12-15-08 Week in Reveiw

I'm not sure if I can really talk about last week yet...let's just say it was rather traumatic. Besides the trauma, I visited Canada and my parents came down and we attended Creative Christmas.

That's all I have to say about that.

12/8/08 Week in Review

What a week. This week was our big internal audit at work. I'd been leading a team for the past two years to prepare for this and I'm happy to report that my area was ranked the highest in the company. It's quite an achievement and it really made me excited. It's nice to see when all your hard work pays off.

Other than that, I spent about 8 hours this weekend rehearsing with Park Lane. We're sounding pretty good and the new material is coming along nicely. Saturday we saw Trans Siberian Orchestra. I'll post a few pics later on.

Christmas Letter part 2

At home there were more changes. First there was the bathroom re-do, then Jodi got a new car, and lastly we finished our hot tub area. Apparently the hot tub was so relaxing we just couldn’t get motivated to complete this project over the last four years!

We made a decision this year to attend a new church as we continually seek to deepen our relationship with Christ. While we will miss all of our friends and the band at our old church, we are very excited about our new church home, Heritage Wesleyan Church. http://www.heritageqc.com/

Musically we had another successful year. This summer was Ardor’s fifth outdoor concert. The tradition continued and it was even better than before with more than 100 people in attendance.

Brian also joined a new band called Park Lane. They play Christian hard rock music and you can check them out at http://www.parklanerocks.com/. Finally, Brian auditioned for and is playing in the praise bands at the Heritage Church Rock Island and Bettendorf campuses.

We look forward to hearing from each of you and hope that you are doing well. Although times may seem tough right now, may you know that God loves you each and every day! Merry Christmas and we wish you the very best in 2009!

Brian & Jodi

Christmas Letter part 1

Hello friends and family and welcome to Brian and Jodi’s 2008 Christmas letter! Here’s what’s been going on in our lives over the past year…

Brian continues as the Manager of Supply Chain Integration at the John Deere Seeding Group. Besides his normal work which included hiring lots of new employees, he participated in a special project that took him all the way to the Ukraine!

Additionally, Brian was awarded the Agricultural division’s ‘President’s Award of Excellence’ for his work on an internal quality program, resulting in the Seeding Group receiving the highest score in all of John Deere. As part of the recognition he attended a reception with senior leadership in Atlanta and received a crystal award which can be viewed on his blog

Jodi accepted a new position as a business analyst for John Deere’s SAP (business software) group. In her new position she translates business requirements into programming specifications and supports the accounts receivable process. Jodi looks forward to being in her new position full-time after a long 5-month transition!

As opposed to Brian’s work travel which consists primarily of less desirable excursions like Saskatchewan in December, Jodi’s job took her to several interesting cities. We extended three of these trips into enjoyable long weekend getaways. In February, a trip to Las Vegas provided great fun and Brian brought home $1.75 of the $2 he gambled!

Jodi headed to Tampa in March and Brian flew down to meet her for some time at Universal Studios where Mardi Gras was still in full swing.

Finally, September brought a trip to Philadelphia where we saw some historic sites, Hershey, and met some of Brian’s family for the first time.

to be continued...

12/1/08 Week in Review

Hello again!

Well we got snow and cold weather this week. I'm so excited...not!

I must be getting old because I'm having a hard time remember all the way back to Monday. I do know that I went to Des Monies on Thursday and that before that it snowed on Wednesday evening because rehearsal was canceled.

I played in Rock Island at Heritage again this weekend and it was another great experience. It was a little never wreaking because we didn't have rehearsal but I think I caught on. I couldn't tell if they hated it or liked it. I do think my playing may be a bit different that everyone is used to. I have received lots of nice compliments about my playing...actually I think the compliments are maybe more about how I play than what I play. Words like, passionate, energizing and charismatic. I took my double pedal along and I didn't know if I'd get kicked off the stage or what but it seems like several people really liked that sort of thing. It's interesting to see how evangelism runs through the veins of this Church. It's a much different sort of thing for me. The expectations are very high as well and while challenging, it's something I enjoyed.

I was able to grab a photo of the kit I played. It's the smallest kit I've every performed on so I'm having to learn how to do that. I added several cymbals and the double kick so that helps me feel a lot more comfortable.

