Words of Wisdom by MrWes

Self-Help and Self-Development tips

Archive for June, 2009

I love teaching knots

June 30th, 2009

Over the years, I have taught many different scouting skills to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts between 9 to 18 years old. One of my favorite subjects to teach is knot tying.

One of the main reasons knot tying is my favorite, is because once someone learns the basics, they will be able to tie more difficult knots based on the foundations they’ve already learned.

The square knot is one of those classics that every scout learns first.

The knots based on the half hitch are:

Clove Hitch
Two-half hitches
Taut-line hitch

The timberline hitch is one of those knots that is simple once the knot tyer gets the hang of it, then they use a half hitch to keep the knot taught.

Probably, one of the most complex knots I teach is the bowline. Instructors have different methods of how to teach this knot. Some like to teach it where the rope is around the person. Others like to have the student learn when it’s not around the persons body. When I teach this knot I explain that it’s a rescue knot & why it’s important to tie it correctly. I also take the time to teach them how to tie it both ways around their body & around someone elses body. Hopefully, if they ever have to use it, it would be to rescue someone else.

Another interesting thing I have come across when teaching knots has been if someone is left-handed. They usually tie it upside down. To most instructors, they sometimes get frustrated because the student isn’t getting it the way the instructor is teaching it. But when I see the student having difficulty, the first thing I ask them is whether they’re left or right handed. I have been gifted with being left handed, but I learned how to do everything with my right hand. So, I’m kind of ambidextrous. I adjust the lesson toward their understanding and then they get it.

I think probably the most rewarding part of teaching knots is when the student has an epiphany and have learned a skill for life. I love to see it when the lights go on

Till next time, I’ll be teaching this skill for life

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Posted in Camping, Outdoors, Skills

Tags: Skills Teaching

MediaShout Rocks: It’s a presenters dream

June 29th, 2009

Have you ever been in the situation where there are several Powerpoint presentations that need to be presented in the same meeting? Or how about that last minute correction to the powerpoint just before a presentation starts. Or someone brings in a CD with a bunch of images and wants you to display them in a particular order. When you’re in the Multimedia booth, it seems to happen all the time.

A few years ago, I was introduced to this wonderful presentation application called MedaShout. It helps make the Multimedia staff look good.

Some of its features are:

drag and drop PowerPoint files, image files, video files into a single script
create text objects, much like PowerPoint
re-arrange the media objects order by dragging them around in the script
add fade to black or white
do timed transitions or synchronize them with sound files
Activate any media objects at random
Announcement mode
Create Text slides on the fly
Lookup & display practically any media file on the fly

Some of the other features include, multiple screens, the script screen, a control screen and the live screen.

I recently heard that version 4 is available. It has some new features that haven’t been available until now. Stage Display. This is useful when you have a audience projector and a speaker projector. Just the text without graphics can be displayed on the speaker’s projector. Another feature, if you’re already familiar with MediaShout is Section Cues for grouping media presentation activities together. And finally ability to import PowerPoint into the system so it can separate the text from the graphics to take advantage of the power of MediaShout.

I’m pretty excited about this updated Multimedia tool. I’m going to recommend that we get the upgrade.

Till next time, MediaShout Rocks

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Posted in Review, Technology

Tags: Software Technology

Some programming required

June 26th, 2009

I recently experienced a missing page error on my website. It didn’t match the theme at all. I was kind of disappointed, since the rest of theme had been done so nicely. I figured, no problem, I’ll just install and activate one of them handy dandy Plugins to resolve the error and then it will display nicely within the the content window of my theme.

I’ll admit at the moment, I’m a newbie to the Wordpress framework. So, I have a little learning to do. After doing a some googling on the subject, I discovered, that the missing file error is handled in the theme’s 404.php file. Usually, the theme author modifies the page to be minimalistic, blend in with the theme and display a friendly message to the user. Unfortunately, the error page in my theme must have slipped through the cracks. It didn’t quite fit in, so I set out to create the error page that would fit my needs.

I found a great article Creating an Error 404 Page that gave some great suggestions. I ended up copying the default page, then pasting into the 404.php file. This got me part of the way to my pretty error page. But, it wasn’t trapping the errors, like I had hoped it would. This is where I ended up installing and activating the “Useful 404’s module” at http://skullbit.com/wordpress-plugin/useful-404s/

This module maps the different kind of error codes and information into relatively useful messages. All you have to do, is paste in the code <?php useful404s(); ?> at the strategic point in the 404.phhp file to make it all happen.

