Journal : OpenRoadWorks

This Little Project has a bunch of ways to get to 100 The moment has arrived - from January through a long inactive stretch, into the mad dash and... finally this post.  100 entries for 2012, a milestone I established on Jan 11th of this year .  At that time, it was a sleepy goal, as my next post was 8 days after sharing my goal on this blog, when I got a balance ball from my wife to make my home office days more healthy; I've used that balance ball occasionally but maybe not so often as I could or should. It was another month until my next post, when I made my first trip to New Orleans at the start of Carnival .  The food from that city inspired a series of Saturday date nights in February and March to celebrate tasty culinary places of the world ( Tuscany , Provence , Rome , and the " Big Easy ", which inspired it all). There were trips scattered in there - NYC , Safari , Venice  - and walks with Ruby .  A long pause through most of the first half o...

Borgo's take on housecleaning It takes constant vigilance to keep living spaces tidy and spot-free.  It also takes good help on occasion for a good scrub (thanks Rosa!).  But the effort is worthwhile and satisfying, particularly in the afterglow when the scent of cleaning supplies and whir of vacuum motor are still fresh and mark the transformation back to clean. Now, I am ready to jump in to a new year with a clear mind and a clean house - so bring on 2013!

Maybe pumpkins bring calmness? Ruby is an anxious dog, particularly when the vet is involved.  Her annual check-up is an exercise is demonstrating calmness and meditation.  Granted, this attempt to provide a soothing environment still results in the same panting and lap-circling, but optimism runs eternal to make her feel more secure. The check-up ultimately went fine, with the exception of a heart murmur that has picked up.  Dogs do become family members, so this caused some concern, but it does provide another chance to test or nerve-calming methods in a return trip to the vet.  Here's to hoping she is more relaxed the second time around and her heart evaluations produce results just as calm!

Holiday travel on snow-laden roads is best left to contemplation. I thought often this afternoon, on a drive best described a crawl, of the holiday classic "Let It Snow". I was hoping for no place to go, but 10 hours later, I was just happy to jump out of the car from hours of blizzard and traffic. Still, after all the cars in ditches and backed-up highways, it was a winter wonderland out there. Next time, though, I'll stay back and roast chestnuts instead.

When Bing Crosby sang to the "boys on the front" to come home for Christmas if only in their dreams back in 1943, the spirit was similar to my latest holiday sojourn with family. The food and fellowship have been warm and filling, a nice way to close this year and prepare for the next. I hope others experience the same warmth this season and enjoy the holidays at home or wherever families might be.

Church bells ring, Choir sings, Pastor bellows While church fellows Fall fast asleep. On Christmas Eve All hope to leave Quiet as mice With open eyes That hang as low As lights will go On "Silent Night". Let's hope for carols, Let's hope for candles, Awaiting Santa When fun last comes. Until final hymn, Struggling within - Let's rise like angels Above slumber's keep.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year" Occasionally, my family comes together for a meal.  This becomes increasingly harder due to schedules and lifestyles across three different cities, but we take advantage of such moments, like this morning, to celebrate family and togetherness.   This time it was first Christmas for first baby in our family (niece, grandchild, great-grandchild) with a special gathering around a secluded table.  Nothing more than a quiet room, crackling fire, dainty red bows on the chandeliers overhead, and conversation of the past year gone by.  It was idyllic like a Norman Rockwell postcard , and especially comforting after several mimosas.  Celebrating holidays gets no better than such moments.

Others also celebrate 400 followers , it's an auspicious number It might not be as great an achievement as the Simpsons , but I have reached 400 entries in this blog, give or take the entries that might squeeze in on earlier dates from this one. I'll commemorate the moment and then go to bed, I'm enjoying the holidays too much to think much more about this post.

P for Precious I have recently become an uncle, as of three months ago.  Since I don't live in the same city as my brother, my niece and I are acquainted on an infrequent basis, which provides an interesting perspective on the growth of a child.  A month can be seismic in an infant's lifespan, every day seemingly a new encounter or discovery.  In other words, the literal meaning of growth. To share moments together with P in snippets as I do reminds me to appreciate how we all grow in our own way if we can pause long enough to appreciate the changes.  It might not be as dramatic as an infant like my niece, but it is precious all the same. 

