Back at Work
The drive to Des Moines is painful, especially after a week of vacation.
Last week, as you can see I was in Baltimore to visit my sister. The rest of the week was spent at Agile 2007 in Washington, DC. It was another great conference. I went to the conference knowing that there was no space for me to volunteer or for admission as attendee. This was confirmed when I emailed the volunteer chair. Since everything was lined, but I decided to go to DC anyway.
Monday is always a slow day at the conference, and I had some work to do so I spent most of the day in my hotel room. Even though I was not a conference attendee I could partake in the ad hoc evening events (where you really learn what's going on). On my way to the conference hotel I ran into the volunteer chair. After brief hellos, there was a space available and I was in the conference. My patience was rewarded!
Over the next three days I attended a few sessions, but spent most of my time participating in the Conference-within-a-conference aka CWAC. It is the
Open Space part of the conference. The best discussions from sessions, late-night ramblings, and side topics from other Open Space discussions.
Again, similar to last year. I have a strong desire to leave my current position and totally nerd-out in a new Agile position. But what it really means is that I need to get back in to flexing my technical skills. So stay tuned to this space and hopefully I can do a better job or getting my skills back. (Unlike the post from
last year).
Another back to work image
Summertime in Baltimore
Summertime in Baltimore. My sister and I went out to a real crab shack for dinner. They laid out a big piece of paper dumped a half-dozen crab out on the table with a hammer and a knife. We were both pretty clueless on the best method to get our meat but we beat them into submission.
You can see my new O's hat I got near Camden Yards. We were hoping to get tickets to the game, but it was completely sold out. There were thousands of Red Sox fans out for the game. I probably saw more BoSox fans than O's-fans.
Baltimore
I'm now in Baltimore to kick off my vacation tonight. I'm the City Cafe down the street from my sister's apartment. It has been a crazy couple of days, but I hope I can start relaxing soon. Vacations are few and far between, so hopefully I can make the most of it. I do have a back up vacation the first week of October, which should be closer to home.
Unbelievable.
We are asking that ALL partners and employees based in Minneapolis check in: 
After Katrina, my employer sent everyone laminated check in cards. They have had a national check-in system for some time. I took the understood the value and kept it in my wallet, but I never thought I'd have to use it.
Then the bridge I used to drive everyday, twice a day collapsed. I check in with my brother and father and everyone was OK. Sarah is in Baltimore, so every one was accounted for. And really knowing where everyone works and lives, I wasn't too worried. That is the great thing about having a predictable, reliable brother. Of course they can't say that about me. So I made the calls.
"I'm safe in downtown Des Moines."It is a terrible tragedy, I can only hope the best for all Twin Citizens, in the coming days and months as we figure out why and try to rebuild a main artery.
4 dead, 79 injured, 20 missing as recovery efforts continue
