Author Archives: ericjgruber

Standby

1 Reply

This is a post from Terminal B of Kansas City International Airport (MCI).

The thrill of flying is gone. Man, this used to be an exciting experience for me. But after today, I’m not sure I’ll ever fly again.

I get to the airport one hour and 15 minutes before departure. I was flying on Southwest, so I get into the terminal and proceed to the long line at the first Southwest ticketing area. I got into the slow-moving line at one hour before departure time, and calmly waited until it was my turn to get my ticket.

But wait! I didn’t get a ticket. I got a piece of paper that would allow me to get a ticket.

Um, OK.

So I make my way to the security theatre where a whopping staff of two TSA agents were checking IDs. This was a nightmare. It was moving so slowly because there were about a hundred people in line. At this point, I start to get worried.

And then it was time for the buckets.

You know, where you take off your shoes, take your laptop out, take off your belt and then go through the x-ray scanner. Of course, I opted out of the x-ray for a patdown. Lovely.

And then, finally. I made it to Gate 43. The woman looked at my worthless piece of paper and said “Oh, you’ll need to go to the ticket desk.”

So I did. They looked it over.

“Oh, you’ll need to go to the other ticket desk.”

Oh no. So I did. I can see the plane. I’m right there. I’m staring at it. My co-worker going to the same conference as me is texting me from inside. I completely interrupt the ticket person to see if I can get on the plane.

“Oh, sorry. It’s too late to board that plane.”

Crushed.

And so, I’m on standby. Stuck. I feel like I let down my employer. If I would have gotten here two and a half hours earlier, if I would have been a total jerk and shoved my way through the line, I would be on that plane.

But I didn’t. I was in line for an hour. And now, I’m just angry and I never want to fly again.

Giving up pop

2 Replies

no-quitting

Today is a big day for me.

On Saturday, March 23, I asked my wife, Amy, to pick me up a two liter bottle of Diet Mountain Dew while she was at the store. To have her pick me up my favorite drink was a fairly common request. Not a big deal. However, this time, she screwed up.

She bought me a 20 oz. bottle instead. Not a big deal, really, but it accidentally set in motion a course that I really didn’t think would happen.

The next day, I gave up drinking diet pop completely.

At first, I wasn’t sure that I could make it. In fact, sometimes I’m still not sure. But day by day, I refused my indulgence. I’m not sure how I did it, but somehow, I kept saying, “no.” And now, one month later, I haven’t had a drop of diet soda.

The axiom rings true: success is a process, not an event.

When I started my professional career in the year 2000, I was a heavy Mr. Pibb drinker. Oh man, did I love that stuff. Dr. Pepper would suffice, too, and my waistline showed just how much I loved it.

In time, I would decide that all the extra calories weren’t for me. So, I switched to Diet Dr. Pepper. That was a main staple for a few years until I found Diet Mountain Dew. Then, I was hooked.

I loved how it tasted sweet, like the real thing, and had zero calories. It couldn’t be bad since it had no calories, right?

Well, maybe not.

The first few days off it weren’t bad, but I was definitely tempted by my habit. I’d go to the pop machine almost in a daze, “wake up,” then walk back to my desk. I drank water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, green tea. If it had an artifical sweetener in it, I would resist.

In parallel, I also decided to start back at the gym. I was doing really well with a healthy lifestyle toward the end of last year, but a job change and a new commute brought everything back to chaos. Sadly, I gained the weight back that I had dropped before the job change (which happened in December and certainly didn’t help with all the good food around). While I can’t say that giving up pop led entirely to me getting back on the wagon, I can certainly say that it helped.

After a few days of resistance, I noticed that my cravings for sweet things had diminshed a lot. Now it’s practically zero. Some of that also has to do with my diet, but that’s for another day. But not craving sweet food during the day has really helped. Coupled with a dietary change and regular exercise, I’m down 12 lbs. That’s five more than when I started the new job, but certainly a reversal I’m proud of in only a month’s time.

Yesterday, Amy sent me a picture of a squirrel outside our home, going to great lengths to get to our bird feeder. I had to laugh because it made me think of the last month. I’ve been constantly telling myself, “Don’t quit.” The reward would be worth it. I had to stick it out. I had to keep going.

Indeed, the reward has been worth it. I have more money in my pocket and I don’t feel like I’m a slave to “needing” a soda anymore. I hope it continues. I’m going to work hard to make sure it does.

And although I’m tempted to run out and grab a 20 ouncer to celebrate, I think I’ll go grab a glass of ice water instead.

