I used to think it was just fine.  Really.  You got either what you deserved quickly, or in time.  It was just a matter of time, thought I – before Yin and Yan would compensate for all inequities.

Today I received a phone call that damn near put me on the edge.

Phone caller:  Hello, may I speak to Richard Taylor?

Me: This is he.

Phone caller:  <Indian accent> Mr. Taylor, this is the Bank of America, and I am calling you to tell you that you owe $4562.34 and we would like to know if you will be paying this via Visa or Mastercard today.</Indian accent>

Me: Excuse me??  Who is this?

Phone caller: The Bank of America. 

Me: And you say I owe you $4000??

Phone caller: No, $4562.34

Me:  Why?

Phone caller: we have not received a payment from you since March 2009.

Me:  Payment for what?

Phone caller:  Home mortgage.  We used to be Countrywide Home Loans and we are now Bank of America

Me: I am on automatic payments.  I know you have been paid

It is at this time I go to my account online and give the caller all the pertinent info and proof that I made payments (or rather, that they TOOK them). 

Phone caller:  Thank you, Mr. Taylor for your patronage.  Is there anything else I can do for you this afternoon?

The only thing stopping me for cussing her out was the fact that I couldn’t believe I was hearing what I was hearing. 

OK, so you know I'm already *drooling* over the Zune HD...imagine what I did when I *SAW* this video.....OMG!!!!!

As soon as it comes out...I'm all over this like white on rice....

Like green on grass....

Like fur on a bear....

like.....<fill in your favorite>

I just can't seem to blog as frequently as I should.

Well, this is almost mid-year and its time to do a check on my goals:

a) Weight/BMI  --  not *too* bad.  I'm at 201.5 right now.  I will have my BMI done next week at FittQuest.  My goal is Hit 185 lbs. with a BMI (body mass index) of 13%.  Maybe that was too aggressive...I am hoping to hit 190 lbs.  13%....sheesh...maybe 18% is more realistic, but we'll see.  I will grade myself based on the end result and the effort to get to that result.

b)Plant two fruit trees -- DONE.  I have a pear tree in the front and a garden in both the front and back.  I now have 8 fruit trees total.

c) Say sorry more often when I mess up -- hmmm  need more work.

d) Get off warfarin - DONE.  I have a follow up CT Scan in June to check on one lingering clot in my lung.  Will give an update on that.

Can't remember the others...will give an update on all goals when I get the results of my CT Scan.

OK, so the banter of today is "Say No to the Stimulus Package!"

No one likes it.  No one.

The counter banter is "We *have* to do *something* QUICK!!"

In my opinion, the Government needs to be more transparent and take to their constituents what THEY think needs to be cut/added.  What is the President saying now...$800 Billion?  That is too big of a number to NOT have some transparency.  I don't want a check in the mail, I don't even really need a tax cut--I just want transparency into what they are doing with my CURRENT money.  If the Government mandated that the tax cuts could only be used to pay personal debt--I'm all for it.  Our cumulative debt is what is breaking us.  If we all paid off our debt, we'd be fine. 

I was flabbergasted when I found out some of the things that were *IN* the package.

The following were CUT:

Stimulus cuts

Items cut

Items eliminated

So...where did *YOU* think the money was going?

$5 BILLION to keep the politicians warm in the winter, cool in the summer.  So they can "Go Green".  $5 BILLION.

$75 million for Smithsonian.  Must keep Fonzie's jacket shiny and Archie's chair stuffed.

$200 million for the EPA to clean up hazardous waste sites

$100 million to give names to hurricanes

$100 million for the cops...(they should have left that one alone and not cut it)

$300 million so that the politicians can have hybrid vehicles

$100 million for the spooks

EVERY single DOLLAR mentioned above (except for the cops) is for the GOVERNMENT.  NOT ONE DOLLAR for "Main Street"!!  $6 Billion in pork.  How much more is being spent on things that don't help us?  I would like to see a list of where every dollar is spent.

I will stop here.  I'm hyperventilating.

I love to blog.  Really, I do.  I also love being a consultant.  A lot. 