Who would have thought - Go Dog Go is now a play Harnessing the second espresso of the day  with a recollection of the energy of one of my favorite children's books - "Go Dog Go". For some reason, I recall this one above all.  It must have been the rhyme.  It must have been the swift time.  The colors and the shine.  Oh my! Up a tree, down a tree, through a house, with a mouse, with a dog, with a cat.  Go too fast and hear a splat! (on the windshield) There are my memories for all to see, memories that are precious to me. And with that, I'm off to the races!

In Spain, this means slow down In the Kentucky Derby, this post would trigger the call of "and down the stretch they come".  So here we go, I'll be happy to reach my target.

From Momentofsilence.org For the victims of: Violence Repression Abuse Neglect Ignorance

Presents in the present? Words are interesting creatures.  Case in point - the word present .  In the context of this morning's energy around the state of the world today, this word means "in the moment" or "the period of time now occurring". But in no more than a day, this word will quickly switch to take on its other major meaning - "a thing given to someone as a gift". Both meanings of the word are relevant and poignant.  Usage depends on context.  Intent matters.  These are the seemingly silly conflicts we wage with the English language in order to make sense of what we are trying to say and write.  For instance, it allows me to write, with a straight face, this zinger of a line: I present you this present in the present with present company that was pre-sent to be prescient. Don't worry - you won't find this line in my next written piece, but it makes for a nice random thought to throw around at cocktail parties.

It seems that the end has come and gone , and I am still here typing away to reach my 100 posts for the year.  Which is nice because I am on track to reach that goal at this point.  So I went random again and took the best song to encapsulate this happy feeling of the end and all.  REM came to mind, so that is the soundtrack of the day. Runner-up was "The End", by the Doors.  I suppose that would have been more fitting if the end was more gloomy than it is turning out to be (although the local weather is playing its part!).

... Just about achieves 100 entries for the year, if I can maintain this leisurely pace for the next week-and-a-half.  It has been a hustle, but somehow I am generating a fresh set of ideas, enough to accelerate my publishing pace in order to hit the target I set as a new year's resolution for 2012.  To say it was a slow start this year is an understatement, but I am making up for lost time ( no offense to any Proust lovers ).  Now that I am working in a brisk pace of generating some words, I might yet have some writing in me for 2013. Step by step, though - I have to clear a few more cobwebs before more substantive writing will ensue. Stay tuned, I'm just getting warmed up and not a moment too soon (for new year's resolutions).

Back in college, I discovered jazz.  I'm not talking today's light variety that has become almost a classical form, I'm talking the funky stuff that made the Beats tick and turned a generation of hip cats into urban legends.  Parker.  Davis.  Basie.  Ellington. It started in the basements of Westwood on weekends when some friends would rip and bring the brass over strings.  The kind of house party you might see in an art house film worth seeing.  Of course, this sounds more romantic than it probably was, but it was delicious all the same.  I can thank Marcel for that. We met at a bonfire the first few weeks at UCLA and kind of stayed connected since.  Even distance and time could not keep us separated; I still remember the random Sunday brunch in NYC that reconnected us after several years, mutual acquaintances bringing us fatefully together until I saw him just strumming his guitar in the back.  Things like that happen in NYC, b...

Bottle  returned from our last trip to Italia I have a special affinity for Italy.  I learned the language in college.  I studied abroad in Milan.  I almost found a job there early in my career until circumstances kept me in the US.  In all my travels and sojourns, I keep finding myself drawn back to the richness of its land, people, and culture.  There is so much to love about the place, as simplistic as it would be to encapsulate today's Italy from its varied history, regions, dialects, and cuisine.  I find that limoncello stands a sturdy symbol of what Italy is all about. Italians turn the everyday into an art.  They do it with the simplicity of the earth, extracting its essence.  The people are sweet, strong, and then linger after association.  Handled precisely, with particular methods and rhythms, Italians aspire to transcend the moment for eternity.  I can continue, but these qualities are inherent in the best of what ...

