• Education Needs to Be Turned on Its Head
  (tags: homeschool)
• Philosophical books about homeschooling – homeschooling Discussion Forum
  (tags: homeschool)

• Corrupted-Files.com | Don’t hand in a Garbage Paper, send a Corrupted File Instead!
  I wish I had this service in college. I've done some similar methods that bought me a few hours/days but I'm glad to see someone created a business out of it.
  (tags: humor education)

• User Interfaces For Right-To-Left Languages (Hebrew, Arabic) and Bidirectional Text
  Middle eastern languages such as Hebrew and Arabic are written predominantly right-to-left. Consequently, middle eastern user interfaces require a different layout than those targeted at left-to-right reading audiences.
  (tags: interface internationalization)

• 13 Things Your Dry Cleaner Won't Tell You | Housecleaning | Reader's Digest
  (tags: fashion greendotlifehacks)

• 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design
  (tags: ux)

• Yearbook Yourself
  Upload a photo of yourself and this website will show you how your yearbook photo would have looked for every few years since 1950.
  (tags: entertainment humor photography)

• www.joesentme.com
  A portal for business travelers of all types.
  (tags: greendotlifehacks travel frequentflyer)
• Business Travel Column – Seat 2B by Joe Brancatelli – Portfolio.com
  (tags: greendotlifehacks travel)

• Delocator
  Finds all the non-corporate cafes, bookstores, and/or movie theatres near a zip code. Great for finding coffee that isn’t Starbucks (and will hopefully have free wi-fi)
  (tags: coffee food)

• Reviews Seating Options at Wrigley Field
  Since it’s my first time exploring Chicago this week, I figured I’d try to take in a game at Wrigley Field. This site shows me the different seat options and which are the best seats in that section.
  (tags: travel)
• Discussion About the Best Seats at Wrigley Field
  Still looking for good seats at Wrigley Field.
  (tags: travel)

• Travel Toolbox: 75+ Online Travel Resources
  A list of 75+ travel related websites including low-fare finders, social networks, flight trackers, and travel guides.
  (tags: travel)

Caught playing with daddys waffle iron.

Jack and his dad driving a tractor we found on our bike ride.

• Watch South Park Episodes online for free
  (tags: video entertainment)
• Learn SQL with Tutorials
  (tags: training)

If you have to return it by tomorrow, then it’s not really a week for
only $1.99. Is it? For better marketing that’s just as honest, they
should have a sign that says “Free DVDs!! Only $15.99.”
–sent from Jon’s T-Mobile Sidekick

Jack is walking down the hall at the airport like he owns the place

[Note: The chat feature isn't working from the broadcasting laptop. You can only chat amongst yourselves as viewers.]

This post contains video of Jack’s live birthday video. Let me know how it works in the comments. We’ll be broadcasting on November 23rd from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM CST and November 27th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM CST. We’ll see you then!

T-Mobile

• If architects had to work like programmers…
  Outlines some of the things that an architect would deal with if their job was similar to a programmer
  (tags: humor)

• 15 “HOLY SHIT!” Movie Moments: The Scenes That Make You Say “Ohhhh Shit!” Everytime
  A list of the best movie moments that shocked the viewer (displayed via YouTube clips)
  (tags: entertainment video)

Jack putting a ball down the rain gutter!

He found trouble!

T-Mobile

Jack playing on his early birthday present from his grandma and grandpa Mick!

…sounds like a good name for a Rock group.
–sent from Jon’s T-Mobile Sidekick

At the mall.

Jack in his new overalls from grandma Mary.

Hi dad!

Hes so strong!

Me and my baby.

…after two and a half hours browsing shops on South Congress Avenue in
Austin.
–sent from Jon’s T-Mobile Sidekick

All done!

We’re on the plane and headed to Phoenix! This is Jack’s first plane
trip.
–sent from Jon’s T-Mobile Sidekick

• Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch – New York Times
  An article explaining how a theory from “The Matrix” movie could actually be true. We could all just be part of God’s (or the Prime Designer’s) video game – like The Sims or World of Warcraft.
  (tags: religion randomness)

• Five Most Anticipated TV Shows for the Fall Season
  TubeWad’s (blog about television) list of the five most anticipated TV shows coming this Fall
  (tags: entertainment)

Off to Sea World in San Antonio today!
–sent from Jon’s T-Mobile Sidekick

• Flvix.com – Free online video converter to save videos from YouTube and Google Video
  Use this website for whenever you want to save a video from YouTube to your local computer.
  (tags: video webapplications)

• Editorial History of the TIERS Project
  An article that goes through the history and current status of the project I’m currently on with Deloitte. I started TIERS (Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System) a month ago and am confirmed to be here through 2010.
  (tags: TIERS)

My mom took this video while they were visiting last week. Thanks so much guys for entertaining Jack!!

Little devil!

• Teen Stabs Burglar with Samurai Sword!
  News article of a teenager who stabs some burglar in the chest with a samurai sword as he tries to steal his Playstation 3. I’m not sure how he survived (and made it out of the house) though.
  (tags: humor news)

T-Mobile

Jacks first trip to Costco while sitting in the shopping cart. He is such a big boy already!

I finally finished Jacks baby blanket.

How To Escape A Fart – Watch more free videos

Yep. That’s my plane to Japan. I’m leaving SFO right now.

–jinglejammer

Leaving in nine minutes on my flight to Nagoya, Japan with a stopover in

San Francisco.

–jinglejammer

He’s much more experienced now. Long live King Jack!

–jinglejammer

–jinglejammer

–jinglejammer

• Spiritual Quests and the Journeys of Myers-Briggs
  Discusses the spiritual/religious traits of the different Myers Briggs personality types. It fits me pretty accurately.
  (tags: myersbriggs)

Thanks dad! We love you!

