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July 31, 2005
Friends, Romans, Shoppers: Lend Me Your Ears
In the future, we're all going to be "logged on" all the time, so such terms may actually hamper the discussion instead of moving it forward.
Shuttle, Shuttle, Everywhere
It looks like the space shuttle is all over the Sunday morning talk shows today. As anybody who has three brain cells knows by now, some stuff fell off the external tank on the way up. I just got through watching the NASA administrator on NBC.
July 29, 2005
RFID -- Another Bubble?
There's word that Alien Technologies, an RFID company, just secured $66 million in second-round financing. That's great! But I keep getting this funny feeling that there is a bubble in here somewhere....
Think You Know Your Market? Fuggettaboutit
One of the interesting points in the book I'm reading now, "A Good Hard Kick in the Ass", is that most inventors think they know their market. But having a general feeling about "what to fix" in the world and...
Continue reading "Think You Know Your Market? Fuggettaboutit"
$16 Million Fridge Magnet
What do you get when you pay sixteen million bucks for a magnet? A big honking magnet, that's what. Weighing in at more than 15 tons, the magnet took 13 years to develop. Reports are unconfirmed that it is actually...
July 28, 2005
Touring the World Media
I like to read foreign political stories, mainly because it is so fascinating as an American to see the arguments we have here played out in other venues. Watching America is a neat web site that takes foreign newspaper stories and translates them into English -- the idea being that most English-speaking people never get to read what is written about world politics in other languages. (BTW, I have no idea about the political leanings of this site -- apologies if if offends anyone. I just think it is neat reading articles from foreign papers.) Some interesting ones from this week:
Biggest Security Hole This Year
This is the biggest security hole discovered so far this year -- word that Cisco routers are open to attack. You got an operating system bug, or something wrong with IE? That's nice -- patch your OS or don't visit...
Let the Lawsuits Begin
Looks like an 85-year-old grandmother from New York is suing Rockstar Entertainment for the mature content that was inside "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" Boy -- talk about seeing this one coming....
Maggot Man Dies
Man who was being eaten by maggots died yesterday. This has got me confused, as I was under the impression that maggots only eat dead skin, and are actually theraputic. In fact, this attribute was first noticed during the American...
July 27, 2005
Exciting Study
Here's a very exciting study from the world of health: scientists are beginning human trials for stem cell therapy on heart patients after intial success with pigs. It's unknown what the pigs did to get heart disease -- one pictures...
A Bird So Rare, It Never Existed
I blogged recently about just how do you know an animal is extinct? It seems that subject is more and more in the news lately, with the recent conclusion that the rare Cape Verde Raptor is SO rare, it never...
From the "Stupid Headline" Department
"Nuclear Weapons Continue To Pose A Serious Health Risk In Europe" Gadzooks man! Has CNN heard of this?...
Fish Art
Here is something neat. You take a pond, tag all the fish, and the monitor their position, rotation, depth, etc in realtime. Hook all of this up to a java server and some programming, and you've got a really cool...
Santa Kicks Back
What does Santa do in the off season? Party hardy, at least according to these Santas. More than 100 Santa Clauses and their helpers danced and bellowed ho-hos at the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark. The Nicks were...
Cratering. What's Good and What's Not?
I'm finishing up a contract in eastern Virginia this week and I dropped by the Petersburg Battlefield last night to take in a look before I moved on to other things. I think one of the stories teaches some lessons about software development.
July 26, 2005
Blogging Changes Staffing Relationships
Fed up with parking at where you work? It used to be you just had to suffer. Now you can take pictures and put it on your blog for the world to see, like this Yahoo employee did. Everything is more public these days, for better or worse, like this meat manager who marked down the beef then sent his wife to buy 47 pounds of it. Great plan, if you don't get caught. And any more it's not just caught, you get to appear on blogs all over the world (like this one).
Infrastructure -- Not As Sexy, but More Important
Everybody wants to write the killer application, the killer web site, the killer marketing plan. When a program like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter comes along, it doesn't get a lot of attention. That's a shame.
Continue reading "Infrastructure -- Not As Sexy, but More Important"
Atlantis Found Again
Just do a Google search on "finding Atlantis" and you'll find a kazillion articles. Here's the latest on the controversy, another inconclusive but interesting take on the legend. WTF? I think we should have a TV mini-series with Atlantis stories. We could start with a reading of Plato, then go through those old "In Search Of" TV Shows with Leonard Nimoy, and then on to the latest rabble. Heck, you could probably fill a whole week's prime time programming slots with it, without any conclusion. It would be like the X-Files without the smoking guy.
Attack of the Network Nazis
I was onsite today (I guess I can tell stories -- this is not meant as a criticism of my current client) and went to check my webmail during lunch. "WARNING: FORBIDDEN SITE" the screen warned, "ACTIVITY IS LOGGED". It also gave me my network username and IP address.
Jeesh! I kind of feel like I got caught trying to lift a candy bar from the 7-11 when this happens. I quickly looked around -- were the coppers after me yet?
Outsourcing Your Support Services? Read Up
Here's a blog entry I stumbled across today while trying to figure out why my phone doesn't download my hotmail messages any more. Give "Goodbye Hotmail!" a read if you have time -- what a story....
Continue reading "Outsourcing Your Support Services? Read Up"
July 25, 2005
Dead? Pay $1
NEW YORK --The nation's largest direct marketing group set up a registry Thursday to remove dead people from its telemarketing, e-mail and direct mail lists -- for $1. That's great news. People doing the right thing and charging folks for...
