Monday, December 11, 2006

If you are using maven to generate your intellij project files, and you get a:

java.lang.StringIndexOutOfBoundsException: String index out of range: -1

make sure you add a slash to all of your basedir variables

${basedir}/

Saturday, December 09, 2006

This is how to run an ant script from a maven pom file. Useful if you do not want to do silly things like rewrite ant scripts.




4.0.0
my-test-app
my-test-group
1.0-SNAPSHOT





org.apache.maven.plugins
maven-antrun-plugin


compile
compile








run





ant
ant-antlr
1.6.5


antlr
antlrall
2.7.4





Saturday, October 28, 2006

CruiseControl verses Ant verses Maven2

This week, I took at look at what CruiseControl and Maven2. I have used ant and customized versions of ant in for J2EE builds for many modules source tree as well as projects with one giant nested ant file.

Here is an overview of what the separate items are:

  • Ant – Build script written in XML that is used to compile and run java projects. Ant build files are simple at first, but easily become more complex.
  • Maven 2 – Build system that forces your source code to live in a directory layout. Maven supports all development lifecycle steps such as development, testing, deployment, versioning, and also remote libraries. This is definitely very complex.
  • CruiseControl – Continuous integration tool. It will check out all your source files whenever it detects a change and kickoff another build and test. Pretty simple once you have it running.

This is my recommendation.

  • Use CruiseControl for build automation and setting up the nightly builds.
  • Don’t use CruiseControl if you do not needed automated builds.
  • Use Maven2, if you want to follow the best practices for J2EE development.
  • Don’t use Maven2 if your builds are too customized, or the work required to convert to maven2 would be too involved for your organization.
  • Use Ant if your build is highly customized.
  • Don’t use ant if Maven or Cruisecontrol can take care of the functionality that you need
I know that ant, and cruse control definitely have a place in the build environment at my current work. We’ll see if maven2 has a place.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Webservices Best Pratices

I have used webservices in a variety of ecommerce, enterprise, and mobile development enviroments. I thought of these quick pointers for Webservices Best Pratices.
  • Make sure you version the your web services.
Webservices are often used for integration. Changing any deployed or used webservices will have significant impact on your clients. It would be disastrous for the method signature or data returned by a web services to no longer match.
  • Use asynchronous model for web services communications.
Often webservices will perform some sort of business operation, which may take a significant amount of time to process. This time taken for processing introduces delays for users of your service. To prevent applications from use either a publish and subscribe method or a callback.
  • Use caching for heavily accessed web services.
On certain web services, I have developed would be called millions of times per day. Even the WSDL on the apache axis 2.0 is generated dynamically. You might want to cache the data being returned or retrieved to improve the performance of your application.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Shortage of Engineers in India

Skills Gap Hurts Technology Boom in India - New York Times: "A study commissioned by a trade group, the National Association of Software and Service Companies, or Nasscom, found only one in four engineering graduates to be employable. The rest were deficient in the required technical skills, fluency in English or ability to work in a team or deliver basic oral presentations."

This is just like the united states. No one can work in teams or speak in english.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Damnit Juliet!

Why do you always win at tetris… My secret practicing with Steve has not helped at all.

1-5

Bleh!

Tom

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Man lives to 112 despite junk-food diet - Yahoo! News: "'He had terrible bad habits. He had a diet largely of sausages and waffles,' Dr. L. Stephen Coles, founder of the Gerontology Research Group at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Friday."

This is my old roomate.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Sebastian the cat gets 'grilled' - Yahoo! News: "'It's possible to work on animals the same way we do humans,' he said. 'I did it to strengthen (Sebastian's) teeth, but it had an excellent cosmetic result. The cat gets a lot of attention now. Everyone is tickled to death when they see him.'

Sebastian's two gold teeth protruding from his furry face make him seem a little menacing, like a hip-hop star's guard-cat or a movie villain's pet. The feline didn't seem too happy with his new look at first.

'He's normally around me all the time,' Steele said. 'After I put the crowns on, he didn't 'speak' to me for two days.'"

