::: bisonium.com :::

Wisconsin joins CA in supporting Civil Air Patrtol Members

Frank — 2009-10-29T16:28:48-08:00

Assembly Bill 132 requires that employers with more than 11 permanent employees grant a leave of absence without pay for not more than five consecutive days or 15 days total to employees serving in an emergency service operation of the Civil Air Patrol. The bill also prevents employment discrimination based on participation in the Civil Air Patrol.

Governor Doyle thanked Representatives Huebsch and Murtha, and Senators Kapanke and Vinehout for their work on the bill.

I am thrilled to see so many states now jumping on the bandwagon to protect CAP members with the same rights afforded to our military reservists and National Guardsmen. CAP plays a vital role in our nations disaster preparedness and as a supporting role to the United States Air Force. I only hope every state in the nation adopts a similar policy.

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California supports CAP Members with the Employment Protection Act

Frank — 2009-10-27T11:29:01-08:00

From CA Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter's Office:

Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter's Civil Air Patrol Employment Protection Act - Assembly Bill 485 - was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger on Oct. 11. The measure assures that members of the all-volunteer Civil Air Patrol in the state of California will have employment protection after returning to their jobs from an authorized emergency mission.

AB 485 establishes a right to employment leave (up to 10 days a year) for members of the California Wing of CAP, which is an official Civilian Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The protection applies only when members are called up for an emergency by the U.S. Air Force, the California Emergency Management Agency or any subdivision of the state with the authority to declare an emergency.

Emergency operational missions are those that involve the saving or protection of life and property. "To perform search and rescue flights for several days and find out you've lost your job is devastating to a volunteer whose main purpose is to save lives," Assemblymember Carter said. "Until my bill was signed into law, CAP members only had the job protection rights given to them by their employers," she added. "Fortunately, employers have generally been supportive of the Civil Air Patrol."

"This bill enables us to respond emergencies that will help save lives and properties without this threat of losing our employment if we do so," said Lt. Col. Carl Morrison, co-chair of the California Wing's Legislative Committee, which is the principal sponsor of the measure. Similar legislation has passed in nine states. "We're very very pleased that Assemblywoman Carter has been willing to author this bill."

Assemblymember Carter said, "Their payment, for a CAP volunteer, is in the personal reward of contributing countless hours of non-compensated time. But the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol can't be a consistent resource, unless they are fully supported for their patriotic service."

Sky Sectionals Review

Frank — 2009-10-14T12:23:32-08:00

Every now and then you come across something and wonder "Why the hell didn't I think of that?" I just recently stumbled across a company called Sky Sectionals thanks to a buddy in Civil Air Patrol. All I can say is that THIS is the way the FAA should be distributing ALL charts these days!!! What a FANTASTIC product!

So for those of you that are not pilots and wondering why I'm ranting and raving about these guys, here's a little background. Aviation charts are typically these huge folded paper charts that are an insane nuisance and in my opinion a safety hazard in the cockpit. Sadly these are the FAA approved navigation charts and outside of products like Jepp charts (expensive), we don't have many options. To make matters worse, these charts are updated frequently and you end up having to buy them at least a couple times a year. Multiply that by the various number of charts we have to carry and this gets expensive and completely unruly in the cockpit.

In steps Sky Sectionals and puts technology to work for us. They take those very charts and have created digital versions that are distributed electronically. They are updated on the same schedule as the FAA certified NACO charts and they have even created a simple way to navigate the sectionals. You can print out an entire sectional or just the parts you need for your route of flight. I should point out that these are NOT approved by the FAA as your sole means of information so you should be cross referencing them with the certified FAA charts, but these are an absolute must in the cockpit in my opinion. They make managing your workload as a pilot a heck of a lot easier when in VFR flight.

For those of us who fly Search and Rescue, cockpit management becomes even more critical as we need to know precisely what grid we are in and searching. We need to manage flying the aircraft and looking out the window making sure we don't hit anything (especially here in WA where we fly low and slow through the mountains). Having these Sky Sectionals printed, laminated and spiral bound are the way to go. One drawback for us CAP pilots is having to take those paper charts and manually draw our search grids on them. It's super time-intensive and not always pretty or perfectly accurate. Again, in steps Sky Sectionals and gives us a lending hand by providing CAP pilots with gridded sectionals. Here's an example of a gridded sectional in the Seattle area:

If you are looking for a way to manage that workload in the cockpit and keep your charts handy and useful, give these guys a try! They have sectional and TAC charts covering the lower 48. For CAP gridded sectionals, contact them directly for the link to your area. Make sure you follow them on Twitter for updated news and coupon codes!

