I didn’t set a reminder, despite my appreciation of the design.

Still, I would not go out of my way to listen to W.E.B Griffin again.

(This is part of my end-of-the-year rush to capture my major media consumption before the year actually comes to a close.)

(This is part of my end-of-the-year rush to capture my major media consumption before the year actually comes to a close.)

I only captured one quote when I read the book back in mid-February (!). Twitter would actually be good for capturing the quotes in the moment… have to try that more often.

Flipping through the small volume again now, I enjoy for a second time the simple, direct prose on a topic I know very well: running. I don’t share my thoughts with such eloquence or even such consideration. Yet I see the different motivations which keep Murakami putting one foot in front of another are not so different from some of my own.

Reminders of the common pace and similar “race” we all share improved this memoir notably. I haven’t made the (full) transition to acceptance of my athletic decline yet. But Murakami’s thoughts on why he runs when each year gets slower and harder are not unknown to me.

This one will stay on the shelf for future re-readings.

But any gloom in Clint Eastwood’s new movie is lifted by simple moments and insights, and a touch of humor. The caricature of grumpy old man suits Eastwood here; he must have enjoyed substituting growling for dialogue as a blunt marker of his character’s dissatisfaction with his family, neighborhood, and life. When Eastwood’s character does speak, it’s blunt, unfiltered, and unambiguously racist. The slow thaw in his relations with Asian neighbors is foreseeable, but not rushed. You can almost imagine his transformation being real, and his later sacrifice is contextual, if still surprising.

The gloom and grit of suburban Detroit are, strikingly, always portrayed in sunny summer weather. Any decay is presented in bright sunshine. The contrast underlined the point, rather than hiding it.

Only 72 from Metacritic? Bahhhh…too low. I missed dinner beforehand, and didn’t even mind being hungry for this one.

If you’re going to quit, quit before you start. Reject the system. Don’t play the game if you realize you can’t be the best in the world. [page 43]

Of course, the flip side is the urgent reminder that being the best in the world at anything requires working hard, pushing through the eponymous Dip.

A woodpecker can peck twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner. [page 29]

Pushing through The Dip also requires sacrifice of other things…which returns to quitting smartly.

The brief words do make me think about two things.

1. What do I want to be best in the world at?
2. What would I quit?

What do I want to be the best in the world at?

I once aimed that high athletically, but that’s more than a decade in the past. No matter how much I enjoy competing now, age-group glory isn’t world class — and I’m not training hard enough or smart enough to pretend otherwise.

Being a parent makes me feel responsible, but it’s not a contest…at least, not one you can win, and certainly not one you quit. Husband, brother, son… ditto.

With work, there’s too many different skills required — and employed — for me to pick a specialty. Maybe that’s a problem. I enjoy translating the many requirements and needs of a business into an online presence. I’ve done it successfully for companies big, small, and in between. But because I can’t state right now exactly why I’m the “best ________” for the job, I recognize a bit of focus would be rewarded. Maybe after we launch an easy-to-use online store for industrial adhesives! (Joking aside, I do want the experience I create to be top-notch. But it’s never a solo effort.)

What would I quit?

Despite my more realistic viewpoint about my running and cycling, I’m not quitting those selfish pursuits. Few things keep me moving mentally like pushing myself physically.

I’ve addressed family above. Work isn’t something I’d want to quit, nor is it an option.

So, reading is probably the time sink I’d have to address if I were going to quit something. I’m not ready to choose between books, magazines, newspapers, websites, personal blogs (and Twitter), and the other gap-fillers just yet.

Oh, and there is one other thing I could drop: blogging here. Nope. Not yet.

p.s. The fact that persistent effort and practice are rewarded with success evokes the well-publicized new Gladwell book, Outliers. But I haven’t read it, and don’t feel compelled to after all the noise gave me a flavor.

Since comics and graphic novels are filling the theaters over the last decade or so, the only question will be where the film strays from the novel. And, howls of protest to the contrary from fanboys, whether those differences help or hurt the translated story will interest me. I’m not eagerly awaiting the movie, but I’m sure I’ll see it in the theater all the same.

Video calling, long anticipated by science fiction, is filtering into everyday use. And two demographic groups not particularly known for being high-tech are among the earliest adopters.

In a way that even e-mailed photos never could, the Web cam promises to transcend both distance and the inability of toddlers to hold up their end of a phone conversation.

Even two years ago, I was challenged chatting across platforms. But I’ve used Skype and SightSpeed to good effect since, and iSight and iChat have only become more widespread.

Technology has its limits, but I’m thankful for this incarnation.