60http://edmandu.orgWed, 30 May 2012 23:32:15 GMTWed, 30 May 2012 23:32:15 GMTenedwin.mcbride@gmail.comnohttp://edmandu.org/2008/12/07/adventure-in-detroit.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduOne of the many complaints about Detroit is it's lack of mass transit. Some people blame this on Detroit's historical emphasis on the automobile, but I think that poor urban planning is probably just as to blame. Saturday morning I drove my son to compete in a Yu-Gi-Oh card game tournament at Cobo Hall downtown. The drive was a white-knuckler, with snow accumulating on the freeways, and after paying ten bucks to park, I was not much interested in just driving off. The tournament room was already hung with the scent of gamer funk, recognizable by anyone who has ever ...http://edmandu.org/2008/12/07/adventure-in-detroit.aspx#Comments9351b13a-09b8-428e-bfa9-c8d9162b3d39Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:28:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/10/01/i-quit.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduAfter months of playing defense, trying to keep my job in the midst of a massive restructuring and outsourcing initiative, I finally came to the realization that I wasn't interested in the work that remained in-house, so I took the offensive. I floated a few resumes and followed up on a few leads and ended up finding an excellent position with a large IT company. My last day was September 30. I have mixed emotions about quitting. After 14 years working there I've made many good friends and I will miss them terribly. From a career perspective it seems like ...Workhttp://edmandu.org/2008/10/01/i-quit.aspx#Comments867ad760-faf3-4b8b-ad46-7f8f8d1a447cWed, 01 Oct 2008 21:21:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/08/02/simms-elementary-school-reunion.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduI was contacted recently by former classmate from my elementary school regarding a class reunion for the sixth grade class of 1970. What a great idea! My elementary class probably had maybe 80 students, and after seven years I knew all of them. In comparison, my High School class had over 800 students and everyone was just another number, broken into those petty cliques that exist only in the strange microcosm of American high school. Last night about 20 former students met for pizza at Sila's pizzeria in Berkley. Here's a picture from Saturday's beach event. ...Friendshttp://edmandu.org/2008/08/02/simms-elementary-school-reunion.aspx#Comments6d2ea59d-d68d-4155-8cb0-bb528734e141Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:43:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/07/04/washington-dc.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduWe were in Washington D.C. recently for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Congressional Art Awards. Southwest paid for the airfare and we found a very nice hotel in Georgetown which was close to the subway and made getting around town suprisingly easy. ...Travelhttp://edmandu.org/2008/07/04/washington-dc.aspx#Commentsf818f014-6340-476f-bf05-ce3994271dafFri, 04 Jul 2008 15:31:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/06/14/polly-ann-trail-ride.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduOrion Township bikers and hikers are blessed with easy access to two extensive trail systems, the Polly Ann Trail, and the Paint Creek Trail. Today I rode my bike from my home in Orion Township, north through Oxford and Addison townships, and up into Lakeville. I took an alternate route home, around the other side of Lake Orion, that took me through the downtime Village of Lake Orion. I've posted a few pictures from my three hour tour to Flickr. ...Lake Orionhttp://edmandu.org/2008/06/14/polly-ann-trail-ride.aspx#Commentsba0c2348-1e8c-4d2c-9dc1-9e90784ffe6bSat, 14 Jun 2008 20:50:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/25/mediawestcon-28.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduMediaWest*Con is large SF/Media fandom gathering in Lansing Michigan. What makes MediaWest*Con unique is that everything is organized and presented by the fans themselves. I was able to attend all day Friday, and for a couple of hours on Saturday, due to an unexpected trip to pick up a hedgehog (yes, a pet hedgehog) in Lansing. Some highlights include the cleverly decorated hotel room doors, and the impressive fan made videos. I suppose the best thing was hanging out with like-minded media geeks and a magical feeling that I belonged there. I'm looking forward to next year and hope to ...fandomhttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/25/mediawestcon-28.aspx#Comments2b1f568d-4f72-42ee-8231-1f532546a065Sun, 25 May 2008 16:23:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/18/flower-day.