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The Way I See It: Love is all around
Love was in the air. It was a dreary afternoon and I was having an extended lunch in an old style coffee shop, casually reading a book and watching the other restaurant patrons. People-watching has always been a favourite pastime.
The restaurant had booths along the perimeter walls and tables and chairs in the middle. It was a busy place and it seemed many of the very efficient staff and guests knew each other.
At one of the booths by the window sat a young couple, maybe 15 or 16. They had the look on their faces of young love, glad to be together, a bit shy, eyes locking and then a quick look away. Their hands sometimes came close to touching, they laughed softly, listened intently and seemed genuinely glad to be together and oblivious to what was going on around them.
Observing the two of them made me smile to think about my own sweet-16 romance with a very shy boy, who when we dated brought his two best friends. Not always, but lots of times and it was just easier as one of those boys had a car. They always hoped I would find them girlfriends. It was an easy time being together, like an old "back-in-the-day" movie. And many years later it is still nice to see him and his wife and his two friends.
In my mind I imagined that this young couple in the restaurant was new to being together and I hoped that they continued to listen carefully, to pay attention, to laugh, and to reach out to each other.
There is something heartwarming about seeing a couple hold hands. It may be a first date, it may be the 1,065th date, but in that joining together of palm to palm, there is comfort, familiarity and excitement. Some will entwine fingers, others will lock palms, with fingers tightly wrapped over. Others may take their arm. It is an intimate gesture that signifies connection.
We are connected. Hands are very special and have their own unique feel. My husband has big hands and I can lose my own smaller hands within their gentle grasp. My mother had very soft and warm hands which I loved to hold. When the lads were shorter and the three of us walked on the beach, or through a parking lot and we all held hands, my heart was full in our love and connection.
In my coffee shop observations were other couples. One nearby at a table and chairs was an older couple who appeared to me that this was not their first date, maybe this was the 50th year of dates. They had the comfortable familiarity of each other, she enjoyed sampling some of his lunch and he ate her last piece of bread. He was telling her a story that made her laugh. Maybe he had told her before, maybe it was something that happened that morning. In my imagination these two had shared a history together, they had raised a family, had experienced the ups and downs of life and here they were many years later, together, sharing a meal and a good story.
A life together will have ups and downs, and if your life is a straight line it should be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Being married requires deep love, patience, a willingness to compromise, to put the other first sometimes, to be unselfish, a sense of humour, respect and admiration for your partner. I have been told and experienced that at times your partner can drive you crazy, and so will you to them. Remember that. And they may be the only person in the world you want to see, tell a story or to have hold your hand. They are a witness to your life.
Good friends are also our witnesses to our lives, and those relationships are very important. My darling is fortunate in that he is still very good friends with people he went to elementary school with. They have played, laughed and shared a lifetime of adventure and been witnesses to the landmarks of his life. I am very grateful for my friends.
The other couple I observed was a family — mom and dad, and three younger children. The kids were bored and antsy, didn't like some of their food and one wanted to go exploring. It didn't look like a fun time for anyone except the one in the highchair, who was making cute googly eyes with some of the patrons. I used to pack a bag of small toys with me when I ventured out to a "real restaurant" because the window for quiet enjoyment could be small. Creamer cups are great in a pinch because they are stackable, and I have gathered them off many tables.
One of the little ones started arguing with the other, somebody spilled something, the other started crying, the baby started to tip her food on the floor and the parents looked stressed and frustrated, and then the mom and dad started laughing, and so did the rest of us. The kids stopped crying and were quiet, not certain of what was going on. And then the young man leaned over and kissed his wife, a deep I-love-you kiss. It was beautiful.
Love, it is all around us.
Michele Blais has worked with families and children in the Vernon area for the past 27 years. She is a longtime columnist for The Morning Star, writing on a variety of issues and appearing every other Sunday.


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People Facts
There are 189 People Facts!
8 days ago
There's a man named Raffi Stepanian who mines diamonds and gold from New York City sidewalks, making over $600 in one week.
12 days ago
Hu Xiaoyun, dumped for being poor by his ex-girlfriend seven years ago, spent $40,000 booking four entire IMAX cinemas for first-day showings of Transformers 4 - just to prove her wrong.
17 days ago
A study had men report their own penis size, and the average was found to be 6.1-6.5 inches. A subsequent clinical study actually measured penises, and found the average size to be 5.1-5.7 inches.
24 days ago
Men are more attracted to women whose bone structure is similar to their own mothers. It's called "sexual imprinting".
27 days ago
In Japan, 'yaeba' or crooked teeth in girls is considered cute and attractive, and girls in fact undergo procedures to un-straighten their teeth.
1 month ago
Karl Pillemer, a professor, performed a study on thousands of elderly people and what advice they had about life. On happiness, there was a consensus: "the elders viewed happiness as a choice, not the result of how life treats you."
2 months ago
There are 189 people named 'Lol' in the U.S.
2 months ago
People who are more likeable and attractive are generally perceived as more intelligent. This is called the "Halo Effect."
2 months ago
Worrying too much is scientifically associated with higher intelligence. People who over-think tend to have higher IQs.
2 months ago
The first man to swim the length of Great Britain grew a beard to stop jellyfish stinging his face.
2 months ago
The "cheerleader effect", the theory that girls look more attractive in groups, is scientifically proven.
2 months ago
In 2002, Kenyan Maasai tribespeople donated 14 cows to the US to help with the aftermath of 9/11.
2 months ago
Only 10-20% of the population can wiggle their ears and raise one eyebrow.
2 months ago
A couple had their wedding rings engraved with a waveform of their own voices saying "I do."
4 months ago
Jack Daniel's last words were "One last drink, please".
4 months ago
Studies suggest that people who appear to be constantly distracted have more "working memory" and "sharper brains".


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Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.
Ratings: 3,056 | Reviews: 1,641 | Display Reviews Only:
Ontario (Canada)
4.1/5 rDev -1.9%
Chicory roasted and not too coffee was a plus. Creamy and bit chewy-was that supposed to be? Nice carbonation.
Had another bottle 21 months later and now I very much appreciate its smoothness. A bit acidic and oily, a perfect roast and brown colour. Fresh batch.
03-21-2004 03:13:49 | More by Sammy
4.03/5 rDev -3.6%
Pours pitch black with just the slightest tinges of dark brown when held up to the light. Head was 1 inch that fades to a small cap. Lacing is spotty and random on the glass. Smell is of roasted malt, overripe dark fruit, and soy sauce. Taste is of bitter chocolate, burnt coffee, and slight dark fruit essence. There is a lingering roasty taste on the tongue after each sip. Good carbonation and rich mouthfeel. Not too thick or thin. Drinkability is good and the price point on this beer will lend itself to an easy buy again.
02-23-2011 03:06:15 | More by UCLABrewN84
New Jersey
3/5 rDev -28.2%
01-23-2012 22:05:50 | More by djrn2
4.03/5 rDev -3.6%
G: Imperial pint glass.
A: Pours a "not very dark for this style" cola color out of the bottle, but appears a bit darker in the glass to the point where it is nearly opaque. My pour might have been a little hard, but I got a good two-and-a-half or three fingers worth of head. The head is also a creamy color; again, reminiscent of the foam associated with colas. The head recedes fairly quickly with the slightest bit of lacing.
S: Slightly sweet on a malt base. Hints of toffee and perhaps a little bit of caramel. Faint smell of dark fruits.
