Category Announcements
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Today is the birthday of one of my closest friends in the world - Rob Novak. I have known Rob for many years, and have been through many things with him. He is one of my closest confidants, as well as being one of the most awesome and impressive people I know.

So, a normal birthday greeting isn't enough for someone of Rob's stature. He should be celebrated with something more...

How about a limerick free-for-all?

I hesitate to call it a contest because, well, I don't have anything to give away. But, I would love to read your inventive limerick creations, so please feel free to post your "limerick ode to Rob Novak". Here's mine to get you started...

There once was a man named Rob Novak,
The name's origins may be Slovak.
His sessions were renowned,
For Guinness spread all 'round,
This feat more awesome with his po' back.

Rob is a great speaker, that's a fact,
his sessions at devcons always packed.
But when sessions are done,
To wife Liz he comes home,
She tells him no speaking in the sack!

There are a couple to get you started. For those who are wondering about the "structure" of a limerick, check out the primer from Limerick Rules.

Happy birthday, Rob - we love ya!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 9:07 AM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (15)

   
Category Opinion
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I imagine that some of my posts in the past (including one last week) would give you the impression that I am not a fan of our military; that could not be further from the truth. The truth is that I am a veteran (USAF), and I am a strong supporter of our military. While I may not believe in the actions in which they have been thrown (and sacrificed), I support our troops with all my heart.

I read a story today from a somewhat unlikely place - Snopes - that touched my heart. The story is entitled Account describes Navy SEALs' funereal tribute to Medal of Honor recipient Mike Monsoor that tells a bit of the story of Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike Monsoor. His story is touching - he sacrificed himself in order to save his fellow SEALs from a grenade. Sacrifice of that order definitely deserves the highest recognition in our country, the Medal of Honor.

But a tribute I found very personal and touching is what his fellow SEALs did during his funeral. All of the SEALs in attendance drove their "Tridents" (awarded to SEALs upon successful completion of their training) into the lid of PO2 Monsoor's coffin. I found it to be a touching and fitting tribute to this American hero. The result of this tribute is shown below.



If you read the writeup at Snopes of this occasion, the description of this ceremony was submitted as follows:

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego, as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it. This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero.

I cannot agree more with the sentiment at the end of this quote. This was a fitting send-off for this fallen "warrior-hero".

There is also a deeply touching and moving video memorial for PO2 Mike Monsoor, which includes a brief portion of the SEAL's memorial to their fallen brother. If you're interested, you can watch it here:



Once again I am humbly, deeply, proud of our troops in the military. I know they are a selfless, honorable, and amazing group of men and women, and I sincerely hope that they all make it home quickly and safely.

Thanks for your service and sacrifice, PO2 Monsoor. You will be missed.

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 3:06 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (2)

   
Category Opinion
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Writer's Note: You thought yesterday's post was controversial... ;)

This post will be realatively short, but should get my question across.

Why is an affair and a stain on a dress more "wrong" or "offensive" than an engagement in war based on fabricated evidence?

President Clinton was caught having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. The evidence was a blue cocktail dress worn during the "act", which resulted in a damning stain on the dress. President Clinton then proceeded to initially lie and evade questioning about his transgressions, and eventually he was impeached (but not convicted) for this affair and deceit.

Fine - but...

We have the current Bush administration, who fabricated evidence to justify Bush's hellbent desire to kick Iraq's ass. How is this not impeachable? Because of these falsifications we are now involved in a war with no realistic exit strategy, which has resulted in the (unnecessary) deaths of over 4,000 ++ deaths of honorable US servicemen and servicewomen, and which has caused us to stretch our military resources so thin (across two fronts, Iraq and Afghanistan) that we cannot fully protect ourselves should we need to do so. Additionally he is financing this war effort by borrowing money from other nations - effectively making us a debtor nation to the world.

The initial reason for attacking Iraq was that he had "weapons of mass destruction", which posed a threat to the US and the world. None were found, the "evidence" provided was completely wrong or fabricated, and virtually all of the rest of the world knew the evidence presented was suspect at best (hence the massive lack of support from the rest of the world, outside of a few loyal allies - hello England!).

