Greg Hartnett

I am frequently surprised, and often disappointed, by the way people treat each other. From the simplest interactions, to the major tests of character, so many of us act in a manner which we know, and have always known, is the improper way to act.

The great English literary figure Samuel Johnson once said that people more often need only to be reminded rather than instructed. Most of us already know what to do in a given situation.

25 centuries ago, the Buddha wrote on morality, telling us:

They speak the truth, are devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence… They never knowingly deceive others for the sake of their own advantage… What they have heard here, they do not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there… Thus they unite those that are divided, and those that are united they encourage. Concord gladdens them, they delight and rejoice in concord; and it is concord that they spread by their words. They avoid harsh language and speak such words as are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, going to the heart, courteous and dear, and agreeable to many. They avoid vain talk and speak at the right time, in accordance with facts, speak what is useful, speak about right wisdom and right practice; their speech is like a treasure, at the right moment accompanied by arguments, moderate and full of sense.

I am not telling you anything that you didn’t already know. Just reminding you

The value of time. Life’s most precious resource. Since there is no way to get more of it, the best one can hope for is to use your time in the most effective manner possible. How much of your day is wasted? Do you maximize your efficiency, and get the most important things done daily? Or do you find yourself jumping from one remedial task to another?

To make more of your time, you need to have a plan. Step one is figuring out what is most important. Reflect upon your goals, and decide which tasks are most important in making those goals happen. Develop a priority list of which tasks require your attention. Label each task with A (highest), B (medium), or C (low priority), depending upon each task’s importance.

After you have sorted through your priority list, the next step is to schedule your time. Any planner will do, depending upon your preferences. I use Apple’s calendar - a better version of Microsoft Outlook. When planning your schedule, keep the following in mind:

Following the above steps should help in gaining some control over how you spend your day. Without a proper plan and scheduling, you’ll find yourself meandering through your day, with too many tasks left uncompleted. More tips to follow…

Upon returning from house hunting in California, it has occured to me how chained I am to my desk. I truly can not stand to be away from the computer, and my work for more than a few days. Not only do I long for the technology, but the pile-up of work upon my return makes any more than a couple of days out of the office too much to endure.

Even with delegating responsibilities and jobs to the proper people, as an owner of two small businesses, there is too much to tackle in any one day. I have learned the importance of time management, and hope that I can make some real progress on making the best use of my time. I have picked up a couple of books, and read some interesting resources, and yet I still find my days are not long enough to complete half of what I want done.

In the next couple of weeks, we are going to be expanding the workforce. Hopefully that will help in lightening th eload at top.

There I said it. Get over it.

I love my wife dearly - 365 days a year (well maybe 340 or so). I appreciate her, and I try to show my appreciation as much as I can. I work on seeing things from her point of view, and do my best in trying to be sensitive to her feelings. I even occasionally enjoy being romantic - doing little things to remind her of why she first fell in love with me.

However, this “holiday” really chaps my ass. Every year, I wind up letting down my wife with a half-baked gift, or idea. I resent the cloud of disappointment that hangs around all day.  I just can’t get into it. I hate feeling forced to prove my love on this day, more than any other. What a pain in the ass.

Over the last few years, I have grown more and more interested in the teachings of Buddhism - Tibetan Buddhism, in particular. Philosophically it is very appealing, and in balance with my ideas on pacifism, compassion, human rights, and happiness.

While contemplating the concept of Mindfulness, I spent some time thinking about the information that I consume on a daily basis. The information that we ingest feeds our minds in much the same way that the food we eat nourishes our bodies. Our minds, like our bodies, rely on proper nutrition, and without it, neither will perform optimally.

So, in an effort to track what it is that I am feeding my brain, I have decided to track all most of the things that I read on a daily basis. The majority of the contents will consist of what I read online, and I will only post what I think is worthwhile. Unfortunately, a fair portion of my time online is spent perusing through dribble, so I will not bother posting that. Nor will I track the books that I am reading - those will go in the Books archive.

Additionally, this will enable me to keep my main blog less cluttered, allowing me to focus on keeping more detailed thoughts and ideas here, while posting short quips on the other blog. We’ll see how that plays out…

The reading project can be found at what I have entitled Shaping my Mind Feed my Brain.

Holy shit, I’m a nerd. Or pretty nerdy, at least according to some Nerd Test I just took. Perhaps this is some karmic justice for all those weggies I handed out in grammar school.

Though my musical tastes jump around a bit, I find myself getting really sucked into a particular artist for a period of time. Typically I dip into the familiar favorites: 12 months ago, it was Elton John. Six month ago, Neil Young. Currently, I can’t get enough of Bob Dylan.

Many of Dylan’s masterpieces ring particularly true today. For instance, Subterranean Homesick Blues:

Johnny’s in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I’m on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he’s got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin’ for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin’ that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone’s tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D. A.
Look out kid
Don’t matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don’t try “No Doz”
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don’t need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin’ to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You’re gonna get hit
But users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin’ for a new fool
Don’t follow leaders
Watch the parkin’ meters

Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don’t steal, don’t lift
Twenty years of schoolin’
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don’t wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don’t wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don’t work
‘Cause the vandals took the handles

When was the last time you had a good cry? Not just a little sob, but a full on boo-hooing??

