Barch's Blog

Google Maps - My Odd Hobby

2012-01-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

I started making my own maps with Google Maps about 9 months ago. My first map was used to keep track of sights I wanted to see while I was in Spain for two months. It worked really well, so when I thought about keeping track of all the places I've worked in my life, I turned to Google Maps.

I have had a map addiction since I was a young kid. When my family moved to rural Ohio when I was in 4th grade, I remember taking an Ohio road map with me on the school bus marking the roads we were travelling so I knew how I was getting to school. I remember staring at my family's Atlas of the world for hours on end. I also remember making maps of fictitious places such as those you see in the beginning of fantasy novels. Honestly, this is part of reason why I spent an entire summer reading fantasy novels and I remember that before picking up a new novel, I would scrutinize the map. In my mind, a good story must have a good map.

So what is a good map? My friend Dan Miller got me into tracking all of the counties I've visited in the US, but this felt somewhat misleading. Just because I've touched a county (or parish or borough) doesn't mean that I've actually visited the county. At least in my mind it was misleading. However, keeping track of the roads that you've been on would better reflect where you've actually spent time. The more roads highlighted, the better you know the area. So back in December, I started a new map on Google Maps that shows all of the roads I've been on.

This is quite an undertaking and I've learned a ton about Google Maps since starting this. Here are some things I've learned:

Google Maps limits the number of items displayed at once to 18-20. Then it starts a second page and so on. This is tough when trying to see what roads have already been marked. Fortunately, all maps created with Google Maps can be downloaded to Google Earth where everything will be displayed at once (mostly). It is somewhat inconvenient to be switching between Chrome and Google Earth to see what still needs to be marked in a region, but it's better than guessing.

Google Maps recently launched a Maps GL, which is supposed to improve the map experience. However, I haven't been able to get Maps GL to work with the road map I've been creating, so I use standard maps and even that has some glitches. However, overall It works pretty well. The glitches usually come in the form of a mis-rendered map (lines look odd or don't show at all) and poor mouse navigation (I click on one spot and it thinks I'm clicking a different spot). When this happens, I generally refresh the screen and everything is fixed, but it is a hassle to then reopen the map and relocate where I was marking.

Google Earth has a limit to how many items it will show in a single map, so once I reached that limit all the other roads I marked didn't show up. I just started a second map and downloaded that to Google Earth as well.

Here's a list of the maps I've created, their meaning, and links to the map.

Roads Travelled: A list of roads and rails and trails travelled. highlighted by primary method of travel. Blue is by car, Green is by foot, Red is by above ground train, Black is by subway (just to show the links from one place to another). Map 1: Google Maps, Google Earth (better) Map 2: Google Maps, Google Earth

Virtual Résumé: A list of all the locations I've worked. This was one of my first maps. Map: Google Maps, Google Earth

Countries I've been to: A shaded map of the countries I've been to. Google Maps, Google Earth

Air Travel Map: A direct line from airport to airport of all flights I have ever made (as far as I can remember). Google Maps, Google Earth

My first tourist map: This was for a single day trip around part of Spain. This came in very handy. Look at this map in Google Earth and download my Panoramio photos link to see some of the pictures I took on this trip. Google Maps, Google Earth, Panoramio photos

Let me know your thoughts. My map tracking is somewhat of an odd hobby. Let me know what your odd hobby is.

Google Music - A Review

2011-12-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

Google Music is one of the latest music service offerings available on the internet. I signed up several months ago as a beta user and have some thoughts to share.

First of all, I love music. I listen
to an extremely eclectic mix of music. I love classical, blues, folk rock, motown, instrumentals, some R&B, some hard rock, some rap, some country, and a bit of everything else. I have over 10,000 songs on my computer. Listening to music is a hobby for me as much as it is a leisurely activity. So when I heard about a music service that would you store your music collection online and listen to it a will, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Google Music works on the premise that you have music on your computer. You upload that music (up to 20,000 songs) to their service and you can listen to your songs anywhere you go. The nice part of this service is that unlike Pandora or some of the other music services, you can listen to the song of your choice when you want to without ads. However, it wouldn't be much fun for those who don't already have a ton of music. To help those people out, Google Music offers roughly 200 songs across various genres to those who start with Google Music. I periodically check their free music to see what else I may be interested in.

To help with those that love Pandora for the music discovery, there isn't much beyond the free music. It would be nice to see a radio service merged with Google Music, even one with ads. For concept then, I give Google Music 4/5 stars.

I travel extensively for work. Often I will work out of airports, an office in LA, or anywhere else around the world I happen to be. I don't have a big enough mp3 player to hold all 10,000 songs. Most people don't. It was annoying being in a place and wanting to listen to a song that I didn't happen to have on my mp3 player. Google Music has solved this issue (mostly).

In order to upload your music to Google Music, you need to install a small application that runs in the background and automatically uploads music to your library. Google Music couldn't upload some of the music that was protected in my iTunes library. This is only some of the music I purchased through the iTunes service. I have since boycotted the iTunes service for this and other reasons. I have invested a decent amount in iTunes over the years, but there are only roughly 10-20 songs that I cannot get from iTunes into Google Music. The upload app can be annoying when rebooting without an internet connection. Instead of just running in the background and waiting for an internet connection, it pops up an error that is difficult to hide. Overall, I give Google Music 4.5/5 stars for installation/implementation.

The overall appearance and usability of Google Music is OK. I am often annoyed by the lack of some basic music management features, that I've gotten used to in iTunes. Some specific examples include playing all songs that match a search, sorting a list by the order I select, remembering my sort selection between uses, a lack of a "listened to" history playlist, and mass edit functions (when not editing an album). There are also moments when I am unable to change between songs, although this is rare, I must reload the webpage and reselect my songs to get back into my music listening. Overall though, I rate the functionality of Google Music 3/5 stars. The music management features are where they can improve the most.

When I signed up for Google Music, it was free. They said initially that they were still testing the service and would evaluate the cost when they went live. The service is now live and out of Beta and is still free for the first 20,000 songs, with songs purchased from the Android Market not counting toward that total. For value, I give the service 5/5 stars.

On a whole, I give Google Music 4/5 stars. I haven't touched Pandora since I joined Google Music. This is by far the best free music service I have ever come across.

Oh... Insignificant Me

2011-07-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

There have been very few times when I've felt like I was insignificant. This week has been one of those times.

I recently started a consulting career where I travel every week. I generally like traveling and consider that one of the perks of the job.

My first assignment, however, is to Los Angeles. A city that is 7 times larger than my beloved Cincinnati. I've never seen more people or cars in my life. It is daunting.

I'm not one to usually be phased by an issue like this. It's stressful being in such a foreign environment for the first time, but I've done that before.

I've been deployed to Guam, Spain, and Turkey. Why is this trip so different?

I think the stress of being so new in this career has compounded the stress of a new environment. I'm not only trying to figure out LA, I'm trying to figure out why on earth I'm even here.

I've been working for this company for 8 months as an intern in Cincinnati. That has made things easier for sure. However, there are some basic processes that I never encountered as an intern.

Fortunately, the people I work with are extremely helpful and have been very patient with me. I've been learning heaps.

I get to fly home every Thursday so I can spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with my family. Being home with my family is one of the best things to help me feel normal and like I have some degree of significance.

However, I haven't been home in two weeks. Last weekend I flew to a family reunion in Missouri instead of flying home. I was home the weekend before last, but even then, I was barely home because I had my military drill weekend.

I can hardly express how happy I am to be on my way home.

Last week the project I'm working on was extended. This is a common occurance in consulting (so I'm told) and usually means we throw the whole project plan in the rubbish bin. That was most certainly the case this time.

I was originally scheduled to return to LA every week until August 19th. Now, I have only one week left.

So after 12,000+ miles and many jet-lagged nights, I get ready to leave this project for good. It has been such a whirlwind, that I am left sitting in the airport wondering in amazement at how insignificant I really am.

I'm just one person among billions. I'm in a city of 14 million and hardly anyone knows I even exist. In just a few short weeks, even fewer people will remember that I was ever here at all.

It's mind numbing to ponder your own insignificance. I'm glad to be on my way home.

Reading Time

2011-02-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

Since graduating from the University of Cincinnati with my BA in Organizational Leadership, I've been able to start plowing through some of the leadership books that I've been collecting for a while now. Here is a short list of the books I've read over the past two months:

Thinking For a Change - John Maxwell

Switch - Chip Heath & Dan Heath

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership - Harvard Business Review

Leadership and Self-Deception - The Arbinger Institute

Three Deep Breaths - Thomas Crum

I would recommend all of them. I am really enjoying the fact that I finally have time to read

through my library. Next items on the list:

The Leadership Challenge - James Kouzes & Barry Posner

The Art of Framing - Gail Fairhurst & Robert Sarr

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey

Leadership From the Inside Out - Kevin Cashman

This will be good.

Learning to Fly

2011-01-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well I've wanted to be a pilot before, but the cost of learning is sky high (pun intended). So I thought getting a remote control airplane would be cool, but unfortunately it is also an expensive hobby. That is it would be if my Dad didn't have connections.

Here are pictures of a model airplane I picked up along

with a good supply of accessories for only $250.

Fortunately, one of my friends flies model aircraft and can show me the ropes (and show me what needs to be fixed). Hopefully by the summer I will be a pilot of my own used model aircraft.

Life Changes Update

2011-01-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

This is a quick update to let you know of some of the changes over the past couple months.

The biggest is that I now have a Bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati. I'm trying to find a job, but in this economy it is difficult.

I'm also looking into starting a company with my Dad presenting seminar's on the language of leadership. Not much else is new right now.

I should have a 3rd child within the next four weeks, but as this hasn't actually occurred yet, I will save the details for later.

-Barch

The White Castle

2010-09-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is the first attempt I've ver made to make a book review. I want to initially put this out there because I don't claim to be a literature expert by any means. I have finagled a way to avoid any literature classes in college. I just like to read, don't make me over analyze every bit. The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk is no exception, so my review will be all praise and not much analysis.

The story is about a young intellectual in 16th-17th Venice who is captured by Turks and made a slave. He intelligence is used to help his master gain favor in the eyes of the Emperor, but the young man never gets credit. The clash between the slave and the owner is the bulk of the text, but it becomes clear through the end that despite this outward hatred for each other, they deep down admire and aspire to be each other.

The part that make the whole thing interesting is that the owner and the slave could pass for twins. The struggle of the book then becomes not one of who gets credit, but one of identity. At the end you are left to wonder not who was treated fairly, but which of the two is narrating the story. A very thought provoking exchange of personalities and desires. It was a relatively quick read, and is at times significantly depressing.

Strange to say, when you are about to finish the book you feel that it is a very happy ending. However, on actual completion you are left wishing for something more. Not that the book needed to be longer, but you wish that the lives of these two men end up differently. So despite what would seem a happy ending, the reader isn't happy. I think that is the magic of this book. I give it my full recommendation.

Google's Caffeine at Work

2010-08-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Back in June, Google introduced their newest search index with the capability to update on the go. Essentially this helps your searches find the most recent documents that match your search the best. I wanted to test this out and so I put the title of my latest blog post "Dashcode and Eclipse" into the Google search bar and was quite surprised at what came up. You see, this afternoon, my friend Scott posted an article on his blog, "The Low-Tech World," about my blog, which included a reference to my latest blog post. So when I typed enter on my search, his blog came to the top (see the pic below). I call that some snappy indexing. I just hope that after this post, searching for "The Low-Tech World" will soon show my blog instead of his. That would be a nice return for Large Marge.

Dashcode and Eclipse

2010-08-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Well I've been working on becoming a web programmer for a couple months now. I have created a couple applications that don't really do anything exciting, but the level of app complexity is increasing. I have even added an RSS feed so that there is a way to keep people updated with my javascript adventures. To check out my javascript page, go to: http://homepages.uc.edu/~brooksbl/js/

The thing that really helps with writing code is a syntax program that can help you see if you typed your code correctly or not. I was led to eclipse, an open source platform for writing code, by my friend and programming mentor Joey. I also kept seeing a program known as Dashcode on my Mac and tested it out a few times. Here are some screen shots of the two applications.

Eclipse:

Dashcode:

It might not look like much, but they are both helpful. The real key is having something that can pinpoint your mistakes, and both have that capability. Dashcode has tons of templates to make some real powerful web applications. You will probably see some of those as I get a grasp on it. I am just glad that I didn't have to pay for either one.