T: Sweet in the mouth. Much more sweet on the palate than I would have expected from the nose. Slightly sour with little heat from the alcohol. Biscuity malt with a little bit of chocolate--another thing I didn't detect with the first whiff. Slight fruity undertones in the background--maybe dark cherries, which could contribute the bit of sourness I've detected.
M: Not overly carbonated, and slightly sweet on the tip of the tongue. As it sits, it becomes more and more creamy. The mouthfeel is somewhere between a typical milk stout and the other RIS's that I have come across.
D: Given the low ABV for the style, this is quite a bit more drinkable than is typical. The is one of the first imperial stouts I've had where I could imagine having a couple throughout an evening.
03-03-2009 20:16:49 | More by Thorpe429
District of Columbia
4.5/5 rDev +7.7%
12-14-2011 04:45:01 | More by nmann08
New York
4.28/5 rDev +2.4%
A: The beer is jet black in color and poured with a finger high dense tan head that quickly died down and left lacing on the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of roasted malts in the nose along with some hints of raisins and other dark fruits.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell and has flavors of roasted malts and raisins. There are some hints of bittersweet chocolate.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There are hints of dryness in the finish.
O: For its style, this beer is very easy to drink because it's relatively light bodied and the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.
04-09-2011 01:43:08 | More by metter98
4.47/5 rDev +6.9%
Sable with dark bronze highlights at the edges. The beer is topped by a thick, sponge-like head that's medium brown and looks like it'll hang around a while. It falls slowly, eventually to a thick film, and doesn't leave much lace. There's a little above the receding surface of the beer, but that's about it.
The nose has some power behind it... strong, dark coffee with molasses and spicy dark fruit. The flavor reminds me of blackstrap molasses mixed with black licorice; the strong, less-sweet British version of licorice. There are also espresso and bitter black tea notes, but they aren't nearly as strong as the molasses and licorice.
The mouthfeel is full and rich, but doesn't quite match the flavor in terms of seriousness. I'm not sure if a more full body would be good for this beer or not. It might take a bite out of the drinkability, which is quite good as is. The relatively low ABV (for an Imperial stout) helps the quaffability.
This is my first Imperial stout and I'm impressed. The temperature is currently in the single digits and it's overcast and spitting snow. Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout is warming me nicely and I may just have to follow it with another.
01-25-2004 21:23:12 | More by BuckeyeNation
North Carolina
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
Appearance: Pours an obsidian black with a nice mocha head; nice retention and lacing
Smell: Roasted malt, dark fruit (figs and prunes), some bittersweet chocolate and a nice whiff of rum
Taste: Starts out with a combination of roasty malt and dark fruit (raisin, date and prune), with the hops adding a bitter element by mid-palate; after the swallow, the roasty, fruity and chocolate flavors predominate into a complex finish that provides point and counter-point
Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation and a hint of warmth in the gullet
Drinkability: I've come around to this one over time and have re-reviewed this while maintaining the original review date; I now appreciate the complexity and restraint in this version compared to the production of some of the American craft brewers
01-30-2005 21:50:55 | More by brentk56
4/5 rDev -4.3%
08-06-2014 05:24:49 | More by zestar
New Jersey
3.75/5 rDev -10.3%
01-30-2012 13:54:29 | More by acurtis
Quebec (Canada)
4.5/5 rDev +7.7%
Bottle: Poured a opaque black beer with a medium dark brown head with minimal retention. Aroma is quite incredible and consists of pure black chocolate, roasted malt and some coffee. Taste is also quite a treat with the chocolate hitting first (without too much sweetness) and followed by the roasted malt and coffee to finish the whole thing. Very well balance with limited bitterness, which probably makes it one truly good dessert beer. Wow!!!
02-04-2005 18:17:42 | More by Phyl21ca
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
This is the best balanced stout that I have ever had. i used to drink this beer regularly, but then was lured away by many stouts that have bolder flavors. Recently revisiting this brew makes me wonder why I have been away for so long. The stout has a very bold roasted quality with a light bitterness due to the black malts and light hopping. Has a layered cocoa, coffee, and milk flavors for added complexity. The beer, though bold and strong, is never intimidating, domineering, or aggressive. Moderately sweet with a rich and complex robustness. Properly brewed and well aged. Full and rich to the texture with a silky, creamy flow. Finishes extremely clean for such sweetness, texture, and roastedness. A slight hint of lactose sugars and a minty note adds a delicacy to the finish. A beautiful beer.
02-12-2006 18:20:40 | More by BEERchitect
South Carolina
3.85/5 rDev -7.9%
A - Poured a deep dark brown with a towering pillow like tan head. Cery nice retention, with a nice slow fade leaving just a film of a head on top. No real decent lacing though.
S - Smell was initially strong but mellowed some. Nice roasted malts, nutty smell, with lots of hints of caramel and sugar. A slight hoppy twang was present in the back of the aroma. A nice proper English type of smell if that makes any sense.
M & T - First impression was very smooth. Not overly carbonated, but not a bad thing. Not very thick, just very nice feel. Lots of caramel and roasted coffee flavors were the dominant tones here.
D - Overall this was a very nice, and very sessionable Impy Stout. It was not very robust, and would not stand up against some of the other heavyweights in its style. However, I feel it does have a nice place there as a good sessionable, not so outragously high ABV stout is always a welcome treat.
04-19-2007 23:51:42 | More by mikesgroove
3.28/5 rDev -21.5%
A: The pour is a dark brown color with about a finger's worth of tan colored foam sitting on top.
S: The nose is chocolate and roasted malts for the most part, with some definite dark fruit notes. I pick up a bit of a yeastiness too, that I don't often get in imperial stouts.
T: Flavor starts off with some old chocolate, mild roast character, and a bit of water. There are some muddled, sweet, dark fruit flavors there such as plums and prunes, as well as that same yeastiness the nose had.
M: The body is medium, not all that impressive for an imperial stout with a moderate carbonation.
D: Sort of disappointing since I really like their Oatmeal Stout. I'm fine with not having this one again.
12-03-2010 03:37:11 | More by womencantsail
3.5/5 rDev -16.3%
01-03-2012 08:54:23 | More by Texasfan549
4/5 rDev -4.3%
12-02-2011 17:23:01 | More by kjkinsey
3.75/5 rDev -10.3%
01-10-2013 02:58:26 | More by spycow
3.5/5 rDev -16.3%
03-06-2014 14:42:22 | More by GRG1313
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
05-05-2013 12:38:28 | More by kylehay2004
3.55/5 rDev -15.1%
$2.29 12 oz. (355 ml) single at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Appearance: Pours a decidedly black body with an expansive, light khaki-colored head.
Smell: Lightly chocolaty, roasted malt nose with notes of soy sauce, aged, though basic port wine, apples, and black licorice.
Taste: Roasted barley grains with touches of unsweetened chocolate and caramel with an earthy, soy sauce-esque taste running through the flavor. Hint of licorice and ripe red apples. Bits of sweetness pick up here and there. Splash of spiced prune juice. Very, very distant buttery hint. Small hints of yeast and alcohol. Finishes fruity, with a very slight metallic hint creeping into the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight, oat-esque creaminess to the mouthfeel.
Drinkability: Still a fine, decent RIS, even with those dirty nickels. But, if I had my druthers, I'd reach for a Taddy Porter instead.
12-14-2008 03:45:32 | More by ChainGangGuy
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
01-05-2014 03:37:19 | More by jaydoc
4.2/5 rDev +0.5%
This was quite a surprise. I knew the beer would be dark when I bought it but I hadn't noticed that it was in a clear bottle! When I picked it up I thought it was black or brown glass. It wasn't till I starting pour this that I noticed it was a clear bottle. So with that the color of the beer is very dark black. The head is tiny and its a brown color, it fades very fast. The aroma is of burnt sugar and malts, also heavily roasted. The flavor of this beer is reflective of the aromas. There is abig roasted malt kick and settles into a sweeter aftertaste. The mouthfeel was a little light I think, but overall this a pretty good brew.
