That grain of rice... is yours.

...an ant carrying a grain of rice... or 'Walking among Giants!'

I am a very selective blog subscriber. I decided early on to pay attention to who was reading whom and then subscribe accordingly. People who consistently showed up in blogrolls did so for a reason. These are the people who I started to read. This means of course that I am quantitatively not very well read. On the other hand it turns out that I am well read qualitatively. That is where the Giants come in.

On the Internet no one can tell you are an ant walking among or reading the Giants.

So I was only a little surprised by Om Malik's revelation that so many people are not in tune with the latest and greatest that the net has to 2.0 offer. Then I began to reflect on the fact that the Giants are all about the early adoption of technology - or the very early origination of such technology. Us ants are just about comfort and ease of use. We like the old ways.

The grain of rice, your grain of rice, is huge. But boy, oh boy, is it good.

Do you do 2 point oh?

Very very refreshing to hear that there are many other people that do not know about all things 2.0

Om and Niall PodSessions remind us that there are a great many people who want comfort and ease of use. They are not interested in the bleeding edge of technology.

A gift

A gift given and received... of my work in 2Voices my spirit sister offered the following...

a rambunctious poet
is looking for comeuppance
from Internet foes

Looking for God as if I were blind.

RealLivePreacher gladdens my heart and gives me hope. Gordon Atkinson pulls no punches. He stands as a man among men and tells the truth as he sees, feels, lives and in some instances dies with it. So when RLP speaks I have a tendency to pay just a little more attention...

When something of import prompts RLP to speak I pay just a little more attention. Today his blog entry ( Jacob's Well: Portrait of an Emergent Church ) pointed us to this article published in 'The Christian Century' about a postmodern church in the heart of the country.

Keel is the pastor of an 'Emergent church' in Kansas City, Missouri. Of him it is said,

Keel is drawn to theologians who articulate a post-Christendom perspective and who argue that Christians are most faithful when they are not seeking cultural or political power. Keel carries no weapons in the culture war, and he figures that his people, hardly stereotypical evangelicals, vote Democratic or Green as often as Republican.

Perhaps the most refreshing part of Keel's approach to the "Great Commission" is the faith he exhibits when he gives the seeker the opportunity to discover why a community of believers gathers so consistently to celebrate.

"If most evangelicals follow a pattern of believe-behave-belong, we reverse that pattern and make it belong-behave-believe," said Keel. "We say, 'Try on these clothes, take up these practices, and see what happens.'"

We need to stop looking for God as if he were lost. I need to look for God as if I were blind.

Fudge and Darn - R.I.P. John M. Ford

There was a disturbance in the Force...


Why does this internet thing have to be so vast that I only learn of great wordsmiths upon the occasion of their death.

Like McGonagall, only without the rhymes

The grape known as Thompson Seedless,
By Robert Mondavi he swore,
That the upstart group of the base-born drupe
Called the Flame should grow no more …

Uh, where were we?

Marginalize and/or Destroy

Michael Bérubé takes a great Monday morning shot by posting a list of those who maybe, might, could, sorta, Marginalize and/or Destroy "...the brave guy who’s looking out for you."

Crab Log ?

Ooops, my bad...

Small Network Needs

... or...
Every important thing I know I learned from building a small network.


In the latter half of the 1990's I had the luxury of building a network environment from scratch. I cite this as an exceptional circumstance because very rarely does one get to start with a clean blank canvas when implementing a network. Almost always there are existing infrastructures to contend with and legacy technologies to accommodate. I found myself in a circumstance where there was no pre-existing conditions. I was given liberty to grow a network from a single seed. From that seed a small to mid-sized network has evolved but not without learning curves and growing pains. In recounting the development and evolution of this network I hope to emphasize a few very important lessons learned.

• Small networks require the same infrastructure components that larger networks require.
• Planning, planning, planning!
• Networks are a very good example of "Pay-me-now-or pay-me-later"
• Computers really only do one job at a time well. Only people think they can multi-task.
• 100% Over-Pull - Anticipate growth!

Small Business Owners beware... Small networks require the same infrastructure components that larger networks require.

