Birthday/Fathers Day 2009

One very cool birthday gift from my daughter - I like the idea - take a classic LP that is no longer playable and convert it into a coaster - not a new idea - but I liked it anyway.

Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band - Outer South

Heard via Fred Wilson’s tumblog http://fredwilson.vc

 

I liked this - although it did put me in the mood for some Clash http://disq.us/8v1

The next Google

Interesting post from Seth Godin on Bing :

“Google is not seen as broken by many people, and a hundred million dollars trying to persuade us that it is, is money poorly spent.”

Death of the mouse - Network World
I haven't viewed the entire deck but this looks more like a technology preview than an honest look at the "Death of the Mouse"...

Some interesting stuff here but until we get a touch screen that can be knocked off the desk, stepped on, inadvertently kicked across the floor, and still be reattached - and work - for under $50 USD...I'm just not seeing it

http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/050409-mouse.html

Wings Muzzle Hawks' Big Guns

I'm a Blackhawks fan - yesterday's 5-2 result was not specifically too good - but it's Blackhawks v Redwings - so it's going to be great - I ordered my playoffs tshirt today - I'd really like to have a Havlat jersey but - considering I live in Houston - maybe if they go all the way this time. I've got a birthday coming soon.

Owen McKibben meets Matt Furey

Wow - 2 things:
1) Having goals is a full time job and it may seriously hinder the time you have to blog - needless to say I just haven't kept up with the goals about blogging. I'm getting there but it's a journey not a destination.
2) I had a great workout last night around 8:00 that consisted of the following:

• Stairmaster - 22 Flights (4-5 min) avg HR 162
• Lat Pulldowns - (40" work/60" rest) x 5
• Stairmaster - 22 Flights (4-5 min) avg HR 162
• Bridgeing - (40" work/60" rest) x 5
• Stairmaster - 22 Flights (4-5 min) avg HR 162
• Hindu Pushups (40" work/60" rest) x 5
• Stairmaster - 22 Flights (4-5 min) avg HR 162
• Hindu Squats (40" work/60" rest) x 5
• Stairmaster - 22 Flights (4-5 min) avg HR 162

On the side - I posted elsewhere yesterday (quite boldly I might add) that I was making a domino goal of 1) Stopping work on time so that 2) I could work out on time so that 3) I be home in time to have dinner with my wife. Well, the short of a very long story is that I did all three - and I almost didn't - when it got to be near 8:00 PM I nearly bailed on the workout (if I had I'd most certainly have missed the 3rd goal and would have dined alone). Remaining committed to following through bears fruit....hmph...who knew?

AM Session: CrossRamp

1. Zone 2 (108-126)(Incline 2) - 4 minutes
   
2. Zone 2 (108-126)(Incline 10) - 4 minutes
   
3. (Repeat 1 and 2) x 15

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

Avg HR overnight:
Weight: 237 (-3 for the week)

AM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase HR 10 beats every two minutes up to AT (144-162) - 10 minutes
Recover down to Zone 2 (108-126) as fast as possible. (1.5 - 2 minutes)

1. Zone 3 (Incline 4-6) for 3 minutes
2. Zone 2 (Incline 2-4) for 2 minutes
3. Zone 2 (Incline 2) for 2 minutes
4. Zone 3 (Incline 6-8) for 3 minutes
5. Zone 3 (Incline 4-6) for 2 minutes
6. Zone 2 (Incline 2) for 2 minutes
7. Zone 3 (Incline 8-10) for 3 minutes
8. Zone 3 (Incline 6-8) for 2 minutes
9. Zone 2 (Incline 2) for 2 minutes
10. AT (Incline 10-12) for 3 minutes
11. Zone 3 (Incline 8-10) for 2 minutes
12. Zone 2 (Incline 2) for 2 minutes
13. Repeat 1-12

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

AM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase HR 10 beats every two minutes up to AT (144-162) - 10 minutes
Recover down to Zone 2 (108-126) as fast as possible. (1.5 - 2 minutes)

1. Zone 2 (108-126)(Incline 2) - 4 minutes
2. Zone 2 (108-126)(Incline 10) - 4 minutes
3. (Repeat 1 and 2) x 15

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

AM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase HR 10 beats every two minutes up to (144-162) - 10 to 12 minutes. Recover (108-126) as fast as possible. (about 2 minutes)

