Think technology is getting more expensive?  When you factor in inflation most tech items are getting cheaper.

[via How-To Geek]

Last week passed and I neglected to write a blog post here. I’d written over at my homeschooling podcast/blog (The Wired Homeschool) but not here.

When I created an “easy” goal of writing once a week here I didn’t think it would be very difficult to meet that goal. Boy, was I wrong!

I spent all my creative juices writing some place else and when it came time to write here I’d lost the will to deliver. The same thing has happened with my plan to read the entire Bible this year.

It’s hard to do something consistently. Well, it’s hard to do something that’s good for you consistently. I don’t have a problem plopping on the couch and watching a TV show every night.

So what have I decided to do? First, I decided to blog about it. Funny how failure will drive creativity. It may not be the failure itself but the fear of failing again.

Second, I’m back on the wagon. No trying to make up or catch up with my missed post (or Bible reading) just start over and try to be consistent. Rather than stress out over what I’ve missed I’ve decided to push forward and look ahead.

Now it’s time for something completely different and off-track. My son has written an essay for a chance to win a $5000 college scholarship. He already has a full-tuition scholarship but he still needs money for books, room, and board. Can you help me out? Can you click on the picture to the right and vote for his scholarship?

Oh, and if my son wins the $5000, I’ll shave my head.

Reading is something that I enjoy. Unfortunately, for the past two years I’ve been reading a lot less than I’d like. This is partially due poor scheduling of my time and the surgery I had on my eye (I had corrective surgery for cataracts in my right eye).

I still read, but I hardly read purposefully. It’s hit or miss and generally in brief spurts jumping from article to article on the Internet. I hardly ever sit and read with the goal of just reading one thing for an hour or two.

When I do actually sit down and read with intention I find that I have a lot of ideas popping into my head. It really gets my creative juices flowing.

Interestingly, it does matter what I read. I get ideas when I read the newspaper, a sci-fi novel, or a non-fiction book. The act of reading and processing what I’m read rather than just reading in the moment triggers something in my brain.

The same thing happens when I listen to a podcast. A lot of the time I listen to podcasts on my commute to work but the act of driving in traffic takes such much concentration that I sometimes completely miss an idea or topic that was covered. When I’m working around the house or doing something that doesn’t require as much concentration I then start generating ideas.

Getting ideas is great. I have a million of those. Acting on those ideas and actually doing something with them is a totally different concept. Many of these ideas stew in my brain until I completely forget about them. Others continually nag me until I either act on them or I decide to give up the idea.

Right now, I need an incubator, a way to capture ideas, grow them, and then see if they’re viable (sounds like a cloning experiment). What do you do to get new ideas? How do you determine what ideas are viable and what ideas are rubbish?

We read to know that we are not alone. -C.S. Lewis

Over the past 3 decades there have been a number of gadget wars. Here’s an infographic detailing some of the more high-profile wars and their outcomes.

There’s no question I’ve struggled with my blogging and podcasting over the last 3 years. I quit, I start, I quit again, I start again. It’s like the Oroboros eating its tail.

This struggle has led me to “re-brand” my site and “personal brand”. I’ve decided to focus on two podcasts and blog a little here. To start, my goal this month is to post a blog entry that’s 350-500 words once a week in January. In February I’ll increase that to twice a week, three times a week in March and so on. By July I should be posting here 7 days a week with at least 5 blog entries in the 300-500 range.

Why am I telling you all of this? Accountability. If I put it out there in writing and there’s someone reading this then perhaps I’ll reach my goal by September.

You see, I’m a great starter. I have great ideas. The problem is my follow-through. I don’t finish. I don’t ship. I plan to change that this year. This year I will finish. This year I will ship.

In addition to these blogging goals I have a goal of writing an e-book based upon my experience with computer technology and homeschooling. I have the knowledge and information but I just haven’t taken time to sit down and write the book. Like I said, in the past I didn’t ship. This year I will ship that e-book.

I have one other private goal too. It’s a goal I don’t want to share. I don’t want to share it because it’s very personal. I plan on telling only one other person besides my wife. It’s a big goal and one that I face with fear and trembling. I hate fear. I hate fear and trembling even more.

This year will be different. This year will mark a change in my life. This year I hope you will join me in Struggling for Purpose.

I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. -Phil 3:14 MSG