Eric's personal blog

Looking to the future

2010-03-21T04:30:00.001-04:00

Chad's 41st birthday was celebrated with a small group of friends, champaigne, Thai food, and Chocolate Cake. Wwe are looking forward to our trip to Italy; although much still needs to be done to finalize our itinerary. Jeanne sent us some more pictures of the Tuscan villa.

The frequent vacation trips make living here bearable. While the slower pace of life was very much needed by all of us, we do miss life we left behind. Some recent trips included;

Cape Town
Livingstone, Zambia (Victoria Falls)
Madikwe

Another hail and farewell. Time moves quickly as some friends move on to new posts and potential new friends arrive. It seems Rebecca will be back in Africa around August.

Digging

2010-02-14T04:47:00.002-05:00

The unit of inquiry for Javier's class is titled "Digging into our Past". This week we interviewed Javier's grandparents. I also did some research on Ancestry.Com to get details of my own grandparents and Chad's relatives. Dad's book is now published and sales have been good. I am looking foward to having a copy for our family.

We also dug in the dirt this week as Javy and I went camping in Mokolodi. Our new tent provided a beautiful view of the night sky. Javy stayed up with the adults as we sat by the campfire and enjoyed meeting new friends. The camping group woke up early with the sun. We saw a good number of game for Mokolodi and got to visit the hyennas and cheetahs. They came close to the fence and the kids had a nice time with them. We came home after one night for Aubrey's wedding and Cate's birthday.

ACHAP had business visitors from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this week. BOTUSA had visitors from CDC HQ. So the week was quite full of work activities.

Don't worry, be happy

2010-02-07T12:13:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, be happy. I remind myself that time has a different meaning here. My favorite axims since arriving here are; "so this is what having a less demanding job looks like" and "I chose this". I just need to remember this more frequently, as others also have a less demanding job and the culture here is at odds with my previous mindset.

After driving across town to my appointment to get my vehicle revalued for insurance renewal (basicly having the dealer lookup the bluebook value and writing a letter), I was informed that I needed to bring a specific piece of paper with me. Of course, this piece of paper is at home in my office... So another trip across town. But the person on the other side of the counter was very pleasant and I hadn't had the foresight to ask.

The delay made me very late to another event. But not to worry, the event hadn't started when I arrived over an hour and half late. Putting myself in the right mindset makes all the difference in the world. I don't have to get stressed out about it.

I received a few emails early evening on my iPhone about meetings scheduled for tomorrow morning. I like having my iPhone as most team members will hear about the meetings when they arrive in the morning. Ironic how amazingly lengthy planning meetings to arrive at consensus don't deliver a plan. But as busy as everyone says they are, a late invitation can still get people to attend. You just have to round people up and get them to the meeting room.

A week has gone by since our Orange iPhones were blocked from making outgoing calls. Over a year now, I have been trying to get a credit applied to my iPhone account. The credit manager that I started working with is "no longer with the company". The new credit manager did not receive my first email. After resending it, I called to followup. He was in training all day, but he assures me that he does have my email. The team at the mall where I pay my bill (in person - mailing a check or eBill is not an option), assures me month after month that the credit will be posted next month. Thank god I have all the paperwork, but sorting this out gets more complicated with time. Chad eventually worked a miracle with the corporate accounts team and hopefully we can close the file on this one.

A lovely letter from Donald and Clodet. They have returned to Canada. I read the email. Chad read the email. And then Javier read the email as we enjoyed a meal at Bull and Bush.

A weekend of activity; I purchased new tubeless tires for my mountain bike (too many thorns here) and a new heavy duty canvas tent for car camping. I decided to change the bike tire myself as I need the practice before I end up in the bush with a flat tire. I little more challenging than your standard tire. Maybe it was the heat, but I struggled a bit. Same story with the tent. I really missed the elastic keeping the springbar poles together and 80 pounds of canvas are a bit harder to erect. The tent is pretty nice, but I'll need to disassemble the beast before our camping trip with Javier's wildlife club next weekend.

Social Responsibility

2010-01-30T03:16:00.007-05:00

Through several different events this week, I am renewing my passion for helping others.

Chad and I sponsored an impromptu dinner to help the Sesame Workshop Foundation make connections with others here in Botswana.
Due to a power outage, we enjoyed a dinner with Cate (PSI) and Maxine (Trade Hub) by candlelight. Power outages seem to occur more frequently these days. Cate made the news this week with the new TV series, Morwalela, premiering in April.
Bill Gates released his annual letter and made a significant donation toward vaccines. I spent some time surfing his blog, Gatesnotes.com.
I'm also working with Project Concern International (PCI) on a potential opportunity.

