Nova Scotia

A very relaxing week!

You are, what you Search?

As a knowledge hungry human, you are what you eat...

Think about the last 10 things you looked up on Google, can't remember that far back? Perhaps your browsers auto-complete feature has remembered for you... (double-click the white text search area) It's pretty interesting to see what you have been looking up, and it probably says a lot about you, your work, your hobbies, and what is going on in your life... This data, although we hope is kept private-- is data that may or may not be collected, and profiled, and matched to even your IP address (think phone number). Read about AOLS big-mistake of releasing private search data, if you haven't already...

It's not a question of to search or not to search, at this point the internet has become our most knowledgable friend... The first one we ask questions, before we bother someone or revert to 'old fashioned' book ways, or look for an expert in the field... Is it necessarily who you know? or is it how well you search? Do you care if this data could be used? does it alter your search behavior?

You start to wonder, who knows you and whats going on in your life best? What do you do daily? what have you learned?

What are you?

A collection of results, opinions, feelings, interactions, activites, thoughts ???
Maybe.

Beverly Sailing

Went for a great sail last night outa Beverly marina with Jeff and Allison... We made our way to Bakers Island and back on a beam reach with a steady 15+ knot southern wind... The night was perfect, looking forward to a few more like it this summer --

Boston's Corporate Challenge

Team ASA 2006 - me, front left.

So every spring I run the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile race... Three and a half miles is just long enough where you probably should get out and practice a bit beforehand, but just short enough where serious training is not needed. This year I tried to get out running twice a week prior to the race to get myself in shape... I also organized my companys participation in the event, and am happy to say that 26 registered runners from our company was a great turnout.

I was going for an 8 minute mile(28:00 minutes), and ended up finishing the race with a time of 29:20. It took me an extra minute just to make my way to the official start line, so I can say that I'm proud of myself for coming very close to my goal.. If I'm feeling ambitious, maybe next year I'll shoot for a lower time and a bit more dedicated training.

But now that is over, and hot weather is ahead... I wonder how much jogging/running I'll be doing before next spring rolls around.

Radiohead 6/5/06

Radiohead - Bank of America Pavillion
Monday, June 05, 2006
Spring 2006 (pre-LP7) Tour



1. Climbing Up The Walls
2. Bangers 'n' Mash
3. 15 Step
4. Morning Bell
5. Kid A
6. Fake Plastic Trees
7. Videotape
8. Bodysnatchers
9. Where I End and You Begin
10. Knives Out
11. There There
12. Nude
13. Just
14. Spooks
15. Idioteque
16. House of Cards
17. Planet Telex
18. Like Spinning Plates
19. Arpeggi
20. No Surprises
21. Everything In Its Right Place
22. The Tourist

summer, the best time to find winter deals....

I've done pretty well the last few summers at getting some great gear at prices half of what they are at in season... They key is patience, and in turn you probably still spend the same amount of money as you would have but get gear that is twice as good...

Two things I was looking to pick up this summer at discounted prices, a nice pair of goggles and helmet-earphones for listening to some tunes while on the slopes...

Having a pair of old-scratched lenses, I was able to get by... and some cheap ear-bud style earphones also suited my needs for this season... But with a bit of birthday funds, I was able to snag these:

-Spy Soldier Goggles 60$ ($125+ in season)

-K2 Baseline Earphones (snap in-earflaps for my helmet) 25$ ($60 in season)
These allow me to listen to my mp3 player, walkie-talkie, or even if need be answer my cellphone without taking them out of my pockets... very handy when you are on a chairlift and you are all bundled up already...


both from REI.com, great store... great off-season deals...

Some other gear which I've mostly picked up offseason...

Looking forward to next winter already, even though this weekend -- memorial day, is often considered the official kickoff to summer....

thinking about the choice.

Almost any seasoned tech guy has probably faced the same question at one point in his/her career...

Do I stay technical, working towards a senior tech position within a company? Or do I try my hand at management, and work towards a higher degree of technical management within a company?

I'm gearing up to go to grad school at some point in the near future, and this unanswered question is part of the reason why I have not already gone back for more education, chosen a degree of study, or fully explored the various schools that offer these degrees.

I don't think RIGHT now is the time to answer this question, but if you have insight that would possibly influence my decision in one way or the other, I welcome you to contact me --

feel the winds

This summer I hope to do a bit more sailing, getting comfortable enough to handle the boat in different directions relative to the wind is one of the tough challenges of learning to sail.