Software Valuation: Tidbits
Here are a couple tidbits about software valuation in the news recently. First, somebody with knowledge of arbitrage and derivatives took a look at software valuation. His results? somewhere around 85% of the price of software is in maintenance, upgrades, etc. Frankly, I find his analysis a little lacking, in that he did not mention integration costs at all, which as we all know rise exponentially with the number of systems deployed. Plus, it sounds like a shill for open source -- not that I think there isn't a great argument FOR open source, this just wasn't it.
Women and Men Trust Differently
A recent study in Ohio concluded that men and women trust differently. Men were more willing to trust someone if there were some sort of symbolic relationship -- membership of the same clubs, or working at the same company. Women,...
Predictive Analytics: Wave of The Future
Here's a buzz phrase I like: predictive analytics. People like to have opinions and make choices. Computers like to churn data. Put the two together, add some salt, and sometimes you get systems that can predict human behavior. But that's...
Get On the Bus: Jargon Versus Reality
I like jargon just as well as the next guy. Grep, awk, vi, emacs -- hey, these were great Unix buzzwords, and consultants once made good money using them. Somehow over the last 30 years or so, everybody got into the act. Now it's not so fun anymore.
July 24, 2005
Do Not Click This Link!
I read the other day that separate studies are out on how much time we waste on the internet -- to the tune of almost $180 Billion per year. Wow. That's a lot of money. I think I wasted a...
Cyclic Nature Of Performance
People have cycles, and I'm not talking about the two-wheeled contraptions in their garage. A good team leader understands this, and uses the cycles to his advantage. Take my last week -- boy, what a mess!
Computer to Monitor Cop Quality
In something so strange it could only happen in California, Los Angeles has built a computer system to monitor the police force for bad cops. The system, which costs $25 million, is supposed to monitor complaints and incidents for patterns. Read on for my opinion.
Major Security Flaw: USB Drives
It's long been known that USB drives are a major security risk for their ability to move large amounts of information directly from a PC without going through the network. Now comes news that "bootable" USB drives can comprimise the...
July 23, 2005
Weekly Poll Results
This week we had way fewer voters, probably because the answer was not that easy to guess. Wondering which Kirk speech had the most cliches strung together?
The Reading List: Good Entrepreneurial Program Management
I'm writing a little less and reading more for a week or so. I'm reading "A Good Hard Kick In The Ass", by Rob Adams. So far, it looks interesting -- Rob presents himself as the ultimate pragmatist in what works and doesn't work with business ventures. I'll let you know when I finish -- so many of these books are all written by experts, and yet so many of them disagree. Geesh! Busines books are like diet books -- everybody has one and they all promise a miracle insight. We'll see. If you're interested in the book, you can find it on Amazon here.
Continue reading "The Reading List: Good Entrepreneurial Program Management"
Intel Finds Huge Savings In MetaData
Word from Intel that they are saving six dollars for each dollar spent in managing metadata. Aside from just software artifacts, I'd like to see them do a similar thing with process control metadata. Probably a lot more money to...
Infrastructure Management: A New Way
I had somebody email me over the weekend and ask if the MAT could be used for infrastructure management. Not only does it work very well for process quality, it also gives you a good understanding of what to fix in your infrastructure.
Migrating Brids Dumber Than Others
New study says birds that migrate are dumber than birds who stay the winter....
July 22, 2005
RFID Future -- Lots Of Change
Great overview of the status of the RFID market here. Look for a lot of consolidation, as big companies buy up the little ones. It would be a good time to have developed a RFID software/hardware system and have it deployed several places -- especially if it supports a lot of standards.
Judge Roberts Robs Liquor Store!
Nyah. Not really. Actually, the confirmation of Roberts is looking like something of a snoozer, but I can guarantee you, if you read this headline in the Washington Post tomorrow, things have changed. What other headlines would stir things up?
More Smoke than Fire: The Real Story of CEOs
There's a great article in Computerworld today about how CEOs are faking it a lot more than most people expect. If you think about how large and complex some of today's businesses are, isn't that kind of obvious?
Continue reading "More Smoke than Fire: The Real Story of CEOs"
Tougher Rules Needed For Airspace Incursions?
Here's word that a Congressman wants to drastically increase the penalty for airspace incursions. He wants a one-hundred-thousand dollar fine and 5 years license suspension. As a pilot who doesn't fly any more, I think this Congressman, Rep. John Mica, is full of horse hockey. My opinion, for what it's worth.
Continue reading "Tougher Rules Needed For Airspace Incursions?"
July 21, 2005
The Future Of Computing
Some really cool news out today. First, a company called EtherTouch has invented a system that uses electric fields in the body to interact with the computer. Wave your hand, point your finger, etc, and the computer responds. You may have seen something like this in the movie "Minority Report". It's not just that your finger takes the place of a mouse; it also opens up computer to more 3-D interfacing with people. The company anticipates the first-adopters will be tablet computers. I know I want one! And what's the screen going to look like?
Giant Gummy Bear Threatens Waistline!
I like gummy bears a lot. Yes, I know what's in them, but something about the chewy texture is endearing to me. So when I saw the biggest durn gummy bear I've ever seen, I had to share it with you.
Taking 13 pounds of gummy bears, sorting them out, and melting them in a big tub, this is quite a creation. People do the neatest things with their free time.
