The Pace of Nature

In preparation for springtime, and for the fact that I am about to move to a state nicknamed “Vacationland”, I have been updating my outdoor supplies. Last year I decided to scrap my internal frame backpack, along with about 30 other items, at a yard sale. This was mostly because hiking around where I live is either one of two things: a walk on a sidewalk through the woods, or a walk through a brier-filled swamp. So, I figured I’d make some money (and some room in my garage) and lighten my inventory somewhat.

Now that I am about to go back to an area where hiking and camping is actually possible, I am super excited. In preparation, I bought a new rucksack. I decided to go with the external frame this time around for a multitude of reasons. If you are familiar with hiking at all, you have probably read about the internal/external frame debate ad nauseum already, so I will abstain from arguing one way or the other. (Personally, I find the external frame far superior in terms of comfort, weight distribution, functionality, and versatility.)

The pack I bought is amazing, but it didn’t come with a rain cover. Some might argue the necessity of a rain cover for their pack, citing that a tent or tarp would do just fine. The only trouble with that is that you cannot very easily pull out your tent or tarp and cover your gear while continuing to hike in the rain. For this you need a rain cover that can quickly fit over your gear and allow you to continue on the hike despite the foul weather.

Eager to get back into homemade fabricating again, I decided to sew one myself rather than buy one.

If you would like to try this, you will need the following:

• Fabric (preferably ripstop nylon)- Measure for at least 1 foot clearance on all sides of your pack
• Bungee cord- Measure the circumference of your pack, and make the bungee just a bit smaller
• Sewing machine and basic sewing skills
• A lot of patience, and some Tylenol for the aching joints you’ll have when you are done

Pack on top of pre-cut nylon

The first step was to cut my nylon to the size I wanted. I used a pretty thick 440 ripstop nylon with a waterproof coating on one side as the fabric of choice. I cannot remember where I bought it, but I have TONS of it left over from my homemade hammock and other projects I tackled several years ago. For the bungee I used 1/16″ bungee, which I also bought years ago and have TONS of. I measured out the bungee cord (which you can barely see lying around my pack in the picture) to be just smaller than the frame. The idea is that the bungee will have to stretch just a bit to fit over the frame, and thereby provide enough tension to keep the fabric covering the pack. The fabric has to be a decent size larger than the pack to allow for size differences in gear loads, and also for extra items that might be hanging off the frame (like an iso mat, tent, etc). Once I measured and was comfortable with the size, I cut the piece, rounding the corners to make it easier for the bungee to keep its oblong shape.

The next step was to iron the creases, which I prefer to do over pinning. If you pin the creases, you have to stop every few feet to remove the pins as you sew, and it also takes longer. I used the lowest setting on the iron, and ironed two creases. The first crease was about half a centimeter from the edge, which becomes just the folded under part to prevent unraveling later. The second crease is actually where I intend to sew the sleeve to fit the bungee.

With that done, I started sewing. Unfortunately, I was too focused on this task to remember to take a picture during the act, so instead I flubbed and took a picture after the fact. (Picture added for dramatic effect)

Yeah, I sew... so what?

The next step is the long, laborious task of threading the bungee into the sleeve that you just sewed. Trying to sew the bungee in the fabric is impossible and will only result in broken needles. You have to sew the sleeve, then thread the bungee through. Trust me, I have tried.

To thread the bungee through you can either inch it along unaided, or you can poke a safety pin through it and thread the safety pin through first. Sometimes the safety pin makes it easier to thread. This project I decided to do it by hand. It took me most of a National Geographic special called “America’s Deadly Dozen” to finish the task. About an hour. Not too bad.

Simple straight stitch. Nothing fancy

Once I was finished I simply pulled both ends of the bungee through until they were even, making sure to even out the fabric as well. Then I pulled both ends through a simple cord lock and tied a figure eight on the end to keep it put.

The final product weighs about an ounce and a half, and folds up to about an envelope-sized bundle. It is large enough to cover the pack plus any additional gear I might have hanging off of it, but can be tightened down very easily to cover just the pack.

