Yeah!

I am off tomorrow. Not because I am big on Halloween, but the kids are off school tomorrow as the teachers are having Parent-Teacher Conference Day and my wife is off too, so a day to spend with the family. Probably won't do much. The boys both have checkups at the dentist. My wife and older son have yet to get their flu shot, so they will be doing that as well. Lucky them.

I just got called to sub for a volleyball team tonight, so at 6pm, 8pm, and 9pm tonight, you'll find me on the volleyball court. Just finished up our Wednesday night league last night. We ended up winning it, but we didn't get t-shirts as Parks and Rec have a policy that if you have more than four of the same players on your team and that team wins the league more than once in a year then you don't get the t-shirt. We sat out over the summer and started back up in the fall and won. It just so happens that we won back when we played in the Spring. I think the rule use to be just if you win two sessions in a row. I guess the City is really hurting for ways to save money too.

Integrate Domino and WebSphere MQ (formerly MQSeries)

This may be something that I need to check into further. I was invited into a meeting in progress that looks to have possilby spawned another project for us. I need to get with another manager to see where the data resides on the mainframe and what format it is in and then we can go from there.

Register for the tutorial here.

It is official

Palm and Handspring are officially palmOne.
Press Release

Busy

I am busy enough with projects right now that I didn't get a chance to read any blogs today or post anything of any substance. Oh well. My photoblog has really been ignored lately. At least the moblog lends itself to getting something posted as I can take the picture anywhere and upload it without a computer.

Cool Art

There is a married couple that lives in Boston, MA. They are dear friends. Cathy works at Harvard and Dan is an artist. He does some really cool work. Much of his work is three dimensional, you really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Cathy has put some pics of his work online. You can see a single sample below. To see more of his work click here or on the picture below. If you are interested in obtaining some of his art there is a "Send me a message" link on the bottom of the page I have linked to, or you can send me an e-mail and I will pass your request for more info on to them.

From the Boston Phoenix (city life section - 2000)

Best place to wash the mustard stains and/or eyeblack out of your sweatshirt

The Red Sock doesn't sound like an especially auspicious name for a laundromat, evoking as it does the stray garment that turns your white shirts a delicate shade of Pepto-Bismol. But around the corner from Fenway Park, the theme was apparently too irresistible to pass up. About a year ago, someone renamed this tiny, formerly nondescript laundry and painted every available inch of wall space with an all-encompassing ballpark mural. A cloud-flecked blue sky greets you at the entrance; a stroll down the narrow aisle between the single banks of machines puts you in the dugout, the outfield, the infield, and finally the stands, where what started out as a blurry, impressionistic crowd resolves itself into a series of distinct individuals: a leather-jacketed hipster, a man in an old-fashioned suit and fedora, a kid on the shoulders of a grim-faced father, a white-haired woman who appears to have her eyes shut against some gruesomely botched play. It's probably not Izzy Alcantara who's bumming her out, though - this field of dreams is a little too dreamlike to pass for Fenway (and what's with that dugout in the outfield?). It's more like a stage set for the sock-ball dreams of the neighborhood's weekend warriors.


The Red Sock Laundry, 37 Queensberry Street, Boston.

IBM/Lotus Game

I am working on a note (unfortunately I have found that this works much better for me as word of mouth doesn't document as well) to IBM/Lotus Reps AGAIN.

I sent a note on 10-7-03. It had three items. Two required a response and one that was just an FYI. I received a response on the FYI, from a rep that was not even addressed in the e-mail. That is fine, except I never received a response from any of those addressed or anyone else on the items that actually affect me. It is time to follow-up. Unfortunately I have an additional question at this point as well. Two of the questions have to do with licensing. Yuck!!

The e-mail has been sent. I included the person that responsded to the FYI. I don't know if there is really a distinguishing factor anymore, since the e-mail addresses have converged, but it went to two classic Lotus Reps and three classic IBM Reps for those keeping track.

