Personal Homepage of: David Francis

Quote

If you want things to be different, you must be willing to do different things

-David Francis

This is my personal website. It is a place where I write what I want for people who care to read. It’s not private per se, but it is of little use to anyone other than myself, those I care about or those who care about me. You’re more than welcome to read the public parts of the site, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself scratching your head and wondering, “Who cares?”

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Workout update:
Friday, June 19^th, 2009

I had a heart to heart with my trainer/sifu on Monday about the training. Fact is; I was trying to get out of it. The Kung Fu seemed a little too intense and I had a desire to get back to the old way of working out that worked before. After going back and forth a few times with him, and a short period of internal soul searching, I decided to continue, as scheduled, no excuses! Even next week, which is press week, I’ve decided to take the hour and a half and not use the excuse that I’m too busy.

The soul searching? Well, after explaining why I didn’t want to continue every day, Sam felt there had to be another reason. He suggested that my mind seemed unbalanced and that there had to be something else causing me to want to reduce the training. After thinking about it, I think in part he was right; I was overly concerned about people watching our training. I felt self conscious about being so fat and not being able to keep up with my trainer which made the sessions uncomfortable. Ever since I actually “decided” that I was going to go no matter what, I’ve been able to keep up better, (though Sam slowed down for me too) and I am doing one extra kick, punch or movement… this is my way of keeping my commitment and confirming it with every exercise.

After only three days this week, and a good modification to the workout routine to prevent injury, I feel really good and I look forward to my work outs. I can’t wait to get a full week in! After 4 full weeks, I will evaluate my progress (losing inches on my waist), and would like to start lifting weights again. But first, core strength, and overall fitness, then building the muscles again.

My weight is at 255 (down five pounds from Monday) which is the only standard measurement I’ve tracked. I’m not as concerned about my weight, but since I am not lifting yet and mostly working on cardio, I figure it would be a good indication of improvement. That said, I am much more flexible than when I started and I can hold the postures, kick a little higher and I’m not as sore as I was the first few days.

6 months
Monday, June 15^th, 2009

On a related note to the previous post; if only mildly; today represents 6 month's until I turn 45 years old. Yep, The ol' Forty-five! It's not that big of a deal to me except I have grown so far out of shape that I might not make it the next six months if I don't do something about it. (Based on statistics, not symptoms.)

Returning from a week of indulgence, I stepped on the scale and for the first time in my life, exceeded the 260lbs marker. This brings into sharp focus how fat I've become. Sure, I could lose the vacation blubber by skipping a few meals, but that's not the point. "They say" that if your waist is over 40 inches, you are at significantly higher risk for a myriad of diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Based on what "they" say, I have resolved to reduce my waist size to 35" or lower. I was in the best shape of my life when my waist was 35" so I will spend the next six months getting back there.

Yes; I've posted about this many times! Yes, I did start Kung Fu training three weeks ago (which was expunged in 8 short days). But today, June 15th, 2009, I have resolved to start running _{(jogging at a walking pace)} again and resume my efforts to reduce my pant size... all else will follow including better eating habits, better fitness and better health.

Here goes!

Back in the Saddle After a Week on Vacation
Monday, June 15^th, 2009

I’m back! We had THE most wonderful time on the beach for the past 7 days. As mentioned earlier, we celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary at a beach house on St. George Island, in the “Plantation” area which is a restricted area of the island. Our house was so close to the beach that only a small sand dune separated us from the wonderful nature to be seen. Carrie and I discussed it, and though we have been on many trips together, (remember, we used to own a travel agency), this was our favorite one yet! Just the two of us in an exclusive area on the beach for an entire week!

Carrie and I from the porch of the beach house on St. George Island

Lots to do! Apparently, I have more than 2000 email coming in and many things on my to-do list. This is the price for taking 8 days off.

I’ll write more about the trip and post pictures as time allows.

Thanks for reading.