Then the "reason" was masterfully switched to the (wrong) idea that "the 9/11 terrorist attack was Iraq's fault!!" Uhhh, no. There is no concrete evidence that Iraq, the nation, was directly involved - at least no more than other nations, including our ally Saudi Arabia. Once again, bullshit.

So now our own people are in harm's way because of the blundering efforts of the Bush administration. And we're there with NO EXIT STRATEGY.

Bush Sr. refused to invade Baghdad because he knew there was no realistic exit strategy. From a great entry at snopes.com:

In 1998, former President George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor during the Bush administration, collaborated on the book A World Transformed, a political history covering significant world events which occurred during the first three years of Bush's presidency (1989-1991): the collapse of the Soviet empire, the unification of Germany, Tiananmen Square, and the Gulf War.

In Chapter 19, which discusses the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War (also known as "Desert Storm," the military operation to liberate Kuwait from occupation by invading Iraqi forces), they wrote:

Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under the circumstances, there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different - and perhaps barren - outcome.

(**Note: Emphasis mine. --Rock)

How foretelling.

So, once again I ask: Why isn't the incompetence of the current Bush administration - of which Bush himself is ultimately responsible - an impeachable offense? Is oral sex and a stain on a dress more culpable than the unnecessary and unwarranted deaths of thousands, and the complete ruining of our respect and admiration on the world stage? And I'm not even considering the enormous national debt being incurred as we speak?

As a side note: I am a veteran, and I do understand that war is necessary at times; but it should be our last course of action. Additionally I know Hussein was an absolute bastard, and a potential threat to the US; but he was no more of a threat than, say, North Korea, Iran, and a host of others.

Bush and his cronies screwed up, big time. And they should be held accountable, as their actions are a travesty and an embarrassment.

OK, I'm going to go put on my fire-retardant undies....

Rock

P.S. According to this article in Wikipedia (take it for what it's worth), there is a movement to impeach Bush. Wonder how far it will get in a Republican-controlled congress? (Congress, is now barely Democratically controlled. My mistake. --Rock)

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 11:34 AM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (73)

   
Category Opinion
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I mentioned week or so ago that I wanted to get some things off of my chest - and we can have fun engaging in a civil conversation. Today's rant is about the current oil crisis, and the sudden renewed push for drilling in previously protected areas for more oil.

The Problem
For those of you who have been living under a rock here in the US, and for those of you who are not American and therefore aren't as informed about our "discussions" concerning how we respond to the latest oil crisis, here's what's going on. There are many conservatives (and some supposed "democrats") who are using this crisis as an opportunity to renew their push to drill in protected areas of the US, such as Alaska and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The worst part is that there are some supposed "eco-friendly" politicians, such as Senator (and Republican Presidential candidate) John McCain. In the past he has opposed drilling in protected areas, and now he is in favor of "exploring" drilling in these areas.

So, why am I upset about this?

The Addiction
Because this is hypocritical for one thing; but the main reason is this isn't providing a solution, it is simply extending the problem. Face it, folks: we, as a society, are addicted to oil. We're acting like crack or meth addicts - we're having a problem getting our "fix", and we're willing to do anything, destroy anything, pay anything necessary to get our fix and keep our habit going. My father was an addict, and I've seen this before, in the micro; our country is an addict in the macro. And it is sad.

The "Feel Good" Illusion
Oh, and those of you who think technologies like hybrids are a solution - Give me a break. Hybrids are simply a window dressing to make us, as a society, "feel good" that we're "doing something". It is an illusion, folks. Hybrids simply extend the gas mileage a bit, and there are other cars - non-hybrid - that get similar (or even better) gas mileage than a hybrid, in the "real world". The other problem with hybrids is that the battery cells eventually go bad - and they cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace. Often the cost to replace the battery cells is more than the car is worth, effectively totalling the car when they fail. Oh, and the warranties don't cover these costs, and insurance doesn't either. Hybrids are NOT a solution, they're just "window dressing".

