bynthere

Yes, this blog is dead. My channels are too plentiful.

2011-07-02T07:39:00.005-04:00

I admit that I am unable to multi-task further and there are not enough hours in the day. I am rarely ready for long form sharing anymore. Would I like to blog more? Sure. But like many who play in this space, I am spread too thin.

I took most of my online persona inside the firewall about 4 years ago. I pushed some of it back out on a limited scale on Facebook. I conference on Twitter. This blog has never found its center, partially because I never wanted it to. I never wanted it to call my name. Now, I have an internal work network on Jive that I can access from home. G+ is looking today likes it might at least temporarily supplant my FB and Twitter. I have detritus of experimentation for my 23 things project at work all across the web, from LibraryThing and GoodReads to Tumblr, Flickr (ok, THAT I still use), Delicious and such. I experimented on YouTube, but I hate my own voice. My avatar on Second Life misses me. Laconi.ca and Plurk occasionally remind me that I have an account. My Google Reader overfloweth at home. My Attensa feeds are crying for me at work. I check into my location (Foursquare), my media consumption and sometimes thoughts (GetGlue) and even my beer (Untappd), as I can actually carry them in my pocket, and they link to my other stuff, so it's just a new front end. I've Buzzed and Waved, and even looked at Orkut. At work I've abandoned a SharePoint blog, a status.net account, and a few other things someone can find if they search hard enough.

I'm sure I've got abandon-ware all over the place.

So, this blog is dead, long live the blog. This doesn't belong in a Facebook note, but I damned well will cross-post it everywhere.

Pushing the productivity limits for knowledge workers - Adoption versus Implementation

2010-07-04T10:19:00.006-04:00

The 80s are over. There are still some new processes you can adopt if you have yet to get your efficienies (TQM, PLM, a slew of other TLAs). We have productivity suites, tools, ergonomic platforms... But when you've pushed process to the limit, there's still this place where more and more of us sit called 'knowledge work'. And that's where all this 2.0 (still hate that term) conversation comes from. But really, it's not JUST about being social. When you get to knowledge work, vs say physical work, there's a realization that while there is a best way to lift a heavy weight (knees bent, back just so) the way to really connect information together, find it, and come to conclusions that require real brain power, not just search, requires different modes for different people. We all have heard of different learning styles for years (auditory, visual, and the like) but we dont always acknowledge people consume and process information differently during work, not just during some training session. Knowledge work IS learning.
We can complain in the business world that we can't customize tools for every knowledge worker, or we can acknowledge that we can no longer just IMPLEMENT a tool and make everyone the best they can be. When your business is knowledge, when you want to eke out every bit of productive brain power, scientific creativity and brilliance from the folks around you, you need to give these people what THEY need, and that means sometimes applications that are flexible, configurable and adopted by users as they as individuals find them most valuable. It means a suite of consumption, interaction and creation tools that operate on open standards and thus interact the way those knowledge workers need them to. It's about letting people ADOPT what they need. And occasionally trying out things that aren't widely adopted, but aren't sufficient costly that you care if they die or that cause you to get into the sunk-cost sinkhole, or are used by a sliver of people who are more than worth the efforts. It's about letting work-in-process happen anywhere, and knowing what needs to be captured before moving on to a new tool.
If we keep thinking that one size fits all for creativity and discovery, that's exactly kind of stuff we are going to get out: more and more of same thoughts, and very few brilliant breakthroughs. But when we create a dynamic environment for work, the possibilities become so much more. Variability will potentially increase, but the potential to excel can be well worth it. Knowledge work is not about decreasing variability to create a better widget. You want that? Do Six Sigma. You want the next great idea? Create a little variability and let people work to their potential with tools that work for them.

Microsoft folks have no social life

2010-06-30T19:15:00.003-04:00

Who could have predicted? Me. Microsoft proves they don't get it once again. The Kin is dead. They consistently don't understand the social experience. I'm sure some focus group made them think this thing would sell, but I cant imagine why they think half a smartphone experience would be enough.... Then again, the 'social' experience of SharePoint as Microsoft creates it doesn't hit the mark either. Guess whether it's consumer or business side, Microsoft's product people aren't social enough to get it. I keep thinking when I see them come out with something new like this that they must know something I don't know. And then, once again, I find out they don't.

