Ejly

Final Kitchen photos

2013-01-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

Here's the final photos of the kitchen; photo credit to Alison McCully at Kitchen Masters for the photos and for the design effort. I had a functional kitchen back by 12/12, two days earlier than they'd committed. The project took under 6 weeks.

Northwest, wall with main sink and dishwasher. Island in foreground.

Cabinet below island has roll-out shelves and
faces the cooking area.

West wall, pantry door is bright orange

East wall, stove and microwave and corner sink below glass cabinet.
The second sink has made the kitchen much more functional.

East wall; dishwasher at right. Front of sink has
tip out drawer for dish towel storage.

West wall again; beverage faucet, soap dispenser, and faucet
are from Delta Faucet , reused from before the remodel. I'll swap
for oil-rubbed bronze faucets to match the other ones
eventually. The coffee mug shelf is above the sink. The Blanco sink
could fit a small dog, or a large turkey.

South facing view to the hallway entrance;
previously that was the only way into the kitchen.
My hall is green and picking an orange that
didn't clash was a challenge

South view to corner sink from alongside the island.
The floor is spalted maple.

Closer view of corner sink - a
Blanco Silgranit in Antracite with oil rubbed bronze
finished faucet and spray by Delta Faucet. We put a
garbage disposal in this sink too.

Kitchen Walls
Kitchen Selections (including sink info)
New Kitchen Layout
The before photos of the kitchen

Kitchen Walls

2013-01-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

Choosing the final colors the kitchen would wear was pretty tough. I decided to go with warm tones:

Colors:

Chivalry Copper

Accent color:

Glass subway tiles in brown blend by MS International for the backsplash:

More ideas I collected in an ideabook on houzz: Kitchen backsplashes

Kitchen Selections

2012-11-18T19:06:00.001-05:00

Making the selections for the kitchen was the next task after finalizing the layout. Now that I know where I want items, I need to decide what they should look like.

The most important selection is the cabinets, as that is the visually dominant item in the room and provides the most color. The Kraftmaid cabinets in Cherry with a sunset finish matched our color scheme for the house. I chose a Harper style for ease of maintenance.

I next wanted a stylish countertop that was easy to maintain; I'd heard that granite required regular refinishing so that was out. Laminate countertops are susceptible to burns and cutting marks and I've done both. I opted for quartz as an alternative. I like the gemlike aspect of the appearance of quartz too. We selected the Cambria Nottingham finish. I was originally looking at a lighter colored countertop, but in some of the lighter finishes the cambria can look water spotted.

Sink selection took an extraordinarily long time debating between apron front, undermount, stainless, cast iron, colored, and what dimension. After pricing the apron fronts I realized I could install two undermount sinks for the same price so decided to do that. Stainless looked too jarring against the earth tones selected so far, and white cast iron looked too stark. Colored cast iron was again cost prohibitive but a composite sink fit the bill. We selected the Blanco Anthracite sink made in Silgranit, which is a composite of 80% granite. For the larger sink I opted for the large single bowl so that large platters could be laid flat. I'm tired of working around the divider in traditional double bowl. The double bowl was originally designed for dish washing and as we have a dishwasher I can do away with it. The second, smaller sink will be used for prep and can fit a colander for draining pasta.

I found faucets in a dark oil-rubbed bronze finish to pick up the counter's coppery highlights and tie in with the black sink. I'll be getting two faucets, one with a pull down sprayer for the main sink and a standard faucet for the prep sink, with a side sprayer. I also have an RO beverage system so will get the beverage faucet top for that. I like the simple style of the Linden by Delta Faucet. The traditional style of the beverage faucet compliments it.

Finally I had to decide what goes underfoot. There was a lot of dark in the kitchen so I wanted something lighter to brighten it up. The Quickstep Spalted Maple floor did that nicely while still tying in with the darker tone of the kitchen overall.

Next I added some more enhancements to the cabinets (not shown in my style/finish selection):

Sink front tip out storage

Mullion Glass door front

Tray cabinet

New Kitchen Layout

2012-10-24T20:45:00.000-04:00

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I persuaded the man of the house to remodel the kitchen. Fortunately the wailing and gnashing will henceforth come mostly from the contractor as we decided the job is beyond our amateur home-handyman skills.

Here's the final layout we picked after multiple iterations. A couple of things to note: there is water behind the wall where the new sink and dishwasher are going to be. That definitely influenced the placement. Putting them elsewhere would have involved a significant expense of digging a trench out for the plumbing in our slab floor.