The Solution
And here's the thing that really pisses me off: We are very, very close to a solution. The technology is proven, and all we need to do is put some more money behind the innovators in this field to bring it to reality. What is this solution?

Hydrogen fuel cell technology

If you're not familiar with Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology, here's a brief description (from about.com, here):

The hydrogen fuel cell operates similar to a battery. It has two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, separated by a membrane. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other.

The hydrogen reacts to a catalyst on the electrode anode that converts the hydrogen gas into negatively charged electrons (e-) and positively charged ions (H+).

The electrons flow out of the cell to be used as electrical energy. The hydrogen ions move through the electrolyte membrane to the cathode electrode where they combine with oxygen and the electrons to produce water.

Unlike batteries, fuel cells never run out.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the future of power in this country, and probably the world. Hydrogen fuel cells can be made small enough to work in a cell phone, a car (more on this later), a bus, and large enough to power buildings. In fact, many companies have been working on a home-sized hydrogen fuel cell system to provide all the power needed for your home. One project will offer units to homes in japan for under $10,000 - and it will provide ALL of the power needed for the home.

In fact, Honda is now selling hydron-powered cars in California. The car is called the Clarity, and you can read more about it here. Honda is also working with other companies to provide a "hydrogen economy" for these cars, so that they can find affordable refueling stations in their area. This is an exciting first step towards a sustainable hydrogen economy, and is a great first step towards reducing/eliminating our dependence on petroleum.

Change Our Ways, Invest in the Future
So, here's why I'm upset. We're talking about spending TONS of money to drill in more places such as protected areas and the ocean. This will cost an inordinate amount of money, and I just think that we need to quit talking about getting off of our dependence on petroleum and we need to JUST DO IT. Now is the time, we have a technology that is proven to be a valid alternative, and all we need to do is invest the money to make it economically feasible - because the petroleum alternative is simply a way of extending the eventual REAL problem of petroleum becoming an unsustainable and unusable resource.

Here's a bit more info on fuel cells that I think you'll find interesting. From Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Innovation for the 21st Century

Fuel cells have been around for over 150 years and offer a source of energy that is inexhaustible, environmentally safe and always available. So why aren't they being used everywhere already? Until recently, it has been because of the cost. The cells were too expansive to make. That has now changed.

In the United States, several pieces of legislation have promoted the current explosion in hydrogen fuel cell development: namely, the congressional Hydrogen Future Act of 1996 and several state laws promoting zero emission levels for cars. Worldwide, different types of fuel cells have been developed with extensive public funding. The United States alone has sunk more than one billion dollars into fuel-cell research in the last thirty years.

In February, 1999, Europe's first public commercial hydrogen fuel station for cars and trucks opened for business in Hamburg, Germany. In April, 1999, Daimler Chrysler unveiled the liquid hydrogen vehicle NECAR 4. With a top speed of 90 mph and a 280-mile tank capacity, the car wowed the press. The company plans to have fuel-cell vehicles in limited production by the year 2004. By that time, Daimler Chrysler will have spent $1.4 billion more on fuel-cell technology development.

In August, 1999, Singapore physicists announced a new hydrogen storage method of alkali doped carbon nanotubes that would increase hydrogen storage and safety. A Taiwanese company, San Yang, is developing the first fuel cell powered motorcycle.

Where do we go from here? There are still issues with hydrogen-fueled engines and power plants. Transport, storage and safety problems need to be addressed. Greenpeace has promoted the development of a fuel cell operated with regeneratively produced hydrogen. European car makers have so far ignored a Greenpeace project for a super-efficient car consuming only 3 liters of gasoline per 100 km.

This article was written in 2000, so things are even better now - but we're not there yet. And I hate seeing our country continue down a dead-end path when we have the alternative technology identified and available to us; we simply need to invest in this technology a bit more to reduce the economies involved and make this a viable, widespread alternative.

Yeah, it sounds like I'm an eco-flowerchild; but I want to get off the stupid "petroleum train to disaster" and begin on a new path. I am firmly convinced that hydrogen fuel cell technology is the future of energy generation in the US and beyond. We can't wait anymore - and now is the time. Drilling is not the answer - we can't throw good money down a dead-end road, we might as well invest in the future, now.

