I had somewhat of an epiphany the other day. I have been spending a lot of time on the internet this year and it occurred to me that how and where we meet interesting people has changed; at least for me anyway. With the internet it is much easier to find interesting folk, and sometimes they are the real deal. I love to read about interesting people, too. My latest read is Studs Terkel:Touch and Go.

I can’t readily recall when I last met a truly interesting and fascinating person out in public. If I have to put a time stamp on it, it was in 2004 when Beth Deloria moved across the street from me in a quaint little historic neighborhood in Greensboro. Beth has spina bifida with other related complications.  I never knew she had a disability until she told me.  Beth’s determination and strong will have allowed her to work around her disability and compete in various marathons, including the Boston marathon; and with excellent finishes. She is also extremely talented in many other persuits. To me Beth is a burst of inspiration and is truly pleasant to be around.

More recently, I met up with Louisa in Charleston, also known as Archy_Sailor on Twitter. I consider myself a premeditated free spirit and a complete opportunist. If an opportunity presents itself I’ll take it, whether it is coming across the Atlantic on a freight ship while 4 months pregnant or taking a contract position with an executive of a large Fortune company on a whim (alternatively, I could have mapped out swamp land in Eastern NC), or meeting an Archy_sailor for lunch in Charleston.

Louisa’s life has been pretty adventurous thus far- with little holding back. This girl is going for the gusto and following her dreams to the fullest. That has been my impression anyway. Louisa’s adventure started as a sailor (there were many adventures before this-just read her blog) after attending the Maritime Academy. She worked on several vessels, most notable are the poignant tall ships. Her bachelor’s degree is in archeology and British history. I remember very fondly her tweets from the field working as an archaeologist. Fast forward to this summer, Louisa is driving horse drawn carriages around Charleston giving visitors a delightful oratory of Charleston’s most interesting points in history. In her spare time, when not tempting fate by trotting around Charleston with an ill-mannered horse, Louisa is a diver and accomplished fencer (she is very modest, too) and she has sailed on the QM2. But that is nothing compared to this fall when Louisa leaves for the UK to study maritime archeology, with a focus on Dutch maritime history. I have no doubt that in a year or two when I am watching the Discovery Channel, or looking through a National Geographic magazine in the doctor’s office, I will come across Louisa and learn about her latest adventure, and perhaps, newest discovery.

I am participating in beta testing of Aviary photo editing and Peacock pattern generator if anyone wants invites. I have five and will gladly forward you one.

I am in need of a good graphic design software and naturally, Adobe CS3 is what I have in mind.  In the past I’ve used Adobe at the university or work, but at home I use Corel.  Corel has been my primary graphic design software for 10 years now and I would like to switch to Adobe.

I sometimes use Picnic, which comes with my Flickr Pro account and really liked having a hosted solution for photo/graphic design. I thought it would be great if Adobe could offer CS3 hosted.  There are advantages and disadvantages, but really like the access and ease I have experienced with the hosted solution, Picnic.  It can be very slow, which is problematic for big files and there are many joys to working offline.  I will likely end up doing a Corel upgrade due to cost alone. Anyone else have a recommendation?

As I sit here typing out this entry I am reminded of last night’s tae kwon do (TKD) session by a subtle pain in my knees. I started practicing TKD again in January as a way to control my stress and to get out of the house. I had taken it a year ago, but had to stop it due to my schedule. I have been thinking lately how it relates to the business professional in several ways.

Control
I am calmer and have a much better control over my emotions (aka temper). TKD teaches us to breathe and to be cognizant of our surroundings, to be in-tune. Who doesn’t need this in the workplace?

Consistency
TKD teaches us to be consistent in our forms and practice, and if you make mistakes they better be pretty ones. When practicing forms it is obvious by facial expressions when we make mistakes- we don’t try to hide it. TKD is a continual learning process, as is life and work. Embrace your imperfections and try to improve.

Challenges
In TKD higher belts come with higher expectations and technical execution. This is also true in work. You have more experience and more is expected of you- no resting on your laurels. Always use what you have learned to the best of your ability.

Balance
A huge part of balance in TKD is due to proper breathing and not thinking so much. By being business professionals we are always striving for balance with home, work and family. Stop over-analyzing and simplify…..and don’t forget to breathe!

If you are looking for a way to waste time in corporate America, this site offers tons of fun exploring what is available with Web 2.0 and social media. It is hard not to get sucked in. Enjoy!

Go 2 Web 2.0

With SharePoint 2007 being implemented for over a year now by many firms, most of its’ respect comes from being a file management tool. Most firms experienced a lot of growing pains getting it up and running and there were many frustrated people working through some of the basics of implementing or upgrading SP07. Although, the disdain has lessened, it is still mainly respected as a “file” management system. With my own recent experience, active directory problems proved to be too much for some corporate-wide initiatives.

One aspect that I greatly appreciate with SP, but will likely never be realized or respected extensively, is its handling of XML data. There are great opportunities to build the corporate knowledge base with this in mind, but many seem to be struggling with the basics, such as integration, search and stand-alone functionality.