Sprint did not disappoint

When we got our iPhones in July, I told everyone I expected to have my Sprint bill wrapped up in December...6 months afterwards. This was expectation was based on the 8 years of experience I had in dealing with Sprint billing.

I'm happy to report that Sprint did not disappoint. Today, December 1st, we finally received our refund. It only took about 5 phone calls and probably around 4 more hours of my life.

I'd like to report that 6 months in, or 25% of the way through my contract, I have had no billing errors or discrepancies with AT&T. Additionally, Apple continues to update their iPhone software (with major upgrades coming fast and furious...outpacing anything I've ever seen from Microsoft) making it an even better device. A couple of weeks ago we got 3G service at home so all is good...with the exception of my previously listed complaints.

11-24-08 Week in Review

What a week. I can't remember much of what happened early in the week...must not have been too exciting. On Wednesday I took the corporate jet up to our plant in Valley City. That's the way to travel...no waiting, no checking, nice comfy seat and an open bar on the way home to open up the holiday weekend. That evening I got a start on re-finishing the basement before we headed down to Jodi's parents. Thursday was Thanksgiving. It was a rather enjoyable time hanging out with her family. After dinner we headed out for a walk...evidence posted below.

Friday was our annual shopping day. We got a really early start this year @ 5 AM! It started off well enough. By 6:30 we'd been through 4 stores and had gotten everything we were looking for (like this snazzy keyboard I'm typing on). After that things slowed down but we still had success. The only thing we missed on was $30 of iTunes cards for $25 but that was admittedly a low priority. We got a start on setting up Christmas decorations as well since the weather was nice.

Saturday Kristy and Sean stopped by and there was a Park Lane rehearsal and Sunday we threw a few things up on eBay since the weather headed south and we got our first snow (yuck).

11/17/08 Week in Reveiw

Welcome blog readers...are you ready for another nail biting episode from my life?

I was going to head to Buffalo, NY last week but our largest supplier burnt down so that trip got delayed. Other than that I met my new boss and got reamed out a few times by the GM. Other than that, work was fairly 'quiet'.

Monday night I posted our TV on a classified board at work. I must have done something right because it was sold and gone in less that 24 hours. So Tuesday night we got a new TV...it freakn' rocks. I'm still trying to get everything set back up since it was rather abrupt. Wednesday night I had rehearsal at Heritage. They suggested I play double bass on a song...they didn't need to ask twice. Thursday I spent the evening re-doing our computers...me and Jodi switched. Friday we headed out for guys night 'Fire and Steel'. We went to a hibachi grill and had a grand ole time. Here's a picture of the fire part.

Saturday I spent time finishing up the office re-do and trying to figure out how the TV was going to work, Park Lane rehearsal (we were rocking) and playing at church (it was rocking). Sunday was a nice day. After rocking at church I spent the afternoon outside finishing a variety of projects up.

11/10/08 Week in Review

Nothing to exiting at work happened this week. I got to go to Des Monies on Wednesday. I do think I learned something about how managers act this week. I got to have a few one on one meetings with a few higher ups this week. I'm starting to think I don't take my job seriously enough.

Anyhow, the big event this week was our last performance at ASL. It kinda loomed over us all week. The projector decided to quit so we got a real old school treat by having to use the old projector. I guess it just wanted to say goodbye as well. Friday we went out with some friends.

In other news, we decided to rearrange our office and got a new printer to replace out two older printers. Things are still in progress and probably will be for several weeks. Now that the weather is bad, I got to starting to re-arrange and clean up the basement as well. I'm making it less of a drum paradise and more of a band rehearsal space. I designed and built some new light bars and started to clean some stuff up. Still a long way to go.

11-3-08 Week in Review

The big new this week is that Obama was elected president...not that it surprised anyone but he has a to work a few miracles now to live up to all the hype. I'm quite disappointed that the media has turned his election into a race thing. Before he was elected it wasn't mentioned much. These days we are so proud of ourselves as a nation because we are 'taking a step forward'. What about the fact that we didn't elect the oldest president? Isn't that age discrimination? What about the fact that we couldn't elect the first woman as VP? Isn't that sex discrimination? So I guess we took a step forward but maybe one back as well.

OK, on to stuff that is more interesting. I got to spend a few days in Des Monies this week. Other than that I left Ardor know that Jodi and I were changing churches. It's not easy but progress never is. I finished rebuilding my subs. They sound lots better now. Finally, I saw Metallica last night with the bands The Sword and Down. They really went back to their roots not playing much of that lame Load/Re-Load stuff. It was a fun time.