Kindle goes international!

Frank — 2009-10-07T08:37:49-08:00

I've been sitting on this news for a while and can finally share it! This is great for those of you who live outside of the US or do a lot of traveling. If you travel outside of the country, with the current Kindle you have to make sure you download your books before you got on that plane. Now you will be able to access the Kindle store in over 100 countries INSTANTLY. This is great news for frequent flyers. There are quite a few other enhancements made to this specific Kindle which I think everyone will find to be a great boost in functionality. This is a lot more than a simple software upgrade so for you current Kindle owners, you cannot do a simple software update. This is physically different hardware in the product. There's plenty more good stuff coming from the Kindle team so keep your eyes out for additional coverage.

Here's a quick update from our founder, Jeff Bezos. The links in the letter below may not work, but you can get all the info by going to the Kindle page on Amazon.com

The official press release can be found here.

Attention all photo geeks: Amazon's Wishlist Sweepstakes Week 6 is for you...

Frank — 2009-10-06T10:38:28-08:00

Ok, for all of you photo geeks out there, this one is for you. Sadly, as an employee at Amazon.com, I can't participate, but YOU can! Here's your shot at winning one heck of a grab-bag of goodies and a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

From November 9 through 15, just create, add to, or share a Wish List, and you'll be invited to enter for a chance to win our Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Sweepstakes. Read more in the FAQ. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See official rules.

Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Prize List

Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon

We'll fly you and a guest to Yellowstone National Park where you'll stay two nights at Old Faithful Lodge. Your days will be spent in a private lesson at the elbow of Adam Jones, a leading photographer and instructor in Canon's "Explorers of Light" program.

2.	Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera Of course you’ll need a camera that will capture every moment. This digital SLR features an impressive new viewfinder and plenty of extras.

3.	Canon 200DG Digital Camera Gadget Bag Protect and carry your gear like a professional with this spacious, water-repellent bag.

4.	Canon Deluxe 200 Tripod Stillness is one of a photographer’s best friends. This lightweight tripod with multiple adjustments will help you stay focused.

5.	Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash This amazingly responsive flash unit will help keep your subjects out of the shadows.

6.	Canon Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Plenty of breathtaking vistas await you. Get the expansive landscape in frame with this wide-angle lens.

7.	Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses Creeping up on wildlife is against park rules. Keep your distance but feel just like you’re there with a pair of telephoto lenses.

8.	Canon Macro Lens Transfixed by the intricate underside of a fern? This macro lens will keep the memory alive.

9.	Canon Lens Hoods You’ll see a dramatic difference when you’re in control of your lighting. These lens hoods will help you master Mother Nature.

10.

Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park

From Old Faithful to the Yellowstone caldera, you’ll be able to find all the best spots for shooting in one of the country's most popular National Parks with this guidebook.

more details after the jump...Good luck!!!

Amazon, Photography

Are you looking for a job? Maybe some additional income? Read on...

Frank — 2009-10-01T11:20:03-08:00

Times are rough out there these days. I know of all too many of my friends that have fallen victim to the economic times and just simply weren't prepared. I've always been of the mindset that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to revenue streams to support your family. Hence, I've always had a business on the side I can fall back on if the unimaginable ever were to hit. And believe me, during the dot com bust, it hit...and it hit HARD for us. Thankfully I was prepared and we survived.

So ever since jumping back into the corporate world full time I've kind of slacked off and haven't been doing a whole lot to secure that additional revenue stream and it's something that has really been bothering me, especially given the recent conditions. I've thought about starting up my consulting practice again, but seriously folks...who has the time anymore, especially when I have a full time gig? Thankfully an old buddy got in touch with me on Facebook recently and he happened to remind me of a great opportunity that can bring in some pretty decent revenue or become a full time income if you choose to make it such.