For those firms being a year out with SP, there should be great potential in applying/using XML data. Does anyone know of a good/documented example of SharePoint getting respect and use beyond a file management system?

A lot has been going on lately and I just haven’t had time for my blog. I finished my job a few weeks ago and also transitioned my son to a new school at the same time. Who would have known that the Title I school would be better than the fru-fru magnet school? He is doing very well there and I like to volunteer in his class twice a week. My mother will likely have to go through chemo. Last fall she had lung cancer surgery and didn’t need chemo, but her last CT scan showed spots in her abdomen. She also had a kidney removed for cancer the last year, so she is one tough lady. She is still working as a hair stylist, too.

I am also gingerly looking for the right job opportunity. Since we know Greensboro will not be a good location, we have selected cities that will potentially work for both my husband and me, as well as provide a nice quality of life for our son. Since I am no longer working I can pick him up when school is over and have enjoyed that tremendously. We have been having so much fun.

Hopefully in a few weeks I will have more interesting things to write about. I will keep my tweets rolling since it is a great companion for job hunting and location scouting.

I have been contemplating over my Twitter timeline, catching some interesting thoughts from @scoblizer regarding the “other” digital divide (those that make friends and those that don’t) and @davewiner on regurgitated blogging. It just made me reflect a bit on my own digital presence, or lack there of lately. Twitter has become a huge efficiency for me and I have become lazy with other digital activities. What I really like about it is that I am able to get excellent links to other sources, web sites and information from the people I follow. And I love all of you guys and girls! What is the problem then? I just don’t have time to do anything with the information I receive. It is more than I can handle. I didn’t even get my panties in a wad over SocialThing because I knew I didn’t have time for it, nor did I want another social network that I have to maintain. Same to you FriendFeed. (just got this up and will see how fast I neglect it)

If is not on Twitter then it may just fall by the way-side. I have 3 digital social circles that I maintain right now and that is Twitter, Flickr and my blog, which is limping along of late. I am also storing all of my bookmarks at Mister Wong and my recipes at Group Recipe. These 2 are highly neglected. Even if I had the time, with summer approaching I will certainly be outdoors more and will only keep up with my dearest digital networks. If something becomes important, then I will stick it on my Netvibes site. In May I will get a new mobile phone since mine has been dropped, kicked, fallen down stairs, hit a tree and for some reason doesn’t ring every time someone calls. My only constraint is that it be Twitter friendly with the minutes/phone plan and in web functionality. Even though I plan on having a very active summer I would still like to participate in my most evil digital addiction.

When @scobilizer was tweeting about the digital divide it struck me since I have also been thinking what would happen if I hung up my digital gloves. I have no idea what my digital worth is or what I stand to lose-it is more of a creative, social outlet with a very slight career focus. I do have to stay atop of new technologies and see what is brewing and I get that through Twitter. For me it is a choice to be involved in it and may be more valuable when the “time is right” I guess. I really love my Twitter network and have met some great folks there. I do get a lot out of Twitter, but I can’t say that in a year I’ll be doing this- just not sure anyway. If I didn’t have a job in social media/IT I am fairly certain I would not have found Twitter. Being a remote worker also makes it a great tool for connecting, both professionally and socially.

My blog is another story. These things require a lot of work, and there isn’t always something striking to write about. @davewiner touched on this regarding people who blog about what others blog about what others blog. I have read some blog posts like that, and as messy as it sounds I have to say that I may have missed some good posts if not for this vicious circle. I do understand how it can become mundane, but as my neglected Mister Wong proves, I don’t even have the desire to see who is blogging who.

• 2 Eggplants
• 6 0z Spaghetti
• 12oz. Ground beef
• 3 Slices bacon
• 1 can Minced Clams
• 1 can Baby Whole Clams
• 1/4 cup black olives sliced
• 1 dash Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Oregano to taste
• 2 tsp Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan
• 1 Bell pepper red, yellow, orange(no seeds, cored and chopped)
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1 can Diced tomatoes
• 2 tbs Tomato paste
• 1 cup Olive oil
• Fresh grated nutmeg (leave out if don’t have)
• Parchment paper
• Spring form pan

1. Slice eggplants diagonal-wise for long slices
2. Fry in pan with olive oil as needed, turning only once until golden
3. Set eggplant aside to drain on a paper towel
4. Fry ground beef, onion and garlic until brown through
5. Add bacon, minced clams and whole baby clams
6. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices (oregano& red pepper flakes) and bell pepper-cooking low for 15 minutes
7. Boil spaghetti al dente
8. Baste spring form pan with olive oil
9. Place parchment paper in bottom
10. Layer eggplant slices from center out and along sides
11. Preheat oven to 400F
12. Drain spaghetti and mix with meat mixture
13. Add Parmesan and fork through mixture well
14. Put meat and spaghetti mix in the pan on top of eggplant slices
15. Bake for 40 minutes
16. Cool for 5 minutes and let out on a serving plate

Siclian Spaghetti @ Group Recipes