Below is a picture of a game I got two or three years ago from one of the developers in our group. It was a gag gift exchange at Christmas. We had some issues on getting support tickets resolved and getting answers from our Lotus Rep of the time. We have a different Lotus Rep now, but he has the same philosophy on customer service. If you get the game out and play it, there is no possible way to get to the end. The developer had to spend some time to get it all lined out. It is based upon Chutes and Ladders. It is really funny. It seems that I have played that game to many times with Lotus over the years. What happened to the days of asking a question and getting an answer.

Reminder

If you haven't already and you observe Daylight Savings Time (DST) you need to change your clocks back an hour. And everyone, even if you don't observe DST, make sure you check the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Do you need to know what time it is? Click here and select your time zone.

Migo

I have seen this device mentioned in several places. Interesting.

See the demo on Forward Solution's site.

Funny

From eWeek Rumor Central

TechBuilder.org

CRN and VARBusiness have setup a website for system builders, integrators, VARS and white-box solution providers. It is called TechBuilder.org.

CNET Radio Direct

CNET had a nice thing going. One could simply signup and setup a CNET version of the delivery tool (Kontiki) and receive mp3 files of tech news highlights done by Brian Cooley. They have enhanced (my translation - scrapped) the content you use to be able to get.

I didn't really have the time to troubleshoot the problem as there have been issues getting the content through the firewall at times, which usually just clears up. I did take the time today and the old CNET Radio Direct is gone. Here is the message that greets one when the open the Kontiki delivery manager and click on the CNET tab.

Dear Listeners,

We're all back from the summer months, focused on a strong finish to the year, and CNET Radio is going that direction too. I'm excited about a new partnership we're launching with CNET News.com and its brand new "Get Up To Speed" section.

Starting Monday morning, September 15, the CNET Radio team will be offering a new way to listen and really understand what is happening in technology: Listen to our "Get Up to Speed" audio magazines and in 15 painless minutes or less you'll be up to speed on:

Enterprise security
Open source
Utility computing
VoIP
Web services
Wi-Fi

These are the Big 6 issues that are driving enterprise technology today and we know you don't always have time to read every article and news story to keep them in perspective. That's where our "Get Up To Speed" audio makes it easy. Everything you need to know to be savvy -- and nothing you don't.

Your current subscription to CNET Radio Direct will be discontinued and access to the new "Get Up To Speed" audio segments on will be available via streaming audio after a simple free registration at www.news.com (click an audiocast here to register). No third-party players or tricky download technologies needed!

We spent a lot of time listening to users of CNET Radio this year and you told us you like hearing news headlines but would value *understanding* even more. That's what we bring you with "Get Up To Speed" audio. Look for it at News.com starting Monday, September 15. And as always, e-mail me with your suggestions and feedback.

Brian Cooley
CNET Radio
brianc@cnet.com

Go to Get Up To Speed Audiocasts now!

I did go ahead and take the time to send a note stating my displeasure.

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 07:54:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: "bonj blog" | Add to Address Book
Subject: lettertolisteners
To: brianc@cnet.com

I have noticed that I have not been receiving any of my CNET Radio files. It has been gone for some time, but didn't think to much of it as there are times with the firewall, etc.. that content delivery issues arise and then magically go away. I had time to check into it further today and now notice that the whole thing has changed. I must say that even though I did not offload the mp3 files off to another device it was nice getting the files delivered automatically with little effort on my part. I could chose to listen to the file when it came in or simply follow up with them on another day when I had time to listen. I didn't have to take the initiative to go to a site, look things over and click on what I wanted. Simply start it, let it run in the background and listen much like listening to the radio. If I heard something that really caught my attention and I wanted to here it again, simply rewind the audio just a bit and listen closer. Now to get the info I have to be more interactive and take more time away from the job at hand. Although the content for "Get Up To Speed" may be good, I must say I miss the old CNET radio.

