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Escaping from Corporate IT

by Bruce
January 1st, 2012

(About a year later than I had originally planned, but…)
I am officially leaving the realm of corporate IT. I gave my notice to Schlumberger (SLB) during the holiday break. There are several reasons for my decision – some having to to do with the direction of the company and some with my current situation and mindset.
I am thankful for my 4+ years of:

  • working for Smith International and later SLB
  • learning a great deal more about the Oil & Gas Field
  • working with some great folks

No regrets now though as it’s time for me to make this move and tackle the challenges ahead…bring on 2012!

Categories Opportunities, Personal
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A new Assignment

by Bruce
September 27th, 2011

Got some excellent news that I have been accepted to teach a Continuing Education course at LoneStar College starting next week. The course, is their “HTML I – Intro to Web Design” and 16 students have signed up.

I just got a copy of the class text today so my course syllabus is starting to take shape. Lots of material to cover over the course of 4 days – Gonna be fun!

Categories Opportunities
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…for the Drive Home

by Bruce
August 26th, 2011

Weekdays find me commuting to and from my “big corp” employer – usually affording me about 45 minutes of listening time. Just a few years ago I dreaded my commute for all I had to keep me company was the mindless drivel that is talk radio. Then I got my first iPod and discovered the wonderful world of podcasts. A true god-send, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have this alternative.

My podcast experience recently leapt forward after discovering vemedio’s Instacast player.  Before Instacast came along, my routine had me spending about 5 minutes plugging my iPhone (I’ve graduated from that original iPod) into my MacBook, watching iTunes sync my podcasts, and then unplugging the iPhone just before turning out the light for the night.  Not a single-step process, this was a significant friction point for me. In fact, I came to truly despise using iTunes because of it.

Enter Instacast.  Instacast can synch my favorite podcasts wirelessly, eliminating the aggravation of plugging my iPhone into my computer each night.  In a single swipe, I can initiate Instacast’s sync process.  Depending on the number of episodes waiting to be downloaded,  Instacast can finish this all from my bedside table even after I have turned out the light.

Can you say “Game Changer”?

Instacast has really improved my podcast experience, while removing the biggest snag that came in using the traditional iTunes approach.  And if that isn’t enough, I can search, subscribe to and download a new podcast without having to connect my iPod/iPhone to my MacBook again.  Yeah!

For a great write up detailing how Instacast has fixed the broken iTunes process, see Shawn Blanc’s recent post.  It’s chock full o’ goodness!

Categories Personal Technology, Software
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Quick-Hit #1: Mac keyboard shortcut for “Save as PDF…”

by Bruce
August 23rd, 2011

An oldie but a goodie from MacSparky…set up a keyboard shortcut to quickly envoke “Save as PDF…”

Link to MacSparky’s post

Categories Apple
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2001: A Space Odyssey (Get a Grip)

by Bruce
April 14th, 2011

Just finished watching Kubrick’s epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. (We just signed up for the complementary month of NetFlix streaming.)

Somehow, I managed to have never seen this movie even though it is considered as one of the greatest films ever made. Well, I am going to need to think about that for a little while…in fact, I’m gonna need to ponder the movie itself for some time.

Before dwelling on that, though, I am glad I finally saw the movie that has influenced everything from my Sesame Street watching days to nerdy conversations. There is no telling how many times I saw the Me skit with its homage to the monolith and pounding theme song of 2001 (the movie).

And being a nerd at heart, I have certainly heard my fair share of quotes and references to, HAL-9000, the computer that turned on its human comrades making the journey to Jupiter.

That “chapter” of the movie, Jupiter and Beyond, is certainly beyond normal sci-fi. The psychedelic influence of the 60’s is evident.

My unexpected take-away from the movie was the Grip Shoes. Yes, grip shoes…apparently, these are standard issue for the stewardesses on Pan-Am spaceplanes insuring that she’s able to walk through the cabin, delivering in-flight meals while dealing with zero-gravity. I had to appreciate the actress’ attempt in “feigning” weightlessness while also “fighting” her extra grippy shoes.

This movie is certainly epic in length, pushing nearly two and a half hours. Worth watching once, but I’m not sure I would watch it again.

Categories Personal, Thoughts & Musings, Uncategorized
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