I have restarted my The Mobile Minute series tonight after a very sparse year of posting in 2009, and am nearly complete overhauling my blog (there may be some unavailable content/broken links this week).

I decided to pick up TMM right where it left off, and have decided upon a thrice weekly, minimum, publishing schedule.    I also have some other limited posting series in the works, and I’m looking forward to getting those published.

I’m sure that some folks are wondering why or what happened. In sum, the last few years have been a tough balancing of priorities, and I’m now able to put community involvement  back in the mix. I look forward to getting back into the community and sharing knowledge, which is something I truly enjoy.

So here’s the score from what I set out to do in 2008 (and yes, the post date on that entry is off due to my blog migration):

Improve my health

• BMI of 24.9 or less  - fail. I’m around 28.2 right now (better than the 29.8 I started with). I started the year around the 250 pounds mark and now am at 230; need to drop another 30. Most folks can’t tell, though. I suppose it is because I’m a few inches over 72.
• Improve cardiovascular conditioning – fail. The idea to do C25K came and went.
• Build my core and improve my posture – fail.  Posture is minimally better, but that’s it.
• Get a minimum of six hours sleep every night – fail. I was pretty lucky to get four hours some nights.
• Lower my cholesterol to a healthy level – done! I’m under 200 and my LDL/HDL numbers are better, too.

Simplify

• Reduce my online presence – partial-fail. I deleted my MySpace account, but re-activated Twitter. The social interactions I have had via Twitter and the great people I have met in the community via Twitter outweigh the noise (and blocking and unfollowing help minimize noise, too).
• Reduce my home IT demands – um, fail. Still working on this and hope to have greater success in ‘09.
• Purge the house stuff we don’t use – not much, still working on this, albeit more aggressively this year as we’re planning on moving in the next twelve months.

Community Involvement

• Re-engage with the online mobile community – not as successful as I had planned. Still working on this. Work took over my life again, so this and the blogging got back-burnered.
• Make it to more CINNUG meetings - Yes, I did make it to more meetings in ‘08 than I did in ‘07. Although it was still a poor showing as one of the group directors.
• Regular blogging and writing – not so good here either.

Improved personal/professional balance – Fail. No other way to say it.
Given the crazy work schedule I have had this year (particularly April through October), achieving balance has been tough.  Unfortunately, the next release cycle for this project (now through May) is shaping up for more of the same. I’m certain that I have had some growth out of the experience, but I think I’m still too close to the project to ascertain what it was.  Funny (sad funny?),  the better part of the last 5 1/2 years I have had a crazy work schedule with lots of OT. Hmm.

That said, I’m still determined to work on the balance issue and get more life in my life.  Uncertain of what I need to do to do that; may need something ‘extreme’.

Going to get my 2009 goals up this weekend; again hoping that the public statement of them helps with my accountability.

I was thrilled to receive this email [snipped] today:

Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2008 Microsoft® MVP Award! The MVP Award is our way to say thank you for promoting the spirit of community and improving people’s lives and the industry’s success every day. We appreciate your extraordinary efforts in Device Application Development technical communities during the past year.

w00t!  Thanks, Microsoft!

My The Mobile Minute series, like much of my blogging, has been rather spotty for oh, the last year or so as I have come to deal with a new responsibility while still attempting to do everything I was doing before that new responsibility.  That has worked out pretty well, eh?  Meh.

At one point, I was thinking about killing TMM (although I'm certain many folk already assume it to be dead), one reason being was that, despite 160+ posts, I still had not felt,well, comfortable doing it.  I still had not.. 'gotten in the groove'. Odd, but that's where I was. I was also thinking about how much of an echo it is (is it?).  Anyway..

I've decided to change the format a bit, so we'll see how it goes. I'm committing to one TMM daily during the week, and at least one, longer, non-TMM, technical post per week as well.   Let's see how that goes.

Oh, and for those wanting an C25K update, here it is:  It's not going.  I haven't made the time for it (or the walking).

On that note, we're looking for a jogging stroller. Not that we necessarily jog (although I plan to, and this is a great way for me to get out with him after work and on the weekends), but regular strollers just suck when they're not on a complete flat surface (i.e. walking the mall). I was looking at the BOB strollers (which you can find some nice deals for on eBay) - any other suggestions?   My wife has mandated a feature of swivel wheels (lockable, of course) to make it easier for her to push it around.  The other requirement we have is that the handles need to be high enough for tall people (she's 6', I'm 6'4").  Anyone have suggestions for a 'regular' stroller that fits this last requirement as well?

Yes, it is the 21st of January and I'm posting a 'goals for the year post' which one might usually expect on the 1st; I'm at the tail end of my 'catching up on things', so, well, meh.   I only published 58 blog posts in 2007, 46 of those prior to July 2007.  In contrast, I published 92 blog posts in 2006.  What happened?  My son was born in July 2007. As you can see, that knocked me for a loop, community participation-wise. 

