Jeff Hester

Gumption

// December 22nd, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Good things, Personal, mind

Self-described change agent Seth Godin has put together a free e-book that I’d like to share with you. What Matters Now is a compilation of one page essays by over seventy notable authors.

One of my favorites was titled “Gumption” by novelist J.C. Hutchins. His message, like many contained in the book, is well-timed and thought provoking end-of-the-year reading.

Most of us settle in, and settle for what we have. Rather than pursue, we accept. Our lives become unwitting celebrations of passivity: we undervalue our work and perceive ourselves as wage slaves (and so we phone it in at the day gig), we consume compulsively (but not create), we pine for better lives (but live vicariously through our televisions).

These corners we paint ourselves into, it’s no way to live. There’s no adventure here, no passion, no hunger for change. Remember that relentless optimism you once had? The goals you wished to achieve, before settling in? They’re still there. You need a nudge to find them; a little gumption.

You can start that business. You can lose that weight. You can quit smoking, and learn to garden, and write that book, and be a better parent, and be all the things you want to be … the thing this world needs you to be. It requires courage and faith, both of which you can muster. It requires effort — but this effortless life isn’t as satisfying as it seems, is it?

Declare war on passivity. Hush the inner voice that insists you’re over the hill, past your prime, unworthy of attaining those dreams. Disbelief is now the enemy, as is the notion of settling. Get hungry — hyena hungry. Get fired up. Find your backbone, and your wings.

Flap ‘em. It’s the only way you’ll be able to fly.

Preparing for an Expedition

// October 23rd, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Personal

In July 2010, I’ll be leading a small group of intrepid adventurers on a three week backpacking trip on the John Muir Trail – affectionately known as simply the “JMT.” Starting in Yosemite Valley to the north, and ending at the summit of Mt. Whitney, the total mileage covered will be over 230 miles. I will average over 11 miles per day, lumbering at high altitude with a 35 lb. backpack strapped to my body.

A backpacking trip of this sort isn’t really an expedition, but it’s no walk in the woods, either. There are long months of planning, preparation, and dedicated training required for a successful through-hike of the JMT.

Right now, training is a huge part of my preparation. Last March at my annual physical, my physician said my cholesterol was bordering on “bad” and suggested I lose some weight. Since then, I’ve been eating healthier and exercising regularly. My cholesterol has dropped from 198 to 143. And I’ve lost over 35 lbs.

Two weeks ago I hiked up San Gorgonio via the Fish Creek trail. At an elevation of 11,501.6 feet, it’s the highest peak in Southern California.  The 19.4 mile round trip wasn’t easy, especially once I hit about 10,000 feet, but I felt strong, and passed 16 people on my way up the mountain.

Last weekend was a new challenge. How would it feel to cover the average distance for the JMT with a fully-loaded backpack? I loaded my backpack with several gallon-sized jugs of water and hit the hills of Crystal Cove with my girlfriend to find out. I mapped out an 11 mile course with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain, and was really surprised to find how easy it was! Yes, I’ve been hiking and mountain biking regularly, but this was my first hike in a long while carrying a full-loaded backpack.

It didn’t occur to me until later that the weight I was carrying in my backpack equaled the weight I had lost over the summer. What a shocker! The good news is that I’m much healthier and getting even better each day!

Here’s a look at the route I took:

Technology Tidbits

Some people have asked what I use to record my hikes. I did a bit of research, and settled on the Trails app for my iPhone 2G. It uses the built-in GPS capabilities of my iPhone, and does a fairly accurate job of recording the route. It also gives me several options for sharing the recorded GPS data, including posting to my EveryTrail account.

The Trails app is $3.99, but I like it better than the several free options that were out there, including the EveryTrail iPhone app. The downside of this approach is that the GPS recording really drains the battery fast. To make it last, I start with a full charge, turn off wifi and 3G, and dial down the brightness to preserve power. Trails will automatically turn off the screen when you slip the phone into your pocket, using the same proximity technology that turns off the display when you hold the phone to your ear. It helps!

Eventually I may spring for some add-on juice to let me record longer hikes, but so far, this has worked pretty well. I was even able to use this setup on my 19.4 mile San Gorgonio hike, though to conserve battery, I only recorded one half of the out-and-back trip.

What’s next?

This will be my second time backpacking the entire John Muir Trail. The first time was in July 1980, making this the 30th anniversary of that original trek. A fitting milestone, don’t you think?

I’m still assembling my JMT team. Two of my kids are interested, as well as a couple of friends, with firm commitment needed soon. Ideally the group size will be 5-6 people, with others providing support (transportation, possibly food drops or segment companions) . I’ll be finalizing my equipment list in November and applying for permits in December. And of course, training. I’m still mountain biking, but now I hike a couple times a week. I lead a Wednesday night hike, take my dog on increasingly long walks (she’s up to six miles now!) and work in a longer, more strenuous hike on the weekends.