04-21-2011 03:43:02 | More by Knapp85
North Carolina
4.28/5 rDev +2.4%
Pours a pitch black with a real nice creamy head,aroma is of dried fruit and some nuttiness.The taste is a little spicey and nutty with some chocolate undertones a real nice warming beer to drink before bed.This and the Taddy are my favorite Samual Smith ales.
08-03-2003 17:34:05 | More by oberon
3.75/5 rDev -10.3%
01-10-2013 23:24:03 | More by westcoastbeerlvr
3.5/5 rDev -16.3%
Black body, mahogany brown as it's poured. Tan foam that manages to stick around. Minor strands of lacing here and there.
When the stout is first poured, there's a strange yet interesting balsamic vinegar undertone, with black olive. It's also slightly metallic, which lended itself to these aromas. There was also some dark fruit like plum or raisin. No trace of alcohol.
Flavor is plummy, with an earthy roast that creeps out halfway through. Some carob or chocolate syrup, not exactly pure. Low astringency, medium level of carbonation. Not especially sweet or bitter, it's fairly mild feeling. It's easily drinkable and enjoyable, but overall not that remarkable.
12-17-2007 00:57:31 | More by emerge077
Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout from Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
93 out of 100 based on 3,056 ratings.


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I've always thought hard copies of newspaper have a lot of extra value. Examples of secondary uses for newspapers: Lining pet cages; cleaning mirrors to a streak-free shine, paper mache; folding into paper hats, other origami; protecting tables, floors, etc, when undertaking messy projects like painting, screen printing, applying glitter or glue or eating crabs; pasting together ransom notes or less nefarious collages; making benches; wrapping stuff; picking up gross stuff. And then there's the graffiti artist who uses old newspapers as a canvas (for the life of me I can't remember where I read about this and can't find the story. Editor and Publisher, maybe?).October 16, 2008 at 11:46 a.m.
You just can't do that with a computer monitor.
A coke costs $1? Man, where are you buying YOUR drinks at? HEB most times has name brand 12pks of soda 3 for $10 which would make drinks about .28 cents each. It would be cheaper if you were talking about generics. Of course you could be talking about the .99 cent 44oz fountain drinks at Stripes. hmmm......
I do not drink coffee in any form so I will not touch that one. However, if there are readers that are in an area that has a Barnes & Noble, they can click here to print a coupon for a free coffee from their cafe (and a 15% off coupon as well).
Newspapers do kill trees, can cause paper cuts, and can leave ink on your fingers. They also do not make very good ice cream floats. They are pretty much ruined when they get wet, compared to a can or coke which has no effect on their taste when they "sweat".
They do make good packing material for glass though. And speaking of glass, they do a good job at cleaning windows.
haha Just giving you a hard time. But really, I was taught long ago when I was in sales that value is anything the customer perceives it to be.October 16, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.
Think you needa catchy jingle & a picture a day of a celebrity reading a newspaper & people will come. People are easy, you just gotta lead 'em a little. If you don't believe me, think about the pocket dog craze & then everyone started having babies or adopting foreign babies. Can't leave out the Kabala craze. Just don't be obvious about it.October 15, 2008 at 11:15 p.m.
I asked my parents one year for Christmas, for a subscription to the paper & wow was it expensive for mail delivery. I was disappointed but I am happy I can now read it on-line.


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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on May 26, 2014 at 02:09 PM in Current Affairs, Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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The discussion (of sorts) on Twitter around "no estimates" - what ever that actually means, since there is no definitive description other than exploring - brings me back to my core program management, project management, writing software for money, designing algorithms for identifying moving targets in radar systems, and other software engineering experiences.
Let's start with a fundamental pricniple of all product or service development, either internal or external. While leading a couple hands full of project managers at a large Department of Energy environmental cleanup site, where software development was a critical success factor - and by the way we introduced eXtreme Programming into an ANSI validated Earned Value Management System - our external consulting firm gave us some good advice. We were bidding our technology and services at another DOE site, with similar cleanup problems. We were working on strategies, balanced scorecards, systems architectures, and the like.
That's all nice boys and girls, but here's some fundamental advice - our customer has money and we want it. What's it gonna cost and when will you be done providing the capabilities to close this site?
That's it, that's the winning strategy. The customer has a need, we want to providea solution to it. How much will it cost and when will we have it. If we can answer those three questions - cost, schedule, delivered capabilities, with attached unassailable beneficial outcomes - we will win. This is a business strategy. All the Balanced Scorecard presentations, examples of past performance, deep references of success, are all for naught if the customer can't afford our solution. It comes down to this - and this is where I learned this from the Managing Partner of the Big 6 (at that time) consulting firm.
You can't know the value of something until you know its cost
That's a fundamental principle of all business transactions. Value is always exchanged for cost. We do this when we buy a Venti Nonfat Latte at Star Bucks. We do this when we pay the lawn care company to mow and trim weekly. We do this when we buy anything, including software or the services that produce the software.
This is an immutable principle of commerce
So when we hear, there are alternative ways of writing software for money that don't involves estimating the cost of doing that work, think again. How did you get around the immutable principle of commerce? Now notice I used the word estimate in the same post as know. Yes, estimating allows us to know something to some level of confidence.
I'll estimate that my 1 hour drive to work everyday, will be extended to 1 hour 20 minutes when the snow storm arrives tomorrow night.
I know I'd better have margin in my drive schedule, if I want to attend the 8:30 stand up.
I estimate that it will take 3 days to install and verify the database for the system, given the historical data from the last 3 times we did this.
This knowledge can then be used to plan the access to the server room, arrange for all the verification and validation data we'll need to certify the contents are ready for use by the customer.
We estimate to a degree of confidence, things (time, cost, performance) we'll need to know about to do our job.
So How Can We Learn To Estimate?
Here's where we start. We start with what has taken place in the past. We've never done this before you say. I'd suggest, working literally in the rocket science world, there is very little in the commercial software world that hasn't been done by someone, somewhere in the past. You may not know these people, but it's been done. And more importantly it's the people issues that muck up the project most of the time, not the technical, unless of course it actually is rocket science, or stealth fighter science, or bioscience.
So with the second best basis of estimate approach - What is this like? We've done similar things in the past, how is this problem like those solutions? Next comes the 10 questions approach. The Planning Game. Then a parametric approach. Function Points, COCOMO, SEER, Price-S, SLIM, CoStar, and a long list of other basis of estimate tools, some free can guide you. So when you hear software can't be estimated, change the phrase to I don't know how to estimate software projects, but I can sure look into learning how.
Finally the least desirable way to estimate is to ask the expert. This only works if the expert has been calibrated with a reference class, has her optimism bias in check, knows all about anchoring and adjustment, and has a track record for producing credible estimates. If not, you're going to be disappointed in the result.
But our management uses our estimates against us. Our management doesn't understand the notion of probability and statistics. Our management behaves like Dilbert's boss. This has nothing to do with the need to estimate the cost, schedule, and technical performance of the product and service needed by your customer. It has everyone to do with managing up. And if that's not possible, producing a credible estimate with those risks baked in to protect yourself. And if that's not possible start looking for a better manager or even a better job because your company is going to be in the ditch before long.
