. Now on to the final sections that need to be rewritten.

The 306 Greatest Books #145 - Idylls of the King

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson. This book can be found on the Sybervision Book List.

Idylls of the King is an epic poem written in free verse describing the time of King Arthur from when he meets Guinevere until his death and the collapse of his Round Table. This is a spiritual sequel to The Lady of the Lake, and in more than one instance I had wished I had read that story immediately before beginning this one (although reading my review of how much I didn't like it, I'm glad I didn't). At first, while reading through this poem I was greatly dismayed due to the difficulty in understanding anything that was going on. I would get lost in the poem not knowing who did what, or why, or even care who or why. I realized this had to be one of those stories where I read a summary of the events in each section before I read the section. After I started doing that, the story became much easier to follow. If I became lost at any point, I was able to pick the story thread back up fairly easily. The story is laid out in 12 chapters. Each chapter is essentially a stand alone story that occurs during the time of King Arthur, with few threads weaving through the whole narrative. The narrative builds though, and by the end it does make a bit of sense. The primary underlying theme of the stories is Lancelot's eternal love for Queen Guinevere and how eventually they become lovers, bringing the downfall of Camelot. The story itself is often sparse, being filled with the flowery language of the poem. At times the poem is exquisitely worded, however those times would come and go. One thing that stood out to me was the consistently incorrect use of the words "past" instead of "passed" and "bad" instead of "bade". I wasn't sure if it was an editorial issue or that's just how it was, but it drove me nuts. Overall, I was rather bored by the poem and just wished it would be over. Luckily, it's short and the ending came pretty quickly.

2017 Personal Goals - Month 2 Update

2 Months in.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1
Month 1 - 191.1

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 4 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 3 to go.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 11 to go.
Month 2 - Read The Red and the Black. 10 to go.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.
Month 1 - 6 items done. 44 to go.
Month 2 - 8 items done. 42 to go.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of finishing the windows.
Month 2 - 1 item done, window sill installation. 7 to go.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.
Month 2 - Been working steadily on getting my Master's Thesis publishable.

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.
Month 1 - Working my way through the pile steadily.
Month 2 - Slowly working through it.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.
Month 2 - Rereviewed Star Wars and watched and reviewed Harvey. One of the Sci-Fi list and one on the Fantasy list.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

----------------------------------------Items of Note---------------------------------------------------

I spent most of my extra time this month getting my Master's Thesis set for publication submittal. Right now I hope to have that completed by the end of March.

The 100 Greatest Comedies - #35: Harvey

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Fantasy movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#Fantasy).

The current film I just watched is Harvey, which is #7. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#35).

In high school I had helped work on a production of Harvey, so I had a bit of an idea what the general premise of the movie was, although it's been a rather long time so I did not remember all of the particulars. I will try to not give any of the big secrets away because they are worth experiencing them for yourself. The general premise of Harvey is about a man, Elwood P Dowd (played by Jimmy Stewart), who is friends with an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit. One of the keys to this movie is that it is on the Top 10 Fantasy Films list. This tells you that not everything is as it seems at the beginning of the movie. The main thing that jumped right out at me during the opening third of this movie is how abysmally people with mental disorders (or perceived mental disorders) are treated. The bulk of the movie takes place in and around a mental sanatorium where the main "enforcer" brutally treats the patients with aggression and force. Definitely not my favorite part of the movie. However, Jimmy Stewart is beyond excellent in this role. I swear, if he isn't high during the filming of this, he sure plays high very well. He is the personification of the "nice guy" who nobody can feel mad or irritated at. If you can get passed the mental treatment issues though, the movie is very funny and a joy to watch. I laughed a good deal through the movie, not something I often do on the Comedies list and was generally intrigued about how the movie was going progress. The entire movie is well acted. The way that characters routinely cut off Stewart's character is perfect because each time the audience kind of holds its collective breath, knowing that if he was allowed to finish, the movie would go much differently. Overall, even though this movie has some issues, I still greatly enjoyed it and would recommend it to most people as a light hearted comedy.