If there is a wind blowing, you can pretty much go every way, except, straight dead into the wind. By the end of the year, I should be able to handle all these directions and with any luck, may even know what to call each point of sail or possible 'wind' scenario...

mother natures mothers day monsoon...

Have you ever forgot to give your mother a card on mothers day? Well this year looks like we all forgot about Mother Nature... and she cried, hard... Seemed like 10+ days of rain, rain, rain... While the northeast got hit hard, (Why couldn't this have happened in winter!) the whole country was pretty much covered with rainclouds... I kept looking at the 10 day forecast, hoping for a glimpse of sunshine... Well last night, the sun finally peaked it's head through and the people rejoiced!!

It happened to be the evening of my birthday, and that gave us two reasons to celebrate! Although the forecast ahead looks spotty, I'm optimistic we *wont* see that again this year... But at least next time, there will be a pump in my basement ready to go...

photobucket slide shows

Gloucester slideshow:

Switch, unless you have a free laptop...

Looking back at my blog, I find it hard to believe that I have yet to talk much about my Powerbook G4... I did quickly mention it as an inpulse buy... but I think it's time to talk about my favorite portable computer...

So, as a DEC-Dos kid, I grew up on the PC side of the world... Never really liking Mac's, even despising them -- their damn one button mouse, or the cutesy overpriced features they offered. As a kid, I was mainly concerned about one thing on my computer.. The latest and greatest PC Games, and as most you may know.. The Mac game department was severly lacking in quantity and quality of games available... As I outgrew computer gaming during my freshman year in college .. I started to make more use of my computer skillset and actually do some work with computers.. I was drawn into Unix/Linux around 1994, using MIT Haystacks computer systems and wrote a QBasic scientific calculator (Reverse Polish styled) which marked the start of my computer programming experience... As the web-exploded, I was pretty focused on staying on top of the curve.. learning as much about the next new technology..

So as a WPI college graduate, I had very strong background in DOS, Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Unix but was missing one piece of the OS landscape.. the Macintosh.. This is around the time of OS X (Mac's first unix based OS) being released... and thought i'd like to give it a try...

In a portable laptop, I did have some requirements.. Needed Microsoft Office. Check. Needed a web-browser. Check. Wi-fi and hardwired ethernet. Check, check. Needed to be able to burn cds, check. Play music, check. Play Games? eh, no more time for games, uncheck... Besides I had a PC desktop still. Remote Desktop Client & VNC Client, Photoshop, Development Environment, Apache webserver, MySQL.. Check, Check, Check, Check.

The bottom line is, the OS X laptop has been able to do everything I've ever needed.. There was a small period of time where there wasn't a VPN client for OS X to connect to work... then there was an OS X version released.... If I wanted to run a standard windows app on my laptop (windows version of Tax Software) I just remotely connected to a windows computer over the network. I wanted to use a Verizon PCMCIA card, and found out the setup for it online... I wanted to use bluetooth to sync my contacts, downloaded them from yahoo address book and importing them into my phone... Use my bluetooth phone as an internet connection, abet slow, but if I needed it.

Now with OS X's release of BootCamp for Intel based Macs, I expect all of you PC Only users to take the challenge, and if you actually still prefer Windows, at least you'll have a sleek and nicely desinged system -- Actually, I've seen so many new PC laptops that look strangley like, a Mac.. wonder why.

NTEN Conference in Seattle, WA

2006 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Seattle, WA


The theme for the 2006 conference was Changing Lives and Building Community: Nonprofit Technology in Action


Agenda: http://www.nten.org/ntc-agenda

Events I attended:

Weds - 3/22/06
11am: Vendor/Developer Networking Event
1pm: How Does Free and Open Source Software Fit Into the Nonprofit Technology Landscape?
3pm: Science Fair

Thurs - 3/23/06

900am: Guy Kawasaki
1030am: Emerging Standards for User-Centric Identity: Tools for Creating Improved Relationships With Constituents
130pm: Managing Technology Projects: Finding the Right Tools and Appropriate Processes
330pm: The New Role of the CTO:It's All About the Strategy
8pm: Event at the Space Needle

