Forever Learning

Unfortunate Events

2010-05-21T19:21:00.001-07:00

Just today I heard news from my father that there have been two deaths in the family this week.

I'm not even sure how appropriate it is to discuss this in such a public forum, but I'm so confused about how to feel and think that getting it out in writing may be the best way for some release.

It's so strange, sometimes, how things in life happen. These two people were aunt and uncle to my father, but neither were related to each other by blood. The former's health had apparently been declining recently, but her death was still somewhat of a surprise. The latter has been in and out of hospice care for the past few months and had survived his ailments much longer than anticipated, but had also passed on not even two days after the first death. My grandfather and my great aunt, this week, have lost a brother and have lost a partner; they lived in two different states and were not even related. The timing of these events was almost as if someone, intent on dealing pain to this family, had planned it. Really, what are the odds and what did the living do to deserve this?

These two relatives were very close to my parents and my sister and I saw them enough to at least know who they were and to receive Christmas presents from them most years. My father's side of the family are fairly spread out around the country, but we at least made a concerted effort to see both of these people when we were in their respective areas every few years or so; visits to South Florida, however, were more frequent than those to Mississippi.

Is it because I didn't see them as often as family on my mother's side or is it because we live in a time where people are more emotionally detached from each other that I earnestly feel that I should be upset and sad about these deaths, but also can't find myself feeling that way? I can hear the sadness in my father's voice as he tells me that he is supposed to be a pallbearer at his uncle's funeral, but can't attend due to being out of town on business and, hearing those wavering undertones in his voice, I'm more effected than I ever was at hearing of the deaths over the phone. Maybe my physical isolation from my family has had some influence here, but I just can't help but feel guilty that these emotions aren't coming more naturally for me.

I know those that are left behind, my great aunt, great uncle, and grandfather; are all very close to each other and are helping the others make it through these tough times. I'm comforted to know that there are also many close friends coming to their aid and will be able to offer the needed shoulders to cry on.

Betty and Dalton, I love you both and wish that I had been able to see you more before your passing. Despite everything, I still feel as though I've lost an important part of my family and hope that the hole that now exists will be filled with happy memories, stories, and photographs of better times.

PM Tips and Tricks: Moleskine notebook

2010-05-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

It may be a little late in this BER season to be posting this, but maybe someone next year will be able to benefit from this sort of planner I devised to aid in keeping track of travel and paperwork details.

As you very well know, I am a white person so, of course, I like moleskine notebooks. If you click the image above, you can see a detailed depiction of how I've made my little 3.5" x 5.5" ruled notebook worth its weight in gold in relation to the program manager job. If you're a fellow PM and would like to use this idea, what follows is an outline for doing so:

Month Day, Year Day of Week
L(ocation): City, State (Zip Code)
H(otel): Hotel Name (Nightly Rate)
P(resenter[s]): Presenter(s) Name(s) (Developer's Initials)
S(eminar): Seminar Code(s)
T(ravel):
Airline Name (Confirmation #)
Origin Airport Code, Departure Time, 'to,' Arrival Time, Arrival Airport Code (Flight #)
If applicable, other travel details

On the top line of the first page of each week, I write the week number and I alternate ink colors each week to make flipping to the right page easier. This is a great way to keep track of hotel nights stayed and plane flights taken when it comes time to checking all your award accounts to see if everything is up to date. Quite a few times I've realized a hotel night wasn't recorded and, because of this notebook, I haven't had to log onto a computer and pull up an old email with that week's itinerary on it.

I hope this idea can be helpful to anyone and I'd love to see what other PMs have used in a similar fashion. Let me know in an email or in the comments.

Lunchbreak Entertainment: Waltham, MA

2010-05-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

View from atop Prospect Hill, looking over Waltham, MA

Another post in what may eventually become an on-going series revealing cool and interesting things for us program managers to do during our mid-day breaks from the tedium of the registration table.

If you're into jogging and just happen to be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waltham, MA (greater Boston area), this post is for you. A few minutes' walk away from the hotel is a regional park called Prospect Hill Park featuring over 250 acres of undeveloped woodlands that feature multiple off-road jogging trails, paved roadways, campsites, viewpoints looking over the Boston city skyline, and plenty of spots to sit down and eat some lunch.