Ajax of All Trades

2010-08-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

The phrase "A jack of all trades, master of none" has been easily applicable to me for years. I've professionally done many different things, and even more as a hobbyist or DIY-er. Recently I've been involved in quite a range of activities. I've been working on remodeling our bathroom (click here for pics). I've been keeping my company's web page up to date. I've been working on my capstone project for my Bachelor's degree (a future post about it will come). I picked up an electric guitar and have been fiddling with it. On top of all these activities, I feel compelled to broaden my skillset further.

I will be graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelors degree in Organizational Leadership and a minor in Business. However, as I look to the future I see the world of software to be taking a role that can't be ignored. I have been a hobbyist programmer since I was in high school, but I have never learned any useful programming languages. Now I am beginning to start into Javascript and Ajax. I've already been able to use my javascript skills to enhance the free quote widget on the right of this page.

To enhance my learning, I found some free resources available to me through w3schools and the University of Cincinnati. I am excited about learning to program web pages, and hope to migrate this blog to my own domain within the next six months. I will use that location to experiment with the programming that I am learning. I've even contemplated taking classes at Cincinnati State Technical College after I graduate from UC. Unfortunately it is too late for me to get a minor in Computer Science from UC, which I would have done if I knew about it three years ago.

Hopefully, all of this will help me to stay a jack of all trades, but instead of a master of none, I hope to be a master of a few. The key areas that I want to master: My understanding of leadership and Ajax.

Five Must-Follow Rules for a Chinese Buffet

2010-07-29T18:33:00.001-07:00

So a couple years ago I went to a Chinese buffet in Pensacola Florida and vowed that I would never do that again. It seems like I lose my head when I enter a place like that and eat everything in sight. It didn't help that the place seemed on the verge of being shut down by the Health Department. I don't know how I forgot about this incident, but the other day I felt that going to a Chinese buffet here in Cincinnati was a good idea.

I chose the one over on Ridge Avenue, because it was the closest. It had received some good reviews too, and therefore I felt that it would be a good choice. Wrong again. Don't misunderstand. The facility was really nice. Much better than the one in Florida, but I still went overboard. I went so far that all the Chinese food around me was making me sick. So at that point I got one more full plate, ate it, and then left. Overall, it was such a disappointment that I felt that there has to be something I can do to prevent it in the future. So I present these rules as way to make any Chinese buffet a more enjoyable experience.

Rule #1: Peruse the entire buffet area before you get your first plate.
It is always good to have a battle plan. I put emphasis on battle. If you go with the intention to just grab whatever looks yummy, you will pick up way too much of one thing and then wish later on that you had room for that other dish. Inevitably you will make room for that other dish, and that's when you lose the battle.

Rule #2: A spoonful of fried rice helps the mandarin go down.
Get some rice with every plate. Sure it is a cheap filler, but it will also help you keep from wanting to vomit.

Rule #3: Pair each meat item with a vegetable.
It is easy to pile up a ton of sweet and sour chicken, general tso beef, and a shrimp dish. Meat is the reason for the seasoning right? Well, I felt deprived of vegetables by the third plate and felt that I must have a plate just with vegetables. Next time I'll spread it out.

Rule #4: Slow down, the food isn't going to disappear.
I went with my kids. Apparently I felt that I had to eat fast enough to get my ten plates in before my kids would lose their patience and start throwing their crab wantons at the people next to us. Now I feel that it will be easier to ask forgiveness from the people next to us than to ask forgiveness from my stomach.

Rule #5: Convince yourself that going to the Chinese buffet is a bad idea.
This is the most important rule of all. If you heed this rule, you can avoid any abdominal and gastrointestinal pain that inevitably results from the Chinese buffet. This pain is unavoidable, so if you don't heed rule #5, be prepared to hurt.

Why I Love Craigslist

2010-07-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know, Craigslist is a classifieds website where people can post what they want to get rid of and how much they want for it. It is similar to Ebay in that you can find the most random stuff on craigslist. Here is a quick sample of strange items I found with minimal effort:

1. Miniature Cornhole set - $30
2. Wilton chocolate Molds - $5
3. Cow Photograph Holder/Carry Case - $10
4. Dokorder Reel to Reel Tape Player - $75
5. TI-89 Graphing Calculator - $40

That last one was mine. I sold it today for $40. I bought that calculator used for $150 back in 1999 on Ebay. I think I made out pretty well for an 11+ year old electronics device. I wouldn't pay $10 for a 10 year old desktop computer, but the calculator was worth $40 to somebody. I love it, because that gives me that much more money to spend on whatever I want. I think I'll buy an electric guitar.

As cool as it is for me to get money for my old junk, that isn't the reason why I like craigslist. It also doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I can use craigslist for free. I think that the coolest thing about craigslist is that it connects people.

I didn't know the guy I sold the calculator to. In fact, in all my dealings on Craigslist I haven't known the opposite party beforehand and I haven't seen any of them since. Somehow though, for that brief period of time, we connected in a way that Ebay can't provide. In order to get the stuff you buy on Ebay, you pay shipping and handling. To get your stuff on Craigslist, you need to call, text, or email the person and then you meet them at some random location and exchange the goods. This adds a distinctly human element that is not part of any other online service providers method of business.

I'm sure with some people on craigslist, you can mail a check with a prepaid box for return delivery of your good, but the average person doesn't trust that method unless they are working through a third party (like Ebay). Craigslist takes a no hands approach to the actual transaction process, thus minimizing the need for customer support. All of the grunt work has to be done by the two people wanting to exchange goods. I wanted $40, and somebody wanted my Calculator. We arranged a meeting place, met, talked for less than a minute. I gave him my calculator and it's accessories, and he gave me $40. To top it off, we both walked away happy! You don't get that kind of positive interaction with very many other web applications. I love it.

I think that the connecting people part is the greatest aspect of Craigslist. I've met people all around Cincinnati and continue to be amazed at how positive each experience is... mostly. I have had one bad experience with Craigslist. It was a no show. We had arranged to meet to trade phones on a Saturday morning. When it came to meet, there was no answer to the phone, and no return text. Oh well. Apparently she didn't want my phone as badly as I wanted her phone. And life moves on. A couple months later I post my calculator and all is well again in my happily connected world of Craigslist.

Going Google

2010-06-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

I've been a Mac for about five years now. It was a great transition for me, and I embraced Mac OS X rather quickly. I never thought I would say this, but I might be shifting my Mac loyalties. No, I'm not going back to Windows. I have to use windows at work and often at school, which is often enough to keep me away in my personal life. My loyalties are shifting towards Google.

Five years ago, Google wasn't even thought of as a contender in the computer platform market. It was mainly Windows and Macintosh, with a few Linux users. As of now, Google still doesn't have an operating system for home computer use, but they have entered the mobile computing market with their Android Operating system for mobile phones. Everyone is a big fan. Me, I would gladly get an Android enabled phone, except for one thing. I'm a Mac. Why would a Mac ever prefer a non-apple phone over the iPhone. Because the said Mac uses all of Google's services and they aren't easily compatible with the iPhone OS. I use Google Calendar, Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Voice. The only one that is readily available to be used on the iPhone is Gmail. In fact, Apple has even gone as far as blocking Google Voice and Google AdMob which is responsible for making many of the apps on Apple's app store free. Fewer free apps, unusable services, this is a problem for anyone who has gone Google.

I went Google about 6 months ago. I have had my Gmail account for years, and my blog for a while too, but I only recently began using Google Calendar, Docs, and Voice. It was also then that I realized that I wouldn't be able to use these services as easily in any iPod touch or iPhone. Bummer. Hopefully Google will keep fighting to make their services available despite Apple's attempts to block them, but we'll see. If Apple keeps up their stubborn proprietary bologna I won't remain a Mac for whole lot longer. I think I might go Google. I wonder how those cute Apple commercials will change when Mac has to face an even hipper and more versatile Googlized PC.

Will people stop hating the Islamic community?

2010-06-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Someone I know sent me an email today about how evil and horrible Muslims are. It was typical bashing and I wasn't a big fan. I get so frustrated by ignorant people. The main point of the email was to point out that there are 1.2 billion Muslims and only 14 million Jews, yet the Jews have received more Nobel Prizes than Muslims and are therefore better. Here are a few samples of some of the things that the email said, which by extension, he said:

"The [Muslims are]... promoting brain washing children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims.

"The [Muslims] hijack planes, or kill athletes at the Olympics, or blow themselves up in German restaurants."

This is the response I sent to his forwarded message:

[Mr.______],

If all 1.2 billion Muslims truly did teach all their children to hijack planes and blow themselves up, don't you think that the world would be destroyed by now. That is 4 times the US population. That means that if every Muslim really does want to kill everyone else, there wouldn't be a force big enough to stop it. Why don't you stop sending these emails that don't make any sense? I agree that the Jews deserve more respect than they are given, but so do the Muslims. Al-Qaeda is suspected of having 500-1000 people according to wikipedia. Even if there were 100 times as many, it would be less than 0.0001% of the Muslims in the world! Why do all of the Muslims get labeled as evil, when the ones who want to hurt others are at most less than a millionth of a percent of the worlds population?

Please think about what you send before you send it out to everyone.

Thanks,

Barch

My Computer Analogy

2010-05-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are tech savvy, you can ignore this post. This is a simple analogy I derived to help my brother understand the various components of a computer system.

A computer is similar to when you sit down to eat. You are the processor and eating is like processing of information. Info can therefore be compared to food for this analogy. The speed at which you eat is your processing speed, which is usually measured in bits (32-bit or 64-bit) and hertz (Mhz or Ghz). Bits can be compared to the size of your mouth or how much info you can process in one bite (no relation to byte). The hertz is how many bites per second you can handle. Today's processors average around 2 - 3 Ghz, which is the equivalent of two or three billion bites of food per second. Now that's chomping.

Now you can only eat what is in front of you on your food tray. The tray is the computer's cache. The bigger the cache, the more info that is readily available. It is obvious that it is faster for you to grab food off of the tray than to walk to the refrigerator for food. Therefore a larger cache or tray significantly enhances the speed at which you can eat. The refrigerator would be the RAM. Most people these days have the equivalent of a monstrous walk in refrigerator in terms of RAM. It can store tons of easily prepared food items. Now someone has to bring the food to you eating at the table. This person is Mrs. Bus. There are different types of Busses (Front line bus and internal bus, etc), but for this analogy we will keep it simple and consider them all the same. Mrs. Bus has a speed, which is also measured in hertz, usually around 800Mhz these days, which means she can get mor information for your tray 800 million times per second.

Most people's refrigerators aren't big enough to hold all the food they will eat at any given time (especially if they are eating at two billion bites every second). Therefore there is a need for an ultra large food storage system. This is like a monstrous pantry. The pantry is your hard drive. This way Mrs. Bus can go and get the food that they need and load it into the refrigerator in preparation for you to eat it within the next 20-30 seconds. When your computer bogs down and is going slow, it is usually because you just asked it to prepare a gourmet meal for which it doesn't have all the ingredients readily available in the refrigerator. Depending on the size of the meal and the number of courses will determine how long it will be backed up trying to process your request.

This brings up another aspect. The system setting in which all this food is being eaten. Are you in a restaurant or in a someone's home kitchen. These could be compared to the Operating Systems. A fine dining environment would be Mac OS X. A typical run of the mill Outback Steakhouse would be Windows 7, and your home kitchen with the paint pealing would be Windows 95, etc. The different meals, complete with recipes, courses, and recommended spices would be the various applications that are being run by your computer.

Now many new computers these days have multiple processors, which is like having a date at your meal. They can be eating one meal (ie. Microsoft Excel) while you are eating another (ie. Google Sketchup). This is handy and is something that the super computers specialize in. Some can have upwards of 1000 processors.

Occasionally you'll want to eat something that isn't an option in your food storage or refrigerator. In this case, you either go without, or you send Mr. Web to the store to get the information you need to make your ideal meal. Mr. Web has gotten faster over the years as he has upgrade his mode of transportation from a moped called "dial-up" to a Porsche called "DSL" or "Cable." For those who can really afford it, occasionally Mr. Web gets to ride in a Ferrari called "T1" or a fighter jet called "T3."

