Thursday, June 30, 2011

DemoJam

Got a cool app built using PowerBuilder? Think about submitting an entry for DemoJam! http://sapteched.com/demojam/

Let's show the larger SAP community what great things we can do with PowerBuilder!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Notice of Contract Termination Due to Potential New California Law

With regard to the recent email I just received from Amazon Associates (see below).

Earth to Governor Moonbeam, come in please!  Crushing local small businesses in order to prop up the coffers of the government eventually leads to reduced tax incomes.  What you're doing will help short term and hurt you worse long term.  Note that one of the options that Amazon suggests is relocating business to avoid taxes.  I'm sure that would help your tax revenues as well.  All we need is yet another reason for businesses to leave California.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Techwave 2011 registration now open

Pictures / Video from Haiti

Pictures:  http://public.fotki.com/brucearmstrong/haiti/

Video:   http://www.vimeo.com/album/1625200

PowerBuilder Developer Newsletter

Newsletter from Worldwide Product Support Engineering that contains product announcements, certifications, exclusive product-related tips, and a summary of technical documents. Q2 2011.

http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1093485

Q3 2011 PowerBuilder Strategy and Roadmap Webcast

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET (10:00 - 11:00 am PT)

The Q3 2011 PowerBuilder Strategy and Roadmap Webcast will outline Sybase's strategy for PowerBuilder, provide a snapshot of where PowerBuilder stands today, and discuss the roadmap for future releases of the product. Attendees will also get a sneak preview of technology being developed for future versions of PowerBuilder and have a chance to ask questions and provide feedback.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Bit behind in my updates

Just reached cruising altitude in our flight from New York to LAX. We should be in by about 2AM. Looking forward to ait conditioning, soft beds, no mosquito netting, warm showers and meals that don't include rice and beans as the main course. Quite an adventure though.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Return to the compound

Wasn't all that much of an issue. Rode in the back myself and watched where we were going by peering over the top of the tap-tap. Lots of people out on the streets. At one point a bicycle rider grabbed the back of the second tap-tap (the one in front of me) in order to get a free ride.

Power is back on in the compound. Charging up everything as quickly as I can.

Restaurant and Vista trip

Just finished at the restaurant. The view was nearby, not at the restaurant. It was incredible.

Had chicken in white sause. It wasn't that good - too dry. Had a diet coke over ice. The first one I've had since I've been here.

We are about to head back to compound. Little risky as its alreay getting dark and it an hour away.

Last full day on site...

Breakfast was pineapple, beans and corn and bread.

Power has been out all day at the compound. A lot of folks have cameras where the battery is gone. I'm doing fine there, but my laptop is dead, my ipad and phone are down to 50%. if we dont get power back tonight, i may lose them as well.

We're finally getting the rains that has been threatening us all week. Funny, we just finished all the work. We're just going to a restraunt up in the hills for our final dinner together in a bit.

It will take at least an hour to get to the restruant (in a tap-tap, oh joy. we all have towels for our butts!). It also takes them an hour from the time we order to deliver the food (they're on Haitian time). We do need to eat by 4 or 5 though in order to make sure we get back to the compound before dark. It's not safe outside the compound after night fall.

Last day on the construction site

And it wasn't the one we normally go to. We went to the Citi Solie site today to clean up rubble. It will be taken back to the Repatriat site to do filling in of low spots on what will eventually be a soccer field.

After we did that, we took a tour of the facility. There is a clinic they are building which we be used by HOM, Samaritans Purse, and some Haitian doctors. They have a grass soccer field at this site as well, about the only grass I've seen since I've been here. I also took a look at the water treatment equipment they have in place there.

We returned to the compound for lunch, but I didn't have any this time. We're heading to a restruant later for an early dinner, so I wanted to save my appetite for that.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Second trip to the tent city

After lunch we went back to the tent city. The water truck was actually there already when we arrived. Nonetheless, the kids were happy to see us.

Turns out that the storage facility at the tent city hold two entire truckloads, so we had a second water truck brought in. It arrived and started offloading the water by the time we were leaving.