I've put on many many miles between my last post and this one.  Too many.  It seems the busier I get, the less I do.  I don't get it.  Why/how can I do more and less at the same time?

So what have I done vs not done since my last post?

Spoke at SharePoint conferences in Iceland, The Czech Republic, and San Diego

Work

Bought a house

Work

Am writing an article for REDMOND magazine

It's crazy!

So....I am committing to blogging more and facebook-ing less.  I will say Facebook does suck up some time and not any of it is necessary.  I want to spend more time here and my two technical blogs.  Be less social.

At first I felt guilty about doing this, but then I thought to myself:  I need to be accountable.  So--as painful as it may be, I am going to set some goals here for myself and  let everyone see what I will be focusing on in 2009.

January

I made a trip to Suriname to speak on SharePoint.  I participated in the largest event in the country and had a blast!.

I spoke at the MCT Summit in Berlin.  Got to drive on the Autobahn (120 Km/h) while driving to Dresden.  Loved it! 

February - May

Worked my butt off at Microsoft and having a hard time adjusting to the weather.

June

Took a new job with a consulting company in Phoenix.  They relocated me and I started visiting clients in various places.

July

Hit 118 degree  day on the day I bought a new car.  Good thing its white.

August

I speak at TechEd SouthEast Asia in Kuala Lumpur.  I visit Thailand on the way.  Loved it.  Asia is now my favorite continent.

September

Speak at the SharePoint Best Practices Conference in Washington DC.  Awesome conference!  Great topics and speakers!

October

Start looking for a new house.  What a horrible process.  I go to Reykjavik to speak at the DiveDeeper conference.  The country goes bankrupt while I am there.  The most surreal thing to happen to me.  People all around losing their jobs INSTANTLY.

November

I am sent to Dallas for a couple of weeks to work on a project for a Security company.  If it weren't for clients, business would be great!  I also end up going to SoCal to help out with a failed project.

December

It seemed as though December went by the quickest.  Holidays made this month ZOOM.  I'm on my way out the door to party with the mayor of my town.

MY GOALS FOR 2009 :

a) Hit 185 lbs. with a BMI (body mass index) of 13%.

b) Do three triathlons.  I want to do one in March in Anthem.

c) Say I'm sorry when I've messed up more often.

d) Get a pedicure.  I hear they are relaxing...we'll see.

e) Plant a fruit tree somewhere in my yard.

f)  Get off of Warfarin

2008 Shout Outs

Sonny - You're a great boss!

DaKnutCase - You're a great friend and mentor.

JasonBourne - 2 words:  YOU ROCK!

Deepz - You know you da stuff, grl

Mr Brooks - The next RD...I feel it

Tory - You owe me a CD!

Kimmeesook - Come back.

Felicity_Dubai - Be strong.  Stick it out.  You can do it!

Looking forward to a prosperous and happy 2009!  and wish the same for all of my friends and family.  Take care

And the awards for the people who fail tests with dignity:

RELIGIOUS RIGHT

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX

 

MALE CHAUVANIST PIG (Hey isn't that Obama's wife in the picture?  Where's *her* lipstick...oh wait, HE wears it..)

 

 

 

FUTURE EMPLOYEE OF THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER

 

THE LITERALIST

THE OPPORTUNIST

FUTURE VEEP (I think this is Sarah Palin's handwriting...)

<Hijacked from Mike Gannotti--Thanks, Mikey!>

Zune 3.0 launched this morning and everyone, even those with original Zune devices (yes we upgrade even the oldest of our devices unlike some other makes who often force you to buy a new device to get the latest shiny features) can update their devices to get the latest features. Even if you dont own a Zune device you can still download the software to get the latest in multimedia entertainment, podcast subscriptions, and the online social experience. Oh yeah…. and you can use the Zune software to subscribe to my own video postings here at Michael Gannotti on SharePoint + (see the icon on home page right hand side) You can also use the new Zune software in tandem with the Podcasting Kit for SharePoint.

