1/30th

This morning, I ran across a job announcement by Twitter. Twitter is the third largest social networking site in the world and rapidly growing. According to their website, they currently employ less than 30 people and are looking to expand. No, I'm not looking to apply because I am completely unqualified for the job. But I thought about this for a moment, quickly recognizing that Twitter has gone mainstream, it's product is part of how millions of us communicate every day. The largest media companies use it as an interaction between viewers and the network. And yet they employ less than 30 people.

So as the economy is tough, workers are being laid off and companies are looking to do more with less, it's hard not to look at Twitter and say they are doing something right. If only I could be as effective as each of those 30 people who are employed by Twitter, I thought. So in a way, that is my new approach to all that I do. I want to be as effective as 1/30th of Twitter.

I will also add, that I do think that Twitter would be an outstanding place to work. According to its jobs website, "The work environment is extremely important to productivity and happiness. So we've created a beautiful office space in the heart of SOMA in San Francisco. It's very open, has tons of windows (with views), collaborative workspaces, whiteboards-a-plenty, and just the right amount of meeting space. We provide the best equipment money can buy and offer free breakfast, snacks, and often lunch. Good burritos, great coffee, and Whole Foods are just blocks away. Sometimes we'll walk to the park around the corner when we need to talk about something juicy or just get some fresh air (or a better burrito)."

Sounds like my kind of place. Especially since I don't have a window.

On the Eve of History

Tonight, as I sit on the eve of history, I reflect on what is going to happen tomorrow when Barack Obama is to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

I can’t tell you how history will look back on this event. But I can tell you how I hope that this amazing sense of optimism we as a country feel on this date will continue well beyond the pomp and circumstance of the Inaugural.

I believe we as a nation will be stronger tomorrow and that President Obama will bring a sense that we are ALL responsible for making our world better each and every day. I sense that in a way, we are all being called to service and to act in unison, bound together by promise and hope of a better world around us. We are called to use our resources and our own unique abilities for the betterment of the community in which we live and to help our fellow human beings in their time of need.

Acting together, we can continue to change the world.

President-Elect Obama 01.18.09

I'll be posting some of the Inaugural coverage here. Particularly those things that inspire me.

The Family Tree -

For most of us, our family tree is a definite lineage, tracing back into history many generations. And so too was Michael Kingsbury’s. Or at least he thought. That was until he received a letter his grandmother had written nearly fifty years earlier.

That letter, and a bit of insight from a local historian, sets Michael on a quest to discover just why his true grandfather was murdered. What he finds, however, is not simply an answer to a two-generation old mystery, but a horrendous injustice that put an innocent man to death.

Underlying this story is a tale of love taken away and an affair a woman wanted so much to keep hidden that she withheld evidence to protect her secret - even if it meant someone would die. What Michael discovers will give new light on his own family and ultimately liberate another from three generations of pain and suffering.

A Holiday Greeting

A few of my favorite things

It just so happens that in the past week I have had the chance to see or do three things that I enjoy. They're not monumental things, but they are three things I will remember and take away on down the road of life.

1. I saw, heard and met the artist Thomas Kinkaid in Kansas City last weekend. He did an event to support the First Christian Church in Kansas City. My wife and I had purchased a painting over the summer and were able to have it signed and we also have a hand sketched picture on the back side by Thomas Kinkaid with a personal message by his wife Nanette. It is a wonderful family heirloom and we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to attend the event.

Many of his paintings were on display and while I looked at them, I recognized an appreciation of a leadership quality through his work. His paintings are clearly a reflection of what he truly believes and he clearly articulates a sense of peace and harmony in the world and with his faith. That made me think about what I do and many of the things I write. In doing so, I really hope that I can base myself on the same footing and faith as Thomas Kinkaid has. It's made me think about the story plots in my head and to ask myself if they are truly a reflection of my faith.

2. I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. It made me think about the people who have shaped my life and those whose life I am shaping. Thinking of my life coming closer to an end each and every day, I am always reminded that I am here on this earth for a reason.

