The Occasional Blog » Work

A handful of OmniFocus items

Mike — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:27:42 +0000

I’ve mentioned before how I use OmniFocus to manage everything in my life. It has been an essential tool for me for several years. So much so, I can’t say how excited I am about the pending iPad version which I believe will become very critical for keeping me sane. I check the App Store a couple times a day but so far, nuthin’.

If you’re not familiar with OmniFocus or David Allen‘s Getting Things Done methodology, please take the time to read ‘The Psychology of OmniFocus’ which is a better write-up than I would be able to put together on how GTD works and specifically

The last thought is that with this post (and the associated task ‘Write a blog post’), I will for the first time in longer than I can remember, be caught up with all of my overdue tasks. I’ve written about having challenges keeping up with tasks before and I have improved, but I seem forever behind. That’ll change when I wake up tomorrow and when I get to work on Monday, but if I can continue to keep due dates to a minimum, I may actually start getting to those things I’ve haven’t been able to get to. One can hope.

Backups really are important

Mike — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:01:28 +0000

I was contacted tonight by someone who had suffered a drive failure and was hoping for some insight on how to resurrect the drive or rescue the data that has potentially been lost.

For the sake of those that may have not thought about backups, please take a moment to back up your data right now. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

While you wait for your first copy to complete, don’t think you’re done. Make sure you follow the 3-2-1 rule of backup:

3 backup copies of any data you don’t want to lose
2 different media types
1 copy at a different location (off-site)

Personally, I recommend CrashPlan for backups. It’s free software for basic use that lets you backup to any other user of CrashPlan (if they agree) over the Internet. Currently, I back up from my main server (the one you’re reading this on), to the upstairs computer, a machine at work, and to my mother-in-law’s computer. In the spirit of encouraging safe data, if you have a reasonable amount of data, let me know and I can be a backup destination for you (don’t worry, I’d be unable to read the data as it’s encrypted by the software).

Protect your data, folks.

See you in a month

Mike — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:41:09 +0000

May will be an interesting month for me. I’ve been challenged to give up the Internet, TV, and other distractions to focus on more redeeming things like spending time with my family, reading, bible study, or old-fashioned things like a good ol’ walk around the neighborhood.

Honestly, I’ve been growing frustrated with the time it takes to “keep up” with things like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader. I first blogged about doing Reader “chores” three years ago and since then I’ve increased the number of feeds I followed and added Facebook to the mix. So, while I may have some DT’s going cold turkey I really am looking forward to what I’ll be able to fill the time with.

Of course, I’ll still “surf” as appropriate for work and will continue with email, but if you look for me online, I probably won’t be there. You’ll see me again in June. Unless I realize I really can live without it.

Forced to be a tourist

Mike — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:33:57 +0000

A week ago today, I landed at Heathrow airport in London, U.K. for a series of meetings with our European and Japanese counterparts. The meetings went quite well and I was looking forward to going back home on Friday. Unfortunately, events conspired against me. On Thursday, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted and sent plumes of ash into the air which drifted SE over UK airspace (and beyond). As the ash poses a safety issues for the airliners, they have been grounded.

My original Friday flight was canceled and while I was able to extend my hotel and move my flight to Monday (tomorrow) that has just been canceled. Currently, I’m on hold with my company’s travel agent to determine what options exist. One possibility may be to take a train to mainland Europe (Chunnel to Paris, probably) and then a train to Spain or elsewhere that still have operating airports.

I had fun yesterday visiting the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. I enjoyed it as I was just going to be here for a few days more. With no significant change in the conditions of the volcano or the airflow, there’s a chance airports could remain closed for an additional week or more. What was a inconvenience is now becoming a real problem.

I’ll try to keep my Twitter feed (public WiFi access permitting) updated with major developments.

Being Mr. Man.

Mike — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:41:04 +0000

I’ve been a manager now for little more than a year. It has been the most interesting and challenging experiences of my career. However, I often worry about whether I’m doing the right thing or not for my employees, my manager, and my company. I know that some things I do well, and other things I do poorly but what really concerns me if the things I do well are the unimportant ones (and vice versa).

I’ve said it before, but I’ll state it again for the record; I have the best team I could hope for. They are truly skilled, professional, and are ultimately focused on providing the best solutions for our customers. Staying out of their way is probably one of the best things I can do.

Videogame Statistics

Mike — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:47:39 +0000

Source: Online Education

The obligatory retrospective

Mike — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:30:19 +0000

A lot can change in ten years. Since it seems to be such the in thing, here’s my assessment of what difference ten years can make.

What	Then	Now
Computer		(my work computer)
Connection	56Kbps	20Mbps (366x faster)
Company
Position	Systems Administrator	Manager, Information Technology
Me
Becky
Kaelyn
Brian

Blogging at 68 mph

Mike — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:36:48 +0000

This is going to be an interesting post as I am currently dictating this to my iPhone as I drive to work. I am using Dragon Dictate which is a new app that does voice recognition. So far the quality is interesting. This really might be a better way to blog as this is more convenient and makes use of “lost” time.

I find it difficult to formulate my thoughts, however, as dictating is a much different method of composing than typing at the keyboard. I’ll give it a good effort as I really do want to blog more often but just can’t seem to find the time.

Is it a commute or a video game?

Mike — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:31:21 +0000

I saw a review of Waze in a blog post by The Unofficial Apple Weblog and while they were a bit cool on it as a navigation app, it is free and has an interesting take. I picked up a Kingston windshield mount which replaced where I had my GPS so am in the market for a GPS app for my iPhone. The reality is, however, that in spite of my frequent time in my car, it’s really just to and from work (all 500+ miles per week). Obviously, I know how to get to work so I can’t justify a significant expense. Since Waze is free, it was a clear choice to give a spin.

The program uses a map that is fed over the phone’s data connection and is community driven. Anytime you drive on a road that hasn’t been traversed before, you “munch” dots much like Pac Man which verifies the geometry and your speed and is uploaded to their servers which is then fed back to others as traffic information for routing alternatives. You can also point out specific traffic problems, speed traps, or even just “chit chat” which can be viewed by other users. As you munch roads, provide updates, or just confirm traffic, you get points and your points determine your ranking. I never thought that driving around would count for anything.

The website allows you to view your routes or edit the dynamic map (presented much like Google’s) to add new roads and update other aspects (house numbers, name, road connections, etc.).

The downside, is that currently the maps have some trouble with accuracy but that presumably will improve as more users use it and especially if they update it from the website. The navigation app is a little rough as well with its presentation but that’ll hopefully improve as well.

It’s a decent little app and a creative service. Back to road munching. I wonder how many points are needed for an extra life?

Yup, it’s Monday

Mike — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:30:24 +0000

I have a fall routine that I enjoy. After dropping off my bag in my office, I go to the kitchen, I mix a packet of hot chocolate with about 1/3 C of hot water and then top it off with steamed milk from our espresso machine.

Today, the milk had turned bad over the weekend. Wanna know what hot chocolate tastes like when made with sour milk? No, really, you don’t.