@camp /on vacation
Finally made it to the Adirondack Mountains. This will be the view when I wake up in the morning for the next 2.5 weeks.
I'm so happy to be here. Now if only my books and clothes would show up. All in good time.
Yesterday was a marathon of a travel day. After leaving for the airport around 9am pacific, I got on my flight after having been delayed at the gate for an hour. Then after flying to right around Cleveland, OH, they held us up to let a series of strong storms pass through the Newark & upstate New York / New England region.
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After arriving at Newark, I bolted for my connecting flight to ALB, but that was also delayed, so I'm thinking ok. I can manage that. Then the series of delays started first it was 9:35, then 10:19, then 11:30, then 12:20am. At about 10pm, I decided to bag it and rent a car. Problem is that the Continental customer service line was a mile long and I wanted nothing to do with it.
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So I bet on my social engineering skills and headed through security to baggage claim area. I went up to the Continental baggage claim desk, and pleaded my case. The woman who helped me was very kind and helpful and cancelled my flght and filed a claim for my duffle bag which should be delivered to our place about an hour north of ALB. [Fingers crossed, as I still don't have my duffle with all my clothes and more importantly, my books.]
After filing my baggage claim check, I proceeded to the Budget Car rental kiosk and picked up some kind of SUV/mini-van looking Suzuki. This is about 11:00pm Eastern. Then I hit the road heading out of Newark north on I-95 to the NY State Thruway. Well, it soon occurs to me that I've got no cash, change, etc, which makes paying for tolls a bit of a challenge. This happened to me twice before I finally found an ATM (after several failed attempts at other stops).
Then I head for the Palisades Parkway, connect to I-87N (NY State Thruway) for a really boring 2.5hr-ish drive in miserable weather with truckers and other weaving drivers to contend with. I started to fade out at about 2:30am so decided to call ALB my destination (rather than heading all the way to our place on the Lake). So I drive to the Cell phone waiting lot at ALB and crash out in the most uncomfortable position imaginable until I can wake up drop my rental car off and get picked up by my dad.
My wake up call comes at around 8am, drop the rental car off, and wait for my dad to come pick me up. On the way from ALB to our place on the Sacandaga Lake, we stopped to see a couple of the local rivers raging as a result of the storms they've seen over the past few days. Impressive stuff. Here's what we saw:
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Now I'm pretty much operating on vapors at this point having gone to bed at 4:20am the night prior, minimal sleep on the plane, and a long night of driving. I think I'm about ready to crash out for a while and hopefully when I wake up my luggage will be here.
It's currently raining and there are T-storms in the region. I'm 100% content. That is all.
Busy Busy Busy
I'm in countdown to vacation mode, which requires hyper-productivity on my part. Tying up loose ends with Eastlake Associates LLC, digesting major org changes at my dayjob, and moving rather quickly with startup activity around Infinitely Meta.
I've finally got some talent working on my personal & corporate brand. Mad props going out to Sean Blake (aka @bluefox) who has graciously agreed to help with this effort. Here's what he sent me after I briefed him on the idea / concepts behind Infinitely Meta. What do you think of the new logo/brand?
The possibilities are endless
Still recovering from July 4
It's Sunday morning and I'm still exhausted from July 4. The party was a HUGE success. Great people, great food & great drinks. Things got a little crazy just before the fireworks started up on the roof. This year, I got up on the roof early and setup a tripod with my Panasonic HD video recorder and my Quickcam Pro 9000 that I used to stream the Fireworks show on UStream.
I typically invite those who are brave enough to climb both ladders and view the fireworks from the roof of my 4-plex building as there are unabated views of the Fireworks barge and Lake Union from there. The view is spectacular and the Fireworks show this year was most excellent.
What I hadn't expected was the mass migration of people from surrounding houses/parties to my roof! At one point, my brother in-law counted over 50 people on the roof. There was even a DOG! Someone even brought the KEG up. It was unreal. I was a bit nervous about the structural integrity of the roof, but I asked everyone to spread out and distribute the weight. I also asked folks to stay away from the edge and just be careful.
The fireworks show was most excellent and I'll be importing and converting the HD video I shot as soon as possible. Until I get that up, here's the raw video footage. There is probably some language and conversations that are NSFW, so apologies in advance. I claim no responsibiilty for the content (audio) portion of the video. Enjoy! We did.
