How I See It: Reflections on spirituality, technology, and the art of everyday life

  Dear Friends, It is my custom at this time of year to celebrate with my friends by giving them the gift of self, so I can share with you some of what the last year(s) have brought me. I am very sorry it’s been so long since I last sent out a Christmas letter. This is going to be the first Christmas Letter I've done that will only be available online, either the people I know are online or have passed away, so I'm only going to do it this way from now on.  Many things have happened during those years, and here is a quick update to bring you all up to speed.   2017 After I wrote my 2017 Christmas letter, I received an email from one of the singles sites I was on. It seemed someone wanted to meet me. We met for the first time on December 9th. Her name is Dawn. She’s a retired Nurse Practitioner and very shy about being written about, so I’ll leave it at this: she and I are still together, living in Vancouver. 2018 In February, I took a vacation to Maui. ...

It’s been a busy week, and a good one. The most important news is that I finally heard back from the team in England. Things are moving in the right direction, and they estimate they’re about 90% certain this opportunity will pan out. Next week, they expect to give me access to a test environment along with a full year of support tickets . If everything lines up, this could be the start of something solid. Beyond that, there have been plenty of other pots boiling. On Monday, I interviewed with a company in California looking for someone with Infor FACTS experience. I spent four years working on FACTS in Providex , and I’m certified in FACTS 7.0 with 20+ years in Providex overall. But the current release is 9.x, and I haven’t touched it in two decades. Still, finding anyone who knows a legacy system like FACTS is rare, so I’m hoping the door stays open. They said they’ll get back to me early next week. Two other recruiters reached out asking to schedule meetings. I responded ...

My Weekly Report This week I made a decision: I’m no longer “unemployed.” Instead, I’m officially creating my own company — Odell S Hathaway III Consultancy . I’ll still be applying for full-time roles. Still, I’m also opening the door to contract and hourly work where I can bring my unique skill set to the table: PxPlus (Providex), the various Business Basic families (UniBasic, BBx, B32, …), and more than 20 years of experience in software development, data validation, debugging, and technical support. It feels good to finally put a name to the work I’ve been doing for so long. Job Front I’m happy to say I have an interview on Monday for a position working with Infor FACTS , an ERP system I’ve supported in the past. It’s built on Providex, so this might be a very natural fit for me. I’ve got my fingers crossed (which makes typing a little bit more challenging). I also heard back from the London opportunity . They were going to be having a meeting with the client on Friday, and I’m h...

Weekly Update: Progress, Preparation, and Staying Ready for the London Opportunity The good news is that I still seem to be in the running for the London position. I haven’t heard anything this week — but honestly, that’s better than hearing that it isn’t going to happen. Most of my week has been spent preparing in case the London opportunity does move forward. I updated my Apple Watch, iPhone, and desktop to show both local time and London time, and everything now adjusts automatically for Daylight Saving Time and British Summer Time. Since the time difference between Vancouver, WA and London is a concern, I’ve shifted my sleep schedule so I can begin work at 6:00 a.m. Vancouver time (14:00 in London). I also configured my iPhone so that if an email or text comes in with “911” in the subject line, a loud alarm will sound — that way I can respond quickly to Priority One support issues at any hour. I made sure Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and WhatsApp are working correctly across all my...

My Motivational Morning Walk Playlist 🎧 I’m a morning walker. My current routine is to get up at 4:15 a.m. (yes, every day—even weekends—it’s all about good sleep hygiene) and go for a walk: one mile on weekdays and 1.5 miles on weekends . To help me stay motivated and moving, I’ve built a playlist I listen to while I walk. I thought I’d share it with you. Here’s how it goes: 1) “Theme from Rocky (Gonna Fly Now)” – Bill Conti This one gets me moving right away. I even have a hill on my route, and this track gives me the push to climb it. 2) “ Breakout ” – Swing Out Sister A breezy, upbeat track that kicks in nicely after the intro. 3) “ I’ll Make a Man Out of You ” – from Mulan A fun twist: this training-montage anthem gives me a mental “you’ve got this” feeling. 4) “ You’re the Best ” – Joe Esposito ( The Karate Kid ) Perfect for the peak of the walk when I’m pushing pace. 5) “ Hit Me With Your Best Shot ” – Pat Benatar Rocking out while walk...

The Hidden Problem with Time Travel I think people often miss something quite important about the possibility of time travel. In most sci-fi stories, when someone travels through time, they stay in the same spot — moving forward or backward in time while remaining fixed in space. It’s a wonderful concept, but it overlooks a crucial fact: we’re not sitting still. We aren’t anchored to one point on Earth, because the Earth itself isn’t anchored to any fixed point in the universe. The Earth and Moon orbit their shared center of gravity at about 2,300 miles per hour (3,700 km/h) . Together, they orbit the Sun at around 67,000 miles per hour (107,000 km/h) . The Sun (and the rest of our solar system) orbits the center of the Milky Way at roughly 514,000 miles per hour (828,000 km/h) . And the Milky Way galaxy itself is moving through space — relative to the cosmic background — at about 1.3 million miles per hour (2.1 million km/h...

My New Consulting Workstation (and Why I Love This Setup) This setup is designed for productivity, reliability, and remote consulting for ERP systems . After years of juggling older hardware and cables, I finally wanted a workstation that I could trust — one that stayed consistent and let me move between laptop and desk mode instantly. I’ve just finished putting this together — and I’m very proud of how it turned out. The heart of the setup is my new Dell Inspiron 14 5440 connected to a Dell WD19S Dock . The dock keeps all my permanent connections (monitor, wired Ethernet, USB devices, etc.) plugged in — so I can simply unplug one cable from the laptop when I need to pick it up and go. Up on the bookshelf above my monitor I have my network hardware and audio gear: a NetGear 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch , my Xfinity Gateway (modem/router), Amazon Basics 2.0 speakers , and my Emerson CKS1521 clock . On the desk itself, I use a Hisense 43...

Weekly Job Search Update: London Progress and Tech Upgrades Well — I’m hoping this will be one of the last weekly job search updates. As every pilot knows: you don’t stop flying until the wheels are on the runway. But this week, things genuinely look promising on the London opportunity. The team I’ve been speaking with presented their proposal to their client — complete with a short bio about me and a photo. Feedback so far is very positive, and they expect an answer early next week. So yes… fingers crossed. This week, I also met online with Jacob, who would be one of my new colleagues over there. His background is in modern languages. I’ll be helping train him in PxPlus (Providex), and in return, he’ll help me get more exposure to newer systems and tools. A good meeting — and I’m looking forward to working with him. On the practical side, I realized I cannot locate my old passport (which is expired) or my birth certificate — and I need both to renew. So I ordered a ...

How I’m Using ChatGPT to Find Remote Sage 100 / PVXplus Work For a long time, I was searching for remote work the traditional way — scrolling job boards, sending out applications, and waiting. But despite more than 20 years of experience working with Sage 100 and ProvideX (PVXplus) — building and supporting business applications, developing data tools, and solving real-world problems — I wasn’t seeing much success. Then I tried something different: I started using ChatGPT as part of my search . Step 1: Automating Job Searches The first way I used ChatGPT was simple but powerful — I asked it to scan job boards regularly for new Sage 100 and ProvideX positions. That alone changed the game. Within weeks, I found several opportunities I had missed before, including one that led to a job interview. But as helpful as that was, I realized something important: many of the companies that could use my skills might never post a job online. If I wanted to expand my chances, ...