Chuck Tomasi

I learn, I share, I change lives

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Thank you National Park Service

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This past week I went to Oakland California to help teach about 20 National Park Service Rangers how to podcast. I did not expect to learn as much, if not more, than I had to teach.

This was a wonderful group of people and I will never forget their passion for their jobs, our natural resources, cultures, and so much of what makes America beautiful. They really made me feel like part of the family. I am proud to say I am now an official National Park Service Volunteer.

I eagerly await the fruits of their labors. This was a very ingenious, resourceful, talented, and friendly group and they have a lot to offer. I highly recommend going to iTunes and looking up the National Park Service channel and keep an eye on some new offerings in the next few months.

Properly Motivated

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apple-nike-plus-sensor-for-ipod-touch2It dawned on me today that I needed to put together one thing I love with one thing I dislike to make the dislike more palettable. I’m talking about technology and running. I really don’t like running. I’ve been inspired from time to time to give it a try, but never had a goal or compelling reason to keep going… until now.

This fall, I test for my Karate Black Belt. This is the culmination of a three year program. Part of that is an intense 10 week candidate training course leading up to the test. Among the requirements is running two miles in under 25 minutes. OK, some of ou runners are saying “pshaw”, but remember that EVERYONE needs to do this – old, young, healthy, and … challenged.

As I get older, I find myself seeking these challenges and recognizing gaps and focusing on them. In this case, it’s my dislike for running and knowing that I have a goal to attain. FWIW, I’ve set my personal goal for 2 miles in under 20 minutes. To find my starting point I decided to run with the current group of black belt candidates the past few Saturdays. My first attempt was not so good. I ran 1.25 miles and submitted to defeat. I was extremely sore for the next few days, but was eager to give it another go with the advice of another student who was a triathalete. She said “Run 2 minutes, walk 1.”

I was all ready to give this new strategy a try, however Liisa asked me to run with her. How can a Dad say no to that. It turns out that she inspired me and I inspired her. We both completed and shaved a minute off her time, but completing well under the 25 minute mark.

That leads me to my next motivator… combining technology with running. I took the advice of the triathelete and bought some REAL running shoes, not the worn out (albeit comfortable) walking shoes I had. To make it even better, I got the Nike+ shoes and the iPod chip to let me track my progress in a high tech way.

From a non-tech standpoint, this strategy by Nike and Apple is brilliant. Like most other things from Apple, it’s simple. It works with the popular music player and keeping track of your progress is seamless through iTunes. From Nike’s standpoint it means I’m very likely to continue purchasing their shoes since they have that built-in pocket for the chip under the sole.

Now I’m inspired! This stuff is cool. Stay tuned…

Just Listen

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Sometimes all the other person needs is a sympathetic ear. I found myself reminding me of this fact this past weekend. I have a family member going through a tough time and spent some time for a visit. It’s very hard to remain positive and upbeat when someone I love is struggling. In fact, it’s hard to say anything positive for fear of it coming across as “Look how good things are for me.”

More than once I had to remember “This is not about me” and the second most important lesson “Just listen. Don’t offer advice, don’t try to solve problems. Just listen.”

This last bit I learned from Donna several years ago. We work at the same company and often times she has a more negative opinion of her day than I do. That’s not to say her job is worse, just that she likes to “share” the bad things that happen. As a man, I want to go with my natural instinct and try and give her advice and solve the problem. Finally she said “Don’t try solving my problems, just listen.” That’s very difficult for me. “Why are you telling me this if you don’t want me to say anything?” I asked. “I just need someone to talk to.”, she responded. The wisdom-wallet got another deposit that day.

Now I find myself in that same situation with a sibling having a very tough time personally. Sure, we did plenty of other things like shopping, playing Wii, watching movies with the family, and playing games. Then one night we were up late. I was tired, and when I’m tired, little things can get on my nerves quickly. Being talked to about problems is not one of my favorites, but I remembered “Just listen.” This afternoon I got a call, but wasn’t able to take it in time. The message said “Thanks for listening. It really meant a lot. I feel recharged and ready to take on the challenges in front of me.”

