Because of this I’m moving all of my health & fitness blogging over to my LearnFitness.com domain. I’ve owned it many years now but only really used it for health and fitness things way back in 2000. Well I’m going to be posting all of my status updates, venting, and fitness stuff over there going forward. Also, if your looking for most of my old postings on health & fitness, don’t worry they aren’t gone, I’ve already moved most of them over to their new home.

As always, if your looking for any iPhone or iPad development done you can check out NaNil. It’s a company I started with a friend and we have five applications in the iTunes AppStore with more on the way. One of our newest offerings is the FanGuide Architectural Tour Series for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Look for more posts on the NaNil blog about development of our projects and for developing on the iPhone & iPad platform.

If your looking to follow me in a more social and less structured way you can follow me on Twitter with my nerd or fitness personas. They are definitely different people with different groups of interests. I’d try to join the two but to be honest they have very different goals and friends.

As you can likely see I’ve been working on modernizing this blog as well. I will still be posting here from time to time. It’ll likely be things like Astronomy, Family, Technology, or other things not related to the other two blogs. Not all things are iPhone and Fitness right?

I hope people will take the time to check out Learn Fitness and help me grow it into a informative Health & Fitness community. Have an great day … in fact, do something today to make someone else smile. You’ll be happy you did.

I mentioned in passing in my 2009 Year End posting, but didn’t really highlight it, but I have a second huge motivation incoming. We’re expecting another addition to the family, also in March, a little baby boy. That means Motivation x 2 to reach my fitness goals.

• amy and i visited alaska for a 2~ week cruise it was a truly eye opening and amazing vacation. seeing the animals and landscapes was inspiring and spectacular. i really recommend not only cruise west as a provider but alaska as s destination cruise.
• we had out first child, abigail willson on march 13, 2008. she arrived 4.5 weeks early but her health was great. after spending a little over a week in the nicu she came home. she’s now over 10 months old, babbles, stands, crawls like lightning, laughs all the time, and is so much fun. i never thought i’d feel so responsible, helpless, happy, etc. for someone. she lights up a room whenever she smiles. did i mention she has my eye color and the cutest cheeks?
• i stopped doing full time computer consulting and started working at drw trading as a senior software engineer. i’m still writing software on the side however through wideasleep.
• i released my first iphone application fairway into the itunes appstore. it’s a small virtual caddie application that helps you easily apply the pelz school of swing thought to your game. sales have been pretty good so far. i know this feature set is a niche market right now but look for future updates to expand it into new interesting areas.
• i’ve started working on another iphone / ipod touch application and hope to release it in a few months. looks for more updates on that soon.
• we’ve started working out hardcore again and are starting our 4th week into a new workout and nutritional lifestyle change. i really think it’s going to stick this time as we’re through the difficult first few weeks. it’s pretty much habit now which is great. we’ve been using this great little iphone application called lose it! which is free and thanks to it’s simple tracking tools and our new nutrition program i’m down over 18 pounds. i know my fitness up’s and down’s have been a large topic on this site over the years. it’s an ongoing battle to be healthy and i don’t want to stop trying to be healthy, especially now that i have to be a role model for abby.

i think that’s about it … i’m sure i missed a ton of other things but those are the highlights. i’m going to try to get into a routine posting here again. until then …

here’s a good example of a lessig style presentation. no, it’s not a c4 presentation but it shows the style.

i’m attending the c4 conference this weekend. it’s a conference in chicago where a bunch of mac related indie folks are getting together to network and geek out. i’m excited to meet some like minded people with the same geek tendencies within the indie industry. as you may (or may not) know i’m an aspiring indie developer so it’s my cup of tea.

the official, just of the presses, meaning of c4 is “code culture community conspiracy”

i’ll be posting random tidbits throughout the conference if time permits. anyhow … back to the conference.