Caveman 2008

I got to thinking the other day about human nature and a thought occur ed to me...imagine you could put a 'caveman' from the past into today's world. Sure the firs thing we think about is that he wouldn't know how to use a cell phone or facebook but I really haven't figured out the later either. Truth is he'd probably be amazed at things like carpet and toothpaste as well.

Any how there are other things that I think we'd see are exactly like us...his need to be appreciated, listened to, and affirmed. He'd have a spirit to want to do the right thing, to want to make things better, and a mind that would want to learn. He'd get jealous, angry, and and probably stare at good looking girls as well (although he may prefer the hairy-er girls).

So...use the little 'comment' button below and let us know how you think a 'caveman' or 'cavewoman' would be like or dislike us.

Catch Up Pictures

Terry Bozzio and his massive kit at the Red Stone Room.


Mathew West, Jodi and me.



Ceramic floor in my Dad's bathroom...who said I can't do detailed work?


My truck surpassed the 120,000 mile mark. I ran out of pages in the maintenance manual and have to start over again. Here's an odometer reading the caught my eye...it's a mirror image. Note that the truck is in drive when I took this picture...then note that I'm parked in my driveway!

10-27-08 Week in Review

Hi all and welcome to day light non-savings time...kinda like our non-savings economy. (bada boom) As if time zones weren't confusing enough (although I do agree we need them), we throw this day light savings thing in on top (at least is some areas). I wouldn't mind to save day light all year...I'd much rather have a bit of light after work and deal with getting up in the dark than to basically go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Anyhow, I'm sure Obama will fix that too.

OK, on to the week. Tuesday I saw the 'Classic Rock Experience'...'where else can you see AC/DC (impersonators), Pink Floyd (Impersonators), and Led Zeppelin (Impersonators)' all in one night? Who knows but I took it in at the i Wireless center right from the front row. It was a decent show. The bands were good (cover bands). AC/DC looked the part for the most part and really got the crowd going. Floyd played great but didn't even attempt to look like Floyd, and Zeppelin looked the part but lacked energy. Additionally, their big intro got ruined because the guitar wasn't working properly. Their roadies must not have been paid much because 'John Bonham' had to go fix it while 'Jimmy Page' just sat there and looked dumbfounded.

Thursday I saw the Steve Miller band from the second row. It was a good show. Great musical skill and the guys worked hard. I wasn't too familiar with Steve Miller but it was a good show none the less.

I got the actual hardware for my president's award this week. It's quite nice.

Other than that, I got the offer to play a gig this week. I thought it was the last thing I needed but turned out to be exactly what I needed...kinda funny how that sort of thing works.

10-20-08 Week in Review

So on Tuesday I found out the new project I was working on was pushed out at least 6 months due to the crappy global economy and thus my 'new' job is now actually my old job. Other than that we spent the week giving everybody and their brother a summary of everything that happened this year.

Outside of work I headed out to see Terry Bozzio on Tuesday evening. It was great. I ran into my old drum teacher, Bryan West, and hung out with him. On Thursday evening Jodi and I saw Mathew West. It was really a great show. A guy by the name of Josh Wilson opened up. He was awesome and I suggest you check him out on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UND-DtHBZQ

On the weekend we were supposed to head out of town with Melissa and Wade to see the Creation Fest tour (with acts like Pillar and Fireflight) but on Friday morning the whole show was canned!! It sucked but my Dad was refinishing his bathroom so we headed up there to help him put in a ceramic floor.

Other than that....not too much is new. I'll try to get some pictures of all these cool events posted.

The price of toys

I was recently at Target and while Jodi looked for baby gifts, took the opportunity to stroll through the toy section. It was a bit of like walking down memory lane because the toys these days are the same one I had when I was a kid! I guess companies understand who makes toy purchasing decisions.

Any how, I was blown away at the cost (now I'm really starting to sound old). I understand that the price of oil is much different today and that the cost of living has increased but these prices were shocking. I remember when I could collect $2 and afford (almost) a GI Joe action figure (at one point I had over 100). I never had a Millennium Falcon, but I can't imagine it having been more than $50 - $60.