For Sesame Workshop, I am enthusiastic about the impact Kami and the other Sesame characters can have in Botswana. It felt good to be able to call people at the last minute and have a very productive event. Leadership from USAID, SOS Villages, Debswana, Gates Library Project, PCI, US Embassy, Westwood International School, Maruapula School, etc... attended.

Cate, Maxine and I talked until late at night about adoption experiences in our respective families. My family of 4 adopted siblings, my son Matthew adopted by his stepdad, and my son Javier seem to give me a unique perspective on the topic.

Bill Gate's blog has peaked my interest in education topics. Although, it is quite frustrating being teased with content when the internet bandwidth is so lacking in this country. Chad and I attended a back-to-school night at Javier's school. As Phyllis introduced the Westwood staff for 2010, I was impressed at the experience level and diversity of the Westwood teaching staff. Upon joining ACHAP, I quickly came to the conclusion that what I leave behind will be not be technology, but rather the capabilities and skills that are developed within the organization and it's partners. I have been using CBT based curriculum and classroom tutoring to build skills within the organization. Still, learning seems to be a slow process and efficiencies are needed.

I've been pondering privacy issues this week as a grade school aquaintance posted my grade school pictures on Facebook and tagged me. I think the line was crossed when she published an essay that I wrote in 5th grade. Certainly, I have changed significantly from 5th grade and the resulting chatter from my youth colleagues does not interest me much. From a social experiment view, I am interested to see where this leads.

Still working on the finer points of Roxanne and Jenn's trip. Looking forward to Cape Town and Vic Falls.

Getting in the groove

2010-01-28T06:31:00.002-05:00

Resetting our schedule seems to be the order of the day. From Javy's pickup / dropoff times, the increase in Gabs traffic, getting specific tasks delegated/tracked, and work routines. I miss my lunch companion Donald, but find a few lunches with Chad or Javier to be a nice mid-day break.

Millie is back home and an afternoon with her friend DJ (Dan) was a welcome diversion.

A return to normalcy

2010-01-17T06:58:00.001-05:00

After worrying about Renee's less than ideal travel back to Atlanta and Violet's return from holiday, life is returning to a sense of normallcy. Javier's school starts tomorrow and he is excited to be in standard 3. He has had great teachers at Westwood which makes all of the extra effort the Chad puts in on the School Council a little more bearable.

We now look forward to completing the travel arrangements for our friends Roxanne and Jenn.

Recharge

2009-11-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

A weekend to recharge. Returned from Sunday brunch with friends and read by the pool. Chad and Javy occupied by a movie.

At first
Senseless as beasts
I gave men sense
Possessed them of mind...

In the beginning, seeing,
they saw amiss,
and hearing, heard not,
but like phantoms huddled

In dreams, the perplexed
story of their days
Confounded

- Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound

It is true the white man can fly;
he can speak across the ocean ...
but he has no songs like ours,
no poets to equal the island singers.'
- Gilbert Islander

Daniel's Here

2009-10-25T09:34:00.000-04:00

A busy few weeks... Daniel has actually returned home, but in an effort to keep this diary going, I'll recall the last few weeks.

.... Return to paradise

An early flight from Gabs to Maun. Coffee, much needed, watching the tourists and bush pilots in the coffee shop across from the terminal. Daniel is meeting us at Xigera. Dr. Toomey, a pleasant travel companion, we walk in the dirt path alongside the road and drop in at the tent shop. We consider the benefits of a strong, canvas, Botswana tent.

On to Xigera with a short flight in a small plane. Javy in the small back row. Anton meets us at the strip. Teko, having taken a shuttle into town to vote, will return in time for our afternoon Mokoro ride. The water is much lower now and we are able to drive the entire way from airstrip to camp. I prefer the water entrance to camp. We are welcomed by Tendani, KK, and some of our other Xigera friends.

Daniel is being picked up in a later flight by ...

A very nice couple from Paris joins us on our Mocoro ride. Birders they are. We all enjoy a Pel's Owl siting.