At the top of this rather tall hill are some abandoned military radio towers, some of which you can climb if you're feeling up for a great view of the surrounding area. The jogging is great and, unlike the hotel's treadmills, goes through a variety of terrain and inclines. The park is open year-round to foot traffic, but its roadways are closed for much of winter, so doing more than walking in the park during those months may prove difficult.

MA, Waltham - Prospect Hill Park from Joshua Johnson on Vimeo.

[ Prospect Hill Park Advocacy Group ]

[ Waltham Recreation Department: Parks & Facilities ]

2010-04-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Since last I wrote, in most of the country, Spring has sprung. With it comes animals out of hiding, flowers into bloom, and grass into the deepest hue of green I have ever seen. It's now no wonder to me why some people live this far north; they deal with the harsh winters in exchange for a real change of seasons and spectacular Springs and Falls.

With the change of seasons and the more bearable climate in many of the northern states, I've taken an earnest interest in jogging as a way to keep in shape. If you know me, I've always been one to bitch and moan about how much I hate jogging as a sport; I found it too dull and repetitive for me to really enjoy (I preferred cycling or a more dynamic sport such as soccer). Well, I've decided to give it another chance now that the weather has turned delightful, I find myself in a different locale every day, and I've been shown quite a few entertaining podcasts to keep on top of. Luckily, this all coincided with a brand new specialty running store opening only a few blocks from my home: welcome to the neighborhood, West Seattle Runner (special thanks to co-owner Lori McConnell for taking the time to get me in the right pair of shoes)! How could I say no to the opportunity?

View of the lakefront jogging path looking out onto downtown Madison, WI.

I've found there are quite a few parks, nature trails, and pedestrian paths near many of the locations I visit with work, so it's made my days more fun trying to hunt them down and document them. If anyone knows of a good way to do this with an online tool (preferably one that includes photo uploads), please let me know. Right now, if the location is an established park or trail, I can bookmark it on Google Maps, but this is not always the case.

There are only a few weeks left before the end of my contract and I begin the barrage of location changes I have scheduled for myself over the course of my four month Summer break. It all kicks off with Memorial Day, baby. TI, here we come.

Successful sightseeing

2010-03-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Middle Ages Brewing Co., Syracuse, NY

Today, on the long drive between Albany and Rochester, NY, I managed to complete my goal of eating/drinking at all three of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que locations in the state of New York: first Manhattan, then Rochester, and today Syracuse. A small victory in the life of a Program Manager, but a victory none the less.

Also, it happens that my aunt suggested that, while I was making that pit stop in Syracuse, I check out the Middle Ages Brewery. It's a great little place with a medieval theme to its interior decoration, and I just happened to get there with about twenty minutes before the beer tasting was closed for the day. Good beers, but what else could be expected from a brewery where all the batches are measured and made by hand? Oh, did I forget to mention that it's about a two minute drive from the original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que location?!

After a week of miserable, rainy days, my presenter and I enjoyed the mostly-clear skies and beautiful sunset on the rest of our journey to Rochester, where we'll end this oh-so-short four day week.

Next week is Spring Break, so I'll catch you on the flip side.

Weekend in Hotlanta

2010-03-05T14:46:00.001-08:00

It ends up that there are only two airlines that make a direct flight from Nashville to Atlanta: Delta and Pacific Wings (their subsidiary, Tennessee Skies, in this case). Pacific Wings actually only has 9-seater prop. planes and flies out of the Nashville executive airport...sweet! I'm excited as this will be my first flight on a real "small scale" prop plane and certainly my first trip through an executive airport.

Not our plane, but you get the idea.

No crazy security lines, plush waiting room accommodations, free hot chocolate and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies; and REALLY nice restrooms are just some of the perks of flying through such a small airport. What a different experience that I shall not yet claim as "bad" in any way (we'll see what turbulence in a 9-seater plane feels like).

C'mon, Hotlanta, show me what you got!

Just a Little Philly Time

2010-03-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

To start off this week of travel, I flew from Chicago to Philly, not a long flight at all. I got in early and, instead of the instructed cab ride, I got a rental car and headed into the city for a few hours of remaining sunlight (yes, that's right, sunlight in Philly!).

