Author Archives: mathan

RetroPie, Ultimarc I-Pac Ultimate I/O Game Console, RGB Commander and xboxdrv

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About two years ago, I was inspired by my partner Sté to put together my own arcade game console with buttons, two joysticks, blinky LEDS and make it Raspberry Pi and RetroPie-based.

It was a great project to start during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but I ran into an issue when one of the vendors sent me the wrong cables. I finally got around to sorting this out and got the controller up and running.

I’m putting this together so that anyone who wants to do something similar with RetoPie can do so. There were some hoops I had to jump through to get this working, mainly around drivers that were no longer available, but re-found courtesy of the Internet Archives.

Here is where I picked up the parts:

  • Game Room Solutions – Who designed the console box and artwork
  • Ultimarc – I went with the Classic RGB Illuminated buttons and went with the I-Pac Ultimate I/O which acts as a keyboard, Xbox 360 Controller, or dInput. I also wanted illuminated joysticks.
  • Raspberry Pi 4 – The guts of the system – 4gb spec.
  • Crucial X8 4Tb SSD – I wanted something fast, relatively low power, and efficient for space. I also have curated a significantly large image of games from the 70s to early 2000s. Previously I was using a WD 4Tb My Passport which does the trick and thankfully I was able to copy the image to the SDD.
  • Atolla USB Hub – While it seems I can power the SDD from the Raspberry Pi directly, I wanted to make sure I had a powered USB hub to help with power.
  • Various cables
    1. USB A-USB C cable for power to the Raspberry Pi from the USB hub
    2. Power cable for the Ultimate I/O board to power LEDs
    3. Micro USB-USB A for the Ultimate I/O board for cotrol
    4. Micro HDMI to HDMI and with a female to female converter to hook up to my TV

A lesson learned

I originally bought a set of buttons and a controller from Amazon or Aliexpress, and while it sort of worked, I ran into an issue with keyboard emulation. From what I recall, I couldn’t use two of these controllers at the same time for the two different sides, or something else. It’s been a while. I know I also had some issues with powering the LEDs on those buttons.

I was also frustrated because the buttons were really brittle so taking off the switches broke the harness that the switch sits in.

Setting it up

When ordering the Ultimate I/O board make sure you go with the 4.8 mm switch connector. The buttons had 4.8 mm connectors, not the 2.8 mm which are for the Goldleaf connectors. I had ordered the 4.8 mm harness with mine, and Ultimarc sent me the 4.8 mm and 2.8 mm version.

Wiring is not too hard, but a few tips:

  • Make a note of where you’re connecting your LEDs for the buttons as you’ll need the port numbers for programming/configuration later
  • Pay attention to the switch harness and what wire goes to which button as they are specific
  • Buttons for Joysticks and Buttons themselves often have two connectors – for the signal wire. I found that you want to connect the signal wire to the terminal closest to the ground. Otherwise it assumes the switch is closed when you’re not pressing the button rather than open:

Keyboard or Xbox 360 Mode?

The Ultimarc I/O board can switch between multiple modes – Keyboard, dInput, and Xbox 360 mode. I didn’t explore much with dInput mode as I’ve had good experiences with both Keyboards and Xbox controllers with RetroPie.

There is once big caveat – If you use Xbox mode, you cannot control the LEDs on the board. As I understand it, Microsoft locks down the abilities of boards that emulate Xbox controllers in their protocols, and so you cannot control the LEDs.

That said, two controllers are clearly visible in Xbox mode and it works well. Just be sure to program the triggers to the proper Coin and Start buttons if you use this mode. If you’re not using LEDs, this could work for you.

Now, what is the challenge if you use Keyboard mode with RetroPie? Well…out of the box, you can only setup the keyboard as a single player device, you can’t have two distinct set of controllers and control them as Player 1 and 2 separately.

If you try to setup both sides, you end up wiping out the controls for the other player. So if I setup Player 1 and then setup Player 2, I end up wiping out the Player 2 controls.

Attempt #1: xboxdrv

Update 2023-08-31: I thought xboxdrv to the rescue, but it actually didn’t work. Sure enough, it turned my keyboard into an Xbox controller, but only one controller, not two.