Bonj
http://bonj.blogspot.com

NotesSQL

I have known some Notes users that have never heard of Lotus NotesSQL , so I thought I might mention it.

Description from the site:

NotesSQL is an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) driver for Notes and Domino. It allows ODBC-enabled data reporting tools, database tools, and application development tools to read, report, and update information that is stored in Domino databases (.nsf files). With NotesSQL, end users and application developers can integrate Domino data with their applications using tools such as Crystal Decisions Crystal Reports, Microsoft Visual Basic, Access, Brio and Lotus Approach. Even Internet application development tools that support ODBC can access Domino data. IT professionals can enable their existing ODBC-enabled applications to access data stored in a Domino database.

A Domino database is not relational, but with NotesSQL a Domino database looks like a relational data source to an OBDC-enabled tool. This allows relational database management systems (RDBMS) such as Oracle or DB2 to issue SQL (Structured Query Language) statements to Domino.

developerWorks new design

Check out the prototype evaluation page for the new developerWorks site. You can then see the prototype pages here and let your opinion be know in the discussion forum.

IBM's WebSphere Portal Server vs. Microsoft's SharePoint Portal Server

Integro, a Colorado-based information technology consultant and systems integrator, is hosting a Portal Server Head-to-Head Comparison Webinar, November 6th at 4 pm ET - 3 pm CT - 2 pm MT - 1 pm PT. Click here to find out more.

ZapNotes

Most in the environment probably know of it, but thought I would make mention of it for those that might not. New and improved (9/8/2003) Zapnotes 3.4 will help you get back to work quicker after a Notes crash than having to reboot. It is free, easy to use and available in the Sandbox. Try it out.

Upgrading Java

I haven't been to the mysun site in some time (Remember when they actually hosted free e-mail on the site). Noticed the following posts:

Upgrade to the Official Sun Java Platform on 10-20-03

Java Upgrade Guide: Migrating from the MSJVM to the Sun JRE on 10-21-03. It makes the point of slamming Microsoft (I didn't say it wasn't justifiable, but I'll let you make your own decision on that topic). In the article it gives the "GET IT NOW" link to the Sun JRE.

Lotus Expert

It looks as though one of the incentives of being a Lotus Expert is trips to England. Okay some of the people blogging about Notes already live there. It does seem that many writing blogs about Notes have been jetting off to England. Not a bad gig if you can get it. I am not knocking those doing it. They have put in the time and have the expertise. Afraid it is beyond my technical abilities. As Ben Langhinrichs mentions in his 10-21-03 post, "Competence is a precious commodity". Well, for me there are some things I am good at, some okay, and some that I stink at (I try to stay away from those). I am not on the plateau of really good at anything, which is what sets some people apart. For some the really good is a struggle and for others it is natural.

It does appear that Notes has a big following in Europe.

Dave

If you ask me, "Jay or Dave?", I definitely have to say Dave. Need a break. Browse the Top Ten List archive.

Here is a sample:

Top Ten Messages Left on the Answering Machine of the Cubs Fan Who Tried To Catch the Foul Ball in Game Six


10. "You owe me $7.50 for the beer I threw at you"

9. "'I'm with Century 21 -- heard you might be moving"

8. "Hey, I just got back in the country -- how was the game?"

7. "'Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get another shot at the World Series in 2098"

6. "This is Pete Rose. You cost me 50 G's, jackass!"

5. "Hey, it's Don Zimmer. Thanks for taking the heat off me"

4. "Hi, this is Mike from Hasbro. I'm calling to verify some information for your Trivial Pursuit question"

3. "Have you heard about Northfield Medical's great prices on cosmetic surgery?"

2. "Hey, it's Bill Buckner. Wanna hang out?"

