We've spent most of the summer in the office without air conditioning. We've been around 85 degrees for nearly the past six weeks in the office, it has been pretty nasty. Nobody wants to come into the office, we're all generally not as productive, and everybody is cursing the a/c guy, the landlord, and anybody else in the repair chain.
This morning I walked in and we are a cool 72 degrees. That's right Barack Obama, 72 degrees...and I love it. I had to get a little cranky with both the landlord and the a/c guy to get it done, but they understood and got it fixed.
Ahh...life is good again.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Cell Phone Rant
[Begin Rant] I get really annoyed at how stupid cell phone companies think I am. Every time I call somebody I get "You've reached Ryan McCoy I'm not available right now, please leave me a message", then I get an annoying voice that comes on and tells me how to leave a message.
Come on, we've been leaving messages after the beep for decades, do you really need to tell me how to leave a message? Why does this bother me? Other than wasting my time it will always take me over the 1 minute mark for a call...after the phone has rang, the person I'm trying to contact has their greeting, and then annoying cell phone woman's instructions on how to leave a message I end up over 1 minute. I'm not on an unlimited plan so I'm semi-concerned with my minute usage, but more than anything I get tired of being told obvious things and having my time wasted. [End Rant]
Come on, we've been leaving messages after the beep for decades, do you really need to tell me how to leave a message? Why does this bother me? Other than wasting my time it will always take me over the 1 minute mark for a call...after the phone has rang, the person I'm trying to contact has their greeting, and then annoying cell phone woman's instructions on how to leave a message I end up over 1 minute. I'm not on an unlimited plan so I'm semi-concerned with my minute usage, but more than anything I get tired of being told obvious things and having my time wasted. [End Rant]
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Underestimating Public Sentiment
Many of you haven't been following the Congressional race for Utah's 3rd district. Not that I can blame you, I've just recently took a greater interest in politics. I was a state delegate for the first time this year and went to the Republican State convention. It was an interesting process to see how some real political junkies interact and participate in the process. I'll spare you the details in this post of my thoughts on the convention, but want to mention that what came out of the convention is what I will believe a trend you'll see to a much greater degree nationwide this fall.
In this particular race you had three main candidates, Jason Chaffetz, David Leavitt, and the incumbent Chris Cannon. Both leading up to the convention and prior to the primary I spent time going to delegate meetings, attending debates, and meeting with the candidates themselves. What I found interesting was how badly both Leavitt and Cannon (for that matter nearly everybody) underestimated Mr. Chaffetz. Chaffetz won because of three things.
1. His passion came through in his speeches, delegate meetings, and debates.
2. He was very focused on his talking points and was able to articulate his positions on key issues very clearly.
3. The third and in my opinion, most important reason, the public is very upset with the direction of the country and the status quo.
I think Leavitt represented change every bit as much as Chaffetz, but his campaign focused too much on "feelings"--motherhood and apple pie, and did not communicate the vision that Leavitt had. I respect him as a man and think he would be a great representative back in Washington, but he never got his message, his vision, and his position on the issues into the public in a clear concise manner, and that is what cost him the opportunity to square off against an opponent in the primary.
To Chris Cannon, I wish him well. I think he voted the way most Republicans would have voted on the issues he was faced with. He was a fine statesman, and a good legislator, he cared deeply about this country, he had some good ideas and represented our state well. I offer him my thanks.
For me, the jury remains out on Jason Chaffetz. Many describe him as a political opportunist. He was the candidate I spent the least amount of time interacting with. His speeches were great, he is a motivating guy, but I have many reservations about him. I hope I'm wrong, I hope he'll be a great Congressman for our state.
I believe that this fall we'll see many politicians fall the way Chris Cannon did. People are generally dissatisfied with our politicians. I just hope we are all wise and don't seek change just for change sake. We do need change, but we need change that will lead to real solutions.
In this particular race you had three main candidates, Jason Chaffetz, David Leavitt, and the incumbent Chris Cannon. Both leading up to the convention and prior to the primary I spent time going to delegate meetings, attending debates, and meeting with the candidates themselves. What I found interesting was how badly both Leavitt and Cannon (for that matter nearly everybody) underestimated Mr. Chaffetz. Chaffetz won because of three things.
1. His passion came through in his speeches, delegate meetings, and debates.
2. He was very focused on his talking points and was able to articulate his positions on key issues very clearly.
3. The third and in my opinion, most important reason, the public is very upset with the direction of the country and the status quo.
I think Leavitt represented change every bit as much as Chaffetz, but his campaign focused too much on "feelings"--motherhood and apple pie, and did not communicate the vision that Leavitt had. I respect him as a man and think he would be a great representative back in Washington, but he never got his message, his vision, and his position on the issues into the public in a clear concise manner, and that is what cost him the opportunity to square off against an opponent in the primary.
To Chris Cannon, I wish him well. I think he voted the way most Republicans would have voted on the issues he was faced with. He was a fine statesman, and a good legislator, he cared deeply about this country, he had some good ideas and represented our state well. I offer him my thanks.
For me, the jury remains out on Jason Chaffetz. Many describe him as a political opportunist. He was the candidate I spent the least amount of time interacting with. His speeches were great, he is a motivating guy, but I have many reservations about him. I hope I'm wrong, I hope he'll be a great Congressman for our state.
I believe that this fall we'll see many politicians fall the way Chris Cannon did. People are generally dissatisfied with our politicians. I just hope we are all wise and don't seek change just for change sake. We do need change, but we need change that will lead to real solutions.
Not Looking for a Tribute but...