• Stay-at-home mother’s work worth $138,095 a year | U.S. | Reuters
  Salary.com does some research and finds that if the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work, she would make an average of $138,095 a year.
  (tags: randomness)

–jinglejammer

• HDR Tutorials Roundup
  HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography is a technique that will produce images with more detail in the highlights and shadows. This is a list of the best tutorials.
  (tags: photography)
• Top WordPress Plugins at The Blog Joint
  A list of the most useful and popular WordPress plugins
  (tags: wordpress)
• DEVLISTING
  Lists the top websites for any web developer. Includes categories such as Royalty Free Images, AJAX, ASP.NET, Java, etc.
  (tags: programming webdesign)
• The most vile, evil and ANGRY gamer in the world
  Video reviews of Nintendo and Atari video games from back in the day. Funny because this guy is very critical of how much they sucked.
  (tags: humor)
• Proxify® anonymous proxy – surf the Web privately and securely
  A proxy to use at work/school to go around your proxy where everything is filtered and scanned.
  (tags: webapplications)
• Popgadget: Visually teaching f-stops and shutter speeds
  A virtual camera that lets you play with advanced camera settings and see what the resulting photograph would look like
  (tags: photography)
• New York Changing
  An interesting comparison of photographs taken in New York in 1930s and 2001
  (tags: entertainment photography)
• In2TV – AOL Video
  Watch all sorts of full-length, old TV shows online for free. Shows like Flintstones, Gilligan’s Island, Thundercats, Growing Pains, etc.
  (tags: entertainment video)
• Missions at Improv Everywhere
  A list of all the missions accomplished by a large improv group causing “scenes of chaos and joy in public places”
  (tags: entertainment)
• My Life As An RSS Junkie
  A blog entry on what it’s like to be addicted to RSS (like I am)
  (tags: rss)

–jinglejammer

• The World Of Wikis
  Explains everything you need to know about wikis
  (tags: greendotlifehacks webapplications)

• What to Look For in a High Def Television
  (tags: media hometheater)
• Bedroom Nightstand made from Baseball Bat and Shield
  (tags: furniture humor)
• Google TiSP – Broadband Toilet Internet Service Provider
  (tags: humor google)

I just uploaded a Jack-load of photos. Check ‘em out now. There’s also some of everyone else in the family but you probably won’t notice them with Jack in all the other photos.

• UrbanFonts – A Library of Free Fonts
  (tags: webdesign fonts)

T-Mobile

T-Mobile

I just uploaded a new set entitled “Dogs in the Backyard”. The photos would look so much better if we actually had a lawn. That’s my next Spring project.

You can now receive an e-mail when I upload new photos to my Flickr account. This should be a lot easier than waiting for me to get around to posting an article/thumbnail on my blog. Check it out now at http://www.flickr.com/account/prefs/notifications/?from=email. You’ll need to have an account and have me added as a contact first.

• Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year
  Blog post explains that changing the background color of Google.com would save 750 Megawatt-Hours a year.
  (tags: google environment)
• Just One Club Card – Combine All Of Your Club Cards
  Web applications that combines all your store savings/award cards into one so you don’t have to carry 20 plastic cards with you everywhere just to save a random buck.
  (tags: productivity shopping)
• Secret Menus (Jamba Juice)
  Secret menu items from Jamba Juice that aren’t found anywhere on the menu
  (tags: lunchhour)

• HOW TO: Wire An Ethernet And Phone Jack Using A Single Cat5e Cable
  Using this website to learn how to combine my phone line with my computer network into a single cable.
  (tags: hometheater)

T-Mobile

• An open-source collection of sound clips
  (tags: video media)

Jack turned 100,000 minutes today at 12:44 PM. It was a surprise party for him and he didn’t even have a clue. I meant to get the video on the website quicker but I just learned that boys older than 100,000 minutes are quite a bit more fussy.

Hint: 100,000 What? By the way, the 12:45 PM (Texas time) surprise is not going to be posted live. The “event” takes place at 12:44 PM and the surprise will be posted ASAP after the event.

• A Real Thneed!!
  I finally found a real Thneed from Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax”. Get one fast! It’s something “everyone needs”.
  (tags: randomness)

Stay tuned. I’ll be posting an extra-special entry on Sunday at 12:45 PM. I can’t say for sure what it will be but you’ll soon find out!

The next time you pickup a five-pound bag of potatoes, think about Jack Mick. He’s gained an amount of weight the same as a bag of potatoes since he was born. That’s right, he now weighs 13 pounds, 8 ounces! He’ll weigh a stone by the end of the weekend.

• Simplistic’s Movie Links
  Watch full-length TV shows and movies using a website that splices together YouTube clips into one watchable movie.
  (tags: video entertainment)

• Does blowing on hot soup really cool it down?
  Explains how blowing on hot soup really does have an effect on its temperature. It’s much more complicated than you would think.
  (tags: randomness)

Of course this isn’t a video of my workday but I have had a few jobs that parallel this video pretty well. Thanks Sean for e-mailing this to me back on August 24th. I finally had a chance to listen to it today and thought it was blogworthy.

Dad, Bridgette, and I went on a hike today along Brushy Creek in our neighborhood. You can check out our route at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=608900. The farm just north of our route is where baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan lives.

• Live Music Calendar for Austin, TX
  (tags: austin)

• The New Transformers Movie Preview
  Check out the second preview for the Transformers movie coming out in less than 7 months.
  (tags: entertainment)

Watch the video to see the results of hooking up a motorcycle wheel to a merry-go-round. So there are no surprises, you’ll be seeing the kids flung from the playground equipment once it goes really fast. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I thought this video was worth sharing…

This is Jack’s first trip to burger king.

There’s a new Grandpa Elf this year. Click below to meet him and have him wish you a Merry Christmas!

Grandpa Elf!

I’ve uploaded photos taken on December 8th and 9th. In this set you’ll find his second-ever sponge bath, an appearance by sister Leela, a blueberry belgian waffle from my new waffle maker, and playtime in his bouncy chair.

• Thirty-Year Old Star Wars Set Still in the Middle of Africa
  This reporter visits the Star Wars movie set that still exists in a north African desert. In fact, local people have been living in them since 1976.
  (tags: randomness)

Below are my favorite lullaby songs that we’ve been playing for Jack on our combo lamp/iPod speakers in the nursery. See if you can guess which popular songs they’re made from. I can’t wait to figure out a way to electrically engineer these into every other toy he has that plays music.

• Q*bert Online – Yahoo! Games
  You can play a web game of Q*bert online at Yahoo! Games
  (tags: unproductivity)

My brand new Canon Digital Rebel XT showed up in the mail a couple days ago. I’ve uploaded my first “roll” of film used with the camera and it can be seen in this set.

My Flickr/blog has become so much more popular now that a baby has arrived. They must be right. You need to have some combination of “monkey, baby, or bikini” in order to increase your audience.

Anyways, I told my mom that it was getting to be difficult to keep up with the demand with my old Canon Powershot A70 camera. Because it’s just a point-and-shoot, it takes a few seconds after you click the button for the shutter to activate. I would be missing a lot of Jack’s precious and rare emotional moments. She declared that she needed plenty of Jack pics since she lives over 1300 miles away in Lake Havasu City and offered to buy me my first SLR. Thanks Mom for my new gear!! I promise I’ll put it to good use.

…and still very healthy.

I’ve uploaded the video I took with my camcorder on the last day of our stay in the hospital. Watch it now for a tour of the room we stayed in for over 48 hours after Jack came into our lives.