New features with Zune 3.0 include:

Device features:

• New capacities
  We've added 16GB and 120GB devices to the lineup, both with a glossy black front and a black metal back.
• Buy from FM
  Hear a song you like while listening to the radio on your Zune? Your device will identify it, and download it the next time you sync.
• Browse Zune Marketplace wirelessly
  Download music directly to your Zune: at home, at a café… wherever there's a wireless hotspot.

  Zune has partnered with high-speed Internet access provider Wayport to let customers wirelessly shop Zune Marketplace on their player at more than 9,800 McDonald's restaurants across the U.S.

• New Zune Originals
  Even more designs for you to personalize your Zune.
• Zune Channels
  Combining the best features of podcasts and playlists, subscribe to channels by Billboard, The FADER, and radio stations like KROQ and KEXP.
• Games
  You can now play games on your Zune! Devices come preloaded with Texas hold 'em and Hexic.
• Audiobooks
  One of our most-requested features is here: audiobooks on your Zune, from Audible.com and OverDrive.
• Clock
  You'll never again wonder what time it is.

  Read more about Zune players in our User's Guide.

Software features:

• Mixview, Just for You, and Now Playing
  Dynamic representations of your collection, as well as artist and song recommendations based on what you and other members of the Social are listening to.
• Rich search functionality
  Zune software will offer you suggestions as you type, helping you find the name of an artist or band even if you don't know the correct spelling.
• Social in the software
  Set your favorite tracks, update your profile, change your status, and search for other Social members — all from within the software.

  Read more about Zune software in our User's Guide.

Social features:

• Windows Live Messenger integration
  See your Windows Live Messenger contacts in the Social, and invite them to join with a click of the mouse.
• New reputation badges
  Get recognized for being a top reviewer or top forum poster.
• E-mail notifications
  Get a weekly digest of your friends' activities and real-time notifications of new messages and comments.
• More play data
  In addition to number of total plays, now see how many times a track has been added as a favorite or sent to a friend.

  Read more about the Social in our User's Guide.

Head on over to the Zune site to learn more.

I have voted in every Presidential election since 1984 with the exception of 2004.  I have voted either Republican (GOP) or Democrat (DEM) with the exception of 1992 and 2000.  I have campaigned for a DEM and I have hung posters for a GOP candidate.  The ordinary person would find this interesting or maybe stupid.  Why don't you just vote one way?  Are you a DEM or GOP?  Are you a conservative or liberal?

<sigh>

In my totally elitist, arrogant opinion:  Stupid voters vote party only and not issue.  I ONLY vote issue.  It's the only thing that matters.  Abortion is an issue.  Taxes is an issue.  Military is an issue.  Welfare is an issue.  Political parties will craft policies to deal with issues.  So the way I see it is :  which candidate is putting emphasis on the issues that are important to me?

1984 - I voted for Mondale because I perceived him to be honest with his election-killing statement about taxes.  PLUS, he had the guts to put a female on the ballot with him.  HONESTY was big with me, so he got my vote.

1988 - I voted for Dukakis.  I campaigned for Dukakis.  The issue with me was the national debt.  I HATED Jesse Jackson's upstaging and it almost drove me to the other side.  But I stuck to my guns and voted DEM.

1992 - I voted for Perot.  His campaign is what convinced me to only vote for candidates who have a PLAN.  He had a plan, he had character.  He was the choice for me.

1996 - I voted for Dole.  NAFTA disgusted me.  His demeanor disgusted me.  He was soft and spineless in the face of the biggest terrorist acts on American soil at that time.

2000 - I voted for Harry Brown.  Bush didn't have a plan.  Gore was a stooge...invented the internet...OMG....had no plan

2004 - I was out of the country and I didn't register for early voting...I probably would have voted third party again.  Kerry didn't have a plan and Bush didn't either.

So here we are in 2008.  Neither has a plan for the issues that are important to me.  Healthcare is important but neither has a plan.  Obama keeps talking about how important it is, but hasn't presented a plan.  Oil prices are important to me, but neither has a plan.  I am undecided and am very worried.  I don't vote AGAINST anyone, that is silly to me.  I need to find something that the candidate, in fact, will do and that I agree with.

