Legendary.

SAP TechEd, Las Vegas

2012-10-24T13:27:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my wonderful week at the SAP TechEd Conference 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For those of you wanting to see just the conference jump to the break. I finally had some time to put my thoughts together after a wonderful conference. My first time back to Las Vegas since I was a child and I have to say I will miss Las Vegas. Vegas with all its glamour and sparkle really gets you into a different mindset. The Venetian is quite the hotel not what I remembered. Lots of people were out and about spending like no tomorrow. You really wouldn't know that their was an election going on, everybody was more concerned whether or not the Giants were going to make it to the World Series. Maybe, you go to Las Vegas to forget about your normal lives and enter into your new role as Bond, James Bond. Whatever the case may be for you being in Las Vegas I'm sure you'll have a good time. The food was simply amazing, I had a fantastic meal at Morel's French Bistro and Steakhouse. The servers and waiters are very knowledgeable about the menu, as they should be, but could detail the entire wine and cheese list. I had such a good time my first night that I went back on my last night as well. If you ever have the chance to eat at this joint I highly recommend it.

I've also included a picture of their cheese list and a half bottle of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which went quite well with my lamb.

The first night I had an exquisite surf and turf, a medium-rare filet and a in-shell lobster, both were superb.

Next time will be hopefully with some better company. I did hate to indulge by myself, but it was definitely worth it. My friends and family were their in heart and in spirit.

Now for those wanting to take a look at the conference side of things, I've included photos of this as well. Over 6,000 people at some point joined the conference locally, not to mention the few thousand that had to help organize, manage, and scoot these folks along in a mannered way. I have been a part of a much smaller conference and putting something together like this can be scary challenge. This was really well done and the venue was incredibly large as well.

The opening keynote, where SAP HANA in the cloud was announced. I was very surprised and please to hear that announcement with AWS.

Feeding this many people is quite a feat. Getting them to the spot you wanted them to eat, sit, and leave was very well done by this place.

Overall I had a great time. I met a lot of folks that were very much interested in the same stuff I was. I always enjoy meeting new people and this was a very good opportunity for that.

Dallas 18 Bears 34

2012-10-02T09:50:00.003-07:00

Last night the office offered some tickets to the Monday Night game so little ole me, with nothing to do on a Monday night, picked up a ticket. :) I had to pick up a buddy who also got a ticket and we were off. Note this is probably 3 hours notice prior to the game. Hey I wasn't gonna miss this chance. I've had less time to get to an airport. My co-worker lives in Dallas about 25 minutes from Arlington where the Stadium resides. I've never driven to Arlington let alone the stadium so I was in for a surprise. My nerves couldn't have been more wrapped up in anticipation. Off into the sunset, perfect driving conditions. If you didn't know Six Flags amusement park originated in Texas. Well it's quite the site to see driving on the 30 headed East with the sunset as the backdrop. As we move closer I have no idea where we are going to park and then the stadium pops into view. Now I've seen a few stadiums but the gravity of the size can't be shown in pictures. This is truly a top-notch stadium which blows the Candlestick out of the water. Cowboys Stadium has set the bar pretty high for entertainment and technology value. I hope whoever is building the new 49ers stadium knows this is the stadium to beat. If they do I might consider getting season tickets to their new stadium which is supposed to be named after a notable software company, SAP. To make it short my expectations were way below par for this event.

Our seats couldn't have been better. The size of the jumbotron is about 60 yards wide. Take a second and think about that. That makes for some big viewing. Ill add some photos to stir your imagination.

It was hard to root for the opposite team with cowboy fans sitting all around you. We were definitely in the home section if there was one. The crowd was a lot classier than what I remember from my 49er games in SF. Beer wasn't cheap but what could you expect. At least they had Shiner. The food wasn't bad either. Texas barbecue, a tri-tip sandwich for 12 bucks plus some chips. You could eat inside there air conditioned sections with again multiple screens staring at you. You actually didn't have to go outside to enjoy watching the football game. You could have sat inside and enjoyed the bar and atmosphere from the inside. Which wouldn't have been too bad. We sat outside of course we weren't used to sitting inside yet. The crowd kept getting quieter as Romo threw away pass after pass. Eventually leading to the mass exodus during his last interception in the fourth quarter. Getting out of the stadium wasn't too bad if you knew where you were going. We on the other hand had no idea on how to get back to the highway. We finally made it after 30 minutes of traffic. After dropping my friend off at his place I ended up getting back to my place a little after 11:30.

Well that was quite the night, definitely will need to go again with a little bit more preparation.