Bush Yoga

2009-10-04T14:24:00.002-04:00

Let's hear it for short work weeks... Had an excuse to get out on safari again. Just to experience a "premium safari lodge", we selected King's Pool. We met our intended guide, Moses, at the Maun airport. The small plane arranged for us did not have enough gas for Moses to accompany us to the lodge. We met our fill-in guide, Bobby at the lodge. Bobby normally works at Duma Tau and he became one of the best aspects of our trip. While the premium camp was nice, we found the atmosphere and people at Xigera every bit as nice. Hopefully, we will be visiting Xigera in a few weeks with my friend Daniel.

"The ladies" were also a memorable part of this trip. We enjoyed some interesting conversations and even joined in for an impromptu yoga session in the bush. I am still a bit sore from the much needed exercise.

Wildlife viewing including a herd of elephants crossing the road in front of us, watching the progress of a lioness and her cubs (she had just given birth), seeing a hyena chowing down on a warthog, and many different species of birds.

The trip allowed us a reprieve from some of the adventures of Gabs (Westwood drama, ACHAP drama) and now I am looking forward to another enjoyable safari with Daniel.

It doesn't get better than this

2009-09-27T14:43:00.004-04:00

Medikwe.. early evening..

Georgie said we would see some great scenery, but we might not see much game. As we explored this new private area of the park, we traveled newly created roads through a forested area with a river on our left and a brush covered hillside on our right.

We proceeded into the mature brush and Georgie spotted two lions out in the distance. We watched. The lions were watching a herd of zebra. One of the lions crouched low and began stalking the zebra. All was quiet as we sat in quiet anticipation of watching a lion kill.

Just as we thought the lion would make a move for the zebra, a herd of impala begain running toward the lions - bounding high in the air. Something out of the ordinary was happening. Then we saw the wild dogs. This was the cause of the impala's flight, but the dogs had not yet seen their mortal enemy, the lions.

After the dogs failed in their hunt for impala, they regrouped and made their way back toward the lions. Eventually, a lion made its presense known to the dogs. The dogs continued running in the direction of the lion and we gave chase in our vehicle. We soon saw that the dogs were returning to their pups.

The adventure with the dogs continued on for a good while. When returning to Jaci's treehouse lodge, we were greeted by a luminary lit boma dinner. We met up with friends over drinks and were the last to finish our meal. Safaris really don't get better than this.

We are headed to Botswana

2009-01-06T15:36:00.003-05:00

Our house is located near Chad's office. The office is point "A".
View Larger Map

View Larger Map The new ACHAP offices are located near Riverwalk Mall. We are located near Deloitte & Touche, Cyberplex Africa, CB Richard Ellis, MVAFUND, Acumen Park, ATTC, and FET East Campus.

Week 22 - Chad is on his way home

2008-09-14T22:40:00.003-04:00

Shakespeare's St. Crispian's Day Speech passed my reading list this morning. It made me think of Chad. Admittedly, I harbor a little envy towards Chad's career. I miss the adventurous explorations. I yearn for experiences that contribute to a better world.

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

Week 14 - Aquarium Camp

2008-07-14T19:24:00.004-04:00

Man, where have the last seven weeks gone? I can't say that time is moving by quickly - because I really struggle to keep our lives moving forward with Chad out of the country. I can't say that time drags - because I am too busy to even think about time. Yet here we are at week 14. I had hoped on an 18 week deployment - after initial expectations were set for a 90 day deployment. Well thats how it goes. We are now looking at September and I haven't even figured out how many weeks that is.

Javy and I spent a weekend with Jeanne in Glouster. No better person to spend Father's day with - when Daddy is away. It really helped to relax and get my bearings.

The Schenk School camp is finished. Javier really pulled it together the past few weeks and Sarah was a Godsend in working with Javy on a regular basis. This week is Aquarium camp. The cars need service - got Chad's worked on today, but it will still need more work. 97,000 miles, guess we can't complain too much. The car is still a great car. Think it is time for the timing belt - not cheap on an Audi.

Now it is back to school time. I didn't realize how much work PTA treasurer would be - and I anticipated Chad being home. At least it is rewarding work. Dinner is ready. Guess that is all the time for this evening.

Week 8 - Ode to Tommy

2008-06-02T20:59:00.000-04:00

Tommy passed on May 29th. Chad certainly has been blessed with many more years of the Atwood family. My memories of Tommy and his family are treasured. An unconventional family such as ours can be difficult for others to understand. Tommy always welcomed Javy and I as part of the family. He had a humorous way of keeping Chad in check. Above all, he was a trusted friend.

