TimsterC

The Olympics are coming

TimsterC — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:53:49 +0000

This summer London will be awash with people, excitement and sport. To make this massive sports show happen that comprises of 39 Olympic disciplines and 21 Paralympic disciplines.
To make all this happen is taking thousands of people employed by London Olympic Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), about 6000 and then there are the 70,000 volunteers that will do masses of the work front of house and behind the scenes.
My journey to the Olympics 2012 started back in 2010 when I completed an application for to volunteer at the games.
February 2011 I was interviewed at London’s eXcel Centre for a place on the Technology team. The interview went well and I got offered a “Games Maker” role of Printed Results Distribution Team Leader in November 2011.
Why did it take so long? Something to do with the 250,000 people that applied to be Games Makers might have something to do with it. It took a long time to interview that many people and decide who would get what roles.
Then it’s a case of working out what events these people are going to be assigned to and getting them up to speed on what they are supposed to be doing at the Olympics themselves.
This process has been a series of events called “London Prepares” and there are still a few of them left to do.
As I write this, I’m in PRD2 at the Aquatics Centre on the Olympic Park waiting for a print job to come through so that we can distribute it around the event.
The 18th FINA Diving World Cup 2012 is a big event and a real eye opener for me. I’ve been involved in several large events in my time, a few Lotuspheres and some local national events, but never before behind the scenes at a major sporting event. The amount of people needed is truely amazing. Hundreds of people to make it all happen in media, TV, VIP relations, merchandising, printed results distribution, scoring, officials, governing body members, trainers, physios and so on….
So what am I doing here this week?
Printes Results Distribution is a very behind the scenes role, but it’s really important. Without it any competition would never get past the first round. And probably not even that far.
With all the technology around you would expect that there was not much need for sheets of paper to be sent around the place. But you’d be wrong. The IOC mandate that no results are official unless on paper, so there is an awful lot of printed results that are needed by different areas in and around the venue. Venue Media Centre, Family Lounge, Sports Information Desk, Press Tribunes, Competition Management Office, Sports Presentation, etc…
It can be very hectic at times when lots of results come through, dive lists and lists of judges but at other times it can be very very quiet.
The great news is that I’ve met some great people and some that I will be working with during the games later in the year. It’s a great job to have because you sometimes get to see the sport or field of play.

I’ll be utilising all my team leadership and management skills during the summer so that I can keep my team happy and motivated.

I’m very gratefull to GSX for allowing me to take the time out of the business to be part of the Olympics and I’m sure the experience and skills I learn doing this will serve me well back in my business.

BP103 – IBM Lotus Domino XPages Blast is now available

TimsterC — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:48:23 +0000

The presentation file from LS12 that myself and Matt White gave is now available to download from the presentations page. If you want to suggest updates, or new tips to this then please myself or Matt White know and we’ll do our best to incorporate that in our next edition.

My first Lotusphere as a non-IBMer

TimsterC — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:19:44 +0000

The annual yellow-wash this year was my first without a staff badge and lots of people asked me what it was like to not be an IBMer. At the time I could not tell them as it was Sunday or Monday and I had not really experienced it yet. Now it’s finished and I’ve had chance to evaluate it a little bit I can tell you that it was different but not as different as it could have been.
Working for GSX (an IBM business partner) meant that I was still working on the product showcase floor. Talking to customer about our product set and seeing familiar friends from previous years. This felt familiar to me as the IBM Innovation Lab that I worked in previously was located in the corner of the showcase too. This all leads to my work week being in familiar surroundings.
Also this year I was presenting again and the presentation I did with Matt White, XPages Blast!, was very well received and the feedback so far has been very flattering. My third year presenting with Matt and I’m honoured that Matt still agrees to present with me. We compliment each other well and get lots of technical content into a presentation that is structured and digestible by most people.
So what was different? Not working in the labs this year was kinda strange, I really missed working with the lab management team, such a great bunch of personal friends now. Not getting enough time to spend with them was the hardest part of Lotusphere for me.
Spending quality time with the people in GSX was great, breaking bread and sharing wine, I’ve really got to know some of folks that work in different locations to me. They’ve also had the chance to get to know me a little better, and being relatively new to GSX, that’s a good thing.
Not having to work on the weekend before Lotusphere starts meant that I could go riding motorbikes with the annual LS Hog Ride. Another new family to join, and wow, what a bunch of great characters.
Being a business partner this year, meant that I didn’t get a staff shirt, but that’s fine as I don’t need any more t-shirts. But that also meant that for the first time in seven years I officially got the backpacks, which for the first time is not yellow on the outside.
On the whole I feel that this year was a great Lotusphere for me. Great to see old friends, meet new ones, try new things and not have to do some of the stuff that was a drag in previous years.
I hope I will get the chance to be there again in 2013. Will I see you there?