3. I sat with my son and listened to the famous ESPY speech by Jim Valvano. Valvano passed away in 1993 from cancer. The speech always brings tears to my eyes. He knew he was going to die. But yet, he stood and spoke with such poise and strength and spoke as someone who knew his purpose in life. It wasn't to coach basketball and to win a national championship, it was to leave a lasting legacy and raise awareness for cancer. If you would like to watch the speech, you can see it here.

All three of these things have given me a greater appreciation for life and living life true to my faith and recognizing that a life is more than what is wrapped up inside a person. It makes me appreciate those people who understand their purpose in life and are living life guided by that purpose.

Life Isn't Easy

How many times have we heard the phrases, "Nobody said that life was going to be easy" and "We all have good days and bad days." Those statements are both so true. The question we have to ask ourselves is how do we deal with those bad days and those days when life isn't easy?

I think there are two distinct ways to handle bad days. The easy way is to feel sorry for yourself admit defeat and take a "woe is me attitude." The other way is to recognize that you had a bad day or that life isn't going to be easy and then remind yourself of your mission and values of your life.

I am a firm believer in a personal mission statement. That is not to say that I succeed each and every day. My Mission is to be the very best person I can be to my family, my job, my community, my Creator and to myself. I fail in at least one of these areas every day. Some days worse than others. Some days I am not the best husband or father I can be or I fail in the goals and personal challenges before me. But rather than giving up, saying to myself that because I may have had a bad day at work, I am going to have a bad night at home, I look to what is most important to me. It makes me try harder to to be the best to my family or to my job or to my community.

And yes, you will have those days in which it all falls apart, your job, your family and maybe yourself, but remember, your Creator is always there for you. He will forgive. He will guide and comfort and He will help you through those challenges of life.

In the road map of life, every town you come to, every bridge you cross and every turn you make, God is there for you.

My Second Story Window

In the business world, they call this restructuring. On a personal level, the word reorganization might be a better fit. I will be the first to recognize that I have too many websites and blogs that I try and manage. It's a cause and effect I've come to realize. The cause is that I have too many things that I am interested in. The effect, a plethora (and I don't use that word lightly) of websites that I am involved with. This blog, My Second Story Window, was my first blog and it really has not had a purpose for the past several months, other than becoming an occasional catch all for those things I have been working on.

But it should be so much more. In this reorganization, I hope to make it much more.

Those who follow me know that I enjoy writing. It's much more than a hobby. It's a way of expressing my thoughts in ways I could never do through speaking. The written word to me is extremely powerful and is the basis for what I want My Second Story Window to become.

My Second Story Window is how I view the world around me. It's about those things I care deeply about. It's about caring. And it's above all, about faith. I have never been one who wore his religion on his sleeve and I don't intend for this to become a blog about religion, per se. But what I do hope to do is share my thoughts on leadership and how to become a better person through a clearly defined and focused set of principles and ideals.

Those principles are derived from many places, including my own faith and beliefs and the knowledge of my life. I hope you can use some of this to help you in your life to better serve the world in which we live.

Expand your social network

When I began “social networking” more than a year ago, I did so in a way that might seem backwards to most people. Rather than creating a network of people I already knew, I found people I did not know that I had common interests with.
For example, through Twitter, I found runners (I was training for a marathon), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society supporters (I was raising money while training as part of the Team in Training Program), writers (I am writing a novel) and technology geeks like myself which led to blogging for CJOnline.

I had a few people that I actually knew and would come to know, but for the most part my friends were people I had never met and most likely never would meet. I joined FaceBook to connect with a group of people whom I met at a national meeting a few months ago who use technology within professional associations. Association work is what I do for a living.

But a funny thing happened along the way. My sister asked me to be her friend. And then my mother. Then came a few people who grew up in my home town. Suddenly, my network of friends actually consists of real friends, not just people I have connected with in a professional sense. For me that has been a change and a good one. In just a very short time, I have reconnected with some friends I hadn’t talked to in a very long time. But as much as I missed out on the obvious, those that only connect with those they know might be missing out on something very important, which is expanding their network to people they do not know.