Good Times

When my parents were down a couple of weeks ago, we headed out to a local restaurant called Graze. A good time was had by all and we had exceptional service. Here's a little extra they threw in with our bubbling martini.

10-13-08 Week in Reveiw

...and now for the exciting conclusion to 'audition'.

Yes, the band brought me on. I don't have a start date but it should be a good time.

Wednesday evening I headed down to the Redstone Room to see Louie Bellson. For those of you who don't know Louie, he's a groundbreaking drummer. Back in the 30's he invented the concept of a double bass kit. He played it with the jazz bands of the day and I'm sure he would never have imagined the sport double bass playing could become 70 year later.

It was awesome to see him but at 84 he's lost a bit of what he used to have. The guy could still swing like crazy and even took a solo, but with all due respect, not what he once was. I can only hope that at 84 I'm still rocking out on the drums.

Speaking of rocking, I finally snapped a few pics of my kit. At Ardor rehearsal we had a long conversation about where we should head as a band. While I have a strong opinion and vision, I don't think others are with me. Should be interesting to see how things play out.

Work was crazy again this week and will be so again next week. I found out my boss was moving on but a replacement has not been announced.

10-6-08 Week in Review

This is getting to be awhile ago. Highlights of that week included Jodi heading out to PA again and me being the most shocked person at my company when I realized that my job was posted in our internal job board.

I spent lots of time drumming as I was rehearsing for my audition for a praise band and working on new Park Lane material. Other than that, Saturday my Dad spent the day at our house and helped get lots of little projects done...thanks Dad! On Saturday I auditioned for the praise band and things went really well. I guess I'll have to wait to see what they say. (The advantage of being so far behind in my blogging is that I already know the answer, but we'll end it here and you'll have to 'join us next week for an exciting new blog where you can find out the conclusion to this story')

See you then.

Remember this from the 80's?

Ok, I don't really remember it but this is hillarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

9-29-08 Week In Review

Another crazy week.

Sunday was Jodi's birthday. We headed into Chicago and saw Jersey Boys. I was expecting an ok show but was really glad to see it was a great show. Lots of energy, good tunes, fun, funny, entertaining...it was a grand time. Most of the rest of the week was spent with the guys from Canada I work with. They came down on Monday and then we all headed back up there on Wednesday and then I came home on Friday. I'm so far behind on my new project at work it isn't even funny...next week I need to make some serious progress there.

Saturday my parents came into town. My Dad helped me get the rest of my yard put back together. The hot tub is finally back up and operational and I'm enjoying every minute of it! Sunday was a day of drumming. First at church then Park Lane rehearsal. Tonight I watched Iron Man. It was a good movie but for all the hype, I would like to have seen more of Iron Man kicking butt! The sound was good but maybe too much over the top. Some of the bass got a little out of hand...perhaps I could turn the sub down a bit but I think it was just the producers trying to let everyone with ball-less subs to have some fun too.

I vandalism news, three kids (one was actually and 'adult') got arrested this week for painting up our neighborhood. I hope they are enjoying their time in the joint.

9-22-08 Week in Reveiw

On to this week.

This week was filled with lots of meetings as well. I got to spend a day in Waterloo and a day over at Harvester in East Moline. The most exciting news of the week is that on Monday the concrete crew showed up (3 weeks late). I was rather impressed with the 'lean' principle they applied...standardized work, one piece flow, asset utilization, just in time production.

Monday - tore everything out...probably took less than an hour, a second crew came an framed things up

Tuesday - another crew came and poured the front walk and drive. They didn't have a cement truck but rather a truck that held the various components of concrete and mixed them on demand and only as much as was needed

Wednesday - Someone came and poured the spa pad

Thursday - The aggregate on the spa pad was 'exposed', all the framing was torn out, and then a last crew came and back filled dirt and seeded.

So I guess I'm left with a bit of a mess and lots of landscaping to put back in place. I made good progress Thursday and Saturday.

Thursday I headed down to the River Music Experience for a class on microphones. I learned a bit...other's learned more (like that metal thing that holds a microphone is called a 'microphone stand'). One interesting piece of trivia...do you know how the microphone got it's name? I'll tell you later.

Finally, on Saturday morning we got a visit from the cops. He let me know that the neighborhood had been vandalized including the tailgate of my truck. The good news is that I was able to clean things up with no permanent damage. The bad news is that there are a few kids in our neighborhood who should be living with the fear of God in their lives! There are about 12 household who 'wouldn't mind meeting' them.