161 one pound away from my kitty. maybe i'll get it some grillz

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Coffee Might Trigger First Heart Attack in Some - Yahoo! News: "She stressed the study focused only on the short-term effects of coffee; the researchers only looked at the first hour after coffee was consumed. 'The acute effect of coffee as a trigger for heart attack is modified by habitual consumption. People who drink it regularly are still at risk. Only heavy drinkers are not at risk,' she said."

good thing i count as a heavy drinker. i'm safe from heart attacks.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Brocade to buy McData | CNET News.com: "Brocade will pay three-quarters of a share of its common stock for each share of McData's A and B common stock. The deal is valued at $4.61 a share, a 62 percent premium over McData's closing price on Monday.

'The acquisition of McData will build on Brocade's vision for the next-generation data center,' Michael Klayko, Brocade chief executive, said in a statement.

Last year, Brocade unveiled its Tapestry product line, which is designed to improve customers' management of information stored in their data centers. Brocade has traditionally focused on the low-end market for storage area networks (SANs), while McData concentrated on high-end SAN switches."

wowers... i remember brocade was locked in a life and death struggle with this company....

Friday, August 04, 2006

Cook my wookie


N.H. woman bakes cookies on dashboard - Yahoo! News
Fontaine first tested her dashboard oven three years ago. She said anyone can do it; the only requirement is for the outside temperature to be at least 95 degrees, so it will rise to about 200 degrees in the car. Temperatures in the area reached the mid to upper 90s on Wednesday.



Yums. I wonder if I can cook fish.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Single city block hosts world's longest race - Yahoo! News: "The longest foot race in the world is 3,100 miles, long enough to stretch from New York to Los Angeles. Those who run it choose a different route: they circle one city block in Queens -- for two months straight.
ADVERTISEMENT

The athletes lap their block more than 5,000 times. They wear out 12 pairs of shoes. They run more than two marathons daily. In the heat and rain of a New York summer, they stop for virtually nothing except to sleep between midnight and 6 a.m."

Run baby run! I make it to starbux every morning and turn back. one lap, one day, 5 days a week, with a coffee light frappacino.

Friday, July 21, 2006

dont steal my gloves



Feline felon suspected in glove thefts - Yahoo! News
PELHAM, N.Y. - A pink-and-white gardening glove was missing Thursday morning from Jeannine Goche's front porch. But there was absolutely no mystery about who had taken it. Willy, the cat who loves gloves, had struck again.
ADVERTISEMENT

"It has to be him," said Goche, an attorney. "I've heard about him."

As if the gardeners of Pelham don't have enough to worry about, with the rocky soil and the slugs and the big trees casting too much shade, a feline felon has been sneaking into their back yards and carrying off gardening gloves.


i sometimes run out and steal mag's pillow. She usually punishes me by making me stay off the furniture and sleep on the ground

Thursday, July 20, 2006

super jelly fish invasion



CNN.com - Jellyfish slow Japanese nuke plant - Jul 20, 2006
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- A mass of jellyfish forced a Japanese nuclear power plant to slow part of its output this week after the slimy creatures blocked up the plant's seawater cooling system.


My sister's minions have blocked this nuclear plant. No advance word on when her special forces commandos will storm the plant and sting the plant operators.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Great EJB Book!



Free Book: Mastering EJB 3.0
Published in July 2006, the best selling book Mastering EJB is now in its fourth edition and has been updated for EJB 3.0. This edition features chapters on session beans and message-driven beans, EJB-Java EE integration and advanced persistence concepts. In-depth coverage of the Java Persistence API and using POJO entities with EJB is also included.

This is a great book that explains the workings of enterprise java beans. EJBs often provide a great mechanism accessing resources in another server or access to objects inside the database. If you work in enviroments that use a tiered architecture, you'll find this book useful.


Thursday, July 13, 2006

Where can I live?



Out of College, but Now Living in Urban Dorms - New York Times
“Everyone talks about free-market solutions,” he said, speaking of the city’s shortage of lower-priced housing. “But the solution now is the rich get richer and for everyone else it’s the equivalent of being a sharecropper in the city. I’ve been working five or six years now, trying to save up and buy something. Every time I get closer, the goal moves farther away.”

Asked how adult-dorm life differed from college-dorm life, Mr. Fenn said: “You’re not really at the same place where you were psychologically. Now, for me, I’m kind of wondering: When does this end? When do I get to be able to buy a place and settle down?”

