Skip to content


Time at Gangplank

About 2 months ago I got a new team for my automation efforts with David Fagan. When we first got together, we spent some days at a local coffee shop and each other’s house and even a pizza joint. All of those are pretty typical for today’s work situations. It was painful. Spotty wifi, coffee overload, no privacy, no whiteboards, no, no, no….well you get it.

Finally I told the team I was going to check out Gangplank. I had been a couple of months ago for a brown-bag lunch hosted by the venerable Francine Hardaway.

Here is the punchline, Gangplank is amazing! Let me be specific; the people are amazing. They set-up is everything you need and nothing you don’t. They have a conference room you can book and even a well assembled pod-casting booth. We used both frequently. Needless to say, the Gangplank folks deserve kudos. (or at least Snickers)

Really, if you need to work in the valley and are looking for an environment that is professional and smart, go to Gangplank.

Thanks Derick Neighbors, Andrew Bowerman, Ed Newsbaum and Francine Hardaway. You guys have really done a good thing.

http://gangplankhq.com

325 East Elliot Rd Suite 34
Chandler, AZ 85225

(view map)

Posted in business.


Understanding the difference between government logic and sanity.

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous
pasture in Wyoming when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out
of a cloud of dust..

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses
and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If I tell you
exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me
a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully
grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects
it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the
Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his
location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the
area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and
exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany ..

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image
has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL
database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his
Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You
have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with
amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what
your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why
not?"

"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even
though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already
knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of
equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you
don't know a thing about how working people make a living – or about
cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep…
Now give me back my dog.

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


Twitterize your coffee table

What?? You can twitterize your coffee table?

These folks did it here using bluetooth and an Ikea coffee table.

 

First of all, here are some photos of the coffee table as previously implemented:
RGB coffee table led coffee table Maker Faire 2009 photos

The coffee table is actually a GRANÃ…S series steel and glass side table from IKEA . Unfortunately they don’t make this exact table any more, but if you wanted to duplicate the project you might find a used one.

Unsubscribe or change subscriber options
 https://moneymaker.infusionsoft.com/opt?o=0&i=285&m=43&e=eb12b152

MDD
4275 E. Gail Dr
Candler , AZ 85226

Delivered By Infusionsoft

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


Quick List – Where to watch the boob tube on line

You can watch most of your favorite network shows by simply streaming them directly from the networks’ web sites. They’re often available a few hours after they air, and regularly have additional goodies like behind-the-scenes footage or teasers for upcoming episodes. In addition to official network sites, more and more useful tools are popping up every day to help you get your TV fix online.

  • Clicker â⒬” Bookmark this site to help you figure out where your favorite shows are airing around the internet. It combs through what’s available on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming video sites, and is searchable by show or topic.
  • Hulu â⒬” This video streaming service offers the five most recent episodes of dozens of many of the most-watched shows on television. Episodes are available for 30 days after their air date, so this is a great way to catch up on any shows you’ve missed. It’s also full of full seasons of older TV shows.
  • CBS â⒬” Episodes from lots of current programming, as well as some oldies but goodies (MacGyver!).
  • NBC â⒬” Check out new episodes of current primetime, daytime, and late night programming, and some original online-only series like Office parody show Ctrl.
  • ABC â⒬” Episodes of current shows, including daytime programming and archives of specials like the American Music Awards.
  • FOX â⒬” Full-length episodes of many popular shows, including Family Guy and Glee.
  • Netflix â⒬” Best for catching episodes of your favorite shows from last season or from the last decade. While Netflix doesn’t typically offer recently aired episodes of popular shows, it’s perfect for streaming episodes from previous seasons, or for getting your “Murder She Wrote” groove on. There’s a monthly fee to subscribe to Netflix but once you’re signed up, you can stream an unlimited amount of shows.
  • iTunes â⒬” You can pick up new episodes of shows on iTunes hours after they air on television, but be prepared to pay for the privilege. They’ll usually set you back $1.99 per episode, or upwards of $30 per season. On the other hand, buying through iTunes means you can drop the shows on your iPod and watch them on the fly.
  • Amazon Video On Demand â⒬” Like iTunes, you’ll pay for most of the television shows you get from this site. The upside is, you can watch programs on your computer or convert them to a format that’s playable on a mobile device.
  • Gawker.TV – Okay, so our association aside (Gawker.TV is the all-video site of our blog network’s namesake, Gawker), Gawker.TV was the go-to online destination we fired up every day during the recent Late Night debacle for comprehensive coverage of all the dramaâ⒬”and we didn’t have to stay up all night to keep up with the latest. Gawker.TV isn’t the only site out there that posts clips and synopses from shows and news events, but it’s got a quick turnaround and can really fill a gap you miss when you don’t have access to the regular cable lineup.

Unsubscribe or change subscriber options
 https://moneymaker.infusionsoft.com/opt?o=0&i=285&m=41&e=eb12b152

MDD
4275 E. Gail Dr
Candler , AZ 85226

Delivered By Infusionsoft

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


USB Lightsabers for your favorite geek…or you.

lightsaber usb memory stick These 1GB lightsaber flash drives may have been imported from Japan and they may light up when plugged in, but they still don’t feel quite right without some woosh-woosh-zzwoommm-zwing sound effects. Worth $20 without those? [ ThinkGeek via Nerd Approved ]

Unsubscribe or change subscriber options
 https://moneymaker.infusionsoft.com/opt?o=0&i=285&m=37&e=eb12b152

MDD
4275 E. Gail Dr
Candler , AZ 85226

Delivered By Infusionsoft

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


True self-discovery can only happen in the wilderness of panic

When our brains percieve danger, the lizard brain kicks in.

The lizard brain tells us to run for cover and hide in the safety of the herd.

Our biggest moments happen when we ignore the lizard brain.

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


Holy Iceballs! Square Ice is old school!

Ice Ball Machine – the next round of drinks

 

The Ice Ball Mold turns an ugly chunk of ice into a spherical thing of beauty

Ice cubes are so passé. We’ve already seen them challenged in their drink cooling duties by Sippin’ Rocks and now there’s a new threat looming. The Ice Ball Mold transforms an irregular shaped chunk of ice into an icy sphere, which its proponents say are more desirable than cubes because they melt more slowly due to their smaller surface area – thereby keeping your drink cooler and less diluted for longer

Unsubscribe or change subscriber options
 https://moneymaker.infusionsoft.com/opt?o=0&i=285&m=0&e=eb12b152

MDD
4275 E. Gail Dr
Candler , AZ 85226

Delivered By Infusionsoft

Posted via email from travismerrick’s posterous

Posted in drivel.


Today’s Power Lunch: Roger Salam, David T. Fagan and Aaron Halderman… Rock On!

Posted in drivel.


will be on the treadmill for the rest of the day

Posted in drivel.


Getting a quad at In-n-OUT, my trainer will kill me but its worth it!

Posted in drivel.