I love Parks and Recreation. What started as Office knockoff has really grown into its own. A clip on last week’s episode made me stop and go hmmmm….
What struck me is I hear some of those same things from my beloved friends and family. Deep down I know the missed holidays and dinners must make it appear that I am just leisurely exploring their lives. I am hoping that with the change in jobs that I will have the opportunity to be a part of this world and not simply a tourist.
As I listen to all the decade review podcasts and read the looking back websites, I wanted to do the same. My website obviously will only be interesting to those to know me and useful for looking back in 2019 when the internet is piped directly into my brain. My goal is to do this in sections and bulleted form. This makes it quicker and frankly my brain thinks that way:
Stats -
Age – 15/25
Weight – 155/155
Hair – Spiky On my head/ Flat and Still there
Eye Sight – Amazing/Amazing for a a computer manager
Mile Time – 7:00/5:15
Relationship Status – Single/Happy in a Relationship
Geek Cred – High for 15 year old/Scary for 25 year old
Family – Amazing/Amazing
Dog – Lucky/Oscar
Car – 1984 Blue Honda Civic/Small Fleet
Employment – Silyn-Tek und Surf1/Boeing Company
Faith – Catholic and Growing/Catholic and Growing
Political Leanings – Rush is great/Ron Paul is great
Favorite Drink – Strawberry Milk/Water
Favorite Food – Pizza/Sushi
Saying – Sheesh/Sheesh
Favorite TV Show – Dawson’s Creek (shut it)/The Office
Favorite Movie – Saving Private Ryan/Office Space
Favorite Music – Hip-Hop/ANYTHING
Techie Favorites:
Favorite Store – BX/Amazon.com
Favorite Technology – Audiovox MP1000 and Linux/Open Source and Information Security
Favorite Programming Language – Perl+Bash/Python+Bash
Bandwidth – 28.8kbps/50Mbps
Browser of Choice – Netscape 3 Gold/Firefox 3.6 or Chrome
Removable Media – Zip Drive 100 or 3.5″ Floppy/16GB IronKey
Notable Computers (new, not counting vintage purchases)
First iBook 500
12″ G4 867 PowerBook
First Pentium Machine (Fujitsu Laptop)
Home built AMD64
iMac Lampshade
24″ iMac
Dell x1
Sony TX
AST 486DX
Lessons learned in life:
Faith is waking up after the world spits in your face and still having a smile
Hard work always pays off – ignore those who say anything else
Friends come and go, but your family is there always. Love them with your heart and soul
Home isn’t a place you receive mail, home is that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you are surrounded by those who care for you.
Work for the joy, not the money
A job with no challenge is like playing Contra with the Konami code. Sure it works, but every win and success is just a feeling of mediocrity (↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A)
Never believe you have it all figured out, God is just waiting for the chance to yank the rug
Just because CNN talks about a technology doesn’t mean it will happen or be successful. Examples: PointCast, Y2k, Online Grocery Store, dotCom anything
There are leaders and managers. Leaders inspire their folks to charge a hill. Managers make sure they all have bootsLove isn’t just a word.
Love is right after being so happy to see them that when you argue you don’t punch them in face. Good and bad go hand in hand
Waking up being happy is more important than waking up in silk sheets
Learning the fundamentals means more than learning the technology itself. To move forward you must understand what is behind you
I enjoy going fast way too much
The 2000’s are over and I feel somewhat pleased. I had some really horrible times this decade with Hurricane Katrina and a divorce, but I also had some amazing times. Looking back has made me see just how blessed and happy I am to be here. Here is looking forward to 2019 to see how far I made it. When I started this decade at 15 years old I never imagined where we would be. Now rather than typing this on my 1024×768 256 Color machine running Debian on a 28.8k connection in Germany, I type from a MacBook Pro in Richmond VA over WiMax. The consistent things are my family loves me, life is great, and I am still a big geek…
What appears to be a world littered with twitter messages and facebook status message updates, I thought it appropriate to update those who care enough to read. I have neglected the communication I often share with everyone due to the constraints of time and sleep. Given the choice to ensure a rigid routine or talk to you all late into the night, I am selfish and choose sleep and eating. Sorry, just the caveman in us all.
Location for the first time in 3 years has been, dare I say, stable. I transitioned from the vertical living of Crystal City to a beautiful little townhome in Old Tow Alexandria. This means absolutely nothing to you non-DC snobs, but equate it to moving from concrete jungle to suburbia soccer mom throw down. Oscar and I stand out like a clown at a funeral, but we enjoy the family atmosphere and nice walking sidewalks. Even if we are required to dodge yuppies at every turn. They are nice yuppies. With that stationary expression though, I must admit I type this from the airplane. My work (will cover shortly) has brought me back to the mistress of the road. We had been seperated for awhile, but I am now back to knowing her well. The travel is nowhere near the amount you are all accustom to by reading my messages, but certainley enough to earn me an extra chocoloate on the hotel bed pillow.
