Jeffry Houser's Blog - Personal

Personality Test MeMe

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:19:00-0400

My Personality


Neuroticism	63
Extraversion	16
Openness to Experience	15
Agreeableness	31
Conscientiousness	39

You rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry, however you experience panic, confusion, and helplessness when under pressure or stress. You tend not to talk much and prefer to let others control the activities of groups. You tend not to express your emotions openly and are sometimes not even aware of your own feelings. There are times when you believe that a certain amount of deception in social relationships is necessary, however you are mostly candid, frank and sincere. People find it moderately easy to relate to you, however you do not particularly like helping other people. Requests for help feel like an imposition on your time. You take your time when making decisions and will deliberate on all the possible consequences and alternatives.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report.

The best Buying Pet Gifts.

How much of this is me? Answer before reading my thoughts. [More]

An Experiment in self branding

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:28:00-0400

I'm performing an experiment in self branding. I'm asking a bunch of people to pick 3 adjectives to describe me. Want to participate? Just let me know the 3 adjectives that you'd choose. Even if you don't think you know me well, you're welcome to participate. I've already have 12 responses or so; but more is better. I turned off comments on this, as to not taint your response w/ other people's responses. Please contact me through other means, such as the contact form on my web site or AIM (Reboog711), Gtalk (Reboog711) or Direct on Twitter.

When do you notify the customer that they will be incurring costs?

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:00:00-0400

I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against my oil company, Edward S Mull. After multiple back and forth, the BBB just dismissed my complaint. I hate being wrong, but am not sure that I am. I have a service plan at the highest level of protection on my heating system. Traditionally the water pumped into my steam heat system has been very low and the water gauge barely moved during my first few years in this house. However, it was starting to pump 10-20 gallons into the system every few days. I did not feel this was normal, so had them come out to take a look at the system. They agreed it was not normal. First they did some type of chemical treatment. That did not help. Then they replaced a switch. That definitely helped, and now the system pumps in a couple gallons a week (instead of 10+ every few days). I assume the numbers will lower when it gets warmer and the heating system tuns off. So, no problems I had a problem they came out multiple times and put in place a fix, right? The problem occurs a few weeks later when I received an invoice in the mail for a used switch. I was unaware I was going to be incurring any costs. The oil folk have been out multiple times over the past 4-5 years to perform the service and I never got an invoice. I assumed that if I was going to be incurring costs I would be notified. This is the way I run my business. I figured this would be a "Customer Service 101" thing. So, I called and spoke to someone. He explained that burner switches are covered, but end switches are not (because they never break). He said "she" did me good by getting a cheap used switch and not charging for labor. But, I'd have to talk to "she" about any billing issues. I was not notified I'd be incurring any costs. I was not given the opportunity to do a cost or warranty analysis of "used" vs "new" parts. I should not be billed when I had no say or input in the process. I put my thoughts down in a letter and snail mailed it to them. "She" called me, refused to remove the charge and we fought on the phone. Apparently it was my fault for not asking if I would be incurring a cost. It is my fault for not knowing that "End switches" are different than "Burner switches." Edward S Mull only notifies a customer if the cost is going to be over $100 (which the 'used part' was not). As soon as I got off the phone with "She" I filed a complaint w/ the BBB. Company responded explaining the switch vs switch issue. I responded saying they did not address the root of my complaint and asked for documentation on their "customer notification" policies for uncovered work. The policy documentation they provided does not cover such an issue; it just says "Customer will pay for stuff not covered under this agreement" to paraphrase. Company responded again and actually tried to address my complaint. They said they'd be more than happy to put the 'old broken part' back in at no cost; however if I have future problems they will charge me for new parts and labor to address the issue. If that truly was their policy, then why didn't they do that in the beginning? I said that I didn't feel that putting an old broken part back in was a good move. BBB dismissed the complaint. The question is, do I have them put back in the old part (and then have the issue fixed by a 3rd party) or do I just pay the 'unethical' charge to keep them 'happy' while I search for a new oil company? After all that has happened I'm cautious about letting them back into my house. Even if I were to watch them like a hawk, I have no way to judge the service done on a furnace. So, am I wrong in wanting the charge removed from the bill? Is the company right for doing "uncovered" service without notifying me of the cost?

Does College Pay for Itself?

