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Edward J. Branley |
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About Edward J. Branley
Edward J. Branley is the owner of seashell software and the founder of the New Orleans Street Railway Association, as well as an Independent Computer Consultant specializing in SAN architecture, UNIX and SAN Training. When not traveling, spending time with his family, writing, or procrastinating (of course, procrastinating should be at the top of the list), Edward is on twitter as @YatPundit (personal/politics) and
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I was always a big day-planner person. Being a big believer in the Franklin-Covey "ABC/123" system, I planned out my tasks for the day in that format. When the company introduced software to do their style of personal management, I jumped on it. Then came smartphones. Unfortunately, Franklin-Covey has not brought their system to Android just yet, so I use a combination of RememberTheMilk.com and the Astrid app for Android:
But what about paper? The handwritten word is very important to me. I still use my day-planner bible, but now for more personal writing and reflection:
That's good for coffee shops and such, but I still like to have paper upon which to put pen at a moment's notice. To that end, I've gone back to a time-honored method: the moleskeine!
I've got two moleskeines. The black book (open) is my "travel" book. I originally bought the red one to take notes for my latest book, and now it's my "in-town" moleskeine. The handwritten note and thought is very, very important. Don't lose sight of it in our iPhone world.
A former high school History teacher who now does computer training and social media consulting (Yatmedia.com), Edward is a graduate of Brother Martin High School and the University of New Orleans. Working with computers has never diminished his passion for all things New Orleans. Edward is the author of two books on New Orleans, New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line, and Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of the city's history and culture with readers of his blogs, DailyKos.com, as well as speaking to various organizations in the metro area. Besides family and friends, Edward's main passions in life are Creole cuisine, Linux, open source software, Bud's Broiler burgers, and Hubig's Pies. Catch up with Edward on Twitter: @YatPundit Photo:
In my case, this works on two levels. In terms of professionally, I've lived my dreams. I can't say I have any fear in that regard, because I've been arrogant enough to think that I'm good enough to overcome adversity. I've been fortunate in that regard that I haven't written any checks I haven't been able to cash up to now. Personally, there are a few aspects of my life where fear has beaten down the dream. It's tough to admit, but, well, I need to fix that. (Thanks to a new friend for the graphic I nicked from her blog. Since she's a lady, I won't repeat personal details.) :-)
(x-posted yatpundit, seashell-software, and canalstreetcar)
With the advent of Da Twittah, I've wanted to re-do my business cards for a while. Naturally, I tweeted this desire, and @AuraFedora responded that i absolutely had to check out Moo Cards. When I had a look at the site, I was impressed by how easy it would be to put something together there. I also liked their pricing, so I made up two sets, one for seashell software and the other for NOSRA.
I worked up what I think is a nice graphic for letterhead for seashell some time ago. It never worked well for a business card, though, since it was designed to go across a page. The two-sided format of the Moo card gave me the chance to use it, though. With the company logo taking up the entire side, that left me free to not put it on the other side. That left room to add a graphical reference to Hitachi Data Systems. Since my main use for these cards is to give to students and storage colleagues, the "HDS certified" graphic serves two purposes: It cements the relationship I have with HDS and gives me the chance to establish a bit of street cred.
The "computer" cards are good for when I'm doing training, but I wanted something more "local" for around-town/social occasions. The streetcar nonprofit is important to me, and I absolutely love the photo on the "horizontal" side. It's Car #29, the last of the single-truck Ford, Bacon & Davis streetcars, along with one of the Perley A. Thomas cars. In front is the YLC streetcar model that was painted by the NORTA craftsmen from Carrollton Station. It speaks volumes for moo.com that I was able to create a card that was oriented portrait on one side and horizontal on the other. The moo.com website was very easy to use. I had one initial snag getting started, however. Their "file upload" application does not work at all under Linux. When I opened VirtualBox and went to the site in a Windows "virtual machine" it worked fine. Both sets of cards came in nice, cardboard dispenser boxes (box is just visible below the cards in the top photo). I'm VERY pleased with moo.com!
One of the primary activities that Business Networking International (BNI) encourages among their members is the concept of holding "one on one" meetings with each other. The idea is to get to know other members in your BNI chapter well enough that you can refer them to people and businesses you know. Just an occasional one-hour chat every couple of months is all you need for most folks, maybe a bit more frequent for those in your "contact sphere," or the people most likely to refer business to you. Since I'm no longer a member of a BNI chapter (all my travel makes it difficult for me to meet the commitments required of BNI), I don't talk much business with people in the New Orleans area. I mean to change that. I've set up an account at an interesting new site, TimeBridge.com. It allows you to share your schedule availability with others, and gives them the chance to propose possible meeting times. So, let's have coffee or lunch! Go to my page: http://meetwith.me/edwardbranley and let's set up a meeting.
