Wow Costco really steps in it big time ....

Hosting an interview with a Noble Prize winner - good thing.

Hosting a noted right-wing skeptic as a rebuttal, without checking said skeptic's credentials fully - very bad.

' ... respected scientist ...' ?

Oh really, Costco?

This guy Singer has been a discredited indivdual, who's taken money from the oil industry.

Don't people at Costco bother to do any research on people they bring abroad to refute a Nobel Prize winner? All it took was five minutes to save their reputation from embarassment.

(h/t to http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2008/12/fred-singer-is-climate-scientist-and.html)

"Now S. Fred Singer may be a lot of things (including a man with a couple of decent university degrees, an extended work history in atmospheric physics and a published author), but a reputable voice on climate science he has not been for some time.

As far as I can tell he is fatally compromised by his perceived longstanding relationship with Exxon and other big oil/energy companies as well as his association with the discredited Frederick Seitz petition and, his constant repetition of a fear that developing climate change policy will in turn distort energy policy, a principle argument that there is no global warming trend and there might even be a cooling trend and, an assertion that an emissions trading scheme would just be a tax ruse.

Indeed Singer has been a denialist since at least 1998 when this correspondence occurred.
However, almost every argument he has floated over the years seems to be easily refutable by academics and working scientists.

This has led Singer to assume the position of front man for the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) which appears to represent the published opinion of around 23 authors who reputedly are not all scientists and, his Science & Environmental Policy Project founded in 1990 is beginning to sound distinctly nutty.

Now I am aware that there has been legitimate scientific opinion which has swum against the tide in the past and later been proved right, but Fred Singer appears to have done no independent or collaborative science in years and apparently relies on a anti-global warming stance he developed years ago before much of the current data had been either gathered or collated.

The fact that the NIPCC document published this year online has purportedly 'peer reviewed' the same primary sources as the UN international panel does not give cause for comfort because of the small number of participants involved.

As Singer has reportedly also published his doubts about the links between second hand smoke and lung cancer and between UV rays and skin cancer one has to wonder at anyone citing him as an expert."

Costco is trying to create an equivalency between Gore and Singer in (under the guise of 'balance'; just like the corporate media), in an attempt to create hype and increase book sales. It's no surprise - at least online, the bigger battle seems to be more between Walmart and Amazon.

But there is no comparison.

The bottom line on global warming is that one side of the debate is based on research and study of the facts, while the other side isn't interested in debate or even willing to acknowledge that there is a even a problem, or that people are the ultimate cause.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is with the former. And people like Singer are part of the latter.

Congrats Costco, you fucked up big time.

Big corporations win in Canada - again.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/27/supreme-court-walmart-union.html

While I can understand that a company can make business decisions (i.e. something not profitable and so forth), the reality is, everyone knows the real reason why Walmart closed the store - it was because of the forming of the union.

On the bright side, this commenter sums it up best -

"If organzing a union shuts down a Walmart then it's time to organized unions at all Walmarts."

Palin fooled again by a Canadian.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/26/palin-tricked-by-comedian_n_371698.html






The only thing about this article I take issue with is the following -









Yeah, 22 Minutes was around long before the Daily Show and Jon Stewart and his Bob Saget/America's Funniest Home Video routine.

But apart from that, it's just another reminder that Palin is just a media figure, and figment of importance only the media's mind, and not the public at large. She's not electable, let alone competent when it comes to public government, and I think most Americans know that.

The pursuit of happiness

So I was originally going to bloviate on about the pursuit of happiness and so forth, when it dawned on me -

I really don't have a lot to say on the subject.

I mean really - what the fuck could I say that would have any impact on anyone? I'm not a philosopher, and I don't think this site generates nearly the amount of attention I'd like.

I suppose I could go around saying "JESUS MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST!" about 10 billions times, and still no one out there would really respond, let alone react. If anything, it might attract a bunch of religious nutcases to comment in a mean and nasty way (as if religious nutcases would comment in a polite way).

On the other hand, maybe I'm not 'monitizing' the site very well.

In all honesty, I'm actually quite frustrated. I consider myself a decently intelligent human being, and yet, it's very hard to get people to actually listen to what I say. It's even harder to actually get people to do what I suggest.

