Top 10 Reasons Erik Is Leaving TechRepublic

So, today was my last day as Executive Editor for CNET Networks' TechRepublic, the world's leading and most authoritative Web site for IT professionals. Not that I'm biased or anything, having been part of the company since early in the site's beta dating all the way back to April '99.

The crew, a most wonderful set of the most genuine, creative and dedicated folks, gave me a heart-warming sendoff at El Nopal, home of world-class burritos and the site of some significant TechProGuild meetings over the years. As has become the practice for departing brethren, they presented me with my own top 10 list. Here's what they came up with for the "Top 10 Reasons Erik Eckel Is Leaving TechRepublic":

10. Lost a bet with the business unit's vice president over the last Steelers/Bengals game.

9. Is forming a support group and rehab center for other former TechRepublic employees.

8. Because of all those years identifying himself as EriK ECKel at TeChRepubliC InC. has worn a blister in the back of his throat.

7. Because he wants to stay at home and "not work" like Lauren.

6. Got tired of waiting for the severance check.

5. Decided to retire and live off of his lucrative stock options.

4. What better way to celebrate an impending 40th birthday and midlife crisis than by quitting your job with no future prospects?

3. Decided to get on the right side of the contributor gravy train.

2. Got tired of the well-earned, legitimate ridicule for being a Mac user.

1. After seven years, ran out of long rambling stories to tell to coworkers.

Warms my heart. Thanks guys and gals, it was a very adventurous ride. I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you.

Of course, I should add the real reason I chose to leave. I'm excited about the opportunities to grow my own companies. The time was right.

Pileated Woodpecker Siting

Several months ago Central State Hospital donated 75 additional acres of mostly wilderness area to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. That brought the Kentucky park's total acreage up to 513 acres.

Sawyer's an outstanding facility. The park offers numerous singletrack trails and fitness paths. The only downside is the trails are off limits to mountain bikes.

Ultimately, that may be best. The park's underutilized, considering its prime suburban location. And that means I rarely encounter more than a half-dozen other folks when hitting the trails. The past several weekends have been particularly enjoyable, as few others explore the paths on the new 75 acres donated by the hospital.

Last week, while letting the dog stretch his legs, I heard a woodpecker. Its machine gunning reverberated through the woods a few times before I realized this woodpecker was no Downy or Red Belly. Convinced it was a Pileated, I returned home and told my family so.

Today I set out to see if my suspicions were correct. Two miles or so in I heard the tapping again. Patient, I sat down on an embankment deep in the woods and waited. The dog became so bored he ceased exploring and took a seat beside me. Occasionally I'd hear the rapid strikes in quick succession. Each time I moved a little closer until voila, there he was.

The first thing I noticed about the Pileated (this was my first ever Dryocopus pileatus siting) was the bird's size. This woodpecker was easily as big as a cat, and I'd place his wingspan at almost three feet. The second thing I noticed was the vibrant red crest. Quite a regal bird.

Now that I know where he hangs out I'll see if I can't secure a better shot down the road. Today's weather was heavily overcast and the air was even mixed with snow.

Fashion Slave Or Sensible Practice?

So, I'm starting two new businesses and needed a new notebook for collecting handwritten notes. I could have trotted down to Target and purchased a ninety-nine cent spiral-bound notepad, but I didn't. Somehow I talked myself into justifying paying fifteen bucks for a Moleskin Large Ruled Journal.

Did I really need thread-bound binding? No.

Did I really need 240 lined Italian acid-free pages? Well, I needed pages. Let's leave it at that.

Did I really need the built-in elastic closure to hold the sturdy cover closed? No, but it comes in handy by preventing papers you stick inside from inadvertently falling out.

Did I really need an expandable accordion pocket? No, but I've found I use it.

Why did I buy a Moleskine, then? Do I really want to emulate Sean Penn. Doubtful (although I still believe At Close Range was a good movie). Or, did I become enchanted with the knowledge that the same notebooks were the choice of Hemingway, Matisse, van Gogh and others?

Let's just say my Moleskine's an outstanding complement to my Apple PowerBook. I'll leave it at that.

America's Founders' Sense Of Destiny

I'm just now getting around to reading David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning John Adams. I enjoyed 1776 quite a bit when I read it last year (shortly after completing Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin).

While I don't feign believe reading three books makes me an expert, I'm struck by how momentous America's founders knew their actions were. Many of my generation, seemingly, seek to earn their legacy in the form of liquidated stock options or through some other corporate means. I wonder how many would be willing to make the sacrifices those such as Adams did, when returning to his farmstead, exhausted and on King George III's must-hang list, after an eight-month tour in Philadelphia he was told he needed to sail to France (in the winter, no less). People really didn't cross the Atlantic then. But he did, much to the chagrin of his wife, not knowing if he'd even survive the journey. And, of course, the rest is history.

What's amazing to me is the sense of destiny such founders as Adams, John Hancock, George Washington (who did nothing but retreat for months, seemingly), Franklin and others possessed. Where'd they muster that strength? How'd they overcome self-doubt? How'd they know, or convince themselves, that the path they were blazing would prove victorious?

Today, if you're wrong, maybe you lose a few thousand dollars on a business gamble or your job. You sign up with the next firm and try again. These fellows, if they failed, were to hang. And they knew it.

Surely some of my thoughts are sparked because I'm preparing to fly on my own. As I prepare to found two new companies myself, I recognize the importance of discerning between ego, confidence and disillusionment. As Clint Eastwood once said so well as Harry Callahan, "A man's got to know his limitations."

Somewhere between dreams and failure lies discerning where those limitations exist. I'm glad America's Founding Fathers placed sufficient faith in themselves, their values and their ideals.

Can you imagine who'd invest in their endeavor today? You have no standing army, but you're going to successfully defend yourselves against the world's most advanced military? You're having difficulty unanimously agreeing on a Declaration of Independence? You can't figure out how individual colonies will be represented in a new government? Your country is blockaded by a most impressive navy and everything from clothing to foodstuffs is in scarce supply?

Yet, somehow they overcame. And, aren't you glad they did? I am.