Greg Hartnett

A few of us from work decided to take advantage of the slow week and head up to Vermont for some snowboarding. Though we had to readjust some scheduling, we were able to leave Long Island at 4 AM Wednesday, cruise up to Killington, ride Wednesday and Thursday, and home Thursday night. A lot of driving to be sure, but well worth it.

With over 7 feet of snow already this season, it was not surprising to find lots of powder and great runs. Only a handful of trails were still closed, and almost all lifts were operational. We were able to hit some jumps in the park, and enjoy some solitude amongst the trees. I broke in my new boots (an early Christmas present from the Mrs), and my short board was tuned nicely. I was able to stick a few 180s but unfortunately didn’t find the gonads to pull off the 360 (next time!).

Now that the first trip of the season is under the belt, I look forward to an excellent season. I need to get the kids on the mountain - Téa is definitely ready, and JR should be able to hold his own. A few lessons, and they will be leaving daddy in the dust.

Funny how the definition of a boys night out has changed over the years. I recall a day that seems not so long ago, that a night out with the boys carried a bit more risk, and definite health consequences.

Nowadays, my nights out with the boys take on a bit of a different hue. The Philadelphia Flyers were in town tonight playing the Islanders, and Brian was taking his sons to see the game. As the Coliseum is directly across the street, I decided to have Lily drop JR off at the office and make it a party.

Though I did not partake in the consumption of any alcohol, and the evening was much more low-key than days of yore, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Better than any night out with the old crew - and no hangover tomorrow!

Newest additions to some personal pics at my Flickr account. Pretty easy to use, and easy storage on online pictures. So far I give it a thumbs up.

It was really nice being out of the office for a handful of days. I was able to finish painting the main bathroom, and do some clean up in the yard (damn leaves). The kids and I played a ton of video games - I’ll need to throw a game on the holiday shopping list. So much to do at work though - looking forward to a strong finish to a banner year. I can’t wait to see what ‘06 brings…

As I try to become more advanced in the digital age, it has come time for me to get up to speed with digital pictures. I have messed around in the past with digital pics - I have a digital camera and digital camcorder. My laptop came equipped with iPhoto and iMovie, so I should have more than enough computing power to manage and manipulate my digital photos.

As a husband and father of two, we take our fair share of pictures. Thank God for technology, and the advances in photography. Gone are the days of wasted film - today we can take hundreds of pictures, and simply delete the ones we dislike. Very nice for the vain amongst us.

I set up an account at Flickr, the online photo thing that Yahoo bought a while ago. It has gotten rave reviews, and I have seen it in use by a number of bloggers, so I figured I’d give it a try. You can check out my current photos here. As I get the hang of it, I will try to incorporate it more.

The beauty of the digital camera. We took a hundred or so pictures, but I have chosen the following as representative of the whole. It was a good time…

Even though I currently reside in the fine state of New York (where I was born and raised), I guess the old saying is true. Now tha I find myself in San Francisco for the first time in 18 months, I feel right back at home. It is nice to see the freaks on Haight, the fog over the hills, the sun downtown, and a plethora of peace-loving Americans.

I missed you San Francisco…

I am taking some time away from the blogosphere this evening. While my wife and kids are in California, I am going to take advantage of the time and go see War of the Worlds. From the few people I have spoken with about it, I have gotten mixed feedback. From the trailers, it seems pretty cool. I don’t care if Tom Cruise has gone crazy.

Also, an opportune time for me to get in some shameless self promotion. We launched Movie Review Blog a few weeks ago, and it just so happens that one of our authors reviewed it. So, here then, are the plugs:

Movie Reviews - Unbiased movie reviews including horror, comedy, indy, classics, thriller, and more.

War of the Worlds - review by The Unmotivated Thinker

After a long time of procrastinating, the day has come to kick the habit. For the last two weeks, I have been taking the anti-depressant, cum smoking cessation drug Wellbutrin.

So I have not experienced the crankiness associated with the withdrawal of nicotine, but he mind fuck is still there. I have one last cigarette that I MAY smoke on the ride home tonight. On the other hand, I may keep it as a keepsake. A token of times shared. A crutch, if only mental. Maybe something to keep the demons at bay…

Quit Smoking now.