1 Forum Post + 1 new Graphics Card
= One Fixed Mac Pro!
Tuesday, June 2^nd, 2009

With all of the strange problems I’ve been having with my Mac, I started to prepare for the worst; the worst being having to recover the entire operating system and reloading all of my software and settings. I suppose worse than that would have been is I had to send the computer back to Apple for repair, but I didn’t even want to consider that one. I cleaned off one my hard drives so I could put a clean version of Leopard on it with all of the other hard drives removed. But I hesitated!

I decided that I should ask for a lifeline before going to the trouble of reloading Leopard on the Mac. I logged onto a Mac forum and explained the symptoms and within 24 hours I had one short response that didn’t sound right, but after contemplating some of the early symptoms, considered it more carefully. Basically, the Mac was having trouble with the graphics. Sometimes it would fail to start, other times it would start but the icons would be all jumbled, and more recently, it would just freeze up causing me to have to power down. The suggestion on the forum was to change the graphics card.

Changing the graphics card made very little sense to me because the computer would operate fine in safe mode. No freezes, lock ups or jumbled graphics. I thought that if it was a graphics hardware issue, it would cause trouble in safe mode or any other mode. I was wrong! I changed the card and my beloved Mac is back to normal – as fast as before and I didn’t have to reset all of my software. WHEW!

I still don’t understand how the graphics card could affect the operation of the entire computer so intricately. I am assuming it is the way the memory from the card interfaces with the memory on the computer, but I can’t be sure. What I am sure of is that changing the card fixed my problem and I’m finally good to go. Good thing, because I really wanted this fixed before taking some time off.

So there you have it! Mystery solved. I suppose if I were a good technical blogger I would write the name of the old card, and the new card as well as the specifications, but I never claimed to be a good blogger, much less a good technical blogger. LOL

I will mention the store that helped me out. “The Place” on the square on Bowling Green was where I went to purchase the card. I tried Best Buy, but even the “Geeks” suggested that The Place would be more knowledgeable about Mac hardware. They were right. Brad Bitterling took extra time to look up my options and offer advice. Even after some trouble with the first card I bought, he took even more time to confirm the trouble and replaced the card actually saving me more money. What’s even better, they sold me a hard drive at a discount because of their policy to match prices if the can. Bottom line, they really helped me out and saved me money – for less than $300, I not only got a new graphics card to fix my computer, but also a 1TB hard drive to expand my storage needs. Well done Brad and thank you!

MAC Pro issues remain
Sunday, May 31^st, 2009

The issues with my MAC that I posted about on Wednesday continue. In fact, they have gotten worse. I did a little poking around and I am going to try to change the graphics card. I must admit that I am very disappointed in this computer. It's less that 2 years old and the glitches are more than an annoyance. I spent thousands of dollars on this hoping it would be a good investment, but I've never had this much trouble out of a PC, at least not this young.

Grrrrr

On a brighter note, we had a wonderful gathering on the porch Friday night and went to the Glasgow Highland Games yesterday. I started my fitness training with Sam on Thursday and again on Friday, we will be going every day. I'm a little sore but I already feel better. Toss in a 70 minute massage from a licensed massage therapist on Friday afternoon and I feel great!

Life is good! It's just my MAC computer that torques my screws.

A Very Frustrating Press Week
Wednesday, May 27^th, 2009

This month (our 25^th – Happy Anniversary to us) was a very challenging and frustrating month for me. Press week, which had essentially been reduced to just a few days, took not only a full week, but the entire Memorial Day weekend plus one day. I didn’t get done until nearly 10pm last night.

Some of the delays were my own fault! Since we decided to pick up the magazine our self on the 31^st, it meant that my deadline shifted from Friday to the following Tuesday. So, having 4 extra days, I didn’t stay as focused as I should have. That’s my own fault.

BUT – the biggest and most frustrating reason for the hard press week was technology. From my computer to the remote control on my TV in the office, nothing worked properly!

