A.D.D.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Quick, get me some Ritalin……actually, get some for everyone out there.  We’re going to need it!

Since getting back into a larger company again I’ve been noticing a trend with co-workers and the folks we deal with outside of the office on a daily basis.  It seems we’ve all got Attention Deficit Disorder.  And I’m not being tongue and cheek…..  Attention spans are out the window and it’s something I worried over back in 1996.

In 1996 I started my career in Wireless Telecommunications with Sprint PCS.  You might have heard of them.  I was a network engineer.  I worked on Lucent Switches, Voicemail platforms, digital cross connects, dial plans, and a host of other network gear.  A good bit of my time was spent reading through technical documents day and night.  And I can tell you, no A.D.D. then.

As we were building our network I pondered the larger meaning behind what we were doing.  One morning I went into my manager’s office and asked, “Tony, what do you think the social implications will be when we finish building out this network.”  Tony’s reply was pretty cut and dry.  “It’s just a job Rich, I really haven’t given it any thought.”

Well, here we are a decade and a half later and I think I have the answer to the question I posed to Tony back then.  The communications revolution has left many of us with A.D.D.  I don’t say this lightly, and I don’t think Ritalin is the answer.

Since getting back into corporate America I’ve watched co-workers and clients who just can’t focus on one thing.  Staying on track for more than 5 minutes is a miracle.  With all the communications mediums at our disposal, something is always taking our attention away from what we’re working on.  Focus is something that seems to have been lost.

I’m sure this isn’t new, and that it has been going on for the time I was away from corporate America, but at my studio and gallery the demands for attention weren’t as great.  I could focus on a single client.  I could focus on editing a series of photos for hours on end……  But that was small business.  Big business is a different beast.

E-mail is popping into my computer constantly.  The cell phone rings many times an hour.  Trying to have a meeting with other folks I work with is an exercise in tolerating phone call interruptions and distracted people.  “Hold that thought for a minute, I’ve got to take this call.”

People can’t stay focused because every communication method is important, and they’re bombarded with it minute by minute.  Facebook dings, email dings, ring tones……  I’m honestly wondering how folks get things done now.  I have yet to be in a meeting with clients or co-workers where we weren’t interrupted by some communication technology.  And when the interruption is over you have to address whatever the call or e-mail was about, but you also have to get your mind back on the task of what’s right in front of you.

In my case, as I’ve been observing this I’ve made it a point to remain focused on what’s in front of me.  That means if I’m in someone’s office discussing the latest work and my cell phone goes off I ignore it.  Voicemail is a great thing, and I can return the call after I’m done with the meeting.  If the IPhone beeps to tell me I have mail or a message I ignore it as well.  Focus on the task at hand, move on to the next task when you’re done.

I’ll avoid the Ritalin for now and just try to focus.

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Getting Green

Thursday, April 25, 2013

IMG_9936_7_8

Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve posted.  Gotta say I do miss regularly updating this site.

So I’ve been in WV / OH for a few months now.  Mostly it has been gray skies, rain, snow, cold days, and generally not too appealing.  Bummer for anyone who likes to be outdoors.  But now things are changing.  I guess Spring has really arrived.

Across the street from the new office (out the office window) is the scene above.  A house atop a hill with green everywhere.  There’s something I just haven’t seen in years.  Things are blossoming everywhere, and the gray has given way to green.

Living in Arizona for nearly 6 years left me missing the green now and again.  I’d forgotten what it was like until recently.  And I am enjoying watching the season change.  My allergies are not enjoying it though, but hey that’s the price you pay.

At this point I’m not sure how long I’ll be out here.  Looks like it could be years.  And that’s good, it means income.  But I do keep thinking of Arizona, and even though it’s not as green the desert really made an impact on me.  I think when this project is over I’ll be heading West again……  But in the meantime I’m enjoying a different kind of scenery.

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Humidity…..

