Where am I going?

As I sit on my front porch enjoying a dry day in August I think back on what I wanted to do with this site and where I wanted to go with a small business…

Since my initial idea I have been hired by a fairly large company that makes Smartphones and does a very good job of it as well. It has made me think that I might not be cut out for running my own business – right now – I like the “Security” of a large corporation with deep pockets. Maybe in a few years, once I have security and my kids are a bit older, I will venture into an entrepreneurial role.

I am not going to give up on speaking and helping people understand Technology, its benefits and its shortcomings. It will just have to be a part time, evening and weekend thing.

I think that life will give you what you need but you have to look for and reach for it. Just don’t reach too far. Sometimes it is better to wait for things to come to you.

Next time. A Technology Article. I promise.

Job Discernment or Discerning Life?

As I sit in the Red Brick Cafe in Guelph enjoying a nice cup of dark roast (I never got into the latte, cappuccino thing) I am pondering where to go next.

We are told that we will have something like 20 different jobs in our life and something like three to five careers or more. I am getting close to that now and I have at least another 30 years to work at least. So now that I have spent  almost 10 years in one company, the longest stint at a company not owned by family, and am out looking for work. Where do I want to go?

I love working with technology. What technology you ask? Well I don’t discriminate. I love to find out about new technologies. Period. I have a background in Telecommunication Systems Design and have designed radios and communication systems. I have worked in rugged computer design making hand held computers that could be dropped from buildings or run over by trucks. I designed a single stage 120dB audio amplifier for a analogue cassette player that turned a 90 minute cassette into a book with 24 hours of audio (pre MP3). I have helped design wireless access points and application servers.

I love to see the applications of technology. I look at a something and can see a totally different application for it.

I spent a lot of time running development projects as a Project and Program Manager now, Program Management was a lot of fun but I was missing something. I realized that I truly enjoyed promoting the great products I was helping to develop.  But I didn’t get to do that enough with Customers and Users. I only got to do that with the Sr. Management of my company. the Sr. Managers were really important to present to but the customers were the ones that gave me the most fun.

Technorati Tags: Product Management,Program Management,Technology,Community Evangelist,Technology Evangelist,Job,Career,Fun,Life,Systems Design

New Computer

Well, as i write this I am using my new Dell Insperion 1545… I have been on it for about an hour and have done some customizations. I have added firefox, Open Office and have played around with some of the features… All in all I am impressed so far.

I like the wider screen and that I can type and not have to wait for the machine to catch up. I have also used Windows Live Writer to write this post. It seems to be OK but I will have to work on it some more to see if i really like it.

How to donate blood

Blood Donation in Canada;

1. Make an appointment by calling 1-888-2donate.
2. Sign in and make your next appointment for 56 days from today.
3. Sit with a nurse and verify who you are then get stuck in the finger to get your Cu / Fe level checked.
4. Fill out a questionnaire about your health
   
5. Sit with a second nurse and get your blood-pressure, heart-rate and temperature checked
6. Answer some more personal questions about your history with the nurse
7. Go sit on a really comfortable chair while a nurse cleans your arm and inserts a needle.
8. Wait for 5-10 minutes and talk to the nurses joke have fun.
9. have the nurse remove the needle
10. repeat step 8
11. go have a cookie and juice
12. Go home and have an excuse not to do housework / heavy lifting for 24 hours...
    

It's really easy and the people in the clinic (at least in Guelph) are a lot of fun and really nice. if you are in Guelph you should book an appointment and go. It takes less than an hour.

I give blood about every 56 days.

Netbook Specs?

What Should the perfect Netbook (UMPC) be? What are the key features? Let's see;

1. Easy to Use
   
2. Instant On
3. Long Battery Life (8 hours or more)
4. Wireless network connection (WiFi) built in
   
5. Light weight (under 1kg)
   
6. Simple interface (I like a touch screen interface instead of a mouse, touchpad, pointer stick).
7. Alpha numeric keyboard (say 68 or so keys).
8. 1024 x 768 display (minimum 1280 x 800 would be nice)
9. Priced under $400
   

I work for Psion and I have both the Netbook and NetbookPro I loved the interface. the ablity with the NBPro to remote desktop to my PC or Citrix thin client to servers at work... it was / is great. it is too bad they didn't bring it to a consumer market...

That was a rant but I think that all Netbooks, UMPCs, EEe PCs etc have some or most of these but none have all of them... (even my beloved NetbookPro).

With what is going on with Software as a service (Saas) "the Cloud" cloud computing the lightweight (both processing and actual weight) the Psion NetbookPro would really hit a niche if it was priced right.

Any comments?

Some Cool Scary Stuff

My 9.5 month old just climbed the stairs from our basement to our main floor for the first time today. That is nearly 2 months earlier than her big brother... We are going to have to watch that girl.

I had my second massage of the year today.... I just love company benefits... I actually tweaked my lower back and put it into spasms a couple of weeks ago and today I came close to it again. This getting old thing is really not good and I am not even 40 yet.

O.K. Linking to other blogs seems to be what a lot of people do so I will try it. This is a blog from a former employer (sort of). http://www.audiobibles2.blogspot.com/ this gentleman has been around the world translating the bible into different languages. His son has followed in his father's footsteps with the formation of the Talking Bible. This was done because the majority of people in the 3rd world can't read... duh... They realized that it takes millions of dollars and decades of work to translate a bible into a new language. Once that is done, in many cases, most of the people that speak that language cannot read. They thought "Why not record that new language" that way, for around 1% of the cost of the translation you can reach 100% of the people that speak that language... this not only helps spread the gospel but it also helps keep a record of that language, it's pronunciation and it's spoken grammar... interesting huh

This is where I came in. I helped design the first "analogue" talking bible in 1998/99. It was a really interesting project. We were trying to get 24 hours of recording time onto a single 90 minute cassette... we couldn't use the capstan and roller to maintain a constant speed so we had to come up with a way to control the speed of the motor... we also had to get a very high gain low noise audio amp (120dB gain).

I also just told my wife that i had a blog... she was mad that I didn't tell her or send her the link... I guess I will have to do that now.

What to do.

Hi,

OK, I have had blogs before but never really kept them up. Part of my new years resolutions package was to start a blog and maintain it for at least the year... Ok so it's nearly the Middle of February and I am just getting it started.

I have some strong views on my beliefs and I will probably share them here. If you don't agree with me I won't have a problem with you commenting as long as it is something constructive or at least intelligent to say. If you just flame me I won't post the comment.

He, He,

This is from the Jan 23,09 reverendfun.com cartoon.

It has been over 2 years since my last post but hey life happens.

Let's see I was talking about the bible trail that St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is going through. we have finished the Old Testament and are through Hebrew's in the New... so not much left we should be finished this year... well after Easter.

Speaking of Easter, Lent is coming up and I was wondering what, if anything anyone is planning? Is there something you or your church is doing that might be different that what you have done in the past? How are you getting involved? How are you getting others involved?

I promise I will post again in under 2 years.