Writer's Notebook - James Rafferty Blog

Writer's Notebook: Creative Blogs

It's been a busy Fall for me and I've been enjoying the transition from the summer here in southeastern Massachusetts.  I got back from a trip last weekend and discovered, much to my surprise and delight, that my friend Pat Bertram, author of Bertram's Blog, had been nominated for a Kreativ Blogger award for her blog AND passed the nomination for that same award and recognition to this blog.  

The award looks like this:  

I'm very pleased to be nominated for this award and it's much more meaningful when it comes from Pat, a blogger and writer who has done a remarkable job in the blogosphere and other social media in leading discussions about writing in a way that builds community among writers and helps us all get better at what we do.  

About six months ago, I recast this blog to focus primarily about writing and travel, with occasional forays into other areas such as personal technology and music.  I still find it hard to make the time to post regularly, but I'll continue to post when I've got thoughts, pictures or other cool discoveries to share.  So, to Pat Bertram and Bertram's Blog, thank you very much.  

Now for the fun part -- passing on the nomination to three other deserving recipients. My stint in the blogosphere has included lots of interaction with both the community of fiction writers and with my many colleagues in the telecommunications industry.  I blog on matters related to Voice over IP for the Dialogic Corporate Blog and like the split of keeping my business blogging mostly separate from this more personally focused blog. 

So what do I like in a blog?  I like people who are innovative and use their diverse backgrounds and expertise to comment on topics in multiple areas, bringing new insights from these connections.  

With that in mind, I'd like to nominate the following blogs for the Kreativ Blogger award:  

Fractals of Change - written by Tom Evslin - I've known Tom since we worked together on fax standards in the early Nineties and he's had a fascinating career and so-called retirement in the time since.  After leaving his post as CEO of Voice over IP startup ITXC, Tom launched his blog.  He comments on a broad range of topics ranging from the high tech world to public policy.  Like me, he is also a writer and self-published a novel a couple of years ago.  His is a fine blog that I enjoy even when his busy real life reduces the number of posts.  

Communications - written by Brough Turner - I've known Brough over ten years and he has typically brought keen insight and a unique slant to whatever catches his eye.  This past year, we've worked together at Dialogic, and it has been fun to be able to talk without the constraint of being competitors in the workplace.  In his blog, he tracks topics such as the pace of broadband development throughout the world and the social implications as people from third world countries suddenly have tools that connect them with the rest of the world.    

Coming full circle, the third blog I'd like to recognize is from a writer that I've gotten to know over the past two years from our online writing group on Gather.com.  The blog is The Paper Tiger, by Other Lisa aka Lisa Brackmann.  Lisa blogs about writing, her cats, life in Venice, California and, most of all, about her many visits to mainland China.  Lisa is a fine writer and her first novel Rock Paper Tiger, set in China, is due out next spring.  In her blog, we get a current view about what's happening in China for real people in places such as bars, restaurants, museums and so on.  It's not political so much as chronicle.  Lisa offers fascinating glimpses from a western perspective into an often hidden country. 

So, I hope my readers will take a moment to check out these blogs and see if you like what you read.  Please let me know what you think or if there are other blogs you think are a good fit for the creative blog criteria I outlined.  Until the next time  . . .

Writer's Notebook: More on OneNote

In a recent blog post, I ruminated about the possibilities for using the OneNote software that comes with some versions of Microsoft Office 2007.  I'm pleased to say that I've been using OneNote both at work and at home, and it has really helped to declutter my life.     

So what do I mean by this?  As a writer, I've always got multiple projects going.  For example, I'm doing editing on one of my manuscripts.  Right now, I'm fine tuning the language in certain sections based on feedback from one of my beta readers.   However, the best phrases often occur to me when the word processor is not open and the computer might even be off altogether.  OneNote is a very lightweight way to take the odd scribbled notes -- from those times when the computer is down -- and file them away under a page devoted to current edits on the manuscript in process.   Later, when I'm ready to edit again, the notes are there, waiting for me to put them to use.  

In my work as a product manager, I've recently been in the throes of a product launch.  This entails a myriad of tasks and a boatload of details.  I've now covered a planning page devoted to the launch with all of these tasks, together with links to a variety of documents which have moved from draft to finished state, all safely under the watch of OneNote.  I know there are other ways of managing such tasks, but OneNote has seamlessly jumped into the breach, aiding and abetting me in this complex project, acting like the assistant  I might have had back in the days before the current lean and mean corporate era.  

My conclusion?  OneNote is the kind of software tool I've been looking for to help me organize my personal life and rely much less on scraps of paper.  I can definitely recommend it as being the most useful software tool I've encountered in recent years.   If you want to try it out, you can either buy the program standalone or get it in one of the many versions of Office 2007.  It's worth the effort. 

