Mission Statement (Long Winded Version)

There really is no audience or theme for this blog that will remain consistent. I don't have a strategy for developing readership, because most of the things that I write will be in conflict with one another.

I started this blog since I am a politically moderate, libertarianish, pro-war on Islamic Fundamentalism living in the most liberal city in the world. In the blog world, life is a little more two-dimensional in that people from opposite sides of the political spectrum don't tend to get along very well. In real life, I'm stuck in the position that some of best friends are on the way left, along with a large number of my co-workers and acquantances, so when discussing the war, or politics, I have to pick my battles very carefully. This blog provides me an opportunity to get my ideas together, so that when I do engage my friends, or other San Franciscians, in debate, I have a well-developed argument. Also, it is nice to connect with some folks I wouldn't normally meet out here that have common ground with me.

Unfortunately, I love a lot of other things too. As you can see from this site, I dig playing the guitar and I hope to write about and provide some guitar-oriented content. I am still developing as a musician and this blog gives me an opportunity to workout a lot of my struggles and lessons learned.

Climbing will be another issue frequently talked about. Part of the reason that I love California so much is because of its proximity to some of the best mountaineering and face-climbing in the world. As an intermediate in both areas, I have a lot to learn. I found that the best mountaineers and face-climbers maintain extensive journals about their past experiences. I've noticed that writing logs of my past trips has helped me to avoid repeating past mistakes and to improve my thinking process when solving problems. Most of all, it helps me to develop leadership skills which are essential to mountaineering.

Lastly, business cases will be discussed here. Not only do I love business and solving business problems for the shear thrill of it, it is also my job. Yet, I know that my writing skills need improvement and I want to practice on this site instead of live in the business world.

So, I am mixing a deadly potion. I am taking a blog where I write about my passions and I am throwing the toxic ingredients of politics and current events opinions in with it. People directed to this site for the non-political content may be put off by some of my political views since they are completely unrelated. I'm sure they will be getting mixed messages from me.

Looking at this blog from a business case point of view, I have a serious "branding" issue. The purpose of this blog will conflict with groups of potential readership as I cannot streamline and focus my content towards any "target market." Unlike Lileks, I am not a gifted enough writer to have anyone be interested my jaunts to Target or Friday pizza nights. The only thing I can offer are a few nuggets here and there as I stumble through the subject matter described above.

Appendix: I debated creating two blogs: one political and one hobby oriented. I decided against it for two reasons: one practical and one "teleological." Practically, I am lazy and I want to minimize any technical maintenance. Teleologically, I didn't want to create two distinct personalities. I am who I am as one person, not two, so take it or leave it as it is. Sadly, I am not married to the teleological argument and would probably "sell-out" if I can find a viable and easy practical alternative. Whoever said I was an idealist?