Amazing
Astrophysicists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have captured footage of Pluto's moon, Charon, blotting out the light from a single star. While we're able to see things so far away, we still don't know what happened to this woodpecker...
You're Going To Need a Bigger Boat
The latest monster shark derby just completed off Martha's Vinyard. This entry did not win the competition, as the boat was six minutes too late returning to port. It gets my vote, however, and the vote of the local fishermen,...
Saturn Moon Pictures Mystify Scientists
Scientists report the latest images of Enceladus (a moon of Saturn) show "...a surface texture never seen anywhere else in the solar system.."
For full details, see the article. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this mystery.
Aggressive Women -- Workable in IT?
I had a client tell me once, "I don't understand how to be an effective woman manager. If the guys are aggressive, they get kudos from the executives. If I act aggressive, they just call me a bitch."
I thought it was a good question. I've had experiences with a number of women managers in IT, and I didn't have the heart to tell her, she really was a little on the bitchy side.
July 20, 2005
Inside Word On Chinese Space Launch
China announced the other day that it was sending pig sperm into space. Well, at WTF we have an super-secret inside look at the payload container to be used on that mission.
Scotty Dead
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and motion pictures who responded to the apocryphal command "Beam me up, Scotty," died early Wednesday. He was 85.Read the rest of the article on CNN.
Say it Again, Sam
I love an administration that makes a lot of public gaffes. After all, Americans love poking fun at the administration, even if we voted for them. Here are some doozy's from the current one over the last year.
Portfolio Management For Government Agencies
One of the hottest topics today in the IT world is portfolio management. There are a lot of definitions, but for us, let's look at all of the activity of an IT department like an investment portfolio. After all, that's really what it is. So the logical questions are: what's the dollars associated with each activity, and how do I decide whether to keep something in my portfolio or get rid of it?
Continue reading "Portfolio Management For Government Agencies"
Robot Soccer Champions By 2050?
They picked a pretty hard thing for robots to do, so when the robots finally win, and they will, it will be a major milestone in our own evolution.
MAT -- The Theory Can Be Used For Hurricanes Too
Okay. Okay. So I invented the MAT. Looks like the theory behind the MAT, that large numbers of people can make better decisions than small numbers of experts, is going to be used to predict hurricanes.
Continue reading "MAT -- The Theory Can Be Used For Hurricanes Too"
Don't Get The Lawyers Involved
Word today that Microsoft is suing Google and a former employee over jumping ship. While I think Microsoft has an obligation and every right to protect its intellectual property, this is a waste of time, and a bad sign for the software giant.
WTF? How About ISP Idiots?
So this morning my frame relay went out at the office. I waited an hour, and then called to submit a trouble ticket. While I'm calling, they decided to call me to tell me it was down! And it gets worse.
July 19, 2005
CSS and the Forces of Darkness (technical)
Programming for the Version 3.0 prototype of the MAT is going along very well. I am trying something new -- tiering the code based on the CSS standard -- and it's a completely different way of looking at things.
Continue reading "CSS and the Forces of Darkness (technical)"
Today Only: Shutlecraft For Sale
I don't want to do a "what's on E-bay" blog, but this got my attention. Today only, a Star Trek shuttlecraft. I wonder if it comes with a set of phasers? ...The donors on this vehicle were 3 1993 Ford...
Endgame: Winzip Bought Out By VC Firm
Looks like word today is that Winzip, the popular file compression program, has been bought out by a VC firm. The firm promises to "more agressively" pester users about paying for the program. Talk about pouring good money after bad.
Solution for NASA: Write Mileage Down
Word today from NASA that they still don't know what is wrong with the fuel gauge on the shuttle. I happen to know exactly what the problem is: durn thing is busted. Since none of our cars has a working fuel gauge, this is a problem we've lived with for some time.
July 18, 2005
Compete? Or Cooperate?
Slow news day, but Slate is running an article about how Hollywood uses a common database system to prevent movies from directly competing with each other. Now I tend to think direct competition is a good thing. The author of...
TiVo Upgrade: Ads More Intrusive
Reuters is running a story today that TiVo is going to make ads more annoying. ads embedded with special "tags" will pop up as small pictures, sporting branded logos, even when users are fast-forwarding thought those commercials. However, TiVo says...
Politics -- More Annoying Than Commercials?
I'm a big political junkie. Every Sunday I watch the talk shows, and usually yell at the TV from time to time when false information is presented. What can I say? I don't watch football, so this is it for me. But I'm concerned that political advertising is going to get more annoying than commercial advertising over the next few years, if such a thing is possible.
Continue reading "Politics -- More Annoying Than Commercials?"
The Oracle Speaks: Pricing Must Be More Complicated
Oracle recently announced that pricing for its database is going to get even more complicated than it already was, due to the prevalence of multi-core processors. Let's assume for a minute that somehow this makes sense to established customers. How the heck are new endeavors supposed to price-compare development options?
Continue reading "The Oracle Speaks: Pricing Must Be More Complicated"
Strange But Useless: The Rabbit
What do you get when you cross Wi-Fi, a plastic rabbit, some motors and flashing lights? A completely uselss device that you can carry around and show people, that's what.
Quality TV -- Can Reporters Be Participants?
The big hubbub tonight seems to be that CNN Miles O'Brien was in negotiations with NASA to become the first journalist to fly in space. How could he do it? Wouldn't it tarnish his reputation? How could he remain impartial? Talk about a tempest in a teapot!