9-15 Week in Review

Seems like I missed a week...

Any how that week was filled with all day meetings for a new project I'm working on at work. Some how weeks like that suck a week from your life and you just somehow need to make it back up. My blog is a week off, I'm a week behind in email at work and it would seem that I've been totally uprooted from my normal social schedule as well.

On another note, one of Jodi's aunts passed away that week as well. At the funeral I realized how temporary every one's life is. I came up with a new saying 'You're born, you live, you die. Let's live.' (from the Book of Brian) Seems like I'd be suggesting we 'live for the moment' but not really. I think too many people 'live for the moment'. That tends to result in illness, time in prison, and illegitimate children. Likewise, some people never really get to living. It's as if they are dead before they get put into the ground. They are empty spiritually, emotionally drained, and typically physically and mentally unfit. I'm proposing a balanced approach. Have fun, live life to the fullest, but always keep the long term in mind.

I guess it seems to be working OK for me to this point but my data set is not yet complete.

Traveling with iPhone

Last week was the first time I've flew with my iPhone...


The bad:

1. The battery could last longer...I used the heck out of this thing!

The good:
1. Everything else...email on the go, web access, GPS, 3G, small size, one device, visual voicemail, applications like games, MP3s etc. etc.

I'm not quite sure I could ever not have this thing now!

One fatality...my universal fit in ear monitors (IEMs) that I use for backup to my custom fit ones, exercise, travel, etc. broke during my first trip. On the second trip I decided to use my ultra precious and outrageously expensive custom fit IEMs. They were AWESOME!! No plane noise and since they are dual driver, better sound. I now have a tough decision to make...go back to some 'cheap' replacements ($110) or go with an additional set of custom molded IEMs ($800-$1000). It's a tough one.

9-8-08 Week in Review

Ok...this was actually a fairly interesting and busy week. On Sunday I dropped Jodi off at the airport and took the opportunity to visit Heritage Church over in Moline. I had the opportunity because our Church decided to have a extra ol' fashioned service (I guess to attract 'new' members or something) and I'm not much interested in that. I was happy to see the Church had upgraded their already area leading service with real drums, a new stage layout, and a harder edged sound (I guess to attract 'new' members). That afternoon I went out for a run and then the guys from Park Lane came over and we jammed on some songs. I have lots of work to do there yet but things are coming along.

At some point in the week I confirmed that I indeed have additional responsibilities for a special project at work (can't say what it is). Wed I headed down to Atlanta. Things went smoothly and direct flights are always nice. I strolled around a bit that afternoon and visited the CNN center. I didn't take a tour but ran out of time the next day so I should have. That evening we attended the award ceremony and I got shake hands and meet up with some of the leaders at JD. Always lots to learn when around the leaders. Afterwards my team met up for drinks, celebration, and conversation. A good time was had by all! It occurred to me that basically I took a trip, got all dressed up, and basically just had to show my face...kinda weird since you usually are expected to give some sort of presentation or accomplish something when in that situation. I guess I wouldn't mind a job where my presence alone was enough to get the job done!

Thursday we headed out for a tour of the Coca Cola World. What a sales pitch....too bad I don't drink caffeine! I did appreciate their look at the times although I'm not quite sure Coke makes the world go round.

I got back Thursday evening and headed right back out on Friday to meet Jodi in Philly. Can't say that I was all that impressed. Got there with lots of rain, had to wait to get a car and the traffic is terrible. Friday night we avoided the rain by visiting the mall. Saturday we headed out to Drums Etc. in Lancaster and then over to Hershey. Again, not a huge fan of Hershey (although I do like the KitKat) but did appreciate their view of history. Mr. Hershey was a great leader to emulate with his dedication, vision, risk taking, ethics, and philanthropy. We hoped to watch the downtown light show but it was cancelled due to 'technical difficulties' (aka low tourism) so we did a bit of shopping.

Sunday we headed into the city. Saw lots of the sights which I enjoyed seeing how our country was formed. Amazing how a relatively small group of individuals (59) could come up with such a long lasting and visionary plan. I wonder how the 3 month long meeting would have gone had it been held virtually, with email, airplanes, computers, or indoor plumbing! I can't imagine anyone would have worked so diligently unless they really did feel like the survival of the country was at stake. Sunday evening we met my second Cousin Janet....only hours after finding out that I had a second cousin. It was a comfortable meeting....not because we were family but just because they were generally good people.