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 12:13 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (36)

   
Category Technical What do you think?
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I have an idea mulling around in my head. I am thinking about putting together either a couple of presentations, or articles, or.... well, something publicly consumable, based on the two ideas I have and are about to presesnt to you; and then fulfilled by your input. So, what are these ideas? Let me explain...

I have been a developer forever - over 16 years now. And let me stress - developer. At first (think early R3.0 days) I actually could manage a "Notes server" (Domino didn't exist yet) - mainly because there wasn't that much to worry about. And then when Domino came along and things got more complicated, I went through an early phase of actually not knowing much about the admin side of the house at all - and I think this is where most Notes/Domino developers are today. Likewise I am almost confident that all but a few administrators really know nothing at all about development, other than it exists and causes his elegantly-configured and normally-sold Domino server to crash before you can say "LotusScript".

And that brings me to my idea/concept.

I want to put together two "top 10" type of lists based upon the two following topics:

• Top 10 Things Every Domino Developer Should Know About Admin
• Top 10 Things Every Domino Administrator Should Know About Dev

Think of it this way: If you as the experienced/top Developer or Admin in your organization, could sit down a young, new, associate that is of your counterpart (Admin or Developer, respectively), what are the top 10 "pearls of wisdom" you would impart on them so that they may be better at what they do with a more "worldly" view, and may just understand and interact with your world a little bit more effectively (and understandingly).

Given this concept, I'd like my "brilliant" readers to think about this and respond - and discuss. Give me your bullet-proof top 10 from your respective areas of expertise, and let's see if we can put together an insightful list to help the greater community, and greater good. Don't think of interesting or archane bits of lore - that's another list. This is more informing and enlightening - something that will make the reader a better, more informed and understanding professional about what they (and their counterpart) do for their profession.

So, folks, give this some thought. I know I haven't been around for a bit (things got a bit insane - I'll explain later), but my world is settling down now and I'm ready to get the LotusGeek discussions going again - and this is a great topic with which to start.

Oh, and as a teaser for you leading into the weekend, I want you to know that next week won't be all nice funny posts and announcements. Next week I really want to vent about some things going on in the US lately - think President Bush, the oil crisis, the child molester/no execution court decision, and so on. It is yet another way I'm getting back to the "old" LotusGeek.

Let's start the discussion, and we'll have some "interesting discussion" fun next week.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 11:06 AM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (10)

   
Category Announcements
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Just a quick note - John Kingsley and I from Teamstudio will be conducting another webinar tomorrow at 2PM EST - this one is entitled Agents Gone Wild! Regaining Control Over Your Agents. This is another session targeted at developers who may also be responsible for the admin role, or administrators who have little to no control over their agent environment, and they want to learn how they can "reign in" and regain control over their agent environment. Here's the summary...

How do you keep those end users from calling you when that scheduled agent doesn't do what it was supposed to? Where do you start looking? And why does the server bog down at 10 am every day? We can all appreciate what scheduled agents can do for us when they are on our team, but how do you identify ones that are not doing what they are supposed to be doing?

In this webcast, we will discuss tips to help you manage your agents more effectively. We will take a deep dive into all of the issues with agents that you might or might not be aware of. We will also take a sneak peek at a new tool for managing agents, Teamstudio Agent Registry.

As a developer who has had to "own" admin tasks before, and has had to work with admins who didn't understand their agent environment, I think this is an important topic for admins AND developers - especially those who don't understand the agent environment themselves.

See you tomorrow!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 3:29 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (1)

   
Category Fun
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You know the song "Oh Fortuna"? You probably do, but didn't know that was the name. It is most famous (at least for people around my age) as the "major battle" song in the movie Excalibur (1981). You know how some people (maybe even you) have mis-heard lyrics before in a song? Especially songs where the words aren't especially clear ("Inagaddadavida" by Iron Butterlfy comes to mind - it really is "In a Garden of Eden"). Then what happens if you don't listen to the words of "Oh Fortuna" very carefully?

