Opinion: Embrace your whiners

I am a liberal, a democrat and a union steward.
So, you can imagine; I have been called a whiner many, many times. I consider it a compliment. That's a big reason I blog. Blogs can be great places to whine.
Many people are afraid of confrontation. They will remain silent even when they see problems. In my opinion a strong organization is one that confronts problems. But, how does an organization know it has a problem? It embraces its whiners.
The whiners are your canaries in the coal mine, your first line of alert. So, if you call me a whiner don't be surprised if I say, why thank you.
Organizations who recognize the value of whiners and provide them with a venue; have a lot to gain. Those who don't, risk finding much harsher critics; their customers.

Opinion: Criticism is good

In my opinion no matter what kind of organization it is, a bike club or a nation, criticism is a good thing; it means people care. Care should to be taken by critics to criticize the process, not the person. Critics and leaders should try to check their egos at the door. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and are entitled to voice their opinion. Critics and leaders are advised to not imply malice without very, very strong evidence. Leaders in an organization that is the subject of criticism should not take criticism personal. It is not personal and it does not mean your efforts are not appreciated. All criticism means is that somebody thinks something should be different. Hey, the critic may be wrong! But, at least give the idea some consideration. At least the critic cares enough to voice an opinion. That is a good thing. Sometimes, I know rarely, it is possible the critic may be right. A little thick skin is recommended for all involved. Today's critic may be tomorrows leader, or not.

April 2009, ACTC Newsletter

Here is the April 2009 issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club (my bike club) newsletter. The April 2009 edition is my last edition as Publisher of our bike club newsletter. The time to leave has come.

I would like to thank all the brave ACTCers who have stepped up to distribute, solicit ads and contribute stories and reports to the Black & Blue Bottom. I especially would like to thank Naomi for all of her hard work and dedication to the newsletter. She has been great help and a good friend. Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive over the years!

These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

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March 2009 B&BB Newsletter

Here is the March 2009 issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

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February B&BB ACTC Newsletter

Here is the February 2009 issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

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January B&BB Newsletter

Here is the January 2009 issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.
  

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November 2008, BBB New Version

The November ACTC BBB Newsletter
Here is the November issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

READ THIS: This is it folks! I finally found time to change the shop listings from the month before the month before last's issue. Woohoo!

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October 2008, BBB Final Version

The October ACTC BBB Newsletter
Here is the October issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

READ THIS: This is it folks! Like last month, this has been a busy last couple of weeks. Work and other commitments have not left extra time for editing. I did not have time to change the shop listings from the month before last's issue.

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September 2008 BBB, Final Version

The September ACTC BBB Newsletter
Here is the September issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the Almaden Cycle Touring Club newsletter. These are in PDF format:

• Normal version for viewing.
• Special "two page up" version for printer.

READ THIS: This is it folks! This has been a busy last couple of weeks. Work and other commitments have not left extra time for editing. I did not have time to change the shop listings from last month's issue.

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August BBB, Final Version

[Click here to view PDF version]

August ACTC Newsletter has Gone to Printer

Thank you to everybody who helped with this newsletter. Your photos, stories and corrections made this a better newsletter.

Here it is, I hope you like it!

• Regular issue version for normal reading in PDF format.
• Special two page up PDF version for printer.

Thank you everybody who has made this a fine edition. Thanks especially to Naomi for helping so much with the newsletter production and to all the folks who contributed stories, pictures, corrections, comments and other content. This has gone to the printer.

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August BBB, First Alpha Version

First Alpha, August 2008, 1-19

[Click here to view PDF version]

The first Alpha Version (What's an Alpha Version?) of pages 1-19 of the August newsletter is here. Please look it over.

Constructive comments and corrections are best e-mailed to me at s_sloan@mac.com or publisher@actc.org.

Please do NOT send e-mail to my g-mail account, the g-mail account is for e-mail distribution lists only with a low signal to noise value. It is heavily filtered and automatically purged on a regular basis. I may miss your comment there.

[Download issue in PDF Format]

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July BBB is here

July ACTC Newsletter has Gone to Printer

This has been a busy last week. A week ago today we returned from a multi-week vacation. Between work and family priorities it has been busy this week. I did get some great family and riding time in, but this issue was rushed!