1^st, I’ve been dealing with some major issues on my web servers which requires that I check all hosted sites several times a day. This cost countless hours but it could not be avoided.

2^nd, my email server for SOKY.NET has been getting slammed with SPAM and has resulted in up to two hour delays in email. Not that big of a problem you would think, but my workflow for the magazine requires Carrie to email me resources as I come to each page.

3^rd, my MAC PRO, (this was the most frustrating one and should be a post on its own). I have been having trouble starting the MAC in the morning; so much so that wasn’t even turning it off at night for the past two weeks. When I would start it, sometimes it would hang up and fail to load, other times the screen was all jumbled and I couldn’t click anything. So, I left it on overnight which seemed to have solved the early morning issues. I did a little searching and found some possible remedies, but I wanted to wait until this issue of the magazine went to press first. (mistake)

The MAC issues got exponentially worse each day! As I was laying out the magazine, the MAC would lock up completely, a little more often each day. On the final day, (last night) it got so bad that I could only have one program running at a time and even then, I couldn’t touch anything until the task it was working on was complete. All of this at the final hour of proofing, packaging and uploading a 200mb file for the press. I would say that I had to manually stop and start using the power button at least every 15 minutes. I thought I was going to come unglued!

Throw in one idiot moment that cost me more than an hour where I was laying out several pages and tried to close something… selecting "do not save" was the brain fart that cost me not only time, but a few ticks of the blood pressure. I was so mad I cannot write the words in public.

So what does a hard working entrepreneur do? We adapt and overcome! I very patiently waited the 30 minute for the file to upload, confirmed the file size was the same on the FTP as on my hard disk (because the display stopped functioning during the upload), turned off my computer and went home. I just need to be away from this hunk of junk for a little while and formulate a plan.

To top it all off, Carrie didn’t want to sit on the porch because she had already taken a bath and didn’t want to get “buggy” outside. Grrrrr

This morning my thoughts immediately turned to my computer problems. Would I have to buy a new one? How much data was I going to lose by trying to fix the issues? Would all of my setting get screwed up recovering the system? Am I going to have to reload all of the software and files all over again? Do I have enough coffee at the office to answer all of these questions? So, I hopped in my truck, drove to the office and tried a few things.

Since I turned the MAC off, the first step was to press that little button and see what happens. Sure enough, the first time I pressed it, the monitor didn’t even display anything. Pressing it again, the screen appeared but wouldn't let me type in my password; pressing it again, it let me enter my password but hung up on the login. Phooey!

So I remembered something I read last week that I wanted to try after I went to press. I wanted to wait because according to my information, the procedure would cause Leopard (the MAC operating system), to do a quick check of the hard drive before booting. It also allowed me to boot in what’s called “Safe Mode” which would load only the fonts and drivers needed to operate. So I pressed the power button off, then pressed the power button on and held down the shift key. The little Apple appears and the circle thingy that shows the computer is thinking turned and turned and turned. After what seemed like an hour (only about 5 minutes), the logon screen appeared with two red words above the password box, “Safe Mode.” I entered my password and it booted very quickly.

While in safe mode, I decided to use the disk utility to verify the hard drive as well as the main volume. That took some time too, but it reported no issues. That was disappointing in a way because I really wanted to have something to fix.

Still in safe mode, I decided to search Apple Support for suggestions about problems starting a MAC PRO that is less than 2 years old. I found the suggestion to reset the parameter random access memory (PRAM) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). (link) From the document, it just made sense to me that this could be the culprit, mostly because of what the PRAM controls. So, still in safe mode, I selected restart and followed the instructions from the document.

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time. (Actually, I had read elsewhere to let the start up “gong” chime three times so I did.)
Release the keys.

Releasing the keys resulted in a normal start up. Actually, it seemed a little faster. I was worried that all of my program setting would be lost, but I entered my password, closed my eyes and waited… it was all there! SWEET!

