blackberry rock

I love this. I'm sitting in a bar in Hermosa Beach and posting with a blackberry. Maybe I'm a geek but the fact I can do this is cool to me. Beats having to use Outlook for email :-) And living in SoCal is cool too!

RANT

OMG how much do I hate Outlook. I have been a Lotus Notes and Thunderbird user for a long time now but my job requires me to use M$ Outlook. What a piece of junk! I've been sitting on the other side of the fence for so long I expected to see a completely intuitive, user friendly, business class email client but all I get is a gazillion menus and items scattered all over the place. Maybe it's just because I have been using two different clients for so long that I am missing the whole "Outlook is fabulous" mentality, but WTF? M$ bigots are always going on about usability standards and ragging on IBM/Lotus for their use of F5 to activate a security feature and F9 to refresh screens (M$ products use F5 to refresh) but Outlook has keyboard shortcuts that make *no* sense whatsoever, and contradict their holier than thou stance on standards.
Show me the M$ product that does *not* use Ctrl-F to initiate a search. Outlook! To start a search you have to use Ctrl-E, which everybody uses to Edit. And Ctrl-F? Creates a new message! Ctrl-M (most commonly used to create a new message in email clients) performs a send/receive.
And don't get me started on the freaking calendar. It's a POS. 3 or 4 clicks to get to the point where I can view other people's calendars and then the default view settings mean that you have to request that the user opens up their calendar just to see if they're busy or not!
Jeez. This thing is driving me nuts. I guess I need to stop thinking like a normal person and start drinking the Kool-Aid.
/RANT

Managed to sneak in under 6 months . ..

I hadn't realized how long it has been . . . . but have I got a lot to talk about!
Since the last post much has happened - some good, some not so good. First off, I got a job and am now working for a major software company in the IT Management space. The self employed thing was fun but the security of a regular paycheck was a very nice option and I can still do some work on the side as it doesn't really compete with what I do for my new company (more on that in a subsequent post .. .) Still riding - now training for El Tour De Tucson in November - and on a diet to get me down to a decent weight to race next year. Might even buy a track bike again.
Unfortunately a close family member has been suffering from Leukemia for some years and has recently been diagnosed with Aesophogeal (sp?) Cancer. He is to undergo surgery next week in Scotland so Helen is going back to see him after the op and I might be able to make a short trip myself (my new boss is very cool with the situation but there is some product training I need to get that happens the week after the surgery).

Back woes

So I threw my back out after I got home from the 'Fear. Not the best start to the new business year for me, as it has resulted in much pain and not a lot of work. Got a diagnosis of bulging discs in the lower lumbar region, and some arthritic sign in the lumbar/sacral region. I guess I'm getting old! I've decided to learn the Alexander Technique to tackle the many issues I have with my back and the resulting impact on my health and fitness. I went to my first session yesterday and I'm looking forward to another one next week. It's too early to tell for sure, but I am feeling a little different already. My only concern was a hip problem I got after spin class last night - we'll see how things go on Thursday before I start to worry!

I am unique! !! ! !!! !

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Live from Lotusphere . . .

I've been sitting in sessions here watching other folks tapping away on their laptops so I figured I'll join them. I'm waiting for the start of AD301 - How to use Calendar and Scheduling in your Applications, having just listened to Ed Brill & Julian Robichaux talk about Selling Notes inside your organization. LS2007 has been a revelation for me, and I am determined to attend for as long as I work in the arena. Having missed 5 straight (thanks to employers not fulfilling promises, and being too busy!) I realize that there is far too much information that I miss by not attending.
Anyway back to the point of this entry. I'm going to use this as a technical blog for the time being until I get a new site setup to support it (at which point it will resume its former life as a conduit to get info to my friends & family) so I apologize for those of you who check in to see how our life is in San Diego (we're doing great by the way).

New Year Resolution #1 . . . . .

. . . . is to actually update this thing more than once a month (did I even average that last year?). So here goes. We start the year by getting our new TV and Surround Sound system installed in the Family Room as it's too frickin cold to go outside! WTH is up with freezing temperatures in San Diego for crying out loud? Anyway we're on our way to having the whole setup completed in time for the SuperBowl (now that the Chargers are out of the postseason, I'll have to root for DB in N'Awlins).
I'm heading off to Orlando at the weekend to attend Lotusphere for the first time in 6 years . . . and I get to catch up with some old friends.
Helen is still going strong in Real Estate, with a promising start to the year. It's a strange market (prices are running up and down at the same time and people are buying and not buying .. . )
I'll update from the East Coast over the weekend . . .