The book made me think about the way I want to live my life.  no, that doesn’t mean that I want to adopt a subsistence lifestyle and disconnect from modern society.  What it means is that I want to simplify my life and become more in touch with the world around me.  I want to affect a real change in my life by unplugging from technology and letting life slow down around me a little bit.  Sure, I’ll keep my high tech job, and stay up to date on the tech industry, but when I’m not working, I need to step back and focus on enjoying the simple things in my life.

In many ways, this is a simple re prioritization.  It is an attempt to find a healthy way to deal with much of the stress brought on by the artificial sense of urgency that has infected my life.  It is also a way to make sure that I spend the quality time with my family that I should, and that I am mentally and emotionally present for them.

One way that I plan to start is to begin journaling.  I am going to pick up a pencil and write.  I think it will be healthy for me to write about my projects, my thoughts, my family, and use my journal as a way to slow down and reflect.  While I type much faster than I write, there is something more natural about writing by hand.  I can slow down and think, and I am not tempted to constantly edit as I write, since my pencil doesn’t have a backspace key.

I still want to share what I am thinking and doing, and enable a conversation with friends, so, I plan to type up selected journal entries to post them on my website.

I am excited about this new idea to put my thoughts on paper naturally, and still be able to share those thoughts electronically.

Will my writing be perfect? No, but maybe that is something else that will help me grow.  I worry so much about making things perfect that it paralyzes me.  In this case, doing something, although imperfectly, is better than doing nothing because I can’t make something perfect.

It has been over 10 years since I last wrote in this journal.  Back then, I was apparently going through a rough time, or maybe I just only wrote when life was crappy, which is probably more like it.

In the time that has elapsed, I have gotten married to a woman who is more wonderful than I ever could have hoped for, changed careers a few times, formed new friendships, strengthened old friendships, and been blessed with the birth of my son last September.

These are the important things in life, and they are the things that I have decided I need to make sure I fully appreciate.

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post on my website about needing to make some changes in my life, but it is only now that I am finally able to bring those changes into focus and understand exactly how great an impact those changes will make upon my life.

This is going to be a great year, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Why?  Because I have decided to do so.

I’ve been using my trusty old Radio Shack Pro-93 scanner for over 10 years now.  I still use it daily at the office, and it still works great for listening to the local Amateur radio repeaters and the Franklin County public safety radio system.  I expect that I will get many more years of service out of it, but, it was also time for an upgrade.

You may wonder why I would buy a new scanner if my old one was still working well.  The answer is that my old scanner won’t track the digital voice channels that are used by public safety personnel in Delaware County, Ohio.  Most of the police and Fire departments in Delaware county are on the Central Ohio Interoperable Radio System (COIRS).  COIRS is an APCO 25 digital trunked system.  Sadly, my old scanner doesn’t do me much good when I’m at home.

In the past few days, I have learned how to program and operate the Pro-106.  They have changed how the scanner’s memory is used.  I prefer the new object oriented programming model over the older traditional channel bank model.

To make programming easier, I decided it was best to organize my thoughts first.  I sat down and mapped out exactly what I wanted to program in, and how I wanted to organize them into the scan lists. This proved to be the best way to go, because it made programming the radio pretty simple.  I have shared my Google Doc, so you can take a look at my scan list configuration, and my trunked system frequencies.  These files will change over time as I modify my radio’s programming.

I used the Radio Shack programming software to program my radio.  If you buy one of these advanced scanners, I highly recommend buying the programming cable and using the software.  You’ll save yourself a lot of time and headaches.  I saved my scanner configuration to my public drop box folder.  If you live in Delaware, Ohio and buy a new Pro-106, you can download my configuration file (If your browser displays a bunch of text, right click and save the link).

It might not be exactly the setup that YOU want in the long run, but it will get you up and running quickly!

One word of warning… to keep yourself from eating too much, don’t eat the chips directly from the bag.  Instead, pour a serving of chips into a bowl.  Eating healthy foods doesn’t help if you eat 2-3 times as much as you need!

1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1/2 can sweet corn
1 onion (~2.5 inches diameter)
1 tsp. minced garlic
Dried Cilantro*
Crushed Red Pepper*
Chili Powder*
Black Pepper*
Salt*

1) Drain and rinse the diced tomatoes, black beans and sweet corn, and place2 them in a large bowl.
2) Peel and chop the onion.  Place it in the large bowl.
3) Add the 1 tsp. of minced garlic.
4) *Season to taste with dried cilantro, crushed red pepper, chili powder, black peeper, and salt
5) Mix all of the ingredients together.  Cover, and allow to sit in the refrigerator  for a couple hours for the flavors to mix.

Another way I like to enjoy this salsa… scramble two eggs (only use one yolk if you want to make it a little healthier), and add a helping of salsa.  Cook it up for a nice hearty breakfast!!

Last year, the company I work for was acquired.  It was a little scary at the time, since Becky and I both work there, but it has turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to us.  Most of the “crazy” in the last year has been directly related to the amount of work that I’ve had to handle with the integration into the new company, and the aggressive release deadlines that our team has been under.