Random thoughts on the last day of the world ( according to the Mayans ), but another cultural reference came to mind besides Prince and Queen & David Bowie - Smokey and the Bandit .  I loved watching that film as a kid, Burt Reynolds in his prime hustling the bumbling Sheriff Buford T. Justice on a race across the South to divert the chasing cops from a race to deliver a beer shipment.  For some reason, the refrain from the movie's lead song popped into my mind, "We have a long way to go and a short time to get there", so I was glad to divert my attention in remembering this 70's classic. Just as in the spirit of the film, my random thoughts are done, and I'll be getting back to work.  Go Smokey, I'm following you in spirit into the afternoon.

A coworker sent me a meeting invitation to the end of the world.  Fitting.  I'm not sure if I should accept or not (suppose it depends on your views of the end of the Mayan calendar ), but somehow it reminded me of the Prince song on a related subject . Fitting as well that this coworker was not born when Prince extolled the virtues of partying like it's 1999 (side note: I did party like it's 1999 while studying abroad in Milan at that time, which was a heady experience with the coming of the Euro and all.  How times have changed, how the mighty have fallen...).  Time change, sometimes faster than we think, and our cultural references become dated.  Perhaps just like the Mayan calendar falling out of fashion over the last few centuries, until its end becomes a modern cultural phenomenon - or not, depending on your view of things. In either case, it's worth partying like it's 1999 regardless because hey, it will be Friday when this all goes down, and Frid...

This is a particularly grueling morning at work, several time windows with overlapping meetings, jumping in and out of calls, and generally trying to push forward a bunch of documents before the holidays.  It looks like a late night ahead, and I have not even gotten started yet.  Just as well, it reminded me of this classic by Queen and David Bowie that I used to listen to in high school.  As dark as the music video can be, it's still a catchy song that energizes me to keep going.

My friend Simon showing classic IMD grit at the whiteboard I've always known a life of working.  Maybe it was my father as role model, a workaholic in my mother's eyes but also someone who truly enjoys his occupation and the long hours he devotes to his company.  Maybe it is my own passions, which lead me to industriousness and output as a sign of progress.  Wherever it is, I have followed a path of working and applying myself to the maximum of my time and abilities.  Which explains why a Wednesday night at 9:40pm might find me typing away at my computer on another presentation or website versus lounging in front of a television. In the end, that's OK.  I accept my working lifestyle because it is me, and I enjoy it.  Thankfully, my wife accepts it too (most times - but not always!).  So, it is another self-discovery that defines my path and orientation towards things.  I suppose this ultimately makes me more American (live to work) than ...

Year-ends are good times to reflect and take stock on the year gone past and the year coming ahead.  I took a longer view, though, when thinking about the lifespan of the digital age, at least my personal trajectory. A few dates were noteworthy and interesting: My first email address - 17 years ago My first digital camera - 12 years ago My first mobile phone - 11 years ago My first blog post - 9 years ago My first tweet - 4 years ago This means that half my life has been spent in the digital age, enough to ingrain (and ingratiate itself) into my lifestyle.  For those older, maybe less so; for those younger, even by a few years, materially more so, to the point where we will not understand each other fully out in the next decade. This makes the notion of timespan an interesting notion, in that the break in generations that occurred from the computer and internet explosion at the turn of the century will likely accelerate the distinction that generations feel from ...

Kristen Stewart gets a billing in On the Road So many threads bring me back to travel and the open road.  First, I received an email from my regular hotel brand about 2012 stays.  As usual, I was in a hotel room almost 50 days this year, a trend I have maintained over the last 10 years (that's right - I have counted over 500 hotel nights).  Then, I saw the trailer for the movie, "On the Road", which is based on one of the seminal books that I read in my youth, by Jack Kerouac .  Then, I was reminded of upcoming travel to NYC in the new year, which requires another booking. Somehow, this adds up to a life on the road, which means something very different now with my hotel nights at business-quality hotels versus then when "On the Road" resonated so strongly.  But it is the spirit of travel, adventure, and the open road nonetheless.  I still remind myself to open my eyes and look out in wonder, because the world is a beautiful place.  

Traffic, SF style A case study in how online traffic works.  Since I have hustled to achieve my 2012 objective of posting 100 blog entries, my site traffic has increased 10x from its normal traffic levels.  Granted, it is difficult not to increase traffic for a site that averages less than one post a week for the life of the site, which then suddenly jumps to 20 posts per week.  But it is a wonder in how the online world works today.  This blog is hosted by Blogger, part of the Google network.  Google considers pageviews as economists consider transactions in the market, a necessity to spur economic activity and value creation.  For Google, pageviews leads to engagement which leads to ad placement which leads to clickthroughs and money generated from advertisers.  For me, it is a matter of achieving a personal objective and crossing a task off my 2012 list.  In either case, it leads to traffic. In any case, keep reading - there are more pos...

