Q&A: memories....

December 31 - What is your most cherished memory of this year?



2014 - Visit to Grandma’s right after I got laid off - a really great weekend that went really well.



2015 - Starting to regain confidence in my professional self.



2016 - I thought hard about WHY I believed what I believed and as a result, changed of bunch of beliefs but am more confident in them. - entered Jan. 1, 2017



2017 - (appears to be blank. how sad)



2018 - I’m not sure I have one thing. My children constantly surprise and delight me, Lori and I saw some great shows including “Come From Away” and it’s been a professionally rewarding year. But it’s also been a tough year. - entered Jan. 1, 2019

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Q&A: smorgasbord

December 30 - List what you’ve eaten for the past week.



2014 - This is not a good question or not enough space has been given. What haven’t I eaten? - entered Jan. 1, 2015



2015 - Lots of unhealthy stuff. - entered Dec. 31



2016 - There’s definitely not enough space. You’d be mortified. - entered Jan. 1, 2017



2017 - Lots of unhealthy stuff but we’ll get back to the right stuff starting yesterday. Yes, this oddly phrased, oh well.



2018 - Lots of cookies. Was I drunk last year? No, but it sure reads like it. - entered Jan. 1, 2019

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Q&A: 🧞

December 29 - What are your top three wishes?



2014 - Our finances, our children’s health issues, more time with just Lori - entered January 1, 2015



2015 - Smooth move, safe kids, financial peace - entered December 31



2016 - We’re not adversely impacted by Trump; Rachel and I get along better; Weight Loss - entered January 1, 2017



2017 - Ben speaks; Weight Loss; Better Sleep



2018 - More speech from Ben; less frustration at noise; weight loss - entered January 12, 2019

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Q&A: snug

December 28 - Snuggle down or go out and play?



2014 - Snuggle down. It’s too cold. (I miss L.A.)



2015 - Snuggle down. It’s less than 30° outside.



2016 - Snuggle down. It’s nearly bedtime. - entered Jan. 1, 2017



2017 - Play or do chores. - entered Dec. 29



2018 - Snuggle down. I’m tired and even though I’m in L.A., it’s still too cold.

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2019 Predictions

Some things that might happen next year or two...

Retail

• As Target seeks to expand its neighborhood store concept, Target and CVS enter into a joint agreement with Target taking over the convenience store side of operations (and its real estate) with CVS handing the pharmacy side of things.
• Wal*Mart and T-Mobile strengthen their ties, partnering on a joint-venture in the customer banking space.

Content

• Verizon, writing off its Oath/Verizon Media Group as a loss, sells the inboxes (AOL and Yahoo) to Comcast, allowing it to consolidate its consumer base, but only after a bidding war with Salesforce and Microsoft.  Its web properties are shopped to AT&T but ultimately purchased by Meredith Corp., with Condé Nast and Discovery cherry-picking a few items.  Time was interested, but shut out of the bidding.
• Disney launches its video on demand service. It costs $24.95. It suffers technical difficulties from the large number of people all trying to sign up at once.  (Wrong, it'll be $6.99)
• Apple considers purchasing Netflix but can't come to terms on creative autonomy.  Verizon also explores acquiring Netflix but strong disagreement between parties stops that pretty quickly.
• Netflix acquires a majority of the TV/movie production capacity in Vancouver.
• Discovery launches its video-on-demand service.  Apple, Netflix, CBS and Amazon fight a fierce battle to purchase it. Amazon wins.
• AT&T wins the Justice Department lawsuit and continues its integration of WarnerMedia.  WarnerMedia stumbles with a few bad quarters but that changes at AT&T give it more autonomy.  There is talk of a spin-off.

Marketing

• Google adds an ESP (probably through acquisition, possibly Epsilon) to its Marketing Cloud but deliverability to Gmail remains a black box and infighting ensues.  Customers initially flock to the Google offering hoping for better Gmail insights and are disappointed even Google can't help them.
• Microsoft adds an ESP to its Marketing Cloud offering. It begins to craft its own competitor to Gmail's AMP with immediate integration into its web and iPhone/Android apps and some of the more recent versions of Outlook.  It convinces Salesforce (ExactTarget and Pardot) and Comcast (Comcast/AOL/Yahoo) to support it.  
• Microsoft,  Salesforce and Oracle are still lacking in a good web analytics/tracking offering for their Marketing Clouds.
• Adobe rebrands Marketo as Campaign, demoting the current Campaign (Neolane) product to Campaign Express. The Neolane-based product is no longer available for purchase and the upgrade path for customers is to New Campaign aka Marketo.

