text:
Subject: Re: VAX hardware details now in HTML
To: None <port-vax@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Michael Sokolov <sokolov@alpha.CES.CWRU.Edu>
List: port-vax
Date: 01/25/1998 22:34:34 (Allison J Parent) wrote:
> *TZK50  TK50 with SCSI adaptor (used with VS2000, works on 3100 Mxx)
Just one clarification. TZK50 is the name of the board that sits between the
SCSI bus and the TK50 drive. The whole product as shipped to customers is
called TK50Z and is a box with the drive, the board, and everything else needed
already inside. Also be careful with 2000s and 3100s. TK50Z has two versions,
TK50Z-Fx and TK50Z-Gx, which differ in TZK50 firmware. I STRONGLY ADVISE you to
read my yesterday's super-lengthy post. In there you will see a description of
the differences between the two, why they are completely incompatible, and
which one is used where. I won't give the answer out here, though, since
otherwise I won't be able to make people read my post.

Michael Sokolov
Phone: 440-449-0299
ARPA Internet SMTP mail:


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Subject: Re: disabling tagged queueing for SCSI1 devices
To: None <>
From: Paul Kranenburg <>
List: tech-kern
Date: 02/10/2001 23:47:22
> Sort of, because many CCS (SCSI-1, but not SCSI-2) drives support T'qing fine.
> What issue are you trying to address hee?

I have two disks responding like this:

  sd0 at scsibus0 target 3 lun 0: <MICROP, 1588-15MBSUN0669, SN0C> SCSI1 0/direct fixed
  sd0(esp0:3:0):  Check Condition on CDB: 0x1b 00 00 00 01 00
      SENSE KEY:  Aborted Command
       ASC/ASCQ:  Overlapped Commands Attempted

There's no MESSAGE REJECT. The target goes from the selection phase
the status phase indicating a check condition.

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robots: classic
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software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-17
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for April 2017
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
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text:
Subject: save media options ioctl?
To: None <>
From: Ignatios Souvatzis <>
List: tech-net
Date: 02/24/2000 19:55:21

some time ago, there was a discussion as to how to store default media
settings on a network card.

I've written demo code for manipulating the rtl8019 eeprom and can implement
such an ioctl for the interface driver.

Was there a conclusion as to what exactly the semantics should be?

- save current media state as precise as possible?
- store a specified set of settings?

Personally, I tend to the former...


text:
Subject: Qt-mac and pkgsrc
To: None <>
From: Louis Guillaume <>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 11/09/2005 23:24:21

Is there some way to build qt-based pkgsrc packages on OS X using the Qt-Mac
toolkit rather than X11? For some reason I always thought that Qt-Mac was  a
commercial product, but it seems there is an open-source version too. I think
that would be a greatly positive thing for pkgsrc, qt and mac folk.

Any help would be great. Thanks!


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Overlooking the Hudson River and neighboring Bowdoin Park, the Maitreya Center is a short train-ride from New York City and near international airports. The Maitreya Center will provide the meditation space and facilities for both residents and visitors to study and practice the Buddha’s teachings in a setting engaged with nature. To preserve this setting, we are developing green-conscious ways to improve and preserve the natural beauty of the monastery grounds.

prayer flags

For example, donors have sponsored white pine trees, which were planted between the Maitreya Center and the three-year retreat facilities. The white pine is one of the largest and longest living trees native to North America. By forming a natural border between the Maitreya Center and retreat facilities, the trees serve to maintain the meditative solitude of our retreat practitioners, and the trees will provide a lasting resource for the local environment. We also have built a retention pond to manage storm-water runoff and prevent flooding. Further, the grounds of KTC Monastery have served as a safe haven for several wild animals through the years.

pine trees

Pine trees between the Maitreya Center and retreat houses

...By the retreat house's door

...On gravel in front of the Maitreya Center

By participating in green giving, you will help sustain both the Buddha’s teachings and the monastery’s natural setting. As the Maitreya Center construction is underway, we also need funds to care for the monastery grounds and plans are ongoing to plant flowers and other greenery. Please consider one of our green donor options:

Green Friend
We welcome any amount to ensure that we can continue our efforts to improve and preserve the monastery grounds and natural surroundings. Thank you for your support!

Green Patron
Donate $1,800 to be a Green Patron!

Butter lamps will be offered in your name during one of our weekly butter lamp offerings at the monastery. In addition, your name will be engraved on a plaque for our green donors. Or you may request to have a name of your choice (such as a loved one or friend) engraved on the plaque. Visiting masters will bless the plaques and pray for those who have made contributions to the monastery.

Green Earth Protector
A donation of $5,000 will earn you the honor of a Green Earth Protector.

In addition to the benefits of a Green Patron, your name will be provided to the Gyalwang Karmapa and Tai Situ Rinpoche in a special prayer request.

Green Victorious One
For those who wish to sustain the monastery’s natural setting with a donation of $10,000, you will receive the benefits of a Green Earth Protector.

In addition the benefits described above, you will receive a consecrated treasure vase, as well as a special card conferring the title of Green Victorious One in acknowledgement of your profound support.


text:
Friday, November 4, 2011

The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act
& Fundraiser for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Sorry I haven't written on my blog in a while. I've been real busy with school and have also been working hard mailing out letters to our representatives asking them to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act. My final count of letters collected and mailed was 2551. I couldn't have done it without my mom and brothers Denver and Christian helping me. It was real hard sorting them by zip codes and looking up their representatives. I mailed letters for Florida, Virginia and  Connecticut.

Looking up addresses of Representatives
I also wrote my own letters to different congress people and senators and mailed them one of my great ape tags. It would be really cool if someone would send me a picture of them wearing one of my tags. Last month I wrote the president and sent him a great ape tag too. I hope he writes me back because that would be really cool!!!

Here are my great ape tags that I mailed out.
I also gave them out to the students at
Holy Family Catholic school when they
asked me to come speak on Earth Day.
That was really fun!!!

I was really happy when we finished!!!
If you haven't contacted your representative yet
Special thanks goes out to all the people who have been working hard to help the chimps like the Humane Society of the United States and Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. PCRM just had a letter writing party in Seattle which is really cool. I hope the chimps got lots of new supporters. If you live in Washington they have a page about writing the Senator.

Thank you to everyone who helped me
and took the time to sign and write letters!!!

I'm really excited about doing a fundraiser for Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW. There are seven chimps at the sanctuary they are Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra. In 2008 the chimps were rescued from a lab in Pennsylvania to the sanctuary. They spent most of their lives locked up in a basement of a laboratory and were used in bio-medical research. In September they finished an outdoor enclosure for the chimps called Young's Hill. Check out the video!!!

If you follow me on Facebook you already know how much I really like the blog and videos. The chimps all have their own personalities and it is fun to see how they act and play with each other.

The sanctuary is planning on building an on-site medical clinic for the chimps. So if the chimps need medical care they won't have to leave home. I really wanted to help with a fundraiser for them and I hope all of you will want to be a part of it too!!!

Check out the things I have in my Etsy Shop. All the proceeds will be going to Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW.
Right now I have Great Ape Tags and Eco-Friendly Tote Bags for sale.

 Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act/Great Ape Tags
These are really cool!!!

Eco-Friendly Tote Bag
I am hoping together we can make the lives better for the chimps and all great apes.
Please click on the link to shop and share this blog post with your friends on facebook and twitter so they can learn about the chimps that need our help. To learn more about Chimpanzee Sanctuary North West and meet the chimps visit their website and blog

Your Chimp Friend


text:
29 July 2014

COLLECTION x Little Mix Lip Balms

little mix lip balm review
little mix collection makeup range
Following the success of the last Little Mix and Collection makeup range they are launching some exciting new products this summer.

Each band member has created her own lip balm scented with their favourite smells and shades. Leigh-Anne's is Mint, Jade's is Raspberry, Jesy's is Vanilla and Perrie's is unscented as she has no sense of smell! I haven't swatched the balms as they don't have any colour pay-off. However, Perrie's white lip balm does offer some subtle shimmer which is nice for layering over lipstick. I'm such a lip balm hoarder, I have at least 3 swimming about in the depths of my handbag. My favourite out of the four has to be Jade's simply because I love the raspberry scent! They all provide optimum hydration to dry lips and the lipstick style packaging makes these effortless to apply. Plus, I love seeing the horror in peoples faces when they think I'm about to apply bright green lipstick then watching their eyebrows screw up in confusion when no colour transfers(easily pleased). I'm really impressed with these, especially as they're so affordable.

Little Mix are also launching a neutral eyeshadow palette which I've reviewed and swatched here

Collection by Little Mix Lip Balm* £.199 each
Collection by Little Mix All About The Eyes palette* £3.19 available in Superdrug from 30th July

So now I look like the 5th member of Little Mix all I need now is a boyfriend from 1D, hhhmm which one to go for...

