This is not about google’s Blogger application. This is about a person known for being a blogger be a blogger if they never post to their blogs? Give you 2 guesses who I’m talking about.

I have 5 blogs that I manage. 3 of them public to the world, 2 of them that I maintain for work.
I love to write, that’s why using a blog as a front end web tool has been so much fun. There are many times during the day that I think of topics to write about, but by the time I get to a point where I can write about them the creative energy to put it on here is completely sapped.

Unlike others, I seem to have a limit to my creative energy and most days it seems drained from me. Some would say that’s when you have to do it. To get out there and force yourself to write. Maybe they are right. A year ago Chinesebob.com had around 10K hits a month. Not a single advertisement on it. Today there aren’t any ads, but my posting has gone from multiple times a week to possibly once a month.

I recently downloaded the Wordpress iPhone app in the hope that by creating drafts of ideas as they come to me would inspire me more. Maybe I should just create a twitter site that I can post to as creativity hits me and then come back later.

With all of the cool new iPhone and technology advances I’m sure I’ll think of something that will get me back to my old blogging self.

Apple has delivered true smart phone hand held computing power to the masses. The mass appeal of the iphone, the “it” factor, the ease of use, and it’s overall growth potential have changed cell phones and mobile computing forever. Millions of people are signing up as fast as they can to get their iPhone. Teenagers are taking their lawn mowing, baby sitting, or newspaper money and buying their own iPhones.

While the hype may be as reminiscent of the infamous Edsel, the better equivalent is to the ‘67 Mustang when Lee Iaccoca saw the sign in the window that said “Our hotcakes are selling like Mustangs!” It’s got bugs, what piece of technology doesn’t, but it performs well. It’s doing what it’s saying it’s supposed to do. That’s what counts.

The irony then is that while a family or individual will put down anywhere from 250.00 (taxes of course) and up to purchase one of these new must have tools or toys, then shell out somewhere in excess of 100.00 a month in phone and broadband fees the people that are buying them are not the same business users that bought the Treo’s or the Blackberry’s. Once that money is spent they don’t have 49.99 to buy an add-on calendar app, or 14.99 for an exercise app. Those things add up quickly. And that 100.00 is for an individual who might have been paying 69.99 a month before and getting everything they wanted out of their phone.

And if they aren’t paying attention now, at the end of the month when they look at their bank statement and say - “why did I spend 100.00 on iTunes this month?” Well there’s the work out manager for 14.99, then the GTD app for 19.00, and then the movie you love to watch for 12.99 so you could watch it on your phone when you’re sitting in the doctor’s office or at lunch or whatever. Some are only 4.99 or 7.99 but as they go through and look back at their purchase history they will realize where that money went and I’m sure that will cut the spending down quite a bit.

Now for those out there that are saying - “CB - what makes you a sudden economic and sociological genius to understand all of this?” The response to that is, spend 15 minutes going through applications that cost anything at all and read the comments. If nothing else it’s entertaining. But it’s surprising how many people actually comment on software they have never purchased. Or comment negatively because someone put time into something and would like to see a little money in return for their effort.

The cries of “free” permeate the comments on those application pages. Because they are too frugal to spend 9.99 on an application that will actually make their new mobile computer a more productive tool. Yet they still shelled out in excess of 400.00 their first month on phone and calling plan. Is that ironic? Or maybe just oxymoronic.

Some of you may know I am a geek. My family and BBQ aside, I love to play with technology. I have always been one to push the envelope a little further than others might by the way I integrate technology into my life to make things easier.

One way in particular is having my important information at my finger tips. I had a treo for nearly the last two years but was always upset by the way that it was just missing something. Whether that was integration with my desktop, wifi, or something else that could have been there. When the iTouch came out I had it within days of it’s release. I still had my treo but my iTouch slowly became my repository of information. After it had the update with the calendar and notes I used my treo even less.

When the iPhone was announced last year I was excited but before jumping on that bandwagon I knew there would be an update. That it would be better the second time around. When the 3G was announced I made plans to be there to get it. Yes there was the trouble the first couple of days that were an annoyance more than anything. But that’s to be expected.