Being a Sunday afternoon, I was actually able to find some good parking and was incredibly eager to head to some of the locations participating in this year's PHILAGRAfiKA to see some great works on paper, which I wrote about in an earlier post. I ended up walking all around the Rittenhouse Square area of the city, which is just wrought with art galleries, small shops, and other nice things; a livable section of the city, actually.

A quick trip by Gallery 339 (fine art photography) and The Print Center, among others, yielded no results since most art galleries are only open from Tuesday through Saturday. There were a few events scheduled for earlier in the afternoon, but my arrival time from Chicago put me in a bit later than I needed.

Overall a good trip through the city, with a quick jaunt down South Broad Street before watching the US Men's Hockey team tie up the score against Canada through a restaurant window with some valet parking staff.

On the way back to my rental car (thankfully no parking ticket was issued for my expired meter), I stopped at a local dessert shop called Scoop DeVille, which was fan-tas-tic. Their ice cream blends (cookies & cream with peanut butter chip cookie dough, for me) are to die for. It's definitely going up on the Program Manager Restaurant Blog! That cup of heaven kept me awake on the drive out to the Cherry Hill area for a restful night at the Hampton Inn out in Voorhees. Love that place. The week is cruising along at a quick pace (as they all do) and my weekend stayover in Atlanta with Ciara will soon be upon me.

Philadelphia's Scoop DeVille sweets shop

Don't judge me.

2010-03-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Last week, another one of my many on-and-off double presenter weeks, I found myself on the east coast (big surprise), specifically in Harrisburg, PA. Now, this particular evening was after a long day, but luckily not a super long drive, so all four of us (yup, one presenter had his wife along for a few days) got to the hotel at a decent hour. I wasn't particularly hungry when we arrived, so the other took our minivan and went out to dinner at a local micro brewery while I hunkered down in my room. While they were away, I started exploring the hotel to find out where our presentation rooms would be the next day only to come upon quite a nice surprise:

A totally free, if not slightly sketchy, dinner! A group had been meeting in this room where a full buffet dinner had been served and had left not long enough ago for the food to yet get cold (this is how I can justify myself). Plenty of chicken and mushrooms atop some fettuccine; fresh salad fixings, desserts, sodas, and other yummies with no hotel staff in sight! Luckily for me, I had earlier noticed that my sleep room had both a microwave and fridge, what luck. Needless to say, I had plenty to eat that night (and a little for lunch the next day) with a few trips up the back staircase to my room.

These days where I get to my destination early are quite heaven-sent. Being productive and happening upon things like this are my relief from the tension of double presenter weeks.

Stormageddon, Part 2

2010-02-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

So, apparently this thing that's happened is being dubbed Stormageddon. Cool name. Last I wrote, I had gone through a bunch of crap just to get from Detroit to my hotel in Harrisburg. Well, the craziness that started while I was in Michigan just got even worse as I got to PA.

After getting less than two hours of sleep, I go out to the meeting room to start setting up for the day's presentation. It didn't take long to realize that the banquet staff the night before had booked it home early to avoid too much snow; we had been moved to a room WAY too big for our 35-person seminar and WAY too dirty to have been cleaned after the wedding party who-knows-how-long beforehand. Luckily, one of the waitresses from the restaurant decided to come in and volunteer, even though she had no banquet/event experience. This let us get a pot of coffee brewed.

The day goes by, no participants show up, we cancel the seminar, and I spend the afternoon on the phone with the office to get travel details ironed out. The highways get shut down due to a state of emergency, our flight gets canceled, and, to top it all off, no cab companies in the area are open. We get scheduled for a train from Harrisburg to Philly and I bribe the owner of a cab company to get her and her husband to use their personal 4-wheel drive SUV to get us into town (thanks, Pam!). Before we leave, we find out our train has been canceled, but the next train, over two hours later, is still a 'go.'