Go check out the uploaded video of Jack’s first visit to The Cheesecake Factory or photos from the same day. It was very successful especially after Grandma Mary bought a SlingRider for Jack to sleep in. We didn’t have to leave the restaurant at all and only had a short episode of crying. Oh yeah, I ordered the White Chocolate Caramel Latte Cheesecake for myself and give it three stars out of five.

I’m home alone with Jack for the first time while Rachael and her mom go shopping for nursing bras. I don’t think I can move. (taken with my cell phone)

This is Jack with his new grandparents. Click him to see more photos of his second day of life.

I just logged into my blogging software for the first time in awhile and saw all the comments. Thank you so much everyone!! You may have thought that your comment didn’t get through because it didn’t display right away but it was stuck in my “Moderation” folder. The website was setup so that I had to approve all comments that were not recently approved. I’ve now changed this so that they are approved right away. So in addition to your prayers for Jack and us new parents, please pray that I won’t be bombarded by blog spam. (If you’re not already a computer dork, you may not know what blog spam is but God does. Blog spam is just like spam or unsolicited messages in your e-mail but it appears as comments on your website.)

Again thank you all for the support, comments, and phone calls. We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful and healthy boy to share with this world. The photos are turning out great but you really need to meet this guy in person to know how truly awesome he is.

P.S. If you’re having difficulty or don’t know how to leave a comment, just add a comment to this post and I’ll help you out.

This is the sofa where i got five hours ofsleep last night . That’s all the sleep we’ve had since our five hour on saturday. Five hours is great! I hope jack keeps up the good behavior cuz this is more sleep than ben franklin. Also, we’re all still healthy and planning on going home tomorrow on my birthday. Best present ever!

Here’s a quick video of us at the hospital before Jack’s delivery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVsX-KzHZrI

Here is a photo of Jack nine hours into life. Check out my Flickr page for even more photos.

(Gotta go, posting this from the hospital cafeteria.)

I can’t write much because I’m at the hospital with Rachael and the Internet is really slow. Besides I shouldn’t even be on the computer. I’m helping my wife give birth to our son!! See my Flickr page for updates. It’s at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinglejammer.

The good news is that I’m not sick like I thought I was. The bad news – everyone else in Texas is feeling the same as me.

• nextplease » How To: Creating Your Corporate Intranet Using WordPress
  How one corporate employee setup WordPress as the blog for their entire intranet.
  (tags: corporate-blogging)

• Jesus is Spotted on a Dog’s Ass
  A photo of a dog’s ass showing Jesus standing with his arms out. You may have to look hard but once you see it, it really pops out at you.
  (tags: humor)
• Where you end up if you dig a hole
  This explains why I always hit water when I tried digging to China. It was the very beginning of the bottom of the ocean on the other side of the world. Does anyone else actually end up in China like we all believed?
  (tags: unproductivity)

I’ve fallen behind this year with publishing my holiday wishlist. It used to be so much easier when my mom would throw down the JCPenney Christmas catalog in front of me during my after-school cartoon binge. I’d circle exactly what I wanted and Mom would make sure that Santa was notified. As I get older this process becomes more difficult. I make my own money now and if I see a bed tent I like, I’ll buy it for myself on the spot. For this reason, the last few year’s wishlists have contained only items that I can’t afford for myself or didn’t make it through the wife-approval process. This year I’ll try to be a little easier and more generic. The following are ideas for anyone interested:

• Anything from my Amazon wishlist
• Framed art or movie posters
• Rack for CDs/DVDs
• Accessories for my game room (i.e.)
• Accessories for my desk/office
• Pro Flickr account renewal
• Nice red wine glasses (how to buy)
• Tony Hawk Xbox 360 game
• Call of Duty 3 Xbox 360 game
• Lego Star Wars Xbox 360 game
• In-ceiling speakers
• Speaker stands for front speakers in home theater
• Charcoal BBQ grill
• Patio chairs
• Swatch
• Board games (the good ones)
• T-shirts from Tshirthell.com
• Beer glasses (for root beer of course)
• Rear speakers for my Honda Accord
• Universal remote control (not from the movie Click)
• Garage door opener (fastest and quietest one ever)
• Ladder
• Web cam (for laptop and/or desktop)
• Bluetooth headset (for a Motorola V600)
• Slim Devices Squeezebox
• The Book of Cool
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (or two)
• MonsterPod or GorillaPod
• Jimi wallet
• USB GPS key
• Wallet Notes from Magellan
• …or FoldzFlat pen
• Business card holder from Muji
• P-phone by Hulger
• ABC’s for Nerd Babies
• Anything for home automation
• Arnette Swinger sunglasses (not white)
• Fireproof safe
• Fireplace set

Rachael didn’t want my South Park character to be without a friend so she designed one to look like herself. This is more entertaining than the current season on TV. Thanks Rachael!!

Growing up in Arizona, I was never part of an Irish neighborhood. In fact, I never even saw a real Irishman (someone from Ireland and not just someone with orange hair) until I lived in San Francisco. This is most definitely an advantage. This is why…

I tell people my last name everyday when I’m ordering my Caramel Macchiato at the local coffeehouse or buying a Jumbo Jack from Jack in the Box. They get it wrong most of the time, calling out the order as “Mike!” or “Nick!” but they never laugh. Very few people laugh. However, every once in a while people laugh or aren’t even sure they’ve heard me correctly.

Perhaps this is because my last name is “a derogatory term for an Irishman, usually Catholic and sometimes drunk”. I can deal with it but I sure don’t know what I would do if someone ever introduces themself to me as Elijah Nigger?

My friend Steve Kaschimer told me about this cool site to design a South Park character. This is me as a South Park character. I’m listening to my iPod and drinking my alcoholic beverage with an umbrella. That pretty much sums me up when I’m not working. Design your own character at www.sp-studio.de/.

P.S. You’ll have to do a “Print Screen” command if you want to save/upload it like I have.

• Man is injured after firework goes off in his ass
  I bet I could pull it off.
  (tags: news)

Watch this video to see a side of Faith Hill you’ve probably never seen.

I forgot to post these photos when I received them a month ago. They were taken when Rachael and I took the dogs to the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the world’s largest urban bat colony. Of course, we were approached by so many people because of my beautiful wife (and possibly our dogs too) throughout the night. A gentleman from Amsterdam asked if he could take a few photos of us with our dogs. He asked for my e-mail address so he could e-mail me the results. A few months passed and I hadn’t heard anything until one day these popped up in my inbox.

• Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments
  We’ve all seen what happens when you mix Mentos with Diet Coke. These guys take it to the extreme in this video.
  (tags: unproductivity video)

I’ve been working in Houston since September 18th on an internal project. This photo shows where I work everyday in relation to the Houston Skyline. It’s in the Deloitte building (Three Allen Center) at 333 Clay Street.