  1. The palette looks lovely! Not sure about the balms though

    Style Sunrise ☀

  2. I loved perries lipstick from their previous collection!

    Lauren| thatgirlcalledlauren.blogspot.co.uk

  3. Loved this review! Need to get my hands on some of these for sure x

  4. The shades are so beautiful xx

  5. Hahahha :D loved the green lipstick confusing part

leave your blog/twitter link if you want me to have a nosey at it! I like to try and return comments too :)

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Sunday at the Renegade Craft Fair was another fun-filled craft day, even as we all had to break down an hour earlier due to the rain storm. The morning was nice and sunny as Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching (pictured above) said “Hi” for the camera. Read more about Jenny Hart and learn how to embroider a skateboard in Vol 1 of CRAFT due out on newsstands Oct. 17th.

Today’s winner for the CRAFT raffle is Annalee Soskin of Wilmette, IL! See more photos up on our flickr photos, starting with day 2. Link.


text:
Friday, September 28, 2012

Song for a Friday

1. It's impossible to feel sad while listening to Nat King Cole chirpily sing about love.

2. In my experience, this tune is best served with champagne.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

To do list

Since I found out about it a few years ago, the World Bellyboard Championships have been high on my 'to do' list. The whole event looks like so much fun, and, for me anyway, really captures all the things I love about surfing - being in the ocean, catching waves, spending time with people, having fun and not taking yourself too seriously.

And now that I have been in touch with the lovely Sue (that's her riding the wave in the picture above), I'm even more excited to (eventually) get there. Check out the bellyboards she made for the event!

Aren't they fun! Sue's so clever with her designs - from what I can see she really captures the Cornish spirit of the event! This design reminds me so much of my summer living in Mawgan Porth, a village a little farther north from where this event takes place. I ate many, many clotted cream teas (which are entirely delicious) and got terribly (and happily) fat from doing so!

You can see a heap more images here at Swellchaser!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

'The Heart and The Sea': A review before viewing

If you read any surf blogs then you have probably already seen this clip for Nathan Oldfield's new film, The Heart and The Sea. It's everywhere! But, well, what do you do? Because I can't deny that this film looks lovely.

The Heart & The Sea: Official Trailer from Nathan Oldfield on Vimeo.

A while ago I was talking about music with a friend who described the tunes we were listening to as 'insincere'. He explained that his cynicism for any tune (or film, or etc) is always tempered by sincerity. Like, if he feels that the sentiment of the piece is 'sincere' and true to the person making it, then that cuts through any kind of uncertainty for them. And no matter how good a tune is, if he feels that the musician is trading on a fad or trying too hard to fit an image, that insincerity ruins it for him. And he doesn't just mean that they like it. He means that they believe what they are saying, rather than they are trying to fit into some idea or sell you an image.

I'm pretty much the same.

I've admitted before that I can be a bit of a cynic, and that I find it hard to approach new films (etc) with a completely open heart. And I don't deny that is a failing I should work on. But, like my friend, no matter the subject matter, no matter the film-maker, if I feel there is a sincere connection to the topic and the way they have gone about it, I can be swayed to see value of the film even when I don't agree.

With Nathan Oldfield, I've always felt that there is sincerity. He isn't trying to sell an idea or an image, but is showing us a space and time and approach to life that connects with him. And I say this to recognise that Oldfield's films fit into a certain space in the odd world of 'surfing culture', where there are a number of films that are trying to sell us something, to convince us of something, to convince us of who they want to be. And I don't really get into films like that. They might be pretty, or clever, or fun, or have great surfing and show interesting landscapes, and that's fine, that's great. But with films like that, I never quite feel the weight of their message, nor that they even really have one. And while not every film or artwork needs to be profound or tell a story or carry a message, I just prefer it when they do. For me, the message of a film doesn't have to be big or earth-shattering. Mostly these tales are simple, like, 'don't be an arsehole', or 'be kind to your family', or 'try and think about how you treat the world around you', but simple often connects with us on a personal and everyday level. And this kind of connection - personal, everyday - makes them strong and effective. And sincere.

Look, obviously, I haven't seen this film, but I will. And I'm looking forward to it.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Bathing Beauties

Yesterday I got home to a package all the way from Cornwall! It was a print from Sue, who has the blog, Studio Window. Sue makes great art and prints, that reflect some of the rich beach and surfing culture in her gorgeous part of the world. Her work is really lovely and I've admired it for a while now.

My package contained a print from a wood engraving that she made (if you scroll back through her blog you can check out the process of her making it, as well as a clearer image of the print).

The next thing I would like is to get one of the bellyboards that she beautifies! Maybe when I'm over that way next...

Thanks you so very much, Sue. I'm stoked!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Things the light does

When I have time I love going through the rabbit hole of following hyperlinks on blogs. It's fun and I always come across a heap of new sites that get instantly linked into my reader. crying never solved a damn thing is one of those finds that I can't even remember how or when I stumbled across, but which has become a bit of a favourite.

Checking it today, this image really looks like a lazy Saturday when you wander on the beach, catch a few lazy waves and have time to look at the details.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Cedric Nunn

Oh! And I lifted this great photo by Cedric Nunn from the Otelo Burning Facebook page.

I love this photo. It's basically everything I like about surfing - being in the ocean, catching waves however I want, being with friends and having fun. It's the best surfing image I've seen in ages.

Cedric Nunn sounds like a pretty cool guy who is talented and has interesting ideas. You should definitely check out his website.
'I am committed through my photographs, to contributing to societal change that will leave a positive legacy for the children of Africa'.
Born in 1957 in Nongoma, KwaZulu, and raised in Hluhluwe, Mangete and Baynesfield. I began photography in Durban in the early eighties, my initial impetus being to document the realities of apartheid that I thought were being ignored by the mainstream media.

Otelo Burning

So, I just heard about this film, Otelo Burning, today;

From the Otelo Burning website:

Shot in Durban and directed by Sara Blecher (Surfing Soweto), the film tells the story of a group of township kids who discover the joy of surfing. It's set in 1989, against a backdrop of brewing conflict between two political groups in Lamontville.
When 16-year-old Otelo Buthelezi takes to the water for the first time, it's clear that he was born to surf. But then tragedy strikes. On the day that Nelson Mandela is released from prison, Otelo is forced to choose between surfing success and justice. This is a beautifully made, insightful and entertaining film that captures a turbulent time in the history of South Africa.
I'm one of those terrible people who is sceptical about anything that makes grand claims in terms of 'surfing is freedom' or 'surfing for peace', but considering the historical and political context of this story, it could be really interesting and meaningful. While I find it irritating when it's a 'kid from the wrong side of the tracks come good in suburban/working class Australia' kind of tale, this story is set in a different time, place, culture and context, so I reckon I need to be a bit more open. The director, Sara Blecher, has made some interesting-looking films and documentaries, so it looks as though the subject matter is in good hands.

Anyway, it's around, so it is probably worth checking out! Do let me know if you happen to see it!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Despite being filmed in north Florida, this fun little film made me oddly homesick. (via, mersea beaucoup)

Or maybe I'm just longing for some summer surf action myself.

Happy Monday!

Thursday, September 06, 2012

You know you're "an iconic Australian lifestyle" when...

So, the Royal Australian Mint has just collaborated with Surfing Australia to release a commemorative coin in celebration of Surfing Australia's 50th anniversary in 2013.

Surfing Australia is a not-for-profit "National Sporting Organisation that was formed in 1963 to establish, guide and promote the development of surfing in Australia". To clarify, by the development of surfing, they mean the development of the sport of surfing, which is fine, but I think that it's an important distinction, especially since their vision is to "become a mainstream commercially sustainable sport, and to promote surfing as an iconic Australian lifestyle".

From the Royal Australian Mint press release:
The uncirculated coins are each packaged in their own unique surfboard shaped coin holder. The holder features an image of five-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore.

Some things to note:
1. The crappy punctuation in that sentence is the Royal Mint's own.
2. They included a woman on this (what will become an) historical artefact.
3. What a shame this coin won't go into circulation. It's actually pretty fun.
4. " promote surfing as an iconic Australian lifestyle." Mission accomplished, Surfing Australia.
5. If you want to buy one, you can get it here.


text:
Sunday, 25 January 2009

Yee Sang is basically a Chinese raw fish salad.

It is served during the Chinese New Year and raw fish is sliced very thinly and lime/lemon juice is added to the fish before serving. The fish served in this case has to be very fresh.

Eating Yee Sang in Malaysia and Singapore is a tradition every Chinese New Year. Yee sang is NOT part of New Year cuisine among the Chinese of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc.

Unlike Japanese, Chinese do not eat raw fish, preferring it cooked. However, this is the only Chinese dish known to contain raw fish.

This is a dish invented in Singapore and is popular only in Malaysia and Singapore. Chinese outside of Malaysia and Singapore will very likely not know what Yee Sang is. The eating of yee sang during Chinese New Year is a good example of the “invention of tradition” in Chinese culture in Malaysia and Singapore.

Prior to eating, there is the communal tossing of the Yee Sang salad with chopsticks. This is the attraction or fun of eating yee sang; audience participation or participant observation, i.e., all those present at the dinner table, whether young or old or men or women, are supplied with chopsticks and are actively encouraged to indulge in boisterous mixing of the ingredients simultaneously.

