tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91630477804721723702024-03-13T10:19:46.935-07:00Big Lep's BlogSteve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-75247181936441754832024-03-11T22:23:00.000-07:002024-03-11T22:23:51.337-07:00Getting Minecraft Ultimate Survival World working for an iPad<p><i>Note: ideally this should be posted somewhere where interested users would find it (maybe reddit?). I don't know the minecraft world, and I didn't want to stick it in TrixyBlox Discord because it's more of a wall-garden and search is not near as reliable there.</i></p><p><b>Situation</b></p><p>My son really likes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4UNqGYuB2q49GzGD_CBIVQ">TrixyBlox, a Minecraft YouTuber</a>, and he signed up to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/TrixyBlox">support him on Patreon</a>, in part so could play some of TrixyBlox's builds, especially the "Ultimate Survival World".</p><p>Despite my offers to set him up on a regular computer, he most enjoys playing on his iPad. This in turn means we need to do Bedrock Minecraft.</p><p>We only have Macs at home, but Bedrock Minecraft isn't supported on Macs.</p><p><b>Solution</b></p><p>These are the steps I took. I'm writing them down in case it's useful for others including my 6-month future self:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Confirming connectivity between server and iPad</li><ol><li>Got Bootcamp up and going again on the lone Intel Mac we have. I hadn't booted into Windows for a couple of years, and as a result, there were a lot of security updates to apply.</li><ol><li>Presumably virtualization (e.g. Parallels, VirtualBox) would work too.</li></ol><li>Downloaded the Bedrock Minecraft server from <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock">https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/server/bedrock</a></li><li>Unzipped it and moved it out of the Downloads folder so it didn't accidentally get deleted.</li><li>Started the Bedrock server and ensured I could connect to it from the ipad</li></ol><li>Importing Ultimate Survival World into Bedrock server</li><ol><li>Downloaded USW-Bedrock-WORLD.mcworld from Patreon (since we're paid subscribers)</li><li>Double-clicked the .mcworld file which imported it in Bedrock Minecraft (full client game) that I have installed</li><li>Found where Bedrock Minecraft imported the world files. <a href="https://www.filelocations.com/minecraft-bedrock-save-location-windows-mac/">https://www.filelocations.com/minecraft-bedrock-save-location-windows-mac/</a> pointed me in the right direction. The name of the world was some id/hash.</li><li>Copied the world folders into bedrock-server/worlds directory.</li><li>Renamed the world's folder from it's id/hash value to something I could remember (e.g., Ultimate Survival World). </li><li>Modified the Bedrock Server server.properties file to use the name of the world I copied over (e.g., "Ultimate Survival World")</li><li>Started the Bedrock server and ensured I could connect to it from the iPad. It was a good sign when it asked about downloading a ~60MB resource pack.</li></ol><li>Connecting to the Bedrock server from a Bedrock Minecraft client on the same machine</li><ol><li>The docs discuss running a command "<span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; caret-color: rgb(28, 28, 28); color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "Noto Mono", Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;">CheckNetIsolation.exe LoopbackExempt –a –p=S-1-15-2-1958404141-86561845-1752920682-3514627264-368642714-62675701-733520436</span>". You have to make sure you run that command as an admin. The key is to open the "run command" prompt as an admin.</li><li>Opened Bedrock Minecraft client</li><li>Added a server for 127.0.0.1 with the default port</li><li>Connect</li></ol></ol><p></p>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-62404708003922375292014-07-21T22:17:00.000-07:002014-07-25T13:58:29.370-07:00Amazon's Video Shorts category releasedOur team at work has been involved with a lot of different things over the last couple of years which won't be documented here, but one area of focus of late has been launching the "Video Shorts" category on Amazon. We currently have ~100k "short videos" (1-8 minutes) ranging from music videos, game trailers, movie trailers, how to videos, etc. We have these videos showing up on Amazon product pages within a modal lightbox, and they are also discoverable amongst AIV content. These videos provide monetization by linking to other Amazon products and with video ads (e.g., 15 second preroll before the video starts).<br />
<br />
There is still a long of things to do to improve here, but it's good to get it out and start measuring. Any thoughts or feedback is welcome.<br />
<br />
<b>Ingress Points</b><br />
<i>Amazon's Global Nav</i><br />
Any Amazon URL (e.g., <a href="http://amazon.com/">http://amazon.com</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHyeBjrpKCL4iE01gOWl8CcLUq8tZZSL4t1sQVq8MggBE77GooDU16uGHCvyzPf-yyTJS4jZd78Z7iZlkNQdLuTOfqN2d8zZp_1Dlam3Z8PryXLX31J39cUX91Yfzxazvr4oBPX-PWYs/s1600/VideoShort-GlobalNav.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHyeBjrpKCL4iE01gOWl8CcLUq8tZZSL4t1sQVq8MggBE77GooDU16uGHCvyzPf-yyTJS4jZd78Z7iZlkNQdLuTOfqN2d8zZp_1Dlam3Z8PryXLX31J39cUX91Yfzxazvr4oBPX-PWYs/s1600/VideoShort-GlobalNav.png" height="444" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>Amazon Instant Video's Sub Nav</i><br />
