Continual Improvement

• door64.com | Central Texas High-Tech Online
  Another job posting site in Austin.
  (tags: door64 high-tech jobs Austin networking)

A new Jyte poll…

Click on this link to vote, or click on the widget below, if visible.

There’s nothing like a dose of humility to remind us all that even the best plan can wind up a disaster if we aren’t careful. Take my own personal example of a 5K race I recently “ran”. This is a very hilly 5K race I’ve run in the past, but to make a short story even shorter, the picture below tells the tale. The green line represents the actual race course, and the red line represents the scenic tour that I decided to add to the race this year.

Besides more than tripling my normal time with a 60 minute 5K record, I learned a few things along the way. First, taking frequent checkpoints of where you are cannot be underestimated. If you are an Agile purist, this means short iterations – two weeks preferred. Second, just because you’ve been there before doesn’t mean this time will be the same. To emphasize this point, I like the quote “if you feel comfortable, you should be uncomfortable” (author unknown), and my discomfort was only compounded when I had to stop and ask a local resident for directions on how to get back to the finish (twice). And last, the hare doesn’t stand a chance against a tortoise that knows about the first two lessons.

• How young is too young to be left home alone?
  I always thought the law was 10 since you cannot use kids over this age to get out of jury duty. Apparently, there is no specific age.
  (tags: age kids alone home jury duty law)

• Commercial Open Source - It’s Been Figured Out
  Contrarian view on Open Source… He has an interesting conclusion that SaaS using Open Source is the next big thing.
  (tags: via:bwhichard open-source SaaS GPL)

• Steven Webster: Why I think you shouldn’t use Cairngorm
  This is a good entry on when to use Cairngorm.
  (tags: cairngorm flex architecture flex2 development adobe flash)

• .::FunFX - Functional Testing of Flex applications
  FunFX is the only free alternative to achieve functional testing of Adobe Flex applications.
  (tags: flex ruby open-source Testing adobe)

• Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business?
  Which would you choose? Check out our six business scenarios, and see what you think. You may decide to pick one over the other, or may simply decide to join both.
  (tags: facebook linkedin social-network contacts professional)

• Bungee Connect
  The Bungee Connect application platform is a single environment for the development, testing, deployment and hosting of amazing web applications. Bungee Connect powers highly interactive user web applications built 80% faster and at a cost tied only to en
  (tags: web2.0 development collaboration cloud programming tools hosting SaaS)

• Project management, collaboration, and task software: Basecamp
  Rails-based project management site
  (tags: ruby rails ProjectManagement collaboration web2.0 productivity SaaS software)

• Information Architect - Software Design Tools
  you will find document templates, process map posters and other tools to help you in your practice
  (tags: ia design software tools usability process information)
• The answer to the toughest interview question » Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk
  “But here’s only one most important thing to remember: when it comes to discussing your potential salary, never give the number first.”
  (tags: career employment job salary money tips negotiation interview)

• Mikogo: Free Online Meetings
  (tags: screen sharing webex mikogo free online meetings)

• Cutter Consortium :: An Agile Metrics Chat
  I’ll be doing another Webinar on Agile on Feb 14. You can register (for free) at the link above.
  (tags: agile metrics software cutter qsm mah mikelunt)

• Google profit falls short of Wall Street view | Reuters
  “Rut Roh Shaggy!!” Google…Austin…still gonna happen?…hmmm….
  (tags: austin google profit short street)
• Optimal Friction - Mike Lunt Webinar on Agile.
  I’ll be on doing a Webinar on Feb 14.
  (tags: agile michael mah webinar optimal-friction mikelunt)

My amateur status as a photographer has now been set, and I wasn’t even trying that hard. Here are the details of what happened with a few parting ideas on how to “get famous” via Flickr. To start, I was contacted by an online travel guide, asking for permission to publish one of my Flickr pics in their latest version on London. Here’s the link where the pic is published, which includes my name and a link to my Flickr pic. Granted, it’s nothing fancy, but it has become my most popular photo by over twofold. This is the 3rd request I’ve received to use my Flickr pics in other’s material over the past year or so, and while I’m far from famous, it’s been an unexpected upside to publishing my pics on the Internet.

Guidelines for a good Flickr presence:

• Always give photos tags, a title, and a description. A nature shot is good, but it’s 10X better when you know where and/or why it was taken.
• Make the good pics public, and keep the duplicates private. A few snapshots of your dog is good, but clicking through 100 speed shots can get tiresome.
• Post your best pics on your blog along with a post. This will give your post some nice spice while publicizing your pics.
• Add a Flickr “badge” to your Web site. This is a nice way for visitors to see random samplings.
• Use photo sets whenever possible. This allows photos to be grouped with one description, and a photo set can have a separate link.
• Turn on Flickr stats. This is a manual process, but it gives you an idea of what photos were more popular and when.