I feel pretty bad for not having written any blog posts for almost two months. It has really been a pretty busy couple of months, but that is not an excuse. I need to get back to writing my blog posts on a regular basis. Though I do not believe in setting a regular schedule for blogging, I am going to try to set aside some time in my calendar.
Yet again, we had a fantastic year where many projects were completed or begun, and all the systems worked well. We were able to do them all despite the difficulties arising from the financial crisis. We could not have done this without the dedication and hard work of all the ITS staff members. I will soon request the help of the Directors to collect items for the ITS Annual report, which provides an excellent opportunity for us to centrally collect and reflect on all of our achievements while letting the community know about them.
Another summer activity that is extremely important for us to do is to set the goals for the upcoming year. I have asked the Directors to send me suggestions. Except for a week in August that I have planned to take off, my vacation days for the rest of the summer is unplanned. I will begin taking a few days here and there based mostly on weather – either to take some short trips or to play Golf. As many of you already know, one of our dear friends, who has been my golf buddy for the past 4 years will be moving to North Carolina this week. So I need to find someone else to play with. The game continues to frustrate me, but it is a humbling experience from which I learn continuously.
The new Financial system roll-out is going to be a nerve wracking experience for many involved, but I am really thankful to the team who have done a fantastic job in moving the project forward. Changes are never easy, so there will be a period of time when we all have to learn to do things differently, but I am pretty confident that, after a few weeks the most basic financial functions will flow smoothly. We will then take the necessary time to build on this foundation the additional functionality.
I have managed to keep up on several developments on technology front that I will begin writing about. MiFi from Verizon, Amazon Kindle Pilot Project being done in a few Universities from Sustainability perspective, Twitter in the Classroom, and my wait for Google Voice.
Enjoy the Summer and let us hope that the rain moves to areas of the world which need the rains the most!