You see, there is a young lady in New Mexico who is battling leukemia that has rekindled a passion within me to run another marathon. I have gotten to know a runner in Florida who has a connection with the association world who has also participated in a Team in Training Marathon and donated to my fundraising campaign last year.

The contacts I have made in the association world have educated me in ways to enhance our communications at my work which have been successful. Those communication strategies have enhanced what I have done for our local Rotary club with its website and newsletter which has now led to serving on the communications committee at my church. These things may have never happened if not for the connections I made with the people I have never met.

So don’t limit yourself in the social networking world to those people you already know. It’s important to keep those relationships alive, but there is an exciting world out just waiting for you to join it. So take a leap and become friends with someone like you, even if they live clear across the country. That friendship might just be one that will change your life.

Update to Summer Dreams, The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

I released the Bottom of the Seventh inning last night and it is available at www.greghillbooks.com. Expect a new chapter ever other week from here on out. That has been my schedule pretty much through the dog days of summer, but now that we're to the late innings, I want to wrap up at the end of the baseball season.

Presentation to the ADA Creates Opportunity for new website

Last week, I had the opportunity to share with the American Dental Association many of the things I have been working on with the Kansas Dental Association, in particular, those things we call web 2.0.  As a result, I have created a new website and blog focusing on the world of technology, focusing on how professional associations can utilize those tools to better reach their members.  The website is www.twopoint0media.com.  Come check it out.

I'll still post everything here at My Second Story Window as well as at MySpace.  Of course, follow me on Twitter if you aren't already.

Scribd - A new way to share documents

Today I ran across this really cool way to share documents and decided to write about it in my weekly CJOnline post. Check it out here. I also posted the latest all-inclusive release of my serial novella, Summer Dreams, The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers as well.

The Power of Stories

I admit I have always gotten a little nervous speaking in front of groups, no matter how small they might be. I remember in fifth grade giving a presentation and having to stand behind the desk so the class couldn’t see my legs shake. Not that the fluttering in my voice didn’t give it away.Fortunately, the nervousness I now get is nowhere near that extreme, but I do still get nervous. I think it is only natural though and once I get into my presentation, it usually wears off quickly and I begin to feel at ease with the group I am speaking to.

Recently, I had an opportunity to talk about KMOM with a Kiwanis Group in Kansas City at the invitation of Dr. Karen Baker. Now I have had the chance to talk about KMOM a number of times over the past few years and there are really two approaches. The first is to explain what the project is, what we do and the logistics behind it - the setup, teardown, funding, collaboration, etc. It’s the stuff that makes it happen. And for spreading the message with other states that might want to do a similar project, it’s a very good nuts and bolts way to explain what KMOM does. But it’s a presentation I hate to give. It’s not me. It’s not what inspires me.

So I threw that presentation away and before speaking to a Rotary Club in Independence earlier this year, I rewrote it, focusing not on the “what we do”, but on the “why we do it.” That approach focuses squarely on the patients and was the reason behind the KMOM Topeka video. It’s the stories of the decisions that patients all across Kansas have to make. Do they buy that winter coat for their children or do they take care of the cavity in their own mouth? Do they buy $4 a gallon gasoline so they can drive to the night shift that allows a father to put a roof over his children’s head and food on the table or does he see a dentist because of an infection that has erupted? What we have found is that a great many of the patients we treat are the working class of our society and have no other options as prices on necessities continue to skyrocket. They take care of their family’s needs, often at their own expense.

Then I told the stories of a few people I have met along the way. There was the 102 year old volunteer from Garden City KMOM in 2003 who was waiting on his 80 year old daughter to pick him up after he worked the morning shift. There was a young boy in Kansas City who volunteered to read to a group of kids for a photo, but continued to read as a crowd of young children gathered around him on that hot 107 degree day in Kansas City. And then there is the mother of two twelve- year old daughters who I had the opportunity to see smile for the very first time after a set of dentures was placed into her mouth. Her two daughters stood beside her with tears of joy as a ray of sunshine created a glow around their mother’s head. It is a moment forever engrained in my mind and one that chokes me up every time I talk about it. And it did on that morning, in front of twenty strangers. But it was okay. As I looked around, there was not a dry eye to be seen. They understood the message and the purpose for why we do what we do. It’s about public service. It’s about a profession stepping up where a system has let us down. It’s something far greater than portable dental chairs, units and lights. It’s the human spirit, making a difference in people’s lives.