So, since that post, much of my energy has been poured into work, but I have been able to make a couple of big changes.

First, Becky and I have changed the way we think about, and manage our money.  We’ve made a commitment to get out of debt, and we are making good progress.  I’m very proud of myself for making this change, as it was one that was much needed.  The growing sense of freedom is motivating us to continue working towards our goal.

Second, and probably most importantly, I have made a commitment to myself to pay more attention to my health.  I have changed the way I think about food.  We now do the overwhelming majority of our grocery shopping around the perimeter of the store, buying almost all fresh foods.  I’ve stopped eating fast food, stopped buying pop, and also stopped buying beer.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love great food, and will eventually allow myself the occasional beer as a special treat when we go out, but I am paying very careful attention to making sure that I am getting the right nutrition, and most importantly, appropriate quantities of food.

In addition, I have also starting making sure that I engage in physical activity at least 15 minutes EVERY day, and most days 30-45 minutes.  My next step is to join a local gym this week.  The one I plan to join is right on the way home, and I look forward to stopping and working out regularly on the way home after work.

What have these changes done for me so far?

I’m not stressing over money, and I’m coping with stress form work more effectively.  I’ve already dropped about 15 pounds (with a total goal of ~50 pounds), I feel better, and I have more energy.

Yes, my friends, change is good.

• I, personally, have never posted anything to Facebook that would incriminate me in any way.
• I haven’t posted anything that might cost me my job.
• I haven’t posted anything that might damage any of the relationships I have with friends and family.
• I haven’t posted any photos that would embarrass me, or anyone else for that matter.

So, why on earth would I be concerned with Facebook’s privacy issues?

First and foremost, Facebook’s business model is undergoing a fundamental shift. I ask you this question: Are you, as a Facebook user, one of Facebook’s customers? If you answered something along the lines of “Yes, of course Facebook’s users are their customers”, then this may come as a shock to you. Quite simply, you, as a user, are not Facebook’s customer. You, as a user, are Facebook’s PRODUCT that they sell to their REAL customers.

It comes down to one very simple concept: Data is king. Data is worth a boatload of cash.  Facebook has realized that there is a lot more money in aggregating data and selling it to others than there is in running a service that lets you keep in touch with your friends and family, and supporting it with targeted advertising.

I recognize how valuable this data can be, which brings me to my second major concern. There are lots of companies who have lots of data about us, but, there is a big difference between a company like Google and a company like Facebook, and that is the man at the helm. In my opinion, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to ethical behavior. Between the legal battle over who owned the original source code to Facebook, and more recently, accusations surrounding hacking email accounts to read other people’s email, I have decided that this is not a man who I want deciding who can do what with my data. If you haven’t read the book The Accidental Billionaires, you should.

My third concern is with the annoying behavior that Facebook has exhibited lately regarding privacy settings. When many of us created our Facebook accounts, we were under the impression that our accounts were private, or, at least, as private as we configured them to be. Even though I have my Facebook privacy settings locked down, Facebook has repeatedly added new features, and, by default, opted every subscriber’s account into an “open” setting. I have then had to manually go into my privacy settings and opt out of the new feature in order to protect my data.

I’m conflicted over this decision though, since I really do find value in Facebook. I am reluctant to leave because I have so many friends who use the service. I suppose, in a way, that should be one more reason to leave. I know, that probably sounds backwards. I have to wonder though, if I am having trouble leaving Facebook because so many of my friends use the service, it stands to reason that my friends would also think the same thing. By staying, I would continue to be part of the problem, by giving my friends one more reason to continue using the service.

I’m really leaning towards deleting my account, and I want everyone else to think about it to.

It’s been years now that I’ve known I’ve needed to make some changes, but I’ve always just thought about it and said “I wish”, as if change in my life was this unattainable thing.  Sure, there have been a few changes along the way, but not the ones I’ve been dreaming I could make.

I’m talking about changes in who I am.

I’m talking about changes in how I think.

I’m talking about changes in how I relate to others.

I’m talking about changes in how I view the world around me, and changes in how I perceive my place in the world.

It’s time for me to stop dreaming and start doing.

I discovered audio books this past year, and have enjoyed listening to audio books from Audible while commuting to and from work.  This gave me an idea!

I would like to produce a podcast of original short stories.

Here’s the catch: I have always been a facilitator.  I have the technical skills to produce the show, but I accept the fact that I don’t have the prolific creativity to produce enough content on my own.

Have you written any short stories?  Would you like to publish them online as an audio book?  Please let me know!!

I will be setting up a “studio” to produce the recordings.  Authors would always be welcome to read their own stories for the podcast, or I can voice the recordings myself in the studio.

Through Twitter, I have had the opportunity to interact with others in Delaware, and on Friday, met up with a few of them for lunch at El Vaquero.  It was great to finally meet in person and make some new friends.  I’m really looking forward to continuing to forge new relationships and expand my personal network within the local community.

I am also excited that I have been offered the chance to write for a new web site focusing on Delaware, Ohio.  Look for my first post over there soon!

It’s been too long since I’ve updated here.  I’m going to have to make some time to write more often.