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OK, here’s something new.  If you know me, you know that I am not a big fan of driving.  For one thing, I consider myself a below average driver, so if a competent driver would volunteer to tote me around I would be overjoyed.

But since that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon, I try to find things to keep myself awake and engage while driving.  Long drives are a different animal, but the daily commute is a, well, daily challenge.

For years I’ve been looking for easy ways to get thoughts and ideas out onto a web page.  Yeah, most people call that blogging.  Consistency is always a big hurdle for me.  This blog is a testament to that fact.

I couple months ago I found a service that would connect with Evernote and allow me to automatically post things I wrote in there.  Well it got a little flaky and it didn’t have some of the functionality I wanted.  So I decided to just get back over here and use this old site as a proving ground and slowly fix it up as I have ideas, opportunity, and inspiration.

I love a good series.  Back and forth.  I didn’t grow up a basketball fan.  In fact, I was resentful when a coach sought me out and asked me to try out for a team.  “You only want me to play because I’m tall.”  I was young and foolish - being tall’s a real advantage on the court.

But in the finals of ‘93 with the Suns vs. the Bulls I finally developed an appreciation for the game.  Granted, I’m a fair weather fan and only get interested towards the end of the season.  I used to complain that it seemed like all the action happened in the last 3 minutes of the game.  Why not just skip to that and just play an intense 3 minute game.  You could play two or three a day!  Much more exciting…

It seems like one of the biggest excuses, at least in my circles, is being too busy.  Busy or not, we all have the same amount of time in our day.  We get to choose to fill it up with busy activities or to relax, or to just be a bump on a log.  But we choose busy because we think busy gets us where we want to be.  Most of us don’t know where that is.  So as I have heard said before, “I don’t know where I’m headed - but I’m making good time.”

A post a day for 5,000 days. That’s an achievement. I can’t even keep up with a weekly post. The problem is looking over his posts - they are short and sweet.  This 5,000th post was back on June 5th.  Here is a link to Seth Godin’s 5,000th post.

And here is my takeaway quote from that little post: Showing up daily isn’t my challenge–it’s learning to live with the fact that I can’t say everything I want in a single post, that the trade-off of reaching people easily is that you can also lose people easily. I would like to take up that challenge, because writing too much - too many words for the thought I want to convey is a problem of mine.  Pithy I’m not.  But a challenge like that brings up in me fears of not being able to succeed like few things I’m currently aware of.  More than public speaking.  And the excuses start pouring out, “Which blog would I put it on?”  I have about 8 dead blogs to choose from.  :-D

OK, not much to add today. It was a long one. This morning started out with a cranky review of some software. After that the rest of the day was just recovering from that.

Then after work I had some phone calls to take in the car and then a meeting with some high school buddies about some web endeavors we are trying to start up.

And after getting home around 9pm - I have some things I wanted to start in December. I’m trying to develop some plans and habits for 2012. So the month of December will be a test case. I’m starting a Bible study online. People can follow along as we go if they want through the year. So even though 2012 is a whole month away. I’m trying to set out a line in the sand to make sure that I’m well into the habit by the time the new year comes around.

The house is now back to it’s currently regular occupants. It’s time to get back into the swing of things. I haven’t left myself much time to write. But it’s not about the time or the amount - it’s about the habit… the doing it.

So I’m back. Let me ask you - how do you handle a backlog? What do you do when commitments and tasks has piled up on you and there’s really more than what you can do?

Today is my last day of work before getting some time off over Thanksgiving. I have a lot of things I need to do at home and in side projects, it makes it very tough to follow through with my “day job”. But I do want to keep my commitment to write here. So I’m simply going to put down a “Will Do” and see what happens there.

Today’s Will-Do list:

No, this isn’t the beginning of a series on my critical need for some kind of physical fitness routine. This is about conflicting priorities.

I have to write an article for our church’s magazine. The deadline is looming and I have to determine if I should be pumping out words here or there? This goes back to what I just posted the other day. There are times when you make a conscious choice to skip, to take a break, to be inconsistent. As long as you are consistent about your reasoning, right? Am I wrong on this? Make up your own mind.

I was sure I’ve talked about this before - - some things are just worth repeating.

