One full month. I’m now past the first month on the new job, Sales Engineer for a software company focused on data governance solutions. I have to admit, working from home is, for those who remember what a “valley girl” is, TOTALLY AWESOME!

Flexibility is the word that bubbles up in our conversation a lot. Jodi and I both work at home and it’s great being able to balance work and life needs. Some things just have to be taken care of during the day, business hours and is more convenient. Setting your own hours and schedule really helps.

Being able to work from my home office and still provide great value to both my company and customers is something that I never thought was possible. In my previous position, there was “telecommuting” available, but it basically meant, providing remote customer service at 10pm when someone was panicking, usually my old boss. It meant upgrading servers on Saturday nights from 11pm to 5am. It never meant, I’m going to sit at my home office desk for 9 to 10 hours on such-n-such day and actually get work done. No, my old boss had to “see the whites of your eyes and see you sitting at a desk in his office space” to feel like you were doing something. He was paranoid that if people worked from their home office, they weren’t focused on their work, were goofing off, not focused on him, can’t drop what ever their doing to go to an ad-hoc, unscheduled meeting to hear him drone on about how smart he was and/or sit there waiting for him to finish his “all-important” call, all the while mulling over the work you need to get done wasting valuable time starring at your colleagues waiting, waiting on him to pontificate and show everyone how he’s the smartest man in the room. However, what he didn’t realize is that paranoia drove others crazy and actually produced the opposite. Resentment and really lack of interest in actually wanting to help the cause and ultimately him succeed. His old school mentality was, well, OLD-SCHOOL.

Now, it’s nice to be treated like an adult with respect and dignity knowing that you’re putting in a good days work for the value. Because of that respect and treatment, people who are self-motivated really want to work harder and provide on-going value to the company and ultimately to their customer.

Working from home is AWESOME!

Posted: May 10th, 2008 under Business, Personal, Sale Engineering.
Comments: none

Web site building is technical work and something that comes easy to me. However, I’ve noticed a trend amongst clients.

“Make me a web site, have all of the content magically show up and have it do exactly what I want all with very little input or work from me.”

This client ideology is both frustrating and can lead to lengthy deployments. Every client so far has some notion that if they “pay” me to build a web site that I will magically understand everything they want and to somehow come up with the exact message and content that makes sense.

Truth is, it just doesn’t happen that way. I’m a technician, not a mind-reader, nor do I fully understand every detail and nuance of my clients business. While I do get things rather quickly and do grasp the high level overview of a given business, I am by no means an expert. So, I have to rely on the client to actually communicate and review the site(s) for content and appropriateness.

Well, this tends to drag-on and by extension, makes the process really drag on. Therefore, I DO NOT do it full time. If I built sites full time, my family and I would die of starvation.

Enough ranting… I have to finish another site for a “family member”…

Posted: May 5th, 2008 under Personal, Rants, Technology, Web Site.
Comments: none

Every day, I log into one of my several computers (both Mac and Windows) and the first window or windoid that is there greeting me is the “There are new updates ready”. Plus, to add insult to injury, every application I launch displays a message that a new version is ready.

Good grief. If things start going south on one of my laptops, I’ll never be able to trouble shoot and figure out where the culprit is.

So, WTF do you do when this happens nearly every day?

• Accept the download and hail-merry it. (Which is what I do too often)
• Never accept the download and keep running with Windows95
• Plan on just allowing it to only update your system on Friday night. (That way you have the entire weekend to recover and rebuild if necessary.)
• Research each request and make an informed decision. (What we all should do, but, then 8 hours later you’d never get any real work done.)
• Change the settings in the control panel to just update at say 3am in the morning, reboot and plead ignorant bliss when on the phone with tech support.

Or a combination of all of the above. Which, is basically what I do. I decide how much pain I’m interested that day, how much time I have and how dumb I want to play when calling support.

Have fun out there…. it’s the wild-wild west of code!

Posted: April 23rd, 2008 under Personal, Rants.
Comments: none

One week ago, I began my new career as a corporate data security specialist. My new company’s has been inundating me with information to get up the speed quickly on the products. I was worried at first that I wouldn’t have enough to do. Well, my worries quickly faded as the week went on. I quickly realized that there just wasn’t enough time in the day to absorb everything.