View from the back

It’s not very difficult or technical, but total cost was probably close to maybe $2.00 and took me about two hours total to complete. For me, that’s worth it every day, all day long.

View from the front

Now I have a nice and simple rain cover for my brand new pack that I can throw into a tiny pocket and have available any time I encounter bad weather. If you give this a try, drop me a line and let me know how it came out!

At the end of last year I decided that 2009 would be the year of a novel for me. I had written many short stories in college, and have read a lot about the craft of writing; even bought a few books on the subject. But up until then I had never bothered to try. So, with the beginning of this year I put it on my goals for 2009, and embarked on the adventure.

For those of you who fancy yourselves as writers, especially fiction writers, I’m sure that you have your own specific methods and work flows to help with the creative process. I have my own, of course. A few days ago I was singing the praises of my MacBook Pro (something I do frequently) to one of the Marines out here, and he asked me about what I do to write creatively. We had been discussing an idea that he had for a screenplay/book- which I thought was a terrific idea- and so I started showing him the various ways I woodshed and write. After I had finished, besides feeling like a Mac salesman, I thought, “hey, why not write this in my blog?” (how’s that for an intro to this post… I’ve been in the desert for too long to be inspired.) So, without further ado, here is what I do to brainstorm, research and write creative fiction.

Step one- Brainstorm with Voodoo Pad

I use a free program called Voodoo pad to brainstorm and organize my thoughts for writing. I actually use this program for just about anything because it’s

Step one- brainstorm

so simple, and yet allows me to index and organize extremely well. It is essentially a self-contained HTML website. You simply write a word, say, Characters, highlight it, and click “link” and it creates a hyperlink to a new blank page. On this blank page you can list your characters, write about them in detail, or even further break it down and make more links such as Minor Characters, Major Characters, Heroes, Villains, etc. I find it very useful to use Voodoo pad for brainstorming because I can link to and from all kinds of other documents I’ve already written, and its simple interface makes it ideal for jotting down lots of ideas. I will frequently open Voodoo pad, throw down a few ideas that had just popped into my head that I want to look at later, and then exit out. Every time I think of a new blog post idea I’ll write it there, for instance.

Step two- Organize with Mind Node

Step two- organize

Perhaps the best part about owning a Mac are the plethora of excellently crafted free programs that you can download. Mind Node is one such program. It’s a mind mapping program that allows you to create trees of thoughts. I use this to outline and organize my work. I start by placing the subject, or in this case the title of the book, as the main node in the center, and then create nodes for chapters, characters, scenes, settings, plot points, acts… you name it. For each of these nodes, of course, I branch off and list everything I want to about that character, or the scene’s importance to this act, etc. I’ll often refer back to my Mind Node notes to help me remember certain things about minor characters, for instance, especially ones that barely grace the page every now and then. I’m much more of a visual-spatial learner, so seeing is understanding to me. This program really helps me to gather my thoughts into an organized form that prepares me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys, as it were).

Step three- Research with Skim (and firefox)

I’m not sure how much research other writers do,

Step Three- Research

but I have to do a lot. My book revolves around a lot of technical details, and around something a lot of people have had experience with- the military. So, research plays a large part in my work flow. I have used Firefox since its inception several years ago as my browser of choice. There are others that have been reported to be as good/better for Mac, but it works for me. I make great use of the tabbed browsing, especially for research. But for PDF’s I found a program called Skim to be the greatest tool. Skim is a PDF browser on steroids. It allows you to make notes, links, and highlight sections for easy reference. This is super-helpful for me because I’ll frequently be reading through a 300-page technical manual trying to find one little piece of information. Once I find it, I either highlight it, or draw a box around it, both of which create a quick link on the right hand side of the page. This way the next time I open the document I can just click on the link(s) and find the information I’m looking for.

Step four- Write with Scrivener

Step Four- Write

Scrivener is by far the workhorse in my creative work flow. I first downloaded it a few years ago and was instantly impressed. It has so many features that I can’t even begin to sings its praises enough here. I highly recommend you visit the Literature & Latte website for information on this product. It was previously free, but has recently elevated itself to being a paid product. I gladly paid for my copy. It has proven itself to me hundreds of times.