I’m working in ASP.NET programming an analytics website for clients in the Consumer Business industry. We basically take all the data from completed consumer retail surveys and show the relationship between different questions/answers. For instance, how does greeting a customer when they come through the front door affect their decision to make a purchase. This website has a graph that will, for example, show that out of the total population of responses 60% were greeted. However, of the population where the consumer purchased something, 85% were greeted. You can probably see where this could be helpful. You can also probably see why everyone at Jamba Juice annoyingly scrambles to greet you whenever you come into the store.

While in Houston, I wanted to find a few photos to show you around. While I haven’t posted my review yet of the city, this photo shows a little of how I see it.
Photographed by slight clutter.

• Sydney Matrix locations – a photoset on Flickr
  This photographer found a few shots from The Matrix filmed in Sydney, Australia and put them next to his own photography of the same location. I’ve always wanted to do this with my favorite films. More impressive is that he did this without any printed
• Flavor Flav Expecting His Seventh Child : People.com
  I knew he was creepy but I never thought he had six children! I must admit that I watched the first season of his reality show but the second series was just too stressful for me.
  (tags: unproductivity)

• MAKE: Blog: DIY Halloween – amazing costumes, scary tech, pumpkins and gross food
  A collection of some really awesome, homemade halloween costumes. They’re not as scary as a “Bun in the Oven” though.
  (tags: unproductivity)

We need to buy a new ladder for our house so we’re shopping around. What do you think about this one on QVC?

I just took an online test to find out if I’m a nerd, geek, or dork. I’ve always referred myself to a geek but I guess I’ve been wrong all along. If you take the test, don’t forget to leave your results in the comments.

————————
Pure Nerd
52 % Nerd, 21% Geek, 17% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the “dork.” No-longer. Being smart isn’t as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! — THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

• Article about another CEO blogger
  (tags: corporate-blogging)

• A comprehensive guide to airport wireless connections in the USA
  Lists all the airports with whether or not they have internet access available, if they charge, and how much they charge
  (tags: travel)
• How to Order a Ghetto Latte at Starbucks
  Explains how to save a few dollars at Starbucks by ordering a “Ghetto Latte” or an Iced Americano with no water and then adding the half-and-half yourself from the condiments station.
  (tags: coffee)
• A Starter Checklist for New Bloggers
  Suggestions for making your blog more popular in the blogosphere
  (tags: blogging)

This was done back on August 2nd but I thought I would upload since I never did.

• Videos of Paul Reubens (AKA Pee Wee Herman) Interview
  Cartoon Network interviews Paul Reubens to find out more about his upcoming Pee Wee’s Playhouse movie and his ties to the Boyz N The Hood movie
  (tags: randomness)
• University of Texas is No. 1… in partying
  It seems like my Arizona State party spirit has followed me to Austin.
  (tags: austin)

CalWIN is the project I was on since I started consulting a year and half ago and just rolled off of a month ago.  I just finished my role as the Training Environment Coordinator a little over a month ago and since then I’ve seen this description on my company’s intranet and figured that since the project was public sector that I would be allowed to share it here.  (It’s also over at Wikipedia but Deloitte’s description has a little more fluff.)   Also below I’ve copied my job description straight from my resume so you actually know how I contributed to the project.

The headline reads “Public Sector, Consulting Team Achieves Major California Milestone”.

The rest…

Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Public Sector practice has completed implementation of the CalWORKs Information Network (CalWIN), an automated client-server welfare application and one of the largest welfare systems ever implemented in the United States.

CalWIN will replace California’s Client Welfare Data System, a 31-year-old legacy system used by a consortium of 18 California counties. The counties in the consortium administer services for over 40 percent of California’s public assistance caseload.

“CalWIN was an enormous undertaking and our talented and dedicated Deloitte U.S. Firms’ team was critical to its success,” said Debasis Saha, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Through the counties’ budget crises, project delays resulting from new legislation, and a myriad of other challenges we faced over the life of this project, our team persevered to deliver an outstanding solution.”

CalWIN is a custom-built application used by over 25,000 end-users who process 10 million transactions a day. It serves over 5.8 million clients seeking social services benefits in California.

Deloitte Consulting began work on CalWIN in February 2000. During the last 18 months, the project had an aggressive implementation schedule of one county go-live per month. The final implementation in July 2006 brought the total number of converted cases to over 2.3 million, with a case conversion accuracy rate of 99.9 percent.

Deloitte Consulting was responsible for the design, development and testing of the CalWIN application and for designing and managing user acceptance testing, conversion, end-user training and change leadership services.

The team constructed 19 different training courses for each of the 18 CalWIN counties, provided instructor-led training for thousands of CalWIN end-users, and conducted a train-the-trainer program for dozens of county trainers. The team also developed a state-of-the-art online User Manual containing over 1,000 separate procedures to help end-users perform CalWIN functions.

In addition, the Transition and Change Leadership team worked side-by-side with county staff to help prepare counties for implementation and to provide post go-live support, including project management, business process redesign, user readiness support, communications, application infrastructure setup, help desk and implementation issue resolution.

Congratulations to the 160-plus member CalWIN team for a successful implementation!

In my role, I…

“Prepared training environments for CalWIN users by populating database with training data from over 130 unique cases. Created, developed and maintained test scripts for training database exercises using Rational Robot. Reengineered data population procedure to move it from a manual process to a nearly automated process. Coordinated database restores and builds to multiple ILT environments with the Change Management Control Board (CMCB). Reviewed training schedule and developed timelines / strategy for pre-building data. Defined and implemented QA plan for all case data in addition to creating repeatable test scripts for quicker testing on future releases. Built and distributed case data sheets to all trainers and students. Monitored and tracked Help Desk calls from training sessions. Supported resolution of application issues.”

We built our first crib yesterday and it was easier than I thought. I remember watching all the old sitcoms where the dads somehow messed everything up during their first build. I don’t know if it’s because I read every instruction book I’ve ever gotten or if it’s the fact that this crib cost more than my XBox 360, but the install went smoothly. Take a look at the video below to understand what we were thinking to ourselves throughout the process.

Oh yeah, leave me a comment to let me know what you think about the new format. I feel it gives a better picture quality but it may take longer to download. If you want to see the YouTube version (the same format as before), click here. Otherwise, just click “Play Now” and the video should start.

What do these things have in common?

• the target ball in bocce
• the antagonist in a famous William Golding’s novel
• a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Robin Williams
• the mascot of a popular fast food chain
• a type of maritime flag flown from the bow of a ship
• the lowest face card in a deck of playing cards

That’s right!  They’re all named after our first-born son.  He’s not even born yet and they’re already naming cheese, playing cards, and movie characters after him.