The flood gates were opening and I was feeling drowned with a lot of information. I was tasked with learning everything I could about corporate data security, data governance, server data permissions and so on. When I first accepted the position, I thought I knew a lot about servers and the day-to-day management of a Windows Server infrastructure. Well, turns out, I didn’t know as much as I thought.

I’m only a week into learning how to demonstrate and install the products. The great thing is the amount of information and support available.

Posted: April 22nd, 2008 under Data Governance, Personal, Sale Engineering, Security, Software, Technology, varonis.
Comments: none

Well, today was my first day with my new company. I woke up this morning with the Jitters. Mostly, my head was swimming on all of the things I had to get done. I was also wondering if I was going to find everything okay, how was the new office space going to work out and if everyone was going to be nice to me. I wasn’t so sure about the commute and how quickly I’d be able to make it. All those thoughts quickly went “poof” standing in front of the coffee pot sipping on that first “wake up” cup.

Smiling, I realized, none of that would matter. My commute was down one flight of stairs to my new basement office. I didn’t have to wonder much about people in the meetings as they would be done via conference call and webex meetings. I wouldn’t even have to figure out where the kitchen and restroom was. That, I know by heart and can run around here in pitch dark, most of the time.

First day was, well, easy as they come. I actually felt like I got more done than any time in the past. Not that I’ve started a lot of new jobs. However, even with my old company, I had actually moved to different divisions and/or started working with new people/teams or even in a different office on several occasions. It took days and weeks to get it all down on what you could/couldn’t do and where everything was.

Working from home is AWESOME!!! Okay, now the reality will eventually set in and I’ve been around the block enough to know that there’s the “Honeymoon” period. Still, I’m in it now, it’s good and if I play my cards right, it’ll be great even after the newness wears off. Hey, I did stay at my last company 16 years and I’ve been happily married for over 20 years. So, hopefully that pattern continues.

First day Jitters, first day smitters….Forget about it!! I’m off to the races.

Posted: April 7th, 2008 under Business, Personal.
Comments: none

No, I don’t have the worlds tiniest cell phone stuck in my ears and Yes, I’m well, over 40. So, the day after a concert I spend a lot of time say, “What?”. Fortunately, it usually wains after a day or so. It’s the price you pay going to a “Live” concert in a small venue. Even though the sound was balanced and quit good, it still pummels the ears.

We spent the evening at the BlueBird down on Colfax. It was the first time going to the theater and to be honest, it was a great little venue. The headliner was “I Hate Kate“. They’re an up-and-coming band from Southern California that has a following here in Denver and they’re played on 93.3 all the time, so we, Jodi and I, thought they were a pretty big band. However, one of the local DJ’s liked them and he played them all the time increasing their popularity.

Both the BlueBird and the bands were great. How can you go wrong with a place that serves Guinness on tap? You can’t. Before the headliner, there were a couple of “local” bands doing their “warm-up” sets, which again, in all honesty, weren’t half bad. The drummer of the first little band, which I do not recall their name, something 5, was a bit over-the-top. After listening to Dylans drum teacher talk about “too much filler”, this guy pounded it out in spades. “Nerf”, one of the 93.3 DJ’s that likes “I Hate Kate” had his band, “The Frequent Sea” warm up right before IHK came on. They were a little rough at first, but once they warmed up, they really rocked the house.

Headlining of course, was “I Hate Kate“. They really put on a great show. Their front-man, Justin, was engaging and got the audience going. At one point, he had someone in the audience on stage to help with a fist pump number. They started the show with a bang playing, “I’m in love with a Sociopath”. A more recent “theme” song of mine. They did their whole album for the most part along with the cover “Major Tom” and ended with “Always Something”.

All-in-all, it was a great night out. Good friends, Guinness, great burger at “My Brothers Bar & Grill” before hand, what else could you ask for?

Posted: April 4th, 2008 under Music, Personal.
Comments: none

Well, I know Jodi, my LOVELY wife, posted an Office story on her blog, however, I have my own story.

After nearly 20 years of having a private office at my old company(s) I’ve always done what I wanted and never had to answer to anyone “breathing” down my back. Most recently, my office in Boulder was in the corner with lots of windows where I could watch the wild life prance by. I could also stare off into the distance looking over the mountains or Flat Irons looming along the horizon just south of Boulder. I’d get my binoculars out and watch climbers take the face of Flat Iron Number 1. Never saw anyone take a plunge. They must all have been experienced.