This is how I feel. When will I be able to setup my desktop computer, so I can setup bittorrent.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

1995 style emails



Satire: Recently unearthed e-mail reveals what life was like in 1995 | CNET News.com
But the artifact reveals differences as well. According to Caspari, the find indicates that people from that era spoke a much earlier form of e-mail language alien to our own, employing the full spellings of most words, and lacking the versatility and advanced expression of smiley-face or frowny-face emoticons.

Maggie writes in 1995 style emails. 1 rite in 2006 style.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

good writing



Calif. man makes bad writing judges cringe - Yahoo! News
SAN FRANCISCO - A retired mechanical designer with a penchant for poor prose took a tired detective novel scene and made it even worse, earning him top honors in San Jose State University's annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for bad writing.
ADVERTISEMENT


Jim Guigli of Carmichael submitted 64 entries into the contest. The judges were most impressed, or revolted perhaps, by his passage about a comely woman who walks into a detective's office.

"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean," Guigli wrote.

Mags almost dug her eyes out one time too.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Tongues are big business in the meat trade - Yahoo! News: "Jay Simpson, global sales manager for commodity and trading at the No. 3 U.S. poultry company Perdue Farms, said his company's paws go to China and there is enough profit to make it worthwhile.

Without China, the paws would likely go to rendering companies to be processed into pet food or animal feed.

'It is my understanding they are used in sauces,' said Simpson of Chinese market. 'We have three or four plants that produce them. If we didn't harvest them they would go into rendering.'"

This would go great with my macademia nuts from hawaii.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

EATING CONTEST IS DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY / San Jose challenger's dreams ground down as 5-time champ from Japan sets world record: "At about 1:50 p.m., with just a few minutes left on the clock, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Chestnut was tied with his diminutive competitor as they neared the 50-dog mark. Suddenly, Kobayashi appeared to regurgitate -- a move that results in automatic disqualification and that speed eating experts call 'a reversal of fortune.'

As Kobayashi lifted a cup of water to his mouth, a spray of bread chunks and wiener bits shot into his cup, which the 170-pound champion immediately gulped down. Chestnut, unable to spit out words, pointed and gestured toward judges to draw their attention to the slip.

'The judges found a quarter of a hot dog in his cup,' said Patrick Chestnut, Joey's older brother who witnessed the spew from the front row as he cheered on his brother. 'If that's not grounds for disqualification, what is?'"

I tried this with Mago last night, she disqualified me at the dinner table.

What I ate today

Breakfast

Coffee Frap - 200
Bag of Nuts - 100

Lunch
One bowl of Salad with evil balasamic sauce - 100 calories
Chicken - 300

Afternoon snack
nuts - 100
mocha drink  220


Bastards



Police arrest cement soccer ball pranksters - Yahoo! News
Police in Berlin said on Wednesday they had arrested two men on suspicion of placing cement-filled soccer balls around the city and inviting people to kick them. At least two people injured themselves by kicking the balls, which were chained to lampposts and trees alongside the spray-painted message: "Can you kick it?"

Friday, May 26, 2006

ack old people are moving back in!



Families Add 3rd Generation to Households - New York Times
Many social scientists, Dr. Ruggles said, also argue that Social Security contributed to the erosion of the multigenerational household, by enabling the elderly to afford living independently. He said the percentage of people over 65 living with their children dropped steadily from 1850 to 1990, when it began inching up.

Monday, May 22, 2006

I am as fat as my cat



Here, humongous kitty, kitty, kitty / Taking hefty Herman from fat cat back to alley-cat svelte
He had always looked compact and strong, but his toughness had grown a little ... round. Whom was I kidding? He had become a huge tube, a black caterpillar with legs. Thanks to his bruiser proportions, Herman looks as if he can kick serious butt. This is not likely, thanks to a personality more like a doofus, a coot in cat form.

So I could no longer ignore the fact that my cat was getting fat. After all, people would tell me all the time when they saw him. It's amazing how many friends and relatives felt perfectly comfortable commenting about his size and even scolding me for his eating habits.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

190k to raise kids!