That is the presentation I like to give. As I walked out of that room that day, I thought not about how I did, but about the people we have touched along the way.

Each and every single one of them.

--Greg Hill

Summer Dreams

The Top of the Sixth has been published online. The 1955 season is about to start and there is a surprise for Donny as they go to watch the Dodgers arrive for their last spring training practice.

Quick Update

I have been working on a very exciting project for my local Rotary Club and it has been taking me away from my writing, but for a very good reason. I took over the club's website and have been redesigning it from scratch. The result has been, what I think anyway, a unique and exciting design that reflects on the rich history of Rotary while looking forward to the future. The website is http://www.downtowntopekarotary.org/.

The idea was to take something and make it look both old, to recognize the proud history of Rotary, and at the same time, create something that we recognize as new and innovative.

Ranking the four Topeka television websites

WIBW TV unveiled its new website this past weekend. The design is a significant improvement over the previous site. I decided this week to take a look at the WIBW site along with the other television stations in Topeka. Like a college professor I once had, A’s don’t come easily. With that in mind, here are my rankings.

1. 13 WIBW (www.wibw.com) – The new design is fresh, but maybe a bit too much text and not enough color. Cosmetic yes, but design is important. Of all the stations, WIBW seems the most progressive in reaching out to the community through web 2.0 content and several of the on-air personalities use Twitter. Along with staff blogs, WIBW also does a “Live Blog” which allows viewers to post live comments throughout the newscasts. A mobile edition can be found at www.13onyourcell.com. Video clips can be viewed from the mobile site as well. A nice plus for the mobile web surfers. Photos can be submitted. Overall Grade (B+). Add a bit more color (border) and cut back on the text. For example, use drop down or pop out menus to tone down the long list on the left.

2. 49 ABC (www.ktka.com) – In terms of overall design, this website has a very sleek look and feel. KTKA launched this website a few years back and at the time, was on the cutting edge with podcasts, RSS feeds, blogs and email alerts. Readers can post comments to stories, download videos in several formats and read blogs. From your cell phone, you can access a mobile edition at m.ktka.com and even leave comments on stories. Overall grade (B-). The design is easily navigatable which is a definite plus and in my opinion, beats out WIBW on design. The web 2.0 features are great, but they need to be better used, which is the reason for the lower grade. A blog posting every month or so just isn’t enough.

3. 27 KSNT (www.ksnt.com) – Topeka’s NBC station includes some nice features, titled “On Demand” with RSS feeds, a mobile edition, community events and video on demand. The design seems a little stale compared to the previous two stations. Stories can be emailed, but not commented upon. There are no blogs. All in all, this website seems stuck in the pre-web 2.0 world and could use a significant update. The mobile version (www.ksnt.com/mobile) provides neither video nor comments. Overall grade (C-). A significant upgrade is needed to bring the web content up to new web 2.0 standards. Blogs from the news staff would be nice to promote upcoming stories or the behind the scenes of a story.

4. 43 KTMJ (www.myfoxtopeka.com) – The site relies heavily on national content and finding local news is difficult. There are no video clips, blogs and a message board has only one posting. There also appears to be no mobile version. Pretty basic stuff here. If you are looking for local flavor, forget about it. Overall grade (D). A lot could be done to improve this site, but the first thing I’d do is start running local news.The one thing I’d like all the stations to do, in particular those who offer video content, is to allow readers to imbed stories into their own sites, like YouTube. For the most part, the Topeka stations do have good websites and seem to keep them up-to-date with news content.

Top of the Fifth

I posted the latest half inning last night of Summer Dreams, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. You can read that here.

Remembering that tech from the past

Imagine that the technology that you rely on each and every day was suddenly taken away. That is the premise behind a new television show on the MOJO Network titled “Technology Jones.” Consider it a game show, without a million dollar prize or the option to phone a friend.