-Quincy

SAP TechED Conference

2012-10-01T11:49:00.001-07:00

Guess where this guy will be headed in two weeks? If you said Las Vegas, then Winner Winner, chicken dinner! Unless you neglected to read the title which I doubt you did. I'll be going to my first and hopefully many more SAP related conferences. This year the SAP TechED Conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. I haven't been back to Las Vegas since I was younger and I look forward to seeing it again after all these years. I'll be staying at the lovely Venetian, which I've heard is quite nice. My company is sending me to learn about SAP Mobility, all the craze this season. Everybody likes a little mobility in their life and so do companies. I think that this will be a great opportunity for me to see SAP outside of the classroom and what industry people think about SAP. I have heard great things from my professor's in Chico who always seem to find time to go during the semester. Now it'll be my chance to bring home some stories of my own. Back to Mobility, the cloud, the words you hear in catchy advertising ads in magazines. Picture of doing your work from the airport or the plane for that matter. But do we really work in these places? We might maybe glance at a few e-mails and write some notes. But I can't comfortably tell a colleague I'll look over the slide deck from these places. Too much distractions. You have the bar twenty feet away and glaring television screens promoting their propaganda. Where as in the office you have people actually working and hopefully have closed all the social media tabs. It takes a really dedicated individual to keep the computer or tablet or any other mobility device business oriented. Hopefully SAP has some of those answers. Not only do I think they need to make work more appealing via Mobility services they have to stick to their standard of excellence. Our minds are constantly floating around to where we will be in the next twenty minutes that its hard to consistent work through out the day. And I'd assume this feeling would be amplified if you're working on the road. I'm not sure exactly how to define mobility yet. It gives you the freedom to work from anywhere, theoretically. Which gives it a huge advantage over traditional avenues of working. The freedom part is what scares me. Where will we be working if its going mobile. Does that mean working from home? People already do that without the need for new technology. Putting things on our phones needs development but can you actually type that powerpoint from your phone? I don't think so. So how does it really benefit your company when you go mobile. I think this is the bigger question than what the actual software does. This will be my food for thought. Other than that 3 Doors Down will be the headliner at the end of the conference pretty sweet. I'll make sure to let you all in after the event so look forward to my next post.

-Quincy

Working

2012-08-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

I have been neglecting this blog for quite some time now. I will have to remedy that. I am now a graduate of CSU, Chico. Wow, did the last four years fly-by. It seems like yesterday when I walked onto that beautiful campus. Now I am off and gone to Texas. Who would have thought?

Texas is definite change in scenery from Chico or California for that matter. Flat and more flatness. If you get to a high spot you can see more than half the state. The weather here is hot and humid. It just so happens that the United States is also experiencing one of the worst droughts in history which means higher temperatures. I'm glad I work inside in the cool air-conditioned place.

I was hired in May by ABeam USA.. I am currently a new consultant working on several projects in the Dallas area. I chose ABeam because of their international presence. They have offices all around the world including Japan, Germany, Malaysia, US, and Brazil. Hopefully with time I will get to go to all those places. I definitely want to travel the world and see and meet new people. That is part of who I am. The world is my home and I'd like to see as much of it as I can.

I will have more later.
Here's to a new beginning.

-Quincy

Water: The Key Element

2011-11-16T22:02:00.001-08:00

Currently, about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water yet less than 3 percent of that is fresh drinkable water and even less of that is readily available to major populated countries like China and India which will be the focus in this analysis of water shortages in connection to lowered food production in said countries (Brown, R. L. 2006; Pidwirny, M. 2006). The impact of water shortages is also affecting millions of Africans. Many do not have access to clean water and this should be noted as well. The continent of Africa and its diverse people also have an impact on the world economy but they will not be the focus in this paper. China and India must look to new technology as well as new methods of agriculture to produce increased crop yields for future generations. These countries now use a variety of water resources; ground water, aquifers, and rivers to feed their vast cities and farmland however with the global population recently reaching seven billion, current levels of production will be stressed (BBC, 2011). Food productions in these regions will have to increase dramatically to accommodate for the increase of people around the globe and shortage of clean water for agriculture.

The water crisis is wide spread across the entire globe yet India and China are most prudent due to their current food production, future population size, and global impact. Both countries will have a major impact on the world economy and if the people and governments of either country neglect to take proper precautions regarding the increased levels of global population as well as consider major climate changes currently taking place this could lead to major complications in future crop production and the fresh water supply. China and India are the top producers of wheat and rice with the United States and Russia battling it out for who is the third most wheat producing nation. These four countries account for 50 percent of the total wheat production in the world with production adding up to a total of 317 MT (metric tons) each year. If these amounts were to drop the availability of wheat would drop as the cost would rise effectively starving some countries that cannot afford the new price increase. The percentage China and India produce in rice alone is 57 percent of the total world production (FAO, 2011). The large percentages of rice and wheat these nations produce have a direct correlation to the size of their populations. The current levels of production needed of China and India must either meet or exceed that of its current population yet recent data has shown that China and India are about to face increased levels of lowered production output due to water shortages. In 2010, a CNN article stated the following;

“In southwest China's Guizhou province in August, a drought affected more than 600,000 people and nearly 250,000 heads of livestock, according to Xihua. Parched soil in rice fields was covered with cracks. Beijing's water shortage will soon reach 200 million to 300 million cubic meters, even as the city waits for a new diversion of water from southern China, according to state-run media. Hundreds of other Chinese cities face varying levels of water shortages and deteriorating water quality, even as industries continue to pollute water.”

If you haven’t heard water is needed to grow crops and nations need a lot of it to get the required or projected yields in their crops. In India the percentage of water used for agriculture is almost 90% the rest is split between domestic and industry use (Grail Research 2009).

The Chinese Government must find new ways of supplying water to its cities and farmland. With 40 percent of China’s population living in the relatively dry North and the current drought which hasn’t been seen in fifty years the country, its people have a big hurdle to get over (CNN 2010). New methods of getting water to the arid North are needed. One such project is called the South-North Water Diversion Project which is currently being undertaken by the Chinese Government which hopes to redirect at least six trillion gallons of water from the major Yangtze River to the 440 million folks in the North (Wong 2011). There are major implications both environmental and social of a project of this magnitude with an estimated cost of $62 billion dollars (Wong 2011). In the same article it states that the Chinese Government has to relocate 350,000 villagers living in the way of the planned channel being created (Wong 2011). This diversion of river water effects many cities south of the river, places like Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam (CNN 2010). The exact amount is hard to calculate by other countries but the current demands by China are hurting surrounding countries. As China continues to grow not only in size the buying power China has also increases. The amount of consumption by China is increasing. This has given them the capabilities to afford much more than before. Items Americans take for granted each day in their own homes such as individual bathrooms, washing machines, cars that need washing, and lawn care (CNN 2010). If you imagine how many people there are in China the magnitude of how much more of an increase this will be on water usage alone is enormous. Proper regulation by the Chinese Government has to take in effect the impact they have on the world’s clean water supply.