Some of you may or may not have heard of Pre Paid Legal. In short, it's legal insurance for those times when you simply have a legal question or need an attorney to write a letter on your behalf (and much more). I had a PPL legal plan for over 10 years prior to going to work at Microsoft. When I went to Microsoft, they had their own legal plan so I cancelled PPL and took the MSFT plan. Well, I recently left Microsoft and lost that benefit. In walks my buddy Dave and reminds me of this benefit. What perfect timing! So obviously I went ahead and reinstated my legal coverage and just found out they have a pretty killer Identity Theft Protection plan as well now. That was another one that was simply terrifying me. I can tell you from witnessing what happened to a close friend what having your identity stolen can do to your life. To make a long story short, my buddy, an incredibly talented and high level executive, went through a living hell for over three years trying to clean that mess up and the worst part...nobody would hire him for those sensitive high level positions until that mess was cleared up. This is seriously insane stuff here folks. Thankfully he was able to get it cleaned up (at a great expense) and is now back in full swing. But that's several years of his life he'll never get back.

I've used Pre Paid Legal in the past for everything from traffic tickets to an issue with the IRS which thanks to PPL, they saved me over $10,000 that the IRS was wrongfully trying to claim. PPL has paid for itself many times over. I can't recommend the service highly enough.

That brings me to the income side of this. There is an opportunity for anyone to become an independent associate with Pre Paid Legal and not only sell their services (with a nice commission and residuals), but you can sponsor other folks into their own business. Yes, the compensation structure is based on a Multi-Level Marketing structure, but it is NOT anything like the creepy MLM's that are all over the internet. This is a completely LEGIT business with an incredible amount of clout and endorsements from business journals to all 50 Attorney Generals in the US. You won't have to go door to door, and you don't have to buy your laundry detergent, toilet paper and chewing gum from any specific organization. :)

If you are looking to replace a lost job and work for yourself, this may be a great solution for you. If you just want a little spare cash for doing fun stuff every month, this is also a great way to do that. You get out of it what you put into it. Here's a short video explaining the business side of things:

Working this is not hard at all and if you know anything about social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) then it's even easier for you than for those that may not be Internet savvy. if you think this is something you'd be interested in, I'd love to tell you more. You can start by going to my site at: https://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/abisono and view the information or email me from the site. If it's not your thing, at least now you know what's out there. Peace out peeps!

Frank

Pre-Paid Legal

Finally getting out to do some photography again...

Frank — 2009-09-28T12:38:41-08:00

It's been for ever since I have been able to use my investment in photography gear over the years. I resisted switching to digital from film for quite some time, but then about 5 years ago when we had our first kid, that was it. I wasn't in the position to go all-out on a new digital body so I had opted for a Canon Powershot Pro 1 which did a great job for many years. But all that expensive gear and those big lenses (and wide ones) were just sitting there going to waste...what a shame.

Well, about a month ago I finally broke down and got a Canon 50D (literally 2 weeks before the 7D came out)...<sigh>. Either way, I don't regret the purchase. I got a great deal and a free multi-function printer which I desperately needed so I could scan those old slides.

I've had some time to get familiar with the camera and have been getting some fantastic shots lately. This weekend was the Vintage Aircraft Weekend at the Boeing Future of Flight Museum at Paine Field (KPAE) in Everett, WA. I have to say that living in the Pacific NW is absolutely AMAZING. I would have never thought that there was such an aviation rich culture and significant GA presence given the weather and terrain. Boy was I wrong. There are some spectacular aircraft and flight museums throughout the entire Pacific NW. Here's a couple of shots from this weekend. The top 100 (shot over 1100+ pics) and other sets can be found on my Flickr site.

Photography

Bank of America, how I loathe you, let me count the ways.

Frank — 2009-09-17T10:10:43-08:00

Todays latest installment of Bank of America stupidity comes from an "analyst" (gotta love those titles) doing a regular review. Hmmm. Ok. Said analyst calls from an unknown number asking me creepy questions about my business account. After asking him who the hell he was and verifying it was in fact BofA, I asked "am I late?", no. Thank you for your last payment. I ask "have I EVER been late?" No. Then "WTF in holy hell are you calling me about?" Oh, we are just making sure you were doing ok and didn't need any "assistance". Oh, you mean the kind where if I say yes you cut off my card and ask for a full balance due immediately? Yeah, no thanks.

So I in turn ask them to lower my rate based on my outstanding payment and credit history. I get transferred to yet another "analyst" who then tells me that I haven't paid off the balance fast enough for their liking. Now wait a minute here. You make money the longer I keep the balance going right? Yes. Now you want me to pay it off faster? Yes. Hmmm. Ok genius. If you lower the interest, and it cuts my payment in half, yet I continue to pay you the same amount, you get your money faster. Make sense there Ms. Smarty Pants "analyst?" Yes, but you have to pay down more before we can lower your rate. Hmmm. I see. Makes perfect sense. Did I mention I have banked here over 20 years with a flawless history? Have you seen the balances in my account? Yes, they are outstanding. Hmmm. ok.