A quick review of local campaign websites

1 Reply

Campaign season never truly ends.

Even more so, on Tuesday there will be a primary election for our City Commission here in Lawrence, Kansas. I thought I’d take some time to review the candidates’ web presence. Please note, I’m not reviewing the candidates or their stances, just their web communications.

And thanks to the joy of advanced voting, I’m already done.

All of this information was found from our local Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 City Commission Candidate Q&A page. Let’s get started.

Mike Amyx, Facebook fan page

  • Desktop experience: Amyx doesn’t have a website, but he does have a Facebook fan page which is viewable to the public without logging in. I don’t particularly care for this approach: I think social media should be a tool in your communications strategy toolbox, not the only tool. Although, he is an incumbent, which makes his effort to get re-elected easier.
  • Mobile experience: It’s really as good as Facebook makes it. Your mileage may vary.

One thing to note: I don’t see anywhere on Amyx’s fan page a “Paid for by” wording, as directed by the Kansas Ethics Commission, which states:

Question: Do websites, e-mails and other Internet communications require a “Paid for by” or “Sponsored by” attribution statement?
Answer: If the website, e-mail or other Internet communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for state or local office, then a “Paid for by” or “Sponsored by” statement must be provided if the communication is disseminated to 25 or more individuals. This requirement only applies to any email or other type of Internet communication which is made by the candidate, the candidate’s committee, PAC or party committee.

This could cause him potential issues should anyone decide to file a complaint with the Kansas Ethics Commission (unless I’m just missing it).

 

Judy Bellome, judybellomeforcommission.com

  • Desktop experience: While not incredibly appealing visually, it does have the basic information about Bellome: quotes about her, how to donate, links to news articles about her campaign, resume, platform and her supports, along with links to her social media efforts.
  • Mobile experience: About the same as her desktop experience, but using a responsive design that is well-suited for mobile. Big globs of text on some pages make the reading experience a little daunting on a smartphone.

 

Rob Chestnut, chestnutforcommission.com

  • Desktop experience: Branding is consistent with Chestnut’s signs around the city, and playing upon his previous experience on the commission – “Re-elect Rob Chestnut” will help his overall message. The design is minimal, but clean. The About Rob page’s URL should be changed to something other than “sample-page.” No links to a social media presence and an email address that’s not a hyperlink on the Contact page are negatives.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty poor. There is no mobile-optimized version of this website, making it hard to read from a phone.

 

Scott Criqui, scottcriqui.com

  • Desktop experience: Branding is consistent with Criqui’s signs around the city. Pictures are of excellent quality and the design is OK. However, the front page image isn’t text, just an image. No links to social media and underlined words that aren’t links on the Vision page are negatives. On one of his news pages, the menu gets wonky.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty poor. There is no mobile-optimized version of this website, making it hard to read from a phone. The menu is a little hard to use on a phone because the links are small, a consequence of not having touch targets optimized for small screens.

 

Jeremy Farmer, voteyourselfafarmer.com

  • Desktop experience: Branding is consistent with Farmer’s signs around the city. The site is visually appealing, although I’d slow down the slideshow timing if it were me. Clearly, Farmer has spent money on this website, and in his favor, it shows. Some of the links could be a darker color to give better contrast against the light background.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty poor. There is no mobile-optimized version of this website, making it hard to read from a phone. The menu is a little hard to use on a phone because the links are small, a consequence of not having touch targets optimized for small screens.

 

Reese Hays, reesehays.com

  • Desktop experience: Clean design, easy to read front page text, and high-quality images are all positives. Negatives include font sizes different on Contact Info and My Views pages (different from the front), no links to social media, no hyperlinked email address on the  Contact Info page. The URLs for the Contact Info and My Views pages are “style-demo” and “full-width,” respectively. That’s just poor basic SEO. I’m not a fan of the center-aligned text on the home page.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty good. The site is responsive, so it looks decent on a phone. I just wish the font sizes were all the same size as the home page. The images on the Contact Info and My Views pages cause the text to break funky, because they’re not optimized for a phone’s breakpoints (at least, not the one I’m using).

 

Michael A. Rost, Facebook fan page

  • Desktop experience: Rost doesn’t have a website, but he does have a Facebook fan page. But, I can’t view it because his fan page settings are set to you have to log in to Facebook to see it. I recently closed my Facebook account, so I can’t see it. Obviously a negative.
  • Mobile experience: Beats me. As good as Facebook allows, I guess.

