Hey thar
It has been oh so very long since I last updated my blog. I've been very busy with Daphne lately and have been working on many other projects and am excited to see their completion. I have moved my HQ from Havre to Missoula, and I'm loving the change of scenery and the new opportunities.
 
DAPHNE
Daphne development has been great, especially being in Missoula. The setup in Missoula works so well for programming; I have unlimited time to develop and work on the software and working from home allows me to accomplish personal tasks alongside work tasks, so my efficiency is high. At the time of writing this, 8 community health centers are using Daphne for their MHIP programs. I am very excited for what the future holds with Daphne, and am thrilled to see Daphne succeeding.
 
PERSONAL
Now that I am in Missoula, I have been able to spend more time with Rachel, and that is definitely a big plus (and one of the main reasons of moving there in the first place). Moving to Missoula has definitely given me more time and freedom to work on side projects and hang out with friends.
 
OTHER PROJECTS
I am working on Chumboat again, and it is actually very close to completion. I would really hate to put another deadline on it, but I am hoping to have it completed by February 2011. Along with that, I have developed a host of projects and ideas that will hopefully be completed and found on the rhettlowder.com website. Which also reminds me that I am planning a re-design of my site to be more professional and to showcase some of the projects I've been working on. The projects currently are: Bitx.co, PHPCrawler, LiveTrivia, Chumboat, ZoSAA, medieval zombie game, Bandit Servers, and more.

It has been so very long since I updated my blog. I am planning to re-design my personal website, if not just "finish" it. I would love to have to the photo galleries and compilation of my projects available for viewing or download.
 
What's Been Goin' Down
In the past few months, Daphne has contracted with quite a few health centers and it now warrants a full-time position. I have resigned as CIO at Bullhook and will be assuming the position of CEO of Daphne in June. I am planning on setting up an HQ in Missoula and hopefully all of that will fall into-place soon.
 
Current Projects
Right now I am still working on the Daphne Client Management program and it has come a long way since the early versions last May (2010). I am excited about the new features and when programming I am always anxious for feedback from the end-users.
 
I have been applying for government grants and contracts lately and some of them seem pretty promising and it would be fantastic to receive a grant award. Receiving a grant would allow Daphne to grow really fast and would kick-off other projects I have planned.
 
Personal
Like I said above, I am planning to relocate to Missoula where Rachel, my girlfriend, attends college. I'm not exactly too sure when I will be there, but I'm anticipating middle to end of June.
 
I know I have not updated this blog or my site for quite some time, but I hope with being my own boss, I will have plenty of time to do both.

INTRO
It has been so very long since I updated my blog. I left off in May/June when Daphne was getting its start and when Rachel and I resumed dating. It's Christmas Eve at the time of writing this and I felt it would be a fun to update.
 
DAPHNE SOFTWARE
I have advanced Daphne by becoming incorporated, so the official name is "Daphne Software Incorporated". I have also applied for a copyright for the early versions of Daphne Client Management. Daphne has also had successes in sales. Many health centers have adopted Daphne and are using my software to enhance and coordinate patient care. It's very exciting and I have a ton of support from across the state. Many agencies and departments are in full-approval and, apparently, I am the "Bill Gates of Montana" and health care professionals from around the state are talking about Daphne and me.
 
I have been invited to and have attended numerous meetings with the MHIP (Medicaid Health Improvement Program) and MPCA (Montana Primary Care Association) in Helena. There are some very promising prospects for the future. The largest goals at this point are to encourage all health centers to adopt Daphne, create a global data repository for Daphne clients, and contract with MPCA to create a Health Information Exchange for community health centers in the Patient Centered Medical Home model. I'm very excited to have Daphne and have the exposure it has brought me. In the next few months there should be some great changes with Daphne and hopefully it will yield a full-time job or two :P

Birmingham Trip
Near th end of May I traveled to Birmingham, AL for a business trip with Bullhook Clinic. I attended the annual EHS conference and met some our account executives and representatives that I speak on the phone with on almost a daily basis. It was great putting a face with a name, as cliche as it is. In the picture to the left you will notice I am standing with Matt, our account executive with EHS (Electronic Health Systems).

In the picture above, here you will see my with the Mediadent (Electronic Dental Software) team. From left to right it is Matt, our Mediadent account executive, Brian (not sure of title), and Scott the company's president.
 