So you can’t say one part of the keyboard is player 1, and another part is player 2. ARGH!

Here is what I had previously written:

xboxdrv allows you to setup a single keyboard-like device as two controllers (nope!). So your device still acts like a keyboard, and the driver converts the keypresses as if it were an Xbox controller. Perfect for what I needed so I can control the LEDs and have two controllers.

The RetroPie documentation is great is covered what I needed, as is the manpage for xboxdrv.

Ultimately what got me over the hurdle was the –next-controller command. Here is the command line I ended up using for the base configuration of my Ultimate I/O:

sudo /opt/retropie/supplementary/xboxdrv/bin/xboxdrv \
    --evdev /dev/input/by-id/usb-Ultimarc_I-PAC_Ultimate_I_O_4-event-kbd \
    --silent \
    --detach-kernel-driver \
    --force-feedback \
    --deadzone-trigger 15% \
    --deadzone 4000 \
    --mimic-xpad \
    --dpad-as-button \
    --evdev-keymap KEY_LEFTCTRL=a,KEY_LEFTALT=b,KEY_SPACE=x,KEY_LEFTSHIFT=y,KEY_Z=lb,KEY_X=rb,KEY_C=tl,KEY_V=tr,KEY_3=guide,KEY_1=back,KEY_5=start,KEY_UP=du,KEY_DOWN=dd,KEY_LEFT=dl,KEY_RIGHT=dr \
--ui-axismap lt=void,rt=void,x1=void,x2=void,y1=void,y2=void \
  --next-controller \
    --evdev-keymap KEY_A=a,KEY_S=b,KEY_Q=x,KEY_W=y,KEY_I=lb,KEY_K=rb,KEY_J=tl,KEY_L=tr,KEY_8=guide,KEY_6=back,KEY_2=start,KEY_R=du,KEY_F=dd,KEY_D=dl,KEY_G=dr \
    --ui-axismap lt=void,rt=void,x1=void,x2=void,y1=void,y2=void \
    &

This works perfectly for what I wanted. Definitely use the by-id approach as that guarantees the Ultimarc Game Controller is used rather than any other plug and play device.

Nope, that did not work – I suspect I had my keyboard plugged in at the time.

A real shame, because if someone could get the OS to interpret two different parts of the keyboard as a joystick, then that would be awesome.

Attempt #2: Update retroarch.cfg

Ultimately, I had to follow the page on Keyboard controllers at Retopie and setup retroarch.cfg for all systems to use the keyboard as player 1 and player 2. This works well with Retroarch and definitely, two people can play head to head with the controller AND I can use the RGB lights.

There’s a problem though. What if I wanted to play a game like Gauntlet with four people, two on the controller, and two on wireless joysticks?

It seems that for now, I’m a bit out of luck unless I use a tool like Retropie Joystick Selection and force a joystick to be used for player 3 and 4. It’s kludgy but it works. It would be nice if this were available through the Emulation Station UI so I don’t have to login to my Raspberry Pi to make the changes.

Now, for practicality sake, how many people will actually use the controller directly versus using wireless controllers? Most people will likely play games with wireless controllers as our living room is in a bit of an odd layout with the couches perpendicular to the television.

Wireless Controllers?

Of course! I want friends to be able to play games like Gauntlet – very much a favourite – which supports up to 4 players. This was a big deal when Atari came out with the game, and very much my kind of D&D-like game to throw virtual quarters at.

I’m using 8BitDo SN30s and Ultimates in my build. The Ultimates will be the primary controllers for player 1 and 2, with the SN30s for player 3 and 4, or if preferred, someone can use the SN30s.

How about that LED Lighting?

Ultimarc suggests using RGB Commander, however clicking the link, RGB Commander no longer exists. Doing a search, RGB Commander is nowhere to be found.

Welcome to the Internet Wayback Machine – You can download version 4.0.5 here, which was the last version.

Details can be found here.

Much thanks to Gijsbrecht De Waegeneer – if there is a way I can support you in the future, I’d like to through a donation, or some other means. Even if I could host or even take over the code, it’s clear there is demand for RGB Commander.

