Moments of Clarity

What if Google Just Quit

As I was pruning RSS feeds this morning in between coffee sips and my facebook stream I started thinking about the information overload that many of us face.  Becoming a better filterer is really the secret to becoming efficient.  Not getting overwhelmed and saying, "Forget this!" is a necessary skill to acquire or one risks being lumped in with the phone book.

So what if you woke up tomorrow and the precious resource called google was gone?  "We're clOOsed" the search box might read if they left up a splash page (no doubt they'd sell an add on that page for $1mil per click). 

Would it crush you to hit the restart button?  Imagine the subtle rejoicing around the globe when everyone's reached inbox to zero nirvana.  Starting anew might make the universe learn something new about how to filter better.  It might also teach us something about cloud computing.  Don't get me wrong I'm right there with all of you and use Google for just about everything you can imagine.  But I'd also be fine if they tOOk their ball and went home.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

The Verdict Is In

I have been having left knee trouble lately far beyond my normal slight discomfort.  What began in my youth as an unknown trauma to my leg (your guess is as good as mine) progressed into a condition called Osteochondritis Dissicans in my late teens.  This resulted in a chunk of bone separating from the "knuckle" on my femur.  Back then, 1989'ish...they told me, "There's nothing you can do except treat your knee good and don't go up and down ladders a lot".  I was told I'd eventually need a knee replacement as this rough spot on my bone would likely cause arthritis and cartilage degeneration.  They were right.

Recent Xrays and and MRI show that I have the knee of a pretty severely arthritic seasoned citizen with and that besides injections...there's really nothing that can be done to help me.  I need to hold out until it becomes unbearable and then get the replacement knee (robo knee).  Oh yeah, and because I'm "so young" I'll probably need another knee in XX years in the prime of my "kids are college now so let's party" years. 

Hey it could be worse and I'm thankful I have 2 legs and 1 knee that works.  I will need to alter my lifestyle somewhat and I've started taking the less proven more holistic stuff like fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin in addition to the normal compliment of inflammatories and pain meds (when it gets bad).  I figure dropping 50lbs won't hurt either.  I think I've been eating like a bear about to hibernate while having little mobility so I can spare the 50...trust me. 

I just need to get into a position where cycling is my world and I think my world record squat attempts are going to have to wait.  Thank the maker I'm not in Britain or some other "universal health care" country where I'd have to wait 2 years if I decide the knee needs to become titanium.  I'd have cyberjoint in 2 weeks if I asked because of our system. 

Now go forth and enjoy your good joints.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

still amazed at how much we recycle

The big green bin has revolutionized how much we recycle vs. throw away.  Just making recycling easy and giving us the higher volume container has allowed us to reduce our "trash" by about 4 X.
Amazing.  I think the city should offer up a discounted second bin to those who have the volume....or collected once per week vs. every other. 

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Two records broken this weekend

Today is the 2nd anniversary of full-time creating WOW at http://createWOWmedia.com.  Thank you all SO much for allowing me to live a life of passion every day.  And thanks to all the partners and supporters that have enabled us to grow and thrive in this economy.  I'm so thankful for you all.

Next.  I haven't been on a plane in over 2 years.  Tomorrow I board one at 7AM to head to Washington DC with Dave Funk, the amazing candidate for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District.  I hope to build http://OperationRedState.com business while there. I'll be directly interacting with 50+ current/active Congressional candidates for 3 days so wish me luck.

Thanks again to ALL of you. 

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

Dad's and Son's and Sports

I'm not "that sports dad" that shoved a football in his kid's hands for his first birthday. (I did have a Jimmie Johnson fire suit onesey however).  I truly don't care if he chooses acting, dancing, chess, or whatever other less physical pursuit as he progresses in life.  Gavin's always been extremely coordinated and has innate hand-eye coordination, timing when hitting a fairly fast pitched ball, etc. 

But over the summer, we asked the question of him as we've done for about a year..."Do you want to play a sport yet?  This time he said yes and chose soccer. Now of course since daddy played soccer this tickled me. 

He's been doing great and we've been talking about never quitting on the ball, following up until the play is over, going into open space and not bunching up, etc.  We also talked about aggressively taking the ball to the goal vs. taking a more defensive role.  (In under 7 it's 4 vs. 4 with no goal keeper so playing defensively doesn't help that much). 

We made a deal last night before the game.  "If you score a goal tomorrow, I'll take you to Culver's for ice cream".  The game was today and Gavin's team won 8 to 7.  Of the 8 goals, my boy scored FOUR of them.

Dad's psychology and coaching...or vanilla custard with Nerds candy on top.  Which do YOU think was the greater motivator.  Just let me have my moment OK...

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

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A Class Act from Another Generation

I bought a car this week.  The gentleman I bought the car from was the original owner.  He treated this car like a family member (maintenance, washing, care).  He explained in detail everything about the car including the slight imperfections.  He gave me a detailed functional overview and even bought me a coffee as we sat down to discuss the deal.  I brought out my iPhone with the Kelly Blue Book website up...while he displayed a piece of paper with the same data (identical by the way).  He made an offer and I looked at him and said, "I'm a man who believes that negotiating for the sake of negotiating is a waste of two men's time...sold." We shook hands. Deal done.

I went to pick up the car the next day and drop the cash.  We had to do some car swapping and ended up driving together back to his house.  I didn't even ask to drive that last leg.  I could tell he was saying goodbye to a good friend that had treated him right for a decade.  On the way, he also gave me a very special hat with the car emblem on it as a gift.

Later that night, he called me to ask me how I was getting along with the car and how I liked it. 

Now that's the kind of special attention to detail and service that would make any car dealer or repair shop jealous. That is what has made this man successful and what makes me proud to drive this car.  Thanks a million Ed.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

This tweet packs more meaning that it knows

From @garlicgirl
Going through the bag of stuff my brother brought me. My mom sent my old Swatch phone. I wish we still had a land line.

Ahh yes...the days of landlines and Swatch phones.  Considering that one fifth of households have cell only now and that number is on the rise, when do you think we'll see the full demise of copper to the home?
Or, like radio in some cases...will there be a resurgence of copper line popularity since cyber attacks can cripple our other web based telephony outlets?  One might consider that even when the "Internets are broken"  that copper line based people can still do business.  The question is "Who would they do business with?"

http://twitter.com/garlicgirl/status/4391707190

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

My record is about to end...

I just booked a plane ticket for DC in October which will be my first plane flight in 762 days.  I am very proud of my record and have enjoyed this run of avoiding one of the most painful and life sucking processes in this world....air travel.
If I could effectively drive to our Nation's Capitol and return without blowing an extra 5 days...I'd do it.  All of my "elite" statuses are dead...so I it's just me and seat 6D. 
This is all in support of the amazing candidate that Operation Red State is driving technology for... Dave Funk.

Posted via email from Doug's posterous

New Belgium Brewing!

via blip.tv

wow. just great stuff. can't wait to visit.

Posted via web from Doug's posterous

Vacation On the Horizon

Here it is...September 2009 and I can't believe how long it's been since we took a real vacation.  There have been quite a few "go out to CA and the family does stuff while daddy works all day and night and squeezes in a couple rounds of golf" trips...but no real vacation so to speak. 

So this year, no matter what it takes, we're going to take the first vacation we've had since Steph and I went to Germany in 1998 together (pre-kids).  After that, start up life took over and it's been an awesome ride every since...but I've been married to work/phone/laptop/email/connectivity. 

So, here's fair warning.  December 18-January 3 we're gone somewhere warm and toasty with no work on the agenda except a stack of books and some sand toys.