Just to be sure, I started InDesign, PhotoShop, and Parallels because they are the programs that would lock everything up last night. Everything worked! Then I opened the magazine file in InDesign and made a couple changes, saved them and everything worked fine. I opened Outlook in Parallels as well as the web browser and everything worked fine. (Except for MS Outlook which is having her own problems right now with the display of email… another frustration of the month but a different post when I figure that one out.)

I have been working on this MAC for a few hours now and I have not experienced any glitches.

Admittedly, I do not know if starting in Safe Mode, running the disk verification, or resetting the PRAM worked because I did all three of them at the same time. But, with 20 years of experience with computers, I’m confident it was the PRAM more than anything else. Even still, the safe mode boot did allow me to access the computer, check the Apple Support site, run the verification without locking up either. Hmmm… interesting.

UPDATE: This did not solve the issue, it could be the graphics card which I will have to change on Monday.

So now that the June Issue of SOKY Happenings is complete AND I seemed to have solved the issues with the MAC PRO, I can turn my attention to the web server and email server. I will be moving all sites to a new vendor which will require more technological frustration. The biggest hurdles are transferring the SQL databases and setting up all of the email accounts. It just takes time and persistence.

Subject: MAC PRO, Lock Up, PRAM, Technology

Celebrating our Silver Anniversary in style
Friday, May 22^nd, 2009

We have booked a trip for ourselves for the first time in more than two years! Our last trip was to Gatlinburg, TN. which is where we made the decision to get into the publishing business and started SOKY Happenings magazine. Even though we are expanding that concept (four fold), we are also celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in June. What better excuse to travel than a silver anniversary?

We will be staying on a semi-private island, in a large house on the beach for a week. Just Carrie and I and 25 years (actually 27 years) of memories and lots of shrimp!

We will be making a full report on CarriedAwayVacations.com with photos, suggestions, commentary, observations and instructions! Come back around the 1st of July for a link to the full report.

This is really sad...
Arizona's Oldest (and my hometown) Newspaper
Printed Its Last Issue Today -30-
Saturday, May 16^th, 2009

The 138-year-old Tucson Citizen, [Arizona’s] oldest newspaper, will print its last edition tomorrow, even as a prospective buyer howls in protest. The paper will continue online with what is being called a “modified” edition focused on commentary and opinion, but without news or sports coverage the newspaper is effectively dead

Founded in 1870 as the Arizona Citizen, the daily has gone through a painful downsizing process, culminating in a bizarre series of late rescue attempts. Owner Gannett Co. announced in January that it was putting the Citizen up for sale and would shut down the paper in March if no buyer was found.

more>>

Newspaper Death Watch
www.newspaperdeathwatch.com
Friday, May 15^th, 2009

Newspaper Death Watch is one of the blogs I check on at least weekly. It's got a lot of opinion but does a fairly good job of reporting the newspaper industry struggles. Since getting into the publishing business, I have made many assumptions and even designed ways to improve/innovate a failing product and business model. There are many ways to improve a daily publication and even more ways to do it profitably.

Then I read this and I threw my hands in the air and said EXACTLY!

Lessons From the 1962-63 NY Newspaper Strike

"Which is what will happen when major metro dailies begin to close or scale back: Alternatives will rush in to fill the void. People will get their news elsewhere, and what they can’t get will be delivered by entrepreneurs who figure out a way to deliver it at a profit. Destruction is an ugly thing, but it’s usually a necessary precursor to reinvention. Shafer shrewdly notes, “The least reliable source for what the end of newspapers means is usually the newspaper men, who are too stuck in their roles to reimagine the world.” Once you shed assumptions, then possibilities open up."