Anyway, last year I started working from home and shared the home office in our spare bedroom.

This wasn’t working….

So, I decided to kick Dylan and his drum set out of the basement and build my own space. Jodi “JUMPED” at the thought when I brought it up. Actually, she was reluctant, only because she didn’t want to spend a dime. Bean counters.

Well, I’m now in my own little corner with no one huffing, waving arms aren’t being thrashed at me when I’m on the phone, not hearing the SHUSHING or punching the back of my chair when I’ve tried to zone out with the head-phones on.

Now, my office has everything I really need. Privacy, great lighting, dart board, electric guitar, it’s own Gym & private restroom just 5 steps away, (coffee can be a bitch in the morning when you’re, uh, 40 something.)

It’s not without it’s issues though.

1 - My cell phone doesn’t work very well unless I stand cheek pressed up against the window. Could be good or bad depending on the point of view and needs
2 - The stereo speakers have an annoying buzz when I use my wireless mouse for some reason. This wasn’t an issue upstairs. Tried everything, but it’s not getting any better. Headphones are best. However, I have noticed I don’t hear the local airport radio anymore
3 - I’m too close to the treadmill and Jodi’s been “hinting” all morning. However, I keep my back to the beast.
4 - The desk I bought is “ok”, but a bit flimsy and shakes when I type. Hm..
5 - I’m 3 feet from our basement bar. Beer 30 and after work cocktails are going to be WAY too convenient. I stare at the bottles all day.

Well, regardless of those little “annoyances”, I’m content knowing I can breath, listen to music, take phone calls, chat without worrying she’s looking over my shoulder and well, I’m free to let things “loose” as I see fit. It only affects me

Another perk, it’s next to the entertainment center, with a nice 8′ couch and the leather lazy boy recliner. Next, a nice nap is order and I wont get caught!

My Cave!

Posted: April 3rd, 2008 under Business, Hardware, Personal.
Comments: 2

Funny story; a few weeks ago, we had our good friends Sage, Brad and their two boys over for a Sunday evening dinner. Towards the end of the evening, Wyatt, their “toddler” popped into the kitchen with an empty wine glass dutifully attempting to help with the final cleanup of dishes. We’d had a Merlot along with our meal and soon discovered that someone hadn’t finished their glass. Apparently, it was not empty prior to Wyatt bringing it into the kitchen, whereby we discovered a nice dark wet area with deep red hues on our light tan carpet near the table.

Long story short, Jodi and I broke out the steam cleaner, doesn’t everyone have one in their cleaning closet, and started the task of cleaning the carpet. To be clear, we’re not that “picky” with this carpet and frankly, well, we HATE it. Sage was mortified and kept apologizing profusely. We made every attempt to let her know, that it was no big deal. Really. We kept telling her, now we have yet another reason to rip this crappy carpet up and put down new flooring. Don’t worry…. we’re not bothered. And… the truth is/was, we didn’t CARE!!!

Last weekend, they stopped by briefly to pickup the jeep for Brad and discovered that the stain was still there, no matter how strong our cleaning attempts had been, it didn’t “disappear” and had a light pinkish hue as a reminder of our little helper. I know Sage was really concerned and I had attempted to stand on the area so she wouldn’t notice. It didn’t work.

Fast forward to today Tuesday April 1st. This morning I bound down the stairs to find that a new stain had appeared. I took a picture of the area near the table and discovered this “Miracle”. I’ve sent off the picture to Sage, but haven’t heard back yet on her “take” on the little spillage Wyatt accidentally left us.

eBay, here we come!!!

Posted: April 1st, 2008 under Personal.
Comments: none

Recently, my great uncle, Adolph, passed away. He had lived a full life and was well respected. He was a stand-in grand father on many occasions. Since I am originally from South Texas and now living in the Northern Colorado area, as well as recently in-between jobs, timing is a bit tough to get down there for the memorial.

To add to the situation, he wanted to be cremated and have a simple memorial. So, instead of killing myself to get down there and beings that I come from a long line of “frugal” Germans, they simply asked that we all write some words about Adolph. Below is what was read at the memorial. Various family members had an opportunity to write some kind words and I heard it was a great service.