 

Leslie Soden, lesliesoden.wordpress.com

  • Desktop experience: This uses the default WordPress theme from WordPress.com called Twenty Ten. Every website that is built by anyone who doesn’t have a lot of web knowledge uses this theme, and I’m sick of seeing it. The few images she has could be better quality. She does have all the relevant content you’d need to have to learn about Soden, although a negative is having an email that’s not hyperlinked on the Contact Me page.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty … OK. Viewing on a mobile device kicks it into the mobile version of the Twenty Ten theme. I hate it, but it’s usable. Man, I hate this theme.

 

Terry Riordan, riordanforlawrence.com

  • Desktop experience: I haven’t seen many of his signs around town, so I couldn’t tell you if his branding is consistent or not. Pictures are of excellent quality, but the design is blasé. No links to social media is a negative. At least his email is a hyperlink on his Contact page.
  • Mobile experience: Pretty poor. There is no mobile-optimized version of this website, making it hard to read from a phone. The menu is hard to use on a phone because the links are small, a consequence of not having touch targets optimized for small screens.

 

Nicholas Eugene Marlo, no information available

 

William R. Olson, no information available

In Conclusion

As a web developer, I’m pretty biased. I’m too close to the metal to make an unbiased assessment. I want all of these pages to be excellent.

That’s not to say my opinions can’t be based upon some sort of logic. How we interact with websites, social media and other forms of communications effectively is because of a plethora of factors. Aesthetics, usability, word choices, these things all matter at a subconscious level. There’s a reason the Obama and Romney campaign websites were excellent – the people behind those campaigns understand these principals. It’s time our local officials do too.

And in the end, who did I chose? Amyx, Farmer, and Soden. I chose our officials because of who they are and what they stand for, (and how that fits my values) not their websites.

Call me a hypocrite.

Interstate

1 Reply

In an effort to experiment with commuting, I decided to take a new route to work.

Typically I drive on the commuting corridor known as K10, but today I went on the interstate to see how it measured up. It ended up being equal time, so nothing really gained there (in fact, it cost me a toll, too).

Shortly after I got onto the interstate, I noticed a car to my left out of the corner of my eye. We were neck-and-neck for a few seconds, and so I sped up. We were crossing over a bridge, and the jockeying for position made me a little nervous – probably because of my https://ericjgruber.com/blog/2013/01/spinning/ driving recently.

So, I accelerated. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. The car was there, but movement caught my attention. It was friends of mine waving to say hello. I looked over and smiled. “Well, hello!” I said, and gave a wave back.

In taking a different route, I end up seeing people I know, out of the blue. If they were regular commuters or something, that wouldn’t be a big coincidence. But I happen to know they’re “off,” this week because of a death in the family, so running into them in this manner took me my surprise.

Isn’t it odd how things like that happen? I find those types of coincidental meetings occur with enough frequency that it feels like it must be more than chance. It makes me wonder if there has ever been a study done or a well thought out explanation, vis-a-vis the six degrees phenomon.

It certainly seems that it’s more than just coincidence. Or is it?

Cobwebs

Leave a reply

A few years ago, my grandfather passed away.

He died from all the horrible complications associated with dementia, and it was incredibly painful to watch him deteriorate.

My grandfather was a master craftsman. He was a builder, spending most of his life building houses all around Kansas. My uncle has said he could frame a house taking only a couple of measurements.

My memories of him and his big red Ford pickup include a camper filled with tools. One time I got to drive the truck, and he had me drive a little faster than normal on the backroads of Montgomery County to “blow out the cobwebs.” It wasn’t until after he passed that, upon telling my father this, dad told me blowing out a supposed accumulation of cobwebs from a truck’s exhaust wasn’t really a thing. My grandfather gave me an excuse to speed with a little help of plausible deniability.

He intentionally sent me out thrill-seeking and I didn’t even realize it.

That big red Ford came with all sorts of memories. He would take my sister and I fishing in it, and we’d sit forever (to a kid that probably 45 minutes) and hope for the big catch. I remember the sound of those tools rattling around in the back, his glasses that would get dark in the sun, and his cowboy boots pressing on the gas pedal.

I miss my grandpa (thankfully his wife – Grandmama as my girls know her – is still alive). I miss my other grandparents, too. I pull such sweet memories from my 36-year-old brain sometimes. At times I can’t help it – a certain smell, or a stroll through an antique store might bring back memories of the past. Sometimes it seems like those I’ve lost are right beside me; like I could reach out and talk to them.

But of course, I cannot. Those days are past.