One of the things I’m considering using this blog for is my “Will Do” list. Now why a WillDo and not a ToDo? Maybe you can think of it as a MustDo list. These concepts and lists have different purposes.

For example, in the time management system called “Getting Things Done” (GTD by devoted fans, and the rest of us…) the idea is to put everything on your list to get it out of your head and on to paper. Then you spend your time prioritizing and deciding whether that was hair brained, an errant dream, or a vital task that must be accomplished.

So now the weekend is here. I have family visiting, this is a busy, packed day ahead. All good reasons to take a break - or set a standard for a periodic Sabbatical.

The rules are - there are no rules. Hmm, that seems scary or intimidating to me.

In trying to develop foundational habits, when do you make an exception? I can think of two times. 1) When you must and 2)When you decide it’s OK to.

A few questions for myself. If asked:

Do you pray? Answer: Yes, I pray often. Do you study the Bible? Answer: Yes, yes I do.

Oh, that sounds wonderful. But let’s go a little deeper…

Do you pray and study the Bible consistently??  Oh, well, uh, er.  Easier said than done.

I mean, I go on weekend retreats where I’m expending tons of mental energy.  I have visits with family that make a normal routine impossible.  With meetings and activities that I’ve signed up to participate in, life gets very busy.  And I have a personality that tends to be easily distracted.

This site has been left to it’s own devices since I was in the hospital a year and a half ago. I’m thinking about re-branding this place, adding some curtains and changing the direction.

I need a place on the web to just splatter random thoughts. A public-private partnership (that just sounds so good… I think every endeavor should have a public-private partnership. It just would be so integrated) between hopes and dreams and actions and plans. The name is snappy, the URL is short. It definitely doesn’t roll off the tongue. It’s also not something you could give a shout out to on radio or in a podcast (hint, hint). But that’s not the intention. This is a place that you either “run into” by searching for all kinds of weirdness - or I let it slip to you that it even exists.

I’m too groggy to have the good sense to get my good side. But my new glasses are lookin’ sharp :)

Posted via email from Mykl Kelsey’s posterous

OK, so I wasn’t super productive this morning. But I did sleep an extra hour or so. That’s a great thing all in itself! And I’ve been able to catch up on some news items and listen to two podcasts. But now I’m a little late for work. Gonna have to hustle. But even in this compressed time, I’ve been able to have some quality thoughts. One of the podcasts hits directly at my new web venture. I’m thinking about linking to it for my inaugural post - not sure about that yet. I’ll have to decide in about 2-3 days though! :) The sun’s coming up, it’s frosty out there. Gotta get moving. My shoulder was feeling good when I got up. But a little time in front of the desk, and it’s tightening up. We’ll see what the day brings. Moving out into it. One week down.
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Oh, I was going to send this off this morning - but I was actually working on one of my scheduled blogs. It took a lot longer than I thought. Going after these one after the other may be a bit more than I can manage. I’m still on top of things so far though. Is this going to just be a post about how I was late in posting? No, I’ll add some news. I actually got my first check that isn’t directly tied to my working hourly - it’s tied to business and profit and percentages and such. It’s not enough to quite my day job but it’s a start and it’s something I want to build on. I want my whole income to be derived from sources such as this. I’ll continue to chip away at that little by little. I posted what I have for an action plan in a forum that I’m a member of. No responses back yet. I sure hope someone does a critique, I could sure use the help. And that’s one thing I love about commenting online. I can benefit directly, but then a number of other people can also benefit by seeing what I did and didn’t do correctly and listening in on the criticism and encouragement I receive. It’s till a little bit too spectator for me, but a lot of people learn that way. We’ll see what happens there. One more day and this week will be completed. I have another doctor’s visit over lunch today for the shoulder. Eight or so more on the outside before I have my surgery. I can make it that long, I think. I’ll write more in just a few hours. I’m going to do a little exercise before going to bed - very little.
Posted via email from Mykl Kelsey’s posterous