And (in my spare time — hah!) I’m working on a top-secret new web site where I’ll be posting details on the planning, equipment selection, preparation and (of course) an extensive post-trip report with photos.

If you’re interested in joining me on this adventure, let me know!

Building Your Brand

// May 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Business, Personal

There are two parts to your personal brand. First, you need to build your reputation. This takes time and energy, and there are no shortcuts. The second part is no less important, and that’s making sure the right people can find you. 

Google is making it easier for people to find you — if you are using Google Profiles. As reported on the official Google blog, once you setup your Google Profile, your profile may show up at the bottom of search results. I say “may” because if you have a fairly common name, you’re stuck with competition.

In my case, a search for Jeff Hester brings up the astronomer (not me), the business owner in Oklahoma (also not me), but also this blog (most definitely me, and #2 on page one). At the bottom of the search results page, you’ll see this:

Hint: I’m the guy on the left. You’ll note that Google also puts links to search for me on several popular social networks, including MySpace, Facebook, Classmates and LinkedIn. 

Simon Mackie at Web Worker Daily shared these step-by-step instructions for setting up your own Google Profile:

1. Go to the Google Profiles site.
2. Sign in with your Google account. 
3. Fill out the form. Add a photo and links to your sites. 

Remember that information you share will be available for others to see. You can share as much or as little as you like, but Google will rank a well-filled profile higher than a skimpy one. 

Have you setup your Google Profile? 

GOTV: Text messages vs. Robo-calls

// October 28th, 2008 // No Comments » // Personal, Projects, Web 2.0

A couple years ago I helped build this site for researchers at Yale studying the effectiveness of various “get out the vote” efforts. Scott Beauchamp (a colleague from my Winfire days) dropped me a note yesterday saying the site was linked in a couple of places from a great article on Slate discussing the contrasting responses from McCain’s well-known robo-calls and Obama’s extensive use of text messages. 

On the surface, robo-calls and text messages may seem like equal nuisances, but anectdotal evidence suggests that Obama’s text messages have been much more effective. 

With a little thought and it’s easy to understand why. A text message is permission based and less intrusive. I had to provide my mobile number willingly to sign-up for Obama’s text alerts. And I can read them when it’s convenient. In contrast, I have never received a recorded message that didn’t piss me off just a little. Who wants to be interupted by a recorded message? Not me. 

Hats off to Obama for his great use of this technology. And be sure to vote on November 4th.

Project Friday

// October 10th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Personal

My schedule this week gives me this Friday to do whatever the hell I want. And today, what I want entails tackling some personal projects that have been hovering overhead for some time. And I’m using Things for the iPhone to help manage it all. 

Things is a nice little commercial iPhone app that dovetails with David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology for time and task management. I was using Todoist for a while, which is a nice, free web-based to-do list. I experimented with Jott, which is notable for its voice-driven interface. But so far, I like Things simple, no-nonsense interface. 

So what’s on my plate today? 

First, I’m doing a little rearranging right here. I’m updating the blog theme to make better use of screen real estate in general, and the right column in particular. I’m also going to be updating Wordpress and some 

plugins in preparation for next month’s release of Wordpress 2.7. And I’ll be adding the top content, making it easy for new readers to find the “greatest hits” (yes, there are a few). 

Next, I’ll be working on my two big forum sites, GetGamer and BigBlueBall. I use vBulletin on both, and they are both ready for upgrades to the latest versions. I’ll be adding a storefront to the GetGamer site in preparation for the holidays, and fleshing out the design mockups for BigBlueBall (which hasn’t been refreshed since 2005!). 

If you feel like checking in or throwing a little morale support my way, leave me a comment. I’ll also be online throughout the day, so feel free to drop me an IM.

Oh, and for you design geeks out there, check out Cultured Code’s “making of” Things for a pictorial that shows how they designed Things for the iPhone UI.

How Microsoft FolderShare Totally Screwed Me Over

// June 28th, 2008 // 6 Comments » // Business, FUBAR, Personal

Regular readers know that I test a lot of products. I don’t let let a measly little “beta” label scare me away. But once in a while, you get screwed. And when that once in a while comes along, be sure I’ll let you know so you can avoid a similar fate.

In this case, the culprit was the Microsoft FolderShare beta. The concept of FolderShare is this: using your Windows Live account, you can install the FolderShare software on multiple PCs and even Macs. I had installed it on a laptop running Vista, a desktop running XP and a MacBook Pro running OS X.