The sliding doors face North, which isn't ideal but will get better light into the room than does the window which is there now. We're getting sliders with built in blinds. I've never liked curtains on doors so the built in option seems the best solution. Also keeping fabric out of the kitchen is a good way to reduce lingering smells.

The other, single entry faces South; beside it is a counter-depth fridge. In the corner is a prep sink, replacing the un-ergonomic two-basin sink that is there now (see the before pics). On the East wall is a range and microwave. On the West wall is my existing pantry closet and a new build out of dishwasher, main sink, and more counter space.

The island in the middle took some time for me to get my mind around. Initially I thought a peninsula would be better but no matter how we tried it, we ended up with significant dead space in the kitchen. An island solves dual problems of 1) more counter space and 2) a small dining area for two people while permitting full use of the space.

Thanks to Alison at Kitchen Master for the lovely design.

The before photos of the kitchen

2012-10-20T16:28:00.001-04:00

We're undertaking a new kitchen remodel so this weekend I tidied up and reorganized the kitchen to take the before photos. I was wondering if I would like the kitchen better once I had put in some elbow grease but I still hate it. So I'm glad that we're doing the remodeling.

The North facing view is to the window. This window seat is cold and drafty and is only used by the dog. I recall the prior owner saying it was her cat's special place. I'm hoping the new arrangement will be more human usable (sorry, Dog).

The East facing view faces the Stove. The cabinets here are poorly organized and difficult to get things in and out of. However, in the current kitchen this is the area that is least bad. The sink and dishwasher are crowded and barely usable.

The North facing view, to the refrigerator (two photos). I strongly advise against this kind of sink arrangement. Loading dishes here hurts my back, as I have to twist and spin around to get dishes in the bottom.

The cabinets are crowded since I inherited dishes and there have been breaks as folks try to cram more in, instead of finding the right spot for something. I need an arrangement that doesn't require such careful handling by the kids and me.

The West facing view is to the pantry. The cabinets you see used to be a free floating island but the room doesn't flow well in that configuration. I can't wait to make this more usable! As you can see from the photo of the entry to the kitchen, this wall is basically unused.

I'm planning to post more pics as I go through the remodel process. Stay tuned!

Links for 2012-09-10 [del.icio.us]

2012-09-11T00:00:00-07:00

Introduction to Architecting Systems for Scale

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2012-08-06T00:00:00-07:00

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2012-08-04T00:00:00-07:00

Time's up. Unless it isn't, and you're an Olympic Epee Fencer

2012-08-03T23:43:00.003-04:00

I used to fence competitively and taught the sport previously; so my attention was caught by a recent controversy in the Olympic results of the women's epee fencing bout between S. Korea and Germany. My analysis - in this case the judge who was responsible for the clock did not notice the error and halt the match; Shin did notice the timing error and was anticipating that the judge should call a halt. Heidemann saw her anticipation, realized that a halt had not in fact been called, and launched a beat attack. This beat attack is a Fencing 101 kind of move - not something you'd normally see a lot of in Olympic level fencing, and definitely something unexpected by an opponent. Thus she scored. I feel badly for Shin but you have to play the sport and not the clock or the judge.

Also, fencing desperately needs to modernize its timing & scoring equipment. Is there any other sport being timed only to the second?

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2012-07-27T00:00:00-07:00

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2012-07-26T00:00:00-07:00

Stand up and be counted

2012-07-21T16:54:00.000-04:00

Sunday I performed at the Sunday Morning Open Mic at Donny's Skybox Theater in Chicago, in the Second City facillity. It sure brought back memories of having been there a decade ago in the training center - I'm humbled and proud to see how well my fellow classmate, Ranjit Souri, has done since then with his own hard work and cleverness. (For more cleverness by Ranjit, see @DailyJokeByRanj) Ranjit is now hosting these comedy breakfasts as an incubator for stand-up acts to refine, test, and assess their acts before a live audience of friendly fellow comedians and training center students who stopped in to see what the fuss was about. The morning starts off with a random assignment of running order via draw of numbers. Then comedians (all men, excepting YT) took the stance in sequence to give it a go.

The show ran blue, and genuine laughs were available for such an experimental venture - I expected a lot more crashing and burning but it was not bad at all. The only part I would have skipped was the occasional apologies some folks offered for their act being raw or a work in progress - I'd rather they'd have used the time to work on it than to feel guilty. I ran my bit ("A Tour of the Midwest", named courtesy of Ranjit's co-host Glenn and enjoyed the feedback - laughs where I hadn't planned for any and a segment which I thought would be more fun that fell flat. Lesson learned: Amish jokes don't play well in the windy city. These kind of sessions for theater folk by theater folk are essential to the vitality of a theater community, and I applaud Ranjit for his efforts on this. Bravo! Certainly this isn't as exciting as a main stage Second City gig, but it was a lot of fun and very useful - and that's a good deal to get out of the investment of some time on Sunday morning.