• Create a Face Using Flash

Along with the rest of my paperwork that I had to fill out when transferring Deloitte offices from San Francisco to Austin, I had to fill out this mini questionnaire so I can be included in the Central Texas facebook.  The facebook is a way for everyone to get to know some of their officemates.  Here are my details:

Hobbies:  Blogging, RSS Feeds, Home Theatre
Languages spoken: English
Interesting Fact: I have over 250 Pez dispensers
Favorite food:  French Toast
Favorite movie:  Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Joe Dirt, Neverending Story, The Matrix
Favorite book: Getting Things Done by David Allen
Favorite vacation spot: San Francisco

I just thought I’d copy it here so you can get to know me as much as my employer.

We just bought some baby clothes at the outlet stores. Butters wouldn’t model them for us so we had to just lay them out on our bed to photograph.

I just uploaded new photos of Rachael’s belly at 25 weeks and 5 days. I tried getting a close-up of her belly button but it just ended up looking obscene.

This is the making of the family portrait photo below. No one knew that I was taking a video instead of a photo. They just kept waiting for the timer to activate and take the picture.

Rachael wanted to take a family portrait tonight while we had everyone together. Sorry Leela, but it looks like Butters blocked you in this one.

This one should have been posted a while back but I was slacking. Anyways, Ashley, Rachael, and I visited Hamilton Pool last week. The preserve is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. For photos you can check out my Flickr account.

Someone just like dad who is putting together legos in the food court at the mall
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I just read that the Thundercats are being redone as a new cartoon on the WB.  It doesn’t sound like it’s going to be anywhere near the original, however, according to my favorite movie blog (www.themovieblog.com).  Their leader is now Snarf (not Lion-O!) and they’re all teenagers who play in a rock band together when they’re not fighting crime.  You can find more details here.

Now that I’m in Austin, I get asked over and over again why I would ever leave the Bay Area (besides the outrageouse real estate prices).  Of course most of these people have never spent more than a few days in downtown SF where this kind of stuff happens all the time.

To be fair, I certainly didn’t move to a much more conservative area.  Just a little less naked.

We found our new breakfast table!!  It will hopefully be delivered in the next few weeks.  Now we just have to find a high chair that will reach it.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

• Treadmills for Dogs
  (tags: pitbulls)
• Treadmills for Dogs
  (tags: pitbulls)
• Training Your Pit Bull For the Treadmill
  (tags: pitbulls)

• Top 100 font downloads | dafont.com
  Add text to see what it will look like as different fonts.
  (tags: webdesign)
• Jupiter: Corporate Blog Deployments to Double in 2006 @ Media Buyer Planner
  (tags: corporate-blogging)

Remember this commercial with Sierra Mist getting confiscated in the airport? Remember laughing (on the inside because it wasn’t that funny) because who would ever confiscate a soda? Well hopefully someday we’ll be able to enjoy a soda on a plane again. However, I doubt they’ll show this on the air again.

• Knowledge Hack: Consume Podcasts – lifehack.org
  (tags: podcasts)

• one2one, Dell’s Weblog
  (tags: corporate-blogging)

With egg, pork, and potatoes
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• Rudy’s – Restaurant Review – Dining Out with Rob Balon – Roving Gourmet
  (tags: austin)

We found the oasis, a restaurant on the edge of lake travis.
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We bought a sofa!
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Added on July 3rd: Actually we bought two sofas and a chair. You can find more details (and a better photo) at the product page here. We’re having it delivered on Wednesday.

My parents and dogs arrived today. Hopefully they’ll stay for a few weeks before driving back.
Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

We now have a breakfast table! (we’re eating grilled turkey and swiss)
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• 10 Ways to Tweak Your Tech Resume

I found where oprah keeps her ming!
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We had to sleep in the living room last night because we couldn’t get the mattresses upstairs. Today we’re unpacking our boxes.
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We’re all moved in! Both the neighbors have already introduced themselves. Time to hit the showers.
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We just got our keys (in the envelope) and we’re off to the house!
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Waking up from a nap to catch dinner before everyone closes. I’m eating my favorite – pad thai.
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Our walkthru went great so we went out to lunch. It was only 12 dollars for both of us. Austin is so much cheaper than california!
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Leela watching tv in the austin hotel room while we get ready for bed.
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We made it!
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Let’s try this again. It’s on time today.
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We missed our connecting flight because of a kamikaze bird and now we’re staying in phoenix. We’ll try again tomorrow.
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At the airport and ready for austin! Leela is fine but rachael is tired and hot.
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• Sushi Otaku: Sushi Tips – How to Eat Sushi (or Expected Etiquette)
  (tags: lunchhour)
• USATODAY.com – Airports open services to keep fliers plugged in
  List of airports and their available business services (including free WiFi)
  (tags: travel)
• An Inside View From a Google Employee
  An interview from a typical Google employee
  (tags: google)

• 2010: The year of the techie

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

The photo update for our new house was e-mailed to me today. I put it on Flickr.

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Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

This photo was taken on June 5th and we’re getting ready to move!! We were surprised to learn that the front yard landscaping will be taken care of by the time we move in. It really makes more of a difference than I thought.

• Dagon Design » Articles » User Bio Popup plugin for WordPress
  (tags: wordpress-plugin)
• MenZa’s Weblog » Blog Archive » WordPress theme: Mesozoic
  (tags: wordpress-themes)

• ThatMatt Sandbox
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• Living on an Island » Documentation & Download
  (tags: wordpress-themes)

• Crappers Quarterly – Farts
  Everything you ever wanted to know about farts

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Before the status meeting tonight at work we were working on our shadow animals. I thought flying birds and dogs were so 20th century so I spelled “poop” with my skills.
Posted via cell phone by spathak_100.

• Real Estate Outlook in Austin Looks Good – Austin Business Journal
  This article explains that the real estate market in Austin looks good and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
  (tags: real-estate)

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

• Make Trillian chat portable – Lifehacker
  (tags: portable-apps)
• Reader Poll: How much time are you on the internet at work? – Lifehacker
  (tags: unproductivity)

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• Open Source Management – Webmonkey Interview with Heather Gold
  Explains what Open Source Management is and how corporations can embrace the use of blogs and wikis
  (tags: corporate-blogging)

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Thanks Trish for e-mailing this to everyone. I think it’s blogworthy.