I think it's fair to say that my wife and I, even now, at the six month mark, are still adjusting to what I call "the new normal".  That said, I would like to think that I have a decent handle on things (home/work/community) and have a somewhat-workable balance in place (one that is ever-changing and seeking improvement).  Even though I have not been blogging much during the latter half of 2007, I've been working on some things that I'll be publishing soon-ish. 

Improve my health 
If there ever were reasons to maintain my overall health, being around to watch my son grow up and grow old with my wife are pretty good ones in my book.  Not your standard weight loss goal, this encompasses more in my book:

• Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 24.9 or less (I'm currently at 29.8, which puts me 0.2 away from "Obese"). Wow, Nino's a fat ***, isn't he? Well, those of you who know me know that that's not quite the case. To put things into perspective, I'm 6'4" (1.93m) and weight 245lbs (111kg).  I clearly (IMO) do not appear nearly obese, but it's not all muscle, either. To achieve my target BMI, I will need to finish the year near the 202lb (91.6kg) mark.   Lose 40+ pounds in the next 11 1/2 months, that's going to take some work and some discipline.
• Improve my cardiovascular conditioning.  This will mandate a minimum 30 minutes of walking every day (and I need to get anaerobic workouts in, too). But, that's not enough.  Nope. I've somehow got it in my head to complete a 5k race this year. Once I get past this respiratory infection that's been dogging me since before Christmas, I'm going to start the C25K program.
• Build my core and improve my posture.  One helps the other, 'nuff said.
• Get a minimum of six hours sleep every night, preferably eight hours.  Lack of sleep, alone, has contributed to more of my health problems than anything else. 
• Lower my cholesterol to a healthy level.  This one largely speaks to dietary changes (can't do much about the genetic contribution here).  On the topic of diet (not dieting, in the bastardized American way), I'm looking at some software for my Windows Mobile device (you knew WM was going to get a mention here, didn't you?) over at Handango to help track this.  Any suggestions?

Simplify
A fad?  Perhaps for some. This is essentially a continuation of the prioritization that began when my son was born last year. A great many things became incredibly less important once he arrived.  To that end:

• Reduce my online presence. I started this one last week when I deleted my Twitter account.  Next up is probably MySpace and Facebook, perhaps LinkedIn, too.  And then there are the six (6!) personal email addresses.  Oh, and then there is the three hundred forty-six (yes, 346!) items in my blogroll.  WTF?!? 
• Reduce my home IT demands.  Rather, become less of my own IT department. Seven servers (P+V) and two clients (my desktop and Shannon's new laptop [used my EB's for this]). This is just getting crazy to manage.  Steve had the same thought back in '06.  I'm not sure what my approach will be, but it will likely be a longer-term plan given that I just built a new desktop last year (not to mention my 2x20", 1x24" monitor setup on this machine), and I need to sit down and sort out what my goals are (i.e. what do I want/need here and what I do not need / can outsource).
• Purge the house of stuff we don't use.  This one is a bit of a given. Toss it, sell it, give it, recycle it.  However it's done, stuff's going to go.  (not to mention we're considering moving within the next year, so the less stuff to move, the better).  Although, this is going to be tough given all the baby stuff that seems to keep appearing.  I need to work on convincing family and friends not to buy stuff (other than clothes or giving money) for the baby.

Community Involvement

• Re-engage with the online mobile community.  Like blogging, my involvement with the online mobile community (primarily newsgroups and forums) declined quite in the latter half of last year, for similar reasons.    I've already started this one; need to keep it up, although I think that concentrating in one area will be key.
• Make it to more CINNUG meetings.  Despite being part of CINNUG leadership, it has been really difficult to get to meetings.  Either I was on the road or had baby issues.
• Regular blogging and writing.  Not only will this help me contribute to the community, but more 'practice' writing can only be helpful.  On that note, I would like to get published this year - hoping to start with a periodical.

Improve personal/professional balance.  This is a tough one.  I've often found these goals to be conflicting, and I'm stubborn enough that I don't want to sacrifice either one.  Last year, while I traveling five days (+, sometimes) a week to western Maryland, I was really enjoying the project because of its intense technical challenges, despite the constant (and often heavy) overtime; however, my home life suffered. (Similar story the year before when I was working in NJ/DC).  That's the challenge with consulting, though. In the late winter / early spring of 2007, I needed to find a local project where I could be home at night as my wife was have a rather difficult time with the pregnancy, and, of course, my son would be arriving not long in the future.  I found one (and many thanks to Tom, Doug, and Isaac for their help), but, to be honest, it is a less-than-optimal role.  But I knew that going in, so that's ok. 

