It's rare that I post anything personal related, but I decided today to share some random Tech, Geek, Fun, or whatever-related photos that I took in 2009.  See?  It's sort-of business and/or technical in nature! 

You can watch via slide-show, or view them one at a time below.  I also included something extra that makes me (for some strange reason) laugh uncontrollably.  It's a YouTube video at the end of this post.

I recently had the pleasure gutting and organizing my garage a couple weeks back, and thought I would share my story.  In speaking with friends, family, and strangers about my adventure, I know I’m not the only one out there who’s collected far too much stuff to keep organized.

When I started, I had waist-to-chest high stuff all over the place and had to jump over items to get from one end of the garage to another.  When all was said and done, I gave away three truckloads of household stuff, another truckload of automotive parts, and filled up a 4’ H x 4’ W x 6’ L dumpster…to the rim.  I could have sold two or three of those truckloads (garage sale, Craig’s List, eBay, etc), but chose to give them away as I knew they were going to a good cause.

STEP 1 – Acquire Tools

1. Rent a dumpster.  Yes, you heard me.  Rent a dumpster.  You’ll be amazed at the motivation a big green dumpster in your driveway can deliver.  I kept mine for a week.  I used Dumpster.com (a Waste Management company).
2. Purchase storage shelves.  There is a lots of stuff available for cheap on-line…or you can do what I did.  I purchased plastic shelving stand-alone units that’re easy to assemble and move if necessary (note these are not the ones I bought, but they’re very similar).  I got a couple from Lowe’s (or try Home Depot, etc), and also got some freebee’s from a friend. 
3. Acquire small storage boxes to go on the shelves (plastic bins, cardboard boxes, whatever works for you).  Since I was unloading so much stuff, I was able to re-usable bins and boxes that were made available.  You may find as you unload stuff, you free up a number of boxes for re-use.
4. Acquire a permanent marker.
5. Build a spreadsheet in Excel or Google Apps Spreadsheet (or use an old fashioned pen and paper if that works for you!)  More on this later…

STEP 2 - Categorize

Empty your garage.  Put everything out on the driveway / yard so you can work with a clean slate.  You’ll likely have to move them in and out a couple times if this isn’t a one-day job (mine took about 4 days at a fairly relaxed pace). 

Categorize your stuff into four piles:

1. Stuff to sell
2. Stuff to donate / give-away
3. Stuff to throw away
4. Stuff to keep

STEP 3 – Downsize

Start throwing stuff away, start giving stuff away, start selling stuff, and start putting things away you’d really like to keep!

Use the permanent marker to put a number on each box.  Use your spreadsheet to keep track of what each number represents.  For example, the box with a “1” on it contains your high-school keepsakes.  The box with the “2” on it has your important documents.  When you move something from one box to another, you don’t have to actually re-write anything on the container…you simply change your spreadsheet.

Additional Tips for Success:

Have a friend come over and evaluate what you plan on keeping.  It’s in your best interest to pick a friend who’s actually well organized and lives a clutter-free existence!  Don’t cheat and ask the friend who has more stuff than you do!  This person will help put a non-biased opinion on what you should keep or get rid of.

Take photos of memorabilia you are struggling to throw away but can’t really see the need to keep them in a box.  For example, I took photos of all my old trophies as a kid and they now rotate in my screensaver with all my other photos.  It’s a nice reminder, and a kept memory…but without the clutter!

Tell all your friends you’re undertaking this project.  There’s nothing like a little peer pressure to keep you motivated to complete your project.

I’m living in glee right now, by the way.  There’s nothing like reclaiming what’s rightfully yours (your garage) so that you can actually use it for something beneficial…you know, like your CAR.  This was an immensely gratifying project for me, and well worth the time spent on it.

Good luck!

Stumbled across this video today from percussionist David Kuckhermann (FrameDrums.net) outlining a number of exercises to combat drumming pains and/or carpal tunnel issues. 

Being the geek that I am, I’m constantly on a PC or some type of computing device.  Over the years, I’ve converted myself to using my left hand for mouse activities because the right gets tired quickly.  Also…about 11 years ago, I got a wrist injury that that keeps me from doing any stick-based percussion. 

So, I’m anxious to give these exercises a try and see what happens.  I don’t expect any miracle cure for my injury, but I do expect some level of relief and extended “durability”.  I’ll keep you posted on my results…

Enjoy the video:

Just upgraded my blog from v1.4.x to v1.5.  New features include better Windows Live Writer support (this is actually my first post using it) via the Metaweblog API, an updated TinyMCE Editor, nested comments, speed improvements, and various other benefits.

BlogEngine.NET Version 1.5 Announcement

BlogEngine.NET v1.5 Download Here

Setting it up with Windows Live Writer was surprisingly easy.  Simply fire up the app, put your URL in, username and password, and it figures out the rest!  I’m excited to see if I like this better than the built-in TinyMCE WYSIWYG Editor.

Cheers!

Decided to head over to Mission Trails today (5 minute drive) and climb some rocks.  It was cloudy, but didn't seem heavy enough to turn into rain.  Ha.  The minute I got to the top...and I'm not exaggerating...I noticed the clouds were much darker than earlier.  Then it started sprinking.  Of course, all of this happened within about 30 seconds.  <laughs>  Knowing how "fun" it is to climb down slabs of rock when they're wet, I decided to head back down and try to beat the rain.  Then, it started raining.  Now we're at the 45 second mark.  15 seconds later I'm digging out my rain coat and looking for a rock to hide under.

