Incidental thoughts inline

I take a lot of ribbing for having a zune as my media player.  Wait!  Keep reading!  Yeah, I have one of the original brown zunes, and I still like it.

Why?

Maybe it's one of those funky, grows-on-you things.  Maybe because it's definitely an original - nothing made like it before, and certainly nothing will be made like it again.

But really, I don't think that much about the player -- it works well, has a great, bright screen, does video, podcasts, and music really well, interfaces well with my XBOX 360 and Media Center setup at home, and it wirelessly syncs when I cradle it in the evening.

But the thing I like most isn't really the player - it's some stuff beyond that.

The zunepass that we subscribe to -- one of the all-you-can-play music subscription services on the 'net and the only one that works with my and S's Zunes (hers is black, not brown) -- really has changed the whole way we purchase and listen to music.  Or rather, we don't really purchase music anymore.  Can't even remember the last time we bought a CD or track.

We just download music to my computer, hers, or our media center hub computer, and it plays anywhere in our home, or on any of our players, computers, or media center extenders.  Three computers/three devices and downloading/deleting/downloading again - it's such a cool set of features, all legal.  It's gotten me listening to music I'd never have tried out before, and exploring bands, singers, genres I'd not even have poked at in the past.

The other thing that was just sorta cool to begin with but has grown on me more and more is the zune social -- the online place where you see what your zune, windows live, and XBOX Live friends are up to in their music-scene worlds.  Badges (you get bronze, silver, gold, etc based on listening habits for artists and albums), recommendations, and other stuff I thought were interesting but unexciting at first are really helping connect with others in a way that you don't really ever talk about online or in person.

So that's why I like my (brown) zune.

http://social.zune.net/member/snosnap

Looking over my blog site, both this one and the family blog -- I'm just not happy with them.  Don't get me wrong, Spaces has been a more-than-great host.  Started the bog blog a while back following a class reunion, as a way to keep some of my old friends and some family up-to-date on what's going on with us.  And Spaces was a great place to start, with an easy interface, decent themes, and low maintenance.

But time have changed, I've changed, and what I'd like out of something I'm putting time into online has changed.

So I'm looking around for where else to host something.  I'm fine if it is part of the journey, and not really a final destination.  Just ready to branch out further in what I post, how it's organized, staying connected with others.

Have ideas? Suggestions?  Leave a comment or email me directly.  I'll be looking and hope to find something that works in the near future.

Until then, I'll just keep sharing incidental thoughts here (and being thankful for anyone who cares enough to check it out).

Staring at a pile of paperwork that's got to be six months deep.  I've been through it twice already, pulling out the important work streams each time, leaving the rest for later.  Today is the day I'm going to tackle this thing once and for all.

How did the pile get so old? Six months ago I was pulled out of my normal director role and into a project lead role, to help move forward four work streams that were doing well but needed a local manager on them.  Little did I know that four work streams meant four full time jobs.  Have never worked such hard, long, days/weeks/months with so little sense of accomplishment. For years my life has been filled with managing people and results, focused on keeping customer IT implementations thriving and running well, not grind-it-out, way-too-much-to-possibly-do, scope-of-project-expands-daily work. It's been a great, great challenge, and one that I probably needed badly, but it's taken a toll on non-essentials like paperwork piles.

So with spring still trying to break it's way into our home rhythm, once-in-a-while Saturdays have become the golden home project catch-up days.  Yeah.  Would rather be hiking, or goofing off, or bike exploring.  Not inside paperwork.

Thinking each time a peak/valley/peak/valley like this comes in it's a chance to learn something new.  This one's about simplifying things at home, being much much less of a pack rat and much more of a get-it-done, throw-it-out person.  And also learning to worrying a lot less about getting stuff just right; just going for it, call it good enough, and move on.  Not sloppy, just a little less idealism in the mix.

...that keeps people living in the pacific northwest.  I have to be honest, much of the year here is full of clouds and drizzle and cold and rain.  I've found many days over the past few years that I wake up and think "man, we have to move somewhere sunny and warm most of the year, not cold and rainy."

Then days like today happen, unexpectedly, a near-perfect day wedged in between long rows and layers of clouds and rain.

When the sunshine does appear like this, I go to great lengths to savour it.  Today was "baseball jamboree" day so it was a built-in excuse to push aside all home projects, work that I'm behind on, taking care of the yard, and any other bully-in-the-mind thought.

We packed up and headed to the baseball fields near us in the Snoqualmie Valley and just basked in the warmth as it slowly at first and then with more and more intensity melted the chill and the dampness and the gray, and turned it into a cascade of yellow and greens and blues, still surrounded by snow-capped mountains proclaiming their protest, not yet willing to surrender the shimmering spectacle of their peaks.

And the air - I stopped several times today just to breathe in the growing scents and richness of spring, with nothing on my mind but to sense a mixture that no alchemist can dream of duplicating.

The showers that we are so famous for here may meander their way into our sudden paradise tonight, but we have had our perfect day, enough to satisfy our souls until we're surprised once again.

• Getting a new laptop at work.  I know -- bo-ring.  But really, who can pass up a nice shiny new laptop?  My tried and trusty Toshiba really does need a refresh - moving over to HP after S got one and spurred jealous glances from me each day.
• Flowers are out in the yard.  Daffodils, tulips.  I don't know why, but I really like this.  We need to plant some seedlings indoors and watch them grow. <g>
• After last week's near-80 degrees in the pacific northwest -- this weekend?  Snow in the forecast for the foothills.  Bring it on.
• Seattle SuperSonics played what's likely their last game here.  I'm done with the NBA.  No more.
• I read about and hear about friends and colleagues who are more and more into 5K, 10K, half-marathon runs all the time.  I'm such a slug.  I love to run and I just don't do it.
• My favorite books lately?  Star Wars novels.  Total geek-read.  I need something historical and sublime, like something you'd see recommended in the front window at B&N.
• Have begun to treat email like twitter - optional reading, optional action.  No, this is not good.