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduThe annual Flower Fair festivities were in full bloom downtown yesterday. I finally broke out my bike for the season and braved the gusty winds and occasional sprinkles to enjoy all the art booths and activities. One of those rare times where Lake Orion still feels like a small town instead of a suburb. ...Lake Orionhttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/18/flower-day.aspx#Commentsf78809d8-8ecd-4c22-be0a-1b9cad80d400Sun, 18 May 2008 20:13:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/18/knowledge-acquisition-and-transfer.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduThe outsourcing initiative at work consists of three phases - Knowledge Acquisition (KA), Knowledge Transfer (KT), and Steady State. KA and KT sessions are each followed by Playback sessions where the providers recite back salient information and are graded on their ability to do so. Last week I completed the KA, KT and Playback sessions for several of my responsibilities with Deepak and Narasimha from Tata, and Bharathi from Convansys. I expect some job shadowing to start soon. ...Workhttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/18/knowledge-acquisition-and-transfer.aspx#Comments0cac7f0f-940c-4051-9758-bdd211952c5cSun, 18 May 2008 19:35:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/16/outsourced.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduSurprisingly the automaker that I work for is sending all database administration offshore. The work is being split by function between two providers. Tata will be taking anything that deals with SQL or DDL, and Convansys will be handling all of the operational functions, backup, restore, production support, etc. ...Workhttp://edmandu.org/2008/05/16/outsourced.aspx#Comments4efba414-47d0-4c1f-a549-b1c25a9e2880Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:18:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2008/01/04/sleeping-bear-dune-climb.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduHere's a video of me and the twins hiking on the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Leelanau, Michigan last summer. The teenagers were obviously reluctant participants, but I had fun providing the narrative anyway. ...Videohttp://edmandu.org/2008/01/04/sleeping-bear-dune-climb.aspx#Comments49c45452-b4c7-407c-9a46-931ab2daa142Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:11:00 GMThttp://edmandu.org/2007/12/31/open-the-can-and-eat-some-chow.aspx?ref=rssEdmanduI made this techno song in about an hour with Apple's Garageband on my old iBook using the builtin microphone for vocals and the Griffin iMic audio adapter to attach my electric guitar. This was a fun experiment. I think that I could make some good songs if I were inspired to do so. Maybe some day. ...Musichttp://edmandu.org/2007/12/31/open-the-can-and-eat-some-chow.aspx#Comments041cd50e-18fa-4f9a-a8bb-16c80f8ddd2aThu, 03 Jan 2008 02:33:00 GMTEdwin McBrideOpen the Can and Eat Some Chownono00:01:28http://edmandu.org/2007/12/31/my-lastfm-widget.aspx?ref=rssEdmandutable.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 td {margin:0 !important;padding:0 !important;border:0 !important;}table.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 tr.lfmHead a:hover {background:url(http://cdn.last.fm/widgets/images/en/header/chart/recenttracks_regular_red.png) no-repeat 0 0 !important;}table.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 tr.lfmEmbed object {float:left;}table.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 tr.lfmFoot td.lfmConfig a:hover {background:url(http://cdn.last.fm/widgets/images/en/footer/red.png) no-repeat 0px 0 !important;;}table.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 tr.lfmFoot td.lfmView a:hover {background:url(http://cdn.last.fm/widgets/images/en/footer/red.png) no-repeat -85px 0 !important;}table.lfmWidget9d593b86f608d9e1562c33a5d19b2810 tr.lfmFoot td.lfmPopup a:hover {background:url(http://cdn.last.fm/widgets/images/en/footer/red.png) no-repeat -159px 0 !important;}I need to figure out how to get this in the sidebar! ...Musichttp://edmandu.org/2007/12/31/my-lastfm-widget.aspx#Commentsaef96a3d-0de8-48ad-bb9f-06e0c8e11ea1Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:05:00 GMT