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2012-02-21T00:00:00-08:00

Our Media, Ourselves: Are We Headed For A Matrix? : NPR

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2012-02-20T00:00:00-08:00

Size isn't everything, but it is something

2012-01-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

Upon reflection, I realized I've internalized the fashion industry sizing and need to revise my present assumptions -

Size 0 - nothing to see here, move along
Size 2 - I was this size for about 2 weeks before my 12th birthday when I didn't have boobs.
Size 4 - double cheeseburger time.
Size 6 - What about going vegetarian? Aren't vegetarians skinny?
Size 8 - Do those body wraps work? Can you get one every day?
Size 10 - Double digits? Time for some sit-ups.
Size 12 - Garçon, Lettuce and water with a side of lime, please. Do you have diet, fat-free water?
Size 14 - Warning! Warning! Approaching no-man's lad
Size 16 - just give up. Wear a snuggie all day and stay home.

Catherine Eva Jakubowski

2011-12-15T12:52:00.001-05:00

Catherine Eva (née Kasperek) Jakubowski , born June 26, 1911 in Chicago, Illinois, died at her home on December 12, 2011. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Jakubowski and her son Dennis. She is survived by her son Bernard Jakubowski, daughter Charlene Lyford and her son-in-law Richard Lyford; her granddaughters: Kathy Jakubowski and Eva Lyford, and her great-grandchildren: Mary, Eric, Elliot and Oliver, and her great-great-grandchildren: Nathan and Mia.

Catherine lived in Chicago, Illinois until 1967. She was employed at Zenith Radio and after she retired she moved to Lake in the Hills, Illinois and was active in many community organizations. She was a founding member and long term president of both St. Margaret Mary Parish’s Forever Young Seniors and the Lake in the Hills Senior Citizens. In 1995 she became a full time resident of Houston where she resided with her son Bernard. She was an active member of Catholic Daughters where she ran the plant sale for the fall craft show at St. Luke’s, HUGS, The Fun Bunch, South Belt/Ellington Chamber of Commerce, AARP Chapter 4341, and the Red Hat Chapter: Le Chapeau Rouge.

Catherine was always delighted to have such close friends from these associations and very much enjoyed her outings with her friends. Her family is grateful that so many of her friends also visited during her final illness. She loved gardening, reading biographies, playing Bunco, Tripoli and poker and dining at local restaurants.

Visitation is Thursday, December 15, from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, with a Rosary being prayed at 7:00 pm at Niday Funeral Home on Beamer Road. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00am Friday, December 16, at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church, 11011 Hall Road in Houston. Catherine will be placed to rest with her husband and son at St. John’s Cemetery in Fox River Grove, Illinois.

Why I'm an Apple Fan Girl

2011-07-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

Airport Express

We have a 2005-era apple G5 which is blindingly fast for offline gaming but suffers from wifi inadequacies. This weekend, mom gave me an old Airport Extreme she wasn't using anymore (one that I gave her as a holiday gift in 2008, natch) and I undertook to get the G5 a better connection speed. Even I was surprised at how much better it turned out.

Speedtest.net results after the changes

The following instructions assume you have a healthy, secure wireless network already in place.

Airport Utility

Factory Default Reset on the Airport Express as noted here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3728
Launch the Airport Utility. Wireless networks in range will appear - your existing network and the Airport Express.
Update the firmware on the Airport Express (if needed)
On your main wireless unit base station (in my case an Airport extreme), select Manual Setup then go to the Wireless tab. Check the box next to "Allow this network to be extended" then click Update to apply the change.
On your airport extreme wireless unit, select Manual Setup then go to the Wireless tab. Change the Wireless Mode drop down to "Extend a wireless network." Select the Wireless Network Name corresponding to your existing network. Select your existing network's Wireless Security from the drop down menu. Finally, enter your Wireless Password for your existing network and Verify Password also. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1731 has more details, and an explanation for how to do this with the Airport Setup Assistant.

This didn't take long at all, but as it is a simple alternative to a wireless distribution system I thought it was worth sharing. It demonstrates that even 3 and 6 years out, Apple equipment retains a lot of value and ease of use.

These are a few of my favorite apps

2011-06-18T10:35:00.001-04:00

As a working mom I rely on my iphone apps to manage my to do list and my calendar and well as to entertain me. Here's a few of the apps I would be sad to live without:

GeniusScan - converts photos to pdfs. Great for handling expense report receipts.