• Watch Full Episodes of TV Shows Online – Peekvid
  (tags: torrents)
• Airport security tips – Lifehacker
  (tags: travel)
• CDs Full of Baby Sounds for your Dogs – Babygadget
  Introduces an audio CD that is full of baby sounds so that you can prepare your dogs for the new arrival.
  (tags: baby)
• The DadGear Diaper Vest – Babygadget
  A geeky diaper vest that has pockets for everything. I don’t know if I’m this geeky yet. We’ll find out though!
  (tags: baby)
• Intellicot – Babygadget
  Geeky crib for the new baby. This one looks dangerous.
  (tags: baby)
• WordPress Theme Browser
  Different themes for WordPress blogs
  (tags: wordpress)
• Community Server Software
  An idea for a corporate blogging platform at work.
  (tags: corporate-blogging)
• Corporate Blogging 101 » Blog Archive » Develop Blog Strategy First
  An introduction to corporate blogging.
  (tags: corporate-blogging)
• From Weblog to CMS with WordPress – ONLamp.com
  Creating a CMS (Content Management System) with the WordPress blogging platform
  (tags: corporate-blogging)
• Community Publisher software by iUpload
  A corporate blogging platform sold by iUpload.
  (tags: corporate-blogging)
• Health of Real Estate in Texas
  Outlines the overall health of real estate in Texas
  (tags: personal-blog)
• HP Compaq nc6000 review by PC Magazine
  Review of laptop used for work
  (tags: laptop)
• HP Compaq nc6000 laptop : Review by ArsTechnica
  Review of laptop used for work
  (tags: laptop)

• HOW TO: Start Blogging » PaulStamatiou.com
  Explains how to start blogging for the average user.
  (tags: blogging)
• The Big 3 Blogging Platforms Reviewed
  Compares WordPress, Typepad, and Movable Type.
  (tags: blogging)
• 10 Things You Might Not Know About Google
  (tags: google)
• Know the ways of the gas cap and the interstate – Lifehacker
  Most importantly explains how to tell which side your gas tank is on when looking at your instrument cluster only.
  (tags: travel)
• Laundry Symbol Guide – Lifehacker
  (tags: fashion)

I just taught someone else how easy it is to moblog. Now you can see me on Supriya’s new blog at www.thesupergal.com.
Posted via cell phone by spathak_100.

We have an updated photo for our home in Texas. Next week I’ll post interior photos.

• del.icio.us A-to-Z by Functions : All 150+ hacks categorized : eConsultant
  (tags: delicious)
• Mac Torrent’s :: Index
  (tags: torrents)

And here is the video I sent to my family. Most of it is a string of old 8mm films that my parents had laying around. I had them converted and copied over to MiniDV but then I imported the video into my Mac and had fun. We announce the pregnancy in the end. In case you’re wondering, the title “10mm Micks” stems from the fact that I had 8mm film and a 2mm unborn child. Feel free to view the video in a larger size here.

We sent this video to Rachael’s family on Friday, May 5th in order to tell everyone that we were expecting our first baby. A total of five DVDs (Nicole, Trish, Cheyanne, Laura, and her mother) went to her family and four DVDs went to my family (Mom/Dad, Ashley, and both sets of my grandparents). I’ll make sure and keep everyone updated throughout the pregnancy. Enjoy!

You can also see the larger-resolution video here.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.

Posted via cell phone by jinglejammer.
First time blogging with my cell phone away from the computer. I hope it works.

Joey also hunts for crocodiles. Watch Hunt of Crock now.

Check out what my brother eats in his commercial debut. Download the video here or watch it down below.

This is an amazing photo that I found on Flickr.com. It’s a house in Pass Christian, Mississippi that didn’t survive Katrina.

Josh Kaufman has just updated his “Personal MBA” manifesto declaring that one can actually have an MBA education (or better) by reading no more than this list of 40 books. You can find the list on his blog over at Josh Kaufman: Inside My Bald Head. This is great, I only have 38 books to go. Just what an ENTP needs to keep his mind busy.

I found a new website today that included a Flash animation of Super Mario helping to explain the laws of physics. Click to lick.

This is a boy-band video that my brother starred in a few months ago. It was directed/produced by Joel, one of his friends in film school over at UNLV. There are more film school flicks to come if I can ever get my hands on the some of the videos. Joel, if you’re out there – help a brother out. Also, if you guys ever need an eAgent to get your stuff plastered all over the Internet, let me know. As far as the cast goes:
Brown Ass Shirt guy – Joe
J. Lo Cowboy – Joseph
Softball Jersey Guy – Mike
Crazy Badass Wife Beater – Joey
Stripe White Collar Shirt Guy – Nick
Dumped Going Crazy Guy – Joel

I was disappointed. It wasn’t as good as the majority of the other superhero movies. However, it is still worth watching for the special effects and Jessica Alba (yes, she got naked). This is a tough review because 1) I saw the movie at 12:00 AM for the first showing and 2) I’ve seen way too many superhero movies lately and they may be finally losing their luster.

After listening to the band “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!” on my iPod for the last few weeks, I thought it was just the next big album to hit the stores and somehow landed on my computer. I was wrong. This group doesn’t even have a record label yet. It should.

There is no possible way to summarize why I like the music without borrowing statements from semi-professional music reviewers from another website – Pitchfork Media. Even then, it’ll be tough to talk anyone into listening to it. The reviewers explain (and I agree) “their self-released, self-titled debut CD opens with the weirdest, most potentially grating bit of snake-oil salesmanship” while also adding that “a maniacal carny barking over a stuttering calliope isn’t for everyone.” While this is all true, it somehow manages to be a great, although genre-busting, album made for listeners who enjoy new music once in a while. Check out their website to download three of their songs for free or read more of the reviews if you’re not comfortable yet.

Happy Birthday Joey!! I’ve posted the most recent photos I have of you at your graduation back in May from UNLV. Now get your ass up here to San Francisco! We’ve got some partying to do.

I’m back. There are no excuses.

Let’s try this again. I just spent a month with no internet. Now I have high speed. No excuses anymore. Really.

I’m just sticking with my goal (of posting at least one entry per week). I’m not writing anything else tonight because I’m going to bed with my wife right now – something I had always taken for granted until my new job required me to spend nights away from home.

