Beginning my 3rd day being stranded in Salzburg. Good news is the flights are flying all over Europe and while our little group is scattered all over the continent from Rome to Amsterdam things are improving. Two couples have made it back to the US on stand by flights everyone else has confirmed flights out either on Saturday or Sunday. If things continue to improve we should all be back at work Monday. Never Thought I would want to get back to work.
As for being stranded in Salzburg I have gotten to know my way around the city and it is a pretty pedestrian friendly place. It is very easy to walk around as long as you obey the walk and don't walk signals. I am totally amazed at how the cars, bikes and people all share the streets without incidents like you see in the US. Maybe it is the more laid back life style here or centuries of training. Be interesting to look into (any of you research people out there need a topic). Another thing that is a bit unusual for Americans is you don't need a prescription to get drugs here. Just walk into a Apothacary (drug store) and tell them (in my case show them) what you want and they get it for you. Prices for generic drugs seem to be very similar to what my insurance pays for generics.
As far as prices in general other than beer everything is more expensive than it is in the states. Funny thing is just looking at the prices you would think they are the same (and number wise they are) but since the Euro is worth about a $1.30 or so, every thing is about 30% higher. Not a big thing at the low end but it is at the higher end. Another interesting thing is the price listed is the price you pay. Taxes seem to be already built in. Which is nice.
Today is the last day I will have company here in Salzburg. Jon & Cheryl Ogden are off to Munich tomorrow by train to catch their flight. So we are going to do something something together this afternoon/evening. Probably the Augultine Brau (beer garden) and watch the world go by. I'll see them off tomorrow morning and might even catch a train myself to Frankfort and see if can go standby on a Saturday flight. We will see how things are going out of Frankfort Airport this afternoon. That's it for now...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Stranded in Europe Day 2
Since all I have is time on my hands figured I'd should post something. Came to Austria a week ago (04.14.10) to attend the HEEP Area V meeting the 15 & 16th and then spend the weekend with the group touring and taking in the sights, sounds and local beverages. Then a volcano happened in Iceland which put a real damper on things.
The meeting went well. All the American presentations were well received and in my opinion some of the best and most interesting ones I've seen in Europe or America. Even mine on Social Media generated a lot of conversation between the Europeans and our group as well. The Meeting ended Friday evening with a gathering at the local Bier Garden (will post pictures later).
Then the "fun" began since most of our group was leaving early Monday morning we still were not to concerned about the volcano but things were beginning to weigh on the group. Saturday the group took the "sound of Music tour and a trip to a salt mine outside of Berchtesgaden which was fun, but also involved a lot of bus riding.
By Sunday morning most of us got concerned as flights were being canceled right and left. A few of or group had planned to stay an extra week and tour Germany and Italy so they went on with those plans. The rest of us started a stress inducing limbo. Four of our group stayed in Salzburg to await flights out (I plan on leaving Saturday by either plane or train) to Frankfort to catch a Sunday flight that I hope will go. Others are in Vienna, Amsterdam, and Zurich trying to get connections etc. Two of our group((Ray &Pat) got out of Zurich yesterday on a standby flight (stood in lines for 6-8 hours). The rest of us hope to leave this weekend. Right now it looks like that will probably happen. As long as the airspace continues to clear and there are no other major erruptions. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer or two for us.
Since phone service here has sucked thank god for google chat and my upset, but loving wife who has been able to get my flights redone and credit cards taken care of. One other note is the netbook I brought has been a god send. From now on I won't be traveling without one. It has made a huge difference in access, peace of mind ease of cmmunication with home. More later so stay tuned...
The meeting went well. All the American presentations were well received and in my opinion some of the best and most interesting ones I've seen in Europe or America. Even mine on Social Media generated a lot of conversation between the Europeans and our group as well. The Meeting ended Friday evening with a gathering at the local Bier Garden (will post pictures later).
Then the "fun" began since most of our group was leaving early Monday morning we still were not to concerned about the volcano but things were beginning to weigh on the group. Saturday the group took the "sound of Music tour and a trip to a salt mine outside of Berchtesgaden which was fun, but also involved a lot of bus riding.
By Sunday morning most of us got concerned as flights were being canceled right and left. A few of or group had planned to stay an extra week and tour Germany and Italy so they went on with those plans. The rest of us started a stress inducing limbo. Four of our group stayed in Salzburg to await flights out (I plan on leaving Saturday by either plane or train) to Frankfort to catch a Sunday flight that I hope will go. Others are in Vienna, Amsterdam, and Zurich trying to get connections etc. Two of our group((Ray &Pat) got out of Zurich yesterday on a standby flight (stood in lines for 6-8 hours). The rest of us hope to leave this weekend. Right now it looks like that will probably happen. As long as the airspace continues to clear and there are no other major erruptions. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer or two for us.