So if you find yourself in a similar situation… remember, just listen.

Do you know where you data is?

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Recycle BinBLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): If you have an application that opens a data file automatically when it’s invoked, be sure you know EXACTLY where that file is located and back it up then double check the backup.

This afternoon I found myself faced with lost data. Not just one important file (my task list), but two (my password database.) OK, they weren’t lost, but the copies I thought I was writing to hadn’t been backed up in a couple weeks despite my weekly efforts to do so.

I use an SD card to keep my important files periodically (ex: resume, task list, password database, etc) Unforutnately putting the SD card in and out of the laptop slot all the time was starting to take a toll so I copied the important files to the laptop and back them up to the SD card weekly. The second factor in my problem was that I got sick of going to C:\Chuck to always get these frequent files so I moved them to a subfolder under My Documents (a story for another time.) Correction – I did not MOVE the files so much as COPY them. Had I moved them, this would not have been a problem. With critical files, I always err on the side of caution and make copies in case something doesn’t work out with the move, I still have the originals.

Now for the kicker, when I thought I was using these files out of My Documents, I finally went back and deleted them from C:\Chuck. Later in the day I went to open my task list and found it was empty. I went to File> Open and opened up the data file only to find out it was a couple weeks out of date. OY! I just updated all those projects and tasks this morning! “No Problem”, I thought, “I’ll just get them out of the recycle bin.” Woe is me, they weren’t there. I don’t know why, but they were gone. I searched the entire C: drive thinking I may have moved them to another folder rather than delete them… nope. I was screwed. The fates conspired against me.

I had to make up the data, do my weekly review again, and try and get as many passwords and accounts back in as I could. It’s pretty amazing how much information you can go through in a couple weeks when it’s lost!

I feel like such an idiot because I’ve nearly lost this information before when I misplaced the SD card (and it was the only source.) That’s why I started running off the laptop and copying back to the SD card, but without some kind of verification, it was all for naught.

Now I’ve added one more task to my regular manual backup process… check the modification dates on these critical files to ensure it agrees with when I think I modified them.

Be extra cautious when you have applications that open a default file when they start (as is the case with My Life Organized, and Keepass).

Hopefully you won’t suffer the same fate I did.

Loving the new iPod touch – not without problems

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ipod-touch11Next week is my birthday and Donna gave me license to get my own gift. On Tuesday I stopped by the local Apple dealer (no Apple Store in Appleton, yet) and picked up a 32GB iPod Touch. My 5th Gen iPod has been “well loved” over the past few years. Battery life is starting to fade and several rows of pixels on the screen have gone out so I figured it was time to step up.

I absolutely love this device. This is the most revolutionary device I’ve had in years. I thought the Windows SmartPhone was a good idea, I thought watching videos on the iPod 5G was cool. The iPod Touch brings together several technologies to make me more effective and actually reduce costs incurred with my mobile phone.

With WiFi, it means I don’t have to carry around my laptop to stay in touch. While typing an email on the touch isn’t quite as quick, I can keep up with newsfeeds (including the local paper which I haven’t read in years). Podcasts are still a staple of my diet and the Touch does just as well as the old device at keeping me informed.

Sadly, not all my devices are fully supported. The iHome radio in the bedroom does not charge or control the device, but it still plays the audio. That’s no biggie in my book. The Belkin TuneTalk has no effect, but I use the H2 for most of my recording these days. On the positive side, the Griffin iTrip and Belkin FM tuner work just fine.

One odd problem I had this past week was an issue with the time. It seemed every time I plugged in the touch to the (Windows) laptop, the time would “unsync”. I set the device to 5:01PM and connect the cable to find it jumps to 7:15AM before it even starts the sync. I visited the Apple website, tried a soft reset and a full device wipe (and restore) which took several hours and had no impact.

I called Apple support and they recommended the same steps, but I refused to do that again. We went in to msconfig and turned off all but the critical Apple services, rebooted and things were fine. We then turned everything back on and discovered that putting the laptop to sleep with iTunes running is a bad idea. Now before I dock the iPod Touch I have to remember to start iTunes “fresh” for best results or risk losing time on the device. How bizarre is that?