1. "Rush Limbaugh here. Gimme a buzz if you need something to take the edge off"

Oh, Domino! Why Lotus is dropping the ball

I would have to agree with Paul Gillin's article. Come on IBM. Wake up! Get with the program. Most Domino environments don't want Websphere pushed down their throat. They want to hear what you are going to do for their Domino environment. Other than those that really follow Domino, how many people in the world even know that there is such a thing as Domino 6.5, or for that matter even Domino 6. Ask an average person walking the street and see how many have heard of Exchange and how many have heard of Domino and even know what it is. You can follow that by asking if they have heard of Outlook and Notes. Don't run everyone off.

StarOffice 7

A new version of StarOffice from Sun became available for purchase on 10/14/03. Story on news.com.

Nice Camera

Here is a camera I think I would like to have.

FY2005 Strategic Plan

Reading through the draft of our Fiscal Year 2005 Strategic Plan. Not what I would call a fun read.

IBM, Adobe to draw up digital documents

See the article on c|net's News.com. Hey Lotus, could you add it to Notes/Domino as well?

Chandler

Haven't looked at where they are for a while, but noticed that Release .2 of Chandler, by the Open Source Applications Foundation, is available for download.

Who will need to have kids anymore, you'll just buy one

See the article, "Sony's toddler robot makes strides."

Armada

I did see an Armada at our local Nissan dealer. I like it, although I am not sure I like the chrome grill. I do have to say ouch!!! The sticker on the one that they had was $42,000. Not happening for me.

Land Rover

A small SUV that I like is the Land Rover Freelander.

Lotus Cars

Speaking of Lotus cars, it looks as though they may finally be bringing the Lotus Elise over. YEAH!

Armada

From the pictures I have seen I like the looks of the new Nissan Pathfinder Armada that is based on the Nissan Titan pickup, but will wait to see it in person before making a final decision.

VOIP

Court hangs up state VoIP rules article on News.com. Ruling here. What will the future hold?

Sad story

Having a 10 year old and a 13 year old it makes one worry even more about the inability of a parent to protect their children at all times. The sad story I refer to is the 10 year old boy that became lost in the woods and today was found dead. Makes one possibly look closer at items like the tracking device I mentioned on Thursday. Would it have helped? It certainly couldn't have hurt. My heart goes out to his family.

Deadbeat

I have an eFax account that I have very rarely used, but it can come in very handy as the fax is actually directed to an e-mail account. If one directs it to an e-mail account that is Internet accessible it can be that much more convenient. I received a fax Wednesday and Thursday from "The State of Idaho Supreme Court". It was in regards to a copy card. Interesting considering where it came from that there was no fax cover sheet with any kind of confidentiality notice such as:

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:

The documents accompanying this telecopy transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender, which is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity recipient named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of the telecopied information is strictly prohibited.

FAX

Someone's Name
Fax: xxx-xxx-xxxx My Fax Number
October 15, 2003
Re: Copy card

Our records indicate that you did not pay for your photocopying at the Law Library on October 14. It also appears that you left the building without turning in the copy card.

Please return to the library and settle your account.

Thank you.

I called the Law Library to let them know that they were sending this incorrectly. They stated that it looked as though someone was trying to pull one over on them and gave false information to get out of paying their copy fees. Hey, whoever you are, use someone else's fax number next time. Okay, better yet, don't give them a fax number next time.

@LOTUS.COM

As pointed out by Ed Brill's (work / play) post on his work blog, it looks as though @lotus.com e-mail addressses will begin bouncing.

"16 October 2003
This number is not in service

A few people have pinged me this week about bounced e-mail. IBM's IT department recently closed off one of the last phases of Lotus integration into IBM -- the sunset of "@lotus.com" e-mail addresses. IBMers working at Lotus software now can only be reached through their standard IBM e-mail addresses. Most former @lotus.com addresses retained their formatting -- so while I was ed_brill at lotus.com, my ibm.com e-mail address is also ed_brill , just at us.ibm.com.

Here's a useful, related resource: Many IBM employees have opted to be listed in an online directory, reachable at http://www.ibm.com/contact/employees/us/ .