One of the best parts of Scrivener for me is how it allows me to incorporate the previous three

Cork board used for research & images

steps into one so flawlessly. It has a section for research and allows for the import of many different types of documents. I can easily move my previous work into the research tab, and now I have a quick reference with all the info I need right there on hand. Scrivener also uses a cork board and note card approach to outlining and organizing, which again, as a visual kind of guy, really appeals to me. I love being able to write quick synopses and notes on the cards that contain the chapters I’m writing. This helps me tremendously because my chosen format is chapter 1a, chapter 1b, chapter 1c, etc. type of writing, i.e. I have several stories moving independently of each other within each chapter, flipping back and forth between them at least once during each chapter. This type of format can be very disorienting to write, and even more

Quick look at the chapters so far

difficult to keep track of, I have found. Scrivener makes this process very easy. I could go on and on about all of the bells and whistles that make this program the one for me, but I’ll let them sell their own product. I’m already sold.

Step five- Reflect with Journler

I’ve kept a journal now for close to 20 years. I have expanded it, through the help of Journler, to include more than just my personal thoughts and dreams. I

Step five- reflect

use Journler to record my workout progress, significant events and my thoughts about them, and, of course, my novel progress. I find it very useful to write about my concerns, worries, feelings, interests, ideas, etc. in a journal. It helps me to sort everything out and focuses my energy for the next time I sit down to write. I also love that I’ll be able to look back and read through the process I went through to write this novel, and perhaps even be able to use that to help myself, or others, write future novels. With the use of Smart Folders, tags, categories, and embeddable videos, audio, and pictures, this really gives my old Moleskine a run for its money (plus I don’t get those horrible hand cramps from writing so small!).

All my spaces

Finally, if I’m really working hard and in the zone, I occasionally will use all of these programs at the same time. Spaces on a Mac makes this a whole lot easier for me. Rather than having one desktop with several crowded windows on it, I simply use six separate desktops, one for each of these programs. I like to use programs in full screen mode as much as possible, mostly so I can spread out and see everything before me. Spaces makes this possible for me, and allows me to quickly jump between windows without any problems at all. I don’t think I could ever go back to having one desktop.

Though a few of these steps and programs could be eliminated and rolled into each other, I have found this to be the best method for me. I am a firm believer in getting my money’s worth out of everything, and using something the way it was intended to be used. I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface of what I can do with my Mac, and seeing its potential brought to life as my word count grows really gives me a rush. I mean, let’s not forget, I’m in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country on the downward slope of a war. Yet, with this 5.5 pound piece of aluminum and stainless steel, I’ve been able to keep my creative energy alive and active. I find this work flow to be the best for me, since I don’t have the luxury of a dedicated writing room or space, and I frequently have to be on the move at a moments notice. My writing process is probably very different from many others- except maybe war journalists, but, for those of you who are curious, this is how I do it. ~

Some time ago I remember lying on a macrame hammock and thinking to myself, “I bet I could make one of these if I tried.” A few years later I happened across the Hennessy Hammock and decided to invest some time and money into making my own. With varying degrees of success over the years, I have made a few hammocks that I’ve been proud enough to show off and that I’ve trusted enough to bring with me on extended trips. I brought one of them with me out here to Iraq, counting on the hot summer nights to make it come in handy. (It’s only April and I’m already making plans to use it soon. Still, I’ve often thought of the weave design of the Macrame hammock and wondered if I could make one.

This past week we had three separate sand storms, which meant that I had a lot of extra time on my hands, owing to the fact that nobody can work when a sand storm comes. So, I decided to attempt the hammock. It took me a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I was so pleased with the outcome that I thought I’d put my plans on here for those of you who have wanted to make something similar. Here’s what you’ll need:

• At least 100 yards of 550 cord (or similar nylon cord that will hold at least 250 pounds)

• two four-foot poles

• two one-inch or larger steel rings (somewhat optional, but definitely handy)

• A knowledge of how to tie a square knot (aka reef knot), a figure eight, and a bowline (For anyone looking for a great how-to on knots, I recommend this site.)