Much of the same is occurring in India with its population reaching over 1.17 billion and is expected to surpass China by 2030 (Rosenberg, 2011). India uses fresh water reserves and rivers as their main sources of water which are becoming more and more polluted and increasingly scarce as the country becomes more industrialized and urbanized. One statistic that greatly demonstrates the future situation in India if they do not implement plans for better management of the fresh water supply now is “By 2050, per capita water availability in India is expected to drop by about 44% due to growing populations and higher demand, as well as higher pollution levels” (Heimbuch, 2009). Some measures India’s Government can implement now in the Agricultural Sector is to “Improve water usage efficiency in the production of water-intensive crops such as rice, wheat and sugarcane; encourage adoption of techniques such as rain-water harvesting and watershed management in agriculture” (Grail Research, 2009). As the population grows the following is expected to occur in India; “The urban population is expected to grow from 29.2% of the population in 2007 to 55.2% by 2050, Industrialization contribution to the GDP is expected to increase from ~78% in 2000 to ~92% by 2015, and Agriculture production of water-intensive drops is expected to grow by 80% between 2000 and 2050” (Grail Research, 2009). Proper water management now will mean a better future for everyone. “In 2001, the ‘Karntaka Watershed Development Project’ resulted in an increase of 24% in total crop yield” (Grail Research, 2009). More projects like these that increase water use efficiencies will help ease the future situation for billions living in Asia otherwise Asia will face a larger water crisis in the future affecting more than 3 billion people.

In conclusion, as Earth’s population continues to rise exponentially the need for better management is needed by all governments around the world especially China and India. With man-kind hitting a major milestone this past month, according to the BBC the UN estimates that the 7th billion person will be born sometime on October 31, 2011 the need for careful consideration of how we use our fresh water supplies must be looked at or else we face a more dire situation in the future affecting the lives of billions of people. Not only should this be a wakeup call for anyone not paying attention to the world but a call to action that careful consideration now about how we use and maintain our water supplies will most certainly save lives in the future.

References

BBC (2011). Population seven billion: UN sets out challenges. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15459643

Brown, R. L. (2006). Water Scarcity Crossing National Borders. Book Bytes. November 13, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2006/pb2ch03_ss6

CNN (2010). Water shortages reach crisis levels in China. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-13/world/china.water.crisis_1_water-shortages-water-supplies-drinking-water?_s=PM:WORLDPidwirny, M. (2006). "The Hydrologic Cycle". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. November 13, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8b.html

Grail Research. (2009). Water – The India Story. Retrieved PDF report from http://www.grailresearch.com/pdf/ContenPodsPdf/Water-The_India_Story.pdf

Heimbuch, J. (2009). Water Shortages Rising Across the Globe, But Especially in India. Retrieved from http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/water-shortages-rising-across-the-globe-but-especially-india.html

FAO (2011). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT. Retrieved from http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx

Rosenberg, M (2011). India’s Population. About. Retrieved from http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/indiapopulation.htm

Wong, E. (2011). Plan for China’s Water Crisis Spurs Concern. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/world/asia/02water.html?pagewanted=all

The Coming Move to IPv6

2011-10-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

IPv4 addresses have been running out increasingly in the past few months and have recently run out completely. In a recent blog written by Sean Kerner of internetnews.com (2011), he states that “The last five blocks of Internet addresses available under IPv4 protocol were allocated by ICANN, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, in a ceremony on Thursday, February 3, 2011 in Miami.” What does this mean for corporations? It means corporations now need to start thinking and preparing for the need to support IPv6 protocol for their customers and employees. IPv6 is the next step in the Internet evolution, which allows for an IP address of /64. A quick explanation of the difference between the number of address spaces available for IPv4 and IPv6 are IPv4 has a total of 4,294,967,296 addresses which are now all used up and for IPv6 the number of addresses available for use are 2^128, which is a substantial increase of usable address space for companies. This will allow companies who need or want to expand their IT network and infrastructure the chance to do so. They can then take advantage of more address space and security by using other new technologies like mobile technology and cloud computing, which will increase their capacity to better help their current and future customers.

This movement has already begun moving around the globe, but the movement in the United States at best has been sluggish. If the U.S. doesn’t want to get left behind there must be significant Federal push much like the Digital TV transition where the Federal Government set and announced a date for the television industry to make these changes immediately. “China, Japan and South Korea all have mandated adoption of the next-generation protocol, so companies in other countries will be left behind if they don't start using it, said Alex Lightman, chairman and chief executive officer of Innofone.com Inc., an IPv6 training and consulting company in Santa Monica, California” (Lawson 2006). Government agencies like the Department of Defense of have been using IPv6 since 2008 but much more awareness is needed. Until the average American understands the benefits of IPv6 the move will likely continue to be slow.

