A snowstorm, a traffic jam, technology, and social media

Last night's snowstorm in the Baltimore-Washington area gave me first hand experience with how technology and social media have radically changed our lives. We tend to take those changes for granted as we use these tools during our daily, routine lives. However, when something other than the routine happens, it makes you think about the impact of those tools.

This snowstorm started putting down snow at about 4:00 PM at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour and kept up at that pace for 4-5 hours. Always wanting to get as much done as possible, I got out of work a little later than I had hoped (4:15 PM vs my planned 3:30 PM). That 45 minutes may have turned my commute from 1 hour 15 minutes into over 9 hours.

I called my wife several times during the first two hours of my commute home, which would normally have taken me about 40 minutes. There's the first example of how technology has impacted our lives in situations that can cause concern for our loved ones. 20 years ago I didn't own a cell phone; if this would have happened to me as a newlywed, my wife would have been MUCH more worried than she was last night. While she was concerned, she and I could easily call one another on our cell phones. While we sometimes decry "constantly being connected", it was a blessing last night. During the remaining 7 hours (5 of which were spent sitting - not moving at all) on I-70 westbound about 1-2 miles east of the Mt. Airy, MD exit (exit 68), my wife and I spoke several times. Not only did it make her feel better knowing where I was and that I was OK, it helped me to pass the time and not go stir crazy. Hearing her voice made things "normal" in a not so normal situation.

The other example is social media. As many people do these days, I have a facebook account and check it on pretty much a daily basis. I don't post daily, but I do check it to see if any of my friends have anything to say. I do post more often when something "out of the routine" happens (e.g. the NFL playoffs, this snowstorm). Last night, I posted messages using my Droid smartphone indicating that I was stuck in traffic. Throughout the evening, some of my facebook friends commented on my posts, sending prayers and offering their support. In particular, one friend, after one of my posts later in the evening, asked me to please call her. We spoke for about 15-20 minutes about what was happening, if I had enough gas, and about several of her other friends that we also stuck in the same traffic jam. When the cars started moving in front of me, we cut our conversation short. We spoke several other times between then and when I finally arrived home, with her repeating her offer of a place to sleep if I couldn't make it to my home, which was 30 miles from where I was stuck in traffic.

Again, 20 years ago the world wide web and social media didn't exist. While I did have a book that I had brought home from work to read, that would have gotten old after an hour or so. Having a smart phone (something I didn't have 18 months ago) again made the time spent stuck along with thousands of other motorists go by much more quickly and lessened the stress that I might have otherwise felt if I wasn't able to check other posts on facebook and post about my own experiences. My posts enabled many of my friends to be able to share in my experience and send their prayers and good wishes, and even offer up a place to lay my head for the night. 20 years ago, they wouldn't have known where I was, and for some, probably wouldn't have cared; not that they are cold-hearted, but if a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it.... Well, you know how that ends. Again, we complain about being constantly connected with our smart phones, email, texts, twitter, facebook, etc., but this was a perfect example of how social media and technology is beneficial, especially in times where things are not so normal and our friends and loved ones would be feeling LESS connected if we didn't have these modern day tools in our lives.

Hello.... Is anybody out there?

Let's see, three posts over 3 years does not a blog make, does it? OK, so, I haven't had much to say. Sue me (JK!!!! Please don't; I can't afford the legal fees!) Oh, and contrary to my first ever blog post, I will be posting stuff technical in nature. I seem to have a knack for the stuff, so I might as well share my experiences, right?

Anyway, I hope to start posting more often, mostly about stuff related to my job, specifically, my joyful (NOT!) experiences with trying to configure an Oracle RAC Cluster on RHEL5, with Oracle Clusterware 11.2 and Oracle Database 10g. Oh, and throw in my wise (or not so) decision to also use the capability in 11g clusterware to use different OS accounts for the clusterware and each of the databases running in the cluster. Needless to say, it has been (and continues to be) and adventure.

So, if anyone happens across this blog, I hope that my experiences and posts will help you in some small way to avoid the pleasurable pain I have incurred these past several months.

