Prioritizing my reading

I have at any given time, a good stack of books to work through. I enjoy reading, and my subject matter has grown wider over time. But the question quickly becomes what to read first? Thinking about it tonight, I decided it all depends on my goal. There is a lot of material I want to cover, and not a lot of time available. I can at least think about what goals I want to reach and pick up something that matches that particular goal.

That said I got a nice haul from halfprice this week. A few business, personal development, investing and at least one fun read. Finding fiction is getting hard for me. I should really try and find more to try. That said, I'm finding lots of nonfiction that I find interesting that I enjoy digging into. Too much to learn and to experiment with. Just got to keep moving forward with what I can.

falling

behind or in line, I'm not really sure. Bouncing off of a couple of different priorities. I spent a bit too much time working Project A, but I think it is paying off. I need to balance out a bit and try and hit some of my other technical areas. I want to go back to my Project Zero Project and try it out on the Mac, but I've been a bit distracted. Haven't touched Quoteurltext, even though I got a really nice suggestion from a user who found me on FB.

I really need to figure out how I can implement a community for that plugin. Perhaps I can build one on Ning? Or host one on my own site. I like the idea of trying a community site. Maybe I will build it locally. Use PHPBoard or something similar.

Reading some interesting material on networking. Thinking about how to apply it.

new toy

Got a new laptop from work today. In a change from my normal linux laptops I'm piloting a MacBook Pro. I am still learning the ins and outs of it. Trying to get used to the keyboard and the feel of it. So far, I'm liking it. I got used to the multitouch trackpad faster than I thought I would. While I still miss the thinkpad eraser mouse, I do like the multitouch for scrolling. The placement of the keyboard really helps me avoid the accidental smacking of the touchpad that I get on most other laptops.

Am I converted to the cult of mac yet? Dunno. Day 1 has gone well, but I need to see what I like and what annoys me. I still have to install have my apps and I need to figure out what I want to keep on the dock. I know that there are lots of good mac apps out there that are interesting, so I need to search for them and get them started. Also want to get started with Virtualization on the Mac. Probably going with VMWare since most of my other images are VMWare, but I may try parallels for a little while. Biggest roadblock -- replacing visio. I do too much chartwork in Visio, now I need to find a good alternative.

Been spending some cycles on Facebook. Connecting to more and more friends there. A few surprises have shown up. Old friends I hadn't expected to see there, but Facebook is starting to be like New York City, stay in one place long enough and everyone shows up.

Alas poor blog

...I knew him well.

So this blog has been suffering from a lack of attention. Trying to maintain focus on Project A and some side notes to it has definitely decreased the amount of attention I am spending here. I am thinking about focusing on some specific topics that may make more sense in a different blog. I think I may maintain this as a metablog, discussing all the plans I'm putting into place, but keep targetted blogs and projects to move forward on other fronts. I need to learn more which requires some experimentation and mentoring. I'm willing to go heavy in the experimenting, but I am starting to recognize the value of mentoring. Reading an interesting book "Never Eat Lunch Alone" which is giving me better insight into leadership, mentoring and networking. Lots to consider.

thinking anywhere?

Out there in here, is there thinking anywhere?

Over the top busy with lots going on. Not much time to make progress on the different fronts. Project A is keeping me extremely busy. Trying to keep things in focus, but really getting pulled in too many directions.

Gonna crash and get some new perspective in the morning.

