Yesterday’s New York Times has a provocative glimpse into a “happiness conference”: Even if You Can’t Buy It, Happiness Is Big Business

It got me thinking about the driving force behind this blog: happiness and the web. The article doesn’t mention the web, but for almost 15 years, the web has been a bulwark of happiness for me. In the early days, it was a release from a difficult situation and the tendrils of despair. At times I even wonder if the web saved me. Now it’s part of what conference experts label “sustainable eudaemonia.” In other words, these days (with the bad years long gone) it remains a sure way to augment everyday peace of mind with happiness. And that’s with it now being my day job. Wonder of wonders.

But what is it that works this magic for me? It’s not surfing, and it’s certainly not email. It’s not hardware, nor software much either. Rather I notice it most in two ways.

First is the sheer wonder of the things people do with the web — and how it’s there to be shared. Humanity takes the bedrock of web standards, and from them creates the most astonishing things: elegant web apps like Backpack and Google Analytics, clever communication tools like change.gov and Twitter, everyday fare like RSS feeds and handsome sites, and most of all, the powerful search engines and knowledge banks that tie this super-abundance together.

But even more, I can feel that surge of happiness in the act of creation — when I jump into the web not as a spectator, but as a participant — when I’m building websites. It doesn’t matter if it’s for myself or for others. Nor does it matter if it’s a new site or an overhaul of an old site. It’s the fusion of HTML, scripts and databases; it’s the rhythm of code, save, refresh; it’s learning the latest techniques; it’s catching an unexpected glimpse of a site I helped build; it’s the teamwork and appreciation of others. And it’s other evanescent aspects…. “A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash of lightning in a summer cloud.”

So fleeting, but so sure.

And you? Does the web bring you happiness? I’d love to know.

Mr. Web Diva is the best. For my birthday last year it was an iPhone. And this year — ta dah — a Chumby.

For those scratching your heads wondering what on earth a Chumby might be, see David Pogue on YouTube in Pimp My Clock Radio. As always the intrepid Mac, New York Times, now CNBC geek captures the essence.

Me? I wondered first why I asked for it and later why I loved it so much. Was it the soft squishiness combined with wireless? Or could it be the dozens of widgets to check out instead of cleaning the house? Then I read a Wired article. “Generally speaking, the Chumby is meant to be a highly specialized second screen catering to those with acute internet addictions.” Busted.

For those interested in learning more about the Chumby, check out:

• Chumby’s home
• The Chumby Wiki
• Chumbysphere Forum
• Chumblog
• And best of all…. Developing widgets for Chumby with Flash Lite 3

Can you guess what’s coming in this blog?

Following in the footsteps of Kevin Clarke’s blog, here is this blog’s mission haiku.

Words twine in hypertext,
Peeking through cascading code.
SELECT * joy LIMIT null;

My very favorite time of day is early in the morning: the quiet, the angle of the light, the sense of new beginning. Even better are the mornings when I remember these words of the Dalai Lama.

“Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”

Usually I don’t like to discuss whom I’m voting for — much less blog about it — but there’s something different about tomorrow. It could be the sense of hope and possibility. Or perhaps I’ve changed. But what strikes me most is the sense that it’s a vote for Obama. I won’t be voting in a spirit that’s against Clinton — or anyone else, for that matter. It’s about Obama. And that makes me want to speak up.

Why? On the whole it’s for the same reasons you hear from others. I particularly echoed to Caroline Kennedy’s endorsement. However, I have a couple of reasons I don’t see talked about quite as much, so I’ll mention them.

First, he has the greatest understanding of technology. Since I’m grounded in technology, it helps me to measure the man.

Second, I believe his upbringing gives him a more global perspective. There are actually some things about his childhood that remind me of mine. My brother and I spent good chunks of our early years abroad. It gave both of us a better sense of where the U.S. fits in the world — how we look in others’ eyes. Reading Dreams From My Father, it’s clear to me that Obama was affected in similar ways, and it’s bound to have a salutary effect on foreign policy if he becomes our next president.

My hope is strong.

Yesterday was a banner day. After months (years?) of pining for a small Mac laptop with an Intel processor, I now have one of my very own. It’s a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook — and it’s everything I hoped it would be. As of Day 2, here are my top five reasons.

5. It’s black and sleek and elegant, like my cat — not to mention it matches most of my clothes.
4. It may be handsome, but it’s not showy.
3. Thanks to Parallels, it now runs Windows as a guest OS. Next up: Ubuntu.
2. It’s small and light, at least compared with other laptops I’ve known and loved. I hope to take it with me everywhere.
1. All in all, it feels very me.

It sprang full-bodied from my head — kind of like Athena and Zeus, I suppose. Well, not exactly. Chances are Zeus had a dreadful headache afterwards, and I don’t — not to mention having to attend to all the pesky details like developing a blog look-and-feel. I gather Athena came fully garbed, and Zeus didn’t have to attend to such minor matters.

The truth is I have loved writing Faith and Web, but no longer have time to produce substantive articles. Moreover, I keep bumping into things I’m dieing to blog about, and there seems to be a bit of theme to these items. Whether they are about gadgets, fashion, community or whatever, they all make this web diva happy. Hence the name of the blog. Mostly they are things-web (e.g. right now I’m on a huge, wonderful Drupal tear), but I’d like to leave wiggle room for other things.

I hope you enjoy these snatches. I intend to.