Of course with any move to a new system companies want to know how much it will cost them. The actual configuration of changing over to IPv4 to IPv6 requires very little technical effort depending on the size of the company. Businesses like Yahoo, Google, and Facebook, whose Web sites generate billions of visits a day, have been leading the charge towards IPv6 and are relaying the notion to users that this will be the future of the Internet. The real issue of making this switch forward is having some users left on IPv4 while others use the new and improved IPv6 protocol. According to Stephen Lawson (2011), a writer for pcworld.com, this issue can be solved by companies that have started making the switch to IPV6. In most cases companies will be using a “dual-stack” configuration wherein each request made by the client will be associated with its version of the protocol. This allows both users to view the webpage and not have any conflict. There are known problems with using this configuration though, “according to Salient Federal Solutions, a leader in information technology security, the number one attack is a result of IPv6 traffic being tunneled across IPv4 networks, which uses a mechanism called Teredo which is built into both Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7” (Marsen 2011). This mechanism was created by Microsoft for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 but with companies moving very slowly this exploit of tunneling into companies will continue. Today almost all companies are aware of this situation and should be making efforts in IT projects now that help enable thier customers to use IPv6 securely in the future.

Overall with more customers and internet users in general becoming more aware of IPv6 and with companies wanting to expand their IT network with iPhones, iPads, and other mobile technology the need to switch and secure their systems becomes increasingly more relevant and compelling, and choosing not to make this switch in a timely fashion can pose a security risk the longer a company waits.

References

Flynn, L. J. (2011). Drumming Up More Addresses in the Internet. New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/technology/15internet.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

Kerner, S. M. (2011). ICANN Marks the End of IPV4, Looks to IPv6. Retrieved September 18 2011 http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/3923436/ICANN+Marks+End+of+IPv4+Looks+to+IPv6.htm

Lawson, S. (2006). U.S. Enterprises: Don’t be left behind on IPv6. Retrieved September 18 2011 http://www.infoworld.com/t/networking/us-enterpises-dont-be-left-behind-ipv6-972

Lawson, S. (2011). 10 Things to Know About the Move to IPv6. Retrieved September 18 2011 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/229686/10_things_to_know_about_the_move_to_ipv6.html

Marsan, C. D. (2011). Scariest IPv6 Attack Scenarios. Retrieved September 18 2011 http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238848/scariest_ipv6_attack_scenarios.html

A Little SIP.

2011-10-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

The need to migrate to IPv6 from IPv4 is increasing every week and this week is no exception. This week we have SIP, Session Initiation Protocol, teaming up with IPV6 and showing the interoperability of the two technologies and the benefits they contribute to business operations. At the end of the month the international SIP Forum will be held in Monte Carlo, Monaco (Epstein 2011). This convention will showcase the opportunities of “Multiple SIP-based applications in different network architectures” (Epstein 2011). SIP is quickly becoming the standard of how to control sessions such as video and voice communications over IP. The protocol is used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party sessions. The annual forum will call to attention the advanced space, better security, and increased performance of IPv6. It will demonstrate “how crucial IPv6 interoperability is to the industry as the next generation Internet protocol continues to be introduced to the market. Participating companies will have the option to test and review SIP-related video and telepresence applications as well” (Epstein 2011). This forum will bring together industry leaders and their devices and put them to the test of IPv6 interoperability. This forum also allows companies a neutral zone in which they can test the capabilities of their devices and figure out any technical issues before manufacturing their devices. This protocol is quite secure as well in which it allows “private” data to pass through current standard network infrastructures if both sides are using the protocol. Without getting too technical the packets carry a “Modified payload within the SIP message” allowing it to talk with both sides in a standardized way (Hofmann 2009). Even if companies have available IPv4 addresses there must be an increased attention for companies to develop an IPv6 transition plan as soon as possible for continuous support of their business functions such as voice and video over IP which will only continue to expand as the technology we use will further demand it in the future such as SIP (Ovum Research 2011).

Epstein, J. October 7, 2011. SIPIT, Annual SIP Forum to Take Place in Monte Carlo. Retrieved from http://sip-trunking.tmcnet.com/topics/sip-trunking/articles/226940-sipit-annual-sip-forum-take-place-monte-carlo.htm

Hofmann, B. February 26, 2009. Using SIP for Flexible Integration in Call Centers. Retrieved from http://ivr.tmcnet.com/topics/sip-server/articles/51289-using-sip-flexible-integration-call-centers.htm

Ovum Research. October 7, 2011. Ovum: IPv6 Transition – Why the Rush? Retrieved from http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2011/10/07/248098/Ovum-IPv6-transition-why-the-rush.htm

Multi-Gigabit WiFi

2011-10-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Current Wi-Fi speeds aren’t enough for most folks and with users becoming more mobile the need for faster Wi-Fi speeds are here, which is why WiGig is being developed and will soon be on the market according to Ali Sadri, president and chairman of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. WiGig is one of the new Wi-Fi technologies (the other being Wireless HD) becoming available to companies which has estimated output speeds of up to 7 Gb/s, which is a huge leap in our current maximum speed of 600 Mbit/s on the IEEE 802.11n standards (Churchill 2011). WiGig has been developed by the top IT companies around the world including but not limited to; Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Panasonic, Samsung, Dell and Cisco. The new technology will use the 60GHz transmission while the older bands, 802.11n and 802.11g, are on spectrums 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz (Nadel 2011). These have become increasingly crowded as new users get on board with their iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch’s. The new spectrum will allow for much greater throughput of data allowing seamless streaming of high-definition content, which helps companies that need to move data between each other very quickly (Nadel 2011).