The 306 Greatest Books #144 - The Red and the Black

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Red and the Black by Stendhal. This book can be found on the Sybervision and the Norwegian Book Lists.

Before I started reading The Red and the Black I was warned by a friend who kept saying that it really wasn't a good book. This did not get my hopes very high and I kept pushing the book off. However, since I am at the very end of the Sybervision Book List it was time to sit down and read it. The translation I read was that used in the Everyman's Library and was remarkable easy to read. That made the book rather enjoyable, at least at first, because I could jump right into the book without having to get used to the writing style. In regards to the story, I was under the impression (for some reason, I do not know) that this was a war story, similar to War and Peace or Les Miserables. Oh, how wrong I was. Apparently, this turned out to be a "romance" novel, and not one that was very well constructed. The main character, Julien Sorel, goes through two main loves in the book, which the book is divided into two main parts accordingly. Through most novels, the reader is made to feel for the protagonist, and to hope they succeed. Julien, though, was just a pain in the ass. At times he was overly arrogant, at others he was wishy-washy. He wanted one thing on one page, then would flip to the exact opposite the next. And the women he was lusting over had the same problems. The back and forths got to be so bad that I couldn't really care less what happened at any one moment, I just wished the story would progress somewhere, anywhere. I did find the hints of a fascinating story mixed in there though. There was at one point that Julien seemed to get mixed up in the politics of the time (just after the fall of Napoleon), which was the aristocracy versus the church, and he was to travel to England to deliver a message. However, that story-line was dropped so quickly that I had to go back and reread a few pages to find out what happened. That excitement is what gives me hope that the other Stendhal novel on my list, The Charterhouse of Parma, could be a great read, but I'm not holding out too much hope. Overall, the style of writing was very easy to follow and I just flew through this rather long novel, but the story itself kept having me banging my head against the wall. There is no way can I endorse this garbled mess.

The 100 Greatest Movies - #15: Star Wars

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Science Fiction movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://www.dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#SciFi).

The current film I just watched is Star Wars, which is #2. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Movies list (#15), the 10th Anniversary List (#13), the 100 Greatest Thrillers list (#27), and the 100 Most Inspirational Movies (#39).

I had recently rewatched the original Star Wars (now subtitled A New Hope) in order to provide a better review than I had initially done when first setting up my movie and book reviews. Star Wars is a movie I grew up watching with my sister as movie marathons on New Year's Eve, so it is difficult to piece out that history from the movie that I know so well. The version I watched recently was the current Blu-ray release, with all the changes that have accompanied it as well as any previous adjustments to the movie that happened along the way. The first thing that struck me about the movie though was how slow it is. When compared to modern day "blockbusters", Star Wars moves at a snail's pace. I watched the movie with my six year old daughter and I frequently was checking to see if she was even still paying attention (she was). But even with the slow pace, the story, the visuals, and the dialogue all still hold up. The visuals are even more stunning now as emphasized on blu-ray and exploded onto a 4k tv. The amount of work done on the movies to bring them up to modern standards still holds, however the CGI done on it throughout the intervening years does not hold up as well. I still laughed at the funny parts, the random bits of witticism sprinkled throughout the movie. I am still enthralled by Alec Guinness' performance. And Darth Vader still provides a looming presence throughout the movie, that only gets heightened by the Prequels, not diminished as some people towt. So, even in a day when huge blockbuster movies are being rolled out on a monthly, if not weekly, basis, it's good to know that one of the original blockbusters still holds the charm and visual appeal that made so many people fall in love with it in the first place.

2017 Personal Goals - Month 1 Update

1 Month in. Trying to keep the momentum.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1
Month 1 - 191.1

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 4 to go.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.
Month 1 - Read The Last of the Mohicans. 11 to go.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.
Month 1 - 6 items done. 44 to go.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of finishing the windows.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.
Month 1 - Working my way through the pile steadily.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

----------------------------------------Items of Note---------------------------------------------------

Overall, I had not gotten as much done this month as I hoped. However I have been focusing on one particular project, which is getting some learning modules complete for a paleontology certification class I am building. So, even though this list isn't going as quickly as I hoped, I am getting work done.