So, what is next. A lot of the Lotus content is now under the IBM domain. Will IBM simply sell off the lotus.com domain name to the company that makes Lotus automobiles to make some money?

Can you say IBMsphere 2005? Or maybe we will still talk up the complimentary features of the products and just call it Websphere 2005.

Interesting Stats

Maybe a bit of a morbid topic, but check out the Cancer Mortality Maps and Graphs on the National Cancer Institutes site.

Track your kids

An interesting little gadget and service from Wherify, it is a GPS Locator for Kids. Could come in handy at times, although I wouldn't say you should simply turn your 5 year old loose and say don't worry about him, I can find him later.

Mapping Government IT

I believe Government Technology use to put a tidbit from all 50 states in each issue. Now only a few tidbits about a few states shows up under STATEments. At the University of Illinois researchers are using a radio-controlled miniature helicopter (glad they qualified that as I would have guessed a full sized radio controlled one) to help improve crops. Interesting that West Virginia is using low-flying (full size) helicopters with electromagnetic waves to detect water underground. I guess helicopters are the "in" thing.

Server Times

I have more than once stated that our servers (mostly NT & some 2000) need to have their times synchronized. More servers are added and they are not set to synchronize time with anything. I have noticed that clocks around here are not on time either. I imagine many people look at their computer time and set the clock to coincide with the reminders that pop up in Outlook. The local system time is set to the servers via the login script. The server is set right now so the local computers should be right tomorrow when everyone logs in. It will be interesting to see if the clocks get updated. I usually have my watch set to the right time, but kept getting to meetings a minute or two late. Imagine that, the main server that most of the others sync with was off by 2 minutes.

I am one of those people that knows a little about a lot of things, but doesn't necessarily know a lot about one thing, so there could very well be better ways of doing this.

Here is what we have done in the past. Simply run the "AT" command at the command prompt putting in the name of the appropriate server (assuming you are doing this remotely and you have the right permissions):

at \\servername

This will show you all the items scheduled on that server via the AT command.

Simply typing AT /? will give you the options available for the command. If the options are rolling off the screen you can always add the pipe symbol followed by more.

at /? | more

Here is what we have used on servers in the past (serverX being the name of the server that has the correct time that you want to sync with):

at \\servername 6:00 /every:m,t,w,th,f,s,su net time \\serverX /set /y

R6 saga continues

IBM/Lotus is suppose to work with our shared data center to get pricing for R6 on the Linux Zos. We are currently running R5.08 on the S/390 platform. From what IBM has told them it will be MUCH cheaper to run it on Linux Zos rather than licensing it on the 390 systems. The data center has stated that they believe they will be going to Linux for all customers they support that want to move to R6.

I e-mailed four IBM/Lotus reps last week asking them what kind of progress they were making and have yet to hear a word on that topic from any of them. I also pointed out that one of the state agencies mentioned a problem with attachments when using R6 and the recommendation by them that one may not wish to upgrade to R6. One of reps got back to me pretty quick to say that had been fixed, but nothing on the pricing.

Frustrated and tired of the responses, or lack there of, that I received from Lotus reps over the years, I also added the unedited version of voicemail noted in my post "Reps", along with the e-mail stating that I must have misinterpreted the voicemail incorrectly by thinking he would supply me with the info requested and simply asked since he wanted me to call if he would give me the names of contacts in each of the agencies. No response. Oh well, par for the course!

