Tweeting on Twitter - who would have thought!

Had my first day of "Tweeting" yesterday. Tweeting on Twitter. An advanced degree, 30 year career in high tech, retiring earlier, 2nd careers in real estate and now web design and what am I doing (and enjoying it!)?...right, I'm Tweeting. Not only that, but I'm doing it confined by some faceless, nameless internet desciple of Him to 140 characters per Tweet...yup, characters, not words. Sure doesn't leave much room for embellishing, amplifying, exaggerating, pontificating, or any of the many other ".....ing" words that describe my communications style so aptly. Thing is, you can meet some very nice, very interesting, very intelligent, very ..... well you get the picture...people out there in hyperspace. Literally, communities of people for virtually any topic/issue, exist with people contributing from all over the globe. I think about a few short years ago before email, versus now...awesome.

When Mumbai was attached, there were people in the middle of the attack tweeting what was going on real time, before it was broadcast over any network. There is a whole new frontier of communication that we're just starting to tap. I've always been a high tech junky. I have been an "early adopter" of a number of high tech products, less now than in my earlier years. It has been and continues to be exciting to see the technology frontier expand at the pace it is. So much changes in the span of one life time.

One thing I am determined to do as I grow older is to stay on top of technology and never shy away from it or give up understanding the latest generation of 'stuff'. So, this month it will be tweeting on twitter, last month it was writing on friends walls in facebook, next month, not sure, but I'll find something.

Got a minute...tweet me at @bgstaples.

2009, Here I come!

Happy 2009 and Good Riddance 2008.

Well, at least that's my sentiment for 2008 with regard to:

• George W. Bush (and his whole administration)
• The financial markets' melt downs
• The mortgage disaster & falling home prices
• The bailout of anything, especially the US auto giants (aka withering giants)
• Our eight years on Maui
• Being a victim of fraud by someone I trusted

There were some very significant things to be very thankful for:

• Our move to Oregon and subsequent enjoyment of our home and Yamhill County in the Willamette Valley
• My wife finding her mojo and writing her first complete draft of a novel
• Her developing a broad online network of relationships that are becoming very meaningful in her life
• My finding new aspects of myself that resonate more with where I want to go
• My starting out on an endeavor to merge my creative desires through integrating a passion for photography and growing desire to create web sites that use photographic imagery as part of an overall outlet for creative expression

My hope and goals for 2009 include:

• Build web site design/development and graphic art skills
• Enrich content of my personal and professional web sites so they become sources of meaningful information
• Develop blogging skills and a following
• Support my wife's continuing endeavors to carry message and techniques of healing mind/body/spirit
• Hope stock and bond markets return to sustained growth
• Achieving a positive cash flow in ye'old retirement funds

Who would have guessed that 2008 would have been as "eventful" as it has. There is much that is carrying over into 2009. My view, it's more positive than negative when viewed from where we are currently. Short of terrorist attacks or pandemics, we are wallowing at the bottom of most open issues, so "up" is the most likely direction for most of those issues....housing, financial markets (credibility/trust, value, appreciation, etc.), jobs, economy/jobs, autos, politics (hang over from GWB). We have an intelligent, purposeful, determined and proactive president and team, who will be taking office in 3 weeks, that carries the hope and support of a large part of the world, not just the US.

The day he takes office, we've recovered a significant amount of our lost credibility. Yes, there are many challenges this country needs to face, but, our collective eyes are far more open than they have been in a long time; we're better equipped to deal with the problems, in large part, because we're more united than we have been in probably 3 decades. And, hopefully, we've learned some lessons from the obvious errors this country's electorate has made during those 3 decades.

Well, I've got to get revved up for the start of '09. It will be June '09 before I know it and I'll be wondering why I didn't get more done. So, with venturing out on the social networking scene, making a career out of two creative avenues I am passionate about, aka - digital photography and web design, and having a wife who provides both encouragement and help, I'm ready for an accelerating start this week. I'm not even waiting for Thursday, I'm starting today.

New Site Launched

The new bobstaples.com is live! The site will undergo a number of updates in the coming weeks. It has an eclectic combination of subjects. Until the 'contact me' form is active, please comment on this blog concerning the website. Well, it's late, the site is finally up and I'm gone until daybreak.

Personal Website

I have started a personal website, www.bobstaples.com, of which this blog is a section. The site is in the final stages of development and will be released on December 10, 2008. The site will have a number of sections which will cover the gamut, from light topics such as wine appreciation/collecting and photography to serious subjects such as dealing with the life long effects of child abuse, retirement (things I've learned over the last eight years, aka, the good, the bad and the ugly) and other social issues. Having a financial background, there will likely be discourse about financial issues, both before and after retiring.

Between this blog and the website, the goal is to provide some entertaining and informative topics. This blog will be a success if it provokes a dialogue of thoughts and ideas. We are all aware of the serious times we are going through, as a world, a country, a company and individually. Sharing ideas about how we are successfully coping with our financial and emotional issues stemming from it, will add to both the website and this blog.

The beginning of Bob Rambles On

This is the beginning of my new, personal, blog. It will vary in subject and mood, from light to serious, and from funny (I hope) to passionately serious. Some of the more serious topics will include issues like child abuse and toxic parenting, to political, financial, psychological and retiring.

I am a baby boomer who worked in the tech industry for 30 years, the last twenty as a vp of finance and chief financial officer. I was fortunate to be part of a small semiconductor company in the late 90's which we were able to take public in 1997. Over the next several years I sold off some shares and decided to "retire" in 2000. From there the learning curve really began. We moved to Maui, where I became a scuba instructor, a real estate broker, an Internet junkie and a guy who's most sobering thought was that he maybe should not have retired quite so early in life. More on all this in future blogs.

On the lighter side, my passionate interests include digital photography, including underwater photography and the use of Photoshop to perfect imagery, wine tasting and collecting (not the expensive stuff, just the 'below the radar' bargains, physical fitness, both through exercise and eating habits, and website development and design.

My purpose for blogging is for both my own satisfaction and therapy, and to share what I've discovered or developed as opinion that might be of interest to others.