Since phone service here has sucked thank god for google chat and my upset, but loving wife who has been able to get my flights redone and credit cards taken care of. One other note is the netbook I brought has been a god send. From now on I won't be traveling without one. It has made a huge difference in access, peace of mind ease of cmmunication with home. More later so stay tuned...
Monday, January 18, 2010
New Decade Same Old Blog
Happy New Year everyone. Hope everyone is enjoyed MLK day. Since I had the day off I know I did. For once not only didn't I have to go to work but it was a beautiful day sunny and low 60's. After the cold, wet, lousy weather we've had the past few weeks it was good to get a nice day and time to enjoy it.
What's been happening since my last post. Around the office not much, around the profession a little bit more. Most people probably know that the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was recently held in Las Vegas. While I didn't get to attend (maybe one day) a good number of people did and wrote about it. From what I read it seems Cell phones, E-readers and tablets were all the rage. While CES is geared towards consumers (explains all the TV's Phones etc). I found the talk of tablets the most interesting. One of the big problems that I see in the AEC industry is, to really take advantage of technology we have to move past "paper plans". Until recently there hasn't been a good way to take electronic data to the field. I think cheap tablets could solve this. With a lightweight and cheap 10"-12" tablet, Wifi or even cell connections it becomes very practical to now take "electronic plans" or "models" to the field. Now if the CADD and Survey vendors will pay attention.
At home I finally got an HD TV (love it) when my old CRT TV finally bit it. But the biggest technology news is that the whole family are now smart phone users. My wife and I both have Motorola Cliqs while my son and daughter both have My Touchs (T-moblie is our carrier). Bottom line is we are one happy phone family.
Interestingly enough I while I use my phone a great deal more than I use to I don't make very many calls. Rather it has become a "communication device" more so than a phone. I check personal email accounts have complete access to google mail, docs and calendar not to mention facebook, twitter and numerous news and information feeds and occasionally make a call or two. After almost two months of continuous use I'm amazed. There have been a few bumps in along the way (wish batteries lasted longer) and there is at times TOO MUCH Information but all and all very positive experience. They really open up the world of social media to the user.
All of our phones run the Android OS which seems to work fine. There more apps that I sort though and while things don't always work the way I they did on previous phones, but what's new there? I have been able to everything I've wanted to. While I don't think they will replace computers in the near term they will save some wear and tear on them. Who knows by the next decade the traditional PC may be a thing of the past.
That's it for now...
What's been happening since my last post. Around the office not much, around the profession a little bit more. Most people probably know that the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was recently held in Las Vegas. While I didn't get to attend (maybe one day) a good number of people did and wrote about it. From what I read it seems Cell phones, E-readers and tablets were all the rage. While CES is geared towards consumers (explains all the TV's Phones etc). I found the talk of tablets the most interesting. One of the big problems that I see in the AEC industry is, to really take advantage of technology we have to move past "paper plans". Until recently there hasn't been a good way to take electronic data to the field. I think cheap tablets could solve this. With a lightweight and cheap 10"-12" tablet, Wifi or even cell connections it becomes very practical to now take "electronic plans" or "models" to the field. Now if the CADD and Survey vendors will pay attention.
At home I finally got an HD TV (love it) when my old CRT TV finally bit it. But the biggest technology news is that the whole family are now smart phone users. My wife and I both have Motorola Cliqs while my son and daughter both have My Touchs (T-moblie is our carrier). Bottom line is we are one happy phone family.
Interestingly enough I while I use my phone a great deal more than I use to I don't make very many calls. Rather it has become a "communication device" more so than a phone. I check personal email accounts have complete access to google mail, docs and calendar not to mention facebook, twitter and numerous news and information feeds and occasionally make a call or two. After almost two months of continuous use I'm amazed. There have been a few bumps in along the way (wish batteries lasted longer) and there is at times TOO MUCH Information but all and all very positive experience. They really open up the world of social media to the user.
All of our phones run the Android OS which seems to work fine. There more apps that I sort though and while things don't always work the way I they did on previous phones, but what's new there? I have been able to everything I've wanted to. While I don't think they will replace computers in the near term they will save some wear and tear on them. Who knows by the next decade the traditional PC may be a thing of the past.
That's it for now...
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
My last post was about a month ago so since I have a bit of time I figured I post something. While October was a pretty busy month as I noted in my last post. November has been more laid back. Other than Thanksgiving the biggest event was the first North Carolina Local User Group (NCLUG) meeting in Raleigh. Gave a short presentation on MicroStation XM/V8i (online at http://www.nclug.com/downloads.html) which went pretty well. The meeting it self was a great success. We had over 60 attendees and I think everyone had a good time. Hopefully our February meeting will be as well attended.