Any Amazon Instant Video URL (e.g., <a href="http://www.amazon.com/12-Years-Slave-Chiwetel-Ejiofor/dp/B00ICSVNOY">http://www.amazon.com/12-Years-Slave-Chiwetel-Ejiofor/dp/B00ICSVNOY</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqKdZ1SU9JQ6BOFPGmKVIOiAZx_FXdmrzbGuerq09onHPetTWeJXgEmZXZeMIbNFSZq2iENgZQwVfaoeIQPmlpnl9Gnb7nUFcc9c0MIQ2A2oZGlpBAgIF6EhGduepPga7QMIvjy9IWco/s1600/VideoShort-AivSubNav.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqKdZ1SU9JQ6BOFPGmKVIOiAZx_FXdmrzbGuerq09onHPetTWeJXgEmZXZeMIbNFSZq2iENgZQwVfaoeIQPmlpnl9Gnb7nUFcc9c0MIQ2A2oZGlpBAgIF6EhGduepPga7QMIvjy9IWco/s1600/VideoShort-AivSubNav.png" height="441" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Amazon Instant Video's Storefront</i><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Video/b/?node=2858778011">http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Video/b/?node=2858778011</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-lwW1SiOfDpQJxo0G4NtKtgHJkmiGfqJpukQoqmcCmxwFd2P5cy7Rb55Sp8Ski57VB44fO80qwkQKW5DGj4om0E5XKkCNpcLP1bXsjpuCRyHO-kMMh25Q7RFExuE_tsUF8wDOWZq_qQ/s1600/VideoShorts-AivStorefrontCarousel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-lwW1SiOfDpQJxo0G4NtKtgHJkmiGfqJpukQoqmcCmxwFd2P5cy7Rb55Sp8Ski57VB44fO80qwkQKW5DGj4om0E5XKkCNpcLP1bXsjpuCRyHO-kMMh25Q7RFExuE_tsUF8wDOWZq_qQ/s1600/VideoShorts-AivStorefrontCarousel.png" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Amazon Instant Video's Search</i><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Dinstant-video&field-keywords=halo&rh=n%3A2858778011%2Ck%3Ahalo">http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Dinstant-video&field-keywords=halo&rh=n%3A2858778011%2Ck%3Ahalo</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkDIwe-ynggORhXr32Binp_xEm9toonPk1dnx96UEpFcgHSs1dybaam9onVIC3TumgJ7rpcqlm8iTOC6ayKfyvCoCGdGM-ZlAOyxioGgQiSGw2FAe4CNlDbxy75eiNnIRL2WPgwGoxPM/s1600/VideoShorts-AivSearch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkDIwe-ynggORhXr32Binp_xEm9toonPk1dnx96UEpFcgHSs1dybaam9onVIC3TumgJ7rpcqlm8iTOC6ayKfyvCoCGdGM-ZlAOyxioGgQiSGw2FAe4CNlDbxy75eiNnIRL2WPgwGoxPM/s1600/VideoShorts-AivSearch.png" height="328" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Links for the Video Shorts experience</b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/?_encoding=UTF8&node=9013971011">Video Shorts storefront</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Dvideo-shorts&field-keywords=coldplay">Video Shorts search</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Hunger-Games-Catching-Lyric/dp/B00KB795LW/?s=shorts-and-clips&ie=UTF8&qid=1406006143&sr=1-1&keywords=coldplay+atlas">Video Shorts product page</a></li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Press</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/25/amazon-rolls-out-a-youtube-like-video-shorts-section-on-instant-video/">http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/25/amazon-rolls-out-a-youtube-like-video-shorts-section-on-instant-video/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjAZjwOW9Tw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjAZjwOW9Tw</a></li>
<li>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/25/amazons-new-video-shorts-section-streams-bite-size-pop-culture-clips/">http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/25/amazons-new-video-shorts-section-streams-bite-size-pop-culture-clips/</a></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span id="goog_1244993820"></span><span id="goog_1244993821"></span><br />Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-58657246516462743042014-06-19T07:43:00.001-07:002014-06-19T07:43:06.885-07:00US Soccer VideosThese were enjoyable for getting the backstory on the team:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875620/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-1">http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875620/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-1</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875623/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-2">http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875623/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875656/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-3">http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1875656/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-3</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/video/inside-usmnt/101/video/1882905/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-4">http://www.espnfc.com/video/inside-usmnt/101/video/1882905/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-4</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/video/inside-usmnt/101/video/1879797/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-5">http://www.espnfc.com/video/inside-usmnt/101/video/1879797/inside-us-soccers-march-to-brazil-episode-5</a></li>
</ul>
Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-74503184460809688012013-12-12T09:06:00.001-08:002013-12-12T09:06:33.494-08:00AWS's premium support - a model for good customer serviceNothing new here, but had jotted down notes from the Amazon all-hands over the summer that was focused on being customer-centric. I was particularly struck by how AWS is offering <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/">premium support</a>. If a customer buys, premium support:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>There is no contract length they’re bound to. They can terminate service anytime.</li>
<li>There is no maximum number of contacts. Ask away without being charged or hitting a limit.</li>
<li>They get <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/trustedadvisor/">Trusted Advisor</a>, which provides automated tools informing the customer how to optimize, improve security, and save money. </li>
</ul>
<br />
I love the last part, where the tool actually recommends the customer descale or use cheaper options, which causes Amazon to earn less. This is definitely the right thing for the customer, and builds long-term loyalty rather than short term gain. Good stuff.Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-4259793651318203412013-12-06T20:26:00.000-08:002013-12-06T20:26:18.981-08:00Mavericks' Apple Mail with Gmail - Getting back to pre 10.9 behavior for deleted messages, drafts, and sent mailMavericks' Apple Mail brought some changes to Gmail (as well documented elswhere). I personally liked the pre-10.9 behavior, which included:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Drafts weren't stored on the server. It would be ideal to have drafts on the server, but too often I found that the message would stay in draft form and be duplicated in the thread, even though the message was sent. In practice, I never needed to start a message on my laptop and finish it on my phone.</li>