NPR News - great for when I'm traveling and want to find the local station. And pledge drive free!

Amazon Mobile - great for price checking to see if that sale price is really a deal.

Find my iphone - As household tech manager I need to keep track of the enterprise assets. I save over $175/year vs. the AT&T Family Map service by using this free app - and it allows me to send a message to the device, play a sound on it (even when it is set to silent), or wipe the memory remotely.

Dropbox - all my important docs, available anywhere I am. (Here's an invitation to dropbox for you.)

Apple remote - I usually can't find the remote but I usually know where my iphone is. It works with Apple TV only.

Google Voice - I try to protect my specific mobile number so I can control when it rings. And more importantly, control when it doesn't ring. More about Google Voice (when it was aka Grand Central) in a prior post.

1Password is an essential productivity app for managing passwords, membership programs, software licenses, serial numbers... and more, if you can think to do it. Data is encrypted and secure backups can be made also.

Foursquare is a clever game which lets you compete with your friends for points, and see tips and deals at places you visit. Some refer to it as the meta tagging system for the world, but if you aren't a geek nevermind that and just enjoy the game

Post a comment below to let me know what your favorite app is - and more importantly, why!

Quick tips for writers

2011-01-29T21:44:00.001-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

I get asked occasionally for my thoughts on writing professionally. Most of my writing output is technical documents but the same principles apply there as in any creative endeavor. Here's some tips that will help to improve your writing:

Read a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron - it has some excellent discussion of how to manage the creative process.
Think about how you want to manage the business of creating words in a certain order. Do you need copyrights? How about a copyleft? What happens in the long term based on short term decisions made now?
Have you covered the basic tools of writing - getting the grammar and spelling right, citing your sources properly, providing diagrams and page numbers? Editors and reviewers will need to be managed - their time and attention are valuable to you, so make the most of it by grammar-checking and spell-checking before you ask for outside input. Read your own work through at least once before asking anyone else to.
Write in the present tense. Look at the written works that you admire and analyze them: is a ratio of 4:1 sentences relating to present:past a good one? How about 6:1? What is your goal and how can you make that happen in your writing?
I recommend signing up for twitter. Being forced to be interesting in 140 characters has improved my writing and that of many others.
Write every day, a lot, all the time. Re-read what you wrote and don't fear to ignore ideas that merit it and pursue the ones that rise to the surface. Creative destruction and the death of ideas still in their cradles is as necessary a part of the process as is the nurturing and indulgence of good ideas.

"There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story." — Frank Herbert

Manufacturing a holiday

2011-01-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

Early in November, I saw that American Express was starting a holiday - a very gutsy move. I haven't seen the birth of a holiday since Sweetest Day was promoted in the 1980s. I was curious to see what it took to make a holiday work - and to see what would work. Right now, I get the day after Thanksgiving off of work, but I haven't always. And anything that promotes the holiday status of that day after Thanksgiving is a great thing in my book.

Small Business Saturday - involved communities

Why though would AmEx want this holiday? First off, many small businesses I shop at have declined my AmEx in the past - my understanding has been that the merchant fees for AmEx are a barrier to them. It has gotten to the point that if I'm dealing with a small business, I don't present my AmEx anymore. So by AmEx promoting this holiday, and engaging their cardholders to promote it (for a $25 statement credit), they can put pressure on small businesses to expand their payment offerings. That's a smart move by AmEx.

Secondly, AmEx wants more small businesses to accept AmEx. Getting AmEx cardholders to push for acceptance is smart, and hosting an event like Small Business Saturday is a good move too. According to AmEx OPEN's Kim Moon, AmEx logged more than 100,000 point-of-purchase promotional materials downloads from their Small Business Saturday Facebook page, and over 10,000 small businesses signed up and received advertising on Facebook through this program. That's a wonderful expansion for AmEx into a market they've been limited in before.

Thirdly, this campaign was really amenable to social media tactics. In response to my inquiry to @AskAmex, I found out:

1.2 million people joined the movement and helped spread the word by “liking” Small Business Saturday on Facebook. American Express had pledged a significant donation to Girls Inc. tied to the number of “likes” on Facebook, and based on the popularity of the Facebook page, Girls Inc. will receive a $1 million donation for programs to empower young women to become entrepreneurs. Nearly 30,000 tweets were sent using the hashtags #smallbusinesssaturday and #smallbizsaturday. This includes consumers spreading the word about the national movement and business owners promoting offers they created specifically for the day.
41 elected officials declared November 27, 2010 “Small Business Saturday.” This includes the Governors of Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Utah and the Mayors of Boston, MA; Boulder, CO; Lincoln, NE; New York City; Phoenix, AZ and Topeka, KS.