It almost seems like a sense of powerlessness.

To illustrate -

Recently I walked into the office and had some issues with the latest software build. I suggested to one of the developers that perhaps I should run some script as a workaround. I was told no, that's not necessary, it should all work, you don't know anything, you're an idiot (okay, maybe the person didn't actually say that last bit; but sometimes I wonder if people think it). Anyways, to make a long story short, I spent the whole fucking day trying to get something to work and it didn't.

And guess what happened? No, really .... guess?

Before I left, the developer ran that script, unblocked everything, and is now probably being hailed a great hero for moving the stupid bottom feeder forward.

And yet, I kept thinking to myself as I was heading home - didn't I suggest that earlier in the morning? Why doesn't anyone listen to me when I have something useful to say? This is not an original moment in my career, I've had similar moments like this before.

It's that sense of powerlessness - the inability to get anyone around me to listen and do as I suggest. Where does it come from? Am I really that stupid-sounding? Is what I say dumb? It certainly feels that way at times, especially around more 'technically-minded' or 'experienced' people in the industry. And I do tend to stutter, so what comes out of my mouth can sound pretty stupid at times.

And as you see, I can ramble on for quite some time, and it's barely coherent.

I used to think it was something in my face (it is rather big). I used to think it was the color of my skin, the length of my hair, did I shower that day, how assertive I am, etc. Or maybe it's some combination of those things - that leads people to perhaps enjoy telling me off, or put me in my place, so-to-speak.

Perhaps it's those things.

Or ... perhaps it's that I lack any authority in what I do, that causes people to not take what I say seriously?

I find I have similar problems in pursuing happiness. At times (okay pretty much all the time) I feel like I'm tied down by responsibilites. Being a husband, a provider, a father - those things I don't consider jobs. They are responsibilities which I take seriously. But does it make me happy? On some level it can I suppose, though I don't really see it now. Oh sure, it'd be nice to have my wife and kids be able to pursue their dreams, and I'd be happy that fufilling my responsibilities to them helps them get there.

But the fact is, it's hardly really happy to me. Is that selfish to say? Is it really? Hardly - it leaves no time for me to pursue my dreams and goals. I have so many ideas going through my head, it's a challenge just to capture just 1% of them.

Maybe my trouble is time - there aren't enough hours in the day. There could be some credence to this, as I'm writing all this while the whole family is asleep. But I figure having *more* time would only end up with trying to conduct more responsibilities.

Throughout all this, I remind myself that I'm no deity. Life is pretty finite, just like time. One the moment passes, it's gone.

Then it occurs to me - maybe the reason I'm unhappy, maybe the reason I feel so powerless in my own life, is that I allow things to happen. I spend so much time trying to control what others do, that I forget to stop and look at myself and figure out what's best for me.

Happiness may result from actions I take (or undertake) but it has to start within me perhaps. Maybe it happiness really is a state of mind. I may not control what others do, or what could happen next, but I can influence what I think, how I react, and how that maps up to where I want to go. That is, I should never lose sight of what it is that makes me happy and always know that as long as I'm thinking about it, as long as I'm planning it, as long as I write it down, as long as I talk about it (even to myself), I can be a little more happier than the day before.

And maybe ... just maybe ... I'm closer to finding what makes me happy. Because I figure the moment when I stop trying, stop thinking, stop dreaming, stop putting down ideas, stop making plans, stop talking, then I really am powerless - because I chose to let it all go.

So there ... perhaps the key to this life is figuring out what makes one happy - and spend the days going after it.

Because as long as I'm pursuing happiness and my dreams - there's always a chance I'll get there.

BackTracks

Yes I know it's shameless ... but come on! This is really cool ...

Collectors Edition Box-Set: The 12"x12"x4" (30cm*30cm*10cm) exterior box is designed to resemble a vintage AC/DC guitar amp – complete with the original logo that was spray-painted onto the rear of Angus and Malcolm’s speaker cabinets in 1975. The “head” of the amp has a handle that lifts the top off to reveal the contents housed within. Oh yeah, the head is also a WORKING GUITAR AMPLIFIER! That’s right, one watt of pure AC/DC makes this box a truly unique collector’s item. You can PLAY the box set while LISTENING TO the box set!

