This weekend I had one of those ‘run from zombies’ dreams. I distinctly remember shepherding Jane and Freya and some other tag-alongs into places that I thought would be safe for some period of time; running through streets, entering abandoned houses, climbing through tubes and vents into hidden structures. Each time we found a safe place to hide out we would be there for a while until someone made a loud noise or opened the curtains or something that would tip off the legions of undead who were hunting us. However, I never actually saw a zombie during the course of the dream.

Later, as I was thinking about what caused me to whip up this nocturnal dark fantasy I realized there may be a very real correlation between my task list and the slow, resilient pursuit for which zombies are so well known.

For weeks, months or years in some cases, I’ve had things on my task list that I keep running from because there are other priorities in life or I just don’t want to complete them. At some point I have to pick up whatever tools are at hand (chainsaw and shotgun, katana and length of chain, etc.) and strategically hit and run until it’s safe to rest.

Update the blog – *whack*
Mow the lawn – *smash*
Wash the dog – *blam*
Clean my office – *whapow!*

Off I go, wish me luck.

1. American Red Cross [link]

2. Bujinkan Disaster Relief Fund Raiser [link]
As a member of the Bujinkan community I want to offer this link to a fund raiser set up to donate money on behalf of the global Bujinkan community.

1. Thinkgeek
ages: 0-100

You may have seen my last post featuring our six week old daughter Freya napping it up in a super rad Taun Taun sleeping bag. From startrek onsies for your nerdy newborn to demotivational calendars for your unhappy co-workers, thinkgeek has a wide range of geeky goodness for all ages.

2. Jinx
ages: 0-100

If your nerd is a gamer, be it console, pc or pen & paper, Jinx has gear for them. One of my current favorites is the ‘level 1 human’ onsie which I just might have to order for Freya.

3. BustedTees
ages: 2-1,000

Need some hilarious tshirts? Bustedtees is your place, they’re just darn clever. One of my favorites is the cinco de mayo shirt with line art of five mayo jars.

I might be updating this list over the next week but these three are excellent starting points for your holiday shopping.

I’m a huge fan of the Naruto anime (and manga) series, if you like ninjas you should check out the series at http://www.naruto-tv.com.  One of the special powers Naruto uses is the kage bunshin no jutsu or shadow clone technique. Throughout the series, Naruto uses his kage bunshin no jutsu to create multiple clones and get himself out of some rough spots.

This evening, I was thinking about how great it would be if I could replicate myself in order to complete a greater number of tasks over time. I embarked on a fantastic day dream of having multiple versions of Brian Church running around doing things just as I would do them. After a short time I realized that this fantasy is entirely possible. While the ability to physically replicate myself on a cellular level is not yet possible, efficient delegation of tasks will accomplish the same thing.

However, I’m often slow to hand off some tasks because I don’t have the time to communicate the methods by which I would complete a task or begin a project. Next step: documentation. By documenting my processes (decision trees and instructions for regular tasks) I can trust my shadow clones will have a guide by which to make decisions and take action.

Now if I could just replicate myself in order to have someone who can document my processes…

I think the real trouble is that I continually delay updating until I have something really exciting to report. Instead, I will make small updates as often as possible until I get to the point that new posts effortlessly fly off my fingertips into the blogosphere (as much as I hate that term).

So, on that note, here are some focal points for me in August

• Wake up at 6am every day (even weekends) to get my body and brain on a regular schedule
• Develop a morning warm-up routine to get my blood flowing
• Stay positive

And here I go…

So, I’m returning to blogging … well, perhaps journaling is a more appropriate definition as this space will primarily include little bits of text about my life and may not be thought provoking or beneficial to visitors in any way. This area of my site will, however, include some of my goals and my progress in the achievement of those goals, photos of me, family and friends, and probably way too many posts about how I spend a great deal of time with the family dog.