Canadians, Get Your Hardhats Out!!!
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Found these articles about an attempt by the US Navy at shooting down a satellite on Wednesday. It looks to “take the bullet” somewhere over the skies around Hawaii, but the satellite will actually fall into the atmosphere over Canada.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/02/sat-shoot-down.html
As an engineer, I find the act of shooting a satellite amazing considering the speed of the target and relative small size. It’s not like the Navy can blow some buckshot into the atmosphere and hope it hits the right object. The second article estimates the satellite will be traveling at around 17,000 mph. The Navy is going to have to lead that just a little bit.
I suppose the technology has been around for a while (i.e. Star Wars of the Regan era), but it’s still neat to see it put into action.
To my three readers in Canada, walk a little low tomorrow night.
DK
13 Things to Never Say
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I received these in an email from a wise man (my father) recently. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I use/think some of these things rather often….we’ll have to see if I can trim down or eliminate the use of these excuses and what the effects are of not using them and taking more responsibility for my responsibilities.
Never say, “I thought someone else was taking care of that.” Excuses indicate a roadblock to action. You do what you are told, but don’t think about what should be happening. Always ask questions to keep things moving.
Never say, “No one ever told me.” Let a project manager hear you talk this way often and you will have made a very clear statement about the way you work. You operate in a tunnel, oblivious to everything that is going on around you.
Never say, “I just assumed…” Making assumptions is the best way to gain an instant ex-client. This is stuff which layoffs are made of.
Never say, “I left her a message.” So what? Leaving the message doesn’t’ mean you have accomplished anything or that the responsibility is now passed to the person you called.
Never say, “I didn’t have time.” And don’t bother with “I was too busy” either. If you find yourself making statements like these, you are showing your lack of time management and delegation skills. Your epitaph will read, “Couldn’t handle the job.”
Never say, “I didn’t think to ask about that.” Anticipating what needs to be is your job. An inability to see down the road may indicate that you lack the ability to understand and grasp the big picture relationships.
Never say, “But they said it would be done on time.” There’s only one problem – it wasn’t. Why? Because you failed to check for progress and possible problems.
Never say, “It’s scheduled for…” A schedule is only important if completion will be on time. Schedules must be verified as many times as necessary.
Never say, “I’ll do it as soon as I get it from…” If you’re just a cog in the process you’re out. Even though it may not be your fault it’s late, if you’re smart you will make it your responsibility.
Never say, “I’m going to get on it right away.” Of course you are – now that someone has reminded you. You are sending the message that you are disorganized and deal with tasks when they are called to your attention.
Never say, “I’ve been trying to get everyone together, but…” These words make it appear that you cannot handle responsibility or that your associates and team members do not respond to you. Either way means trouble.
Never say, “We’ve been playing phone tag.” You may think you are letting it known how busy you are. No so. Top performers rise above these obstacles. Use a beeper. Give them you home number.
Never say, “I haven’t been able to get through to her.” Sure, voice mail can be a problem. Get creative. Send flowers; a limo, do whatever it takes.
Data Protection & Disaster Recovery
Filed Under Computers
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A buddy of mine asked me for some thoughts on how to protect data from a disaster such as a fire, theft, or a hardware failure. This topic is fresh on my mind as I just went through an “information security audit” at work where our department was identified as having several large gaps in our plan for effective data backup and security. That audit prompted me to make some personal changes at home to protect my own data.
Some things to consider before deciding on a disaster recovery plan:
- How much data do you have to back up?
- Is the data already “backed up” on some other device besides your PC (i.e. music on an iPod)?
- How time critical is the data? If your hard drive dies, how soon do you need the file?
- What happens if your backup device is compromised (i.e. you lose your USB thumb drive)?
- How much are you willing to spend?
There are a variety of options available for data backup. Some of these are:
- Online
- IDrive.com - 2GB for free
- Carbonite.com - Unlimited space for $50/year
- IronMountain.com - Price varies according to space required
- USB Thumb Drive - smaller size availability, but portable
- External Hard Drive(s) - large capacity
- Multiple Internal Hard Drive(s) with RAID capability
There’s no single right answer for your data backup solution. You’ll just want to make sure and protect against a physical disaster (fire, hardware failure) and/or theft, and use a logical security (i.e. passwords or encryption) method to insure your data cannot be compromised. Also, your backup solution MUST BE EASY. If it isn’t, you won’t stick with it. If at all possible, backups should be automated!!
My personal solution is listed below:
- Quicken backups on a passworded USB thumb drive that is usually connected to the PC and a yearly backup CD in the firesafe
- Photo backups on Flickr.com
- Master documents stored on Google Documents
FedEx QuickShip with Microsoft Outlook
Filed Under Computers, Internet
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Quickly ship FedEx packages using Microsoft Outlook contacts. What a cool idea!
The personal address book on FedEx.com was nice, but this eliminates the need for duplicate address books.
Turn the Table on Reality TV Shows
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I’m not a big fan of reality TV (except for the show Cops as it reinforces my belief that the world is full of stupid people who continue to do stupid things). My wife, however, doesn’t miss an episode of several so-called reality TV shows. By default, I end up watching a few of the episodes as well. It’s good “brain-dead” entertainment for me.
The thing I find interesting about them, aside from the fact they are hardly “real” after editing, is that the newest contestants always seem to be surprised at the horrible conditions the show puts them in. Take Survivor, for instance. The “survivors” always seem to think it’s going to be a cake walk, make an allegiance on the first day, make promises they can’t keep, but then find themselves shivering in a cold wet rain after having boiled shrimp terds for dinner. And then they get upset that someone lied to them in the process.
Another household favorite, Big Brother, started it’s 39th season (or something close to that) last night. Can you imagine that two of the complete strangers didn’t get along right off the bat? And they couldn’t believe it. It’s as if the contestants had never seen one of the previous seasons before. Wake up, idiots.
I’ve got an idea for CBS. Next season, put the contestants on an island, in a house, or whatever and take away the boats, lock the doors, and simply make sure it is hard for the contestants to leave once they wake up and realize the environment isn’t great. Then, reward the person(s) who gets out of the situation FIRST. Wouldn’t you like to see someone build a raft by themselves, fend off the other saboteurs, survive on fish tails, and then paddle 100 miles to the mainland? That would be a real survivor.
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