Fri - 3/24/06

9:00am: Trisk Dziko, Technology Access Foundation
1030am: Everyone is Online, Now What? How We Can All Work Together to Have a Bigger Impact
130pm: Getting Your Cause on the Map: Improving Your Program Delivery with Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
330pm: The Next Generation of Open Source Tools

cell phones - Sony Ericsson T68i

I currently have a Sony Ericsson T68i phone(2.5 years old!), and service with T-Mobile. Prior to owning this phone I had a Samsung flip-phone, and a Kyocera candybar style phone with Sprint. But when I moved from Brookline to Allston, Sprint coverage seemed to be lacking in my house. While T-Mobile is known for their great in-city coverage (works underground at major subway stops), they also allow for usage of superb phone models(any unlocked GSM phone) which just aren't possible through many other wireless carriers in the US aside from AT&T. T-Mobile's coverage is pretty bad when you travel out to the rural areas(unless your phone supports the 850 band, but usually while I'm out there I'm on vacation and don't want to be easily reached anyway.. Well enough about service and carriers, this post is really about my phone...

-Great battery life (my conversations are generally short) -Bluetooth - sync: contacts, calendar, xfer pictures, ringtones -Yahoo Mail & SMS notifications of new mail -limited Free WAP site browsing -Laptop internet through cellphones bluetooth (56k) -SIM card contact management. -iGo charger tip (works with my car/home charger)

These features i'd like in my next phone/service, and probably won't upgrade until:
-3+ megapixel camera
-superb audio/microphone quality, 2.5mm headphone audio out..
-internet audio streaming & playback
-faster internet data tranfers when using phone+laptop combo
-Similar pricepoint (under 50$ for all the minutes/data xfers I need)
-better network coverage
-mini-usb charging/data connection would be nice.

First trip out West

Just getting back from Utah.. what a trip. I actually devoted a whole site towards the organization and memories of the trip:

http://parkcity2006.blogspot.com

I was supposed to leave 10am on Wednesday morning, but it snowed 10+ inches on Tuesday night, and I changed my flight to get a day of fresh snow in!! We went to Solitude and did some light hiking off the main trails to get some fresh tracks, it was such a great day....



I look forward to coming back here sometime soon!! but this could be the start of the annual trip to the Rockies...

February, Snow Please!!

Wow, February 1st... We've had a pretty mild winter so far, with December and January having some pretty warm temps and mostly rain instead of snow...

Now with Feb and March ahead, hopefully we get some snow dumps!

New England Complex

As New Englanders, we learn from a young age that one of the uncertainties of life here is the weather. We very much appreciate the change of seasons, scenery, activities, temperatures... but always looking forward to 6 months ahead, where the weather is the opposite...

During the summer, we love going to the beach, staying cool, enjoying outdoor bbq's and sports. But even though the summer fly's by and I enjoy every second of it, I'm also looking forward to winter and big snowstorms ahead...

And during the winter, we love going up to the mountains, enduring the cold for fun in the snow on the slopes, indoor holiday and house parties, vacationing in places much warmer during the coldest weeks of the year..

And we cannot forget the seasons in between... fall bringing on the freshest of air, getting outside to see the foliage and enjoy the brisk temperatures in merely a sweater..

While spring brings new life to the plants and flowers as they awaken from their slumbers, and those first days where you can get by with short sleeves and feel the suns radiant beams upon your face...

People generally don't like change, but for most of us New Englander's we thrive on it.. and it's what makes each and every year fantastic...

Winter has started....

As you may have noticed from a lack of postings in Decemeber, Winter has started... and with it brings winter snowsports... I've been snowboarding a few times already, and also have tried some skiing again... I created an offshoot blog, roco.telaetas.com which started as an attempt to organize friends and trips up north.. but it has mainly become my own personal plan for the winter and a trip journal for documenting the days I spend up north...

ROCO is our group acronymn for Rockin' Out, a term which helps us to describe our attitude to ripping the mountain up.


I even sport a ROCO bumper sticker, courtesy of a founding father, Andy Rocks Out.

So I've saved up some extra vaction time, I have a seasons's pass for the American Ski Company Mountains and Loon, and am anxiously awaiting the harsh snowy winter which some locals even dread....