Now the one part I didn't discuss was what do you do with all this information when you eat it. Well... you process it. Once processed, it gets returned to the user in a form of an output. I'll leave it to your imagination to finish the analogy from here :)

Ball of Cards

2010-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

So I was interested yesterday to see that one of my friends posted a little blip about making a ball out of playing cards. I thought it looked cool and so naturally I spent yesterday afternoon building this instead of working on homework. Here is the result:

4 Reasons to Make Blogging a Priority

2010-05-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while. This is by no means because I didn't want to. I just didn't make it a priority. Here are four reasons from a new favorite book of mine for why I need to make it a priority:

1. "Full, free self-expression is the essence of leadership. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.'"

2. "No leader sets out to be a leader per se, but rather to express himself [or herself] freely and fully. That is, leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves. The difference is crucial, for it's the difference between being driven, as too many people are today, and leading, as too few people do."

3. "Codifying one's thinking is an important step in inventing oneself... Writing is the most profound way of codifying your thoughts, the best way of learning from yourself who you are and what you believe."

4. "To be authentic is to literally be your own author (the words derive from the same Greek root), to discover your own native energies and desires, and then to find your own way of acting on them."

The book is On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. Bennis was the President of the University of Cincinnati in the 70's, and is known for his leadership expertise.

Are Business Schools Going "Soft?"

2010-01-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

So I'm graduating soon. By the end of 2010 I will have a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership. As a part of my 30 year-old plan I have to seriously start figuring out what I want to do for a masters degree. I've been looking into various options for my graduate schooling over the past five years. My general idea of what type of schooling I want to pursue has changed along the way. This is largely due to the various mentors and advice givers I've had along the path. These people include friends, family, academic advisers, various professors, and the occasional stranger. Please feel free to share your opinion with me and possible alter the course of history.

I have looked into programs of planning, organizational leadership, public administration, and most recently communications. I have been criticized by some advice givers that my preferred option (as of now) in communications is "soft" and that communications is mostly "fluff." I've been told that I would do much better to go toward business, organizational psychology, or planning. That I needed to stay away from those "people who talk about Discourse." I personally have never felt like business schools would satisfy me. I didn't feel that I was MBA material because I felt that most MBA programs were too rigid. It's somewhat hard to explain exactly what I mean by this, but I will try.

The business field has conventionally focused on "good business." What sells, what makes a profit, how to maximize the profit, and how to develop more efficient processes are the typical stuff of business schools. They call these various routes to success "business models," and will tel you how to be successful using these various models. Anyways, I have always preferred the "soft" approach of the social sciences that discuss things like implicit costs and social impact. I like the idea that everything is interconnected and that if we mess with one area to get a big profit, it can have disastrous results in another area. I like this because it's true! In business they generally don't care. The only entity to consider is the business and its stakeholders, which is a very narrow point of view.

So I was highly surprised when I was turned on to an article in the New York Times by one of my professors. The article explained that due to the recent economic crisis, many business schools felt that they needed to provide a more holistic thinking graduate. The article mentions that "[MBA Graduates] need to sharpen their thinking skills, whether it’s questioning assumptions, or looking at problems from multiple points of view." The article then echos my previous understanding that "learning how to think critically — how to imaginatively frame questions and consider multiple perspectives — [is] historically ... associated with a liberal arts education, not a business school curriculum." So what has been the solution? Change the curriculum to match the need. My response... about time. The article states that this shift in curriculum is "tectonic," which is to say foundational. A couple of the schools mentioned in this shift are the business schools at Stanford, Yale, and the University of Toronto.

This is wonderful news for me. My gut feeling that I would be better served by going "soft" is actually something that several business schools are trying to do as well. It's a strong affirmation that I wasn't in the wrong as a couple advice-givers suggested. Some business scholars such as Henry Mintzberg believe that all MBA programs should be shut down and that the only programs for business education should be those for people who have already earned some of their management stripes. Interesting thought.

Without doing away with one of the most profitable degrees for universities across the globe, I like the approach that several programs are taking. I really like the title of some of the courses mentioned in the article as well. Titles such as "Fundamentals of Integrative Thinking," and "Problem Framing," and "The Opposable Mind." These changes are in the face of traditional thinking, and not everyone is on board. The idea is that by creating a more socially aware and capable thinking graduate, economic crises like the ones we've seen in recent times will be less frequent and potent. However, as the article states, if the pay systems that reward huge short-term profits over steady long-term success remain, it will negate much of the attempted changes. The article quoted Upton Sinclair who said, "it’s amazing how difficult it is for a man to understand something if he’s paid a small fortune to not understand it."

For me, I've added a couple business schools to my list of options. They made a huge shift in their thought and so have I.

Here's a Tongue Twister for You.

2009-12-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

So when I was in High School I decided to invent a tongue twister. I must have been really bored. I thought I would publish it for the first time for anyone to see.

Jamaican Bacon

Are Jamaicans makin' Jamaican bacon for the Jamaicans achin' for Jamaican bacon made from Jamaican bacon-makin' pigs?

There you have it.

The Good of Education

2009-12-17T16:45:00.001-08:00

I love to learn. That is probably why I may never actually leave the classroom (figuratively speaking of course). I am one that want to take full advantage of every opportunity I am given to learn. I make the most of the even the most mundane classes, from Physics (interesting concepts, but horrible teacher) to Deaf Heritage (a topic I never really thought about before). I am usually the annoying kid in class who always has something to say about what the teacher is explaining. This has its positive and negative effects.

The Negative:
My obsession with school almost always estranges me from my peers. Few college students that I come in contact care about their education the way I do. Most of my classmates just want to get the grade and move on. One graduate student even went so far as to say that her college education is "knowledge bulimia" in that she upchucks all of the info she learned at the end of each quarter in order to make room for the next quarter. I am the opposite in that I hope to retain as much info about the class as possible (in case I need it).

Fortunately technology has made this much easier and less messy. The quarter has just passed and I have spent about two or three hours scanning in all of my notes, hand-outs, and tests from the quarter. I have documented each item in its appropriate spot, and pushed it back into my school archives. I can breathe easier, but I can't easily forget what I have learned. I may be considered by some as obsessive, but I prefer the term "knowledge-centric." This centricity can easily seen as a negative, but only from the outside.

The positive:

I always try to do more than I need to. This often annoys the other students (especially if there is a curve), but I feel that I owe it to myself to do the best that I can possibly do. Part of this is immersing myself in the the subject. I do this to the point that I blend the past experiences I've had with what I'm learning and get highly interested in even the most difficult subjects. This generally leades to several after class discussions with the professor. My professors have usually learned that I am a bit more committed than the usual student, and consequently entrust me with some interesting assignments.

For example: I made a comment in class about Dr. Seligman's work on learned optimism and explanatory style. The teacher was so interested that she asked for some more information. I went home and composed an email with some of the basics about learned optimism as it pertained to the topic in class. She then emailed me and asked if I wanted to help her do research on the topic that I had brought to her attention. Wow! I wasn't expecting that to come from a simple comment in class. This same professor also submitted my name to be a good candidate for the new Organizational Leadership Club that our school is trying to start. I was able to become the inaugural recruitment chair. Neat opportunities.

Another example is a professor in one class who started lobbying for me to go to her department's masters program once I completed my Bachelor's Degree. It seemed interesting, and I began doing some research into the degree and my options. At the end of the quarter after I received one of only two A's in the class, I was asked by the same professor if I would be willing to work for her. The job would be reading the textbook for her class next quarter (which I will be taking) and helping with the research to get it ready for publication. I am amazed at the opportunity to learn more even outside the classroom.

It is for these reasons that I am happy to say that I may never leave the classroom. Even if I don't quite see things the same way my peers do. This has been a great quarter for these opportunities, and I look forward to next quarter.

Thank You Brian Kelly and Farewell

2009-12-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

There has been quite a bit of hatred around Cincinnati recently with the announcement that Brian Kelly is the new head coach at Notre Dame. I will admit that I was also extremely upset, but I have moved on and feel that the rest of Cincinnati, barring the UC football team, should do so as well. This city needs to be grateful for what Brian Kelly has done to the University of Cincinnati's football program. Here are a couple reasons why.

1. Brian Kelly left for his dream job. Although most people are claiming that he chose to go to Notre Dame because of the money, I don't think he would have left for any other school even if they offered significantly more money. Because of his success he was a highly desired football coach. His negotiations with both Notre Dame and Cincinnati were rigorous. According to Cincinnati's Athletic Director Mike Thomas, every effort was made to keep Kelly here in Cincinnati. The final decision came down to the fact that Brian Kelly would rather be in Notre Dame. I think that even if Notre Dame offered the exact same amount of money that Cincinnati offered, he would still have picked Notre Dame.

2. Isn't it better that Kelly used Cincinnati as a stepping stone to Notre Dame than UConn or Louisville? This is my biggest point. It doesn't take much to see the impact that Brian Kelly has had on the Cincinnati football program. Would this have happened if he had never worked here? I doubt it. So why complain that he left so long as he left the program significantly better.

3. I can understand why people are upset, and I've been frustrated in the past couple days in which Kelly left Cincinnati. Especially considering that several of the players that are upset, have been classmates of mine at one point or another. However, Brian Kelly didn't do anything to me personally, and he really didn't hurt my "pride" in Cincinnati. If anything I am much more "proud" of Cincinnati and rub it into my Ohio State counterparts every chance I get. I wish he was still here, but he isn't and maybe it is just as good.

4. The last two schools that Kelly has left are still doing really well because of the way that he structured their systems for the future. The same has happened for Cincinnati. I will be highly surprised if Cincinnati goes back to being a "no-name" team in college football just because Kelly isn't here anymore. Because of the way Kelly left the program, we can get another good coach, continue to dominate the Big East, and stay in contention for the national title in years to come.

Cincinnati should be grateful that Kelly came. Stop beating the man up and let him move on to Notre Dame. The only people that shouldn't move on, at least not yet, are the football players that used to be under Kelly's guidance. He ditched them flat out. Take that anger and frustration and use it. Use it to destroy Florida! That kind of rage could tip the scales even more in favor of Cincinnati at the Sugar Bowl. Then when the Sugar Bowl is over, we can start working on next season with the new coach. For goodness sake, we still have Zach Collaros, DJ Woods, and Armon Binns. Let Cincinnati football continue on in greatness.

The one thing that has upset me the most about this whole BK to ND deal is that Notre Dame acts as if it is their right to pick anybody for the position. It also seems crazy that a program as dilapidated as Notre Dame's can still hold such a strong sway over a man as intelligent as Kelly. In this sense, maybe it is all about the money. In some sense, I wish Kelly would fall flat at Notre Dame, but not because I want Kelly to fail. I just want Notre Dame to be knocked down a couple more pride notches. I wish Kelly the best of luck in everything he does, mostly for the way he has positioned out football program for a magnificent future. I am not going to predict if Kelly will succeed or fail, I'm not that vested in the Fighting (and losing) Irish. Either way, I am looking forward to the new coach and the next chapter in UC football history. Bring on the Sugar Bowl!!

PB&J In a Bag and more M&M Creations

2009-11-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

I was at the new Wal-Mart in Fairfax today and was stunned to see a new product in the check out line. The Mars M&M company has come out with a limited edition equivalent of Peanut Butter and Jelly (PB&J) in a Bag. The special M&M's are called "Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms," and they are weird. I couldn't resist buying a pack to test them out. Sure enough, as I suspected, they tasted like little morsels of America's favorite slap together sandwich. Just add a hint of chocolate, shrink it down to the size of a pea, and put a candy shell around it. Why not?

Just to clarify, I don't really like PB&J, so I was really going out on a limb with this little pack. But I figured in a worse case scenario I could give them all to my toddlers who will eat anything. However, the most I shared was two M&Ms to each of my two kids, and about three or four with my wife. Yeah, I'm stingy. Fortunately for my taste buds the peanut butter flavor overpowered the PB&J effect, which made for a good mid-morning snack. I love peanut butter.

Shortly after eating them, I patted my portly belly and decided to check and see if I had done myself a nutritional favor by eating that bag of M&Ms instead of a real PB&J. One bag contains about 230 calories and various other nefarious ingredients. One PB&J sandwich contains about as many calories, perhaps a few more, and is possibly healthier. It all depends on the bread, peanut butter, and jam that you use; And also if you lay it on thick (like I do), or spread it so thin you have to sniff the bread to see if there is anything on it (like my wife). Needless to say the Mars M&M Company has come out with a nifty little snack. I just wonder if we as a society are to the point where we are too lazy to make a PB&J. If so, we now have an easy solution.