When Buzz is not enough

2010-06-30T08:41:00.002-04:00

Google finally realized (or already had in the plan) what I've known all along: There's space for something other than MySpace or Facebook in the social networking world, especially for people who don't want glittery unicorns and an endless parade of click-jacking and game notifications. And Google Buzz isn't quite it. (And Wave... most just aren't ready for the instantaneousness and complexity). But Google Me is a live project, a new social network. This article says they are modeling it on Facebook, but I am hoping it feels less like the crowded bar scene that Facebook feels like, and more like a gathering of friends exchanging ideas. More like Google Reader with some Buzz elements and a crisper network. None of this massive profile data where they try to pinpoint everything I like and target me with that data. If they need to do more advertising, do it as somewhat-anonymously as mail and search ads on Google do, based on what I'm posting, and certainly don't network me automatically with people based on my activities (YES, that's what LIKING anything or even filing in your hometown does on Facebook.)

I want Google to hear this. I want them to know that I will be there if they do this. As many know, I'm not a person who is shy about my opinion, and I'm willing to put it out in public. I just don't have the energy to engage everyone and their mother about it, so stop trying to make me do that! Give me my voice back while allowing me to express my likes and dislikes. The fact that I have to choose is annoying is hell.

stop and start

2010-03-14T22:43:00.001-04:00

Stop hiding who you really are
Stop following the rules
Start scaring yourself
Stop taking it all so seriously
Start getting rid of all the crap
Stop being busy
Start something

Listing...

2010-01-30T08:42:00.003-05:00

There are generally 2 types of people who makes lists:

- There are people who make lists and must get everything done on their list by the end of the day, and cross them off They even add things to their list that aren't on their list after they've done them, just to note they've done them and satisfactorily cross them off.

- There are people who make lists of everything that needs to done, even the stuff that isn't for today, they get to what they get to, and they move the rest to a new list, or keep that list floating, or sometimes even drop things off the list.

I am the latter. But I take it to a new art form.

I can make a list of things I want to do, and a month or a year later, I may still have not gotten it done. I'd like to say that it's not procrastinating so much as adept prioritization, where I finally figure out that if it's waited this long, it's either something that really didn't need to happen at any point (if I ever thought it did), or I obviously just didn't want it that much. But sometimes, maybe, possibly... it might be procrastinating. Sometimes, sitting doing nothing, writing a blog, reading a book, taking a walk, getting my nails done, going to the museum, boxing a few rounds, an extra hour of sleep, chatting online, catching up on the DVR, playing a game...any of those things might be more important.

And I get over it.

Until I realize it's been on my list for a year or 3. And then I decide if it's really what I want to do.

Did I mention I have 3 of those things on my to do list today?

little things to be grateful for

2010-01-05T21:04:00.003-05:00

Yes, we can all talk about the important things we are grateful for... but what about the little silly things?

1) matched socks
2) a day with letters in the mailbox and no bills
3) free pizza
4) when you drop your cell phone/ipod/favorite electronic device and it doesn't break
5) friends close enough that you can ask them to scratch your back for you
6) hats that don't give you hat head
7) when someone hears you singing to yourself and it actually wasn't embarrassing
8) snow days when you wanted to stay home anyway
9) a hard rain BEFORE you wash your car
10) the candid photo that turns out to be awesome
11) chocolate covered anything
12) good flavored lip balm
13) when something is not too hot, and not too cool... just right. this goes for food, drinks, rooms and parties
14) going back to sleep so you can continue that good dream. and it works!
15) when your favorite movie you've watched 100 times is on at 1pm on Sunday
16) fingerless gloves
17) comfy sweats
18) self-cleaning ovens
19) just enough rain to keep the grass green, but not enough to ruin your days
20) wireless mice
21) slip on shoes
22) aglets
23) knowing the answer before you hear the question
24) altoids
25) sweet tea with lemon
26) when you find that word that you were looking for before you have to stop your sentence and look clueless
27) the way everyone becomes a 5 year old when they get the chance to suck the helium out of a balloon
28) zits that go away before you wake up
29) when the earworm finally leaves your head, replaced by happy sounds
30) lists that aren't things you have to do

I'll keep adding, hope you might inspired to add some of your little things to be grateful for.

another day, another list?

2010-01-02T11:05:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I live on em.

