The End of Email?

October 16, 2011Andrea's blogs, Tech Industry NewsATOS, Co-Construct, email, Expert Messaging, IM, instant messaging, Livelink, Office Communicator, wikiPTPAndreaW

How many emails do you receive at work each day? How many are mass distributions that you don’t need to be copied on? How many are outright spam? Do you waste time reading through long, wordy messages to find the one piece of information (if any!) that you need? Does the sheer volume of email impair your ability to get your job done?

ATOS, a major IT company, has had enough with email. ATOS plans to eradicate all internal email in the next three years . Labeling email as part of the new “information pollution,” ATOS CEO Thierry Breton says, “The volume of emails we send and receive is unsustainable for business.” ATOS has decided that the usefulness of email is outweighed by the amount of time employees spend just reading and replying to emails. Breton even laments the encroachment of email into personal time. Continue reading The End of Email? →

Biking to Lunch in Mountain View from Willow Glen, July 2011

September 1, 2011Andrea's blogs, PTP Outdoor AdventuresGuadalupe River Trail, Mountain View, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Trail, San Jose, Stevens Creek Trail, technical writing, Willow GlenPTPAndreaW

Photo-0475 — Cool pedestrian bridge on Stevens Creek Train

I’m very excited that the Bay Area trails are starting to create pathways to fun places all around the bay, without having to leave protected bike trails. In July I rode from my house in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose to have lunch in Mountain View, taking the Guadalupe River Trail to the San Francisco Bay Trail to Stevens Creek Trail. I only had to use surface streets three times, all for very short distances with little traffic. Continue reading Biking to Lunch in Mountain View from Willow Glen, July 2011 →

Death Ride, July 2011

August 24, 2011Jim's blogs, PTP Outdoor Adventurestechnical writing, Tour of California Alps Death RidePTPJimG

Jim at the Death Ride — Jim signing the board at the top of Carson Pass.

So I completed the second of my 4 events for the year – the California “Death Ride“, so named because it covers 129 miles over 5 mountain passes, totaling 15000 feet of climbing, all at high elevation! It is not a race: there were no timing mats to cross, no split times. In fact, there were numerous rest stations where the riders took the time to get off their bikes to rest and eat and chat with other riders. But with all those miles and all those climbs, finishing before the cut-off would be my challenge. Continue reading Death Ride, July 2011 →

GE, NCR Lead “Reshoring” Trend

August 8, 2011Andrea's blogs, Tech Industry NewsArchstone Consulting, CP Lab Safety, Dezan Shira, Diagnostic Devices, Farouk Systems, General Electric, inshoring, NCR, offshoring, reshoring, Sleek Audio, technical writingPTPAndreaW

GeoSpring3 — GE GeoSpring™ Hybrid Heater

Faced with rising costs, General Electric moved production of a new energy-efficient hotwater heater halfway around the world – to Kentucky. CP Lab Safety moved manufacturing from China to California to cut costs. Tesla moved final assembly of its battery packs to California to minimize delivery delays to customers.

In a recent blog, I discussed some of the drawbacks of offshoring manufacturing jobs (“Boeing 787 Illustrates The Dangers of Offshoring,”). Today I am writing about a growing trend in manufacturing: “reshoring” jobs back to the United States. Continue reading GE, NCR Lead “Reshoring” Trend →

My Life in Bands, Part Three

July 29, 2011UncategorizedBarone's, Diamond Chip, Hs Lordships, Night Shift, technical writingPTPDanaW

nightshiftnew — The Night Shift Band (back row: Dana, Phil, Carlos, Odys, David; front row: John, Tiffany, Gayle, Joe)

I love to see people dance while I’m performing on stage. And if they’re cheering and calling for an encore, it’s so gratifying that I almost feel famous. (This is what happens when a shy kid gets a lot of attention.) Cover bands often get that kind of reception, which makes them fun to play with. Over the last several years I have been a full time keyboardist for two popular cover bands that mainly play R&B and pop hits. Continue reading My Life in Bands, Part Three →

Hunter-Liggett Under Blue, Blue Skies

July 6, 2011Jim's blogs, PTP Outdoor AdventuresBig Sur, Death Ride, Hunter-Liggett, Mission San Antonio, Palo Alto, technical writingPTPJimG

Hunter-Liggett 2a — Abandoned tank at Fort Hunter Liggett

I had a great bike ride on Friday, June 10, from Mission San Antonio to Highway 1 and back, through Fort Hunter Liggett. I’m training for the Death Ride on July 9, so I needed to get in some long hilly rides. I was on my way to my folks house in San Luis Obispo – recently rated one the happiest places on earth! – so I stopped at Hunter Liggett. Because it’s an army base, you can’t park just anywhere. Mission San Antonio, however, is just across the road. Continue reading Hunter-Liggett Under Blue, Blue Skies →

Boston Marathon, 2011

June 27, 2011Jim's blogs, PTP Outdoor AdventuresBoston Marathon, Palo Alto, technical writingPTPJimG

Jim with medal — With my finisher’s medal at the end of the race

Prelude to the Race

This was a race I planned long in advance, because I would be entering a new age group. I have great ambitions for this year, not just for the Boston Marathon, but also for the Death Ride, Ironman Canada, and the Alcatraz Invitational Swim. The Boston Marathon required a qualifying time, which I took care of by running a 3:40:04 marathon at Napa in March 2010, where I came in 5^th of 79 in my age group (read my blog about it). At the time, I was excited with the results, but that quickly passed when I recalled how humbling it is to run Boston, where the winner in my age group probably would be done with breakfast by the time I finished. Continue reading Boston Marathon, 2011 →

How to Write Using Plain Language (Not!)

May 31, 2011Andrea's blogs, Technical Writing Humortechnical writing, technical writing humorPTPAndreaW

Here is a bit of tech-writing humor, courtesy of PlainLanguage.gov (http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/humor/technologywriters.cfm). This helpful website gives tips for writing clear, readable documents. It also reminds us with humor what NOT TO DO when developing technical documents. Continue reading How to Write Using Plain Language (Not!) →

$10M Views Bicycling from Oakland to Richmond

April 22, 2011Grandy's blogs, PTP Outdoor AdventuresBerkeley, Oakland, San Francisco Bay TrailPTPGrandyG

DSCN0117a — I had fantastic views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge all day.

My previous trip along the San Francisco Bay Trail ended with a walk up Hegenberger Road with a flat tire to get to the Oakland Coliseum BART. This time, I rode down Hegenberger with a new steel-belted front tire watching out for broken glass and other sharp objects. Between Oakland and Richmond the path is mostly paved and car-free, offering $10 million views of the bay, San Francisco, the Berkeley hills, and eastern Marin. Continue reading $10M Views Bicycling from Oakland to Richmond →

Phoenix Tech Pubs Update: April 2011

April 14, 2011Jim's blogs, Phoenix Tech Pubs UpdatesPalo Alto, San Francisco Bay Area, technical writingPTPAndreaW

In a busy first quarter, Phoenix Technical Publications recently welcomed a new staff member who has a Ph.D. in Genetics and is a biosciences writing expert. We have worked with both new and existing clients on interesting projects and we are getting involved in several exciting new technologies. Continue reading Phoenix Tech Pubs Update: April 2011 →