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Was playing with iMovie on my iPhone and made this movie of the cat… Pretty awesome…

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I spend much of my day working at local non-profit (The Parent Child Center of Tulsa).  The old Stealcase desk that came with the gig was a true classic, but it just didn’t cut it for someone who spends a large amount of time on the computer.  I began my search for the perfect desk online and at the local office supply stores.  Nothing really seemed to do the trick for what I was looking for… Simple, clean, corner workstation, etc… So, I ultimately decided to just make my own.  Here are some pictures of the process and the finished product!

The old office setup

Wood pre cut from The Home Depot

Dad helping cut wood for the side of the desk

Looking back I would have adone a handful of things different but overall I’m happy with the outcome and the cave of focus that is my office!

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I was interviewed by the Tulsa World about budget cuts for child abuse prevention programs.  Take a look at the video.

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OK, lets look at the New Years resolutions from last year…

1. Less facebook, twitter, and constant email checking… SUCCESS
2. Watch less “American” news and read in-depth about more current events. SUCCESS!
3. Go on a multi-day hike FAIL
4. Get back into cycling and ride in Tulsa Tough and/or the MS150 KINDA FAIL, I did get back into cycling, but failed at doing any major races
5. Drink more tea – KINDA FAIL, I could have done better.
6. Go to bed earlier, spend less time in the office, and be more productive. SUCCESS
7. Spend at least a month overseas. MAJOR FAIL – Didn’t rally come together this last year, but I’ll hind a way to make up for lost time
8. Take walks KINDA SUCCESS
9. Slow down and take time to be creative… paint, write, photography and cinema. SUCCESS

So the resolutions for this year…

1. Write & Paint more
2. Make a movie
3. Invest more
4. Excede my work goals and focus on how our work can help others with the same goals.
5. Eat better, cook more, less crap food.
6. Get in routines..
7. Say “No” more
8. Keep better track of my cycling and analyze the data to feed specific goals

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One of the highlights of 2010 was getting my first dog. Little Laney found me in the park at the beginning of the summer. She has since outgrown my apartment and moved in with the folks. Originally I planned for her to move back in when I hopefully purchase a house this summer… Mom & Dad have taken a big liking to her though. We’ll see, anyways… here are a few pictures…

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It’s hard to believe that we’re already gearing up for our third Ignite in Tulsa.  It was nearly a year ago when we had the idea to bring this crazy little event to Tulsa.  A handful of speakers get on stage with five mintes and twenty auto-advancing slides to share something they are passionate about.  Intimidating? Yes! A fun evening? Yes!  Ignite Tulsa #3 is coming up on September 16th at Downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome Diner.  For more details check out the facebook page and be sure to RSVP!

Oh, here’s a few of my favorite presentations from our first two Ignites!

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For years I’ve been glued to a mobile device. I got my first cellphone in 1995, before I was in high school. After circumventing my mothers opposition to such an idea, I got a job and the mobile store. Having a cool new gadget that let me keep in touch with my friends, at the same time, was too good to be true. In 2003 I jumped on the BlackBerry bandwagon, before the days of the expected instant email reply. The thing looked like a video game with a pager built in.

So the addiction started young. I was even scared to migrate to the iPhone because I didn’t think I could live without the instant email.

Two months ago that all changed. Emails’ constant push against my normal life caused me to hit a wall. I had to make a change.

I hit rock bottom while enjoying a few after work pints with friends at the neighborhood pup. I subconsciously and instinctively checked my email. It was nothing special, just your average overly emotional message from an overly emotional business connection. Yet, it was all but instinct for me to go into response mode. How do I put this fire out? What’s the best time to send a response.. etc, etc…

It was not till later that evening, in a burst of post happy hour genius, that I realized even having read that email was pointless. I’m not managing a presidential campaign, Matt Lauer won’t be asking me questions in the morning. Merely wasting the brain power to read that email, let alone think about it while I should be relaxing and focusing on having some downtime was horrendous.

Later that evening it all came to me, the obvious, that this instinct to check email, to stay on top of things, was causing me to do anything but. In a fit of frustration I turned my iPhone’s notification sound off and sent the thing to only check email every hour. Aside from having a battery that lasted through noon I slowly began to work away from my addiction. I didn’t have that worry of what was happening with work, when I wasn’t working.

Effectiveness is not constant, it comes in bursts. I don’t think they are completely controllable. But, if you no longer realize that your A-game is won’t happen all the time, you will lose understanding of where the bar is. You can train yourself for instinct, how to defend yourself, how to respond to a crisis. You can’t have your creative, business best all the time, and all to often that is what email is about.

So, stop, slow down. Check the email twice a day, not constantly and I think you will see that you ability to convey your thoughts goes up.

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After much work and preparation next week is Ignite Tulsa! Be sure to sign up!

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then 100s of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC.

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The cloud has had an amazing impact on the growth of web based businesses. The likes of companies from 37Signals to Gmail have accomplished amazing things. Yet, yesterdays Gmail outage coupled with other issues (my label feature has not worked with a month) are beginning to make me wonder.

It is a bit of a fog… not having control of your corporate email with Google Apps. While I will continue to use cloud apps in my businesses and personally yesterday certainly reminded that you still have to be prepared for that 1% failure rate.

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