<li>Deleting a message from the inbox would archive it. The message would be visible in the Gmail "All Mail" label, but it wouldn't be in the Gmail "Trash" label. This is important because search results in Gmail by default filter out messages in the "Trash". You have to explicitly click show messages in Trash.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gbnnvayYtyumQeWxzyBEq4OmHuXKNKAP6r9EQ366k9Zh9X1OUHb92lRIUA57AboBflDgpzs3ArrUcddTn3cntSxIvcsK5PGNxOIUIHcKkaBgph61xnoUFReKHrfrsHbdhCCSS5nef0s/s1600/Gmail+-+search+excludes+messages+in+Trash+by+default.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gbnnvayYtyumQeWxzyBEq4OmHuXKNKAP6r9EQ366k9Zh9X1OUHb92lRIUA57AboBflDgpzs3ArrUcddTn3cntSxIvcsK5PGNxOIUIHcKkaBgph61xnoUFReKHrfrsHbdhCCSS5nef0s/s1600/Gmail+-+search+excludes+messages+in+Trash+by+default.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I didn't need to enable the "All Mail" label for IMAP. This prevents thousands of messages from being downloaded on to my local machine. If I want to search old messages, I just log into Gmail's web interface.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Some solutions to get back to this kind of behavior involve enabling the "All Mail" label for IMAP. See:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://tidbits.com/article/14219">http://tidbits.com/article/14219</a></li>
<li><a href="https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5468664?start=15&tstart=0">https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5468664?start=15&tstart=0</a></li>
<li><a href="http://akgungor.com/2013/11/11/delete2archive-archive-gmail-messages-using-delete-key-os-x-mavericks-mail/">http://akgungor.com/2013/11/11/delete2archive-archive-gmail-messages-using-delete-key-os-x-mavericks-mail/</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
This is a no go for me as don't want to be downloading gigabytes of old messages. I haven't gotten back to the pre-10.9 behavior by doing the following:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quiting Apple Mail</li>
<li>Preventing "Drafts" and "Sent Mail" showing up in IMAP.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsc8lOjOaerx3jbnp9QstZP57JJU-y18NWhCoaZptSdRYSwQUDSxuOokfnud0YMgV6k190Y-cEM_AEZNZKfgHLfHvgcu76PlYCW6eAYIPSqvTrs-TmXF2j9uwzGqwqetX9K-rhiO99A2c/s1600/Gmail+settings+-+disable+%22show+in+imap%22+for+sent+and+draft+labels.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsc8lOjOaerx3jbnp9QstZP57JJU-y18NWhCoaZptSdRYSwQUDSxuOokfnud0YMgV6k190Y-cEM_AEZNZKfgHLfHvgcu76PlYCW6eAYIPSqvTrs-TmXF2j9uwzGqwqetX9K-rhiO99A2c/s1600/Gmail+settings+-+disable+%22show+in+imap%22+for+sent+and+draft+labels.png" height="296" width="640" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Launch Apple Mail and telling it not to store messages on the server for Drafts or Sent Messages.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwCry34CF5eCvpBCxpuolFagMjh3eFKjER_b3l3tX3135Y2dVnj1OxtGDtTRY2t1rF3tBoGKIxEjTDoVkfmIAe7kMzh20pdTwK6kXCdzNgTaeQNNBctTIhSjEvX4ad2XowdEWxXvTEkk/s1600/Apple+mail+-+don't+store+drafts+or+sent+messages+on+server.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwCry34CF5eCvpBCxpuolFagMjh3eFKjER_b3l3tX3135Y2dVnj1OxtGDtTRY2t1rF3tBoGKIxEjTDoVkfmIAe7kMzh20pdTwK6kXCdzNgTaeQNNBctTIhSjEvX4ad2XowdEWxXvTEkk/s1600/Apple+mail+-+don't+store+drafts+or+sent+messages+on+server.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With those steps done, the only deviation you will find is that when you delete messages, they will move out of your inbox, but will have the "Deleted Messages" label. I'm ok with that because at least they don't have the "Trash" label and will thus show up in my search results by default.</div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQr-bdchxSN8_DSSg61pdAIjXQlrDV3f1nz0flg-esuQ2O813yIaU8rTyLRHiFhSF4htTGg26doY4bsM7aKK5xzz8J48Hd_Q_saJtzkY6THTm0q7F2pBjr2F0MKr_PGaWMf93FEx5XHI/s1600/Gmail+-+deleted+messages+now+have+%22Deleted+Messages%22+label.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQr-bdchxSN8_DSSg61pdAIjXQlrDV3f1nz0flg-esuQ2O813yIaU8rTyLRHiFhSF4htTGg26doY4bsM7aKK5xzz8J48Hd_Q_saJtzkY6THTm0q7F2pBjr2F0MKr_PGaWMf93FEx5XHI/s1600/Gmail+-+deleted+messages+now+have+%22Deleted+Messages%22+label.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, you'll want to move all your messages out of the "Trash" in the Gmail web interface after you've done the above. If not, those messages will be deleted within 30 days. I moved them to my "Deleted Items" label.</div>
Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-43209163557445950352013-11-11T21:55:00.000-08:002013-11-11T21:55:01.430-08:00"Bank is a 4 letter word"Many of my summers growing up involved spending two weeks at my grandparents' house in Manitoba. My grandpa always weaved education into the time, and I remember one such trip had a focus on financial institutions. We drove out to the country side and he took me to Steinback Credit Union. He had lots to share about credit unions and banks. I remember one of his phrases that "bank is a 4 letter word". I definitely appreciate that exhortation to use locally based institutions like credit unions. If you're not using a credit union, why not?<br />
<br />
Here's a quick blurb the credit union we use (WECU) sent out on why credit unions are not the same as banks:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When you walk into a WECU® lobby, or call a loan officer, what makes a credit union different from a bank isn’t immediately apparent. The two financial institutions may offer similar products and services but the similarities stop there. Crucial differences exist - in structure, in cost of borrowing money, and in use of services.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Credit unions are member-focused non-profit financial cooperatives dedicated to improving members’ lives. More than 95 million members are part of 7,100 U.S. credit unions with combined assets of $1.02 trillion. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Credit unions are the only democratically controlled financial institutions in the United States. You and other members elect a volunteer board of directors to oversee the credit union. The manager or president/chief executive officer reports to this board. Bank directors, however, are paid and legally bound to make decisions that benefit stockholders. