Personal

Each year I try to come up with a new years resolution, and then try to stick to it. I’ve had some interesting ones in the past few years. Last years was to go to gym 350 days of the year. Sadly, that did not happen. The year before I believe my goal was to read more, and the year before that it was to do more (Do More). Some people scoff at the idea of a New Year’s resolution. Personally, I relish the challenge. I accept the fact that it probably won’t work out completely, so I tend to like resolutions that are scale based instead of directly quantifiable. For example, if my goal was read more and last year I read 5 books, and this year I read 6 I achieved my goal. If my goal was to read 20 books, that is a little harder. By picking something to generally focus on, I tend to increase my chances of success. ...

I ran my first half marathon yesterday. Finished with a time of 2:32:52. To be fair the course was VERY flat, and it was completely supported. Still I feel like this was a great accomplishment for me. I’m not a distance runner, never have been, and being able to finish 13.1 miles is a pretty large distance. I’ve been collecting money for my favorite charity, Charity:Water. I raised $500 for a good cause. You can still donate: ...

Dear Delta (or any airline for that matter), I should be allowed to use my kindle during landing or take off. People are allowed to hold their books, my kindle is lighter than a book. Nobody believes the old garbage about electronic devices interfering with the cockpit equipment. What about electronic watches? What about pacemakers. Are you telling me that all of this electronic equipment is deadly to a plane? ...

I saw this piece randomly. http://www.hulu.com/embed/amzomr0rGhlHy22D7Jd3gw It’s a TED talk form David Brooks (NY Times columnist) about the evolution of our social society. I picked up on it because my interest in college really focused around the power of social networks. This piece goes a little deeper. It talks beyond even our conscious networks, to our subconscious networks. This is an interesting aspect I hadn’t directly considered. This is not a scientific piece as much as it is an emotional one. I thought it was worthwhile. ...

I’ve been searching for pictures of myself that I really like. And while I have a couple from friends that I find rather fun: Anyway, I don’t have enough. And I’m vein. So this leads me to a self assigned project. The Self Portrait Photo Assignment. As with any assignment there are rules. Here are the rules. Have to take the photo yourself. Can’t buy additional camera equipment for this project. Can’t buy any special clothing Final product should be 5-10 different photos that are taken under different circumstances. Photos should reflect your character. I’m going to try to have my stuff done by December 1, 2010. Let me know if you want to join. ...