nyc

NYC for one night

Jacob Redding — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:13:36 +0000

My blog has become a small announcement board for a few days, sorry.

I'm back in NYC for one night and one night only and I'd love to meet up with anyone that reads this blog ;)
I also want some really good pizza... ;)
So come meet me:
6pm at Grimaldis

http://www.grimaldis.com/

Now Grimaldies is a pain in the butt to get into so please RSVP and let me know if you'll be coming.
Also please try to show up at 5:30 to wait in line with me ;) if you're late you may not get in as Grimaldis doesn't like to save seats. After dinner we can head over to another place with more room.

Sorry I really want Grimaldis and I only have one day.

My number while in NYC is 347-366-0292

Eric NG's Memorial Ride

Jacob Redding — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:33:22 +0000

On Saturday December 9th a memorial ride was held for Eric NG. Eric NG was killed on the westside greeway, a car protected bike/run/jog path. He was hit by a overly intoxicated driver whom had no idea that he was driving on a bike path. The driver hit Eric NG head-on at about 30 miles per hour killing Eric instantly.

This an example of an incident that could have been prevented extremely easily thru the use of a simple barrier(s) that prevent cars from driving on the greenway.

The memorial ride was held to honor Eric NG while also bringing about awareness that something as simple as a 3 foot high concrete pillar (blocking vehicle access to the path) could have saved the life of this man. I shot a lot of video on the ride and then created this short video a few weeks later.

I don't like to create videos like this... but these "incidents" must stop.

Trains, Swimming and little kids

Jacob Redding — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 01:14:57 +0000

Roughly a week ago Diana and I boarded an Amtrak train at Penn station in New York City. We had just finished packing and cleaning up our house not more than 10 hours before. We shipped a few boxes to China, shipped a few boxes to Florida and took the rest with us on the train. We traveled with three suitcases, three guitars, one amplifier, and two boxes. It took us roughly one month to rid of ourselves of nearly all of our worldly possessions except the items we could not part with (yet).
I kept...

Sent to China
- 1 box of winter clothes (shipped to China with Diana's clothes)
Sent to my parent's house for safekeeping (i.e. I won't see them for a while
- 1 box of books
- 1 box of artwork and my College diplomas (I can't part with Alice's art)
- 3 guitars (Electric, Classic and Acoustic)
- 1 amplifier
Traveling with Diana and I
- 1 Suitcase filled with clothing
- 1 backpack filled with electronics (laptop, f/w drive, digital camera)

Diana has a similar list but that's it. We will arrive in China with just three suitcases and two backpacks between us with a single box of winter clothes awaiting us in China. We have both dramatically simplified our lives by reducing our material possessions and preparing to travel in foreigns lands for the next few years.

Now back to that train ride. We boarded the train in NYC at roughly 12pm on Tuesday July 31st and arrived in Tampa, Florida around 3pm on August 1st. The train ride took roughly 27 hours. We could have flown to Florida in roughly 3 hours but the train was more relaxing, easier and quite a bit of fun. We purchased a roommette, which was quite small but ample, and all of our meals were prepared for us and included in the price! Oh ya, the meals were free! If you buy a room on Amtrak the meals are free (exclusive of alcoholic drinks). oooohhh, I love free meals.

Check out the video of our Amtrak room.

Since arriving in Florida over a week ago my days have been consumed with something of a completely different value. I haven't been "busy" per se but I have been soaking in much valued time with the family. Everyday is filled with talking to, screaming with, running around after, flinging and throwing around, and, of course, swimming with my three year old niece. Of course I've also been spending time with my Sister and brother-in-law as well as my mother and father.

I have a pretty small family and I am the only one that lives far away (recently in NYC and in the future, China) so I have to soak in the family time when I get it.

That's all I have for now until next time!