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Credit unions have the best rates. Credit unions price loans, pay interest on funds you’ve deposited, and charge fees to provide you with high-quality, low-cost services. Banks price products, fees, and services to make a profit. At credit unions, money market, savings, and interest checking accounts carry higher rates - giving back more to members. Interest rates on credit cards average three percentage points lower than bank rates, and auto loans average about one and one-half percentage points lower than bank rates. Credit unions make consumer loans and member business loans. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Credit unions educate members about money matters. They provide publications to keep you advised of rates, loan sales, and financial trends that affect you. WECU® stresses education, providing materials and holding seminars on financial planning as well as car and home buying to help you make informed buying decisions. </blockquote>
<br />
<br />Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-74781005001256938442013-11-11T21:46:00.003-08:002013-11-11T21:47:30.425-08:00Amazon SmileAmazon recently announced Amazon Smile: http://smile.amazon.com/ . It's the same standard Amazon, but Amazon will give .5% of all your purchases to a charity of your choice. Pretty sweet.Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-43006571863910609562013-08-25T10:23:00.001-07:002013-08-25T10:23:35.144-07:00Don't forget about expiring documents!<br />
<div>
We were cruising up to cross the border yesterday, only to find my Nexus card had expired :( In hopes of never hitting this situation again, we've put the expiration dates for the following documents on our calendar:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Passports</li>
<li>Nexus cards</li>
<li>Driver's licenses</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
To get reminders about upcoming document expirations, we have Google calendar email us about these events. There are a host of other reminder solutions, including using Evernote with a "reminder" set for the expiration date. Just wanted to pass this on in case others are as forgetful about such items.</div>
Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-35042663695689023722013-06-16T15:04:00.000-07:002013-06-16T15:04:29.944-07:00Crud the gameI was recently at a company offsite that really epitomized for my why Amazon is such a great place to work. The mix of creativity, passion, and fun made for a highlight of the year. It occurred to me that a great entertainment event for future would be a Crud tournament (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crud_%28game%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crud_%28game%29</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crud+game&oq=crud+game">http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crud+game&oq=crud+game</a>). Have others played this, or seen it deployed at a larger scale (150 person) setting?<br />
<br />
Ideas:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Multiple pool tables required. </li>
<li>You can have a nice round-robin, and then get into a tournament bracket to establish champions.</li>
<li>You could imagine using projectors well for the tournament bracket (NCAA March Madness style).</li>
</ul>
<br />
Reasons I'd advocate for Crud:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Unique - most people haven't played it before.</li>
<li>Newcomer welcome - anyone can learn to play.</li>
<li>Good mix of skill, strategy, and luck. This helps newcomers feel like they can contribute, but also keeps people engaged because there's opportunity to get better.</li>
</ul>
Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-15073381197907978372013-03-21T10:51:00.001-07:002013-03-21T10:51:05.320-07:00Funniest thing I've seen in 2013This is geared towards the developer, but I couldn't stop laughing at work. Absolutely hilarious.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://martinvalasek.com/blog/pictures-from-a-developers-life">http://martinvalasek.com/blog/pictures-from-a-developers-life</a>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-82130966031771150662013-01-24T07:44:00.000-08:002013-01-24T07:44:06.265-08:00On getting better and making progress<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwX2vO4ukT2-JxFZZvG62Dxaqr6i7anlLog88A4RFc7oTl5Gb8voNO_-Fd_DdQ1cgk76IJKBn9zir97ONcWlZhrIWLpD2x8pADwBc5h-ducLOFidxzOi3meZjkEKMKUhFY1RNcmrS8eeY/s1600/progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwX2vO4ukT2-JxFZZvG62Dxaqr6i7anlLog88A4RFc7oTl5Gb8voNO_-Fd_DdQ1cgk76IJKBn9zir97ONcWlZhrIWLpD2x8pADwBc5h-ducLOFidxzOi3meZjkEKMKUhFY1RNcmrS8eeY/s320/progress.jpg" width="320" /></a>I recently met with an old coworker who is making some big life changes by moving to another country and team. It was great to catch up and share about some of the decisions we've both made in the last year to learn/experience new things, better support our families, etc. As we were parting, she made the comment along the lines, "as long as we're getting better, that's what's important". The "getting better" part has been bouncing around in my head, stirring up some thoughts.<br />
<br />
When we say that we're "getting better", what do we mean? Similarly, when does it really mean for someone to "make progress" or to be "progressive"? I believe all of these phrases assume some sort of end state or goal. When we say them, are we thinking about the end, or are we following a cultural current to make the same decisions as those who came before us? For example, Patrick, who is 3 years older than me, was a level X in his company at my age, and now is a level Y, so that is what I'm shooting for too. Or Bill and Mandy did Z by the time their first child was one year old, thus we should as well. <br />
<br />
