A call to Action

This is an email blast I (and all Obama supporters) received this afternoon from the Prez himself.

Jimmy --

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

A new Macbook PRO for me!

I am soooo happy...got a new macbook pro 15"..and the fully-loaded one with all the video memory and processor you can stand.

It's WICKED fast...and I can run Windows 7 and MacOS in different windows and barely notice any performance issues at all.

I am ready to get back to school and to write my iPhone app now. More to come.

Am I actually blogging today

Well I am living the "Web 2.0" dream today (Twitter/HootSuite, LinkedIn, of course Facebook, Gdgt) and thought 'hey, why not a blog post too?'. I am really getting the hang of this work-from-home gig I think and the one thing I have learned is that without interruptions from office chatter and such, I can get so much more done (literally 4-fold) than I ever did which is leaving time for me to do other things. I decided this week I was going to start making constructive use of that time so I am literally scouring news, the web, etc to get some light to go off in my head as to what I want to do.

I know I really want to code an iPhone app but I do not have a Mac computer (my wifey does, but not me). I think I am going to have to break down and spend the cash and get one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Apple but have been too stingy/cheap to spend the bucks to get the laptop with the speed and features that I want and even the lower-end models are wayy too expensive to "settle" on, so I am on a mission to obtain one over the next month or two.

I also think I am very interested in getting involved with the local IT scene and what some of the small and medium biz IT shops are doing in Columbus. I have started making some friends around town in that area and since I have spent the last 10 years or so in large enterprise its something I am passionate about getting more involved in.

I also am studying for my ITIL v3 Managers Bridge course and exam coming up in October. One of those qualifications that I have to keep up given my job is being an ITIL expert for my company.

OK enough for now, check out my new Gdgt widget I posted on here (going to try to get it in the sidebar going forward.

gdgt gadget list widget

My brain is on NEWS overload

As part of my "resolutions" for life out of school for the summer, I have dedicated myself to catching up on the news, moreover the economic picture. Looks like GM is going to spend time in bankruptcy court. This is going to be very bad for them in the short term even though the government has agreed to guarantee all of their car warranties, but the facts are....

1. Buying something as expensive as a car or truck from a company that is bankrupt...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

2. Most of their cars are designed for the over 65 crowd (see Cadillac, Buick). The rest of them are just ugly.

3. If you have ever owned a GM product that has more than 150K miles on it and its not on blocks...well I am still looking for them.

4. The Japanese auto makers have figured out how to make better cars IN AMERICA than GM so again ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

So I am glad to see that the CEO has been asked to go away, but perhaps we should have not stopped there, rather got ourselves a big freakin broom and cleaned out the executive suite.

Ok enough about that, there is at least some good news today. John Calipari (Memphis BB coach) took the job at Kentucky! NO more NIT for them, thank God.

I am loving me some windows 7

Some say that windows 7 is just windows vista dressed up, but that's not quite right. Although the code base is basically the same, saying Windows 7 is a dressed up vista would be like saying that Windows XP is a dressed up Windows 2000 Workstation. If that's the case and Windows XP is still highly used in the world today, then by all means, dress my vista up.

There are a few things I really like about the Windows 7 beta I am using on this desktop. First, the dock. It very much resembles the MacOS dock and keeps your open programs nice and neatly organized. Second is the desktop background changes. Again, much like the Mac, there is an option to slide show your desktop backgrounds without the use of a third party product. Third and most important in my book, is SPEED. Raw and utter speed. I have ran Windows XP Pro, Vista Ultimate, and Windows 7 Ultimate on this same machine over the last couple of months and Windows 7 Beta is blind fast, extremely responsive even with Aero graphics. This is a fast computer, but the video card is basically stock and where vista was very sluggish, Windows 7 is rockin.

This is coming from a die hard Unix/Linux fan, I am very impressed with how much improved the 'dressing' is on Windows 7. Hopefully Microsoft won't screw it up before it releases RTM.

School's out and its time to find me for a while

Well, I rewarded myself today for a job well done in school these last two semesters by taking the day off and pretty much not doing anything. That is RARE for me these days.

Its hard to shut down the brain for a day unless you distract it like playing video games or something, but I ran a couple of errands and such which helps.

Can't wait for the weather to get consistently warm...ready to get the bicycle out and ride.

I am soooo ready for school to be over (for summer time anyway)

Wow its been a while since I wrote anything on this silly blog. I have been bombarded with work and school stuff for the last couple of weeks. Lots of changes at work with all the layoffs and reorganization.

It is odd though that while most people picked up an extra "hat" during this last round of layoffs, I actually had my workload lightened up quite a bit. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it has allowed me to get caught up on the work I have had on my desk over the last few months that has received no attention at all.

My class is about done too, and no more until fall (at least). I am ready for warm weather and the summer time without school.

Hopefully my summer won't be filled with lots of The Poopy Experiment

Crunch time all around

Wow, what a week!

