It’s gotten to the point that I can’t bear to look at comment posts on the Web, most pointedly on YouTube but the problem is everywhere. The viciousness and childishness is intolerable. What kind of person has so much time and so much hate inside them to write the kind of stuff that’s up there? When I imagine the writer at their computer, in their parent’s basement apartment, surrounded by half-eaten Cheetos, making people feel smaller than them, I want to reach through the Internet Tubes and throttle them.

I remember the time-lapse video of a pregnant woman that was popular a few years back. My wife was pregnant with our first boy at the time, so I found it especially wondrous when I saw it. I thought about posting a comment of appreciation, and when I scrolled down I saw such vitriol directed personally at the man, his wife, their unborn (until the end) child, and pregnancy in general, that it nearly brought me to tears.

The experience, and similar ones, has made me very hesitant to post anything personal to the Web. I’ve used my name, stupidly, on a few posts that can be unearthed with a Google search. And I post photos and videos to Facebook and Vimeo, respectively (this may come back to haunt me and I consider removing it all daily). I’ve removed all photos from my Flickr account. And there is this blog. I’ve made attempts to remove most personal and identifying materials from it, but it is all probably still indexed somewhere out there.

I posted a resolution last week about being, simply, a nicer guy. This extends to my behavior on the Web. Although I don’t often feel the need to lash out at people in Internet forums, I believe I have to some extent. And I certainly do it in emails and Instant Messages. Here are situations where I have a chance to reread and edit what I’m putting out there, and I intend to. There’s no guarantee that someone might find something to take exception to in what I write, but I can only do my best. The anger I might feel in a burst at a given moment is generally in no way a reflection of my true feelings. There’s no need to immortalize it in text and inspire similar feelings in my friends or in strangers.

And when I come across a flame, I am going to quickly ignore it. I can only stop my contribution to that stuff, and the rest isn’t worth my time or energy.

Hi there, and Happy New Year! This blog is slowly becoming the “Bi-annual New Year’s Resolution Blog.” Needless to say, my 2008 resolutions were a bust. I barely touched the tip of the iceberg. I’m not sure this year will be much better, but I’ll post things here for future embarrassment.

Be a Kinder, Gentler Paul
Working at home, having two young children, and working a late-night job have not done wonders for my already-volitile personality. Almost every time I blow up, I am wrong about something or I ruin what little chance I had to be right. I am determined to put this year on a low simmer. For my sake and for everyone who needs to deal with me.

JAPANESE
Oh my. I really need to speak better Japanese. I’m sure there is some measure of improvement each year, but it would take a very sensitive device to measure it. I’m really going to make a concerted effort this year to at least talk more. And study more.

Be Creative
For someone with a design degree who works in a creative field, I am not especially creative. I need to make more things that aren’t work-related. There are so many things I want to do, but I need to approach them one thing at a time.

Get Organized
I don’t think this list is differing much from my 2008 resolutions. Anyway, gotta get organized. Need to clean up this office. We moved in nearly a year ago but the office still manages to have things in boxes. The WiFi to the printer stopped working and, rather than set it up again I strung a cord past my face and share the printer via my computer. This was months ago. Maybe if my workspace was better I wouldn’t be so grumpy. And I’d get more done.

Write Weekly
Yup. You heard me. I’m going to write in this blog at least once weekly. You can laugh at me in March when this is still the top post. I’m also going to try to redesign this blog. Nothing fancy, just something that’s my own.

Alright. I’m sure there’s more, but if I don’t post this now it’ll sit in my drafts for weeks. Stay tuned!

OK, my first post in, like, forever is a self-indulgent blurb from my iPhone. It seems pretty easy so far, so if this works you may be hearing more from me.