Another great part of the trip was when I flew to Fort Lauderdale, FL and stayed a few days with my brother and his family. We went to Disney World and had a great time.
As you can see to the left, there was an amazing rooftop pool. I spent a lot of time out here and one night enjoyed some red wine and a cool evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and look forward to going on another trip soon.

RC Boats
Somehow I have gotten into remote control boats. I think it stemmed from just a curiosity of how well they work in the water. The original boats I purchased were all right and fun in the water and were surprisingly fast. However, they only reached speeds of up to 2 or 3 mph. I decided to go for bigger game. So, I purchased this bad boy. It's one of the higher-end models for the electronic motor, going at speeds averaging 35mph. Eventually I will probably move into the gas-powered boats with speeds of 60mph+, but for now I can't wait to see how this bad boy performs.
 
Personal
Rachel finished school in LA in June and came back to Havre. Initially I did not want to see her or hang out when she was around. Before long I realized this was not possible because we shared mutual friends and I didn't want to stay home alone. So, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't bad. She did decide to talk with me alone and eventually we decided to give it another shot and we're dating again. It's great because we're approaching it more as an actual relationship and hopefully it goes longer and doesn't end abruptly again.
 
Daphne
Now that it is July, the new fiscal year just started. I anticipate hearing back from the state with their budget and ideas of how to incorproate Daphne Software into the plan.

The Helena Meeting
I met in Helena with the Montana Medicaid Case Managers for a conference about the Health Improvement Plan started this year. I had an hour spot and presented Daphne with the help of Mike Schnittgen. The presentation was very well received and there was a large interest.
 
Future Prospect
The future for Daphne looks bright. The state was saying that they would be very interested in purchasing the software for all of the clinics in Montana so that the data reported to them can be standardized and consistent state-wide. They were concerned not all clinics would be in a position to purchase Daphne individually, so they are interested in purchasing it from me and having me maintain the program and provide support. I would be very happy to do this and am excited for the outcome.
 
Currently
Daphne is still being requested by individual health centers and I have been letting them know that they can begin using Daphne whenever they want, and if the state does decide to purchase the software, the health center/clinic would just cease payments and there should be no interruption in their service.
 
Other Focuses
I have been really focused at work as I am now interviewing people for positions and doing more management tasks. I really enjoy my job and would love to stay with Bullhook.

Bullhook Clinic
I am traveling to Birmingham, AL in May for EHS (Electronic Health Systems) training. The training lasts for 3 days and I will be going with an RN from the clinic. After the training I am flying to Florida to visit Cole, my brother. I'm really excited for it and it will be the second time I've been flying.
 
I've been really busy with Bullhook lately. There have been some critical issues with the computer end lately so I've been wrapped up in constant contact with service providers and have been wrapped up in meetings practically the rest of the time. It's really fun, but equally as busy.
 
Daphne
Daphne Software (might soon be Daphne Computer Systems or Daphne Systems or Daphne Electronic Healthcare) is going great. I have a demonstration of Daphne to give in Helena in May and I hope it goes well. I have an hour spot to demonstrate and answer questions about Daphne in front of a very large audience. I'll hopefully have pictures and/or video for the Daphne YouTube channel.
 
I have been developing a lot for Daphne and my next addition after the features are finished is a Windows-based program to run Daphne alongside the web-based version. This will look amazing and be more user friendly than the web version.
 
Personal
Rachel came and visited for spring break, and, like I said before in my last blog post, she visited friends in Missoula. Long story short, she did more than just "visit" with a certain ex-boyfriend, so we broke up. It's been extremely hard but I've had constant interaction with friends and venting that has really helped. Rachel and I have been texting often, but after some words a few nights ago that small portion of communication seems to have ceased. While this is definitely a hiccup in my life, I know that my future looks bright and I've found that focusing on Daphne and projects has helped me with this ordeal.
 
More
My new truck broke down :/ The transmission was going out so I'm glad it was caught when it was, it just sucks that I had to pay an additional $2400 to the already expensive purchasing price. Oh well, at least it runs very smooth and I can trust it more than before. I really like it and it has me wanting to buy a speed boat for it :P I'm pretty excited for this summer and having a boat would make it a VERY enjoyable summer. I've really been in the mood for outdoor activities and I'm looking forward to taking some vacation days for camping, hiking, and boating.