• A lot of time and patience

I used 550 cord (some call it paracord because it’s the cord used to hold up parachutes) for my material. Although it’s not the lightest cord, it is far superior to any nylon or other synthetic rope product in terms of breaking strength. 550 cord is a nylon weave shell with 7 individual strands of nylon running inside of it. This makes it powerfully strong, especially for its size. The name “550″ comes from its weight limit: 550 pounds, although tests have been conducted that show it holding even more than that without breaking. Suffice it to say, it’s a hardy piece of string.

I found this 500-yard spool that some lazy Marine had ripped the top off of and let it become unwound and entangled. It had been sitting around for a few weeks, and earlier that day I watched someone pick it up and throw it away, despite the fact that there were at least 400 yards of good cord still left on it. I decided to invest some time into unraveling it, which is actually what got me thinking about making the hammock- what else was I going to do with all that extra cord? It’s amazing what I’ll do to keep me busy during a sand storm…

I didn’t have any poles that I could spare, so I used a 2×4 and ripped it in two lengthwise using a circular saw. This gave me two four-foot 2×2 poles. You can use any sturdy material, really. One-inch aluminum poles would probably work just fine, as would wooden dowels from a hardware store.

Next we need to drill 23 holes in the wood, two inches apart. This will make the hammock approximately four feet wide. If you want to make your hammock wider than mine, you can easily scale it up by increasing the length of your pole. Just remember, it must be an odd number of holes in order for this design to work. Additionally, if you can’t drill for some reason, you can secure the ends of the 550 cord by tying them onto the pole using a bowline- but it would be VERY difficult to keep the spacing even. I highly recommend you find some way to drill holes, for sanity’s sake.

Once the holes are drilled it’s time to begin the long and arduous process of tying the hammock together. The first step is to cut 23 strands of 550 cord approximately 12 feet long. This will result in a hammock that lies approximately seven feet long. There are many variables to how long the end result will be, most notably the distance you separate your knots as you go. Once you have cut your strands, insert each of them through their own hole in one of the poles and secure it using a figure-eight knot. The result will look something like this:

Again, for sanity’s sake, I highly suggest that you either bundle up each of the strands, or daisy chain them individually. If you do not do this, then you’ll have 23 12-foot strands scattered all over the place, and it will soon become impossible to track your knots and keep each line separated.

Before you begin tying your knots, I recommend finding a very comfortable seat with wheels, as you’ll be moving back and forth quite a bit. I also suggest hanging the pole up from something as it will make the process a lot easier in the end.

Once you have gathered up all of the strands so they are manageable and made all your arrangements, begin tying your first square knot with the first two strands on the left hand side. Tie the knot so it is approximately two inches down from the pole. This will be your guide as you continue tying knots for the rest of this row. You’ll want to keep this distance constant both because it will keep your rows in line and make it easy to tell where you are in the process, and because it will make the diamond weave uniform when your hammock is finish. If you do not keep the knots equally distanced, then the diamond weave will be small in some areas and large in others, which could affect the way the hammock lies.

Next, tie the third and fourth strand together in a square knot, the same distance away from the pole. Next tie the fifth and six strand, and so on and so forth. You will always tie two adjacent strands together.

When you come to the end you will have the right-most strand all by itself with nothing to tie it to. This is the beginning of your second row. Take the right-most strand (we’ll call it number one now), and tie it to #2 about two inches lower than the row of knots you just completed. Then tie #3 and #4 together, and continue moving back to the left side in this manner. When you reach the left-most side again you will find the left-most strand all by itself. Tie it to the strand immediately adjacent to it about two inches lower than the last row you just completed. Continue moving back and forth in this manner until you have made the hammock to the approximate length you desire (somewhere around seven feet or so).

When you have finished the knots for the bed of the hammock, tie the ends of each of the strands to the second pole by inserting them through the holes and using a figure-eight knot. With this completed you should have what resembles a hammock before you.

All that is left is to tie the supports. To do this you can use two approaches. I’ll start with the easiest.

