Camp Techie

This past weekend we brought our son to an overnight Camp in New Hampshire .    As Sam was getting himself checked in for his third season at Camp I grabbed a copy of the Camp newsletter to pass the time.  

As I began to read, I came upon an article called “Remembering Ken Olsen”.    Oftentimes the newsletter will highlight former campers who have recently passed away.   This was no exception, however, reading further I found that Mr. Olsen was co-founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).   “Digital Equipment Corporation was an American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s”.    DEC’s computers were famous for “bridging the gap” between the “gymnasium sized computers of previous generations and the home computers of the 1990’s”.

Digital Equipment’s headquarters were located in Maynard, Massachusetts.  In 1998 DEC was acquired by Compaq and eventually merged with Hewlett-Packard.    DEC’s leader, Ken Olsen, was known for being an innovator, technician and philanthropist.        

Ken Olsen was the kind of philanthropist who never sought recognition.    His generous donation of land to Camp Brookwoods is now the home of Moose River Outpost.     

Ironically Camp Brookwoods does not allow campers to bring cell phones and/or computers with them to Camp.   Instead you are required to communicate with your camper the old fashion way, via pen and paper, however, you can email or check out what’s happening via live webcam shots.    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Equipment_Corporation

http://www.christiancamps.net/site/moose_river_outpost.html

The Boss

I came across a television program on New England Cable Network (NECN) titled “The Boss: the Power Behind the Brands You Love”.    I have to say I believe this is one of the better shows on television.    It appears to be a spin-off of the already popular show Undercover Boss, however, this particular show spotlights local businesses in Massachusetts.

On last night’s program the highlighted business was Nashoba Valley Ski Resort located in Westford, MA.    There were four co-founders of the company/resort one being Al Fletcher.    The Fletcher family has owned the property since 1963.    It was Al’s vision that began the creation of a local ski attraction very popular to Massachusetts residents and beyond.

What attracted me to this show was how they bring you back to the beginnings of the company, the vision, and what technology has done to not only keep the business alive but also make it the success it is today.     For the first 15 years Nashoba Valley was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy.     Due to the technological advances available later on (e.g. snow making machines), they were able to move away from the threat of bankruptcy and become the success they are today.

Next week’s highlight will be the “Life is Good” company.   I highly recommend this show.     I have attached a clip of next week’s show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBFghzAXhMk  

Double Time!

Today at work Christmas came a little early.     A second monitor was installed at most of our desktop workstations.    To be honest, I didn’t know we were receiving this upgrade and I wasn’t sure what the benefit was of having two monitors.    After reading more about it online and working with a few spreadsheets, I was pleased with the results!

By having this second monitor, it has allowed for work to be processed more efficiently and must faster.    For example, it allows me access to the business accounting system on one screen while having a related spreadsheet open on the other screen.   This in turn allows me to view/compare data side by side without having to toggle between opening and minimizing my windows.

The short of it, this is a fantastic cost effective way of maximizing productivity!    See attached articles:

   

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9013678/Dual_monitor_users_passionate_about_benefits_of_having_more_than_one

http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2005/techtips-AUG18-05.htm

Working in an Era of Constant Change.....

Sitting in class the other night made me start to think back to my earlier work days and how with each job I held I was constantly learning new technology.   

My first job out of college was with a small company that dealt with Unclaimed Property.    Having little computer experience, I quickly learned their DOS operating system which only required that I type simple letters (thankfully!).    However, there was still an abundance of manual paper processing in that office.    The owner of the company relied heavily on his secretary to word-process for him as he wanted nothing to do with the computer.   In fact, he ordered a brand new computer for his personal use only to return it one week later!    I had left after only two years with the company.   Later on, I had heard through friends that the owner had sold this business to a larger corporation and a lot of the manual functions were transferred to online processing.

Eager for experience in a larger corporation I had applied and was offered a job at a large bank in Boston.    I was asked in the interview if I knew Lotus 123 (a spreadsheet software which was later replaced by Excel).   My response was no, however, “I will find a way to learn it if hired”.   I was told that my response landed me the job and as promised I learned Lotus 123 and was off and running.     No sooner did I begin working with Lotus 123, I was sent to training for a new software package called Microsoft Office, more specifically Word and Excel.    Wondering how long this program was going to stick around, I began training and using the product.    Since then, despite the many upgrades to the package, Windows is still a front runner in the market.   At the same time I was also trained on the Bank’s Mainframe system which housed client data and performed most of the investment operations.   The training I received from the Bank served as a great foundation.    I had no idea the skills learned would become transferrable down the road.   

After working for the larger corporation for a few years, I was recruited by a Law Firm in Boston as they were looking for someone with a solid computer background and extensive knowledge in the Investment Management Mainframe system (which they housed as well).    They were eager to bring someone on board that required little training.     Ready to move on to other projects I worked for this firm for 4 years.

I found a great article that focuses on the 10 hottest careers in 2011.   Take note of #1:       http://www.careerexplorer.net/ten-hottest-careers?&SearchEngine=Google&Adgroup=top+ten+jobs&Keyword=best%20jobs%20in%202011&AffiliateSite=ce&AffiliateLocationID=36347&SearchEngineCampaign=ten+hottest+careers+2&AdCopyVersion=1&gclid=CMTKneDJg6oCFQ2A5QodSiLZ1Q