Lockup : Reset

My desktop computer has of late been so loaded up with various browser windows, feed readers, email programs, and some radio-related software that it has just been grinding down to processing speeds that recall the 80's and 90's.

Reboots have become necessary on a daily basis, and the only resolution that appears to prevent the problem from reoccurring is to not open some of the programs that eat up available memory.

With the onset of this slowness comes frustration on my part, which I think showed a couple of days ago when I decided to parrot some of our less decorous political bloggers and level some fairly harsh words at Sen. McCain, and particularly Gov. Palin. A long-time reader expressed concern, and I felt it necessary to step back and review things.

I can't take those words back, and to be completely honest I still feel the same way about the ability of those candidates to lead the country in a better direction. I just wouldn't say it the same way again.

The best thing I read on the web today came from a website that I follow closely on my feed reader, but don't read the feed all the time. That will change after today.

Zen Habits offers suggestions from several contributors on how to lead a better, more personally rewarding productive life. It's a pretty amazing site. One of their posts today had me of late pretty well pegged:

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10 Unbeatable Tips for Overcoming Micro-Addictions

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. - Samuel Johnson

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead.

What are micro-addictions? They are those annoying little habits that prevent you from living the life you truly want. They are small enough to go unchecked, but bothersome enough to get in the way of you living your fullest potential.

They are…

• The inability to stop checking your email 10 times a day, when you could be making progress toward building your own business.
• The frustrating habit of seeking approval from other people when you know that you should trust your own instincts.
• The deceptive habit of using television as convenient entertainment, rather than participating in life.
• The addiction to having everything figured out in advance. Instead of going for what you want, you commit to thinking about it a little longer; possibly for the rest of your life.

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There's much more to this post. Click here if you're interested further.

So tonight I'm shutting the computers off and going to spend the weekend on my bicycle. Tonight I'll partake of barbeque and football; tomorrow is laundry and grocery day; Sunday I work.

Monday I'll get back to it a little bit, but I've got to stay away more and organize my time a little better. I got a little too caught up in the constant cycle of Internet news and information specific to my particlular interests, which has had the cumulative effect of paying too little attention to life.

This blog gets about 50 hits a day. I don't aspire to anything greater in terms of my online persona, and I have other ideas that don't involve this as much. Time to push 'reset' and get back in the real game.

Have a good weekend.