win for the day: pstree

a command that separates out processes from threads:

pstree

init─┬─NetworkManager───2*[{NetworkManager}]
├─NetworkManagerD
├─acpid
├─agnLogd───sh───agnLogArchive.t───tail
├─agnclientd───{agnclientd}
├─atd
├─atieventsd
├─avahi-daemon───avahi-daemon
├─bonobo-activati───{bonobo-activati}
├─console-kit-dae───61*[{console-kit-dae}]
├─cron
├─cupsd
├─2*[dbus-daemon]
├─dbus-monitor
├─dd
├─dhcdbd───dhclient
├─eclipse───sametime75─┬─_sametime_mon33───sleep
│ ├─xwatchidle-bin
│ └─53*[{sametime75}]
├─eclipse───notes2w─┬─lnotes─┬─nsdexec
│ │ ├─sametime_idlemo
│ │ ├─taskldr───4*[{taskldr}]
│ │ └─13*[{lnotes}]
│ ├─sametime_idlemo
│ ├─watchscreensave─┬─dbus-monitor
│ │ ├─sametime_mongss
│ │ └─sleep
│ └─42*[{notes2w}]
├─evolution-data-───2*[{evolution-data-}]
├─evolution-excha───{evolution-excha}
├─fast-user-switc
├─firefox───10*[{firefox}]
├─gconfd-2
├─gdm───gdm─┬─Xorg───Xorg
│ └─x-session-manag─┬─bluetooth-apple
│ ├─evolution-alarm───{evolution-alarm}
│ ├─gnome-panel
│ ├─gnome-settings-─┬─pulseaudio─┬─gconf-helper
│ │ │ └─2*[{pulseau+
│ │ └─{gnome-settings-}
│ ├─metacity
│ ├─nautilus───{nautilus}
│ ├─nm-applet
│ ├─2*[python]
│ ├─seahorse-agent
│ ├─tracker-applet
│ ├─trackerd───2*[{trackerd}]
│ ├─update-notifier
│ └─{x-session-manag}
├─gedit
├─6*[getty]
├─gnome-keyring-d
├─gnome-power-man
├─gnome-screensav
├─gnome-terminal─┬─bash───pstree
│ ├─bash───ssh
│ ├─gnome-pty-helpe
│ └─{gnome-terminal}
├─gnome-volume-ma
├─gvfs-fuse-daemo───3*[{gvfs-fuse-daemo}]
├─gvfsd
├─gvfsd-burn
├─gvfsd-trash
├─hald───hald-runner─┬─hald-addon-acpi
│ ├─hald-addon-cpuf
│ ├─hald-addon-inpu
│ └─hald-addon-stor
├─hcid───2*[bluetoothd-serv]
├─klogd
├─mixer_applet2───{mixer_applet2}
├─multiload-apple
├─nmbd
├─smbd───smbd
├─soffice.bin───5*[{soffice.bin}]
├─sshd
├─syslogd
├─system-tools-ba
├─thinkpad-keys
├─trashapplet
├─udevd
├─vmnet-bridge
├─2*[vmnet-dhcpd]
├─vmnet-natd
├─2*[vmnet-netifup]
├─vmware-serverd
└─xinetd

consistency of posting

My consistency of posting has definitely dropped off since I left the challenge. I think I may need to re-challenge myself :)

Still getting some head space organized. Realized I need some time away to get my thoughts in order, but recognize that isn't happening anytime soon. So going to try and muddle thru with what I have.

fun run

Well not really a run, just a run of days. Project A was keeping me busy thru the 3rd. On the Fourth had an excellent celebration with the family. Z was very social talking with the family and hanging out with different folks. Her cousins love to show her love -- which is nice for the older ones but worrisome with some of the younger ones :)

Today spent the day helping a friend move. It was a good workout and some creative thinking to get furniture up the stairs. A fine time overall, I enjoyed it.
Relaxing now and fiddling with some side projects. Hope to do some Zero work and do some fiddling with some firefox plugins.

Changes Around

Quote of the Day - Muhammad Ali - "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

I find this an interesting quote as I hear of another of my circle of contacts taking a big leap to new worlds. So far I've had two coworkers leaving for other companies, one here, one in Seattle; I've got a friend who's moving to another state to a job that aligns better with their life goals. I have another friend who is giving up an INCREDIBLE job to lead up another organization in a bid to improve the world. Quite frankly, it's inspiring what's going on around me.

Which makes me wonder what am I doing?