At some point (and ideally sooner than later), we need to ask ourselves what the objective is - what's the point of all our toiling and labor? Unless we have clarity on this, we can't claim to be making progress. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis">C.S. Lewis</a> takes this one step further by bringing up "right" and "wrong" in his <a href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/we_all_want_progress-but_if_you-re_on_the_wrong/202014.html">discussion on progress:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.</blockquote>
Are we willing to humbly explore with ourselves and others whether we're on the "right road"? What is the right road, and how do we know if we're on it? I by no means have all or many answers here, but let me know if it's a topic you want to dialog on. I certainly welcome it as an invigorating and worthwhile discussion! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-67365817898231046302012-05-22T07:11:00.001-07:002012-05-22T07:11:32.124-07:00Agile @ HomeWas recently turned on to this presentation about "Agile @ Home". This is way too good not to pass along:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="p1">
<i>Blog post: </i></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://blog.crisp.se/2012/05/02/henrikkniberg/agilehome"><i>http://blog.crisp.se/2012/05/02/henrikkniberg/agilehome</i></a></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i>Presentation (pdf): </i></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1018963/Projects/2012-04%20Agile%40Home%2C%20Agila%20Sverige%202012/Agile%40Home.pdf"><i>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1018963/Projects/2012-04%20Agile%40Home%2C%20Agila%20Sverige%202012/Agile%40Home.pdf</i></a></span><span class="s2"><i> </i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s2"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
The good description with examples is in the presentation. Enjoy!</div>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-13002869817028783892012-05-10T07:51:00.001-07:002012-05-10T07:53:43.312-07:00Work for Amazon from home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBqoh21WS36KdX7XQqiR_BN4rCKRWkHcm_RPLOjRubBA3whLLcX7ovPt6iTPu5Shlq_82-2lnzVKSDJQGz9FBBkEsiVOvXu3WMecNZxV68T7KRZxmhID-3f8kqR0uTB5VfKZg_vAb09c/s1600/amazon-customer-service-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBqoh21WS36KdX7XQqiR_BN4rCKRWkHcm_RPLOjRubBA3whLLcX7ovPt6iTPu5Shlq_82-2lnzVKSDJQGz9FBBkEsiVOvXu3WMecNZxV68T7KRZxmhID-3f8kqR0uTB5VfKZg_vAb09c/s320/amazon-customer-service-logo.png" width="320" /></a>This seems to good to not pass on. Amazon's customer service department (supporting everything from digital products like the Kindle to more standard order questions) has "work from home" openings in both agent and management positions for both part time and full time. Check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/csjobs">http://<span class="s1">www.amazon.com/csjobs</span></a>. While I'm not involved with the customer service side of the business, I'm happy to speak the many merits of working for Amazon. Seems like could be a great opportunity for college students out there and/or stay-at-home mom's.</div>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-48107668986189029682012-04-27T13:09:00.001-07:002012-04-27T13:09:28.670-07:00Microsoft Document Connection's Cache LocationIf you are in the rough place of having to engage with Microsoft SharePoint on a Mac, you're hopefully at least using Microsoft Document Connection (MDC). While this is still much improved over checking documents in and out from the browser, the experience isn't flawless, and I've had cases where after saving and closing an Office document, I get some error message that my file wasn't saved back to the server. When this occurs, I have wanted to hunt down where MDC is caching files to hopefully recover manually. Quick Google searches yielded no results, but found this through Activity Monitor. MDC caches files at:<br />
<br />
<i>~/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Office/14.0/Document\ Connection/Document\ Connection.mdccache/sharePointHostName/subDirectory/fileName</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Hopefully this can help with your recovery efforts!Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15716862490188129386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-55045603059244263632011-03-15T21:11:00.000-07:002011-03-15T21:11:12.527-07:00Recommended Android appsMy brother and Dad just got Android phones. Here are my app recommendations:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.adao.android.afm&feature=search_result">Adao File Manager</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rechild.advancedtaskkiller&feature=search_result">Advanced Task Killer</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sirma.mobile.bible.android&feature=search_result">Bible</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chrometophone&feature=search_result">Chrome to Phone</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dropbox.android&feature=search_result">Dropbox</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.evernote&feature=search_result">Evernote</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=org.dyndns.devesh.flashlight&feature=search_result">Flashlight</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.reader&feature=search_result">Google Reader</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.imdb.mobile&feature=search_result">IMDb</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.android.keepass&feature=search_result">KeePassDroid</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.osa.android.mapdroyd&feature=search_result">MapDroyd</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=de.anno.android.missedCall&feature=search_result">Missed Call</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=net.flixster.android&feature=search_result">Movies</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.maps.mytracks&feature=search_result">My Tracks</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.pandora.android&feature=search_result">Pandora</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.pdanet&feature=search_result">PdaNet</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.espn.score_center&feature=search_result">ScoreCenter</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sportstracklive.stopwatch&feature=search_result">StopWatch & Timer</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.thickbuttons&feature=search_result">ThickButtons Keyboard</a></li>