Take your one-inch ring (if you have one), and lie it on the ground approximately 12-24 inches from the pole, centered horizontally. Using 550 cord, tie a bowline around the right side of the pole in between the first and second knots (it doesn’t matter which side really, just pick one). Run the line through the ring and bring it to the opposite side of the pole. Secure it to the pole using a bowline. Now you should have one strand of line originating on the far side of the pole, running through the ring, and ending on the near side of the pole. Repeat this process at least one more time, this time tying the ends a few inches from where you tied the last line. In this way you will create a fan of line going to and from the ring. Repeat the entire process on the other side of the hammock.

The alternative way would be to make your original strand length four feet longer. When you tie the strands to the poles (at the beginning of this whole process), instead of tying them at the end, leave two feet sticking out beyond the pole. This will give you 23 strands that you can tie to the ring. Admittedly, I didn’t do it this way, though if I do this again I will. Instead of giving all 23 strands an extra two feet, however, I might do every fourth strand instead.

Once you’ve got your rings connected to the poles, all you have to do is hang the hammock. I doubled up my 550 cord using a “combat bracelet” type of weave mostly just to put people’s minds at ease that it could in fact hold their weight. You can secure the line to the rings any way you like, but keep in mind that the weakest point of this hammock will be the knots at the end of the lines, so take care when you are tying knots that will be bearing a lot of weight.

If I were back home I would have drilled an eye screw or large hook into some trees and tie a few bowlines or double slip knots to secure the hammock. As I am in the middle of the desert and haven’t seen a tree in almost four months, I was forced to devise my own hammock stand. I won’t go too much into detail, but I basically recreated the type of stand you can see here.
Here is the finished product in all its glory:

This is not as much a survival piece of gear as my other DIY’s, but it could be. The poles limit its portability a bit, but I could easily see removing the figure eights and tying bowlines to create a loop and then inserting tree branches or something similar. In this way you could carry just the hammock rolled up. Ultra-light hikers will undoubtedly poo-poo this suggestion because 550 cord is not the lightest cord you can get. But, again, for its strength and durability, I’ll take it over any space-age nylon super cord any day.

Hope you enjoy this little project. It took me all of Ocean’s 11 and 12, and most of 13 to finish it completely- just to give you an estimated time. It’s a very relaxing and peaceful activity, and very rewarding when you finally set the whole thing up and are able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Let me know if you attempted this project. I’d love to see pictures too!

~ESV

TIPS:

1.    If you use 550 cord, burn the ends to prevent fraying.
2.    Don’t cut the line too close to the knot. With weight bearing on it the knot could slip and come loose. Always leave at least an inch, especially for the bowlines attaching the poles to the rings.
3.    When you first hang it and establish its ability to bear weight, spend at least 30 minutes in it. This will stretch the line and tighten the knots. The more time you spend up front doing this, the less it will stretch and sag later.
4.    Hang the hammock so it is chest high. It will stretch a lot initially, and will always sag a few feet at least. Remember, though, distance is better than height for hanging hammocks so they won’t sag too much.
5.    Don’t be alarmed by some of the square knots stretching. This is natural and will not affect the quality of the hammock.

Several years ago, fresh out of college, I worked in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. My patients were a mixture of everything from recovering alcoholics, to those who had attempted suicide, to schizophrenics and bipolar patients. My main job- well, what I liked to call my main job, was to run three group therapy sessions during my 12 hour shift. (My main job was much less glamorous and involved a lot of on-the-fly negotiations with paranoid patients who had locked themselves in the shower) During these group sessions the group would focus on such things as self-reflection, anger management, coping skills, etc. One of my favorite topics was on how to set and achieve goals, and it quickly grew into an often requested activity.

As I was watching the news this morning I was listening to the naysayers talk about whether or not New Year’s resolutions are even worth making because something like only 50% of them make it beyond the first quarter of the year, and less than 25% make it the whole year. I considered this as I was reviewing my yearly goals, which is an activity I do every year between Christmas and New Year’s. This year is especially unique because I will be in Iraq for the entire year, and so must adjust my goals accordingly. Recently, I held a similar class on setting goals with my unit as we prepare to deploy. While deployments can be stressful and chaotic at times, there are also many opportunities that being so far removed from many of the distractions of home life can afford. Many of my fellow service members have successfully completed semesters of school, learned languages, and made great improvements in their physical health while on deployment.