The question now is, do I stay there for another year? Or, do I head back on the road?  Do I re-locate to a different geography (i.e. larger metro area outside of Heartland district) with my current employer, or do I find a new employer in a new geography?  I'm working with my manager to see if we can address some of this. Let's face it, Heartland district (which we define as OH, KY, MI) is a tough market, and there's not much going on in Cincinnati, particularly for what I want to do.  In sum, how do I reconcile achieving professional success and advancement and having a good family life?  Is that possible in the consulting world?  (I've spent most of my career in consulting, and I haven't seen it yet)

It's going to be a busy year, but one in which I hope to be healthier and happier, and have achieved a greater sense of balance in my life.

A few observations (er, rambling rantings)..

• 14+ hour work days are not conducive to regular blogging or newsgroup monitoring
• IE7 (b3) is swell. I'm now using it for most of my browsing instead of Firefox.  Too bad its extensibility is not to the level of Firefox (or the same level of ease).
• Rational ClearCase is evil. Oh, the ClearCase client for VS2005 behaves very badly if VS.NET2003 is installed on the same box as VS2005.
• The new "puffer" machines (aka GE EntryScan ion tracking portals) in the security area at CVG really b0rk  the whole security process. Rather, the process around them is b0rked. If you're flying out of CVG, give yourself extra time.  Another viewpoint on them at a different airport.
• The TSA needs to look up the word "consistency" (I came to this conclusion a long time ago).
• I really need to get more sleep. On the next project.. er, wait, I said that last time..

Update
I'm working to get some sort of balance given my challenging schedule; however, I clearly violated the "Don't blog tired" rule...

Getting through all of my unread blogs, I saw these two posts from Chuck Charbeneau [friend/co-worker/comedian] about shaving/grooming.  For my birthday in November, my wife – who must have been reading my mind – bought me some new shaving gear (and then I bought some additional stuff).  

I now shave each day with a double-edged safety razor [Merkur “Long Classic” Safety Razor] after lathering up using my brush [Vulfix #849 Pure Badger] with shaving soap [Lime Coconut scented, currently].  Sure, it takes just a few minutes more than before, but it is a few minutes well spent.  There’s nothing like slathering hot shaving soap over your face with a pure badger hair brush.  Since I need to be more careful and exacting with a DE razor than my old razor (Gillette Mach 3), I have transformed my shaving time each morning from a ham-fisted race to slough hair off of my face to several relaxing minutes enjoying the hot lather on my face and the sound of the razor cutting the hairs (go ahead, groan and call me a nut job).

Of course, the important question is “How’s the shave?”  Mo’ better.   Definitely.

My wife, who buying me the shaving gear and then thinking me nuts for going through that ‘process’[1], says it’s a much better (i.e. closer) shave (and who am I to argue with the woman who pledged to tolerate me the rest of her days when she says I now get a closer shave?).  I agree; a closer shave. Yep.  The second question I get: “Cut yourself much?”  Nope. I did the first few times I used it (again a DE razor like the Merkur requires control that a pivoting, ‘floating blade’ razor like the Mach 3 does not), but I quickly got the hang of it.

All of the equipment links above go to ClassicShaving.com where I have purchased all of my supplies to date. Prompt service, decent prices and good selection.  One additional resource I’ll add is The Wet Shavers Group (MSN Groups site, so you can’t search it )

A few additional thoughts.  As many of my readers know, I travel quite often (usually weekly) for work. The project I just rolled off of had me working from home, so I haven’t been travelling.  I expect to be travelling again very soon, and my new Merkur razor creates a security issue [for the TSA]. Oh, the joy.   What to do? 

My options are:
1) Leave the razor blade out of it and buy some blades when I get to my destination.  A real PiTA if you ask me.
2) Leave the razor blade in and check my bag. *sigh*  Another PiTA.
3) Revert to my Mach 3 when I’m on the road.  I’d really rather not.

Which one will I pick?  Probably #2.  #1 is just stoopid[2], IMO (and no guarantees I'll find the razors) and #3 defeats the purpose. 

<rant>
When will the TSA realize that the more dangerous weapon is my hands?  It is *much* quicker for me to swing around and choke the SOB who is being a jackass then to open up my bag, get out my grooming kit, remove the razor and then use it.
</rant>

-Nino

[1] Pot. Kettle. Black.  Men: Have you ever observed the ‘process’ that women go through daily to put makeup on and do their hair? This hardly compares, IMO.
[2] Intentional spelling error.

I recently had a reader of my SlingBox review from last spring inquire about my ISA Server configuration to allow me to remotely access it the Slingbox. Here's what I did:

On the ISA Server:

Note: I am running Microsoft ISA Server 2006; these instructions should also work on Microsoft ISA Server 2004.  I am also assuming that you are comfortable with creating new protocols and firewall access rules.

