As with knowledge capture, so must any successful organization pursue training. Training need not be formal. It can be self-paced, on-the-job, as-you-go, or formal. I know that I have learned the most about the product I support not from formal training, but from actually supporting it. Part of that is because we have had a …
Continue reading preparing for change (part the second)
preparing for change (part the first)
I have recently been preparing to change jobs within my company from Support to Professional Services. This has lots of caveats, concerns, and corners to shine light into, alleviate, and circumvent. The first thing that I did when I found out that I would, in fact, be able to move to ProServe from Support was …
Continue reading preparing for change (part the first)
if i ran the zoo…
…or, more accurately, the apartment complex. I was talking to a couple friends this past weekend, and told them I’d like to offer a per-minute lease on an apartment. It turns out that $0.02 per minute is $864/30-day month. For another penny a minute I’d include all utilities. Ok, so it’s a little off the …
Continue reading if i ran the zoo…
snow
Yes, the frozen, white, flaky water that falls from the skies and accumulates on the ground. It’s snowing here in Durham, and I’m psyched. As a coworker said, “Snow is redneck kryptonite”. /me loves being from the north 🙂
perfect camoflage!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7190107.stm So, researchers have figured out how make a material that will absorb 99.9% of incoming light. So, does that mean you can only “see” it because you can’t see it? If it’s not reflecting any light, then you only think you see it, because you can’t actually “see” no light, you could only see …
Continue reading perfect camoflage!
sloshing dessert
So, I was sitting at Cold Stone in Chapel Hill with a buddy of mine Saturday evening, enjoying my mint and peanut butter ice cream with pineapple and coconut mix-ins, when I piped-up with “this would be so much better with rum”. Then it hit me: I need to open a bar and ice cream …
Continue reading sloshing dessert
what if google took the day off?
A few of my co-workers an I were chatting recently, and wondered what kind of economic (and physical) impact Google could have if they chose to just shut down for a day. There’s no Service Level Agreement between Google and the world that says they’ll be there, at least none that I’ve seen or heard …
Continue reading what if google took the day off?
there is no perfect candidate
I have determined there are no perfect political candidates. I like parts of what several folks stand for, and will end up voting for the one I think to be the best, but none of those running for President of the United States fully lines-up with what I want in an elected official. In 2016 …
Continue reading there is no perfect candidate
screen… but for x
I’m sure most Linux sys admins are familair with screen – it’s a virtual terminal multiplexer that allows single logins to be ‘detached’, then resumed later. This is fantastic because it means what you’re doing can survive connection failures, you can share it with other users, etc. Windows has a similar tool called ‘Remote Desktop’, …
Continue reading screen… but for x
computers were made for americans
Or at least, they were built for people who speak English. Evidence for my claim: the first electronic computers were built during WWII by the British and Americans for code breaking; the first programming languages were designed, written, and implemented by Americans and British; the transistor, which led to the IC, was developed by Americans; …
Continue reading computers were made for americans
that’s right – we’re not falling behind
There was an article recently on Business Week (here) on how the US is not falling behind in math, science, and technology. In fact, we seem to be turning-out more technologists and engineers than we can use. I disagree. The problem seems to be that those technically-minded people that US schools are churning-out won’t work …
Continue reading that’s right – we’re not falling behind
a perfect hash function?
As I was walking to get my turkey pot pie today that was cooking in the microwave in our break room, I looked at the parking lot below and realized that parking lots are approximately perfect hash functions. Think about it: cars come in in some semi-random order; spaces are available in semi-random fashion; cars …
Continue reading a perfect hash function?
Stubborn, Safe, or Stagnant?
I Cor 9: 19-27: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself …
Continue reading Stubborn, Safe, or Stagnant?
Atheists Must be Right
The only belief system that must be right is that held by atheists. It’s the only logical conclusion to draw from the available evidence: they are among the most vocal, most argumentative, most defensive, most worried group of people on the planet. If I, a Christian, am wrong about the existence God, what have I …
Continue reading Atheists Must be Right
the inanity of ‘special’ lanes
Carpool lanes do not alleviate traffic. They encourage folks to either a) ignore the ‘carpool-only’ signs, or b) get pissed-off at other drivers ignoring the signs. I’ve been in California for a few days on a working vacation, and the carpool-only lanes are stupid. Because I’ve been driving by myself to work, I do not …
Continue reading the inanity of ‘special’ lanes
i know why search is broken
Search is broken. Google, Yahoo, Ask, Alta-Vista, and on, and on the list goes. Hundreds of companies, thousands of individuals. I know why search is broken, and I know what needs to be fixed. Now to figure out the how of fixing. When you’re looking for information, you search on keywords. Google’s been nice enough …
Continue reading i know why search is broken
Christians are too Nice
We’re worried about peoples’ feelings – and not about being honest and faithful to their souls. We all act like we’re following Paul’s directive: “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” And we all forget the first half of that verse: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit”. We live in a false humility when …
Continue reading Christians are too Nice
it’s sad to see a 17-year-old go so violently
I no longer drive a Mazda Protege. It bought the farm – as John so eloquently pointed out – Wednesday on my way to work. So, I was in need a quick replacement. Enter CarMax, stage left. I went after work Thursday, they had something I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. …
Continue reading it’s sad to see a 17-year-old go so violently
The Infiniteness of God
What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. What is God? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. If you have ever read the Westminster Shorter Catechism, you, no doubt, are familiar with …
Continue reading The Infiniteness of God
a flying ‘bus’
Public transit is an interesting concept, and as I’ve written about before, is not a panacea. However, I’m wondering if it might be reasonable to apply the concept to flying. Bear with me a minute here. Let’s say you fly – maybe a lot, maybe not a lot, but when you do, you pretty much …
Continue reading a flying ‘bus’
the future of interfaces
Apple recently introduced a convergent device that is a media player (iPod), cell phone, wifi device, and widget player (mini OS X) – I’m going to call it the iCon (since the current name is under trademark dispute). There’s one whole walloping button. Everything else is done via hand motions. Want to zoom in on …
Continue reading the future of interfaces
flat budgets are a good thing
To quote “Science in the News Weekly”, Issue: 3 Volume: 5 – “Federal Budget Freeze Straps American Science The incoming 110th U.S. Congress has decided to keep most federal agencies operating under their current budgets until the fall, calling for an unexpected belt-tightening that could mean potentially grievous effects for American science, federal and private …
Continue reading flat budgets are a good thing
It’s not who I’m against…
…it’s what I’m for. I’ve decided that denominations are a good thing – mostly. When they directly describe a confessional or creedal standpoint, they’re great. However, when they become a point to divide Christians over, they’re bad. Very bad. I’m a baptist because I believe that only true believers in Christ should be baptised. I’m …
Continue reading It’s not who I’m against…
the vagaries of memory
I doubt mankind will ever figure out how our memories work. Think about it for a second: you’re sitting in your car, listening to some radio station playing songs popular when you were a kid – a young kid. And then, lo and behold, you’re singing along with the radio – to songs you either …
Continue reading the vagaries of memory
stupidity is your right
I was in Hawaii this past weekend for my friend Jay’s wedding. While there, I discovered that Hawaii is a helmet-not-required state. Yippee. It’s also a state in which you can ride in the back of a pickup truck with apparently no worries. Fantastic. Though they don’t have everything right – Hawaii is also a …
Continue reading stupidity is your right