The action of tossing is known as Lo Hei which symbolizes increasing prosperity, abundance and vigor. That is why this dish is very popular among businessmen.

Yee Sang dishes at Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore are grossly overpriced during the New Year season (traditionally the period of celebration for the New Year is 15 days). Nevertheless, diners are willing to pay for it because of its association with good luck, prosperity and business success.

Read here on how to make Yee Sang

Prediction by Master Andy Goh

(Note: In December 2007, Master Andy Goh correctly predicted the outcome of the US Presidential Election -read here or below)

Prediction date: Dec 14, 2008 for the Year of the Ox-2009

Read here

The year of Ox, the heavenly stem and earthly branch are both earth. The earthly branch consists of hidden elements water and gold. The global economy will begin to recover from the financial meltdown.

2009 is a year of opportunities with the emergence of many new global empires following the collapse of big names like Lehman Brothers. Under the new administration of Barack Obama (self element earth person), the Wall Street stock market will recover faster than expected as Barack Obama enters his peak luck cycle.

We will see world major economies put aside their differences to overcome the financial crisis. The full impact of the unison can be seen in the second half of 2009.

The property market of United States will continue to recover as 2009 is the year of earth. Employment statistics will improve as United States’ job market bounce back from the financial meltdown. This will in turn lead to an improvement of the world’s stock market.

However, many major corporations will also undergo restructuring or even a change in leadership. For further predictions on the luck cycle of key CEOs of key Wall Street corporations, please subscribe to our website updates.

Despite the recovery of stock market, some Asian economies will persist to slowdown. A major event will strike in a key Asia region in 2010.

Master Andy Goh's Prediction of the 2008 US Presidential Election

December 2007: Read here for more

(First published in December 2007, see press releases from March 2008 on PRWeb and Free Press Releases )

Summary of the Predictions

The early Christians have the seven deadly sins.

We will also have our seven major predictions as follows:

  1. Barack Obama will win the Democrat Primary ahead of Hillary Clinton.
  2. John McCain will win the Republican Primary.
  3. John Edward will be the Presidential running mate for Barack Obama.
  4. Barack Obama will win the American election and become the new American President in 2009.
  5. John Edward will be the Vice President.
  6. Barack Obama will be a two terms President from 2009 – 2017.
  7. Major problem and even death will become of the Clinton family within five years (including year 2008).

In 2008, Americans all over the world will be electing a new President in November 2008 after current President George Bush completes his term and is stepping down in January 2009. Since American politics has always had a profound impact on the rest of the world in terms of business impact, stock market, and the security of the world, are all influenced by American policies at large.

The American electoral system is such that the two major parties, Democrat and Republican, will elect their party Presidential candidate starting late 2007 followed by nationwide election in November 2008. The process of electing the party representative is called the Primary, stands for primary party election. The Primary is conducted state by state with each state nominating their party Presidential representative. This process takes months to complete. A person can also run for President as independent candidate not associated with any party.

We will not touch on potential independent Presidential candidate here as none has clearly stated their intent to run as independent as at the time of this article.

Application of BaZi Analysis

BaZi or “eight characters 八字” is an ancient Chinese art based on a person’s birth year, birth month, birth day, and birth time, to derive a person’s destiny and Luck.

Unfortunately there are a lot of incompetent BaZi masters out there that have contributed to the perception that BaZi is not accurate and is religion related.

The reality is that BaZi has nothing to do with religion! It is purely a science based on the influence of certain earthly elements such as season of birth and astronomical influence that the stars exert on us.

There are not many good qualified BaZi masters, a good BaZi master can easily “read” a person’s BaZi and derive a person’s destiny and “Luck”.

The so call “twelve animals 十二生肖” has nothing to do with BaZi and is added on by some BaZi Masters to complement the explanation of the “twelve Earth Branches 十二地支” in BaZi to the general population who are not familiar with BaZi elements.

By using the BaZi analysis on the main Presidential candidates, we can EASILY predict the winners of the two parties Primary and the November 2008 Presidential election.

To some extent, we can even predict the Vice President candidates and the eventual winner.

In the sections below, we tried to explain how the BaZi analysis is used to derive the party Primary and ultimate Presidential race winner.

The analysis was done using only six characters since only the birth date but NOT the birth time of the Presidential candidates are known. However, we are still 85% confident of the analysis because the six characters chart of the American Presidential candidates is obvious enough to predict the outcome.

BaZi, Feng Shui and Application

On the other hand, we would like to draw your attention to a recent prediction made by a famous Feng Shui Master in her magazine. This Feng Shui master predicted Hillary Clinton to be the next American President. Her explanation was that Hillary is currently in the Dragon Luck cycle and in 2008, the Dragon (H5 戊土) ascends to the heaven and thus is a sign that the Dragon, or son of god, will ascend to the throne.

This famous Feng Shui master’s prediction is not entirely baseless but highly INCORRECT because the impact of the Dragon or “E5 辰土” Luck cycle on Hillary Clinton’s chart was not considered. Do not be fooled by her reputation as famous Feng Shui master.

Most Feng Shui masters are good at Feng Shui but not necessary good at BaZi life analysis.

BaZi is a much more difficult art to master than Feng Shui.

Feng Shui has limited impact to influence a person’s destiny or “Luck”. Feng Shui can influence up to 20% of a person’s Luck if used correctly but it cannot alter a person’s destiny or “Luck” in any profound manner. It certainly cannot be used to predict a person’s “Luck”. Remember the old Chinese saying 一命二运三風水; first there is the influence of “Life 命” determined at the time of birth, and then comes “Luck 运”, then “Feng Shui 風水”.

Feng Shui comes third in terms of influence to a person’s destiny and “Luck”. The most profound determination of a person’s destiny is their “Life 命” which is basically their BaZi created out of a person’s birth date and time.

A person’s BaZi determines his or her destiny and is more or less pre-destined as it controls 40% of a person’s potential and what a person can achieve in his/her life time. A person’s destiny activation is determined by the person’s “Luck 运”cycle and the “Ruling Year 流 年”".
The Luck cycle and the Ruling Year together determine when a person’s destiny will take place or be activated in a person’s Life. If a person is very “lucky”, then all the good destinies are activated and the not so good ones are not activated. This is quite rare since Luck cycle changes every five to ten years and no good or bad luck lasts forever.

One of the most basic aGlobal BaZi teaching is the ability to derive a person’s character from his/her BaZi chart.

OBAMA'S BaZi Chart

Obama is an easy going person and is easy to get along with. He has good social skills and can mix easily with people of various backgrounds. He is very intelligent and has good sense of humour. He is righteous and uncorrupt. At 47 years old in 2008, he will use his intellect.

(H8 Metal 辛金 from Luck period Heaven Stem) and wisdom (E1 Water 子水 from Ruling Year Earth Branch element) to obtain power and authority (E4 Wood 卯木, H2 Wood 乙木).

Power and Luck Cycle

His power and authority elements are located at the Month Pillar which can only mean the highest authority a.k.a. the power and authority of a nation or the world.

Since he is able to completely control and conquer his two power and authority elements (one is Month Pillar Heaven Stem and one in Month Pillar Earth Stem), he is destined to be the leader of a nation in 2008.

Another important consideration is that he is in the beginning of his 25 years of good Luck cycle.

As such, he will be a good President for American and a rare leader for the world.

His one major disadvantage is that he is relatively young for a future President and relatively in-experience.

The general population will have the opinion that he is inexperience and relatively young for a President however, Obama is a very capable person and will certainly learn fast, and pick up the necessary skills to do a good job as the next American President.

Please refer to the comparison table in the section below for comparison of his strength and weaknesses in BaZi terms vis-à-vis John McCain.

JOHN McCAIN's BaZi Chart

John is a frank and direct person. He is very transparent, has high integrity, and is above board in his dealings. He has good support from the general American public with his war heroic background. He is destined a busy young life moving around the world to serve his country.

Based on his BaZi chart, he has a power/authority combination in his BaZi Pillar and is destined to be in position of great power and authority his entire adult life.

John is a cautious person and likes to lead others and is a true genuine leader, honest, righteous and un-corrupt. He would make a good President of America and benefits the general American population and the world.

Power and Luck Cycle

However he LACKS the power element in his Month Pillar Heaven Stem, which Barack Obama has, and thus will NOT command the top position in the country unless his luck cycle destined so, there is NO indication in his Luck cycle for such.

2008 is an auspicious year for John because his power element “H5 戊土” appears in Heaven Stem and complements his power element in “E9 申金” and because of this he will lead his Republican party in the 2008 US Presidential race. 2008 is the peak of his career.

One major thing going against him is his age. John is already 72 and lacks the physical ability to do what he wants for the country. He is also at the end of his good Luck cycle and close to end of his life.

Americans, being well educated, will vote for Barack Obama knowing that John McCain is probably too old to be their President.

From the comparison table, it was obvious that Barack Obama is in a more favourable situation.