I checked out the M&M website to see if I could find anything else about their nifty little sandwich in a bag (not named such, probably for marketing reasons. It doesn’t sound as appealing). Unfortunately I didn’t see anything about their strawberry excursion, but I did see something else that really caught my eye. M&M’s have offered personalization to their candies for a while now, letting people pick their color, and even picking messages to go on the candies as in those little sweet hearts at Valentines Day. Now they have taken it one step further, and creepier. You can now get faces printed on your M&Ms. On their web page they highlight a girl’s face on some pieces with phrases such as “Tiff is 16” and “Born to Party!” on other pieces. I think this is a clever idea, although it is a little strange. Why would you want your face on a piece of candy that is going to be crushed to bits in one of your friend's mouth. I do think we could really put this to good use though. If the US Government had special M&Ms created with the top ten most wanted criminals’ faces on them, we the people could literally help take a bite out of crime! Think about it.

Selling Books (Half Price may not be so great)

2009-10-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

I love Half Price Books. A regular bookstore where everything is half price or better. What a brilliant idea. To top it off, they even let you sell your old books to them for cash. I thought this might be a good way to clean up the old home library. We have collected several books we rarely touch, and even more rarely think about or read.

I packed up a box full of books and headed to the local Half Price Book Store. It is only 10 minutes away and easily accessible to the freeway. I hoped to get at least $50 for my box of books, which I thought was extremely low considering several of the books cost at least $30 or more. However, $50 would have been worth the trip.

The way it works is that you take your books to the counter, and while they are tabulating your box of books, you can wander around looking for new books to spend your cash on. They told me that once they tabulated everything they would make an offer and I could accept or decline. I had come in with the intention to take whatever offer they gave me.

I left with the whole box of books. Not only was the offer well below my expectations ($26), I wouldn't even be able to buy the new books I had picked up while wandering around the store. I was incredulous. Still am. Now I know that if I want to sell enough books to buy a few new books, I have to bring my whole bookcase. Crazy!

I decided to check out a couple websites that offer to buy books from you. One is Cash 4 Books, which would only take 6 of the books I was offering for $45. The other website, Powell's Books, Offered me $7 for 3 other books. This is totaling $52 (or twice as much as Half Price) for only 9 books of the offered 20-30. Not bad. Good thing I didn't take Half Price's offer. It's a rip off.

In Half Price's defense, I'm sure that they have seen an influx of people bringing in old books due to the economy. They were the only place I checked out that would actually take all of the books. Based on simple principles of supply and demand, I can't really imagine that they are offering top prices in this economy. It is still surprising though that I can get double their offer with a third of the books.

Vote "No" on Issue 9

2009-09-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

So I just started a class in the Planning Department of the University of Cincinnati. The class is called organizational theory, and will be fascinating (call me weird). On the first day we were told about how the class would go etc. We were given a service learning assignment to be completed by November 3rd - election day. It is focused on the election and we have to volunteer at least four hours toward an organization or cause that is directly related with the elections. I wanted to do something I was interested in so that my volunteering wouldn't feel so much like volunteering. I decided to check out the Hamilton County Board of Elections to see what issues are up for the vote.

One of the biggest ones right now is the issue on Casinos. I could easily join the cause against the casinos, but I thought I better check out the other issues first. Then issue 9 stuck out. Of course! This is the issue I've been preaching for years, and now it is up for vote!

Issue 9 deals with the streetcar debate in Cincinnati. Many people think that a streetcar system is a waste of money. I however, totally disagree. I think it is the first step of many toward a stupendous public transportation system around Cincinnati. Few Ohioans realize the powerful benefits of a solid public transportation system. Why, Because Ohio has no good public transportation systems. Cincinnati would be the first. Let me give you a little background on where I come from on this matter.

From July 2001 I moved to Bairnsdale, Australia. Bairnsdale is 3 hours east of Melbourne and 8 hours south of Sydney. Despite the distance from Melbourne, I could hop on a train and ride into the city. Once in the city, I could hop on numerous trams to go all around downtown and see the sights, or take the trams straight into some of the near suburbs. It was wonderful. It greatly reduced the reliance on cars to get everywhere, and made it easy for me to check out Australia without a chaperon (I wasn't allowed to drive while I was there).

In July 2002 I moved back home. It was so sad to be 45 minutes away from downtown Columbus Ohio and not even capable of catching a bus into the city. The closest bus stop was halfway into the city. At that point, taking the bus was pointless. Then in 2003 I moved to Salt Lake city. Anybody familiar with Salt Lake will agree that traffic on I-15 can be a burden. For the 2002 Olympics, Salt Lake City installed a light rail system that paralleled I-15. It greatly reduced the congestion on I-15 and continues to be a boon to the city out there.

Then I moved back to Ohio, this time to Cincinnati. Here is a town that has an extensive rail network, much bigger than that of Columbus or Salt Lake City. Many of these rail corridors are no longer in service, but they still exist. Although the bus system is better than Columbus, it is still ridiculously slow. Now the Mayor and several other key groups want to get funding for a Tram system downtown. I think it is a brilliant idea.

I hate to pay for parking. I will park 8 blocks away at the University of Cincinnati just to ensure I get free parking. That is by far the worst part for me of going downtown. If it was possible to get free parking (it is) and then hop on a tram into the heart of downtown (not yet) I would visit downtown significantly more often. It would make it much easier to see a Reds game too. I've uploaded a map of the proposed corridors.

The key to remember here too is that this is phase 1 of a much bigger plan. Later phases of the plan would implement light rail all around the city, mostly on preexisting rail corridors. The real scary thing about issue nine isn't that it bans street cars. Issue 9 changes the city charter to ban any "passenger rail transportation." This seems a little extreme for the people against a Trolley system. Hey if you love hanging out on I-75 for an hour on your way home from work, be my guest. I won't lie and say that a rail system will reduce your commute time. It might and it might not, but it will reduce your commuting stress. I would much rather hop on a train and read the newspaper for that same hour. You can't read the newspaper and drive, finish that big project for work and drive, or even safely talk on the phone and drive at the same time.

Don't vote yes. Cincinnati has a great opportunity with it's preexisting corridors to become one of the best public transportation cities in the country. Why would we want to ruin that forever. By the way, I'm not even going to count this blog post toward my four hours of service requirement.

Tom Peters on Leadership

2009-09-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video from Tom Peters about Leadership, that I thought I would share.
The hand movements are a little exaggerated, but the point is good.

Tom Peters on the Definition of Leadership from Tom Peters on Vimeo.

Two Views of Freedom - Which one is better?

2009-09-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've recently understood a gospel topic in a new way. The issue has confused me a few times in the past, and I think I've finally been able to wrap my head around the idea and embrace it. (Sounds painful doesn't it.)

The issue is this. Many critics of the Latter-Day Saints or Christians in general, claim that they would be "limited" to be bound by so many rules and obligations. They feel that there is much more freedom in just living life how you want to, regardless of what God has commanded. On the other hand Brigham Young said (and I paraphrase) to really understand true freedom, one must keep the commandments of God, because as we keep the commandments our ability to exercise our agency gets enhanced and expands. (I wish I could find this quote again)

You might be able to see where the confusion lies. Both sides of are claiming greater freedom but through opposing means. As usual, reading the scriptures really helped expand my understanding. The Book of Mormon is full of great imagery that helps explain key principles. 2 Nephi 28:19-28 helped explain this principle to my mind. In these verses, there is imagery of chains as well as imagery of the rock foundation or the sandy foundation. Let me explain how this helped.

When people build their life's foundation on the sand (in the world), they may feel that they have more freedom than those who build upon the rock (in Christ). This is because those on the rock cannot move their feet from the rock while those on the sand can move around on the sand and change their foundation as the sand shifts. However, those on the rock know that there is more to freedom than where to put your feet. There is growth upward and out. Like a good tree with a strong foundation, there is no end to its height or the broadness of it's leaves. Those in the sand may feel that they have more freedom, but they are looking down at their feet. While they are paying so much attention to their feet and bragging about the freedom they have, Satan is layering chains over top of them. When at some point they look up they will realize that those chains are holding them to the sand.

We try and point out those chains to the ones in the sand. If at some point they try and balk at the lack of freedom others suggest is there, they are quickly reassured that they can still move their feet. Deeper and deeper into the sand they go as the weight of their chains hold them down. You hear advice that if you're stuck in quicksand the best thing to do is hold still. Those that balk will wiggle their feet to get reassured of their "freedom." That is when they sink down further into their sandy foundation until one day they can no longer even feel their toes. At this point they may realize that they made a mistake, they may also feel that there is no more hope. That is where those on the rock come in.

The ones on the rock slowly grow bigger and feel freer as they explore the open atmosphere of the world and "the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Even though their feet are planted firmly, they know the true freedom comes from above. Invariably, one of the truly righteous trees hang very closely over one who is trapped in the sand. If the one in the sand decides to admit that he needs help. If he quits wiggling (committing sin) to prove that he has "freedom," then he may look up and see the branch of his former friend reaching out to him. The main role of the ones on the rock is to be an example to all around.

How do we get onto the rock? Satan tells us that we must first dig ourselves out of our mess by ourselves, and then drag ourselves onto the rock of our salvation. This route seems so difficult that many will give up or quit, which is what Satan wants. What does the Savior say? "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Christ, having "descended below all things," works his miracles from below rather than above. The individual must decide to begin exercising his "freedom" to get onto a sure foundation, a "foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Once the decision is made, he stops wiggling (which is what got him into the mess in the first place), and trusts in the Savior.

As the individual in the sand exercises his freedom to be "limited" by keeping the commandments, they see that Satan's chains begin fading and breaking. After a season of faith, repentance, etc., the individual in the sand makes a huge discovery. While they have been looking skyward and keeping their feet firmly planted in the right, Christ has turned their sandy foundation into sandstone! Without realizing it, they are free from the chains of Satan and can grow ever upward and outward with a better understanding of what true freedom means. Then they understand what the God-fearing people meant all the time by having more freedom through righteous living.

Marty, Scott, Cassie, and Austin: The branch is there. I might not be the best at reaching out to you, but I do love you. I'm ready to help when you are ready for it. Please stop wiggling, let the Savior transform your foundation, and come find the freedom in the so-called "limited" path. You will be amazed.

I Got a Name

2009-08-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'm a little young to remember Jim Croce. In some ways I wish I had seen his story. He died ten years before I was born, but left a legacy of music that is still alive today. Here are a couple highlights from his biography on starpulse.com:

"Croce appealed to fans as a common man, and it was not a gimmick -- he was a father and husband who went through a series of blue-collar jobs. And whether he used dry wit, gentle emotions, or sorrow, Croce sang with a rare form of honesty and power. Few artists have ever been able to pull off such down-to-earth storytelling as convincingly as he was."

My most favorite song from all artists in all time periods is Jim Croce's I Got a Name. This simple ballad is inspiring to me. Here is a man who had his fair share of difficulties in living his dream, but he did it. In the song he states that 1) he carries his name and is "living the dream", 2) he sings his song proud, and 3) he will share his road with anyone who is "going [his] way". How do these things apply to leadership?

1) "I Got a Name... and I carry it with me like my daddy did, but I'm livin' the dream that he kept hid." - Everything in life has a name, it's how we carry that name that matters. Jim points out that his "daddy" carried the same name, but did so while hiding his dreams. There are some names that carry weight with them: Colin Powell, Jack Welch, and Warren Buffet for example. I don't think it is because their parents just happened to name them well. It is because they carried their name and lived their dream.

2) "I Got a Song... and I sing it loud. If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud." This tidbit of the song entails two things. What is your song? and How can you sing it loud and proud? The answer to the first question takes soul searching. It is what makes you a leader. It takes desire and commitment to find, but once found it will fuel your song until the day you die. The answer to the second question may be more difficult, but remember it took Jim Croce years of "blue-collar" jobs as a father before he was able to find the how.