I'll be promptly paying off that balance today and finally closing my account with you bastards. Now go "F" Off. Thank you. I HATE BANK OF AMERICA. Apparently so do many other people...

Corporate Stupidity

Civil Air Patrol pilots to fly ‘Surrogate Predators’

Frank — 2009-09-11T20:52:54-08:00

A Predator sensor ball is mounted underneath the left wing of this Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182, turning the aircraft into a ‘Surrogate Predator’ suitable for pre-deployment training for Army and Marine forces. Photo courtesy L-3 Communications

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – With the conversion of a Civil Air Patrol plane into a “Surrogate Predator,” the U.S. Air Force is relying on its auxiliary in a most imaginative way.

“We’re using a manned aircraft to simulate an unmanned aircraft,” said CAP-U.S. Air Force Commander Col. Bill Ward, explaining that a sophisticated “Predator ball” placed under the left wing of a Cessna 182 belonging to CAP will give the plane the capability of mimicking the Air Force’s MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, unmanned aircraft that provide real-time data to U.S. warfighters.

The Air Force will use the Surrogate Predator to fill a critical training gap in support of Army and Marine forces as they prepare for deployment. “Due to the Air Force maximum surge effort to provide more MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper support to ground units in CENTCOM, there are no Predator or Reaper forces available to support pre-deployment exercises such as Green Flag, which focuses on air-to-ground operations,” said Maj. Matt Martin, chief of the Predator/Reaper Ops Branch of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va. “The Surrogate Predator is the solution.”

Air Combat Command (ACC), with the support of Joint Forces Command, secured $2.5 million for the Surrogate Predator Program, once it was determined that CAP could provide the needed training with its dedicated patriotic citizen volunteers at a fraction of the cost of the private contractor currently providing the training.

“We’ve seen nothing but enthusiasm and a willingness to help from the Civil Air Patrol, which is why we chose them to do this mission,” said Martin.

B&H Photo Video Can't Be Beat...

Frank — 2009-09-08T14:44:59-08:00

Sometimes a company DOES get things right. Unlike the AT&T's of the world, some companies know that excellent customer service WILL indeed get them somewhere. One such company is B&H Photo Video. I recently purchased a bunch of goodies (like my Canon 50D) from B&H and one of the items I purchased for the 50D is a pop-up shade and screen protector from Delkin. Lets just say that I was less than pleased with this product and in less than 2 weeks time it had cost me a rubber eyepiece and the device itself broke due to its poor construction quality.

I went ahead and left a review on the B&H site (still hasn't been posted for some reason) and I also dropped B&H a line via their customer service link on the website. I normally would have just written it off but I was so peeved at how this thing broke so easily that I wanted to let B&H know about it and hopefully prevent someone else from going through this. Well, to my surprise, not only did B&H respond within 8 hours, they (unprompted might I add) went ahead and refunded the price of the item immediately. When the heck has that ever happened? Not anytime I can recall in recent memory.

Although the item wasn't a huge dollar amount, it showed me that B&H does care about their customers and they will go the extra mile for them. I was already a loyal customer (I have yet to find as good a price from a reputable distributor that doesn't play the grey market warranty game) but now they have me for life. I know if I buy something at B&H, they are going to stand behind it and that's a company I can really get behind and be loyal to. THANK YOU B&H, glad to see that some companies still value customer service!

Wow! My blog is still here?

Frank — 2009-08-23T14:48:07-08:00

So if anyone is still subscribed to this thing, you might be wondering if I fell off the face of the planet or something. Well, lets just say life got busy. REAL busy. The last couple of years seem to have literally passed with the blink of an eye. New baby, new house, crazy workload @ MSFT shipping Windows Server 2008 R2, then most recently leaving MSFT and going to work at Amazon.com. Now I'm just starting to get some sort of resemblance of a real life back.