Final Note: Hillary Clinton

Since Hillary is also considered by many as potential Presidential candidate, we would like to mention a few words about her here.

Based on her BaZi chart, Hillary is a power craving person, likes to have control over others at her will. Her destiny is tightly linked to her husband and her good Luck is also highly dependent on her husband.

She uses her intellect and wisdom to obtain power and authority. She does not have a big heart, is not forgiving and has hot tempers.

She likes to show off and always like to be in a position high above everyone else.

If she is elected President, it would be very unfortunate for the people of America and the world.
© 2007 Master Andy Goh
Master Andy Goh
Vinay Agarwal

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Master Andy Goh, maybe you can state whether our Deputy PM Najib would get to become the PM of Malaysia by March 2009? I would have thought local politics should take precedence over what's happening 5000 miles away?


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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Cutey Cute Cute

Mini's Meme

Here's a meme from mini. Now you're tagged--leave a link in the comments to your list!

1. What were you doing 10 years ago.
Let's see. In 1998 I was waiting tables, living in the Hamptons for the summer, and dating Patrick long-distance. I moved to Chicago the day after Christmas.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today.
Um. Yeah. I guess my life isn't very pressing. Tonight we're going out for ice cream. So that's one. I'm going to try to book our hotel for Oktoberfest, but my success will depend on whether or not the person who answers the phone speaks English.

3. Snacks I enjoy.
Cheese and crackers. Candy bars. Gingersnaps.

4. If I were a billionaire instantly, I would

5. Places I have lived:
West Palm Beach, FL (born there)
Revere, MA
Chicago, IL
East Hampton, NY
Somerville, MA
Malden, MA

Monday, May 05, 2008

Malden Monday: Garden Club?

Hello All,

Now that my blogging break is over, for my first MM I present to you an idea. Last week I was talking with my knitting friends, and we discussed backyards we'd like to peek into. You know the ones: just enough fence/foliage to obstruct full view from the street, but the promise of wonderful things. What about a garden club to open those gates up?

I'm too busy to start a whole club, though. But I could organize a one-day event. Like an open studios, but with gardens. I'd have to get some gardeners to sign on, make a map with the locations, distribute the map and then enjoy the day. I can do that! Patrick might even help--though it all depends on whether or not he likes the format I choose ( ! ). Sometimes he's a real poop...

So, I'm going to look into this. I also need to get WAM off the ground, which takes priority. Anyone out there a Maldonian and interested in this garden idea?

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Cute alert!

We went to a one-year-old's jungle-themed birthday party today. Aren't these lion cupcakes too cute?!


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Barangay Santiago is popularly known as “Payapang Burol” among people in community and its neighboring barangays. Our Barangay was formerly part of Payapa which was divided into payapang Burol and Payapa Labak, a barrio of Lipa together which are four other barrios namely Calicangan, Bilucao, Luta, Muzon, separated from Lipa and formed a new town of Malvar in 1919. Then five barrios were subdivided into 15 barangays of Malvar.

There was no recorded history about the emergence of its people on whether were originated from certain tribes or minorities like in other places, but its people were came to know as the typical Batanguenos. Some early settlers were the families of Lat, Manalo, Lantin, Laja,Coro, Terrenal, Mendoza, Dimaunahan, Lajato, Ocampo, Bautista, Olan, Javier, Cuevas, which are evidently predominant existing in this barangay.

The first to lead this barangay since it was created year 1919 was Cabeza de Barangay Claro Lat, Santiago Manalo, then to Barrio Lieutenant Galicano Laja, Ambrocio Terrenal, Vicente Orias, Amado Mendoza, Emilio Hernandez, Baldomero Lantin and Barangay Captain Artemio Abrogena, Teodoro Lantin, Renato Lorzano, Zenaida Aranza, Melchor Hernandez and Araceli Mendoza.

Now as it was established at its own very name Barangay Santiago derived from its Patron Santiago Apostol and it has an inhabitant of 4,891: 2,495 were male and 2,396 Female (as of 2009 census) there were 1,176 households with 1,276 families. The main sources of income were classified as industrial, commercial and agricultural. There were employed in private & government offices, factories, overseas contract workers and were engaged in wood & iron craft, auto shops, garments industry, vegetables farming, piggery, and nata de coco production. Fast food counters line up along the main & provincial road.

Barangay Santiago is a peaceful & progressive home of industrious people. It is located next to the boundary of Lipa City and Malvar to the North & is 3.5 kilometers away from the town proper. It has a total land area of more than 352 hectares within which approximately 25% is being occupied by the LIMA Technology Center.

Punong Barangay: Jhony O. Mendoza

Barangay Kagawad:
1. Antonio R. Fiscal
2. Noli L. Laja
3. Louie M. De Castro
4. Lemuel F. Mando
5. Gerald L. Madrid
6. Zosimo A. Terrenal
7. Ronnie L. De Castro

Barangay Secretary: Zernan L. Terrenal
Barangay Treasurer: Amparo B. Bedis


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Category Archives: quote

Engage in Improving the Management System

To actually improve management you need to engage in continual improvement of your management systems. This requires doing the hard work of challenging complacency. The job of those improving the practice of management is not to make everyone happy and just ignore that the words about improvement are not actually carrying through to changes in behavior.

Do Executives “Get It?”

So many times executives spout the importance of new initiatives like wellness programs, safety programs, or improvement projects like Lean, Six Sigma, etc. They talk about how great they are and how everyone should embrace them so the company can improve, but when push comes to shove, their actions indicate they really don’t believe in them.

If you are trying to bring about change you need in-process indications of actual success at improving the management system. Instead it seems to me, most of the time, the focus is on spinning what is being done to convince others that what is being done is good. This is not helpful and not useful.

Without in-process indications of how the movement to a better management system is performing the pattern is all too common. People want to show they are doing a good job (which often includes not being too negative – because if they criticize results they can be branded as negative). So instead we end up with actions that would be used if one assumed that while we had problems with the last 4 management fads we implemented, now we have this wonderful new idea it will avoid all the problems.

So we start our new process, and write up reports and presentations for meetings talking about our successes. We are careful to ignore any warning signs. Then, after 1, 2… years (in a good economy this can last quite a bit longer), the boss says the results are not improving, this isn’t working. Everyone quickly agrees and the improvement effort is dropped. Usually there will be a period of time taken until and a new fad is found that everyone agrees is wonderful for 2-5 years until they then all agree was a failure. Repeat for the rest of your career.

To break this cycle and actually continually improve we can’t go along with the in-process indications that the management improvement system is not really working. We need to seek out indications that it is not working and address those issues and build a strong continually improving management system.

Related: Management Advice Failuresflavors of management improvement effortsmanage what you can’t measureFederal Government Chief Performance Officer (a specific example of the repeated failure to improve), just pretending the failures in the past didn’t exist doesn’t help the current effort

Respect for People Doesn’t Mean Avoiding Any Hint of Criticism

As I said in a post a few years ago on respect for people and Taiichi Ohno‘s sometimes very aggressive style:

The difference between respect and disrespect is not avoiding avoiding criticism. In fact often if you respect someone you can be much more direct and critical than you can with someone you treat as though they don’t have the ability to listen to hard truths and improve. I think we often have so little respect for people we just avoid dealing with anything touchy because we don’t want to risk they won’t be able to react to the issues raised and will instead just react as if they have been personally attacked.

Masaaki Imai described Taiichi Ohno’s style this way

he had such a high expectation of the staff and managers under him. If they were not doing something the right way, he would explode. And when he exploded, he really would explode.

But for those who came to him and really asked for help, he was very patient. He wouldn’t give them the answer, but preferred to provide them with enough of an understanding of the situation, as well as help on how they could deal with the problem. So he was very much a teacher and a leader.

I would say that while Taiichi Ohno was truly remarkable that doesn’t mean he did everything right. And he might well have failed to communicate in a way that conveyed respect for people fully, when he exploded. He was great, but his methods could also be improved. At the same time some extent showing some fire may be helpful at times to get people to take things seriously (avoiding the need for this is even better, but not everything will be done as well as it possible can be).
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Good Process Improvement Practices

Good process improvement practices include:

  • standardized improvement process (pdsa, or whatever)
  • Going to the gemba – improvement is done where the work is done. You must go to the where the action is. Sitting in meeting rooms, or offices, reading reports and making decisions is not the way to improve effectively.
  • evidence based decision making, data guides decision making rather than HiPPO
  • broad participation (those working on the process should be the ones working on improving it and everyone in the organization should be improving their processes)
  • measurable results that are used to measure effectiveness
  • pilot improvement on a small scale, after results are shown to be improvements deploy standardized solutions more broadly
  • visual management
  • Standardized work instructions are used for processes
  • one of the aims of the improvement process should be improving peoples ability to improve over the long term (one outcome of the process should be a better process another should be that people learned and can apply what they learned in future improvements)
  • quality tools should be used, people should be trained on such tools. The tools are essentially standardized methods that have been shown to be effective. And most organization just ignore them and struggle to reinvent methods to achieve results instead of just applying methods already shown to be very effective.
  • the improvements are sustained. Changes are made to the system and they are adopted: this seems obvious but far too often process improvements are really just band-aids that fall off a few weeks later and nothing is done to sustain it.
  • goals, bonuses and extrinsic motivation are not part of the process
  • The improvement process itself should be continually improved

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Respect People: Trust Them to Use good Judgment

Nordstrom’s employee handbook used to be presented on a single 5 x 8 card:

Welcome to Nordstrom
We’re glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them. So our employee handbook is very simple.