Thursday, April 11, 2013

So OH / WV is coming out of Winter and right into Summer.  70′s, sun, green here and there……and Humidity.  Ick!

When I first arrived in Arizona back in 07′ I couldn’t believe how dry it was.  I’d never experienced anything like it in my life.  I’d always lived near ponds, lakes, and the ocean.  And humidity was part of life.  You never really thought about it.  But after being in AZ for so long I’ve been spoiled.  And now that the warm humid air is around I really notice it.

Yesterday driving into the office I felt like all of my clothes were wet right out of the washer.  But that wasn’t the case.  They’d been washed and dried days before, and were hanging in the closet.  Dry is now a relative term in my mind, at least while I’m living here.  :)

I’ve settled in for the long haul now.  All the newness of the job has worn off.  I know what we’re doing, and I know my part in it.  So that’s a positive.

As for getting to know the area around me……  Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen.  6 and 7 day workweeks means there’s little time for exploration.  Or for photographing what I see.  Still, I am getting the itch to shoot a few frames.  And that’s positive.  Of course, I’ll have to wade through the layer of humidity.

Awwwww, Arizona you spoiled me.  :)

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Proprietary and Confidential

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The blog has been a sleepy place these past few weeks.  And I have found myself with time to blog now and again, but have written nothing……  Why?

Well, a lot of what I used to blog about was either travel or work related.  In the case of my own business I could write about what I wanted to.  I never talked about specifics with clients when I had issues, and only wrote about what I felt comfortable with making public.  Now in the case of what I do…..well, loose lips sink ships.

Back in the day with Sprint, TeleCorp (AT&T affiliate), US Cell, & Granite Systems I signed things about all I worked on being Proprietary and Confidential.  Heck, Lucent documents always included Proprietary and Confidential.  And the company I’m now working for had the same clauses in their contract when I started.  And honestly it means something even in this super digital age where we say everything online.

I write about this for 2 reasons.  One, the excuse as to why I’ve been pretty quiet.  Long days of work are exactly that.  And honestly I can’t tell you anything about it.  What I can tell you is I’ve been designing databases, working hard, and feeling super valued once more.  Nice.  Beyond that.  Yeah, not going to talk about it.  So in all honesty I’ve got very little to talk about.

As an aside I do have a few observations being back with a large corporation that I can talk about…..

  • People still don’t read instructions.  They also don’t watch instructional videos. 
  • People complain about systems that they haven’t read about or watched videos about.  Even if the system is documented well, folks just don’t take the time.
  • TV is worse than when I last watched it.
  • People are highly averse to change.

The second reason I write this post today has to do with folks not realizing that blogging or Facebooking about their workplaces isn’t a good idea.  If you’ve signed contracts about information being confidential you shouldn’t be posting company information on your Facebook page every day.  Bad idea folks.  It could lose you your job pretty fast, and if you say way too much it could get you sued.

So, yes, I’m quiet.  Lots going on to be sure, but the bulk of it will not be shared here.  Hopefully with the weather changing and a little free time on the horizon I’ll get out with the camera, document this area and share it on the blog.  I’d like that.  So, keep watching and maybe I’ll find some things we can talk about here.

 

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Unfortuantely my most popular post to date: The Formula Wedding E-mail

Monday, March 18, 2013

As I’ve been working on my contract here in Ohio and West Virginia I still get a fair number of blog comments.  As I noted before, the blog still lives even if I’m a little quiet right now.  The most commented on post?  I wish it was something fun, but it isn’t.

A year ago I wrote an article about fake requests from fake wedding clients.  These scammers were contacting photographers to try and setup a phoney wedding shoot.  How do they make money on that you ask?  Simple.  The “client” says they can’t meet with you but want to book you.  They send a fake check to the photographer and contact the photographer saying they accidentally over paid.  Can you send the difference back to them.  Thinking you’ve gotten a multi-thousand dollar check coming to you all caution goes out the window and you send them a few hundred dollars back.