Considering the low success rate already projected for 2009, I figured I’d share with you what I use to achieve the successful completion of my goals on a regular basis.

I find the best strategy to successful goal completion is to use the SMART method.

• S- Specific
• M- Measurable
• A- Attainable
• R- Realistic
• T -Time Oriented

Specific- Making your goals as specific as possible is the first step. This is possibly the most important because vague goals are difficult to stick to, especially if there is little content to them, such as “I want to get in better shape.” What does that mean? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to run faster or farther? Do you want to be able to keep up with that spandex-clad aerobics coach? You know the one I mean. She only has to walk into the room to make your muscles burn. How do you define “better shape”?  You need to be more specific in order to both be able to stick to your goals, and more importantly, measure your success, which brings me to the next step.

Measurable- A goal that cannot be measured is not really a goal because it has no predefined end. Successful completion of goals is the focus of this system, and setting a goal that can be measured is a big key in staying on track toward completion. A good example would again be the “better shape” example from above. How can we make that goal into something that can be measured? Well, let’s say that your real goal was to improve your cardiovascular fitness level. We can set a goal that accomplishes this by saying that we want to be able to run three miles in a given time, or make it through an aerobics class without having to stop for a break, or to be able to maintain your target heart rate for at least 20 minutes without stopping or slowing down. These goals are excellent because they can be measured, which means that we can measure both progress and success. As a runner I make constant goals regarding my speed, time, and distance. For instance, a recent goal was to run 10 miles in less than an hour and 15 minutes. This goal involves both distance and time. I can either start by getting my distance up to 10 miles at one stretch and then work on my time from there, or, in my case, since I’m already accustomed to running long distances, I can focus solely on running at a steady 7:30 pace throughout the whole 10 miles, which is my overall marathon pace goal. Try making your goals with measurable milestones and success definitions. I think you’ll be surprised at how much more involved you will become with your goals when you do that.

Attainable- This one comes easy (maybe too easy) for some, but not for all- including myself. Some people are what I like to call “pessimistic realists” in that they tend to assume the lowest possible outcome. The upside to this is that they are rarely disappointed because their expectations are not overly high. For our exercise routine example above, they would likely set a very moderate goal at first, expecting that they will have lots of trouble at first and knowing that setting a goal too high might discourage them enough to quit altogether. This is the right way to go about it. Not all of us are so naturally able to set attainable goals, however, and for those people, I write the following. Setting a goal that is attainable means limiting our success definitions to those that are actually within our  ability. Take, for instance, my 10-mile goal from earlier. If you are a long-distance runner who is looking to improve your next marathon time in the coming year, then that goal would be very appropriate for you. If, however, you haven’t run since the Colts were in Baltimore, than I would venture to say that you’re not setting a very attainable goal. Limiting your goals to things that are just beyond your comfort zone, but within your reach with a little effort, are excellent choices. Remember, our aim here is the successful completion of goals. Every time you have an opportunity to put a check mark next to an item your confidence in yourself goes up. If it takes 10 little goals to accomplish enough courage to tackle something big, like, for instance to quit smoking, or bring your body weight back into the healthy range, than so be it. There is value in every goal we accomplish, so don’t feel like you have to shoot for the stars on your first attempt. That is neither advisable, nor realistic, which happens to be our next step!

Realistic- Piggybacking on the previous step, Realistic is the natural counterpoint to attainable because the two go hand in hand. I may want to be the next best basketball player, but as a 5’4″ redhead, it’s highly unlikely that I will ever see that dream come to fruition, no matter how many hoops I shoot. We have to work within the confines of reality, and sometimes that means limiting our goals somewhat. Again, shooting for the stars, at least until you get the hang of setting and accomplishing goals on a regular basis, is not the best practice. This was initially tough for me to accept because, as I had always been told, I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and while that statement has great benefit in the hands of aspiring students, many adults tend to neglect  that there are limitations that we sometimes cannot control- like my height, for example. Now I doubt anyone actually believed that basketball was a serious goal of mine, but a serious example is that I will likely never be able to run even a fraction as well as some of the world’s top marathoner’s and triathletes. There are some things that they are able to do naturally that I’ll never be able to accomplish, no matter how hard I train. And that’s okay. They have their gifts, I have mine. Making this year’s goals within the confines of reality is an important step in turning them into last year’s successes.