Monday we visited QVC...I didn't have the heart to tell them the only time I watch their channel is when I'm flipping to another one! We visited a local state park as well and then headed home.

Quite a week! Glad to be home but still so busy. Still no work on the concrete.

9-1-08 Week in Review

This week started with Labor Day...that day we skip work so we can work at home instead of at work. I finished up prepping for the concrete work amongst other things. We were blessed with some much needed rain this week and the concrete never happend but at least we are ready. I washed and waxed Jodi's new car and got my truck washed up as well.

Nothing else terribly exciting. Apparently I'm much closer to getting a new job than I thought since my boss informed me that my replacement fell through...that was quite a shock to me...not that it fell through but that there was a replacement!

8-25-08 Week in Review

What a fast week. A couple of accomplishments this week. On Monday and Tuesday I spent the evenings tearing out our existing hot tub area. The landscaping and the privacy structure are now through the 'destruction' phase. It was rather satisfying to pull the stakes we spent so much effort pounding into the ground out by hand. This weekend we need to use the hot tub a few more times and then disconnect, drain and move it out of the way. Next week the concrete contractor is supposed to be here to start work. I have a schedule for the project now but we are still several weeks away from completion.

The other big accomplishment is that on Wednesday the guys from Park Lane came over. We jammed and chatted and we are planning on doing some stuff together in the future. Should be a great time!

Friday we headed down to Carthage to visit my in-laws. We caught to local high school football game. They routed their opponents 41 to 0 however the home team had quite a few disgraceful errors.

Week in Review 8-18-08

I need to keep on top of this...I'm having a hard time remembering last week!

I do remember that Monday I put the basement back in order after all the performances from the weekend before. Tuesday I tore some bushes out...my neighbors commented that they were impressed my old Ford could tear the hell out of them and was glad I didn't need the assistance of their Chevy.

Last weekend we headed to Chicago. We did some shopping for Jodi and saw the Robert Randolf, Switchfoot, Third Day show. Jars of Clay performed as well but we missed thier performance due to traffic, blocked roads, distant parking, and tickets that needed to be re-issued. I'd have to say that Switchfoot stole the show but here are a few pictures.

Robert Randolf

Switchfoot

Third Day

Stalker Alert

At the outdoor concert I saw this guy holding a sign in the back with my name on it. If I knew the guy I wouldn't have been nervous but I didn't. It dawned on me a bit later that everyone in thd band had a sign. While it's very cool that people brought the signs out, it was a bit un-nerving at first to think that some guy I didn't know liked me enough to have brought his own sign....at least he wasn't bad looking :)

Portable Pleasure Device

That's what someone called my iPhone today...quite interesting.

I downloaded the Pandora app...it's simply amazing. I can listen to the best radio stations in the world (mostly because I control the programming) on the go over the AT&T network...it blows my mind.

Week in Review 8-11-08

What a week. Sunday we loaded into the Church for production rehearsals. Monday night we did our first production rehearsal...I could have played better but had my mix tuned in by the end of the evening and was getting more familiar with the sound. Tuesday we found out that the car we wanted to buy was sold. We visited the dealership and found a grey car that we liked. We found out how much Jodi's old car was worth (right on target) and with extra incentives (a bonus) we decided to take the plunge. They couldn't find a finance guy so we ended up going back Wednesday evening to sign the papers and pick the car up. Thursday was another rehearsal (much better) and then Friday onto the big show. The cops threatened to shut the show down but that never happened. It was a great evening. The crowd really got into things at time. The guys from Park Lane showed up and we are going to jam sometime. Saturday we were back at it again. It was a battle of the bands show and some of the bands were...well....let's just say they could maybe refine their sound, abilities, and songs a bit more. Our set was awesome. We probably had more crowd participation than any other band. We must have been good because when we were done playing some lady threatened to kill everyone. Needless to say she was hauled off in a police car but not before she was able to remove her pants.

8-4-08 Week in Review

The highlight of this week was probably getting the award mentioned in my previous post. Last night I got to see the Smashing Pumpkins for the first time...they played well as a band but I'd question their choice of material. They didn't play many of their 'classic' songs and when they did, they played through some of them so fast they didn't really seem to care about them. There was lots of long feedback solos which got really boring and their encore was a definite let down...a kazoo/accordion thing.