This is a statement-of-the-obvious for any Information Systems Manager worth his or her salt. Unfortunately it comes as a HUGE and dissappointing surprise to most small business owners. Too often the refrain is, "All I want to do is get my e-mail and run some kind of simple ERP application." Unfortunately there are three deceptive inclusions in such a statement. First is that there is no such thing as a simple ERP application. Second, getting e-mail is considerably more involved that just dialing into an ISP. Finally, the largest deception by far is the assertion "all I want to do..." These are the famous last words (actually first words) of Feature Creep, the enxorable march of additional functions and "needs" that suddenly appear as soon as the network is established. Feature Creep is almost always rationalized after the fact by saying, "Well, we already paid all this money, we should at least be able to (fill in the blank)."

We will revisit this point ... again and again ...

Planning, planning, planning!

The best way to combat the "all I want to do..." attitude is to determine exactly what you really do want to do. Ask all the questions first - they are cheap at the price and the answers will offer clear direction for the overall project. Start by determining the general responsibilities of your proposed network environment. File Sharing means a central repository, a file Server (1) that network users can get to. Preventing labor from accessing management files means having a user security system. Print Sharing means that both the computers and the printers have to be interconnected. E-mail means that in some fashion the network has to be able to connect the internet. E-mail, in some cases, may require a Server (1). Having a web site means that a Web Server (1) must be accessible by the Internet. Keeping your information safe means having many different layers of security; firewalls, anti-virus programs, anti-spyware programs, user security systems and reporting systems.

Then there are physical issues to address. How will users PCs communicate? Will you install a wired network? This will include distribution devices (switches and hubs). If you implement fiber-optic cabling then suitable converters will be needed. All of these constituent elements will need suitable places to reside. Most often these will be in closets or phonerooms. Network resources need to be physically secure. It does not good to have a strong password when a thief can steal your file server. Even closets and phonerooms can be vulnerable to someone walking in and "jacking" into your network.

Then there is the realistic evaluation of the actual number of users on a network. All too often I have heard something like 'only the main partners and their assistants...' This suggesting that the number of users is relatively small. Serious followup finds that there are 14 partners, each having a personal secretary (14) and an assistant (14). Each office suite shares two printers (14). Seven of the partners use a laptop in addition to their desktop (7). The HR Manager and her secretary are not considered partners but they use a PC(2) and two printers(2). The receptionist, three records clerks and the Building/Security Manager all use PCs (5) and share two printers (2). By my simple count the users PCs total 55 and the printers total 18. So in this example of a Law Office there are 73 connections that have to be made, not counting any of the servers (at least 3 from the above example).

Computers really only do one job at a time well. Only people think they can multi-task.

Almost to a person small business owners have asked, "Why can't a secretary use that server, the one locked in a closet, to type up invoices?" Well, the most obvious answer is, 'You shouldn't lock secretarys in closets.' The real answer is very simple and very dissappointing. Computers are really only single-taskers. The best scenario in a small business setting is one server is assigned one role or responsibility. Many of my counterparts in the industry will take exception with this but my response is just as simple as my rule. If a server "crashes" how many roles or responsibilities would a business operator like to lose for the duration of the crash? If the File Server malfunctions the E-mail is still operational as is the E-Commerce site that runs on the Web Server.

This highlights a paradigm of business that is worthy of note. The network is not the 'thing'. The network is the communication channel that business 'things' use to transfer valuable information. The network is a utility, not unlike water and electricity, that business can make good use of but are not directly dependent on. Networks don't, as a rule, do business - they make business work better. This brings me to the awareness that computing the ROI of a network capital investment is as difficult as determining the value of running water or dependable electricity. On the other hand, an E-Commerce system that increases annual sales by 200% can clearly be evaluated in terms of ROI.

100% Over-Pull - Anticipate growth

When estimating the number of strands of fiber-optic cable to pull between any two given points I apply the '100% Over-Pull' rule. At a minimum I will specify twice as many strands as I anticipate using. More often than not I will specify 300 - 500% over-pull. Experience has shown me that networks grow in the same way that Features Creep. Once a resource such as a network infractructure is established then everybody will find yet another use for it. So where initially 2 of 6 strand are dedicated to the digital network all of a sudden an additional 6 strands are needed for the transmission of CCTV images.

"Wait! You never mentioned anything about CCTV!!! We thought you were talking about computer networks." It is true that I have been focused on computers but again the network is not the 'thing'. In the case of a fiber-optic network infrastructure it can be a resource to any system that can speak "glass" - computers, CCTV, audio, telephone, HVAC controllers, and more.

