Stuffleufagus

I guess I am at that stage in my life where I start losing friends, and mentors.  Just last month a dear friend died, and today I get word that another is gone.  In this case, it wasn’t just a friend and mentor – this guy actually saved my life

It was 1981 and I was stationed in San Diego, CA.  We were at a beach party on Coronado Island when I swam out to a friend’s catamaran.  It was nearly dusk, and it had been a long day on the beach.

I was tired, and I quickly fell asleep on the boat.  It was a gorgeous relaxing evening on the bay.

Suddenly I found myself tossed into the water, struggling to breath, or even determine which way was “up”.  About the time I gained control over my circumstances the hull of the catamaran came crashing down onto my head – I didn’t know it had flipped, and that it was falling back on top of me.

I don’t remember anything from the next 15 minutes or so, but it has been recounted to me many times by others.

My apparently lifeless body was caught in an undertow, and being dragged further and further from shore (I DID have a loosely tied life jacket on).  Since it was getting dark, my friends back on the shore were very concerned that I would be lost at sea at night.

So my boss at the time (by request of his widow I will not share his name) swam nearly a mile out into the bay and grabbed me – and dragged me back to shore.  I came too many minutes later, and all I remember from the first moments is throwing up salt water all over someone’s beach towel.  I was 20.  He was probably 40 – and he was a big man.  But he had a large heart, and he cared for the people that worked for him.

My next recollection was crossing the Coronado Bridge in an ambulance.  I woke up just briefly – long enough to realize that I was in trouble.  I spent the better part of 24 hours on a ventilator – I was pretty sick.  3 days later I left the hospital.  I had a concussion and had inhaled/swallowed a LOT of sea water.  Sea water has a way of messing with the electrolyte balance in the human body.  It took time to get back to normal.

He was my boss, he saved my life, and he taught me a lot – mostly he taught me how to make work fun, and to keep it fun.  He could party, he could be friends with his employees, and he demanded the best of each of us while we were on the job.

He was a leader, a friend, a boss, and a buddy.

And he saved my life.

I learned that later in his life, after he had “retired” from the Navy, he helped others adopt children from China, and Russia, and Vietnam.  He adopted three himself.  He was always doing more, giving more, and caring more than almost anyone I have known.  And he never stopped.  Until he could no longer continue.

To his wife, and children – I owe my own children to this man – this giant of a man – I owe the last 26 years of my life to this man.  He had a personality that entered the room ten minutes before he did, and it will last long after this loss we have suffered.

He was my friend.

written by rob

I have just accepted a position as Director of Software Development for Mosso.

Mosso is based in San Antonio, and is part of Rackspace.

So, why did I choose Mosso?  From the web site:

We started Mosso because we knew there were web developers who wanted a reliable platform for their applications and email–without being the ones responsible for all the technology.

Basically, Mosso does, on a much larger scale, what I have been doing as a consultant for the last few years – stripping as much of the technology details as possible out of the lives of people that have an idea and/or dream – they want to build the idea, not manage the server, or the databases.  They want to be able to focus on building what they envision.  I’ve helped people focus on that – Mosso lets thousands of people do the same.

That’s what Mosso does.  And more.  And in very cool ways.

Mosso also passed all of my test points:

• I need to build teams.
• I need to work with smart people.
• I need a voice.
• I need responsibility, accountability, AND authority.
• I need the security of a larger company with the atmosphere of a startup.
• I needed a company that is nimble – it can quickly adjust to change, and new ideas.
• My work must have value to me, and to others.
• The impact has to have a large footprint.  I like building big!

So, how did Mosso do on this list?  Extremely well.  I will not be building one team – but several teams.  I have met some of the smartest people – all in one company in downtown San Antonio.

My position is a senior one – I will eventually have a large team – and many of them I will need to hire.  That is important work that is important to the company, and to my new coworkers.  I’ll be allowed to run my teams and do my job – I’ll be helping grow/invent/implement some very cool technology.