Something changes this time of year, when we are allowed to be festive and happy for no other reason than to celebrate the end of another year.  I love the classic music of the holiday season , but I also enjoy the simple revelry that accompanies holiday parties, tree decorations, and light stringing outside the house.  So, it was fitting that Ruby and I get decorated ourselves to share a holiday greeting of best wishes and good tidings for this holiday and the new year.  Let's just hope that the end of the  Mayan calendar doesn't somehow interrupt this wonderful time of year!

Carina's words note lots of different countdowns Year-end is only 12 days away, and my countdown to 100 blog entries is now 25 entries away.  This explains the latest proliferation of posts that is rushing to beat the clock.  In other words, the race is on, the finish line is now in sight, so let the countdown begin...

The state of newspapers today Back in the "olden days", when news came from print and waited for the morning and sometimes afternoon hour to spread to the people, the audience was big for the newsprint word.  For the youngsters, this waiting for news any longer than a few keystrokes is a foreign concept.  Of course, the journalistic and media industries have never really waited for news, there has always been a rush to print for the latest breaking stories that would grab people's attention.  And then where there are people, there is promotion. In this sort of news cycle, pages of finger-dirtying print started to explode, with the finest explosion saved for Sunday morning when common folks had the time to sit with a cup of coffee and browse over the mountain stack of articles and advertisements.  At some point, this "other stuff" that accompanied the news became known as "filler", that empty text and image that said nothing except the next reta...

Life Alchemy has a bit on focused thoughts Now that the rhythm of gearing up thoughts for writing has returned, habit has chance to take hold.  At least, this is the prevailing "wisdom" of the productivity experts who uncannily make money off of the inherent stasis of human behavior and action patterns.  I count myself as one who has sought the expert opinion in understanding how to live a more productive, effective life, and the experts approach this problem in a variety of ways - technology, religion, mindset, community, etc.  One of the common threads that binds these experts together is focused thoughts, which are meant to keep one on a path towards reaching some sort of objective that drives the initial thought for change. Of course, the problem comes when change is hard when the inherent stasis finds its way back into common pattern.  Again, where habit becomes important to form before inertia sets in.  But focused thinking can help.  And if an...

An altogether different take on triumvirate, courtesy of freedarko.com Budding Latin students learn their language through poetry.  The first is the Aeneid , arguably one of the greatest written works of the Western cannon.  The second is Ovid's Metamorphoses , a colorful poetry collection.  But what follows is a rich collection of historical accounts from a variety of writers that tell the story of Roman greats, the intrigues and foibles, grand plots, and stunning turns of fate.  As I shared before , watching the HBO series Rome refreshed my memory on this fascinating subject.  It also reminded me of the great triumvirates I read about in my studies of the historical accounts from the likes of Suetonius  and  Pliny the Younger .   Of course, triumvirates don't often work out, and it was the same in Rome.  The first was a shared power structure amongst Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, which resulted in Caesar as the first emperor ...

What Building Words can look like as a speech tool for children Writing skill comes from capturing thoughts through distinctive use of wordplay and grammar.  Stated differently, writing is all about building words.  I remember my earliest school boy days when I started to discover this skill, devouring book upon book of simple story lines and pictures that were the hallmark of classic children's literature.  I still observe the same patterns, in characters and letters.  How words can look strange and sound strange and somehow form a lyrical pattern.  Then express meaning that connects with a reader who nibbles on the same words, and teases out different meaning to the same words than even the writer had been able to create.   If it sounds like a game, it is - and the winner is ultimately the reader who gets to enjoy how the game is played.  I'm returning soon to the game, once I finish a few work documents that are in the way!