1. (108-126)(Incline 2) - 4 minutes
2. (108-126)(Incline 10) - 4 minutes
3. (Repeat 1 and 2) x 15

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

AM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase HR 10 beats every two minutes up to (144-162) - 10 to 12 minutes.
Recover (108-126) as fast as possible. (about 2 minutes)

1. (126-144) (Incline 8) - 5 minutes
2. (126-144) (Incline 2) - 5 minutes (use speed to keep HR in zone)
3. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
4. (126-144) (Incline 10) - 5 minutes
5. (144-162) (Incline 2) - 3 minutes
6. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
7. (Repeat 1 -6) x 3

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

AM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase heart rate 10 beats every two minutes (108-162). 10 to 12 minutes. Recover to (108-126) as quickly as possible. 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

1. (126-144) (Incline 8) - 2 minutes
2. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
3. (126-144) (Incline 10) - 2 minutes
4. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
5. (126-144) (Incline 12) - 2 minutes
6. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
7. (144-162) (Incline 14) - 2 minutes
8. Repeat 1 through 7

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from (around 155) to (around 117) in about 5 minutes.

PM Session: CrossRamp
Warm Up - Increase heart rate 10 beats every two minutes (108-162). 10 to 12 minutes. Recover to (108-126) as quickly as possible. 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

1. (126-144) (Incline 8) - 2 minutes
2. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
3. (126-144) (Incline 10) - 2 minutes
4. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
5. (126-144) (Incline 12) - 2 minutes
6. (108-126) (Incline 2) - 2 minutes
7. (144-162) (Incline 14) - 2 minutes
8. (Repeat 1 through 7) x 2

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from (around 155) to (around 117) in about 5 minutes.

WOD 22 of 100

Pint water
Cup grapes

3 eggs scrambled w/ Flat bread
Oatmeal
Pint water

Cup Coffee (black)

Protein shake (BSN Syntha-6 w/ Pint water)

Cashew Chicken, 1/2 Cup rice, 2 Spring Rolls
Pint water

Pint water

Pint water (with exercise)
PM Session:
CrossRamp Level 2
Start on Level 2 and increase 1 Level and 1 Resistance Setting every 5 minutes for 60 minutes
Alternate Forward and Backward at 5 minute intervals Keeping HR at or around 120BPM

Protein shake (MRI RTD Pro-NOS 35g Whey Protein)

6oz. Glass Pinot Noir
Roast Chicken
Pint water

WOD Day 21 of 100

Average HR overnight 76
Weight 240

Pint water - NO-Explode
Pint water - with exercise

AM Session:
Warm Up (10 to 12 minutes) - Gradually increasing heart rate 10 beats every two minutes up to Anaerobic Threshold(160). Recovery down to zone 2 as quickly as possible.

Zone 3 (143-153) for 3 minutes
Zone 2 (124-142) for 2 minutes

Repeat 2 times (Use speed to get to all Heart Rate Zones but incline was 2 the whole time)

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

Muscle Milk

Oatmeal, 1 cup blueberries, Pint water

1/4 pound turkey, 1 cup Cucumber vinegrette salad, Pint water

Pint water

Pint water during exercise

Evening Session:
Warm Up (10 to 12 minutes) - Gradually increasing heart rate 10 beats every two minutes up to Anaerobic Threshold(160). Recovery down to zone 2 as quickly as possible.

Zone 3 (143-153) for 3 minutes
Zone 2 (124-142) for 2 minutes

Repeat 4 times (Use speed to get to all Heart Rate Zones but incline was 2 the whole time)

Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes.

Pint water

Dymatize 12 Hour Protein (1 Scoop w/12 oz Milk)