There was a bit of contention when it came time to distribute the water. Apparently the city 'mayor' decided to charge a small amout for each pail of water. The idea was apparently to make it a substainable source of water, the money collected for the pails of water would in turn be used to purchase the next truckload. From what I've heard, the idea of charging a small amount also helps prevent a poverty mindset and ensures that the people recieving the material value it. There was a 'town hall meeting' at the tent city where a number of the people got quite upset at being told there was a slight charge for the water.

Then back to the compound for dinner: rice and beans, potatoes and carrots.

Fourth day on the construction site

Well, at least for some. Chad, Richard and I stayed behind and finished painting the church extension. When we were done with that, we started doing touch up throughout the complex.

When Pastor Kelly, Danny and Johnny finished up with the evangelism training we headed out to the construction site. Got there about 11. By about 11:20 I was exhausted and went to the tent they hold church services at to rest. Ended up falling asleep. Might be because I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. Too warm. I may have to resort to the rooftop option as well.

Came back to the compound for rice and beans, potatoes and carrots. Now gettting ready to head back to the tent city.

We've pretty much finished at the construction site for this trip. We (or I should say they) finished the backfilling and were working on leveling the area they'll pour the slab into. Tomorrow we'll head over to Citi Solei to do some clean up on that project site. Apparently the construction crews don't really clean up behind themselves, and we need the rubble for the Repatriat construction site. So we'll go over there and load up on the debris on a truck to take back.

The weather report keeps indicating that we'e supposed to have thunderstorms. Today is the first time I've seen anything come anywhere close to us. It's been hot, humid and sunny the whole time we've been here.

Bonjou!

One of the most common phrases I use here. Means 'Good Morning'. Another one is 'Hey you!' which we shout at the kids or they do at us. And 'meci' (thank you). I'm surviving here on those three terms.

Power went out at 3 this morning, may have come back on by 5. Most people have moved to tents on the roof now. It's a sweat house in the rooms we are supposed to be in.

Breakfast was eggs and sausage and chips again.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Third day on the construction site (cont.)

We finished the backfilling today. Took right until noon, and then we returned to the compound for the regular meal of rice and beans (and crab).

Then we went on a walk through of the neighborhood surrounding the compound. When we got back, I was exhausted and slept until dinner. After dinner I slept again until time for our debrief.

Our debrief is where we get together as a group on the top floor of the building we're housed in (close to where the meals our served) and go over what happened that day as well as what we have planned for tomorrow. It's also where we share what is going on with ourselves and at home and pray for one another.

After our debrief the gift shop within the compound was opened up and we all took a look. I found some items more along the lines of what I wanted to pick up to take home, but not in the right sizes.

Tommorow Chad (a professional painter on the team) and I are staying behind in the compound and finishing up the painting of the church extension. Pastor Kelly will be staying here as well as he continues the evangelism training. If Chad and I are done by the time he is, we'll travel with him to the construction site.

Tomorrow afternoon we're making another trip to the tent city. Right now they have a water storage tank at the facility, but its been broken for months. So the residents have to take buckets and walk to a well 10 minutes away to get water, and then walk the full buckets back. In order to demonstrate the love of Christ in a practical way, we've obtained the parts to fix their water storage tank and have arranged for a water truck to come by and refill the tank after we're repaired it.

The water trucks are kind of interesting. They wander through the neighborhoods playing tunes, just like ice cream trucks at home.

Third day on the construction site

It seems like there's a lot of sleeplessness and health issues among the families of those who are here, so there's a lot of prayers directed towards those at home. One of the staff members is returning home today to attend a funeral. One of the team members has decided not to return home early, even though his uncle (who is more like a father to him) is in the hospital in the final stages of prostrate cancer. (It's not one of the people from Faith, but we really don't have such distinctions here. We're just one big team.) After that person gave us an update on what was going on at home and we prayer for him, just about everybody grabbed a phone and either called or texted home. (The internet access isn't good enough to try to Skype, even voice only).

We're wrestling with minor sleep issues of our own. The room on the second floor where we are housed is like a boiler room at night. It's most likely the humidity that's an issue, we sweat like pigs (not that pigs sweat) and don't cool off. They found a couple of two man tents and putt them on the roof, and a number of people slept up there last night. Apparently it was quite comfortable. Myself, I probably slept until about 1 or 2 and then dozed on and off until about 5.