Both of the teams I manage at work are in the midst of delivering major projects in the next couple of weeks. It is making work a 24 x 7 operation this month. On top of that, I just finished a class last week and started a new one this past week and the transition between classes means large final projects on top of initial reading assignments that are hundreds of pages.

I have been feeling overwhelmed, but I am getting through it. Now if I can just fight off this cold I'm getting.

Oh well, enough for now...have to start reading for the next week's activities....

Mad Money Widget

Class Dismissed

Boy I'm glad that I have finished my assignments for this class a day ahead of schedule. Work is so crazy that I literally had to take a vacation day to finish up the assignments. I have worked the last two weekends in a row and do NOT plan on working this weekend.

I have started reading my textbook for my next class starting on Monday. I only have 200 more pages of the 250-page first week's reading assignment...URGH!

Bush Chief Of Staff To Obama: Put Your Jacket On (VIDEO)

ENOUGH already....if this is all Mr. Card can find to pick on with President Obama he needs to ride off into the sunset. In the 21st century, we don't have time to worry about our coats and ties. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to the work of the work. The economy is a mess, we are in two wars, and I am pretty sure this has all come about because of the very administration Mr. Card was chief of staff of. Your turn to screw the country is over so go away and retire with your millions I am sure you made with your Haliburton stock tip.
About George Bush
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Google having "Issues"

So I am at work with a few of my associates and they just discovered that whatever you search for using google (we tried microsoft)





you get a page that says "this site may be harmful".




Just thought I would share. We thinks google gots problems.

I HATE BEING SICK!!!!!!

There is just something about being sick that I just hate (as I am sure no one really likes it). Despite the fact that I know I have to get rest and do certain things to make it go away, I resist. I absolutely loathe having to stop any part of my fast moving life to deal with it.

Its in its third day now, and still going strong. I thought I was better yesterday evening, so I went out and did the 'Friday thing'...big mistake.

So enough WAAAH for now.

Despite my illness, this has been a pretty good work week for me and the teams. We have finished the development phase of two modules of our HP Service Manager (this is help desk and other software items that allow IT to run their shop) and have prepared it for testing on Monday. Also on the other side of the house, a project we are working on is progressing very nicely and is scheduled to wrap up much earlier (and well under budget) than planned and in this economy, that is a GOOD thing.


And speaking of getting to work, the new Obama administration has wasted no time in doing so. The biggest challenge so far? The lack of technology in the white house and administration buildings. This is a team that ran a campaign and transition office like a Silicon Valley startup, and now they have to sit in offices with technology that barely has made it out of the late 80's. Perhaps this too can be "change" that comes to the white house during this presidency.

The first Executive Proclimation from President Obama

Check this out

America just witnessed history made!

I am proud to be an American today. It is so relieving to see the inauguration of the new President today. While we are nowhere near out of the woods with regards to this joke we call the American economy, today is the first day of moving forward. I found it very interesting that immediately following the ceremony, there was a press shot of Obama sitting at his desk signing documents. There is no time to waste, after the party is done today, tomorrow is time to get to work.

So does anyone who reads this have any ideas on how we can all help make this change? I would love to hear from you on this. I believe President Obama when he says it will take all of us, but I just don't feel like I am contributing much by ensuring that the bras and panties and goop in the bottle gets out the door quickly.

Please comment and perhaps we can generate some discussion on this topic.

Bowling League tonight...and an experiment

So after a few months off, I am starting a new and very uncompetitive bowling league tonight at 9:15 (yes I know that's wayyyy late). That's all the options you have when you don't start a league in the fall.

I decided that because the bowling center is near the office rather than near my house, I would stay at the office and work on school work and such and leave around 7:30 to have dinner and then get to the bowling center in time to let my bowling balls warm up to room temperature. If I can function tomorrow, then I may try this every other week or so, but if it leaves me unable to move around tomorrow, then I will be going home after work on Mondays for a short nap.

I have promised myself that bowling is something I LOVE in my life and that I will not skip seasons of bowling anymore. Its something active that I enjoy and it gives me great joy to participate. I am pretty good at it (my last league average was almost 200) and I just need to suck it up and make time for it.

At Home Alone on a Friday Night

So it's Friday night, and my other half is out on a camping trip with a few of her girlfriends, and I am sitting in front of this machine. I took a look around at places to go tonight, but I am just not motivated. I believe I will have a few drinks and just hang out at home. I am hosting a party for my work associates tomorrow night so I figure that will be enough cold winter night air for one weekend.

I am appreciating the complete quiet in my house this evening, even though I would never want it to always be like this. It's amazing how when you can hear what you are thinking, things are just much more clear.

Enough blabbery for now...

Bye bye Dubya

So I am celebrating tonight. It is the farewell party tonight for perhaps the worst president definitely of my lifetime, but possibly in history, ole Dubya. While I have to admit the last eight years of my life have been really amazing, the country as a whole has deteriorated. the economy is in the toilet, we are fighting two wars, one of which in my mind should have never been, almost 3 million people have lost their jobs in the last year, and so on, and so on....