We have only one rule: Use good judgment in all situations.

Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.

That is no longer the case, however, as they have become more like everyone else. Simple ideas like this only work within the right context. Taking such ideas and applying them to an organization that isn’t ready will backfire. But if you build a culture where trust, respect, customer service and responsibility are encouraged lots of rules just get in the way of people doing their best. If you can’t trust employees to do their jobs, the problem is with the system you have that results in that, not the people you can’t trust.

Related: Trust Employees to Do What is RightHire People You Can Trust to Do Their JobWe are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemenFlaws in Understanding Psychology Lead to Flawed ManagementBuild an Environment Where Intrinsic Motivation Flourishes

A Theory of a System for Educators and Managers

Excerpts from The Deming Library Volume XXI, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Dr. Russell Ackoff and David Langford demonstrate that educators can begin a quality transformation by developing an understanding of the properties and powers of systems-oriented thinking. You can order the entire video, as well as the rest of The Deming Library.

Great stuff! If you enjoy this blog (the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog), you definitely should watch this webcast. This video has some great insight into education, learning and systems thinking. It also provides a good explanation of systems thinking compared to analysis. Dr. Ackoff: “You cannot explain the behavior of a system by analysis.” “The performance of the whole is never the sum of the performance of the parts taken separately: but it’s the product of their interactions. Therefore, the basic managerial idea introduced by systems thinking is that to manage a system effectively you must focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behavior taken separately.”

Dr. Deming: “You may reduce defects to zero and go out of business.”

Dr. Ackoff: “Most discussion of education assume that the best way to learn a subject is to have it taught to you. That’s nonsense… Teaching is a wonderful way to learn. Therefore if we want people to learn we have to make them teach.” If you want more on this see David Langford’s work which provides great advice on how to improve learning and education.

Related: Dr. Deming Webcast on the 5 Deadly DiseasesAn Introduction to Deming’s Management Ideas by Peter ScholtesHow to Manage What You Can’t MeasureMarissa Mayer Webcast on Google InnovationTraffic Congestion and a Non-Solution

Positivity and Joy in Work

John and Bill Hunter

After my father died, for years (at least 10), people I never had met before would emotionally share what a positive influence he had on their lives. He did great stuff helping organizations improve. But the majority of people were not telling me how much he helped the organization improve [there were also a bunch of engineers and statisticians 🙂 that were more impressed with his insights and expertise]. But most people talked about was how much happier they were because of the changes he helped them see they could make in their lives.

He helped them expect to take joy from work and so they did (and a big part in taking joy in work for most is helping others take joy in work – you don’t find many workplaces with 15 miserable people and one joyful person). Many had to leave their current organizations that were too broken for them to fix. But after they saw what they should expect they couldn’t just keep passing time without joy in work.

Now I am sure their were hundreds of people that never talked to me that never made any such change. But the number of people that did took what was a decent chance that I would continue working with the management ideas I absorbed from him (data based decision making, Deming, joy in work, respect for people…) and made it a very great one. Unfortunately I am nowhere near as affective as he was.

Creating organization that show respect for people in the workplace and give them tools to improve is far more powerful than most people understand. Most people get scared about “soft” “mushy” sounding ideas like “joy in work.” I have to say I sympathize with those people. But it is true.

To get “joy in work” it isn’t about eliminating annoyances. Fundamentally it is about taking pride in what you do and eliminating the practices in so many organizations that dehumanize people. And to create a system where the vast majority of people can have joy in work most of the time requires a deep understanding and application of modern management improvement practices (Deming, lean thinking, etc.).

The photo shows Dad, William Hunter, and me on the beach.

In response to A Breath of Lean Positivity – Paul Akers

Related: William G. Hunter AwardPeter ScholtesJoy in Work, Software Development

Dee Hock on Hiring

Great quote from Dee Hock, founder of Visa:

Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good use by people with all the other qualities.

This short article from Fast Company is packed with powerful management and leadership insight. Read more Curious Cat management article suggestions, on our recently improved site.

Related: Hire People You Can Trust to Do Their JobHiring the Right People for the Jobfind management improvement jobs: lean manufacturing, six sigma…posts for managers on hiring staffmanagement and leadership quotes

Build an Environment Where Intrinsic Motivation Flourishes

50 years after Douglas McGregor’s classic, The Human Side of Enterprise, too many managers still have not learned that using extrinsic motivation is not an effective way to manage complex human systems (organizations). The issue is important to me because their is a huge amount of poor management based on this thinking (focused on how people need to be fixed/motivated) instead of fixing what management really needs to fix.

You can succeed as a manager, and progress in your career, by viewing your role as helping people do their jobs well. As McGregor shows workers want to do a good job. He termed managing with this understanding theory y; and theory x is the idea that people should be motivated with carrots and sticks because they are not going to do work otherwise. Organizations have often so systemically de-motivated people they seem to have lost that desire. What you need to focus on is not motivating them with cheap tricks. Instead focus on eliminating the factors that de-motivate them.

Often simplistic motivation is seen as a replacement for fixing management performance (improving the management systems…). Instead managers should focus on eliminating the sources of de-motivation in the workplace. If you need hints, Dilbert does a good job of showing you what management does that de-motivates.

To succeed as a manager assume people wish to do a good job. If employees are not performing some task well, the manager needs to figure out what is wrong with the system that leads to this outcome (not what is wrong with the employees). When a manger views the problem as one of motivating workers that puts the problem within the worker. They need to be changed. That is the wrong strategy, most of the time. Instead you will have much more success if you seek to improve the system to improve performance.

I believe there is often a burden to overcome. As people have their intrinsic motivation crushed time after time day after day, week after week, year after year they try to protect themselves by shutting off their hope to achieve intrinsic motivation at work. You may have to show you really are serious before they will open up again. You have to make real changes and do so consistently that shows respect for people. Intrinsic motivation is a strong force and a few earlier adopters will quickly come along in all but the most broken organizations. You can build on that success (and eliminat more and more de-motivation) to grow intrinsic motivation in more and more people.
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How to Manage What You Can’t Measure

In Out of the Crisis, page 121, Dr. Deming wrote:

the most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable (Lloyd S. Nelson, director of statistical methods for the Nashua corporation), but successful management must nevertheless take account of them.

So what do you do then? I am a strong advocate of Deming’s ideas on management. I see understanding system thinking, psychology, the theory of knowledge and variation as the tools to use when you can’t get precise measures (or when you can).

Even if you can’t measure exactly what you want, you can learn about the area with related data. You are not able to measure the exact benefit of a happy customer but you can get measures that give you evidence of the value and even magnitude. And you can get measures of the costs of dis-satisfied customers. I just mention this to be clear getting data is very useful and most organizations need to focus on gathering sensible data and using it well.

Without precise measure though you have to use judgment. Judgment will often be better with an understanding of theory and repeated attempts to test those theories and learn. Understanding variation can be used even if you don’t have control charts and data. Over-reaction to special causes is very common. Even without data, this idea can be used to guide your thoughts.

The danger is that we mistake measures for the thing itself. Measures are a proxy and we need to understand the limitation of the data we use. The main point Deming was making was we can’t just pretend the data we have tells us everything we need to know. We need to think. We need to understand that the data is useful but the limitations need to be remembered.

Human systems involve people. To manage human systems you need to learn about psychology. Paying attention to what research can show about motivation, fear, trust, etc. is important and valuable. It aids management decisions when you can’t get the exact data that you would like. If people are unhappy you can see it. You may also be able to measure aspects of this (increased sick leave, increased turnover…). If people are unhappy they often will not be as pleasant to interact with as people who are happy. You can make judgments about the problems created by internal systems that rob people of joy in work and prevent them from helping customers.

For me the key is to use the Deming’s management system to guide action when you can’t get clear data. We should keep trying to find measures that will help. In my experience even though there are many instances where we can get definite data on exactly what we want we fail to get data that would help guide actions a great deal). Then we need to understand the limitations of the data we can gather. And then we need to continually improve and continually learn.

When you have clear data, Deming’s ideas are also valuable. But when the data is lacking it is even more important to take a systemic approach to making management decisions. Falling back into using the numbers you can get to drive decision making is a recipe for trouble.

Related: Manage what you can’t measureStatistical Engineering Links Statistical Thinking, Methods and Toolsoutcome measures

Delighting Customers

If you have customers that see you as adequate you will keep customers based on inertia.

But you have several big problems awaiting you. Those trying to win your customers business only have to overcome inertia – which can be very low hurdle (saving a small bit of money, some minor additional feature). If your customers are delighted they won’t leave (by and large) without significant reasons to.

