Back in the NYC

Monday, April 28, 2008

I am back in New York for work and once again have travel woes. I am pretty sure I am not supposed to come to this city. I left my house at 6:30 for my 7:15 plane which was canceled. Since this was canceled I had to take a flight from Madison to Detroit then Detroit to Boston and finally Boston to NYC. This changed my arrival time from 11:30 to 3:00 gah! So I get to traveling every thing is fine on the flight to Detroit, up and down no biggie. Then about half way to Boston the stewardess comes over the intercom, “if there is a doctor on the plane could you please push your stewardess button.” A lady on the back of the plane was having a heart attack, great.

The plane landed in Boston at 12:15, I look at my ticket and my next plane which is on a different airline is boarding at 12:30. I hear over the intercom. “We have an ambulance meeting us on the tarmack. We ask that all the passengers on the plane please stay put until the patient is removed. Thank you for your cooperation.” I am never going to make my plane I think to my self. I watch the minutes tick away and call work to let Bessie know what is happening. Hi Bessie ia ma never ever getting to New York ablut sums it up. The paramedics escort the patient off the plane and I quickly follow. I ask where I need to go to get my next plane. “Well it is about a 20 minute walk or a 10 minute bus ride and you have to go back through security.” I bolt through the airport. I have about 15 minutes to get there. I get on the bus and get through security just fearing a random screening. I make it to the plane and just barely get on, nothing short of a miracle!

On the plane to New York I get on and comfortable and the captain comes on the intercom. “Hello ladies and gentleman looks like we will be waiting in line for a while bad weather has us grounded so settle in and get comfortable.” We finally take off an hour later. I get in to New York at 4:30 turning an hour and a half flight into a nine and a half hour journey. Blech. Now I am here and hoping my return trip is better. In the mean time here I come New York pizza.

The New Ride

Friday, April 25, 2008

There is a new MTB bike in the works. Darren at Mongoose cycles has been nice enough to hook me up with a 2010 Mongoose 29er. The ride is really tricked out. I am currently working on putting it together and will put up pics once I have it further along.

Attack of the flasher

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Last night I decided to go visit my friends at Pacific Cycles (more to come on that). After my visit the cross bike and I thought a rip down the Badger trail sounded like a good way to spend the evening. After my ride I came back to Pacific where I had left my car I cahnged and loaded up then started my journey home. About a mile down the road I come to a T intersection. I stop at the stop sign waiting for the unmarked cop car across from me to go. They don’t go, so I go. I pull up to a stop light and they pull up next to me and start small talking-

Cop: Great night for a ride ehh.
Me: Yup
Cop: Were you on the bike trail?
Me: I went down the Badger trail to Basco.

The light turns green and the cop waves. I pull ahead and get into the lane to enter the beltline. Right before I get on the beltline the cop flips on his lights and pulls me over. He walks up and:

Cop: Sir can I see some ID?
Me: Sure officer did I do something wrong?
Cop: Where did you say you where riding your bike again?
Me: I rode out the badger trail to Seminole hwy then out to Basco.
Cop: Are you sure you weren’t on the overpass?
Me: Yes, why?
Cop: We have reports of a flasher who meets your description.
he eyes up my bike.
Cop: Wait here I will need to run your id.

So long story short. I was accused of flashing people! I hope this gets cleared up and they catch the guy who is ruining my descriptions reputation! I hate to see my great description get dragged throught the mud In the mean time I am on the look out for a good trench coat. Any one know where I can get one

Do The Rock

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sunday was the first MTB race of the year. Rockcut trail crew always starts out the season with a great race. In this case 37.5 miles of rolling single track filled with log hops and mud. I relaearned an important lesson at this race, make sure to show up to the start line plenty early. I didn’t I started pretty much dead last and got stuck in a line of riders hitting the single track for the first time this year. I watched the fast guys walk away and decided it was a great day for a hard ride. I ended up in a very respectable 15th place and had a great time in the sun.

Front End Development is it to broad?

Friday, April 18, 2008

Front end web development can be a very complicated thing to learn. There are so many elements to consider user interface design, graphic design, javascript, xhtml, ajax, css, and search engine optimization. It is hard to believe many times all of these elements get grouped together. Just out of curiosity on what is happening in the job market and web design community as a whole I find myself watching job boards and university offerings. Jobs being offered seem to bulk all the skill sets of a front end developer together. Universities are seeming to be so far behind the curve on what is quality web design that the only way a new job entrant can get into web design is to be self taught. I find my self questioning who the best candidates for any of these jobs is. Perhaps I am a purist but I would love to see more specialists. XHTML, CSS, and SEO are definitely a skill set that makes sense to combine. User Interface design and graphic design seem to make some sense together as far as layout goes. However I think you defiantly will start to see these two separate out in companies who are doing less print like websites and more application based or utility sites. Ajax/Javascript will probably end up killing flash (I may get attacked for that statement) and I think that as these technologies mature they will become a skill set in and of them selves.

As the web is maturing I think we need to see more specialist on front end design. Already the “Web Master” is starting to become a thing of the past as no one was ever a master of anything. The web is a complicated place and I suggest we take more of a specialization approach. As for education this is a whole different dilemma.