This expereience has piqued my interest in what it takes to develop Wordpress themes, Widgets and Plugins. I plan to increase my knowledge on customizing my Wordpress environment.

Till next time, I’ll be learning more about WordPress

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Posted in Programming, Technology, User Interface, WordPress

Tags: Programming Technology WordPress

User interface reboot

June 25th, 2009

During my career as a software engineer I have been frustrated most by user interface design of consumer electronics.
My biggest pet peeve is when a device is partially functional. The user interface appears to be running or kind of running, you can touch a button or touch the screen or click on a remote control and see some response, but it’s obvious that the device is not really performing the requested task. It’s stuck somewhere waiting for an event that may or may not happen. The old “race condition” has reared it’s ugly head. What caused it? WIll it ever get out of that condition? Who knows? Apparently the code doesn’t have a watchdog timer to catch this condition.

I don’t mean to pick on TiVo because I really do love my DVR. My experience is still fresh in my mind, so that’s why I’m using it. They do use some kind of watchdog timer, because when it hangs for a period of time, the TiVo will reboot by itself. The only thing, I wish they had designed into the unit was a reset/shutdown button or at least an on/off switch in the power supply. Computer manufacturers do it, TiVo is basically a computer with a specific purpose. There are two ways to force a reboot of a TiVo. The first way, if the menus are functional is to choose reboot in the setup menu. The other way to force a reboot on a TiVo is to cycle the power. There isn’t a switch on the device, so the power plug must be unplugged, then plugged in again. I agree, it might be admitting that problems do occur, but at least their customers would not be so irritated whenever a problem required a reboot.

I have had to do this with some DVD players as well. Something happened when a DVD was inserted and it never quite recovered. The buttons became unresponsive and the only way to fix it was to cycle power on the unit. Of course that meant unplugging the device, then plugging it in again. We grew tired of this behavior and ended up recycling it.

Handheld devices aren’t much better. Many handheld devices don’t seem to have a reset buttons on them. When there is one, I have been very grateful when I needed to use it. In most cases, when something does go wrong, you are required to cycle power by removing the battery, then waiting for 30 seconds, then replacing the battery. This works in most cases, but what about the case where you have a built-in battery with an external power source. If you’re lucky it was designed to reboot when the power button is held down during the display on event. I am just suggesting that perhaps software designers should add a menu item in system settings or diagnostics mode that would allow the user to reboot their device. The payoff would be huge and result in less customer frustration.

Till next time, don’t forget your users’ when you design the product

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Posted in Observation, Technology, User Interface

Tags: Observations Technology

Stunt kite experience

June 24th, 2009

When I was a kid my grandfather taught me how to fly a single line kite. The type of kite I learned to fly was the typical diamond shape with a long tail. I grew up in an area close to the beach so we always had a decent breeze for flying kites. As I grew older, my love for flying kites continued. I would fly different shaped kites and see how high they would fly.

It wasn’t until I went to the San Ramon Art and Wind festival that I saw some amazing two-line stunt kite flying. I was so impressed that I decided to buy a small one and started learning how to fly it. I got pretty good at maneuvering my kite in the park, so I was looking for new locations to try out my skills.

Coincidentally, there was a Boy Scout trip planned in the Bay area around a mile from a beach. I took my kite along and planned to hike to the beach for a little fun. As we arrived at the beach, I noticed there was a strong offshore wind; the wind was stronger than I had practiced with. I launched my kite without a problem. The kite was performing much faster than I expected. For the first thirty seconds I was having so much fun. It was physically demanding to keep the kite airborne. After flying my kite inches from the ground and nearly crashing several times, I realize now that I should have stopped and savored the experience. I decided to continue fly because I was having so much fun. My final manuever was supposed to be a simple figure eight. However, my reaction time was not quite as fast as the kite. My poor kite didn’t stand a chance; it went vertically into the beach. There was a loud crack. I had never heard this kind of sound coming from a kite before. When I arrived at the scene I was horrified. I did not see my beautiful kite but a shapeless mass of nylon and fiberglass. The main spar had shattered into a thousand fibers. I was devistated, my kite flying days were cut short due to operator error. kitelaunch

About a year later, I learned about a different kind of kite that was just as fun. It was called a stunt parafoil. All you need to operate it are two control lines and some wind. The more wind, the happier the kite is. This is the kind of kite I should have learned with. If it hits the ground, no problem; It doesn’t have anything to break. If the kids ask if they can try, no problem; I’m not worried about my investment getting broken. The only real challenge is trying to fly a parafoil by yourself. It doesn’t fly until it’s filled with air.