Talk to a younger guy at the gym last night.  He asked me who I was going to vote for.  I said, "I'm undecided.  You?"

"I'm going for Obama."

"Really?  Why?"

"Because I believe he's for the younger generation and we need a change"

"A change from what?"

"From Bush"

"Aren't we getting that anyway?"

"If McCain wins, I feel we're just getting four more years of Bush"

"Why?" 

He sat and thought for a moment and then just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know", he said.

I asked, "What is it about Obama that you like?"

"Well, I think he represents the up and coming generation" (I recognized that from what he said before and thought to myself...this man has no idea).

I told why I was still undecided and that Obama really has nothing to offer, but that McCain INFURIATES me.  Not that he is four more years of Bush (don't really know what that means exactly) but I don't like certain things that he as done.  I can't point to anything that Obama has done that I like *or* dislike (except the fact that he didn't vote on anything until he started campaigning and I view that as a bad thing).  I could see the wheels turning in his mind and the realization that he really didn't know why he wanted to vote for Obama.  He still was going to vote for him regardless, and I understand that.  I really do.

My thirteen year old daughter and I were putting together my new smoker-grill and we had a chat.  I asked her who she would vote for if she were voting.  She said, "oh...I don't know.  I'm leaning toward McCain."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well--he's more experienced than Obama and if we get into trouble he'll know what to do more than Obama".

"What are your friends saying?"

"Everyone is saying "Go Obama!"

"And how does that make you feel?"

"It's OK.  Everyone should have a say.  I just think McCain is better.  Who are you going to vote for?"

"I'm undecided."

"Oh..hahahaha...you should vote for McCain, Dad."

"Really?  Let me tell you why I don't like him first..."  I proceed to tell her.

"Ohhh.  hmmm..."  she says.

"Did that change your mind?" I ask her

"No.  I still think McCain is better.  We don't know what we're getting with Obama".

Oh, if only most adults could think like my thirteen year old daughter...not that she is voting for McCain, but that she can honestly think and assess without emotion what her choices are and without FUD clouding her judgement.

So just like any other technophile, I go to download the latest craze -- the new browser from Google known as 'Chrome'.  Fast download and installation.  Lots of options.  Good, good, I like so far.  It gets all of my favs from IE and even its history--cool.  Then I go to my Live Spaces site (http://slickrickistheman.spaces.live.com) and this is what I see:

hmmm...I say to myself.  The photo section is MUCH better as it shows all of my albums.   But--there are things missing; COOL things missing:

So my buddy and former office mate BBaer says, "That's the problem with any browser, depends on their individual interpretation of "standards" as defined by the W3C".  This is a correct statement and it actually is true for a lot of other things, not just browsers--but that is a subject for another post on another day.  But dude...what Chrome is missing is simple iFrames and imbedded HTML...basic stuff.

With all of the hoopla and people saying "OOH" and "AHH" I don't see it.  Maybe someone will blog on why the browser is so cool.  I like it, but I'm not feeling the "ooh".

SharePoint runs faster in Chrome, but--we run into the same problems with rendering.  I'm sure they will get worked out--hey, it's beta.  Definitely cool, but definitely not 'WOW'.

Right before I hit the sack I decide to type in the name of a former employer in Search to see what comes up.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1998_August_18/ai_50251750/pg_2?tag=artBody;col1

And to think I was there during that time and met a benefactor...geeeeeez.

I remember when clients would ask for a lead test on the gasoline samples; no one ever did them.  "Why should we?  Gas doesn't have lead in it"....But they paid for the test anyway.  I decided to find out why.  In order to run the test, you had to read the method from a manual of various tests.  The test for lead required a prep time of approximately 2 hours, which really isn't that bad seeing that a lot of the test required a half day prep.  BUT the reagents used couldn't be found in the lab.  So I had to synthesize the reagent (more prep time).  Then I find out that the instrument to be used had to have a certain range which our particular model did not have.  So I sat there...fine, I thought to myself.  I'll let someone else do that test and go up to the sheet to assign it to someone and lo and behold...the result is already there:  >.01ppm (or whatever the reporting % was)  WHAT?  Who did that test?!  No one said a thing.