… I remember the most, about my Uncle Adolph

I may be 1,000 miles away, in my 40’s, busy with life, have kids of my own, but I often have reflected over the years about the times I spent with my Uncle Adolph.

- Fingers on ribs, counting until I laughed…
- Bouncing down dusty dirt country roads in an old green pickup truck…
- Long cane poles sticking in dirt with line draped in an arch hooked to a red & white float lazily drifting around in circles…
- Squishy, smelly mud oozing between toes after a good swim in a stock tank..
- Lots of minnows swimming in a large barrel just off the back porch…

These are the things I remember the most….

- Chickens and roosters, gathering eggs from nests, chasing lambs & goats, petting the Guernsey cow and drinking the freshest milk…
- Sweet corn, fresh okra, juicy watermelon, crisp cucumbers….
- Drinking sweet red wine, even though I wasn’t 21…
- Soft hair being snipped with scissors and the buzzing sound of electric clippers…
- Smells of oils and after shave, old spice, I think…
- Slapping of cards and clinking of dominoes and words like shooting, moon and canasta…

No judgment, no respecter of persons, treating everyone the same, giving, fun, big kid himself, story teller, full of life, patience, laughter and easy to be around…

These are the things I remember the most about my Great Uncle Adolph!

In recent days on our own little suburban plot of land, we’ve attempted to grow cucumbers and melons, gotten a few and even had some pumpkins that were worth keeping and carving. I easily reflect and remember back to those days when I was a kid gathering fresh stuff from the garden, collecting eggs and being tickled as a youngster. Seeing a big smile and always with the story and a sly grin… pulling my leg I think.

I only hope that he knew what an impact he had on those around him…

Son & Nephew first…
Now, Husband, father and uncle myself
I’ll miss you, Uncle Adolph, but I have such great, fond memories….

Love Shane

Posted: March 14th, 2008 under Personal.
Comments: none

This past weekend was to be a “belated” Christmas gift to the Cooper family. We’d held off on a few things this past Christmas. Not that we have big gift giving extravagant events, but we kept it “simple” this year. However, since we all love music, especially concert going, we thought we’d kick the winter blues by seeing Linkin Park, again. We’ve seen them in concert before and they put on one amazing show connecting with the fans and really putting it all out there.

So, back when the tour announcements were made back circa Nov/Dec of 07, Jodi was on her laptop hitting buy the moment the tickets went on sale. Rather than get just …any… seats, she decided to get the “Hot Seat” package which included exclusive front row seating, hospitality room and special LP gift, it was suppose to be special so we could enjoy ourselves AND be right there near the action.

Friday, Feb 29th, leap day and we’ll just pretend really never happened, we took off for Albuquerque New Mexico to attend the concert. Road trip!!! 7 hours later, we pulled into our hotel, had dinner and got some rest. The plan was to hang out most of Saturday before picking up the tickets at will call later. Our first order of business was shopping at Trader Joes! Closest one to Denver. We then took a side trip to Petroglyph National Monument to check out the trails and Indian drawings. Then down to Old Town for a light lunch made up of Mexican food and cervesa. Nice easy going morning.

The afternoon went down hill from there. Back at the room, Jodi just happened to stop by on the Linkin Park web site to check out some music videos and see about the venue we were heading to later. Low and behold, only to discover that LP had canceled. Not only was Albuquerque canceled, but they had to cancel El Paso as well. Chester Benefield, the lead singer was sick and couldn’t perform. Bummer.

Jodi and Dylan were extremely bummed out about this situation. Of course, now we had the prospect of heading home and not getting to see the show. We quickly packed our stuff, checked out of the hotel and started our road trip home. Needless to say, it was 7 hours of solid gloom in the car. I don’t think we even turned the radio on once. No music. Although, on the bright side, it was a really great drive. New Mexico desert is beautiful at sundown and the vista’s we took in were spectacular.

I guess the moral has two points of view. One, performers are just people and subject to illness like everyone else and we shouldn’t hold it against them. Second, when you travel for a schedule event, show or otherwise, it’s a risk pure and simple. There are no guarantees sometimes you have to take the highs with the lows. Sure, it stinks that they canceled, but that’s the risk you take and the way it goes.

Posted: March 5th, 2008 under Music, Personal, Travel.
Comments: 1