Writer's Notebook: Getting Organized with OneNote

At work, I've been playing around with a software tool that is included in Office 2007, a software program known as OneNote.  Both at work and at home, I tend to spawn a lot of ideas and if I don't capture them -- quickly -- poof, they're gone. 

I started hearing about OneNote a few years back, as one of a wave of programs that try to help you organize your ideas.  I've been using a program called Ascend at home for many years for managing things like To-Do lists and capturing miscellaneous notes with their Red Tab feature.  At first blush, OneNote is a much more powerful way to capture notes and create links between related items.  I've been doing this kind of thing for years, but in an improvised way.   When Word added the capability of hyperlinking, I used it to manage projects that involved interaction between multiple documents.   When I took notes at a standards meeting, I'd create a master document and use it to link to all of the subsidiary documents.  Later on, the notes would be turned into meeting minutes and -- in somewhat different form -- into my standards newsletter, Human Communications Digest.  

So, what does this have to do with writing?  My newsletter example above shows what I did for non-fiction writing projects using Word, but OneNote is actually designed for capturing notes and organizing projects, so it is much slicker.  

I tend to work on multiple writing projects at once and ideas do pop up about phrases I want to include in a new draft, entire new chapters that coalesce around a new direction for my characters, or perhaps, entirely new novels.  I'm rather visual in my thinking style, so it really helps me to map things out before I get too deep into a new project.  In my writing notebooks, I have a couple of very interesting pages, where I drew a map of the dimensions I wanted to explore in new novels and then showed how the ideas connected.  In two cases, there was enough there so that I started thinking about the characters who would inhabit this novelistic world.  I then took the more traditional tack of writing a rough chapter outline and then started to fill in background information on the characters.  I did all of this in a hard copy notebook, but I really would have liked to have an electronic tool which could have supplemented my hard copy and helped me organize it. 

OneNote looks like a tool that would be very good for this application.  The GUI looks like a notebook, complete with tabs, so it's visually very friendly for a writer who has been working with paper notebooks.  It's very easy to start a new tab, perhaps to jot down notes about that project that's in your mind and then put them aside until you are ready to take the next step.  If you've already got other documents, it's easy to set up hyperlinks.  

I'm starting to use OneNote for some work projects, but really want to get it going at home for my writing as well.  I'll report back on my results.  

An Experiment: Making a DVD for the Holidays

I conducted an experiment today which turned out well. I decided my in-laws and my parents would enjoy a collection of family photos, and music that my son and I had recorded at various times during the year.

I pulled up the Windows DVD Maker under Vista, identified which photos I wanted to arrange in a slide show and then pulled in music that I'd recorded earlier this year for the First Tracks songwriting contest, along with with my recording of Calico Jack, a song written by two of my online friends.  You can listen to these recordings online here.  Then I asked my oldest son to contribute music that he'd recorded with his trio in the last couple of months.

In about two hours, I'd assembled the entire thing, a slide show with background music. The program has a useful preview feature, so I was able to weed out pictures with issues. Next, I burned the DVD. My in-laws were visiting, so I played the DVD for them after dinner. It provided an excellent way to share my travels and family pictures, not to mention the music. I've already burned another copy and printed out a jewel box cover to bring to my parents this weekend.

This technology stuff is pretty cool when it works!

Here's a couple of pictures that I used for the menu:  

Chinaman's Hat on Oahu, Hawaii

 

Carousel in front of Hotel de Ville, Paris, France

Happy holidays to all of my readers.  

Deflation on the Way?

I've read some coverage of the finance mess in a few blogs that's something other than the usual handwringing.    The suggestion is that we may be in for a bout with deflation, where cash is king and companies in debt will struggle for a long time. 

Heres a sampling:  

Advice from my VoIP industry colleague Tom Evslin on Deflation (which triggered this review of blogs for me):  

http://blog.tomevslin.com/

History of the Panic of 1873:  

http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=477k3d8mh2wmtpc4b6h07p4hy9z83x18

A view from Silicon Valley VCs (Sequoia Capital):

http://gigaom.com/2008/10/08/sequoia-rings-the-alarm-bell-silicon-valley-in-trouble/

A view from a NY VC:  

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2008/10/what-to-look-fo.html

The net picture emerging here is of a time, which could last for a while, where cash assets are key and debt laden entitities (countries, companies and people) are in trouble.   

In my lifetime, we've never seen a period of deflation.  The blogs and articles above are offering advice on what we should consider doing if that is what ahead.    In short, pay off your debt and have cash available which could be used to buy assets on the cheap.   

Web 2.0 and Business Communications

TMC Editor Rich Tehrani just published an interview with me in one of the TMC blogs.   The title of the article is a bit misleading, I think, but the content is fine.  

In the interview, I talk about key trends for the year in Voice over IP and related parts of the telecom industry.   I tried to be consistent with my company's view on these matters, but the opinions are my own.  

