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About skipbensley

Unabashed father, AV genius, part time dark knight, foodie, amateur chef, antifascist, volunteer and rabid Boston sports fan.

Do you know the WAZE to San Jose?

Dionne Warwick I apologize in advance this blog has nothing to do with your iconic 60’s song but here is a link to it in case people were looking for it, and or are too young to get my inane reference.

This blog is about a crowd-sourcing tool I use to beat the dreaded Boston area traffic. It’s name is WAZE and I first learned of it at work at the Volpe center in Cambridge.

At first I thought it was kind of silly but it has literally saved me hours off my commuting.  This app pulls from all the recent posts and check ins done along a given route and gives you crowd-sourced accurate feedback on the different routes to Boston that are light in traffic.

From Metrowest MA, some days it’s the Pike, some days route 9, others Route 30.  It relies on people providing the feedback and people do, and do and do. They call out cars on the shoulder, speed traps accidents and congestion. It’s got groups so you can send the info to groups like the Metrowest Wazers to name one I joined. You get points for helping others and you grow as a Wazer.  There is also a link to foursquare so you can check in through it as well.  There is also a section of low pricing at gas stations. It’s a very cool app and it just gets better as more people start to use it. The more users the better the information on the morning commute.  So start using WAZE today, and save time on yours and My commute.

For more information and to download WAZE visit www.waze.com  

We are starting to take this personally

From the basement in Salem, MA
 

Dear Skip this is your golf clubs writing.

We are starting to feel pretty neglected. I know last year the season started really really really really late after the Bruins won the Stanley cup. We also know you met someone, but she doesn’t even play golf she just likes watching it apparently.  Skip, we used to be much closer and now We don’t even know who you are anymore. Your Trek Madone is quick to point out that he has been riding with you regularly, speeding through the hills of Manchester by the sea and metro-west. You keep him inside the house not down in the garage, we are starting to take it personally.

We were a team once, You, us,  a bag of balls, that fat guy Phil and a small cooler of beer. What happened where did you go? Where did our drives down the fairway disappear to?

You must not have to take long walks to find happiness anymore, to think about stuff. I remember the days when you were all over the place trying to find your way out of the woods, traps and water holes.

Things have changed obviously, and we just want you to know that if things don’t work out with Tazgirl We will be waiting for you in the dusty musky corner of the garage right where you left us last year after that SBANE golf tournament fiasco, those were good times.

Please come back!  We miss your bad chips, your horrible putts and god awful drives that nearly kill people but we are family aren’t we? Didn’t your grandmother always say you reminded her of Johnny Miller?

We will be waiting

Sincerely,

Your Golf Clubs.

Filtering facebook went unnoticed socially.

I had filtered out most of the social media crowd these last six months for no other reason then to see if anyone noticed. Nobody did. I have now changed the parameters and added those same people as close friends. Some may notice, but I will have just have to wait and see. I am beginning to think that social media while a great marketing tool for some makes us lazy socially. I remember when using the telephone to call somebody up was what you did. I recently called Jeff Cutler up to wish him a happy birthday on the phone.  I think calling and wishing a person a happy birthday is almost out of vogue. We have lost that sense of connection somehow. I hope to make the telephone a bigger part of my social mix so if I call you I hope you won’t be offended.

How are things with you?

Happy Memorial day weekend!

Ooops, Webex Event Center needs to add Mobile!

At my new place of work, We use Cisco / Webex quite a bit for webinars. We use it for video, slides, audio and webinars and the product works very well for the most part. We use Event Center and its a robust offering that allows for recordings, multi site presentations, video, audio and powerpoint. All of these features are much better than any other platform available currently.
The Event Center platform does not support mobile users, so no smartpad /Smartphone users yet. A lesser Webex offering does support mobile and that is called Meeting Center. It does not have the advanced functionality however. Really? less is more? Huh? really?
Cisco / Webex assures me they are working on incorporating mobile to the more advanced offering they are just not there yet.