Now Apple has a fully functioning mobile computer. Does it have all of the integration that windows mobile does? Not just yet. Does it have hundreds of applications in less than a month? Yes. Do they add to your productivity? Yes. Does it fully integrate your personal information so that you have it wherever you go? Yes. More than that it allows people to connect far beyond simple text messaging and IM. Social networking apps that are far beyond things like facebook and myspace. Apps that function on the web, on your desktop, or just between two people.

It is the phone/PDA/game piece to have. GPS, Wifi, 3G, rotating screen, full screen views, etc. I predict that in the next year or two it will not only kill the treo, but it will take a significant chunk out of the DS market.

For those that don’t get the iPhone yet, you will.

personaldevelopmentplanning

Earlier this year I found this document on creating your own career development plan. I thought this was one of the better documents and explanations of what needs to go into it, short of hiring a professional to work with you on it.

At the end of this week I’ll be posting pictures of the further progress on the house. For now it is safe to say that I have resumed progress on it. No welding, no playing, no BBQ getting in the way. Now I am sticking to the schedule I’ve created and I am looking forward to progress.

I do have to say I miss the hobbies. I love cooking and reading books about cooking and even planning about cooking. Then there’s welding. I must have 500lbs of metal in my garage just for me to experiment and practice welding and cutting and brazing on. Most of it came from the junk yard so I’m not that worried.

Then there’s just hanging out. Well that’s not so much a hobbie as something I try to force myself to do everyone once in a while. Sitting still is hard to do.

Here are some pictures of the progress so far.

Not bad for a guy who only used his mitre saw for chunking up logs for his smoker.

It’s been about three weeks since I started the house restoration project. So far it’s made significant progress. We pulled off the siding, replaced the trim and molding on the house, cleaned up the mess, and are putting together a plan to complete the job.

The toughest thing about this kind of a project or any project for that fact is to have an action plan. Getting started is the hardest part but finishing can be anguishing if you don’t have a schedule together to complete the job.

So in that light we’ve built a plan to complete the job. Necessary items have been purchased and the site is almost ready to begin weekly progress on it. Here are steps to finalize the plan.

Step 1. Identify
Identify what needs to be done and how long it will take to complete the job. Don’t anticipate it will go worry free so when going around looking at what you’ve got to do double the time you think it will take so you are prepared. That way if it takes less, you’re ahead.

Step 2. Schedule
Create a schedule for the tasks. During the week be modest, take on small tasks that aren’t going to be ruined by weather and other factors, like kids or work. Everything should be included in the schedule; i.e. purchasing supplies, setting up equipment, clean up, and of course the activities.

Step 3. Sign-Off
Get sign off by all involved parties. In a home project this means the wife and family. If you need help and have people coming down to help get them to buy in on the timings as well.

Step 4. Publish
Publish the plan in a place that everyone can see and that they can be reminded automatically by. Google calendars is a great place for something like this and it’s free.

Step 5. Execute
Work the plan. Once you have everything good to go, start the work. Make sure you keep track of what you’ve done so you’ll stay motivated. This will obviously be the plan, but it can also be a project journal or a blog site.

Good luck and check back soon to see where we’re at.

Ever started something and said to yourself - do I really have any idea what I’m doing? I have that feeling all the time but I almost refuse to give into it. This time I wish I would have.

About a month ago, I started taking the siding off of my house. Today I should have finished it but there were of course mixups. The mixups started with the boom lift not being what we expected, so I took it back and found a place that had one that would work the way I needed it too.

Today was up and down latters all day, pulling things off the side of the house, scraping, gluing, calking, hammering, etc. I’m totally exhausted and to the common eye it looks like I haven’t done anything.

The good news is that my master carpenter, bubba, will be here tomorrow instead of Wednesday. And Phil The Paint Guy told me it would be paintable as soon as we were ready to paint. Yahoo.

Barring any unforeseen delays tomorrow we should have all of the siding off, and begun the arduous work on the trim and boards that need to be repaired.

I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun. Oh wait that would be when I bought the house and had to recalk all of the windows. I hate physical labor and this just confirms it.