Be it Resolved, 2012 Edition

I’m a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions, even though I rarely announce them publicly. By the end of December, 9 times out of 10 I have fulfilled them even when I wasn’t consciously thinking about the goals. In 2011, I resolved to get in better shape and ended up working out consistently 3-4 times a week with plenty of visits to the pool thrown in as a bonus. Since 2012’s resolutions are more blog/website related and susceptible to procrastination, I’m going to announce them here in the hope that the fear of public embarrassment serves as a motivator. Advice and recommendations are welcome, too.

1. With Apple phasing out MobileMe and iWeb, I need to transfer my website to a new host and select a new site creation tool to bring its look into the twenty-first century. Now that the blog has a clean, new look, the website suffers in comparison. Ideally, I’d get back to Kyoto this year to update my photos of Shisendo and shoot new video, but unless I win a free trip to Japan that likely won’t happen.
2. Buy an e-reader. Sounds simple, I know, but the array of imperfect choices on the market have me suffering from paralysis by analysis. Nearly every review site ranks the Kindle #1, but I’m a little wary of committing to their proprietary format when the Nook and Kobo both support the epub format. Haven’t handled a Nook since the summer, but I like the feel of the Kobo, even if its page refresh looked a little choppy during the store demo. Then there’s the whole e-ink versus colour issue that I hope I can save $100 avoiding. Right, and can any of them display Japanese novels? 
3. Why am I spilling so much virtual ink and angst on a choice of e-reader? Because whichever one I settle on will determine the format I select when I publish The Samurai Poet as an e-book. Of course I could release it on more than one platform, but unless I can preview the text on a reader first, I’m reluctant to go that route for quality control reasons. 

Having written this down, I realize one thing. I need to make some decisions and live with them knowing that there is no perfect option. Better to keep the website on-line and get the book published than do nothing at all. 2012 is the year.