Rome , on HBO I've always been fascinated by Rome.  From the Latin language studies in high school to the study abroad experiences and several follow-on trips to the eternal city, there is no place like the center of the Western world before Christ. So, it would come as no surprise that I followed the series, Rome, with great interest.  Unfortunately, HBO financed a series that cost too much money and did not find enough of an audience, but it was spectacular while it lasted and provided a too-short glimpse into the seminal period of Roman history when Julius Caesar instigated the transformation of Rome from a senate-driven republic into a emperor-ruled dynasty.  I definitely recommend checking out the two seasons of episodes that chronicled Caesar's rise followed by Octavian's ascendancy - it's fascinating television.

Interesting.  Some random thoughts led to a quick search on the Monkees.  It turns out that the lead singer of the Monkees, Davy Jones , passed away end of February, 2012.  I was reminded of the classic TV show that this "teen idol" band had on the air when I was growing up.  Far cry from today's music-less television (anyone watch MTV recently?) but a happy thought to liven the day.  Thanks for the memories and worthwhile to celebrate Davy Jones.  And in the odd chance that this inspires you to reconnect with this classic icon of 1960's and 1970's entertainment, look out for the Monkees memorial convention in New Jersey in 2013 !

Random thoughts are random - check out Marvin's Room Somehow, I ended up on a roll.  Rattling off entry after entry, collecting some thoughts, and getting them down on paper to keep on the path to 100 entries for the year .  Next thing comes the stream of consciousness and random thoughts that comprise the majority of our frontal lobes.  Did I remember to pick up the dry cleaning?  I should brush my teeth.  Whatever happened to the Monkees ?  I wish my desk were clean.  My dog is lazy but cuddly. Random thoughts are random, but they make sense in the context of one's mental processing and internal priorities.  Let those random thoughts fly, and let your stream of consciousness guide you to what's currently important in your daily life.

It's a funny exercise.  You go to an event with a lot of people.  The organizers decide that they want the attendees to better meet and greet each other, so they put together name tags.  Or, they leave blank name cards to write out and put on your shirt or blouse. The initial thought is to help people know each other's names.  But the first point of introduction is either informal greetings to those you know, or a raised hand to shake hands and pronounce names.  Even if name tags are sitting prominently on each other's person. That's how you end up with name tags later in the night, after these formalities have been whisked away by failing adhesive or glasses of wine, affixed to the back of other guests.  I suppose at one point this sort of exercise in name tags made sense, but I find it even harder in the world of social networking to reconcile.  Although I still like the idea of the business card, it falls in the same category. You might imagi...

When the news of the latest mass-shooting tragedy in Connecticut roiled the airwaves and interwebs last week, I took a pause and then tuned out.  This was particularly difficult to do with the widespread reaction that rippled through every conceivable channel, particularly in this Facebook and Twitter world.  But I did it for a few simple reasons.  First, the mania of this event was a bit of a downer, and I was looking forward to a nice weekend at home.  Second, there was nothing that I could add to further clarify or to better understand what this tragedy meant.  Third and related, I could not find a way to access the path towards grappling with the outcome and its impact on so many people (and in, seemingly, a deep and profound way) to start down the path of grieving the loss. Perhaps I am too close to the tragedy at Penn State last year, but I have learned that such high-impact shocks require their own, personal path towards internal grappling and clo...

I've been lucky - going on six years without packing up my things for a new location.  Before that, it was an annual (or semi-annual, depending on my consulting engagement!) ritual for six years running that reminded me of the human accumulation instinct - and the drudgery of picking up for another place once settled. But I can now live vicariously through my sister, who has just relocated to DC.  Not only do I now have a blood-kin within a stone's throw, I have a simple reminder of the comfort of a settled house.  As her moving truck rolls up today, I tip a hat to the old days and look forward to helping her out - but returning to the comforts of a cozy hearth at the end.

Ruby deciding on which loop to take... There is a certain cadence to my daily routine when I work at home.  I start the day with a wonderful espresso from the new-ish Nespresso machine downstairs .  I size up my inbox and then have a daily stand-up call with the team.  Then, I crank on some things until lunch, when I take a break.  Before I eat, I go on a walk. It's at this time every day that Ruby and I get some bonding time.  Depending on her mood, she goes on a short loop in the neighborhood (a "booby" loop), a longer loop (a "Ruby" loop), or wants to go on a full-out walkabout (an "oh man" loop).  In all cases, I let her lead the way on wherever she wants to go for the day and how much energy she has to work out.  At which point, we come home, I eat, and I crank on things again while she takes a nap.  It seems to work OK, and I kind of miss our little walks when I am away on business travel. Which reminds me, it's time for today's ...