What you get with AC/DC Backtracks Deluxe Collector's Edition

Collectors Edition Box Set:Also a working guitar amplifier!
plus

3 CD's: Studio Rarities andtwo discs of Live Rarities!
plus

2 DVD's: "Family Jewels" Disc 3 &"Live at the Circus Krone" 2003
plus

164-Page Coffee Table Book: Rareand unseen photos spanning '73-'03!
plus

LP: 12 unique studio raritiesmastered specifically for LP!
plus

9 Pieces of Memorabilia: Button, sticker, tour flyer and more!

More here -> http://www.acdcbacktracks.com/pages/3999219/

Friday the 13th (13-NOV-2009).

In honor of today, I thought I'd share,

I received word of the following from Facebook, regarding Friday the 13th -

I'm sure any and all lifeforms out there in this universe that can view our planet are thankful they aren't here to deal with people like this and their fairytales.

Commentary: Microsoft job cuts - part of a bigger problem? Part II – perspective.

(The following are based on my opinions and conclusions based on my observations while working at Microsoft. I've done my best to avoid revealing any confidential information, and attempted to steer clear of ad-hominem attacks on anyone who has worked there, past or present.)

So how is this relevant to what's going on?

Layoff handling and H-1B issues aside, there’s a problem I’ve observed brewing in my time at Microsoft. And it appears that since I’ve left, the problems are not only still there, and not only have they apparently existed in most groups, but that it’s growing, and infesting its way into the management and executive teams.

It's a belief that one can code one’s way around any problem, and that all should be grateful for the solution. That is, any issue can be resolved technically. It's an almost Western frontier attitude - ' We have the biggest most powerful guns, and can draw faster than any other hombre!' It's as if they think they can out-gun or out-code any competitor into submission.

To put simply -

innovation=coding

But having the smartest people, and the best software coding resources doesn't always translate to a best solution, or the most profitable. Microsoft has trying to compete with other companies in a number of areas on a laregly technical basis when others clearly are more established and successful. It's one thing if the plan is succeeding and one gains success. It's another when it only helps the competition. Granted some things take time (5 years, 10 years, beyond, etc). And perhaps because of the Internet and the Software/IT business itself, such things are more compressed. But being in business more than 10 years and still trying to out-code the competion in the face of the latter's increasing dominance is not the mark of resiliance, but a lack of executive vision, a failed business plan and poor management.

This arrogant attitude is what I think fosters the perception of Microsoft. And it causes people (regardess of how smart they are) to be truly blind to what's happening. And when you have such thinking infiltrate the upper levels of the product planning, it makes for a failed set of long-term business strategy, and eventually decline.

Yes code is important and is part of innovation, but how one arrives at that point, and where it goes from there are far more important.

I've met a lot of people there with this singular 'innovation=coding' attitude, and it's not restricted to just one group, like developers. Imagine now, that such individuals move up and become leads, managers, directors, even VPs, and still foster this thinking.

What many teams at Microsoft have largely apparently never been able to understand is –

1. That the customer’s experience with the product or service (not the just code that generates it) it is what matters.


2. Products and services should not be emerge in their entirety solely in silos. Eventually, one has to see how it fits in its surroundings, and how it interacts with others to really understand how it's going to be used. This has to be tied to a business strategy and vision.


3. Software Testing is a function of your overall plan for success. Your project or product leaders need to understand that testing software is a 'honest broker' service to the project.

 I think I've covered 1. and 2. somewhat. Regarding 3 ...

I've observed that Microsoft for some time has been eliminating actual testing jobs in favor of SDETs who are treated largely as 2nd-class employees. They spend more time creating tools, rather than actual testing. It’s no wonder many of them eventually move to being SDEs because that’s what the software testing has become there: a stepping stone to software development. Indeed, I've observed this in all three groups I worked in. It's almost as if software and software development are one in the same.

Yes software quality assurance (SQA) involves assessing the process in which the product is created, in addition to verifying requirements, logging bugs, and verifying defect fixes. And yes, Software Quality Management (SQM) involves being tied to business strategy, short- medium- and long-term product planning, usability and marketing research, integration with other products, partnering with other product teams to determine interoperability, release management, quality improvement, and so on.