Sam's Club and Cell Phone Cameras

I was at a Sam's Club over the weekend and bought a new dog bed. The old one was worn out. After having it a couple of days now the dogs and one of the cats have starting to warm up to it and use it some. Anyway, back to the story. My wife noticed as we started to walk out of the store that we were overcharged for the dog bed. Trip over to the customer service desk was in order. The girl at the counter got on her walkie talkie asking someone to check it. As my wife and kids stood there I simply went back to the big bin of dog beds all the way at the back of the store and took a picture of the bin of dog beds (with my Sanyo 8100 phone) with the big price label fully stating how much the dog beds were. I got back to the counter just after someone got back with her on the walkie talkie. She said that price was for one of the smaller dog beds. You know the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words (even a small picture), I simply turned my phone around for her to view the picture. The bin held three styles of dog beds, they were all the same size and the bin was clearly marked with one price. Once seeing the picture she had no response. She called a manager up to the counter and he gave it to us for the marked price mumbling something about having someone change the sign or something. He asked the girl at the desk how she knew or something to that affect and she said I showed her a picture. He then got all bent out of shape stating that their policy was not to take pictures in the store. I showed it to him and deleted it, right before his eyes to appease him, although I could have easily uploaded it to the web on my way back up to the front of the store, which I didn't. He may as well face it, pictures are being taken, unfortunately there are more and more articles stating this is taking place in some truly inappropriate places. As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case the girl was quickly able to visualize the situation versus simply hearing someone on a walkie talkie telling her, no that is not the price.

The phone camera can be beneficial and will only be more so as the resolution gets better and better. One can actually take a picture of something at the store and call home, "Honey, is this the xxxx you were talking about?", and possibly get the right item making only one trip to the store.

I can see the locker room issue and the like being a problem, but one thing will always hold true, there are stupid people out there doing stupid, unethical, and immoral things.

Another place I could see some potential good from camera phones is possibly solving crimes. As the camera phone is so portable and often many carry their cell phones with them, one may see a crime in progress and get a picture that may lead to solving the crime. The make and model of a car, possibly the license plate, the perpetrator, etc. Who knows the possibilities.

Columbus Day

As yesterday was Columbus Day, I was off from work. It was nice to have the day off, but not so fun that I ended up with a plumbing job. The old cast iron pipe that dumps the water from the washerinto the line that the kitchen sink flows through from upstairs decided it had worked long enough without problems. It decided to start leaking. It does appear that after pulling it all apart, cleaning it up, packing it with Oakum and then using some plumbers epoxy, that I have it fixed. Yeah.

Hushmail

I mentioned Hushmail back on July 18th. Thought I would follow up. It appeared to me that my free account was deactivated even though I had logged in frequently enough that it should not have been. I followed up with an e-mail their support with no response. I would simply have to say, don't count on it.

Simple Ideas

I use to link to a picture of a tube of Aquafresh with floss in the cap.

You brush and you floss, so why not combine the two. What a simple idea. One of those that you wonder why someone didn't think of it before. Of course, you may run out of one before the other.

Getting the best workers to stay

Ran across this article today Getting the best workers to stay. I would have to agree with some of the points.

It seems our agency is often trying to measure itself against others and needs to find what works for us rather than trying to do what works for others.

It seems our agency also presumes employees will tell what’s really bothering them by way of a survey of course.

As it mentions, It’s often a communication breakdown. The Department has stated several times that this is a problem and it seems that it re-states that this is a problem every year or so. I guess they could be stating this more often, but it only gets to me once a year. ;-)

Thursday

As many say Thank God Its Friday or the shortened version TGIF each Friday, I heard a local weather forcaster on the radio this morning and his saying for Thursday, Sure Happy Its Thursday. You figure it out.

HTML

While I am on the subject of HTML I will also pass along a site with .html tutorials that I have been told is equally as good as a html class that an employee recently attended (and they said it was a very good class - thought it might be good to clarify that). Check it out here.

Wow, Linked to by a Big Dog

I try to keep up on several blogs. Many are Notes/Domino related. I often browse Ed Brill's site and to my surprise actually noticed a link to my own page (October 5, 2003 - New bloggers, furniture for sale?) on his personal site.

Picture of Ed, okay, so that was the wrong Ed, here is Ed Brill.