This new technology will help any company especially IT looking to grow their wireless networks. CIOs should be looking towards expanding their networks according to the growth of the company and this new technology will make Wi-Fi a whole lot faster, which in turn leads companies to better serve their customers in response time. Both the customer and the employee is becoming more mobile due to Apple products and the mobile technology craze, which allow companies to be more flexible in while they work. The employee doesn’t have to be sitting at their desk all day in front of a keyboard. The only current concern for this new technology is its top speed maximum range, which is currently at 45 feet. Some ways around this is for companies to create a backbone network of Ethernet that runs behind the walls in strategic locations which can then connect to several WiGig transmitters (Nadel 2011). Also included with the new technology is the requirement of getting new equipment that run on the newer spectrum, which will cost companies money but in the future could lighten the load when additional users are needed to expand.

I believe the need to upgrade a companies wireless network for quicker speeds of data transfer is a no brainer for any IT manager because companies are constantly growing and more employees will become a drag on the older spectrums during peak usage.

Churchill, S. (2011). Fast Transistion to 802.11ac Predicts ABI. Retrieved 20 September 2011 from http://www.dailywireless.org/2011/09/19/fast-transistion-to-802-11ac-predicts-abi/

Nadel, B. (2011). 5 more tech Breakthroughs: Innovations in access, power and control.
Retrieved 20 September 2011 from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219724/5_more_tech_breakthroughs_Innovations_in_access_power_and_control

Block Facebook Sidebar update!

2011-09-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I was completely annoyed by the new update by Facebook. Below you will find the steps I took to block the bar. This is my solution for Chrome but it should work for other browsers.

So in the slew of new features Facebook has thrown out (coincidentally at the same time as google plus goes public) Facebook has added this new "super stalker feed" with this feature you can see up to the second information on EVERY action your friends do / publish. To rid yourself of this nuisance you should do the following...

1. Add an extension to Chrome called Stylish. (This allows you to add your own code to a website like greasemonkey)

2. Next you are going to want to look for the code to modify in facebook. The cool thing about Chrome is that it allows you to inspect elements on a page and it shows you exactly where you are on a page. After much looking (not really) I found this.

div.tickerActivityStories This element displays the sidebar. Now add your own css and BOOM!

div.tickerActivityStories {
display: none;
}

3. Save and Refresh

Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!

For the Longest Time

2011-09-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting my writing for a while now. No excuses, just haven't been on my list of things to do.
But I have some free time and feeling pretty good about myself so I shall write some.
Just finished one of the easiest tests in my life. World Food and Fiber. Class is a joke. But better than that though was the coffee I had this morning with the new woman in my life. She's from Chico and is a senior like me which is good because its a lot easier to relate to someone like yourself. I too am about to graduate in May. Woot! I seriously can't wait. I am on the pursuit of a career with a company that will take me places. Also currently listening to a little Rock and Roll, right now Eric Clapton, Let it Rain, at the moment, and before that was Billy Joel.

Well this will be a busy week for me. I have one more paper to finish, a career fair, meet recruiters and land a interview and sell myself. Things are looking up. If I stay afloat on things I think I'll be just fine. I will definitely keep you informed. Stay positive friends.

Finals.

2011-05-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

So I have 2 weeks left till finals and completing my third year at Chico. Amazing how far I have come and still have a long way to go. Feels good though. I intend and will make my last year in Chico the greatest and most filled year. I have finally signed a lease with somebody besides University Housing. Not that I don't love living at University Village, I think it is time for me to move on. I didn't get a house for my last year but instead will be living in a town house, located near campus. It will be a fun year living with my dear friends who I met last year at, surprise, University Village. I am still figuring out what exactly I will be doing during the summer. I have had many interviews well three at least for internships this summer, one even in Seattle, Washington, but wasn't chosen for any. I am also in search of a job next year as they are cutting the hours of the lab due to budget cuts to the school. So sad. I think in the end I will be going home to Kingsburg for a few weeks and than treking back to Chico in search of a summer job in the least. Well wish me luck.

-Quincy

listening to Kid Cudi.

Remind me later to post this.

2011-04-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Since when does saying "Remind me later to .....," Whatever the blank may be does not justify your laziness and/or forgetfulness. And it does not in what so ever shape or form become the fault of the other to have reminded you. Having others remind you of something takes the pressure off of you but your original responsibility is still your own, asking others does not transfer the responsibility. Whatever the task may be still lies in your hands. Blaming others for not reminding you is the lowest form of disrespect somebody can do. Such scape-goat tactics that fall short for me. I have very little respect for people who tell others to have them remind him/her of getting something done. People are not machinery, we are not your personal secretary that you pay to remind you of personal matters. This is most profound for me in classrooms where professors tell students to remind him/her to post something, to announce something, etc. It is not the duty of the student to post the assignment, it is the professors and when the professor arrives the next day saying that "the students didn't remind him" is fallacy and should be a crime.

Get your ___ straight or get the ___ out! Yes, you have problems WE ALL DO, deal with it but don't blame students for stuff that your ~~dumbass~~ should be doing!!!!!!

Thank you, have a great day.

-Quincy

SAPopsophy

2011-03-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

First off I would like to say that I do my best thinking at night for all the professors out there. And that my philosophy shouldn't be taken verbatim. They are more like a set of guidelines I try to set myself in and I will also adjust my philosophy as I grow and continue to learn more everyday. So now off to the specifics.
Also not in any particular order and I also will add to this list as I go. I will write a sentence or phrase and try to explain my reasoning or a definition of what I mean by it.

1. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I might not do this everyday, but it makes good practice to try at least. I would hope that you would like to be given respect and kindness and that would reflect in how you treat others and if you don't think that you should treat others with respect and kindness than you might want to reevaluate yourself with what you expect of others and yourself. (kinda hard to not write a thousand word explanation on this, maybe some day)

2. Being Prepared. I think that this one needs a little further explanation than what it just says. Being prepared might mean doing research. Like knowing thy enemy, if you have them which everyone should have a couple. There is a quote somewhere that goes something like this, "If you have enemies than that means you stood up for something in your life" don't quote me on that but that is the gist of it.

Preparation might mean planning ahead. This is where I want to get into it. I have recently read about Buddha in my religions class and would like to start out by saying Buddha was an egotistical guy, now listen to my reasoning. If you know the story of how a young Indian prince Suddharta became enlightened than you should know that he was given everything (physically). He might be looking for the intangible but he was given everything else. This made him unhappy for some reason, but if he had planned ahead he could have seen what a wonderful situation he was placed in and he wouldn't have had to go out and desert his wife and child. After seeing "life" (death, disease, etc) he gave it all up in search of enlightenment. Now this could be interpreted as him being brave and self-realizing himself but I would argue that he had the best of things going for him. He might not have been self-rich, full of purpose, but he had everything a person not in his position could dream of, better welfare, family, food, etc. He was a prince and someday king, now I don't know how exactly that feels but I can imagine it was not exactly the tough life. Trying to fill in those shoes might be difficult and I can see how he might not even want to do that, but you don't have to throw it all away and go beg for food and harm your body and mind in seeking enlightenment. Another thing that bugs me is that he gave up his wife and child. In the story I read it said he was fully in love with her and that one-day when they were making love on a rooftop they fell off and into a bed of lilies and they didn't even notice. Now I don't know about you but that sounds like happiness to me. Buddha didn't plan ahead. He could have imagined his life as a future king with a beautiful wife and child and continue his father's legacy or create his own but instead he chose a life of solitude except for maybe hanging out with a few monks, all guys by the way. If he had planned ahead it looks to me like he could have had a wonderful life. Lesson: plan ahead and don't end up like Buddha, no. Plan ahead and know what's coming so you can correctly adjust making if any painful occurrences less painful and so forth.

3. Live your life to the fullest each day because it might be your last. Now what this means to me is to try your best. I also wouldn't go as far as saying be the best at everything, but live because you have been given a chance to become something and people will remember you for it. I know it might be hard on somedays like being sick or sad because of a lost one or something else. But for the rest of the time if you try your best than that is all anybody can ask for. "Carpe Diem" like the Greeks said seize the day.

4. Be optimistic. This has helped me a lot through troubling times like the recent tsunami/earthquake or even in times of uncertainty. Being optimistic means you tend to see the good things in life, future prospects and opportunities.

5. Seize the moment. What this means is that if an opportunity should arise with careful consideration you might want to take it. Sometimes the window of opportunity is short and you have to think and act quickly (this is where optimism comes in) and sometimes you have a little longer lee way and can wait. But if you try to be impatient and/or hesitate than that opportunity may never come around again. You can plug this into a lot of situations but I'm not going to list them all. I'll let you use your imagination.

6. Never stop learning. I think this one is pretty self explanatory. Each day I find myself learning something new about life and myself. So never stop learning for if you think you have reached the top the only place left to go is you know where.

7. Stand behind your words and take responsibility for your actions. Again I think this one is self explanatory. Choose your words wisely and do what you say not say what you might do. Like my mother told me if you tell the truth than you never have to look behind and cover your tracks. You can have a free conscious. It will relieve a lot your stress in life. Do what you say and own up to your actions.

Also in writing this it will help me not only remember some of them for later but give me something to read if I get lost along the way. The circle of life. :) <-- dont know why I added this but I think I will keep it in here.

Calm before the Storm.

2011-01-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

School starts Monday, yay! Finally have something to keep me occupied besides WoW (World of Warcraft) for you none computer gamers. Josh got me hooked a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop playing. But school will change that.... Currently listening to Air Force Ones by Nelly. Ha! The pod is on random, don't judge. Just wanted to let everyone know I wont be a RA this semester things didn't work out and I'm moving on to another job. Watching over computers and a printer is a lot less stressful and timing commitment. I'll be turning 21 in less than 6 days. OH EM GEE.... Been looking forward to this day for quite sometime ever since I've moved to Chico. We'll see how it goes. I think my friends and parents are more excited than I am. So yeah gotta get some sleep. Check out this video!!!
-Quincy

2011 Goals.

2011-01-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

So I've got a few, who doesn't? (not in any order)

1. Learn even more this year than the last.
2. Finish another 2 semesters of college.
3. Save up money for a car and a trip to Maui.
4. Make new friends.
5. Keep in touch with old ones.
6. Apply for graduation. <-- what?
7. Run for AS office in April.
8. Get an internship this summer.
9. Annd last but not least Have Fun!

-Quincy

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

I think now is a good time to reflect on 2010, it has been another interesting year with much going on near the end. I finally got a job this past semester starting in August and I will be leaving that position for another next semester. To make a long story short i was unhappy with my RA position and will now be a lab assistant in Glenn Hall at CSU Chico. Less strenuous and I will actually be happy there.

Christmas was a great this year because my grandma joined us at home. She hasn't been back to California in over 10 years. That's before 9/11 and she got here in perfect shape. I look forward to our time together.

