I’ve been fidgeting over this decision for some time now though I’m not really pressed to do it quickly – yet. So far, I’ve been able to repurpose my old laptops – the Dell Inspiron 6000,  over 10 years old, is now running Ubuntu Server and is my web server development platform. My Dell Inspiron 6400 is over 8 years old and I’ve added memory and upgraded the OS to Windows 7 Pro. While I’m not what you might call a heavy-duty power user, I do dabble in web development using code editors on Windows to develop and deploy web sites and applications. The rest of my typical uses are reading email, browsing the web for interesting content and connecting to my admiring public through this blog and Facebook. Those seem to be activities suited to the iPad platform. There is even web development software for the iPad. Printing would be an issue requiring a new wireless network printer that would support Airprint, the Apple wireless print protocol used by iPad and iPhone.

Since I have already ventured down the road of including Apple devices ( iMac, MacBook and 3 iPhones) on the Maygrove intranet, it seems natural to consider the iPad as a replacement device especially if the iPad3 ( out sometime next year) is even more powerful.

Here is an article that I found quite interesting as it offers some confirmation that I’m not entirely nuts.

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I never really thought of myself as a “creative”, a term I’ve learned from my wonderfully creative daughter-in-law Anna. In my professional life I tended to dive into the “plumbing” (program code and infrastructure) and come up with resolutions to problems or  implementing tools and techniques to gain advantage in opportunities.

In my retirement I have been working towards becoming a creative person in the things I have chosen to do. But, I did not really understand what that meant. I thought it was mostly how to design and build a cool user interface for a web site or application or compose and take a breath taking digital photograph.

After reading “The Core of Retirement Creativity” from the blog “Satisfying Retirement” though, I have a different perspective. Before, I felt that creativity required an artsy persona and did not realize that, as the article discusses, curiosity, risk taking, openness, energy of passion and optimism drive the “creative”. If I take another look at things, such as my golf habit, I see that I can be quite the “creative” albeit not too successful at times. I’ve always enjoyed learning new technology and now realize that that curiosity is driving new inspiration. Who knows? Maybe I’ll build the next “Angry Birds”!

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I’ve taken a small break from golf to pursue my hobby programming projects. I’m working on a small HTML/CSS/Javascript/jQuery/MySQL/Php project just to get the juices flowing again. I’ve been trolling through some technical video training and was inspired to do a web application using web technologies. Ultimately, I want to get back to developing some iPhone web applications. These are primarily just self-fulfillment activities to keep my mind exercising. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”……well, I’m trying to keep mine active. Besides, if I branch out and do some more contracting, it helps to be current. 

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Just to let you know that this site is iPhone friendly as it incorporates the “wptouch” plugin from WordPress. So you’ll get a different look when accessed from your phone. You can switch to the regular desktop view on your phone, if you wish to do that.

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A neighbor of mine sent me this. I think it applies to everyone.

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them’

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down..

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5.. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!
Worry about nothing, pray about everything.

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