The work environment is amazing – we have real humans at Mosso 24/7.  We have developers on call 24/7.  We work 24/7 (so you don’t have to!).  Developers build their own schedules for covering “on call” – they don’t need a “manager” – they are managing quite well right now :)  So I will focus on improving our processes and hiring more talented people (call me if you are interested – 210-845-4440).

New employees get their choice of computers.  You want a Windows desktop? – no problem.  One monitor, or two?  You want a 17” MacBook Pro (I Do!) – that’s cool as well.  One monitor, or two?  It’s really up to you.  Since we are building computing for the cloud, the systems we personally choose don’t really matter (except for where you feel most productive!).

Like any startup, you have a lot to do – your job description might as well read, “Succeed”.  I like that.  But we’re also backed by Rackspace – a very strong company (and a very cool company to work at in their own right – they’ve won a lot of awards for being a cool place to work).

I first met the Mosso crew when I invited Robert Scoble to come to San Antonio – I was just introduced to a couple of them – I didn’t get a chance to talk to them.  But a few weeks later I looked into what they were doing.  I became a customer.  I was (and am even more so now) impressed.  Those blog posts started a conversation that eventually led to here.  It was not planned.

But I am very pleased to be in an exciting position at Mosso – and am very happy to be part of the Rackspace family.  I am a Racker, and already proud of it

I won’t be able to talk much about what I am doing for a while.  But once I can, I’ll be sure to share my experience with you.

But as I learn more about Mosso, and what my teams look like – I’ll share that with you. 

Because I wouldn’t go to work for a company that didn’t excite me   And challenge me.

This one does.

written by rob

It has been about four years since I first decided to step into the consulting lifestyle.  In that time one of my “children” has completed High School, and then his first year of college.  Next year my daughter will finish High School as well.

It has been an amazing four years for me – I have been able to spend time with my kids as required – but mostly I have been able to spend an inordinate amount of time learning.  Ten years ago I learned by reading books – today I learn more by surfing the Internet – it is still reading, but it is so much faster, and so much more available (and “find-able!”.

One of the things my time in consulting has taught me is that I miss people.  I miss the challenge of building teams – not just hiring people, but building functional groups that work well together to build more than any single persons could have done.

So, taking stock of my life, as I am often wanton to do, I asked myself, “What is next”?  In a year I will have two kids in college, and perhaps neither of them left at home.

It was time for me to answer the question, “What does Rob want?”.

So I looked back in my life experiences and tried to zero in on what made me the most happy – what did I love to do so much that I could do it for the rest of my life?  Raising children certainly tops my list – but I can’t raise them forever – in fact, I am already being outsourced in that position – by my children themselves.

Raising children is like building good teams - the end goal is that eventually they won’t need depend on you anymore.

I decided I needed to go back to work with people – preferably young, energetic people, and certainly people smarter than I am.  I have always been lucky in surrounding myself with people smarter than I am (and please – PAUL! – no comments that this should be easy – it isn’t).

This realization came over a several month period – I didn’t wake up one day having come to this “epiphany”.

I missed building teams.  I need to work with smart people.  I MUST work for a company that understands that I am a unique person – I am opinionated, passionate, determined, outspoken, opinionated, and outspoken.  And I am sorry if I repeated myself.  And I am sorry if I repeated myself.

I need a company that doesn’t exist outside of startups – I needed security, because I will have two kids in college.  It must be nimble.  It must be willing to listen, and learn – even as it teaches.  But I also needed the excitement that keeps me engaged.  I need to constantly invent.  I need to work with smart people that will make me smarter.  I needed to be someplace that allows me to make a difference every day.  I needed to build something that affects a lot of people, because after helping build WiFi – it takes a big project to be a “big deal”.

And most of all – I need to be able to help.  My work must have value – to me, and to the people I work with.  And to the customers – who I never shy away from or refuse a conversation with.

In the next day or two I hope to share with you the company that is all of that, and more.  How much more is something I expect to find out soon – and something I hope to grow over time.

But don’t worry – I won’t change my blogging style/habits.  I wouldn’t work for a company that thought they could control my freedom of expression outside the office.

