2010 Resolutions

I hate resolutions. But there's so much I want to do and so much I've been putting off that I feel I need to set a few down as a marker for the direction I want my life to travel this year.

Unlike other people, I'm not going to create a master list of resolutions right here at the start of the year. That sort of huge glob of commitment gives me the willies, so I figure I'm going to try to set out one or two resolutions a week, and define some tasks that I can do to help me achieve my resolutions.

So, without further ado,

Resolution #1: Lose 30 pounds in 2010. That's a rough number, but I'll be much healthier if I can lose about 30 pounds. Obviously, this is something that will take some time to achieve, and will require some tasks along the way to help me get there. I recorded my weight yesterday morning, so I have my first data point for the year.

Resolution #1a: Drink 6+ glasses of water each day. I'm not much of a water drinker, and I know that I need to up my water intake. I've had dehydration issues in the past too, and I know from experience that drinking water helps me to lose weight. So, there it is.

Geektastic content at Hubpages

I've been building some hubs at Hubpages to promote some of my engineering articles. Check out:

Sensor Basics
Hydroelectric Power Generation
Strain Gauge Basics

Probably more to come, I have nearly infinite groupings of articles. :D

New Boston Scrapbooking Examiner!

**copied from my scrappy blog**

Awesome fun scrappy news, I've just been hired as the Boston Scrapbook Examiner at Examiner.com! Examiner is a website that provides a local focus on a wide variety of topics, and has Examiners all over the country that create content.

So, I'll be sharing information on local stores, crops, conventions and events, as well as letting my readers know about new product releases, tips and techniques, and links to all sorts of resources.

There's not much there yet, but please visit the Boston Scrapbook Examiner page and subscribe to my feed if you want to be notified when I post new information.

If you're in the New England area, and you have something you'd like to promote, like a store, an event, or a service related to scrapbooking, please contact me and I'll post about it on Examiner!

The Red Velvet Rope Policy

I've begun re-reading "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port this fall because I'm in the middle of developing a new service offering for my business. Because this new service is more focused than my general consulting work, I wanted to go through the exercises in the book to refine my message.

Right now I'm reading the section on the "Red Velvet Rope" policy, where you only do work with clients that meet your qualifications. I'm working on defining my ideal clients for Grant Concierge.

• My ideal clients have a great idea that they want to develop, and it really excites them. They are willing to put the work in to accomplish what needs to be done.
• I work collaboratively with my ideal clients, and communicate frequently with them. There's no hesitation to answer the phone when I see their number pop up.
• My best clients are responsive. If I need some content, they find it. If I have a question, they answer it.
• My ideal clients let me manage the proposal development process and work to match the schedule I create.
• I feel actively interested in helping my ideal clients by giving them information and resources they can use, even if it's out of scope for our current project.

You know you want some.

Oh yeah.....want some? Make your own: Sour Cherry Crumb Pie

Summer Reading

I've made two lists of books that I want to read this summer. One is a list of business or self-improvement books/audio seminars, and the other is a list of fun fiction. I'll probably add things to the list as I think of them, but this is the general idea:

Business/Self Improvement (some of these I've browsed or read partially)

1. Focus: Achieving Your Highest Priorities (audio workshop) - Franklin Covey
2. Book Yourself Solid - Michael Port
3. Little Black Book of Connections - Jeffrey Gitomer
4. Guerrilla Marketing
5. Sales Bible - Jeffrey Gitomer

Fun Fiction

1. Harry Potter Series (re-read)
2. Sin City - Frank Miller
3. 2001 Series - Arthur C. Clarke (re-read)
4. Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke (re-read)
5. The Glass Bead Game - Herman Hesse (re-read)

So far I've read Rendezvous with Rama, and I'm on the last book of the 2001 series. I've also started on the Focus workshop. I listen to the audio while I walk on the treadmill, and I do the exercises in a notebook. I'm also writing reviews of each of the books I read, I posted my review of Rendezvous with Rama the other day, and I hope to do that all summer. I tend to be a fast reader, but I tend to slow down a bit and retain more information when I know I need to report about it. It's just like school. :D

Webcomics

I'm a fan of several webcomics. If you're not familiar with the term, webcomics are comic strips that are only available online, as opposed to those that are printed in the newspaper. There are tons and tons of them out there. Here's what I read:

PvP - the adventures of the staff of Player vs. Player Magazine. Appeals to geeky gamers. This is probably the oldest/most well established of the comics I read. I have one of the books and a Skull plushie.
Girls with Slingshots - the adventures of a couple of gals and their friends.
Octopus Pie - another set of adventures of a couple of gals and their friends, but in NYC
XKCD - hardcore math/science/computer humor. Sometimes I have to look things up after reading, but so totally worth it.
Questionable Content - a new find, I spent most of Tuesday reading the archives. Fun story of some messed up 20-somethings in a western MA college town.

So to summarize my webcomics taste, I like stories about geeky people who have better social lives than I do. /cry

Rendezvous with Rama

Yesterday afternoon I intended to sit down on the couch to start reading Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. I say intended because in reality I sat reading until I finished the book, about 2.5 hours later. This is not the first time I had read this book, but it has been several years since I picked it up, so many of the details of the plot and the narrative still retained some freshness. Clarke is one of my favorite authors; I think one reason is that he always gets the science right. If there's one thing that irks me, it's reading a book or watching a movie and seeing science that's not implemented right or is just plain wrong. HERE's a review of the book.