quick change

This past Friday's bike ride couldn't start until I finished up a module on Anti-Money Laundering at work. We drove down mira mesa blvd to the trailhead and I was just getting so excited to ride I couldn't wait any longer. I took off the shirt I wore to the credit union, and then the pants. I typically change clothes in the car or in the parking lot near the trail- it saves me having to lug all my bike stuff into work. But, like I said, I was pretty excited to go and ride. My bike had been effed up in one way or another for a few weeks and this week everything was working perfectly... plus it'd been a long week and I was overdue for a ride. So I took off my pants, got out at a light, waved HI to Robin as I walked out of the car at a stoplight wearing only a pair of socks and some tighty whiteys. Sadly, I don't have a picture of that, so here's a look at where we've been riding. Google Maps just doesn't do it justice.

Good Morning

I spent the holiday weekend camping in Mexico with two of my friends from the lab. My friend Dave ended up shooting video of me telling a crazy story from our trip in Santa Barbara. Dave's camerawork was terrific, he perfectly captured the hilarity of talking loudly about farts at breakfast. Click here to hear me "tell them what you did".

Day 29

Today is day 29 of my 30 day effort to revive my blog. In my day planner I wrote 1-30 on the bottom of each date. Back then, I posted that I was going to try to blog and that I was aiming for a set number of posts within that time. I didn't want to say then, but my goal was 27 posts. Not quite everyday, but 90% of the time. I know I didn't post that many on bullplop, but in that time, including the 15 posts @ work, I can proudly say that this is my 28th post. Nice to be able to not only meet, but exceed my goal. At the time I didn't know that I'd be Podcasting by the end of the time. I feel like I should strut.

New Feed

I tried most of Sunday to figgir out how to podcast. I set up my feed, got one to work early and then wasn't able to podcast again the rest of the afternoon. I learned about tons of software and options. began dreaming of podcasting via cell phone, and through iSight mics and stuff. I quit last night discouraged and disappointed that I didn't quite get it. Then today, i came home and started from scratch again. When I had finished, I opened my newsreader and there were not only the new posts, but the three from yesterday. Woo Hoo! feed://bullplop.com/plopcast.xml Its cool. I learned how to podcast using blogger thanks to this blogcasting blog. It really makes it easy. If you are using a site like Bloglines you can easily be notified when I post and download the mp3 files. I'll be using my iPod and a iMic to record a few podcasts. Kentucky may be a great place to really start recording. I'm trying to use them with a professor I work with which wouldn't be as bullploppy as posting up redneck-speak. Good to get out and flex the geeky muscles. I'll begin my own audioposts, today I'm going to celebrate with this hilarious audio clip I got from my sister. If you don't podcast you can download the file by clicking here. The whole album this came from is called Avenue Q. Hilarious tracks.

geek school

it amazes me that people put free tutorials on the web. I know it is nothing unusual. the web is a very collaborative place. In the age of information, it seems that being able to share it is enough reward. Today I found a site that gives me a good look at php. The other day I found a a free XHTML class that is built on the kind of system I've wanted for the orientation program at Mission Fed. You enroll in the class, then it emails you automatically every week. perfect for new employees. it's fully automated and would be a great way to share daily emails to new employees. cool to see someone else pulling off the technical feats I wish I could do. Gives me hope. today is my second day at working with podcasts. hoping to make a plopcast soon.

fRideDay, the return

We've been riding on Wednesdays a lot lately. One of the trails we used to ride is actually much bigger and better than we ever dreamed. Today was a big day at work. We were scheduled to meet with the CEO and tape his 15 minute message to the employees. We spent a lot of the week setting up cameras, lights, etc only to find out this morning that the plans had changed... we ended up with no video, so our day ended and we were at the trailhead by 3:30. So great to be off work early and get the weekend started. I was the first person there today. I rode a bike with no front brakes, no granny ring, and three missing spokes. I'll definitely hit the bike shop this weekend.

federali blog

I've been enjoying the use of a blog at work. i've been doing (nearly) daily updates since June 15th and have enjoyed trying out different kinds of posts. Unlike bullplop.... I've really got to watch what we say. It's publicly available (& not called Federali) + it's @ work so there are different considerations. I can't start calling people bi-atch or say whether or not I think the project is fucked from the get go. I think there was reaction initially, but there isn't much conversation around it. I know robin reads each day. I should have him guest post. to market it with my co-workers I send a link with the URL each time I post. I suspect they don't even I've basically done a few types of posts. info posts when I find links to resources I find are cool, or gadgety stuff. updates about the product knowledge guidebook. the third category is posts about the book we've been reading one chapter at a time. the boss loved the posts about the content in the book. I've just not been reading it all that often. Each month when we meet we talk about the book, rarely discussing it between sessions. I think blogging may be a way to change that. Next week I'll be switching to try Sharepoint services. I've enjoyed bullplop, and like being able to share pictures

test post

I've been having some troubles with posting lately... this is a test. Only a test.