Once installed, you can create a “share” between the computers and FolderShare will sync files across them. You have the choice between automatic or on-demand synchronization. In my case, I chose on demand. You also chose the corresponding container folder on each PC (they can be different on each).

Here is where my tale of woe begins…

I had just purchased and downloaded Big Blue Ball from Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records via iTunes on the Vista laptop. I simply wanted to copy the songs over to my desktop (all legal — it’s one of the devices attached to my iTunes account). I could’ve done this any number of ways, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to give FolderShare a real-world test.

After installing the software on the three computers, I created a Personal Library called “Music.” I added the iTunes folder from my laptop, and it added the files to that library (somewhere on a FolderShare server).

Next, I setup the desktop (where I wanted the files). Unfortunately, as soon as I connected to the new personal library, it started adding all the music I had on my desktop to the library as well. Not what I wanted at all.

Looking back on the laptop, I noticed that FolderShare had automatically created a long list of folders that matched how my music was stored on the desktop. Inside each folder was a special “shortcut” that if you clicked it, would fetch the requested file from my desktop and transfer it to my laptop. Likewise on my desktop, I saw new folders that mirrored the folders on my laptop, also with the little shortcuts for each file.

Well, that’s neat, I suppose. I tried to transfer a few of the files over from my laptop, and the were “downloaded” properly. So that part worked, but what to do with the massive, empty folder structure that was created on my laptop. Remember I didn’t want to copy my music from my desktop to the laptop.

At this point, I suspect someone will point out that FolderShare is in fact designed for folder synchronization. This is true, although I suspected by selected the “on demand” option as I did, I could control what got synchronized, when it got synchronized, and where it got synchronized. I was wrong. And I’m not the only person to have been bitten by FolderShare.

So moving back to the laptop, I decided I would never want to transfer all those files from my desktop to my laptop, so I selected all the folders that were created with their little FolderShare shortcuts and deleted them.

Holy shit…. what a mistake!

Yes, the folders were deleted from my laptop, but (as I realized later) the actual MP3s on my desktop were also being deleted — victims of a synchronized deletion. To add insult to injury, they weren’t even moved to the recycle bin. They were just… gone.

As soon as I discovered what was happening, I exited FolderShare and deleted the library. I don’t know if that was a mistake, too, but now I’m left with a massive music folder structure that is completely empty — no more music.

Some of this music was downloaded, but most of it I’ve got on CD. I can burn it again, but it’s going to take time.

The moral of the story: steer clear of FolderShare. It has promise, but the fact that it deleted files on another computer without warning or confirmation is entirely unacceptable.

Peter Gabriel and the “other” Big Blue Ball

// June 24th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Good things, Personal

As regular readers know, one of my busiest websites is BigBlueBall.com, a news and support site for instant messaging, social networks and other online collaboration tools. I registered BigBlueBall back in 1998 because I thought it was about as perfect a name as you could think up. It’s easy to say, to remember and spell. It’s adaptable to a wide range of topics. And it symbolizes our increasingly global community, collaboration and a “one world” view.

Four years ago (man, this blog has been around for a while!) I posted an in-depth explanation of how I came up with the BigBlueBall name and an anecdote about how one of my favorite musicians, Peter Gabriel, had (at the time) registered the .net and .org versions. I was curious to find out what his Real World record company would be doing with those domains, and now it’s clear. After more than 15 years in production, they’ve released (today!) Big Blue Ball, the album.

It’s fascinating to learn that Peter Gabriel had the same idea — Big Blue Ball symbolizing the global community and collaboration — with a similar inspiration; the astronaut’s view of Earth from space.

You can listen to some samples or get DRM-free MP3s below:

Enjoy!

The Good Life

// March 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Good things, Personal, Photo

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in a Photo Friday challenge. This week’s challenge was “The Good Life.” I was looking through some of my photos to see if I had something that captured the essence of the theme, and I’m happy to report that life is good! And while this might bend the “rules” of the challenge, I submit to you the following collage.

Here’s to the good life!

Projects in the Pipeline

// January 20th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Personal, Projects

I had a perfect day yesterday, going down to Huntington Beach with Lynn and the dogs. We rode our bikes, played on “Dog Beach” and generally wore ourselves out in the fresh air and warm sun (see pics on Flickr). We capped the day with dinner and movie (Atonement, which I do not recommend).

Today is a working Sunday, with the NFL football playoffs in the background to distract me. Here’s an overview of the things I’m working on and what’s coming down the pipeline:

Installing Photoshop CS3 on Lynn’s PC (done!). She’s taking a Photoshop class at Saddleback that looks like a lot of fun. I’m hoping I can pick up a few new tricks by osmosis.