 Before I left for my trip to Stockholm, week before last, I put out a call for new SF/F author suggestions on Twitter, and a twiend said check out Peter V. Brett. I'm glad I did, because The Warded Man is a winner. Brett's universe is a medieval land where "corelings" -demons of the night-rise in the evening, killing all in their path. The book offers some vague background on the origins of the corelings, and the world's history, but the story is really a coming-of-age tale. Brett follows three young people, Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer, from tween to adolescent to young adult. The social development of the duchy where these three live is a reflection of life battling night demons. Settlements, towns, and outposts that are within a day's ride of each other propsper; those further apart languish and struggle for survival. Villages and towns are linked together via the services of "messengers," a guild of men who can be hired to transport not only messages, but goods of various kinds. Some members of the messenger guild have regular jobs, working for nobles, others are totally freelance. Messengers are usually accompanied by "jongleurs ," who are traveling minstrels. Messengers are skilled in "warding," creating the magical defenses necessary to protect themselves from the corelings at night during their travels. The communities are protected by defenses set up by "warders," who are members of their own guilds in towns. In villages and outposts, the folk of the community contribute their own wardings. While many modern coming-of-age stories are full of "emo" and teen angst, there's no time for that in Brett's universe. With humankind constantly at war against the corelings, kids grow up faster than fast. They live with a constant flow of death and tragedy, which pressures them to not only assume adult roles very early, but to marry and procreate as adolescents. Still, kids are kids, and teens having sex is always complicated, even in a world that prizes healthy babies as much as this one. Arlen is the book's main character. Struck by the hard reality of the coreling war very early, he makes his way to a town with the notion of becoming a messenger. He signs on for a seven-year apprenticeship with a warder, since his natural warding skills must be developed and focused before it would be safe for him to travel as a messenger. Once his apprenticeship is complete, he's able to ply his trade as a messenger. Leesha is a pretty girl who runs afoul of her mother's matchmaking and town gossip. To escape, she apprentices with her village's "herb gatherer," the crone who is the community's healer and midwife. Rojer's talents and skills develop as he apprentices under a master jongleur. It is Arlen who undergoes the most dramatic changes. His overwhelming desire to not just defend against the corelings, but to kill them and win the war takes him into the desert, traveling to the southern land of Kraisia. He learns much from the Arab-like society there, and in the midst of one of his desert journeys, he discovers that he can paint and tattoo wards directly on his body, transforming himself into the "warded man" of the book's title. As the Warded Man, Arlen's story arc converges with those of Leesha and Rojer, setting the stage for the sequel, where their generation takes the war to the corelings. The tale is incredibly readable and enjoyable. Brett's universe is solid, his depiction of day to day life is excellent. There are no high magical lords, wizards, etc., in this world, it's just ordineary humans, some with more magical skills than others, trying to survive and help improve the world for their children.
This video is just spectacular. This guy recorded himself doing all the instrumental parts to Boston's classic "Foreplay/Long Time" off of their 1976 album, "Boston." His two friends that do the vocals nail it. For me, that was the fall of my freshman year at UNO, shades of the old bar "Fannys" at the corner of Robt. E. Lee and Elysian Fields and Doug DeCota playing this tune in his room at the Lambda Chi Alpha house. (h/t Jason Morales for finding this)
I'll be signing Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans at the Brother Martin CajunFest today, from about 1pm until 5pm or so. The book goes for $21.95 and all proceeds (including author's royalties) go to Brother Martin High School. Also, if you've got a copy of New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line that you'd like me to sign, bring it along!
Podcast cross-posted here, since I mention books and such.
TGIF from Denmark! Talking about a childhood experience reading about this region, Hornblower novels, and libraries/librarians. Some stuff to put the Hornblower talk into perspective:
The pinpoint is the location of my hotel. This is the narrow passage Hornblower's fictional squadron made in 1810, in Forester's novel, Commodore Hornblower.
Zoom-in on the passage. Hornblower's strategy was to keep close to the Danish side of the strait, trying to avoid the Swedish guns at Malmo.
Gregory Peck as Horatio Hornblower in the 1951 film, Captain Hornblower. Peck's Hornblower is closer in age than the A&E mini-series, where he's just a Midshipman and Lieutenant.
"The sun is out, go away with your smartphone-camera-thingy" Thus spake Amber, owner of Casa de Yatpundit :-) |
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