Summer is aproaching and that means that so are all the blockbuster movies. I remember seeing a few previews for some of them but none of them stand out in my memory. After digging up some info on the web I found Greg’s Previews of Upcoming Movies over at Yahoo. Here is what I found:

(Summer of 2005)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (will see, but won’t stand in line overnight)
Kingdom of Heaven (need to research the Crusades before attending)
Batman Begins (not a fan of other Batman movies)
Fantastic Four (I sat through Honey to watch Jessica Alba so why wouldn’t I sit through this)
The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D (directed by one of my favorite directors – Robert Rodriguez)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original is one of my all-time favorites)
War of the Worlds (should have some nice visual effects)
The Dukes of Hazzard (do I really remember the original Dukes of Hazzard from 1985? No)
Crash (coming out in a week and I still haven’t heard of it)
Doom (based on the video game… that I don’t play because I’m too scared. I’ll watch it)

(Fall of 2005)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (haven’t missed one yet, and I’m one of the few who haven’t read the series)
Hannibal the Conqueror (more homework just to watch a movie)
Underworld: Evolution (I missed the first Underworld)
King Kong (Peter Jackson impressed me with Lord of the Rings)
Big Momma’s House 2 (No)
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (you know you’re great when you can add your name to a movie title and multiply your audience tenfold)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Acronym: TCN:TLTW&TW)
The Legend of Zorro (Catherine Zeta-Jones-Douglas is too old)

(…and Beyond)

X3: X-Men 3 (hasn’t even started production yet)
Superman Returns (Christopher Reeves in front of a green screen?)
Iron Man (been pushed back since 2004)
Transformers (not happy with director; did you know that the original animated Transformers movie was set in the futuristic year of 2005?)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter will be 18 years old by the time this hits theaters)
Spider-Man 3 (ingenius title)
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest (yes, it will still have Johnny Depp)
Indiana Jones 4 (actually starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery)
Die Hard 4.0 (they must be using computer software in this movie; don’t miss the DVD – Die Hard 4.2)
Watchmen (…as we run out of comic book heroes, we resort to those we’ve never heard of unless we actually owned a comic book store)
The Flash (running time of three minutes, 52 seconds)
The Fast and the Furious 3 (why didn’t they name it 3 Fast 3 Furious?)
Rocky VI (been rumored for five years now)
Mission Impossible 3 (the 21st century’s James Bond)
Scary Movie 4 (I just can’t do it)
Jurassic Park IV (why do they keep going back to that stupid island)

I just want to drop a line and let everyone know that I’m still here. One of my new goals (see sidebar) is to update my blog more. Whether it’s interesting or not. Right now I’m at work still and don’t have enough time (or desire) to stay here into the night to put up a worthwhile post. I also don’t have high-speed in my apartment *ridiculous* so it takes me forever to use dial-up. Looks like I’ll have to start setting apart some time to work on my blog after work hours if I’m going to meet my goal. But then how possibly can I find enough time to watch every Best Picture Oscar Winner I’ve also listed as one of my goals.

I still need to upload pictures and maybe even a video of Shannon’s wedding two weeks ago. I promise, I promise that they’ll be up this weekend when I’m home. I was hoping to get some more photos of the wedding from Shannon through the mail so that I could just post them all at the same time. However, I’m not sure how long that will take since she’s now a wife and has to bake cakes, garden and clean house all day. No rush, Shannon.

Finally, stay tuned for some details about what I actually do at my job. Yay!! I’ve been trying to figure it out for the last month and I feel I’ve finally come to a conclusion. It’s too exciting to layout right now and I don’t want to miss any details. However, you’ll be seeing the entry this week.

I have uploaded photos of my “elevated memories” from the many towns and cities I have lived in. When viewing the photos, you are able to click on various hotspots in order to get more information. Go ahead, give it a try.

Cheyanne came to visit us (or Rachael since I wasn’t home much) last week. She stayed until April 2nd. On March 26th when we picked her up from SFO Airport, I talked everyone in to visiting the Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia. Sorry, but I didn’t take any photos. You’ll just have to come see it for yourself. I left for work on Monday morning, after a long night of watching movies including Saw. I’m not sure what Rachael and Cheyanne did during the week besides laying out in the sun and making funny faces for the camera. Cheyanne might have to fill us in by using the Comments feature on my blog.

Anyways, I wish I remember more but I’ve been filling my brain up with info at work. I feel like I’ve made it over the learning curve so I should be able to dedicate more brainpower to keeping my blog up-to-date.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I’ve added a few items to the sidebar on the right side of the page. One is “NEW LINKS”. These are the newest bookmarks that I’ve added to my page of bookmarks. These may be interesting, they may not. I make no guarantees as this collection of bookmarks is to serve my own interests and not yours.

Below that is “ENTERTAINING LINKS” which are links that I feel everyone would enjoy and be entertained by.

Finally, below that, I’ve also added a list of the most recent music I (or Rachael) has listened to on iTunes. These are updated every half hour using a service from AudioScrobbler. Someday, you may even be able to listen/download each of these songs. Any comments?

Last you heard, I was “On the Beach” waiting to find out what my first project would be for work. Since then, I’ve been able to provide nothing but photos of what my life has been about recently. Let’s rewind back to February 23rd, my last day of anything close to a worthy blog post.

That weekend, Shannon came out to visit. On Sunday, February 27th, after an exciting weekend, Shannon and I leave Rachael at the airport. Shannon was heading back home and I was headed for a week of software training in Los Angeles. On Friday, following my five days of worthless training that I’ll never use, I arrive at the San Jose airport where I meet up with Kim and share a cab ride home. That weekend Kim, Rachael and I spend another few days of tourist attractions and sightseeing through Chinatown and Ghiradelli Square. The Monday after was my first day on my new project I have been staffed on. I’ll explain more about this after I catch you up on my recent adventures. So the weekdays go by and the weekend arrives with my sister flying in from the Phoenix area. Again, off to Fisherman’s Wharf, the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory and Union Square. We even crammed in the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz and the St. Patricks Day Parade (almost one week before the actually holiday). My second week at work goes by smoothly, adjusting to the corporate life in Folsom while Ashley is still enjoying her Spring Break with Rachael back in Pleasanton. They come up to visit for an overnight stay, hoping for a few rays of vacation sun during the day. Nope, just rain. I head back on Thursday (St. Patrick’s Day) for my father-in-law’s birthday. His name is also Patrick, although he’s not a saint. Ashley and Patrick leave, I have another week of work, and the new weekend brings a new visitor. It’s Cheyanne. She joins Rachael and I for a relaxing weekend at home until I have to be to work again on Monday. Again, Rachael is joined by someone again for the week. Finally, I’m in bed in my apartment writing in this blog.

I have no idea if you could keep up with all that info but I tried. It serves me right not to keep up with my posts. I’ll try harder. In addition, I want to say that the past few weeks have been a lot of fun. It may sound like I’m complaining because of my concise style of writing in this post, but I’m not. We’ve been really busy with lots of visitors and we’ve both loved all the time we’ve been able to spend with our family and friends. Thank you.

More to come…

More to come…

More to come…

Kim visited us for the second time since we’ve lived in the Bay Area. These are some photos of us hanging out at Ghirardelli Square after spending the day walking through every corner of Chinatown.

My recent trip to Los Angeles with a couple friends from Deloitte for a week of training.

This little guy was reading my Wall Street Journal as I picked it up from the driveway the other morning. We have come to a mutual understanding that he gets the Money/Investing and Marketplace sections while I get the Front Page and Personal Journal sections. I guess it works out even though I’m the one paying for the subscription.

