Who Wouldn’t Want Personal Surf Lessons?
Who Wouldn’t Want Personal Surf Lessons? One of the main reasons we settled in on going to Oahu was so that we could see my good friend Wave Hog. We hung out a few times while w...
Work & Technology
46 posts about work & technology.
Stories and ideas
Blueberries and Dancing Ice Cream Almost Make the Long Drive Worth It Alone
Rather than write daily updates, I thought it would be good to just touch on some of the fun stories that came out over the course of the two weeks with the first one happening...
Opening Weekend in Pittsburgh
We landed in Pittsburgh really late on Friday night, and after a quick visit to the cockpit of the plane, Mom and Dad both came to pick us up from the airport. Both kids wanted...
The Kids First Trip to Schlitterbahn
Schlitterbahn is fun for kids of all ages, but it’s certainly is better when your kids have learned to love the water. Crosby has been a waterbug for several years, but Carlyn i...
Off the Beaten Path in Progresso
Thursday we pulled into Progresso a bit later than Cozumel, and we had a full day ahead of us, so we didn’t waste any time in getting off the boat. Given the mass exodus of peop...
The Anderson’s Go to Disney… the Happiest (and Rainiest) Place on Earth
The Anderson’s Go to Disney… the Happiest and Rainiest Place on Earth Everyone says that Disney is the happiest place on Earth. After going for the first time in my life, I can...
How to a Explain a Standardized Cloud Architecture to Your Spouse
My lovely wife has gone unscathed from blog posts for quite some time, but I think it’s time to bring her up to speed on some new technology. Over the last year, I’ve had the op...
Michigan Vacation, Part 2: So You’re Going to Be My Interesting Patient
Given that I’m writing this a bit after the fact, I couldn’t tell you, nor would you likely care what went on every single day while at the cabin. That being said, I do remember...
I’m a Numbers Sort of Guy
It’s no secret that I’m a “by the numbers” type of guy. If the probability of success is better with one option than another, I’ll go with the one that numbers say to. I play bl...
My 2017 New Year’s Non-Resolution
I’ve never been much for making New Year’s Resolutions. That being said, if you can make and stick to one, I’m 100% behind you. To me, it is a “new year,” but in the end it’s ju...
Oh How the New Year’s Times Have Changed — But the Fondue is Delicious
It’s starting to have been awhile, but it’s not so long ago that I can’t remember the days when New Year’s Eve was a bit of a different occasion. Before kids, we usually got tog...
Our First Camping Trip as a Foursome
PK — aka pre kids — Korey and I really enjoyed going camping several times, whether it was on our own or with Kyle and Melissa. However, like most things in life, camping change...
A Mr. Mom Weekend
When Korey asked if I’d be able to watch the kids so that she could go to Vegas for a girls weekend, of course I said yes. I know that my travel is sometimes hard on her, and I’...
Just a Regular Day in the Life
So often I’ve been writing these blogs about something that’s happened in particular. Obviously a lot recently have been about my CSC trip, but I thought it would be good to be...
Three Week Reflection on My Time in Qingdao (Part 2 – Professional Impact)
Three Week Reflection on My Time in Qingdao Part 2 – Professional Impact This is a continuation Part 1 is here . I’m jumping in to the impact my IBM CSC assignment made to me pr...
Three Week Reflection on My Time in Qingdao (Part 1)
Three Week Reflection on My Time in Qingdao Part 1 At this very minute, it’s been almost exactly three weeks that I left Qingdao. Coincidentally, as I’m writing this, I’m actual...
Miss Harley Quinn Makes Suicide Squad Worth Seeing
I was a bit skeptical to go watch Suicide Squad with it’s 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes such close friends on a daily basis. I typically love working remotely and alone , but fo...
Heading Back Home… And in Time
Today started like so many other days for the last four weeks… Breakfast at the corner table with the sea view with the A-Team. I had my peanut butter honey toast and some yogur...
A Farglorious Return To Qingdao
After two nights in the shady Beijing hotel, sleeping back in my bed in Qingdao was Farglorious pun intended — our hotel is named Farglory . That was probably some of the best I...
It’s a Small World After All
While it would have been interesting to go back to the Summer Palace, it felt good to not need to rush out in the morning. It would have also been another close to 2 hours in th...
Katherine to the Rescue!
Typically, I’ve been writing these posts in chronological order, but some things can’t wait to be written about. It’s currently Friday evening and I’m currently sitting in the Q...
The Qingdao Media Extravaganza Continues
Despite being a bit tired, I set off for my normal morning run. I was running no pun intended a bit late, so I only got in a little over 3 miles. It’s been incredibly humid out...