There is a sense of vertigo that I get whenever events seem to squeeze in on me. There seems to be a lot of action and motion going on and I stand in the middle of it. The question is - is this the coming together of many streams in my life into a confluence of purpose and meaning? Or is it a wave of fire sweeping up to me to leave me as a pile of ash. The only way to know is to wait and see. I had a terrible day at work yesterday. The project was to end and be completed now has 2-3 major bugs that have to be investigated, uncovered, and rectified. It was quite a setback, emotionally as well as professionally. So I will have to be putting more mental energy there. However at the same time I’ve been trying to get on top of some consistency in putting up content to the Internet and build a legitimate presence there (er, here?). I have a calendar that I’m holding myself to. I am talking to another netizen who is traveling a similar path about holding one another accountable. And I’m putting web parts and pieces together to provide a stable platform to build a community, or a tribe, upon. I’m getting some structure to my mornings, which are my big productivity hours before I have to run off to my j-o-b. As usual (for me) too many ideas, not enough action. But this year starts the new era of action. Not starting with a burst out of the gates, but more of the measured stride of the marathon runner. But I see the motion around me, and in me, so I’m turning a rough day around to a positive starting place.
Posted via email from Mykl Kelsey’s posterous

This morning I was able to start working on my Google Reader account. I was looking at Ed’s list of things for going into 2010. He talked about needing fuel for content. And if I’m going to make this blog calendar thing work - I’m going to definitely need some fuel. So I did started looking for places to get some fuel for content. I’m sure I could make some adjustments, but I already found two articles that caught my fancy - and that was just while setting the feeds up! I also listened to a 48 Days podcast talking about whether or not it was Godly or a lack of faith to set personal goals. That could be a discussion or a blog post for sure. I wonder if people would take sides on an issue like that? I also listened to some more audio on podcasting and trying to get that under my belt. Tonight I have a Skype call with someone who may partner up with me for accountability. I know I could sure use it. And I think I’m capable of giving as good as I get. We’ll see about that… Until tomorrow.
Posted via email from Mykl Kelsey’s posterous

Time to try something new. Time to see about making things stick. Time to inaugurate a new ritual. Time to make the power of habits work for me instead of against me. Time to get going. It would seem that 2009 was a bad year for writing to this blog. I stopped at the end of ‘08 and now it’s late February in 2010! I haven’t decided if it matters much that I have older posts on here from my attempts at getting started as an Internet marketer. I think it’s quaint and if you see the history there - then you know I haven’t decided to nuke them. Those old posts will stay for now mainly because I want this site to be a bit messy. I don’t want to get all up tight because it isn’t perfect, because I’m not perfect and I don’t want any of my internally voiced excuses to pull me down. It is what it is and I’m going to make incremental changes and improvements instead of trying to “unveil a masterpiece.” I have created a blogging schedule and we’ll see how it maps out. Basically I’ll be writing something to publish on Thurs - Sun. So Mon - Wed is idea generation time and preparation time. It may be too big of a bite to handle. Maybe I should start small and master just one post a week for a while. Maybe I should get some momentum going. Or maybe it’s just time to take action, to get started, maybe it is time to try something new.
Posted via email from Mykl Kelsey’s posterous

Well I’ve been at this for a coulpe of days now off and on.  I’ve tried getting things running from the basement because that’s where I have all the lights and fewer people walking around talking on the phone or watching the television while I’m trying to record.

Here: I made a little video as a test run for Ustream tech support: [flv:/wp-content/vids/sample.flv 400 300] I’d be interested in some feedback, specifically from those of you who know what I’m missing.

@CaroMcC You can count to a million, but you’ll keep cool. Because you ARE cool ;) #

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OK, here we go - or is it here we go again?  I have been simmering on some seemingly random thoughts lately and I’ve wanted to put them down someplace.  This site is dedicated to my silly, undisciplined thoughts and ideas.  So, this may be just the place to go.

I’ve been thinking about where I want to go with my business ideas and how the gap between where I am and where I see myself appears just too far to jump across.  But I read in e-zines and different articles on the Internet that this very gap is not nearly as far as it seems - so take a run at it!  OK, I’m hearing that.  But just like jumping into a pool for those of us with sensitive nerve endings, there is a little bit of courage that must be screwed up first.  To be honest, this journey began for me in December of 1999…  it’s almost 2009!  I mean jump or else head on down the same drudgery road your on!

