Told You So!

As I said before, enjoy the good weather while you can, because the bad is nipping at it's feet and boy is it nipping. We've finally got the kind of weather you can expect at this time of year. Yesterday was about -26 with the windchill and first indications (I just had to take the babies pram out of the car, ready for daycare) are that today is similar. Apart from walking the babies to daycare, I shall be safely ensconced in a car, as I'm being picked up by John as we are both off to a clients for a meeting downtown.

I'm managing to keep very busy. The devil finds work and all that. Podcast User Magazine, for which I am one of the co-founders recently celebrated it's first full year of production. I'm still writing articles for the Globe and Mail newspaper and my other writing ventures are coming on nicely.

Sarah and Lucy are just fantastic. They are now in their own beds, after Sarah escaped from her crib. tTwice. Fortunately we were downstairs to hear the thud of her landing on the floor. She's a smart cookie though and managed to not hurt herself. They both adjusted to the beds really well. The only side effect is that they are not so keen on their afternoon nap at the weekends. We managed to change things around though and just keep them up downstairs. Lucy eventually crashes on the sofa and is just the cutest thing you've ever seen. Sarah eventually flags, but can't fall asleep downstairs, as there are just too many things to capture her attention. On Sunday when I saw she was getting tired, I said "Do you want to go to bed?" and she said "Yes". We both went upstairs and she climbed into bed and that was that. In the mornings they are both so funny. If they are awake (and they usually are), they're both usually sitting up in bed with a book. Can't complain about that now, can you.

Anyway I've gotta go. Not long before the little ankle biters are up and I have to get them ready to go. S'laters

Happy New Year 2007

Before I go any further, let me say that I think Guinness is my new best friend. I'm 7 cans into an 8 pack and I still feel pretty lucid. Apart from that, hope you have a great New Years and hope 2007 is your year.

The older you get, the quicker years seems to fly by. That is all so true, but it's even truer once you have children. Sarah and Lucy are now 2 and I'm constantly amazed at how advanced they are developing. Yes, I know a lot of that is a father's love for his children, but I look at the pair of them and they are so much like little people, rather than babies I remember not so long ago.

Fatherhood for me has been an experience like no other, but it didn't begin with Sarah and Lucy, oh no. Lest not forget that my two oldest daughters, Mandi and Alanna. Steps are for outside your front door. Enough said. Like some elegant, fantastic cocktail, we now have Adam to add to the mix. 4 girls and a boy, life is sure going to be busy.

Before I go on, I have to set the record straight. Having a boy is going to be an unbelievable experience. Many times, before I came to Canada, I used to dream of having a son and moulding him in my image. Well maybe that isn't the best of ideas, unless he wants to fart, burp and drink like his Dad, but since becoming the father of 4 girls, having a boy is just icing on the cake. I can honestly say, that before I found out Sherri was having a boy, I had not the slightest interest in the sex. To me, Sherri was pregnant with my child and that for me was the big news. Having children is a blessing like no other. Watching them grow, and in the cases of Mandi and Alanna mature into beautiful intelligent young women is a buzz like no other. Yes I used to dream about continuing the Meeks name in Canada, but that's just a kind of dream that seems so irrelevant, when you see 5 pounds of pure love in front of you.

So yes, as you can probably guess, the biggest news of 2006 is Sherri and I finding out we are to be parents yet again. Sherri found out first, as is often with pregnancies and she thought she'd surprise me by buying an expectant father card from Hallmark. She presented it to me as she picked me up from work. It's funny, you should be able to imagine the scene, by just closing your eyes, imagining the face of a man in pure shock and hearing the words, "But How!". OK, maybe I'm not so crazy as not to know the how part, but man was I sure surprised.

Mandi left home in July and moved in with her boyfriend Jason. They've got a small flat downtown, which means they're pretty much in the centre of the Ottawa universe, if they are able to kick back and relax in between studying. Mandi is in her first year of university and doing really well. It's hard work, but she is a no stranger to hard work. Her first year is pretty much paid for, by bursaries and scholarships. She really has her head together and I couldn't be prouder.

Alanna is doing well at school. She's currently doing co-op, or work placement as we used to call it in the UK. It's not company I would have chosen for my little girl, but she seems to love it... most of the time. So what is the job? It's working at a funeral home. At least most of the customers don't answer back. She also works part time at the local grocery store, Loeb. Mix that in with her social life and she's always up to something. When she's not out, she's in the pits of the Meeks household on her computer in the basement.

Sarah and Lucy continue to amaze me virtually every day. They are so bright and intelligent and such a joy to be around. I'm not delusional, yes they can be a handful some of the time, but they are deep down, very good kids. Sarah breaks my heart, nearly any time I have to leave her behind. She constantly says "Daddy don't you" and then follows that up, with the heartbreaking, "I Miss You". Lucy should be a baby model as she has such dainty features. I could just eat her up sometimes.