Breakfast this morning is spaghetti, and banannas. I had a couple protein bars and a bananna. Not much of a fan of spaghetti for breakfast.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Second day on the construction site (cont.)

We didn't finish up backfilling all of the forms, so we'll finish that up tomorrow.

Returned to the compound for a lunch of rice, beans, vegitables and crab (same thing we had Saturday). Passed on the crab this time.

After lunch we went on a tour of the school at the compound. They take in 60 kids each year, all of which are sponsored. They start at 3 year olds and they continue through 6th grade. By the time they graduate 6th, they know two languages (French and Creole). They get referred to other schools for more advanced education, and by they time they graduate that they will have picked up Spanish and English as well.

The construction site we're working on is for a similar school. They've already recruited the 60 kids that will start in September. That's why they are particularly anxious to get the construction work done, so they have someplace for the kids to meet in when school starts.

After the tour we split into two groups. The one I worked on did some painting on a new extension of the church building within the compound. The other team went out into the neighborhood and interacted with the people there.

We got back together afterwards for dinner, which was beans and corn (yep, not rice), vegitables, crab and beef. I passed on the crab again.

Second day on the construction site

Realized that I didnt mention breakfast. It was scrambled eggs and sausage, bread and mango.

Sometime since we were last here they bulldozed the mountain of rubble we han to pass through to move the foundation stones. Made today easier, but we really could have used that Saturday.

We finished moving the foundation stones, now were removing forms around the concrete they poured Saturday and then will backfill around it. We may actually start laying some of the foundation stones in place for the fence extension later.

Start of school day

Watched the typical start of a school day. They kids got to play for a while in the school courtyard, which is mostly pebbles. No grass here, you slip and fall in this and you'll be hurting!

When the assembly was called to attention, they blocked off the entrance to the school. You aren't there on time, you don't participate in the ceremony. They sign, have a prayer, pledge allegance to their flag, etc. They they very orderly file into their classes for more singing.

The order was quite impressive. Even the very young preschoolers were dropped off at the start of the courtyard and found their way to their classes on their own.

Talking to one of the HOM staff, and they noted that this school is considered one of the best available. This week is finals for them. If they don't pass, they won't be back next year. There are no second chances. Too many other kids waiting for an opportunity to get in. Fortunately, the other schools in the area will quickly pick up any of the kids that fail here.

Off to the construction site.

Monday morning

Making an early start of it this morning. My fault, I'm the one that suggested that we start at 7. That's when the kids arrive for school too, so we're going to watch them come in and then head to the construction site. I wanted to see if we could get some work in before it started getting too hot. As it is, we could have started even earlier. I did stay up to about 11 PM local time and then slept in until about 5AM (the time I normally get up) so I guess I've adjusted. That left a couple of hours to kill though before it's time to go.

Power didn't go out until after 5AM this morning. Found out last night that the compound is largly solar powered. So the power goes out whenever the batteries run out of whatever charge they picked up during the day.

tap-taps

Realized I made a reference to tap-taps and many people don't know what I'm talking about. A tap-tap is one of those smaller trucks (e.g. the original Toyota truck size) with a camper shell on it, and a wood plank on the sides for seats. You pack it full of people, and then drive rather erratically down very poor roads. I have video of it, there's really no describing it that does it justice.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Update on a couple of items

Talking to the guy in charge of the construction project, and he indicated that Hatians, at least those in the tent cities, normally go about 2 days between meals.

Pastor Kelly also indicated that while the children in the tent city seemed fairly well dressed, what they were wearing may be the only clothes they have. They just keep wearing the same clothes every day.

Trip to the beach

Well, first the HOM staff and the folks on this trip had an English service, including the accapello singing of a couple of songs, including Amazing Grace.

As we started out towards the beach, the tap-tap I was riding in got one flat tire and another leaking air. They replaced the flat one, and then rushed off to a 'tire shop' along the way that patched both bad tires. The equipment was very crude. They busted the seal of the tire using a broken axel, and then opened it the rest of the way using a leaf spring. The tires have tubes, so they remove the tube and patched the leak by pressing a can with fire in it against the hole. Then they put the tube back in, and after putting the tire back on the rim filled the tire. Apparently they don't have air pump nozzles that can hold the valve open, so they remove the valve, fill the tire, and then quickly stick the valve back in. No balancing of tires or front end alignments here!