Continue reading "Quality TV -- Can Reporters Be Participants?"
Potter Patter (no spoilers)
In the spirit of providing feedback, here's my take on the new Harry Potter book (no spoilers)
July 17, 2005
PCs To Poor Nations
Here's a wonderful story out of Africa about taking old PCs from developed worlds and donating them to poor people who need them. Since a PC can cost more than a person makes in a year, this is a great charity to get involved with. My cousin has been involved with shipping a couple of trucks to Africa filled with old PCs, and not only does it get PCs into the hands of people who need them, the trucks can also be used for income generation. Since we've already reported that aid recipients might know best where to spend the money, why not empower them even more to make a difference in their lives with a computer?
Jesus Gets A TV Show
Read this one for yourself....
The NBC network, eager for new hits to reverse a ratings slump, said on Friday it has given a mid-season 2005-06 commitment to a new drama titled "The Book of Daniel," depicting Christ as a contemporary confidant to a pill-popping priest.
HP Eliminates 15,000 Jobs
CNet is running with a story that HP is going to cut close to 15,000 jobs next week. If you're worrying about what's going to happen to your job, have you considered "individual outsourcing" -- where you personally find somebody in India to do your job, pocket
Cheaper Hydrogen Production Method Discovered
Starting out trying to make rooms smell better, researchers at Signa Chemistrys instead came up with a cheaper way to make hydrogen. This is technology worth watching. If, as I supposed, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles are where the industry is going over the next 50 years, then the production, transport, and storage of hydrogen are going to be industries standing to grow tremendously.
Continue reading "Cheaper Hydrogen Production Method Discovered"
Hairy Plotter: Christmas tree machines
Now that I've started reading the latest Harry Potter book (I was #2 in the pecking order at the house) it occurred to me that most people aren't aware that there are real magic machines in the world. They're called Christmas Tree machines, and they're better than having your own wizard around.
Stemming the PAC Bucks
The fountain of youth is going to be a great thing, and with promises that stem cells will do everything, including making us younger, count on me for support. But let's also try to keep a level head on our shoulders, okay?
July 16, 2005
Give Up Trying To Understand People
I remember when I was new in the business world, I kept trying to understand why people acted the way they did. I eventually learned two lessons: Everybody makes sense if you take time to understand them, and people in general make no sense at all. It's the difference between the micro and macro -- the importance in knowing at what level to operate on.
NASA: Beats Us
Word today that NASA doesn't know what's wrong with the fuel sensors on the shuttle, and may launch anyway. Wired News has a great interview today with Gene Krantz, known for the Apollo 13 mission among others. ("Gentlemen -- Failure is not an option") Krantz said some things I agree with, and some things that I take issue with.
James Bond: You Knew Who He Was
This week's poll question, "What book did James Bond Write", once again showed that most people usually get the right answers to these things. The correct answer was Birds Of The West Indies Turns out that when Ian Flemming was writing his first Bond book, he wanted a name that sounded as dull as possible. Reaching for a book on his shelf, he decided that the ornithologist James Bond had a truly a dull-sounding moniker. What the real James Bond thought of this is unknown.
Podcasting: Can Business Adapt?
Blogging and podcasting have taken the business world almost completely by suprise, pitting millions of individuals as content providers up against "old" media giants. ABC is running a story about how podcasting is the next big land rush. But where is the money?
July 15, 2005
Rocket Car
On E-Bay there is a guy selling a rocket-poered MR-2. It goes at least 180mph, with "lots of power to spare". This is definitely going on my Christmas list this year.
Who Can You Trust?
Word from The Register that one in three medical studies are wrong? We ran the story recently where an astonishing number of researchers make up results, and nobody gets punished. Here's a blog that makes the point much more harshly...
How Much Help Is Too Much?
From the "oops" department, here's word that Harry Potter fans were told erroneously that their books will be delayed. Talk about bad publicity! E-mail is a great, immediate, easy-to-use tool. Is it too easy?
July 14, 2005
Slashdot Readers
The story about the LCD display that two people can watch at the same time is here. Also in tech news today, Fujitsu has displayed a flexible LCD that keeps the image even when the power turns off, and 3-D display slot machines may end up in Vegas, baby. Yeah!
Extra Bang, Same Buck
It's a sign of a good project that the costs are low, the mission is a success, and there are "freebies" at the end. Too many times, in my opinion, NASA has engineered it's way out of politically workable missions. I'm glad to see them making some wins as well.
Birds Conspire To Destroy Planet!
Sometimes you don't pick the topic, the topic picks you. Like today, when we had the story about chickens being able to think about the results of their actions. For some reason, it just seems like a bird day around...
Chicken Mind-Reading Study Concludes
How much credit do you give chickens? It's a question I haven't really thought of before. Lizards, sure. But chickens? I can't say I've put as much thoughful consideration into chicken intelligence as I should.
Spiderman Joins Microsoft
News today that Microsoft has licensed all of Marvel's 5000 characters for online gaming. You think your boss is bad, try working with the X-Men for a while: that brainy-head thing has got to hurt!...
"More" pages not working
Yes. I know. I just heard that the new template for the "more" pages looks awful unless you are in IE. I'm working to fix it. Sorry for the mistake. Thanks for Jeff for pointing it out....
Version 3.0 Prototype Started
I started working on version 3.0 of the MAT yesterday, and the design goals I have are completely unrealistic. The nice thing about being your own customer? You know exactly what the requirements are. The bad thing about being your own customer? You know exactly what the requirements are.