Time Oriented- This last step is critical. To set a goal without the dimension of time would be like a builder telling a developer that the building would be built… eventually. Without a time frame you will be unable to measure your improvement, approximate success, and stay on track. Back to our exercise example again, if you said that you wanted to bring your BMI into the healthy range and that meant losing, say, 25 pounds, it would greatly behoove you to have a time frame in order to orientate your goal. After all, losing 25 pounds can easily (relatively speaking) be accomplished in 12 months. That’s just around 3 pounds a month. If we started out our year with this in mind, and we had the tools and a plan necessary to accomplish this mini-goal of 3 pounds a month, then it is highly likely that we would be extremely embarrassed at next year’s Christmas party… because our pants would be down around our ankles, far too large for our skinny new waist and hips to fit into anymore! Without time, however, 25 pounds would be like a looming albatross around our neck, haunting our every meal throughout the year. And with each passing month, we wouldn’t know whether we were on track or not because we had no orientation to define our ongoing success. Sure, we’re talking about New Year’s resolutions here, so we could assume that all goals are a year long. But that’s not necessarily so, especially if you are going to develop this habit beyond just the mass population’s yearly compulsion to promise improvement in the form of joining a gym or buying a self-help book, only to quit the gym and lose the book between the mattress and wall a month later. Many large goals, such as eventually running a marathon, require several small goals, all of which have to be accomplished in a given time frame. Assigning a time frame to your goals allows you to track your progress, and attack them in pieces, rather than leaving it as a seemingly impossible task.

With these five axes covered, that flimsy new year’s resolution now seems more like a plan for success, which is exactly what you need if you are going to change any behavior, especially those that have persisted for so long. This little system doesn’t have to be reserved for big life-altering decisions either. Even little goals, like what I want to accomplish this weekend, benefit greatly from the organized approach that the SMART system provides. I frequently make lists of plans, goals, projects, and ideas using this algorithm, and I find it tremendously helpful in keeping my life organized, task-oriented, and above all, satisfying. After all, the satisfaction derived from being able to look back on last year’s resolutions and say that you are one of the very few that actually stuck with it is immense. Keep this in mind as you approach what you would like 2009 to look like for your life, and remember, successes, no matter how small, are the building blocks to self-confidence and continued improvement. Don’t forget to give yourself the credit that you deserve.

Happy New Year’s!

p.s. I’ve posted my goals for 2009 as a page on the homepage of this blog, in case you want to see the SMART system in action.

I thought I’d share with you my cheap and easy way of taking an old piece of equipment and helping it find new life.

I’m an avid reader, and I have been reading ebooks for about four years now. I travel frequently (and not the fun and sexy travel where you get to hang out in airports and hotels either), and have to carry everything I own on my back. So, ebooks make it possible for me to, for example, spend 33 days in the Virginia wilderness and read the entire Hitchiker’s Guide series by Douglas Adams without having to lug them around and worry about the paper getting wet. And since I’m pretty poor, and don’t see the point in buying a $350 Kindle, or similar ebook reader for $100-200, my solution is both inexpensive and novel.

Here it is:

Step 1: Buy a PDA

A quick look on ebay reveals several models of PDA’s for less than $20. Some have larger internal memory, some have color screens, some have pre-loaded software, some don’t. None of that stuff matters. Buy one that is functional and cheap, keeping in mind that the largest limitation in a PDA for this purpose will be the battery, since rechargeable batteries lose their ability to store a decent charge after too long. Make sure you get one that comes with a power cable too. Mine came with a power cable that also fit my cell phone, which was an added bonus. I would also suggest buying one that accepts SD memory cards. These cards are so cheap these days that I find it incredible that I spent $30 on a 1gb card only four years ago. Having the ability to put an SD card in the PDA means that you can scale your ebook reader as large as you want. And considering that most ebooks are a measly 500kb to 1mb, you can store quite a few books. (I currently have 94 loaded on my PDA’s internal memory alone).  I purchased my entire e-book reader package for less than $20, including shipping.