<li><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.googlevoice&feature=search_result">Google Voice</a></li>
</ul>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-79963941596064824872011-01-09T19:23:00.000-08:002011-01-09T19:23:38.838-08:00A couple of great links about work in the communityI came across both of these this week, and liked what I saw in both:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>A few vignettes on how the internet has helped 6 people on the street: <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/6-awesome-homeless-people-saved-by-the-internet/joanne">http://www.ranker.com/list/6-awesome-homeless-people-saved-by-the-internet/joanne</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thebikeshop1.org/">The Bicycle Shop</a> - a Whatcom County non-profit that is using as a place for kids to learn responsibility and healthy living. I really admire what they got going, and will inquire to see if can be of assistance for weekend rides.</li>
</ol><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_euQDC3az9o?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_euQDC3az9o?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0Bellingham, WA, USA48.7595529 -122.488224948.6463909 -122.7216844 48.872714900000005 -122.25476540000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-79929367250005005362010-11-09T21:07:00.000-08:002010-11-09T21:07:10.088-08:00Stock adviceGreat quotes/ideas from Jeff Bezos:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>"In the short term, a stock is like a lottery, but with time, it becomes a scale." He's quoting someone when he says this, but I couldn't find the orignal source.</li>
<li>"Our biggest competitor is the corporate no." He discusses how when organizations get big, it's easy to settle and compromise. You lose the truth-seeking determination that you have when starting out on the brink of being bankrupt any day.</li>
<li>"Use prediction models on the things you can, but don't apply it everywhere. Areas where you can model with accuracy, figure out ways to reduce the initial costs and then experiment so you can start to get data and make projections."</li>
</ul>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-44171024079610636802010-11-07T16:58:00.000-08:002010-11-07T16:58:49.980-08:00Back on campus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D8bwBI97ShJeG7HrP_ndoIQtIN_IdrQFSIFjI9ncVQ0nKkD6neDCVS-66mWajuAgn9vLlqNLniWDahIYJWLkm4JdbhJL4T2EJdrq743g4uLUTEL_mWlvY_8BWHCPwnyfP1pzlTmqeoI/s1600/Steve+at+UW+-+October+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D8bwBI97ShJeG7HrP_ndoIQtIN_IdrQFSIFjI9ncVQ0nKkD6neDCVS-66mWajuAgn9vLlqNLniWDahIYJWLkm4JdbhJL4T2EJdrq743g4uLUTEL_mWlvY_8BWHCPwnyfP1pzlTmqeoI/s320/Steve+at+UW+-+October+2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's been 4.5 years since graduation, and aside from sporting events, I haven't really been back on UW's campus much, at least when students are there. I got to be part of the Amazon team working the career fair targeting UW's computer science/engineering students. A few observations/thoughts:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>It was fun to be on the other side of the table. I can remember 5 years ago passing out resumes and talking with company delegates. It was in one such conversation that my resume got passed to an ex-classmate who had started at Amazon, which got me in their interview tract.</li>
<li>I'm certainly biased, but what a great major to have all these cool (in my opinion) companies eager to hire you after an undergraduate degree: Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.</li>
<li>UW is still pumping out good candidates. Many of the people I spoke with and gave a small coding problem did quite well. </li>
<li>Does the construction ever stop? The HUB is getting massacred right now, it seems like you can never be on campus without avoiding a construction site.</li>
</ul>This past week included 3 days in Dallas doing campus interviewing. This was a first for me, but a valuable learning experience. Interviewing during the regular work week feels like more of a distraction, but to get to devote 3 days to back-to-back interviews definitely increased my chops and observations on how strong candidates answer questions. Good times!Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA47.651975229254369 -122.3087310791015647.637520729254369 -122.33791357910157 47.666429729254368 -122.27954857910156tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-60876118763518680692010-10-27T13:54:00.000-07:002010-10-27T13:54:59.372-07:00JavaScript validation in a Java project with Eclipse's JavaScript developer tools<div class="p2">I'm not sure how may people this applies to, but I ran into the case where some of my web application packages have both Java and JavaScript files. I use Eclipse, and wanted to be able to take advantage of <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/jsdt/"><span class="s1">Eclipse JavaScript Development Tools</span></a> (JSDT) that provide rich JavaScript functionality within Eclipse. Unfortunately, JavaScript validation (e.g., catching syntax bugs) only occurs by default if you create a "JavaScript" project. Since many of these projects have both Java and JavaScript code, I had to work around this following these steps:</div><ol class="ol1"><li class="li1">Ensure you have JSDT installed</li>
<ul class="ul1"><li class="li1"><i>Top Menu -> Eclipse -> About Eclipse -> Installation Details -> Installed Software</i></li>
</ul><li class="li1">Exit Eclipse</li>
<li class="li1">Add the <i>org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.core.jsNature</i>:</li>
<ul class="ul1"><li class="li1">vim $ECLIPSE_PROJECT_ROOT/.project</li>
<li class="li1">To the <i>natures</i> section, add <i><nature>org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.core.jsNature</nature></i></li>
