The Gadget Lifestyle...

Cross posted from my personal blog -
While traveling this summer, I had a funny realization - my life (especially on the road) has been taken over by electronics. I was in Europe at an airport - I think it was in Budapest on my way out of Hungary, but it may have been Germany - too many airports on that trip. I passed my backpack into the scanner and they kept running back and forth. It turns out, I had it packed too densely with electronics to scan properly. Who knew?

I have learned to rely on a few key gadgets and some new ones as well. Topping the revised new list are my kindle eBook reader and my Zune music player for entertainment, my HP Tablet PC for keeping up with all things internet and such, the Nikon D-90 for capturing a photo record of the fun and my Garmin GPS to help me find my way. My Blackberry Tour keeps me in touch and connected to the internet both on the device and with Tether mode.
Of course, for power, you need the whole assortment - the international travel adapter kit, the power supplies for the notebooks. I usually have 2 there. The charger for the camera and cables to charge the Zune, Phone and Kindle along with a universal plug, an extension cord since hotel plugs are not always convenient. For mobile power, I have an inverter with a plug that adapts to fit the car or plane.

All this gadgetry makes life a little more fun, but takes up space. I typically keep this collection and a little more in my backpack when traveling and have had to learn to pack creatively to make it fit without jamming up the xray machines. The key is modular and layers like a cake or lasagna. mmmmm speaking of food - there needs to be a few goodies in there as well. I am particularly fond of the Starbucks Via packets for a quick pick me up.

Blackberry development

So my blackberry 8330 died a sad death at the best of times, while traveling. It is amazing how much I had come to rely on that device. I use it for online access, tether mode for my laptop, calendar, etc... I went directly to the Verizon store on returning home, and was told the device was hosed, so time to upgrade. The new device is the 9630 World Edition and so far, I am impressed and pleased. That said, I feel a strange need to play with the SDK, or at least get started with the Plazmic CDK.

A quick internet search led me to the blackberry site and their sdk. The link required registration to download but you can find it here. Once you install the base application, you need to run the update as well.

Once I get the install finished and see how it works, I will update with a new post. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed on the install since I am running Windows 7 and it is not listed as supported - probably due in part to the fact that Windows 7 has not been generally released yet.

cross posted from my personal blog as well.

Writing on the web

I recently ran across a very good link to an article on writing on the web. I am including it here as a reference and I encourage a visit.

The truth is, most online readers don't care much about grammar, spelling, and punctuation as long as they get the information they need. That said, good grammar does build trust in your organization. So does proper spelling - so proofread your text and ask a professional copywriter to look it over if at all possible.

The main thrust of the article is that people read and interact with information differently on the web, and therefore it must be presented differently to be effective.

Explaining REST

I ran across a great post from Ryan Tomayko the other day and had to link it here. He goes into how he explained REST to his wife and it is actually very solid - better then I would have managed. Check it out here. I was laughing and appreciating the great description at the same time.

Blackberry tether mode

I have the Blackberry 8330 and it is generally a good device. Yes, it occasionally looses it's mind and has to be given a hard reset, but otherwise, I can get online, check email, view (tiny) presentations and so on. The best is the function I rarely have to use, but LOVE when I do.

Tether mode is something every business person should have. (at least those without a dedicated air card!) I have used it on vacation at the beach, in airports and other remote locations. Yes, I know I should not have to check email on vacation, but what do you think pays for the vacation? You have to earn the cabbage some how so occasionally taking a meeting from vacation is a minor annoyance made easier with this capability.

I installed the connection manager from Verizon and all I have to do now is plug in the phone and go. Of course, if you are using this feature, make sure you are on an unlimited plan for data or you will be hurting at billing time!

Lab Data Standards

The primary challenge with implementing instrumentation in the lab environments (beyond the obvious cost issue) is making it work with what you already have in a timely manner, with limited IT involvement. Of course, when working in a regulated environment, this is only amplified by the amount of validation testing required to prove things work as advertised.

In a meeting comprised chiefly of senior scientists, this came up as a discussion point and one of the scientists asked the obvious question –

why can I plug almost anything into my computer at home and it just works, or it downloads whatever it needs and then works, but it takes an IT team and an integration project to get an instrument working in my lab?

Of course, the answer is a little more complicated then just plug and play hardware drivers, but that is one issue. The other is data format and communication. A nice start would be a universal data standard for instrument data that all vendors can agree on and the regulatory agencies support. I have worked in the clinical space on many standards, chiefly around CDISC, but I have not seen the same enthusiasm to date in the labs. Side initiative… figure this out! I am working with a group of folks to identify areas of focus, and corresponding standards that may be emerging. Where there are none, I will try to see what we can get started. I have a couple of notes into the FDA to see what they have in this space and am currently waiting on a reply from a guy in the instrument area...

More to come in this space to be sure...

The joys of air travel

As I type this, I sit in the airport in Philly waiting for the aircraft that is supposed to get me to Burlington at 5:30 to arrive. It is now 5:38 and they say we are not leaving until 6:30 earliest so unless US Scare-ways has a time travel capability that I am not aware of, I am getting in a couple of hours late. No big deal, it just means dinner later and driving later... and I hope the ferry is open later. Come to think of it, that's a detail I should verify. I suppose on landing I can find that out assuming they know at the car rental agency. (stream of consciousness [eof] )

Travel gets interesting every time weather gets a little weird and that seems to happen with surprising regularity! Watching the reaction of fellow travelers is mildly entertaining, with the resignation displayed by some and the freak out mode from others. (I'm not sure how that really helps anything). Now the debate is to eat in the airport or hold off for a late dinner in Vermont or NY... I suppose a little more time on the keyboard and a check on the departure time will drive that decision.

The delay has allowed me to try out the e-Book reader I brought along and I am pleased with the device. It is easy to read and pages nicely. The button placement could be better but I am able to hold it one handed and page so I suppose it was a design compromise for functionality. I did accidentally flip to the beginning once while getting used to it, but that was easily corrected and I am sold on the concept. I think I will be picking up a kindle at the end of the year. I am looking for the whisper net feature, larger screen and keyboard features but this is a great bridge device and thanks to my wife for sharing.

Update on the flight - still in the airport at 8. Original flight canceled. New flight delayed until 11 or so at this point. It's looking like a long night. My first meeting is at 8 in NY. I could have driven there at this point, but who knew. If this gets cancelled, I will have to skip this leg and drive straight to Andover, missing NY this pass. Here's to hoping I make this flight.