January 12, 2010 by Joel.

OK, so it’s already January 12th…it’s still early in the new year! 2010 is off to a good start. We’ve got both kids back out of the house again, off at their respective schools, so peace and quiet reigns. I’ve been trying to keep on top of communications and planning for my new BSA role as District Chairman. I think that the key is to do what I need to do right when I think of it; if I let it sit, too much time will pass and I’ll also stand a better chance of dropping a ball. Electronic communication will be important, and I plan to try to use Skype for conference calls, and also leverage either the current Yahoo site or a Google group. We’ll also make use of collaborative editing with Google Docs. I’m gearing up to teach at UNC-CH again this semester in my role as an adjunct in SILS. Last semester was the first time in 10 years I’ve not taught a class, and I feel energized to do it; it’s been good to take the time off. I’m working on getting my vacation schedule set up and coordinated with my colleagues at UNCG. I want to be sure that I get some time for shad fishing in March, Bassclave in June or July, and beach time in August. Time flies, and the cold weather we’ve been having will be gone soon, and the fish will be biting. I do plan to try for some trout in early February. There’s a local pond/lake that gets a trout stocking during the winter. I’ll be giving that a try this year. What’s that whooshing sound? Time rushing by

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June 15, 2007 by Joel.

So, I’ve been pretty excited about Web 2.0, mashups, etc.  Lots of cool stuff going on.  However, I’ll also admit concern about the amount of unauthenticated content on the Web today, as well as the growing amount of noise, relative to meaningful information (i.e. the signal to noise ratio is going down).  Blogging (such as this!) requires nothing but a bit of web space, and no knowledge on any subject, just the desire to make a statement which may have no veracity and be something that wouldn’t be said in polite society.  I am a “first generation” webbie; I’ve been doing this web stuff since 1993, back when web servers were rare (only about 5000 when I put one up in November 1993, at UNC-CH where I was working at the time).  I believe in civil discourse, and have been around long enough to try to live by “read twice, click once” so that you don’t consign things to the ether that you will regret.  Anyway, with that intro, here’s that post from the Chronicle of Higher Ed, with a variety of interesting links…

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June 10, 2007 by Joel.

Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools participate in Project Graduation (for 15 years now, I think), an event designed to help keep the high school graduates focused on having a safe party and avoiding the tragedies of drinking & driving. UNC-CH provides the Student Union, the community contributes financially, and volunteers staff a great event from 10PM to 4AM on the night of high school graduation. There is food (of course!), great raffle prizes (iPods and the like), and tons of games. Casino games, bungee jumps, inflatables, bowling…you name it, it’s there. This year for the 2nd in a row, Jan and I worked the 1AM to 4AM shift. It’s tough on the biological clock, but for a worthy cause. Our youngest will be a senior next year, and our oldest graduated two years ago, but it’s important for the community to volunteer and support this event! Cash is always welcome too

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April 24, 2007 by Joel.

So, the only good thing to come out of the VT tragedy is the outpouring of support, especially in the university community. I’m a chapter advisor for UNC-CH’s Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity (Rho chapter) and last night at the brotherhood initiation ceremony, the brotherhood had prepared a banner of support, and was getting everyone to sign, to send to the Zeta Beta chapter at VT.

On a completely different front, there is a viral effort afoot to get VT memorials throughout the virtual world SecondLife. I had arranged a guest lecture for my Systems Analysis class today, and he showed, while talking about technology and futures, the VT memorial on the UNC-Chapel Hill island in SecondLife.

Posted in Virginia Tech, Technology, UNC | No Comments »

April 3, 2007 by Joel.

Well, though I was not looking for a job and was very happy with my current job at MCNC as Director of IT & Data Center Services, I got an offer too good to refuse. A former colleague who has been doing some consulting work with The University of North Carolina at Greensboro called me and encouraged me to apply for a position there. I did, and in short order, I interviewed, they offered, and I accepted a position as Associate Vice Chancellor for Administrative Systems. This is a great opportunity professionally, back to what I was doing at UNC-Chapel Hill, and will also reinstate me in the North Carolina retirement system, one of the best in the country. Though the commute will be longer than I have today, it’s worth it for me and my family. I start there on the first of May.

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January 12, 2007 by Joel.

From the pause of the holidays, to full speed ahead! Things are really getting in gear at work and at home. It’s time for a new semester, which is always fun. I’ve always enjoyed the sense of a new beginning, both as a student and as an instructor. I’ve got another small group (15 students) for my systems analysis class, which is a nice number. Enough for good group dynamics but small enough to really engage everyone. It’s a busy time at my “day job” at MCNC as well, as we are in the throws of a strategic planning process, as well as getting ready to enter budget planning season.

On the home front, Scouts are busy (heading to Washington, DC on a trip tomorrow), though I’m stepping down as scoutmaster after 6 years to hand the mantle to one of my compatriots. After being a scoutmaster and a cubmaster for several years before that, I’m ready to step back from the “front-man” role. My youngest son, Jeff, is working on his Eagle project, restoring parts of an old cabin at Moorefields Plantation near Hillsborough, NC. Hope to finish by early February.

High School band is still moving on (I’m president of the band boosters) but as Jeff is not in the winter club ensembles, my personal involvement is not as great as in marching season.

Nothing of great substance here; just wanted to post a few fresh bits…

CYA!

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December 18, 2006 by Joel.

As mentioned in my post on 11/15, one of the things I do is teach a course in Systems Analysis & Design at UNC-Chapel Hill SILS (INLS382). I really enjoy teaching, but it’s always a great feeling to drop off the grade sheet at the end of the semester…Woohoo! Now I’m ready for the holidays! Just need some winter weather, as we’re having a heat wave here in NC at the end of December.

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November 15, 2006 by Joel.

In the time I let this blog go fallow, I decided to change jobs and move from UNC-Chapel Hill to MCNC as Director of IT & Data Center Services. I still get to work with the National Lambda Rail (NLR) Experiment Support Service and the Internet2 HOPI project (though that is morphing as I2 begins to deploy “newnet”). This had been a long time coming, as I was not really happy with where I’d found myself at UNC after a big reorg. Now that I’ve made the move (March 2006) I’m quite happy with the decision! I still teach at UNC as an adjunct in the School of Information and Library Science. I have been teaching Systems Analysis & Design (INLS382) since 1998, roughly one course per semester. The good news is that’s enough of a UNC affiliation to let me still buy basketball tickets. Go Tarheels! It promises to be a great year for the ‘heels.

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September 15, 2005 by Joel.

So, one of the things I’m doing right now is acting as program chair for the UNC CAUSE fall conference. The program is really coming together, and promises to be a lot of fun, and very informative.

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September 15, 2005 by Joel.

Well, we’ve finally finished our reorg of the ITS department at UNC, and my title is Director of Networking Collaborations for Information Technology Services. So what does that mean? In this role, I work directly to foster collaborative projects with other campus schools and departments, and with local and national networking partners. Examples of external collaborations are involvement with NCNI and NCREN at the local and statewide level, and with Internet2 and National Lambda Rail at the national level.

Additionally, I’m still the Executive Director of the North Carolina Networking Initiative (NCNI). That site is really in need of maintenance, and that’s one thing that I’m working on now…

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