I’m still getting back into the groove of blogging regularly again, so I’m easing into it. Also, aside from the 3 people that check this blog everyday, everybody still thinks this girl (just below) is the unofficial spokesperson for BoumanBlog.

I thought I would take this opportunity of low traffic to bore inform you of the progress I’m making on my New Year’s resolutions. I’m not going to go down the list bullet point by bullet point. I’ll save that for December 31st. This is more or less a reminder to everyone else that it’s not too late to bring your resolutions to fruition. Perhaps my progress will inspire you? That’s what I do. Inspire. Gandhi, the Pope, Mother Teresa, Jesse Bouman. All synonymous with inspiration.

I am proud to say that I have made good progress with my resolutions (feeling the inspiration yet?). I have drastically reduced my TV consumption by removing my TV from my bedroom. That has increased the amount of reading, but still has only resulted in two finished book and the beginning of a third.* P90X didn’t go as planned. I know, no one really expected me to finish it, but I did complete 9 weeks. I probably would have finished if it weren’t for two factors, the loneliness/lameness of working out alone in your bedroom and my unexpected registration at the local 24 Hr Fitness. Uh oh, inspiration running low, must increase. Um, um…think quickly! I got it, I have been learning to do some computer coding via my sexy lady friend www.lynda.com. Wait, sitting alone in my room? Hardly inspirational. I guess I launched a new blog (www.thejessebouman.com) to keep my friends who sit in their cubicles mildly entertained for 2 minutes a day. That was on the list, but my new blog idea (the one I had in mind when I made the resolution) won’t be unveiled for a few months (it’s a secret, can’t tell you…yet). So, be inspired that I am working on a top secret project that I can’t tell you about, thus unable to give you proof that I am actually working on a top secret project. Yea, feel the inspiration coursing through your veins!

Ok, so I won’t be demanding $250,000 per inspirational speech anytime soon, but you should derive inspiration that I am making a concerted effort to accomplish my goals.  How many BoumanBloggers are doing this now?   In front of me right now are written dates for different goals. I bet more of you are considering this tactic.  I’m also figuring out a way to get out of the US once this year.  I’m just deciding if I’m going to head up to Canada for the first time or venture off the America de Sur (one guess which place I’d rather be).  Maybe a coin flip?  Maybe both?

I wish all BoumanBlog readers an enthusiastic “Good luck” on your New Year’s resolutions and I will see you all back here on Sunday for the inaugural vlog of the new BoumanBlog layout.  Don’t miss it!

* Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers was a good read, but not as good as The Tipping Point. If you have a copy of Blink, email me at contact@boumanblog.com and we’ll make the necessary arrangements for me to get it. Seth Godin’s Unleashing the Ideavirus was good, a bit outdated with today’s technology, but fundamentally still important into today’s viral marketing world. Just started Chris Anderson’s Long Tail. If anyone has a GOOD book recommendation, by all means, email away.

Welcome back loyal BoumanBlog readers!  Hello?  Anyone out there?  Oh yea, everyone has long forgotten this blog even exists.  I apologize for the long hiatus.  It took me much longer to transfer this blog from my Blogger account to Wordpress than I first imagined.  After hours of emailing my Malaysian developer (thanks Jill) BoumanBlog is ready for public viewing.*

Take this short entry to give yourself the opportunity to take a look around the new design.  I’ve posted some photos, feel free to take a look.  I’ll occasionally update these photos (I may censor some of the more…unprofessional photos).   Along with my eloquent words and goofy vlogs, these photos will offer you a more complete idea of what is going on with your buddy Jesse.

Please forgive me BoumanBlog readers and please come back on a weekly basis to read this blog!  Give me reason to wake up in the morning!  Ok, it’s not that dire but I would appreciate you to return.  We’re going to have the same fun times that we used to have over at Blogger.  Maybe a liiiiittttle bit more fun?  Don’t believe me?  Come and check BoumanBlog out.

* I enlisted the help of Jill Low to help me code this site.  I know (one of) my New Years resolutions was to design and code a blog, but I couldn’t wait for my coding skills to mature to update this blog.  Don’t worry, I am in the midst of that resolution and you’ll learn more about this new blog in the future months.

Bored at work?  Check out www.thejessebouman.com for a fun video each day.

For those of you who have stopped by to check out my blog, I apologize that it’s still not ready.  I don’t want to offically “launch” this blog to the 12 of you until it’s just the way I want it to be.  Working out a few bugs, adding a few features, getting my initial vlog ready (which was made more difficult when my sister took my camera home with her from her stay which had vital footage on it).  If you really need a dose of Jesse asap, check out my Twitter feed:

www.twitter.com/jessebouman

Have you ever noticed how many different varieties of water there are these days? Water is such a large part of our daily lives. It’s what keeps us alive. Seventy percent of the Earth is covered by water and humans are comprised of roughly 65% water. But I thought water was supposed to be simple. Perhaps it was a long time ago, but today water has been turned in sales in excess of eight billion dollars. How has a simple commodity as water turned into such a lucrative business?

Astonishingly enough, drinking water has evolved over the years. We’ve gone from drinking out of our hands in the creek to pumping it out of a well into a bucket to running water straight from the tap. What a luxury it was to take a glass to your faucet and get water! Pretty soon plain water wasn’t good enough; we had to add fluoride to it. Was this the apex of drinking water? Hardly, soon water from the faucet was taboo. We had to drink water out of a bottle. Bottled water was absolutely pure, no toxins whatsoever. We were willing to shell out a few bucks a bottle of this delicious water. The price per bottle has dropped, due to more companies entering the market (or is it because Americans started to question pay $1.99 for water?) Had this fad ended? Not quite.

Take a look at your local supermarket and observe the copious choices of water. You have “normal” drinking water in plastic bottles. You have fancy water in trendy glass bottles. Same marketing theory applies to sparkling water, plastic for normal sparkling water, glass for the special stuff. Don’t like the taste of plain water? Try flavored water. There is lemon, lime, orange, and berry. Not getting enough nutrition from your water? Try flavored Vitamin water. Feeling a bit depleted from that run? Here’s a bottle of electrolyte enhanced water. You don’t want to twist the top off your bottle? No problem, we have a sport top water bottle with grooves for your finger. We’ve come along way from schlepping water out of our hand from a creek. There are choices on top of choices when it comes to water. If you go to the supermarket and ask someone for a bottle of water, beware, they might ask you what kind you want. You’ll have your pick.

All this talk about water has made me parched. Excuse me while I take a drink of sparkling raspberry vitamin water from its eco-friendly bottle with it’s enlarged easy to drink spout. Water has never been so satisfying. Ahhhh.