‘July’ Fools Day – It’s Not Really Almost Over
I’m still in disbelief every time I look at the calendar. I feel like we should be nearing the end of the first week, not the third. The CSC has been a great experience so far,...
Oh no, an Uber Problem
I woke up on my own this morning and got a chance to video chat quickly with Korey who was over at her folks house. I was going to go out for a short run, but it was raining for...
Katherine Was in Hot Water at Hot Pot
I set the alarm for a little bit later and slept in a bit since I wanted to recover from the weekend. I think it was the most sleep I’ve had since I got here. After breakfast, t...
Sunday, The Day of Rest
It’s hard to believe that this will be my last weekend day in Qingdao. Next weekend, 8 of us and our 2 Rock Stars are going to Beijing, and then I get to go back home the follow...
Celebrating My Birthday, Qingdao Style
After going out and seeing the band until pretty late last night, it felt really good to sleep in a bit. I hadn’t talked to my folks at all, so I gave them a call when I got up...
Han Te Conquers the Marshmallow Challenge
I was definitely struggling a bit to get going this morning, but still managed to get another 3 miles in before heading to breakfast. All of the rough water had really done a nu...
The Handsome Team Strikes Again: We Didn’t Even Know We Were Famous
I set out for my normal 4 mile run this morning, but as I mentioned at the end of yesterday, the wind had picked up. Accordingly, the waves had really come up quite a bit and so...
Work’s Better When You’re Having Fun
I wanted to give my legs a bit of a break so I skipped the run this morning and did a quick Beachbody workout in the room instead. At Han Te, we got there just in time to watch...
Let the Workshop’s Begin
While most people were complaining about being sore from the hiking the previous day, I was out for my normal morning run. I figured out that RunKeeper would work as long as I w...
Adventures at Laoshan Mountain
I was pleasantly surprised that I woke up on my own before my alarm went off. We were told that lunch could be questionable since this was pretty far out of the city, so I ate a...
Tsingtao Beer Museum Doesn’t Disappoint
It was great to finally have a day off. Between getting ready to get here, traveling, and a long week working, it had been nearly two weeks since I had a day without everything...
The Gang’s All Back Together
I can’t believe that the first week is already almost over. I’ve fallen into a good routine of running next to the harbor in the morning. It’s really interesting to see everyone...
Chickens and Pig Feet (7-14)
Chickens and Pig Feet 7-14 It’s been a long time coming, but I was finally able to sleep in. I didn’t have enough time to run so I just did the P90X Ab Ripper workout quickly be...
Run away, run away (7-13)
Run away, run away 7-13 By Wednesday, I was really starting to get into the groove of things here in Qingdao. I still haven’t been sleeping the best, but it’s getting better. I’...
A Little Fun with Snapchat (7-12)
A Little Fun with Snapchat 7-12 This news is a bit old now, but I was lucky enough to be asked to run a story on the only official IBM Snapchat account. This would be the first...
The “A Team” Finally Meets Han Te (7-11)
The “A Team” Finally Meets Han Te 7-11 Three weeks of preparation finally got us to this point. We finally got to meet our client! All the subteams filed into the same bus and d...
Saturday Recap — First Weekend of CSC China 33
Despite just getting a few hours sleep the first night, I was feeling pretty good in the morning. I was also very excited to meet the rest of the team after talking on the phone...
And I’m Off… to Qingdao
Despite the hard time I had leaving for the airport, once I got there it was a relatively smooth trip all the way to Beijing. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, I had n...
When is Peer Pressure a Good Thing?
When is Peer Pressure a Good Thing? For most of our lives, we’re told, “Don’t give in to peer pressure. If Johnny jumped off a cliff, would you too?” Peer pressure is usually ge...
Qingdao Here I Come!
As the recent Geiko commercial and Europe would say, “It’s the Final Countdown!” I’ll be heading off to Qingdao, China pronounced “ching-dow” for my IBM Corporate Service Corps...
What the Heck’s a Norwex?
What the Heck’s a Norwex? I finally have had a chance to write a bit again and wanted to share an update and story on how I stumbled across Norwex – and don’t worry, it’s ok if...
What Do an Empty CO2 Tank and a Frosty Freezer Have in Common?
What Do an Empty CO2 Tank and a Frosty Freezer Have in Common? If you’ve seen my profile on Twitter, you may have noticed that I say I can fix anything. Now in reality, we all k...
Cloud Technical Academy Trip in Madrid
This past week, my division in IBM had a large training session held in Madrid for four days. When I changed roles a year and a half ago, I started traveling less definitely a g...
Cloud Lingo: What’s the Premise?
Cloud Lingo: What’s the Premise? After a colleague of mine @ VictorHavard pointed out how frequently people use the upcoming terms incorrectly, I couldn’t help but notice it… a...