Noah Counte

Happy Fourth of July to all you US Patriots out there. Southern Indiana is suffering though a holiday reminiscent of the ones I spent in Western Washington. We had a joke about summer arriving on the 5^th, as it was always cold and rainy on the Fourth.

Here in south central Indiana, our average high temperature this time of year is somewhere in the mid-80s. Today, we’re experiencing the mid-60s today. And it’s wet. I don’t know whether to think of it as a refreshing change from the usual heat, or to start looking for some trazodone to combat depression, and let me sleep through this gray, bleak, damp, cold flashback… Who wants to party?

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2008 is upon us, and so far, it feels a lot like 2007. I guess i'll give it a few more hours before I pass judgment...

I'm not a big one for making resoilutions. I tend to be too ambitious, and then, when I can't follow through, I get all morose and depressed. Maudlin, even. But I know other people do make resolutions (rumor has it that some people actually keep their resolutions!). So, just in case you are resolute this year, I have some tips for you which I gleaned from elsewhere on the web.

First, Robert Bogue (SharePoint MVP and management kinda guy) has some good advice for setting and following through on goals. He uses the SMART system. Your goals should be:

• Specific. Don't just exercise. Exercise 20 minutes three times a week.
  
• Measurable. "Do better" isn't measurable. "I'll send cards before my friends' birthdays" is.
  
• Achievable. Perfection is not a goal. It's an ideal.
  
• Realistic. A day has 24 hours in it, and you have other things you need to do. A goal that will require more time than you have isn't going to be accomplished.
  
• Timely. Set goals you can acheive this year.
  

Here are some tools to help with your specific resolutions:

• Dieting? Try the Daily Plate to track what you eat each day.
  
  
• Exercising? Try Traneo or FitDay to track your progress.
  
  
• Need help managing yoru finances? Wesabe.
  
  
• Organize notes, to do lists and more with Backpackit.
  

I said elsewhere that I envy writers of fiction. Without making a resolution, I am bound to attempt some writing. Here's an author who likes the Cornell Method of note taking that I wrote about in an earlier post. I've been using it for some time, so my great American novel is virtually a fait accompli!

Puppies must be a popular Holiday gift. I had occasion to drive through an apartment complex this evening, and five will get you ten that there were seven people walking puppies.

I'm a dog lover, but I'm not at all sure that they make great gifts. There's a moment when one is looking at puppies or walking through the pound when one knows "this is the dog." When the puppy shows up under your tree, you don't get that moment. You get a dog to adopt, rather than a dog you can't do without.

Or maybe I'm just a Scrooge.

Christmas is nigh upon us, and I have some shopping to do. Once upon a time, I left the shopping until the 23rd or so, but lately I have more shopping to do – nieces and nephews, etc. – and that means starting earlier. The best laid plans, as they say… As often happens when I have a plan, life intervenes and creates a tumult of my expectations.

For reasons I won’t go into here, I hadn’t done much shopping prior to this morning. This morning, I did more shopping then I hope to ever do again at one time. Ever. For the rest of my life. Saturday morning at ten, and it’s busy. Surprised me, but it really shouldn’t surprise retailers, should it? I mean, they do this every Christmas.

Note to retailers: IT’S CHRISTMAS! You’re trying to sell things. Add a damned cashier. My interest in your good wanes exponentially in proportion to the number of minutes I stand in line. My interest in your goods has a life expectancy of 12-14 minutes. If I’m required to stand in the checkout line longer than that, I’m leaving. I’m not buying. And I’m not putting the crap I thought I was going to trade for with my money back on the shelf.

Next year, I’m taking up a craft – soap making, maybe – and I’m making presents for the people I care about. The rest of you suckers can elbow each other for the right to stand in line. Or I could sell you some sweet-smelling soap…

Treat each other well. All this hustle and bustle can lead us to forget that whether you are Pagan, Christian, Buddhist or Zoroastrian – or whatever else you may be – this is the season to reflect on our blessings and express our love of our family and friends; to contemplate a better world for everyone and to help make it so.

Happy holidays, whatever holiday is yours.