The 306 Greatest Books #143 - The Last of the Mohicans

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. This book can be found on the Sybervision and My Book Lists.

I am conflicted about how I feel about The Last of the Mohicans. In one respect, this book is beautifully written with prose that just oozes with descriptions giving the reader a wonderfully rich experience that isn't overly cumbersome to dive through. On the other hand, this book is horribly racist towards Native Americans, displaying them as "brutal savages" who don't know any better. It is possible to view this book as a product of its time. If this were written today, it wouldn't make it passed the editor's office before being rejected outright. However, at the time it was written, this is how people thought (I assume). It's not even all of the Native American's which are depicted as moralless savages, but they are all given pretty short shrift. I enjoyed the book though, once I was able to get beyond that. The story is basically divided into two parts. The first part is about a group of "white people" trying to make it to Fort William McHenry on Lake George in New York with the help of the last two Mohicans. I know this area very well, since some of my family is from there and I've been to this fort. So this part of the story was fun for me. I could picture the scenes in my head. However, the story was also rather confusing at times, especially keeping all the people straight. Cooper calls the main characters and tribes by different names frequently and alternates with just the first names or just the last names to the point that it took me about 100 pages before I was certain who was who and how many people were actually in the story. In the second part of the story, the group travels up north and I won't go into any more for the risk of spoiling it for someone who may be interested in reading it. I found the ending though very satisfactory and the author didn't pull any punches. Overall, even with the poor representation of the Native Americans, I think this was a very well written, good story. It plays more as a historical reenactment than a work of fiction, and I think that is what helped me get through the more racist elements. So I feel that I can recommend this book.

2017 Personal Goals - Initial Post

As a recap of the previous years we have:

2010: 14% completed
2011: 30% completed
2012: 48% completed (counting partial completions)
2013: 28% completed (counting partial completions)
2014: 37% completed (counting partial completions)
2015: 29% completed (counting partial completions)
2016: 29% completed (counting partial completions)

Well I keep getting worse on my percentages. Time to focus. Let's make 2017 the year we top 50% done. I'm not shrinking the list down at all, which means I'm going to need to work harder at completing it.

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1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel 

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 191.1

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List 

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.

4. Read last 5 books on the Sybervision Book List

Start - Current count is at 95.

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) 

Start - Currently my total count is at 142.

6. Finish 2 more Geological Movie Reviews 

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 

Start - Current count is at 77.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 30 specifically on my To Do list.

Start - My To Do list currently has ~160 things on it.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List 

Start - The list currently has 29 things on it.

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft 

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes 

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics 

Start - It is time to finish this up. A lot more work involved here than I anticipated.

13. Submit 2 papers for publication
Start - Time to focus on my publications this year.

14. Get caught up on my to read pile (which is mainly Star Wars but some other stuff as well)

Start -  I read many of the books I was behind on last year. Time to get fully caught up on my to read pile.

15. Watch and re-review Two entire lists of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies

Start - Working my way through the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies now.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection (0% done)
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

2016 Personal Goals - Year end Wrap-up

Twelve months done. Let's see how I did.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Finish 1st Draft of my Novel (0% done)

Start - Again on the list.

2. Drop weight to 167 (We''ll count that as 0% done)

Start - This has also been on the list since the beginning. Starting at 179.7
Month 1 - 179.0
Month 8 - 189.6
Month 10 - 190.2
Month 12 - 191.1

3. Read 1 of the Top Ten Books on Zane's List (0% done)

Start - In the middle of The Stories of Anton Chekhov.

4. Read 6 books on the Sybervision Book List (including 2 in the Science or Philosophy sections) (92% done)

Start - Current count is at 89.
Month 1 - In the middle of The World as Will and Idea
Month 8 - Finished The World as Will and Idea and The Three Musketeers. 4 to go.
Month 10 - Finished Vanity Fair. 3 to go.
Month 11 - Finished Paradise Lost and in the middle of Babbitt. 2 to go.
Month 12 - Finished Babbitt and Pilgrim's Progress. I read all 6 books, but I only did one of the Science or Philosophy books. 

