Notes about Me

In this note, I'm just throwing some information on the site to make search engines happy.

I'm originally from St. Louis, MO. My parents moved me to Tenafly, NJ when I was 9. I graduated from Tenafly High School a few years back (I'm not saying how many!).

I then went on to Rutgers University, specifically Rutgers College in New Brunswick. I met my wife, Carolyn, there.

I now live in Hamilton, NJ, outside Trenton.

I have season tickets to the Trenton Titans ECHL hockey team.

Carolyn and I have two cats.

posted by Mark Smith at 1:04 PM

Traffic Nerve Central

I went into Center City Philadelphia yesterday to see a demo of software that my company is thinking of buying. I ended up having an interesting experience on the way.

There's a company called SmarTraveler that does traffic reports for major cities. I'm signed up for their Philly network. They use a network of video cameras at important intersections, planes and helicopters, and "Road Reporters". I'm one of their Road Reporters. Their traffic information is also available on the website above and by calling a special cell phone number (#211).

The way the Road Reporter system works is: 1. You apply to be one (specifying your travel habits and commute routes). 2. They send you the special free cell phone number to call and give you a number. 3. Whenever you see a traffic problem (accident, construction, etc) you call them and tell them where it is, what lanes are open, and how long the backup is. Then, they put your information into their reports.

So what does that have to do with yesterday? On the way to the meeting, I called in a construction delay. As they often do, they asked where I was headed - so that they could give me advice on what to avoid. I told them what intersection the meeting building was at and I was asked "Are you coming here?" It turns out that they are located in the building across the street from where I was headed. The SmarTraveler person invited me to stop by if I had a few minutes. So, after my meeting, I did.

I arrived at the non-descript door on the 30th floor and rang the doorbell. A man stuck his head out and said "What do you want?" I explained who I was and he immediately got much more friendly and invited me and my co-workers in. We got the quick tour of the office, including the "Operations Room". It looked like a tiny version of Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD facility - lots of TV screens on the front wall with traffic cameras, a bunch of workstations with computers and police scanners, and some local TV logos on the wall. They do live TV traffic reports for channels 3 and 6 in Philadelphia during the rush hour news shows. We also got to see the gorgeous view from their office (and it was a perfect day for it).

So, thanks to the folks in the Philly SmarTraveler office for the quick tour, from "Mobile 78".


posted by Mark Smith at 10:44 AM

Rubber Ducky

My wife, for strange reasons, left the lyrics to Rubber Ducky (from Sesame Street) on the napkin in my lunch. I found this site while looking for something pithy to send back.

posted by Mark Smith at 2:26 PM

OK, folks. This is my Hello World post. I have no idea what I'll post, or even how long I'll keep this up.
posted by Mark Smith at 1:05 PM