Moore's Law, Not The Only Game In Town
Scientific American has an interesting article this month about the growth of storage devices. Seems like storage technology is growing even faster than processor speed. Entire industries that wouldn't have been possible ten years ago -- like the I-Pod, have now sprung up. Where's it all going?
Shuttle Manages To Not Fly Again
Good luck to the great guys at NASA -- let's hope they have a picture-perfect launch and mission next week. They could use a little manned spaceflight experience about now.
What's Wrong With This Picture?
Somebody creates a web site that allows you to enter checking account information and withdraw money from that checking account. The web site does not attempt to determine the identity of the users. Let's repeat, for the slow: If you've got a blank check from anybody's checking account, you can withdraw money from their account. Sounds like a great business model!
July 13, 2005
Principle behind MAT Catching On
Steven Pearlstein has written an excellent column in the Washington Post about how people receiving the aid might be the best people to provide input on where it should go.
Continue reading
"Principle behind MAT Catching On"
Retail Shrink? Could be Bob
Retail shrink due to BOB, or bottom-of-the-basket items, has long been a problem. Now there's word that a company called Evolution Robotics has invented a system to help cashiers identify items left there. The system called LaneHawk, which costs about $3K per lane, uses cameras to look under the basket for items that might be forgotten (or shoplifted) It's not without problems, however.
Giant Bathroom Sponge Found Orbiting Saturn
Well, it certainly looks like a giant bathroom sponge, doesn't it? I thought with all the attention focused on the Space Shuttle today, it would do us good to remember there are other neat things happening in the world.
Continue reading "Giant Bathroom Sponge Found Orbiting Saturn"
When Nothing Happens, A Lot Can Get Done
William Saletan has a great article today in Slate about stem cell research and the current discussion in Washington. Whether you're for it or against it, that's not the point. The interesting thing is how much can get accomplished when nothing happens.
India Update
Looks like SAP is doubling staff in India. Meanwhile, American Airlines is planning direct flights there from Chicago. US News hit the nail on the head the other day, there is an emerging alliance with India that is probably the biggest news this year.
People Don't Ride the Bus? Sue 'Em
In a story that could only have come from France, a group of French cleaning women are being sued by the bus company because they are not riding the bus. Yes. Angels and ministers of grace defend us, because people are actually driving instead of using public transportation -- somebody should sue these selfish clods!
Eat Your Own Cooking
So I've re-done the site, used something new, and learned a bit. Now if I could only find the Tylenol.
Yes. We Do Windows
Got a call from a potential customer this afternoon, asking if the MAT covers ISO 9001 in manufacturing environments. For those of you who have never been in a start-up environment, when the customer calls, the answer is always "heck yes!"
July 12, 2005
WTF -- How about the site?
Apologies for the site looking poorly for the next few hours. I started modifying the master style sheet and templates and got an urgent call in the middle of it. Things should be back to normal (or better!) by this...
18-Foot Robot For Sale. Low Mileage
18-Foot Robot For Sale. Low Mileage
Any Jobs on DICE For Nuclear Bomb Designers?
Slate is running an interesting article -- seems like the number of people in the United States that design nulcear weapons "could all fit on a bus" according to the story. And most of those are near retirement age. So what happens when these guys are gone? While it would be a great thing to get rid of all nuclear weapons, would it be such a good idea to lose all your exertise before that day happens?
Continue reading "Any Jobs on DICE For Nuclear Bomb Designers?"
Night Of The Living Parrots
For some reason, parrots seem to be in the news a lot lately. First there was word that parrots understand the concept of zero (He's not counting, he's pining for the fjords!) Now there's new word that parrots actually give each other names. What's next, parrots opening a 7-11 in your neighborhood?
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Buy 'Em
Right on the heels of recent news that Disney is teaming up with Sprint to provide special nationwide family service, Sprint has also managed to silence a big critic by simply buying their company out. There's so much here I...
Spice Up (and Perhaps Cure Cancer?)
All this time we were looking in the rain forests for new drugs. Wouldn't it be ironic if the next big breakthough came out of the kitchen cupboard?
Shuttle Debate Continues
A good friend of mine emailed me today -- "Are you as nervous as I am about this launch? What if NASA mixes up its missions and crashes the shuttle into a comet?" he asked. Humor aside, it seems that...
Think You Have a Hard Time at Work?
Try getting pandas to mate, from this web site, here's some snippets of what it's like:...
July 11, 2005
Welcome CNet Readers!
Thanks to CNet for mentioning my blog on your site today. One of the first rules of PR is "any publicity is a good thing". I appreciate the link....
Enterprise Software Sales Lagging
It's almost enough for me to give Willie Nelson's new reggae album a try. Well, I said almost.
Don't Email Us, We'll Email You
If you ask me, Congress has yet to get in on the act. I would think that by combining an automatic chatting program, like ELIZA, with a text parser, you could have the Congressman's staff automatically IM the person to talk about their problems. Not that anything would get done, mind you, but it's the thought that counts. What's the old saying? Politics is all about sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
Groupware Battle Shaping Up
Now that Microsoft has again launched a major push to kill Lotus Notes, it's time to take stock of where the players are. My money is on Microsoft, because I think they have a secret weapon.
Customers Complain? Stop Listening
People have a tendency to listen to what they want to, especially in large organizations. That's why its no surprise that Dell seems to have shut down it's customer support forums. The rumor is because people were using the forum...
