An interesting ~10 minute video, The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See, that discusses global warming [in an abundantly simplified manner].

I have no idea who this guy is, where he's been or what his credentials are [his user profile says "high school science teacher in the process of burning out"], but I tend to agree with his logic. Of course, I try to "live green" anyway, so agreeing with him isn't too much of a stretch for me.

And...he wasn't treated too well in the comments [not surprised in the least] so he posted an interesting/comical follow-up, Patching Holes #1.

~tod

tags: global+warming

Thanks to Omar, I recently started reading Unclutterer. They have lots [and I mean lots] of great [and I mean great] suggestions for how to organize different aspects of your life. A few personal favorites: the computer file, perfect charging station, fewer clothes can reduce laundry, photographing mementos and the paper clutter begone series (1, 2, 3, 4). All of these articles have prompted me to start thinking about other areas that I can unclutter.

I don't know about you, but I read 20-40 RSS feeds (aka: web sites) a day from my home page [currently set to Netvibes].

Quick aside: I used Live.com for a long time, but prefer the user experience of Netvibes. I should do a comparison, but that's another post.

Anyhooo, I find that I add feeds over time while some of the existing ones will stop posting [Gretchen and Zoe ] or go down a path that's just no longer interesting to me. Thus, I end up with feed clutter on my page. Feeds that I just ignore and work around while my page gets bigger and bigger forcing me to scroll around [I hate that...a personal user experience pet peeve]. So just like those grunge-esque flannel shirts I have left over from the 90's, some of my feeds got-to-go.

While I'm busy uncluttering my feeds [and life] head on over to Unclutterer! Here's a good one to get you started: what causes clutter in your life 

~tod

tags: organization, unclutter

I just recently came across a post by Roy Osherove [via DotNetKicks] where he discusses a presentation he gave that evolved into Tips for a successful team lead.

Honestly, I agree with every single point he makes. Here are a few I want to call out though:

1. Daily meetings - I was on a team several years ago that was quite dysfunctional. Nobody knew what anyone else was doing and fingers were being pointed every-which-way-buy-loose. We started having daily stand-ups [a short meeting where you don't sit down which means no one gets comfortable enough to drag it out longer than 10-15 minutes] and within a few weeks the team was working much better together. This is a great way for everyone to stay in synch and for the lead to keep his/her finger on the pulse of the workload.
   * Note: Often people associate this only with AGILE development, but this can be beneficial in all team environments. The team I reference above wasn't even a team of devs, it was an Ops team of SEs.
2. 40 hour weeks - I've only had one manager in the past 8 years that didn't follow this rule and it sucked. His attitude was "do whatever it takes, I don't care" and everyone on the team was unhappy. Work/life balance can be a very ambiguous issue. Like trying to hit a moving target since everyone's definition and expectations are different, but keeping your employee's hours to 40/week is one way that a lead can have a very positive influence.
3. Lots of automation - 'Nuf said.

In addition to Roy's list:

1. Best practices - For developers it would be coding standards, naming conventions and the like. But other types of teams can also benefit by establishing best practices for their own types of work. For example, when I was in Operations writing several scripts using VBScript and the Command shell it would have been nice for us to have had similar best practices across our teams, or heck, even just in my team.

~tod

tags: management

I admit it, this made me smile a little bit. Way to stand by your beliefs Jeff Ruby!

~tod

Here's an interesting little piece of information [via Lifehacker].

A Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB, is a notification by the manufacturer on how to fix a common, recurring problem in a vehicle, but it is not a full recall. According to an Edmunds.com article about TSBs:

Most TSBs are released during the first year that a vehicle is offered or the year following a redesign…in order to address areas that might have been overlooked when designing the car.

These bulletins differ from recalls in that they are not considered safety or emissions issues and they usually apply only when your vehicle is in its warranty period (whereas a recall is “open” until the work has been performed). TSBs frequently (but not always) address a recurring problem and include illustrated instructions for repair, a list of the parts needed, the warranty status and the labor charge.

I have had my 2000 Toyota 4Runner for a year and a half now and at least a dozen times I've found the rear window down when I know for a fact it was up when I left it [going into the store or what-not]. Sure enough, here's what I found...

Look up your vehicle at edmunds.com. Note, it will also list all of the manufacturer's suggested maintenance for your vehicle based on the mileage.

~tod

tags: tsb, technical service bulletin, recall, car