So when we hear that estimating is the smell of dysfunction - without ever listing one single dyfunction - remember there are lots of dysfunctions in business. This is normal, because humans are involved. But that dysfunction is not caused by the need to estimate. The need to estimate is a core business process. Doing bad estimates, doing estimates for the wrong reasons, doing estimates wrong - that's a dysfunction that is universal.
In the end you need to either nut up or shut up as Woody says. Yes, that Woody. Learn to estimate for all the right reasons, then when there is an opportunity to have an enlightened manager at your current firm or a new firm, you'll be prepared to contribute value to the business process in ways that benefit the top line.
Since that top line, minus the costs to produce the goods or services is the bottom line (in it's simplest form) is what writing software for money is all about. Knowing the middle line - costs of goods sold (COGS) is critical to actually staying in business.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on March 05, 2014 at 09:17 AM in Balanced Scorecard, Estimating, Governance, Government, Management, Principles | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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There is a post that references a concept I've come to use that puts uncertainty into three classes. This post it not exactly what I said, so let me clarify it is bit.
First some background. I work on an engagement that provides advice to an office inside the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD). This office, the inside, is responsible for determining the Root Cause of program performance for ACAT1 (Acquisition Category 1) programs.
These are large programs. Larger than $5B. In most domains outside the ACAT1's this numer is ridiculously large. But inside the circle of large defense programs, $5B is really not that much money. Joint Strike in a Congressional Quarterly and the Government Accountability Office indicated a "Total estimated program cost now $400B," nearly twice initial cost. DDG-1000 is $21,214 Million, yes that $21,214,000,000.
No IT or software development project would come within a millionth of that. If you're interested there are reports at Rand and IDA for the current issues. There are certaintly multi-million dollar IT projects. The ACA web site is probably going to be in the range of $85M to several 100 million. The facts are still coming in. So anyone who says they know and doesn't work directly in the program, proably doesn't know and is making up numbers. GAO will get to the real numbers soon we hope.
Principles Rule, Practices Follow, Everything Else is BS
The principles of cost and schedule estimating, assessment of the related technical and programmatic gaps are the same in all domains for every scale. From small to billion. Why? Because it's the same problem no matter the scale.
The soliloquy in the movie makes a good point -handling the truth is actually very difficult for almost everyone outside the domain - in many instances.
We want the simple answer. We want it all to be fine. We really don't want to do the heavy lifting needed to come up with an answer. We want the simple answer. Many times we don't want an answer at all, we want to just do our job and ignore the fuduciary responsibility to tell others what the cost and schedule impacts are, or even to do our job of discovering that DONE looks like before we start spending other peoples money.
So here's the way out of the trap of at least (1) and (2)
But the words used in the original post that referenced my post are not my intent, nor are they part of any process I work in.
Here's a list of other posts on this topic. It's a crtically important topic. One that deserves deatiled analysis. One that we're obligated to know and use when it's not our money we're spending. It's called Governance.
Here's some more discussion on Estimating for fun and profit.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on December 18, 2013 at 02:15 PM in Estimating, Governance, Government, Management, Mathematics, Principles, Risk, Scheduling | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on November 11, 2013 at 08:41 AM in Government | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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There are endless discussions about what went wrong with the Affordable Care Act web site development and deployment. It'll be hard to tell at this early point in the project assessment. But what is clear is this was mist likley a failure of project management.
Below is the acquisition life cycle for Business systems in the DOD, not that HHS is a DOD-style shop, but the paradigm of iterative and incremental development is in place. The release cycles shown here are way too long for something like the ACA Site. But to topology of the process is sound.
Looking at this process there is an obvious starting point. The Business Capability Definition. What is the resulting system supposed to do in terms of capabilities. Not the technical and operational requirements, but what business capabilities will the system provide to the stakeholder when it is in full operation? This is called Initial Operating Capability (IOC).
In our domain we start defining the capabilities using the Defense Acquisition Guide. Here is where Measures of Effectiveness (MoE) are defined. The Measure of Effectiveness is assigned to a capability. If we want a capability, how effective does it have to be? This measure is not a technical performance or a requirement. It is an effectiveness measure.
A MoE for a UAV program we work would be The UAV shall be transportable within a 3,000 mile radius via a C-17/C-141/C-5 package. From the MoE there is a Measure of Performance (MoP). For example weight is a MoP that enables the MoE to be fulfilled. Lower down are Technical Performance Measures (TPM). For example the weight of a Electro Optical / Infrared sensor platform must be under 55 pounds for the UAV to operate properly. It can't be too light or it would disrupt the center of gravity and can't be too heavy because the UAV would burn too much fuel to accomplish it's mission.
So for the ACA site, we'd need to know if there were MoE's, MoP's, TPM's defined that enable the Capabilities to be delivered. Here's the Performance Reference Model for federal IT.
Since the ACA site is pretty much all software, I'm going to suggest that this approach of using Capabilities Based Planning, MoE's, MoP's, TPM's has nothing to do with how the software is built. Either traditional or agile methods can be used. Agile is likely faster, but agile can only work in a domain like this if you know what DONE looks like in terms of MoE's, MoP's, and TPM's. This is a fixed launch date, fixed set of requirements guided by all the insurance regulations, and hopefully some not to exceed budget.
Here's an example of stating Capabilities for an integrated sensor platform program and how these capabilities are phased over the acquisition lifecycle.
It is a common myth that government acquisition is waterfall and big design up front. DoD 5000.02 prescribes an iterative process designed to assess the viability of technologies while simultaneously refining user requirements. (pg 16 of 5000.02).
One starting question of the ACA Site would be - did they apply the iterative acquisition process in some form, no matter the fidelity of the iterations?
Here are some other fundamental questions as well:
If the answer to any of these is no or we don't know, go find out, get project managers who can do this. Otherwise the probability of project success is reduced. In fact look at the Probability of Program Success literature for further guidance.
The final question is did they have an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule for all the work as described in the Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule Preparation and Use Guide? This paradigm has been shown to significantly increase the probability of success not matter the domain, context, development method, technology, or business process. It states in clear, concise, and unequivocal terms what DONE looks like at every point in the project in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
The final - and killer question is - did the project team ruthlessly manage the changes to the capabilities? This is suspect is the root cause of the failure. Late changes to complex projects are the kiss of death.
As repeated often here...
Don't do stupid things on purpose
So Now What?
We have to wait to see what the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) shows for the failure of the project. But I'd conjecture the program management processes found in large DoD or NASA programs where not applied in any meaningful way. The site is not larger compared to most of the programs we work ($400M is small), but the processes used to manage those programs can be scaled down with ease. The Principles are the same. The Practices are scalable and the Processes scalable as well.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on October 28, 2013 at 08:26 AM in Agile, Capabilities, Government, IMP/IMS, Project Management, Risk, Scheduling, Technical Performance Measures | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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This is from an article about the application of Bayesian Statistics to a civil suit in the UK over the source of a building fire.
The idea that you can assign probabilities to events that have already occurred, but where we are ignorant of the result, forms the basis for the Bayesian view of probability. Put very broadly, the 'classical' view of probability is in terms of genuine unpredictability about future events, popularly known as 'chance' or 'aleatory uncertainty'.
The Bayesian interpretation allows probability also to be used to express our uncertainty due to our ignorance, known as 'epistemic uncertainty', and popularly expressed as betting odds. Of course there are all gradations, from pure chance (think radioactive decay) to processes assumed to be pure chance (lottery draws), to future events whose odds depend on a mixture of genuine unpredictability and ignorance of the facts (whether Oscar Pistorius will be convicted of murder), to pure epistemic uncertainty (whether Oscar Pistorius knowingly shot his girlfriend).