Double-Take: ITIL
The ITIL, or IT Infrastructure Library, is a source of information that looks at the entire IT organization.
What are the Variables?
To fix something, whether it's a computer, a biological system, or a business program, you've got to know what the important variables are. It makes me wonder: 20 years from now, what's the "new" thing going to be then?
IT Jobs Continue Growth
Looking over the consulting field, using my intuition (which is worth what you pay for it, folks), my feeling is that a lot of support work is disappearing.
News On the Net
Couple of interesting stories about the internet in the news today. First, Online users becoming more web savvy, according to Pew Research. 91% of people have changed their online behavior trying to keep the nasties at bay. And the Japanese...
July 10, 2005
The Three Basic Kinds Of Commercials
Is it just me, or do commercials make no sense anymore? They're either stupid, gross, or a waste of time. What gives?
So Far, Bulls Zero
Nobody was hurt in the annual running of the bulls, but you can see all the action on this google map hack with injuries posted. The bulls may have scored a long-term victory, however, with news that scientists are considering...
Surf's Up, Dude
- Most damage is done by flooding, not by wind
- Most people die after the storm, not during it
- Dennis will remain a severe flooding threat for days after he comes ashore. Look for flooding as far north as the Ohio valley
Scientific Research: Fake It Until You Make It
That's not an attempt to rag on scientists -- far from it. I'm just saying they are people like the rest of us.
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CAT 4 Storm Bears Down On Gulf Coast of US
Where the models seem to fall apart is when rarely-seen conditions occur: it's been common wisdom in the forecasting community for years that CAT 5 storms seem to do whatever they want to.
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More Project Post-Mortems Needed
So many times I see shops full of smart, hard-working people who are working day and night, never bothering to sharpen their saw.
Everybody's Talking, but Nobody's Saying Much
Applying the slide rule to the organization, we're looking for the min-max points on the graph. But are people really that simple to understand?
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Advances in Aviation
Will every house have a plane in the garage? Hardly. But the price of business travel might come down some, and who knows? It might actually become more convenient as well. Let's hope.
Wanna Buy a Ray Gun?
So you've got a tool that is non-lethal, inexpensive, and available. But nobody wants to use it. Read the article and draw your own conclusions.
July 9, 2005
But Who's a Cranial Rectalist?
I'm probably being way too hard on David Bruhn, the author. I'm sure in the abstract field of political science he is probably a million times smarter than I ever will be. I'm going to go over there right now and try to slog my way through his article.
How Long Does an Inkjet Photo Last? Who Knows?
Soon the day will come for the family server -- it's already here for us technical types, and the neighbors won't be far behind. What runs on that server and how it's hardware is configured is still up in the air.
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Breaking Vegas: Lessons in Project Management
Instead, maybe we should all concentrate on the fundamentals. That doesn't mean that there never should be any complexity -- far from it. But that if we grow complex solutions, it should be a natural consequence of playing by the book. I try to remember the old saying KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.
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The Buzz: Digital Radio
By this fall, expect a push towards digital radio, which is already in many US markets. The sets will set you back from 200-1700 bucks. But they'll offer much-enhanced quality, and the ability to multicast: receiving more than one stream of information from the same station. How will they compete against satellite radio? That's the question. More on digital radio here.
Hundred Years' War -- Poll Question Too Easy
Thanks for the almost 500 people who answered our poll this week. It was way too easy. Many of you, I believe, used Google to get your answer. Well, next week isn't going to be so easy!
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Build Your Own Time Machine
I'm a big multiverse believer myself, so I really don't have the problems with causality that plague others.
Death of a Hamster
I wish I could return to a world without 9-11, or 7-7, without crazy people hiding in caves plotting to kill us, without cancer, crime, or disease. Back when the only touch you had with reality was when a pet died. I feel for my kids. But in a way, I kind of envy them too.
Looks Matter
E-Harmony -- the jig is up. Now anybody with a profiling tool and this algorithm can be the perfect match-maker.
Getting the Word Out: Sharing Information
One of the reasons I wrote the MAT, and this blog, is that I believe that the more we acknowledge and talk about issues in the technical community, the better the chance we have at fixing problems. The web has...
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Get On the Grid
It's a wonder dog groomers don't offer grid services as well. Everybody else does.
New Trek Film -- Made by the Fans
What to do now that Enterprise has been canceled? Well, if you're a big Star Trek fan, why not make your own Star Trek movie? That's what some fans in the Washington, DC area are doing. (Warning: silly-looking people on...
July 8, 2005
Who Likes Us? Try the Indians
It makes me wonder -- with most of the news and internet sources being in English, will English eventually become the world-wide language?
From the "Wild Speculation" Department
MSNBC is running a story about teleportation. Seems like there is conntuing research into "Spooky Action at a Distance" Will one day we really be able to say, "Beam me up, Scotty!"...
Under the Hood: Tools Used on the MAT
It takes about 5 minutes from the need to change a field and having working code that uses it. All my business logic is abstracted out in its own layer, and I can focus on UI instead of the wiring. Very sweet indeed.
From the Rumor Mill
Drudge is running rumors that the media is on standby for Rehnquist's retirement. That could open up a summer double-header for you political junkies. The Washington Post is running an article that the GOP is preparing for a two-front war, something that it looks like the pentagon is reconsidering.