That's pretty neat. It makes me wonder what other kinds of holidays might be appropriate for my industry - or for any specialized area. Perhaps those founder's day parades of my youth weren't so silly after all. American Express is apparently happy with it, as they're continuing small business marketing efforts with their Make a Small Resolution campaign for 2011.

This post was originally published at Biznology.

Merry Christmas! Get your holiday music

2010-12-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

From two of my favorite organizations, holiday music is available free - for your listening pleasure.

From Amazon: 25 free christmas songs including Mannheim Steamroller, Indigo Girls, Superchunk, MxPx.

The Beatles on a toboggan in Austria in 1965. Hulton Achive/Getty Images

From NPR: Jingle Jams including Frank Sinatra, Run D.M.C., Willie Nelson, and the Pretenders.

My gift to you this Christmas is to tell you where to hear this music. Happy listening, and happy new year!

What's the point of foursquare, anyway?

2010-11-19T09:28:00.000-05:00

Occasionally, I am asked what the point of foursquare is. OK, more than occasionally—a lot. I think people see a lot of potential in the app generally, but aren't quite sure how to use it. That's an easy question for me. From my standpoint, it's just a game—a game with some interesting social features.
I'll leave out describing how foursquare works, since there are already iconic descriptions of foursquare functionality. As an avid foursquare propeller-head, I can tell you why I think foursquare is great:

I can track friends, and use my knowledge to facilitate serendipity. If I'm nearby and a friend checks in to my local lunch spot, I can drop in to say hi.
I can predict my friend's receptivity to ideas. The friend who checked in from the bar at 3 am isn't going to join me for the trail hike at dawn today.
I can be the mayor, which gives me a tiny sliver of a sense of ownership for a place. Not that I'd help take out the trash, but I will bring a friend over unannounced. Also, given a choice between two places, I'll go to the one at which I'm mayor. I've heard from other mayors that they feel a similar sentiment.
I can find out about new and unheard of fun places from my friends who are there, and I can avoid places they don't recommend as well.
I can annoy my husband with unprecedented acuity. No longer can he check in at the market without me calling to remind him to get stuff from the list. (Love you, dear. If he didn't want me to know he was there, he just wouldn't check in.)
I win the game. I'm part of a nomad comedy troupe, I work at multiple locations, and I eat out a lot. I like a game I can win!

For those with fears of Orwellian level monitoring--or those who find geolocation presence announcements creepy, first off, if you're carrying a cell phone, then your location can be found. It takes more than ordinary telephony skills and some cash, but it can be done and done legally. (Tracking someone by cell phone is a very real option.) Most people think that only their telephone service provider and perhaps authorized government personnel could know this info. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the general public doesn't have access to this data, and choosing to publish it via foursquare or other services, such as Google Latitude, will make the data more available to the world (and available to market with.)
Let's consider what a marketer might do with that public location data:

A business can market to prospects based on check ins. The person who checks in to camera shops from an ordinary cell phone might be receptive to upgrade to a smart phone with camera, for example.
Foursquare is getting smarter about being business friendly. Venue owners can now
control who is the mayor or their location. Thus, they can run promotions for a location with a reasonable expectation that they can avoid being fleeced. Also, foursquare is now using the GPS data received with a check-in to note whether the user is actually anywhere near where they say they are. This crack down on cheating means that a business can have a reasonable expectation that people are where they say they are. "And where there are rules, there can be commerce, participation and meaningful investment," (from Read Write Web).

So, do you want to run specials at Al-Anon or the laser hair removal clinic? Doubtful that this would work. If your business relies on discretion, foursquare isn't going to help you at this point. But if you're a business where people go to see and be seen, or a business with a strong local presence, or one with an existing fan base, then you can make a stronger connection with your regulars and perhaps draw in their connections with strategic promotions. For case studies, check out Scotty's Brewhouse (for a local biz success) and Starbucks (a national play).

Image via CrunchBase

A marketer should consider how to measure the impact of any foursquare campaign carefully. For example, measuring foot traffic isn't really valuable unless that's really what you want. (I suppose if you're running a 5K race that would be a good measure.) But for most of us, determining how to measure a social marketing campaign is essential. Picking your metric--be it sales, leads, or registrations--is essential. Then, as you vary your offer and target audience, you can measure your results to see what works for your specific situation.

by Eva Lyford , first posted at Biznology Blog.

The fearsome Alot, tamed by a grammatically conscientious person

2010-11-14T18:31:00.004-05:00

I read a cartoon essay with my 10 year old and he promised me that forevermore he will be unconfused about when to use alot and when to use a lot.