The article is:  Dialogic: Communications Developers Should Focus on Web 2.0 and Open Source

If it were up to me, a more realistic title would have been:  "Coming soon: Web 2.0 Tools for a Business Near You".   But the TMC editors saw it differently.  

If you have any comments on the interview, let me know.   It also mentions that I'll be speaking at TMC's Communications Developer Conference on September 16 in LA.   My session is called "IMS and ATCA".   If you're in town, please stop by.  

New Article on Voice over IP Gateways

Internet Telephony Magazine, from TMC, has just published an article that I wrote on Voice over IP Gateways.   The article is entitled:  Paving the Way to Next Generation Media and Signaling VoIP Gateways.  

The focus of the article is to review the paths that service providers can take in developing a voice infrastructure that builds on existing circuit based investments, but still supports a way forward in developing new services based on protocols such as the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).  

The particular thrust of the article is to consider the evolving role of the media gateway.   Such gateways typically offer both media translation and some degree of signaling translation.   Going forward, customers will have a variety of choices, which will include distribution of gateway functions among many elements and a more consolidated type of product that is known as an Integrated Media Gateway.  

Musings: Northeast Vacation

I began writing this post using a top ten motif, but decided there were more than ten experiences worth talking about on the family vacation which we just completed.  

We did a grand circle, beginning in the Boston area, then heading north to Freeport, Maine, onward for three days stays in Quebec City and Montreal, and then returning back home via Vermont and New Hampshire.  This was an expensive year for a driving vacation, especially one to Canada, but we'd decided it was time for our kids to get a more diverse summer vacation experience, including one with cultural and languages differences.   It was expensive, yes, but our experiences were also rich.  

What follows is a sampling of our best experiences on the trip, roughly in the order they happened.  We had fun and learned a lot.   It is presented here in table form, but one can think of it as a geodesic guide, as the experiences built and overlapped upon each other.   I've written about other parts of this trip here and here.   Bon Voyage!

Locale	Experience
All	Biking - People riding bikes were everywhere on our vacation, though notably in Montreal and Burlington, VT.  Most riders were fit and all were saving money.  This meshed well with the green friendly theme which was a subtle undercurrent everywhere we visited, from LL Bean in Freeport, Maine onto the cities which followed.
Maine	Just off of interstate 95, on Route 201, we found Sandy's Kitchen.   Sandy's is a classic diner, but with individual touches such as hand-painted sunflowers on the walls. Our waitress Donna was quick with a smile and a friendly word, and very popular among the men who visited the diner.  The food was scrumptious.  My wife and I shared a Reuben, pastrami piled high on thick, homemade bread.  Thus fortified, we were ready to tackle the long drive to Quebec City.
Quebec City	Dining Out - Dinner was expensive in Quebec City, but the quality was outstanding.   On our first night in QC, we ate at Bistro sous le Fort in the lower part of the old city.  The service was attentive and the bistro fare both diverse and tasty, with dishes such as an appetizer plate with pate, Caembert, and Brie, duck served three ways and fresh seafood.   We hoped for economy at Verla the next night; instead we got a top end Italian dining experience via the Table d'hote menu, with fresh greens in either Insalate Verde or Caesar salad, carrot soup to cleanse the pallette and excellent pastas or veal for the main course.   The following night, Le Cochon Dingue struck a better balance of quality and economy.  Our waitress was friendly and energetic and the food outstanding.  I had two bowls of mussels as my main dish, served with marinades of mustard and smoked salmon, while my family ate the barbecqued ribs.   Nobody left hungry.
Quebec City	Musee de le Civilization - This museum was outstanding and had appeal for our entire family.  Highlights for us were the exhibit on the history of Gold and Urbanopolis, a fact-filled journey into the design of cities past, present and future.   Later, we visited the outdoor Visionaries Garden, a unique exhibit composed of row upon ascending row of plants: herbs, vegetables and flowers, accompanied by windsongs played on chimes.
Quebec City	Marche du Vieux-Port - We weren't sure what this was, but walked in and voila, a farmer's market under a white tented roof.   Everywhere, there were fresh goods, ranging from strawberries, blueberries and other fruits, onto more exotic items such as hemp seeds and products.   Our family bought candies, maple tarts, and fresh strawberries for the next day's breakfast, but there was much, much more.
Montreal/QC	Driving and Parking in the City - Taking the car was difficult in Quebec City and painful in Montreal.   We spent at least $15 per day if we used the car, just on parking.
Montreal	Biosphere - This is the globe shaped building built on St. Helene Island for Expo 67 (see below).   The museum is dedicated to a one world eco-view, but manages to be both fun and educational.   We played at Water Genie, learned from the master at Planet Bucky (aka Buckminster Fuller) and stretched out on the climbing wall in the Great Lakes exhibit.
Montreal	Atwater Market - When the cost of food gets too high, it's time to go to this bastion of fresh food. I learned about the market when staying with local friends and it offers a wide variety of farm fresh goods.  We stocked up on breakfast necessaries (croissants, juice, yogurt and a melange of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) and yummies for lunch (lemonade, a long and broad fresh bread called le Parisien, pate compagne (aka country pate), goat cheese and proscuitto).
Montreal	Chinatown - This little gem south of Rue Rene-Levesque offers authentic Chinese dining and good buys on Chinese goods such as soup bowls and bracelets.    We had an excellent dinner at a fair price at Maison Kam Fung, found on the 2nd story of an office building on St. Urbain.  Highlights of the dinner included copious portions of a fine wonton soup, steamed shrimp dumplings and a wonderful dish of the tender white fish grouper, accompanied by lightly steamed green beans and carrots.
Montreal	Beauty's - Ah, it is so good when reality exceeds memory.  On an early visit to the city, a friend took me to this classic eatery just to the east of Parc Mont Royal.  Beauty's offers all of the essentials of breakfast in a small room replete with booths and a soda fountain bar for informal eating.  Our slender, dark haired waitress greeted us with friendly words and quickly supplied us with coffee, juice and hot chocolate.  Our eyes were drawn immediately to the Beauty's special, except for my youngest, who wanted the chocolate pancakes.  About ten minutes later, the special arrived:  a toasted bagel brimming over with freshly whipped cream cheese, and layers of salmon lox, lettuce, red onion, tomatoes and capers.  Our waitress supplied extra napkins, saying it was difficult to eat graciously when eating the special.   She was absolutely right -- we all needed our utensils to down this bit of heaven.  Our waitress kept us supplied with hot cups of coffee.  We walked away with full stomachs and a fine end to our Montreal trip.
Burlington	Downtown - We arrived in Burlington on our way home, just to stop for lunch.  On this warm summer day, the town was very busy.   We walked through an outdoor farmer's market on the town green, vowing to come back, then continued to Church Street.   This street is set up as a pedestrian mall, and is loaded with shops and open air cafe's, with the usual sideshows of street jugglers and busker musicians.  My oldest quickly made an allusion to the energy of Quebec City, which seemed to fit.   We walked about and found the cafe seats were full even at 2:00 pm.   We finally settled in at a place called Ken's pizza, but were able to order a variety of goodies including a lobster roll (pour moi), pastrami sandwiches and, of course, pizza.  Our waitress was friendly and quick to share her thoughts on the town.  She is a student at the University of Vermont and clearly loves the city and the school.  The farmer's market had been put away by the time we returned to the green, but we went on to view the waterfront and drive about the campus of UVM.  Summer in the city along Lake Champlain -- it doesn't get much better than this.
Vermont	Rest Areas - Vermont wins plaudits for its rest areas on the highways.   The attendants were friendly, the Green Mountain coffee was free and so was the WiFi.