3) "Like the fool I am and I'll always be, I've got a dream... I know I could share it if you want me to. If you're going my way I'll go with you." Leadership is all about helping others become their own singers and songwriters. As a leader you have the opportunity of sharing your dream with those who desire to "go with you." You also have a duty to help those you serve as a leader carry their name, sing their song, and live their dreams!

There is one more tidbit in the middle of the song that I think is very applicable to what I have said today. Just after the guitar solo and before the last stanza, Jim sings, "And I'm gonna go there free." It is free. We can all pursue our dreams. What is stopping you? Just so you know, this song was released on the album titled "I Got a Name" three months after Jim died in a plane crash. He lived his dream beyond his death. How are you going to live yours?

I Got a Name - Jim Croce
Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm livin' the dream that he kept hid
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistlin' down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free
Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Oh, I know I could share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by

Beware of the little things!!

2009-08-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

I recently had a job working at a small rail yard. Few people realize how large and heavy trains actually are. We transferred product from railcar to semi trucks every day. The length of an 18 wheeler from bumper to bumper is about the length of your average railcar. A standard railcar can haul about 4 - 4.5 times the amount a semi truck can legally haul. A modern railcar can have a max weight (including the empty weight) of about 286,000 pounds. (about 129.7 metric tons). To give it some perspective, if you were to make those cute holiday model trains that go around the christmas tree perfectly to scale, one of those model train cars would weigh about 3,000 pounds. The typical train engine that would service our yard could push 50 fully loaded cars with ease! Trains are big!

No matter how big trains can be though, it really doesn't take much to get them off course. We had some deep gouges in the asphalt next to one of our lines where a train had derailed. The story was that while the de-railer was in place, the conductor accidentally switched the train to the wrong track. With all the momentum of a heavy train it wasn't quick to stop, even going 5 miles per hour. When the conductor realized his mistake he called for the brakes to be put on, but it was too late. Within seconds, the de-railer lifted the fully loaded railcar off the tracks and sent it loose. The gouges were only about 20 feet long, and there was very little harm done to anything except the conductor (after his boss talked to him)! The thing that amazed me is that the de-railer is portable! I don't just mean that you can move it with a forklift, or car, but that I can pick it up with one hand! It amazed me how a well designed 40 pound piece of metal could derail a train with millions of pounds of momentum and be reusable. It is also incredible that if the conductor had thought ahead, he could have removed the de-railer by hand and avoided the whole mess.

The point is this. The de-railer did its job and knocked a moving train off course. Do we see Satan's de-railers in time? He is trying to set up those well designed diversions to really knock us off course, no matter how much momentum we have. Satan knows our weak spots, and he has designed these de-railers for each and every one of us. It is up to us to plan appropriately so we don't switch into the wrong track to begin with. If we skirt the boundaries of disaster, we may just get disaster.

How Service Affects Leadership

2009-08-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may have seen the recent BYU alumni Magazine, there was an article in there about service. While I am not a BYU alum, my wife is and I will often peruse her alma mater's magazine. the article was called Why Giving Matters by Arthur C. Brooks. He had an interesting tidbit in there about leadership, which is what I am going to school for at the University of Cincinnati. I downloaded the forum from BYU's website and spliced the leadership tidbit out for you to see.

I find this little tidbit very interesting. I guess if any of us aspire to be leaders, then we should step up to the plate and give.

Work Changes For the Better

2009-08-13T06:49:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a tumultuous month and I feel like I need to explain to those who may have heard about the changes, but don't know why.

While I was at scout camp on vacation, I received a phone call from a girl I worked with at Bulkmatic. She told me that the railroad had ended Bulkmatic's contract and was getting another company in to manage the yard. The management didn't like the thought of being kicked out, but the attitude seemed to be, "well, at least we have our jobs." It created a depressing atmosphere that was very hard to overcome. Unbeknownst to Bulkmatic, I had contacted a friend of mine the week before seeking alternate employment. He set up an interview for me after I got back from scout camp.

The interview was with a financial company called Federal Financial Group. I had become a client with them back in March and really liked their retirement product. I also liked their approach of trying to help people become more financially secure through debt elimination, retirement planning, life insurance, and financial coaching. If you know much about me, I've wanted to help people understand their finances better for years. I started with Primerica, and when that fizzled I applied to Edward Jones. Nothing ever came of that, and I moved on with life. I thought that I wouldn't really help anybody with their finances besides close friends, family, and myself. Then I had the interview.

The company is headquartered in Draper Utah, and my recruiter was swapping mission stories with me when I was interviewing. I recently went to a leadership training meeting and noticed that some of the material that was used for motivation and inspiration came from General Conference. The only way that this really matters is in the aspect of company culture. It is really nice to work with people that share common morals. This is something I didn't get at Bulkmatic.

I have a hard road ahead of me and lots of foot work. Despite this, I know I made a very good switch for myself, my family, and hopefully for many other people that I can share the basics of good financial planning with.

Scout Camp Innovations

2009-07-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

So I just returned from Boy Scout Camp with my troop. We went to Camp Friedlander and had a great time. I really want to highlight one aspect in particular that I really enjoyed, and that was our hot tub.

Every time I have been to scout camp before with other troops we were simply satisfied with the amenities provided. This troop is not like that. One family in particular has created some incredible campsite inventions. One of them is the campsite hot tub. The basic concept is very simple, and was actually very effective.

The recipe for a good campsite hot tub is:

-- A portable pool (we used two, one hot and one cool)

-- Hoses

-- A water flow adjuster (we used a y-split between the two tubs to control flow)

-- An old air-conditioner condenser

-- Running water

Our campsite had running water not too far away, which might not be possible at all locations.

All we had to do to get hot running water was connect the hoses up to the condenser and then to the tub. We put the condenser over the fire and cut back the water flow to control temperature. The average temperature we were running was about 110F. You did have to monitor it to make sure the temperature wasn't getting too high. We didn't want to burn any scouts. It was a piece of cake. I loved it too.

The True Story of Jiminy Cricket

2009-06-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea I have for a story. Let me know what you think.

Jiminy Cricket is just an alias he uses to hide from his former life. Jiminy Cricket also known as Vince Carbauldi is a former member of a secretive gang that is led by Stromboli and another unknown miscreant (the operator of Pleasure Island). After witnessing the murder of Stromboli's assistant, Vince decides it is time to leave the gang before it is too late. In the process of skipping town, Vince is caught by the police. Vince has his own lengthy rap sheet and is worried about going to prison. So he offers his assistance to the police in exchange for his freedom. The chief of police (the blue fairy) doesn't quite let Vince off the hook. Instead of complete freedom Vince is entered into a witness protection program as Jiminy Cricket and sentenced to community service as a conscience for a newly created wooden boy named Pinocchio. Jiminy is greatly concerned with the thought of being a conscience for anybody, considering he lived most of his life ignoring his own conscience. Wising up to the situation Jiminy steps into the role as conscience with a determination to live a good life vicariously through Pinocchio. Unfortunately, Pinocchio runs into some of Vince's old pals. Jiminy needs to decide to help Pinocchio and risk getting caught or let Pinocchio fall in with Stromboli's old cronies and stay safe.

The traditional Pinocchio story unfolds with some twists based on the fact that Jiminy Cricket is linked to the criminal underworld. some of the twists are that Geppeto wouldn't just get lost and be swallowed by the whale, but that Stromboli's gang sent Geppeto to "sleep with the fishes." Also, pleasure island and the whole donkey thing was a ploy set up by Stromboli and his partner. However, the plan is foiled by Pinocchio, Vince, and Geppeto. I've thought about adding a love interest for Vince, but I'm not quite sure how it would fit in. We'll see.

Casket Advertisements

2009-06-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day, that you don't see caskets advertised very often. I have since seen a casket company advertise on one of those bus billboards. I was wondering how interesting it would be if a casket company advertised like any other organization.

Imagine "Buy one casket get one 1/2 off!"
or "For a limited time only..."
or "Free pillow with every casket!"
or "The 100th customer receives a free iPod!"
or "For every $500 you spend, you get a $25 gift card to Papa Johns!"
or "Now announcing our 'Frequent Die-er Miles' program"
or lastly "Early Bird Special..."

It's a good thing I'm not in marketing.

New Blog

2009-06-02T03:34:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know, we recently purchased a home. We are very excited to modify it and make it our own. I have already installed a dishwasher and added house numbers outside. We decided to chronicle our home remodeling adventures in a blog. goodbrookshome.blogspot.com Both of us are contributors and will be posting to keep a tab on what we have accomplished. So check it out and give us feedback on what we can do to improve our home even more.

~Barch

KaChing - stock market imitator.

2009-04-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

Well I've been dabbling in the stock market for about two months now. There is an app on facebook called KaChing which lets you buy and sell stocks with market timing prices. For the past couple days I've been in the top ten portfolios out of nearly 370,000. I'm very pleased with my progress, but it isn't hard when you pick the right stocks. I'm a value trader, which means that I pick stocks that have been battered by outside events. Once I buy those stocks cheap, I hold onto them to watch the value grow back to normal levels. I focus on large cap companies because of the rare odds that those companies will default and collapse. The two big purchases I made which have helped my portfolio the most are Citigroup (C) and Ford (F). Both companies have solid futures despite being battered by the market for their industry. Citigroup is up 200% from when I bought it and Ford is up over 100%. Within a year I think I will take some real money and start testing the waters with the market. We will see what will happen. To check out my portfolio click here.

Know Thyself

2009-03-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

I attended the 24th annual leadership conference at UC on Saturday Feb 28th. It was interesting to hear what some of the people had to say about leadership. Of all that was said, the one thing that kept coming across as a theme was the concept to know thyself. This hasn't really been a new concept for me. Well over a year ago I highlighted the quote, “We are to train our bodies, our minds, and our spirits... to govern self so that one may give leadership to others“ in the Teachings of our Times Manual for Spencer W Kimball. The best way to do this is to first know yourself and then learn to govern it.

This idea has been kicking around inside of me for the past couple weeks. Maybe that is why is stood out so much at the conference. It was impressive to me to get the validation that knowing yourself is an important part of leadership. Saying that it is important however doesn't make the process of truly knowing yourself easy. Sometimes to be honest with yourself about who you truly are can be one of the biggest challenges in life. It takes humility, honesty, desire for change, and the courage to act on the promptings that we receive.

In 1 Corinthians Chapter thirteen there is an excellent discourse on Charity. My favorite part of the chapter is in verses 11-12 which state: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." A loving heavenly father knows me completely whereas I know me only in part.

An interesting example of this is my wonderful mother who wanted to make a blanket for my second missionary christmas. I hadn't spent much time with my family in about 18 months and I felt that I had changed as a person dramatically in that time period. So when my mother said she wanted to make something for me I was afraid she would make it based on the old Brandon. When I opened the box that came in the mail and fished out the blanket I thought it was perfect. I asked my mom how she knew what style to make the blanket. She said that she might just know me better than I thought she did.

To make my point, God is our loving heavenly father. He knows us and one day we can know ourselves "even as also [we are] known." God is willing to show us who we truly are if we are willing to listen and see. That is what he desires most. How you go about discovering yourself is between you and the Lord. I've started my journey.

Alternative Hybrid Technology

2009-02-22T17:07:00.001-08:00

I was working in the shop today with pneumatic tools, and I was thinking. It doesn't take much to spark an intriguing thought and I began thinking about the power of the pnumatic motor in the drill I was using. Then I linked that to the concept behind regular hybrid motors that mate an electric motor with a gasoline engine. I thought about how difficult it would be to replace the electric motors in hybrid with pneumatic motors. The wheels began turning.

I came home and checked the internet, because I figured I wasn't the first person to think of this idea. That's when I stumbled across this web article.
The concept with this one is even easier than my idea. Here's some of the concept:

The normal combustion engine can be a simple four cylinder engine. During the charging stage, some of the cylinders can be switched from firing (to power the car) to compressing air (to charge the pneumatic system). This eliminates the need for a separate compressor. Then during the power stage that drives the car there are two options. Option one is to use the engine like any other car, the other is to use compressed air to assist. The pneumatic assistance can be done in different modes. One mode would be to use compressed air to pump all cylinders. This would be used after stopping at a light and without any gasoline. The other mode would only add compressed air to the firing cylinders when needed in the same way a turbo or supercharger would. This would greatly increase the power for each of the cylinders, thus reducing the need for a powerful inefficient motor. According to the website this alone would reduce fuel consumption by about 32%. The other thing that would be a major plus to this system is it's simplicity. Compared to a typical hybrid system this system would remove the electronic motor, the drive assembly, and the expensive batteries. The only new thing it would add would be a compression tank and an extra valve in each cylinder. I think it is simple enough that retrofitting an older car with this technology wouldn't be impossible for the average handy-man mechanic. It sounds like a job for my buddy Joey.