V-22 Osprey: Cool, Fast, and Expensive
I love the V-22 Osprey. As a fixed-wing pilot, there's something ultimately cool about being able to take off like a helicopter and cruise like a jet. But talk about poor program management! Software that kills people, testing data...
WTF? How About Style Sheets?
So I'm taking a look at upgrading the web site. I've kicked around HTML ever since there was an HTML, so I think I know the deal. This time, for the first time on my own site, I think I'm...
Mobile Phones Provided Immediate Coverage of 7-7
The BBC is running a story that provides details on how mobile phones gave immediate coverage of the blasts in London. It's interested that not only can the phones be used as remote detonating devices, they can also be used...
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July 7, 2005
WTF? How About Tornadoes?
No posting for a while, as tornadic storms are coming through the area. Our frame-relay goes up and down during thunderstorms, so I'm passing on posting until later.
Welcome to my World
So enough with the belly aching -- I really don't mean to complain. I would like to humbly point out, however, that there is such a thing as "barrier to market entry" Those guys that want to get elected? If they wanted the economy so much better, they should be working on that.
Culture Clash: It isn't Just About Geography
I learned a lot of great lessons from that contract. You can't have a productive, decision-making meeting with 20 or more people in the room. 5-10 is pushing it. And failure to understand culture and deal with it is the same thing as failure to deliver.
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SarBox For the Feds
Congrats to IBM, however, in being the first to release the tool. What with the October deadline approaching and this being the end of the Federal Fiscal year (with managers sitting on a lot of funds that need to be distributed) things are looking up for Big Blue.
Run With the Bulls, Swim With the Sharks
Staffing is a lot more than just hiring people, you have to make sure they are happy in their jobs. Let's say your job is to run from crazed bulls through the street of a Spanish city, wouldn't it be...
Easy For You to Say
When I first started coding in Oracle I had an error "Mutating tables present" or some such. Yikes! I certainly don't want mutant tables running around in my database; they might touch off some of that volatile code!
London Experiences Terror Attack
(Non-technical entry) For those of you who don't get out a lot, several explosions reported in London this morning. More news on CNN here.
Mars Rovers: Science Recap
After a long time on the surface of Mars, several studies have come back, and MSNBC has a nice recap of the current state of research. Of note here is how much we still don't know about Mars and its...
Putting a New Face on Things
Sometimes, you can't change reality. Project is late, customer is unhappy, dog ate your homework -- whatever the cause or symptom, for some reason you're stuck with it. It's times like these that you need to change your perception. Look...
Speaking Engagment Update
For those of you interested in my upcomning Rational User Group speaking engagment in Raleigh, North Carolina in a couple weeks, attached is the blurb on what to expect.
July 6, 2005
The Disease of IT
We IT people are prone to certain kinds of mental illness. Somebody has to ante up and admit it. I figured I would start.
Saving Money: One Key to Program Management
But what are some good targets for cost reduction in software development?
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WTF: Bring Back Extinct Species
I'd like to see what a Wooly Mammoth looked like, for real. Or a Sabre-Toothed Tiger. Or a T-Rex. What if the T-Rex had tiny feathers? Wouldn't it be a lot sillier-looking that the fearsome beast in Jurassic Park?
Stoning Okay, NZ Politician Says
So here's a lesson to French leader Chirac, who's getting some heat about his insulting British cooking: it's easy to hurt people's feelings, and very difficult to make things right afterwards.
Evolutionary vs. Revolutionary
But there comes a time when you have to evaluate your product against the perceived market niche, whether you think it belongs there or not. When you get to that point, it's surprising what you'll find.
RUP UP! What Part Of Software Development is Outsourcable?
It certainly may be the way it is thought about in the board room, but the difference between the way it looks at fifty-thousand feet and the way it looks in the trenches is going to mean life or death for some of these outsourcing efforts.
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IRS May Owe You Money. Good Luck Getting It
With the quality of the brain trust we have spending our money, it's a wonder we don't have them passing silly laws, like seat belts for dogs or something.
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Battle of the Neurons
But Halle Berry? Heck, most of us guys could recognize her in total darkness from 200 feet. The pretty-people brain cells must be tougher.
Thin Clients Who Got Too Fat (technical)
Don't most businesses have high-speed internet already? I can't imagine a larger business being on dial-up, does that happen anymore?
Taking Apart a Press Release
Then performance is poor, people complain, money is poured down the drain, and everybody walks away with clean hands. It's a great country, no?
July 5, 2005
Must Stop Reading Server Logs
I do know is that with 3 thousand people dropping by your site, it makes your head spin to try to keep track of them all.
Now my eyes are red, I haven't had a good night sleep in several days, and I'm running on Diet Mountain Dew. I got to stop reading those server logs.
It's a Numbers Game
Starting to address larger causes leads to "analysis paralysis", where you start taking apart the entire business looking for the Ultimate Cause Of Everything. Which is usually: management sucks!
Marketing Moves Forward: Ads In RSS
In other words, good companies and advertisers are productive to society, and the more effective we can make advertising, the better society will be
Communicating With the Troops
But do I really want to be reminded to get my annual flu shot while I'm picking my nose and staring vacantly off into space?
Microsoft Taken To Task On Hiring Practices
Not exactly the kind of press you want your recruiters generating for you, huh?
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Learn Management, Kid
We can measure, acknowledge, and work around these issues, or we can try to force reality to change from the top. Take a guess at which is going to be more effective.
Blogs Up!
This leaves open the most interesting question: how are we going to form these associations? How do I know what kinds of people have ideas that will interest me?