Another semester has gone down at Chico. I have three left. WOW. Time has flown. I have to apply for graduation, I can't believe that. I have met another great group of friends at UV. International students are a bunch of fun to hang out with. Some left already to go back home but the time we had this semester was truly wonderful, I can't wait to go visit them when I can.

I'll make another post soon listing some new year plans but other than that I will be eating seafood tonight. Happy hot pot.

Merry Christmas y'all.

-Quincy

Tim Wise at Chico

2010-12-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

Listening to Tim Wise really helped me realize the position and current state of the United States, and the conditioning we as a society have gone through. You could hear a pin drop as he spoke with such conviction and emotion. At one point, they brought out extra chairs because there were so many people. I’m glad I got there early. The first story he told us was when he just graduated and had no money, but needed a place to stay in New Orleans while he worked. His plan was to try and live with, and I quote, “9 other roommates” to save money. This is something I can relate to because I live with 3 other guys and we share the kitchen, which if I didn’t periodically mention would never be cleaned. My roommates won’t clean up after themselves and I often put it off because it isn’t my job as I’m not the one who created the mess. However, Mr. Wise tells us eventually it doesn’t matter who creates the mess because the eventual horrible wasteland becomes too much to bear for anybody and it must be dealt with. So, in essence, ignoring the fact will only make things worse.

One of the reasons why we don’t do enough about inequality or social injustices because it’s not our fault, it has been ingrained in our society for a long time that a person or group have gotten to where they are because of their own accord and not because of how society has been created. Tim made sure we realized that the problems that are currently affecting our society and country weren’t created by us, but still have an impact on how we live our lives today. The social injustices in our country are breaking down the lives of the minorities in our society and communities we live in. His speech is coupled with very simple humor that makes it very easy to understand what he is saying. People at the end asked what we could do now and he said that 1) we can identify that we all wear a different lens and to realize that 2) the fact is that we need more collaborative effort to try and change the system of natural cyclical prejudice, bias, racism, and inequality in America. He talks about the white folks that created the social safety nets that saved them back in the day but as soon as Latin and black families began to use these same safety nets, they change their attitudes towards these nets and vilify the newcomers with darker skin and different cultures. The reality is that those benefits were created to help white people in the first place.

The main point that Tim wanted to get across to us is that there is this myth that people get where they are by themselves because that is what our educators have told us, the government has repeated and parents have possibly reinforced. The idea is that if you work hard and do the right things you will earn a living wage, but as Tim pointed out, that is not necessarily true. If you look at the larger picture, you can see that some people, mainly white-males, have been privileged through life and they might not recognize that they were picked for a job or school because of other people’s biases towards the minorities of this country. One of Tim’s examples for this is as follows: you have two resumes in hand and you have to choose one for the position. In one hand you have a white male college graduate that has more experience and so forth, and in the other you have a Latino Male's resume that might look less comparable to the other. Now to say that the white Male's resume is better because he went to a good college would at first seem totally reasonable, but this would be ignoring certain factors. You have to consider how the white male got to where he is today. Is it because he worked harder and is smarter than the Latino male, or is it because he was privileged into his current status? It’s like giving somebody a head start and logically seeing the person who started ahead finishing first. The other person might actually be going faster, but having started behind has to work even harder to catch up. If they had been given the same opportunities, they could be at the same spot in the race, or even ahead.

-Quincy

Not Hearing those that disagree with you? O__o

2010-11-27T03:31:00.000-08:00

Issue: Dissent

I had a lecture couple weeks ago about not listening to those who disagree with you and it really got my attention and I made sure I was going to post about it so here it goes.

I find it that people are really good at hearing what they want to hear and disregarding the rest. I'm not sure as to what or why the brain does this. Is it natural? I mean can we be self aware of it and maybe change, I believe we can, if we try. How hard would it be to TRY and listen to those who disagree with you? Why is listening so hard? It seems to me that people have a radar and some peeps have a very large radar and they will catch almost everything that comes up on it while others radar are quite limited and they don't catch as much. I'm not saying that the ones with larger radars are smarter because I have no evidence for that, but I can say that you can build your radar.

You can start with relevancy, we pick up things that are relevant to us. However you want to do that; read more, watch less, become religious. I don't know, I leave that up to you, but I urge you, no, challenge you to become more relevant. Yes. making yourself listen more I think makes you relevant, not only to yourself but others as well because after you have actually listened to a person instead of trying to think of some awesome rebuttal you can really formulate a real answer and maybe realize you both were talking about the same point and argued over nothing, and which in my opinion is the biggest waste of time. So next time you and a friend or foe get into a discussion or argument test yourself and see if you are actually listening or half-assing it. One point I forgot to mention is that listening and understanding have zero to do with actually agreeing with someone.

Keeping it short and simple don't want to lose those short attention spans :)

Music: Calvin Harris I'm Not Alone DEADMAU5 REMIX
Mood: Good and Happy.

-Quincy

Si se peudes!

2010-11-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

Yes we can,

This semester has been flying. And I have been trying to keep up with it. School is tuff, I thought my schedule was going to benefit me, but I look back and I don't think it was the best choice. 4 classes before noon? seriously Steven what were you thinking. The RA job is also as demanding as school. Keeping track of 33 residents and making sure they are all good. That can be stressful sometimes. Getting late night calls for lock-outs and what-not. ugh.

With November brings days light savings time yet I will be on duty at 2, which is actually 3 soo. yeah. not to happy about that. Were supposed to get an extra hour of sleep not stay awake an extra hour. wtf!