We get to the train station and try to pass the time and not freeze too much. I napped while listening to the Fanboy Radio podcast (thanks, Dan) and my presenter caught up with some phone calls. The last train of the night finally comes and we board with the TWO other passengers...on the ENTIRE train. I've always wanted to ride a train long-distance, so I was pretty pleased to get to do this on the company's dime. Amtrak actually has some pretty cushy commuter cars, so it was at least comfortable.

We wait almost an hour at the Philly train station to catch a SEPTA train to the airport, but then find one of the only cabs running in the area instead. Shared the cab with a couple that had been waiting for that train for over two hours, drive down some one-way streets the wrong direction, get turned away from the highway by the National Guard, and finally get to the hotel.

I get two nights at the Hampton Inn and will hopefully get on a direct flight to Seattle tomorrow evening to start my week-long vacation. Time to kick back and get stuff done (we'll see how this website redesign goes...).

What a day!

2010-02-10T00:48:00.000-08:00

I began today in Detroit at the oh-so-excellent Embassy Suites over in Southfield. What a great place, especially if you show up for each evening’s manager’s reception. My presenter and I knew there was some snow in the forecast, so I kept an eye out on our departing flights all day. Just around 2:30, only fifteen minutes before she let out for the day, I come to find out my two flights for the evening were canceled. Grrrreat. However, a quick call to my manager gave me an opportunity to get on an earlier flight going through Newark to get to my destination at a reasonable hour.

We get to the airport, I return the rental car, and get booked on another airline just in time to get my bags checked and go through security. Then the fun begins.

Switching from my canceled flight with US Airways to a new itinerary with Continental, at the Detroit airport, requires a terminal change, which means I had to sprint outside and catch the next shuttle available. I get there with less than ten minutes to spare before the baggage check deadline and get through security with no problems (or lines, for that matter). I have just enough time to grab a quick sandwich from Wendy’s before rushing to the farthest terminal, only to find the plane is delayed, but in-transit.

An uneventful flight into Newark was a pleasant surprise. Not so pleasant was arriving to find my connecting flight was delayed an hour. Not too terrible, but not great considering the new departure time was 10:00 p.m. with slightly more than an hour’s travel time. All seven of us passengers that didn’t give in and make the 2.5 – 3 hour drive from Newark to Harrisburg had to sit in the back three rows of this small prop. plane in order to balance out the weight. We must’ve sat on the tarmac waiting in line to de-ice for at least another half an hour before taking off.

Finally we get to the Harrisburg airport, which is much nicer than I had imagined. As things end up, the airline lost my personal luggage (the tech. case showed up alright) and, after waiting forever to talk to someone about that, I was the last passenger in the airport. At this point, all taxi cabs and rental car agents are gone. Totally gone.

After calling a few cab companies that were all closed due to the snowfall, I find one that had a single guy working that didn’t mind coming to pick me up (he wasn’t even supposed to be working the airport route). With the snow and dark roads, we eventually made the twenty-six mile drive to get me all settled in my hotel room by 3:45 in the morning. What a day! We’ll see if anyone shows up for the seminar in a few hours, especially considering the estimated 10” of snow expected by morning.

Locked Out

2010-02-08T09:02:00.001-08:00

Last week, I learned what NOT to do when having a late night arrival at a hotel then getting a room on the ground floor: lock yourself out.

So, after a long-delayed flight out of Detroit to Kansas City, my presenters (yup, two of them, again) and I check into the Courtyard Marriott and I get a free upgrade to a jacuzzi suite (sweet!).

Upon entering, I immediately close the security bar on the front door (force of habit by now) and go to drop my bags on the floor, bed, or wherever. I then notice that the hotel has a nice courtyard between the sleep rooms and the adjoining conference center (Adams Pointe). I step outside and, as I close the door behind me, I notice the security bar starting to fall into place as my room keys are both still on the bed. Crap.

The front desk staff helps me get another room key and, by this point, I had forgotten about the lock on the front door. Not for long, though. Now I've gotten myself locked out of the room TWO different ways. Great job, genius.

With some dedication, wire coat hanger, and frozen fingers (why did I have to leave my jacket inside, too?), I managed to jerry-rig the sliding door's lock out of place. By this time, it was almost 12:45 a.m. and I hadn't even started unpacking.

