Red-B Rider: Howdy Stranger!

I ran into an old bus friend, Ayalbert, on the ride to work today. I can’t remember the exact timeline, but we often rode together last summer or the beginning of the fall semester. One day I asked him where he was from after overhearing some chatter in a different language. When he told me Congo in Africa, I took a shot with the few Swahili words I know and got a smile. I hadn’t seen Ayalbert or his friends in months.

Today’s encounter was bittersweet. I knew Ayalbert had been riding the bus to take English classes at Heartland Community College, with the hopes of getting into Illinois State and earning a computer science degree. On the ride this morning, Ayalbert told me he’d been working part time as a janitor at Illinois State and continues to work at State Farm as a janitor.

I’m assuming that he couldn’t afford classes last semester, or perhaps just needed to work extra to get more money, but he hasn’t been able to attend class until now. I also learned that he’s already got a diploma in computer science, presumably from a school in Congo, but since his English language skills aren’t at a high enough level, he can’t find work in that area.

It was good to see Ayalbert, but something yearns inside of me to assist in some way. Maybe our little conversations on the bus add something to his English education. My wife has kicked around the idea of getting certified in ESL. Days like this make me wish we both were more trained and equipped to help others learn the language that we both love.

The Red-B has certainly been a wonderful way to get to and from work, but it’s also been so much more. When I think of Ayalbert and Catherine, Celeste, the French Kids, Library Lady, Dallas, Bill, Duane, Russell, and on and on – I’ve truly been enriched and hope I’ve offered something similar in return.

Though a struggle at this moment in time, Ayalbert’s story is an encouraging one for me. It’s the clichéd American Dream story, but one we should never tire of hearing – man with a dream, working hard to achieve it and a better life, in a land of freedom and opportunity.

I hope I wasn’t overly sappy today. I’ll see you in Uptown Normal at :35 or :55 after the hour.

Red-B Rider: There's a Cash Cab, Why Not a Cash Bus?

I locked Brooksie's keys in her car this morning while warming it up - not the start to the day I was looking for. I was hoping to catch the Yellow-G and get to work a little early to get a head start on today's basketball game program. Instead, I got to shell out $45 for the locksmith and lost some points with the wifey (general annoyance (-5), late for work (-10) and money loss (-50)). I'm hoping my commitment to see Sabrina (Hepburn and Bogart) at the Normal Theater tonight will cover some of the loss (+30).

Some times life throws you a pitch you can't hit, and like the happy Pedro Serrano from Major League, you just have to smile and say "das, a good pitch, man." Today's silver lining came in the form of Discovery's "Cash Cab," which I got to watch for about 10 minutes before heading out to catch the Red-B. It would be pretty sweet to jump on the bus one day and have it be a TV game show.

Driver: "What's the capital of Nicaragua?"
Me: "Managua"
Driver: "Err...that's correct, you've just won 50 cents."
Me: "All those times staying after school in fifth grade to play Nigel's World finally paid off!"

My "Cash Bus" game show would be complete with "Red Light Challenges" and a three strikes and you're dropped off at the next corner policy. It would certainly add interest to the ride.

Another benefit to missing the Yellow-G (besides having to rename this blog series "Yellow-G Rider") was running into Kathy (formerly known as the library lady, maybe spelled with a "C"). She's one of those rare people that light up any room, or in this case, bus. She's a regular rider on the Red-B when the weather's poor and is so vibrant that you almost wish for cold weather or threat of precipitation.

When Dallas drove the Red-B, he'd always slow down at her regular stop to see if she was coming, and if she wasn't, he look at me and say, "I guess she ain't riding today." Tuesday, I saw Kathy a block down the street as the bus cruised through the intersection and it made me sick that she missed the bus. Needless to say, talking with Kathy for the four or five minutes that she's on the bus, helped me jump right out of any mini-slump I was having this morning.

I haven't seen Celeste (Cameroon, learning English guy) in a coupled days, hope he's not gone for good. My Congo (Ayalbert and Catherine) friends just disappeared one day and I haven't seen them again.

That's all the excitement for now. Until next time, see you in Uptown Normal at :35 and :55 after the hour.

Catch the QR Fever...

Finally there's proof I'm not an alien. Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable.com highlighted the Detroit Red Wings' exciting QR codes efforts in their game program here.

A few months back when Illinois State was playing at Southern Illinois, I tried to explain QR codes and how we were using them in our football game program, to a guy in the press box before kickoff. I told him all about how the two-dimensional barcode could link a static, printed page to the digital world through the use of an internet enabled phone with a camera. That's when the what-planet-did-you-come-from gleam entered his eye.

I admit that I get a little excited (and probably sound a little strange) talking about QR codes and their potential uses. Email links, embedded videos, links to Web pages, full contact information, instant phone dialing, ticket purchases and updated statistics are just a few potential applications in the print media world. My dream for all of my publications this year to include QR codes, with links to the most in-depth and up-to-date content possible. We had great success in our football game program but I didn't have space to squeeze any into the baseball media guide, where I think the need is greatest.

Ideally, QR codes could go on each player's bio page, linking to relevant videos, pictures and most importantly, updated statistics. A good portion of the numbers and information contained in the media guide is obsolete after two weeks of our four-month season.

Anyhow, its great to see that a professional team is being innovative and attempting to deliver fresh, accurate content to its fans. A big thanks goes out to Dustin Haisler, Chief Super Dude in Manor, Texas, for assisting us in our pursuit of QR knowledge and implementation.

If we're aliens, the invasion is surely just beginning.