Parents of teens ride waves of expenses - Yahoo! News
Last year, a middle-income family spent an average of $190,980 to feed, house, clothe and entertain a child from birth until age 18, with the preteen and teenage years taking the heaviest toll, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. The more money a family has, the more it tends to spend on kids.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Stay Happy



NPR : Finding Happiness in a Harvard Classroom
Six Tips for Happiness

Advice from Tal Ben-Shahar.

1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions -- such as fear, sadness, or anxiety -- as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?

4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.

5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do -- or don't do -- with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.

6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

No sms for my snookie if i'm out of power



CBC News: Lost at sea for 22 days, men text message for help
They had one squid to eat, used jerry cans as makeshift paddles and wore metal buckets over their heads to keep the sun off them, police said.

The men also conserved the batteries in their cellphones by keeping them turned off until they had a strong enough signal to send text messages to family.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

22 miles... maybe only 10!



Pain At The Pump: Government Gas Secrets - Yahoo! News
During an EPA spot check, the car ran with no air conditioning, no inclines or hills, no wind resistance and at speeds no greater than 60 mph.

There's hardly anything real world about it, but it gives carmakers what they want -- the highest possible miles per gallon to put on that sticker.

"People are going into showrooms, they're looking at that sticker that says miles per gallon and they're saying, 'Oh it get goods miles per gallon,'" said Consumer Reports' David Champion. "In reality, they're being cheated."

Consumer Reports conducts their test on a track and in the real world.

First, they put them through a simulated city course. Next the highway -- a real highway. For the third test, they take the car out on a 150-mile day trip throughout Connecticut.

All the while, a special miles per gallon meter is ticking away. Their results? Many numbers you see on those stickers are off way off -- one as much as 50 percent.

For example, Chrysler says the four-wheel drive diesel version of the Jeep Liberty gets 22 mpg in the city. Consumer Reports tested it and found it got more like 11 mpg.

Honda claims its hybrid Civic sedan gets 48 mpg in the city. Consumer Reports found it only gets 26 mpg -- a 46 percent difference.

Monday, May 08, 2006

WFH



Endline: Out of Sight, Out of Control - Editorial - CIO
What they say happened: A glass of water fell off their workspace, amidst all of the hard work and Ethernet cables.
What you think happened: The techies are partying like its 1999, and Stu just dropped his margarita.
What you should do: Call the CSO, a.k.a. Darth Vader, and ask him to go down and investigate.

Hmm... how do i spell my chinese name?



For students of Chinese, politics fill the characters / Traditionalists bemoan rise of simplified writing system promoted by Communist government to improve literacy
Frank Mong and his wife, Sandra, asked his parents to pick the Chinese name for their first child, in keeping with tradition, and his mother selected one that meant "right and auspicious."

She insisted he spell it Shiang-yu, with the phonetic transliteration system used in Taiwan, where the Chinese Nationalist government retreated after losing the civil war to the Communists in 1949. Not Xiangyou, as dictated by the spelling system developed in the 1950s by the Communist Chinese government when it also introduced simplified characters to increase literacy.

Friday, May 05, 2006

do u surf all day and chat with your sister all day long?



delawareonline ¦ The News Journal ¦ Think getting fired is bad? It gets worse
The only specifics offered about Scopelliti's problems at work are that he "made an inordinate number of personal telephone calls" to his girlfriend and sister, and "spent an inordinate amount of time engaged in personal iPod-related activities."

There are no specific details of serious fraud or other wrongdoing in the suit, which charges Scopelliti breached his employment agreement by his inadequate job performance.

The lawsuit demands "at a minimum" $300,000 in damages; it does not specify how the company arrived at that figure.

Regan said the company might have a shot at getting its $90,000 back under contract law, but the demand for lost revenues seems "problematic" at best, even if the defendant "sat there like George Costanza for eight months," a reference to the slacker character on the sitcom "Seinfeld."

gross spitting in rooms!



