Revolutionary Running

A couple of years ago, I decided to quit coaching high school Cross Country. I felt like I was the only person who cared about the program. The students didn’t show up half the time. We finished perpetually last in every meet. I had lost the joy, so I quit.
Later that year, as Winter approached, [...]

Sanity is a Fragile Thing

My wife and I were awakened in the middle of the night on Sunday by a loud noise coming from downstairs. We didn’t hear any further sounds so we just went back to sleep. At least we tried to go back to sleep while we lay there listening for additional noises for about an hour. [...]

The Things I Take for Granted

The air conditioner in my office died yesterday. We spent today sitting in the dark as the temperature outside climbed past 90 and inside I to the 80s. We all made the best of it but it struck me how accustomed to A/C I have become. I grew up in a house without A/C, attended [...]

Slowing Down

This is the time of year when many of us are thinking about the future. Lots of us have recently made resolutions to be different. Some of us have already abandoned those resolutions. I am no fan of New Year’s resolutions. I’m not generally a fan of resolutions at all. They are just “I intend [...]

Finding Old Friends

The sudden death of an old friend made me start thinking about other friends who have drifted away for one reason or another. I sent a note to one of those friends last week. I hope he responds. It’s strange how things seem to always happen for a reason, and you attract the kinds of [...]

Who is Reading?

I read an article in Fortune Small Business the other day in which the author cites a statistic that 60 percent of Americans are putting content on the web. If that’s true, then who’s reading it? Anybody?  Sometimes I wonder. I’ve lately been writing a lot of material to post online or publish in my [...]

Data is Good

Back in February, I asked people to click on a link to xobni so I could get into their beta program. I got the requisite number of links and downloaded the software. Four months later, I got around to installing it. This software is incredible. If you’re drowning in emails (and using Microsoft Outlook), you [...]

X Prizes

I spend most Sundays doing as much of nothing as I can stand. Admittedly, that isn’t as much nothing as the average person, but it’s a start. A big part of each Sunday is spent reading — stuff that I don’t have to read but enjoy reading. Usually there are a few magazines included: Wired, [...]

The Mind is an Amazing Thing

I was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago attending a conference. I was on the go from 6:30 in the morning until 11:00 or later at night. I met many interesting people who all work in my industry. We shared ideas and thoughts about the history and future of computer support, or technology [...]

Getting Better

We have a limitless number of aphorisms about improving or getting better. They all have the common element that you can’t just stay where you are. You have to be getting better or, by definition, you’re getting worse. Is that really true? Can we not just continue to be right where we [...]

Scared Away

I started blogging as a way to share my relatively random thoughts with the world. I have kept a journal on and off for a couple of decades, but I’ve never shared anything written in any of them with any other living being — not even my pets. I was starting to get into the [...]

Thought Provocation

In the past three weeks, I’ve been in three very different venues where a presenter thought it important enough to present the Shift Happens slide show to us. Each time I see it I’m more amazed at the collection of facts. We continue to accelerate just like the universe does. Where will it all end? [...]

Welcome

I’ve followed this concept called blogging for several years. As someone who works in the technology arena, I feel it’s important to try to find ways for new technology to be put to use by my company and its clients. I was unable to identify a good use for blogging until I met Chris Baggott. Now [...]