After ten years of coaching football, I’ve decided to hang up the whistle. It’s time to retire.
It’s been an amazing experience and quite a run. Little did I know when I dropped Brad off for his first football practice in 2004 that I would go on a ten year journey that would take me on an roller coaster ride of incredible highs and lows and introduce me to people who would become more than just passing acquaintances, but lifelong friends.
When I read Brave New World last year, I was amazed at how Aldous Huxley was able to predict the effect technology would have on society. The Circle by Dave Eggers is of the same mold, with a couple of very important differences. For one, the technology that Eggers describes in The Circle is not nearly as far-fetched as that described in Brave New World. Most, if not all, of the technology described in The Circle is available now. It’s the application that’s evolving. Second, Eggers predictions aren’t that far into the future. I would suspect that a lot of what is described in The Circle will come to pass within the next ten years, if not sooner.
Boiled down to its simplicity, life is about choices. Every day, we must make an endless number of choices about all sorts of things – when to wake up, what to wear, what to eat, what to spend our time on, who to associate with. The list goes on and on. The best part is that we are in control of these choices. While some have limited scope, others can influence what path our life takes, whether we succeed or fail, and in extreme cases, whether we live or die.
Just like last year, I let the beard grow out over the holidays. I didn’t start as early, and I kept things trimmed a bit shorter, which seemed to work better. While it didn’t get quite as unruly, I’m still not a facial hair person.
Here is this years edition:
It’s getting shaved off in the next day or two. If you’re curious, here’s the link to last year’s edition. Interestingly, it’s almost a year to the day since I ended last year’s experiment.
With the beard coming off, it’s now officially 2014!
There are days when I wonder if I am cut out to run a business. This past Sunday was one.
Spolier alert – if you haven’t read Nexus, or are in the middle of it, be aware that there are a few mild spoilers in this review of Crux. In case you’re wondering, the short summary is that I didn’t enjoy it as much as Nexus, and it didn’t make my must read list.
While browsing my lengthy Amazon wish list recently, I noticed that Crux, the sequel to Nexus by Ramez Naam, was available. I thoroughly enjoyed Nexus, so I figured Crux would be worth a read. I was curious to see where Naam was going to take the story and the technology.
Through most of last year, I wasn’t impressed with Ultra HDTV, or what is becoming known as 4K. Then, a few things things happened that are making me think my next TV will be a 4K set.
One of the items being hyped at CES this year is the smart TV. There’s word that Roku, makers of the streaming media player, is integrating its technology into a TV that will be available this fall. There’s also word that LG has revamped WebOS and will use it in their smart TVs. They will join other manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Vizio who already have smart TV offerings. There’s also been rumors over the last couple of years that Apple will at some point release a smart TV as well.
For my first book of the year, I chose Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It fit with one of my reading themes regarding futuristic, dystopian versions of the future with an interesting twist. The story contains a lot of references to 1980’s pop culture, with a particular emphasis on video games of the era. Since I grew up during the eighties and spent a lot of time during my junior high and high school days on an Atari 2600, Colecovision, Commodore 64 and various TRS-80 models, I figured it would be an interesting read as well as a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
I had a decent 2013 when it came to fitness. I walked a lot, completing over 660 miles with my loyal Golden Retriever at my side (see the graph below for the monthly figures). I also made it to the gym quite a bit, mixing up a decent amount of cardio and weights.
So why wasn’t the past year great? I’m not totally happy with my weight. I’m toting around about 170 pounds, and my preference is to stay somewhere between 160 and 165. Overall, that’s my target goal for the next year. To continue working out as regularly as I did in 2013 while shaving off a few pounds.
So here are my goals for 2014. I wanted to document them for this upcoming year to make myself more accountable. I’ve also tried to make them as S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-based) as possible.
I’m pretty confident about numbers 1 and 2, but it’s #3 that I’ll need to concentrate on if I want to make it to my stated goal of getting under 165 by the end of 2014.
Well, now that I have it written down, it’s time to go and perform!
If you have any ideas or tips on how to eat healthier and measure it, please leave them in the comments. I’m all ears!