It's Getting Serious

Here's an odd thing I noticed about myself. Since January 20, I find that I am once again wearing a tie to work every day (except casual Fridays).

I had gotten out of the habit. I told myself that my open-collar look reflected my creative and free-thinking approach to my job. I kept ties around. I wore them when I had a speaking engagement or a big meeting. But I rarely wore a tie over the last few years.

Since Inauguration Day, I have worn a tie every day but Fridays. It was the second week before I realized that I had started a new pattern. It's a small thing, but I think it reflects a new sense of purpose and seriousness. It is related to new leadership at both the state and federal level. We're starting fresh. There's a great deal of work to be done and we'll tackle it in a professional manner.

And, as an aside? I look pretty good in a tie.

Yeah. Me Too.

Yes. I too am now on FaceBook. I don't know if it was social pressure, my normal curiosity, or simply inevitable; but there I am.

I appear to have joined at a time of rapid growth in the use of FaceBook. It may have something to do with the recent success of the Obama campaign on several social networks. Politicians and other community leaders are signing up to increase communications.

Even the Washington Post's technology editors have been sucked-in to the point where, if nothing else, they are mocking the latest meme making the FaceBook rounds: 25 Random Things About Me.

I see increased use of any communications tool generally as a good thing, but there are stresses that come with this upsurge. In Maryland, for example, access to FaceBook by state legislators has been blocked, according to another story on the Washington Post web site (Plug Pulled on Md. Legislature's Facebook, MySpace for Fear of Viruses). That has sparked some discontent among the legislators:

"It's like blocking cellphones," said Del. Saqib Ali (D-Montgomery), a software engineer, who uses his Facebook page to update constituents about legislation he is sponsoring -- and share cute pictures of his daughter.

FaceBook is also blocked Delaware's state government network. It is among a group of sites (including twitter, another useful tool) classified as "extreme social networking" sites by our IT folks. I understand their caution, but I do think these sites can be used as valuable communications tools between elected officials and their constituents, between state workers and the people they serve, and among professionals within governments.

Part of my experimentation with both twitter and FaceBook (done now on my off time, at home, or using non-state communications devices) has been to explore their use in meeting the goals of the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), an organization of state-level GIS coordinators across the US for which I serve as Communications Committee Chair.

So I will continue to explore. And if FaceBook, or twitter, or any other communications tool that comes along, might be useful in my professional life, and is allowed by the IT barons, then I will try to find a way to use it to the advantage of the people I work for and with.

Shameless Self-Promotion #218 (Can't Be Helped)

I was mildly surprised to find myself speaking at a Census Bureau event this morning. I was on a panel with Congressman Mike Castle and State Representative Joe Miro. I'm glad I wore my best tie.

The event was an Open House to celebrate the opening of the Local Census Office in New Castle County. This is the office from which Census preparations, and the actual 2010 Census count, will be run in Delaware.

I had not expected to speak. The Executive Director of the First State Community Action Agency was on the agenda, but she was not able to make the drive all the way north this morning due to the weather. I was planning to attend to show the flag for the Office of Management and Budget and in my role as head of the Census State Data Center program in Delaware.

I found out on arrival that they needed someone to speak from a local perspective so I "winged it," based on my knowledge of the Census and on some examples of Census data usage that I had pulled together for the other speaker.

It is interesting, if a little scary, to step up to a podium without having prepared much; I suppose it's what the politicians do all the time.

I decided to speak from my own experience of almost twenty years in state government. In all of those years, I've needed and used Census data. I can't see doing much of the work that I have done in Delaware without that data. The Bureau rightly points to the millions of federal and state dollars that are apportioned among different communities based on Census data. That alone is reason enough to want a complete and accurate count and for local government leaders to encourage their constituents to "be counted." But for many of us at the worker-bee level, Census data are more than just guides for federal spending; they are the information that we have to have in order to serve the people.

I didn't speak long, and I probably made some fumbles and stumbles, but it's nice to know that when I have a subject I know, and care about, I can get up and make a statement that doesn't leave me blushing with too much shame. In fact, part of what I had to say was used in the WDEL report on the event.

The News Journal was on hand as well, talking to the new Office's staff and learning about the new handheld computers that Census workers will use. The publisher of the bilingual newspaper El Tiempo Hispano was there as well. There may have been other media; if there were, I missed them.

Odd Weather

The high temperature in Dover (DE) today was 54 degrees, only about 10 degrees higher than average for the second day of February; but odd, given that the forecast for tomorrow is cold rain and snow. Skies were clear and the sun was warm. I spent my lunch hour on a brisk photo-walk and was quite comfortable in shorts and a polo shirt.

Silver Lake was iced over, but the ice was looking old and ragged and melting away from the shore. The gulls liked it.

Shameless Self-Promotion #217

I was very pleased recently to have one of my photos chosen as the header image for the State of Delaware web portal. It's a winter image, so I assume it will eventually be replaced. But, still...

Most of my Delaware-based friends have already seen this, and kindly offered their congratulations. But I thought I'd brag on-line this afternoon for my non-Delaware friends and family.