2nd Annual July 4 Tenant Appreciation BBQ – Eastlake, WA USA
Everything is falling into place for the 2nd Annual Eastlake Associates Tenant Appreciation BBQ. Here are the details.
When: July 4, 2008, 12pm - ???
Where: 2218 Franklin Ave East, Seattle, WA 98102 USA (Lake Union)
What: A party of course. BBQ, drinks, food, & FUN!
Food: Assorted burgers, hot dogs, Flank steak, sausages, BBQ chicken, chips, dips, cherries, pasta salad. Don't see anything you like, then bring you're own.
Drinks: My awesome tenant Debbie and her boyfriend kindly donated a fresh keg of Hales Ales, so we'll have plenty of beer. Soda (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite), and some OJ.
What to expect:
- Great people, food, drinks, etc. You've heard of "block party". This more like "neighborhood party". There are pretty much parties at every house for a 20 square block area. Riley hosts the infamous party down on Minor St. - this year they have a dunk tank and will be putting on quite a show from what I've heard.
- Fireworks - all day, all night. For the big event, those brave enough can climb 2 ladders and get on top of my roof for an UNABATED view of Lake Union, the fireworks barge, and Gasworks park. It's insane the view. I'll be streaming it live on UStream and also recording some HD video.
- Tons of traffic. If you want to come early, it is highly suggested. Street parking fills up by about 2pm. I have no off street parking available, so if you can use public transit or ride a bike, that's the best way to get around.
- They close the streets to through traffic for like 10 square blocks around my neighborhood so don't count on being able to take the side streets.
- If you are planning to stay and watch the fireworks, plan on staying LATE. If you thought it was bad getting into Eastlake, wait till you try to get OUT. There's no rush, so if you are planning on driving down and then driving back, expect to get out no earlier than 1am.
I think that's about it. If you are in Seattle and in the neighborhood, I highly recommend you stop by and at least say hello. Call me on my mobile @ 206.227.8535 if you have any questions or get lost.
Happy 4th Everyone!
Accomplishments for Q2 2008
Here's my accomplishments for the quarter, scrubbed for any internal/confidential/proprietary stuff.
===========================
Category 1: Infrastructure
===========================
$$$$ $$$$$ v4 Project -
See $$ v4 Project Status email sent on July 2, 2008 for more detailed
breakdown.
Feature Spec: http://$$.$$
Feature List: http://$$.$$
Network Topology: http://$$.$$
Collaborative Development Guidelines:
http://$$.$$
Business Processes
$$$$$$ Management - Implemented in Q2. Roll out to field early Q3
$$$$$$ Management - Implemented in Q2. Roll out to field early Q3
$$$$$$ Engagement - Implemeneted in Q2. Roll out to field early Q3
$$$$$$ - Modeled in Q2. Implement in Q3
$$$$$$ - Modeled in Q2. Implement in Q3
$$$$ UIs
New $$$$ - DONE
My $$$$ - DONE
Update $$$$ - ALMOST DONE
Search for $$$$ - DONE
New #### - DONE
My #### - DONE
Update #### - ALMOST DONE
Search for #### - ALMOST DONE
New @@@@ - DONE (partner)
My @@@@ - ALMOST DONE (partner)
Search for @@@@ - IN PROCESS (partner)
&&&& UIs
Review $$$$ - DONE
Acquire $$$$ - DONE
Resubmit $$$$ & Request Review - ALMOST DONE
Review #### - DONE
#### Compliance Check - DONE (Pending review by YYY)
Update #### - ALMOST DONE
Review & Quantify @@@@ - DONE (partner)
Assign @@@@ Project Lead - DONE (partner)
Define Project @@@@ - IN PROCESS (partner)
Review @@@@ Project Plan - IN PROCESS (partner)
Upload & Review $$$$ Documentation - NOT STARTED (Joint)
Upload Final Doc & Signoff - NOT STARTED (Joint)
Live Pre-Alpha / Active Development site: http://$$.$$
===========================
Category 2: Implementation
===========================
Field Support
ppp ppppp - xxxxxxx - one week "firedrill mode" field support for team
on site at xxxxxx. See email summaries from ppp for details. I believe
his comment on my presentation to the xxxx Java development team was
something like "You hit it out of the park."