Well, you get something like this...


Enjoy!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 3:52 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (6)

   
Category Devcons
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Sorry I haven't posted earlier this week. I have been getting ready for my speaking engagement at the Irish Lotus Users Group Conference 2008 (ILUG2008.org) in Dublin, Ireland. As you may or may not know, the ILUG conference is one of the best conferences in Europe for Notes/Domino professionals - and the best part is that it is FREE. Paul Mooney and friends have done a great job of soliciting corporate sponsorship to cover their costs, and while they have increased the size a little bit each year they have deliberately kept it relatively small and intimate - and it makes this conference even more appealing. They have also managed to recruit the best and brightest speakers in the Notes/Domino space to speak there, so this really is a can't-miss event for you Europeans, especially if you didn't attend Lotusphere.

I will be participating in (at least) two events. I will be giving my session entitled, "Design Programming Using XML and DXL", which is an introductory session to XML and DXL for Domino Developers who are primarily experienced in LotusScript. My abstract is below:

LotusScript is the most powerful (and and most widely used) language for all IBM Lotus Domino developers. However, there are problems lurking in the script of the applications in our organization - yet we just don't have the time to find it all. This session will help you begin hunting down those problems. We'll show you how to write applications with LotusScript, XML, and DXL, to search applications for LotusScript design problems. and manipulate the designs to fix those problems! We'll also cover XML and DXL in LotusScript - what works, what doesn't, and work arounds to these problems. We'll also explore other "nifty uses", such as enabling users to configure application design preferences.

I gave that session at Lotusphere with my friend Andre Guirard; however at ILUG I'll be flying solo. Guess you'll have to just put up with my smiling face! ;)

I am also honored to be the host of this year's edition of ILUG SpeedGeeking. This is a rowdy, fun hour that is chock full of information presented at a frantic pace. Here's my description of it from last year (and yes, I did post this a few days ago, but I thought I'd post it here again to save you from going there).

We've all heard of "Speed Dating" - the A.D.D. way to meet the maximum number of potential partners in the minimal amount of time. What happens if you try to do the same thing with a room full of geeks? Let's find out! SpeedGeeking is a brand-new , quick-n-dirty, raucous way to learn some great tips, tricks, and techniques from some of the best and brightest of our ILUG speakers. In a short 5 minutes you'll see some tips, techniques (and sometimes crazy) ideas that they have been working on. Migrate in small groups from one demo to the next, while a short yet loud-mouthed MC keeps things moving! The result may feel out of control, but it is guaranteed to be fun (and maybe a little informative as well)!

So, if you're going to ILUG, I'll see you there. If you aren't going to be there, you're missing out on THE BEST show outside of Lotusphere.

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 3:24 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (2)

   
Category American Idol
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As I have mentioned many times before, I am a pretty big American Idol fan. This year has been very interesting - for the most part, the person who is voted out each week is pretty much on par with what I thought should have happened. The only exception is Jason - I thought he should have been gone a couple of weeks before he was actually voted off. However, the two contestants that were left standing for the finals - David Cook and David Archuletta - are exactly who I thought should be there.

And the first night of the finals was held last night. Both contestants were fabulous, and I agree with Simon Cowell's statement that "this night will go down as one of the best in finals history" (or something to that effect). Both contestants were completely on their game - David Cook performed some inventive takes on U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and Collective Soul's "The World I Know". David Cook also sang an original song submitted for the "Winner's Song" contest, "Dream Big". David Archuletta started with a stunning performance of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", sang his pick from the "Winner's Song" contest called "In This Moment", and finished with a reprise of the John Lennon's "Imagine" - which happens to be his favorite song and is considered his best performance of the season when he first sang it.

As I said earlier, I think both contestants did their best - all of the songs were exceptional, and were well sung. However, David Archuletta may be the best technical singer ever to appear on Idol, and has consistently been flawless at a minimum, all the way to breathtakingly amazing at times. I believe that David Archuletta should be the winner, and the judges seemed to agree; however there is at least one site, DialIdol.com, has predicted that David Cook will actually be the winner that is announced tonight. They determined this by automated dialing and measuring how long each of the Idol's numbers were busy signals, and for how long. They claim that they are 87% accurate overall for an entire season - and has been 100% accurate on picking the finals - so it will be interesting to see if their prediction of such a huge upset is right.

