The First Step in a New Direction…

…I guess starts right here!  I am checking out the new Blogger templates here and I must say that I AM impressed.  New layouts.  New features.  New gadgets.  Now all my little corner of the blogosphere needs is new content.

This is my second foray into blogging.  My freshman effort, The JEP Report, ran for four years.  It was mildly successful, garnering a few dozen loyal followers, a few dozen transient followers, and 35,000 total visits.  According to The JEP Report’s Site meter, it is still getting regular traffic, but from what I can tell it is from one lone fanatic in South Korea who reads the site over and over several times a day.  I am genuinely concerned about this person’s mental state however as prolonged exposure to my incessant hyperbole can have seriously detrimental effects on an individual’s psychological well-being.  Seriously.  You should see what it is doing to my kids.

Though moderately entertaining, The JEP Report completely lacked focus, possessing the attention span of a hyperactive Chihuahua in the throes of a virulent methamphetamine overdose.  One week it did politics.  One week it did fiction.  One week it did movie reviews.  One week it did current events.  One week it did pasta recipes.  When I ran out of ideas, I just recounted tales of some of the stupid stuff I did while drinking.  This time around, I think I need to stop doing that.  Stop topic-jumping, I mean.  I can’t really quit doing stupid stuff while drinking as it is the only pastime I have that I am actually any good at.  I should have graduated summa cum laude from Inebriated State.  One would think drunken shenanigans would be a perfect subject for me to blog about then, but the reality is that it is very, very difficult to do so.  Mainly because if you have done it correctly, there should not be very much for you to remember when you are finally sober enough to sit upright behind the keyboard without projectile vomiting partially digested chunks of beer nuts through your nostrils all over the monitor.

So what should the focus of The Terabyte Boddhisattva be?  Basically, it is inspiration, and how one can find enlightenment through the internet.  Now, does that mean that I think my mind can suddenly open up and truly become one with the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, break the cycle of Samsara and lose my sense of Self as I encounter the soothing embrace of Nirvana while surfing Youporn, Groupon and checking out pictures of cute cats with spelling issues on Facebook?  Of course not.  What I think I can do however, is the limitless resources of the internet to better myself, my family, my community and maybe my readership by learning to navigate the vast expanses of Cyberia.

So what makes me think I can do positive, beneficial and life-changing things using the web?  Well, I have already done it.  5 months ago, I finally came to the realization that I was at a tipping point when it came to my health.  I had grown so overweight that I hit the point where I could no longer get my socks on myself.  After realizing that I was packing 50 extra pounds, I used the internet to research a means to lose weight and set about doing so.  The web provided me with the expertise, and through various means of social networking, the encouragement and inspiration I needed to get it done.  It only took 3 months, but I dropped the 50 pounds, and with it the lack of flexibility, my sleep apnea, chronic heartburn, cholesterol and blood pressure issues.  I gained a ton of energy, vitality, mental sharpness and now feel a solid ten years younger.  I figured if I could monumentally change my body in such a short time, what else could I improve?

The truth is I don’t know, but what I intend to do here on TTB is find out.  I am going to strive to better myself using the resources at my disposal, open my mind to new ideas, learn new skills, and see just how much I can improve my quality of life and meet my goals using the technology available at my fingertips.  If I fail, it’s back to tall tales of drunken exploits and a full on assault against writer’s block with tequila and Ex-Lax.