The same '100% Over-Pull' rule applies to computers and networking. Just like nature abhores a vacuum, business will grow to fill an empty network. Business will grow very quickly to fill an empty network. So it is imperative to anticipate growth. A 300-500% growth rate is not unusual in the first 5 years of a network. This brings us back to my first point - Small networks require the same infrastructure components that larger networks require. (Did I mention we would revisit it again and again... ) Where the real value can be realized is in the correct specification the first time when building a network infrastructure. And of course this correct specification is an out growth of my second point ( Planning, planning, planning! ) married to the spirit of the 100% Over-Pull rule.

Everything I have offered here is about having realistic expectations. Too often under-sizing our needs and objectives leads us to make less than economically valuable business decisions. To be fair, our fathers and their fathers ran businesses with yellow legal pads and Ticondaroga #2 pencils. The supply-and-demand business rules that served them well just don't seem to stand up to JIT thinking and Business@Internet.speed. When we take the first steps out of our father's business paradigm we must be prepared to hit the cyber-space surfing (...hit the ground running...)

--------------------------------

William Meloney is an Information Systems Manager for a small mid-western manufacturing concern. The views expressed within are his alone and do not reflect those of anyone else, living or dead. Do not operate heavy machinery. Be sure you can sleep for 8 full hours before taking. If a condition lasting more than four hour occurs contact your physician immediatly.

I've been to...

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

I have always wanted to see this map... of the states that I have at least set foot in... if not actually visited.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls...

Bipartisan Poll Shows the Majority of Americans Favor Video Choice Over Onerous Net Neutrality Regulations

The survey found that very few registered voters are familiar with the issue of network neutrality. In some regions of the country, only 5 percent of likely voters had even heard of “Net Neutrality.” The survey found broad support for a “Consumer Internet Bill of Rights,” like that contained in the Senate’s communications bill. The provision contained in the Senate bill prevents Internet service providers from blocking access to competitors or degrading a consumer’s broadband service. According to the survey, when presented with a choice between video choice and additional net neutrality legislation, an overwhelming majority of voters supported video choice.

Please, please don't mess with my euphoric mind altering substance deliver system. Please don't let free enterprise and world culture overshadow World Federation Wrastlin' or Studio 60 (This deserves a separate post but let me just say that a TV Soap Opera about a tv soap opera is the very height of insults.)

'Sides which, how's come we gots to legislate the "Net Neutrality" stuff? Everybody knows Al Gore invented the Internet. Ain't no way anything is ever gonna happen to change that. 'Sides only-est thing its good for is keepin' stats during NASCAR races... and them pick-tures, ya'll know the ones I's talkin' about...

Just remember...

When freedom is outlawed only outlaws will be free.

or

'They will pry my freedom from my cold dead hands.'

If you missed PhoneCon go back to bed ...

...and sleep until next year!

Jeneane Sessum pulled off the coup of the of all times! An event unparalleled in the history of technology... a floating convention. A convention dedicated to good old fashioned communication. Just plain folks getting together on the phone to share the goodness of thier lives. People from all corners of the globe.

Land lines, mobiles, Skype, Flickr, ChatCreator and much much more. Fresh baked Croissants, Talking Like Pirates, Trains (Kevin Marks), singing (Frank Paynter), gardening, conference calls...

It was a gathering of gathers - people who know people who know people.

Thanks Jeneane!

My Children, My OS. Their choices...

Bridget Kulakauskas offers a keen insight in to the adoption of technology across generational boundaries in her authoritative article Didn’t God say “...and the geeks shall inherit the earth”?>

If you say stuff like “Linux will never take over on the desktop because people just aren’t into doing geek stuff—they don’t want to know how to do things and they just want usability” I will respond with even if that is true at the moment—and there isn’t conclusive evidence to suggest this is so—what about today’s six year olds?

Unfortunately I feel that Ms Kulakauskas has failed to acknowledge one important facet of her position: What does a six year old want?

All three of my children, R(16), S(14), and W(12) have been brought up with computers from the first day they came home from the hospital. I can say with fatherly pride that all of my children can use either Linux (Slackware at that) or Windows. In fairness I must acknowledge that none of them are called upon to do system administration nor are they obliged to use the CLI (Command Line Interface). I am sure in my assumption that if they had access to a MAC they would not have any more difficulty than I do using one.