Goodbye New York

Jacob Redding — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:27:47 +0000

[G2:11537 class=g2image_float_left]

Today is our last day in New York City. At 11am tomorrow morning we board a train destined for Florida from there we'll be crisscrossing the country before flying overseas to our new home in China!

The past couple of days we have been consumed with ravenous packing. Everything and I mean everything that we wanted to keep with us was packed into three bags each and the rest was sold on craigslist or given away (the majority was simply given away). Although we thought we had been living a minimalist existence in reality we had a HUGE amount of stuff that we had to dispose of quickly. In our last few days here it was good to be one of our friends ;)

I'll be back online and responding to emails, etc. later this week probably on Friday. In the meantime I have a train to catch and many more boxes to ship, pack, unpack, organize... sigh... so much work!

Watch the Twitter and the Geek Tracker!

Sicko

Jacob Redding — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 04:07:09 +0000

We just got back from watching Michael Moore's latest movie; Sicko. It is an amazing movie that every American should see. Even if you don't agree with Michael Moore's style or approach to this topic almost everyone will agree on one simple fact; The American Health Care system is in serious trouble.

This movie simply highlights that fact and does little more. Which is exactly what is needed. The movie doesn't try to get you to be socialist nor does it say that America is a horrible country (in fact quite the opposite). One of things it does do is to point out some very insightful facts

* Americans have poorer health care than most of the first-world countries
* Statistically Americans are dying at a younger age
* Insured Americans are not necessarily "covered"

In true Michael Moore style America's health care system is compared to Canada's. As well as the systems in the UK, France, and Cuba. All of which are more focused on the well being of the individual rather than on well being of the hospital, insurance company, or practice.

To me the core message from this movie was:

When did health care shift from being about health to being about profits?

Onto my opinions....

Seriously why, in America, do we truly believe that top-notch medical care will be given when the main motivator is financial gain? HMOs and other insurance companies are not in the "business" to help people. They are in the business to make money, obscene amounts of money; and they do! Compensations that have reached well over a billion dollars for some CEOs.

Now of course the main argument against Universal health care (or socialist medicine, as those opposed to it like to call it) is that taxes would have to be incredibly high in order to pay for it. My very short response to this is that I would argue that taxes are already high, we just don't see them.

I'll use myself as an example. The employers I work for all have had to pay insurance on my behalf. On the employer side the cost fluctuates but, in general, its around $400-$500/month. Now that's $4,800 to $6,000 a year that is paid out on my behalf and is required as part of my employment. To me, its a tax. The employer HAS to pay it otherwise I wouldn't work there. Maybe its not a government mandated tax but its a tax nonetheless.

The cost of insurance premiums do not fluctuate greatly based upon individuals but the percentage, of those costs, to pay varies massively according to an individual. To a person making $100k/year $500/month is not going to make a big difference in after-tax pay but to the person making $20k/year that same after-tax difference is massive.

I love to say that my hat is, and has been, in the ring for Universal health care because, as I see it, the tax is already there. Its just in the wrong place. This "medical tax" is crippling our small businesses, forcing skilled labor to major corporations and destroying our nation's biggest asset; creativity and entrepreneurship. After all how many people caved in on their dreams, went to work for an established company simply for health care?

Finally I close with this...

I am tired of worrying about health care.

I am tired of moving from one company to the next just to continue health coverage.

I am tired of asking about health benefits during job interviews and reviewing the legalese written health benefit documents.

I am sick and tired of worrying myself sick over the fear of being sick in America.

Drupal Camp NYC #3

Jacob Redding — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:37:48 +0000

I sent out a mass email to the 161 subscribers to the New York City groups.drupal.org group today! July 14th at Brooklyn Polytechnic University I'm corralling the Drupalistas of New York City for my last Drupal Camp in New York City. Then I'll be off to China to find (and create?)Drupalers to have Drupal Camps with. Of course I'll have to learn the language first (I'm working on it).