A few months ago I was given the offical grade for the role I was filling. Up until then I was performing the work, but not given the same titel and responsbility. It has been a learning experience as no good work goes unpunished. The mantra I am finding is hard work just deserves some more of it. To be perfectly honest I love it and the hours are a blessing. Watching the military father I had from afar and being raised in a family of strong men has left me well equipped to take the role on. Phrases like:
* Troops are your greatest asset and biggest responsiblity
* God calls you to lead by example and with integrity
* Lead from the front, not from the rear
* Set the bar high enough and someone will get their chin there
* If your men are there, you are too. Never excuse yourself from hard work because you are the boss
These all guide me on my new found adventures in to management land. My refusal to be the manager who doesn’t understand the work he is leading has helped me to stay engaged. The natural curoristy I was raised with keeps my after hours and waking moments filled with techie stuff and geeky expansion. It still makes me smile to be the guy who fixes the problem when no one else can.
All in all the year mark is approaching 1 August for my first trip to DC. When I type up my memoirs (To be titled “The Geek shall inherit the Earth”) this will serve as a chapter mark. Much growth and learning has occured in the short time of this transition. I hope to be in a better place to catchup with you all soon. God bless, love and thankfullness, and sheesh I ramble well :)
Location for the first time in 3 years has been, dare I say, stable. I transitioned from the vertical living of Crystal City to a beautiful little town-home in Old Town Alexandria. This means absolutely nothing to you non-DC snobs, but equate it to moving from concrete jungle to suburbia soccer mom throw down. Oscar and I stand out like a clown at a funeral, but we enjoy the family atmosphere and nice walking sidewalks. Even if we are required to dodge yuppies at every turn. They are nice yuppies. With that stationary expression though, I must admit I type this from the airplane. My work (will cover shortly) has brought me back to the mistress of the road. We had been separated for awhile, but I am now back to knowing her well. The travel is nowhere near the amount you are all accustom to by reading my messages, but certainly enough to earn me an extra chocolate on the hotel bed pillow.
A few months ago I was given the official grade for the role I was filling. Up until then I was performing the work, but not given the same titel and responsbility. It has been a learning experience as no good work goes unpunished. The mantra I am finding is hard work just deserves some more of it. To be perfectly honest I love it and the hours are a blessing. Watching the military father I had from afar and being raised in a family of strong men has left me well equipped to take the role on. Phrases like:
Troops are your greatest asset and biggest responsibility
God calls you to lead by example and with integrity
Lead from the front, not from the rear
Set the bar high enough and someone will get their chin there
If your men are there, you are too. Never excuse yourself from hard work because you are the boss
These all guide me on my new found adventures in to management land. My refusal to be the manager who doesn’t understand the work he is leading has helped me to stay engaged. The natural curiosity I was raised with keeps my after hours and waking moments filled with techie stuff and geeky expansion. It still makes me smile to be the guy who fixes the problem when no one else can.
All in all the year mark is approaching 1 August for my first trip to DC. When I type up my memoirs (To be titled “The Geek shall inherit the Earth”) this will serve as a chapter mark. Much growth and learning has occurred in the short time of this transition. I hope to be in a better place to catchup with you all soon. God bless, love and thank-fullness, and sheesh I ramble well :)
This diagram is a telling benchmark of where we are at in life. What makes us successful with business is the competitive edge that no one else can teach. Greatness isn’t something a professor in front of a very expensive classroom can provide you. There are certain things God blesses us with, talents if you will. When we focus on the blessing and move away from the desire to monetize life we can focus on what we love. The secret to greatness is waking up in the morning on top of your game and the only way to make this happen is to be passionate about a topic. For example I am excited to wake up in the morning and read the latest tech news. This is unlike the other computer guys that wake up in the morning and watch ESPN. That excitement gurantees that my time spent on things that excite me also contributes to my work. Likewise when I have to pull an all nighter I am not thinking of what big game I am missing, I am thinking of the next big break through on a problem. So everyone wake up tomorrow and have your Hooray moment. More tips can be found at the excellent website linked above.
“MAKE IT STOP!” the woman, legs spread, and her head flung violently against the dotted lines that now supported the scene. I stood in exacerbation and awe as the moment was quickly becoming a scene of nativity. Pulling from my shoulders the crisp white dress shirt, I began to rip the fabric into strips while giving myself moments of lapse.
