January 2007

There were 56 posts published in January 2007 (this is page 1 of 6).

New Jersey Fun

I’ve been here doing an install for the company headquarters. Things are going well in that regard. What I find interesting is the celebrity status I seem to have here in the head office. Everyone is so nice to me! I’m kind of bewildered and a bit embarassed by the attention I get, frankly. Still, its nice to know I’m appreciated.

Towards the end of the day I was asked when I was leaving. I said tomorrow (today) and the next thing I know I’m holding a ticket for a dinner cruise. The company was rewarding my coworkers who were involved in a major project and had a few extra tickets. In less than an hour I would be heading towards the ship.

This was one time that getting assigned a minivan by the rental car agency came in handy. I took three coworkers downtown to the edge of the Hudson river, where we boarded the cruise ship: a three-deck dinner ship. With the twenty-five of us were two other companies. Passengers totatled about 120, in my estimate. We sat down at our three tables and partook in heavy h’or d’oerves and an open bar.

Soon after we were underway the ship’s entertainment cranked up. Three nightclub-ish performers sang and danced to vintage rock and soul music. I laughed at the cheesiness of it all, though later I changed my mind.

Dinner and a drink later, the performers had given way to dance music. The floor was crowded and I was having fun, so I ventured out there to dance. My friends soon joined me and I spent most of the rest of the night out there, pausing only to take in the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge and see the Statue of Liberty up close. It was an emotional moment for me to see the statue from that vantage point. Seems that symbols of liberty are an endangered species in America of late.

After dancing, the DJ read a list of passengers celebrating things. First on the list was a guy named Mark who was celebrating a birthday. I was totally clueless until I saw the rest of the company smiling in my direction. Someone had remembered my birthday and had had it mentioned! I was totally surprised and very grateful.

We returned to the pier a little after 10, having gone around Manhattan and back. As we left the parking lot at Lincoln Harbor it started to snow: a beautiful sight. I dropped of my passengers and got back to my hotel around 11:30.

It was a spontaneous event, and far more enjoyable than staying holed up in the hotel with my book, which was my previous plan for the evening.

I’ll return to Raleigh this afternoon. It’s obvious it would be good for me to make more frequent visits!

Cheap Thoughts: Phone Booths

Its been a year since Bellsouth (er, SBC. Er, AT&T) and other phone companies got out of the payphone business, ripping their phones off walls and telephone poles. Its been even longer since telephone booths were ubiquitous. I recall the funny scene in Superman when Clark Kent races to the nearest payphone only to find it had no booth!

Nowadays people carry their phones with them. Geeks like me work in cubicles where every conversation is shared amongst coworkers. If you want to make a private call, you often have to take it outside. On days like this when its 25 degrees outside, that’s not very convenient.

I think for these reasons the phone booth might make a comeback. Put a few near your cube farm and not only will you make the caller happy, you’ll make all his or her coworkers happy, too, since they won’t have to be privy to the conversation. I’ve used the booths at bars such as the Carolina Ale House and 42nd Street Oyster Bar. They make it much easier to hear the call and keep the call from disturbing others.

Do any companies currently make phone booths?

Bill Gates Signature Vista? I’ll Pass

I was amused to find that retailers are selling a “Bill Gates Signature” version of Microsoft Vista. For a premium of more than a hundred dollars, one can buy Microsoft’s DRM-crippled operating system with Bill Gates’s scribbling on the box.

So what’s wrong with this picture? For starters, who would want Bill Gates’s signature? Yeah, as a young 14 year old geek I admired the brash, young 30-something geek that Bill Gates once was. Somewhere along the line he turned evil and that was that. In the words of the great Chapel Hill philosopher Mojo Nixon, Bill Gates has no Elvis in him. I don’t think I’m alone in saying the Cult of Bill Gates was short-lived if not stillborn.

Now a copy of OS X autographed by Steve Jobs (or even better, the God of Geekdom Steve Wozniak), now you’re talking. I’d pony up a few extra bucks for that! It’s because Jobs and Woz have something all of Gates’s billions can’t buy him: Hipness. Legions of devoted, fanatical customers. Great products that Just Work. Ingenuity. These guys don’t just spout the word “innovate” like Bill does, they live it.

OS X has its own share of DRM crippleware, though for the most part Apple still provides what its customers want, not what Hollywood thinks its customers want. At any rate, OS X users seem to be smart enough to work around any roadblocks Apple may put in front of them.

If Microsoft Vista is where things are headed, I’ll make The Switch to OS X, or perhaps stick with my trusty Linux.

Linux may be free, but Linus Torvolds’s signature is still worth more than Bill Gates’s.

Bob Ferguson

I’m flying up to Newark today with a familiar fellow passenger: Bob Ferguson, former CEO of Midway Airlines. Ferguson used to run Continental Airlines before running Midway so it figures he’d fly Continental today. I wonder what else he’s up to?

Ah, here’s the answer. He’s CFO of Reliant Pharmeceuticals of New Jersey, and apparently not doing too bad for himself.

Off To Joisey

I’m off to Somerset, NJ tomorrow for a three day business trip. Potentially I can do this in two days, in which case I’ll be back sooner.

The work will be interesting, though, so I’m looking forward to that part. I’ll check in when I can.

Apollo One 40th Anniversary

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo One fire that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee as they sat on the launchpad during a simulated launch. Also, tomorrow is the 21st anniversary of the Challenger explosion.

Its a reminder that space is still a dangerous business, even after 40 years. I’m glad there are men and women still willing to risk it.

Highlights of 2006 Number 1: Whimsy

Number one on my list of 2006 highlights would have to be our new sailboat, Whimsy. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.

We found Whimsy one day in August when Kelly and had a day off from parenting. We had just finished horseback riding at a nearby stables and were on our way to Lake Crabtree for some sailing. Parked on Leesville road was a fine looking sailboat. On a whim (heh) I stopped the car and we looked it over. A day or two later, and with the help of some sailboat-savvy friends, we bought it.

The practical side of me was in a royal battle with the fun side of me. I knew it wasn’t a big financial commitment, yet it was a big step to become a boatowner. I’m happy I decided to do it, though. It was an investment in happiness: one that is still paying off.

We took Whimsy out no less than six times in the first few months we owned it – an impressive count if you ask me. Our whole family loves to sail it, which is even better. It’s a great family activity since we’re all together and everyone can get involved if they choose to.

I was going through some videotapes a few weeks ago when I came upon footage of us out sailing. I watched transfixed as Kelly steered the boat through some impressive wind. It made me long for the warmer days ahead and a chance to get back on the water.

Once it does get warmer, we hope to do an overnight or two on the boat to get the feel for that. With that under our belts, we may consider doing a little weekender cruising, perhaps somewhere Down East. It would be fun to get the boat out around the coast, where the wind is stronger and more constant.

Its not an exaggeration to say the boat has changed my life. I’ve always loved to sail. Now that we’ve got a boat of our own I am happy to be out there whenever I can.

Sailing is artistry on water. I’m enjoying learning how to sail like the masters.

(Yes, this is the Mark-can’t-count entry. Somewhere I lost entries 2 and 8 from my list. Oh
well, better luck next year!)

Padrino

This Sam Giancana book I’m reading had me thinking about this song.

Padrino
Smash Mouth

Life imitates the game of chess
You can be the rook or the pawn
If you have the strategy that’s best
You can be the king or in this case the don
It’s easy to get knocked out of the game
Depending on which way you want to play
You’ve got to have eyes in the back of your head
Now that we have that out of the way
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