Week 6 - Last week of school

2008-05-21T19:00:00.001-04:00

This was Javier's last week of school (first grade). It was full of different fun events including a book fair, a class party, and school end-of-year activities. Javy picked out several Indiana Jones books, a Lamborghini poster, and a Pokemon book.

Daddy visited a Veteranary Lab and had to deal with other organization challenges. Papa had a very full week at work and is glad that it is Friday. Monday is a holiday. We are headed to the cabin on Saturday morning and will return Monday morning for a play date with Ben.

Planning a trip to Boston to visit Jeanne.

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T20:36:00.001-05:00

Chad is out of the country. Javy and I spent our Valentines together - missing Daddy.

Slowing down - some thoughts on compassion

2008-01-26T13:13:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a lot lately - though mostly on the internet. This month has flown by very quickly. I enjoyed Daniel Goleman's comments on compassion. It has been a message to me to slow down, focus on others, and to be aware of my surroundings.

Quick Trip to Utah

2008-01-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

A close family friend passed away over the holidays. Harold was the father of my closest childhood friend, Dale. We spent many Sunday evenings around the kitchen table playing cards with Dale's parents, grandparents, and family. Harold was a big influence on many of the neighborhood kids. He will be missed.

During a very quick, weekend visit, I was able to catch up with many of my childhood friends.

Andy Andrews

2007-12-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

Andy Andrews recently addressed our leadership team. I enjoyed his book and his presentation.

Strengths

2007-05-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

Marcus Buckingham presented at a recent conference. I am reading his books, "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and "Go". My strengths are:

Pacaya Volcano - Guatemala

2007-05-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

Recently visited Guatemala and climbed the Pacaya Volcano. It was pretty cool getting that close to lava and feeling the heat coming from the ground.

Unintended longevity of technology designs

2006-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

On December 23, the space shuttle Discovery touched down at Cape Canaveral. This completed NASA’s third shuttle flight in 2006, the most active year since losing the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. Five more flights are planned in 2007.

The space shuttle is the most complex machine ever built. The system is made up of three main components; the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs), the external tank (ET) which feeds fuel to the three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), and the orbiter itself. The shuttle’s main engines create a combined maximum thrust of more than 12 million pounds.

Now this part of my story might be engineering folklore, but I find it interesting nonetheless. In building this most complex machine, how was the size of the solid rocket boosters and the space shuttle main engines defined? Each of the space shuttle main engines measures 7 1/2 feet across and 14 feet long. Each of the solid rocket boosters weighs 193,000 pounds empty. They provide 80% of the thrust needed for launch and fall back to earth where they are recovered for reconditioning and re-use. These components are manufactured in different parts of the country. Even the fuel for the SRBs is processed in Utah, a long distance from the launch pad in Florida. The dimensions of these components are constrained by our manufacturing and transportation infrastructure; primarily the width of rail, bridges, and tunnels.

So what defined the width of railroad tracks? About 60% of the world’s railways use the standard or international gauge, the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel tracks. While the first U.S. transcontinental railroad was built with the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads in 1869, the standard gauge dates back to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1825. This rail line, largely engineered by George Stephenson, established the standard gauge at 1435mm or 4’ 81/2”. Some speculation exists that the rail gauge was derived from the rut ways created by Roman chariots. Excavations at the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum revealed ruts averaging 4’ 9” center to center. In any case, the width of both of these were likely influenced by the width of two horses.

We can make the claim that space exploration was influenced by the width of Roman chariots or a horse’s back side. The point of this story is that somewhat arbitrary engineering decisions have profound impacts. As we innovate technology today, how might our engineering decisions impact future technologies; or maybe more significantly, what elements of nature should influence our designs?

Prologue

2006-12-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone ‘America died from a delusion that she had moral leadership’.
--- Will Rogers

So .... last night, we enjoyed the company of our friends. The rule about avoiding politics and religion was not followed and a healthy discussion ensued. At times, we made arguments that contradicted the views of our hostess, we called each other on the carpet when arguments were framed improperly, but most of all, we shared our experiences and tried to solve the worlds problems.

Out of this discussion, one friend indicated that he stopped going to my website because the content was not changing; guilty as charged, the past few months have been a time of extreme pressure at the office. Excuses aside, I have resolved to make use of the new PC that I received for Christmas. The goal for me is not necessarily to publish, but to research and learn. One of the best ways of solidifying my thoughts is to put them on paper - or in this case, on my blog. With this in mind, here is the list of topics I intend to research and publish on my blog over the next twelve months.