Burn2Live-Day 1

Diet: ------------------------------------------ 5:00 AM - Pint water w/ 1 Scoop NO-Explode 5:30-6:00 AM - Pint water (while doing Cardio) 6:30-7:00 AM - Pint water post exercise 7:30-8:00 AM - Protein shake (EAS RTD 42G Protein) 10:00-10:15 AM - 1/2 Tin Tuna, Organic Brown Rice, Pint water 12:30 PM - 1/4 Pound Turkey, 1/2 Sweet Potato, Slice Jalapeno Cheese Bread, Pint water 2:45 PM - Protein shake (EAS 100% whey), Pint water 4:30 PM - Protein shake(BSN Syntha-6), 1/2 Tin Tuna, Organic Brown Rice, Pint Water 5:30 PM - Pint water w/1 Scoop NO-Explode 7:30 PM - Pint water (while doing Cardio) 8:30 PM - Hungarian Beef Stew w/ Carrots 10:00 PM - Protein Shake (Dymatize 12 Hour Protein) Nutritox: ------------------------------------------ 8:00 AM - 2 Athletic Multi-Vitamin, 2 Joint Renew, 1 MRM Attention 12:30 PM - 2 Athletic Multi, 1 MRM Attention 10:00 PM - 2 Athletic Multi, 2 Joint Renew, 1 Slo-Niacin Cardio: ------------------------------------------ 5:30 - 6:00 AM - Eliptical Trainer Start < 124 Zone 2 124-134 Zone 3 134-144 Warm Up - Gradually increasing heart rate 10 beats every two minutes up to Anaerobic Threshold. This should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Recovery down to zone 2 as quickly as possible. 1) Zone 3 for 3 minutes 2) Zone 2 for 2 minutes (1 and 2) x 4 Goal is to repeat 8-10 times (Use speed to get to all Heart Rate Zones but level is 5 the whole time) Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually from zone 3 to zone 1 in about 5 minutes (level down to 2) Use speed to get heartrate up (stay at level 2) 7:30 - 8:00 PM - Eliptical Trainer (Same criteria as AM Session) 0:00 - 2:00 124bpm 2:00 - 4:00 134bpm 4:00 - 6:00 144bpm 6:00 - 8:00 154bpm 8:00 - 10:00 164bpm 10:00 - 12:00 164bpm 12:00 - 14:00 Recover down to < 142 as fast as possible 14:00 - 16:00 Ramp up to > 164 as fast as possible and maintain 16:00 - 18:00 Recover down to < 142 as fast as possible 18:00 - 20:00 Ramp up to > 164 as fast as possible and maintain 20:00 - 22:00 Recover down to < 142 as fast as possible 22:00 - 24:00 Ramp up to > 164 as fast as possible and maintain 24:00 - 26:00 Recover down to < 142 as fast as possible 26:00 - 28:00 Ramp up to > 164 as fast as possible and maintain 28:00 - 30:00 Recover down to < 142 as fast as possible 30:00 - 35:00 Cooldown - drop heart rate gradually down to < 124 in about 5 minutes level down to 1

A New Service

I'm trying a new service today - well new to me anyway - its called "BlogMailR". If it works I can post directly from email.... 8:00 - Rise 8:30 - Pint water, 2 servings Fruit 9:00 - Coffee w/1T Honey 2T half&half 10:00 -Chorizo & Eggs* (Major Props to Elise over at Simply Recipes) Pint water, 2 Athletic, 2 Joint Renew, 1 MRM Attention * As a kid who grew up on the Southside of San Antonio in the late 60's and early 70's I appreciate the heck out of two recipes in particular this one and one for Migas if anyone can point me to the particular version that was my favorite I'll be much obliged - this one is kinda obscure though...you'll have to have patronized a small family owned mexican restaurant - The name escapes me - right next to SAC on North Main (I think it was between West Park and Myrtle). At any rate, I had several versions of migas by the time I was old enough to be a student at SAC but my favorite was the one the owner fixed up when me and Manuel (my best friend since we were freshmen at Highlands High School) would go in as his first customers of the morning. I'll never forget the owner, a man I guess was in his late 40's or early 50's, making the sign of the cross and thanking God for his first sale of the day, the framed "Very First Dollar" he ever made, and the framed (yes framed) JFK Innagural Address album cover. This was a traditional place that became a bar in the evening - no I never went there at night I was way too cool for that you'd have found me at the Bone Club (around the corner and down a few blocks on San Pedro) or at Raw Power and Electric up the other direction on San Pedro....but I digress...as I read on someone else's blog "The Older I Get the Cooler I Used to be". 11:00 - Pint of water 12:00 PM - 2 pcs Fruit, Protein Shake (BSN Syntha-6 and water), Pint water more later... Tchau for now...

My First Magic 100 List

It's taken me some time to really "wrap my head around this" so to speak - the ideas for doing this I'd been somewhat familar with before - but I'd never seen or heard someone put them in the proper sequence to actually help me accomplish them.