So it looks like I have a bit of work to do to clean up this place and upgrade to the latest software, etc. It's going to be a bit dusty around here while I get things back in order...but I'm back! :D

I hope to be posting some tasty stuff here shortly. Mostly focused around a little bit of design, some flying adventures and most definitely lots of photography. I have been shooting with a Canon Powershot Pro 1 point and shoot for the past few years while my pro rig went mostly unused because I refused to go back to film. I finally took the plunge and jumped into a Canon 50D and I'm back to the pro rig using my big glass. For some of the most recent shots, be sure to check out my FlickR site.

If anyone's still out there, leave a shout-out in the comments!

Icon Design @ Microsoft

Frank — 2007-10-30T16:50:43-08:00

Part of my job here at Microsoft is leading the visual design and branding efforts for the Windows Server division. That includes icon design and branding graphics such as autorun screens, boot screens, desktop wallpapers and more. I was recently asked by one of our UX Evangelists, Scott Barnes, to explain some thinking behind our icon design here at Microsoft. I tackled it together with my counterpart on the Windows Client team, Brittnie Hervey (she leads the icon design for Vista, IE, Live.com, etc), and here was the result: Microsoft Mix Blog.

Maybe I should have been a Ninja for Halloween this year? :-)

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Pwnd by my co-worker...Viva Pinata style...

Frank — 2007-09-19T05:33:02-08:00

Oh the joy of pulling pranks @ work. Recently I pulled a fast one on one of my friends at work. Well, Sophia being the Fast-n-Furious (she's into cars), smart ass and gamer chick that she is...she figured a little payback was in order. The story was posted on our Microsoft games blog at Gamerscoreblog. The short of it...several thousand post-its and a couple hours later, my Mustang was lookin like a mighty fine Viva Pinata ride. :-) Moral of the story...hell hath no fury like a scorned gamer chick...

Technorati Tags: Automobiles, Gaming, Humor, Microsoft

Is it really August already?

Frank — 2007-08-20T03:32:26-08:00

Holy smokes people, where the hell did the past 4 months go? So much for my promises to blog more often. What can I say? There's no point in even recapping what the tech world has unleashed in 4 months, you already know. What I can tell you is that I am now 9+ months into my new gig at Microsoft and I am just as enthusiastic as when I first started. My job rocks! It's tough, it's challenging in every way, and I am learning heaps of stuff from my very talented peers. All that being said..it isn't perfect. :-) It's Microsoft, and with a company of 80,000 people comes a lot of red tape and baggage.

I hear people complaining all the time about how we do some stupid things, heck - I'm the first one to bitch about it. What most people DON'T realize is that for everything that seems like a stupid oversight or decision, the reality is that it was probably done willfully and knowingly. I'm learning that creating software this complex has a lot of dependencies and relies on a lot of things that quite simply are just sometimes beyond your control. It's a game of negotiating and prioritizing. There are TONS of things that we wish we could do and features that would be way cool to have, but for one reason or another, aren't possible in a specific release. It's just the way it is and I'm learning to have to deal with it.

The positive side of things is that times are changing. Slowly, but surely. The culture at Microsoft is VERY Dev driven, but recently there has been a push for more emphasis on design and user experience. We can thank companies like Apple and others which are leading the way in User Experience and educating customers on the value of "User Experience." Microsoft isn't going to change overnight, but it's happening. One thing I can say is that we hear you loud and clear, even when you don't think we are listening.

So all that being said, I am going to attempt to AGAIN start blogging more often. I keep saying it but let me tell ya folks, it's getting hard to do that! :-) My day typically starts off at 8am and I'm rolling back into the house at 7pm. There's just so much stuff to do every day that I can't imagine how anyone with a job like this can actually blog every day and balance work and family life. If someone has the secret, please let me know! It's looking more an more like what little TV I watch is going to have to go by the wayside. Meh - who needs TV anyways? :-) I'm planning to get a new Canon EOS 40D in the next month and finally get out and start shooting around Seattle! As soon as I get those pics rolling in, I'll post a link. For now...back to catching up on my blog reading...

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Welcome Microsoft Jobs Blog Readers...

Frank — 2007-04-11T03:47:21-08:00

Welcome readers from the Technical Careers website at Microsoft! For my regular readers wondering what the heck I am talking about, I recently had the opportunity to be a guest blogger on one of our recruiting blogs at Microsoft. The post is mainly about learning what UX is and describing a little of what I do at Microsoft. You can read the full post here (link goes live on 4/11/07):

http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/archive/2007/04/04/what-is-this-thing-we-call-ux.aspx

For any of you who have more questions about User Experience or what it means to be a UX Designer at Microsoft, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.