Notice I didn’t say the crash of 2008, because that’s a different topic. One thing I’ve picked up recently - the way people are acting about this latest crash, tells me very clearly that trickle down economics works. People complain that improvements in the economy cannot come from freeing up those at the top to achieve.

But when times are bad, people sure complain that the pain is coming from those at the top.  The shortages and pain sure trickle down.  So it would seem that the trickle down philosophy does match the reality as people see it.

Today was my 15,000th day since being born.  It’s a great time to ask, “And what have you done with 15,000 chances?”

I have decided that taking action is what needs to be done in the next 15,000 days.  So stay tuned to see just what’s going to happen.  (Sounds mysterious, doesn’t it?)

I’m trying to get a web site up and going. It has the potential to have definite social networking component to it. It’s running under Joomla! 1.5.7 (for now) and I’m looking for some extensions to really allow for interactivity.

Everyone recommends Community Builder. I guess I never figured that thing out. It just looks like a really fancy way to enhance user profiles. And without giving you extended group and private groups and all the things I wish Joomla! gave you out of the box. Maybe it does and I am a neophyte in the ways of CB. Then on top of that I guess I need to add FireBoard, something for media sharing, and something like GroupJive I guess for teams and such.

My last #30dc blog post for 2008 - check it –> http://tinyurl.com/5pamvh #

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Waiting for Ed to go live on the 30DC super Q&A from America TV show in the Internet! #

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Getting ready to watch USA vs. China in the Olympics!!! (you time zone people - don’t spoil it for me :) # uh - I was talking about basketball - can’t type and work the remote at the same time :$ # That was an exciting and fun basketball game. The olympics are a-rockin’! #

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I am getting into gear, I have my niche set, I have made an entry, and I’ve done some social posting.  Next I will need to join some forums and keep pounding my site.  I’m looking to get those 200 views.  Slipperiness isn’t a concern for me right now.

I’ve even made a video for YouTube to post - it’s not finished uploading just yet.  Although I’m tired, I feel like I’m really making progress.  I don’t have anything profound other than this status report to share.

@Ed_Dale Having a sample like this really helps the learning! You are ranked at #70 & #71 right now with some indented listing…?? #

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Tweeting as a Cross Training experiment. This should be good enough - let’s see when you try it what happens? # @gurubob - RE: adding words to a keyphrase in a URL are the same. Is this true for all on page? eg “the movies” = “crazy for the movies”? # @DanRaine Could you setfocus() to Password when logged out of 30DC? T’would save me from having to reach for the mouse. Not a big change..? #

I got off to a good start this morning, but I just had too many things on my list to do today. I did get two blogs up. But only one has decent content on it. And I have some footage of video for the other one - but that will take some editing.

I got my unforgettable five done with this post. Tomorrow I start my new contract job. So I’ll start earning money again. This will make my family very happy.

@Ed_Dale analyze this! http://tinyurl.com/6oq3r4 # @Ed_Dale oh, good. Then I have time to go to the bathroom !! 8) # @AndrewNez That seems to happen every single night! How come the politicians don’t do something about THAT! # I am at the door of the Sunset Hills Bread Co looking for 30dc people. #

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Well here’s the end of day 6 and I’ve fallen off my plan. I only completed 20% of my plans. I got thrown off by having my swimming exercise canceled and I didn’t get thing rectified before going to bed. And today was just crazy trying to do the 30dc and getting a blog together. Here we are at the end of day 6 and not much is completed.

There were some things accomplished today, however. For one thing, I have confirmed that I do have a work contract that starts up soon. So I will start getting paid again. Getting paid is a good plan to tide me over until I get my Internet empire rolling ;)

I posted my niche competition for the #30DC on my blog, http://tinyurl.com/5e5rjk feedback anyone? # @mikemindel Isn’t that what they call slipperyness and “testin’ and trackin’”? Don’t jump on a jet to Beijing and expect to just play. #

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@ronlabeau No, but close - I live in Florissant # Getting ansy waiting for Day 4 of the 30DC to be released… It’s 8:52 EDT - so are we literally on EST? Am I 8 minutes away?? # @athomemom MSN Messenger just can’t stay connected :( # @athomemom Hey, do you have Skype? Can we chat on there? #

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OK, Day 4 of the Thirty Day Challenge is well done and over. I’ve done my “unforgettable five” as soon as I complete this post. We tarried long after the swimming lesson and I didn’t get to see if my niche competition got critiqued.