Now these goals are mine - so I have my reasons for having each and every one of them - even if some of them might not seem like such a big deal to others. Keep in mind these are goals that "I own" so to speak.

Okay so with no further ado here goes - the list:

Health
1) Thank God for my health every day (Real Prayer/Real Listening)
2) Keep a daily food/exercise log every day
3) In bed by 10:30 PM at least 5 nights a week
4) Walk/Run 5 miles daily (following Tim Noake’s book)
5) Incorporate ‘Burn To Live” diet regimin
6) Incorporate Nutritox supplement schedule
7) Incorporate ‘Burn To Live” training regimin
8) Drink 100oz water daily (minimum)
9) Add the Royal Court to the exercise regimen 10 days at a time
10) Block out negative history as soon as I become conscious of it.
11) Cut TV to one show per day
12) Set Alarm to getup and move around hourly during the workday
13) Lose 20 pounds by May 19th, 2009
14) Update blog on a regular basis regarding Health

Family
1) Thank God every day for my family and encouragement to grow closer. (Real Prayer / Real Listening)
2) Do household chores on weekends (husband specific - lawn, garage, yard)
3) Have a designated family night (for the time being Saturday afternoons)but usually a night during the week when family takes precedence over all else for whatever activity we want (movie, game, video, etc.)
4) Go away somewhere together as a family every 12 weeks
5) Eat out with my wife at least once a week (date night)
6) Read to my daughter at least once a week for the time being.
7) Take every phone call from my daughter (Don’t miss even one) and take a minimum of 3 per week with Beth.
8) Clean the garage
9) Finish paining in Bathrooms
10) Paint Master Bedroom
11) Tear out and replace Front Flower/Shrub beds
12) Top Soil/ Aerate/ Fertilize and Maintain Front Lawn
13) AC Cabin Filter for Maxima
14) Buy a new book to read to Amy
15) Clear out dishwasher nightly
16) Clear out laundry nightly
17) Clear out Home Office
19) Learn to Listen More and Speak Less to Beth and Amy
20) Screw up - Take some risks - Don’t be stupid. Just don’t be afraid to make some mistakes.
21) Clear out bedroom daily
22) Nail down carpet
23) Replace carpet
24) Add Water Feature/spa to backyard
25) Re-roof the House
26) Clear out the Attic
27) Replace Back Fence
28) Replace the water heater - with tankless and external filter
29) Get a water treatment system
30) Clean out schedule for some quality time with Beth every day
31) Order House Charity NAMI tshirt - Completed

Finances
1) Give thanks to God daily for the opportunity to live and “Live Large”. (Real Prayer/ Real Listening)
2) Read and implement Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”
3) Read and implement Tim Ferris’s “The Four Hour Work Week”
4) List real goals from Dave Ramsey, Tim Ferris, and Dax Moy

Career
1) Give Thanks to God daily for the opportunity to “Serve” and “De-Serve”. (Real Prayer/Real Listening)
2) Get involved in the Python community
3) Get involved C/C++ standards body
4) Teach Java at the SIGs again
5) Give presentations on Pearl
6) Teach LISP
7) Read - Introduction to Algorithms, Thomas H. Cormen, et al
8) Read - Data Structures and Algorithms, Aho, Hopcraft, and Ullman
9) Read - Algorithms in C++, Robert Sedgewick
10) Read - The Art of Computer Programming (vols. 1-3), Donald Knuth
11) Read - Code Complete, Steve McConnell
12) Read - Programming Pearls, Jon Bentley
13) Clear out workplace office of all detritus
14) Get in by 7:30 AM or earlier 3 days a week
15) Log on from home and generate/correspond with Richard and/or Shelley nightly
16) Follow Through on Web Conversion (Connections to SharePoint)
17) Finish Photoshop Techniques
18) Learn C# .NET 3.5
19) Learn 2007 SharePoint
20) Be genuinely interested and enthused when asked to participate - let go of the past.
21) Keep mailbox sorted and disposed
22) Keep a notepad to add items to the “Work 100” list as they come up
23) Finish Topaz / Publisher Site images
24) Mess up - Take some risks - Don’t be stupid. Just don’t be afraid to make some mistakes.
25) Update blog and CV regularly on Career moves