In fact, here's what they actually said concerning their prediction this year:

Let's be clear - DialIdol is definitively predicting that David Cook will win American Idol. No ifs, ands or buts about it. No crazy margin of error claims or anything. The DialIdol scores are significantly different enough to wash all that out the window.

This comes as a bit of a surprise to me given that David Archuleta "knocked out" David Cook during the performance show so before you decide to skip the results show tonight you might want to consider that I myself will be watching with the usual uncertain anticipation that has become habit for me!

If you'd like to read a more comprehensive story on the final's proceedings, here's a good article at MTV.com.

In any case I would recommend tuning in for the Americal Idol final results show tonight (on FOX at 8PM EDT), so you can see how good these two are, and to find out this year's American Idol.

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 2:32 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (2)

   
Category Devcons
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As Paul has already mentioned on his blog, I am very honored to be the MC for the extremely fun and informative SpeedGeek event at ILUG 2008. I have been fortunate enough to host SpeedGeeking for both Lotusphere and ILUG, and I have to say it is one of the most enjoyable and informative events available. Here's my description of SpeedGeeking from last year:

We've all heard of "Speed Dating" - the A.D.D. way to meet the maximum number of potential partners in the minimal amount of time. What happens if you try to do the same thing with a room full of geeks? Let's find out! SpeedGeeking is a brand-new , quick-n-dirty, raucous way to learn some great tips, tricks, and techniques from some of the best and brightest of our ILUG speakers. In a short 5 minutes you'll see some tips, techniques (and sometimes crazy) ideas that they have been working on. Migrate in small groups from one demo to the next, while a short yet loud-mouthed MC keeps things moving! The result may feel out of control, but it is guaranteed to be fun (and maybe a little informative as well)!

So if you're attending ILUG, please make sure you keep the evening of Thursday, 5 June 2008, open to attend SpeedGeeking!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 1:15 PM Location - Flowery Branch, GA | Permalink | Comments (1)

   
Category Technical Teamstudio
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My esteemed colleague John Coolidge (the co-creator of the awesome MS Office Constants database) has created a new blog for Teamstudio users. This Teamstudio Tool Tips blog is a site where John and other Teamstudio techies, as well as customers, will post kewl tools, tips, techniques, etc. for getting the most out of their Teamstudio investment.

John has already populated it with some useful content, and we encourage other Teamstudio users to contribute to this site as well. I believe Tom "Duffbert Duff has already contributed some content, and I look forward to more contributions from other Teamstudio users.

Thanks John!

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 1:19 PM Location - Beverly, MA | Permalink | Comments (0)

   
Category Family
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Sorry for the week of not posting - but I have a good reason. I was a chaperone for Kelsey's 8th grade honors class trip to Washington, DC. We got on a bus early Tuesday (6 MAY 08) morning, and rode in the bus for 12 hours or so up to Washington. Every day was packed with stuff to do - we had a tour guide with us for almost the entire trip, so even the bus rides from one place to the next were full of information and interesting facts. We were fortunate enough to tour the White House, Capitol, Holocaust Museum, various monuments along the "mall" - and we did some of them at night as well - and much more. There was also a yacht trip one evening, where we were served great food and they had a DJ and dance floor for a couple of hours. The yacht was BIG - 3 stories plus an open deck on the very top. The yacht held 6 different school trip groups, all the same grade. Each floor had two schools on it, and each floor had a DJ and dance floor. We also spent a great deal of time exploring the Smithsonian Museum, which is one of my most favorite places to go.


Kelsey in front of the White House

Overall the kids LOVED the trip, and I think they actually learned a thing or two along the way. And I had fun as well - but I must admit I'm glad to be home and back to work, so I can recover ;)

Rock

Posted by Rocky Oliver At 3:03 PM Location - Beverly, MA | Permalink | Comments (1)