Also your attempts to increase price are very likely to lead to increased customer losses (than if customers are delighted). Delighted customers are willing to pay a premium which helps profits enormously (Apple has done this quite well).

Delighted customers will refer others to you – great free marketing.

Satisfied customers leave you very little leeway for error. If you cause satisfied customers some problem (which granted, hopefully you won’t but if you do) they are not likely to be forgiving. If they are delighted they may well stay even if you have a delay, provide less than stellar customer service for some request…

There are many ways to attempt to delight customers. One of the simplest powerful tools is to ask a very simple question: What Could we do Better?

Related: What Job Does Your Product Do?It Just WorksKano Model of customer satisfactioncustomer focus resources

The Problem is Likely Not the Person Pointing Out The Problem

I believe the problem is likely not the person pointing out the problem. Now granted I have often been that person. Part of what I have been tasked with doing in various jobs is finding ways to improve the performance of the organization. I was told the managers wanted to hear about problems from someone working there, so I was asked to do so. What it often meant was they wanted someone to fix the problems they thought existed not point out the problem was the systems, not the people forced to deal with the systems.

I have learned managers are a lot happier if I just shut up about all the problems that should be addressed. There are happy if I can fix what I can (though really they seem to care much more about not being negative than any actually improving) and just be quiet about anything else – otherwise you are seen as “negative.”

How to Manage Whining with no Problem Solving

As individuals begin to focus on the negative and don’t engage in problem solving, this behavior is unacceptable

The first time, it is a venting and commonly a subject matter problem. The next time we have a trend occurring, and this is where we need to coach our team player to be constructive process improvement artists. If the whining continues, we may be dealing with a negative attitude which has begun to permeate our colleague.

explore the previous solution’s outcomes; help the individual to be empowered to resolve the issue. If it is absolutely above the teammate authority, offer to help and commit to actions.

I think it is right to focus the effort on problem solving to improve the situation. I fear that far too often though “As individuals begin to focus on the negative and don’t engage in problem solving, this behavior is unacceptable.” turns into ignore problems. Yes, I know that isn’t what the post is suggesting. I am just saying that the easy “solution” that is taken far too often is to focus on the words “negative” and “unacceptable.”

I believe the focus should be on “broken systems are unacceptable.” I would prefer problem solving to address the issues but a culture of ignoring issues and seeing those that don’t as being negative is often the real problem (not the person that points out the problems).

I have discussed this topic in some posts previously: Ignoring Unpleasant Truths is Often Encouraged and Bring Me Problems, and Solutions if You Have Them. Once I am given those problems I agree with you completely. Use them as an opportunity to coach effective problem solving and process improvement strategies to improve the situation. And to develop people.

Often the problem is not the person at all. The organization never adopts fixes. People have learned that they can bang their head against the wall and then never get approval for the fix or they can just whine. Blaming them for choosing whining is not useful. I don’t see how Asking 5 whys you get to blaming the employee, except in very rare cases for not problem solving. It seems to me the issue is almost always going to lay with management: for why people are frustrated with system results and are not problem solving.
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Building on Successful Improvement

Do ‘Quick Wins’ Hurt Lean Initiatives?

This becomes very difficult, since in many organizations these executives have the strategic attention span equivalent to the life-cycle of a mayfly. When the ‘quick win’ approach is taken, the savings / impact becomes like a drug to the executives. They see the benefit and they want more – NOW. Usually they are able to get this for a while, since they are very interested in the program at the beginning and show their support thought attending events and removing obstacles, and in general there are a lot of opportunities in healthcare for immediate improvement. However, as these opportunities dry up, and the work gets harder, while the executives focus shifts elsewhere, the expectation is to continue to deliver exponential results (a clear sign the truly do not understand the fundamental concepts at play here), and those who are leading the Lean charge, try to appease.

If you don’t change how people think, the quick improvement can end up not helping much. I think quick wins help. But managing how those quick wins happen is important. Creating a maintaining a dialogue that while quick wins are possible, much bigger wins are possible by building on the gains to adopt more critical improvement (and often more complex and requiring more effort) .

As quick wins are achieved try and be sure they are building capacity at the same time. Get people to think in new ways and see improvement opportunities. Also have people learn new tools to attack more problems with. I firmly believe you learn lean best by doing lean. So getting quick successes is great training – better than classroom training. But in doing so, you do want to focus on making sure people understand how the quick fix is a process they can repeat to improve other areas.

And one of the skills you have to practice in the example mentioned in the post mentioned above is managing up. It is tricky but part of what you need to do is coach your bosses to understand lean so that you can expand the adoption of more lean thinking in your organization.

Related: How to ImproveBuilding a Great WorkforceFlaws in Understanding Psychology Lead to Flawed ManagementLeadership

Involve IT Staff in Business Process Improvement

I started out basically working on management improvement from the start of my career. My makeup (I am never satisfied and figure things should always be better) along with a few traits, experiences and probably even genes made this a natural fit for me. I tend to take the long view and find fire fighting a waste of time. Why fix some symptom, I want to fix the system so that problem doesn’t happen again. My father worked in statistics, engineering and business improvement and as I was growing up I had plenty of experience with process improvement, understanding variation, experimenting, measuring results

I came into the IT world as I had needs and found the best solution was to write some software to help me accomplish what I wanted to. One thing that better software tools allowed is this type of thing when organizations failed to use technology well, individuals could just do so themselves. Without these tools people had to rely on the organization, but today atrophied IT organizations can often be circumvented. Though the IT organizations often try to avoid this largely by bans (instead of by providing the tools people need), which is not a good sign, in my opinion.

I then spent more and more of my time working with technology but I always retained my focus on improving the management of the organization, with technology playing a supporting role in that effort. That is true even as where I sat changed. And I have become more convinced organizations would be served well by using the information technology staff as business process experts.

At one point I sat in the Office of Secretary of Defense, Quality Management Office where I was able to focus on management improvement and using technology to aid that effort. Then I went to the White House Military Office, Customer Support and Organizational Development office and focused largely on how to using technology to meet the mission. Then I was moved into the White House Military Office, Office of Information Technology Management.

And now I work for the American Society for Engineering Education in the Information Technology department. My role started as partially program management and partially software development and as we have grown and hired more software developers I am now nearly completely a program manager.

I believe technology is a central component of understanding business processes today. But the truth is, many business people don’t have as complete an understanding as I feel they should. Now I believe, most anyone interested in planning their management career needs to develop a facility with technology and specifically how to use software applications to improve performance. You don’t need to be an expert programmer but you need to understand the strengths, weakness, limits of technical solutions. You need to understand how technology can be used (and the risks of options).

At the same time I just don’t think it is likely management everywhere will get a decent understanding of application software development. I also believe that in many cases organizations should do software development in house. This is a issue that certainly can be argued (but I won’t do it here). Basically I don’t think organizations should cram their processes into designs required by off the shelf software. Instead I believe they should design processes optimal for their organization and using off the shelf software often does the opposite (forces the process decisions around what software someone decided to buy). There is plenty of use for off the shelf software that doesn’t force you to make your processes fit into them (and sometimes even if it does that is the business decision that has to be made – I just think far too often organizations look at short term costs and not the overall best solutions for the system).
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Frugal Innovation

First break all the rules

The device is a masterpiece of simplification. The multiple buttons on conventional ECGs have been reduced to just four. The bulky printer has been replaced by one of those tiny gadgets used in portable ticket machines. The whole thing is small enough to fit into a small backpack and can run on batteries as well as on the mains. This miracle of compression sells for $800, instead of $2,000 for a conventional ECG

Frugal products need to be tough and easy to use. Nokia’s cheapest mobile handsets come equipped with flashlights (because of frequent power cuts), multiple phone books (because they often have several different users), rubberised key pads and menus in several different languages. Frugal does not mean second-rate.

The article goes on to talk about several methods for how to profit from reducing costs which seem misguided. Frugal innovation is about thinking about meeting the needs of huge numbers of customers that can’t afford conventional solutions. By talking a new look at the situation and attempting to find solutions with significant price constraints new markets can be opened. Often this requires thinking similar to disruptive innovation (products that serve a similar need but less completely than current options).

It also requires the engineering principles of appropriate technology. I highlight this thinking in my Curious Cat Engineering blog and find it very worthwhile. For organizations that have a true mission to serve some purpose using such thinking allows a greatly expanded potential market in which to make a difference in the world.

There is a great quote from Jeff Bezos that captures one reason why organizations so often fail to address frugal innovation: “There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less.” Many organizations are focused on trying to charge more, not less. Another problem is that decision makers often have no life experience with cheap solutions – this doesn’t prevent frugal innovation but it does make them less likely to see the need and to decide to solve those customer needs.

Related: Appropriate ManagementManaging InnovationProcess Improvement and Innovation

Classic Management Theories Are Still Relevant

Good management is good management: it doesn’t matter if someone figured out the good idea 100 years ago or last week.

Are “Classic” Management Theories Still Relevant?