It’s that time of year again…

TimsterC — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:45:18 +0000

So I’m on another aircraft this time heading for Chicago, IL. Since I left IBM I’ve been flying quite a bit. Back and for to Geneva, Nice and Buffalo and whilst I enjoy air travel, being away from home is more of an issue now than it used to be. Having two children turn up in our lives has made Marissa and I value our time together even more. I’m also very involved in the kids daily routines so I miss it and them when I’m not there.
This flight to Chicago will then join a flight to Buffalo so that I can spend the rest of the week meeting with the USA teams of GSX. Being the Technical Services Manager means that I have to do annual reviews and I prefer to do these face to face if at all possible. I think it’s important to get the feeling from your team members as to how they are performing and feeling about their jobs. If any of them are reading this, then I hope you realise how important this is to me.

After my week in the office meetings, a couple of dinners and some sleep I will head down to Orlando, FL for a week in the “Happiest place on earth!” and the extremes of Lotusphere 2012.
But before all that kicks off, I get to indulge one of my vices and go ride motorbikes with friends. Now that I don’t work over the weekend putting together the excellent Collaborative Solutions lab I get to go play for the weekend.
So I get to join the, now annual, LS hog ride. But anyone that knows me and knows that I won’t ride a Harley Davidson by choice. So I have rented a Triumph Thruxton for the weekend in answer to all the American metal I thought I’d bring some pure British beef to the table. More on that at the weekend.

So this year I hear that the team are doing great things with the Collaborative Solutions lab and you really must go and see them up on the Europe corridor in the Dolphin hotel. I have no idea what they are doing in total this year, but I know the team and they will make sure it’s something special. From XPages to Sametime or Portal they will have quite special tricks up their sleeves and what’s more, they will show you how you can do it too.
I will certainly be making an early stop in my LS schedule to find out what’s new.

Really looking forward to the challenge of the next few weeks, whether that is meetings with the team or trying to stay awake long enough to present at Lotusphere on Wednesday and Thursday.
Yes the Matt White and Tim Clark show will be rolling back into town again. This year we are just doing XPages Blast in the Best Practises track. Matt and I are really looking forward to sharing another 30 top tips with everyone again. See you there!

Mobile device week of shame

TimsterC — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:28:22 +0000

Let’s start with Blackberry.

I have the wonderful Bold 9900, lovely phone, great mix of touch screen and keyboard, great size, nice screen.
Shame it’s connected to the Blackberry BES service that can be down for 3 days, including the Blackberry innovation Forum in London. Oooops!

And then on to Apple.

YES Apple. Who’d have thought that releasing a new iPhone, new iOS and iCloud service all on the same day would bring their download servers to their knees?
My iPhone 4 has been a trusty partner that just works. Like all Apple devices the user interface is simple and normally a pleasure to use. The only fly in this ointment has always been iTunes. Needed to start your phone up (activate it) and last night it proceded to brick my iPhone trying to upgrade to iOS5. Apparently the Apple servers were too busy and my update failed half way through. Thus I have a blank iPhone with the “Connect to iTunes” image on it.

So not the best week for mobile devices then!

GSX are looking for a Junior Support Analyst in UK

TimsterC — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:44:45 +0000

I am currently recruiting for the following position in the UK. If this could be you, or someone you know, then please apply with your CV/Resumé to tclark at gsx dot com

Job Title	Junior Support Analyst
Location	Farnborough, Hampshire. UK
Description	Junior Support Analyst wanted for rapidly expanding Collaboration Software management vendor. The role will involve Post Sales technical support, working with customers to identify and resolve issues and also working with development in identifying and resolving any code issues. GSX’s suite of products operate across multiple collaboration technologies and in many disparate architectures so this is a very challenging technical role with exposure to multiple environments and technologies. The successful candidate will be required to work closely with customers, support team, sales team and development team to ensure that customer expectations and product quality is upheld to the highest possible quality.
Roles and Responsibility	Closely monitoring all inboud tickets, managing all customer communications through resolution Work closely with account management, senior technical services team and Development team to identify and resolve issues Ability to work alternate hours as needed
Experience	Knowledge of Microsoft Windows operating system 1-3 years experience with any of the following IBM Domino / Lotus Notes, Traveller, Quickr, Sametime Blackberry, RIM Microsoft Exchange Messaging, a bonus but not required.
Skills	French an advantage German an advantage Spanish an advantage Able to monitor and rapidly resolve issues in a an Exchange and Blackberry Server environment Soft Skills Conscientious and dedicated work ethic Methodical and logical thinker Autonomous self managing and self starter Experienced in handling difficult or sensitive issues Any of the following accreditation’s would be highly desirable: IBM Specialist Microsoft MCP Blackberry Certified Support Specialist Blackberry Certified Systems Administrator

Can I be a GoogleWhack?