Until next time....

He's baaaaack....

OK, so my last post on this blog was over 9 months ago; so, who's counting? Anyway, I hope to get back to posting more often. And, despite what I said in my opening blog post, I probably will be posting on technical issues, as well as general life issues as well. Anyway, so what happened with the Christian Music Festival? Here's a brief recap of events since my last post.

Well, I ended up being much more involved in the hands-on coordination of things leading up to the festival. The chairman of our festival committee, by his own admission (afterwards), is great with ideas, but a little less great with the logistics ends of things. So, I jumped in and helped with various logistical issues (working with vendors to get stages, handling health dept. permits for our food vendors, putting together the program, etc).

August 2nd finally rolled around. Of course, Mother Nature had it in for us from the start. Anyone in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. knows what the weather can be like at that time of the year. It was warm (in the low to mid 90's) but, worse, we were looking at possible thunderstorms. As it turns out, we had two near misses from heavy thunderstorms and hail - resulting in two stoppages of performances. At around 5:00 PM, we finally got hit directly - heavy winds and a short downpour. This apparently was the last straw for our chairman as he announced (as the storm is happening) "That's it!". No waiting to see how long it would last - which ended up being about 30 minutes, at most.

In terms of attendance, we had about 120-130 paying attendees; another 50 or so were complimentary tickets for sponsors. So, not an overwhelming turnout. The nice thing was the feedback from the performers. Almost all were impressed with how organized everything was and indicated that they would love to come back. Our attendees were more critical. Most apparently do not attend "festivals" and understand that they would be sitting out in the open for a number of hours. Our biggest complaint was about providing shade for attendees. Point taken.

The chairman of last year's festival stepped down and I stepped up to run for Chairman. Of course, life has a way of throwing you curves. Right after taking over the chairman position, my wonderful wife began working full-time again (although it was supposed to be temporary, she is still working full-time as I write this post). So, the time I can devote to planning and coordination of the festival became much tighter. Ultimately, at the November meeting of our committee, I regretably announced my resignation as chairman. Our committee chair for performers also stepped down, so now three of the persons that were very much involved last year are no longer in key positions on the committee.

As a result of the resignations and the economy, a discussion ensued about how to proceed for the 2009 festival. We agreed that it might be best to scale it back to an indoor concert where there are less logistics to worry about. However, we did not get much past the general idea of a concert. Much more planning needs to be done to pull something off.

Well, that's where things stand with the festival. As thing change, I will try to provide updates via this blog.

Taneytown Christian Music Festival

Well, if anyone is actually out there reading this blog, please mark Saturday, August 2, 2008 on your calendar. That is when the first ever Taneytown Christian Music Festival will be taking place at Taneytown Memorial Park in Taneytown MD. The festival will run from 9:30 AM until 8:45 PM, rain or shine. We have 18 acts scheduled throughout the day that will feature mostly local and regional christian music from contemporary christian, christian rock, country, bluegrass, and gospel artists and groups. More details to come regarding the artists in upcoming blog postings.

The festival board is busy working on numerous items to make this festival a success. One thing that we are in great need of is volunteers; Many are needed to put on an event of this size. We need volunteers in many areas including fundraising, vendors, event day, parking, security, stage, etc. You can send an email to tcmf AT ricknco DOT com or allen DOT shatzer @ yahoo DOT com for additional information and to sign up to voluteer.

Again, mark Saturday, August 2nd on your calendars for this fantastic day of wholesome family entertainment!

Hello world....

No, this isn't a technical blog about programming (you have to be a C programmer to get that comment), although I am a technologist. I'm sure over time I will rant about what drives me mad in my profession, but I'll save that for another day. No, I'll just say Hi and hope that my posts will provoke a least a little thought, entertain, inform, or maybe, just give you a break from everyday life.

I don't profess to be an expert on anything, but I do have an opinion about many things. Over time, that may become evident. I invite your comments, but keep things in perspective - we don't need to waste our energy flaming one another. Let the discussions be civil.

Anyway, that's my first post. Nothing earth shattering, but, its a start....