From the mind of Roger Wyatt

Thanks Jamie Oliver

My wife was out at a scrapbook night and I was home with the kids. After getting them in bed, I was doing some channel surfing trying hard to keep my promise of having 1 night that I didn't turn on the laptop. I spend ungodly amount of hours working on software, doing support, and keeping up with new trends (I'm on my third laptop in 5 years now). I ended up turning on Jamie Oliver's program.

Thank you Jamie Oliver - you really opened my eyes.

So Jamie went to Huntington, W.V. to try and start a revolution in school nutrition. I was interested because I am trying to start a communication revolution in schools. Well, that was the start, but it definitely got me thinking. It got me thinking because when he went to the cafeteria to see what was being prepared, it was what I expected. "Is my daughter getting fed that kind of food?" I wondered. Then, when he turned to the family and cooked everything they eat in a week I was slapped upside my face. My family isn't in the bad physical shape that the family on his program was in, nor do we eat what they eat. However, we aren't immune to needing to get SOMETHING that two small children will eat and many times in the past that has been chicken nuggets (never again after that program), taquitos, and fish sticks are foods that they will always eat. What I realized was the convenience that I was falling victim to at home was the same convenience that the schools had fallen victim to - reheatable junk that resembles food.

That night I decided that things were going to change in our house

I told all of this to Kymmie who does most of the cooking. She is very good about giving us healthy food and we cook many nights. However, what we haven't been doing is getting Tynker involved in it. She's 6 and it's about time we started getting her used to new foods.  After I told Kymmie what I had seen about the manufacturing of chicken nuggets and how I realized that the shortcut foods were the same foods that the schools prepare, I asked that we change our ways a bit.

The creation of our Signature Recipes

Last night we created our first Signature Recipe. Tynker and I created a grilled chicken dish with oranges, spinach, mushrooms, and noodles that she helped create and prepare. All fresh ingredients. We named it "Chicken Tynker" and it's now in the family recipe book. She ate every bit of it because she helped cook it. Of course, the mushrooms were a little new, but one taste and she was all over it. Now she talks about creating more recipes.

Quick lunches

Weekend lunches have been the hardest because you want to make it quick. Today's lunch was a grilled barbeque chicken with mac & cheese which they both ate. If I can learn to change my own habits about eating good food prepared quickly, I think we will have a great beginning.

So thanks, Jamie. You opened my eyes. Good luck with the Revolution. Count me in!
(you can find Jamie's TED presentation at ted.com)

How To Improve Your Productivity By Making Your Office a Casino

Did you know that you can greatly improve your productivity in a casino? That's right, you absolutely can. Let me tell you how.

Distractions are your enemy

To get work done quickly - so you can go play - you need to eliminate all distractions. One of the worst distractions is looking out the window on a beautiful day and wanting to go surf or play golf. Once the idea gets in your head you quickly begin to wish you were anywhere but at work. Your productivity just plummets. I used to love an office with a great view because I love the outdoors. When I was offered an interior office to rent I really had to think about it. It was cheaper and for my first real office, I took it. What an incredible choice I made. One distraction down - productivity shot up.

Clockwatching is a thing of the past.

I have no clocks in my office. I have no windows in my office. Some people think this is the worst place in the world to spend so much time. Granted, it could use paint and some sprucing up, but I don't plan on being here for a long time. I wanted to put a clock in here, but decided against it shortly after moving in.  Now, when I am working in code, I can be completely engrossed in the project. Kymmie has to call me quite often to remind me to start packing up and come home, because I frequently don't know what time it is. I am in "Project Time".

How My Casino Works

I call my office style "Nouveaux Casino". It's casino rules without the casino distractions. Ever been in a casino? You will notice a few things:
1. No Clocks
2. No Windows
3. Controlled focus
So I removed the clocks, don't have a window, and don't put up a bunch of stuff to take my focus away from the work in front of me. I like to say that my office is the same time of day, all day, every day.

Doesn't it feel like a prison?

Not in the least. In fact, if I need to come to the office to work on something because I'm too distracted at home it doesn't bother me because I never feel like I'm working late, or working really early. I simply work when I want and am equally productive at 10pm as I am at 10am because in my office there is no time.

What about meeting customers?

My Nouveaux Casino doesn't really work well for entertaining customers. My business doesn't require having customers come to the office so it works great for me. As my business grows, I'll put in a conference/training area that will appeal to visitor. However, my workspace is designed for one thing - work.