Now I delight in my responsibility to provide wonderful experiences, so my children will have something to take with them on their journey. While gifts and things can be fun, those things fade and become faint in the mind. But experiences and everyday little things can become etched in stone. That is my duty; ensure the good memories overcome the bad ones.

And someday, when the time comes, I’ll make sure my girls get the chance to blow out the cobwebs … just like I did.

Spinning

Leave a reply

Thursday night was a rainy one, preceded by a rainy day.

As I got onto an exit ramp to get on the main highway that takes me home, I lost control of my vehicle. I started spinning, and my the only thought that went through my head was “You’ll be OK. You’ll have to ride it out.”

And so I did.

In retrospect its hard to say how many revolutions I endured. At first I thought it was only one, but thinking about it later made me believe it might have been twice. I can’t say for sure; it happened so fast but seemed to last forever.

My little Corolla came to a halt and I noticed all the dashboard lights were on and the engine had died. I wanted to just sit there, a little shocked and a little thrilled. But them I noticed another car coming down the on-ramp. I feared a collision or that it might also lose control, but it slowed to a stop.

My trance wore off, I started the car and continued my ride home, albeit more slowly.

And then I called my wife. I told her about the spin and explained I’d be home a little late.

“I’m going to stop in De Soto and fill up to add more weight to the car,” I said. “And I might need to change my underwear.”

In review: 2012

1 Reply

“A year from now you’ll wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

When Josh Davis wrote his 2011 year in review, I thought “Next year, I need to do that.” And so, with Josh’s 2012 Personal Year in Review, I’m reminded of my good intentions.

Resolutions and goals are important. You can’t progress if you don’t set goals and take actions to move toward fulfilling them. Likewise, a year-in-review is a fantastic way to measure your actions against your resolutions.

So how did I do?

Accomplishments

  • Social Media Club of Lawrence Kansas – I started off the year by joining the local chapter of the Social Media Club as Promotions Chair.
  • Startup Weekend Kansas City – In April I attended Startup Weekend at Union Station. The experience was fantastic, and got my juices flowing for a major change that happened later in the year.
  • Randall 2012 – A friend and former roommate, Grant Randall, announced his candidacy for the 1st District House of Representatives in Kansas. I started out as just “doing the website” which evolved into “Communications Manager” about midway through the campaign. Sadly, he didn’t win in November, but it was one fantastic experience.
  • Learning Rails 3 – A book I contributed three chapters to about the web development framework Ruby on Rails was released in July from O’Reilly Media.
  • Getting healthier – In October, my blood work confirmed that my low-carb/Paleo diet was working. In fact, I ended up breaking through a weight barrier I had for years, dropped clothing sizes and went up two notches on the belt.
  • Job change – After almost seven years with the City of Lawrence as its eGov Coordinator (aka, website administrator), I left in early December for a web developer position at the City of Olathe. I think I have more to write about that, but I’m not sure when it will happen. My time at the City of Lawrence was the longest job I had ever had, and leaving wasn’t easy. But after a few weeks in at the new place, I can say without a doubt that I made the right decision.

Goals

So I know where I’ve been, but what’s the new year look like for me? I have a few things in mind …

  • Coding with Coda – My little book on one of my favorite text editors will be released in the next month or so with O’Reilly Media.
  • Old projects and loose ends – I have a project or two from 2012 that needs wrapped up. I’ll be working on those intently in the first couple of months to get them done.
  • Continue my health journey – The end of 2012 was decadent. Also, the job switch screwed up my exercise routine. It’s time to get back to healthy eating, and I’m starting to get my bearing on a routine for exercise. My ultimate goal is to get to my preferred weight and …
  • Go on a trip – My wife and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage and it seems like we should take a trip or something outside the usual camping and canoeing trip.
  • House projects – Painting, fixing and other little touches have been swept under the rug for awhile. I’m going to rectify that in 2013.
  • New projects - Oh, I have some ideas but I’ll keep those quiet for now.

So how did you do? What are your plans for 2013?

No gifts, please.

2 Replies

Do you remember what it was like as a kid when your birthday rolled around?

My mom would ask me what kind of cake I wanted, and she’d make it herself. She would buy cake tins for Soundwave (Transformers), R2-D2, and a few others I can’t remember. Friends would come over, games would be played, cake and homemade ice cream would be eaten.

What an experience. Summer birthdays are awesome.

Of course, I’d also get gifts. I remember when I got … well … no, I don’t. I had toys, I played with toys, and I had lots of fun playing with toys.