Viral video might be a way to get this streak, according to this article I'm running out of days to hit my magical 100 entries for 2012.  As of last count this is entry #60.  Another 40 to go with only two weeks left until this year is fully in the books.  It looks like I will need some continued prolific creation in order to hit my goal.  Wish me luck - I'm on a streak.

White Christmas, the Bing Crosby classic that always classic I am intrigued by old-time radio and music of earlier 20th century periods (cue my wife's eyes rolling on Sunday evenings when I tune in sometimes to "The Big Broadcast" on WAMU public radio in the DC area ).  There is something about the tonal quality and richness of the notches of records and phonographs from that period - not to mention the differences in slang, intonation, and accents in how we talked at that time. The height of this period was the "Golden Age", that stretch right after the Great Depression and leading up to World War II, where mass media found its stride in film and radio.  Movies were the thing to do when going out on a Friday night, and radio was thing to tune in when at home.  Television was still a decade away, and it was the cinema that captivated our imagination with the imagery, double features, newsreels, cartoons, and grand stars of the time (Humphrey Bogart, Care...

Outside on a mystic morning The sky has been hanging heavy here, "expectant with rain" as the literary would jot in their notebooks.  By the time this blog post clears the interwebs, I'm sure the sky will open into drizzling rain and provide the right sort of background for pensive thoughts and crafting of deep thoughts that reflect strongly on a page. Returning to my own literary doodlings, these have stalled over the past several weeks, as work has ebbed again to be "expectant with rain" in its own way.  Pages and pages of documentation, gnarled in a "co-creation" process with a variety of different-minded people ("stakeholders" the business world likes to call them), attempting to describe the same thing. The publishing process at my work looks somewhat like the tree in this picture that I captured this morning, sturdy singular trunk that loses focus as it reaches up through its branches into hundreds of points of end-lines that c...

Last week, I finally got a new phone. Ironic, as my work revolves around the latest of these devices, I had remained steadfast with a device almost three years old.  Until last week. It is amazing what mobile devices have done to the daily and banal, and I realize it from the random photos that I have captured since. Just watch a youngster today for about 15 minutes, and you will see what on the phone really means. As for me, I am learning again as I tinker with the latest of smartphones in my pocket. Somehow makes me want to get a picture of my feet on a plane after landing in Dallas.

We have had a good run, eh?  From 1-1-1 through 12-12-12, and all the years in between that have had multiples of the same number in the year.  We have to go back to 1988 for the last time we faced the last diversity in numbers in our year.  This is also the last time we get a day that repeats numbers like this until the next century.  I've heard there were a lot of weddings planned for this last numerical hurrah, as it were - we will have to see how many more babies we get to see the results. To mark the date, here is a blog post to commemorate this special day before we return to bland numbers again.

Walt Disney I've had too many wonderful memories at Disney theme parks to count, and of all the tens of thousands of people over the past 50 years who have made magic happen at the happiest places on earth, we can thank one person who had the courage and the vision to originally turn it into a reality - Walt Disney. Happy birthday, Walt - you would have been 111 years young today.

Celebrating 100 comes in different forms - it can be entries or followers, I suppose Quick reminder of reaching 100 entries for the year.  Yeah, this post is kind of cheating, but the lost hard drive should count for a couple quick posts like this one, right?  As of last count, I have 45 entries to go and 25 days to get there - think I can make it?

Not ashamed to recommend Microsoft Office - and yes, it does work better on PCs I'm finally learning how to use Microsoft Office.  An odd post, to be sure, considering that I have created Office documents for the entirety of my working life and that I was forced to become a bit of a power user as a managing consultant over a good part of that period.  But I was always wrangling with the peculiarities of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint in trying to bend their features to my will.  I never ventured into the land of "true" power users, cranking out macros and coding up Visual Basic customizations, but I attempted a number of hacks and workarounds to the core functionality for what I needed those applications to do in creating client-worthy documents. But no more.  My hard drive crashed, and I am three weeks in to a laborious back-and-forth process to finally restore my personal computer to its prior incarnation.  I have too much data, and I need to consolidate...