The list of companies I wouldn’t work for is rather large.  So I’ll save you that and instead share with you in the next couple days who I would work for – and I will tell you exactly why I made that choice.

written by rob

I sold a blog post today – literally.  Some time ago (I won’t get specific) I wrote a 32 word blog post that had a random (seemingly) phrase in it that recently caught someone’s interest.  The phrase was also the blog post title. 

It was a “catch phrase” that I just made up – but now, (some time later), a company is launching a product that uses the same catch-phrase I coined (some time ago).

Since the way my post used the phrase was contrary to the goals of the company, and since it was unique, and it had good “Google Juice”, the company very politely, and without any threat or fear of threat (they acknowledged that I had “coined the phrase” long before they had) offered to pay me to kill my blog post.  They just wanted “clear title” to the phrase – and they wanted to be found if someone searched for it.

I cannot go into specifics about the post (now deleted) or the terms.  But it was substantial enough that I elected to delete something that I alone created and controlled.  It would not buy a car, or allow me to retire.

Sure – that info is still “out there” somewhere – in Google Cache, for example.  But in a very short time the Google Juice I have for the phrase will be dead, and the new owners of the phrase will get top billing on the search results. 

Which is what they wanted.

I didn’t delete anything significant – there were not even any comments on the post.  It was, like many of my posts, just “something weird I thought of and posted”.

Did I sell out?  I sure did.  But I didn’t sell anyone else out, so I am comfortable with my decision.

Did I get rich – no.  Would I sell another post for money – I doubt it – this was a very unique situation.  You could not, for example, pay me to delete any of the negative posts that I have written about any company or service here.

Some of my most popular posts are ones that I either praise or punish some company that I think is worthy of my opinion about them.  I would never consider selling those posts.

If you are shocked by my actions go look through your blog history and tell me there isn’t a single insignificant post you wouldn’t sell to help put your child through college.  I am sure you have a meaningless post or two that nobody would ever miss.

I traded a useless, silly, and ignored post for a chance to get my kid through college.  Judge me if you wish.  I have no regrets.  

written by rob

This story is posted by request – from someone that was there, and has friends that don’t believe it happened.

For those of you that know me, you have heard this story many times.  For those that I haven’t spent more than three hours with, this may be new to you.

I don’t over-drink and drive.  A few beers over a few hours is all my small frame can handle and not become a threat on the road. 

Back in 1997, when I still lived in Hawaii, and was still married, and could still golf – I had a weekly tournament every Wed evening at a par three lighted course at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

A large group of us would play nine holes, for money (chump change) and then repair to the Tenth Puka for a few cold drinks, and some Karaoke (for those in our group that could sing, or thought they could).  It was always great fun, and for some time it was the favorite part of my week.

On this particular night we had company in town, and everyone decided that spouses would join us at the club after our game (which finished at about 9pm).

When we finished golfing there were about 15 of us that hit the club, and another 8-10 spouses joined us.  We were having a very good time – good enough that the bartender was buying rounds, I was buying rounds – everyone seemed to be buying rounds.  We drank to excess and had fun to an extreme. 

We had a designated driver, Esther – and the more we drank, the more everyone cheered her on for her wonderful Karaoke skills.  As the only sober member of the group, Esther got a kick out of the fact ANY of us thought she could sing. 

I didn’t sing – my job was doing the whistling for “On the Dock of the Bay” (which I could, and still can do well – even sober!)  Amazingly, this song would come up 6-8 times every evening.  Everyone thought they could sing it.  I always got the second mike and the whistling

The club was supposed to close at 2am, and after 2:30 the Military Police finally told the club manager to shut it down.  It had been a lot of fun, but it was coming to a close.

As we walked out of the club there were two lesbians having a domestic disturbance and my (now ex) wife tried to calm them down – that was pretty interesting – I thought she would get her ass kicked, but that didn’t happen – we dragged her away from the couple and piled into our Ford Taurus – headed back to our community a few miles away. 

We had a designated driver.

