The Road Ahead

As many of you may know, I started a job with Microsoft this past April. Today, was the last official day of work at Microsoft for our most famous employee - Bill Gates. It really is amazing to think about all the accomplishments of Bill Gates and Microsoft since it was founded in 1975.

I first was introduced to PCs in High School with our Apple II+ computers in the computer lab. However, I quickly was introduced to the initial IBM PC and spent my Summers and evenings after school working at a ComputerLand store teaching DOS to grade school kids. It was this experience that led me to choose to go to college for Computer Science at Georgia Tech. At Georgia Tech, I obtained an incredible education (though sadly most of it is completely worthless in my career today - PASCAL, Assembler, Lisp, APL etc not to mention Calculus, Chemistry and Physics) and a great fondness for technology. As I ventured into the working world, I built my career around software and Microsoft was always at the center of it - from DOS to Windows to Office to Outlook to Internet Explorer.

I always admired Bill Gates and am inspired by what he has accomplished and how he now plans to devote his life to philanthropy and giving back to society about 99% of what he has gained over the past 33 years. I'm still thrilled to be a part of Microsoft, but am saddened by the "loss" of someone who has done such amazing things. I suppose the bright side is that the potential now exists for him to make an even more incredible impact of the world and the road ahead looks bright indeed. Good luck, Bill!

Just the FACTS Ma'am

It's been brought to my attention that (at least) one person has expressed "concern" about the information being posted in this blog. The language and accusations used in that "concern" are so off-base they really do not warrant a response. However, in case there is anyone else that questions the intent of this blog, let me try to be clear:

This is 2008! The Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate and I feel this is a great forum to share my opinions relating to various issues around town. This blog is not sanctioned by the Township of South Orange Village. Any posts in this blog are mine and mine alone (with the exception of "comments" which are added by anyone else who reads this blog). However, any of the opinions I post are based on facts that are PUBLIC INFORMATION. For example, posts regarding items discussed in budget workshop contain the same information that is readily available to any member of the public attending the budget workshop discussion. However, in this blog I have the opportunity to elaborate further on my opinion. I have always welcomed people to post comments on this blog or to send email feedback directly to me.

Trustee Mark Rosner had a similar blog several years ago that I found to be a refreshing take on various issues around town and I have tried to model this blog on the path that he blazed. I think everyone can agree how lucky we all are to have Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment. I find it frightening to find there are people who find issue with this freedom simply because they themselves can't understand exploring it with new technology.

Crossing the Chasm

Lately there has been a lot of talk, political pandering and misinformation about the recent proposal to Outsource the Crossing Guards in South Orange. It is clear this is a very sensitive and complex issue with a lot of emotion involved. In light of ongoing negotiations, it is important to limit some commentary. However, it is also important to ensure that FACTS are being discussed. Many of the following points were made by Village President Newman at Monday's Board of Trustees Meeting and are worth noting:

1. No final decision has yet been reached by the Board of Trustees on how to proceed on this issue

2. IF Outsourcing were to proceed, the same 22 Crossing Guard posts that exist today would continue to exist

3. IF Outsourcing were to proceed, the current Crossing Guards would absolutely have the ability to apply for the jobs, and the Outsourcer would be required to give them consideration.

4. IF Outsourcing were to proceed, it would be with the terms outlined in the RFP issued earlier this year, which includes provisions for background checks, testing the physical ability of the crossing guards (which does NOT happen today) and having Police Officers provide backup (which IS done today) when a Crossing Guard is absent.

5. Currently, the Crossing Guards are part-time employees, working an average of 3.7 hours per day for 180 days per year. These PART-TIME positions are paid a generous hourly wage PLUS fully-paid Healthcare, fully-paid Pensions, paid Vacation days, paid Holidays and paid Sick days. This compensation is simply unsustainable

6. The safety of our residents and our children is of utmost importance to the Board of Trustees

At Monday's Board of Trustees Meeting, some opponents of Outsourcing tried to use fear as an argument against this proposal. Everyone is sensitive to the fact that we are talking about people's jobs. However, using fear is just wrong. This is an issue that can and should be thoroughly debated by a discussion of facts. Spreading misinformation on one side or grandstanding for political gain on the other side simply divides a community instead of trying to productively work together towards a fair solution.