RBG Commander has two config files:

  • rgbcmdd.xml which defines the actual behaviour of the LEDs and RGB Commander
  • Animation files in the rgba folder

Some tips about RGB Commander:

  • You can setup a static pattern, you don’t always have to use an Animation
  • When creating your own RGBA file, use three values to set RGB
  • When you start programming the RGB values on the right side, I have noticed that I had to program the values not in R, G, B triplets but in B, G, R – I’m double checking to make sure I’ve not plugged in my LEDs backwards on the board
  • It’s not hard to program but will take some experimenting with the setup to understand which LED is represented by each triplet
  • I’ve not linked the application up to specific emulators and tested that, yet

I left the default animation on boot up of the Ultimate I/O card as-is – It’s almost like it’s linked to boot up of RetroPie, which it really isn’t, it isn’t like it’s a progress indicator per se, but you know RetroPie is fully loaded when my default animation starts playing. Neat!

Next up is figuring out how to get buttons to show up in the various emulators.

What else?

If you want to add external USB-based hand held controllers you can. IDs for the devices, i.e. which is the first, second, third or fourth controller seems to be determined based on the order in which they are connected to the USB hub. Play around with this on your hub. I could actually be quite wrong.

Conclusion

This has been an epic project, a bit delayed, but I got it done and I’m super pleased with the results.

This completely replaces a Raspberry Pi 400, USB hub and wireless controllers I had setup as part of my home entertainment setup and puts everything into a very accessible, expandable box. It also frees up the living room Raspberry Pi 400 for other projects.

What’s Next? I’m not planning on putting this in its own arcade cabinet as I already have an AtGames Legends Ultimate with AwesomeSaUCE and CoinOpsX. I am thinking of getting a wide IKEA Lack TV Bench or Coffee Table to put the console on as it’s a bit difficult to sit on the floor comfortably although it does give me significant modern 80s retro vibes and memories.

The end of an era

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With the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, I thought I would share a story from my childhood.

One of a handful of memories of my time growing up in Newfoundland was the visit of The Queen and Prince Philip to St. John’s. One part of their visit was the turning of the sod for what became the Queen Elizabeth II Library at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

My family was in attendance for a few reasons. Mum was quite a monarchist (along with my grandparents), and Dad taught at the university in the Department of Biology.

I was four years old, standing at the side and along come Her Majesty and Prince Philip and, don’t ask my why I thought this, I thought they were my grandparents.

See, my grandmother and grandfather looked very much like Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. My grandmother being shorter and a similar build to Queen Elizabeth; my grandfather being tall and thiner like Prince Philip.

I know at times I’ve felt silly about it growing up, but it’s become a fun memory to think about in my older age.

I had a chance to see The Queen on a visit to Toronto, my grandmother insisting I take a day off school to attend.

As i’ve grown older, I’m aware that the institution of The Firm is an extremely flawed organization, how it treats certain members of The Royal Household, how it has contributed to colonialism around the world, etc.

While it can be argued that The Queen leads this organization and has a say in how things are run, it is not as simple as that. You can see in series like The Crown the position the Queen or King is in.

Things such as The Queen being against Apartheid in South Africa and wanting the release of Nelson Mandella, yet Margaret Thatcher not willing to speak publicly to condemn Apartheid. The monarch has to traverse a fine line, but there are ways they can make their wishes be known.

You can see in recent years that the Monarchy does support self determination as countries in the Caribbean seek to become republics such as Barbados.

The Queen, as I understand her, was very much a diplomat of an amazing kind behind the scenes. I think it’s easy for others to dismiss her impacts, but if you read between the lines, you can see the importance of her role in the world.

Given some of the crap she’s had to deal with from her children too…

I wish the new King good luck in his service to the United Kingdom, Canada and other realms where he is the Head of State.

Thank you ma’am for your hard work behind the scenes, your duty and service.

Not sure what to say

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Last night I found out someone that was significant to my time here in Toronto passed away a week ago. We don’t have any details because despite being a gregarious person, he was quite a private person, and his remaining family seem not to be social-media savvy.

Bob was wall of man. Tall, thick, Bearish, always open, a lovely man who was not intimidating despite his imposing size. He would have been one of the first men I met at Toronto’s notorious Toolbox bar.

He was friendly, had a passion for politics and travel. Just an overall lovely man who had escaped the United States to move to Canada.