I also created another Trip Website/Blog for our trip out to Park City, Utah this spring.. parkcity2006.blogspot.com

shared calendar standard

I personally have a few calendars, a MS Outlook one for work related events, an iCal calendar for personal use(syncs with my phone cal), a Yahoo calendar for reminders I want txt msg’d to me, a family calendar to keep my family coordinated.. And the organizations in which I participate each have their own as well…. often just HTML/web based. I’d like to be able to manage just one calendar, and have the information fed into the appropriate application, or in the case of others viewing my calendar, they should be able to see certain events based on simple permission levels and be able to use their calendar application to include an event as well.. Do you see the problem? Event management is one of the most important technical challenges that can be solved but hasn’t to date. Their have been two similar standards which currently exist to date, VCal and iCal. While the two are not completely interchangeable, if you strip the extra tags out of each to a simple single event, most calendar applications can accept the event. MS uses Vcal within Outlook, and Open Source calendaring applications as well as Apples iCal use the other iCal format. Additionally with the introduction of RSS, and RSS news readers becoming more common (ie: myYahoo now allows RSS feeds to be added) this also provide another way to syndicate public events. But what if you want to share events with just family? just friends? just coworkers? or even just a specific person? Today’s technology really doesn’t support unified calendaring without some kind of synchronization software or knowing what the other people use for their calendar application.
Well, good news, M$ is starting to realize this problem and do something about it… Actually, I give credit to Ray Ozzie (founder of Groove Networks collaboration software) for bringing this challenge to Microsoft’s attention. Some people like to think of sports figures as people they would like to meet, or famous politicians, personally… Ray Ozzie is a guy who I deeply respect as a tech savy business leader. He has a good concept for what is important to businesses, and great ideas for solving their challenges through use of technology. Upon graduation from WPI, Groove was one of the top company’s that I really wanted to work for, unfortunately I was unable to use my network of connections to get a foot into the door. And now that they have been swallowed by MS, I’m not as sure about the flexibility of their future.
In short, I’m confident that MS’s new standard as long as it’s spec is kept open can be a step in the right direction for our calendar synchronization and event management woes.

Let's do it again...

With temperatures tonight dipping below freezing, I anxiously await our first snow here in Boston. Meanwhile up north at my favorite northeastern mountains the snow has already started to fall, and along with some additional help of the snow making guns the mountains are starting to open up… This weekend I’m thinking about warming up the legs with a day trip up to Sugarloaf. This year I opted for a different season’s pass than the usual one I got the last few years, I got an All for One pass which allows me to go to 5 mountains across the northeast (Sugarloaf, Sunday River, Attitash- Bear Peak, Killington, Mt Snow). My goal is to get to each of the mountains at least once, I’ve been to half of them before… but will get to see some new terrain as well. The tough part is going to be finding adequately priced places to stay for the weekends(hopefully long weekends) which I go up.

ROCO!!!

Wireless Broadband Anywhere (populated)

So this morning, I read some news articles on the web, checked my email and fantasy football team scores.. enjoyed my coffee and an hour of slacking off... the good part is, I wasn't at work... I was commuting into Boston on the train, and enjoying Wireless internet from my laptop... pretty neat!

Well, remember a while back when I was talking about Wireless Internet on the trains?

Today that day has come. With a Verizon Wireless (V620) card stuck into my Powerbook G4. Setup was pretty easy, just editing a few of the configuration files/settings and pluging the card in..

[instructions setting it up]

The price is still to much for personal use (60$ a month), but if you can get by with using it for your primary internet connection.. You can almost justify it..
[vzw router]
For now, business's will increasingly see this as an option for allowing sales and mobile workforces access to corporate data and applications. I can see it's implications also reaching areas of the US where hardwired Cable/DSL infrastructure is too costly to build.

Song of the Day

I've always wanted to be able to share a song or two that I currently really like...

Well, from now on I'll try to keep a small playlist available to you so that you can check out some music that you may have not heard before...

I can't provide you the files, just a full preview of the tunes :)

telaetas.com - [music]

reading this? perhaps you'd like some entertainment....

[fullscreen mode]

Basin Street Blues

So back in middle school, one of my favorite Trombone solos:

SitePal

Interesting....

Kinda like mr potato head for the web...

So the nice folks over at SitePal found my blog, and want me to help promote their product... what do you think?

They let you change characters, upload sound clips and change background images!

Do you read this blog?

What kind of content do you like to see here?
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I like when you post pictures....
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I like when you write opinion....
I like when you write about what's going on in your life...
I like whatever you post....
I never read your blog, it's useless...


  


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