I have to say that I’m a bit worried about that. After watching other people getting analyzed I realized that maybe I’m hosed because of page rank. Here have a look for yourself…

Doing something practical for exerciseI’m trying to consistently exercise through the month of August to get a good habit started. Since I’m taking swimming lessons with my kids - I’m counting a few extra laps as my exercise for those days. And I got tired of messing with a lawn mower that I’m not capable of fixing or maintaining, so I bought an old timey drum blade push mower. No gas, just muscle power. Is that a work out or what!

Wow, I’m working late trying to master the Samurai and day 2 just slipped by. It’s the third by my clock. So does this still count for the 2nd? I’m counting it because I’m tired and I’ll write more tomorrow.

MSamurai has me overwhelmed - still not striking gold, but I’m still prospecting. g’night.

I’ve started my 30DC voyage! #

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So it has begun. The challenge is under way.

And Ed leads off with one of his big ideas, the symphony of 4 parts

Research
Traffic
Conversion
Product

This is the big picture view of a business, whether online or not. Starting at the very beginning is market research. Why have a company that produces something that nobody is looking for. Why not find a market - meaning a group of people who all have something in common; be it a need, or an interest, or perspective on something. If you identify that group, you have a market you can offer something to.

@Ed_Dale Ed! You’re crazy! You’re going 16:9?? I’m so jealous! Hey, what’s that checkmark that says “Also send@reply” hmm - I’ll try it. # Ok, gonna try this blogging thing again… http://tinyurl.com/66kzqe #

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One of the “Unforgettable Five” for me is writing (the index finger in fact). So? I write a bunch! I comment on FriendFeed, I contribute to my team in Facebook. I send e-mails. I write in my Google Notebook. Isn’t that enough? Won’t that count for my 30DC Cross Training?

It probably could and my conscience would be clear. However…

Is it trackable? Is it testable? Not that easy.

So I’ve decided that I’m going to post here as a record of my progress. Technically the challenge starts tomorrow, but since Ed leaked the first video (gasp!) I’ll start now too.

@Ed_Dale I am uploading my video!! It’s 11:53 local time. Hope it’s still “the end of the weekend.” I’ll send a link when I get one. # @CaroMcC I’m TRYING to upload my video too! I’m trying for that free year of the Edge :D # @Ed_Dale I couldn’t get YouTube to work, so I went to Revver. Video ID:1068983 It has to be approved by a human though. Gettin’ there. # IT WORKED!! #30dc video http://tinyurl.com/5ev7op uploaded to YouTube! I’m just stunned (and tired). # I learned that you can make your own custom tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/WhatIs30dc Not extreme in shortness, but it isn’t gobbledy-gook. # @CaroMcC I had to go to bed (it was storming and I couldn’t get the video uploaded) worked this morning! http://tinyurl.com/WhatIs30dc # @Ed_Dale It was storming last night - so I tried again this morning, and it worked! My #30dc Video –> http://tinyurl.com/WhatIs30dc #

@AndrewNez Just wanted to remind you to check your ‘Dent’ PM’s and let me know about that component for User Access that you looked at. # @athomemom Chopin - he was a technical girly swot ;) # Tried to upload my son’s video “Laser Gun - The Video Game” but it’s too big - I’ll have to edit it for file size. # Looking for a web location for housing some information in preparation for #30dc Cross Training… I’m thinking I’ll use an unused domain. #

Thanks to ‘Google Reader’, I just wiped out a backlog of 700 or so items in under two days (I got a little crazy this morning!) #

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I’m trying to set up Twitter so my Tweets will show up in the 30DC Cross Training room. This would be considered test number 1. #

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I have been thinking about the idea of daily disciplines for some time. And I’ve even thought up a little handy todo list you can always take with you.  Take the fingers on your hand.  You always have them around as a reminder.  So I thought about using my fingers as a way of reminding myself of things that I really wanted to accomplish each day.  And you can use them as a guide to accomplishing these little tasks that need to be done to push you from the rut you find yourself in, to the path you want to be on.