It's called pencil-whipping.

From the article:

"

DATA FALSIFICATION

SAYBOLT is part of a multinational group of companies whose primary business is to conduct quantitative and qualitative testing of bulk commodities, such as petroleum, gasoline, and other petrochemicals. SAYBOLT typically performs testing and inspection services for oil and gas refiners and importers. The data falsification charges, which predate SAYBOLT's acquisition by Core Laboratories in 1997, arise from SAYBOLT's pattern of falsifying the results of qualitative tests on petroleum products.

The conspiracy centered on the testing of the oxygen content of Reformulated Gasoline ("RFG"). RFG is blended to meet environmental specifications for various chemical and physical properties, including oxygen content. Under the Clean Air Act, in areas of the country where national air quality standards have not been met, importers and refiners are required to sell RFG. In order to attract and keep customers, SAYBOLT routinely inflated the oxygen content of its customers' RFG in reports that were submitted to the EPA, which monitors the RFG program. SAYBOLT falsified its data, reporting results that were not actually obtained in the lab, and manipulated testing equipment to generate higher oxygen figures. In some instances the falsified reports enabled refiners and importers to sell RFG that did not meet minimum requirements. In other instances, sellers received undeserved "credits" for selling RFG that purportedly exceeded minimum environmental specifications.

SAYBOLT also falsified lab results in areas unrelated to RFG, acceding to customer demands that SAYBOLT report as "on-specification" lab results for other petroleum products, such as home heating oil, regardless of the actual test results. Often, these instances of data falsification involved commercial, rather than environmental, specifications.  "

Holy crap...

One of the things that concerned me about traveling to Malaysia was the amount of time I would actually spend in the air.  A daunting 14 hours to Taipei and then another 5 hours to Kuala Lumpur; not for the claustrophobic or (fear of flying people).  Or recovering pulmonary embolism patients like myself.  I get up about every hour just to walk around and keep the juices flowing.  It's 8am Arizona time (11pm Malaysia time) and I should go to sleep so that jet lag doesn't kick my arse (like it does almost every time I travel)...however, technically I'm going WEST...so...maybe I'll be OK.

THE FLIGHT

Malaysia airlines is the friendliest airline I've ever used (almost as friendly as Thai Airways, but more on that later).  Even with the voodoo that goes on behind the counter.  How in the world do airlines still function using such arcane systems?  I was watching the keystrokes these attendants were using and it was indeed voodoo.  They even had to ask each other for keystroke combinations to give a screen that, when looked at by a normal human being, makes about as much sense as attempts at Unification Equation.  For $700 they upgraded me to Business Class.  Cool.  I wasn't so lucky on the way back.  $3000 was the upgrade fare, except I only paid $1800 for the original roundtrip airfare.  I couldn't see justifying twice the fare for an upgrade.  In Business Class I was very impressed.  Yeah, most flight attendants in Business Class are very accommodating but these attendants are over the top!  They didn't just point me to my seat, they ESCORTED me to my seat.  Probably would have read me the newspaper, too, had I requested it---REALLY.

The beautiful travel started when at the check-in I did a stupid thing:  I left my Zune30 (complete with accessory bag, charger, cable, etc) at the counter.  I'm sitting on the plane ready to consume my complimentary beverage and snack when the gate agent approaches me and says, "Mr Taylor--I believe this belongs to you."

1) How did he remember that?

2) Very honest

Everything was there, too.  I will definitely fly Malaysia Airlines again!

This travel was only exceeded by Thai Airways when I went to Thailand, which even went one step further; if you can imagine that...and they're part of the Star Alliance, which means I get miles for it.

THE HOTEL

I would never have thought that a hotel could ever be TOO hospitable.  The Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur comes VERY close.  They are WAY over the top with kindness and amenities.  I was so impressed with the breakfast that I think I had to try everything.  I've been to Europe many times and thought that the US could totally learn something about a buffet from our European brothers and sisters; well--it's our Asian brothers and sisters that know how to do it.  HOLY MACKEREL! the service was IMPECCABLE.  They don't even let you push the buttons on the elevator!  Seriously!

