My first computer was a TRS 80, but it was the C64 that changed my life. My friends loved coming over to play games like Tony Hawk’s Skate or Die!, but it was connecting to bulletin board systems (BBS) that excited me.

Bulletin Board Systems

I convinced my Mum to let me use our household’s telephone through the night and early morning as my first BBS. I would lay in my bed in the dark, the glow of the inactive red C64 disk light would be the only source of light in my room.

Suddenly, I would awaken to the sound of the disk dive running. My room would be lit green from the drive operating. Someone, somewhere would be using my computer! I would scurry out of bed, turn on the monitor and go into sysop mode to chat with my mysterious guest.

I can’t believe this was all 30 years ago. Happy birthday Commodore 64. Thanks for introducing me to life online.

Speaking of CES. I’ll be there on Monday. If you’re attending please be sure to let me know. Online communication is incredible, but there’s still nothing better than real life.

I’ve had an incredible year reconnecting with old friends and making news ones, both online and in person. I wish I could have been out to more conferences this year, but I plan to fix this in 2012. Let’s meet in person if we haven’t already.

Nashville continues to rock!

The Nashville technology community continues to make me proud each year. Watching the energy and innovation bursting from the Entrepreneur Center has been a joy.

I’m excited to become an official mentor at Jumpstart Foundry this year, helping new startups with marketing and promotional guidance. I’ll also be contributing to their blog and podcast again soon too.

Things at Griffin continue to be fun too. I wonder how many homes were filled with the buzzing sound of the HELO TC helicopter on Christmas morning. I excepted many.

CES is coming up very soon, where everyone will be buzzing with the latest and greatest technology. If you’re going, be sure to let me know, so we can connect there.

Time and what’s important

The one thing technology hasn’t produced, that we’ve all been anxiously waiting for, is a time machine. Time is the one thing that technology can’t help us with, in fact, time seems to go faster because of it.

2012 for me is going to be about focusing on what’s most important in my life. Health, family and happiness.

I learned in 2011 that it’s easier than you think to lose weight and get healthy, but it takes stamina to keep the routine in practice. Health should be crucial in your life, because without it, you won’t have one.

Family is obvious, but I think often neglected for other things. It’s important that we focus on ourselves and what makes us happy, but don’t end up the subject of a Harry Chapin song.

In fact, if you have young children read this John Gruber post right now.

We all have limited time on earth, so be sure to make the best of it. Be thankful for what you have. Try to make it a better place.

Now get ready to get out there and kick 2012′s ass, because it’s going to be 2013 before you know it.

When I was in Las Vegas for CES recently, I tweeted that my friends and I were heading out to find a bite to eat. I added that we were starving, which we were. Very shortly after I heard from @cesarspalace on Twitter.

@davedelaney Are you guys still looking for a spot for dinner or do you have one already? Maybe we can help!

January 9, 2011 9:03 pm via CoTweetReplyRetweetFavorite

@CaesarsPalace

Caesars Palace

In the end, they only suggested a few restaurants. It was a nice touch, but the outreach would have really been incredible had they offered us a discount to come and eat there.

Still, it’s a good example of a business watching for mentions on social networking sites and being proactive.

Is your business doing this? If not, let’s talk about it.

I’ll be there, working from the Griffin Technology booth all week. Please be sure to drop by and say hello.

Of course, I will be available on Twitter @davedelaney. So be sure to hit me up if you would like to get together.

If it’s your first time attending CES, be sure to check out 25 Essential Tips for CES, which I posted on the Griffin blog.

I hope to see you in Vegas!

Photo from Flickr by: Betsy Weber (see you there Betsy!)

The response that I’ve received from my holiday email newsletter has been really appreciated. I’m so happy you found good use of the content I included.

I plan to do more emails in the new year, so please stay subscribed. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so here.

If you’re planning to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) in January, please be sure to visit me at the Griffin Technology booth. I’ll also have a couple of evenings free to get together if you like. I’d love to see you! If it’s your first time going, our 25 Tips for CES is a must have.

Please enjoy the holidays. Having some down time to unplug with your friends and family is a great idea! We all need to disconnect sometimes.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Photo from Flickr by: State Library and Archives of Florida

Happy New Year! Yes, I’m a little late. You see, I’ve been a little preoccupied with a certain road trip to Vegas for CES. If you haven’t already checked out CES Bound please do it now. I’m so proud of our 2,500 mile adventure.

Things will get back to normal here soon, whatever normal is.

Along the way we’ll be stopping in several cities for meet ups. I would really love to see you if you’re available. I’d also appreciate you spreading the word if you have friends in the cities that we’ll be passing through. We’ll also be stopping for lunch meet ups and coffee and gas along the way.

We’ll be buying some drinks and giving away Griffin products, Threadless tee shirts and more. You can RSVP for the meet ups in:

New Orleans, Decemeber 30th

Austin, New Year’s Eve

Phoenix, January 1st

If you’re going to CES be sure to pop by the Griffin booth to check out the bus and the goodies we’ll be bringing along. That’s right, we’re parking the bus “in” our booth!

We’ll also be posting blog posts, photos, tweets, videos and much more from the road.

If you’re a blogger and you’d like to cover our journey please let me know. I’d love to share more of the details with anyone interested. It’s going to be an insane trip!

Have a look at the state of the bus at www.cesbound.com. Thanks for your support.