It’s Bobby being Bobby

We are just a few weeks into the season but there is already trouble for Bobby Valentine in Boston.  This is not new this is Bobby being Bobby. He was the same way as manager for the NY Mets 10+ years ago, he is just more promotional and less filtered then back then. Granted losing your closer and star center fielder does not help, but calling out Kevin Youkilis when Youk is struggling and perhaps “not as emotionally attached” to baseball as Bobby V would assert is just stupid and inaccurate. It is also probably harder for Youk to concentrate on baseball now that he is perceived by the Beckett bunch perhaps as the team snitch when it comes to Chicken gate. Batting while looking over your shoulder has got to suck. I may not agree with Curt Shilling and some of his politics, but I agree any real fan can see there is an issue brewing in Boston and it’s not a new Sam Adams summer lager.

Less social is more.

I deleted my Google+ account yesterday, did you notice? Probably not.  It was a clean sterile place where nobody cared what I posted and only a very few saw and actually commented.  It was like an after thought ghost town,  and one more social avenue for my inane drivel. I thought Google+ would catch on for serious discussion and answers but that’s what Quora is for.

I’m Baaaaack!

I know nobody really reads my blog except friends and family mostly and thats ok. I am back to work, working full time as the director of Multimedia at the Volpe Center DOT in Cambridge. Yes Skippy is a government contractor.

The new job found me via Monster.com a board I thought had been relegated to obscurity. I was on indeed.com and Craig’s list.org looking, sending resumes, looking. I updated Linked in , got a premium job hunter account and even started my own networking group to help land a job.  This would have worked I’m sure if the job had not landed me.

After the initial shock wore off that I was a government contractor, I have made progress piecing the bread crumbs together and formulating what it is my predecessor did etc. We will also be looking for an assistant shortly. This job is too big for just me I assure you.

For those of you still looking I hope your next job finds you.  Just stay positive, promote yourself everywhere you can and follow up on every resume you send. If your resume needs work have a friend, loved one or service help you. There is nothing wrong with a professionally written resume.

Til next time…

It’s been awhile..

I have suspended blog posting and focused more on the task at hand recently. The Task being getting a full time job once again.  I also thought being too transparent on my blog and telling people what I really thought might be a deterrent to hiring me in some cases. So Mums the word for now.

Last night a silent picture “The Artist” won the best picture Oscar. It was the first B&W silent movie to win best picture since the very first Oscars ceremony in 1929 when silent pictures were first made. Its also interesting to note that the French film (and cast) were the only production to exclusively shoot in Hollywood, CA.  That’s kind of ironic?

It was great seeing Billy Crystal back hosting and I hope he continues to host for as long as he can stand it. Other Notable winners were Meryl Streep for winning best Actress for “Iron lady” ( her third oscar but first in 29 years),  and 82 year old Christopher Plummer winning his first academy award (Best supporting actor) for Beginners.

Octavia Spencer won best supporting actress for “The help” and Jean Dujardin won best actor for “The Artist” . I was 12 of 24 on the Oscars last night my worst tally in quite a few years.

I hope to blog more frequently once my employment situation is rectified.

Cheers!

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg’s Status update on Pipa and Sopa

The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet’s development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet. 

The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet. We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet.

You can read more about our views here:https://www.facebook.com/FacebookDC?sk=app_329139750453932.

Picture from Ask Men 

Status update from Facebook.com

A Friday the 13th remembered

Growing up in New Rochelle NY you had to have a car, cruising was like an olympic event. Fridy night you drove around looking for friends, girls and food. Maybe you went to G&G maybe you went to the thruway diner. In either case you needed a car. I had a blue lemans with a white top, it was my 2nd car and it was an oil burning mess. It would never pass inspection nowadays but in 1980 it was perfect. 

On a nice warm Friday the 13th I took the car to the car wash down past the thruway diner. It was in dire need. Something bad happened however. The gas line got clipped at the car wash somehow. As I drove Nor to see friends I was on Webster Ave not Far from my friend Ellens house when I was flagged down and told my car was on fire. I was a boy of the 70’s and I of course thought my car would exlode immediately. I did my best Mannix impression and ran and dove in some bushes.

It was embarrasing when a few minutes later the fire department put my car out with kitty litter. 200 dollars later my car was fixed at Mayflower garage, and soon after I unloaded the oil burner on an unsuspecting consumer that paid 400 for the privledge. The point is I have not much luck driving on Friday the 13th since then, well until last night.