I am feeling gutted. The past few months I’ve been praying that my friends stay safe whether it’s from COVID or other ailments. A lot of people I know are getting to that age where health problems do pop up.

I will admit, this is hitting me more than my mum passing away in April. I suspect it’s the sudden nature of losing someone versus the slow decline and loss.

Thank you Bob, you will be missed.

Low Carb Cheesecake

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Using two separate recipes, I decided to combine both – a crust from one and the filling from another to create what, hopefully, will become a regular dessert around here.

You’ll need an Instant Pot for this recipe.

For the filling:

  • 16 oz wt. cream cheese (2 standard 8 oz wt. bricks), softened to room temperature
  • 2/3 cup powdered erythritol sweetener (4 oz wt.)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Crust

Compote

  • 12 ounces frozen raspberries (I went with Cherries), thawed with the juice
  • 1/4 cup swerve confectioners (or powdered erythritol)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup water

Preparation

  • Remove cold ingredients (cream cheese, eggs, heavy cream) from the refrigerator and allow them to warm to room temperature. Start this 30 minutes before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
  • Prepare a steam rack or the trivet that came with your pressure cooker, ideally with lifting handles.
  • Prepare an aluminum 6-inch round cheesecake pan (I used a 7-inch and added a few more walnuts, additional sweetener and butter – I used Swerve as the sweetener for the crust) with removable bottom or springform pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with separate pieces of parchment paper.

Making the crust:

  • Add the crust ingredients to a food processor. Pulse the walnuts for about 15-30 seconds until they are broken into small pieces. 
  • Scoop the walnut crust into a 7-inch round cheesecake pan. Use a spoon to spread the walnuts around and cover the bottom of the pan. Then press the walnut using glass or bowl with a flat bottom to compact the crust. Any holes will fill in while doing this.
  • Place the crust in the freezer for at least 10 minutes while you make the cheesecake filling.

Make the filling:

  • Add cream cheese and erythritol to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat on low speed until well-mixed, about 1 minute.
  • Add heavy cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds each. Don’t overmix the eggs.
  • Remove the pan with chilled crust from the freezer. Pour the batter over the crust, careful not to leave trapped air gaps. Flatten the surface using a spatula.

Cook and cool:

  • Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pressure cooker. Place the trivet over the water, with its handles resting on the sides of the pot. Place the cheesecake pan on top of the trivet.
  • Secure and seal the lid. Cook for 30 minutes at high pressure, followed by a 15 minute natural release. Manually release any remaining pressure by gradually turning the release knob to its venting position.
  • Carefully lift the lid to avoid dripping condensation on the cheesecake. The top of the cheesecake should be jiggly but not liquid. If needed, use a paper towel to carefully dab at the cheesecake to absorb any condensation on its surface. Turn off the pressure cooker.
  • Let the cheesecake cool uncovered in the pressure cooker. After about an hour, lift it from the pot using the trivet’s handles to continue to cool on the countertop.
  • After it has cooled, loosely drape a paper towel over the cheesecake pan and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Do not seal tightly because the cheesecake needs to dehydrate.
  • Carefully remove the chilled cheesecake from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper. Slice and serve.

Make the compote:

  • Mix the fruit, Swerve, lemon juice and water
  • Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes
  • The sauce should thicken as it cooks.
  • You can add a very very small bit of xantham or guar gum to thicken the sauce if you really need it.

Ode to a car in a garage

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This may seem like an odd blog entry, but secretly I’m a car guy.  Okay, maybe not that secretly, but the car I am thinking of plays an important role in my life.

In the summer of 1986, my mother bought her first car.  This was the car that transported my sister and I back and forth to school for several years, that took us, as a family, to get groceries on weekends.  It took us on summer camping trips, and it was an extra in The Santa Clause.

I remember going to Don Little Ford during that summer and mum picking out her two-tone blue Ford Escort L.  I wanted her to go to the Volkswagen dealership next door, but alas she didn’t.  My grandmother had a Mercury Capri that she was willing to trade in, or maybe they took my grandfather’s AMC Pacer, I can’t remember.