Upgrading phpAdsNew to OpenAds 2.4.2 (in progress). OpenAds is the very best free ad server out there, and I highly recommend it to anyone running a website with advertising. It provides great tools for rules-bases ad serving and reporting. They recently received funding that will allow them to proceed with plans to offer hosted ad serving, but until then, this is truly the best option out there. I’m using OpenAds for most of my sites in the BigBlueNetwork.

Over on BigBlueBall, I’m preparing to make some staffing changes. In fact, if you’re interested in instant messaging (IM) or pretty much any other social networking tools, we’re looking to add to the staff. See this post on the BigBlueBlog for details.

While keeping these balls in the air, I’ll be spinning some plates, too. Not literally, but I am testing a number of sites and tools that show a lot of promise.

• Mint.com is what Quicken should be. It’s free, web-based and provides really clever ways of looking at your finances. As long as you’re not too queasy about them recording your login information to your financial accounts, it’s absolutely recommended. I may end up using Mint instead of the Quicken upgrade that I just paid $80 for!
• Jott.com makes it easy to create little notes to yourself, or even add items to your blog, Twitter, Google Calendar, the list goes on. You call a toll-free number from your phone and speak your message. Jott transcribes the notes and sends you SMS reminders or integrates with your other web tools.
• Todoist.com provides a really simple interface for managing your to-do lists. You can set up multiple projects and sub-projects, set due dates and view it on your PC or mobile phone. It’s similar to Mark Hurst’s gootodo, but free.

Finally, I’m also preparing a review of the various IM options available for the iPhone. I’m looking at both the web-based systems like Meebo and Mundu IM, as well as applications for a jailbreaked iPhone like Apollo IM and MobileChat. This one will keep me busy, but I want to get it done soon so I can apply the latest iPhone update (which hasn’t been “jailbroken” yet). I’ll be posting at BigBlueBall as soon as I’m done.

On Today’s Schedule

// January 13th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Personal, Projects

I’ve got a lot of little projects cooking right now, and today is my day to play catch-up. Before I give you a rundown of today’s schedule and the varied projects I’m juggling, let me give you a peek at my weekend.

Yesterday I took the day off — not such a bad idea considering it was Saturday. In the morning, Lynn and I took a hellacious ride on our mountain bikes. Hellacious not because of the technical difficulty of the ride, but because of the hill we climbed to get back home: one mile uphill at about a 7% grade is enough to make anyone’s calves just about burst. It was also my first time out with my new biking shoes that click into the pedals. And yes, I fell over, not once, but twice. I’m really looking forward to my first endo on Meadows.

After one of Lynn’s wonderful veggie wraps for lunch, I headed to the Apple Store in Irvine for an iPhone workshop. This is the more basic of the two workshops the store gives on iPhones, so I didn’t expect much, but I was curious to see if there was some hidden features I haven’t stumbled across.

There were about ten people attending, as the 20-something Apple employee gave his tour. As expected, it was pretty basic. Most of the attendees were about 15-20 years older than me (and I’m no spring chick), and were really struggling with the most basic concepts. I did, however, learn a couple of new things.

First, when viewing wide-screen videos, you can double-tap the video to fill the screen. This should come in handy, especially when I’ve watching them on my TV through the A/V cables.

He also shared a great website specifically for iPhone users. AppMarks.com is optimized for display on the iPhone, and even looks much like the iPhone springboard, with links to a number of handy iPhone web apps.

Next, I learned how you can search for nearby businesses when using the map application. Simply search for a business — say Starbucks — and all the mega-corp’s nearest coffee houses will be sprinkled across your map with push-pins.

Finally, I learned how to easily type special characters like ñ, í, and ¿ — especially handy since my Spanish 2 class starts up this Tuesday. You simply hold down the key for a moment and you are presented with other variations.

I would not recommend this workshop to your average person. This is for your mom who isn’t sure how to use a mouse. There is an advanced class next weekend. If time permits, I’ll see if its any juicier.

After the workshop, I caught the end of the Packers-Seahawks game in Green Bay. When I left for the workshop, the game had just started, and the field was dry. When I got back, it was the third quarter and there was about four inches of snow on the field. Awesome for the unpredictable nature of football in snow, and for the fact that Green Bay won.

Although I really don’t like the Patriots, I watched that game, too. They handily beat Jacksonville, but that was no surprise.

Finally, I hooked up the Xbox 360 and practiced my Guitar Hero licks until Lynn got home. It was fun to just play for a change. Something I probably need to do a little more often.

Now, what’s on the docket for today?

Well, there is football, although I will be working on my laptop. I’ll post a list of the projects next.