So what is the important facet? Which OS do they prefer or want to use. Or, roughly transliterated; What [OS] does a six year old want? Experience shows us that no real amount of OS sophistication or stability is important to a young person as they begin to use computers. Instead the computer, which becomes synonymous with the OS, has to have the features and baubles that are common in a young persons world view. This can be summed up in one assertion: if the majority of their friends are using Windows then you can be sure they will want to use Windows.

I have demonstrated the merits and values of Linux on many occasions. I have shown the functionality of similar programs (AIM clients, IRC clients, browsers, et al) assuring them the same resources on the Linux box. In return I have gotten the "Yes Papa, we know all that but we like Windows better" response.

So I ask myself why would they like an OS that is so much unlike Linux. Linux being my OS of choice. The first observation that comes to mind is the fact that many (if not all) of the sites that my children are interested in demand, or only support, Microsoft's InternetExplorer. Another factor is the commonality of language that my children use with their peers when communication complex computer information. Again, most if not all are couched in the vernacular of Microsoft.

This is also seen in adults who insist they don't use a spreadsheet instead they use Excel. This is a clear case that I have stated in the past where the object (the OS) and the brand (Microsoft) and the behavior (computing) all have the same name - "using the PC". (See "Microsofting")

Which came first...the circle or the content?

I followed a article link in the Arts section of the NewYorkTimes and ended up here...

BANKSY



Which so much reminded me of the work of hugh







Then I stumbled across this...







"A guide to blagging things

One

Never write a guide telling other people
how to blag things"

BRILLIANT!

After 9-11

Walk with me in Brooklyn after midnight

to the intersection of Old Fulton and Water streets

directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

walk with me half a block from the disaster relief kitchen

to Fulton's Ferry Landing

to look out across the East River

the smouldering Manhattan skyline

radiating the eerie stark white glare of
thousands of emergency lights

the remaining buildings silhouetted, standing
as silent sentinels around their fallen comrades

...

Our team is working the second shift - 6:PM to 6:AM

The midnight snack, hot hamburgers, have been cooked,
packaged, and shipped to the rescue workers

the night air is soft

with our chores done until breakfast a group
of us decide to go have a look at
ground zero

the silence of the Brooklyn Bridge is almost
deafening - the bridge is still closed - pedestrians only

from the height of the bridge span - there is a wonderful panoramic
view of New York City

bridge is closed because there is nowhere to
go on the Manhattan side - emergency vehicles only

but there are people out - walking, standing, red-eyed policemen,
exhausted national guard, fire men and women, rescue personnel,
red cross volunteers, news crews
spectators

and the displaced - New Yorkers, heart broken, hopeless and lost,
just wandering around...

...

Hastily erected cyclone fences keep all but
the authorized a full block away from
ground zero

everywhere there is a dull gray layer of
concrete dust - covering everything, plants,
window sills, cars, streets

I've never been to a war zone, but I have been to
ground zero

from our vantage point - a block away we
can see across an empty lot directly into the
smouldering remains of the World Trade
center

I've never been to a war zone, but I have been to
ground zero

I spent a number of years working the
ambulance as an emergency medical
technician - responding to horrendous
automobile accidents and all manner of
human insults and injuries

my heart has been broken many times

... and then I went to ground zero

with disaster relief I have responded to numerous
floods and tornadoes

my heart has been broken many times

...and then I went to ground zero

...

we returned to the disaster relief kitchen,
shaken and feeling empty

we sat silently on the sidewalk, outside the
kitchen compound in a semi-circle of street
light

she appeared out of the darkness, like an
apparition, standing just at the edge of the
light, smoking a cigarette

she was trying to decide if she would
approach or not

she sat stiffly, quietly chain smoking -
offering one and two word answers to our
initial questions

She said, "I've been having trouble sleeping..."

then she said

My land lady had called me from the
apartment downstairs, said something was
going on, something about the World Trade
Center, she said go down to the street - Old
Fulton street, to see

stepping from her apartment door and
turning right gave her a full view of both
towers - one already involved from the
impact of the first plane

then as if in a dream she watched the second
plane approach and slam into the
second tower

her description becomes vague - I assume that
she stood and watched in shock as the
situation unfolded before her very eyes

retreating to her apartment only when the
huge dust cloud crossed the East River and
swept into Brooklyn right past her door

...

sitting with us is the shell of a woman, a
woman who's heart is broken, a woman who is
lost, a woman with no hope

a woman who needs to tell and retell her
story - and we must listen

because listening is our only real ministry
listening is the only christian act of charity
available to us in the immediacy of this
catastrophe

Niche Markets, the King of...