Not a good start to the Kansas City visit, I'd say. The next day proved to be a bit better, especially with the sympathy from the front desk landing me a free mini-bottle of wine to enjoy at my next destination.

One more week until vacation

2010-02-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

After yet another long week of traveling with two very great presenters, I found myself somewhat energized to get back to Seattle and do something productive (if not only to catch up on a little sleep). I actually spent most of the flight between Chicago and Seattle reading and doing things on my computer, which is unusual since, by the time the doors of the plane close, I'm usually fast asleep.

I came home to both of my roommates being away for the weekend and my final W2 form waiting for me on the living room table. Woke up today after the first decent night's rest in at least a week to the chipper sounds of birds chirping in the trees outside and the rays of the morning sun reflecting off the house next door. What a beautiful city this is, especially when the some comes out!

After deciding against heading up to Ballard to do some rock climbing (that can wait for vacation in a week), I got out of the house to go get a haircut. I've walked past this local barbershop so many times since moving out here in October, but today was the first time I stopped in to Westside Barbershop for an appointment. After scheduling a haircut, I headed to the one local comic book shop, Arcane Comics. Dan would be so proud of me because I finally spent money on some comics and even went so far as to get a subscription service started (don't worry, I'm just looking at two specific titles right now).

A quick walk to the Seattle Public Library, West Seattle Branch, to drop off some materials, down to the Admiral Viewpoint to enjoy the blue-skied view of downtown Seattle, over to a few other stores for various things, and then back to the barbershop to trim up my attempt at the 'Pete Campbell.'

Attracted by their Super Bowl specials, I headed over to Swinery Meats, "Seattle's first and only sustainable butcher and meat shop," and bought some lamb & beef meatballs with a delicious romesco sauce. Meatballs, spaghetti, steamed veggies, and a nice tall Franziskaner beer were dinner before another night spent packing up my weekly food, clothing, and entertainment.

This time, I've only got a four day week with a change in presenters mid-week before the staff meeting on Friday preceding a week-long break. Valentine's Day is coming up quick, everyone, don't forget to start making your plans (if that's your thing).

The Rule of Nine Volts

2010-01-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

Two per presenter, per week. Plus one if you're feeling iffy.

Latest in Boeing's Airliner Fleet

2009-12-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" took its first test flight today and I only know that because the West Seattle Blog posted an etry about the event, which happened today at Boeing Field in the Seattle Area. This plane looks amazing. Larger, more efficient, updated interior/exterior designs, longer direct flight capabilities and etc.... The list goes on and on!

Seriously, look at that overhead bin storage!!!!

These planes will be flying on a ton of airlines, but, my fellow program managers, keep an eye out on Northwest, Continental, and Air Canada for your best bet at being the first BER employee to ride one of these puppies. Customizable window tinting? For real, I'm excited.

Staying fit on the road

2009-12-15T10:29:00.001-08:00

Of all ways to start the morning, starting it right is the best.

2009-12-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

The view of a peaceful sunrise from above a blanket of early morning clouds is probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time. As we took off from Seattle around 8:00 a.m. this past Sunday, we broke through the low-laying clouds and all I could see in the distance was a blanket of smooth gray, a brilliant orange sun, and most of Mount Rainier rising above it all. Stunning, but my camera was in the overhead with the seatbelt sign still on (not yet at cruising altitude). The assured chastisement by the flight attendants was surely not worth interrupting my mental image capture of that scene.

I'll check my phone for pictures, but I doubt any will do it justice.

Canuck Extravaganza

2009-12-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

This week is my first week in Canada, with or without work. Ontario's got all my attention for the first three days of this week: Ottawa on Sunday/Monday, Toronto on Monday/Tuesday, and Hamilton on Tuesday/Wednesday before heading across the border (eh?) to Buffalo on Wednesday/Thursday. The first night in the country, staying at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Ottawa Airport was awesome! Not sure if it was because I asked about a free room upgrade, but the room I got, pictured above, was HUGE!