Coming Soon…

When a Deloitte consultant is not staffed on a project and is working out of his/her local office, they are considered to be “On The Beach”. This is where I’m at. I’m right smack dab in the middle of a sand castle. It is always better to be staffed on a project because then you are being utilized and upping your utilization rate. This, in turn, affects your year-end performance reviews.

I’ll only be on the beach until Friday though. Next week I will be in downtown Los Angeles for software training and staying at the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles. My training is for IBM’s WebSphere, particularly getting an overview of WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker (WBIMB) Version 5. After that, back “on the beach” until I find out what my next project will be. I’ll have to fill in the details later of what WebSphere actually is and how I will be using it. It is basically a way to integrate different systems and processes among and across enterprises so that they can all share and use the same data. More to come on this piece of software as I spend every moment of next week learning about it.

Finally, I’ve figured out how to take the photos off of my cell phone and put them on my laptop. Included are photos of many of the people I meet during National Deloitte Training. In addition are photos of the Body Worlds exhibit talked about in my last entry. Cameras weren’t allowed in the museum’s exhibits and it was enforced. Security guards were on every corner and I was already a bit paranoid with dozens of dead people and hundreds of human body parts surrounding me. Anyways, I took a few photos with my Motorola V600 while I acted as though I was dialing a phone number. What a wuss!!

My first two weeks of training are done at Deloitte, including one week called National Boot Camp. The first week took place in the San Francisco office and was basically a bunch of presentations and real-world advice from current employees. It was difficult to retain EVERYTHING they taught us but it was definitely a big help. The orientation class consisted of about 15 people, all of which I have made friendships with.

This last week (the 2nd week in the first two weeks) was in Chicago as discussed in my January 29th entry. I didn’t have a chance to see either of the two tourist attractions I had planned on, but instead visited the Body Worlds exhibit at The Museum of Science and Industry. This was one of the best displays of the human body I have ever seen (besides maybe the occasional Spring Break in Lake Havasu). The exhibit is best described on their website:

“The tour starts with a human skeleton, followed by the locomotive system, the digestive system, special nerve and vessel specimen, and even the development of new life in the womb. Visitors are provided with precise insights into the structure of their body’s interior. Approximately 25 whole body plastinates reveal the true-to-life spatial relationships between organs. Diseased specimens due to infarcts or cancer are also on display; a lung blackened by nicotine illustrates the effects of tobacco consumption.”

I would definitely recommend this exhibit and I’m even planning on seeing the second version of it in Los Angeles next week.

During the National Deloitte Training in Chicago, I had absolutely no time to see anything else in the city besides the local Walgreen’s in a mad dash for a bottle of No-Doz pills while on a bathroom break. This is when I took the photos I’ve attached. The entire week’s schedule was filled with work activities and nightly entertainment. I’ll admit – there was even one night when I had to stay in because I just had to catch up on sleep. It wasn’t uncommon to be up until 2:30 AM visiting and drinking with fellow co-workers and management. I’d love to fill in with more details but I hear it must be kept secret for any future Deloitte new hires.

I just posted more photos of the animals from around the house. There are a few really cute photos of their noses.

Yesterday Rachael and I took the dogs to the park. We wanted to spend some more time with them along with socializing them with other people and their pets. I figured the best place to do this would be the Golden Gate Park in the City. It’s actually larger than New York’s Central Park and even includes Bison on the land. We didn’t get to the Bison but instead ended up at the baseball fields. Plenty of well-behaved dogs were playing off their leashes as Rachael and I dreamed of the day we could do this with our dogs. We talked to a woman with a pitbull that was playing fetch so wonderfully with her husband. We asked her how she controls her dog around other dogs and she gave us a couple resources. First was Reunion Rescue, an organization that saves pit bull dogs from euthanasia and adopts them out. Second was B.A.D.R.A.P. (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls) which is a non-profit organization made up of a diverse and ever growing group of pit bull owners, rescuers, and supporters. These sites are amazing and have provided Rachael and me with a lot of hope for helping Butters and his dog-dog aggressiveness.

After the park, we drove north to the Golden Gate Bridge since we were so close anyways. It looked exactly as it should have and we spent some time exploring the hills surrounding it, looking for the best views. We found some great, romantic views but it wasn’t a great time to enjoy them with two smelly dogs in the backseat. All of the pictures attached are taken from Vista Point on the northeast side of the bridge.

I finally got the details about my start date at Deloitte Consulting. The first week is going to be in the San Francisco office, starting February 7th. For the second week, I’m off to Chicago for National SA (Systems Analyst) Training. I’m scheduled for my plane to arrive in Chicago on Saturday, February 12th and coming back home on Friday, February 18th. I’m looking forward to it even though it is work, after all. I’ll be staying in a nice hotel (Hyatt Regency Chicago on the Riverwalk) and plan on taking a look around downtown while I’m there. I was surprised to see that there isn’t much to do in the city; however I am comparing to San Francisco. I want to at least set aside some time for the Sears Tower Skydeck and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Hopefully, during this time I’ll be assigned to my next project and find out what the heck I’ll be doing for work the next few months. I’ll also be getting a new company laptop.

This is a set of instructions that my sister had for her decorative humidifier. The translations were so funny that I have to post it here. Read for yourself and it’ll make your day.

OK…this may sound a bit fishy but I can guarantee it works. I’ve already talked to a few people that have received their iPods. Anyways, without trying to begin my post like every scam out there I’m just going to tell you what I need. It shouldn’t hurt to try. In addition, you can get referrals and get your own free stuff.
According to http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html and http://www.freeipodguide.com/?ops=reasons, it is legitimate. I have been skeptical for the past few months but after talking to people who have received their iPods, I’m giving it a try. Let’s see what we can do.

To help me get a free iPod, click here – http://www.FreeiPods.com/?r=14366697

To help me get a free iPod Shuffle, click here – http://www.FreeiPodShuffle.com/?r=14365671

To help me get a free Mini Mac, click here – http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14366124

After reading the details and talking to me about it, you’ll understand that you are also eligible to get a free iPod or anything else listed on their site. I can assure you that if you complete an offer under my referral ID, that I will complete an offer under yours.

Also, after completing an offer, let me know in the comments below. I only need a limited number of referrals for each gift and it wouldn’t be efficient to go over that number.

Rachael has been using this photo of Scamper as her bookmark for quite sometime and I thought it would be a good idea to let him live on in the Internet world too.

Rachael and me on the Magnum rollercoaster at Cedar Point in Ohio this summer. I was having a blast, but I’m not sure about Rachael.

Rachael and I took the dogs for a hike the other day in the hills behind our house at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. We had no idea the walk was going to be shared by a herd of cows. All four of us were pretty nervous as we walked right through the herd but we made it out alive.

Just added a new set of photos from Rachael’s recent trip to Las Vegas.