I hate the term New Years resolution.  I  don’t know why, maybe because the term has become almost meaningless.  It seems that 90% of people make the same ones: lose weight, save money, eat out less.  I used to do it to, until one year I just decided to say screw it.  It’s not that resolutions are bad, but deciding to set a date for a lifestyle change (which all of these things require) is not a good idea.  Last year I decided in March that I wanted to get healthy, on December 1st I had lost 20lbs, overhauled my diet, and was routinely exercising.  The holiday season hasn’t helped those things, but I’m already getting back on track this week. This taught me that  “big” life changes need to come when your ready and that the New Year is generally not the right time, for me at least. Read more…

For those of you back to work today, hopefully I can give you some links to distract yourself with.  For those of you that didn’t have to return to work, well good for you, spend a while looking through my archives after you’ve finished this post.  Read more…

I just want to take this time to welcome any new visitors I have.   This week has been a ton of fun, I got mentioned in Minnpost and got a link from Metblogs, Thank you all for stopping by my little corner of the Internet. Here are some links and a few thoughts from around the web. Read more…

I grew up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.  It is one of those places that no matter how hard I try to explain it, no one ever really understands just how small and remote it was.  To put it in perspective, you should know that the closest fast food place was a Dairy Queen 20 miles away.  The closest McDonalds or Wal-Mart was 80 miles away, and the nearest mall was three hours away.  If you needed something from a grocery store after 5pm, you were out of luck.  It was a completely different world than most people grow up in.  Was it terrible?  Not at all, it gave me an appreciation for convenience, and taught me the value of maximizing trips and time.  Unfortunately, one lesson I didn’t learn is the value of going out and experiencing the place you live. Read more…

I have a good list today, I’ve been focusing on starring and bookmarking interesting stuff so I don’t have to throw together this list from my history.

• Tim Brunelle shares a great story that puts social media in perspective.  It’s here to stay, and is not only great for finding interesting information, but also for real life networking.
• Apparently sarcasm has benefits beyond confusing those that don’t know me well.
• Stock up on acorn futures, apparently there is a shortage, wonder if the explosion of bird squirrel feeders has any part in this.
• This is a great site, @mosqueda is a great person to follow on Twitter.
• A simple but poignant reminder that we aren’t doing that poorly.
• An amazing visualization of our national budget.  Via Newcut
• Drew is moving to Minnesota, he needs some tips on how to survive our arctic chill.
• Here is a tasty looking Mexican dish.
• A list of authentic Minnesota Food.  Via The Deets

Finally an actual thought for Thoughts and Links.  I’m not a fan of the auto bailout, but I think we need it or this recession is going to go on for an extra year or two.  It’s ridiculous that banks who don’t actually create anything tangible get $700 billion, yet an auto industry that creates actual products can’t get a nickle.  (Admittedly the auto industry is not run correctly, but neither were the banks)

It’s been a while since I did one of these.  Hope everyone is having a fabulous week.  Mine started out on a down note, but things are looking up.

• Santa Claus’ Gmail account is busy this time of year.  Seems he might make his own naughty list.
• StateStats is very cool.  I like this analysis of the biking search term.  Interesting that Vermont ranks so highly. Read more…
  

A list of things I should try and master.  These are skills I have some experience with, but which I never went the extra mile to really become a guru.

• The piano: I was decent when I was younger, and then I quit because I didn’t want to be uncool.  Isn’t the wisdom of youth fun :(.
• PHP:  I know enough to break things, but if I could just sit down and actually develop something useful I could master the language.
• Photoshop/The Gimp:  Something else I really should take the time to learn about, instead I seem to stop about five steps after Unsharp Mask
• Vi:  I love it but I know about 5% of what it can do. Read more…
  

• Do you hate being asked questions that require a 3 second Google search.  Send them to letmegooglethatforyou.com and your problem is solved.
  
• Remember when Forbes Magazine used to be smart, it has become a camouflaged version of People.  Then again I guess it’s things like the Hottest Tots that sells magazines these days.
  
• I normally don’t approve of fans booing their team, but the Thunder as a whole deserve it.  Maybe not the players but the owners for sure.  In fact I propose that the Thunder get booed at all games regardless of where they take place. Read more…
  

• If you own a cat, you need to see this.  Protect yourself.
• Be careful in Canada, someone is chopping off feet.
• The NCAA extended the three point line for men’s basketball.  I guess they felt high scoring was bad for the game.
• If you are in MSP, check out this list of things to do. [via Fresh.mn]
• This article’s idea is interesting, but what’s even more interesting is the amount of land the U.S. government owns in the west Read more…