Currently working on my board for November and listening to Bob Marley. Good Stuff.

Peace out

-Quincy

To Residents of Buildings 17-19

2010-10-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Steven here.

This is my personal blog where I like to talk about random stuff about myself. I will start writing to you through this blog. I'm not going to force you to follow me but if you want you can. I will be putting up events, programs, and anything else I find interesting and may concern you guys. I think it will be a fun semester and I look forward to getting to know all of you.

If you haven't taken that survey, here it is again, please take it if you haven't yet.

Please let me know what you think. Leave questions, comments, or anything else.
If you don't feel comfortable leaving a comment please email me at spatterson8@mail.csuchico.edu
or just come by my room. Apt #343 Building 19.
Also if you would like to call me my number is (530) 519-6307

You can find me on the internet below \/\/

Facebook. if you're interested.
Twitter. If you're really interested.
LinkedIn for business connections.
Tumblr for randomness.
Youtube My channel.

Yes, I know I spend way too much time on the internet. ;)

MUse Concert!!!!

2010-09-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 28, 2010. Muse will be playing with Passion Pit at the Sacramento Arco Arena and I will be there with two other friends!! So excited. I started listening to Muse when I was about 14. I have almost all their Albums. My absolute favorite is Absolution. Truly epic music. So yeah just wanted to let you all know. I will be posting up pictures from that concert so stayed tuned. Here's a taste of what they sound like LIVE!!!! Take care.

-Quincy

ps. I bought tickets to the annual Bridge School Benefit The Line up is gonna be

awesome!!! I'll talk more about that laters.

New Job

2010-09-14T08:26:00.001-07:00

Wow has the last 3 weeks gone by super fast. Well in that time, I've got a job, made new friends, moved to a new room, completed 3 weeks of school, and have started many projects. I am the new RA (Resident Adviser) at University Village. I also work 8 hours at the mail room and also will be TA for Tom Wilder in his BSIS 301 course 3 hours a week. So yeah gonna be super busy exactly the way I like it. So I have my housing paid for and will be making a little bit of money, woot! Things are looking bright. Have a great week y'all.

-Quincy

Update~!

2010-08-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

Ahhh school starts Monday. Yay! Finally something for me to do besides looking for a job and contemplating the future of the free world. I have picked out a M/W/F schedule consisting of all business classes ranging from Finance to Supply Chain Management and shall we be walking the stairs of Glenn Hall repeatedly each of those days. I have to somehow manage to get up at 7 in the morning to get ready for my 8am class, and as I am writing this it is sixteen minutes past three....in the MORNING!! Oh well, I was working on my proposal for a concert in Chico as well as catching up on youtube videos as well as facebook, twitter, and this new site I've recently grown fond of Tumblr. Its a great way to post things like pictures, and audio files. I've even got my playlist I can play anywhere I go. It has a lot of my favorite oldies, from the 60's and 70's...rock and the like.

I recently found out an advertisement via Facebook where they use one of your friends and make it look like they initiated a chat session in FB towards you and show you a link that sends you to a "sign up and lose money" deal. That was quite interesting to witness because I do that all the time. I tell my friends on fb via chat that I just found something cool online and I think that they should go check it out and usually the person trusts me enough to click on a link in the chat box. So whoever is doing this type of advertisement is really tricky and knows a lot about FB. Just a warning to anyone who hasn't seen this before. Ask your friend a question or two to find out if it is really them or a bot of some sort.

Take care out there on the web.

-Quincy

Facebook Diet

2010-08-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

As of August 15, 2010 I am taking a break from Facebook. I don't know when I'll return if ever. It is tiring to say in the least. I'm sure most wont even notice I'm gone but if you would like to reach me I will still be online just not at Facebook. I will have my twitter, tumblr, and blogger accounts active as they do not require so much attention and have utter amounts of time invested in them. In twitter I can post whenever and do just that leave a post. Tumblr is a good way to get with the old, I have rediscovered "the Oldies" and am loving it.

So as I don't have my facebook up it shall suffice to post to just tumblr as it is linked to my twitter and that makes life easy.

-Quincy

France Summer Trip 2010

2010-08-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've finally returned from 4 weeks of wonderful an uplifting France. I went with my two parents and a friend/Uncle John Vasconcellos. I have been to France twice before, the first time gave me quite the scare after being sick and throwing up in an apartment in Paris, the second time I went back was with my dad where we stayed in a French Country home south of Paris and near Saumur. This trip by far was the best. Two weeks at Verneuil-en-Halatte (link to map) The family we stayed with had this enormous house and a huge back yard, at least half an acre, with a big pool. It's hard to say what part of that place was the best but I'm going to say the pool. They had a fabulous covered-patio with sliding glass windows. We had many a dinner on that patio which was quite nice. After staying at the 3-story house in Verneuil-en-Halatte we drove south to a small cottage of 17 people called Ligne. This is where the gite, French country farm house, is located. Everything we ate there was local. We hand picked the fruit and vegetables (e.g. Zucchini and plums) and took the eggs from the chickens. We went to the local markets around town and walked to the winery down the street and tasted wine.

Its weird being away at another country where food and drink is taken to its limits in taste that anybody can enjoy. Yet in the U.S. I can't even order a beer with my cheeseburger, yet. Just below is part of the Eiffel Tower and if you click it you will find the rest of the pictures of France we took this trip. If you ever get the chance to go to France, take it. You will not be displeased. Paris is a city everyone should get the chance to enjoy and eat a real baggette. Enjoy!

France Trip 2010