As I was writing an apologetic sounding resolution that I would no longer dislike, criticize, haranguing, or otherwise dis Microsoft I came to this stunning realization... the Redmond giant occupies only a small niche market seat.

How many microprocessors are there out in the world?

How many microprocessors out in the world actually run a Microsoft OS?

Of the many choices available which microprocessor and OS is the next consumer going to run right out and buy?

My guess is it will be a Tweener or a Twenty-something buying either an music device or a cellular device. Priced in a range that is accessible to either of those target markets.

NOW HERE IS THE QUESTION WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT... How long will it be before PC manufactures realize that interfacing not with the device but with the device's OS will become paramount in the next big cyber-techno push? Wouldn't a PC running Symbian interface better with a phone running the same OS?

OH!... wait...

If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way.

[Borrowed from Slackware Linux|Fortune]

Thinking [Borrowed]

THINKING

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at cocktail parties. Now and then -- just to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I told myself -- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What exactly is it that we are doing here?"

One day the boss called me in to his office. He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find employment elsewhere." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking ..." "I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!" "But honey, surely it's not that serious."

"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!" "That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed.

To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground, clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "*Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?"* it asked.

You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a Recovering Thinker.

I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed...easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I believe the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.

Today, I registered to vote as a Republican.

Borrowed from Kalilily Time. Thanks!

I AM JUST ambivalent ABOUT MAX

Scoble made the crashing declaration "I love the new MAX but..." citing several values that he found appealing in the new MAX. So I downloaded the beast to see it for my self. Very slick! Installed politely and started promptly -- indeed, wonderful graphics and very cool user interface.

And then the illusion began to crumble... Strange!!! None of the links worked. Mouse-over indicated that the system was 'alive' but nada, zip, zero, ziltch... yo no connecto [sorry, alliteration carried me away.] Seems that MAX suffers from a low level Microsoft condition: Proprietary-ism!

Yupper, just another example of Microsoft insisting, demanding, coercing, assimilating users into the Microsoft Blorg. Seems that MAX doesn't like to play nice when FireFox is designated as the default browser. I verified this by manually designating IE7 as the default and MAX started working like a charm[ing snake].

So, Microsoft has done it again. I will reset my browser default to FireFox and discard MAX. Simple as that. Seems like a HUGE amount of work on Microsoft's part, work well done to be simple shelved. But...I am just ambivalent about MAX.

Rent-a-Bum

Bums - as we are affectionately known are Roadies. Renown far and wide in the music and entertainment industry for our professionalism and our integrity. We get them loaded in, we set the show up, we leave them alone, we tear down the show, load it and get them on their way, in record time.

"This ain't our first rodeo."


Tonight: Nashville Stars in the Executive Inn Showroom

Nashville Star is hitting the road this summer to perform a series of concerts across the country!

Featured on the Nashville Star Tour will be this season's final four contestants -- Nicole Jamrose, Matt Mason, Casey Rivers and Chris Young -- along with John Bohlinger and the Nashville Star Band.

Each of the four Nashville Stars will have their own block of time on stage. The show will open with the first of the four contestants to be voted off the show performing their own set of music, including original and cover material. The show progresses through each of the finalists in the order they were eliminated, until we reach the Nashville Star Winner!

Last week we did .38 Special-LOUD driving Rock'n'Roll

After more than two decades together, 38 SPECIAL is still playing more than 100 shows per year. And at every one of them, thousands of audience members are completely blindsided by the power and muscle of the band's performance. "When we come out, people are like, 'Whoa! It's like a freight train rolling over them'" says vocalist/guitarist DON BARNES. While most associate the group with its arena-rock '80s pop smashes, these days the band's harder edge is what is immediately noticeable. Barnes says it's all about maintaining the intensity that they deliver in their live shows.

It is as easy as pizza...

On Influence and Automation
a marketing and technology blog, douglas a karr, indianapolis, indiana


HP will be hoisted in its own petard... Doug, you nailed it!

Corporate Arrogance

You told me what you were going to sell me. I told you how I wanted it. You told me when I would get it. You delivered it to me when you said you would. You delivered what you said you would. You delivered what I asked you to. I paid you. You thanked me. I thanked you. I’ll order again soon.

It’s as easy as Pizza.