I really don't know that anyone has looked at my blog before. So it was interesting to see it on a site that has such a readership. You might ask then why blog if I don't beleive anyone is seeing what I have to say. I would have to say that it gives one a moment to get ideas and thoughts out, share information/experiences (if someone would happen to stumble across it) and it can actually be a handy reference to go back to at times. Easier than finding that sticky note that ended up in a folder, etc.

From Ed's site:

"Here's one I can't tell much about -- Bonj. From the photoblog section of this site, pretty sure Bonj is a male, but can't figure out much else. Who are u?"

Yes, I am male.

A bit more about me.

I am the manager of a small group of programmers in a state government agency (with a little effort one can probably determine which state from looking through my photoblog or moblog). I'll probably give in and mention the agency at some point.

I am a husband (starting my 17th wonderful year in this capacity last month) and father of two great boys (13 and 10, often showing up on my moblog).

I have worked for the same state agency for 17 years. Although you hear a lot of state employees complain about their jobs, and there are things that I don't agree with, etc., but must say that the state has been very good to me.

I have some college, but do not hold a degree.

I installed my first Notes Server (4.x) in 1999. The Department was looking at moving off of OfficeVision and looking at Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange as possible replacements.

The Department picked Exchange, but we still ended up with a couple of applications that we have written in house that run on Domino. For application purposes it would be nice if we were using Domino for our mail as well.

I am not a programmer, nor do I want to be. Not that there is anything wrong with programming, I greatly admire the work that the individuals in our group produce, but it is just not my cup of tea. I do enjoy the technical side of things, which is what got me to where I am today. Although having been in management for a number of years now I do not have the technical skills I once did. The plus is that logic hasn't changed.

I produced our Department's first web page back in March of 1996 and coordinate work between my group and the Web Team on different projects today. That first year (10 months) we had 74,795 hits on our webspace, granted we have more pages now, but we have had 17,550,179 hits so far this year on our webspace.

I received a Project Management Certificate from Boston University in 2000 and am a State Certified Project Manager through December of 2004. I have not pursued my PMP certification, but am a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

I graduated from our Department's Leadership Development Program in 2002.

I love my family, automobiles, and volleyball (Currently playing three nights a week. A very understanding wife I might add)! The picture below is a copy from the local Parks and Rec site. That is me in the yellow shirt.

I would say that is enough for now.

Redbook CD

Received my IBM Redbooks Lotus Collection CD today.

Just a gripe!

Let's see, I go to work in the morning of trash day. Make sure the trash can has the handle pointed towards the road, just as it says on the trash can itself. Now when I get home I should be able to drag the trash can back to it's spot right from where I left it or at least close to where I left it. Evidently the friendly waste management professional that takes care of my trash feels that I should not be able to get back into my garage until I have it moved back.

Rebound

What's with that? Ed got his e-Pro a day before I did!

Ed (work / play) mentions Libby's (work / play) editorial "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs". referring to an article from Business 2.0 stating that the job market may be looking up in the future. The July issue of Government Technology shows CEOs expect Information Technology to be the quickest industry to rebound in 2003.

"Sixty percent of U.S. CEOs rate the current U.S. economy as "stagnant", according to a March 2003 survey by TEC International. CEOs believe the following industries will rebound the fastest in 2003. (Results are ranked as a percentage of respondents) "

31% Information Technology
28% Biotechnology
24% Manufacturing
23% Professional Services
16% Retail
11% Telecommunications
3% Automotive
5% Other

IBM Redbooks Lotus Collection Follow-up

Received an e-mail today in regards to requesting the CD.

-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Employee [mailto:......@us.ibm.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 9:19 AM
To: Bonj
Subject: IBM Redbook Lotus Collection CD

The IBM Redbook Lotus Collection CD you recently requested has been sent to
you via US Postal Service. You should receive a package in the next 10
days. Please reply to this e-mail if your IBM Redbook Lotus Collection CD
does not arrive within 4 weeks.