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:00:00-0400

My brother always like to flame me when I make these sort of posts, so this is one for him. Quite a while ago, I blogged about an article claiming that going to college was a big financial gamble, which may never pay off. The College Board just released a report encouraging people to go to college because it'll pay off financially. I never knew that an organization named the college board existed. I guess they are a not for profit (lobbying group?) for colleges. Michael Robertson, of mp3.com fame took issue with the article. This is his write-up. Michael poked some holes in the study. It calculates the time in college at 4 years, instead of 6.2, as stated via another College Board article. That alone will change up front costs and estimated income and the overall profitability of things. I feel sorry for the person who went to school for .2 years though. He also states that government funding you can receive at low interest rates is capped at less than the total cost of education. This will also skew the College Board report's numbers. I find this stuff interesting. I consider myself very pro-education; however if you go to college with no plan; it's a really expensive way to find yourself. Why not move to a college town, and bartend? You can get the party atmosphere without the extraneous cost.

How do you find me on the Internet?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:35:00-0400

If you want to stay on top of what I'm currently doing or if you ever need to contact me, here are a few ways that you can do it:

My Personal Blog: If you're reading this, then you probably know about my blog. Various categories of the blog are syndicated to LiveJournal (Just my personal Feed), MXNA (Flex and ColdFusion feeds), FullAsAGoog (Flex and ColdFusion Feeds), ColdFusion Bloggers (ColdFusion Feed), Feed Squirrel (Flex and ColdFusion Feeds), and All Your Flex Are Belong to US (Flex Feed). My feed on Adobe AIR could be syndicated at some of these places, but my memory is hazy on such issues.
The Flex Show I produce a podcast focused on Adobe Flex called The Flex Show. My co-host is John Wilker of 360Flex fame. We interview people in the Flex Developer community and sometimes run down a list of interesting news items.
Twitter: Mini Blogging for the Web 2.0 age. You can find my twitter account here I use the IM client which has been real flakey these days, so most of my twittering is to complain about it.
ColdFusion Community: A Social networking site for ColdFusion Developers, created using the Ning network. Find my page here
Flexcursion FlexCursion is another ning network designed for Flex Developers. Here is my account
DotComIt: I own a Premium Adobe Solutions parter named DotComIt. We specialize in RIA Development with Flex and ColdFusion and have been in business for 9 years, give or take.
IM Accounts: It's not uncommon for people to contact me for questions via Instant Messaging. I'm Reboog711 on AIM, Gtalk, and Yahoo. I don't use Yahoo any more because of so much IM Spam, though. I don't mind the questions, but please respect my time.
Adobe Community Expert: My Bio is finally up on the Adobe Community Expert Site. Reading it in retrospect, I think I need to make some minor modifications for consistency. Sometimes I listed links with 'http' othertimes I don't.
Pownce: You can find me on pownce over here. I rarely use the account, though.
LinkedIn: I have a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is a professional networking site. I'm very protective of my LinkedIn network, so do not try to add me unless we have a previous relationship of some sort.
E-mail: I'm not foolish enough to post my e-mail address directly to a web page, but you can contact me through the contact forms on my various web sites here, or here, or here. I love to blog about questions that you have, so I encourage you to contact me and ask.

And there you have it. I wasn't sure where to categorize this post, but decided to select the syndication categories.

How do you plan to make yourself uncomfortable in 2008?

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:00:00-0400

I once read somewhere that you should do things that make you uncomfortable. I took this to mean that if you grow by doing new things. Doing new (and learning) things makes you grow. If you stick with the familiar, you often stagnate. By all accounts, 2007 was a great for me and DotComIt. This is my obligatory "look forward / look back" post. Here are some of the things that gave me the willies this year:

I started The Flex Show with famous RIA Blogger Ryan Stewart. If you want to talk about unfamiliar territory, this was it. I don't talk if I don't have to, so filling up 30 minutes of space with [who knows what] scared me. It still does today, and I feel a little bit of nervousness before every interview! Next year, will be equally uncomfortable as I find and train a new co-host, start soliciting sponsorships, and add video to the mix.
I learned Adobe Flex. I'd been focused on ColdFusion for so long, this was a big step outside my comfort zone. Especially when I started contributing to posts on the Flex Coders list. I think there is a contingent of people whose purpose in the world is to make me eat my words. 2007 was a good year for them and they spent a lot of time on the list, correcting my posts and recommendations. It was quite humbling to go from a "Big fish" in the ColdFusion world to a "little fish" in the Flex world. Thankfully a lot of programming knowledge is easily transferrable. I learned Flex a lot easier than I learned ColdFusion, which I learned a lot quicker than iCat, which I learned a lot quicker than Lotus Notes, etc... I also threw some .NET and AIR development into the equation last year, which makes for an interesting mix. 2008 will be a year of a lot more Flex for me.
I equate the "butterflies in my stomach" feeling with the diving board at the YMCA where I took swimming lessons growing up. This year I took quite a different sort of dive, and hired a business coach. I haven't decided whether I like the process or not, but I'm sticking with it for now. Greg and I speak routinely and he has pushed me to give focus to DotComIt. For the past 8 years, I've used DotComIt as a "jumping board" or other ideas and ventures. This is the first time I'm investing back into it. It's hard to think that 1 year ago today, was investigating a biz opportunity unrelated to programming or computers.
Speaking of DotComIt, I expect to release a line of commercial Flex Components next year. The purpose is to extend the Flex SDK to help developers create more effective interfaces. I wanted to chat with people about my ideas, and ended up sponsoring Flex Camp Boston. Flex Camp was a 1 day event that gave me the ability to get feedback on the things jumping around in my head. I'm still in the planning phases, but expect to start the ball rolling in 08. I'll blog more specifics when I know them.
I decided that, since I've run my own business for 8 years (and change), it's completely okay for me to be quirky. Instead of denying my quirkiness, I'm going to embrace it!

So, what have you done outside your comfort zone?

What I'm Thankful For ( A bit late)

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:00:00-0400

I took last week off for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Did you miss me? Thinking in retrospect, this is what I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful that I got to do The Flex Show with RIA Blogger and Adobe Evanglist Ryan Stewart for almost a full year. Ryan stepped down due to time constraints. You can still hear him on the RIA Weekly podcast by Redmonk, which he just started. I wish him the best of luck.
I'm thankful of every client that has hired DotComIt over the past year. It's been a great year and we've had a fantastic focus on Flex development. I'm looking forward to branching out into other avenues over the next year.
I'm thankful to my business coach, Greg Balanko Dickson for putting up with six months of waffling and indecision before I actually decided on a focus and direction for DotComIt.
I'm thankful that my GF convinced me to get a Wii; and I'm thankful that Dave gave me a great deal on his used one. We are truly having a lot of fun with it.
I'm thankful that Brian gave DotComIt the opportunity to give away a Wii at at Flex Camp Boston. You really should register. And put "The Flex Show" in the referral box.
I'm also thankful my house didn't have any major maintenance issues this year.

Free Books

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 20:33:00-0400

I spent some time cleaning off my bookshelf. I have 8 stacks on my office floor that need to go. I'd rather they go to someone who can use them than the trash man. [More]

Getting Ready to Go Home

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:57:00-0400

T and I are getting ready to check out of the 360Flex hotel. The conference ended a few days ago, but we extended it into a mini vacation. I saw a bunch of stuff, but in brief. The plane doesn't leave until 12:55 am on Sunday morning. Were going to catch the Young Frankenstein musical in its pre broadway run. Other than that, we're going to eat and walk around aimlessly before heading to the airport around 8.

Jeff's Month in Review

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:11:00-0400

I've been buried under stuff and have neglected this blog. Here are various updates: [More]

Jeff's Week in Review

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:12:00-0400

Another one of my random weekly ramblings. [More]

Jeff's Week in Review

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:51:00-0400

This is another one of Jeff's week in review posts. The past few weeks have been a bit busy, but I'm feeling pretty good about things right now. I think I'm caught up with my schedule. There is still a lot to be done, but at least I don't feel behind. [More]

Someone dented my car...

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:26:00-0400

My car was it's fine usual self when I went out to dinner tonight at the mall. When I got back to the car, an hour or so later, it had a nice new shiney dent on the front driver side bumper. No note! What can you do! I came home. I'll get a quote or two over the weekend. Yeah, my DVD Duplicator won't work either. I'm not sure why. It's a bad night.

Jeff's Last few weeks in review

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:03:00-0400

I have not been blogging much. This is what I remember from the last few weeks. [More]

Jeff's Week in Review

Mon, 28 May 2007 16:22:00-0400

Once again, I'm going to try to post my week in review. If nothing more than to amuse myself... [More]