26 Random Things

2009-02-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

I hate responding to things because I've been "tagged," but I love talking about myself enough to override my fear of following the crowd. I am responding, but I'm doing it on my blog so nobody else will get tagged and continue the foolishness.

1. I am currently working on an associates degree in Aircraft maintenance and a bachelors degree in Organizational Leadership. In addition I would like to earn two masters degrees: One MPA (Masters of Public Affairs) and one MCRP (Masters of City and Regional Planning. I would then like to earn a law degree, and a PhD in either Juris Prudence or Sociology. The PhD is a maybe.

2. I once passed a county sheriff going 105 m.p.h. in a 55 m.p.h. zone on a two lane road without getting pulled over. As soon as I could, I pulled off to the side roads. I didn't want to find out if he had turned around to get me.

3. I had a dream about all of my kids before I even met my wife. So far the dream has been accurate.

4. I really want an early 70's Stingray Corvette.

5. I read the Book of Mormon 20 times on my mission. I finished it for the 21st time about a month after I came home.

6. I can't whistle and my wife can't either.

7. Nobody in my immediate family has graduated from BYU except my father who only went there after a bachelors and masters from the University of Utah, and after the U of U took too long on his law school application. On the flip side, nearly everyone in my wife's family has attended and or graduated from BYU.

8. I've read War and Peace (unabridged), Les Miserables (unabridged), and all six books of the Lord of the Rings (that is how it was originally published before it was later turned into a trilogy). I hope to someday read East of Eden, Ulysses, and The Brothers Karamazov.

9. I own an n-scale model train set. I want to someday make a rough model of the rail yard that I work in now.

10. I always wanted to name a boy William or Matthew. My wife won't let me because those names are taken by my adorable nephews William and Matthew respectively. I don't think it is fair, but I also know that there are plenty of good names still available like Fred.

11. I was in the inaugural cast of the revamped Nauvoo Pageant in 2005. I played an immigrant, an apostle, an apostate, a temple mason, and a pioneer.

12. I have always been afraid of water. I still am, and cannot even shower without my fear affecting me. The ocean is the worst.

13. I have m&m sized bumps all over my body. The doctor says that they are benign lipomas. It's a little strange.

14. Within the 3 1/2 years since my mission, I have been a forklift operator, a limousine driver, a security guard, a catering server, a construction worker, a factory peon, an irrigation specialist at a golf course, a text book sorter, a life insurance agent, an Air Force airman, a structural mechanic for the Air Force, a ramp attendant at the local airport, a tank washer, and now a rail yard / trucking company supervisor.

15. I have tooth that never grew any roots. The dentist says that one of these days it will just fall out.

16. I hate pasta.

17. I have the most eclectic music tastes of anyone I know. I'll listen to Fergie, Mozart, Patsy Cline, Keith Urban, Moby, Glen Miller, The Beatles, Heart, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, The Supremes, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Plain White T's, Motab, Three Dog Night, P!nk, Simon and Garfunkel, Ella Fitzgerald, Morcheeba, Jars of Clay, Jim Croce, O.A.R., Van Morrison, Counting Crows, Liszt, The Foo Fighters, The BeeGees, Carly Simon, John Williams, Queen, Metallica, Stevie Wonder, and many more. I love putting my library of over 9000 songs on random and listening to the mix of it all.

18. I have an innie.

19. My most favorite movie of all time is Rudy.

20. I was the academic monitor in my military basic training flight. As academic monitor I led my flight to win the academic achievement banner. Our sister flight won the female fitness banner. Our chants on the way back from the awards ceremony were "the boys have the brains and the girls have the brawn." When I left basic training my Drill Instructor shook my hand and thanked me for getting the banner.

21. I built home made spud guns, and a catapult on my mission. With the spud guns, I shot a table leg through my window, I covered my companion with bread crumbs, and I surprised my neighbor by aiming the spud gun at her when she knocked on the door.

22. My favorite scripture is actually a line from one verse and the beginning line of the next verse. It is 2 Nephi 4: 19-20 "Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support."

23. I haven't worn my wedding ring in over two years. It is a safety hazard at work and it is too big. I almost lost it once.

24. I plan on being a millionaire someday, God willing.

25. It took me five days to come up with this stupid list. Consider this the last time I ever respond to a "tag."

26. I met Elder Ballard at Cafe Rio in Cottonwood Heights. He shook my hand and put his other hand on my neck and told me to work extra hard that afternoon to burn off all of the food I had eaten.

Motab and Beer

2008-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, this morning I had to work. As I was sitting in my big rig, I was flipping through the stations to find something good to listen to. I wanted to find something uplifting, but didn't think I would, considering the lousy radio reception we get in our rail yard. However, before long I found that 101.9 fm plays the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast from Salt Lake. I listened to little of it, as most of my job this morning was outside loading. I did happen to catch the tale end though. I heard the classic farewell from Lloyd D. Newell in Salt Lake City just before the radio station went to a commercial break. What was the first commercial to be heard? Budweiser - real men of genius. It made me laugh.

My Political Ideology

2008-11-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

Three Types of Morality
In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis describes three types of morality. First there is the morality that deals with interactions among others. One tries not to cause harm to others. Thus a thief, cheat, and liar would be immoral.

The second applies to individual morality. One must be good to ones self. The comparison here is that you treat something differently if you own instead of rent it. Since we were created by God, and even more so because we are bought with Christ’s sacrifice; We have a duty to be good to ourselves and the body’s we “rent.” There is also the philosophy that it is difficult to avoid harming others, when we don't care if we harm ourselves.

The third type of morality deals with group morality. The fact that individual members of the mafia are good to themselves and generally get along with other members, doesn’t make the mafia a moral institution. In order to be moral with the third type of morality, the group must be going the direction God instructs.

C. S. Lewis described these three types of morality by giving the example of a fleet of ships in formation. The first type of morality instructs each ship to avoid collisions with other ships and to stay in formation. The second type of morality deals with making sure the ships are in good working order.

Lewis pointed out that the first two often work together. He said, “what is the good of telling the ships how to steer so as to avoid collisions if, in fact, they are such crazy old tubs that they cannot be steered at all?”

Lastly, C. S. Lewis described the third type of morality by explaining that if the ships, on a whole, were chartered to go to the New York, but instead went to Calcutta, it wouldn’t do much good. Since God has chartered this journey on life, we need to go where he directs. Lewis essentially put these three as one man’s relations with others, himself, and God.

Now so far I haven’t touched much by way of politics. It isn’t easy for me to put into words how the above has helped me describe to myself my idea of proper politics. I’ve been working on it for days.

Political Morality
In Doctrine and Covenants 134, God gives us “a declaration of belief regarding governments and laws in general.” Most of this section has little to do with my purpose today. There is one thing in the first verse of this section that is key in extrapolating the three types of morality from an individual level to a government level. This is, “We believe governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man.” God has rented us the ships, and now we need to steer them the way God would have us steer them.

The First Political Morality

We need to, as a government, avoid harming others. That is, our government needs to avoid colliding with other governments. This is true regardless of how big our government is in comparison. If our ship is the Queen Victoria II, we should not only be careful to avoid hitting the other ships our size (i.e. China), but it would be just as immoral to collide with and crush the smaller vessels in our path (i.e. Rwanda, Tonga, etc.).

Also in line with this, our government shouldn't incite, encourage, or condone its citizens colliding with each other. The government should offer a level of protection to its citizens from immoral individuals seeking to harm others for personal gain, or even those who are just not concerned with avoiding harm to others.

The Second Political Morality

We need to make our internal mechanisms work properly. C. S. Lewis said, “What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behaviour, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them?”

An excellent talk was given by President J Reuben Clark Jr. on the eve of Italy’s declaration of war on England and France. In it he discussed the need for all of the American hemisphere to be living righteously to avoid being “swept off” as it says in Ether.

In the second type of morality, not only do the people who administer the government need to be moral individuals, but the system itself must be moral. In Doctrine and Covenants 101 the Lord declares that he established the constitution of the United States (thus making the constitution a moral system).

President Clark goes on to expound upon how various elements of the constitution are inspired by God. The most important of these is of course the protection of basic human rights. President Clark said that these principles have been carried into the formation of other independent nations and although other governments aren’t identical to ours, “their fundamental document is a replica of our God-given instrument.”

The Third Political Morality

As a cluster of nation-ships, we need to work together to sail in the direction God has chartered us. This is the most difficult of the three to expect, let alone demand, of the governments of the world today. We know what God’s chartered destination for us comes from Moses 1:39. How can governments collaborate with each other toward this end?

Organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank are a step in the right direction, but they are incomplete. Of course I also believe that the church’s form of foreign aid and missionary work helps in this direction even better.

Each nation including our own often gets hung up with unrighteous ethnocentrism. This will often lead each nation to violate all three types of morality. If however, one country is on the right course by avoiding harm to others, they establish a moral structure, and they are heading in the proper direction, such a country has a duty to share this morality with other nations as much as possible.

As President Clark says, “this destiny of ours is to come not through bloody conquests of war and the oppression and enslavement of our fellow-beings, but by conquests of peace and the persuasion of righteous example and Christian endeavor.”

World Citizenry
As a citizen of the United States, I know I have much to be concerned with domestically. Despite this, I consider myself a world citizen first and foremost, and feel that other Americans should be focused on citizenship in a similar way.

We are all God’s children. I don’t believe that the United States is the only land of opportunity. Even President Clark said that other nations “basically framed along the lines set up by our Constitution are bringing other lands to enjoy our [same] blessings.” The keys to any of our blessings that we have enjoyed as a nation, or hope to continue to enjoy are based in these three types of morality.

Making it Work

This is my political ideology. I understand that it in the modern world, this philosophy cannot stand alone, because it draws much of its contents from a religious ideology. However, I think that with slight changes, this can be reasonable, if not acceptable, by all.

If we were to take away the direct references to scripture without changing the content, I don't think that the intent of the meaning is lost. Then we need to create a new chartered destination based on debated and agreed upon principles (instead of Moses 1:39). The Millenium Development Goals are a good start, despite sometimes being vague and hard to track. I believe this ideology is a powerful recipe for positive, progressive politics in the modern world.

Sources:
Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis
Doctrine and Covenants 134, 101
America’s Divine Destiny, J. Reuben Clark Jr.

Why I Like Cincinnati (Part 2)

2008-11-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

Unusual History

I'm a nut for unusual history. I like to know all the unique tidbits that make a place interesting. For example did you know that Cincinnati is home to worlds first fireman pole? It's things like this that bring character to the place I love to call home.

1. The Queen City - Going back to about 1850 Cincinnati was the fastest growing city in the country. This gem among all the cities in the midwest made many people start calling it the queen city. The phrase "queen of the west" was started in a book titled Cincinnati written by Benjamin Drake and Edward Mansfield. It was later cemented into use by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Catawba Wine." The "queen city" has been given many other nick names as well. Cincinnati was the first major american city away from the original 13 colonies and the influence of Europe. Cincinnati's population wasn't even surpassed by Chicago until the 1860's. Because of this Cincinnati is sometimes considered the first truly American city. Another nickname given to Cincinnati is so unique that it deserves its own bullet point.

2. What's up with the flying pigs? - I grew up 80 miles away and had never heard of the flying

pigs. I guess if I was a marathon runner I would have known earlier. When I moved to Cincinnati I thought it was odd to see so many flying pig statues around the city. For those of you who don't understand, here is the scoop. Cincinnati grew very quickly in the 1800's partly because of their huge pork processing facilities. It quickly became the largest pork processing city in the world, earning itself the nickname "porkopolis." The flying pig thing supposedly came from the barges that carried the pigs across the river. In the early morning, fog would cover the barge and all you would see are the pigs floating over to Cincinnati. The phrase "when pigs fly" has been around longer than Cincinnati.