It did make me wonder about the staying power of management models, processes, skills, and conventional wisdom…

There are way too many people in our field that are not true professionals – they don’t do their homework, and rely too much on their own personal experience. They’re the ones who tend to jump from one fad to the next, enthusiastically promoting each one with an almost religious passion.

However, there’s also a danger of not keeping up with the times and sticking with models or skills that really have outlived their usefulness. At best, you run the risk of coming across as a dinosaur when you explain a management model that was developed in the 1920’s to a group of Millennials. Even worse, you may be relying on models that really don’t apply in today’s world.

Classic management ideas are definitely very valuable today. It is amazing how little use of long known good leadership lessons actually takes place in organizations. You don’t need to discover secrets to improve, just adopt ideas others ignore since they are not new (or whatever justification they use for ignoring them).

One of the main things I have been trying to do with my web sites is to get people to use the already well documented successful management practices.

Bad management ideas are bad: Regardless if they were good ideas 40 years ago, or not. I find bad management practices most often never were good practices so worrying about outdated good practices is not something that merits much time. Just avoid bad practices, don’t worry about when the practices were adopted.

As Dan McCarthy says in his post: “Read and respect the classics and keep up with the latest.”

And if you have to focus on one, focus on the classics. Most of what is new isn’t worthwhile so you will likely spend a lot of time reading about fads that die before you can even try to adopt the ideas into your organizational system. There are good new ideas – read Clayton Christensen, for some good new ideas (even many of those are nearly 10 years old now). Agile software development is another area where good tactics seem new. Mainly agile management offers good ideas on tactics for applying lots of good management ideas (often these ideas are not new), it seems to me.

Related: New or Different? Just Choose BetterManagement Advice FailuresNew Management Truths Sometimes Started as HeresiesNot New Rules for Management

Incentivizing Behavior Doesn’t Improve Results

In the webcast Dan Pink’s shares research results exploring human motivation and ideas on how to manage organization given the scientific research on motivation.

  • “once a task called for even rudimentary cognitive skill a larger reward led to poorer performance”
  • “Pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table. Pay people enough so they are not thinking about money they are thinking about the work.”
  • “3 factors lead to better performance: autonomy, mastery and purpose” [not additional cash rewards]
  • Open source software is created by highly skilled people contributing their time to collaborative projects that are then given away (such as Linux, Ruby, Apache). For large efforts their are often people paid by companies to contribute to the open source software but many people contribute 20-30, and more hours a week for free to such efforts, why? “Challenge, mastery and making a contribution”
  • “When the profit motive becomes unmoored from the purpose motive, bad thing happen. Bad things ethically sometimes, but also bad things like not good stuff, like crappy products, like lame services, like uninspiring places to work… People don’t do great things”
  • “If we start treating people like people… get past this ideology of idea of carrots and sticks and look at the science we can actually build organization and work life that make us better off, but I also think they have the promise to make our world a just a little bit better.”

The ideas presented emphasize respect for people, an understanding of psychology and validating beliefs with data. All of it fits very well with Deming’s ideas on management and the idea I try to explore in this blog. It isn’t easy to adjust your ideas. But the evidence continues to pile up against some outdated management practices. And good managers have to learn and adapt their practices to what is actually effective.

Related: Extrinsic Incentives Kill CreativityThe Trouble with Incentives: They WorkRighter IncentivizationIndividual Bonuses Are Bad Management

Interruptions Can Severely Damage Performance

Interruptions can severely degrade your performance. The type of work you are doing impacts the cost greatly. I have spent some of my time programming web applications. When I am doing that interruptions are huge drain on my performance (for me the costs of interruptions while programming are far higher than any other type of work I have done – many times higher). If the interruption disrupts my flow (an interruption needn’t necessarily disrupt it I found, instant messages may not, while speaking to someone else almost surely would – it is a factor of how much of your brain much shift focus I imagine) it can take a huge amount of time to get back into a high performing state. Other work I do can be interrupted with much less impact. I am easily able to slip back into what I was doing.

For me the main cost of interruptions is the time it takes to get back to where I was before the interruption. And the cost is related to how much focus is needed to address what you are working on. Most programming takes a huge amount of focus.

Another big cost of interruptions is the increased risk of mistakes. When people are distracted and then have to go back to a task, and then are distracted, and then go back and… it is more likely they will miss a step or miss noticing some issue than if they can work without distraction. One tool to help cope for distractions that can’t be designed out are checklists.

Paul Graham addressed the importance of managing the system to provide uninterrupted time very well in, Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule

One reason programmers dislike meetings so much is that they’re on a different type of schedule from other people. Meetings cost them more

Most powerful people are on the manager’s schedule. It’s the schedule of command. But there’s another way of using time that’s common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started.

Paul Graham’s article also shows why managers so often fail to adequately address this issue. Manager, by and large, work in an environment where interruptions are the work. I know, much of my time as a program manager is driven by interruptions and is doable even with many interruption every day.

When managing you need to understand how big a cost interruptions have and design systems appropriate to optimize system performance for all parts of the system. The design of the system needs to take into account the costs and benefits of interruptions for those people working on various processes in the system.

Related: Understanding How to Manage GeeksExplaining Managers to ProgrammersWhat Motivates Programmers?Joy in Work – Software DevelopmentProgrammers CartoonChecklists in Software Development

Ignoring Unpleasant Truths is Often Encouraged

We can’t Handle the Truth

Unfortunately, the proverbial “kill the messenger” is alive and well in American business. People who speak the truth are often labeled as a non-team player, a disrupter, a trouble maker or the current tag of being “not a good fit”.

It doesn’t take much to see that the truth can get watered down, altered or hidden entirely inside a company, especially as it moves vertically up the ladder. We may believe, at least in the short term, that this is the best way considering the risk, political correctness and social politeness but at what cost?

What I have seen is truth is not valued much. I’m interested in creating improvement. I thought people would be driven by data and possible strategies to improve. But I have found that just isn’t often true.

So, from my experience, the strategy to improve means not distracting people with many of the truths. Try to fix the system and convince others to fix the system as you can. If some efforts are resisted try to adjust. Sometimes try a different strategy to get improvement. Sometimes I just drop trying to improve that particular thing. There are usually so many options for improvement it isn’t tough to find plenty of others that may be more successfully tackled.

I am someone who find it frustrating that many don’t seem interested in really understanding what the system is producing and where weaknesses exist. But, at least for me, trying to have things work the way I want (where an open exploration of the truth was the focus) isn’t the priority. I have figured it is better to give up on that desire and work within the reality that exists.

I can’t stop myself though from pointing out things far more often than people want. I have no doubt it has annoyed people and gotten me in trouble. But nothing that wasn’t manageable, I just make things a bit more difficult for myself.

One, very visible, sign of people avoiding the truth is if people say very different things in meetings and out of them. It is amazing to me how much less likely anything that could be sen as a complaint or criticism to be voiced in a meeting versus in the hallway. It isn’t so surprising if you understand human psychology (the tendency to blame those who voice a problem). People figure this out and keep their mouth shut. But to their friends they understand they can point out the problems and not be blamed (so in the hallways, you get a much more honest understanding of what people think). This is a bad sign. If your organization trains people to ignore unpleasant truths it makes managing more difficult and results in poorer performance.

Related: The difference between respect and disrespect is not avoiding avoiding criticismInformation Technology and Business Process SupportHow to ImproveFind the Root Cause Instead of the Person to BlameInformation Technology and ManagementRespect for People, Understanding PsychologyBring Me Problems, and Solutions if You Have ThemBetter MeetingsPeople are Our Most Important Asset

The Toyota Way – Two Pillars

Toyota is receiving plenty of criticism now, much of it for good reason. There is also a large amount of psychology involved. From what I have seen, the insurance companies still see better claims history (fewer and lower cost claims) against Toyota than other manufacturers. And there is another strain that seems to enjoy criticizing what has been praised. Toyota does need to improve. But that is improvement of the existing management system, not a need to radically change the management of the company.

I think Toyota, even with the problems, is a fantastic example of a very well managed company. Yet even with all the study of lean manufacturing even basic ideas are overlooked. For example, the two main pillars of the Toyota way are “continuous improvement” and “respect for people.” For all of us, it is valuable to refocusing on core principles. We are too often looking for the next new idea.

This is one way of looking at the pillars of the Toyota Production System, from the Toyota Technical Center – Austrailia

Image of Toyota's pillars of management: respect for people and continuous improvement

Continuous Improvement means that we never perceive current success as our final achievement. We are never satisfied with where we are and always improve our business by putting forth our best ideas and efforts: we are keen to create better alternatives, question our accomplishments and investigate future definitions of success.

There are three building blocks shaping our commitment to Continuous Improvement:

1. Challenge – we form a long term vision, meeting challenges with courage and creativity to realize our dreams;
2. Kaizen – we improve our business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution
3. Genchi Genbutsu – we go to the source to find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus and achieve goals.

Respect For People refers to our own staff as well as the communities and stakeholder groups that surround us and we are part of. We respect our people and believe the success of our business is created by individual efforts and good teamwork.