Warning: Kite flying can become very addicting.

Till next time, I’m going to fly my kite

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Posted in Happiness, Outdoors

Tags: Happiness Outdoors

Hiking preparedness

June 22nd, 2009

Last weekend I went on a little hiking trip with my spouse. We visited Lake Chabot Regional Park. Most of the hike was on relatively flat ground. The scenery was spectacular. The weather was a little mild. It was a great day to do get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

The plan was to hike from the Marina along the East Shore Trail, then along the Honker Bay Trail and have lunch at the Family campground then hike back to the Marina. The hardest part of the hike was the last half mile to the Family campground. The trail ascended 300 feet.

I am a pretty experienced hiker & camper, having grown up as a Boy Scout and done numerous trips as a leader with the Boy Scouts and our Venture Crew, in my opinion it was a pretty easy trail. My spouse on the other hand is not so experienced. I should have kept this in mind when I was making preparations.

Our hike started out great. We enjoyed the time walking and talking together. We saw many people walking, jogging and enjoying the nice weather as well. We crossed the bridge and proceeded along the Honker Bay Trail. We were getting hungy and wondered what time it was. I had forgotten a time source, so I resorted to using the sun-dial method of telling time.

Fortunately, we had sunlight. This is accomplished by finding North, that is your 12 o’clock reference point. Then find a straight shadow from a source that is pointing up. Your own shadow might be a good source. Notice where the shadow is pointing. If the shadow is on the left of North it’s morning, if the shadow is on the right of North it’s afternoon. Obviously if there is no shadow or the shadow is pointing at North, it is probably noon. I had just calculated the time to be between 12pm and 1pm. As we passed the Ferry Shuttle Stop, we asked someome for the time. We learned it was 1:15pm. I had forgotten about Daylight savings time
Just past the Ferry Shuttle Stop is where the trail began to go up towards the Family campground. As I reflect on the trip, this leg of the trip was the most challenging for my wife. It took us a little while to get there. We had to stop to make sure she didn’t get overheated. Once we got to the campground, we had lunch.

While we had lunch we removed our socks to let our feet to breath and dry out. After we had rested awhile we put on some fresh socks and put our shoes back on. Until that moment I had never thought about the quality of sock construction. I noticed that one of my toes hurt. I took off my boot, then my socks and examined my toe. That is when I noticed the blister that was developing on my pinky toe. I was breaking in a new pair of hiking shoes so I expected a blister might develop. Fortunately, I planned for this and brought plenty of moleskin with me. It was a small blister and easy to treat.

When I examined the construction of the sock, I noticed it wasn’t designed for comfort. It had a ball of threads at the big toe and pinky toe, obviously not good for hiking. Fortunately my original hiking socks had dried out by this time, so I put them back on and my feet were comfortable again. The moleskin would protect my toe and everything would be good again.

On the return trip, we traveled down Huck’s Trail until it rejoined Honker Bay Trail and then returned via the East Shore Trail back to the Marina.

Here are a few things to remember from this experience:

Before hiking

Consider your partner(s) experience – more training hikes with milder hills would have developed experience and confidence
Consider your partner(s) fitness – endurance and aerobic training would have helped with the hill climbing
Bring extra socks – Try them on before you go
Bring a first aid kit – a few important items we used on this trip
- Ibuprofen
- moleskin
Bring trail food – GORP
Bring a topo map – we got one from the ranger station
Bring a compass – so you can at least orient your map
Bring a time source – at least I brought my compass

Bring a camera – this is important to remember your experience & to show other’s what a great time you had

While hiking

Hydrate with electrolytes – the physical activity causes you to sweat, water alone doesn’t cut it
Eat trail food - replace the energy you’re using up
Have fun – enjoy the experience with your partner
Change your socks and check your feet at lunch time
Remember your partner’s limitations – don’t push them too hard, encourage them, remind them to hydrate & eat !!!
take pictures – remember the good times

In conclusion, I had a great experience. I did forget a few things, but we survived and should remember these things next time. The most important thing I learned is to always consider the people your with. Everybody should have fun and finish with a sense of accomplishment.