• gus mueller — how to become an independent programmer in just 1068 days
• rogue ameba — the full-time gap
• red sweater blog — the road less traveled

while most of them have already reached their goals or are well on their way, i’ve only just begun the journey. they do offer some great lessons learned though, through years of experience and mistakes. there is much to do and learn but i’m up for the challenge.

you can check out my company website for updates in the near future. the company name is wideasleep, llc … i’ve owned the domain for almost 7 years now. when i first purchased it i had intended to start my own company but despite my dreams of grander self controlled pastures i never cast my net.

your probably wondering what life event must have caused me to raise anchor in these economic times? well, i plan on sharing that in due course. until then i will only ask that you come back and check out the wideasleep site. i’m planning on creating a blog over there to share everything from incorporation lessons, consulting best practices, mac software development snippits, gripes, and much more.

the following is a quote that i shared in my farewell email at work. i’ve had it in my rotating quote at the top of my site for years but only recently rediscovered it … it’s quite inspiring and fitting to my current life changes:

“our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. a positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. it is a catalyst … a spark that creates extraordinary results.” — author unknown

1974, 1.0 welcome to the world
1992, 2.0 education and opportunity
1997, 3.0 enter the workforce
2000, 4.0 started working out and eating right
2002, 4.1 made a job transition
2003, 5.0 joined the marriage population
2004, 5.1 a new house
2005, 5.2 50,000 ft.
2006, 6.0 coming soon …

after countless games, tournaments, years of inactivity, and then a resurgence of interest; i have officially retired my old golf clubs. i know, it’s a sad day but their time has come. not only are they ancient technology fit for a museum, but the company that makes them exited the golf club business all together a number of years ago.

my old clubs were purchased around the summer of 1991 and were made by head. notice a distinct lack of golf links on their site. they make great tennis rackets and skis but couldn’t hack it in the golf market. i always did love the name of the clubs though and continue to use the word to this day, premise. it’s a fitting word and was in fact the username for my first unix account at school. it’s a sad day, but time and technology has evolved and it’s time for me to do the same.

enter my new found favorite local golf store, ejl custom golf in suburban chicago. it’s only 15 minutes from my house and has a number of friendly helpful people working there. their site is sparse at the moment (under renovation as we speak) but they offer custom fitting using launch monitors and other cool technology. i had my appointment 3 weeks ago and picked up my clubs last weekend. i was planning on posting about them sooner but there was this little back problem i wrote about earlier (nothing to do with golf mind you).

anyhow, after 2.5 hours of testing out a number of different brands, heads, shafts, lofts, lies, etc. here is what i ended up going with:

• cleveland hi-bore 10.5° driver with aldila nv 65 45” shaft and d2 swing weight
• cleveland steel 15° fairway wood with aldila nv 75 43” shaft
• cleveland halo 22° hybrid utility wook with rifle 5.5 39.5” shaft
• mizuno mp-60 3 – pw irons with rifle 5.5 shafts, d3 swing weight, and 62.5° lie
• cleveland cg10 black pearl wedges
  • 52° loft, 10° bounce (2 dot), 35.50”, d4 swing weight
  • 56° loft, 16° bounce (2 dot), 35.25”, d6 swing weight
  • 60° loft, 8° bounce (1 dot), 35.25”, d6 swing weight
• bettinardi hogan baby ben center shafted bhb-9 33” putter

i know a lot of it’s gibberish to most of you but for you golf geeks out there, you know exactly what it means. custom fitted happiness!!!

i actually picked up the wedges and putter during last season but figured i would add them to make the list complete. needless to say, i have a completely new set of clubs. out with the old and in with the new. though i have to say that my old putter might make a reappearance from time to time.

i haven’t played yet with the woods or irons but i have used the wedges and putter at the range and in a few rounds. i love the feel of the black pearl wedges, the level of control i have with them is amazing. i feel like i can drop the ball anywhere i want on the green. my only complaint about them is that they show wear pretty quickly on the face. i don’t mind it too much as it shows a bit of history but if your someone who wants that pristine look for a long time these are not the clubs for you. the putter is quite a change from my old titleist bullseye blade but it’s a welcome addition. i love the feel of the center shaft and the alignment with the sight is precise and easy to look at.

i’ll try to put together a better writeup later in the season as i get more use out of all the clubs. until then feel free to shoot me any questions. wish me luck at the range this weekend on their maiden voyage.

i’ve went through a number of different things in my life since my last post. i have a new nephew who is cute as a button (parker), my wife graduated with her masters degree as a physician assistant and started a job (congrats love), my father retired, my niece had her second birthday, my wife and i started working out again, i worked over 3,200 hours last year (do the math, it equals nothing but pain), read a few good books, took golf back up seriously, drank more wine, and through this all i’ve had a revelation … no, actually it’s nothing divine at all so that isn’t really the right word. let’s aim a little lower … a “realization” is more appropriate.