Probably comparable in size to the living room of my last house in Orlando (huge, by the way), I had way more space than I really needed. Even though I passed on the option, the hotel has "Stay Fit Kits" for free rental in order to do just that, but in the privacy of your room. Apparently available at all Hilton Garden Inns, these kits include tools to accommodate three different areas of training: Yoga, Pilates and Core. Check the link for more info, but needless to say, I was very impressed with this very modern, very comfortable hotel (they stay even included the oft-desired minifridge and microwave!).

Worktime Water park

2009-12-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Chicago North (Elk Grove Village) is awesome. You never would guess from the outward appearance of the area surrounding the Holiday Inn we use there, but a quick drive into the residential areas will show you that it's actually a nice place. Not to mention the apparently affluent Elk Grove Park District, which, among other things, has the Rainbow Falls Water Park. Situated directly adjacent to both a high school and a middle school, who in their right mind would NOT skip school to go hang out at the water park when it's open for the season?!

Check out the park district's website for other great attractions in the Chicago North area. Program managers: take note of this site, only a few miles from the hotel, for the warmer months. Probably a great post-seminar relaxation place (if your presenter's way cool, of course) or, if you're willing to place a bet on it, a quick lunchtime stress-reliever.

Philadelphia Welcomes the Prints

2009-12-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

Fellow program managers and print lovers, be aware of the upcoming print extravaganza being hosted by The City of Brotherly Love from January through April, 2010: Philagrafika 2010!

Printmaking blog, Printeresting, has written up an in-depth article about this insane collection of presentations, museum showings, exhibitions, and etc, so please check it out [ here ]. It seems as though this will be America's largest print-related event, which makes me giddy.

Since the BER program managers are very often in the Philly area, I suggest each of you take some time out to view the amazing art on exhibit starting next year. A map of all the associated venues and events can be found [ here ].

I'm excited to waste away some evening or lunch break absorbing all that is print. Official site is [ here ] for viewing.

Rewards Cards Reduction

2009-12-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

It’s been a few weeks on the road now and I’ve gotten down into the swing of things. I still have yet to experience some of the craziness that some of my cohorts have, especially in regards to weather and stressful participant situations, so I will consider myself lucky for now. In preparation for all the traveling we do for this job of ours, I spent a little bit of time designing a credit-card-sized format for keeping track of all the various rewards clubs we’ve all signed up with. Below are the two sides for this card, which include all the rewards programs that I have personally signed up for; some of the airlines probably aren’t traveled that frequently with BER, but the content of this card is merely an outline for what it can be useful for.

Really, it helps reduce the number of cards that already clutter our wallets and purses in, hopefully, a visually-conducive way. I’ve attempted to work with this size format to make it easy to fit this in behind a credit card or ID, so the fonts are fairly small, but the current version of the design is easily legible for me. Also, space is an issue because I tried to indicate which hotels and airlines are partners with the program for which I applied; there’s no sense in applying to two separate airlines that would actually let you earn miles with one joint account. Consolidate, not disseminate.

I urge you other Program Managers, and anyone else, to look at the design, consider if it’s something you would like, and contact me about making you a copy. If you’re Photoshop savvy, I can send you my original .psd file, but some fonts are unique to the Windows 7 operating system, so take that into account. I have personally printed mine on heavyweight cardstock and have since laminated it to protect it from wear and tear in my wallet. It has worked wonders for me; hopefully it will for you too!

First post from the road

2009-10-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm writing during a layover at the Denver International Airport in Colorado. As I was searching for a place to settle for the multi-hour stint in Terminal A, serendipity occurred when I walked by a young lady practicing violin in a spare seating section. By herself, facing outward toward the chilly, clear night and crescent moon just visible over a Frontier walkway, she is playing a sort of sad, but upbeat folk sound that would be right at home in Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

The kindness and inner desire that people have to be social creatures really is exhibited here tonight. Most of you would be familiar with the fairly impersonal and isolated culture of airports where people are simply on their way from point A to point B and are usually tired, hungry, and cranky. The section near this young woman is filling up with passersby who both give her a small bubble of space, seeming not to want to disturb her practice, and who also sit in the adjoining seats to listen in. In only the span of a few minutes, quite a few people, before heading to their departure gates, have approached the violinist (what's the difference between a violin and a fiddle, by the way?) to give her thanks and, at one point, a few dollars as a small token of appreciation. It is a somewhat surreal scene that is both beautiful and peaceful.

