Archive of the '2010 Up Front and Personal' Category

We made it home in one piece. We landed to find cold temperatures and snow covering the mountains - spring time in the Rockies. This was a shock to the body after a week in warm NOLA. But, it is good to get home. We got our green chili fix and have been catching up with mail, e-mail, and family. The perfect end to a perfect trip.

Funny we spend months planning for the PES T&D Expo and it is over in the blink of an eye. I guess if it wasn’t so exciting and stimulating, the time would drag by. No fear of that! I tried to see everything. I tried to visit every booth and attend super sessions. Those were the plans. It didn’t happen. I ran out of time and had so much left to see. Heck, I didn’t even make it to my own paper’s presentation. I am so glad I have such a good friend as the co-author. Joe Rostron told me to take care of my blogging business and he would do the paper. That is a friend.

The 2010 Expo is in the books. It was bigger and better than any previous Expo, but Tommy Mayne and his team never sit on their laurels. They are already in full flight for Orlando. Wow, Orlando! Imagine - Disney World, Universal, Sea World… I can’t wait for the companion tours. I’m going to try to convince Pam we need a full week before the Expo. If the Exhibit Hall grows as much for 2012 as it did for 2010, I’m going to see if I can use inline skates or maybe get a Segway. That would help cover the place faster.

The past is gone and the future isn’t here yet. So, I will concentrate on today. This is a very special day. I met my lovely bride 35 years ago tonight! We have some special plans in place and I had better wrap this up or I’ll be in big trouble. I hope you all enjoyed the 2010 Expo as much as I did. I hope you all got as much out of it as I did. And, I hope your feet aren’t as sore as mine are. Happy Trails!!

After my initial video work, I know I am not Cecil B. deWolf! I have a new found respect for those producing movies, documentaries, and other types of videos. I am truly sorry you all are having to journey with me on the learning curve. I did practice before the Expo, but there is nothing like doing it for real. I am so thankful you all know I am a nerd engineer (the photo is more of my natural habitat), but I will improve by time we get to Orlando. This has added a whole new venue for me and the blog.

I have just finished uploading my videos to the blog site. As soon as they have been processed, I’ll get them posted. I am going to go out and get my own flip camera. Doug Fix a great friend loaned me his for the Expo - what a trusting soul. I am also going to get some video editing software. What you see is what I saw. I would like to be able to cut and splice. It would improve the video. Thank you PES for giving me this fun assignment.

I am technically challenged on this trip. I will be getting video added to this blog - by Ned! The Internet connection in the hotel was very slow. It crashed one night and really impacted what I was doing. Anyway, I have made several video files, but they are very large. It took 20 minutes the other night to upload one. Then I couldn’t get it to append to the file. I’m not sure if it is my computer or the links. When I get back to my office I will work on this and get them added to the blog. Be sure to check back next week. They will be there!

I had just finished talking with an exhibitor and turned around to leave his booth. Surprise, I ran into an old friend I haven’t seen since last year. Nick Miller from GE was walking down the aisle. He had made a wind presentation and had a chance to get out on the floor. It amazes me that in a crowd this big, you can run into friends. Our industry is a small world, but this is ridiculous.

I first met Carol Geofrey during my involvement in the Hurricane Ike restoration efforts. SouthWire started working to produce conductor a week before the hurricane hit. They had trucks on the road as soon as it was safe to travel. Manufacturers like SouthWire are one of the things so unique to our industry. They know our linemen need material to rebuild and they need right now. SouthWire wasn’t the only supplier working 24/7 to do this either. I am so proud of our industry. When you see the efforts we go to to restore power after ice storms, hurricanes, and other natural disasters it is fantastic.

Carol and I talked on the phone and sent lots of e-mails getting the story together to tell the industry, but we never met. This was the first chance I had to meet her face to face. It was great seeing and talking with her about our experiences. Hurricanes are one of those events that you have to be there to understand what takes place. I hope we don’t have to do it again, but if we do, we will be ready!

My first stop of the day was the Pike Engineering booth to see some old friends. None of them were there. It seems there was a meeting going on somewhere. Does that sound familiar? So, I made a new friend, Paul Smith. We talked about the show and the size of the place. I wondered how far I walk each day. Well, Pike solves problems. Paul pulled out a pedometer. He set it up for me and told me to get walking (nicely of course). At the end of the day, I had logged over 3 miles! If I do that each day, I will have walked over 9 miles (not counting the trips back and forth to the hotel). I am staying at one of the walking hotels. You better be in good shape for these hotels, by the way.

Ever notice how your friends spice up things when they are around. Chris Hickman is one of those people in my life. He was a summer intern when I hired him. A few years later he became my boss’s boss! A few years after that he was VP of a company that hired me as a consultant. Through out that whole period, no matter what title he had; he was, is, and will always be my friend. What else matters? So, when I ran into him, at the Expo, it was time for some catching up and sharing. I just love this place!

I printed up all my calendars. I have a stack of books and magazines. I have King Creole blasting away on the stereo - that keeps me focused on packing. Should have listened to Pam and done it sooner - don’t tell her. It amazes me how many tech-toys I have to pack for something like this too. Computers, cameras, flash attachments, iPod, digital voice recorder, and on and on it goes. I am so glad the airlines don’t weigh my backpack. I avoid the puddle-jumper airlines because the backpack has trouble fitting in their overheads. I almost broke a bin on a flight to North Dakota not too long ago. See you all in the Big Easy!!

A friend told me the best description of my blog is prowling and howling and I should change the blog’s name. I guess that fits, but I think we will leave the blog’s name in tact. I will definitely be prowling the exhibit floor and I will be telling about it. I’m not sure about the howling part - well, I guess some have said I am noisy. I don’t see it. Wolves are quiet critters.

Blog followers, we are trying something new! If it works, we will have video on the blog. When I say if it works what I really mean if Gene doesn’t screw it up. I may be a power electronics expert, but my computer can induce tears. Here is the problem. Good thing - my iPod has video capability, which works great. Bad thing - the files are huge so I have to use an FTP site to upload to the blog.

I thought it might be a good idea to test it from home before the Expo. Great idea - right? Well, single-handily I brought the FTP server to its knees. No one could access it yesterday or this morning - way to go. It is back this morning, but I still can’t get in. It is reminiscent of Space Odyssey - “HAL open the pod bay doors. No way Gene. Stay outside where you can’t do us any harm.” The help desk is working on it now.

We have a work around (good old plan B). They gave me an alternate site that will take the large files without the fun of FileZilla and FTP access. I am so glad I work with such patient folks. It takes a lot to support me. Stayed tuned - this should be fun.