Today I need to
1) Make a dent in the hard water stains on my shower. I swear, it's like someone dumps chalk in our water! I do not promise clean, I only promise cleaner.
2) Reclaim my guest room. Storage room no more!
3) Spend my CVS extra care bucks (you must do this if you shop there!)
4) Pick up the dry cleaning so I can have something to wear to work when I go back after over 10 days off :(
5) Make the semi-annual trip to Trader Joes for a few yummies.
6) Be girlie and get a manicure.
7) Dig through a pile of papers.
8) Laundry. It never ends.
9) Clean my bedroom, including feed the furniture.
10) Write my list for the week ahead...

And now for a less practical list, because I'm in the mood for it on this 2nd day of the year:

Things I need to keep in mind today and every day
1) Drink water
2) Eat good stuff
3) Do something that makes me giggle
4) Talk to someone that makes me happy
5) Breathe fresh air
6) Bring nothing into the house that I don't love (or need)
7) Get rid of something I don't love from the house
8) Be social
9) Be observant
10) Smile

Have an awesome day. I plan on it.

fooooood

2010-01-01T22:52:00.003-05:00

Home on the first day of the year, looking in the fridge. Haven't done a good full food shopping this week. Decided to re-evaluate the normal shopping list and meal plan

Wanting to try some new recipes... tomorrow I'll be looking for some for the new year. On the list... Veggie chili, chicken chili, a variety of soups, bean burgers... and a creative new salad or 3. Things I can freeze and reheat easily. Things that keep away the fast food, the delivery guy, and the random looking in the fridge thing.

Also wanting to get some quick healthy snack and quick fix items to always have around. I'm usually stocked in apples, carrots, and eggs to hard boil. What else should I have around?

How often do you re-evaluate your food supply? Me, about 3 times a year. One day I'll get it right :)

firing it up again...

2009-12-25T17:31:00.003-05:00

Missing the blog, missing the freeform, tired of just living behind the firewall or inside facebook.

So, why not go retro with 10 random thoughts?

1) Merry Christmas. I don't celebrate it, and the ex didn't want to when we were together, even though he grew up celebrating it. I haven't ever really enjoyed the big family get-together holiday... middle child syndrome requires that I just watch while everyone else does stuff that doesn't really float my boat. I hoped that would change when I got older and hosted my own family get-togethers. But since I don't, it hasn't. I hope to find those 'happy holidays' that some people mention someday.

2) Cleaning out my house (per flylady) of all the things I don't love. Last week, the kitchen. This week, the closet. Who has time in this short life for things we don't love? Working on cleaning my life up similarly.

3) Does age automatically mean you look for comfortable shoes?

4) I redid my budget. I love how annual bills kinda show up about a month before I think they are supposed to show up. Grrrr.

5) My laundry: Will you put it away for me? Um, yeah, thanks. I'll bake you something in return. Someday. Really.

6) For those keeping track and expecting notice, my hair is chin-length and dark-brown-burgundy-red-something or other. Yeah, I don't know either.

7) Today I am grateful for: my daughter, comfy clothing, naps, electronics. I try to remember 4 things every day.

8) I have a dozen projects to do. I'll be glad if I get through a small one this weekend.

9) Perfect hard-boiled eggs: Put eggs in pot, fill with water until just submerged. Bring to a fast boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 17 minutes. Cool fast by filling pot with ice or very cold water.

Hard-boiled eggs are just about the perfect food.

10) I like lists. Hope to keep doing them (again) for a while.

come follow me over here...

2009-02-25T16:41:00.002-05:00

http://bynmiller.tumblr.com/

Gonna try this out for a while...

CLUTTER-PROOF

2009-02-23T20:57:00.002-05:00

Byn's rules of clutter-proofing:

1) You cannot organize clutter.
2) In order to NOT have clutter, everything must have a place.
3) The place that things go must NOT be a surface (ie. top of counter, desk) that is to be used for something else.
4) Nothing that must be handled (bills, forms etc.) should ever go in a drawer. If it can't see daylight, it will never get done.
5) You are only allowed 1 (one) junk drawer. If you don't know what it is, and haven't figured it out in 6 months, throw it out.
6) Broken things must be thrown out if not fixed within 1 month
7) Except for special occasion things, you must donate everything you have not worn in a year.
8) An unpaired sock only has a week to find it's mate.

These are the ones I'm working on, to start. What are yours?