Of course, didn't find one until climbing down for 15 minutes or so.  Did a little slipping, had some entertaining decisions to make, and made it to a bit of a hiding spot until the rain passed over (about 30 seconds later).  Since there was no sun, hanging around and waiting for things to dry was really not an option...even the smallest amount of moisture makes a normally traction-strong rock useless.  So...I headed down.  After a couple more slabs and plenty of navigation, I made it down. 

I was busy trying not to fall off the hill so didn't really get any good shots, but here's a couple and a video for fun.  Couldn't stop singing "Slip Slidin' Away"...the entire way down the hill.  Ha.

A shot of one of the slabs, slightly wet.  Another shot between some rocks about half-way up.
   

A shot from about half-way up the hill, you can see my truck in the distance.

A video from the same rock formations about half-way up the hill.  No, I didn't climb up the face to the left.  <laughs> 

Christmas this year was great, lots of friends and family...and entertaining moments, to say the least.

Christmas Eve was spent at Mom & Dad's, and yes...we cheated and opened up gifts early.  I think the dog made out better than all of us combined (as usual)!

Christmas Day was met with friends, family of friends, my parents, my Goddaughter, a fantastic meal, more gifts, and a great time.  There was, however, a bit of a detour in festivities for me.  I spent what felt like 2 hours (but was probably 45 minutes) of the day in my friend's garage.  The cast of characters were:  Me, my dog, a roll of paper towels, hand sanitizer, and a fresh bottle of Pelligrino.  Hey...in a pinch, you gotta whip out your MacGuyver skills. 

Why was I spending this kind of "quality time" with my dog, in an opened garage, rain pouring and winds surprisingly howling for San Diego?

Despite these winter-esque (for San Diego) conditions (which...by the way...was a nice Christmas touch, as many agreed throughout the evening), said dog...in her infinite wisdom, decided to flop down in the wet grass, roll around and wiggle erratically.  Dogs do these things sometimes, it's an entertaining mystery.  Ok, so, she'll be a little damp.  No big deal. 

I didn't really think much of it until I noticed an odd scent coming from her general direction a few minutes later.  Apparently her ginormous nose didn't warn her of the impending doom surrounding her attempts of...well, who knows what a dog is trying to accomplish when they go belly up in the yard.  She was covered in, uhm, something...her chest, her back, her sides...oh boy.  Merry Christmas.

Needless to say, she got another gift when we finally got home that night.  A bath.

Here's my Goddaughter, obviously not very happy about the dog's choice of cologne.

Here's a nice close-up privacy-space-violation video of the dog enjoying one of her gifts.

[Title Image Credit: SouthPark]

So I had a pretty good weekend, and figured I'd share...

Got to hang with my dog, friends, family, more friends, Goddaughter, dog, saw a great sunset, and was allowed the hysterical opportunity to see my Goddaughter laugh for the first time (first time for me, that is...fourth time for her).  There are few laughs more contagious than that of a child who's just learned how to!

I did wait for what looked like the sky getting ready to explode on Saturday, but it never did...surprisingly.  Apparently it waited until today, Monday, with...you know...traffic, to unload itself on far too many drivers who have far too little idea of how to drive in it.  <chuckle> 

All in all, a great w'end!  Now I get to dust off some of my coding skills from a few years back at work...  Should be fun!

Here's a few (crappy cell phone) photos for your viewing pleasure...

The Dog, a Tree, a TV, not my house.
 

A nice sunset in Cardiff

The Goddaughter, taking a breather after a gigglefest.

My Goddaughter is so cool she has her own blog.

Becoming a Godfather is actually one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me...  Despite the fact that my Dad had 10 brothers and sisters, and my Mom had 5...I was an only child.  I was actually incredibly troublesome during pregnancy (it didn't really end there either...), so that's why there's only me!  Regardless, I'll never get to be a true Uncle...but thankfully I have SO MANY second cousins I get to be an "uncle" to them.

However...I've ALWAYS wanted to be a Godfather.  The parents are great friends, the father is my best friend and was the best man at my wedding.  I've known him since 1991-92 timeframe and his wife is the sweetest thing ever.  Months back, while eating at the bar at a local Sushi joint he raised his Sake glass and said, "Here's to being a Godfather".  Of course, my world came to a bit of a halt...a somewhat screeching one...and I went silent because I was just stuck with happiness.  I'd secretly hoped they'd pick me, and they did!  What a great feeling.  Being asked to help guide a child through life, in any way, is an incredible honor.

So cheers to my Goddaughter and her new found technology itch.  I look forward to future insightfulness such as:

1. How to attract immediate attention by using appropriate noises.
2. How to poop all over your brand new U of M gear and still have your Daddy love you.
3. Boobs.  Just...boobs.
4. The best tactics for recycling milk onto your new friend's shoulder.

In closing...I give you...the Godfather (in more ways than one!)  So please click play below and watch all the way through...then you'll understand what I mean.  <chuckle>

Hi folks,

Some major career changes are afoot, and I felt the need to start a public blog.  It's something I've wanted to do for quite some time now, and just recently got a very good excuse to do so (more on this later...)

In the meantime get prepared to hear about my work, technologies, and business...as these will likely be the core focus topics.  I'm sure a spattering of personal information will be thrown in for good measure.  <grin>

Cheers,
AL