  The view from my room was absolutely marvelous!

 THE CONFERENCE

TechEd Southeast Asia is a smaller conference than its TechEd brethren EMEA or US.  About half the size of EMEA at 2000 delegates, the conference packs more punch because of the caliber of the presenters and the technical content in less days.  The staff are very hospitable and see to make life for the presenters as smooth as possible.  One thing TechEd SEA does that I haven't see in the other conferences is personalize the speaker shirt.  The design is also much more hip than I've seen in any of the other conferences.

THE TRIP TO THAILAND

After the conference was over I took a trip to Thailand which was about a two hour plane ride.  Not bad.  I rode on Thai Airways and was SUPER impressed with the service.  I stayed one night in Bangkok before heading up to lesser known Khon Kaen.  The Queen of Thailand made the place a center for education and it showed as there seemed to be a university on every city block.  My guide took me to a mall where we ate at a place called MK, which (I guess) is like a fast food joint except that the food isn't your typical fast food fare.  You order from a menu and then they bring the veggies to you to cook on your table where there is a big pot of boiling water.  You throw your noodles in there as well.  The only thing cooked in the kitchen is the meat you might have ordered.  Very interesting indeed.  I stayed at the Sofitel Hotel which was fantastic.  I managed to catch an earlier flight out and landed in Bangkok in time to make an earlier flight back to Kuala Lumpur but it didn't help....

THE MISSED CONNECTION

I was *supposed* to go to Manila, Philippines afterward but the time to go through customs and reboard on a different airline in a different terminal wasn't happening for me.  I ended up staying another night in Thailand.

THE SESSIONS

My sessions were 'OK'.  The demos were being run from a S-L-O-W external drive and I was having trouble showing everything for FBA (Forms-based Authentication).  I forgot a step and it blew up at the end....I hate when that happens!  My interactive session was ranked #4 in its class of sessions.

NEXT UP

My next conference is the SharePoint Best Practices Conference in Washington DC.  Then in October I will be in Iceland for the Dive Deeper Technical Conference.

This week has been an incredible week for me.  I didn't realize so many people knew that I had been gone a year in Seattle.

I was at Costco and on my way in the Mayor of my town is coming out.  I say, "Mayor!" and then he surprised me by saying, "Rick!  Welcome back!".  1) I didn't know that he knew me by name and 2) I didn't know that he knew I was gone.  We shook hands and friendly pats on the back and talked about the changes in the town in a year.  He invited me to the party he has at the end of the year and then we went about our respective business.

Last night I was driving around the neighborhood and saw an old neighbor (I live in the same neighborhood, actually the same street--just around the corner).  He proceeded to swear.  @#$@%^&^*$#$%!@#$!  RICK!!  #$%^$&^%&@ YOU'RE BACK!!

I've been swore at before when someone was angry at me, but never because someone was so happy.  He just kept swearing... it was un-nerving in a way.  He gave me a huge hug and took my new number and then I went my way.

Downtown Phoenix has a restaurant that I LOVE.  It's called ELIANA'S, named after the proprietor's daughter.  It boasts the best Salvadoran food in the USA outside of Los Angeles (which has more Salvadorans than El Salvador).  I come in and he says "Y tu, adonde has metido?  Por que no has venido?" I tell him I was in Seattle and he breaks out in perfect English "WHAT!  What are you doing going up there?  You belong right here!  Welcome home!"

At the gym, there is a guy (don't even know his name)...we love to chide each other over sports.  He loves the sCrUBS...that ought to tell you something about how our banter usually goes.  He usually is on the elliptical machine and comes in just as I'm finishing.  He sees me and comes up and says, "And where have YOU been?!!  SLACKER...all you White Sox and Bears fans...LAZY bums! Welcome back!!"

Welcome back, indeed.

Craziest thing happened today.