When we build probabilistic models of project performance - cost, schedule, and technical - we assume we understand the underlying statistical processes that drive these probabilistic generating functions. These are the aleatory uncertainties in duration, cost, and performance. We define the Probability Density Function in the Monte Carlo Simulator. Then we apply that to the network of work activities (the Integrated Master Schedule), to produce confidence outcomes for completing on or before a planned date and at or below a planned cost. This is all fine and dandy. But we really don't know the underlying drivers that create coupling, correlation, and cross correlations between the work activities, cost, and technical performance. These can be model by discovering the drivers in the network.
For the Epistemic uncertainties we need another modeling tool. The current tools don't actually use Bayesian statistics, rather they use Monte Carlo Simulation and treat the Probability of an Event as an aleatory process integrated with the other PDF's, ranges, and their shapes (Kurtosis and Skew).
We're missing the tools needed to construct a credible epistemic model of how the program works. Using the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) as the topology for work, the probabilistic behaviours of the work elements at each node - cost, schedule, and technical performance compliance of the products - and the coupling and cohesion of the nodes. With this information - assuming it is credible, which is a HUGE assumption - we could model the behaviour of the program and ask what if questions.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on March 15, 2013 at 08:59 AM in Government, IMP/IMS, Mathematics, Project Management, Risk, Scheduling | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on February 22, 2013 at 08:51 AM in Government, Project Management | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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There is a class of responders on the forums that continue to seek simple and simple minded solutions to complex problems. Claiming the problems can be solved with simple solutions. Of course those solutions cannot be demonstrated with any credibility outside of a limited domain. Let's start with Mencken
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. - H. L. Mencken
In the project domain most of the problems start with poor estimates of cost and schedule. Hollmann starts it off http://lnkd.in/vjf4X4. Bent Flyvbjerg takes a more radical view, calling estimators liars , but I chalk that up to a language barrier.
The core problem starts with the politics of estimating. Rarely do the buyers of the project know what it should cost. So when they hear a number that is larger than their expectations, they reject the number. They signal to the sellers what they expect to pay for something. This expectation can come from poor knowledge or simply a naive understanding of the problem, or worse a public promise that simply can't be kept.
But a second problem exists. That across domains, there is the wrong headed belief that one domain has the solution to another domains problems. We need to break the loop we're stuck thinking that problems are only found in other domains and making the ill-informed suggestions that "if you just did it my way," there would be no problem. There is a fundamental issues with managing complexity and managing in the presence of uncertainty. We want it to be simple, it is not, but since it is hard, people don't want to actually work hard on the solution. Instead seeking simple and may times "simple minded" solutions - buy this tool, use my excel spread sheet, dumb down the processes.
So What Is The Solution
First is to recognize that ALL domains have similar problems. Cost and Schedule estimates have been discussed for many decades. Lots of literature leads us back to the singular source - the political will to search for the credible estimate, even if that means not starting the project. Or better yet, to start the project knowing the estimates are flawed.
One provocateur voice in our community suggests that PMs that take on project with poor estimates should be held criminally liable for the results. This of course is laughable, but it demonstrates the complete understanding of the problem and the solution.
This approach reminds me of Pauli's quote when presented with a nonsensical submission from a student.
They were worse than wrong because they could not be proven wrong. Famously, he once said o: Das ist nicht nur nicht richtig, es ist nicht einmal falsch! "Not only is it not right, it's not even wrong!"
Thus is where we are now. Not much in the form of research and questioning, lots of pontificating about how the other guy is all messed up, and if you'd only do it my way, you'd have your solution. Reminds me of the current US political problems. Do it my way. Of course that doesn't work, because we have complex - wicked - problems, and there is no single way. Mencken was right, and he was right long before any of the current problems.
We may be doomed to repeat history with first recognizing the problem is us.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on February 05, 2013 at 08:40 AM in Earned Value, Government, Management, Project Management, Risk, Scheduling, Strategy | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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I was at a conference for government contractors and the software systems we use to manage those programs. In the federal government agile is moving forward. Greater Accountability and Faster Delivery Through Modular Contracting.
During one of the session there was a quote that says it all about Agile Development
This says it all. Agile is a powerful approach to software development in the commercial world. Agile in the government domain, encounters the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).
In these environments, Earned Value Management, the Six Business System Rules, and other procurement guidance define how work is performed. This is all being worked out, but the quote above did it for me!!
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on October 19, 2012 at 11:03 AM in Agile, Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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In the past NAVAIR had a CD with all the SETR Program Event Checklists. Each had an Excel spread sheet that you filled out to determine if you were ready for the Event and a supporting document that describes all the details of the Event, both entry and exit criteria. The picture above has the link to the current spread sheets.
This approach to the Integrated Master Plan spelled out explicitly what "done" looked and there was no way to skip around the check list and call the work "done," without passing all the items with a GREEN. I've requested from NAVAIR the latest, but looks like it has been expanded to be DOD level now.
This paradigm is at the heart of describing what "done" looks like in units of measure for both the buyer and the seller. Measures of Effectiveness for the buyer and Measures of Performance for the seller.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on September 21, 2012 at 08:41 AM in Government, IMP/IMS, Systems Theory | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Jeff Sutherland has a post about agile in the Department of Defense. Good stuff, but there are some issue with "going agile" in the Federal IT space. The first is for contracts over $20M require Earned Value Management, per FAR/DFARS flow downs and the OMB Part 7 guides for "FedCiv."
The second is the contract vehicles need to be adapted to how agile does things with requirements, changes, deliverables, progress payments, fee calculations. Here's the "tip of the iceberg" for integrating Scrum with Federal Acquisition. While Scrum is a wonderful concept and applicable to large majorities of projects, but it's not quite as simple as it might seem.
Here is a recent briefing on the top of agile in the federal procurement world is the focus of many organizations in and out of the government. Management Concepts is one source of training for agile in the Fed space, there are others. But in the end this is an acquisition issue.
Without changes in the FAR/DFARS clause flow downs that "put on contract" the behaviors mandated by the regulations of how software is developed, acquired, and put into service. While the agile community has many power tools to improve the problem in the federal government, they need come at this from a acquisition point of view for those benefits to be realized.
Here's some prior discussion
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on July 18, 2012 at 08:00 AM in Agile, Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on April 12, 2012 at 10:03 AM in Agile, Government, Project Management | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Today is Veterans Day. As a veteran I have a special experience working with and for veterans. It is more than a shared experience, no matter the service, rank, or experience. It is a shared understanding of service, sacrifice, duty, and honor.
Let us remember those who served today. Not because it is a national holiday, but because their service allows us to celebrate this holiday.
I returned 14 August 1970. Many did not, let us remember them most of all.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on November 11, 2011 at 08:54 AM in Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on November 10, 2011 at 08:35 AM in Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Management Concepts is hosting a webinar John Driessnack and I will be speaking about Agile in the Federal environment. This is the first ini a series of discussion about integrating Scrum and Scrum-like software development processes into project and programs subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations and other guidance like Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Part 7.
If you work in the Federal Government or for a contractor that works for the Federal Government and are wondering when the Fed's are going to figure out "agile," please join us to hear more.
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Posted by Glen B. Alleman on October 26, 2011 at 02:45 PM in Agile, Government | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Introducing Agile to the Federal Government is not only difficult, it is like our friend Sisyphus here to the left. Pushing the stone up hill only to have it roll back down.