I have had this blog since last year at the end of the 30DC III (2007). I learned how to use WordPress and since then this blog has basically been a personal “ToDo” list or place to just babble about musings and hopes and dreams.

But this morning I committed to doing something different. I wrote a post to the Thirty Day Challenge Forum to start a different kind of team for this year’s challenge. You can see the original posted thread here.

Starting at a new client site today. This is going to be a fast three weeks. #

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@Ed_Dale in pre-season my Flock has dropped for the 3rd time, evil PC ? Should there be a Firefox alternative before August? Just in case? # @CaroMcC If your site is anything like your forum prowess - it will be fantastic. Still remember your 30DC III insigts… You go girl! # I have a new contract (job) starting Monday (07/14/08). I didn’t even have to interview! I’m either real good, or they’re real desperate ;) #

Today, was a holiday in the U.S. - Independence Day. But even among the celebrating with a big dinner and talking about what a great privilege it is to be a citizen of this country I was still able to get some things done.

I finished reading "Feminists Say the Darndest Things" by Mike Adams.  A little raunchy because of the topics important to radical feminists, but dripping with sarcasm.  Too bawdy to recommend, but the kids kept wanting to know what I was laughing at.I added all the church images I could find to the church web site.
I started Hannah on her first book report for pay.
I took the three oldest to the park.  Then I went on with the older boys to the high school and the track.
I ate too much dinner, including corn on the cob, macaroni salad and dessert, and had a good nap!
I got the lyrics for Laura's penultimate quarter teaching Cradle Roll typed up.
I kept working on my Set of Sail web site layout.

Over dinner we peppered the kids with American history questions - they did pretty good.

Yesterday I updated this site and some of the associated components.  This includes the component that integrates with Twitter.  It seems that it isn’t working as I expected.  In addition to the tasks I wanted recorded from that system, I wanted to also record some of the other things I completed yesterday.

I put Laura's VBS signs back out.  I didn't have the key to the church so I just used the bent posts we already had.  At least the signs are back up and we can replace the posts as needed.
I mailed out my last two mentored Peacemaker cases, since the e-mail versions are having a hard time getting through.
I went to the server location and inventoried supplies for my business partner.
I updated the church web site to include rotating pictures - finally.  This required that I load the demo template using WAMP and then see how they did things in the demo.  Pastor has been waiting a long time for this.

If the Twitter report doesn’t come back, I’ll have to amend this with entries from there manually.  Automation is so cool when it actually works.

My server has been hacked - some doofus from Texas is sending spam from MY SERVER! :( #

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(Update - I wasn’t hacked. I talked to my server management at Rose Hosting and they explained that there would be outbound spam in my mail que if that were the case. Spammers don’t mind bringing a mail server to its knees, because there are so many out there unattended. But someone had logged in. So I changed all the passwords on the system and we were back in business a day or two later. I didn’t want this misconception left out there without a follow-up. 7-4-08)

Wow! I just experienced my first earthquake EVER! St. Louis MO doesn’t get many of those babies!! #

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I read an article this morning about how there are macro (100,000 year, 41,000 year, and 23,000 year) temperature cycles based on our planets orbital irregularities. And that there are also micro (1,500 year) cycles based on variations in the sun’s - a.k.a. the ‘ultimate’ cause of all global warming - cycles of activity.

There was also a little bit about the famous “hockey stick” of a long period of tame temperatures and then a big spike at the end proposed by a Dr. Mann. And how his poor statistical analysis makes even random numbers introduced into his calculations come up with this kind of alarming curve.

I’ve been preparing the outline of my book.  I have given myself the deadline of 3/31 to complete it.  As I have been looking at topics I want to include and that I want to exclude, I keep coming back to these small daily disciplines, or habits, or rituals.  They seem to be the key in my thinking.

I was thinking the other day that I would like to be in such a place that no one could ever come to me and ask, “So, Jonah, what’s the word?” (Sorry, an allusion to VeggieTales Jonah…)  In other words, I would like to always be ready to tell something I’ve been learning from God’s word lately.  To do this I must regularly be in the word of God.