HR-as-a-Service

• Salesforce makes a large purchase in the HR and payroll space, but struggles to integrate the full-service nature of the purchase with the hands-off DIY nature of its core products.
• Within a month, an HRaaS arms-race is underway and Microsoft, Google, SAP and Oracle begin making oversized purchases in the space.  ADP and HR Block are rumored to be takeover targets.

Hardware

• Microsoft buys Roku, integrates it into Xbox. Doesn't name it "UltimateTV"
• Intel and Vodaphone Global Enterprises enter into a joint-venture as a precursor to an eventual merger.  
• Tesla's next generation of automatic driving software begins to develop a 3D memory of hills, curves, potholes and speed bumps allowing it to optimize acceleration and braking, resulting in a 15% improvement in range without any hardware changes while delivering a smoother ride.

Software

• Apple doubles-down on its "context-less instant awareness" efforts with additional imaging and cognitive purchases. It struggles without a new category-killer but makes progress on its car, but it's still slow going and rumors persist that they're going to stop work on it.  Services continue to make them heaps of money.
• Microsoft makes great progress on its AI-based ribbon in the office products - a new "home" tab that changes automatically based on what it thinks you're going to do. It doesn't come out until Office 2021 but it's awesome.

Mergers

• Dell EMC partners with Silver Lake in an attempt to acquire Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Hewlett-Packard Consumer Products, but is only successful in acquiring HPE after outbidding IBM.  Lexmark outbids Intel and Dell EMC for HPCP.
• Steam announces it's open to strategic offers. Microsoft enters exploratory talks, abruptly exits talks, announces its intent to create a Steam competitor, but nothing ever comes of it.
• GM attempts a hostile takeover of Tesla. Fails but drives the stock price much higher in the process.
• Ford becomes majority-owned by Chinese-interests sparking anger, protests and idiots burning their cars.

Other

• Twitter loses money.
• Snap loses money, enters talks with Twitter, but nothing comes of it.
• Specs leak for the Samsung Galaxy S11. It has a lot of cameras, and unfortunately, Bixby.  

Q&A: Peace

December 27 - When was the last time you felt at peace?



2014 - It comes and goes regularly these days, but it comes back quickly and stays around for long periods. - entered Dec. 28



2015 - Today! - entered Dec. 31



2016 - For a few minutes this morning with my coffee. But I do feel zen about this new year. - entered Jan. 1, 2017



2017 - I feel it pretty regularly these days. Not all the time, but a lot. - entered Dec. 29



2018 - Most of the time these days, except when I think about politics.

Want to track small aspects of your own life over the next five years? Get this book: Q&A A Day: 5 Year Journal

Q&A: spontaneous

December 26 - On a scale of one to ten, how spontaneous were you today?



2014 - Took Ben and Rachel to McDonalds after church and I didn’t have a spare diaper for Ben. - entered Dec. 28



2015 - Zero. Bad sleep so I sat on couch and didn’t do much.



2016 - Three. I tried to be calm and predictable. - entered Jan. 1, 2017



2017 - Zero. I have not done anything and it’s been awesome.



2018 - Zero. I don’t know how to calculate this. It’s just been a regular common day. *shrug* - entered December 27

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Q&A: Christmas

December 25 - Write down five words that describe today:



2014 - Family, Food, Glory, Joy, Who



2015 - Cleaning, Excited, Expensive, Moving, Anxious - entered January 18, 2016



2016 - Last day of Christmas Break - entered January 1, 2017



2017 - Relaxed, Need more Exercise, Christmas



2018 - No vacation week at this job - entered December 26

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Q&A: transition

December 24 - Write down a recent transition.