This image was created, by staff at the Government Information Center, from a photo I took in February of 2007 after a moderate snow-fall had added to the picturesque-ness of downtown Dover. I had given them blanket permission to use any of my images on the state web site in any way they please. I think they did a great job of pulling out a part of the picture that looks cool in the portal-header format.

I understand that this was one of several options presented to staff of the new Governor in the lead-up to his inauguration. I was thrilled that it was the one picked to start off the new look of the portal when it was unveiled on inauguration day.

As I have mentioned before, the changes in leadership here in Delaware, and particularly at the national level, have made me happy and hopeful and determined to get back to work. It's nice to have a little personal accomplishment to celebrate as well.

New Tool

I've built a new Yahoo Pipes tool to overcome a quirk in the News Journal's RSS feed collection that has been bugging me. I call it The News Journal Aggregator.

The News Journal, Delaware's top daily paper, offers a number of RSS feeds. I've come to depend on them, in my Google Reader, to track stories from the paper. But the various feeds repeat each other sometimes. The same story might appear in both the "news" feed and the "politics" feed. And sometimes they repeat within feeds; I think this has something to do with republishing for small changes.

I don't know what causes it, but I got tired of the same stories multiplying within my Reader.

So I have built a Pipe to collect the News Journal's news, updates, politics, business and opinion feeds; filter them to drop any sports stories (I have other sources); filter them again to remove duplicates; sort them by date and time published; and publish them in a single RSS feed.

A Milestone

Though I did not realize this until a few days later, I passed a milestone of sorts as a blogger last week. My Monday, January 19, 2009, post about an echo of the "Dean Scream" found in a novel I was reading was the 1,000th Mike's Musings post I have written since starting this blog back in September of 2004.

As of the 19th, I had been blogging for 1,597 days. I calculate that over that span I averaged a blog posting every 1 and a half days. Obviously there were days of too many blog postings and weeks when I was away doing other things.

Of course this is not my only blog. Since January of 2006 I have been blogging for the National States Geographic Information Council on the NSGIC News blog. And during 2008 I mini-blogged the books I was reading. That is not to mention my new twitter addiction. All things considered, my desire to write has been well satisfied over the years.

And, as we move forward, I find satisfaction in the fact that the first posting of my next 1,000 set of Mikes Musings was about the start of Inauguration Day and the feelings of re-beginning that I was feeling.

This is Me Being Terribly Petty and Picky...

...but it can't be helped.

I was behind this cab driving into Dover this morning. The mix of fonts on the back bugs me. I think City Cab needs to pick one font and stick with it. Having this many different styles and types on one car makes it look amateurish.

I've seen cabs from this company on the road for a while now, and I always get a slightly ...off... feeling about them. I think it is based entirely on this fontal confusion. I've never seen the drivers do anything unsafe. This one was moving at a stately, safe pace.

I just don't like the way this variety look reads.

Jack Markell's Inauguration

I got to go out at lunchtime today to see Jack Markell take the (ceremonial) oath of office as Governor of Delaware. Jack, and his Lt. Governor Matt Denn, actually took their oaths just after midnight on Tuesday so as not to conflict with Barack Obama's inauguration. On a cold Wednesday, then, they took ceremonial oaths and gave their inaugural addresses.

There were two bands; one from Dover Air Force Base and the other from Newark High School. A color guard brought out the flags. There were television cameras, newspaper folk, and radio reporters. I even got to say hello to WDEL's Al Mascitti.

A Rabbi gave the first prayer. I liked hearing a different religious voice in Dover. A cantor sang the national anthem. He had a great bass voice; I recommend having basses sing the anthem from now on.

Matt Denn went first. He gave a fine speech that was warm and humorous, but also sharply focused on the challenges ahead. I think he was developing the theme that Barack Obama introduced: "quit complaining, get up off your butt and get to work."

Jack Markell's speech was also bracing and honest about the challenges we face, but he gave us examples from Delaware history of how the people of this state have led the nation in difficult times in the past. His message was one of hope that, if we face up to the hard work, we can get it done.

After another prayer, and a bit more ceremony, the Governor and Lt. Governor were available in a reception line in the Governor's office in Legislative Hall. It was a great pleasure to shake their hands, share a word, and then head back to work.

That was One Hell of a Speech

I've watched Barack Obama's inaugural address twice today and listened to it on the radio once and I'm still digging it. It is a hell of a speech and well worth reading as well.

This is the part that keeps sticking in my mind:

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

I watched the speech as it happened on a television in a Dover restaurant this noon. I was with several work friends and we were all thrilled. I will always remember the tracks of tears down cheeks when I remember this day.

On my drive home this evening, NPR played the whole speech again. I listened as I drove south through the Delaware countryside.

Karen and I watched the whole ceremony this evening on Tivo. I had set it to record C-Span from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; we were able to scroll ahead through the introductions of varied VIPs and stop for the cute things, like the Obama girls. We both wanted to hear the speech again and to hear the performance by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill.

We also wanted to hear the Rev. Joseph Lowery's inauguration benediction. We loved this part:

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

This has been a good day.