Technology and Politics - As the newly elected House of Representatives convenes next week, one of the first items on the agenda is a disputed election in Florida. Hmmm... Florida, go figure. While we are no longer counting hanging chads, we are evaluating controls surrounding the use of electronic voting machines. What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance to another. US Congress steps into cyberspace

Social networks, collaboration, and web 2.0 - The impact of the internet will continue to influence society. What are the major socio-technology trends that will impact on our personal lives? Key trends include development languages/architectures (such as Ajax, Atom, and RSS) and user-contributed content (blogs, on-line communities, bulletin boards, vlogs, social networks).

Succession plans for the Baby Boomer generation - As the baby boomer generation (1946 through 1964) moves beyond our most productive years, we will begin transitioning the helm to a younger generation with very different values and experiences.

Mobility - Cell phones, blackberries, PDAs, Wi-Fi, cellular-phone-delivered/internet delivered TV and other content consuming devices continue to permeate our lives. The boundaries between our personal life and work life continues to blur. How will information and content overload impact our lives? How will mobile devices and content impact business (product development, marketing, shopping), government (political campaigns, voting, international relationships), global media (news, TV, movies), and public health (training, education, surveillance, medical schemes like insurance)?

Privacy policies and “The Network” - Google, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft, and a host of other providers collect an increasing amount of personal information. Software as a Service (SaaS) is another trend which will push more personal information into the cloud. At the same time, advances in search technology are increasing. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft already possess state-of-the-art technology for mining immense amounts of data. This information can be used for good or for bad. Privacy policy disclosures are commonplace, but the presence of these documents alone don’t necessarily provide adequate protections. The number of these policies and the legal “fine-print” generally mean that these policies are relegated to the round file without being read or understood. Employees at many organizations don’t understand the policies or relevant government regulations.

Armageddon and our legacy - A surprisingly large percentage of society believes that we are living in “the last days”. This is a dangerous belief that has a profound influence on our cultural values and impacts the decisions we make. Will we borrow against our children’s future, disregard the environment, and avoid long-term investments or act responsibly to leave a legacy we can be proud of?

The US economy and our place within the World economy - The U.S. economy is lagging vis-a-vie other nations. For example, industrial production growth within China has increased 16.5% versus the U.S. comparative growth at 5.2%. These revenues currently account for 40% of the U.S. GDP. Analysis of the economic drivers will focus around growth drivers (product innovation, integrated solutions, and support services) and economies of global scale (globalized functions and processes, virtualization, lean sense and respond operations).

Happy New Years - Best Kiss of 2006

2006-12-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2006

2006-12-26T13:07:00.000-05:00

Keith set another beautiful table for Christmas Day lunch.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

A few notable quotes

2006-09-14T22:52:00.000-04:00

"If you're involved in reasonable projects, you're throwing your professional life away."
Tom Peters, noting that you're not in the laundromat business. Information technology provides the most exciting, most powerful tools in business, so do something that shakes up your business and makes competitors fear you.

No one at the Information Week 500 Conference said "We're changing our ERP platform to make a fundamental change in how we do business." Instead, one exec observed that at this conference centered around innovation, there was zero talk about big platforms like ERP. Maybe that's because companies are in a waiting mode as all the ERP vendors do major rewrites of their systems, and everyone's in holding mode. Or maybe there's just not that much interest.

"Hang around with freaky people, and you get more freaky. Hang out with dull people, and you become more dull."
Tom Peters, urging people not to have lunch with the same colleagues every day. Collect odd companions far outside your company, who make sure you keep thinking wild thoughts and don't get stuck in the same thinking.

"IT people often discount the innovation needed to cut cost."
Global Crossing CIO Dan Wagner, drawing on his experience cutting IT spending by 80% over four years when Global Crossing, the No. 4 company on the InformationWeek 500 list, cratered and went into bankruptcy. Too many IT people think the only glory is in new projects with new software and gear.

An alternative approach to SOA is more data-centric, building a data repository around some key aspect of the business and then letting a bunch of services be built on it as the sole source of the truth.

SOA: Where Do I Start?

2006-09-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

SOA: Where Do I Start?

IT Conversations: Innovation in Established Organizations

2006-09-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

IT Conversations: Innovation in Established Organizations

This might be a good webcast for hhh.