3. Chili is just chili right? - Across the US ask people what makes a good chili. I doubt that

very many people would include cinnamon, cocoa, or spaghetti noodles in the list of ingredients. Then ask people in Cincinnati. Again, even growing up 80 miles away I never knew that Cincinnati made chili any different from the rest of the world. Cincinnati Chili began when an immigrant from Macedonia named Tom Kiradjieff decided to make a chili using spices from his homeland to boost the business of his Cincinnati restaurant the Empress. Skyline chili's founder started in the chili business as a chef for the Empress. When I worked at Lunken Airport near downtown, I saw one family fly in to eat at Montgomery Inn. When they returned to their jet a couple hours later they were carrying boxes and boxes of Skyline's Cincinnati chili.

4. The U. S. Playing Card Company - Ever since I was a kid I always thought it was cool that nearly every pack of cards I ever used said Cincinnati, U.S.A. This and going to a Reds Game constituted my entire childhood connection to Cincinnati. I just thought it was cool that the largest playing card company in the world was so close to home. You would think it would be in Vegas, but since 1881 these cards have been manufactured right here in ohio. Over the years the U. S. Playing Card Company has produced some products with interesting history. According to their website, "during World War II, the company secretly worked with the U. S. government in fabricating special decks to send as gifts for American prisoners of war in German camps. When these cards were moistened, they peeled apart to reveal sections of a map indicating precise escape routes." There is even significant symbolism in the ace of spades. The image is of "a woman who rests her right hand on a sword and shield while she holds an olive branch in her left. The image was inspired by Thomas Crawford's sculpture, "Statue of Freedom," which, in 1865, had been placed atop the Capitol Building in Washington, DC."

Cincinnati is full of quirky history. Did you know that Jerry Springer used to be the mayor of Cincinnati? How about the fact that Cincinnati is where the first cooperative education program in the country was established. Did you know that Cincinnati is the first and only city to own and operate a major railroad. Cincinnati is home to the country's first Jewish Hospital, first licensed public TV station (WCET), and first professional baseball team (without any unpaid players). The list could go on and on.

I like Cincinnati. In part because it is such a unique city with some unusual history.

Leadership Journal

2008-11-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you know or at least knew at one point that I am studying Organizational Leadership for my Bachelors degree. My interest in leadership really began on my mission as a district leader. I was interested in how to lead my district with principles of righteousness and without being over bearing. As I discovered these principles I wrote them down in my journal. Over the past couple of years I have gained tidbits here and there on how to lead and the importance of leadership.

In the past couple of weeks I have decided to start a leadership journal. I want to have one binder that holds all of the tidbits I have about leadership. I also want to make a call out to others that may have some tidbits to pass along.

Since I decided to create this journal, I have been promoted at work to a management position. Now I can apply some of the leadership principles I have learned. It is nice to now be in an environment where I can hone those skills I learned on my mission.

Lessons Learned From a New Baby Girl

2008-09-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

On September 4th at 11:37 my life changed again permanently. Renae Autumn Brooks was born to us. She is a precious child that truly brought a new level of love and joy. Here are a few of the things that I have learned in the past 36 hours.

I know the difference between Renae and Nicholas. I truly thought that a baby is a baby and that I would have a hard time distinguishing between Renae and my memories of Nicholas. Although that may be true if I were looking at another's children, I can truly see the difference in their look, their attitude, and their spirit. It is neat.

I still love Nicholas as much as I did before. Both Becca and I wondered if we would have to remove some of our love for Nicholas in order to accommodate Renae. This has not been the case. Renae is her own unique person whom we love and adore, and yet when Nicholas comes to visit, we see him as another bundle of joy. We are very happy with both of our children.

It's fun being a dad again. I thought I would find the process boring or even a little repetitive, but this isn't so. Renae is fun in her own way and has spawned a completely different sense of fatherly love and affection. I'm becoming something better as I now care for two nearly helpless beings.

I love my wife even more than before. Becca has gone through so much since we met about 30 months ago. It seems crazy and yet perfect that we already have two lovely children. My life is blessed constantly by her affection and attention to detail. She is a hard worker who is constantly going above and beyond what is required of her. This latest chapter in her book of selfless service has shown me even more of how far she is willing to go to do what is right for our family.

Love and life are great!

Why I Like Cincinnati (Part 1)

2008-09-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Architecture

Cincinnati has some wonderful architecture. I love going around town and seeing the art of the buildings all around. It is truly one of my most favorite parts about Cincinnati.

The Scripps Tower is Headquarters to the E. W. Scripps Company which owns over 15 newspapers, multiple local TV stations around the country, and several cable channels including HGTV, DIY Network, and the Food Network.

The Famous Union Terminal was finished in the early 30's, and has become a symbol of a bygone era of rail travel. It now houses Cincinnati's Museum Center.

Although the Roebling Suspension Bridge isn't a building, it's architecture still adds quite a bit of character to the river front. John Roebling later designed the Brooklyn bridge.

The Cincinnati Music Hall was dedicated in 1878. It has been the home to the Cincinnati Opera, and Orchestra for over 100 years. At one time it was threatened along with Union Terminal to be demolished. Thank goodness it is still around for us to admire.

The University of Cincinnati started master renovation plan in 1992. It's focus has been to draw top architects to redesign the campus as an architectural Mecca. In many ways they have succeeded, and I love it. Here is a view from Tangeman University Center looking toward the Steger Student Life building (Left) and the Stadium (Right).

St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Covington is one of the finest examples of religious architecture around Cincinnati. Although Cincinnati has dozens of beautiful churches, this one is dramatically impressive. The Cathedral completed in 1915 has multiple Mosaics made from hundreds of thousands of bits of colored glass. It also has the largest church stained glass window in the world. Here is a view from the alter looking toward the west end.

A Journal Entry

2008-08-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a journal entry from back when I was single. I have a digital journal like Doogie Howser, and at this time I wanted to write something inspirational. I let the spirit guide my thoughts. Here it is. It may inspire you, like it has me.

December 23, 2005

one thing thou lackest

I have recently been greatly impressed by the story of the rich young ruler when he approached the saviour and asked what lack I yet? the response was immediate, yet mostly unimportant to me today, the important aspect was "one thing thou lackest" after expounding upon that one thing, what was the young mans response? He turned his back on the call to serve, he left the savior and his opportunity to show his metal. my mind was drawn to the fact that despite this young mans worthiness (easily enough for a temple recommend) he still lacked one thing. many of us here, whether recommend worthy or not, are lacking at least one thing that is holding us back from our various calls to serve.

the half question half prod to gospel action the saviour used, was "if thou wilt be perfect." is perfection our goal. is complete spotlessness our only drive. I am sure that if the young man had asked the savior's help in overcoming his desire for wordly things, that the savior would not have turned his back. However the young man felt guilty that he couldn't give it all up at once and therefore left the savior for good. What good is repentence if it is a one time cure all.

my point in this matter is that we each are lacking in our commitment, yet not in our desire. there is no hope for one who has the potential to be perfect, but no desire to do so. on the other hand there is much hope for one who struggles and struggles yet with great emphasis and love for the saviour exclaims "I want to be good." this simple phrase has helped me see the savior's loving arms through the clouds of my own sins on many occasions. the things that I lack seem to be a stain I cannot remove, yet the lord has promised "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
I struggle, and I'll be the first to admit it. we each have our own challenges, but no one has ever struggled as much as our savior.

the straw that didn't break the camels back

our savior knows us. he knows each of us so well, that it is a true wonder. if you feel that nobody understands what you are going through, or nobody could understand the pains you are feeling, whether physical, emotional, mental, or stress, then look to the savior. you would be right to feel that no mortal fully understands what you are struggling with. Jesus however is there. he lives to help. he is the ultimate encyclopedia of life that we can turn to in our darkest hour. however, this encyclopedia is not one that can be rummaged through by topic. it must come by intense study, prayer, and fasting. I have often felt that my sins are too much to get me into heaven. There was the straw. that one that broke the camels back. The difference in this story is that the camels back won't break. It can't. he has overcome the world. we may try. we may feel that there is no more hope, I have used my last chance. I don't believe god looks at it that way. there is a lyric to one of my favorite christain songs, that has often provoked me to tears. - can I be the one to sacrifice, or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow.

what are we doing to our lives. it is a question that we must each ask ourselves. i pray, that we are striving and loving the way that the lord strove and loved. there may be straws of trials and afflictions placed on our back. they may be mountains of hay, or they may be small bales. the question is, are we going to let it break our back, or make us stronger?

My Top Ten Songs

2008-08-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of some of my most favorite songs. Although I narrowed it down to ten, it is impossible to say these are my only favorite songs.

1. America - Simon and Garfunkel

The opening harmony on this song is simple yet beautiful. The Plot is about two young people that go off looking for America and soon run out of money and food. The emotion in this song is why I put it at number one.

2. Like a Child - Jars of Clay

My second CD ever was a Jars of Clay CD. They are a christian pop band that uses a crisp acoustic guitar sound with family-friendly, Christ oriented lyrics to make some incredible music. This is one of my most favorite songs and one of their greatest.

3. Classical Gas - Mason Williams

This is the second song I ever learned on guitar. I would often ask people who claimed to be guitarists if they could play this song. Most of them said no. I felt that if I wanted to be a guitarist I needed to follow the standard I set for others. I played it for the Hales Christmas talent show last year.

4. Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town - Pearl Jam

My older brother kept trying to get me to like Pearl Jam when I was younger. I refused to listen to him until he moved out of the house. Then as I became a fan I came across this song and quickly fell in love. I think the reason why I like it so much is because it reminds me of my small town and the "hearts and thoughts [that] fade ... fade away."

5. Sospiro - Franz Liszt

I fell in love with the movie Shine when I was younger, and not because it is about an Australian. The piano music and the story line I was introduced to in that film have always inspired me. This song is especially beautiful.

6. Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles

The Beatles had many hits that were contenders for my top ten list. This song however is simply a graceful ballad that highlights the Beatles prodigy in song writing.

7. Take It Easy - The Eagles

This song highlights my desire to be more laid back. It is a pick-me-up feel-good song that has always put me in a good mood. It also has some incredible banjo playing!

8. I Wonder - Louis Armstrong

This is a gem that I quickly fell in love with. The jazz styled piano and trumpet are mesmerizing. Not to mention the thick Louis Armstrong voice that made him so popular.

9. Sunshine of Your Love - Cream

I really began humming the main guitar riff in this song while on my mission. I didn't even know what song it was, but I knew that when I got home from my mission I would find out what song it was. I also knew then, long before my first cell phone that it would make a perfect ring tone. That is all Becca knows this song as.

10. Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal) - Fergie

This one may surprise a few people. This song reminds me of the humid pacific breezes and the gorgeous scenery of my first deployment. I first heard this song when I was traveling to the beaches on Guam with some military friends. It takes me back to the wonderful weather, adventures, and sea breezes of Guam and Hawaii, which is why it is on this list.

If any of you would like to hear some of these songs, you might be able to listen to them online. If not, let me know and I will try to get you a copy of these great songs.

Live in the World and be not of the World

2008-08-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have been contemplating this phrase recently. It seems that we are to avoid the influences of the world while still maintaining standard interactions with the world. Here is my question: What is the line between being in the world and not being of the world. The predicament: I have been a member of the military for a couple years now. I am therefore required to interact with people that don't share any of the standards that I do. It can be extremely degrading sometimes. We are often told to be examples to others as well. When I try to be a positive force and encourage others to hold higher standards it often comes across that I'm being a prude and that I'm treating them as less-thans. This is not very conducive to being a positive example and often backfires in my face. On the other hand I don't want to participate in many of their conversations because of the negative things they talk about. So I am often stuck wondering what I should do. Another example is going to bars with them on deployments. When I refuse to go and try to encourage others to not drink too much they think I consider myself better. I have been to several bars with them to be the designated driver and have had some positive conversations with these people that I would consider my friends. Am I doing wrong by going to the bar? Should I be more forceful in asking people not to talk about things I don't want to talk about when I am around. I am asking for suggestions, because I don't feel that I have all the answers. I hope I get some good feedback on this.

Be Careful What You Ask For!

2008-07-27T05:37:00.001-07:00

Becca and I knew that money could be a little tight this summer because I wouldn't be in school. Part of my military contract grants me the Reserve Montgomery G. I. Bill. This piece of Legislation grants me an extra $650 per month while I attend school. This summer we prayed for a way to get through the summer without depleting our money reserves.

