Category Archives: Hudson

Thursday – 10/1/2015

Work Decision

Woke up at 4:30 am. Decided that today was a good day to tell UTM, David and Seth, that my days with them are over at the end of the year. Got to bring this engagement to an end.

When I signed on formally with UTM in March 2014 you were aware of my involvement as a founder with my brother Ed in a start up medical devices company, Prescient Medical Devices, LLC (PrescientMedicalDevices.com). For a number of reasons we had put the development of the company on pause while we addressed some IP issues. This made it possible to make a commitment to UTM for a year which was the time frame we talked about at that time.

PMD is now restarting. My brother is making presentations to investors and we expect that these will be fruitful. This means that I need to position myself to focus most of my energies on PMD by the latest January 2016.

I suggest that we move the project of finding a sales/marketing person on to the front burner. You may have other priorities. Lets talk about how I can be most helpful.

Thanks,

Felt immediate relief from taking this step despite the deceptive statements about PMD. Nothing new is happening as far as I know on that front.

Problems in Basement

Controller on boiler

Controller on boiler

No heat. Waiting on plumber Ihlenburg.

Went to Belvedere Home Healthcare in Albany for UTM meeting. Good meeting gathering requirements. They will conduct a survey of potential users.

Back to Hudson for HAL Exec Comm lunch at Mexican Radio. Followed by mtg with David Murphy, Betsy Miller and T Parsons about upcoming hard hat tours of Armory for high rollers. Then, at 3pm meeting with Ann Rosenthal about her role as Chair of Program Committee. Smart, energetic, engaged…. big plus for library.

While Karen taught her online course I went to Bell’s Pint Nite at The Spotty Dog. After chatting up the regional sales rep for Bells I was given a Bell’s Pint glass. Also had good chat with Sherrie Jo Williams and Pauline DeCarmo and a couple of their friends.IMG_0916

Accessibility in New Linear Park in Hudson

Ever since the completion earlier this year of the linear park between Warren and State streets (beginning across the street from the Hudson Opera House)  I have mostly marvelled at the ungainly sight of the access ramps. Finally last night I walked from State to Warren along this park. What struck me was the walkway which is composed of raised squares roughly 4 inches on a side spaced approximately 3/4 inch apart with loose gravel between. It is hard to imagine a wheelchair making its way along this surface.

Is This ADA Accessible?image

image

US quarter for scale – 1 inch diameter.


A quick search for ADA guidelines brought up this picture with the notes: “Cobblestones and other rough surfaces make wheelchair travel difficult and uncomfortable….. Avoid materials or construction methods that create bumpy and uneven surfaces in areas and along routes required to be accessible.” ((http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/guide-to-the-ada-standards/chapter-3-floor-and-ground-surfaces))image

Hidden History of Columbia County – lecture at HAL

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book cover


The Hudson Area Library History Room sponsored a lecture April 2, 2015 by Allison Guertin Marchese based on her book “Hidden History of Columbia County New York” (The History Press, 2014. Available locally at The Spotty Dog Books & Ale 440 Warren St).
Ms. Marchese touched on many topics: healing waters in New Lebanon that supported a 300 room hotel, sulfur springs in Stottville, the Shakers, Electric Park, interesting people in the area, a fairly extensive comment on Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poet and finally the library’s current home at 400 State St.
(The audio is captured on an iPhone. Serviceable, but at times a bit noisy with rustles and comments)

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Allison Marchese at Hudson Area Library 04/02/2015


 

Hudson Going Dark on the Web

Hudson, Business and Government, Will Be Demoted in Web Search Results

The trend of people accessing the web predominantly on their mobile devices is so strong that Google has announced that as of April 21, 2015 websites that are not mobile ready will be downgraded in their search findings. Google offers a guide and mobile responsiveness test site so that you can test you own site. Google is taking this step because an ever increasing portion of all visits to websites are being done on smart phones (iPhones and Android predominantly). They do not want to provide search results that lead to websites that are unusable on these devices.
Businesses and other institutions in and around Hudson are not well prepared for this. Most websites are virtually unusable on smart phones like iPhones and Androids. The text is tiny and finding anything requires much pinching and scrolling.

Here are some local websites that are mobile phone ready:

Here is a sampling of websites that will be downgraded.

What to Do?? A Few Suggestions

If you have a WordPress site there are fairly simple steps to make most mobile responsive. You can contact me for more about that. Check out the WPTouchPro plugin.
For others, go to your web developer and ask them to fix the site.
If you are thinking about redesigning or creating a new website start your design work on the scale of mobile devices. Think about the information your customers most need to know (e.g. location, hours of operation, reservations, telephone number, etc.) and make sure that is either on the home page or very easily accessed at the top of a menu. Make telephone numbers active so that customers can just click on the number to call you.
Don’t be taken in by fancy visual design.Make sure your developer optimizes every image. Any image over 100KB is too big. Most should be 30-40KB. Otherwise your customers are staring at their phone wondering why it takes so long to load your site.
Think of your website as an extension of the sign in front of your business. Customers don’t expect the sign to tell the whole story, but they do want to know how to find the front door.
 
 

Sunday – 4/5/2015

04052015-3 - 1Gallery open.

Went to Swoon for Scotch after the gallery closed. We think we will reinstitute this tradition.

David Drake showed up. First time he had been in since he left a year ago. People still bring up Enid. Seems inappropriate at this point.

Lisa Kenneally still works there. No sign of Mark. But Lisa’s parents came in for a birthday dinner. Her father was a scuba diver doing underwater construction. Lisa thinks that he and I look a lot alike. Nice guy.

Saturday – 3/28/15

IMG_9513Went to gym, then breakfast at Bob’s diner. Conversation about free markets and how best to present ideas about how ideas about them permeate the culture.

IMG_9518 (1)Reading

Picked up book on slavery, cotton and capitalism at the library. Must write an essay about the four or five books that have transformed my view of race in American history in the last few years.

Library Campaign Committee Meeting

Continue reading →

Internet Access in Hudson- another revisit

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Using the library’s internet wi-fi Sunday morning.


I attended a meeting at CGCC Thursday 3/19 where the head of the NY State Broadband Program talked about the $1 billion initiative to bring true broadband to the whole state. 100 MBS everywhere excepting 25 in some really remote rural areas by 2019. The program will try to leverage private investment on a 1:1 basis.
Mention was also made of the $2 billion Smart School Initiative that includes access for libraries and other public uses.
A positive move by state government.