While I will miss directly mentoring people, this does seem to be a role I have spent years preparing for.  From my years running a public dial-up BBS years ago, to managing global customer care during the development of WiFi, and finally the last 4+ years I have spent involved in what is now known as “social media” or “social networking”.

The most challenging aspect, and the one I look forward to the most, is the fact that this is something new for us as a company – so I’m getting to pioneer, at some level.  So how do you do that?

To me, it is easy – I asked my customers what they need/want from us.  I’ll focus on delivering that.  Hard to imagine failing if you give customers what they ask for!

The other aspect of the job that I know I will enjoy is the ever changing nature of the position.  I don’t do well with repetition.  This should be anything but repetitive!

So how did I start this new position?  Well, by doing a forum post where I gave the domain owners for nearly 100,000 websites both of my cell phone numbers – AND my home phone number.  Does that sound crazy?  Perhaps so. 

But I love talking to customers – always have.  And I never cringe when my phone rings and I recognize a customer is calling.  Even if they aren’t 100% happy – because my job is to make them happy!

So I am looking forward to this next stage of my journey through my professional career.  It is rare that you get the chance to get paid for what you absolutely love doing.  So I plan on making the most of this

As for software updates, you can now select “Update All”. It doesn’t work, but you can select it.

Simple Software QA should have caught these issues.

But who tests software anymore?

And honestly, I have been whining lately.  I’ve not been happy with myself, or my life.

But my friend listened intently before uttering those three words, and then more…

“You stupid fuck.  You have amazing kids, and as a single father you did good.  They love you, and even at 17 and 20 they kiss you goodbye every morning – even in front of their friends!

You treat your ex-wife better than I would and people look up to you – I know your employees do…and you get to build cool stuff.

Dude, you have it all, what the fuck is wrong with you?  Do you expect perfection?  Your life will never be perfect, you stupid fucking fuck”.

That was pretty much the rant I got - and deserved.  She was PISSED – but not at me, just how I felt about me at the time.

Yep.  That’s from one of my best friends.  My enemies use better language

Sometime friends help us out the most when they are completely truthful, and care more about us than our feelings.

Thanks, friend.  And glad you are feeling better, and are out of harms way!

I need it for a variety of reasons – looking at the connectors on the back of my TV, so I don’t have to move the TV just to plug something in, looking at the connectors on the back of my PC, etc.

But looking further down the page at the “People who bought this also bought…” section, I find this:

The Bank Job is a movie about a bank robbery.  Somehow I don’t think everyone else is buying this tool for the same reason I am!

1. For some reason I got some hits  my blog with that EXACT phrase today.  So I went to Google and searched it.

Guess what?

I am the number one result – out of at least 13,200,00 results for “what fun can you do on the computer?”.

Just in case the result changes (I doubt it ever will - heh), I included a screen shot of the results as of today.

So if you want fun you can do on the computer, Google thinks you’ve come to the right place

Rob

I captured this image at the end of the NBC show “Big Bang” tonight - it was only displayed for a few seconds (but thanks to my digital video recorder and an iPhone picture of the screen, here is what I saw).

It reads:

“CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #225

We exist to bear witness.

We had to be.

The infinite needs us to see it.

Without the perceiver,

the perceived does not exist.

That gives us leverage.

Don’t look until you get what you want”

What does it mean?

But I have Program Managers that I trust to run the Development Teams, and I need the day to do paperwork, talk to customers, and to think - so I reserve my Fridays..

Mon-Thu I am pretty much engaged with employees/meetings  I don’t get much done beyond learning what needs done and making sure people have the tools to get things done.  Important work that I love - building teams is my passion.

But it is my Fridays that I love about my job.  My work at home on Fridays where I talk to customers, talk to customers, and talk to customers. Talking to customers is a big deal for me.  They energize me, push me, direct me and correct me.

And there are so many ways to talk to customers now - forums, Twitter, blogs, email, phone calls… group chats.

And on Fridays, I try to use them all.  I try to learn what my customers want, and perhaps more important, I get to hear what they feel.

Hear what your customers feel. Satisfy those feelings.  And you WILL build a business.

It is 1 AM, almost, and I just finished getting educated by customers.

That is why I love my Fridays.

On Fridays, I learn.

And it doesn’t matter who I voted for - my actual vote may surprise you,

But I am happy - we have a chance to change the way we do politics in this country - and if Obama can deliver THAT to me, I’ll be happy.  If he cannot, then I will be VERY disappointed.

Now the real work begins - and I want Obama to succeed at the real work.  We all should.

I’m not interested in the “historic” aspects of this election - I don’t care that Obama is black.  I only care that he delivers.

Quickly.

And I’ll help him as I can, where I can, and when I can.  We all should.

It was fun!

Rob

I could generate dozens of new posts a day just on “not shutting lights off”.

And *I* am the one with a T-Shirt that reads, “I never finish anythi” ???

In any case, the ladies at the polling place announced my son as a first time voter, and gave him a round of applause.

Took us only 15 minutes from the time we left the house until we got back home.

Another parental duty fulfilled - and hopefully my son establishes a life-long habit of not just voting, but becoming an informed voter!

In meetings, I don’t take notes.  I doodle.  The odd thing is, I can look at those little circles, oddly contorted human faces, aligned polygons.. whatever - and a month later, I remember the context.  I remember the meeting.

To anyone else, or even to me, looking at it looks more like I was bored, and not paying attention.  Unless I know the context.  Somehow those doodles remind my odd brain of exactly what we were talking about.  And what I need to deliver.  To me it makes sense.

I can’t explain it.

But I think of almost everything in “pictures” - mental images, that kick off a data retrieval process.  Certainly this involves a lot of mental tagging - in fact, there is probably a ton of “social networking shit” going on in my head. I also process relationships in contexts - that is generally what pictures remind me of.