We had to cap registration at 100 people this time because at the last camp we we're crammed into the main room. It was awesome but we were crammed. We also shortened the camp to a single day instead of the usual two. Attrition was really high on the second day and quite honestly everyone was just too "geeked out" to come to a second day. We do have the place reserved for both days if people wanted to run a second day. I'm casting my vote, however, for a Drupal fieldtrip to Coney Island!

Sponsors are starting to pledge their dollars which is great. The New York Observer is sponsoring lunch, Pando threw in some cash and a few individuals have given some cash too. Only a few hours after sending the emails I've already received a few more sponsorship requests which is awesome. If you're reading this, you're most likely a friend or family member that has zero idea what I'm talking about but in the off-chance that you're a Drupaler, Drupal-shop or similar you should consider sponsor Drupalcamp and coming out!

If you're looking to hire a Drupal developers, learn Drupal, figure out what Drupal is or hone your Drupal Ninja skills you need to be there!

Go to the DrupalCamp Wiki to learn more.

Talk Radio

Jacob Redding — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 05:20:06 +0000

Diana and I went to see Talk Radio on Broadway...Oh Broadway, how do I love thee

Talk Radio, MNN and funny business

Jacob Redding — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:16:23 +0000

This evening Diana and I went to see the Broadway show Talk Radio. In a word the show is Amazing in two words the show is "F*in Amazing" in three words it is "Totally F*in Amazing" and in California speak it is "dude, like totally awesome n' such". I could ramble on and on about the cast and how brilliantly they acted but I won't; that's boring, go read an actual review.

I will, however, say that it is a brilliantly written play that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time despite the big spikey haired head seated in front of me. No really, there was no body attached to the head it was just one very large head.

The reality of the show is that it is a single set play set in a 1980's radio station and you are watching a 2 hour long "Shock jock" style talk radio show. Diana more elequently stated that it was "watching a man confront his inner demon". Either way it was good but there was one part in the play that related to me in a more "hey, that's me right now" type manner.

The "station manager", Dan, came out in the middle of the show and did a monologue about his relationship to "Barry Champlain", the talk show host and star of the play (depicted in the picture to the left).

Dan came out and stated how he had found "Barry Champlain" and molded him into what he needed to create the perfect radio station. Now that piece didn't have any relationship to my current situation but his next statements did. He created an analogy between radio hosts and trains, most of which made no sense.

One sentence, sadly, made sense "The difference between Barry and I is that I know this is only a job and I can leave it at the door"

Ok so if you're reading this and you expected a review of Talk Radio you're about to be thrown into my immediate world. After all this is my blog about my life. So sorry I won't be offended if you leave now. Go see the show, its good.

My current situation is exactly that. I've been working at MNN for the past 19 or so months and I took the job not as a job. I had just left a very corporate job as an accountant at Intel and I wanted to get back to something I love doing (IT, geeky work) and I also wanted to actually do something. Upon arriving in New York I relaxed for a few weeks. Then I started looking for a job (aah savings. gotta love it). I only applied at places that looked interesting and were working for/with/towards causes that I cared about. I was also ONLY looking at non-profits and places with a social-cause.

I applied at a handful of places and had a number of interviews but the ONLY place that looked remotely interesting was MNN and I saw a ton of potential with the organization. My initial assessment of the place was that they were in need of a decent IT guy but nothing serious (they only have a staff of 50 after all). I also noted, to myself, that the place would be extremely flexible to really explore and "flex", so to speak, my IT/Finance/managerial skills. After all I'm a geek with a Masters in Finance, I have to be able to do something with that right?

After I took the job I realized that there were some very serious problems at MNN. I took the job head-on though and hunkered down for the long road ahead. I worked too many 16-20 hour days to count and I kicked some serious ass at MNN. Yes, yes I'm being extremely egotistical and arrogant but I think I can back it up. Not only did I rebuild a physical and data infrastructure at MNN but I also worked on building a community and infrastructure to support MNN long after I'm gone. I attended multiple conferences around the country to mobilize access centers together and got heavily involved in the Drupal community in NYC (to the point where I starting hosting Drupal Camps and the monthly meetups).