It rolls down with a change in administration. With a failure of a major project that used agile. With a change in the whim of the leaders. With an over promise under deliver approach of some vendors.
I'm working on an upcoming webinar on introducing agile into the federal IT space. This has been going on for a year, and we're nearing the outcomes from our efforts for a webinar, a one day course and a three day course.
There is a useful report that outlines both the problem and some solutions around this problem that is worth the investment. Visit the site under the cover picture to the right, read the report, follow the links, and see where this complex topic is headed.
If any domain is in need of agile approaches it is Federal IT. But not any approach will work. All the hand waving, Cum By Ya talk of self directed teams sitting in the same room with their customer, letting the requirements emerge as the money is being spent, probably isn't going to pass the smell test of Congressional oversight of spending the public's money.
Something else is needed. The integration of Agile with the contractual management of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
As the webinar progresses, the courses development, and the planned book emerges, along with the hands on deployment, I'll post more.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on October 18, 2011 at 10:43 PM in Agile, Government | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Mary has a new essay titled Don't Separate Design from Development. It's one of those "looking back, to see forward" style of essays. I suspect Mary delivered software successfully because she was a subject matter expert and knew what the customer wanted.
I designed, developed, and programmed control systems - flight systems - and led the development of a fault tolerant process control computer (www.triconex.com), where we built an operating system, IO board controls using INTEL 8051, and a National Semiconductor (a CMOS version of the M68000) set of triple redundant processes. This was done in C with an embedded Real Time Operating system, WindRiver.
I can't remember having any formal specifications. We developed hardward, firmware, bent metal, developed the Control System OS, invented a programming language, developed a programming workstation on the original Compaq computer. All by simply "knowing" what to do because we had done it before, or we were literally inventing the future. We had SME's from our customers (Exxon, Boise Cascade, Shell, Total, and Elf). We had process engineers (ChemE's), we had RT OS developers from our previous defense systems. We had white hot C/Unix developers (the real UNIX, the one that came on a 9-track tape from Bell Labs).
But those days are over for lots of reasons.
So Mary is right, lots of software can be built without stories and detailed requirements. But that takes place ONLY because all that "stuff" is in the heads of the engineers and developers who have dome it before - succesfully do it before.
But now we work much more complex programs, systems where the lowest level components are well defined from the subject matter experts, but the integration of those components is complex and evolving.
Mary's quotes Gilb and Brooks is right on. In our Aerospace and Defense business this is RARELY the case. Embedded or Software Intensive systems have a tight connections between "engineering" of the systems and the "design" of the systems. These systems are developed incrementally and itertaively. This is the fundamental principle of Systems Engineering, the V-Model, and the Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule. As well "process is King," in our domain, so anyone wanting to skip the process can look for work elsewhere.
At the notional level this is how programs are run in the A&D and other Systems Engineering domains. This approach is Rarely found in the enterprise IT would, expect where enterprise IT is inside and A&D firm. When it says detailed design this is context and domain sensitive. On some embedded system, sysMl is used with UML to define all the interfaces between the components. In other domains, detailed design is down to the board level and timing diagram of the firmware controlled system that will be sent to an ASIC fab shop that converts software (Handel-C) to hardware.
The appropriateness of the level of design is always considered, since the programs are on contract for a delivery date, a target budget, and a specific set of performance parameters.
This concept is also missing from enterprise IT - the idea that the project is a "business," with a profit margin, an expected delivery date, and a minimal set of capabilities. I'd suggest that if projects were run that way, better results would appear. Things like "do the appropriate amount" of documentation. Since documentation doesn't fly to orbit, we do what is needed to get the space craft to orbit and that's all. Documentation is needed, but documentation that doesn't support the capabilities - fly to LOE - is a waste. Why this is not well understood outside our domain I don't know.
Bad Project Management is my guess.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on August 22, 2011 at 06:36 AM in Agile, Government, Management, Project Management, Systems Theory | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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The notion that large programs have heavy, unwieldy processes, and that agile methods - both software development and project management - are the solution is many times just that "notional."
Let's start with the top level principle of large program acquisition in the Federal Government
Many if not most large government acquisitions have unwieldy processes, poor track records, and lots of blame to go around. But the first chapter of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides some guidance that can be applied to any program, project, or development effort.
Notice the timely, best value, for the customer, maintaining trust. Add working together as a team, and being empowered to make decisions in their area of responsibility.
Is this guidance followed - rarely. Why? Beacuse guidance alone is not sufficient for success. If that were the case, we woudln't need lighter weight, agile processes to pull us out of the messes we've created on large federal programs.
Agile needs to take this cautionary example - as agile moves into the enterprise, it will be just the latest attempt to lighten the load of processes and formality.
Taking these words as stand alone and looking to agile development and project management methods may provide the mission and vision around improving project performance in smaller domains.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on July 20, 2011 at 04:58 AM in Agile, Government, Management | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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The NDIA Information Systems Summit II held in Baltimore was interesting in many ways:
The prime outcome of the conference is:
How to make Agile work in DoD
The basis for all this is anchored in several sources. The best one is of course Dan Wards F.I.S.T. work. Dan's The Fist Handbook, The Simplicity Code, and Rogue Project Leader, should be mandatory reading for any agile advocate working in the DoD world and also the interview with Dan on POGO.
There will be much more on this topic in the coming months. But here's the core theme...
Agile software development can be used in formal and structured environments - like DoD - if the baseline conditions for the program (FAR/DFAR/OMB) are the starting point, then following the guidance from Dan, and then and only then deploying the agile principles.
I'm going to conjecture this approach will result in the broadest deployment of agile development processes. The IT budget of $80,000,000,000.00 completely overwhelms every other IT project collection on the planet. This is where the maximum impact will take place.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on April 11, 2011 at 02:39 AM in Agile, Earned Value, Government, Management | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
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There is a well worn myth in the agile community, that large complex projects are developed using waterfall methods, where all the requirements are defined upfront, (BDUF), rigid processes are used to execution the program and the outcome is defined before the project starts. This of course is great fodder to the replacement of the "devil" waterfall process with agile processes.
For anyone interested in how a program actually works, here a good book that can be found at the Air University Press book store. "The Development of the B-52 and Jet Propulsion: A Case Study in Organizational Innovation," Dr. Mark D. Mandeles, Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. March 1998. The Air University Press has many books on management, leadership, strategy, and history.
Quoted from the preface:
The B-52 and Jet Propulsion: A Case Study in Organizational Innovation is a coherent and nonpolemical discussion of the revolution in military affairs, a hot topic in the national security arena. Mark Mandeles examines an interesting topic, how can the military better understand, manage, and evaluate technological development programs. We see Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) in operation. No matter how carefully the military designs, plans, and programs the process of technological development, inevitably, equipment, organizations, and people will challenge the desired expectations. Mandeles argues convincingly that recognizing the inevitability of error may be the single most important factor in the design of effective organizations and procedures to foster and enhance innovative technology and concepts.
The book focuses on the introduction of jet propulsion into the B-52. This case study illustrates the reality that surprises and failures are endemic to development programs where information and knowledge are indeterminate, ambiguous, and imperfect. Mandeles' choice of the B-52 to illustrate this process is both intriguing and apt. The military had no coherent search process inevitably leading to the choice of a particular technology; nor was decision making concerning the B-52 development program coherent or orderly. Different mixtures of participants, problems, and solutions came together at various times to make decisions about funding or to review the status of performance projections and requirements.
Sounds like an agile project to me.
Posted by Glen B. Alleman on February 28, 2011 at 04:39 AM in Agile, Books, Government, Project Management | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Google Chrome Browser is a community site for users and developers of the Google Chrome browser. The site is not affiliated with or sponsored by Google Inc.
