Flint River Dam

I have been living in Georgia since January 10, 2010. I started working at Albany State University (ASU) on January 11,2010. The surroundings here in Albany are laid back but at ASU my brain gets a real challenge.

This weekend Sylvia and I went to the dam in North Albany on the Flint River. We were sitting in Carino’s restaurant and the waiter asked us why we had moved to Albany. We have had this question asked to us several times since we arrived. Sometimes it seems like a trick question. Anyway we told him that we came here because I had a job at ASU. There was the usual response from the waiter, a sigh of relief. I am always quick to respond with the fact that we really like Albany’s quality of life and the nice break from the hustle bustle that is in big cities. We like the fact that even waiters take the time to find out who you are.

So this waiter told us about this neat spot that locals go right below the dam and we decided to check it out. There is an old Georgia Power plant with a boat ramp and lots of places for fishermen to sit and enjoy the roar of the river going over the spillway.

Lake Chehaw

I took several pictures and I imagine that when I come back to this spot in the spring and summer it will look totally different.  It is nice to discover a new part of the country in the winter time first.  You can see landmarks clearly when the trees do not have leaves.  You are looking at nature when it is dormant.  The trails are not surrounded by tall grasses, bugs and snakes.

The view of the lake behind the dam is really beautiful.  Lake Chehaw is the largest lake in Albany, GA.  Lake Worth is a smaller lake just north of Lake Chehaw but is still part of the Flint River waterway behind a second smaller dam. I can not wait until the summer to see how the community comes out to enjoy this natural resource.

We looked at a open house that has a boat dock right on the north shore of Lake Chehaw. I have always wanted to own a house on a lake. Maybe this will be the lake of my dreams.

There are several things that I miss here in Albany Georgia that I enjoyed in Austin Texas. I decided that instead of complaining about what I missed i decided to create the possibility of brining those things here. One thing that I want to create is a green belt trail along both banks of the Flint River. I would also like to create a world class ultra running event here.

I am not sure about all the details, but I will have fun working on these projects.

This week week as I walked across the campus with my paper notebook in hand I was whistling as I passed through groups of students go to classes. I noticed how everyone of them was either talking on a mobile device or listening to music on them. I marveled at how odd I must seem to them as I walked without having any electronic device turned on and instead i was making the music with my lips.

Albany Georgia is a lot like Portland, only smaller and really flat. Albany has the Flint River running through the middle of the downtown area and lots of pine and pecan trees all over.

As I pack up my belongings to make ready for the move to Albany Georgia I am reflecting on all of the memorabilia that I have collected over the years. I have drawings from when I was in first grade. I have work books from 1966 when I went to Gompers Junior High school in South Central Los Angeles. I have lots of pictures that remind me of the good times and the sad times.

One thing that I have learned though my experience with changing jobs is that I will always bring my wife to the out of state job interview to make sure that she likes the state where the new job is located. I did not do this with my first wife but I made sure that I did it with my second wife.

Change for me is a process of stepping out of my comfort zone and trying on something new that maybe I do not know about. When I first came to Austin Texas I had all of my belongings in a run down Toyota Camry that had engine problems. I did not know anybody and I did not have a job. As I prepare to leave Austin Texas after being here from late 2003 until early 2010 I am leaving behind a job that is better off than when I arrived and lots of dear friends.

I hope that all of my friends that read this will know that they will have a second home in Albany Georgia should they care to visit.

I am happy to say that I have come a long way to accomplishing these goals. It took 12 months for my goals to start happening.

First, I worked to sell some rural property that I shared with my sister and half-brother. I put the property on the market in August 2009 and a buyer materialized in December. Property is du to close in January 2010. My share from this sale will wipe out my credit card debt.

Second, oil was discovered close to the property. I worked to negotiate a lease agreement with the oil company so that my family can get royalties from the oil.

Third, I was offered a new job in Albany, GA with a 25% increase above my current salary. I am packing right now and plan to move to Albany, GA and live in my fifth wheel with my wife until we find a home.

These goals are not luck or some random occurrence. I created these events by bringing them into reality with my words and actions.

I encourage all of you that read this to create your dreams now by bringing them into reality and living into your future. I did not figure out how to do this on my own. I had some coaching from Landmark Education courses to help me out.

This is a view of the derek

This is another view

Oil Tanks

View from the intersection of wormley Lane and FM 153

HT Development Web Site

The site is done using Dot Net Nuke. This is a skin design for DNN 5.3. I started using DNN when I first came to HT back in 2004. At the time the university was using version 2 so I have migrated and grown to love and hate DNN over the last 5 years. I have come to the conclusion that no content management system is fool proof and easy for the end user.

HT Athletic home page

For the athletic home page I had the requirements to have two menus on the page. The athletic department wanted a set of images and menus to appear on all pages. This was the foundation of the site. The main page has static content that is updated rarely. The main page needed to show athletic department links on the left side of the page and the right side shows all of the sports divided by men and women categories.

HT Volleyball main page

The volleyball main page shows a typical sports site layout. In DNN I created each sport as a sub portal of the main athletics site. This allows for the administration to be managed efficiently but allows local administration to be owned by the head coach of each sport.

HT Athletics forms and lists

One of the nice improvements in DNN 5.2 is what use to be called User Defined Tables, Forms and Lists. You can create CSS styled lists or tables that can also be transformed into data entry forms. I love this feature but it is not easy for end users to configure and use.

So now the complete personal images that I have taken and some of my close friends and relatives have taken of me and my family are on line.  I will keep them on this server and will finally start to organize them and add to the archive.