Till next time, I’ll be preparing for the next journey

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Posted in Fitness, Hiking, Outdoors

Tags: Fitness Hiking Outdoors Wisdom

Kittens inspire almost everybody

June 19th, 2009

Mouse and Bob

A few months ago we had some kittens abandoned in our backyard. The mother was nowhere to be found, so we sprang into action. We took care of those kittens.

We bottle fed them, until they could eat solid food.

We washed them and helped them learn how to go potty. Sorry about the potty language.

I don’t know if these are typical kitten traits, but this is what I’ve noticed.

A few observations about kittens:

They inspire older cats to play like kittens again
They share their love as soon as they see you
Their love is unconditional
They are full of energy
They learn quckly to submit to authority – we have a few older cats
They are curious about everything
They are easily entertained by anything
They are fearless
They love to play

Bob strikes a pose

Yes, Bob has a short tail. She was born that way.

Till next time, I’ll be cuddling with Bob.

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Posted in Observation

Tags: Observations

You can teach an Old Dog, New Tricks

June 18th, 2009

Who says you can’t teach an Old Dog some New Tricks? I’m not really old, I’ve heard it said that you’re only as old as you feel, so that makes me around 29 years old . Over the past couple of years, most of the software I’ve written has been in C and C++. A few years ago, while I was working at Prescriber’s Letter I received an introduction to SQL, ASP.NET, VB.NET and XML. I had opportunities to analyze SQL queries and write & debug stored procedures. I created panels for the PDA portions of the website. At the time I didn’t understand why everything was done the way it was; I learned enough to be dangerous. Of course when the pressure is on, you don’t always get to learn the big picture until after you’re done with the project.

Part of my required studies at American Sentinel has been taking a class in Advanced Visual Basic. One of the more important things I’m taking out of the class is the use of Multitier architecture. I never considered separating the presentation, logic, data layers from each other as part of the initial design. It makes total sense, especially when you’re designing for modularity & maintainability.

I have to admit, going back to school has been a great experience for me. This dog is finally getting the big picture.

Till next time, take time to learn some new tricks

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Posted in Technology

Tags: Technology

Do it right the first time

June 17th, 2009

When I was growing up, no one ever pushed me to go to college. My parents graduated from high school, got married, had kids, bought houses and worked in very stable jobs for most of their lives. We lived a pretty good life.

Not knowing anything different, after graduating from high school, I decided to attend a junior college and get a degree. I learned about the latest languages of the day IBM 360 Assembly, COBOL, RPG, FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal and APL. After earning my degree, I got married, had some kids, bought a house and worked my way up the ladder. Along the way, I had to update my knowledge with C, C++, PHP, VB.NET, SQL, HTML, XML and XHTML. I learned each of these over the course of several years as needed by the jobs I performed.

Knowing what I know now, I would have done a few things differently. I tell people who are just graduating from high school or are still college age and haven’t yet established their career or families.

Do it in this order the first time:

finish your education
establish your career
have a family

Here’s why:

your education is the key to your career

education demands a lot of your time, when you’re younger it’s a lot easier

an established career gives you more time for family

establishing a career requires lots of your time & attention
some relationships may not survive this

once you have your education & career in place, you have more time to devote to a family

If you’re college age and you listen my suggestions, you will thank me. Congratulations.
If you’re beyond college age, make sure your kids, grandkids, nieces & nephews read this. You might be one of those who didn’t quite do it in that order. I’m in that same boat. It’s not an easy road, but the journey will be worth it.

Till next time, share this message with everyone you know.

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Posted in Success

Tags: Happiness Success Wisdom

Don’t get pigeonholed

June 16th, 2009

Whether we like it or not, people tend to categorize things. Sometimes, they might associate a person with a particular activity or personality type. Maybe a group of people will be associated with a cause or hobby.

In work, you might have accepted the challenge of a specific task that nobody else wanted. You did it so well, that you are now the resident expert on the subject. The next time a task like this comes up, you might be asked to do a repeat. A few more times and you’ve been pigeonholed. To avoid this in the future, make sure you diversify yourself in the tasks that you take on. Take that extra training so you’re ready for a different challenge.

On the net, it seems like you can be pigeonholed without even knowing about it. Let’s say you’re a member of an organization that provides training and creates networking opportunities for professionals to advance their careers. There is a group called Professional Resource Network that has been doing this for many years. They’re a chapter of Experience Unlimited. This group was categorized with other groups that didn’t quite communicate their mission. This tells me that our marketing department needs to do some more work at sending the intended message to our target audience. I guess we have our work cut out for us.