Adventure
1) Thank God daily for the Vision and Desire for Adventure. Real Prayer / Real Listening
2) Play guitar in a band again
3) Run a race 10k - marathon
4) Zip Line at Bastrop
5) Visit Grapevine with Beth
6) Spend a weekend in Roundtop with Beth
7) Go Snow Boarding
8) Learn to drive a race car
9) Learn to ride a motorcycle (harley the same one Jax Teller rides on Sons of Anarchy)
10) Do 20 pullups and 200 situps
11) Get my RKC
12) Get AOS certified
13) Finalize plans to attend one: MDC, SD West, Java One
14) Tour the wine country (Solvang, CA) with Beth
15) Vacation to San Francisco with Beth
16) Learn to Sail
17) Learn to Surf
18) Learn to play the Humble Pie and Cream Hits
19) Blog on adventure growth w/ pictures
20) Get a new electric guitar and amp

Education
1) Thank God daily for the Desire and Opportunity to Learn. (Real Prayer / Real Listening)
2) Read the RLF list (finish and understand) 2009
3) Learn to Communicate better with Beth and Amy
4) Learn to create “Passive Revenue Streams” and “Multiple Sources of Income”
5) Learn Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and French
6) Finish bedside reading stack
7) Keep up with wsj.com and ft.com
8) Keep up Blog postings for growth and insight on education
9) Actively read the bible once a year w/ notes
10) Go through ‘Wild at Heart’ workbook & finish the movie collection
11) Read ‘Way of the Wild Heart’
12) Watch ‘Pursuit of Happyness’
13) Read Paolo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’
14) Watch ‘Coach Carter’

Okay so there they are now on to chopping down some trees...

A Cause I Strongly Believe In

I've Really Done it This Time...

I've "stepped on it with both feet" as we used to say in my flight medic days.

I've actually taken the plunge and purchased Dax Moy's Magic 100. If you know me then you also know that I've been following along his daily email's for some time now so it was really just a matter of time before I decided to take the plunge and purchase/apply his system completely.

This is a great way to really focus on what's most important to me right now and it's only sharpened my goals (albeit by forcing me to break inertia quickly).

I'll get back to this blog with updates and the promised material for 2009 that I so boldly put out that I'd follow in my 2008 Recap post from last month.

Suffice it to say I strongly recommend this program to you if you want to get focused on real goals enought to put real dates on them.

A word of advice if you decide to take the plunge...wear a cup.

Back with more once I've scheduled it in and yes better maintenance of this blog is definitely in the first 100 goals.

2008: Epilogue

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't do a recap of the year? Well I guess since I've never done this before, not a very good one. I hearby declare that 2008 was my last year of sleep walking.

Me
I started out the year doing my best to get over the Flu - which I did - however having the Flu kept me down for much longer than just the time it took to get over feeling like I was going to die at any moment (classic flu symptoms dramatized here for maximum effect). As a matter of fact starting the year out with the Flu left me weak for a good 4-6 weeks and I didn't do much of anything physically for all of that time. One would think that I would have been anxious to get back into the "Swing" (no pun intended) of things but I didn't and I really spent much of 2008 on what I will charitably term a sabbatical from most all exercise.

In April, I trained quite abit, and abit too late to get in shape for the Austin (read closer to Johnson City) Muddy Buddy and ended up compromising my immune system and catching a good cold.

In May I became one half of the team that came in next to dead last in our age category for the Austin (read closer to Johnson City)Muddy Buddy. The team that came in behind us didn't finish.

In July, I decided I would start running again and promptly hurt my knee. I had no base to build upon and, coupled with being 40 or so pounds overweight, therefore had no right to expect my body to respond any other way than it did. That's right I'm back up to 233 (from 193). My new reality television show "El Gordo y La Flaca" is set to begin filming any day now. Not really, I needed to do something about my weight but it would be another six months before I would get serious.

In September, the hurricane we were long overdue for, Ike rolled through Houston, luckily we made it through with little damage. I took my wife and daughter and actually spent our "Hurrication" week up in Frisco with relatives. I found out that our house seems to be on the same power circuit as the Emergency Transponder tower, just outside of our neighborhood (can you say "SELLING Feature"), and according to neighbors who stayed behind we were without power for only about 6 hours. Others were not as fortunate.