I'm in a conference call in the central room of the office.  I hear people yelling as if someone spilled something hot in the laps; all at the same time.  One of my co-workers runs to me and says, "DUDE...look out the window!".  I go and look out the window and there is a man, face down, in a pool of blood.  Where did he come from?  It was obvious.  The *ONLY* place he could have come from was from the top of the building.  He jumped 25 stories to his death.

It's a circus right now.  TV, Police, Paramedics, People....<sigh>

Tragedy.  What was going through his mind that made him decide to jump?  Was it an accident?  Was he pushed?  Was he fired?  Unbelievable.

That was one thing I hope I NEVER see again.

I wanted to blog about this for two reasons:

a) Therapeutics

b) Public shame

I moved to the Seattle area a year ago and thought it better to rent for a year until the housing prices went down.  So a fellow Microsoft employee rented one of his homes to me.  Worked out great, at first.  Sure I had to pay for a cleaning service to clean up--and I had to do some cleaning outside from trash, but it was no big deal.  He put in a patio in the back yard which looked OK, except the excess bricks and wooden pallets were left.  Even after emails to have him have the contractors clean up did no good.  I paid for the removal which cost almost $300.  Other than those incidents most things were fine.

When the opportunity came to move I needed to break the lease almost a full year early.  He suggested three options:

1) Find a responsible subtenant to take over the lease.

2) Transfer the responsibility to a good property management company, who would take care of all the nitty-gritty details from marketing to upkeep of the home.

3) reach a settlement to mutually void the reminder of the lease term for a fraction of the remaining total rent. one-third of the remaining rent is what he asked (~$10K)

So I found a tenant, paid for the background check and application fee and the landlord accepted it.  What transpired immediately following was when the truth about his nature came out.

The new tenant wanted to pay less than the rent.  It was an amount that I found comfortable paying for a year, so we wrote up a contract between us that had me paying him the difference every month.  The landlord requested a copy of this contract; for some unknown reason but we gave him a copy out of courtesy.  The new tenant asked for some things to be done to the house which the landlord agreed to do.  The thing was:  he wouldn't commit to a date to have it done.  His excuse was that he needed to get quotes; but I had already done that for him.  I received FOUR WRITTEN quotes and told both the new tenant and the landlord that they could agree to one of them.

The next issue was that that he now wanted a contract with the new tenant.  The new tenant objected.  Technically the landlord could collect twice having two lease agreements with two separate parties.  The landlord agreed to terminate the lease agreement with me and signed the addendum (with witnesses present).  So now that the lease agreement terminated, according to the contract (AND Washington State Law RCW 59.18.270) he must, within 14 days, return the full deposit OR a letter outlining why a part of it was retained.

After multiple emails and phone calls I send a nasty email to him.  He calls me and says that he couldn't respond because he was "offsite" so he couldn't respond.  That sounded like an excuse my kids would give.  Even an email that told me he was offsite would have been sufficient but he chose to totally ignore me and use being offsite as an excuse.  sheesh.

Then he hangs up on me.  He calls back and apologizes for hanging up (I'm thinking someone came into his office and he needed privacy.  I let it go.  As the conversation continues he says that I already received the deposit from the new resident.  He said that I admitted to receiving it from him.  This was totally untrue and I'm wondering what dope he's smoking.  And even if I *had*, it would have been a deal between the new tenant and myself--something that did not concern *him*.   He calls me a crook.  I ask him why he thinks I am a crook and he hangs up on me.  I haven't been hung up on since Junior High...ok maybe High School.

I'm thinking about calling his manager and telling him what type of employee he has.  I am really not wanting to go the legal route as I would have to go back to Washington....sigh...what a punk he is.

I have four children.  It was funny when the first was born--how careful I was to make sure everything was quiet, sterilized and comfortable.  When number two came along, it wasn't as quiet or as sterilized as when the first was born.  By the time the fourth came, he was lucky if I wiped off the nipple of the pacifier if it fell on the ground.  Leaving Microsoft was sort of the same experience for me.