Each contestant gives up their technology gadgets and exchanges them for the technology that existed in a year from the past. Simply put, a new MacBook Air and iPhone might become a portable typewriter and a dime for a nearby pay phone. The contestant is then given a score at the end of the show on how well he or she managed to get through life with the technology they were given.

This show made me wonder. Could I live without technology? Probably so. Would I be as effective and accomplish the many tasks that I have to accomplish on a given day? Would I survive with a checkbook and a check register as the foundation of my financial management? Could I blog with a typewriter, an envelope and a 23-cent stamp?

Along with the idea of giving up technology, I too have thought of my favorite gadgets from the past. Long before the iPod, there was the Sony Walkman; before Windows Vista was Windows 3.1; and prior to broadband, there was a 16bps dialup modems.

Here are some of my favorite tech gadgets and formats from the past, and their present day counterparts.

Sony Beta Max – Blue Ray
Atari 2600 - Nintendo Wii
Cassette Tapes – mp3
Apple IIe – iMac
DOS – Windows Vista
5.25 inch floppy – 4 GB flash drive

What are some of your favorite “blasts from the technology past?”

HTC Mogul 6800 Reviewed

Last week, I wrote that I was in the market for a new cell phone. I decided on the HTC Mogul offered through Sprint.
Size – Remember, I was moving from the Palm 700P. The Mogul is a little smaller, not significantly, but the fact that it doesn’t have an antenna makes it seem considerably smaller. The official specs are 4.3” x 2.3”x.7” and a weight of 6.5 oz.
Features – In terms of basic features, this phone has them covered. The phone is installed with Microsoft Office Mobile. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. Outlook includes calendar, contacts and tasks that sync with Outlook on your computer. Email can be retrieved wirelessly, of course, but a great feature that was either lacking or I never used on the Palm, keeps my messages synced while connected by USB. When I walk away from my computer, my email travels with me, just as they existed on my computer. Then, every five minutes, Microsoft Outlook will check the server for new messages. (I realize these are features in all pocket PC’s, so this might also be a review of Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 as well.)
The phone comes with a 2 megapixel camera, video camera and Bluetooth. A very nice feature is the built in GPS with integrated software called Sprint Navigation. It works just like a standard car GPS, but does come with a voice activation feature in the “Drive To” menu which allows you to verbally tell the phone where you want to go. An update to Microsoft Windows Live Search includes what I think is the best feature of the phone - GPS overlaid on satellite imagery. Instead of watching a triangle move on a plain map, you can actually watch your car move along real images. Of course, don’t watch while you are driving.
The sliding keyboard is nice, but truthfully, I have mastered the small touch screen keyboard that originally had kept me from the new touchscreen only models. Once the keyboard is slid open, the screen rotates 90 degrees. There seems to be multiple ways to navigate through the phone, depending on what you are most comfortable with. There is a stylus, scroll wheel, keyboard and touch screen all which can be used just to scroll down the page.
This is a business end phone, so it seems somewhat light on the ringtones, flashy effects, etc. I am sure they are there, but aren’t as easily found.
Bottom line, I would rate the Mogul an 8.5 out of 10. I have had some issues with too many applications open simultaneously, causing it to grind to a halt. It does not have Sprint TV (possibly still a locked feature as was GPS until recently I learned). I also cannot seem to record audio other than brief recordings through OneNote. It does have Wi-Fi (802.11x) which I have yet to use.
If you are looking for a business phone upgrade, make sure you give this a look.

Zune adds television shows and other new features

Microsoft took a big step today with its Zune music player by adding the ability to play television shows, a feature Apple has had in its iPod for two years now. The big feature for Zune is that it has NBC in its lineup, which Apple does not. Like Apple when it first began offering TV programs to the iTunes Music Store, the choices are rather limited. The shows are $1.99 or 160 Microsoft Credits.

According to reports, more than 800 episodes of shows including South Park, Battlestar Galactica, and The Office are included in the service which for now anyway is not part of the Zune subscription service.

