jkslade.net

Having read about it from my sister, I decided to find out my own motherstyle:

Your type is: intj — The “Individual Integrity” Mother

“My kids are better off arguing their own point of view than telling me, ‘But everyone else is doing it.’”

• Individualistic and independent, the INTJ mother is both a role model and teacher of how to be an individual and live life with integrity. She is introspective, defining her own success from within, and generally confident in her decisions. She is unlikely to be persuaded by her children saying, “But all the other mothers are doing it.”
• The INTJ is competent in providing for her children’s basic needs, but she is likely more focused on developing their self-esteem and confidence. Observant and insightful, she puts great importance on independent thinking and self-sufficiency, yet she is comfortable providing protection and boundaries.
• Self-motivated and intense, the INTJ works hard and takes life seriously. As a mother, she lives for those moments when she can impart knowledge and offer her children perspectives on life and important issues.

I’d say it’s pretty close.

Enjoy…

This is a very interesting use of a tag cloud to show themes of speeches made by US Presidents over time: http://chir.ag/phernalia/preztags/

Fascinating to see some of the themes that have come and gone. Even more so is the one that seemed to stay pretty much constant: war.

If you haven’t heard the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt, it’s well worth your time:

http://cjcphoto.com/can/

http://optoutprescreen.com/ is a service run by the credit bureaus to allow you to opt-out of receiving any pre-screened / pre-approved credit and insurance offers.  Takes about 30secs to opt-out electronically… hopefully it will reduce the amount of junk mail I receive.

I agree with others that it is silly to create grandiose goals to start the new year — only to forget them within a week. I’m not planning to set any new goals, really, just write down some of the things I’m actively working towards, and elicit feedback and support from others to help me achieve them. So here goes…

Get under 175 and stay there - I’m generally active a reasonably healthy, but losing a couple pounds would be great. I don’t have the time and energy to commit to really shaping my body… this goal simply means that I need to be more disciplined, mainly cutting out the junk and exercising a bit more regularly. I expect to hit 175 by the end of March.

Go to bed by midnight at least 3 days a week - This is a major issue and a discipline I need to develop. Getting more sleep, and more consistently, will have many positive ripple effects in other areas.

Never use credit cards again - Mostly we keep credit cards for emergencies, and pay the balances quickly. But really it’s a crutch to keep from having to be more disciplined and plan better. I’ve been reading and listening to stuff from Dave Ramsey, and he’s helped me realize my dependence on them and that it has to stop. I strongly encourage you to follow his advice (which certainly isn’t anything new).

Establish a 6-month emergency fund - Another of Dave’s baby steps (also not unique to him). It’s tricky to balance all the competing needs for financial resources, but this is something that has to be done first. Our landscaping and other plans will just have to wait a while longer.

Earn revenue from my genealogy business - I’ve been working on some web-based genealogy service stuff with some partners for about a year now… mostly we’ve just been learning and prototyping, and not moving very fast at all. This year I plan to move that far enough along that it generates actual revenue - anything more than zero counts! I see the potential as being much greater than that (or else why would I do it?) but, realistically, everything else that takes my time and energy is not going to go away.

Get out of the house with my wife at least twice a month - Two days until our 11th anniversary, and I certainly have a lot more to learn about dating her. It doesn’t have to be anything lavish, but it does have to be just the two of us.

Ski and golf with my boys - I’m looking forward to lots of fun activities with my boys as they get older. It will be a while before we all are able to do these things together as a family, but I’ll do what I can for now. As Kim’s grandfather Brig says, “All I hope for this year is to make more money and play more golf.”

Use technology to benefit my extended family - uh, that doesn’t count as a goal, but I’ll let it slide - I’m kind of the nerd of the family, and that’s okay. I know a lot about the internet and such that can benefit my family. This past year I got my mother blogging. This year I need to finish up on the Lofgreen Newsletter project I started a couple years ago. Then there’s teaching about things like RSS, avoiding viruses, phishing and other attacks, filtering bad content, etc. There’s no way I can keep up on all of it myself, but I’m happy to consult and help any who ask.

Looks like 2007 will be as busy as ever. Hopefully writing these down and sharing them publicly will help to yield positive results. I’m looking forward to it.

I took the superhero quiz and I’m somewhat surprised at the results…

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 80% Hulk 70% Robin 65% Spider-Man 55% Green Lantern 50% Supergirl 45% Catwoman 40% Batman 40% Iron Man 35% Wonder Woman 30% The Flash 30%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Not that it means anything, but it’s interesting… share your results!

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Quoted by Pamela Slim:

“Playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around us.” — Marianne Williamson

I’ve been considering various career changes, and it’s rather arduous to think about — the easiest thing is to just stay where I am, just keep plugging along.  But I have the feeling that I’ve got to step up and proactively make a big change to enable bigger and better opportunities.

15′ tall tomato plants that look like trees:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7471798897454225511

I know Frank from playing ultimate at Greer Park when I was attending Stanford. Never knew about his tomatoes…

There’s also a newspaper article about his garden that has some good tips.

I find Chinese culture fascinating, as it is just so different from the west.  Function is important, but form is so highly valued, which I think is sorely missing here.

Here’s a cool photography presentation of a traditional chinese teahouse.  Don’t expect I’ll ever visit one, but they are some great pictures.