Other than that, we continue to make the final arrangements for the outdoor concert.

Good Day

I found out today that I won the "Presidents’ Award of Excellence" at work today. It' the "most prestigious award of the Worldwide Agricultural Division" at Deere...so yea, I'm pretty psyched!

iPhone test blog

just wanted to test posting from my iphone...seems to work ok.

7-31-08 Week in Review

Hey all,

A few exciting things this week. First off on the 29th my truck celebrated it's 10 year anniversary of being with me. I dropped $1200 on it a few weeks back for new ball joints, and some routine maintenance to celebrate. The next day I locked my keys in it...hopefully that's not a sign of how the next 10 years will go!

I've been thinking lately about what makes me me...not so much as skills but more like those thinks that make me tick that are applicable in any situation. Here's what I've come up with so far...feel free to let me know if you think of anything else.

1. I like a challenge, if something isn't a challenge I'd probably rather not do it (contributed by my in-laws)

2. I like to make change, I'm never satisfied with the status quo

3. I've very interested in forging new ground or creating new things

4. I like to have control over something and prefer to be in control of situations

5. I see the big picture, I start there and work down to the details (if I ever get there) - contributed by Jodi

6. I have natural leadership abilities - contributed by my boss

7. I'm quite honest and direct

8. I'm very analytical

9. I like things to be of high quality but I'm not a perfectionist

The iphone continues to be 'my little friend'. It's incredibly useful...either looking up data on the spot or contacting my knight in shining armor when I lock keys in my truck! :)

Finally, last weekend I we celebrated 'Bix Weekend' here in the Quad Cities. Some friends of ours held a party and I picked up a sweet Barman tatoo there! Bat Power!

PS I just figured out how to check the spelling on this thing so I hope to improve that!

iphone first impressions

There is quite a bit to report here and I'll plan on posting several time.

Let me start off by saying that this is one of those life changing sorts of technolgies. I think nothing these days of making a phone call at home, jumping in the truck and finishing the call somewhere else. Remember when 'cordless' phones were all the rage...you could even go out on the front porch and use it. Now think about wi-fi...you could even use it on the front porch...now think about walking out of the local arena, chatting with a friend, deciding on a place to meet, looking it up on the internet (while walking to your car), having directions by the time you got there and then deciding what you were going to order on your way to meet up...welcome to iphone. Now imagine waiting for an appointment, getting a call to schedule another apointment, jumping on your calandar, and scheduling the appointment during the call. Welcome to life changing technology.

Cool: everyone looks to see what you have and impressed that this is the 'new' iphone...I'm sure that effect will wear off in about 4 minutes

Physical: The phone is surprisingly heavy. It makes the other phones I have feel like cheap plastic junk. The drawback to the wieght (1 oz) heaveier than my other phones is making a long call with no headset...amazing how buff I'll be in a few weeks holding that extra oz up to my ear! The thing is feaksihly thing. The switch to turn the ringer on and off is really nice.

Phone: The phone is adequate but not stellar. If you want the world's best cell phone get something else, if you want the best little techno-mate I've seen get an iphone. The volume of the ringer, the speaker phone and the handset could all be louder however they all seem to sound good (especially the ringers...to bad my phone is on vibrate 99% of the time). The bluetooth sync is easy and iphone is really smart when it comes to letting your select the source for a call. Integration with contact and websites is awesome and the visual voicemail is really nice...makes total sence.

Ipod: still learning how to do that...any help on the best way to sync music? I can't seem to get mannual mode to work. It was really neat to be at the gym jamming on some tunes and just have them fade away so I could take a call.

Safari: WOW...sure it could support flash but seriously, find me something better. I was on a walk and could almost instantly find that we were under a thunderstorm warning when I saw the lightning in the distance. I can check mail, surf, and have all sorts of information at my fingertips almost instantly. We don't have 3G yet but edge isn't too bad. I still can't wait for 3G.

Mail: really the only problem I have here is that I don't think my cable account will sync when not on the cable network...I was thinking about switching to a more portable email address already so I guess now is a good time to do it. Works great with our Yahoo junk mail account (just incase I want to keep up on the spam).