While this is big news for Zune, there is still a lot of work to do if it wishes to play in the same league as the wildly popular iPod. Microsoft says it has sold over two million Zune units since November, 2006. Apple on the other hand, has sold 10.6 million in the first quarter of 2008 alone.

Another feature added in the update is the ability to sync wirelessly to the library on the computer. Microsoft says that users can select the music they want to sync and the next time their Zune is in range, it will automatically sync.

I’m installing and testing the new features. I’ll report back on how it works.

Help, I'm buying a new cell phone

I hate to admit it, but cell phones are not at the top of my knowledge of tech gadgetry. It should be, or at least near the top, because I use one every day, not just to talk, but to browse the net, check email and on occasion, write documents. So this last week, when I went out to look at replacing my Palm 700P, I was a bit overwhelmed by what I found.

Let me preface this by saying that what I was looking for was not a simple flip or slide phone designed for text messaging, ringtones and photos of my friends. I was looking for a high end business device that not only can handle multiple email accounts, web access, document access and editing, but an assortment of other features that I have come to use on my Palm.

I want something that is essentially a mini-laptop that I can carry with me at all times and access the world any time and any place that provides me an office on the go. It should be an extension of my computer, not merely a smart phone or PDA. As an avid Windows user (Vista at that), I ruled out Blackberry and the iPhone from the start. I have not decided what phone I am going to purchase. Each mobile service has one model that seems to meet my demands. In all likelihood, I will probably stick with my current carrier, mainly out of convenience.

So here is my call to you. Give me some suggestions about what I should buy and why. Right now, I am looking at the Sprint Mogul HTC 6800, AT&T Tilt, the T-Mobile Wing and Verizon VX6800. Once I decide on the phone, I will then provide a review of it.

Bottom of the Second

The next chapter of Summer Dreams, The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers has been posted at my website.

Quick Updates

A couple of things that are going on in my life. First, I am a proud father of a three week old son. Camden Andersen Hill was born on March 30, 2008. I have made every attempt to spend as much time as possible with my family over the past three weeks, so that means that my writing has subsided. I still feel as if I could do more. He is a true blessing and it is amazing how quickly they adapt to their new world.

Today I am leaving for the Kansas Mission of Mercy dental project in Garden City, KS. For those who regularly read my blogs, you might remember an article I wrote earlier this year in which I talked about my goals for this year in reference to the song Measure of a Year from Rent. The opportunity to participate in this project and the honor to serve as the Executive Director of the foundation is something I am very proud of. I have some incredible ideas about how to share this experience through the internet, so if you have a chance, please visit the KMOM website during the next few days.

This week I wrote about the new Microsoft FolderShare at CJOnline. I am finding the new Windows Live system intriguing and very helpful in document sharing and access. You can read that over at CJOnline.

Lastly for this week, The Top of the Second has been posted on my website. Hope you have had the chance to read the previoius two chapters.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks on winning the 2008 NCAA Championship. I am now the proud owner of three KU t-shirts and a cap and a recognition that sport is more than about rivalry, but rather of accomplishment and hard work. All Kansans should be proud of the Jayhawks, whether die-hard Kansas State University fans or otherwise. Life is too short to worry about a rival having success.

Summer Dreams, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

For those that know me, you know that two of my favorite things are books and baseball. A few years ago, I began a short story about the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and I am releasing it half-inning, by half-inning on my website.

In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally won the World Series. But for one small group of fans, that magical summer was about more than just what happened on the field. Summer Dreams is an eighteen-part serial short story following four Dodger fans through one memorable summer and the strange events that occurred. An amazing coincidence or a connection with the unknown?

Check back every week for a new inning and follow the Boys of Summer as told from the eyes of a ninth grader named Donny Haynes.