But those things take time, and really only work once you have a coherent product evolution strategy in place, along with a tremendous thrust for moving the product foward. And this should always go hand-in-hand with always knowing what your customer experiences.

And that's the key point there -  it should be tied to what the customer actually experiences, and works to improve both it and the product’s quality. One must never lose sight of that. And while some teams make the effort to do some of these things, I never observed anyone doing all of those things.

And quality improvement should go hand-in-hand with Innovation. Indeed, that's one of the founding principles of any Defect Prevention strategy (ironically, this is from a book that came from Microsoft. It's unfortunate that many teams there don't apparently read much of their best literature). But again, preventing defects, and analysing them should never be considered a replacement of actual testing. They go together and are linked.

To me, true long-lasting innovation involves thinking, planning, strategizing, and smart design on an idea, in addition to coding (development), testing and support. And in this day and age, one has to always think about implications along short-, medium-, and long-term. Of course, everyone in this day and age wants something now and yesterday and last week. The pressures of being first-to-market seem to be increasing on an almost daily basis (The number one term I repeatedly kept hearing in my final days was 'market-share'.) Everything becomes a competition. After awhile, internal teams start fighting amongst themselves. Meetings to review software issues are termed 'war rooms', as if everyone should bring their armor and armament and be ready to do battle.

And yes, I see the importance in being first in a market.

But being first under this 'build it first' approach doesn't always lead to it being the best in market, or the most successful. Indeed, Google Search wasn't the first web search engine out there. I've heard some comment that the solutions for Microsoft should be to just 'let the developers have control, again'. I think people say that because they believe that developers are the most creative people at Micrsoft. While it's true that many of the designs on how to implement an idea might be skillfully acheived, it's largely useless without any foresight.

Successful leadership in such times require vision, planning, and execution. What's missing at Microsoft these days from that is a sense of vision and direction. Oh they execute. But usually quite badly without the first two. And usually what also tends to get missed when not doing those things is a plan for quality. Without those things, such calls revert back to the innovation=coding mantra, which when unchecked and allowed to grow and fester, I think will lead to the very same problems they now face.

I'm not saying innovation should be stifled by process. Rather, I think when one has an idea, they should think it through and plan for it to be successful, instead of heading to their machine and banging out code to improve it later. Innovation only works when coupled with an intelligent vision, strategy, planning and execution. This includes things like planning, strategy, quality.

Till Microsoft realizes this, and works to change these attitudes, I don’t think you’ll see much improvement in the situations currently unfolding. Indeed, these layoffs are just the beginning.

Commentary: Microsoft job cuts - part of a bigger problem? Part I - My backstory.

(The following are based on my opinions and conclusions based on my observations while working at Microsoft. I've done my best to avoid revealing any confidential information, and attempted to steer clear of ad-hominem attacks on anyone who has worked there, past or present.)

I was an IT Test Engineer, who became a Software Test Engineer (STE), then a Lead, and finally a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET). I think it's rather funny that within the software industry, the term 'engineer' is commonly used in job titles for software developers, even though there rarely are actually any real engineering principles followed. Granted I don't think it necessarily applies to software testing either, though the concepts of independant software verification and validation do conform to some key systems engineering principles.

In the first Microsoft group I was in, I came to observe that management didn't really respect the ‘Test Engineering’ discipline. They saw individual contributor (IC) IT testing roles as a merely a stepping stone for people to move to other areas (over to IT development, or program management (PM), or to business IT groups), and not something that was important on its own. None of those avenues were available to me anyways. My visa prevented me from moving to PM, and I wasn't interested in being an application developer. And while I wouldn't have minded moving into IT test management, there were too many people in front of me that were too wired into the aformentioned management team.

So, despite getting a promotion and some strong reviews, I moved to a product group.

In the new area, and over time I worked my way into a Lead track. It was a lot of hours and a lot of effort. Over time, however I saw the writing on the wall in with test team I worked with. I knew it was a matter of time before they would be slowly absorbed into the development team.

(I found out later that this in fact did happen.)

I joined a great team in helmed by a great manager. We did meaningful work on v1.0 of the product. It was new and exciting, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was doing something important. We delivered our results. The other teams involved evidently didn't like what we reported, as our management’s response to them was to shut us down and dismantle our team. I got moved out the track I was on, and into an IC SDET role with one of those teams. That would've been something I could've survived ...