Yesterday I lost something. Typically, I take pride in the fact that losing things is “not me”. I may misplace something temporarily, but losing my keys, or my wallet, is typically not my style. When I make a mistake, I tend to go down in flames - I try to not waste my time with petty screw-ups. I am more likely to get busted in Mexico and have to pay off some federale (true story) than to lose my personal belongings.

It drove me nuts - all day. I even had trouble falling asleep last night. I replayed the scene over and over in my head. I pictured myself placing it in my pocket, saw myself get out of my truck, and proceed with my afternoon. Where the hell did I drop it? How could I have been so careless?

Luckily, some things in life are easily replaced. Luckily, I think I learned a bit of a lesson. Luckily, life’s little screw-ups are easier to get over than the big ones.

It’s less than 10 degrees outside right now, and we have some serious weather coming in. Current reports showing up to 15″. Sweet. I see some boarding in my near future.

Absolutely fantastic day on the professional side today. Saw the fruition of two major deals on two separate initiatives. Our internet directory saw the addition af three new editors - with directory experience from DMOZ and Looksmart. This really sets us up for a quality build out for 2005.

Craigslist may have my vote as the most useful site online. Every experience I have with them is superb.

Time to hit the sack, and save my energy for shoveling.

Looks like we a re finally going to get some snow on the east coast. New York got approximately 1″ tonight, and according to the reports, we are going to get pounded this weekend. Finally!! What an awful year for east coast snowboarding. I am planning on taking my family up to the mountain early next week though. I have to get my daughter on a board ASAP - when I told her I was going to let her miss a day of school next week to go boarding, she asked “Why not skiing Daddy?” - ugghhhh. It will be nice in a couple of years to have both kids ripping it up with Dad. I am sure it won’t be too long before Dad is doing his best to keep up.

This morning, while surfing some SEO stuf, I read that “thong” is a pretty popular query. After doing a bit of investigation, I hereby conclude that there are definitely not enough sites that focus on the beauty that is the thong.

I did find one worth bookmarking (don’t click this one at work) BIG Steve’s

Have fun

I have always loved music. I have friends, family, and colleagues who like music. I really love it. Though not musically inclined (a voice in my head whispers “there is still time”) music has always played a big part in my life. Two music related events in 2004 I am pleased about - my iPod (40 gig model - oh yeah), and the spread of satellite radio.

iPod’s are the proverbial BOMB. Truly. I can take my 4,000 songs with me wherever I go (and I still have room for an additional 5000+). I took it snowboarding with me at Killington last week and it rocked. Once I got past the snafus with the remote in my sleeve, it was smooth sailing. Set up a few mountain playlists, strapped the board on, and ripped it up all day. Now if we could just get some of that West Coast weather…

So with my iPod on the go, and Sisius streaming through the computer at the office, it’s all music, all day. Awesome. Sirius definitely needs to strike a deal with Apple to downoad music directly into iTunes from their online interface. A few times a day, I hear something on Sirius, hit the iTunes store, and purchase music. As I am also a shareholder, it is nice to read at Forbes that Sirius Sees Subscriber Boost From Ford Deal. As a user, I don’t care. I don’t see myself in a Ford any time soon. I do care that I will get 5 more years of Howard. Bring it.

Some quick thoughts on things I plans on accomplishing / woking towards in 2005:

• Quit smoking cigarettes
• Practice more personal discipline
• Leave the office at the office
• Talk less, work more
• Watch less TV, read more books

The holidays were crazy, and blogging here did ot take much of a priority the last few weeks. Now that the damn holidays are behind us, I plan on getting into my tyical groove, and posting both here, and elsewhere in more regular fashion.

2005 is going to kick ass… I know these things.

Some times it gets difficult looking for things to write about. Tons of thoughts pass through the head, but picking one with which to formulate a coherent, flowing passage can prove to be a problem. God, I hope my sites don’t start turning out like this - dude, you gotta give it a little more effort than that.

In memory of the great John Lennon, I will be listening to nothing but Beatles and Lennon for the rest of the evening.