This week was the first week of on-the-road training with BER and today was the first that I was alone with a presenter. All went well and I seem to be dealing with a pretty significant lack of sleep fairly well. However, this is only after a few days, so we'll see how the rest of this contract year goes. I'm enthused about it all. A fellow Program Manager created a restaurant blog to help others find all those hole-in-the-wall places that are a true treat when out in a strange city. I hope to use it and maybe contribute myself.

RSS Feeds and How They Make Me Happy

2009-08-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication," according to its Wikipedia article. Basically, it's a standardized file format for automatically publishing and sharing blog articles, photo galleries, and many other bits of information in this Web 2.0 world. In order to take advantage of RSS feeds, you will need a feed reader (or aggregator). I personally use Google Reader and it seems to be one of the more popular web-based RSS readers out there.

My online interaction is fueled by social interaction and interlinked information; most of what I'm interested in is linked to from sites I already read or follow. RSS really has made a dramatic difference in how I experience the internet; I subscribe to RSS feeds that allow me to do all of the following, and more: automatically download episodes of my favorite TV shows, keep track of all the photographs and web articles that a lot of my friends are interested in, keep an eye on a customized Craigslist search for rooms for rent in Seattle, and get instant updates about local happenings here in Gainesville.

There are many how-to articles written about subscribing to posts with various programs. Google's "Getting Started Guide" is pretty convenient and helpful, while the BitTorrent client uTorrent's documentation can leave some things to be desired if you're just getting your feet wet with RSS.

If you spend any significant amount of time online reading blog posts, browsing Flickr for cool photographs, or even scouring Craigslist for that new toy you've been craving, learning how to take advantage of the automation and ease-of-consolidation that RSS readers provide is a MUST.

9-9-09: A total list of my RSS subscriptions at this date. I think some very interesting things are possible with the beauty of RSS feeds. If you like this, you should see my bit torrent feed filters...

Full View is a MUST.

Invention

2009-07-17T08:16:00.001-07:00

03-01-08 - 162619, originally uploaded by J. Johnson.

I was on a run before 10am this morning and, when I got back, hopped in the shower to wash off and cool down. Of course, being Florida, the coldest water that came out of the tap was actually quite warm. This got me thinking: how hard would it be to integrate a home's HVAC and tap water system? When cold water is needed, it would be routed through the cooling fans (radiator?) and then through the HVAC system before being routed to the home plumbing.

I suppose this could be used for heating as well, especially since most in-home water heaters are constantly heating its supply of water anyway.

I wish I knew more about these systems. Can anyone shed some insight?

Portrait of Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer by Roberto Gonzalez

2009-07-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

This may not be a totally mind-blowing portrait, but it made the front page of the Orlando Sentinel today and really stands out as a unique political environmental portrait.

It had me thinking, for a bit, that the photographer utilized an outside crane for the rear flash.

Simply beautiful, isn't it?

Please, if you cycle, watch this.

2009-07-07T20:33:00.001-07:00

10 wins at The Trophy Lounge

2009-07-07T19:13:00.001-07:00

06-25-09 - 081915, originally uploaded by J. Johnson.

A few weeks ago, my family and I went on a cruise. We dominated various sports and trivia events, leading to the photo of our awards table on the last night before a return to normal life.

It may seem like a pretty trivial skill, but I recently found a pretty nice tutorial on Tutorio.com describing how to create rounded corners in Photoshop. Very often Adobe surprises me with just how much potential their imaging products have if the user only takes a small amount of time to learn about their features.

The official "credit card" size standard here in America, and possibly internationally, is 2 1/8" x 3 3/8" (54mm x 86mm) with 1/4" rounded corners. Typically, credit cards are made from PVC and are a sturdy 30mil thick.

Ever wanted to know a really quick and easy way to fold your short-sleeve t-shirts? Check this YouTube video by VideoJug.

Recently, a close friend of mine highly suggested what she called her "type bible:" Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton. The book can be found on Amazon here.