Rollin' on the Rails

I'm on the train today, going from the Boston area to New Jersey. It will take a while, but I have twice as much leg room as a plane offers and only spent 15 minutes waiting for the train to arrive vs. the usual 1 hour+ drill at the departing airport. A new element for me on this trip is the addition of online access. I have been able to keep up on emails for work via a 3G card, which has worked very well for most of the trip so far. There are rumors of for pay wifi on the planes, but this service is available today from the normal wireless data providers. As I write, the sun has set and I'm passing a twilight view of the Manhattan skyline, which has tints of orange, blue, white and gray, layered like an upside down cake, with the bed of gray cumulus on top. Not a bad way to travel.

Going Online with 3G

As noted in one of my other posts today, I am in Los Angeles on business.   Up until now, my way of connecting to the net would be to look for a WiFi connection and hope for the best.   

Now, I have another way.   A colleague passed on their Sprint 3G card to me.  Voila!  I can now connect to the Net even if Wifi is either not available or only available at cost.   Already, I can see that this is very nice.   Like most techies, I like to be able to connect to the net with a minimum of hassles.   

As I sit here, I'm listening to a speaker from Nokia, who is talking about what he calls the transition to holistic mobility.   Key message: we are in the early days of mobile connectivity, but there is much more to come.   

This is good.  Most of my internet use for business is pretty lightweight, consisting of sending / receiving emails and checking the web; this card is really doing the job. 

For the most part, we are still not yet at the point where my mobile device also has a Wifi access in addition to 3G.  Ideally, both my PC and mobile device (in my case, a Treo) would be able to access both the cell network and the IP network.  We're not quite there, but there are some good signs.   The Iphone has taken steps in this direction, but still does not allow users to run VoIP apps over Wifi, which is purely an artificial restriction.    However, the iPhone web access works over both Wifi and GSM 3G. I can only hope that the bonds between the "dual mode" phones and the US network providers loosen, so that the user can choose which applications they want to run and do so without interference.