</ul><li class="li1">Open Eclipse</li>
<li class="li1">Enable the preference: <i>JavaScript -> Validator -> Errors/Warnings -> Enable JavaScript semantic validation</i></li>
<ul class="ul1"><li class="li1">Adjust the validation preferences as needed.</li>
<li class="li1">It's usually a good idea to set all of the "Resolution" preferences to <i>ignore</i>. </li>
</ul></ol><div class="p1">I couldn't find this documented anywhere on the web, so passing it on here in case it's of use.</div>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-54029729617287932092010-09-19T22:00:00.000-07:002010-09-19T22:00:22.561-07:00Slingbox recording on MacIf you've googled "mac slingbox recorder" you've come up against the brick wall. It's hard to fathom, but somehow there isn't a Mac solution for recording the video feed of your Slingbox. On the Windows side there is:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.applian.com/at-large-recorder/">At-Large Recorder</a> - works fine but costs $70 ouch.</li>
<li><a href="http://mreplay.com/">mreplay.com</a> - Browser plugin that lets you watch and record your Slingbox, but it lacks a lot of controls. They said Mac support was coming, but the website/company looks like it halted any progress on anything for a year or two.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.benlo.com/slingbox/">SLR Slingbox Recorder and Viewer</a> - basic recorder with timer that's free.</li>
</ul><div>Because of SLR's basic nature, I was able to get it to work with <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a>. </div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Caveats</b></div><div><ol><li>I'm not the author of any of these programs. Please don't email me support questions. What I know has been documented here.</li>
<li>I have very little experience with Wine and and its different Mac OS X distributions. My setup is working with <a href="http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/">Wine Bottler</a>, but that isn't to say that other distributions (e.g., <a href="http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/">CrossOver</a>) won't work.</li>
</ol></div><div><b>Install Steps</b></div><div><ol><li>Download <a href="http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/">Wine Bottler</a>.</li>
<li>Make sure you're updated to the latest Wine (version 1.2 at the writing of this blog entry). This is done by opening Wine.app and then in the menu bar item going to preferences -> "Check for Updates now..."</li>
<li>Download <a href="http://www.benlo.com/slingbox/">SLR Slingbox Recorder</a> (I used version .63)</li>
<li>(May not be required) Download the latest Mac OS X X11 implementation from <a href="http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki">XQuartz</a> (I used version 2.5.3)</li>
<li>Open slinger.exe file you downloaded (this should launch X11/XQuartz).</li>
<li>Configure the application per the <a href="http://www.benlo.com/slingbox/slr.html">SLR manual</a>.</li>
<ul><li>I use the "High Quality" preset.</li>
<li>I increase the Video Bitrate to 8000.</li>
<li>I couldn't find a way to increase the video size from 320 x 240.</li>
</ul></ol><div><b>Going Forward</b></div></div><div>This provides a decent enough mechanism for recording <a href="http://gohuskies.com/">Husky games</a> if we're away. It would be nice to have a native Mac recording client though. This should be accomplishable with the <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/slingboxsdk/">SlingBox SDK project on SourceForge</a>. It's C++ based (which I don't have much experience with), but when I get the chance, I definitely look forward to trying and compiling it. If nothing else, making a Java port could get wider adoption or contributions.</div>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-11555220438383642002010-06-06T15:47:00.000-07:002010-06-06T16:02:51.903-07:00Sweet giftI received a sweet gift yesterday: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Three-Wolf-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002HJ377A/">The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee</a>. If you haven't read about this bad boy, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Three-Wolf-Short-Sleeve/product-reviews/B002HJ377A">you should here</a>. Anyways, as my brother pointed out, this puts me in a long line of real-world studs who sport the shirt as well:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHi1XX5AKy8mTnzGyB1qMooxnqn0GWqgBhP8GojOP9QpWYGWVhjBe8-uvHVGDTMIBgame7lfZVIyhJq1CIifaqUjSE8KbwtrPgBLjIIfvkA3B9NPkPn9tkWEsyO8dMOY3WZSUb3MWM1M/s1600/dwight-wolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHi1XX5AKy8mTnzGyB1qMooxnqn0GWqgBhP8GojOP9QpWYGWVhjBe8-uvHVGDTMIBgame7lfZVIyhJq1CIifaqUjSE8KbwtrPgBLjIIfvkA3B9NPkPn9tkWEsyO8dMOY3WZSUb3MWM1M/s320/dwight-wolf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-21755049812619928892009-12-08T08:31:00.000-08:002009-12-08T08:31:49.187-08:0012/8/09: line of the dayThe best and humblest words of the day come from a legless man named Dodge:<br />
<blockquote> I would have committed suicide if it weren't for Jesus.</blockquote>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.3747335 -122.7989898 47.8376855 -121.86515179999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-57490211091274322452009-11-04T19:35:00.000-08:002009-11-04T19:36:33.159-08:00Efficiency Strategies<span style="font-weight: bold;">Activity Categories</span><br />My brother and I were recently talking, and he shared with me his belief that most things he does in a day can be fit into three categories:<br /><ul><li>Energy Drain: these are things that he doesn't enjoy and has to force himself to do as they run him down.<br /></li><li>Neutral: these are hard work and he enjoys them, but they don't run him down.</li><li>Booster: these are "Sharpen the Saw" things. These make him feel good inside.