2010 52 books January recap

Four weeks in and I’m at 2.5 books for my goal of 52 books in 2010.

My pace has slowed because the current book I’m reading, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, is so good I am rereading each chapter. I am also attempting to apply some of the lessons to my business which is basically amounting to homework. It’s a process which does not allow me to consume 100 pages in a sitting. I read about 30 pages and then need to think about it for a few hours.

I don’t plan to “go back” to make up time. 52 books is a stated goal, but even more it’s a guidepost. A beacon to guide my behavior for this year.

Plus, I’ll be going to Italy in March. I imagine with 40+ hours of scheduled travel time I’ll be able to tear through a few novels for pure enjoyment.

Oh, and I ordered four more books from Amazon today. These books are all VMware related. I’m sure those reviews are anxiously awaited!

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52 books for 2010

Inspired by this blog post about How to read a book a week in 2010 I’ve decided to take the challenge. I’ll track my progress in this blog post.
Review:
Great book on building a marketing plan. Just like it says, very practical and effective. Marketing always has a certain pop psychology aspect. This book delves into that gray area only when necessary. Instead the book focuses on actionable steps for any sized business. I enjoyed this book very much.
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Review:
Love or hate Social Media this is the book to read. It’s not strictly a Social Media book. I’d say it’s effective business communication in a new world covering how dynamics have changed. Even if you are part of the Twitter generation this book is so well written it’s like having a long conversation with two guys (the authors) who really know their stuff.
Rating: 4 of 5

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Picasa for photos

Google's photo application Picasa is blowing my mind.

I dumped years of photos into Picasa and it began scanning the pictures to find faces. This capability is not new, but I was surprised at how well the application works. It accurately identified people in my photo albums even if the photos were years, or even decades apart.

As an example, here are two photos of my Grandfather that Picasa correctly identified. The first photo is from 1943 and the second photo was taken in the early 90's. 

I recommend giving Picasa a try. I prefer it over Flickr and other similar photo applications.

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Life in SoCal

Bright sunshine and pouring rain.

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Choosing 3 words for 2010

I don’t do resolutions. However, this year I read Chris Brogan’s 3 words and despite my best efforts, the 3 words idea would not leave my head.

So, I did my 3 words for 2010 on the company blog. My 3 words are not a resolution, they are guideposts. Resolutions mean you’re resolving something, which means there was a problem. I don’t believe that resolutions are a once a year opportunity to create a better “you”. But I do believe that three words can keep you grounded to what’s important and who you want to be.

So: Present, Embrace and Give.

Here’s to 2010.

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Sunrise in San Diego

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Football is over

Yeah, yeah, there's still the playoffs, whatever.

The Bears are done. That's when Football ends for me.

The most tragic part of this season is that the Bears played well the last two games. Possibly well enough on offense that people will forget the horrendous offensive play calling and complete misuse of offensive talent throughout most of the year.

I blame one person for the Bears' problems this year and it's not Jay Cutler: it's Ron Turner, the offensive coordinator. 

The Bears were horrible on offense. Yeah Cutler threw 25 interceptions and the defense gave up some points, but Ron Turner had the best set of offensive tools the Bears have had since the mid 80's and Turner completely blew it. Our first real quarterback in 25 years and Ron Turner was running reverses to Devin Hester while completely ignoring Matt Forte in the backfield. It turns out Devin Hester wasn't even our best receiver named Devin! It was Devin Aromashodu! With coaching like that Jay Cutler never had a chance.

I could go on but I think the point is clear: Ron Turner screwed up all year. Ron Turner needs to go.

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Virtual Assistants

I signed up for www.AskSunday.com, a virtual assistant service.

AskSunday has a call center in India that acts as your personal assistant, making calls or setting up services.

My first two requests involved customer service issues for Microsoft and TiVO. I imagine they also have call centers in India.

I just hired a person in India to call other people in India on my behalf. I wonder if that will qualify for a discount.

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Rain

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_4083.MOV (1270 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

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Google RSS Next Bookmark

A new favorite item of mine is the "Next" bookmark for Google Reader. I am a big fan of RSS. The "Next" bookmark is great for RSS addicts. You can access it from the settings page in your Google Reader.

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