But I’ve reached a point in my life that I don’t want for gifts (much). I don’t want more things in the house, but less. The exact opposite is true for experiences, however. As a busy parent in the Great Recession, there aren’t as many opportunities as I’d like right now for life experiences. Be it time, or money, those types of things are harder to come by these days.

Given the choice, I’d take an experience (or a surprise; I love enigmatic events) of any kind over any tangible gift every time. Let the kids have the gifts.

Today is my birthday. I am thirty-six years old. No need to say the obligatory words.

And no gifts, please.

Paradise City

2 Replies
The Sandbar

The Sandbar

Last night I had the privilege of joining a few friends to celebrate the birthday of Phil Martinez at one of Lawrence’s more colorful downtown establishments, The Sandbar.

We were there over the course of a few hours, and during that time, the Guns N’ Roses song Paradise City came on three times. A classic song, to be sure, which I always enjoy hearing, but it got me to thinking about the task of work.

The picture above is pretty crappy, but you can get the gist of the evening: lots of people out on the town, having a good time in a fun atmosphere. The Sandbar has, not surprisingly, a beach/oceanic theme, complete with a nice aquarium (far left) that I found intoxicating. There was a fairly large fish in that tank that I am sure was eavesdropping on our conversation.

Back to the beach …

There’s this part of me that thought “Man, it must be pretty cool to come work here every night.” Think of it – you’d always be surrounded by people who are there to have a great time, out with friends, enjoying the moment. Who doesn’t love dark settings, twinkling lights and a party atmosphere?

But it also got me to thinking that the people who work there, especially the owners, have probably heard Paradise City and other popular songs a thousand or more times. I’m sure there are songs they are absolutely sick of hearing. And there are probably regulars who are always welcome, but have made it their second home. I’ll bet it’s safe to say it’s like this in a lot of places.

I’m sure there are days they absolutely dread going to work.

It reminded me of the old joke, “Show me the most beautiful woman in the world and I’ll show you a guy that’s tired of being with her.” We all have our things that must seem pretty exciting to others because of greener grass syndrome, but for the people that are in those spaces day in, day out, it’s a real chore to get through.

But, we keep at it. We have things to take care of at home, responsibilities, people counting on us. Sometimes we just have to dig in a little harder to get through to tomorrow, because it needs to be done.

At least there’s places like The Sandbar to head to and blow off a little steam. It makes me wonder where Sandbar workers go to do the same.

Bewbs

2 Replies

The internet it all abuzz today about a new TIME magazine cover story about extreme attachment parenting. I’d link to the story, but the penny-pinchers at TIME require a subscription to view it. Screw ’em.

As a parent with two children who were both breastfed, I know how important breastfeeding is and the natural advantage it can give your child in the future. The National Institute of Health has found there are many benefits to breastfeeding an infant, including fewer illnesses, a stronger immune system and healthy brain development. There’s lots of great things in breast milk that can help a baby grow into a vibrant toddler. Some women can’t breastfeed, that’s OK and nothing to be ashamed of.

It’s a very personal choice, but obviously a right that every mother should have the ability to breastfeed. The question that arose from the (dramatic and extremist) TIME cover was, “How long should a mother breastfeed?”

The simple answer: As long as she wants.

And then there’s the “opinions are like a-holes” category, which I’ll dance around for a minute.

The NIH studies say great things about breastfeeding for an infant to a toddler, but what about after that? Do the nutritional needs of a toddler change enough that breast milk doesn’t provide everything? I don’t have the answers to that, but the question is one that should be asked: “Is breast milk sufficient for the needs of a toddler? What about preschool age? Kindergarten? Grade school?”

Without hard data, it’s hard for me to say it should or should not be done. The thing I am worried about, from society as a whole, is how we seem to be raising children who believe that they are in control instead of parents taking authority. You see this a lot in helicopter parents. I overheard a story from someone who worked in financial aid at a university who had been overwhelmed with parents taking care of the business side of their child’s enrollment. Of course, the actual student isn’t anywhere to be found in these stories because helicopter mom or dad are taking care of it all.

My concern is the possible correlation between attachment parents and helicopter parenting. When do we let children be children instead of always hovering? Can a child’s creative mind be opened if they’re always protected? Will critical thinking come from a generation who hasn’t learn to fill out a FAFSA form?

In a way, I see the fringe elements of parenting kind of like smoking. You should absolutely have the right to do it (as long as it doesn’t infringe on others’ rights). But there is a huge warning label attached: The longer you do this, it might have undesirable consequences. Proceed with caution.