Justin G. Roy

I did it.

@justingroy

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Today I drank 17 cups of coffee.  For those of you who know me, this is not abnormal behavior.  I like coffee. 

I remember my first cup, besides the sips my Pop-Pop would give me (he drank his black).  I was volunteering for Habitat For Humanity in Pennsylvania back in the early 2000′s, it was early in the morning and somebody from the neighborhood came over with a Box of Joe and donuts to thank us for helping their community. 

Needless to say, I ran to get a sprinkle donut.  I don’t know why, but they are still my favorite.  Which, brings me to another flashback of when I was a child.  My father and I went out early one morning, probably to Home Depot, and he brought me to Dipping Donuts (Springfield or West Springfield, MA) to get a donut just as it came out of the oven.  Man.  I will always remember the taste of the donut. 

We were not rich either.  I know, you may think of this as a $0.50 donut, and it was, but we had a 7-person family with one income from a public job (we know that pay scale).  Still, to this day, I never know how my parents survived.  We always had food on the table, snacks in the cabinet, and clothes (ok, they were not name brand, but they looked pretty darn close).  Hand me downs were normal, and I think they still should be.  We had a video game system, ColecoVision, thanks to a tag sale; with only one game – BUT, we were not allowed to play for very often.  Scratch that, I do not think there was a rule, but we always wanted to play outside anyway.  When we were outside, my mother was either within an ear shot, had her eye on us, or mostly outside (much different than what you hear of now).

How many pitches did she throw?  How many times did she bandage a scraped knee?  How many times did she put eucerin on my elbows because they were severely dry?  How many times did she chase the neighbors dog away because I was deathly afraid of it?  How many times did I see her jump up, excited that my father was home from work?  How many times did I hear them say they love each other? 

How many times did my father hug me?  How many times did he tell me he loved me?  How many times did I measure incorrectly when helping him with a project, and then he would ask me to get him a drink or a tool and then I am sure he would remeasure and never tell me I did it wrong?  How many times did I loose a screw, but it was never a big deal – even when it meant we had to go to the store to get more?  How many times did he call me buddy?

Countless. 

How much did this mean to me?  More than they will know; their efforts, home, and love made me the man I am today. 

So, back to the coffee.  (I did get the sprinkle donut, by the way).   We were standing around eating donuts and everybody else was drinking coffee – no, we were not a union (ha) – I felt left out.  My first cup had about 7 sugars and at least 3 creamers.  It still tasted bad.  But I wanted to be on the in crowd, so I lied and said I liked it (later that week, at confession, I think the Priest must have laughed at that lie and story – Irish Catholic guilt eats at you).

Then came my first “real job” (paid, not volunteering) where I had to make sure I was awake, alert, and remain employed.  We had a coffee machine and the one other employee drank coffee. 

So I suppose my story is like many others you hear on after-school specials.  It all started because I wanted to be part of the popular crew and was drinking one cup in the morning.  Now I am atleast 15+ cups a day. Don’t worry, I only put 1 sugar (read: not sugar substitute), but still tend to get a “talking to” every year at the doctor.  

So, the point of this article, which I hope I have not lost you yet. 

Inhabitat featured a printer that runs off your coffee grounds.  And I thought I would write about it.  I just never thought the story would get this long, have many flashbacks, and have opened a window into my wonderful childhood. 

Perhaps writing about coffee helps us reminisce? 

Click here to read the article.

Tim Sandershad a great post last week about his email inbox handicap.  It’s a subject I have talked about in the past, and thought his article was worth the read.

Personally, my handicap on most days is 0.  Period.  If there are a couple left there, the best explanation is they came in minutes before I had to run out the door for an event that I was more than likely late for anyway.

Some may call this a bit obsessive behavior, and they would probably be correct, but there are a few reasons why it’s mandatory (in my mind):

• The sender took time out of his/her day to send me the email.  That day.  Not tomorrow or later in the week.  If they send on Monday, they should get a response on Monday.
• I sleep better knowing I completed everything for the day.
• If I can respond now, rather than tomorrow, I have saved a day.  More than likely, I will hear back within hours or a day.  Rather than receive on Monday, reply on Tuesday, and receive a response on Wednesday I now receive a response Tuesday morning. 

You may think it is impossible to respond to everybody in a day.  What if you receive a full inbox at 4pm?  Good question and I think the decision is up to the individual.  Personally, I know I have been in the office until 1:00am due to an increase in email that needs to be answered.

Click here to read the post.

Chris Brogan had a great post the other day, Grow Bigger Ears in 10 Minutes. 

Whether youare a Project Architect, Business Development, or Principal, it’s always a good idea (especially for anybody in the design and building industry) to keep your ears to the ground, and listen to what others are saying about you, your competitors, and especially your clients.  Setting up Google Reader, Google Alerts, Blog’s, ect can be a daunting task. 

Brogan talks about how to get in touch with the media, news, and talk that is happening online, with as little effort on the readers end. 

Click here to read the 11 steps.

Janet Jones, from HOK Life posted a great picture.  Take a look, think about it, look at it again and understand what it says.

In a time where many (read: too many) become paralyzed by the doom-and-gloom news, it’s a wonderful link to pass along to your friends. 

Click here to view the post.

On 12 February 2009 175+ cities around the world will be hosting “Twestivals” which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

By rallying together globally, under short timescales, for a single aim on the same day, the Twestival hopes to bring awareness to this global crisis.

Charity: Water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations by funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.

Chicago Twestival:

Chicago’s event is for both people involved with Twitter & Social Media and people who want to know more about Twitter & Social Media in a relaxed, fun setting (just networking conversations, no presentations).

$10 at the door provides you with 2 hours of beer, wine, conversations and connections.

It’s open networking, casual to business casual dress.

Sign Up Here: http://www.chicagotwestival.eventbrite.com/