Dev Channel Update
Stable Channel Release and Beta Channel Update
The Chrome team is excited to announce the release of Chrome 23 to the Stable Channel. 23.0.1271.64 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome Frame. Chrome 23 contains a number of new features including GPU accelerated video decoding on Windows and easier website permissions.
Beta Update for Chrome OS
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.84 (Platform version 2913.166.0) for all Chrome OS devices except the new Samsung Chromebook.
This build contains a number of stability fixes.
If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our help site or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels? Find out how. You can submit feedback using 'Report an issue...' in the Chome menu (3 horizontal bars in the upper right corner of the browser).
Josafat Garcia and Ben Henry
Google Chrome
Stable Channel Update for Chrome OS
The Stable channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.83 (Platform version: 2913.157.0) for the new Samsung Chromebook. Machines will be receiving updates over the next several days.
Some highlights of these changes are:
- Fixed an issue in which a wallpaper setting caused systems to boot to a blank screen following the daylight savings time change (Issue: 158455)
- Stability fixes
Known Issues:
- Black background on login screen occasionally (Issue: 158383)
If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our help site or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels? Find out how. You can submit feedback using 'Report an issue...' in the Chrome menu (3 horizontal bars in the upper right corner of the browser).
Josafat Garcia & Ben Henry
Beta Channel Update for Chrome OS
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.83 (Platform version 2913.157.0) for the new Chromebook and Platform version 2913.156.0 for all other Chrome OS devices.
This build contains a number of stability and performance fixes.
Dev Channel Update for Chrome OS
Dev Channel Update
Chrome for Android Update
The stable channel of Chrome for Android has been updated to 18.0.1025464 for ARM devices and to 18.0.1026320 for x86 devices. The new update includes important stability fixes and support for the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10. Both updates are now available for download on Google Play and in the Google Play Store on your mobile devices. Known issues are available on the Chrome support site.
Beta Channel Update
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.60 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeFrame platforms.
Chromebook: For Halloween
Introducing the new Chromebook. The $249 laptop from Google. For everyone. Find out more at google.com
From: googlechrome
Views: 28708
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Chromebook: For Goodbye To All That
Introducing the new Chromebook. The $249 laptop from Google. For everyone. Find out more at google.com
From: googlechrome
Views: 5766
261 ratings
|Time: 00:31
Chrome Web Lab: The Experiment Continues
In July, we launched Chrome Web Lab, a series of 5 interactive experiments that push the boundaries of what is possible in a modern browser and a museum experience that's fully web-connected.
Web Lab has opened the Science Museum in London to the entire world, and so far we've seen more than 2.5 million visitors from 196 countries creating more than 2 million Sketchbot portraits, Universal Orchestra compositions,Teleporter postcards and Data Tracer snapshots.
In the spirit of Chrome Web Lab being an ongoing experiment we've continued iterating and refining the experience. For example, using the new getUser Media API, you can now use your webcam to send a picture of your face, with your permission, to the Sketchbots experiment without an additional plug-in. We've also added a new backing track to the Universal Orchestra that changes based on a number of factors including how many people are visiting the Experiment at any given time. We've been proactively asking for your feedback and based on it we've also made a number of tweaks and improvements to both the web and museum experience, including performance, stability and usability updates.
For the technically-inclined who want to get under the hood of how Web Lab was made, we'll be hosting a series ofGoogle Developer Live videos with the developers who created them to pull back the curtain on how they were made.
Google Chrome Blog: Controlling your computer from afar
One year ago, we launched Chrome Remote Desktop in beta. From adjusting printer settings on your mom's computer to finding a lost file on your dad's laptop, Chrome Remote Desktop has made you the family hero by helping you remotely access other computers -- including your own -- via Chrome. Now, we are taking Chrome Remote Desktop out of beta, by adding some additional features.
New features include the addition of a real time audio feed (on Windows). This can be handy if you want to listen to that MP3 music collection you have stored on a computer at home. Now you can also copy-and-paste between your local and remote computers.
Chrome Remote Desktop is a great companion tool for your new Samsung Chromebook, allowing you to remote into your PC or Mac at home while you bring your portable and easy-to use Chromebook with you on the go.
We have more features in the works that will make Chrome Remote Desktop even more powerful. We'll post updates here when they're ready.
Android? Meet Chromium OS
It's been too long since I've cracked out the Jolt and spent the wee hours hacking away on something. So tonight, I picked up a device from my collection and did the inevitable:
More details soon to a tech blog near you. Image release date? Whenever I get around to neatening this up for widespread consumption. Mad props to the Queen for that extra hour tonight, really handy as I'm sure you'll all agree.
The Dev channel has been updated to 24.0.1305.3 (Platform version: 3083.1.0) for Chromebooks
This build contains stability fixes.
- 35464 - Audio on some systems may be distorted when playing a single audio stream for a long period of time, or when playing audio on multiple tabs.
- 157420 - "Allow proxies for shared networks" is enabled by default.
- 35632 - Password is asked in crosh 3 times. This occurs in normal mode. Workaround - Press Enter 3 times to bypass this request.
- On the Settings tab when modifying your avatar image, or when creating a new user, the camera LED may remain illuminated for several seconds after leaving the page.
Google Chrome Blog: Get your Google back
[cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]
If you've moved to Windows 8 and are getting acquainted with it, you may be looking for a couple of your favorite Google products that you use every day. To help you get the best experience possible on Google and across the web, we've designed and built a new Google Search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8 and created a simple site to help you get your Google back.
The Google Search app comes with a clean and recognizable user interface. Our new voice search lets you naturally speak questions. The image search and image previews are built for swiping. And, as usual, you get immediate results as you type with Google Instant. The doodles you enjoy on special occasions will be right there on the homepage and even show up on the Google tile on your start screen.
The Chrome browser is the same Chrome you know and love, with some customizations to optimize for touchscreens, including larger buttons and the ability to keep Chrome open next to your other favorite apps. It delivers the fast, secure web experience you've come to expect from Chrome on all your devices.
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.53 (Platform version 2723.135.0) for all devices
Notable non-stability changes:
- Pepper Flash version on new Chromebook updated to 188.8.131.528
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.52 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeFrame
The Beta channel has been updated to 23.0.1271.52 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeFrame platforms.
Google Chrome Blog: World, meet your browser
When Chrome first launched back in 2008, we realized that a lot of people didn't know what a web browser was, much less which version they were using. They also didn't know that you could choose to use a different browser. To help people learn about the importance of browser choice, we introduced whatbrowser.org, a simple site that answers the question, "What browser am I using, and why does it matter?"
Since we first introduced whatbrowser.org three years ago, the web has changed immensely. The explosion of the mobile web means more and more people are browsing with phones and tablets. In addition, with advances in HTML5 and the Open Web Platform, the web has become much more powerful, enabling rich new experiences. Over the years, browsers have improved to protect you against new security threats, which means it's as important as ever to be on the latest version of a modern browser.
Google Chrome Blog: One click to Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Google Drive is a place where you can create, share, collaborate and keep all your stuff. Of course, there are times you want to start a new document right away–say, to take notes in class or prepare a last-minute presentation for your boss.
To make it even easier for you to create stuff quickly, Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations–now called Docs,Sheets, and Slides–are now available as apps in the Chrome Web Store. Once installed, shortcuts to these apps will appear when you open a new tab in Chrome.
If you use a Chromebook, you'll see Docs, Sheets, and Slides in your apps list by default following the next update to Chrome OS in a few weeks.