Hyperbole and a Half: The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

Alot of Laughter

We laughed a lot reading this and when I commented on that he challenged me to draw alot of laughter. Here it is.

Originally I drew him with many laughing mouths but I had to take them out as he started looking like a manic Corinthian. And, yes, he has some vaguely basset-hound traits and that is to be blamed on Eric, our new foster pup.

Hat tip to The Oatmeal for tipping me off to the Alot.

Out of my comfort zone

2010-11-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

Thursday I left the familiar work of data and processes behind and ventured out with a product manager and an engineer from Delta Faucet... into my kitchen. They were looking for someone to video tape for an install of the Allora Single-Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with Soap Dispenser - someone who is a novice when it comes to home repair, and I certainly fit the bill. Little did they know that I’m also a kitchen novice, as I can barely tell the difference between a kitchenaid and a cuisinart.

Allora by Delta Faucet. With Soap dispenser!

After some preliminaries the tape started rolling. Like a good little geek, I read the instructions, counted the parts in the box, got my tools out and got my safety glasses on. I recruited the husband and a son to assist; husband’s first job was to shut off the water, and he shut it down for the whole house. (I found out later there were shutoffs under the sink for just the kitchen plumbing. I guess husband didn’t trust me to have any water in the area.)

Next, I de-installed the old faucet. Which actually required me, the kid, an engineer, and the husband at various points. Fortunately we had an auxiliary engineer. The product manager took the high road and stayed out from under the sink. Whoever installed the previous faucet had tightened down the nuts on the underside of the sink so tightly, that they may have been cross-threaded. (Points to the first post in comments who can explain cross-threading, btw). A few bruised knuckles later, finally we got off the old faucet without having to resort to the gardening shears (my idea, I confess). Elapsed time: 1:20. If I hadn’t been on camera, I probably would have stopped for a celebratory beer at that point.

Finally I started installation of the faucet - this was the part that was being evaluated, and since I’m not sure if it is public I’ll have to be a little vague here. Suffice it to say that I was really happy I could do the install from the top of the faucet and didn’t have to crawl under the sink again. But, I wish I’d had the right tools - I had to improvise with what I had, and it took longer than I expected that way. Still I was done in under an hour.

I was quite surprised at how easy it was to do the install; I made a few missteps but it was nothing I couldn’t recover from. My 10-year-old was able to some of the work as well. I’d never attempted to do a faucet install because I figured it would be just to hard for me and I’d end up with a leaky mess afterwards which would require a plumber to fix. But that wasn’t the case at all.

Next, I’ll take on installation of the In2ition shower upstairs. Have you seen the new In2ition ad?

Da Mayor

2010-09-06T12:26:00.002-04:00

I was profiled in MetroMix this summer for their series on Foursquare mayors in Indy. At the time, I was mayor of the delectable Yats on Massachusetts Avenue in the Theatre District of Indy.
---

How long you've been on Foursquare: Since November 13, 2009.

Occupation (when you're being mayor): Business Analyst by day. IT director for improv troupe INDYPROV by night.

photo by Greg Griffo

Side of the city you live on: the demilitarized zone on the north side of Indy next to Carmel.

Why you joined in the first place: There's points involved! I haven't been this excited since A&P grocery was handing out stamps.

How many mayorships you have and where: I hold the Mayor's title in 25 places. I am the Mayor of Clay Township. I stand ready to serve the constituents at any time they notice they have a mayor.

How many badges do you have? 21. I'd like to get the food truck one next just to balance off the gym rat badge. I think I'm most proud of the "Foursquare Day" badge because it required some research to get.

What does being "mayor" mean to you? A tiny sliver of a sense of ownership for the place. Not that I'd help take out the trash, but I will bring a friend over unannounced. Also, given a choice between two places I'll go to the one at which I'm mayor.

How have you/do you plan to maintain your mayorship? If things get dire, I may remodel the kitchen for a year or two so that I'm forced to eat out.

What do you plan to do as mayor/what are your platforms? I'd love it if the places where I'm mayor offered a perk to people who checked in while I was there (even if it weren't available to me); how awesome would it be to make it rain sushi rolls when the mayor's in the house? Or, a free shot of flavor at the Starbucks? Not such a treat for the guys waiting in the chairs at the threading shop though.

If you could be mayor of any place in this city, what would it be?
If Talbott street treated their Mayor as well as they treat their queens, that could work out. But I need to see if Clay Township needs a Mayor first before I can commit.

Bonus 4sq story: I was astonished recently to find that a McDonalds I'm mayor of that I critiqued as "creepy" was demolished for remodeling. Just a reminder - with great power comes great responsibility.

