In other thoughts, the 2012 Olympics in London haven’t even officially kicked off yet (or perhaps I should say, they’re just starting now, given the time zone change), but we’ve already managed to have multiple “scandals” emerge. Way to get things started!
Let the Games begin!
Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything except my Twitter collection here. Frankly, pursuing my MBA plus my full time job and trying to make time for a personal life has ruled out much in the way of posting. Because of that, it actually took me over a month to even figure out what my site was offline. Sad, I know.
The other challenge as I get older has been to try to determine where to draw lines about what to post. What personal information am I willing to share with an anonymous audience, and which information do I prefer to keep private? How do I maintain an online presence while also keeping private other information. Over the past few years, I’ve shifted further to the share less category. With some “free” time for reflection coming up, though, perhaps it is time to reconsider those lines again.
Week 2 brought some separation among the schools. Here are my thoughts on week 2.
1. USF – 2 wins back to back, and no hesitation in beating Ball State.
2. West Virginia – Losing 12 – 10 to Norfolk State at the half disqualifies you for the top spot, even if you eventually win 55-12.
3. Pittsburgh – Struggled to hold off Maine, but still managed to win.
4. Syracuse – Fought off Rhode Island, but again, a win is a win.
5. Rutgers – Defense – check. Special Teams – check. If Rutgers finds a running game, they can still do really well this season.
6. UConn – Rutgers may not have a run game, but UConn doesn’t have an offense.
7. Cincinnati – You have to be in it to win it. Cincinnati was never in it with Tennessee.
8. Louisville – Nice job giving FIU their first win ever over an AQ school. The score makes this game look closer than it was.
I just read the summary of AT&T’s response to Sprint’s lawsuit trying to block the T-Mobile takeover. I’m no fan of T-Mobile’s, Sprint’s, or AT&T’s, but this line really sticks out for me from AT&T: “[T]his simply demonstrates what we’ve said all along — Sprint is more interested in protecting itself than it is in promoting competition that benefits consumers.”
Seriously? I’m not sure how the logic works that says that taking out a competitor actually increases competition that benefits consumers. Giving me less choice apparently increases competition now.
From the article…
Last week, the NAACP released a report with a blunt, but sadly accurate, title — Misplaced Priorities. I could not help but think about this title in terms of the House of Representatives’ proposed zeroing out of YouthBuild.YouthBuild has been rigorously evaluated and justifiably acclaimed for its success in turning around the lives of troubled youths, many court-involved, most of color, living in urban centers across the country.
…
All for $16,000 per youth — what we might call a bargain. Even before any cuts, almost 20,000 youths are turned away from YouthBuild each year because of lack of funding. If the House gets its way, YouthBuild programs across the country will be decimated. The result: more crime, more poverty, more joblessness, more substance abuse, more fractured families, less state revenue, more despair. Misplaced Priorities hardly captures the astonishing myopia of the House’s proposal. As Woody Guthrie once sang, “Some rob you with a sixgun, some with a fountain pen.”
Well, Comcast just got around to raising the rate for us. So we’ve decided that now is the time to cut the cable. Here’s our plan in 8 easy steps.
1. Get TiVo Premiere
2. Get a new antenna
3. Sign up for Hulu Plus
4. Make sure Netflix streaming is configured
5. Set up Espn3
6. Set up Comedy Central
7. Get the ORB BR
8. Cancel Comcast
I’ve come to realize over the past year that developing others at work is one of the next critical skills I need to develop in order to continue to advance my career. I’ve had some success at writing code, solving business problems, and eventually leading and managing larger scale IT projects. But there is a point where it is necessary to shift the focus from personal achievement to growing the abilities of others to lead.
One of my goals is to use this blog throughout 2011 to track the development of my action plans and then to track my progress against them. Consider this, then, my inaugral post for the year, with my first topic and area of development to be coaching other project managers. Luckily, one of my MBA courses is focused right now on the same topic. I will use some of the tools, concepts and processes from the class in my own current situation.
I will begin by looking first at competencies and behaviors related to project management. What are the basic, fundamental skills required to be a project manager? What behaviors can be seen by those who possess the skills reqiured to be a project manager?
Over the next two weeks to four weks, I intend to research this topic in more depth. To do so, I will consult with the following sources:
My intent, once armed with this knowledge, is to become a better coach to one of my fellow PMs.
Your thoughts and feedback are always welcome.
2010 was another year filled with books and movies. Below are incomplete lists that I read this year, since I did not keep an accurate count.
Books
The book count seems lower than it really is. I’ll do better next year, I promise.
Movies
Live Shows
Per CB, this seemed to be enough to warrant its own category this year.
What a crazy 2010! We welcomed 2010 quietly, after a whirlwind December 2009 that involved three out-of-state trips between CB & I and our first married Christmas. The house was still in a state, with CB & I still needing time to sort out all of the generous gifts from the wedding PLUS both of our stuff.
Thankfully, MLK weekend gave us a chance. Over three days we moved out of and back in to the kitchen, emptying every cupboard, cabinet and drawer, picking and choosing what to keep and what we would find another home for. We finally were able to get rid of the last set of boxes in the dining room and take back our house.
January also served as the jumping off point for my MBA application process, with a GMAT prep class at the end of the month at Drexel. February brought the GMATs, a visit to Drexel, and Internet searches. CB took a cake decorating class with her sister, ensuring a beautiful, yummy cake would show up right around my birthday. The MBA apps wrapped up in March and the waiting began.
To celebrate the MBA apps finishing up, CB & I went off to DC for a long weekend. Biking around the capital, they revisited the site of their engagement at the FDR memorial. They also stopped in to see CB’s brother, and their family friend Didi.
In April, I took a new position in the company, landing in the R&D IT division. The next three months were filled with work-transition items, the second Emerging Leaders residency, and a flurry of “new project” work. Thankfully, though, Memorial Day weekend came, and with it a chance for some time away.
CB took off to Alaska for an adventure with her friend Janet, fulfilling a long-held promise once Janet finally finished her PhD program. Myself, not wanting to be left home alone, found a nearly-deserted island off the coast of Panama to sneak away to for a few days for some remote R&R.
Returning home, we were now just days away from our one year anniversary. Not wanting to let the occasion pass uncelebrated, we snuck off to NYC for the night. After a great Cuban dinner, we went up the Empire State building, then saw Memphis the next afternoon. And just like June 13th a year earlier, it poured rain in the afternoon.
June, July and August were hot in Philly as usual, so it was time to shift gears. Instead of trying to “get things done” around the house, CB & I spent our time running around having fun. From concerts to shows to dinners and dancing, we had plenty of fun.
The MBA acceptance letters also came back, and we knew it was just a matter of time before I would be tied up for two years getting my masters. To celebrate, we quickly planned a two week trip to Australia for Labor Day weekend. Despite some setbacks at work and having no time to plan, we did a whirlwind tour of Melbourne, Cairns, and Sydney. We saw penguins, kangaroos, wallabies, and birds galore, along with the Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, and wine country outside Melbourne.
Two weeks after we landed I was off to the week-long kickoff session at Babson in Boston! From October until mid-December, I was in school and life was go-go-go! Despite some sad moments in the Fall, we slid in to the end of the year, with Thanksgiving at Cioci Deb’s and Uncle Burt’s in Sparta, Christmas Eve with CB’s family, and Christmas Day with both sides. Sure, we may have been decorating the tree again on Christmas Eve, but it was still a great holiday with our family.
Now, with 2010 in the books, we are thankful for all the great moments and we look forward to seeing what 2011 will bring us.
Happy New Year!