So I bought 22 new white boards for the office (the big ones), and put them everywhere.   In the hallways, wherever.

And I watched people start to use them.  Some are always covered with technical stuff.  Some are always more like a graffiti wall.  But they all tell me either what people are thinking about, or how people are feeling.  Interesting more now than I realized before I started this post.

Since so many people draw, create, architect, or animate on these white boards, I wonder how many of them think more like me than I imagine?

Visually.

My kids are at the stage that they don’t really think I have anything to teach them anymore :)  The people I work with are older, and smarter, and believe that I do. So I have been having fun trying to lead them.

And I am finding new ways for us to talk to customers.  Twitter has been great, but a CampFireNow account has proven to be very useful - especially with Twitter.  I get a customer engaged on Twitter, and invite them to CampFireNow - where we can have a quicker, more intimate conversation.  We both win.

I’ve also been talking to more customers (and even competitors) 1:1.  Trying to help us all build a better cloud.

But I’m really having fun.  Talking to customers and trying to set an example to co-workers.

Work should be fun.  Or you shouold change jobs.

I got a kick out of this sign in a bar window in Austin, TX.

“No Dogs After 9 P.M.”?

Double meaning there?

Perhaps not.

But I thought it was funny

I’ll write more about it after I’m allowed to talk more about it

But I encourage you to watch the live stream on Wed - the link is on the above URL.

Thanks!

Rob

Saturday I fell asleep at 7:30 PM and woke up at 8:00 AM 12.5 hours!

No clue why I slept so much - I don’t feel ill, or anything.  Guess I just needed to recharge my batteries!

I do feel very good this morning though!

What impressed me?  The Dyson Airblade.

Really - a hand blower/dryer that actually works!

Everything in the bathrooms is no touch - even the soap dispenser (which I love, coming from a medical background).

But the Airblade - very cool.  It actually works!  In like 15 seconds!  And your hands are dry.

I want one.

I tried to take one, but I didn’t have the right set of tools to steal one.  Besides, I was in a high level meeting, and walking in with the hand dryer would have been odd.

I love great tech - and Dyson makes amazing stuff.  I LOVE their vacuums.  How many geeks do you know that talk about vacuums?  Only the ones who have bought a Roomba OR a Dyson.  The Dyson is a work of technology and art.  The Roomba is a conversation piece.

Some of the key Mosso/Rackspace employees geeked out over the Dyson products today.

I did

Neither are “people serving” - and both are “self-serving”.

I don’t know why this was received with such fanfair - especially by my ex-fellow panelists on NewsGang Live, a show I was “dis-invited” from tonight - simply because I stated that NOT voting is an option that might be realistic for people to consider - for MONTHS I have stated that I am a libertarian (with a small “L” - NOT a member of the party).  Actually, I was asked not to come on and talk about NOT voting.  Since it is prety much a political show (and Obama Rally) now, that basically means, “don’t show up”.

But why the hate?  Because I decided NOT to support Obama?  Sorry - that is MY decision - and I have as much right to Tweet about it as I do anything else, and as much of a right as anyone else has to Tweet in favor of their candidate.

But I did NOT accuse John McCain of being a traitor on Twitter today, and I did NOT call Palin a “bitch” on Twitter today - others did.  “Friends” of mine did.  I didn’t bash them.  I didn’t ban them from a show or suggest they have no business Twittering their opinions.  I didn’t even unfollow them. I DID react to them though - they made me realize that if you vote in this election based on HATE, you fail.  If you get others to vote based on HATE, you fail.

They just helped me decide that I didn’t like how politics works - and even, to some extent, how they are working politics.

So I won’t be on NewsGang Live anymore - which is fine.  I haven’t been on much lately anyway, and the last dozen times were just about politics - I enjoyed it more when it had a broader audience/subject matter.  I DID have a lot of fun on NGL though.

I’m really disappointed in the American political system, and how powerless we Americans feel to fix it.

Neither candidate is for “change” - they both just want “their version of change”.  Real change is drastic, and would destroy our two party ssytem - so they have no reason to “change” anything.

So I checked out of the ugly political debate, and I will check out of the election.  Sorry.  I have a right to.  And I have no obigation to vote for a candidate I cannot support, and in this election, I find little to like.

And don’t tell me I “have a duty” - I have served on Active Duty for this country and I have AT LEAST earned the right to not fucking vote for people I don’t fucking like - don’t you fucking think?

So be it. Hate me for not voting.  Hate your ass off.  I won’t hate you for it

But I was also accused of “voter suppression” which firstly, I think is a felony and thus a dangerous “McCarthyism-like accusation”, and second, is just *rude* to suggest.  I am NOT going to manipulate others into not voting, prevent people to attend the poles, etc, etc.  Just going to share my opinion that voting for a bad canditate isn’t any better for not voting for one at all.

Deciding NOT to vote, and even encouraging others NOT to vote is NOT voter suppression.  And I was persnally offended at the suggestion.  Especially since a “friend” suggested it.

Our host was none other than the Rackspace Chairman, Graham Weston, whom I have been lucky enough to know for about 6 months or so.

Graham fed us, we drank some of his beer (just a LITTLE BIT!) and we played on a pontoon boat, and with a Jet Ski.

I dressed “river casual” and wore my favorite shirt and hat :)  Michael (a member of my team) was nice enough to take a couple photos, including the one above.  Could a guy even get more relaxed!?

I also rode my motorcycle, which was great.  The temperatures are cooling off!

Great day for me personally, and a great experience for Team Mosso.  It takes a lot of work to keep 80,000 domains online, and we appreciated the chance to relax for a bit.