My mum put seat covers on, awful and ugly almost faux sheepskin covers, wanting to make sure the car retained the maximum value should she ever wish to trade it in.  Sadly, she never did trade it in, and the car lasted until about 2000 when they decided to park it in the garage of my grandmother’s old house.

There’s a story that I only recently told my family about, and it involves that car.

I wasn’t allowed to drive Mum’s car.  Honestly, I should have been as soon as i got my license rather than my grandmother given how bad of a driver she became in her older age.  I can be a nervous passenger as a result, but I’ve learned to work on that.

When I was allowed, it was when I was in grade 11 or 12 doing a co-op (1991 or 1992).  I was taking my friend Chris home, following our friend Matt.  We were racing each other, doing 80 kph down Thompson Rd in Milton.  I chose to turn the corner at that speed and nearly slid into someone’s front lawn.  Thank goodness no one was waiting to turn at that corner and I didn’t hit anyone.

I was crapping myself when we got the car to Chris’s place.  When we looked at the back tires, they were bald.  I thought I had done that!  So we literally went to a store and I bought two new tires with money I had earned working.   My mother and grandmother didn’t notice.

Ultimately, my mother hadn’t replaced tires on the car at all for, at that point, the 5 or 6 years she had the car. Yes, I was stupid for driving as I was, but my mum’s lack of knowledge on maintaining a car and probably not listening to the folks at the garage created a bit of a death trap.  

Still, I know this was an incredibly important purchase for my mum.  She saved her money for it, being a single Mum, it created a bit of freedom and independence.  It was her car, and she was building equity.

I can understand why it was put into the garage, but honestly, it’s rusted, it hasn’t had any maintenance on it.  A shadow of it’s former past.

Looking at it, I still like the angles it has, I love those halogen headlights and the taillights.  The liftgate, as I remember, was spacious.  For a compact car you could fit a lot on it, and I recall fitting well in the back seat.

The colours of blue on the car, I liked it with the pinstripe.  It’s probably why I like blue cars – having had four of them to date – A Toyota Echo, Toyota Prius, Mini Cooper and the present BMW X3.

Still, I am thankful for the workhorse it was, the joy it brought my mother and having a ride out of Campbellville.  32 years later, it’s time for this car to move on to it’s next life.

Castaway Cay 5K

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From the Disney Castaway Cay 5K.

From the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

In 2007, Scott and I jogged our first 5K.  It was the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 5K.  Scott entered for a fundraiser, as a way to celebrate 100lbs lost, as a way to reclaim exercise, and I joined him.  We finished in 42 minutes, 30 seconds, hand in hand in relatively cool September weather.

Last year, 10 years after running that 5K, I had set a goal of running a 10K, myself, in Q1 2018.  I had asked, for Christmas 2016, the Learn to Run course from The Running Room.  I enrolled and started in March 2017, but with 130 days on the road for work, sadly, I really could not keep up with the course.

 

As a result of non-stop work travel in 2017, I knew I was not in any shape to run or jog a 10K.  I do know I can easily walk 10K for sure.  Walking around Stockholm and New York City this past summer clearly showed this to me.

Scott and I had booked our February cruise to the Caribbean so that we could get into sun and warmth after a particularly grey winter.  We’re both prone to the winter blahs (aka SAD).  Our trip included a stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge on both ends, and our cruise includes a stop at Disney’s Castaway Cay.

One of the ‘excursions’ at Castaway Cay includes the Castaway Cay 5K.  If I wasn’t going to be able to meet my goal of running a 10K, I can easily do a 5K.  I had to do this.

I’ve known about the Castaway Cay 5K for many years after my friend Stephen had run the Walt Disney World Marathon, and then after also ran the Castaway Cay 5K.  Since then, it’s always been one of those life milestone things I’ve wanted to do.  Don’t ask me why, it just is.

Before, I get to the Castaway Cay 5K, our overnight stay at Walt Disney World actually coincided with the runDisney Princess Half Marathon weekend, and in particular, the 5K held on Friday and the 10K held on Saturday.