In October finally decided to get off my butt and start some exercising again. However, it was slow and tedious and I was consuming way to many empty calories - including beers during football and soccer games. Read between the lines here - that's 3-6 hours on my butt on Saturday watching a Dynamo and then a Longhorns game, then 3-6 hours on Sunday depending on wether or not the Cowboys or Texans had a Monday night game. Then let's not forget Sunday night or Monday night if the Bears or the Steelers were on. * Apologies to Jen, Chris Sims, Ahmard Hall, Michael Griffin and Bo Scaife here - I'd like to be a Titan's fan but there's a Television bias in the Houston market plus if I'm going to make the effort I want to see Vince or Chris at the helm.

One thing in October made my weight issue screechingly clear again. For Halloween my daughter wanted to be Curious George so I decided to be "The Man in the Big Yellow Hat"...make that (Jake and the Fat Man) in the big yellow hat - the pictures (thank God someone took some) were a good dose of reality for me and by this time I was well up into 240's territory

I had a really great November. Thanksgiving with the family including my Parents and one nephew at the Farm with both Sister-in-Law's and their families. Every time I get together with family, especially around the holidays, I feel energized to go out and do good in the world. It sounds cheesy, but it's really great. I hope that others find their way out of the ostrich in the sand routine from time to time. I also decided to begin training for a (May 2009) marathon in November - not sure if I'm going to do that or not - I'm still training - just not sure if I'm actually going to run in a sanctioned marathon or not.

In December, my wife and I finally found time to open the bottle of Cava that had been aging for the past year. I bought this bottle on what turned out to be great advice, by the way in December of 2007. I didn't know then that within the next 3 weeks my wife would have literally escaped dying in the hospital and I'd be hit with the flu the day she got out. So for New Years 2008 it ended up being me and the cat on the couch while my wife stayed with friends for a week. It's strange but our friends were much more receptive to taking in my wife (our daughter stayed with my parents) for a few days than taking me and my flu. Back to the Cava (The label was "Aria") Now most champagne I've ever had, including some of the pricer labels is crap. This was very different I'll describe it as a fair to good white wine with bubbles - we enjoyed it watching Dick Clark's rockin' New Years Eve and went to bed. I evacuated the air from the bottle and we had the remainder in Mimosa's with brunch on New Years day.

The blog
This blog has gone under some transition too. But not as much as it's going too. I have recently decided to start bringing work home with me .. not in the literal sense but I'm a career programmer...at this point I'm rather like an ASME Master Mechanic who refuses to work on his own cars. On the other hand I've always kind of stood by the maxim that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client - however, I'm definitely moving this blog from where it sits I'll still figure a way to link content to/from here. I'm thinking of moving it over to Orcsweb and then porting the content to Graffiti after reading about the experiences of a fellow blogger.

What's in store for 2009?
Someone pointed me in the direction of Dax Moy - and I'd like to thank them publicly for that if I could only remember who it was.

I have a few goals for 2009 that I'd like to publicly share, if for no other reason than to really commit to it. I'm sort of fat at this point and I'm tired of the roller coaster of weight game. It's time to get serious and stay serious. I'm commiting right here to losing 20 pounds in the next 90 days. Right now I'm at 233 and losing 20 pounds in thereabouts of 12 weeks isn't going to kill me. Actually I want to lose 40 and maintain around 193 by the end of 2009 but for the first 100 days or so 20 pounds is doable and that's what I'm committing too.

I'd also like to read more. It seems that I only read 6 or 7 books in 2008, and that's pathetic. At the rate that my book list is growing, I'll never read all that I want. So far 99% of the books on my list are about software development, and I'd like to change that. I'm committing right now to complete the RLF 2009 Book List. I have been intrigued by this daunting task for the past few years - well this year I'm going to take the plunge and do it. It's three books a month and a discussion group the last week of each month.

I'd like to do a long series of posts, concerning my Spiritual, Physical, Professional, Intellect, and Social growth. It still remains my all time most popular motivator to put my goals and progress out in the open. I haven't honestly done this in probably a good 10 years. I've learned a lot about life since then.

I'm also going to get back into guitar. In 2008 I really didn't play more than once a month, and it shows. My fingers are soft, I've forgotten how to play many songs, and I've definitely lost my technique for fingering. It's all chords now. I'm looking at purchasing a new electric guitar to help give me the nudge.

So long 2008, in retrospect, you were a great motivator for 2009.