I have to admit that my opinion is a little more bold than this. Frankly, I think that the more any newspaper tries to cut back, save money and trim expenses at the expense of their readership and advertisers, the readers and sponsors will seek new and better sources for content and marketing. In my opinion, the news paper per se is a very necessary service, but it must be operated with solid business logic and an constant eye on where the revenue comes from and the community they service. Many people will assume I'm talking about our little local, and perhaps I am in theory, but my opinion applies to all local newspapers, big or small, who want to survive the next 10 years. Times have changed (have changed, not changing) and the survivors will be the one who change with the times, the alternative will be to lose the foothold to some new innovative publication that captures the attention of the advertisers, readers and yes, dollars.

For what it's worth, I do not think that change means abandoning print! I'm talking about a fundamental change in the way the newspaper business works as well as the quality of information and presentation. I disagree with those publications that have shut down the presses and gone to the internet; I think it is a lazy way to innovate and they will lose in the long run. The change I'm talking about would start from the very top and include the very bottom of the echelon, all with a mind to the consumer which in turn will benefit the sponsor.

End of rant and getting off soap box.

Update (example) one: Ex-Rocky staffers plan to launch online magazine
DENVER (AP) - After splitting from financial backers of one online news venture, some former staffers of the defunct Rocky Mountain News plan to launch an online news magazine this summer. The Rocky Mountain Independent would have free original content but would be supported by advertising and...
Update (sadly) two: Gannett shutters Tucson Citizen's print edition
USA Today publisher Gannett Co said on Friday it is closing down the print
edition of the Arizona newspaper Tucson Citizen but will keep operating its ...
(Sadly because I used to deliver that paper when I was a boy)

Big Changes Are a Coming!
Thursday, May 14^th, 2009

Technology changes; Long (personal) story short, I'm upgrading all of my web servers!! I'm moving everything to a more secure environment that has better performance. All of my domains, websites, email, databases and everything. I'm closing, deleting, removing and otherwise eliminating many online services and files! This is all in the name of consolidation and simplification of my life and technology.

Personal changes; starting Monday (May 25th), I have a private trainer/Kung Fu fitness instructor who is going to take this "white, wide and weak" old man and transform him into a lean mean fighting machine. I've put this off for far too long! I've gained way too much weight! And I'm so out of shape that I got sore playing golf this week and I even had a golf cart. Sheesh. Just 4 years ago, I was much thinner and in much better shape - I plan to be there once again and build upon that. I will be learning the basic of Kung Fu while working my core strength, building stamina, reducing weight and improving my waist line (which is pushing 45" at the moment.) My goals are simple, get my waist down to 35" and be able to run 1.5 miles in less than 10 minutes. I want to improve my muscle tone as well and that is why I won't be as concerned about my weight as I am about my shape. Fact is, I was in the best shape of my life when I weighed close to what I weigh now, so the scales will have little to do with my objectives. Actually, it is quite possible that I will weight up to 275 by the first of the year, that is if I can get back into the gym like I have been in the past and meet my measurement goals for back, chest, shoulders and arms.

Warning, I will be creating a new section of this website that will journal the progress. The plan is to include photos and stats over the next six months. That said, I probably won't start posting until some progress has already been made. (grin) I will also divulge the name of my instructor and the gym at that time.

Business changes; if progress continues as it has been, it is highly likely that I will be hiring as many as 10 people in the next 30-45 days. For those who know my objective, you already know that I have longed for a team of motivated and creative people for a long time. I have put into motion what is necessary to build my business very quickly and allow me the ability to create a wonderful team, which means I can be about the things I want to, and not about the things I have to. I am still not ready to "announce" the new company, though many of you know what it is already. Let it be said however that we have made a great stride in that department and I am more confident than ever that it will become a reality sooner than later. Even still, SOKY is poised to redouble in the next 90 days when my plan comes together.

Family Updates:

Jesse is back from Afghanistan! YEA! He brought his parents a "mission flag" which is an American flag that flew on a combat mission in theater! That was sweet! He is settling in though life has been offering its fair share of challenges, he will do fine.