Looking at things differently

2008-12-18T21:38:00.001-05:00

The end of the experiment

2008-12-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Day 6 - 80s song shout out

2008-12-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

Nostalgia and Embarrassment

2008-12-09T20:27:00.002-05:00

see my other videos in my experiment on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bynmiller

First Showerless Sunday

2008-12-07T10:12:00.001-05:00

A little camera experimentation

2008-12-06T16:03:00.001-05:00

My first live vid

2008-12-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

When you're eating your way through your home

2008-11-23T16:24:00.003-05:00

Some days, I just can't stop eating! I remembered there was something I'd had before when nothing else is filling. I had it, and voila! I'm full! Not low-cal, but man, I gotta stop eating! :P

Strawberry smoothie:
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup strawberries
2 small bananas, cut up
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp ground flax seed

Stick it all in a blender for about 45 seconds.

Makes 2 gut-filling servings.

One of those days at home

2008-11-22T22:01:00.004-05:00

I started this morning making BACON. Oh my word, my daughter uses that word like it's nectar of the gods. She uses it like some kids say "Um". It's a filler word, perhaps a nervous habit. Truth be told, she's passed it on to her friends. They've picked foods of the month. I think 2 months ago it was pizza. Last month, tacos. This month, BACON.

She was thrilled with her bacon and egg sandwich.

I cleaned hurriedly and extensively around the house and began the laundry dig. I let my daughter throw the laundry from her room over the banister from the upstairs landing. It's her favorite silly laundry task. She then sorts it into the hampers I've set up for colors.

Afterward, we dressed ourselves and went to the store to pick up a few essentials. With her allowance, she bought a lil'kinz, to add to the insane Webkinz collection she has. This one, a horse, she named Gallup. She also bought a Nick magazine.

We came home, ate lunch (well, she did, I was still full from breakfast, I had a few carrots to her turkey and cheddar on wheat with Dijon mustard) and then were off to the store with my troop co-leader to buy art supplies for our special art project day, our special meeting.

We set up, and the troop came to the house for painting art canvases, yarn painting and making door hangers, along with a snack.

2 hours later, they were all gone, and I was on to making pork chops, some corn, and random vegetable nibbling (raw broccoli, mmmm).

The Webkinz registration began while I caught up on some CSI via DVR. Then we cleaned the kitchen together, put away some laundry, and I got a tour of the Webkinz house.

I must mention, the entire day I was tuned in via PC or iPhone to Facebook, giggling at the plethora of high school friends photos I was both party to and not. Laundry went on. Cleaning in assorted ways here and there.

This day, it's a lot like every other day. But somehow, it seemed better. I don't know why, but it just made me want to smile. A lot.

I want more of these.

The zen of cleaning a home

2008-11-16T11:40:00.002-05:00

I am slowly learning how to clean my home better. When things were newer, it was easier to make things shine, look neat.

Now, at almost 13 years old for most of the things in this house, since it's initial building, short of some painting, it's all feeling a bit worn. What I would probably look at as character in other's homes feels like sadly abused bits and pieces in mine. Perhaps my memory of what they looked like, new construction, all shiny, taints my view. It does not help that like most homes built in the budgeting of today, it has little natural character. So, a bit of restoration begins, and hopefully, a little bit of inexpensive character adding. A little ammonia to soak into the grunge of the floor of the laundry room, which is also the entry from the garage. A little extra scrubbing of the hard water collection around the shower.

I started thinking, my house and I are a lot alike. It takes a little more to polish me in the morning than it used to, a bit more to make me shine than when I was newer to the world, but with just a little thought, it seems I have a bit more character,

Maybe we're both finally settling into what we are supposed to be for the long haul.

Cooking at home

2008-11-09T21:17:00.002-05:00

Let's get one thing straight: I will never be confused with anything vaguely resembling a chef. But I can follow a recipe (complexities aside). I've discovered that all these meal planning services seem to think that I need to freeze a year's worth of food at once, that my child will eat the same thing over and over, or that I have a double oven, so that I can cook 1 thing for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, and something else for 35 at 350 and have anything ready during the same mealtime. I wish I had more of a knack for this stuff. One day I might get a hang of it.

Meanwhile, I make a mean salad.

Home alone

2008-11-06T23:48:00.003-05:00

Lately, I'm almost never home alone. The silence is deafening after 9pm. I need to start reading more, probably. Or going to sleep early. Or something.

Happy at home

2008-11-05T21:11:00.004-05:00

So really, where is home?

Home is where and when I feel steadfast and happy.