I haven’t posted at all through December. But I don’t want the current to slip by without making some mention of where I’m going. My last post mentioned some musings I was having about direction. I’m settling down to something more concrete. For one thing I’ve decided on just one book to work on for starters. Focus… focus. The working title is Set of Sail.

I’m working on consolidating some other goals. I currently have a list of 12 for 2008. I’m trying to decide if I can live with such a deluge or whether I should try for 10, 7, 5, or maybe just 3. You’ll know in just a few days - because I will post back here before the end of the year (this is why I added the Will Do category to this post).

I’ve been putting some time into thinking about setting some goals for next year. I’ve been concentrating pretty hard on my “day job” as we head into testing and prepare for an impending release - ready or not. As an aside, software development schedules are so ridiculous - with all these smart people, you would think that common sense would enter in somewhere.

Anyway, enough about them; let’s talk about me.

These next 3-4 weeks will be pretty stressful for me. I’m in the process of having some software tested and released. Why is this stressful? It’s not complete to my satisfaction!

Here is a thought about projects. I’ve used it in the software arena, but it may be helpful to you in other areas of your life.

There are only three things you can change to get a project completed. You can change the due date and give yourself more time to reach completion (the most sane option in my opinion).You can get help!  Have people join in.  For complicated projects, there will be a ramp up cost.  Don’t forget that.You can sacrifice quality and just “deliver something.“It has been the story of my life that I am rarely brave enough to use #1, I’ve never been wise enough to try #2 (although I’m eying that option very carefully), and I find myself time and again facing #3.

I was encouraged by a little nudge from Aaron over at Personal Development Partners to report on my progress from a committed goal of getting back to regular exercise in November.  Although the topic over there is very interesting, I would like to say a few words about the value of web communities.

People might wonder, “Why would I sit online and type short messages to people I may have never even met?”  Ok, for most other people they would be short messages - I don’t seem able to do that.  That’s neither here nor there; it’s not my point.  My point is that many people don’t see the point.  Get my point?

As October crawls into the past, things seem as hectic as ever. I’ve neglected chronicling my antics as I geared up for the Iowa-Missouri Peacemaker Retreat that my wife and I presented. It went very well and I think a handful of people are motivated to make changes in their homes and communities. The week before we were at a church presenting on the same topic. So the last half of this month has been dedicated to Biblical conflict resolution and interpersonal reconciliation.

A new project deadline! We are now shooting for 12/10. Any takers on how long that will last? #

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For me, I am a list person.  And I’m not.

I like making lists.  It can actually feel the items dripping out of my brain and onto the list.  I then have space to add new things to my mental memory banks.

But there’s the problem I see in many places.  I don’t have a good name for it though.  Well, when you don’t have a good name for something you give it a little description and call it a “syndrome.”  So this is “I declared it, so it’s done” syndrome.

Wow, it’s been almost a week since I posted.  I read an entry on another blog that you should only write a blog post 2-3 times a week.  You will wear people out with all your drivel otherwise.  To each their own.  If I was blogging for them, I might take that advice.  But at this point - I’m blogging purely for myself, so…

I just read this morning about two things to do to conquer procrastination: Break it up - look at tasks you are putting off in small, manageable, bite-sized pieces.Write it down - writing goals is great, but to help with this problem you need to log what you’re doing so you can look at it with honesty and see where you are wasting your time.I think I’m up for this.  As a major procrastinator, I want to find something that works.  Because my whole goal in the “SetOfSail” thing is to find things that work and share them with “the rest of us.”

So what should be done today?  I’ve already had some time reading about building an extraordinary life, specifically about the influence of friends and peers in our choices and outcomes.  I’ve also cleared out my e-mail (I get about 2,000 e-mails a day, 1,980 of them are junk!  Maybe I should but getting a better spam filter as a task to accomplish!).

I got an e-mail from a friend about their support of Ron Paul for president in 2008, I went and looked at his positions.  I strongly agree with all of them except two, so does that mean I should support him?  Something to think about…  I enjoy watching and learning about politics.  I happen to live in a country where I actually have an option to participate.