Other productivity tips

• I like talk radio, but it's not always the best thing for productivity. I find that my mind gets involved in the conversations and my focus drifts. Music also blocks out anyone walking by my office and hides the whine of the computer fans. When I need to focus, I put on Absolute Classic Rock from the UK. (see post: 5 great reasons to love Absolute Classic Rock on iTunes).
  
• Turn off the phone. When I really have a deadline or am in a tough bit of code, I turn off the phone. At the very minimum, turn off the ringer. If I'm turning it off, I'll send a text or call Kymmie and let her know not to call me. Likewise, I'll send my assistant the same message.
• Close all other browser windows. Facebook is a real time sucker. To focus, turn off everything but what you are working on.
• Make a list. This should be it's own post. Making a list keeps someone like me focused. I am quite ADD very often and without the list, I will jump around to several less important tasks. Put no more than 6 things to do in a day. When those are done, you are free to do anything else. Six tasks are easily achievable and even if you make another list of 6 things that's okay - you just accomplished a lot with the first six.

Six +1 steps to instantly hit straight golf shots

Everybody slices (okay, almost everyone) and hitting the ball straight is one of the most puzzling things to learn. Let me clue you in to the six things you need to do to hit the ball straight instantly. I picked up the game late in life and, being the geek that I am, I became engrossed with the idea of how to learn to hit it straight. I am not the longest hitter by far, but what I lost in distance, I made up for quickly in accuracy and got to a 10 handicap shortly after figuring out these techniques.

There are only six things that are necessary to hit the ball straight

At this point, people usually say (I can't remember six things -- it's too hard). Well, quit whining, once you learn them, they become natural and you don't have to think again. The six things are:

1) Grip
2) Keep the club head low on takeaway
3) Feel tension on the inside of the knee on your back leg
4) Keep the club as far away from your body as possible
5) Rotate your forward butt cheek back to start the downswing
6) Aim to hit the inside, rear quadrant of the ball towards 1st base.

That's it. You see, you really only have to remember 2 things during the critical part of the swing. Let's break it down.

Grip

You need to learn the proper grip. It's been written up everywhere on the web and in magazines so I'm not going to repeat it here.

Keep the clubhead low on takeaway

This prevents you from "picking up the club" which is one of the main causes of the "over the top" motion. Put a tee in the ground behind the ball (about 6-9 inches depending on the club you are using) and knock it over when you taking the club back.

Feel tension on the inside of the knee on your back leg

If your feet are planted and you haven't swayed your hips, you will feel tension on the tendons on the inside of your knee on your back leg (I'm a righty so it's my right leg). If you feel no tension, you probably have swayed your hips and will end up slicing the ball. Tension means that you have rotated your body, not swayed.

Keep the club as far away from your body as possible

As you are winding up you should be feeling as if you are putting the butt of the club as far away from your body as possible. Two things will happen when you do this: you will keep your left (if you're a righty like me) arm straight, and you will be seeing the ball over your shoulder. If you are winding up correctly, you should see the ball over your shoulder.

Rotate your forward butt cheek back to start the downswing

Now that you are wound up, it's time to let it go. It starts from the bottom. If you rotate your butt cheek, a lot of good things will happen. You will not sway forward and you will set up the next move automatically (see, it's really not that difficult).

Aim to hit the inside, rear quadrant of the ball towards 1st base

This is something that people have problems conceptualizing and, to be fair, I read this on one of the golf boards and tried it. It turned out to be the last key I was looking for in my quest to understand the swing. If you picture the ball as you are addressing it with a crosshairs on top, you want to try and hit the inside back corner and hit it towards an imaginary first base. You won't hit it towards 1st base. Because the swing is a circle on an incline, it's easier to think of it this way. Trying to think "hit down the target line" causes you to swing over the top and you end up with a nasty slice. Thinking this way clears your head. You will find your divots are straight down the line.

(Plus one) Release the club

It's important to roll your hands and release the clubhead. This takes practice to get your own rythmn. You want to avoid breaking your wrists, but if you don't release the club you will mishit the ball. I practice by listening to the "whiff" on my practice swings and noticing when the sound shows up. If I hear it after I've passed by the "ball" on my practice swing, then I know I've released late.

That's it!

So, go try it. You will find that it's really easy to hit it straight. Once you can hit straight, then you can work on your distance. You may find that it's harder to add distance and stay in control because your instinct is to swing harder which will cause you to blow your technique. These 6 things are my way to remember my technique. When I screw up, I can tell you exactly what I did wrong.