i kind of blame it all on my new boss (yea got one of those while i was gone). i know i don’t really post about work for concerns of losing my job, but this isn’t really anything to get fired over … i think. it all started with a signature i used to have at the end of my emails that some of you may recognize:

“i am rarely happier than when spending an entire day programming my computer to perform automatically a task that it would otherwise take me a good ten seconds to do by hand.” — douglas adams

at that point in time i felt that it succinctly summed up my view on my position. that apparently wasn’t the message that we wanted to be sending out to our clients any longer, given certain internal changes. it got me to thinking about why i really chose it in the first place. i’ve been using it for about a year or so. during that time i’ve taken on a new role within the team i was once a member of, i became the manager. scary, i know … it wasn’t a role that was really offered to me, more like dropped on me. the first few months were really rough. if i were to describe it in one word i’d go with “rebellion”.

the longer i was in the role the more complacent i became. not on purpose … i guess i never thought of myself as a manager. i know i have a lot of rough edges, but i always call the shots as i see them. i never respected people that sugar coated things or over-promised while consistently never delivering. i’d rather tell a client i couldn’t do something or that they were wrong before i’d lie to their face. historically this has caused me pain but at times it has helped me to gain respect. in my new role i had some good progressive conversations people liked, and a few really really bad days, well maybe more than a few.

so here i am trying to figure out what to change my signature to while at the same time not really sure i’m comfortable in my new shoes. with this new manager came a lot of changes … i know what your thinking (painful). honestly, i have to admit that they weren’t really that bad (except for using excel and project). they made 100% sense and instead of making up dates and deliverables we actually made project plans and tried to get scope documentation (imagine that). we talked to our clients and have started asking them what they “really” want and actually got them all talking to each other. essentially we started putting the client and the happiness of our people first. things that anyone would love to see happen at any company but often times don’t.

so i started to think about what i really wanted out of my career. i started reading some blogs of people that i respected like gus, wil, joel, and steve (none of which know me but i know through their writings). then i started reading my own blog. after digging back through my past i read one of my revolving quotes:

“the people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look
for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.” — george bernard shaw

and a light went on, i had that “realization” i mentioned earlier. here i was, sitting in a new job waiting for life to deal me my hand when i should in fact be the dealer. if i wanted to change, then “i” had to change my circumstances … that or make them.

gone is the complacency and indecisiveness. i know what i want and i’m making it happen.

• i’m working out and improving my health. (5 weeks strong now).
• i’m engaging all of my clients, improving our process, making my team happier, and at the same time breaking down historical barriers to progress.
• i’m leaving work on time.
• i’m stimulating my mind.
• i’m smiling a lot more.

in short, i’m making my circumstances, are you?

what am i looking for out of life?

what will make me happy in 20 years that i can work on today?

if my obituary was written today what would someone write about me? what would i like to have written about me?

am i happy with my current job?

where do i see myself in 2 years? 5 years?

what changes can i make to be healthier?

how can i be more financially secure?

how can i be a better husband?

what motivates me?

some of the questions i’m trying to answer while reading getting things done. i’ve organized most of our crap at home (still have some things to conquer), started keeping track of ideas and todos in lists, changed my approach to managing at work, and in general i try to stay on top of things more.

still plenty to do and lots of questions to ask. for a quick fix on cringe-busting your todo list check out 43 folders.

after reading getting things done (more on that later) and waking up to the hipster pda revolution, i’ve been turned on to low-tech. now don’t get me wrong, i’m not going to be throwing my powerbook away any time soon. i am however no longer relying on my brain to take notes. gone are the random stickies and papers on my desk to manage my work and personal life.

i have one pocket moleskine for my work lists and notes and one for my home lists and notes. i also have some larger books for ideas and brainstorming, but i mostly just carry around the 2 primary pocket moleskines.

the whole concept behind the lists and managing my “stuff” is central to getting things done. needless to say part of getting things done is taking control of the random “stuff” in your life. it’s as simple as putting actions around “stuff”, archiving “stuff”, or just getting rid of “stuff”. obviously there is a bit more to it, but honestly it boils down to being just that simple.

i plan on posting more about getting things done at a later time. i did however want to share some of the new happenings in my life with my fellow bloggers (in case i happen to have any readers lurking around). this is one of the bigger changes i’m making in my life along with taking control of my health & fitness again.