NASA Blows Up Comet, Gets Sued For $300 Million
From the "It's a Good Time to be a Lawyer Department":
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If You're Going To Be Bad, Be Bad
From the "How cheap can they go" department, Chinese pirates have already hacked up "Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith". As reported by this web site, the English subtitles aren't always in sync with the original meaning, as when Anakin...
The Complaint Department
I did my best to understand your complaints and act on them. If you're still not happy, drop me a line and we'll work on them some more!
New Wireless Technology: XMax
It's radio without use of the radio spectrum, which is a weird thing to say, but there it is.
Education: Still a Hot Button Issue
You don't have to train all the time, but if you've gone several months without learning a new skill, the IT sector is passing you by.
July 4, 2005
If You Read One Website Today
But as the book review indicates, there is definitely a dark side to all of this, full of sleazebags and poor ethics.
Things NOT To Look For In Your Staff
Finally, if you've invented a new technique to cover up the smell of hog manure, might be something to include, but you might want to skip the pictures or scratch-n-sniff in the portfolio.
Politics Is the Art of Persuading
In order to persuade people you need to know what they are interested in. Politics and marketing are very close relatives. A new company is measuring eyeball movement across web pages in an effort to see what interests you and...
The Other Slashdot Effect
Smart people, it turns out, are used to being smart!
BitTorrent May Be Next
Likewise, digital imaging, sound, and storage means that experiencing an event and recording an event are going to be the same thing.
A Man, A Plan, and a Evil Empire
He was the right guy, with the right idea -- but he was Wong for Microsoft.
Now This is an Ugly Dog
Ugly like this is tough to do. It doesn't come for free -- somebody wrote a check for this.
Fix It with BioTech
Whatever the results of all this action, it's clear that biotech is going to be a big player over the next 20 years in WTF.
GPS Tracking Your Ride?
"The tighter you squeeze your fist, the more that will slip through your fingers." There might be a lesson there for all of us, no matter how well-intentioned our motives are.
July 3, 2005
Fancy Widgets
As a pilot, I love little widgets and do-dads. Being a computer/technology guy, I've got it twice as bad as most. When flying a complex airplane, for instance, a lot of times we look at a little instrument called a...
The Group
I like Mike, but his constant use of Occam's Razor leads me to think that Occam might be a little in the eye of the beholder: I can see similar logic being used during the inquisition, for instance.
Know What You're Talking About
I've sat in rooms with some extremely smart people talking to their managers and I have felt truly sorry for those poor schmucks who had to take all that information and make something out of it. You've got to provide context.
Things Are Heating Up All Over
If you looked at some of the other screens in that shop, they looked like bizarre neo-modern art -- reds, pinks, huge buttons. It was like Picasso became a GUI designer.
The Good Stuff: Fringe Benefits
Usually we look at it from the "how do I get a job" standpoint, but perhaps a better question would be "how do I get the right job?"
Fear The Sky
As a private pilot, I can tell you that you've got as much to fear out of these little planes as you do the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.
Tickle Me Softly
The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that there was no other way it could work Sure. You could train, plan, give tests, etc from the ivory tower. But on the ground, the troops are only going to give a hoot about the things that need fixing.
Certifiable
The core issues -- do you have good programming habits? Do you work well in a small/large group? Do you have a good attitude? Do you figure things out on your own, or do you need a lot of hand-holding? These are things that a certification can't tell you.
July 2, 2005
India's Prime Minister Acts To Strengthen Cyber-Security
Winners in this arena are going to have to do more than cut costs: they're going to have to win the war of public opinion at the same time.
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Clanning Continues
From the "I wish I had thought of that" department, FaceBook is an online college directory/networking application. Started in February 2004, it now has over five thousand new users every day. ABC News article here....
Dig Dug
There should be some lessons here. The first, in my book, would be not to put the "Big Dig" on your resume.
Enough Already!
Just go do what I paid you for and leave me alone. Is that too much to ask?
Stooges Three I Count Thee
Nobody really knows how many stooges there were.
Are Your Deviants Standard?
We were there three months and didn't communicate that information. The MAT got it out in less than 30 minutes.
July 1, 2005
Buy Me Spank Me Call Me A Fool
Yikes! Is there any company in the world that this doesn't apply to? Perhaps some companies in the former Soviet Republic have mottos like "Steal from Customers. Bribe Officials and Put Money In Foreign Bank Accounts", but I doubt it.
The Main Event
So much of what we do in the technology field is basically local politics. Local politics translates as "what's in it for me?"
Think You've Had a Bad Day
Think you've had a bad day? This lady pushed the wrong button on her keyboard, spent over $200 million, and now she's looking for a new job. Wonder what would have happened if she pushed two buttons?...
First The Comets Strike Us. Now We Strike Back
As Stephen Covey says, sometimes we don't need a stopwatch, we need a compass.
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Brains Anyone?
Perhaps instead of matching people up with jobs that match their personality, we should try to match them up with jobs that matches the personality traits they would like to have
How Much Do Friends Cost?
Didn't get the buzzwords? Never mind. Whatever the new product will be will have some kind of neat name -- LaserFire or something.
Is Anybody Abusing RSS? Should We Care?
I don't think it is unreasonable to be able to play songs on my computer without having it crash, don't you?
SarBox and the World of Tomorrow
If you're tired of hearing about Enron and other corporate misdeeds, just wait until you see the effect they're going to have on program management and software development.