The Charette Project

2007-05-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Silverlight Map

2007-03-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

Take a look at my boys Alex (almost 5) and Sam (2) as Alex tells a story about a pig.

2006-11-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

Fairfax Measure VV Passes!
Through a door-to-door grassroots effort in the most progressive town in the San Francisco Bay Area, the controversial measure VV just passed by a landslide! If you didn't know, this measure prohibits the usage of the letter "W" in any official town communications. Once nearby San Francisco decided that they could pass a measure to impeach President Bush, residents in this ultra-progressive enclave in democratic leaning Marin County decided that they could do one better by banning the president's signature letter. Starting January 1, 2007, all official communications must use "VV" or "vv" instead of "W" or "w". Leonard Friskers, a long-time Fairfax resident who has been active in the VV Campaign had this to say, "It's about time that we did something to stand up to King George! VV is our Boston Tea party!"

2006-10-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

A New Community at MindjetLabs.com.
If you haven't found it yet, we just launched a new Mindjet Labs site. I am managing the site and I am very excited to be using it to build a community around enhancing productivity of MindManager users.
On the site we have:

Forums
Blogs (I have a new blog "Synergist")
Downloads (and you can upload maps, templates, macros, etc. as well)
Videos are coming soon!

Take a look!

Michael

2006-08-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

A new personal project.
My father, Gary Scherotter, passed away almost nine years ago. He succumbed to cancer after reaching the personal goal of attending my wedding (my anniversary was yesterday). I miss him dearly but I know that he would have loved to meet my sons Alexander and Samuel. I wouldn't be able to tear them away from him - I just know that. And I know that my sons would have loved him. Alexander at four years old asks questions about him and I tell him about him.

Sometimes when I think of him, especially when I think that my sons will never really know him, I tear up.

The project:
I want to make a video biography of him. In becoming a father, I developed a knack for videography and video editing and I would like to channel that to record his life as best I can. I want to have something that I can give to Alexander and Sam that they can look to so they can see a reflection of my father through others. To do this, I would like to videotape interviews with my family and my father's friends so that they can retell the stories that they have told countless times over the dinner table.

I had tremendous respect for my father. In his actions, he showed me how to be the kind of father that I should aspire to be. I want to make a lasting tribue to him. If you want to help me with this project, please post a comment and we'll make it happen.

Michael

2006-08-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

The Charette.com forums are back up.
Enjoy!
Michael

2006-07-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Charette Forums are Down.
The login on the phpBB forums has stopped working so people cannot login to the forums. I will see if upgrading the software this weekend will fix it.
Thanks to all who sent emails telling me about this.
Michael

2006-07-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Sam Shouting at a Sheep
at the San Francisco Zoo

2006-07-16T20:38:00.001-07:00

Sam Climbs Out of his Crib
Well, our little firecracker Sam (18 months old) climbed out of his crib yesterday when he was done napping. By the crying that I heard from the baby monitor in his room, his dismount was probably less that a 10. I didn't see any bruises and a little holding calmed him down. That evening I removed the bumbers from the inside of his crib to make it a bit more difficult for him to climb out.

2006-01-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

Everyone has called us to ask how we faired in the recent rains and floods. We are fine! The creek behind our house turned into a roaring river but at its height, it was still about 15 feet below grade of our property. I took Alex out to watch it and he was amazed (so was I). Our favorite little downtown, San Anselmo got flooded with up to four feet of water.

A friend of a friend posted these photos and movie for you to see:
http://emoclients.com/jordan/floodweb/index.htm
http://emoclients.com/jordan/video/flood_web.mov

Michael

2005-08-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sam having fun on the Train

2005-08-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

Alex on the Lego Thomas

2005-08-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

Alex in the Lego Thomas

2005-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Boys and Trains

2005-08-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Alex, Liz and Sam, riding on the Train

2005-08-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Riding on the Thomas Train (kind of happy)

2005-07-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sam Melts Me
Sam enjoys watching Alex, Liz, Charm and me go about our days in his saucer knawing on his toys and teething implements. When I look at him and we make eye contact, a huge smile comes across his face and he flaps his arms and laughs. I love that.

2005-07-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sam Watching Yellow Submarine

2005-07-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Alex, Liz, and Sam watching Yellow Submarine at Creek Park

2005-07-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Flat Nat
Ever since he could talk, Alex (age 3) has called his blanket Nat. The blanket is in tatters. It has airplanes on it and Alex loves it. When he goes to bed, he say "Flat Nat" which means he wants Liz or me to spread Nat on top of him flatly. This is also one of his dealying tactics for not going to bed immediately.

2005-07-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

Alex having fun in the sleeping bag before Yellow Submarine started.

2005-06-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dan the Pirate King Playing with the Kids at Alexander's Birthday Party

2005-05-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Me and My Boys

2005-05-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Sam

2005-05-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Curious Sam