Scott Porad

Over the New Year’s holiday, I was hanging out with my doctor friend Greg when the discussion of resolutions arose.  After some discussion, I simplified my plan  down my plan for 2012 to the following, in priority order:

1. Reduce stress (mainly, by reducing fear, worry and anxiety)
2. Exercise regularly
3. Eat fewer unhealthy foods

It’s going to be a good year!

A quick note…here are three things that have changed my life for the better in the last few years:

1. Amazon Prime
2. Rhapsody
3. An “insta-hot” in my kitchen.

What do all these have in common?  What I want, when I want it, for less money, less hassle, and less effort.

Amazon Prime saves me so much time and hassle with shopping.  There are so many things I used to go to the store for, but now I can get them shipped to my home in just a day or two.

Rhapsody…holy cow!…it pays for itself every month with an album that I enjoy, but that I would never have actually bought at the store.  (Recently, they introduced social features, and I’m totally psyched about that too!)

And, while the ascetic of waiting for water to boil on the stove in a kettle is nice, I have to tell you…after awhile, the convenience totally makes up for it.

So, there you go…these things have made my life better.  I mean, what did you expect?  I am an American, after all, right?

Lots of new shoes, freshly cut hair
Some are excited and jubuliant
Others nervous and within
An awkward reunion of old friends
Hi, Hi, How was your summer?
Soon resolves like it was yesterday

I was able to sleep in until 7:30am today, and then lounge in bed all the way until 8:15am. Luxury!

While doing so I overheard my 6-year old tell Lisa that he was going to go for a breakfast record: seven sausages.

During this time I was also contemplating going to the gym. Honestly, I don’t want to, but I need to…not because I “should”, but exercise really helps me feel healthier and happier. That’s when this thought floated through my head…

I think that a major part of being a happy and healthy grown-up is maintaining disciplined routines and habits.

Of my many struggles, this is one of my biggest; the child in me is having a hard time coming to terms with this fact. The child in me wants to be unconstrained.

In the web browser I use (which is Chrome), if I type a letter or letters in to the address box at the top of the window it will suggest addresses.  I assume these addresses are based on some sort of algorithm related to my historical browsing patterns.

I thought, “Hmmm….it would be interesting to see what sites I visit most often”.  So, I typed each letter of the alphabet into my browser, and the results are below.  It’s an interesting little peek into my browsing life (at least on my work computer…heh, heh, heh).  Enjoy!

(Hey…it would fun to know what’s in your browser…publish your list on your blog, then leave a link in the comments.)

alaskaair.com
blog.cheezburger.com
cheezburger.com/scottporad
delta.com
eat.cheezburger.com
failblog.org
www.google.com
hark.com
icanhascheezburger.com
jobs.cheezburger.com
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com
www.lifescrolling.com
memebase.com
www.nytimes.com
onebusaway.com
payscale.com
quantcast.com
rumplesthebear.tumblr.com
www.scottporad.com
techcrunch.com
U – none
vip.wordpress.com
www.nytimes.com
X – none
yglesias.thinkprogress.org
Z – none

Since we last spoke, a lot of things have a happened.

I broke my hand, which is what got me out of the blogging routine in the first place.

Then, my work-life went bezerker when Cheezburger raised a wad of cash and I was set on course to more than double the size of my team in six months.

And, I went to Disneyland with my family!

Soooo, yeah…It’s been a busy few months, to say the least.  But, I have so much on my mind that I just have to get back to writing.  Last Friday alone I thought of a dozen ideas for posts.  So, I’m back!

Sorry for having been AWOL this week. Unfortunately, I broke a bone in my hand playing basketball, so my typing is limited.

Do not fret: I hope to be back to daily updates soon!

One of my little, secret fantasies is to be a race car driver.

I’m not a big “car guy”, but when I was a kid, I remember watching the Indy 500 with my Dad and thinking that it would be super cool to race those cars.  That’s left turns only though, and I think some of the Indy racing where you drive on curvy courses would be even more fun!

When I was a kid, Pole Position was my favorite video game.  Today, I love Mario Kart.

Something I learned along the way is that to maximize a turn—that is, to maintain maximum speed through a turn—the trick is to slow down before you go into the turn.  If you slow down before turn, you can then accelerate through the turn, and exit the turn at maximum speed.

On the other hand, if you go into a turn at a high speed, then try to slow down in the middle of the turn, it’s too hard to control the car.  So, you end up having to slow down even further in order to stay in control, and the result is that your competitors pass you on the exit of the turn.

All this is just a long winded way of saying, slow down to go fast.

This comes to mind because I just had the luxury of spending almost three weeks away from the office.  For the first week, I was on vacation with my family—totally off the grid with no phone or e-mail.  Then, I spent a week on the road for work.  And, finally, last week I worked at home due to Seattle SnowBlast 2010 (and, it was a short week due to the holiday).

In other words, I have really slowed down.

I noticed two things during this slowing down process.  First, I actually got more done because I wasn’t wrapped up in the day-to-day noise of the office.  I guess, the mini-crises that occur every day…they seem like less of a crisis when when you’re not right in the thick of it.

And, when there are fewer crises, it’s easier to prioritize and focus on what’s important.  What that really means is that I feel more productive when I’m working on the most important stuff.

I also learned something about myself: I want to get a lot done.  But, I spend so much time wound up and anxious about getting those things done, that sometimes I actually get less done.  It’s like more is less.  What I really want is for less to be more.

Like I said, slow down to go fast.  That’s my new mantra.

Some notes from Thanksgiving Weekend…

Lisa and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever.  Seriously, why would we want to start out with a beginner feast when we could jump straight into the deep end?

20 people, 3 pumpkin pies and 2 turkeys.

Anyhow, I had never carved a turkey, so the night before I called my dad to ask for guidance.  ”Oh, I hate carving the turkey because I always feel like I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said.

Well, Dad, that’s wasn’t a lot of help.  So, the next day, I asked my 94-year old grandfather.  ”The secret to carving a turkey is to have a sharp knife and to proceed as though you know what you’re doing.”

Possibly a metaphor for life.

The next day, my father-in-law stopped by to pick up some folding chairs that he had lent us for the big feast.  On his way out, he told me he was headed to fix a plumbing problem at a building he owns.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,” I said.  ”Well, all that glitters is not gold,” he replied.  I thought about that, and I think he has the saying backwards…it should be, “all that is gold does not glitter”.

Food for thought in these economic times.

Finally, my 8-year old son is really into scientific-type things.  So, yesterday, I showed him a video explaining how quantum objects are both waves and particles.  We watched together and were simultaneously amazed and confused at how it all works.

Later that evening, he said to me, “Dad, do you think the universe is so confusing just to keep us occupied?”

The boy might have a point.

Last night, at the bar, with my friend Randy, he asks:

“So, how much longer do you think you’re gonna live?”

After doing some math in my head…well, I’m 37…I think I’m gonna live a long, healthy life…let’s see…

“Fifty more years, G-d willing,” I respond.

“Great!” he says, “so, if I told you that you were only going to live fifty more years…that you’d die fifty years from today…how would you live your life?  Would you do anything differently?”

“I don’t know,” I say.

“What if I told you 25 years?” he says.

“What if I told you 10 years?”

“1 year?”

“1 month?”

“A day?!”

“How would you live your life?  Would you do anything differently?”