China warns tourists against spitting overseas - Yahoo! News
"The media in Singapore reports that hotel staff are upset with Chinese tourists spitting in their rooms and smoking in bed," it said.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

orange county in china



Boing Boing: Posh American neighborhoods recreated as Chinese burbclaves
Posh American neighborhoods recreated as Chinese burbclaves
Orange County, China is a gated community modeled on the posh neighborhood south of Los Angeles of the same name -- it's one of many recreated US neighborhoods springing up in China, including "Soho, Central Park, Palm Springs and Manhattan Gardens." According to the NYT, the houses are "designed by Southern California architects, with model homes decorated by Los Angeles interior designers. The basement pool tables are American. The appliances are imported. The tiles, wood siding and wall sconces are from the United States, too."

drink me with a 40



Hungary workers get shock at bottom of rum barrel - Yahoo! News
The website said that the body of the man had been shipped back from Jamaica 20 years ago by his wife in the barrel of rum in order to avoid the cost and paperwork of an official return.

According to the website, workers said the rum in the 300-liter barrel had a "special taste" so they even decanted a few bottles of the liquor to take home.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

no babies please



joestump.net
Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity.

Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 I can’t seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I’m thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn’t work on Wife 1.0. Please help!

Thanks,

A Troubled User



Dear Troubled User,

This is a very common problem that men complain about.

Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application “Yes Dear” to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway. Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2.

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0! WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,

Tech Support

Promo by deathmatch

If you want that job, deathmatch now. Best out of 5 rounds in tekken.

Managing the Gamer Generation : HBS Working Knowledge
They are different from you and me, this generation born after 1970. They grew up with a finger on the keyboard and an ear to the cell phone, and in a world where the forces of globalization have broken down national barriers like no time in history.

And right now this group is moving up in the business ranks, becoming managers, partners, and eventually CEOs. Chances are you manage employees from this generation, and it's not far-fetched to believe you may yourself be managed by them before you check out of your career.

Managing the Gamer Generation : HBS Working Knowledge
They are different from you and me, this generation born after 1970. They grew up with a finger on the keyboard and an ear to the cell phone, and in a world where the forces of globalization have broken down national barriers like no time in history.

And right now this group is moving up in the business ranks, becoming managers, partners, and eventually CEOs. Chances are you manage employees from this generation, and it's not far-fetched to believe you may yourself be managed by them before you check out of your career.

feed my tomagotchi



Tamagotchis seek second wave of virtual pet owners - Yahoo! News
TOKYO (Reuters) - With straps loaded with tamagotchis around their necks, siblings Takumi and Ayaka Mochizuki traveled an hour to a Tokyo store so their virtual pets could interact with a giant tamagotchi that was on tour.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here

"I love feeding my tamagotchi," said Takumi, 5, looking disappointed because he didn't have enough virtual money to buy anything for his "3-year-old" pet at the royal market, which is accessible only via the giant tamagotchi.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Spa day for mago



Turkish "doctor fish" nibble at Japanese market - Yahoo! News
In a beauty treatment imported from Turkey, bathers at "Dr Fish", a new spa in the hot spring resort of Hakone, dip their feet into a warm pool teeming with fish that nibble away at dead skin and bacteria.

Monday, April 17, 2006

wanna race?



SAN FRANCISCO / Eat your heart out, Lance Armstrong
Seventeen tricycles gathered at the top of Russian Hill on Sunday to prove once again why it is not a good idea to ride a tricycle down Russian Hill.

There were more than a couple of skinned knees, an occupational hazard for tricyclists of all ages, including the purported grown-up ones who took part in the sixth annual Lombard Street tricycle race.

The tricyclists arranged their mostly plastic vehicles at the top of the brick curlicue while about 500 tourists, realizing that something even weirder than what their guidebooks had warned them might happen in San Francisco, aimed their cameras.


Shesh!

Friday, April 14, 2006

what would u do?



CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character - Yahoo! News
The purple sorbet in cut glass he was serving tumbled onto the expensive white gown of an obviously rich and important woman. "I watched in slow motion ruining her dress for the evening," Odland says. "I thought I would be shot on sight."

Thirty years have passed, but Odland can't get the stain out of his mind, nor the woman's kind reaction. She was startled, regained composure and, in a reassuring voice, told the teenage Odland, "It's OK. It wasn't your fault." When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.

I give you a 5!



Fast Forward: The world's most modern management is in India - Apr. 14, 2006
NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - I have seen the future of management, and it is Indian. Vineet Nayar, president of India's 30,000-employee HCL Technologies (Research), is creating an IT outsourcing firm where, he says, employees come first and customers second.