After that it was a bit over an hour to the beach in tap-tap. Not a trip I'd like to make on a regular basis, although a lot of it was on roads that were pretty good by Hatian standards. My behind was quite sore after the return trip!

$15 each to get into the beach, I paid another $7 to go snorkling. Lunch (a very large cheeseburger with fires) was about $10. We had soft drinks with ice, only the second time we've had iced beverages since I've been here.

Baptized 5 people in the ocean, including a couple of people from the HOM staff.

Then back to the compound for a dinner of rice and beans (no surprise there), beets, carrots, and....goat.

Sunday morning

Power went out again last night. Service started promptly at 6AM (we weren't attending the Haitian service, but there's no way you can sleep through it). I recognize some of the songs, but there seems to be some disconnect between what the band is playing and what the congregation is singing that I couldn't quite resolve in my mind. Power is back on now. The congregation is singing acappelo now and I recognize 'I surrender all'. We're going to have our own service with some of the staff in English at 9.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Dinner

Dinner last night was rice and beans and beef stew. It was great. Today was rice and beans, fried plantain, french fries, chicken and vegatables.

Problem at the construction site

Heard from the guy in charge of the construction site at dinner. Shortly after we left, 'gangsters' blocked the road into the construction site and started demanding money from the concrete trucks that were coming in.

Visit to the tent city

We took some footballs, some soccer balls, and a jump rope into the tent city. The kids rushed up to the tap-taps the mintue we entered. A lot of them just like to hang out and play with them. I think most of use were expecting the poverty to be a bit more overwhelming. There were a few kids with no pants and a few other with no shoes, but the vast majority of people seemed to be adequtely dressed and sufficiently fed. Saw some of the adults playing dominoes for candy. The only issue was getting the kids out and off of the tap-taps when it was time to leave.

Returning to the compound for dinner now.

First day on the construction site

Just back from the construction site. We had two teams, one doing backfill of rubble into low spots in the construction site so water won't collect. The other team (the one I was on) moved a pile of rocks from the center of the site over to a wall where it will eventually be used as foundation for an extension of the wall. Some of the smaller Haitian boys were helping with the wheelbarrow I was using to move the rocks. I would move it when it was full of rocks, and they would take it back when it was empty.

Some of the kids kept saying something to me that I couldn't understand. A while later I found out they were commenting about my being bald. Apparently that's rather rare here, and often associated with the rich. So I took off my hat and a few of the kids were rubbing the top of my head.

We're back at the compound now getting lunch, and then we're off to a tent city.

Day 2

Dinner last night was rice, beans, onions and a little beef. Pretty much what I expect for the rest of the week.

Power went out about 4AM, back on now 6AM. Theyve given us peanut butter, banannas, bread and coffee for breakfast. Heading out to the job site at 8AM.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Just visited presidential palace and cathedral

Couple of the most obvious signs of the damage from the quake. Prior to that we stopped off an something like an indoor swap meet. Now we're headed back to the compund.

Visiting the construction site

Luggage made it fine

Just chilling out at the compound now waiting for lunch.

And we've arrived in Haiti.

Now to see if our luggage has.

That was close!

They decided to let us on. I don't know if our luggage made the connection though. In any event, Haiti here we come.

Hello, Miami!

Just arrived Miami. Chances of making our 6:45 connection to Port au Prince are slim.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

The gangs all here now...

The rest of the Haiti team just showed up. Apparently they had some trouble getting checked in and getting assigned seats. In fact, a number of people still don't have seat assignments. Got a little worried, thought I might be going to Haiti by myself....

Well, off to an interesting start....

Flight to Miami has been delayed for 1 hour and 15 minutes. What little layover we had in Miami before the flight to Port Au Prince has been reduced to about 30 minutes. Should be interesting making that connection.

It looks like if we do miss our 6:45 flight out of Miami there is another flight at 10:00.