We recently did a virtual tour of the office for our Google+ and Google Maps listing, and the photographer thought it would be fun to include one of the offices… so here I am!

Kudos to Richard English, a Google Trusted Photographer at Studio 360.Pro for a job well done!

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Yellowstone National Park for a work. The company I work for had been selected to restore nearly 200 lighting fixtures from the historic Old Faithful Lodge , so my co-worker and I were sent there to photograph the fixtures and then drive them roughly 2,800 miles across America back to Connecticut. (Project details here.)

The trip started in Salt Lake City, where we picked up our 16' rental truck, a bunch of packing supplies and a ton of snacks for the road.  That afternoon we drove nearly non-stop for 600+ miles through Utah and Idaho to West Yellowstone in Montana where we crashed for the night.

Since Yellowstone closes to the public for the month of November, we were one of the very few people within the 3468 square miles of the park when we drove in the next morning.  That meant if something were to go wrong, we' would pretty-much on our own. Fortunately we made it in and out without incident. No flat tires, no angry bison attacks, and no geyser burns. 

Since I was there for work I didn't explore the park as much as I would have liked to, but I did manage to see some cool stuff, including several geysers and a ton of wildlife including some bison and wolves.  The lodge where we were working was literally right along-side the Old
Faithful Geyser, so every 90 minutes or so we'd take a short break to
watch it go. We actually had to hike up to a scenic overlook of the geyser basin to sign the paperwork so we could leave – not exactly the worst way to spend a work-day.

The drive back took us several days, with brief stops at Belgrade in Montana, Mount Rushmore, Sioux Falls in South Dakota, and Chicago.  After a good night's rest in Indiana and a quick meal in Ohio, we pushed straight through back to Connecticut and got home early Saturday.  It wasn't exactly the classic all-American road trip, but it was still a great experience.

One year ago I wrote about the possibility of having one’s online reputation ruined through the poor choices of another person with the same name.  I suggested that in order for people to prevent this, they should register a domain, set up a blog, and get proactive in controlling their online identity.

A few people, including my friend Mike, took that advice and registered a domain.  I’m sure he’s now glad he did because just the other night a person who had his same name, age, and lived in the same state was arrested on drug charges.

With his name broadcasted all over the news Mike quickly wrote a post on his blog titled “I DID NOT GET ARRESTED LAST NIGHT“.  If Mike didn’t take steps to control his online identity his reputation could have been permanently damaged.  But because he did, he was able to quickly clear things up via his blog and now if anyone were to Google his name they’d quickly find out the truth. 

Moral of the story: start blogging or people may erroneously believe you’re a drug dealer.

Two weeks ago I asked for some tips on how to cope with the commute to work.  I received some really great advice, some of which I decided I’d try.  Here’s what worked and what didn’t:

• Avoid highways; take local roads – I took a look at Google Maps and decided I’d take the only alternate route I could.   I love it.   About half of the route is hilly and tree covered with very little traffic and only a few stops.  Once I approach the city things get a bit worse, but even that stretch of the new route is better than the old.  I now pass a post office, a park, two Dunkin Donuts, several delis & cafes, as well as my bank – none of which I passed on my old route.   It’s a slightly longer distance but without all the traffic it takes just as long to get to work.  Great choice… and probably the best advice given to me.
• Listen to podcasts or audiobooks – This might be good advice for some, but not for me.  I already suffer from information overload.  I have 4 email accounts linked up to my iPhone, RSS feeds to read on Google Reader, Twitter, 2 phone lines.. I need my driving time to be a time to turn off my brain and relax.
• Have an alternate route in case of traffic – Great advice.  Fortunately I know the roads in my area very well, so I always know a few quick detours in case of severe traffic.
• Listen to Classical Music – I tried it, and it can work, but not always.  Classical music is something I that I do enjoy, but have to be in the mood for it.   I find that listening to music I enjoy is relaxing no matter what the genre.
• Jelly Bellies – Delicious.
• Ride the Bus – This is the one tip I haven’t tried yet, but will.  I think taking the bus one or two days a week could be interesting.
• Leave earlier – I’ve begun waking up an hour earlier, around 630 AM.  This leaves me time to cook breakfast, go for a walk or a run, bike, pay bills, do some reading or even go out for coffee if I want to.  With the extra time I’ve allowed myself I’ve found that I’m usually able to leave for work about ten minutes earlier every day.. making run-ins with traffic less of a hassle. 

Overall, with all the minor changes I’ve made I’m feeling much better about my drive to and from work.  It’s still not perfect, but a huge improvement.  If you have any other great advice about improving the commute, please share.