"Everybody was aghast the first time I said that," admits Nayar.
More from FORTUNE
The future of the FORTUNE 500
The world's most modern management - in India
Letters: Getting real on immigration
FORTUNE 500
Current Issue
Subscribe to Fortune

Here are some things I can say about him with confidence: He is good at motivating employees, very committed to building a great team, but a little shaky on getting things done on time. These are not my observations. They are what his employees told him in an extraordinary process of upward evaluation he implemented last year at HCL.

Every employee rates their boss, their boss' boss, and any three other company managers they choose, on 18 questions using a 1-5 scale. Such 360-degree evaluations are not uncommon, but at HCL all results are posted online for every employee to see. That's un-heard-of!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Example Note 1


Don't eat my Cat!

Fla.'s Newest Problem: Burmese Pythons - Yahoo! News
"Last year, we caught 95 pythons," said Skip Snow, a biologist with Florida Everglades National Park. That's not counting the 13-footer that exploded after trying to eat an alligator, or two others that got loose and ate a Siamese cat and a turkey.


Wednesday, April 12, 2006

$1 dollar a month for push email!



RIM Readies BlackBerry for China - Mobile News - Designtechnica
At the same time, the Globe Mail is reporting that China Unicom Ltd., China's state-controlled (and second-largest) mobile operator has launched a competing service, unabashedly called "RedBerry," a push-email service with a name reportedly intended to blend the brand recognition of RIM's BlackBerry with the red symbol of the state-controlled China Unicom. The RedBerry service uses CDMA-based handsets already marketed by China Unicom, rather than a specialized handheld device; accounts reportedly cost less than $1 a month.


what a great deal! I would pay $1 a month for push email. I currently get my yahoo mail and corporate mail instantly, and it's great! Of course, I still don't reply :(


Tuesday, April 11, 2006

rabbit marriage




fast food workers are being outsourced!



Long-distance journey of a fast-food order | CNET News.com
What made the $12.08 transaction remarkable was that the customer was not just outside Vargas's workplace here on California's central coast. She was at a McDonald's in Honolulu. And within a two-minute span, Vargas had also taken orders from drive-through windows in Gulfport, Miss., and Gillette, Wyo.

Monday, March 20, 2006

today i wore

orange sweater
white shirt
light blue jean
nike bowling shoes

Friday, January 27, 2006

Let the Good Times Roll by Guy Kawasaki: "Always use the toilet in an airplane after a woman. This is getting a little vertical, or horizontal, depending on how you want to look at it. Simply put, men pee on the seat. Women don't. And if a woman follows a man who peed on the seat, then she will clean it up before she sits down. If you sit down after her, you're good to go--so to speak."

good advice for my sister and dtc!

Sunday, January 15, 2006

'Brokeback' breach for repressed men / Film's message -- this could be you: "'See, now I am feeling terribly guilty. I have a beautiful wife with a brain, three incredible kids, a house the size of Rhode Island, and I risk everything to try to recapture what never even happened after the kiss I shared over 30 years ago. Are any of your clients conflicted like this, or do I just have rural attitudes toward sex that L.A. hasn't yet killed?'

The man who e-mailed me this shortly after the third time we got together probably knew the answer to his question as certainly as you do now: No.

No, he's not my first client blindsided by the drive to get beyond the perceived impossibilities of the past and the choking commitments of the present."


brokeback mountain! who wants to see it!!!

Friday, January 13, 2006

look here for mobile best pratices!



Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0
Abstract

This document specifies best practices for Web content when accessed from mobile devices.

The primary goal is to improve the user experience of the Web when accessed from such devices.

It is directed at all participants in the mobile value chain.

Readers of this document are expected to be familiar with creation of Web sites, and have a general familiarity with the technologies involved, such as web servers and HTTP. Readers are not expected to have a background in mobile-specific technologies.

So useful for mobile dev!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

In defense of procrastination - Yahoo! News: "Interestingly enough, many procrastinators are also high achievers. Students at elite colleges tend to lollygag more than their peers at less selective institutions do. Brilliance and writer's block seem to go hand in hand. This is a topic I shall return to after I leaf through some catalogs for running gear and consider, over a piece of cake, whether to take up jogging."

this sounds like my sister... she is waiting the last minute to finish up her mba apps!!!