dave's blog

I ride a motorcycle – I’ve ridden motorcycles for 30 years. It’s common for me to ride in weather that makes most car drivers uncomfortable. Having a motorcycle in Seattle means that you either are willing to ride in the rain or your bike is parked most of the year. I have the water resistant jacket, pants, gloves, and boots; I draw the line at snow and ice.

Riding in the city is dangerous. Riding in the rain is dangerous. Riding in the dark is dangerous. Put these together and you have the perfect cocktail for paranoia. Motorcycle riders refer to other vehicles as “cages” that are often only placed on the road in an effort to run them over. This understanding of motorcyclists common “enemy”, combined with the freedom afforded by motorcycling, results in a sort-of fraternity, usually. This is usually demonstrated through a friendly wave, or congenial conversation at a watering hole.

Most of the year there are few other motorcycle riders on the road with me. I get very used to only occasionally seeing other hearty souls who brave the cold, wet elements – and not waving (we’re too busy trying to stay alive).

Now we are entering the time of year when a sunny day brings fair-weather bikers out from hibernation in droves. I find myself jaded by the introduction of spotless machines, poorly driven by riders who are wrapped in leather that still smells new, as they wave at me from the opposite lane. Suddenly they’re in the club?

I’m doing my best to encourage others in the motorcycle hobby, but where were you guys last week? If I don’t wave, it’s just because I’m not used to see you there...
 

One of my greatest joys is building teams at work who function more like families; they care for each other on a personal level, discovering depths of commonality that were unanticipated, and building very satisfying job environments for every other team they touch.

There are many team members who have kept in touch over the years. They sometimes reach out through a quick instant message, an email, or a comment on my Facebook page. It’s a tremendous encouragement to me that the family link remains long after the day-to-day exposure ends.

Sometimes, when jobs are challenging, they still seek out an opportunity to vent, discover solutions, or talk about how they’ve solved issues. I do my best to encourage them to find ways to connect with the people they work with on very human terms. Some people don't want to share the human connection - but, in my experience, most people relish having a friend at work.

In a world filled with high-stress jobs, high unemployment, and ever increasing demands on our time, it’s sometimes very difficult to remember that the people we work with a humans too. Having a challenge at work? Try to share some personal time with someone and share in each other’s worlds… a cup of coffee can be a great excuse…

After 40 years of in various forms (from go-go skirted crewmen, guys in big rubber alien suits, and snow cone space monsters that ate star ships) Star Trek has grown up. I viewed the new movie at an IMAX-branded digital theater. I’m not going to give away any of the story, but I will say that the movie is a rollercoaster ride suitable for anyone over the age of 13. Find the best theater you can to view the film – it makes a difference.

While the J.J. Abrams lens flares were over-the-top (and someone should have been watching the focus more closely), overall the film has a solid story and is well played. While there were plenty of tidbits for Star Trek fans to love, the film plays well for non-fans as well. This is a film not suitable for children (due to violence and language); it should play well for teens and adults.

As side note concerning the IMAX-branded digital theaters: these are not the same as the standard IMAX theaters – the screen is smaller and the projection is not via film, but a digital display via a high resolution DLP projector. Some bloggers have complained that these theaters are “not real IMAX,” and therefore not worth the surcharge associated with the facility. I agree, it’s not “real” IMAX – but the $3 surcharge was well worth it: the image was vivid, clear, with no jitters, no film junk, and no splices. The audio was enveloping and wide range. I felt it was definitely worth the extra $3 to me.

Go see Star Trek – it’s a great ride.
 

When we purchased our home in 2005, I envisioned a place in the three car garage where I could perform maintenance and upgrades on computers. With the addition of a refrigerator, leather couch, recliner, microwave, pegboard, and now a workbench, it has begun to earn its moniker: Man World. Today Ken and I ran a connection from the telephone system punch-down block to the workbench. My old rotary telephone is now in service again – thanks Ira! Completed tasks include the aforementioned telephone line, gigabit computer network connection, work light, workbench assembly, drawer lining and population, plus the assembly of one computer workstation and one surplus notebook from spare parts. There still plenty to do (dedicated power circuit, shop flooring, etc.), but the bench is quite usable now – no more kitchen counter computer sessions!

It was 40 years ago that the original Star Trek series was canceled due to poor ratings. Now, after 40 years, 716 television episodes, in five live-action series – and one animated series – the eleventh film is about to be released, May 8. I remember watching the original series as my dad worked on real rockets at NASA in the 60’s. In the era of Lost In Space and The Time Tunnel, Star Trek offered sci-fi fans something special, which they’ve held onto through the years. I’ve even been to a couple of Trek conventions; most of the people are still rooted in reality.

This new movie, Star Trek, is directed by J.J. Abrams who is new to the Star Trek family. The trailers and film-rating (PG-13) promise an edgier thrill ride aimed directly at adults – this movie is not for kids. I wonder how this will play with the died-in-the-wool “trekkers” whose well-lit, super-saturated color world appears to be a distant echo of this film’s style. By the way, the title of this blog article refers to the original TV series - someone was going to die, and it was probably an extra wearing a red shirt.

I’m looking forward to the film, although I’ll be waiting a week after release to see it… Jessica has requested that I wait until she comes home from college so that we can see it together. As for the cereal boxes? Anne, who has soaked up hundreds of Star Trek TV episodes, and many of the movies, purchased them. She can even tell you about P4X639… but that’s a different tale altogether.
 

As the swine flu begins to impact the U.S. population, hospitals are searching for the best ways to track influenza outbreaks in their area. Suddenly, the product that I work on, Microsoft Amalga UIS, comes to the forefront. Amalga UIS is used by healthcare facilities to collect data from all of their systems to form a complete snapshot of activities. The system is highly configurable; one of our customers, El Camino Hospital in Northern California, has configured their Alamga system to track flu cases. Within a matter of hours, clinicians at El Camino modified a few fields within Amalga to capture information specific to possible flu cases coming through the hospital’s busy emergency room.  The result is a real-time dashboard that is keeping hospital officials appraised of possible swine flu cases at El Camino and will help them respond appropriately should one or more cases be confirmed.