Great Flip Filipowski Quote

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As quoted in a 2006 interview for the Chicago Sun-Times, when asked about how he describes himself today.

"Somewhat humbled, but seasoned, scarred, a little older, hopefully wiser.... Never have I been more certain that life is just full of ups and downs, and that you sometimes have to end up reflecting back and saying that the downs, as tough as they are, are almost as bittersweet as the ups -- from the standpoint that they define your life, like scars on furniture make them into antiques as a result of the damage."

I had lunch with Flip in 2004 when I was going to Wake Forest and he was living/working in Winston-Salem.

March 2007 Health Update

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183 lbs

Previously: Stuck at 177

• Read somewhere: "Real food is always going to be better than a protein powder (except before or after a workout)." Makes sense, duh. Trying to eat more real food.
• Like cottage cheese. Right before bed.
• And salmon patties on the weekend. See my salmon cooking video on Vimeo.
• I'm a lot heavier around the face than I intended to be. I know, it looks fat (thank you little sister and parents for reminding me!). But I think I know what I am doing here.
• My goal is to reach 190 lbs before starting to trim down (or "cut up").
• The three supplements that I take on every work-out day are whey protein, CytoGainer (whey and carb and creatine and glutamine dust), and NOexplode.
• Every single athlete has a different opinion about supplements. One thing that did not work for me: CellMass or straight creatine monohydrate. The CellMass did not have any effects whatsoever (45 days in), and the creatine made me sorta jittery for 45 minutes. But it's safe.
• One thing that has also been a goal - never using hormone-enhancing drugs to gain weight. More people than I would have thought use these pre-hormone stimulator things. I don't get into them.

OK. Sorry to bore you - I doubt anybody cares about this health stuff! But I spend a lot of my time acting it out in the gym and cooking simple meals.

Upcoming travel to Reno, NV

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I will be attending the Aircraft Electronics Association 50th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Reno, Nevada from March 26 to April 1, 2007.

In related news, a small picture of the fam' was recently featured on the cover of the March 2007 issue of Avionics News magazine. The full page article discussed family-based businesses among AEA members.

At Flight Display Systems, Nick Gray works side-by-side with his mother, Susan Gray, who is the company's chief financial officer, and his father, David Gray, who founded the company in 1999.

While still quite young compared to other businesses in the industry, Flight Display Systems is making its mark by filling the growing demand for cabin entertainment systems in business aircraft.

Zach Klein in the New York Times

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Zach Klein, center - photographed by Robert Wright for The New York Times

My college roommate and Vimeo designer Zach Klein was pictured in the New York Times yesterday for an article about cologne. article here

My Waffle House photo on Boing Boing

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I am lucky to announce that one of my Americana photos was featured on Boing Boing yesterday.

I was sitting in at the high-bar at a Waffle House this morning and discovered something intriguing as I watched the short-order cook prepare orders. They communicate with condiments...

Thanks to Mahlen and Amit for emailing me about it. And thanks to Adam for submitting the tip to Boing Boing. Boing Boing is like MTV for hip internet users. Since my photo was posted on their website, over 17,000 people have clicked on it in 24 hours.

Update 3/9/2007 - Now over 80,000 views! The photo was linked on the home page of digg and kottke, among others. Mahlen found this page which describes this "Magic Marker" system of condiment codes.

Once the order has been called, the grill operator uses a system called "pull for production" wherein needed items (like bread and eggs) are pulled when the order is called so that they can be cooked a short time later. Similar systems are used by many short-order restaurants and diners.

Variations of this system have been developed as well, such as the "Magic Marker" system developed by a Waffle House grill operator named Michael Donnelly in Clanton, Alabama. In this system, in addition to the standard "pull for production" system, item orders are tracked by a notation system in which condiment packets are arranged on plates to indicate the final order (such as a jelly packet to indicate eggs, whereupon the packet's orientation on the plate determines how the eggs are to be cooked), with the goal being that the grill operator can simply glance at a plate to determine what needs to be done to fill the order. As of 1997, this marking system was adopted as the official system for all corporate-owned Waffle House locations. Many franchises still use the "pull for production" method, however.