First Friends Knowledge Share

2009-06-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the knowledge-sharing events I've recently spoken of, BarCamp and Ignite, some friends and I decided to start our own small set of events to accomplish the same thing. Tentatively happening on the last Saturday of each month, the Reneers hosted the first gathering on May 30th followed by an outing to Tijuana Flats for dinner. Four attended and three spoke:

"How to Calculate the Radius of the Earth Using a Stopwatch and a Yard Stick" by Mike R.
Information about pruning various types of flora by Christie
"Useful Knots and How to Tie Them" by myself

The photograph above is of my cousin Greta's MBA degree she recently received from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. The frame she ordered, seen here, included a window matting that was too small to show the entire degree. I helped her out by separating the original navy backing, cutting a new set of windows, then cutting a larger window in the off-white mat on top. Good afternoon project to force me to get my mat cutter out of my closet and to use it again.

Below is the PowerPoint presentation I created for our Knowledge Share event.

Knowledge Share - Knots

View more OpenOffice presentations from downwitda.

Keeping productive

2009-05-27T23:20:00.001-07:00

Went out on my bike after a little rain this evening. Took two cameras with me and took some shots. Nothing serious. Nothing crazy. Just enjoyable.

'95-'99 Nissan Maxima: Front Oxygen Sensor Install

2009-05-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I decided to finally get rid of that nasty "Check Engine" light that's been on in my dash board for a while now. I ordered two Denso OEM-fit oxygen sensors for my 1996 Nissan Maxima from SparkPlugs.com for a total of about $108.

It took only a few hours and was a fairly simple process. If you have basic tool/automotive knowledge, the installation on my particular vehicle was pretty much a breeze.

I took photos of the whole process and created a sort-of writeup/picture story over at my Flickr page. Enjoy.

Some BarCamp Orlando 2008

2009-05-19T19:38:00.001-07:00

I'll open with a little graph showing Orlando gas prices (based on my personal purchases) from May 2006 to May 2009. The peak is about $4.13/gal and the valley is about $1.56/gal.

Awhile back, my house, road, and neighborhood showed up in Google Maps, but have since disappeared from the database. I finally found a way to help solve that problem, here.

My friends Mark and Yossi, back in 2008, turned me on to a nation-wide phenomenon named BarCamp, which is "an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants who are the main actors of the event." They came to Orlando and we all attended the 2nd annual BarCamp Orlando. I have had hand-written notes from various talks I attended sitting in my notebook for over a year now, so I think this may be a good forum to archive at least some of the interesting ones.

"Photoshop Techniques" by Mark Cambell [ArtsMC.net]

Use a single marquee for repeatable backgrounds
Utilize Actions for batch processes [link]
Tutorials and etc... [link]

Misc. Links

Not much to write about that first year, but I attended this year's BarCamp Orlando 3 and it was fantastic. Check the official site for links to PowerPoint presentations, Flickr-hosted photos, and other discussions.

First Post: Yes, I've Joined the Herd

2009-05-19T01:10:00.000-07:00

As I more and more realize how much I enjoy reading friends', family's, artists', photographers' blogs, I figure I should reciprocate if possible. My aim for this blog, if I can keep it going, is to post things that I learn, find interesting, and think others may also be interested in.

I believe that this host has given you, my reader, the opportunity to subscribe to this Blog through an RSS feed. Please, use that, because I have found it so useful in the past.

For a while now, I have been using a Firefox browser plugin called Ubiquity. It's a great, almost natural-language, plugin that allows you to streamline many of your online activities without ever leaving the keyboard. I have been interested in creating a skin for this plugin for some time and finally sat down this evening to iron out all the kinks in its CSS. I call it "Kiwi."

I'm proud of how it came out, but more so of how I managed to pull this off in an evening, especially with my coding skills being so very rusty. On a similar note, I have discovered that, in preparation of the upcoming CSS3 standards, both Mozilla and Apple's WebKit have begun to support the border-radius style, which will allow normally very rectangular tables and objects to become fluid and, in some cases, even oblong or circular. I have also found a fairly good illustrations (1, 2) of the CSS box model, which had me conceptually confused for quite the longest time.

I've requested a few CSS guidebooks from the Orange County Library with hopes of finding the time soon to revamp my personal website/portfolio. Exciting times to come.