Time for some spring cleaning

Now that it’s April, most of us will find ourselves doing a bit of spring cleaning. Maybe it’s raking up the leaves along the fence, sweeping out the sand from the garage or putting away the coats for next winter. But what about spring cleaning your computer?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my computer really is a mess. Between the thousands of photos, hours of video from vacations, birthdays and other activities along with hundreds of documents, email and music, my computer resembles my bedroom closet when I was in high school. That doesn’t even include the nine years of files on my work computer.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. I ran across the blog Lifehacker, which offers tech tricks, tips and downloads for getting things done. Gina Trapini wrote the book Upgrade Your Life, which transforms dozens of blog posts into comprehensive, edited tutorials. Trapini runs through, in abbreviated form, 116 ways in which you can simplify your tech life.

The one I am most interested for my spring cleaning project is how to organize your documents folder. This has always been a struggle of mine, particularly that pesky Current Projects and To File folder which are things that tend to never get done and then never get filed.

Check out the abbreviated version at http://lifehacker.com/366859/the-best-of-lifehacker-in-upgrade-your-life and let me know what tricks you like.

Summer Dreams, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

Dear Reader,

The first time I ever thought about writing fiction came after reading the first volume of Stephen King’s The Green Mile in 1997. I had always loved stories and enjoyed writing, but it wasn’t until then that I honestly thought about writing a novel.

The idea of the serial novel intrigued me and stuck with me. King released a few more stories in similar formats, including Hearts in Atlantis in 1999.
In 2001, I had the idea of writing a short story about four boys who bought season tickets to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955. For those of you who may not know baseball history, 1955 was the season the Dodgers finally won the World Series. While the Yankees may very well be the dynasty of baseball, the 1955 Dodgers still remains some fifty three years later, one of the best stories in baseball history.

And so, Summer Dreams, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers was born. But as I wrote, I thought about how I wanted to keep the story alive, building upon the lives of the characters, not only through that season, but into the future. That became the framework for what I hope to be an ongoing story about the lives of these four characters introduced in Summer Dreams, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

My plan is simple, but ambitious. Approximately every week, I will release a chapter of this novella, which I call half-innings, until the story is complete in the bottom of the ninth. The story is free, but I have created a way in which you can donate ($7 for the entire story) if you wish. You are completely free to read it and not pay a penny. It is up to you.

But that is only part of the plan. Next year, I will release another novella about another season. I don’t know what season, nor do I know what genre the story will ultimately take. I have always found that I do my best writing when I am free to go where the story takes me.

I hope you enjoy this story and the tale of four friends who find something quite mysterious back in 1955.

Happy reading!

Greg

The Bamboo - Product Review

I don’t know how many times in my life, I have seen a gadget, thought it would be the answer to all my problems, only to discover that it created more of a headache trying to install it and then have it not perform the way I thought it would. Today, I had the opposite happen. http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=6796

Running ... or lack thereof

Winter finally caught up to me. I had been doing a great job of staying in shape by using the eliptical trainer, but even that hasn't worked for me lately. Tonight I went to a meeting for the Team in Training program as a coach for this year's program and was reminded about why I ran the marathon. I know I am not out of shape, so it shouldn't be real difficult to get myself back into marathon shape. There is no chance of doing a March marathon as I had originally hoped, but by late April or early May I should be back in shape that I can be doing some significant distance runs. I still want to run a couple more marathons this year.

Where do I get my tech news?

My post this week at CJOnline is about some of the resources I use for tech news. Read it here at http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=6710

On why I haven't blogged lately

I think it is important from time to time to look at what you are doing and ask yourself whether or not the things you do are prioritized correctly. There are things you want to do and then there are things you have to do. Each of these have different levels of need within themselves and a wise time management guru would probably argue that even within those sub-categories of prioritized actions, there are prioritizations again and soforth. (Seriously, did that make any sense?)

For me, my greatest priority is my family. I have a four year old daughter and a son that is due any day now. My wife is very pregnant and very tired. My roll as a husband and a father is all consuming right now in a very good way, I will add. I wouldn't change anything when it came to my family and I would devote twenty four hours a day, seven days a week if necessary. My roll in the household is taking additional duties and will continue to do so.