Then a friend of mine at the airport told me about a job posted in the newspaper. It was even closer to home than the airport (only 2 miles away instead of 5). It also came with a significant pay raise and a good opportunity to work overtime, which would suit me fine during summer. I applied and was virtually hired on the spot. They needed a background check and a drug test before they could hire me and I passed both within a couple days. I put in my two weeks at the airport and started working at Bulkmatic Transport Company on the 1st of July.

The 1st was a Tuesday, and within 3 1/2 days I worked 39 1/2 hours. The following week I worked about 60 hours, 54 the third week and I just finished a 74 hours work week yesterday. To top it off I still worked a couple night shifts each week at the airport my first two weeks at Bulkmatic. Then on my third weekend I had Drill with the Military and worked about 20 hours at the base. The month of July this year is more than making up for the last year when I took 3 out of 4 weeks off. I have worked more hours than I thought was possible at one job.

Our prayers have been answered, and we are more than making up for the $650 from the military. Now we are praying that it will slow down when school starts, because when school starts I will be working full time, going to school full time, and I will have a part time military gig on top of being a father of two. Life will be hectic, but I know that with God's help we can make it through.

Funny Sign

2008-07-09T17:07:00.001-07:00

Whoever does artwork for road signs must have had a fun time with this one!

Mc Cash will be in town

2008-06-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Senator John McCain will be visiting Cincinnati next week. If you want to join him for dinner at the home of Carl Lindner III tickets are readily available for $50,000. If you would rather just attend the VIP reception without the meal, the tickets are drastically reduced to $10,000 (most likely because there is no meal involved). For the average Joe who cannot afford $10,000 for the VIP reception, the general reception is only $2300. This really connects him to the average person on the street, considering hardly anybody in Cincinnati will be able to afford a glance at him. I'm sure a few Republicans may be alienated by this.

High enough to sky dive from? - Almost

2008-06-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Recently there has been plethora of new high rises proposed that are stunning the engineering world with their height. Burj Dubai is currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This building when finished will be somewhere between 800m and 950m tall (2625-3115 ft) about 150% the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago. It is already the tallest man made structure standing. This seems stunning, but when you hear about some of the other buildings that will top that, you wonder when it will stop. Wikipedia links you to the websites of several other buildings that have been proposed. In the world of Architecture though, proposed and built are a far cry from each other.

100 years ago, The Singer building in New York City broke the record for the tallest building at 612 ft and 47 floors. Not too long after that, the Met-Life tower bested this by another 88 feet. This was bested by the Woolworth building followed by the Trump Building and the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler building topped out at about 1047 ft. When the Empire State Building was built, it set a new precedent. At 1250 feet, it held the top spot for 40 years (longer than any other). It has never been taken off the list of the top ten tallest buildings in the world.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the next record breakers collapsed into history. The world trade center towers broke the Empire State Buildings record in 1971. The Sears tower then took the title away from New York City in 1974. The Sears tower held this spot for 24 years. When the Petronas towers were finished in 1998, it marked the first time the tallest building in the world was outside the United States. Most likely the United States will never see the tallest building within its own borders again. Taipei 101 finished in 2005 currently holds the record for the tallest completed building.

There are buildings under construction in New York and Chicago that will be taller than anything ever seen in North America. These designs still pale in comparison to the towers they are building elsewhere.

A standard static-line sky dive is done from about 3500 ft. Burj Dubai when completed will be near this magic number. People jump off of Angel Falls at about 3200 ft. Some crazy person will try jumping from Burj Dubai. I wonder what type of skyscrapers will be built in 30 years? They may even start building them with a sky diving platform.

This image compares completed buildings with notable ones under construction (in red).

This is an image of Madinat al-Hareer - a major development proposed for Kuwait

The 401(k) Crock

2008-04-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

I was recently propositioned at work to buy into the company 401(k) plan. I listened to the disquisition offered and thought the whole time, "what a crock." I guess maybe I've had too much training in the field of financial services (at one point I wanted to be a financial advisor), or maybe I just don't get it. Why would I want to put all this money away for later when I can't afford the now? Here are some of the reasons why I think retirement plans are a crock.

1. How much money do you need to save for retirement? There has been a rather clever commercial lately for one of the investment banks asking essentially if you are carrying around how much you need to save for retirement. The point of the commercial is that you don't have to worry about it, if you let us manage your retirement for you. This is ridiculous. I'm not opposed to people wanting to save for retirement, but to think that letting others manage your money will ensure a good retirement is bogus. You can put money into retirement, but don't expect it to take care of itself. ALWAYS, keep an eye on it.

2. Plan for next year, before you plan for retirement. Don't worry about retirement, if you can't afford to fix your car if it breaks down next month. If that money was in a regular savings account, it would be much more accessible than a 401 (k). The presentation was for a 401(k), not for a strong financial base to then plan on retirement.

3. I loved the aspect of the 401(k) presentation that talked about the fees assessed to your retirement account quarterly. I quickly flipped through the list of possible funds and found that the smallest fee was about 1% of the account balance. They take this out wether you gain money or lose money. So if you lose money, they still get paid. Sounds like someone I should trust with my nest egg. There do exist no fee funds, but not through my 401(k) plan.

4. Beware of the matching daemon. The one benefit 401(k) plans often tout is that employers can match some of your contributions as their way of helping with your retirement. Matching can be great if it covers the "fees" from the provider, and it can be an excellent way for you to "double your money," but don't get fooled. Matching has its problems, mainly (a) the employers then shed most of the responsibility for your retirement and get tax incentives for it, and (b) the amount they put into your retirement is only proportionate to how much you put in.
a) In days gone by, nearly every good job contained a pension. It was a standard amount dependent upon how long you have been with the company. There are companies that still do this (the US government being one of the most notable) but they are few and far between. On top of this, the US government strongly supports 401(k) plans with tax incentives to both the employer and the employee.
b) Many people are struggling these days to meet their monthly obligations. Wether this is caused by their own mistakes or society is an issue for another time. The problem is that many people do not put anything into a 401(k) plan, even if there is a good matching program. This results in many people not ready for retirement, and the company giving you a pat on the back and a "thanks for the 30 years of slave labor."
These are matching problems that could come if your company even offers matching. One of my coworkers asked about our company's matching program. The person giving the presentation said that our company didn't match anything. Wonderful!

I'm not saying don't save for retirement. I have a retirement account through the military. I'm just saying be smart about it. I would rather enjoy my early years while my family is young than to strap myself for cash now and have a rich retirement. If you are smart about it, you can probably have both.

Super Sonic - The next step for aviation

2008-03-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

I love my job. I work around some of the greatest and most technologically advanced machines ever created. The aviation market has produced some beautiful and powerful machines. I work mostly with the business aircraft that carry 4-12 passengers. I have my favorites: Cessna's Citation 10, Beechcraft King Air 350, and the Lear 45. But even with these amazing aircraft coming in and out all day, I greatly look forward to the day when I see my first Super Sonic Business Jet. Called SSBJs, They have been in the works for a couple years now. The leading contenders are Supersonic Aerospace International's (SAI) QSST (Quiet Super Sonic Transport), and Aerion. SAI has the benefit of getting all of its design from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. This is the same team that developed the F-22 raptor, and the F-35 Lightning II. Their design is a highly impressive looking aircraft that boasts speeds up to Mach 1.8. SAI doesn't have the backing of a team like Skunk Works, but they boast of over 22 new patents that boost super sonic performance and fuel economy. Gulfstream and Cessna are also thinking about building SSBJ's, but their plans aren't as far developed.

The biggest obstacle in making a SSBJ, is the issue with Sonic Booms. This isn't the feeling in your gut after eating at the drive up fast food chain. According to US Law and law in many other locations of the world, it is illegal to break the sound barrier over land because of how disruptive it can be (I've heard that they used to break the sound barrier over Wright-Patterson and it often would shatter the large living room windows in Dayton). SAI believes that they have found a solution to this barrier. Through advanced technology they have developed ways to reduce the force of a sonic boom. They claimed it would sound about as loud as a car traveling 70 mph on the freeway from 100 yards. The company believes that when they can prove to the FAA that sonic booms don't have to "boom", then they will gain the ability to fly supersonic over land too. Until then they will still travel at Mach .99 which is much faster than the .85 Mach of the fastest business jets today. One of the contenders claimed it could even travel just over the sound barrier without producing a Sonic Boom that would reach the ground. Which of course would be even better for those time crunching business people.

Why do we need a super sonic business jet? I don't, but there are some business people who could greatly benefit from going to London and back from NYC within a day, and still have a solid day of work in London. One website claimed that a group could leave Paris at 8AM for a breakfast meeting in NY. It is amazing. A flight around the world to Dubai would save up to 14 hours. The other reason is the more obvious one: because we can. The business aircraft industry has been virtually stagnant for the past 40 years. Yes, newer technology has made business jets quieter, more fuel efficient, etc, but there haven't been any major advancements. This is the next big step, and corporate carriers are ready.

Orders have been made. The first SSBJ's will be built between 2011 and 2013. At that time, the FAA will certify it, and they could be mass produced by as soon as 2015. That would be cool. Until then, I'll keep pumping gas into the plain old multi-million dollar Gulfstreams, Lears, Citations, and Falcons.

Google Sketchup - CAD for the masses

2008-03-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

In recent years, Google has created a plethora of online and downloadable programs. Blogger is one, Google books, Google Earth, etc. One of these programs that quickly became one of my favorites is Sketchup.

Sketchup is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program created by Google. Sketchup has been designed to be a fully functional CAD program that combines a wonderful ease of use with a low price tag of $0. I found Google Sketchup when I was getting my military training in Pensacola FL. I just searched for freeware CAD programs and was stunned to find one backed by a company as notable as Google. I immediately downloaded it and began "sketchup-ing."

When I first started I took the introductory tutorials and then began experimenting. One of my weaknesses is that I would rather figure things out by trial and error than by just reading the instructions. This made Sketchup much more difficult for me than it had to be. It really was as easy to use as they claimed.

Don't mistake ease of use with lack of features, however. Google packed Sketchup with tons of features including easy texture application, shadow and fog control, style and backdrop settings, and integration with Google Earth. There are few features in the Pro (bought) version that are not in the free version. All the features are for various uses from simple scribbling of ideas to movie-set creation complete with scene and shot control. Google Sketchup has made a stunning program to make CAD available to virtually anyone.

You may have even noticed some of the benefits of Sketchup without even knowing it. People have used Sketchup to create plans for furniture. Sketchup has also been used in architectural renderings of future buildings, such as the freedom tower being built on ground zero, etc. Even the set of the movie "Good Night, and Good luck", directed by George Clooney, was completely designed using Sketchup. Probably one of the most viewed uses of Google Sketchup however has been its creation of the 3d Warehouse.

The 3d Warehouse is the place for all the Sketchup-ers in the world to upload their designs. It is a great way to get feedback on your ideas, and a great place to download excellent designs by others. Whirlpool has uploaded every model in their lineup for people to "try out" when using Sketchup for re-modeling ideas. As people upload quality renditions of real buildings, they are then added to the database for Google Earth. In recent editions of Google Earth, 3d Warehouse support has been added. This has made the Google Earth experience so much better. You can also add your own designs to your personal copy of Google Earth. This is great to kind of get an idea of how jealous the neighbors might get when you upgrade to a double-wide. All told, the 3d Warehouse has added a new dimension to CAD.

Simply put, Sketchup is Amazing.

After several months I created this "house," and this afternoon I downloaded the Arc de' Triomphe. If you have any desires to design a dream home, remodel your house, create a movie set, do some novel landscaping, etc., then download your copy of Sketchup. It is the ideal program for the average Joe to do any of these things and more.

Welcome to the Eclectic Blog.

2008-03-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

This blog is not intended as a snapshot of my life. Instead, I want to discuss some of my favorite topics. These range from Architecture, Technology, Travel, Aviation, Finances, and much more. I want to write on here some of my ideas, thoughts, and aspirations about these topics. However, I want my posts to read more like magazine articles than journal entries. I may not be fully unbiased as in most magazines, but this is done simply to generate discussion. Please comment as much as you would like. If the post becomes a hot topic, I might incorporate it into newer posts. If there is a topic you would like me to address, just let me know.

~Barch