TimsterC — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:16:08 +0000

“Mifi Reviews”

There I’ve done it. ;o)

So having watched and read Dave Gourman’s excellent GoogleWhack adventure I’ve always wondered if you could innocently engineer one.

Today I search for “mifi reviews” as I’m thinking of buying one. ZERO hits! Hmmmm, does that mean that I could become one by creating this page?

Let’s see. ;o)

Time to move on…..

TimsterC — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:39:47 +0000

,,,, to a couple of new challenges.

Monday 22nd August will see me depart from IBM. My business home for the past 17 years 7 months and 12 days. I started working for Lotus Development UK Limited for a chap called Graham Jons (he’s still in IBM somewhere) in the spreadsheet and database support team. Back in the days when we had a UK call centre for Lotus support and we still wrote software like Lotus 1-2-3, Improv, Approach, AmiPro and Freelance Graphics. I remember once whilst on the Approach hotline talking to an old chap about database joins, but he just wasn’t getting it. So I asked him if he had thought of getting some training as it’s not easy to explain over the phone. He told me that he had been on a training course, at which point I hit the mute button and suggest that he ask for a refund. The manager that was ear-wigging from the cubicle behind me almost fell off her chair. I un-muted and then went on to explain all about joins and we had another happy customer who’s database worked again.

I could go on for ages with support line stories, but that’s for another time.

I’m going to join GSX (www.gsx.com) a business partner from Switzerland, although I will be working from home in the UK. My role will be Technical Services Manager and I’m really looking forward to the new challenges this new role will bring.

The other new challenge in our lives at the moment is adopting two children who were placed with us earlier this month. So learning to live with two new people in the house, leaving IBM and starting a new job has made August a very interesting month and one I will never forget.

If I’ve worked with you or met you during my time at Lotus / IBM, then I would like to say a huge “thank you” for making my time there so enjoyable.

A trip to Manchester for UKLUG

TimsterC — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:26:55 +0000

Sunday morning started with an early run up the M40/M6 to Manchester for the set up of UKLUG (United Kingdom Lotus User Group). I say early because 8am is not a time I normally witness most Sundays, well for now anyway. I was surprised at the amount of Red Kites that I saw all looking for prey along the M40 corridor from High Wycombe up to Banbury. They are close to the endangered list so it was good to count about 50 of them up the motorway.

Arriving in Manchester I made my way to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and found some of the team in full swing preparing the various rooms with sound/projection/lights, all the normal stuff that needs doing for a conference like this. I got to work setting up the wifi access points and running 25m ethernet cables in the ceiling space to the 2 access points we had. This is seemed to work fine so we moved on to taking a few pictures around the place while the rest of set up was happening. The bag stuffers were in full swing collecting all the bits of marketing material for each of the conference bags. It takes quite a while to put 20 bits of ‘stuff’ into 250 bags.

With the set up done in a really good amount of time we all set off for our hotels by about 6pm. The speaker dinner event was happening later that evening with a canal boat tour on the Manchester ship canal. It was a great evening and quite a few drinks were consumed.

Monday morning came around and we were there early to await the arrival of the guests. Everything was as smooth as silk, apart from the wifi that I set up. It turns out that Netgear in it’s infinite wisdom would only allow 50 DHCP addresses to be assigned through it’s tiny little wifi router. Grrrrrr. Luckily one of the sponsors had a Linksys router that would allow us 220 addresses so we set that up instead and cut down the lease time to about 3 minutes. Luckily for me, Warren Elsmore and Chris Miller helped me sort this out and work out what the best time was. We are also looking at ways to make this work in a much more stable way in future.

Tuesday was fun and we managed to attend sessions and get everything sorted for the XPages taster morning before everyone came in. The wifi needed rebooting again mid-morning so we really know that it’s something we have to fix before the next event.

The closing session was the usual prize-fest from the sponsors, and as usual, those who didn’t stay until the end didn’t get their prizes.

All in all it was an outstanding event. Great attendees, awesome sponsors and a fantastic venue. The only thing that makes all this work is the volunteers who run it and the speakers who spend coutnless hours distilling their knowledge into consumable chunks in the form of presentations. I for one am very grateful to Kitty and Warren for organising it and to the speakers who turn up, unpaid, to impart their wisdom.

BLUG with no laptop

TimsterC — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:53:05 +0000

I am here at BLUG, as a speaker, but as I came on the motorbike I am travelling light. So I’m trying an experimenting with surviving the rest of this week just on my iPad. I’m in good company as Paul Mooney is trying it too.
I’ll let you know how we get on.