2014 - The job thing, of course - entered December 25



2015 - We’re in one now - entered January 8, 2016



2016 - Well, the move to L.A. - entered January 1, 2017



2017 - To the realization that I can’t work with these people long-term - entered December 25



2018 - I’m not sure. It has been a transition since late 2014, in some ways. - entered December 26

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Q&A: 🥣

December 23 - What’s your favorite cereal?


2014 - I like a lot of cereals. Quaker Granola is a treat.


2015 - Yeah, same answer. - entered January 8, 2016


2016 - Honey Nut Oh’s are great, have fewer calories and are at our house way more often than Quaker Granola. - entered January 1, 2017


2017 - Honey Bunches of Nuts or whatever they’re called. Healthy snack. - entered December 25


2018 - Yep, same, pretty much all I eat because my coach told me last year it was one of the few ones acceptable to her. - entered December 26

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Q&A: meet

December 22 - Did you meet someone new recently? If so, who was it?



2014 - Yes, a whole company of smart, motivated people.



2015 - No, not really. - entered January 8, 2016



2016 - New people at church. - entered January 1, 2017



2017 - Some people who wanted to see if I was the answer to their problems. - entered December 25



2018 - No, not really. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Be Best

December 21 - If you could be the best at anything, what would it be?


2014 - Home construction/renovation projects


2015 - Being laid back and calm - entered January 8, 2016


2016 - Staying calm in any situation


2017 - Not sure. For some reason, “composing music” comes to mind.


2018 - If I were the best day trader ever, I could do it part time and have lots more time for other interesting stuff. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Dream Vacation

December 20 - What is your dream vacation?


2014 - Somewhere with just Lori and no cell coverage while Lori’s mom and my parents together watch the kids.


2015 - No kids. - entered January 8, 2016


2016 - At home with nothing to do.


2017 - Joni & Friends comes pretty close!


2018 - A week somewhere with a three bedroom suite and minimal things to do. I’m curious if Sedona would fit the bill. - entered December 26

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Q&A: change

December 19 - If you could change one thing about today, what would it be?



2014 - I might have gotten up earlier? Not sure. It was a really nice day. - entered December 20



2015 - Not gotten so mad at Kmart - entered January 8



2016 - Electors don’t elect Donald Trump



2017 - Stayed asleep until alarm went off. - entered December 21



2018 - I wish I had gotten more sleep. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Talk

December 18 - What would you like to talk about?



2014 - Nothing. I’m tired.



2015 - My kids. Technology. - entered January 5, 2016



2016 - Things that annoy me. It’s been a season of venting.



2017 - My family. - entered December 21



2018 - Anything but politics. Or sports. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Moooooove

December 17 - If you had to move to a new city, where would you move?



2014 - What is “new”? Brand new? Newcastle. New as in not current? Seattle or Bellevue, preferably Seattle.



2015 - Glendale! Or Santa Monica if we could afford it. - entered December 31



2016 - Paris - entered December 18



2017 - San Marino, South Pasadena or Beverly Hills



2018 - I like last year’s answer - BH for the Weezer song, SM or SP for the commute. - entered December 26

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Q&A: simply irresistable

December 16 - What do you find irresistible?



2014 - Normally I'd say doughnuts but I feel like I've done pretty well lately - entered December 17



2015 - Sugary snacks, pizza. - entered January 5, 2016



2016 - Yep, sugary snacks.



2017 - Lori's Christmas treats



2018 - Calories

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Q&A: xs

December 15 - Moderation or Excess?



2014 - Moderation. 3.5 pounds to go.



2015 - Excess. So many pounds to go. That ⬆️ is depressing. - entered December 31



2016 - Excess. Probably even more to go than last year.



2017 - Moderation. Diet! - entered December 16



2018 - Excess. Ask this in January instead. Sheesh. Especially considering tomorrow's question. - entered December 16

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Q&A: Impressive

December 14 - Why are you impressive?



2014 - My humility? Not sure - I’m pretty happy with myself and my almost 50 pounds of weight loss, even if it’s taken 8 years.