Beauregard is lifeblogging

2010-08-07T17:03:00.000-04:00

I set up Puppy Tweets for Beau Boy today and already he's tweeting pithy comments:

photo by Rich Burton

Beauregard:Being a dog would be a better gig if we all got paid in bacon.

I ordered the Puppy Tweets item from Amazon on April 21, then received an ominous "your approval required" message asking if I still wanted the item; the last time that happened with me was for George Martin's A Dance With Dragons as the release data keeps moving out. I approved the order again with reluctance, wondering how many times the product availability date would be pushed out. But I need not have worried; the product shipped soon and I received it today.

Setup of Puppy Tweets took about 5 minutes, not counting the search for a screwdriver to remove the battery cover. I think set up would have taken even less time had the packaging complied with Amazon's Frustration-Free Packaging; I had to slice through 5 plastic closures to get the box open.

So far, the tweets are humorous but it wasn't immediately apparent how Beau's activity was related to them. Also, I'm hoping over time the available tweets will get to be more customizable. For example, one of Beau's early tweets was about wanting the TV on; but we're an anti-tv household, so it didn't make much sense. Then again, if anyone is really looking for good sense in a dog tweeting automation toy there's a bigger problem here.

Huffington Post has a dry review and Engadget ("Yep, a real product.") has a snarky review too.

Foursquare Day!

2010-04-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'm in NYC today coincidentally on Foursquare day, and what a lucky serendipity that is. I get to unleash my inner geo-caching geek and play in an old school four square day tourney today too. (OMG do they mean with a real live red rubber playground ball? Eeek.) Of course back at the office all the boys were agog with envy when I told them my plans. At least, I think it was envy. It might have been a concerned, confused kind of envy. They look at the servers the same way when they're humming along properly and suspected of going down in flames at any minute.

So what's so hot about foursquare? I'm on the hook to provide a write up for Biznology soon, but at risk of stealing my own thunder I'll share a tease here. First off, foursquare provides a mutually-beneficial ecosystem for relationships to flourish between customers and businesses. An example: a twitter pal of mine, Scott @Brewhouse in Indy, is using foursquare to make very targeted offers to customers in his restaurant - the customers get some bucks back on their orders and he gets word-of-mouth marketing.

From a user perspective, I use foursquare when I'm in a new place and suddenly its as if there's a huge red "YOU ARE HERE" arrow hanging over my head on a map with everything labeled. I can see what's nearby, who's nearby from my network, and make more informed choices about where to go. (Kudos also to Waze and Yelp for working this mojo too.) Right now, I'm getting input from other users. But more and more, I'm seeing businesses such as Scott's out there speaking up to influence my choices.

Finally, Foursquare is developing an ecosystem. Wheredoyougo.net shows a heatmap with your checkins. I can use my foursquare data to find deals in New York City or fight zombies. This reminds me of the early days of twitter; at the same moment that loads of people are declaiming "what's the point!!" the eager inspired techies are out building out the system, regardless of whether there's a point or not. Following the twitter trajectory wouldn't be bad at all. And f you think about it, it is pretty obvious that humans had dice games way before they had game theory or probability analysis. Foursquare is a game, but it is clear that from games very complex systems can arise.

Signing off from Starbucks, in a place where they list the calories on the muffins.

I'll be the judge of that

2010-03-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Image by cobalt123 via Flickr

After the laff-a-thon fundraising this year with INDYPROV for Indy Pit Crew, I was asked to judge a photo contest with Troy from ComedySportz. Here's the deets:

Win a free Mutt Strut registration by entering our photo contest! Eva from IndyProv and Troy from Comedy Sportz Indianapolis will choose the winner, and 5 runners up who will receive Mutt Strut Swag. Contest deadline is March 19 at midnight. Email your photo to facebook-at-indypitcrew-dot-org.

Check out the entries so far in the flickr slideshow. Awww. These pups are all so adorable!

Project management lessons in snowmaggedon

2010-02-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we had such a large amount of snow dumped on us - it was quite beautiful. Nowhere near as much as we used to get in Northern Illinois near the Wisconsin border, but a lot.

The husband and I went out to shovel, and I recruited the kids to help. The repetitive, heavy labor of shoveling gave me time to think about some project management lessons.

Image by dianecordell via Flickr

First, what were our goals? "Clearing the driveway" was my first answer. But when I thought about it, actually the goal was to be able to get the cars out of the garage and the people out of the house safely. So I changed my work plan to focus on removing enough snow to make driving safe (recognizing that we wouldn't be going at high speeds down the drive) and to sweep and salt the walk. Since we're all able bodied and everyone has boots, having dry and completely clear pavement wasn't required to meet our objective. Don't over-engineer your deliverable. (Six sigma practitioners refer to this as Muda a.k.a. over-processing - activity that is wasteful because it doesn't add value.