Step 2: Get an E-reader program

This is even easier than step one because you can download them in a few seconds. I suggest E-reader, also known as Palm Reader because it is free, it is common, it’s not as limited as some other proprietary software made by certain enormous conglomerate companies, and it has a ton of great features. My favorite feature that e-reader has that many other reader programs don’t have is auto-scroll. With a quick on-screen scribble command I can make the text on the page automatically scroll as fast or slow as I prefer, eliminating the need for me to continuously push the down button to scroll through pages. Not only is this feature convenient, but I increased my reading speed dramatically by using it. It’s a great tool to teach you speed reading, and I find myself whizzing through regular books now. There are plenty of other great features that come with e-reader, but they are all pretty standard. The only downside that I have found to e-reader is that it only allows you to create 15 authors. This is only a problem if you are (like me) an organization freak and want to have everything organized by author. You can still store as many books as you have room for on your device/card, but only 15 slots are available for organizational purposes. So, the authors that have several books, such as John Grisham, J.R.R Tolkein, Tom Clancy, etc. have their books organized under the author’s name. Everyone else is just unfiled. Again, it’s no big deal unless you have OCD…

Step 3: get ebooks!

This one is a little trickier than step two because it has two parts, but is a skill easily learned.

The first part to this step is finding ebooks. Ebooks come in a variety of different formats, but the most common form you can find them in is regular old text (.txt) files. There are many websites that offer free ebooks, most notably is Project Guttenberg, which offers thousands of books for free download. The only downside to Guttenberg is that you won’t find any recent books on there because in order to be listed the book has to be beyond its most recent copyright date, which is typically 50-75 years old. Still, there are plenty to choose from, and many classics are available that you might be interested in.

There are also other cites that offer ebooks, though they are a bit less-than-reputable and begin to blur the line between legal and illegal. Many of these are in different languages, such as Russian, but many good books can still be acquired through this method. I’ll leave that moral dilemma up to you to decide. A quick search for “free ebooks” will yield plenty of sites for you to explore (just make sure your virus protection and popup blocker is on).

The second part to this step is converting your ebook into a format that your reader will accept and recognize. Years ago when I was still living in the dark ages and stuck on a windows machine, I used a program called MakeDocW to convert text files into ebooks. It is a free program, and can be downloaded here. There’s a good tutorial for it, along with a lot more information about ebooks and converters here.

For those of you who use Macs, you might find a program called DropBook handy (though it also has a windows version). It is quick, easy to use, supports drag and drop of text files, and produces an ebook in about 2.3 seconds. If you’re willing to pay $23 you can get the ebook studio program, which looks nice and pretty; but in the spirit of thriftiness, I prefer to use programs that are open source and free. Drop Book is the program I use on a regular basis, and it serves me well.

Of course, you could do some hunting and probably find dozens of other programs out there that might work for you. There are probably dozens of forums with “experts” on what readers and converters are the best. I say, have fun. My solution works for me, and has for four years now, and continues to be a very cheap and effective way of carrying literally hundreds of books in my pocket.

My ereader is a Palm Tungsten E that I got on ebay for $11 and works perfectly. I use it only for reading ebooks. I have a 2gb SD card in it, and currently have 147 books at my fingertips. Another bonus to using this as  an ebook reader is that it is its own book light. This is especially handy for me when I’m out in the field and don’t want to have to pack both a paper book (that would surely get wet), and either a book light or hold a flashlight in my teeth. I put my PDA in a cheap Pelican 1010 Case, which makes it water proof, dust proof, and, most importantly, crush proof. The case costs between $9-13 depending on where you go.

So, for less than $20 I have hundreds of books with me that literally fit in my pocket, and all I have to worry about is charging the battery from time to time.

I don’t know if you want to consider this option as a gift or not, seeing as it involves buying a used piece of equipment. But, it certainly works great for those of you who love to read, travel frequently, and enjoy the convenience and space saved by reading ebooks.

Enjoy!