Rhapsody music service announced a deal with Verizon Wireless, where some subscribers will be able to download “As much music as they want” from Rhapsody in the form of DRM free MP3s. This will allow downloads to be moved onto the iPod or pretty much any digitial music player.

So here’s my question to you…

What is more appealing in your music consumption. Pay-per-download like iTunes or Amazon? Or the subscription model like Rhapsody?

My daughters and I gathered around the computer to watch video of a powerplant smokestack demolition.

I thought it was cool, but my daughters were abnormally somber.

Later that day, we were driving around our community and I realized why they were so somber. My 3 year old exclaimed “Dad! It’s back up!”

They thought they were watching the collapse of a larger smokestack (similar vintage) a couple miles from our house.

This morning was the Roseville Run for the Roses.

The girls and I went out to see mom finish the 10K event.

After the 10k, I ran a 1/2 mile “fun” run with the girls.

“Thing 1″ led the family near the beginning of the pack. (This is her just off the finish line)

I stuck with Thing 2 (trying to keep up). Here she is picking up the pace as we approach the finish line… She passed me and beat me across the line at the last minute:

The youngest sat and cheered us on. At the end of each race, each winner recieved a Rose. She picked this clover, and gave it to Mom after the 10K race. I think mom appreciated the clover more than the rose.

With all the work projects, I too often get stuck in tactical work. This is the day to day maintenance that seems to take up 45 of my 40 hours each week.

This includes daily content posting, server backups, application development, to-do list processing etc.

Because of the endless supply of filler these tasks provide, I never am really able to organize the longer term strategy behind what I do. I am rarely able to assess the overall flow of a website, or generate long term goals to direct the way I handle the day to day content.

Don’t get me wrong, I am constantly thinking about this stuff and have a vague idea of where I want to go. I just don’t spend quality time quantifying these ideas, and organizing these thoughts.

To start moving this direction (beyond the tactical and to the strategic), I am beginning to schedule 1 hour (that’s all) a week to sit away from my computer/blackberry/telephone/spreadsheets/project tracking and use only a (gasp) notebook and pen. I take notes as I process concepts, desires goals etc. After 2 weeks, I have been astounded at what that time accomplishes.

So far, I have discovered that spending that hour away from the tactical has actually made the 39 hours where I AM working through the task list much more effective. I am able to view the daily tasks in a much greater context.

Stuff we did in April:

Actually, I am just playing with some video slideshow tools…

“The Pretty One” is away this weekend for a work retreat. I took the girls to see a “Member’s Preview” of the new “Russia’s Grizzly Coast” exhibit at the zoo. This is probably one the best designed Zoo exhibits I have seen in years.

I highly recommend it!

My 3  year old watched a bear walk right up to her at the glass. She backed off a bit as the bear pressed a nose up close. After a few seconds, she stepped back and pressed her nose to the glass, opposite the bear.

Not to leave us “un-thrilled”, the bear got up on 2 feet and looked at ME nose to nose.

That was cool (and the 3 year old backed off again).

These exhibits were specifically designed to bring the animals closer to the humans. That is nice. My zoo luck has a tendency to put the animals on the far side of any exhibit, usually sleeping.

That was not the case tonight.