Greg Hartnett

Now that we are out of the warm weather, it’s time for me to start thinking about winter activities. Now that I live just 60 miles outside of Tahoe, it’s tough to not think about it. In fact, I have begun taking Tahoe weather into account for my daily planning.

Yesterday marked opening day at Sugarbowl - my new home mountain. A couple of weeks ago I purchased season passes for me, Lily, and the two kids (JR is actually free for the next two seasons). The passes that I bought are actually good at both Sugarbowl and my favorite resort - Kirkwood, so depending upon conditions, I’ll have a couple of options to choose from.

The news this morning is calling for a major storm coming in off of the Pacific. It’s a bit further north, but looks to be coming straight for us. Weather forecasters are calling for 1.5 inches of rain here, and up to 18 inches of snow in the mountains. Our first big dump of the year! So after I throw some breakfast down my throat, I’ll pack up the family and head up the hill - time to get our pictures taken and get our passes. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my legs on later this week. It’s gonna be a goooood winter.

Update: I was able to pick up our season passes and beat it home before the snow really kicked in. I uploaded the pics to a new set.

On the 10th of December, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights were proclaimed inherrent to all human beings, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, or sex. In today’s world of polarization and nationalism, it would be wise for us to take a moment to remember all of these points.

In an effort to keep this somewhat manageable, I have decided to skip the Preamble, and jump right into listing the articles:

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

At my presentation at PubCon, I decided to mix it up a little bit. I experimented a little by not using a PowerPoint, and speaking more off the cuff. I think it worked out pretty well, as I kept my ad-libbing to a minimum, and stuck to my pre-rehearsed topics of discussion. Integrating the video clip of my son’s hockey fight into my part on multimedia got the crowd laughing, and from there it was smooth sailing. Thanks for the encouragement to do so from Todd and Brian.

My biggest fear was losing the crowd a bit. I was afraid that if I wasn’t able to keep their attention throughout the speech, their minds would definitely wander. If I wanted them dozing off, I would have opted for a bullet point laden PowerPoint. At one point a few minutes in, I tried spinning a bit off the cuff. While the comments I made flowed well while ad-libbing, I lost my track in where I was, and had to briefly refer to my note cards - it was a four second lapse that seemed like an eternity.

One thing I screwed up on - not providing handouts of the important points of the presentation. I did it when I spoke in Boston, and the crowd definitely dug it. Next time, for sure. For the handful of people that asked me about the books I mentioned, they were: Lexus, by Mark Buchanan and Linked by Albert Laszlo Barabasi. Both of them discuss network theory, and are very insightful from a search marketing perspective. I highly recommend both. If you enjoyed Tipping Point, and have some interest in science, these will be right up your alley.

So next time, I think I’ll stick with my no PowerPoint, and make sure to give handouts. I already got the heads up from Brett that I’ll be back for more presentations, so I’d better start thinking of some cool new stuff - I can’t rely on that hockey fight video forever

Now that I am finally home from my conference tour, I’m getting back into my groove. Two nights of real sleep, and some time with my family were just what the doctor ordered. After a few days in New York, and almost a full week in Vegas, these old bones needed some down time.

Once again, I depart from a conference a bit torn. While it is nice to return to the homestead, I immediately long for the next conference. We are a very fortunate group, for ours is a close-knit community, unique with knowledge share, friendship, and collaboration. White hats and black hats, side by side. Newbies and old-timers mixing it up. Programmers and designers sharing notes. You can feel the energy as some of the sharpest minds in the industry wheel and deal.

And yet I’m left feeling as if I am doing it all wrong. Maybe I should start doing a little more business at these things and stop viewing them as a social function. For me, these things serve as a vacation where maybe I can do some business. I use these times to catch up and hang out with old friends, and as an opportunity to make new friends. And PubCon provided many opportunities for both.

So, much love to friends new and old:

Brett - a big shout out. Awesome conference - the best yet. Thank you for putting it together, and making it all happen. Without your efforts, we’d all be more isolated, and less the wiser.

The Shoemoney Crew, Jeremy and Dillsmack - great times boys. I was very happy to be able to spend so much time with you two.

Shandyking - awesome to meet the Mrs., I definitely wish we could have all spent even more time together. Thanks for giving me the poker bug.

Todd “Oilman” Friesen - it was great to finally be able to hang out a bit, and I was happy to learn what a down to earth guy you are.

Greg Boser - thanks for throwing such a great party and sharing some of your personal life with us yabos. I feel very priviliged to have been there.

Markus - dude, I’m going to send you a list of all conferences I am going to be at, in hopes that you will attend each one as well. You ROCK!

Shawn Hogan - one of the peeps I have wanted to hang with for awhile.

Chris Boggs - one of the funniest guys in search (and genuine to boot). Love hanging out with you.

Neil and Cameron - thanks for helping us with the booth. You guys are princes among men - I apologize for missing you afterwards. Damn alcohol induced flakiness…

Chris Sherman - it’s the quiet ones you have to look out for.

Jenn Slegg - what a sweetheart. Sorry I wasn’t a very good teacher - luckily it was a free game

Brent Csutoras - an up and comer. I love meeting future stars, though you and Annie are never allowed to play Hold ‘Em with me again!

Brandy and Daron - the hardest working couple in search. Always a blast to spend time with.

Marc Levin - thanks for the invite to the awesome party. Definitely the best conference party I have ever been to. You guys know how to do it right.

I’m sure that there are others, but in an effort to get some work done today, I’m going to cut it off there. So for all my homies, much love - I look forward to spending time with you guys again. And to the people I met for the first time, let’s make sure that it’s not the last. See you all at the next show.

Throughout my life, I never would have considered myself a morning person. When I was enrolled in college, many a day would pass that saw me finally emerge from my room close to the dinner hour - just in time to pretty myself up, and get ready for another evening of rabble rousing. I dreaded waking up in the morning, and the only time I ever got up pre-6 AM was if I was headed to the mountain.

As an adult, I have grown to love the mornings. I find that my days are filled with distractions - some self imposed, most external. When I worked in an office, most distractions came from coworkers. Now that I am working from home, my family has filled that role nicely. Between taking the kids to school, playing with them upon their return, and helping my wife with daily tasks, I lose hours of productivity each day. I found myself staying up later at night in an effort to make up for lost productivity. But those hours at the end of the day were tough to work through and remain focused on the task at hand.

Approximately two years ago, I decided that the only way for me to “do the needful” and maintain a meaningful personal life was to start my day earlier. So I set about creating a plan to get my ass in to work earlier. After some trial and error, I discovered the best way to accomplish it was in baby steps.

So I started off by setting my alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than I used to. Anybody can wake up 15 minutes earlier - it doesn’t take much will power. After a week of waking at the earlier time, I set my alarm clock 15 minutes earlier yet again. Continue for another week, and repeat. After the course of a couple of months, I was able to start my day almost three hours earlier than I had previously. Instead of starting my work day at 8 o’clock, I was consistently beginning at 5 AM.

Most other people start their day a few hours later, so I was able to create three hours of distraction-free work. Typically, I use the time to pour through some email and RSS reading (about an hour), and then I use the other two hours to jump into any outstanding projects I may be working on. That way, by the time everyblody else’s day has begun, I know that I have some productivity under my belt.

Another benefit - by waking so early it is damn near impossible to stay up later than 9 or 10 o’clock. I have found that by going to sleep earlier, I watch a lot less television. That should be enough of an incentive to give it a shot. While I don’t know if there is a direct correlation between early rising and success, it makes me feel more productive, and thus puts me in a successful mindset.

Give it a shot, and let me know how it works out for you.