1. Create a new protocol (I called it 'Sling') with:
   1. Protocol type of TCP
   2. Direction of Inbound
   3. Port range of 5001.
2. Create a new access rule (called it 'Remote Slingbox') with:
   1. Action of 'Allow'
   2. Traffic using the previously created 'Sling' protocol
   3. From External
   4. Tto your Slingbox's IP (I also have 'requests appear to come from the original client' selected, but the use of this option somewhat depends on how you have things set up) 
   5. Networks for the listener of 'External'
   6. Schedule set to your preferences (I'm using 'Always').
3. Apply the access rule and ensure it is enabled.

On the Slingbox:

1. Connect to your SlingBox via SlingPlayer on your PC, then navigate to Slingbox > Properties in the menu.
2. Select the Slingbox Configuration tab.
3. Location the 'Network Settings' section. Click the Change button, this will launch the Slingbox Setup Wizard.
4. Enter in the administrator password as prompted, hit next.
5. Check the "I'm ready to setup remote viewing for my Slingbox" box.  Also check the "A do-it-yourself kind of person?" box (since we won't be using UPnP to configure ISA) Click Next.
6. Enter in the IP Address of your Slingbox, the subnet mask, and the default gateway (which, if it is your gateway, is the internal IP address of your ISA Server).  Also enter in the port number you want your Slingbox to listen on (I'm using the default of 5001). Click Next.
7. Select the 'Manually configure your router' radio button (again, as we're using ISA Server...). Click Next.
8. Click Next on the 'Manual setup' dialog without making any selections.
9. If you have your ISA Server already configured (see above), you might want to test your connection now, otherwise, select 'I want to skip this for now'. Click Next.
10. Click Finish, which returns you back to the Slingbox Configuration tab. Click OK.

At this point, you're ready to test. Fire up your Slingbox client (I tested using my Windows Mobile Smartphone).

Something else that may be useful here is a dynamic DNS service to make it easier to find access your system remotely (which, if you're running ISA Server at home, you very well already have).  I'd like to toss out a recommendation for DynDNS (http://www.dyndns.com).

Day of .NET - Saturday, May 13, 2006 - Ann Arbor, MI ...a day that will be remembered.. remembered for being a GREAT event. This blog post is over a week overdue, but I couldn't let it pass..

John Hopkins, Josh Holmes and Jason Follas did an outstanding job putting this even together. I was very impressed!  A lot of great sessions by a lot of great speakers (oh, and I spoke, too).  The logistics were also executed very well.  And did I mention that there was so much swag that *everyone* got something.  Great job guys – I look forward to next year!

It's been a while since I've blogged (and blogged regularly at that); where have I been?  I'll give you one guess.  Starts with "w" and ends with "k".   Did you guess "work"?   Well good for you; you are correct.

For the last three (more?) months, we've been putting in some serious hours driving hard towards an early December milestone.  Lots of work to do, functional changes along the way, and interesting technical challenges popping up just when you think you've got everything nailed down. 

So, yes, work has pretty much consumed me, and any free time (um...) I'm spending with family.  So blogging (and reading blogs) has been backburnered as has newsgroup participation any thing that is, well, not work. 

If I'm so darn busy, where did I find time to write this?  I'm on the plane, headed back to DC.

Why am I writing this post?  Well, some folks have dropped me some notes (via my blog) in which they pretty much have inferred that I'm a "typical lazy-ass MVP" and I "cut and run" once I got my MVP award.  Feh. Let's break it down (the anonymous and not-to-be-named cowards have raised my ire)...

1) That's an insult to all MVPs (and do I detect a hint of jealousy?).  Lazy MVPs?  I'm sure they exist - statistics says they must. It is unfortuante that this individual had a poor experience interacting with a MVP; however, one bad apple does not a bushel make.  MVPs are a hard-working bunch - writing, presenting, participating in community forums and newsgroups, and helping to flesh out early betas and such - on top of a full-time job.  Hopefully the process will filter out the 'bad apple' that this individual had a negative interaction with.

2) [in response to the cut-and-run comment] Timing can be an interesting thing. Right around the time I was awarded an MVP (April '06), I was staffed on my current project (I started on April 17, to be exact (yep, just finished Week 27)).  Since late summer it has been full_speed_ahead driving hard to our early December milestone focused on delivery (Delivery, delivery, delivery!). Will we make it?  Failure is not an option.

In sum, I did not "cut and run" once I got my MVP award. I was staffed on a very challenging project with a tough schedule (delivery and travel).  The little time I am not working (my little corner of a weekend), I spend with my family.   Everything outside of work I have back-burnered (my wife might argue that she falls into that category, too). I don't have time for it. Unfortunate as it is, that's the deal.  Additionally, I am very appreciative to Microsoft and to my peers for my nomination and

I'm doing what I can when I can for now and should get a bit more responsive in November when we're in the 'fix' phase.  After November, things should get back to normal...

We'll see.  Thanks for your continued readership.