Your check is real.  Theirs isn’t.

After having my studio and gallery space for years I can tell you every job is important.  Struggling to keep a small business open isn’t the easiest thing in the world.  And having to deal with scammers trying to prey on your need for business isn’t fun either.  So I’m sorry that of all my posts the most commented one ever is this one.  But I’m glad to know it’s helped other photographers steer clear of some fake clients.

“Faux-tographers” undercutting reasonable prices and “Faux-Clients” trying to scam you out of the income you do earn.  Not the easiest business to be in.  Good luck to all of you out there!

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The blog still lives

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

While I’m not blogging often, the blog itself lives on.  I know this for a fact because yesterday I had 5 different contacts from readers.  Neat.

Some were missing me and my posts.  Thanks guys, I’m still around, just busy earning a living.  Others got in touch for free information of one type or other.  Now I don’t mind it so much.  A few months ago I did because I had more free clients than paying clients (it seemed).

The blog will get attention again soon I’m sure.  Currently I’ve wrapped up testing on a national platform database that I designed in under a month.  This thing tracks from start to finish the entire workflow process that we do here.  Bet you want to know what the workflow process is.

Sorry, can’t tell you.  Proprietary and confidential stuff.  Signed a contract to that effect.  Suffice it to say what I made can be accessed by the web, IOS devices, and a straight up computer GUI that would make you proud.  Well, it’s made me proud at least.

Photos will come again I’m sure.  My life has always included photography, and it is something I enjoy.  But I decided to give myself a little while.  See, a little pain comes with breaking the camera out.  Failure sucks people, don’t let anyone tell you different.  So yeah, the cameras are shelved for a bit.  I’m busy enjoying some success, and gotta tell you that rocks big time!

Thanks to everyone who has been getting in touch.  Glad the blog still has value to readers.  And glad to see new readers are still popping up to read this post or that post.  Even idle, the blog lives.

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Dreaming Databases

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Over the past month and a half I’ve been doing nothing but database design, testing, re-design, further testing…….  You get the idea.  And every night guess what I dream about…….

Databases.

This seems all to familiar.  Back in 1996 when I started in with Sprint PCS I was charged with laying out a pair of TelLabs DACS installations.  Two different switching centers in MA.  I needed to manage the hundreds of cell site connections, and the tens of thousands of individual channels coming in on our facilities.  Oh, and also all of the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) connections that delivered our final calls.

At the time I had never built a database in my life.  Honestly I’d just left my graduate program in Economics after coming to the conclusion that Ivory Tower Academia wasn’t for me after all.  See, I wanted to earn a living, and the network boom was going on all around me.  The thesis I’d written in grad school was, “How Per Unit Pricing Effects Endogenous Technological Change.”  It was written to counter some of the disastrous ideas that went into the 1996 Telecom Act.  Ah well.  Bottom line, I taught myself TCP/IP network engineering while doing an economics thesis, and it was a hell of a lot more fun than academia.

Through a series of really weird events I ended up with Sprint PCS.  And as I said above, I had to track all these connections to different locations.  A database was necessary.  And over the course of my career in wireless I kept having two recurring dream themes.  Databases and DACS management.

Here I am well over a decade later and I find myself dreaming databases again.  And it’s not a bad thing.  I’m actually enjoying it.  Sure I could be dreaming of The Granite Dells, White Pocket, The Grand Staircase, and all the other amazing places I’ve seen and photographed.  But given my extreme type A personality I’m not surprised that I dream about work.

Funny, back in Prescott I didn’t dream work.  I don’t know what that means, but I do know I’m happier now than I have been in years.  My theory is simple.  I’m doing something that people value, I feel respected again, and I’m a little proud of the work I’ve been doing.  I was proud of my photographic & print work too, but somehow it never translated into earnings or feeling valued by the bulk of my client base.

So yeah, I dream database design.  Once an “enginerd” always an “enginerd.”  :)

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