I have to admit, sitting down in Boma, Saturday morning, I was quite blown away at the people who were wearing the participation medals for the Disney Princess Enchanted 10K.  People of all shapes and sizes.  This helped break stereotypes I’ve held in my head.  I kept coming back to my mind that running, jogging and participating in 5Ks and 10Ks Isn’t just for “crazy super fit thin people”, that there is a place for me and Scott, that people of all shapes and sizes run and jog and can participate.  This took it to a whole new level for me.  I was inspired and excited about the Castaway Cay 5K and figuring out how I could do a 10K.

What was coming up for me is, this IS something I can do.  This IS something that a big person can participate in.  I don’t have to hold on to the previously held notions of what a jogger looks like.  I can break that stereotype for myself, and maybe I can break that image for someone else just as others have inspired me, without realizing it.

Unfortunately, after boarding the Disney Fantasy, I started to realize – Damn it all, I’m coming down with a cold!  That’s NOT going to stop me from registering, and that’s the first thing Scott and I did, headed to Guest Services and got ourselves registered.

Map of the Castaway Cay 5K

The Castaway Cay 5K is meant to be a fun 5K.  You start out at the Bike Rentals area, you proceed down the Castaway Cay Airstrip, around a path that leads to the Castaway Cay lookout tower, back around and then down to the end of the airstrip near Serenity Bay which is the adult beach, and then repeat backwards.

You have 90 minutes to finish the 5K and you can run, jog, or walk.  Essentially, do it on your own time.  You’re not given a tracker that tracks your start and end time so it’s not a formally tracked event.  You won’t find your results on the runDisney website.  Again, it’s meant to be fun to do, on your own terms.

Here’s a tip – if you register for the Castaway Cay 5K, you’ll be some of the first people off the ship. I’m not saying just register to be the first person off the ship.  Register and do it!  You’ll have fun!  Seriously!

Why again, would I want to do a 5K as part of my holiday?  Okay, part of it may have to do with wanting the really cool participant medal that’s given to everyone.   Look at it to the right – there it is in all it’s glory.  *GRIN* Oooh shiny!   Seriously, it’s a very nice incentive, and way cooler than any participant ribbon you received in elementary school.  Why wouldn’t you want a piece of coveted Disney magic like this?

Scott and I both wanted to walk and jog the route.  For Scott, it was about being active and sharing in the experience.  For me, it was about taking what I had learned from the Running Room, and seeing how fast can I do a 5K, pushing my own boundaries.

While I was able to get through most of the cold and was well enough to attempt the 5K, Scott picked up the cold from me, starting a few days later.

While we picked up our bibs and pinned them to our shirts on the ship, once we walked from the ship to the Bike Rentals shop where the 5K starts, Scott had decided, smartly, that with the cold, the heat and the humidity he would not run.  Even I was a bit nervous about how I would handle the course, but I seemed fine on the long walk to the starting line.  I was going to proceed.

I tried to do a 1 minute jog/1 minute walk routine I had learned from The Running Room, however it probably ended up being 1 minute jog/2-3-4 minutes walking.  I kept my head up, my mind was positive, I picked up three cups of water at different times during the course to stay hydrated, I had some great tunes playing streaming from my watch to my headphones – no need to carry a bulky iPhone.  Despite the heat, humidity and the strong sun, I was feeling good.

I finished the run in about 39 minutes and 45 seconds.  I don’t know for sure because, as I said earlier, there isn’t a tracker to track when I crossed the starting and ending line.  What I do know is that the clock just flipped over the 40 minute mark, and I crossed the starting line at about 25 seconds after the start, based on video Scott took.

Despite the changes I’ve made to my body, losing the weight I have, despite working on my health, I still have this weird relationship with jogging, that some how it’s not for me, that I hate it.  Yet I jog during spring and summer and I’ve enjoyed it, seriously enjoyed it.  I do this thing and I feel accomplished, like I’ve overcome something and I want to continue challenging myself – and it’s solely about challenging myself and not comparing myself to someone else.

You have no idea what a huge win this is for me, and how much it actually moves me to tears every time I think about it.  I don’t understand the shift that’s happed in my thinking, but  I feel proud of the accomplishment, that I’ve been able to push past self imposed baggage.  It feels really freaking good.

I’m really looking forward to doing another 5K and a 10K.  Is a half marathon in my future? Let me get through the 10K first, but it is a possibility. (Yes, I just said that and it’s in writing).