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Angove Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia: Natalie's tasting note, score, food pairings and recipes for this wine Drink: 2013-2017. 361311 13.50% XD 750 mL $22.95 Score: Natalie's tasting note, score, food pairings and recipes for this wine. March 1, 2014 Heavenly Hamburger Wine Full Review
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Season Underway!
Your Lincoln Railsplitters kick off the 2014 season as they host Springfield Southeast on Friday Aug 29th at Handlin Field.
Booster Activities
Support your LCHS Football Boosters!
The LCHS Football Boosters provide many services for the football program at all age groups. Providing these services requires the participation of all the members, parents and fans.
50/50 Drawing - Be sure to grab your tickets for the 50/50 drawing held at every home game. Players will be selling tickets during the first half of every home game with the winning ticket drawn at halftime!
Discount Cards are still available! - Reach out to your favorite player to get your own area Discount card providing you with continuous year-long discounts at many local merchants.
Booster Meeting - Tuesday Sept 9th @ 7:00
A Booster meeting will be held on Tuesday September 9th at 7:00pm in the LCHS cafeteria. Regular meetings will be held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Your participation is greatly appreciated, wanted, and needed!
2013 Awards & Recognition
Congratulations to the following award winners and Conference recognitions from the 2013 Railer team. We appreciate all the hard work and dedication you put forth to receive the well-deserved acknowledgements.
Central State 8 Academic All-Conference
Central State 8 All-Conference
Central State 8 Special Mention
Railsplitter Team Awards
|"Railer Award" (commitment to Railer Football and desire to provide help and leadership to the younger players)
|Offensive M.V.P.
|Defensive M.V.P.
|W.C. Handlin Award (Most Outstanding Senior Lineman)
|Gene McDonald Award (Integrity, Dedication, Leadership, Attitude, Sportsmanship, and Desire)


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I experienced my first baby shower as the guest of honor last weekend, and although normally that sort of situation would force me to break out in hives (the center of attention is not a center I love), the atmosphere was just so loving and charming and perfect. I happen to have two amazing older sisters with equally amazing children, so they're well versed in this business. Me? I've still got my training wheels intact for when I inevitably crash and burn at this whole parenting thing.
But today? Today we're talking about baby showers. Shiny and happy baby showers. My aforementioned sisters threw me a beautiful backyard patio shower complete with fresh flowers, handmade baskets and a freshly-laundered clothesline of onesies, socks, accessories and the cutest diaper covers I ever did see.
It was perfect for me in every way, and having a circle of friends and family gather around me to welcome this little bundle of joy was just so moving. I loved every second.
But some ladies are far less fortunate…
I kept thinking of the story my girlfriend told me where she received 1,013 swaddle blankets and nothing else. Or her cousin who had to usher out a drunken aunt after she face-planted into the three-tiered diaper cake. Or her cousin who spent her entire shower defending her decision to register for the fancy hands-free breast pump, rather than the affordable manual pump that "worked just fine" for the other mothers in attendance.
And although I can't very well offer advice to avoid alcohol-induced flounders and guest etiquette tips, I can give a few tips on how to master the art of registry to ensure you don't wind up opening 58 baby monitors on your big day:
1. More is more. I started off with a really minimalist registry full of the bare essentials before I realized that some guests? Some guests just want to gift you pretty things. So in addition to the necessary items I registered for (diapers, health/safety needs, basic onesies, hangers, car seat and more), I added in a few "just for fun" finds so guests could have a roadmap to the type of baby style I loved. Not surprisingly, the striped dresses, polka dot leg warmers and quirky decorative items were the first purchased and gifted, while the diapers? No takers, ma'am.
2. Get strategic. I was lucky enough to receive four showers from four different areas of my life, and I ended up registering specifically for those groups of people, rather than simply choosing the stores I liked best. Because one of my showers was thrown in a small town with only a Walmart available, I gave the hostess my Walmart registry list (with items from every price range) to make it easiest for the guests' shopping. For my online shower, I used a universal registry (Amazon has a great one!) so I could include a variety of different sites, and because my online friends are big online shoppers. Having separate registries required a bit of planning, but meant that guests could shop easily and I was more likely to receive the items I truly needed and loved. Win/win!
3. Consider an alternative. If you're a minimalist and can't handle the thought of unnecessary baby clutter, consider an alternative shower, like a book shower to build your child's library, or a restaurant gift certificate shower for pre-and-post baby meals.
4. Finally, brush it off. If the gifts you receive aren't your style or are far from useful, smile and breathe deeply. Guests love giving gifts that reflect their taste, too, so you might wind up with a few oddities. Rest easy knowing that the important thing is you have their support and love for this new baby. (And rest easier knowing your great-grandmother will never find out that the six-foot tall stuffed dinosaur she gifted your future daughter is now happily insulating your attic.)
Happy baby showering, friends! And if you have tips of your own to share, I'd love to hear (although secretly, I'm dying to hear a few of your baby shower horror stories, as well…)!


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July 15, 2011
Homemade Lemon Curd
3 comments:
Thank you! This looks so delicious. I also have a lemon obsession. So this is one I'll have to make soon! I think it's a good topping for the lemon cupcakes I bake often. Hmm can't wait to taste this!ReplyDelete
Oh, Tricia! This is right up my alley of favorite kinds of desserts! Lemon "turd" and pound cake! LOL! It is so sweet that your hubby is interested! I'm sure he enjoys the wonderful benefits of your cooking passion! I'm trying to cut back right now, but this one will be on my bucket list of recipes after I make a little headway with the weight! LOL! blessings ~ tannaReplyDelete
Hi Tricia, I adore lemon curd and have had it on my list of things to try making for ages. I think I'll move it to this week's list now. You are making me crave it! I emailed you a few days ago, but haven't heard back, so I'll leave my email here like you requested barefeetinthekitchen @ gmail . comReplyDelete
Have a great day!


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Andrew Murray: "Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power." (The Prayer Motivator Minute #459) - Ministry Videos
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Released: September 17, 2013 By: The Prayer Motivator Minute
Andrew Murray: "Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power."
VERSE: Mark 11:15-17: "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves."
QUOTE: "If you find a reluctancy to go into the presence of God, there may be unconfessed, unrepented sin in your life. Part of your quiet time is to get your heart clean and pure. Each of us needs to take ourselves by the nap of our necks and confess and repent before we come into God's holy presence to fellowship." - Adrian Rogers
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- Devotionals
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Business News, Business Trends, Corporate Scandals
Look here for news and information on business trends, corporate scandals, and issues affecting both public companies and private businesses.
Burger King Agrees to Acquire Tim Hortons for About $11 Billion
Burger King Worldwide Inc. agreed to acquire Tim Hortons Inc. for about C$12.5 billion ($11.4 billion) in a deal that creates the third-largest fast-food company and moves its headquarters to Canada. Read more »
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Danske Bank A/S funds are among investors exposed to Lets Gowex... Read more »
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Optimism for the nations economic outlook among U.S. business leaders continued to rise... Read more »
ADP Finds Private Sector Added 281,000 Jobs in JuneJuly 2, 2014
Private sector employment increased by 281,000 jobs in June, showing signs of a strengthening... Read more »
CFO Optimism Increased in First Half of 2014July 2, 2014
CFOs are expressing more optimism as they enter the second half of the year, according to a new... Read more »
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Health care reform tax issues for 2014. Read more »
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Educating your clients on the ACA. Read more »
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Whats greasing the wheels for the rise in mergers by U.S. companies? The tax man. Read more »
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