Except right around this time, our team was reorganized ('re-orged') into a larger one. One of the demoralizing things that happened was listening to the new Senior Vice President talk about his idea of success. After listening to him speak, talking about 'must-have software' and 'delighting our customers', and knowing what groups he was responsible for, the question I kept asking myself over and over was, "Was this guy really responsible for that product's success? He just doesn't seem to get the problem space, or the market they exist in.").

Even to this very day, this guy is hailed as a genius in the industry. But, I found out later that I wasn't the only one who came to the same conclusion.

It didn't matter though, as all the work that I was a part of was considered poison to the new management. I was now on a team where the development lead was essentially running product management. It slowly but eventually became a dead-end job.

I saw the signs of being 'managed out', and knew if I stayed, I was going to receive a bad performance review, regardless of what work I delivered. Knowing what was to come, I started looking for actual Software Quality Assurance (SQA) roles outside MS. I knew leaving on my own was better than being forced out so I took control and left. It's been a wise decision for a number of reasons.

Since then, I've been tempted to comment about what's been going on there.

In that time, Microsoft has cut jobs -

• In January 2009
• In May 2009
• And again, recently in November 2009

I've remained silent, as I felt some time needed to pass as it was always possible my point of view might change. Facts remain constant, but certain kinds of observations can vary depending on point-of-view and perception and time.

Is that the case for my views?So what's really going on?

(Part II to follow)

...

Ah, the dream guitar amp ...

If only I could plug in that cool Gibson Explorer into this-

http://www.marshallamps.com/heritage/jcm800/jcm800_03.asp

Running that Explorer through this amp, and a pair of 1960 BV cabs (though I'd settle for the illustrated ones!) and hit the A chord. I'd be happy for days.

Microsoft finally ends the misery - Windows Live RIP

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=Windows+Live+dead&oq=Windows+Live+dead&aq=f&aqi=p-p2g2&aql=&gs_l=hp.3..35i39l2j0l2.1170.8549.0.8705.29.18.5.0.0.0.765.4525.0j8j5j2j0j1j1.17.0...0.0.H_sLC8LWT9k&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=59b793db69310d53&biw=1440&bih=677

I badly want this guitar.

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Explorer/Gibson-USA/7-String-Explorer.aspx

But unlike most 'nu metal' types, I'm not interested in having a low B string. I find that electric guitars have much of their tone in the mid-range and treble. When one starts to tune to lower notes, much of the sound is lost.

I'd rather put that seventh string on the other end (tune it to say B over the high E string) and play a lot of leads. Of course, one has to actually learn how to play leads and solo. But as someone who mostly plays rhythm (i.e. chords and riffs), I think it would make it easier to play a solo. Maybe I'm lazy. On the other hand, could I not say the same about all those de-tuners and the strings hanging over the pickups?

Has anyone noticed something odd about recent New York Yankees World Series championships?

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/story/2009/11/04/sp-yankees-phillies-gamesix.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championships_of_the_New_York_Yankees

Since 1961, the Yankees have only won a World Series Championship when a Democrat was President.

World Series Champions
New York Yankees
1961 and 1962 (Kennedy)

World Series Champions
New York Yankees
1977 and 1978 (Carter)

World Series Champions
New York Yankees
1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 (Clinton)

World Series Champions
New York Yankees
2009 (Obama)

They never have won a championship when Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush and W were occupying the White House.

I wonder what that means?

The wonderful world of toddlers.

I've got two kids. One boy who is 3.5, and a girl who'll be 2 in a week.

The joy of our house is the 'dialog' between the two. They fight over just about everything.

They sit across from each other and the dinner table. So I get to hear their 'discussions' in stereo.

The big thing recently was farting.

"They're MY farts!"

"NO! They are MY FARTS!"

This repeats constantly. And so is the joy in our lives.

Daylight Savings Time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_in_the_United_States

So this morning, setting all the clocks back an hour was done. But was anything really accomplished? It's not like I got an extra hour of sleep.

Ah the joys of progeny.

Thank you Energy Policy Act of 2005!