I spent a day at Grand Canyon hiking the South Rim with my daughter thinking about that. The terrifying drop below, the air above, the space around, the animals. I felt more at home that day at certain moments than anyplace I had been in a long time. That was an eye-opener to say the least. Without the trappings of everyday life, when you stop and just look around... home to me is about being with people I love, and the simple beauty of where you are. With all the places I've lived, ocean-views, concrete walled, urban, suburban, upper-class, middle-class, lower-class... I've always felt most at home when things were plain, unglamorous, simplistic. A slow simple day with basic things to do, and all the time to do them in.

I hope to be home more in the future. It makes me happy.

Waiting at home

2008-11-04T19:11:00.002-05:00

Before the results come in...

Today is the first time in my life I've ever voted for a Presidential candidate.

Oh, I've placed votes for candidates before. But it's always just been to keep the other guy out. This time, I actually want one of them in.

Call me foolish tomorrow or four years right now, but for so many reasons, I want a President Obama in the White House.

The audacity of hope, indeed.

Home shopping network

2008-11-03T18:20:00.005-05:00

From my early days of online shopping to my '30 days of consumer whoring' that I attempted on my blog years ago, I realize that I love the thrill of the web hunt. (My current search is the perfect Wii bundle, by the way.) And I appreciate well-made and well-styled products, as well as knowing when cheap is good enough, and it better be darned cheap. Cheap, well-made AND well-styled? Holy moly, I'm so there! I am pretty product loyal, and I love sharing what I find with others, because lo and behold, they actually sometimes like what I like!

My friends know I am forever loyal to drugstore.com. It's easy, I can shop at 3am, they give bonus dollars, sure. But at the end of the day, I'm tired of going to the store to find that my favorite shampoo is no longer made, and standing like an idiot for 10 minutes trying to figure out 'what now?' It's less likely to happen at drugstore, since they have a larger audience, and when it does, I can research ingredients online, and not aisle-stand perusing. I have sensitive skin, I color my hair, I'm very price-sensitive. Online shopping works for me. They're the online presence of Rite-Aid, so they have a clue. For the second time in all the years I've been ordering from them, the delivery had product leaking all over it. Last time they did a reship. This time, since I figured based on the packaging issue that it would happen again, I asked for a refund, and they did. Their prices are comparable, and this week I found out they are partnered with upromise so I hope I see some college savings as well!

Nope, I don't get nuttin' for telling you this. Just thought I'd tell you busy folks some stuff I know. Got places you shop online with good service and good deals? Tell me! :)

Not Home

2008-11-02T08:55:00.004-05:00

I've tried to get my daughter into my tradition, the Sunday news shows. During the political season, I've even let her venture into some of the seedier side, some of the political cable shows. Last night we watched McCain on SNL, what with the extra hour we were getting as we fell back into Standard time.

This week she saw a little mudslinging, she saw that crime happens in our hometown, she learned about local events, national and global events, she saw real issues, and she saw humor. I don't know if she'll have similar political beliefs to me when she grows up, but right now I think what's important is making her realize that it all matters. I want her to have compassion. I want her to see people. Not just the people in our neighborhood, but people who have different lives, different opinions, different challenges.

I took her to Grand Canyon back in March and she said "I love this place" more than once when we were in a boring area, a train station in Flagstaff, a barren lot in Williams, AZ. I asked why finally, and she said "Because it's not home!". I think that says a lot about what kids want to see. It's not all about the pretty canyon, the ride at the amusement park, the water at the beach. Sometimes, it's just about something being different, a different view, something not being home. I think that goes for people as much as places.

I hope to take her more Not Home places in these short years where I have this kind of influence, where she's still really paying attention. So that she'll learn to find those places and those people on her own someday.

Finding home

2008-11-01T17:33:00.000-04:00

Finding my voice.
Finding my place.
Finding my way.

Finding home.

So glad to be back.

This weekend I am trying to dig out. Dig out of the numbness I've allowed myself to live in, on and off, for years. Closing my eyes, hoping that the things that are happening to me would just go away if I just ignored them long enough.

I have a good job, I live in an OK house, I have endless ideas and opportunities. But most of all, I have a wonderful daughter who means the world to me, that I want to be a positive influence, role model and support for. I am everything for her at this point. And I'm going to make sure that I do everything I can to make sure that she is put on the right path in life.

I've reflected and restarted my online life so many times. Looked for a better voice, a better audience, a better way. Today, I'm just ready to be me.

Look out, I'm home.