5. Read a total of 12 books on my book list. (need to get to 200 books by my 40th birthday) (83% done)

Start - Currently my total count is at 131.
Month 1 - Finished Artemis Fowl. 11 to go.
Month 2 - Finished Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 10 to go.
Month 3 - Finished Mort. 9 to go.
Month 8 - Finished Guards Guards!, The World as Will and Idea, and The Three Musketeers. 6 to go.
Month 10 - Finished Vanity Fair. 5 to go.
Month 11 - Finished Paradise Lost. 4 to go.
Month 12 - Finished Babbitt and Pilgrim's Progress. Total of 10 done.

6. Finish 1 more Geological Movie Review (0% done)

Start - Earthquake still looks like the best bet.

7. Watch 10 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (20% done)

Start - Current count is at 75.
Month 8 - Watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. 9 to go.
Month 10 - Watched Bringing up Baby. 8 to go.

8. Finish 50 things on the Blog/Website, with 25 specifically on my To Do list. (86% done)

Start - My To Do list currently has ~150 things on it.
Month 1 - Finished 5. 45 to go.
Month 2 - Finished 6. 44 to go.
Month 3 - Finished 8. 42 to go.
Month 4 - Finished 10. 40 to go.
Month 10 - Finished 18. 32 to go.
Month 11 - Finished 38. 12 to go.
Month 12 - Finished 25 items on my To Do list and 18 other items. A total of 43.

9. Finish 8 things on the House Things to do List (63% done)

Start - The list currently has 27 things on it.
Month 1 - In the middle of the kitchen remodel still.
Month 2 - Finished 1 item, installing new furnace. 7 to go.
Month 11 - Finished 3 more items, finished the kitchen, dining room, and front entryway remodel. 4 to go.
Month 12 - Finished 1 more item. Gutter covers installed. 5 total done. 

10. Finish skinning the top of the hovercraft (0% done)

Start - Hopefully I can make some time to get to it this year.

11. Get my 5K time under 25 minutes (0% done)

Start - My current best is 28:32

12. Collect and photograph all of the Star Wars Comics (50% done)

Start - I got most of this done last year. It's time to finish this up and move on this year.
Month 1 - Only one comic left to go. Photographed box 5.
Month 8 - I have almost everything collected and photographed. I have 1 box left to go.
Month 10 - Everything in boxes has been collected and photographed. Just need to organize the photos and website them.
Month 12 - Slowly collecting the harder to find items like the comic packs.

13. Submit my Masters Thesis for Publication (0% done)

Start - Last year was actually spent getting a chapter of my dissertation published. Let's move on and get this done this year. This was the last big thing I had left to get published which I wrote before.

14. Get caught up on my Star Wars to read pile (50% done)

Start -  Right now I have more than a bookshelf full of books that I am behind on reading.
Month 1 - Slowly working through my pile of stuff to read when I get the chance.
Month 2 - Still reading through the pile.
Month 10 - I actually have my 3 big piles down by about a 1/3rd. Not too shabby.
Month 12 - Finished probably more than have on my to read pile.

15. Watch and re-review an entire list of one of the 10 Top Ten Movies (20% done)

Start - I finished one set of 10 last year. I plan on doing another set this year.
Month 8 - Watched/rewatched Back to the Future and 2001: A Space Odyssey on the Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies list. 8 to go.

16. Collect, photograph, and organize my Star Wars novel collection (0% done)
Start - I have it mostly set with paperbacks but I would like to get the collection organized and get the first release hardcovers.

-----------------------------------------------Other items of note-------------------------------------------------

Although I didn't get as much done on my list as I hoped, over the last few months I have gotten my "to do" pile down from about 9 boxes of stuff and paperwork to about 2 boxes of stuff and paperwork. Hopefully this year I should be able to get caught up on everything. That's the plan at least.