Esther was not from Hawaii – in fact she was just passing through with her husband on the way back from a three year tour in South Korea – they stayed with us for a couple weeks, as we had been friends for over a decade.  She wasn’t familiar with the route and had to rely on a car full of drunk officers (and me) to get her home.

To be specific, Esther was a Senior Enlisted Active Duty member – her husband was an Active Duty Army Captain.  My now ex was an Active Duty Army Major, I was a civilian, and we had one more friend with us – Mark Bean – an Active Duty Special Forces Army Major.

As we approached the gate leaving Hickam Air Force Base a young Airman tried to wave over the car in front of us – evidently they we doing “random” vehicle checks (looking for drunk drivers).  The car in front of us just accelerated and sped away – it was a three lane road and the car moved quickly, so they could not stop them.

As several in our car told Esther to just drive through she (being sober) decided she should probably stop as the Airmen waved us to the side of the road.

Now normally, everything would have been ok – we were drunk, no doubt.  But Esther was completely sober.  We had a designated driver.  We were gold.  Or so we thought.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple.  Just as the bar closed I had bought two cans of beer and my ex and I had both brought them with us.  It was a five minute ride home, and I didn’t think carrying a beer would be a big deal.  I was wrong. (at that time in Texas, my home state, it was legal for a passenger to have an open container)

Stupid, I know.  I wasn’t in Texas!

In any case, we were pulled over.  I shoved my beer under the front passenger seat (I was sitting in the rear passenger seat).  My ex put hers in her purse.

If everyone would have kept their mouth shut, it probably would have been a two minute stop.  Of course, not everyone did.  Mark Bean was very drunk, and he was being pretty belligerent (I know – who would expect behavior like that from someone in the Special Forces!?).  This caused the Military Police to investigate further.  They asked us all to get out of the car, and they collected the ID cards from each of us.  We were asked to stand to the side, in the very wide median next to the guard shack.

As the MPs started searching the car, they found my beer – and things got interesting.  They called for the officer on duty, and Mark Bean was trying to piss in their guard shack (really), all the while talking about “Air Force pukes”.  Things were not going well at all. To these 18-20 year old MPs it probably looked extremely chaotic and out of their control.

And suddenly my ex darts to the car and grabs the beer I had left, which the MPs had found and placed on the hood of the car.  She tried to throw it across three lanes of traffic but only made it about a lane and a half.  As the beer hit the pavement the MPs came running back and saw a can of beer, spinning in the middle of the road, and spewing foam all over.  “Ma’am – please don’t tamper with the evidence”, the MP told my ex.  He was VERY polite and VERY correct in his demeanor.  For an 18-20 year old kid dealing with a bunch of drunk officers, he was extremely composed and professional.

At this point I am sure someone, if not all of us, is going to jail.  As the MPs call in this new information, still waiting for the boss to show, Mark Bean starts calling out to Esther - “Esther, are you ok, Esther?  How much did you have to drink?  You ok?  You aren’t drunk, are you?”.  This was NOT a good thing – to this point the only thing we had in our favor was that we were responsible enough to have a designated driver – which might forgive some of our other transgressions.

As Mark continues to yell Esther assures him (and the MPs) that she had nothing to drink and that she was fine, at which point Mark started yelling loudly, “Esther is golden, Esther is Gold!  Yes, Esther is Gold!!!”

We were lucky that night – the commander on duty thought it was more important that we had a designated driver than the fact we were all trashed, we were driving with open containers, and we were tampering with evidence.  He let us go.

I have had a lot of respect for the wisdom of authority since then – they certainly could have affected several military careers that night – and even as the only civilian, I still had a job that would have been affected – I was the Mayor.

So thanks, young Air Force guys – you did us all a favor when we did seemingly everything in our power to convince you to do otherwise.

That being said – it was still a wonderfully fun evening that we often get together and talk about still – even though it happened over a decade ago.

Don’t drink and drive – I use this story as an example to my kids of “responsible” drinking, even though we still made stupid mistakes

written by rob