In my opinion building a supporting infrastructure is more important that fixing the problems of today. My entire vision, and thus most of work, has always been focused on the 5, 10 and 15 years from now. Positioning MNN so that they are prepared to handle the hurdles the Internet is going to throw at Public Access (and cable in general) was my focus.

Ok so now back to the point. In accepting my position at MNN I took the very first salary offer they threw at me without negotiation. I have never asked for a raise and I have had a low impact on MNN's budget; to the extent of working on a laptop without a working screen for almost a year (seriously). I did it because it wasn't a "job" to me, I was building something, I was helping MNN, and public access, to position themselves for the future.

Well, sadly, it bit me right in the ass.

The poor managerial infrastructure at MNN became too much for me handle. After fighting against a lack of standard procedures, no budgets, no financial reports, an inability to hire people and an increasing list of problems, that have been solved in most businesses, I finally had enough. Months ago I tendered my resignation which would have been effective in August. Later, after a rather emotional managerial meeting that threw me over the edge, I stepped up my resignation to June 1st.

My resignation relieved a lot of my daily stress and the reality had set in that most of what I had done at MNN was done and my standard day had become filled with the 9 to 5 tasks. I say done, however, reluctantly because one project wasn't done.

Over a year ago I made a very important decision at MNN. Now truth be told the decision wasn't solely me. MNN has a Board of Directors, an Executive Director and an entire chain of command so I made a recommendation that was followed by the "powers that be" but when it comes down to it, I made the decision. I decided that an application developed by an unnamed vendor was developed poorly. This application cost MNN approximately $110,000 and I recommended scrapping it, effectively throwing away all the work (and thus cash)

I stand by that decision.

I also made the decision to spend another $60,000 on a redevelopment project.

A year into a 3 month long project (i.e. 9 months overdue) the project still isn't completed and I have resigned from the organization. I, however, made an extremely important decision and I want to see it through to fruition (oh the fruits will be juicy too). Despite my incredible frustration with the organization I offered to continue as an employee to work as a project manager to complete this project. I did/do not want to see MNN get hurt again by another failed software development project.

I want this to be clear. I do not have to do this but I made a decision and I'm sticking by it. Additionally I'm sticking by it at my standard salaried employee rate (which is/was already low) and I am by no means "setting up a sweet deal for myself".

Unfortunately MNN hired a new business manager about 6 months ago. A really nice woman that is extremely talented, smart and highly educated. A CPA that has worked with numerous corporate and non-profit clients. I was enamored by her intellect and dedication during her interview and I was one, of many, that immediately said "Hire her. She's the one. Hire her. She will do great things here". Truth is she is going to do wonderful things at MNN but unfortunately in the process of doing those wonderful things she is going to cause a lot of tension and some decisions aren't going to be the "right" ones. Par for the course, I guess.

back to me and the Talk Radio discussion. I didn't treat MNN as a "job" and that was my mistake.

Despite offering to continue working as an f/t employee of MNN she decided that I needed to leave MNN and be rehired as an outside consultant complete with a contract.

Sadly this means that I have to pay my own Employer/Employee taxes, pay for my own benefits, accrue my own vacation, etc. Not to mention having to develop contracts, go through fee negotiations and losing my standard employee rights afforded under standard federal, state and city laws.

Although this is a standard procedure in the business world it is only standard procedure because of abuse and business manipulating accounting rules. I tried to play nice and break through these so-called "corporate" barriers in the U.S business world. Items such as lengthy contracts and untrusting fee negotiations where waste is commonplace.

Despite putting my heart and soul into this organization I have been treated as an "employee", a replaceable, temporary untrustworthy "person" that must have contracts, legal waivers, distinction and precedence between myself and the "corporation".