Were there any secondary goals? Yes, I'd like the kids to develop their work ethic. This meant accepting a certain amount of snowball-throwing, fort-building, and jumping-into-snow-piles as the work was progressing. The actual contribution to the work effort from the kids was non-trivial, but not as substantial as it could have been. (But yes, boys - I thank you!) So two lessons here: first, adding resources to a project does not necessarily reduce the time line (especially if the resources are unskilled). Also: helping or managing new resources on a project reduces the efficiency of the other resources. So consider all the factors carefully when looking for new resources for a project.

Finally, what happens to a project with two objectives? In my case, the objectives were safe travel from home and developing a work ethic in the kids. Most project managers know this intuitively - adding objectives reduces the speed with which those objectives are achieved. Probably I could have done two projects separately and gotten them done sooner. But, cumulatively they may have taken more time. So consider the need for speed carefully before adding objectives to your project.

For those still digging out, I wish you luck!

Google grammar tricks

2010-02-08T07:31:00.003-05:00

I recently read an article and saw a delightful gem of a comment thread between two responders.

"@Commenter: " . . . miss a typo after pouring over a document . . . " I'm not sure if your use of 'pouring' here is an intentional demonstration of the point, or not - but note that it should be 'poring' instead. "

Image by the_munificent_sasquatch via Flickr

I think having good grammar and writing well is a really essential skill, but sometimes the nuances of a language can be tricky to master. (Especially for non-native speakers; you have my sympathy.) This example above is a good case in point: which is right? Poring over, or pouring over?

One simple way to check is to use google. Open a search, and type "pouring over" and note how many results you get - today for me was 398,000. Then type "poring over" and compare the results - 624,000. (Mind those quotes, they're important for search.) Based on these numbers, I can see that "poring over" is correct.

Not everything is amenable to a simple popularity contest. Check out a book or two for a more thorough understanding of grammar. I think grammar generally is adequately judged by common usage, because grammar arises from conventions. But be warned: acting as the grammar enforcer at work or around your friends won't win any popularity contests. Another good resource to check and see if an expression you're using in writing is a problem is Wikipedia's page on common misspellings/grammar and Misc.

Foursquare generates an ecosystem

2010-01-21T05:56:00.000-05:00

Twitter has an open API that is making the service more relevant to users by spawning a whole ecosystem supporting its use and making the experience richer for all participants. By one estimate, there are now 50,000 twitter apps and there is 20 times the volume of requests to the twitter API as there is to the web server. Similarly, the facebook API is distributing facebook data on the web and throwing off its own ecosystem - sometimes interlinked with twitter, sometimes not.

Are any other services similarly spawning partner apps to enliven the core experience? One social networking app I've been using recently is Foursquare, and I just found Wheredoyougo.net which can generate a heatmap of your activity using the Google App Engine for its mashup. Seems like I'm basically a Northsider.

The appearance of Wheredoyougo.net is a strong indicator to me that Foursquare is going to have a strong set of partner apps in 2010, justifying some of the hype going around that foursquare is the next darling of the internet cognoscenti. And this differentiates foursquare from services like Gowalla, which seem to lack that developing series of partner apps.

Rascal's Fun Zone

2010-01-20T07:19:00.000-05:00

I took a friend recently out to Rascal's Fun Zone in Whiteland and realized that although I've been chatting the place up to friends for years, I've never posted a review on them anywhere. So, I wrote up one and listed the review on Google and a review on Yelp. And here it is too -

Each of my kids has had a birthday party at Rascal's and the staff makes a great fuss over them - not just a half-hearted bit of singing over cake, but the whole time they're playing the staff makes them feel special by letting the birthday kid have the pick of go-karts, first pick at ice-cream, etc. I've also seen the staff work with a reluctant kid to get him started racing and he had a blast once he got over his initial fear. Finally they don't nickel and dime you - if there isn't a line they run the races longer, and will let a kid bowl an extra game. Note also that they are very safety conscious - if the kid is not tall enough he will not ride the rides, they make sure you are buckled in properly on every ride and if someone on track is reckless or aggressive they will get prohibited from the track. However - they have separate tracks for kids 45" tall to slow race and for adults & kids 60" tall for fast racing. Don't hassle the staff about this, because their safety-mindedness really does make it a better time for all. Finally, the staff hustles - if someone's stuck on track, they run out to resolve the issue. Check their website for coupons too.