Calandar: I remember now how great it was to have a PDA...I love love love having an electronic calandar back. I'm having some sync issues (until I get it on the enterprise account) and Jodi's won't sync at all...I still need to do more work there

Camera: probably better that other phones I've had but disappointing seeing how nice everything else is

Interface: mindblowing

virtual keyboard: I've not used a little bitty plastic keyboard much but this one seems just fine

Unlock: I still get a smirk on my face everytime I slide that little bar

Missing:
- tasks list (hello)
- the absence of the ability to use a stylus and the ability to recognize handwritting really hold the iphone back as a computer replacement
- GPS seems like it could work lots better
- cut and paste functionality
- microsoft pocket word and excel
- a cradle
- a windshild wiper and fluid so that it can continually clean the screen as you put your greasy little fingers all over it
- the sync sofware doesn't seem to be very configurable or let me really move files like I'd like

Issues:
- when trying to down load a high resolution picture the phone crashed...yes, it is ridiculous to try to download a high resolution picture to view on a little sceen
- smudges and smears front and back
- I'm sure at some point (like when a larger model comes out) I'll wish I had more memory that 16 GB (I can still remember when the first gig hard drives hit the market about 1995)

7-25-08 Week in Review

This week seemed particularly productive at work. Not that anything was accomplished, just that a lot of progress was made and people seemed to be in generally good spirits. Most evenings this week were spent preparing for the outdoor concert. Things seems to be coming together and it should be a great event.

Other than that I've spent time trying to get up to speed on my iphone. I'll post a seperate not on my first impressions.

Jawbone 2 vs. Blue Ant Z9

A couple weeks ago Jodi and I decided to get new bluetooth headsets. I was dreading the task becasue I had so many issued finding one I liked the first time. From my first experience I concluded that Motorolla should give up, that none were great and that the best one for me was one we happened to pick up at Staples on Black Friday for $15 (a Plantronics).

Knowing all these issues, this time around we went straight for the top hoping to find something good. The two that rose to the top were the Jawbone 2 and the Blue Ant Z9.

Comparison

Jawbone:
Price: ~ $140 - we got a nice deal at Best Buy and at Amazon
Style: Kinda stuffy, not too big, rather professional
Fit: not too bad, it works for me - you need to keep a little knub against your cheek for it to work
Sound Output: not too bad, seems like it gets loud enough even when riding in my truck
Sound Input: Incredible...jaw droppingly so. Thier 'military grade' noise assassin really works. I could put my head right infront of blasting speakers and talk on the phone. I could open the garage while talking on the phone and that killed people on the other end with my old headset. I didn't even get a comment about it.

Blue Ant:
Price: ~$100
Stlye: a bit more fun, perhaps a little too fun if you are trying to be professional
Fit: not too ba, it worked for me
Sound Output: seemed to be ok
Sound Input: the dual mic technology worked ok but not as well as the Jawbone...it was effective but not like the Jawbone

Conclusion:
I guess you get what you pay for. The Jawbone might cost a bit more but I couldn't give up the performance. It's great. Additonally the Jawbone can associate with more that one phone. While it's not really convienent two switch, at least it can be done where my old head set couldn't...important since I have a seperate work and home cell.

7-18-08 Week in Review

I was thinking that maybe each week I could post a wrap up of sorts. Since my life is fairly routine, perhaps that will be more exciting? People I haven't seen in a while alwas ask what's going on and I just say same ol' same ol'. Well, if I haven't seen you in a year things probably have changed but they just change slow enough that they aren't terribly noticable. So here goes.

The big news this week is that we switched mobile phone carriers. We've been with Sprint since 2000. The actual serice was great. Sprint's ability to actually charge me the correct amount was pitiful and there phones were so so (the utilitarian Sanyo's were by far the best). I probably took about 3 years off my life arguing with thier customer service department in my life. They had the ability to frustrate me to no end.

We swapped to AT&T with some snazzy new iPhones. I got a black one and Jodi a white one (like a cute his and her's thing). They are supper sweet. I just got mine so I'll post more on it later.

Other than that we continue to prepare for the outdoor concert. We got some really swell flyers made up this year.

Finally, back at work full time after a couple of weeks of shutdown. I had a team building event for my team today that everyone seemed to enjoy.

My first blog

Just seeing how this thing works...hopefully the posts will get more exciting from here on out!