Of course now I have to sit here and have to hear him promote his (and this is very loosely used) successes on TV. I believe I will have a few drinks and possibly a shot while I scream "SEE YA!" at my TV screen.

I am very happy to see him go, and I am not afraid to say it here! I believe the new Prez will fall short of the grand expectations that have been set by the people, however I truly believe he will make America a better place to live before he's done.

Good bye, BOOB!

Ahh I love new toys

Today was a very fun day for me at work. No, I didn't get a raise or a promotion, or even do something fun. Today folks, was Blackberry refresh day! My old and very worn out (many of the keys literally were not functioning anymore) was replaced with a shiny new Blackberry Curve.

It is truly the little things that amuse me.

I also attended a bowling league meeting for the QFM-96 winter only league at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace. This is truly just a fun league as they only bowl 2 games per night and many of the weeks are sponsored by companies like Coors and Jagermeister (YIPEE!). However it is a full house; 64 teams of 4 bowlers. The league pays the first four places only but first place is $1000 bux which is large for a fun league. The rest of the prize fund is used to throw a giant party at the end of the season.

Now normally, I would be looking for a much more competitive league to bowl in, but considering I didn't start in the fall due to other committments, I will use this league and a day or two a week of practice to get back in the swing of it.

New Honda Hybrid

Very interesting article about the new Honda Insight on Wired website.

Myers-Briggs Discussion

Is Myers-Briggs a legitimate way to measure your thinking style?

I am currently enrolled in a course that focuses on taking the Myers-Briggs assessment and then breaking down your results as well as results of your peers and analyzing how one should interact with others who are of these different types.

Now these days there are a million of these types of tests. Me and my manager peers as well as the associates that work for me have all taken the "Strengths finder" http://www.strengthsfinder.com/ assessment and spent some time charting our our top strengths as well as discussing how these strengths compliment each other.

Whatever test is used, I feel like while it is good to know some things about those you work with on how they would like to receive information, how they process, etc; it is as you build a relationship with that person you really get a feel for these traits.

I have learned that lots of companies give these assessments to prospective associates, especially at executive levels and I feel that is a MISTAKE. You have basically labeled someone before you even have a conversation with them. In my mind, there isn't really a test that will assess someones "soft skills" or determine if they will work well in your organization. I have hired many many people in my life and there is nothing like an engaging conversational-type interview to really highlight how you will work with them.

I am an ENTP by the way.

Icy Days and Movies

Because the roads are so crappy today, we decided to cancel any plans of going out and just stay home watching movies. A friend of Catherine's came over to hang out with us and we had a movie-fest. For the first time ever on the same day of bad weather, I actually saw a salt truck. Someone must have moved into the neighborhood that drives a salt truck.

Politico 44 President-Elect's Calendar

See above widget

I really don't like winter weather

So as I watch it rain and freeze and thaw again, I realize how much I hate winter weather. I am not sure why I live in it. I am making a statement now. I am 36 years old and by the time I am 40 I am going to live somewhere where there is no snow, and where winter is just "a season" and not an adventure.

So 6 days into January, so far so good on my New Year's resolutions. I always shoot to stick to at least 50% of them for the whole year. If I get more than that, then it is a good year.

Only 14 days until our new President moves into the big house!

Government Investing in Medical IT

So I was reading an article in Time magazine this morning which was the Obama Person of the Year feature and something really caught my eye. One of the priorities in the Obama administration is obviously to make healthcare more affordable for all Americans. One of the ways they plan to do that is to invest significantly in information technology to enable more accessible and manageable medical records.

This is very interesting to me. I am such a fan of working to eliminate paper and I know that since my doctor's office has went to digital files it has become much more efficient. I am very curious about this and am going to do some reading. More blogging on this to come.

A new Blog for 2009

So one of the goals I have for 2009 is to write more, and this blog hopefully will get me started. I have also purchased a new journal and have begun writing in it as well. It has been a great two weeks of time off from work. I have really recharged my mind and body and am ready to take on the world again.

Monday starts a new year of work AND school for me as I am back to class as well as back to work.

Another one of my goals for 2009 is to read EVERYTHING. I also would like to understand more about the happenings in our country and community as it is a time to get back to the basics. Once football season is over, time to pack the TVs in moth balls for the year and to get out the books, blogs, websites, etc.

I also am really doing everything I can to obtain some real inner peace. That is a major theme of mine this year. I feel like while 2008 was a great year for me, that I ended the year kind of floating around, and I don't like how that makes me feel. This year I want to take an active role in my life and in my community.

I have promised myself that I would network more in my field of technology as well, and have joined a Columbus meetup group that has meetup sessions all over the town.

I really feel like I have yet to realize my potential of doing something really great and I know that 2009 is going to reveal to me just what that path is.

~Jimmy