I am finding more and more value in establishing and maintaining my professional network of colleagues on linkedin. It is a site I have been a member of for a long time and haven’t really tried to use it much until recently. Dan Goodwill, a fellow consultant and journalist, has a great article that talks about the linked in and the value it adds.
For those who are not linked in, here’s a few reasons why you may want to consider it over some of the other popular social networking tools:
1) It’s for Professionals and is built for business. Facebook and My Space are neat, but they are more casual and best suited for personal applications.
2) Popularity. Linked in is quickly growing in number of users as well as functionality.
3) Features. They provide easy ways to network and search employment opportunities as well as abilities to search for talent you may be looking to hire!
4) Network Updates. They provide statistics and quick facts about your contacts updates which help you keep up to date with what is going on in your network of colleagues.
5) Online Resume. I have stopped producing a paper resume and keep my linked in profile up to date. I include it on my email tagline and offer it to people who want to know more about my experience and skill set. It’s always up to date and I don’t have to worry about someone looking at a stale copy I had emailed months ago.
Feel free to checkout my profile for an idea of the value it adds.
I’ve been swamped working on several different fronts and projects with a mix of clients and am running across some pretty exciting thoughts that I intend to post some articles on. I thought I’d drop a quick line for those of you who are still tuned in wondering what the T-Nerd has been up to.Â
Some of the topics I’ve queued up include open source business intelligence, outsourcing collaboration overseas I’ve been involved with and a sweet mobile GPS application I’m in progress of building which will be spun off as yet another side venture!
On a side note, if anyone wants a Trucking Nerd Mug, let me know. The first batch I ordered were a misprint with the ink which faded so they sent me another batch for free, however they also were a misprint, so now I’ve got mugs coming out the wazoo. Just drop me a line, you pick up shipping and I’ll gift you a mug!
Well, as some people are still finding out, I am in the process of transitioning out of the role as the CIO at Tradewinds and am venturing down some other paths. I had started a company called Becker Solutions a couple of years ago and pursued in my off hours custom projects and software development initiatives. This kind of kept me tied to my roots of project based work from my consulting days in addition to exposing me to additional technologies and educational opportunities the day job didn’t afford me. After much thought, I have decided to make a go of focusing more energy and day hours to this initiative.
It leaves me with the undecided question, what to do with this blog? I’m still a nerd, but not just a “trucking” nerd anymore. I will probably make updates as it makes sense and as time permits. Out of the gate, I’m finding my plate is already pretty full, so we’ll have to see how it goes.Â
I’ve got a lot of trucking and related systems knowledge, so it’d be crazy to abandon it all, so if you have a project or need, don’t hesitate to give me a shout!
I am pleased to announce John Starks as a guest writer for the Trucking Nerd. John has an array of experience and a tall resume with some very well known companies.  After working with John for a stint, I can attest to his expertise and knowledge of trucking, particularly from an operational and management perspective. He will be crafting articles periodically for the Trucking Nerd to add some additional perspective and insights. His content may not necessarily be technical in nature, but will always be relevant to the trucking industry. His first article relating to operations and technology is published.
When I first started the blog, I also had registered TruckingNerds.com in the event that additional perspectives would be added to the blog. I encourage anyone else who enjoys writing and is interested in technology and / or trucking, feel free to drop me a line!
As I’ve come to learn more about blogging, I realize that the trucking blogsphere is somewhat slim pickings, there just isn’t a whole lot out there. I’m always on the lookout for feeds that make my shortlist and am particularly interested in other trucking and or technology related blogs.
There are a few blogs out there I enjoy, as mentioned the Private Fleets blog and a few of the others I link to here. There is also another author, Dan Goodwill, a transportation consultant / author. He recently posted an article highlighting some popular trucking related blogs. I recommend checking it out if you are looking for blogs to subscribe. I also recommend periodically checking for new blogs which enter the arena which it seems a few more here and there keep popping up. You can leverage blogged.com and technorati to help you out!
