Happy New Year 2009!

In the New Year tradition, I've made one of my resolutions to post to this blog more frequently.

In keeping with the overall theme of this blog, I'd have to say the question posed to me the most lately is actually a "multi-parter" - "Where have you been?" and "What have you been doing?"

The simplest answer is that on October 17 I underwent surgery on my back to relieve a compressed disc (definitely not on my top ten list of fun physical conditions to have, and neither is the surgery for that matter). The surgery was on a Friday, and I was discharged from the hospital on the following Monday.

The 200-mile drive home from San Francisco to Anderson was relatively uneventful, other than the fact that I seemed to feel every single bump, rumble strip, and construction zone irregularity along the way home - and there seemed to be far more of them (and much bigger) than there seemed to be when we were headed towards the surgery.

Recovery progressed for a while, but after 2 weeks (stitches came out at 10 days), things just didn't "feel right." Pain in my lower back was increasing, and I had developed a fever. Finally, despite my protests, on Saturday November 1 my dear wife Debbie dragged me to the local hospital emergency room. (At that point I was too delerious from the 103-degree fever to put up much of a fight).

Diagnosis: The surgery site had become infected - not just on the surface, but deep down inside.

Next thing I know, I'm being whisked away to the Redding Airport, loaded onto a twin-engine air ambulance, and on my way back to the VA Hospital in San Francisco (via Oakland). After some head-scratching by people in white lab coats, it was back to the operating room for me to "clean things out."

In the time since, I've been "recovering" - such as it is. The surgery seems to have had little or no effect on my chronic back pain (in fact it appears the surgery may have aggravated things and made them slightly worse than they were before the first surgery). As a result, much of my time has been spent in the mental fog created by the pain-killers I've been prescribed. Not wishing to face the problems experienced by Rush Limbaugh or TV's fictional doctor "House," I've been regulating the amount of pain killers I take, taking them at a level far less than the prescription instructions allow.

The result is more pain, but also more lucidity, mental alertness, and continuity of thought. It's a trade-off, but I'm learning to live with it.

That's taken a lot of the wind out of my sails. I'm still not fully back up to speed, but at least thing have gotten to the point where I'm able to write somewhat cohesively. As I adapt to my "new normal" physical condition, I'll be ramping things up. I've been working on a new project. I've had the basic concept rattling around in my head for quite some time, and assuming I can complete it on schedule it should be quite popular (and also profitable).

I've decided to follow some advice that I've often heard from some of the more reputable "gurus" I've encountered over the years.

I've decided to create my own "product." Actually it's a combination of a product and a service, and it will have a residual income component. I can't really give you very much in the way of details about it at the moment - it's still in the early stages of development (but progressing smoothly). I'm hoping to reach the beta testing stage by the beginning of February, with a tentative launch date of March 1 (barring any major setbacks).

This project will also include a membership site and an affiliate program, so I'll be sure to give you (my loyal readers) first crack at it. The current plan is to make it a 2-tier affiliate program.

The target market for this product/service is HUGE, and there is definitely a real demand for it. The best part is that nobody is really going after this market - even though they probably have everything they need to really capitalize from it. (When I share the details with you, you're apt to have one of those forehead-slapping moments yourself.) Knowing what I know about the target market and the price I intend to assign to this product/service, it should be a very easy "sell," and affiliates shouldn't have to resort to hype and exaggeration to convince people to buy it. It won't sell itself, but when people learn what it is and what it can do, they won't run for the nearest exit either.

Once again, my humblest apologies for the 6-month drought of information and posts on this blog. My goal is to post at least once per week, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to post much more frequently as things develop. Thanks for stopping by - it's great to be back with you again, and I look forward to sharing a very prosperous 2009 with you!

See you again in a few days - right back here.