Introducing The Beta Byte!

And just like that - it's 2019.

2018 has slid completely into the history books. There are people alive now that never lived through 2018 - year of the dog, the midterm elections, that disastrous fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, countless mergers (Amazon + Whole Foods, etc.), and most importantly, the break-up of Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan (tear).

2018 now exists in our digital memories on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

But I digress, it's a new year, one in which we now have 364 new days of sunrises and sunsets. For most people, the new year can be comparable to buying a new car - it has that "fresh" smell, you get that nervous excitement when sitting behind the wheel as you think of the future adventures to take. I view New Years resolutions the same way.

As many of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with New Years resolutions. As an overbearing Type A personality, I relish the opportunity to create a new list of activities to cross off my list but I despise how quickly these same resolutions are thrown aside.

Going back to my car analogy, I tend to believe that we start off with the best of intentions (i.e. to wash the car every week, to take it out of the driveway) but we allow ourselves to be distracted or the "fresh" scent wears off and we never follow through on what we set-out to do.

That's not what I want 2019 to be and I need your help. Over three years ago, my father had an idea to start a private blog. The premise was simple - write one email on a topic of your choosing and share with a small group. Commentary was highly encouraged.

This blog became one of the highlights of my week and it was fun to see the progression of the respective members as the months and eventually years passed on. However, that all changed in August 2018 when my father decided to disband our blog.

With the new year and in the spirit of resolutions, I've decided it's time to branch out on my own. And therefore, I'm relaunching the blog but expanding the audience. Keeping to tradition, the rules of this blog are simple:

1. Post 1 blog per week by Sunday 12AM PT

2. Topics will be chosen by the blogger (mostly myself)

3. Comments are highly encouraged

Note - this blog is not meant to be a commentary on my personal life. I may decide to disclose personal statements, opinions, or stories but only for the express purpose of supporting the chosen topic. The internet, specifically Facebook, YouTube/Google and Pandora already make enough specialized recommendations for me.

And there we have it. If you made it to the end, congratulations! I look forward to beginning this journey over the next 52 weeks.

Until next week!