I commend Apple on their great support and helpful website for getting me through this odd incident.

Carol

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It’s really strange how you meet people sometimes. This past week was one of the strangest I can recall. I was on my way to work on Monday – a day like any other. When I got to the roundabout in Neenah, I noticed  a car stopped on the far side, blocking my way. I got in the circle and as I pulled out, I noticed there was someone laying on the ground just to the left where the sidewalk comes down to meet the road. Instantly I recognized the person on the ground as the crossing guard who is usually in the median on the south side of the circle. Fearing the worst, I thought a car had hit her.

I got out of my van and asked the driver of the other vehicle, now standing near the woman, if everything was OK. What happened next bothered me… I didn’t react quickly. I hesitated and observed for what felt like an eternity. Not knowing the situation, but not rushing to aid someone in need. In reality it was probably 10 seconds, but it felt like 10 years. I noticed the other driver was on a mobile phone as he stood near the woman on the ground. Her hands were moving and slightly raised to her chest as she lay on her back with her knees slightly bent. The man was calling 911 for help.

As I approached the woman, I saw blood on her hands. I thought perhaps she cut her finger. The man was trying to put her mitts on to keep her hands warm, but was struggling with one hand on the cell phone so I stepped in and helped the woman with her mitts. That’s when I realized the problem was not with her hands, but her head. She had slipped on a patch of ice while helping one of the school kids across and hit her head causing it to bleed. She had on earmuffs and a headband, but no hat. There was a pool of blood behind her head about six inches around, but not getting any larger when I got there.

After getting her mitts on, the other man went to his vehicle and got a towel. I helped the woman put it behind and over her head to keep her warm, then began to talk to her.

“Hi. What is your name?”, I inquired.

“Carol”, she replied.

“Carol, my name is Chuck. You’re going to be alright. We’re here to help you.” It was odd what went through my mind and how aware I was, and still am, of every thought. “Keep her calm. Keep her talking. Are her pupils dialated? What did you learn as a child, from books, and from your mentors about talking to people in need and what should be said now?”

Carol’s eyes looked OK, but she was clearly shaken. The man on the phone kept talking and pacing. I only picked up bits of the conversation.

“No, she’s talking…”

Shouldn’t I be hearing sirens by now? It must have been five minutes since he called and the Police, Fire, and EMT are all within a mile of here. “Carol, help is on the way.” She looked like she wanted to fall asleep, and I knew that if the head injury was serious enough, that was a bad idea so I kept her talking. I tried to make small talk about the school, how we had seen her every day, and how much we appreciated her work. I think I ended up doing more talking than she did.

“Where did that little boy go that I was helping?” she asked.

I was touched by her dedication to remember the boy who was no long gone, likely without knowing what had happened – and probably better that way.

A few moments later the EMT pulled up. The other man and I had to move our vehicles so they could get by. We had done an effective job of blocking the roundabout exit insofar as everyone else had to take a detour to get to work. Like most inconvenienced drivers, they were probably more concerned about being a couple minutes later than expected rather than knowing the full extent of the situation. There’s something to keep in mind the next time traffic isn’t going your way. Consider that someone’s life could have just been changed in a flash and you want to complain about a few extra minutes.

Shortly after the EMTs arrived, a firetruck and police car arrived on the scene. Knowing that Carol was in good hands, I slowly slipped off to my van and went to work hoping for the best.

When I got to work, several people said they saw my van and asked what had happened. I told them. A few thanked me, but I couldn’t accept any thanks. I really hadn’t done anything that anyone else wouldn’t have done.

The next morning Donna was with me on the drive. As we approached the same roundabout I expected to see a substitute crossing guard, but was overjoyed when I saw Carol back at her post. I rolled down the window as some chilly March air rushed in. As we passed I shouted out “Good to see you back Carol!” and I applauded a few loud, leather hand covered claps.

She only had time to reply “Got a few staples in my head, but I’m OK.”

She’s been there every morning ever since and I’ve made sure to smile and wave, and she returns the gesture. I’ll never forget that chilly March morning when I was introduced to Carol the crossing guard.