There will be no time to edit this one. It has just barely gotten done in time to go to the printer. Here it is, I hope you like it!

• Regular issue version for normal reading in PDF format.
• Special two page up PDF version for printer.

Thank you everybody who has made this a fine edition. Thanks especially to Naomi for helping so much with the newsletter production and to all the folks who contributed stories, pictures and other content. This has gone to the printer.

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June BBB is done

June 2008 BBB newsletter has gone to printer

Thank you everybody who has made this a fine edition. Thanks especially to Naomi for helping so much with the newsletter production and to all the folks who contributed stories, pictures and other content. This has gone to the printer. The following files are in PDF format:

• Regular edition for viewing by membership.
• Special two page up version for printer.

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June BBB, Second Alpha Version

Second Alpha, June 2008, All Pages

The second Alpha Version (What's an Alpha Version?) of the June newsletter is here. Constructive comments can be Emailed to me at s_sloan@mac.com or publisher@actc.org. Please do NOT send Email to my Gmail account, that account is for Email distribution lists only with a low signal to noise value. It is heavily filtered and automatically purged on a regular basis. I may miss your comment there.

[Download issue in PDF Format]

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June BBB, First Alpha Version

First Alpha, June 2008, 1-19

The first Alpha Version (What's an Alpha Version?) of pages 1-19 of the June newsletter is here. Constructive comments can be Emailed to me at s_sloan@mac.com or publisher@actc.org. Please do NOT send Email to my Gmail account, that account is for Email distribution lists only with a low signal to noise value. It is heavily filtered and automatically purged on a regular basis. I may miss your comment there.

[Download issue in PDF Format]

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May B&BB is here

This is the May Issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the ACTC Newsletter
I am very rushed this month and will be out of town this weekend so there will be no time for revisions, I am sorry.

This has already gone to the printer:

• On-line version for viewing and reading by membership
• The normal single page wide version, with the template layer turned off, that works on the printing press and goes to the printer for production of the bike club newsletter.
• A special double page wide version that SHOULD work on the printing press and can be checked by the printer for production of the bike club newsletter.

Thanks

~Steve

April B&BB is here

This is the April Issue of the Black and Blue Bottom, the ACTC Newsletter:

• On-line version for viewing and reading by membership
• The special double page wide version that works on the printing press and went to the printer for production of the bike club newsletter.

Thanks

~Steve

March B&BB Newsletter Links

The March Issue of the B&BB is here
I hope you like it:

• On line version for viewing and reading
  
• Special double page version going to printer for production of the newsletter

Thanks, and enjoy this week's races!
Steve

Deadlines Extended

As Patrice mentioned on the Elist, this month's deadlines will be as before.

The deadline for the March issue will be the Sunday before the Feb. Meeting.

Why are we doing this? The old deadlines were way too tight and forced the ride scheduler and editors to work week nights and the publisher to give up a weekend to do the newsletter. For example; when I was publisher before, I often had to choose between riding or attending family events and doing the newsletter. This makes it very unattractive for folks to run for publisher. For the ride scheduler and the story editors the previous deadlines were even more difficult. They were expected to turn their rides and stories around in three weekday work days. In my opinion asking that of volunteers is not reasonable, especially if you want to encourage volunteers who have jobs and families that may require care at home to get involved.

Also, as mentioned at the December meeting, I want to train more folks to do the newsletter. New folks will be even slower at doing the newsletter and will need more time. In short I feel this may be difficult, but it needs to be done. I believe the work has to be divided up to make it reasonable. This new schedule gives folks more options in scheduling their lives around their ACTC volunteer work and I hope will encourage more folks to volunteer. I appreciate your time and understanding.

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Deadline is coming

There's still time!

The deadline for submitting an article for the Feb. 2008 ACTC B&BB Newsletter is coming up. Please submit articles and post your Feb rides, stories and events by Dec 30th.

This gives each volunteer a week to do his or her work around job and other commitments.

If you would like to consider a submission, please let us know:

publisher@actc.org
rides@actc.org

Current Newsletter Timeline:
Dec 30 Articles and rides to copy editor & ride scheduler
Jan 6 Finished articles to layout person
Jan 13 Newsletter to Printer
Jan 17 Mailing Party (location unknown).
By Feb 1 Newsletter in mailbox

Thanks,
Steve Sloan

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