Siliconchef by Brian Richardson

It’s been a busy two weeks for me. International travel is old hat, so preparing for the almost-last-minute trip to Germany was no big deal.

The two product launches … those are new.

While in Germany, I’ll be pushing two new products I’ve been pseudo-managing for several months. One is being test marketed, the other is a full-blown new product announcement.

That full-blown product launch has been fun. I’ve helped see this thing from ideas & whiteboard drawings to prototypes to an actual introduction at a trade show. Lots of people at my company have worked on this, and it’s nice to help get their work into the market.

Most of what I work on is just a small part of another product, hidden under plastic and aluminum and a logo that isn’t on my business card. This is our idea … something more unique. It’s what engineers want to do, even if they have long since moved to marketing.

This has eaten part of my brain, put me away from my wife for a week (not to mention several late departures from work) and forced me to put other items on the back-burner. But it’s going to be worth it in the long run.

It’s 2:17pm and I’m finally grabbing lunch. It’s an early indicator for how the next two weeks will go.

In a month where I wanted to catch up on personal tasks/chores/obligations, work has decided to “kick it up a notch.” I leave for Germany on the 28th to help launch two products at a huge tradeshow. I also happen to be unofficially managing both prodcts (unofficial since none of the people involved actually answer to me).

Exciting … yes.
Professionally fufilling … absolutely.
Good for my personal agenda … not so much.

I have a video project due by the end of the month, another starting Saturday and one I now must delay till March (sorry Sketch). My 2nd degree brown belt test is scheduled for the 26th … that’s probably being delayed. I also have this “wife” person I want to spend time with, along with an assortment of friends who are forgetting what I look like.

Oh yeah … Dragon*ConTV.
And the barn.

Yes, I like international travel … but it’s only a vacation if you get to pick where you go and when you leave.

My good friend Joyce is conducting a “geek culture” survey.

The purpose of this survey is to gather demographic data about geek culture.  I will be collating the data into a presentation in order to introduce geekdom as a subculture to a masters class on intercultural communication.  There are 18 questions; the first 11 are standard demographic info; the rest are specific to geek culture.  None of the questions are mandatory, but I hope that you will answer them all.

It’s an experiment, and we know how much our fans like science
http://www.rejoycing.com/survey.htm

Thanks to good weather, good builders and reasonable construction prices … GeekFarm 2.0 has Barn 2.0 (beta version). Pics are on Flickr.

That isn’t a complet ebarn yet. We have the concrete & complete structure in place, but it needs a lot more… stall walls, plumbing, interior walls, insulation and electricity (just to name a few).

Still, it’s a lot of progress in about one month. My wife is very happy right now