Work continues to challenge me, but in the best of senses. There is always so much going on, but it makes the working week fly nearly as quickly as the weekend. I've been writing articles for the Globe and Mail, a Canadian national newspaper, which has been really rewarding. It's a huge buzz to see your name in a newspaper or magazine. I'd love to further develop my writing, as I've been a frustrated writer for so long, it is great now finally having an outlet. Add to that all the writing I've been doing for my own sites, Indie Launchpad, Podcast Launchpad, Vidcast Launchpad and Games for PPC, and you can see I'm a pretty busy bunny.

The year on the whole, was relatively mild. Summer was hot, but it didn't seem to last too long. The winter was very much delayed and we didn't get any decent snow until Boxing Day. Ah I used to complain about the lack of snow, but not any more. Nothing kills the joy of snow quicker than having to shovel the driveway.

So enough of the idle chit chat, how did me goals for 2006 go:

1. Lose a bit of weight, by ideally getting at least a modicum of exercise
   Urr, lets pass and go to number 2.
   
2. Start my book of non fiction and try to get to at least the third chapter
   Didn't manage to do much on this either, but I'm not too concerned, what with all the other writing I've been doing.
   
3. Update Sarah and Lucy's web page, so there's at least more than a single photo of each of them
   Did that, hooray, although I still need to add some more content. I did manage to do a total update on the website. The photo album especially is really good now and a synch for me to update.
   
4. Release first Indie Launchpad podcast
   Did that and then some. Just coming up for the years anniversary of the Indie Launchpad podcast. It was very challenging in the beginning, but I love doing it now.
   
5. Release "When I Was a Kid" as a complete work, edit it and pad out a bit, also come up with a new title.
   Haven't done this, but it's still sitting on my to do list, demoted to "Do when I get a chance and my list is empty"
   
6. Try to get my life better organised, so I can actually achieve all the things I want
   Didn't manage to do anything along those lines this in 2006, but I now have Getting Things Done, the GTD bible and hope to address this problem later in the year.
   

So what of my predictions of 2006:

1. Yahoo buys Tivo.
   Err, no they didn't and don't look like doing any time soon.
   
2. Adam Curry sells part/all of Podshow Music Network.
   AC hasn't sold out, but there are enough rumblings to expect some major developments in 2007
   
3. Candy Butchers / Mike Viola makes it big and sells lots of music.
   Released a new album, but major recognition is still waiting to happen.
   
4. Podcast on demand becomes a possibility.
   Google Reader has gone a long way to bringing this vision closer, but it's still a way away.
   
5. Canada wins gold for the men's Olympic Hockey team.
   Mmmm, let's just say that this is probably better forgotten.
   
6. Britney Spears files for divorce.
   Yeah a point at last. Always sad when 2 children are involved. 4 if you include the parents and I think you can.
   
7. England reaches the World Cup final in football.
   Another doozy, best forgotten.
   
8. Pink Floyd announce a world tour
   Dave Gilmour had a tour as did Roger Waters, but the elusive PF tour is still but a pipe dream.
   
9. Yahoo buys AOL
   AOL looks like it's in a downward spiral, so expect a lot of companies picking over the carcass.
   
10. Nintendo ceases production of Revolutions games console
    Looks like I was totally off on this one. The Revolution, or Wii as it's now called has been a mega hit. The PS3 on the other hand is just way too expensive to really worry about. Give it a couple of years and it should be something quite special.

So that's all the old stuff covered. What are my goals for 2007.

1. Get myself better organized, both professionally and at home.
2. Move my blogs over to Word Express. Blogger is beginning to buckle under the strain. It would be really great to host my own Blogs with a proper CMS system
3. Get the bloody basement tidied up.
4. Get to grips with TurboGears, a Python based web framework (yeah I know, I'm a geek)
   
5. Quit drinking at home until March. Should help with item 1.
   

So there's a few thing to keep me busy for the year, what of predictions for 2007. Well here we go:

1. Steve Jobs steps down as CEO, but remains at Apple, possibly in a similar position to Bill Gates at Microsoft.
2. Emusic bought by a larger company
3. Google launches online file storage service
4. iTunes clone purely for non DRM music launches
5. Harry Potter doesn't die in the seventh book and final book.
6. Ford makes major announcement
7. iTunes launches multiple pricing levels
8. George Michael releases freely available, non DRM album of new material
9. Windows Vista has a very slow uptake, by existing Windows users.
10. New service or product is released which brings podcasts to the masses, causing uptake from people previously afraid or confused on what to do.
    

So there you have it. A year in review and a look as to what to expect in 2007. I'm really exitied by the coming year and can't wait to sink my teeth in. Watch this space,