2015 - Not the “world’s hardest” but my life is probably more challenging than many and I think I’m doing OK. - entered January 4, 2016



2016 - People at work seem to like me. - entered December 15



2017 - I felt into a skillset that’s in demand. - entered December 16



2018 - I’m told I dad pretty well. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Regret

December 13 - What’s your biggest regret?



2014 - Failing to appreciate and take better advantage of simpler times.



2015 - I wish I could have made World Vision better. I think I helped while I was there but I think in the end, it was the same. - entered January 4, 2016



2016 - Not traveling more when single (or married without kids)



2017 - Not saving more. - entered December 16



2018 - I don’t know. I’m trying not to dwell. Most of what frustrates me is out of my control. - entered December 26

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Q&A: Wish List

December 12 - What’s on your wish list?



2014 - Automation stuff - entered December 13



2015 - Treat Yo Self stuff like coffee infused soap.



2016 - Is it sad that it’s still automation stuff and coffee-infused soap? (Newer tech and I got the soap and used it up). - entered December 13



2017 - Gadgets



2018 - I’d like a car that won’t kill passengers in an accident like my Ford (and preferably is fully electric, like a Tesla Model S) and I miss the Fitbit I lost (though now I feel like the Fitbit was limited in its utility). - entered December 26

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Q&A: joy

December 11 - Where do you find joy?



2014 - Joy is everywhere. It’s more about what robs you of joy. I no longer have a job that robs me of joy. - entered Dec. 13



2015 - Music is a great place to find joy. Especially singing with others. Especially Christmas songs. - entered Jan. 4, 2016



2016 - Christmas songs. Especially “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Let it Snow” by the Barenaked Ladies.



2017 - When I am encouraged.



2018 - I think right now it’s when watching something on TV that’s pretty funny. - entered Dec. 27

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Q&A: generosity

December 9 - What is your most recent act of generosity?



2014 - I’m not sure. I do leave space in front of my car at junctions to let other cars in. Does that count?



2015 - I’m not sure. I try to be kind, quick to forgive and slow to anger. - entered Jan. 2



2016 - I’m not sure. Holding the door for people?



2017 - Took someone’s photo at the mall? - entered Dec. 9



2018 - We did quite a bit of charitable giving this year. It seemed like a great way to combat the nastiness in our country right now. - entered Dec. 28

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Q&A: all the feels

December 8 - How ambitious do you feel today?



2014 - it’s 10:28. That used to be early. Now it’s seven hours until my alarm. Not ambitious at all. - entered Dec. 9



2015 - Very. 180 days (at most) ’til L.A. Lots to do. - entered Jan. 1, 2016



2016 - I feel a little ambitious. I have this list here and 22 days to finish it or make a dent at least.



2017 - not ambitious enough. - entered Dec. 10



2018 - winding down, but I certainly was earlier today at work. Got so much done! - entered Dec. 28

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Q&A: next year

December 7 - Where do you see yourself next year?



2014 - Right here writing in this book. Hopefully more financially secure.



2015 - Los Angeles! - entered Jan. 1



2016 - with my family



2017 - On this couch. Unless we buy a new one but I hope not, I like this couch.



2018 - Getting some stuff done around the house that should have been done last year or the year before. - entered Dec. 28

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Feed Sift (12/07/2018)

-1-

TALENT.WORKS -- The Science of the Job Search, Part VII: You Only Need 50% of Job “Requirements”

-2-

ENGADGET.COM -- Amazon is inserting sponsored products into baby registries

-3-

LOCAL.THEONION.COM -- Recruiter Saw Your Background In Computer Science And Thought Maybe You’d Be Interested In Working Part-Time At A Kohl’s In Sioux City

-4-

ARCHITECTURALDIGEST.COM -- 8 of the Smallest, Cutest Gardens and Outdoor Spaces

-5-

CNBC.COM -- Payless pranks VIPs, sells discount shoes at luxury prices

Q&A: level up

December 6 - Today you gained ________



2014 - probably weight. Was really abusing of the diet. - entered Dec. 7



2015 - success in my diet. One day! Woo! - entered Jan. 1, 2016



2016 - increased fear for the future of our country. - entered Dec. 7



2017 - a sad realization. - entered Dec. 7



2018 - probably weight. Not doing so well lately in that department. - entered Dec. 28

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