I can honestly say that I tried to have a minimal impact on the organization while providing maximum value back and I was bitten hard. Extremely hard.

Getting kicked off your bicycle

Jacob Redding — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:33:11 +0000

After spending two weeks in Scandinavia and using many of the city bicycles I became a bit lazy in my bike riding. The standard bicycle in Europe is considered old-school in America. They are typical 1 or 3 speed cycles with *gasp* coaster brakes.

Yup that old-school pedal backwards style is all the rage throughout Europe.

Personally I think coaster brakes are THE way to go for a relaxing ride throughout a city. Its easy to use, works well and its just relaxing.

Well today I was riding my bike home enjoying an incredibly warm and scenic ride along the westside greenway. To enjoy the scenery I sprinted past the throngs of joggers, runners, dog walkers, baby walkers, and just plain walkers to get to the smooth stretch of asphalt that extends from 95th to 125th. Once I got to the stretch of asphalt I let my body relax and sat back to enjoy the scenery.

Push, push, throw, throw.. huh.. what.. Bike why do you hate me?!?

oh ya.. its fixed, I can't stop pedaling.

Darn you oh so relaxing European style coaster brake bikes!

I was just about kicked off my fixed gear as the pedals pushed my feet (and thus my body) straight into the air at a very rapid rate.

Never again will i forget that I'm on a fixed. .

Sweden, HSBC and Condoms

Jacob Redding — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:51:03 +0000

The plane leaves at 10pm tonight. Newark non-stop to Stockholm, Sweden. Right now I'm sitting in front of my laptop waiting for Diana to get out of the shower so that I can pop in, shower, shave and put my brand-spanking new contacts in. It has been well over a year since I last wore contacts and I'm excited to have them again.

This morning I did Laundry, finalized our sublet agreement with Nicole (nice girl) and coded. Yup I coded. The geek tracker is back! Although I still have more coding to do it is a start. Now you can track our progress as we make our way across Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia and who knows where else (we really don't know where we're going). We found really excellent people on couchsurfer to stay with and show us around town. I'm really excited for that.

Go check out the Geek Tracker!

Yesterday both Diana and I were extremely busy. She ran around town getting errands done and I spent hours at HSBC setting up our Chinese bank account. Seriously. I went into HSBC to setup a US based account (held in US Dollars) and to finish up the paperwork, photocopy passports, etc. that is being sent to China to setup our China based HSBC account (held in RMB). Mainly we're doing this to get our money OUT of the US and into Chinese RMB because the exchange rate is falling as the dollar becomes weaker.

It is a tricky game that you have to play. Once money is transferred to RMB and held in a Chinese bank account it is next to impossible (as we've been told) to get it back out agan. On the other hand the dollar is getting weaker so we want to buy RMB now, ASAP. So... what do you do? Transfer it all and buy more RMB and hope you are able to spend it all in the country OR leave it in US and transfer as needed (which means you'll spend more in the long run on the exchange rate). OOooohh foreign currencies why do you taunt me so?

I have to say though that HSBC is awesome and I don't know why I didn't switch over early. I guess now is the time. Bye, Bye BoFA hello HSBC (hhm.. 4 letters.. coincidence?).

Everything is pretty much set now. While we're away the Chinese bank account will be processed, I have new contacts, geektracker is back up and running and we're all packed. The last remaining item was gifts.. hhm.. What do you get people in a foreign country when you're from the US? Because of our crazy capitalist culture every product from the US is quickly exported to anywhere/anyone that will pay for it. Its hard bringing gifts to another country when the foreigners can buy everything you can buy at home.

A dilemma indeed..... so what did we get?

NYC Condoms!!!!

and

Halvah...

I can't think of two other items that are distinctly New York! (I wanted to bring beer but the stupid TSA would've had fits, since we're carry on only for this trip).

The next time I write I'll be in Sweden. Check the Twitter yo!