2009 New Year's Resolutions!

Well, it's almost the new year and I decided to set some goals and make some resolutions for myself this year for one of the first times in my life. It's not like I feel guilty about being fat and need a resolution to make me carry through. It's just that it's fun to think that I can accomplish a bunch of great things in 2009 if I set my mind to it. And I figure that posting my goals and resolutions makes me accountable for them, so that I can hopefully report on my successes throughout the year.
As a matter of definition, I consider resolutions to be things that I would be less likely to achieve if I didn't really set my mind to them, and goals to be things that I plan or expect to do during the year.

Resolutions

1. Take an aerial photo using the balloon and gimbal system that I have been working on and off again for the past few years. I'm not far from being ready to do it, but like one of my previous posts said, it's one thing to talk about something and it's another thing to do somthing.


2. Learn to play the piano! Why? Well, it seems cool, and I always love to see my nephews, sister, and mom playing it. As a possibly practical goal, I want to be able to play Lovers in Japan by Cold Play.


3. Bombproof my kayak roll and kayak The Numbers on the Arkansas River. I have let my roll deteriorate and not progress with the rest of my kayaking, and it's time for that to stop. Kayaking the Numbers will be an achievable goal that I should feel comfortable with once I can roll on demand under any conditions.

Goals

1. Mentor the Fairview Robotics club for the FIRST robotics competition. I'm already underway with this again this year, and I expect to be spending a lot of time working on the new robot and hopefully having a positive impact on these kids.


2. Install a Zetec engine in my Westfalia van. I already plunked down the money for the sweet Bostig conversion kit that will allow me as an amateur mechanic to perform a heart transplant for my seriously underpowered Vanagon.


3. Attend EJ's kayaking clinic in Ottawa, Canada in July including a road trip with stops in NY and Cape May to visit my family. With my bombproof roll and souped-up van, this will be a great way to take my accomplishments to the bank!