Even more magical though, was Scott.  One of the cruise staff had noticed he had his bib on, but was not jogging and she asked why not.  He explained that he had picked up a cold and was doing the smart thing by not doing the 5K.  For being smart, he was awarded a Castaway Cay 5K participant medal.  While he refused to wear it because he didn’t feel he earned it, as far as the cruise staff and I are concerned, he did.  Something like this needs to be recognized.

And there will be an opportunity to do it again in the future, together.

As you can see below, I finally put the medal on him. 🙂

Our next step?  Scott and I are going to do the runDisney Virtual Running Shorts this summer.

 

Thoughts from Leadership Training #1

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I have been taking a course in management over the past few days, specifically on leadership, feedback, coaching, difficult conversations, etc.  It’s been a great course to show me the things I’ve done well over my career, as well given me some guidance as to things I should work on, so that I can be the best employee, and best manager that I can be for my staff, my management hierarchy and the company.

Today’s topic on providing feedback took me back to a time where I was asked by a Sr. Manager about an employee’s performance –  someone I was working with on a project.  I had given some feedback balancing both positive and negative feedback.  It was clear my Sr. Manager at the time was concerned about the employee, as they were new to consulting, and wanting to build up the employee, knowing that they were struggling.

It was also clear that the same Sr. Manager asked the Project Manager the same question and shared feedback from others.  The only reason I knew was because the Project Manager then came to me, essentially, berating me for the feedback I had provided, how horrible it was, and how horrible a person I was.

I don’t totally remember my reaction at the time, but I am sure I was defensive, and ultimately flabbergasted.  The Project Manager clearly had no understanding of what was actually communicated, and acted quite inappropriately around something they truly had no idea about, nor the commitment to contributing to helping that employee.

See, the feedback I provided was not malicious in any way.  It was about guiding that employee so that they could be the best consultant they could be.  I was straight up because that’s what my management needed to hear.  They didn’t want to hear some padded, safe story about how the employee was not truly doing.

Yes the employee had faults, needed to learn from their faults, and maybe even fail at something.  It’s that failure that can lead to some great growth.  Truly, it’s been amazing to watch that consultant grow over the years.

It’s all in how you deliver the feedback, your intention – to build someone up; what you are truly committed to – building a fantastic project team (at the time);  and what you stand for – my team being the best team they can be.

It was clear that the Sr. Manager could count on me for my honesty and commitment to contributing to build a fantastic team of consultants.

When providing feedback, you want to build someone up, build their confidence, build trust, and make that person feel valued.  Support them.  It can be scary to be that straight up.  Again, consider what your commitment is.

If you’re not going to provide substance and contribute to building your team, then maybe you’re not the right person for the job, leading to morale and trust issues.  Ultimately it’s destructive.

X3: Picking up tomorrow

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Tomorrow is pick up day of the X3!

I can’t say it will be the most unique SUV in the garage, but definitely a different one.  Probably the most connected vehicle in the garage, for sure.

We saw it a week ago when it arrived at the dealership.  It looks gorgeous!  Note this is pre-PDI:

MINI: Ode to a unique car in the garage

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Our MINI.  Definitely the most uniquely styled car in the parking garage.  In a sea of bland colour choices.  Sedans and SUVs.  A car we specced out and had delivered from the UK to how we wanted it.

Tonight is it’s last night in our parking garage.  I’m saddened to see it go, yet I’m not sad to see it go.  I really do hope someone can love what is, for us, the most photographed car we’ve had.  A car that makes me smile every time I go into the garage.

But you know, the car issues really got to me with this one.

I think the trick to buying a MINI is, while it’s a car that should be a manual, the automatic is much more reliable.  Everyone I’ve asked who has one, who has said they’ve not had any issues, has had an automatic.

And then there were the space issues.  As amazing it is on space, it was definitely a downfall for us.  I’d have to keep to one side as Scott put his belt on.  In winter that’s compounded by big jackets.  Scott’s mum getting in the back a bit uncomfortably with her back.

If we had a need for a second car, I’d say, I would consider a MINI – an automatic.  I’d also consider a Toyota as well, maybe Honda too.

Two years and almost two months and 55580 km later.