The budget process has been long and painful, but unfortunately a thorough examination of every budget line item was long overdue and we are having to make difficult decisions across many departments, even though it would simply be so much easier to maintain the status quo. However, that was not what we were elected to do. We were elected to do things differently and look at things from a different perspective. I am convinced that if the Crossing Guards are as passionate about their jobs and our children as they emphatically stated Monday night that an equitable solution can be found. I am cautiously optimistic that the ongoing negotiations can be productive. As we were told Monday night by a representative for the Crossing Guards "it's not about the money, they care about the kids". I hope that actions follow those words.

Barak's in the House

After a long and exhausting journey, Barak arrived at our house this morning and will be staying with us for a chunk of the Summer. No...not THAT Barack. Welcome Barak Lilian, a counselor at Stephanie's Summer camp who is here from Israel as part of the "shlichim" program. He will be a counselor for the Ropes course at Gesher Summer Program in Livingston and staying with us until the end of July. This is his first time in the United States and he is very excited to be here. He got a brief tour around South Orange today, including the obligatory trip to Eden Gourmet with Amy. We are happy to be hosting him and hope that everyone who gets a chance to meet him over the coming weeks will give him a warm welcome to South Orange and the USA!

We're all connected

Lately, I've become more and more intrigued by the various Social Networking sites. I've been a user of LinkedIn.com for a very long time, but it seems to have finally gotten quite mainstream over the past few months. When you search for people you know, it's remarkable how many people you recognize from your personal or professional life. I find it to be a great tool to keep up with what people are doing with themselves and their careers. When I was interviewing for a job, I also found it very helpful as a tool to get some insight into the background of the person who would be doing the interviewing. It's always helpful to know your audience!

Most recently, I have finally succumbed to the lure of Facebook. I had previously resisted getting involved because I assumed facebook was more geared towards college-aged students and younger. I was really shocked to learn how many "older" folks like us are out there with Facebook profiles. So, I created a profile, added a few applications and have been enjoying keeping up with friends in a much more informal & casual version of LinkedIn.

I still think each site has it's strengths and can see them co-existing for quite a while. It's clear that marketing has been revolutionized by Social Networking as people are far quicker to trust the recommendation of a friend than by some anonymous commercial they watch on Television. I think we are just seeing the infancy of this phenomenon and it's exciting to see where we are heading. It's amazing to see all the various relationships and connections between people you didn't think had a connection. Eventually, I can see how we will all be connected in some way which has endless possibilities. If nothing else, it'll just be easier to play "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!"

President Obama!

Wow...after a long hard battle, the Democratic primary season has come to a close and Barack Obama has finally clinched the nomination and is now on his way to become the next President of the United States!

I must say it was one of the most exciting and interesting primary seasons that I ever experienced, but I am glad to see Senator Obama come out ahead. As I said back in February, both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama were well qualified, but I think that a) Senator Obama is the voice of change that we so desperately need right now and b) he simply ran a better campaign.

Now, we move on to the General election campaign against Senator McCain. Personally, I thought Senator McCain portrayed himself well as a moderate back in 2000, but since then he has pandered way too far to the right and the more I learn about him, the less impressed I am. In my mind, he is simply the next in a long line of candidates who felt "their time had come" (like Bob Dole & Walter Mondale) while in reality their best days were already behind them.

The General election should come down to such crystal clear contrasts of age vs. youth, experience vs. change, pro-Iraq war vs. anti-Iraq war, pro-choice vs. anti-choice, that I will find it hard for someone to claim to be "undecided".

Let's hope that Senator Obama makes the right VP choice later this summer to ensure a victory a November. Although many people have suggested Hillary Clinton, I do think that she (and Bill) bring too much baggage to the table that Senator Obama may be much better served with someone with the foreign policy experience, without the baggage. Ironically, 2 outstanding choices - Joe Biden and Wesley Clark don't help with the Electoral College battle, but would be well suited for the job. However, the same was said about Dick Cheney and (unfortunately) we know how that turned out.

In any event, we only have:



left until we can all (hopefully) welcome President Obama!