I was teasing my wife today about never being mentioned on her blog. I know the kids are the superstars and always have something funny to say, but what about me Kara? I'm not looking for a tribute I'm not a star husband like some, but maybe even a "hey Ryan was decent today", or something like that. A little pat on the back maybe?
Kara is really getting into this blog thing and is developing a bit of a following. I know some people that are big into the mommy blogs, I may see if I can make some introduction and get her publishing some things for some of those sites. She really is a good writer.
Kara is really getting into this blog thing and is developing a bit of a following. I know some people that are big into the mommy blogs, I may see if I can make some introduction and get her publishing some things for some of those sites. She really is a good writer.
Internet Blogging Safety
I've been visiting with friends and family lately about blogging and how fun it is to keep up with people's comings and goings via blogs.
Several people I know really well are "blog stalkers"--they follow other people's blogs and they read and never comment. Many of these people have their own blogs but have their blogs as invitation only (you know who you are).
My question is how big of an issue is making your blog public when you have personal information; family pictures, stories about your children etc. I know that the "safety book" would say don't post anything personal on the web, but have you Googled yourself lately? There is already a ton of information about you publicly available. The question is, does blogging make you or your family more of a target for the whackos of the world? What if anything do you do to protect yourself, or are you concerned about it?
Several people I know really well are "blog stalkers"--they follow other people's blogs and they read and never comment. Many of these people have their own blogs but have their blogs as invitation only (you know who you are).
My question is how big of an issue is making your blog public when you have personal information; family pictures, stories about your children etc. I know that the "safety book" would say don't post anything personal on the web, but have you Googled yourself lately? There is already a ton of information about you publicly available. The question is, does blogging make you or your family more of a target for the whackos of the world? What if anything do you do to protect yourself, or are you concerned about it?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Battle Scars of an Entrepreneur
My wife was mocking me today for never posting on my blog. The problem is I've been so busy. This last year has been crazy busy trying to merge two existing companies and create a new up and coming digital marketing agency.
This last year has been full of ups and downs as we've grown from a core group of only four to a total of 12 employees. Someday when I'll detail some of the battle stories of this start-up (of which there are many) and provide some of the lessons learned. Stories of mergers and acquisitions planned that never came to be, stories of raising and attempting to raise money from angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity firms. The thrill of believing you would be acquired and the bitter sweet realization that the proposed deal wasn't in the best interest of our young company.
These last twelve months have been filled with many sleepless nights from fear, excitement, anticipation, and concern for employees and partners. My wife and children have been extremely understanding beyond even my wildest hopes. I try to spend time each day with them to eat dinner, read them a story before bed, and play with them when we have time. Sometimes that has been easier than others.
We have now assembled a very capable and dynamic team and once we add an accountant/controller I should be able to relax a bit more, and cut back my hours to a more manageable amount. Maybe I can get some hobbies, exercise, or just spend more time with my family. The next twelve months will be very exciting as we bring on more clients and continue to grow our business.
I'm keeping notes and will someday change the focus of this blog from random personal thoughts to a tightly themed blog on lessons for entrepreneurs. Not that I'm some wise sage, but because I have seen some interesting things in this whole start-up phase that I believe would be of interest to other entrepreneurs.
This last year has been full of ups and downs as we've grown from a core group of only four to a total of 12 employees. Someday when I'll detail some of the battle stories of this start-up (of which there are many) and provide some of the lessons learned. Stories of mergers and acquisitions planned that never came to be, stories of raising and attempting to raise money from angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity firms. The thrill of believing you would be acquired and the bitter sweet realization that the proposed deal wasn't in the best interest of our young company.
These last twelve months have been filled with many sleepless nights from fear, excitement, anticipation, and concern for employees and partners. My wife and children have been extremely understanding beyond even my wildest hopes. I try to spend time each day with them to eat dinner, read them a story before bed, and play with them when we have time. Sometimes that has been easier than others.
We have now assembled a very capable and dynamic team and once we add an accountant/controller I should be able to relax a bit more, and cut back my hours to a more manageable amount. Maybe I can get some hobbies, exercise, or just spend more time with my family. The next twelve months will be very exciting as we bring on more clients and continue to grow our business.
I'm keeping notes and will someday change the focus of this blog from random personal thoughts to a tightly themed blog on lessons for entrepreneurs. Not that I'm some wise sage, but because I have seen some interesting things in this whole start-up phase that I believe would be of interest to other entrepreneurs.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Help Your Kid's School Out
I got an e-mail from my son's kindergarten teacher today about a need for some additional supplies for his kindergarten class. There is a very cool site Donorschoose.org The concept is simple, you look for projects in your child's school or classroom, view the request and then decide whether or not you want to help fund the project.
Some of you cynics may take this as a teacher asking for more at every turn, but I look at this as a voluntary request to improve your child's education. No tax increase, no pressure, those who can help, do. Teachers that take the extra initiative to make sure their students get the best learning deserve to make more than they currently do. Those who put forth the effort and get the results should be compensated better. Not across the board pay increases, merit based pay increases. Someday I'll go into my thoughts on education reform, but I'm tired and my wife will kick my butt if I don't get to bed soon.
Some of you cynics may take this as a teacher asking for more at every turn, but I look at this as a voluntary request to improve your child's education. No tax increase, no pressure, those who can help, do. Teachers that take the extra initiative to make sure their students get the best learning deserve to make more than they currently do. Those who put forth the effort and get the results should be compensated better. Not across the board pay increases, merit based pay increases. Someday I'll go into my thoughts on education reform, but I'm tired and my wife will kick my butt if I don't get to bed soon.
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