Congratulations to Wayne and RPM, they were the chosen winners in the mug club giveaway. The winners were chosen using the random number service from Random.org!  Stay tuned for future give aways. I’ve got some additional ideas on future SWAG…will have to see if any of it pans out.
How many times have you come across a technical problem and have no idea where to even begin to start with it? My favorite is when you get an error that usually has some vague text and then a sentence that says “Please contact your System Administrator for further help.” I always chuckle since I am the System Administrator and I’m usually as perplexed as the typical end-user.
98% of the time, spending a few minutes applying deductive reasoning, googling or shooting an instant message out to my fellow nerds I usually get an answer or at least have come up with a few paths to explore. But what happens when the issue is very vague? Or if it is intermittent? Or worse yet, you’ve exhausted all leads and are still striking out?
To celebrate this Christmas Season, the Trucking Nerd will randomly pick two lucky winners to receive complimentary coffee mugs. I am certain these fashionable mugs will make you the envy of your co-workers.
To be eligible for the give away, you must have contributed to the Trucking Nerd by sharing a comment on the site. The winners will be chosen randomly on Christmas day from the comments posted on the site. You must have a valid email associated with your comment so that I have a method of contacting you should you be one of the lucky ones!Â
Of course if you don’t want to take your chances and have to have a mug, you can always purchase one directly.
Aaron Huff who runs the Private Fleets blog has just posted an interesting article based on an presentation from Dr. Joseph Salvo, the manager of the Pervasive Decisioning Systems at the GE Global Research Center. In this article Dr. Salvo discusses the end of the information age and the beginning of the systems age. He also makes reference to the fascinating topic of swarm intelligence and gives some real world insight to how these concepts apply to the transportation industry and what the future will hold, some very cool ideas and concepts!
At the last MSDN event I attended, there was some discussion of the new Microsoft Surface concept. If you are unfamiliar with this relatively new technology venture Microsoft is headed down I think you will be impressed with how neat the concept is. Basically it is bringing touch screen computing to a whole new level. Imagine a screen that is very large with software that is very interactive. You can start to explore and navigate in ways that a traditional mouse simply cannot.Â
Some say it is the future of computing, but I’m not sure. There is a great blog post here that actually discusses the technology behind it, it is pretty fascinating.
As you can see from the video below, the technology is amazing, but I’m not sure where it fits in my business. Don’t get me wrong, I think it would be sweet in my living room (so long as it could stand a few kids jumping, scribbling and spilling on it). I’ll be watching this technology, I’m sure it’ll be everywhere in the future as people start thinking of great ways to leverage it!
I am finding more and more value in establishing and maintaining my professional network of colleagues on linkedin. It is a site I have been a member of for a long time and haven’t really tried to use it much until recently. Dan Goodwill, a fellow consultant and journalist, has a great article that talks about the linked in and the value it adds.
I’ve been swamped working on several different fronts and projects with a mix of clients and am running across some pretty exciting thoughts that I intend to post some articles on. I thought I’d drop a quick line for those of you who are still tuned in wondering what the T-Nerd has been up to. 
Well, as some people are still finding out, I am in the process of transitioning out of the role as the CIO at Tradewinds and am venturing down some other paths. I had started a company called 
As I’ve come to learn more about blogging, I realize that the trucking blogsphere is somewhat slim pickings, there just isn’t a whole lot out there. I’m always on the lookout for feeds that make my shortlist and am particularly interested in other trucking and or technology related blogs.
Congratulations to Wayne and RPM, they were the chosen winners in the 
How many times have you come across a technical problem and have no idea where to even begin to start with it? My favorite is when you get an error that usually has some vague text and then a sentence that says “Please contact your System Administrator for further help.” I always chuckle since I am the System Administrator and I’m usually as perplexed as the typical end-user.
To celebrate this Christmas Season, the Trucking Nerd will randomly pick two lucky winners to receive complimentary coffee mugs. I am certain these fashionable mugs will make you the envy of your co-workers.
Aaron Huff who runs the 