Balancing work and my personal well being is second. Within work is that which I do for money and that which I do for enjoyment. I am the editor for my Rotary club's newsletter. I edit another newsletter and I do a considerable amount of writing on the side, including now a blog for CJOnline. I am working to create a national not-for-profit and I manage another not-for-profit as part of my paying job which requires a few days out of town a month on average.

In my personal life, there is the need to stay healthy which I greatly value, the writing which I do, including blogging here and trying to write a novel. Add in my commitment to the Team in Training program as a coach and the fact that I want to continue to stay in shape as a marathoner.

As I try and balance those things, I realize that I can't do everything that I want to do and do it all well. To maintain marathon shape means that I have to cut back on my writing. To write as much as I want means I have to cut back on my running. Both of these take away from my family time.

I thought back in January, when I considered the idea of running a marathon a month and then again in February when I began writing for CJOnline that each month I would be able to do everything I wanted to and that time could be manipulated and that somehow I could get it all worked in.

Reality says I can't though. So as I am nearly midway through March, I admit I can't blog every day. I can't write a thousand words in a novel every day. I can't exercise every day. I can't read 50 pages in a book every day. I can't get up and exercise or run every day. I can't write three letters to potential agents every day. I can't find time to just sit down and watch a basketball game every day.

But I can stay healthy and a few days a week get myself outside and run. I can eat healthy and maintain a healthy way of life. I can schedule an hour here and there and write my novel. Writing for CJOnline is my chance to research tech and explore my hobbies. I can watch a basketball or a baseball game and be satisfied. And I can have the time and the energy to do those things which are most important to me - be a father and a husband, while still having some time to relax and watch television or a movie, read a book or listen to music.

Live is not easy and I think those who are able to balance those things they want to do and those things they have to do and feel good about the time they are committing to both have the right formula. Sometimes we have to tinker with that formula a little here and there to get the right result.

And that, dear reader, is why I haven't written here everyday.

Quick Update

Got a million things yet to do tonight, but I finally got outside for a run and I published my blog at CJOnline. Now I am off to finish the March issue of the Rotopeka and then hopefully to bed. I think I am going to work on one meaninful post here a week and then update more on individual things like running, writing, etc. (unless they are monumental of course) over at Twitter. I think I need to blog about how I need one extra hour a day so I can blog.

Google's New Features

This week's CJOnline blog is about some of the new additions to Google. I think both of these new features are pretty interesting and I am curious where GrandCentral will go. We tend to think of the future of communications in terms of web and mobile web devices, so in a way voice mail seems to be a step back into the past. I'll let you read for yourself and I am now checking out some of the new Microsoft Live services.

McCain Clinches, Democrats Fight On

Anyone hoping the Democrat primary process was going to be wrapped up tonight is in for a disappointment. With the wins, John McCain has wrapped up the Republican nomination while big wins by Hillary Clinton has slowed the momentum of Barack Obama. Mike Huckabee has finally dropped out and McCain can now focus on uniting the GOP. That will be no small feat, however. Even with several months to go before the convention, McCain will have to run fast to the center which has not been an ally in the Iraq War. His statement that troops might need to remain for a hundred years might come back to haunt him. If he can come up with a resolution to end the war while Clinton and Obama are arguing semantics over whether or not they supported going into war in the first place, he might just begin to move these independent voters. It will be difficult given the age factor, but it's not impossible.

A Week Away

I hadn't planned it, but it just happened. A week away from blogging. It's not that I didn't think about it several times last week, but for the most part, I tried my best to take a break from technology. For me, that is a difficult or nearly impossible proposition, but I did try my best. I posted two weeks ago at CJOnline about taking a break from tech addictions. Tonight I am doing my best to catch up on a few things, including this week's CJOnline blog. If you look above (or at the about me section for those reading on MySpace) there is a Call Me button. This is a neat little feature which I am blogging about at CjOnline. GrandCentral, a service just purchased by Google, allows you to leave me a voice mail from the web. And it's free.

I was struggling through the weekend, so I just got my weekly half marathon in tonight while watching the KU vs. Texas Tech game. I am a K-State alumni, but I have to say that this KU team might just be something special and unless they meet K-State again, I'll be rooting for them all the way.