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Efficiency Strategies</span><br />As expected, the problem is that often all one wants to do is the Booster and Neutral activities, but never the Drain activities. One can waste tons of time avoiding the Drain activities. As a result we discussed the following efficiency strategies:<br /><ul><li>Throw out the chaff - Basically, is there anything you can get rid of? Getting rid of things in the Energy Drain category is more valuable than the Neutural, which is more valuable than the Booster. But when it comes to time, you can gain no matter which category you can cut out from.</li><li>Eat your veggies before your dessert - If you're like me, you can eat and enjoy dessert anytime (e.g., beginning of the meal, end of the meal, in lieu of the meal). Veggies aren't the same way. They're my least favorite part. I'm not going to love them at any point in the meal, but I will love them less (i.e., they will be an even bigger let down) if I eat them after dessert.</li><li>Break drains into smaller drains - As compared to having one big block of time for the drain work (which could be so demoralizing that you waste time avoiding it), consider breaking the drain into smaller parts. I find doing three 30 minutes sets of drain work easier to stomach than 1 90 minute set.</li><li>Work more efficiently - If there's a way to get 25% done in the same amount of time, score!</li><li>Steel plate should be the norm; gold plate when necessary - Said another way, balance incredible with good enough. It's not possible to do everything incredibly well. Not only that, not everything needs to be done incredibly well. It certainly requires good and pure judgement, but being able to know when good enough will suffice is important.</li><li>Remove distractions - Many studies have shown that we as humans are not near as effective when we constantly switch between tasks. We aren't like a computer processor that switches between multiple programs per second. Removing distractions so one can focus is key.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Efficiency Strategies Applied</span><br />Application for the principles above:<br /><ul><li>Is there anything in your list of activities above that you can get rid of (favoring drain to booster)?</li><li>Is it possible to get the drains out of the way before the neutrals or the boosters? Can you do the neutrals before the boosters? If you have a lot of homework, it's easier to get energized and do the booster items at 10pm then it is to do the drainers. While it stinks to not give your best and most alert hours to what you enjoy most, it is a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_skills" title="Survival skills" rel="wikipedia">survival technique</a>.</li><li>Do you see anyway to break up your drains? For example, If you have 60 minutes of of reading to do, can you do 20 minutes before school, 20 minutes before tennis, and 20 minutes when you get home?</li><li>Do you have any ideas on how you can work more efficiently? A couple of example ideas: could you print your <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" rel="wikipedia">Spanish</a> vocab and put it in a protective sleeve hung up in the shower and/or the bathroom? Could you record your Spanish vocabulary and listen to it in the car, or as you walk to class from the parking lot?</li><li>Do you find yourself doing more than you need to? For example: while it's nice to type up a lab on the computer, is it necessary, and more importantly, does it save you time compared to hand writing it?</li><li>What distracts you? Phone calls? IM? <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser" title="Web browser" rel="wikipedia">Web browsing</a>? If you can't control your distractions, it's ok to remove yourself from them. For example, if the computer is a distraction while reading, read somewhere where there is no computer. In the business world, some companies advocate that for certain hours or days, employees quit out of their email program to not be distracted.</li></ul>Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-3850270181752852932009-11-04T19:16:00.000-08:002009-11-04T19:36:01.965-08:00"I don't pray for money"A friend here who is always stretching to get by each month told me, "I don't pray for money. I pray that my family would be safe and that I can put food on the table by having a paying job." I've met others in a survival mentality who try to game life and try to get as much as they can as quickly and easily as possible. My friend's understanding of work,and the thankfulness with which he receives it is refreshing.Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163047780472172370.post-85462542881380650702009-11-04T19:07:00.000-08:002009-11-04T19:16:43.706-08:00Stuff About FoodThe subject of food has come across my path recently. There's been discussions with my Dad while helping with some small projects for <a href="http://chuckanutbay.com">Chuckanut Bay Foods</a>. When hiking Chirripo, the hostel owners shared a lot with me about <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement" title="North American Free Trade Agreement" rel="wikipedia">NAFTA</a>'s effects on <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=9.91666666667,-84.0666666667&spn=10.0,10.0&q=9.91666666667,-84.0666666667%20%28Costa%20Rica%29&t=h" title="Costa Rica" rel="geolocation">Costa Rica</a> and <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.05,-99.3666666667&spn=10.0,10.0&q=19.05,-99.3666666667%20%28Mexico%29&t=h" title="Mexico" rel="geolocation">Mexico</a>'s <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_industry" title="Food industry" rel="wikipedia">food production</a>. <a href="http://www.armchaircommentary.com/2009/11/qa-food-inc-director-robert-kenner.html">Amazon's blog had a recent interview</a> with the directors of the new documentary <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Inc-Eric-Schlosser/dp/B0027BOL4G/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added">Food, Inc</a>. I suspect this isn't coincidence. What has piqued my interest is realizing that it is a justice issue and that real lives are affected by it. There are the GREEN reasons too, but environmental reasons aren't as engaging as people reasons for me. We'll see what comes of this.Steve Loeppkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01310836685841342979noreply@blogger.com0