I have made my phone call (denied!) and I have about 30 minutes left on my last goal for tonight :) # Finishing my 40 minutes towards paperwork and going to bed at a decent hour - night all! 2 out of 3 for the first day… I’ll take it. # Ok, Ajax is going to work. That’s comforting. I got the trim. I will start on the sermon. So all the will do’s for today are now done. #

Andrew was a veteran at the Thirty Day Challenge. And he has decided to pursue an online career. He gave this video as a rationalization for why. This is really something to think about.

I added this article thinking that you’d be able to see the video here, but I guess you would have to leave the site by clicking on “read more” below…  I would like a better solution.

What did we learn from yesterday?  For one thing, the Twitter Tool doesn’t update late at night, so all my updates on meeting my commitments weren’t logged yesterday.  No big deal.  And I missed one item on my list of three things - terrible?  Maybe, but we won’t look back.  It’s hard to drive by steering through the rear view mirror.

For today I have a few things that I will do:

Leaving work. Did not get Price Sharing done. I worked on AJAX all day. #

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So, this morning I’m going to list out just the simple things I’m going to accomplish.  This is not a “To Do” list.  Whenever I see ToDo, I think of DoDo, am I the only one?  And your mind can run wild with what you would do with a list of DoDo items.  I’m not looking to dribble on with all the things that need to be addressed in my life (I do have a day job to go to you know).  But this is about making a commitment.  So I’ll start small and make commitments I can keep and build up goal-setting muscle.  Ok, here goes.

I have had two months now…

August was when I pushed everything off my desk and focused on learning about Internet Marketing.  I made it through and learned enough to know that I could turn the rudder of my life and head in that direction, but also that it isn’t quite me.  However, the lessons and friends I picked up are highly valuable.  These are resources for moving forward in my journey.

I just got back from a conference last night.  I’ve been gone for a week.  This is the first time my wife and I have been able to get away, just the two of us, for years - yes, years.  Maybe I’ll talk more about that another time.

Right now I want to say a few things about what I’m facing now.  I have e-mails, voice mails, things on my calendar that I put off until “after the conference,” and all the projects that I need to pick back up.  Where do I start?  This morning I read a chapter in a book about this very idea of focus.

I was in the first grade at Brier Crest Elementary school.  Our school had three stories and the stair wells were in the center of the building with sky lights letting the bright sunshine to diffuse down and reflect off the white tiles.  I was headed back to my class after lunch and from the top floor one of the 6th graders looked down the stairs and saw me.

“Hey kid!” he shouted, “you wanna learn something to make you real smart?”

Here is some good copy - nothing to sell, but it draws you in.  I used Mike Mindel’s flickr tricks to do this article.  The copy came in junk mail from family - (if it’s from family, can you really call it junk?).  But I pulled the images into flickr and used them for linking…  That and ScribeFire made it pretty easy to pull together.

So does this copy effect you?  For what purpose?  Does it bring with it a call to action?  To have a better day?  To forward it to all your friends and family?  What do you think?  Comment and let me know your thoughts.

I am convinced that books are the key to success. They have no power in themselves. Even the great holy books from antiquity are merely ink and paper of some sort. Their power lies in the fact that books are vessels. Vessels of knowledge. Through books we can talk with predecessors long after they’re gone. We can interact and learn from those who would be far too busy to take the time to teach us these same lessons.

What is a disciple?  No, it’s not some one dressed up in a saffron sarong trying to get you to buy a daisy at your local airport.  A disciple is simple a person who chooses to conform to a discipline.  Isn’t that a circular definition?  What’s a discipline then, something a disciple does?  Well yes, but there’s a bigger and better answer to that.

For some time I have been toying with a concept of how to live a life that mattered, hmm you could say a life of significance.  I even tried to set up a web site around the theme.  Something that I discovered was that there are small things you do that make your life very efficient and powerful. 

Everything that does start has to start some time. And so this is the beginning of a journey. It is my intention that if you come along with me, you’ll learn, grow, and change. It may be together with me, or it may be in opposition to me - but that you aren’t the same for having spent time here with me, that’s my goal.

So let’s see what happens!