When I was younger, I used to believe that crying was a sign of weakness. I can remember the first time I fell down and cut my hands and didn’t cry about it. I was about 8 years old, and I remember the pain shooting through my hands - yet I didn’t cry. I was so proud of myself - I saw it as a sign that I was growing up, and no longer needed to cry.

Of course as I grew, the notion that crying was not for boys was only reinforced. Luckily, I was raised by a wise mother who taught me that a true man is gentle and kind, and not afraid to show his emotions. She encouraged me to accept my feelings, and not try to bury them. She taught me that all people - men and women, young and old - need to cry. People who don’t embrace anguish, can’t truly understand joy.

So through the years, I have come to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion. I am no longer afraid to cry - I am proud to let my children see me cry. I am happy to show them that it is fine for a man to cry. I am passing along the wisdom that I was lucky enough to have received.

Just last week, I was going through my dresser, when I came across a letter from my deceased grandmother. It was a letter she had written to me shortly after I moved to California. I sat on my bed, reading the letter to my daughter, and the tears began to flow. My daughter looked at me, a bit confused, so I tried to stifle my tears. She then told me, “It’s ok daddy - you can cry”. So I did. I cried. Hard. And if felt great. My seven year old daughter hugged and comforted me. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.

So, the next time you feel a little choked up, don’t fight it. Let it out. You’ll be happy you did.

I hop on a plane tonight to head back to New York. While my trip out west proved fruitful, unfortunately we did not find the “right” school for the kids. The ones we looked at either sucked, or were impractical. So back to the drawing board.

We did manage a couple of trip to the new house - I added a handful of pics to my Flickr account. Check them out here. I have a bunch more that I will add later.

I will be travelling for the next few days - scoping out schools for my kids in the Sacramento area. Sometime in July, I will be packing my up family, dog, and all our belongings, and will venture west. It has been a long time coming, and we finally decided to pull the trigger.

So we have a house (pics soon), and now we need to figure out where to send the kiddies to school. So, until next week, my posts here will be light, at best. I will be posting some pics shortly.

If you have some time to kill see the following entry from the Freeway Blogger - helps put things in perspective - Suicide Note.

Peace

This may be the coolest thing I have ever seen. What a fantastic way to practice and stay in shape in the warmer months. Check out the entire Airbag set of photos from UK boarder Kat Miller.

The pictures were taken at Gosling Sports Park in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. So if you happen to be close, check it out. Alternatively, if you know of something like that on this side of the pond, let me know about it!

Now that 2005 is history, it is time to focus on the new year. I did pretty well with most of my resolutions from last year - I watched a lot less television, and read a lot of books. Unfortunately, I am still smoking those damn cigarettes…

So this year, I plan on accomplishing the following:

1. Quit smoking - definitely by the time I move into my new house, mid-July
2. Keep reading - keeping that TV off (with the exception of Sunday nights, can’t live without my Simpsons, Family Guy, and HBO)
3. Increase my patience level - the number one thing to improve my parenting skills
4. Keep better track of my finances - though I am fed-up with Quicken, and M$FT Money
5. Split my time more efficiently between Hotel Hotline and Best of the Web
6. Become a more conservative driver - I used to be until the purchase of my most recent car
7. Spend more quality time with Lily - remembering that we are a couple, not just parents

Those are the biggies - there are plenty of other things professionally and personally that I’d like to accomplish this calendar year, but in an attempt to not sound too long-winded, I will leave it there. Do you have any plans or resolutions that you wish to share?

Most importantly, I hope that you find peace, health and happiness in the new year.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a great holiday. Now that I am getting older, the presents are no longer about me, but I do manage to get a handful of gifts each year - some of which I even enjoy. One of my favorite (it’s why I always ask for them) were the Apple iTunes gift cards I got. What an awesome way for me to get something that I truly want, and a pretty easy route for the gift-giver.

I know that I am not the only one that enjoyed some gifts from Apple, as I read that Apple sales were strong over the holiday. I also know that industry peer and friend Jim Boykin got a cool new iPod with video - sweet. So did you get anything cool from Apple over the holidays??

While I am not the type to focus on the negative, and I probably don’t ponder my own mortality as much as I should, as a husband, father, and business owner, I would be foolish not to have a plan should I meet an early demise.

I have set up some of the things that I need to, and I sleep a little better at night knowing that my family would be financially taken care of. However, there are many things that I still need to take care of in order to help my survivors deal with my passing.

I stumbled upon a good thread at WMW dealing with some ideas in helping plan for the worst for your business. Read more at Hit by a Bus.

For somebody that boo-hoos about the evils of Christmas, I must admit that I truly enjoyed the Christmas weekend. While I am no fan of the commercialism that absorbs American culture, it sure was fun to see my kids on Christmas morning.

We went ice skating in Syosset on Saturday morning (instead of a much-dreaded trip to Manhattan) and I spent the rest of the day at home with the kids while Lily did some last minute shopping. Before bed, we did the milk and cookies thing for Santa, and Téa read all of us The Night Before Christmas.

Luckily, the kids slept until about 7:30 Sunday morning, and we started with the gifts at about eight. After finishing up at about 9:30, I spent the remainder of the morning assembling various toys, and installing the required batteries. We headed over to Jenn’s at 1:00 and hung out with the family and friends all day. It was a great day, one of the best Christmas-es I have had in a long time.

Hope you had a great holiday too

See my Christmas pics