Other big news is that I finally got a Google Wave account. Now just need some people to "wave" at. I have some invitations so if you would like to wave with me about this blog or other things let me know. Wave is very interesting but it takes some getting use to. question is - what is it? Super email, a wiki on steriods? What? Whatever it is it is interesting and I think it can become a great collaboration too.
Other than that hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a great weekend.
Other big news is that I finally got a Google Wave account. Now just need some people to "wave" at. I have some invitations so if you would like to wave with me about this blog or other things let me know. Wave is very interesting but it takes some getting use to. question is - what is it? Super email, a wiki on steriods? What? Whatever it is it is interesting and I think it can become a great collaboration too.
Other than that hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a great weekend.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
October is almost over.
It has been a busy, busy month (actually 5 weeks). Two "major" conferences, two weeks of training, and a NASCAR race have made for a busy "month". First the Conferences. I attended the 51st annual International Highway Engineers Exchange Program (IHEEP) conference in San Antonio, Texas Sept 21-October 1. It was my 20th consecutive IHEEP conference and one of the most enjoyable. The Texas Department of Transportation really knows how to put on an enjoyable and professional conference.
To see what went on this years meeting check out the following links:
The PowerPoint presentations from the conference have now been posted on the TXDOT web site and can be accessed from the following link http://www.dot.state.tx.us/iheep2009/presentations/default.htm .
The pictures taken by TxDOT photographers throughout the conference have been posted on Flickr:
main page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iheep
page with pictures sorted by event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iheep/collections/72157622486951404/
Check these links out when you get a chance and don't forget next year's conference will be hosted
The other conference I attended was the Bentley Roads & Bridges conference held last week (Oct. 19-21) in Charlotte, NC. While it was a bit cooler than usual in Charlotte the conference was 'hot".
Bentley kept the delegates feed, hydrated and busy for a solid 2 1/2 days. Every session and workshop I attended not only was informative but interesting as well. This was Bentley's first conference where all the Road and Bridges products met together. InRoads, GEOPAK and MX users finally got together and see how the other "half" works. Bentley is in process of combining it's three Road Design products in one Bentley Civil Product and it seems to be going pretty well. I can't wait to get my hands on the MicroStation Civil release of V8i SS1.
As for the 2 weeks of training I attended a Roadway modeler class in Raleigh and taught a GEOPAK class to some our GEOTECH users in Harrisburg, NC.
The race in Charlotte was fun but COLD. While it did rain a bit at the race we didn't get wet, which was good because we probably would have froze to our seats if we had.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Sun virtual box, Windows 7 and Ubuntu too
I writing this entry via Firefox running under Windows 7 evaluation copy, build 7100, within Sun's Virtual Box 3.0 on my dell inspiron 530 running XP. Now that is a mouthful if I do say so myself. Additionally I can also fire up Ubuntu 8.10 or 9.04, run a Joomla or Wordpress virtual appliance either at the same time or by themselves. Just a few short years ago that would have taken at least 4 different PC a server and all the networking stuff to connect them. Now I can run them all on one PC. Amazing and relatively easy.
The question I have is - If I can do all of this on my "home pc" without spending a cent why can't companies like Bentley, Autodesk or Trimble provide me with functional easy to use virtual applications for CADD.
For example how about a Plotting appliance that I could set up anywhere to handle work group or office plotting. How about a project/file management or survey management tool that I could run under what ever OS I want to, be it Linux, Window or Mac OS?
Why do survey data collectors cost thousands of dollars when I can get a netbook for $250 that is 2 or 3 times more powerful and versatile than any data collector on the market. Not only that but I can buy 4 or 5 for the cost of one data collector! Am I the only one that sees this or am I missing something? With the economy the way it is and the need to "do a lot more with a lot less" why aren't there any "engineering netbooks"?
Something to think about...
The question I have is - If I can do all of this on my "home pc" without spending a cent why can't companies like Bentley, Autodesk or Trimble provide me with functional easy to use virtual applications for CADD.
For example how about a Plotting appliance that I could set up anywhere to handle work group or office plotting. How about a project/file management or survey management tool that I could run under what ever OS I want to, be it Linux, Window or Mac OS?
Why do survey data collectors cost thousands of dollars when I can get a netbook for $250 that is 2 or 3 times more powerful and versatile than any data collector on the market. Not only that but I can buy 4 or 5 for the cost of one data collector! Am I the only one that sees this or am I missing something? With the economy the way it is and the need to "do a lot more with a lot less" why aren't there any "engineering netbooks"?
Something to think about...
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