pppp ppppp - supported custom task UI and uuu development for xxxxxxxx
opportunity. [Need to verify VMs that ppp submitted this quarter.]
pppp ppppppp - built custom skin, shell, pages, & rules for xxxxxx opportunity. Assisted with implementation of
yyyyyyyyyy for [Need to follow up and make
sure that pppp submits this solution after the engagement is over]
pppp pppppp - helped with specific UI tweaks for custom jjjjjjjjj for
follow up demo/showcase to sssssss (hot customer).
ppppp ppppp - helped him setup custom ffffff Report viewer portlet for
hhh demo.
ppp ppppp pppp - helped with questions on file attachments
provider/panel for custom UI.
pppp ppppppp- assisted with zzzz UI, assignment, and rules config for
zzzzz demo VMware image.
pppppp pppppppppp- assisted with zzz UI, nnnn and page refactoring
for new version of zzzz w. sss demo / VMware Image. [Need to
confirm that we have this vmware asset/solution.]
ppppppp ppppp - helped with specific questions on Bootcamp training
setup and some of the initial modules. Provided email assistance.
ppppppp ppppppp - support on techniques for using zzz and/or sss
for publish to xxx ccc directly from Windows.
ppppp pppppp - assisted with sss UI, ddddd, page design & layout
for refactoring sssss demo.
ppppppp ppppppppp- assisted pppppp and Course Developer with scoping out
and validating zzz course topics and techniques for Advanced zzz course.
pppppp ppppp - helped ppppp with some issues he was having with zzzzz
Reports. Sent him copy of my generic zzzzz Report Viewer portlet, which
seemed to solve his problem.
General Field Support - monitor and respond to questions when
appropriate on zzz and aaa mailing lists. Day to day repsonding to
questions on qqqq team aliases.
=======================
Category 3: Innovation
=======================
Product Development & Product Related Innovation
Submitted at least 10 bugs to
Product Development teams. [NOTE: I can track down xxxxx entries if you
need them.]
Defined new approach and technique for ***************************************
*********************************** [super secret sorry]
Perfected new technique to **************************** [ again too cool and confidential]
ppppp ppppp - worked with ppppp to setup hosted zzzzzz
environment for him to test sssss z.z.z scenarios. In exchange, he's
going to personally help us use zzzzzzz to **********************.
Perfected new techniques for ****************** [ sorry. that's the super secret special sauce]
pppp pppp - Product Marketing - Reached out to pppp to help get
our business processes more visibility within the company.
Hoping to use our current zzzzz project as a success story for how xxx
is***************** [sorry]
ppppp pppppppp - Reached out to ppppp to begin exploring
options for building new ******* [sorry]
ppppppppppppppp - managed collaborative development
and implementation of ********* [sorry confidential ]
****************
*******************
****************
******** [confidential & proprietary]
====================
Category 4: Improve
====================
Assets (e.g. Bootcamps, training, CAF Utils)
Training & Mentoring - assisted ppppppp & pppppp
with zzz and xxxx UI skills development for projects they were working
on this quarter. Held several webex sessions to demonstrate techniques
and showcase implementation patterns for zzz/xxxx UI building.
Training & Mentoring - delivered several 1:1 sessions with zzzzzzz
partner development team to establish baseline level of agreement and
understanding for specific *************** [confidential]
Training & Mentoring - held several 1:1 sessions in zzzzzz office with
pppp ppppppp to do skills exchange. I helped him with some zzzz/xxxxx
stuff and he helped me by showing some of his dddd/ssss techniques.
Training & Mentoring - worked directly 1:1 with pppp pp to help develop
zzz UI and kk backend skills and techniques. pppp's expertise in
Database/DBA stuff is critical to making sure our relational model is
optimized.
Training & Mentoring - Recorded Webex of advanced zzz UI building and
custom Java coding techniques from presentation to xxxxx Java developer
team.
Created new section on aaaaa site for reusable components. Precursor to
zzz Util library that we will roll out on aaaaa site in early Q3. Added several reusable components such as xxxxxxx, yyyyyyy, zzzzzzz, etc.
Personal growth, knowledge & skills development
Technology - Learning fundamentals
Self-paced learning of essential skills needed to independently develop,
deploy, and manage ************** [ confidential]
Implemented all ************** [confidential]