When you come onboard, there are scores of people there fawning over you making sure you have all of the email aliases of everyone and anyone that you might need.  You had a ton of paperwork to read over and an assigned person to work with you to make sure you understood it.  Everything was automatic:  you were automatically enrolled in this or that.  You could opt out, but all you had to do was say "boo" and you were opted out.  It was very much the First Child syndrome.  When you *leave*, however, it is very much the LAST Child Syndrome.  I was given a yellow piece of paper that looked like it came out of the old lithograph machines that said basically--You *used* to have this, but now you don't.  The HR rep had to even WRITE phone numbers and email addresses on the paper for me to CALL about EVERYTHING.  You want COBRA?  Call this number.  Change of Address?  Send mail here.  Nothing automatic (they *could* make it automatic), nothing easy. 

It all came to light when I tried to pick up a prescription.  Microsoft hadn't sent the requisite COBRA forms to me and hadn't even updated my new address--but didn't hesitate to terminate the benefits.  No biggie, I pay the 20 bucks for the stuff and am told I could get reimbursed, but that I needed to hit up Premera myself.  Good thing the pharmacist said that all I needed to do was show her the COBRA paperwork and she would reimburse me and bill Premera.  Nice customer service; I appreciate that.  I then send mail to the HR alias so I can get my address updated.  Funny how they didn't even ask me for it in the Exit Interview, ya think?  Last check is probably getting bounced around the State of Washington now...

I was asked to speak at TechEd SEA and I am excited for a couple of reasons:

1) I was asked to speak at TechEd USA but the trip was cancelled for reasons I will not state here; and now I will get to show off some COOL stuff!

2) I have never been to Asia and this trip will be a cultural education for me.

I'd like to talk about my two sessions here:

a) Setting up an Internet facing website using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Forms-based Authentication

Forms-based authentication is an ASP.NET authentication service that enables applications to provide their own logon UI and do their own credential verification. If you have an anonymous Internet-facing site, you will want to know how to use Forms-based authentication.  In this demo-rich session, I will take you from a base installation of SharePoint, walk through the basic steps of setting up the ASP.NET provider and configuring SharePoint to use FBA.  I like doing demonstrations because it helps the attendee(delegate) see step by step how something is accomplished and sometimes, what to watch out for if the demo fails!

b) SharePoint Lifecycle Management  DemoFest

The Solution Accelerators Team is a crack bunch that create tools to manage the Lifecycle of SharePoint.  SharePoint is a beast that definitely, if not tamed, will eat your admins up if you don't understand how to manage it from inception to planning to deployment to retirement.  In this session I will demonstrate many tools that are used to accomplish exactly that.

See my technical blog for more information in a couple of weeks.

I was flown to Phoenix to meet my new boss and team.  A great group of professionals who are looking to make a difference and a splash in the market.  I am excited to be working with them.

The weekend was very nice.  I was surprised that the summer was so brutal so early.  I think I'm starting to believe this "global warming" thing afterall.  The weather everywhere seems to be out of whack.  Snowing in Seattle in April, and 110+ degrees (45C) in June in Phoenix.  On Friday it hit 118.  It was a good thing one goes from air conditioned environment to the next; you really don't feel it unless you are going from a parking lot to a store and then you start to wonder...whoa...how hot *is* it?  I think 118 would make a Washingtonian faint...shoot, just the *mentioning* might do the trick.  I'm on the plane now and the captain said that it was 66 degrees in Seattle.  66 in June..sorry, that seems a bit chilly to me; even for 6pm.  Oh well, to each his own suffering.

This week will be spent doing some spring cleaning to get ready for the packing team and then the movers.  My office is so tore up, it might take me the whole day to get that under control.  Then will come the garage...heaven help me.  Please.

I am really looking forward to starting the new gig and to start blogging about my experiences.  My technical blog at http://blogs.technet.com/ritaylor will be getting more current as well.

The move is completed.  The lessons learned were many.  "Tying up loose ends" now takes a more serious meaning to me.  So does the term "preparation". 

I'm waiting for the Cable TV and Internet guy to get here and hook me up so I can post this entry.