Respect For People is translated in:

1. Respect – we respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility and do our best to build mutual trust
2. Teamwork – we stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development and maximize individual and team performance.

These elements combined define our corporate DNA, provide a way of operating that is recognised by each and every Toyota-member around the globe and enables us to sustain our success in the future.

Back to Basics for Toyota by Akio Toyoda

When my grandfather brought Toyota into the auto business in 1937, he created a set of principles that has always guided how we operate. We call it the Toyota Way, and its pillars are “respect for people” and “continuous improvement.” I believe in these core principles. And I am convinced that the only way for Toyota to emerge stronger from this experience is to adhere more closely to them.

While recent events show Toyota obviously needs to improve, that has been true all along (it is just more obvious lately). Some may see this as an indication that these lean manufacturing ideas based on Toyota’s practices are no better than other management practices. I don’t believe this. I feel just as strongly about the value of lean management as ever. I think that the recent events show you that no matter how well an organization in managed there is plenty of room to improve. Toyota never was close to perfection. They have much to improve, but they are still one of the best managed companies in the world.

My comments in 2005:

I think the instances of such failures are just a sign that even Toyota still has quite a bit to improve. I think this announcement likely is a result of common cause variation (it is the natural result of the current system). The natural result (of the system) is not that they have this particular failure, but that this recall is consistent with the % of vehicles that required a recall of this general character. I believe they are getting better over time but they still have a long way to go. With a result based on common cause you want to look at the entire system when designing an improvement plan not at the root cause of the seat belt issue. See Responding to Variation online and the book, Forth Generation Management, by Brian Joiner.

Related: Toyota Stops Lines – Lots of LinesAkio Toyoda’s Message Shows Real LeadershipDeming CompaniesRespect for People Does Not Mean No Criticism

And my comments in 2007:

I don’t agree that they need to rethink their purpose in life (I have a feeling that is taken out of context). They need to maintain and maybe even increase their commitment to their purpose in life.

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Aligning Marketing Vision and Management

Why do so many companies market one thing and provide something else? I know it might be easier to sell something different than what you offer your customer today. But if you decide to market one vision, why don’t you change your organization to actually offer that?

I suspect this is substantially due to the outsourced nature of large marketing efforts. It makes sense to me that when you outsource your marketing message creation it isn’t tied to your management system and the two silos can pursue their own visions.

I would imagine marketers would claim they “partner” yada yada yada (and sometimes it actual seems to happen, but not often). As a consumer it sure looks to me like companies outsource marketing to ad agencies that come up with marketing plans that are not in harmony with the real company at all. I can understand putting a positive spin on things, but so much marketing is just completely at odds with how the company operates.

Treating a marketing message as something separate from management is a serious problem. When your marking message says one thing and your customers get something else that is a problem. I think the message is often based on what the executives wish the company was (and the outsourced marketers think it should be), but it isn’t the customer experience the management system provides.

If you believe the vision of your marketing then make sure your organization has embraced those principles. I think, often, companies would be wise to follow the vision their marketers came up with. But instead they tell customers to expect one thing and manage the organization to provide something else. I just don’t see how that is sensible.

Related: Marketing in a Lean CompanyPackaging ImprovementCustomer Service is ImportantConfusing Customer FocusIncredibly Bad Customer Service from Discover Card
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Entrepreneurial development key to boosting economic growth

By on April 30, 2014

Levels of motivation to start a business differ around the world, and in South Africa entrepreneurship is often necessity driven due to businesses being created as a result of a need for employment, rather than because the business owners view the business as an entrepreneurial opportunity.

According to Christo Botes, Executive Director of Business Partners Limited, in order to shift necessity-driven entrepreneurship to opportunity-driven entrepreneurship, an investment into entrepreneurial development is needed in the country. Botes explains that an opportunity-driven entrepreneur is an individual that strives to capitalise on opportunities in the broader economy.

“While necessity-driven entrepreneurs are benefiting the economy, their businesses are often developed out of need and related to one specific and physical skill, such as building, selling or designing. These entrepreneurs hold the skill necessary to do the job, but require basic business development support in order to grow their business further than the one particular skill.”

He adds that entrepreneurial development and equipping entrepreneurs with the necessary tools is a method of ensuring further entrepreneurial opportunities that can be identified and capitalised on for not only the business owner, but also its employees, family, suppliers, customers and the economy at large.

“The true test of entrepreneurship does not lie in starting a business, but in being able to maintain continued success and growth for the business. One way to grow entrepreneurship in South Africa is to empower and equip motivated entrepreneurs, which will ensure that they are capable to capitalise on the opportunities available to them,” he says

He adds that in order to continuously support and nurture entrepreneurial development in South Africa, an entrepreneurial ecosystem needs to be established. “Creating such an ecosystem is a long-term project, which requires a mix of structured programs and support mechanisms that are aimed at stimulating and developing entrepreneurs, and one such element to this ecosystem is establishments that focus on entrepreneurship, as well as provide education in business skills and promote mentorship and training.”

Botes says that entrepreneurial development is imperative as it ensures all entrepreneurs are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to grow their business from strength to strength, as well as ensure they are on par with that of their competitors. “Entrepreneurs that have previously undergone such training not only have newly acquired skills to apply to their business, but have the confidence to step out of their current comfort level.

“This entrepreneurial development also supports entrepreneurs to turn opportunities into real business ventures and maximise on real sustainable job creation which are both needed for the local economy to grow,” concludes Botes.

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Marlene D. Fischman, 51

M arlene D. Fischman, 51, passed away on March 15, 2011, in Stony Brook Hospital near Nesconset, Long Island, NY.

She was born July 31, 1959 at Monticello, NY, the daughter of A. Jacqueline (Bennett) Litts and Roy H. Litts. The family moved to Granville, NY in 1966. She graduated from high school there; class of 1977. After spending two months visiting with a family in Japan, she matriculated to Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY. While there, she spent one semester at a University in London, England. Marlene graduated from Stony Brook University, earning her Bachelors degree in Foreign Relations in 1981.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Daniel Fischman and their daughter, Leah Fischman, both of Nesconset, NY.

Marlene had an expansive sense of humor and was so happy when making others laugh. She was also very out-going and felt that a stranger was only someone that she had not yet met. One of her favorite daily adventures was walking her beagle dog “Patches” around her block, and greeting everyone. She was a vibrant, sincere, and personable woman who is sorely missed.

Survivors include her parents, Roy and Jacqueline Litts of Granville, NY; brothers Wayne Litts, wife Suzanne and daughter Nicole of Comstock, NY; Brian Litts of Lake George, NY; Keith Litts, wife Deborah and daughter Emeline of West Rutland, VT and several uncles, aunts and cousins.

Memorial donations in Marlene’s memory should be made to the American Cancer Society or other charities of one’s choice. A memorial service is to be held later in the Spring.

Read more in this week's Sentinel in newsstands now or click here to read right now with our e-edition.

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North Country Freepress – 04/28/17

Lakes Classifieds – 04/28/17

Lakes Region Freepress – 04/28/17

Northshire Freepress – 04/28/17

518 Wheels – 04/27/17

518 Wheels 4-24-17.pdf-web.pdf

Comptroller: Granville fiscally stressed, Whitehall not

By Krystle S. Morey and Matthew Saari Granville is the second-most fiscally stressed village in the state, and trending to […]

School budget, board votes May 16

granville budget

By Krystle S. Morey   The Granville Board of Education is proposing a $26.7 million budget for the next school […]

Haff decries ‘civil forfeiture’

Dana Haff

By Matthew Saari The Washington County Board of supervisors voted Friday to give $64,611 in forfeited funds from legal cases […]

Little League coin drop, clean-up Saturday

little league

By Krystle S. Morey Members of the Granville Little League will take to the streets this weekend to raise money […]

Local schools see state aid increases

budget, state aid

By Krystle S. Morey and Matthew Saari New York State increased education aid for the next fiscal year by $1.1 […]

North Country Freepress – 04/21/17

Lakes Region Freepress – 04/21/17


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Manual of Surgery

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ion is effected is essentially the same in all tissues, but the extent to which different tissues can carry the recuperative process varies. Simple structures, such as skin, cartilage, bone, periosteum, and tendon, for example, have a high power of regeneration, and in them the reparative process may result in almost perfect restitution to the normal. More complex structures, on the other hand, such as secreting glands, muscle, and the tissues of the central nervous system, are but imperfectly restored, simple cicatricial connective tissue taking the place of what has been lost or destroyed. Any given tissue can be replaced only by tissue of a similar kind, and in a damaged part each element takes its share in the reparative process by producing new material which approximates more or less closely to the normal according to the recuperative capacity of the particular tissue. The normal process of repair may be interfered with by various extraneous agencies, the most important of which are infection by disease

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One Capitol Square

830 E. Main St.

One Capital Square One Capitol Square houses a variety of departments at VCU Medical Center as well as the VCU School of Medicine departments of Biostatistics, Health Behavior and Policy, and Family Medicine and Population Health; the Office of Health Innovation; and the Division of Epidemiology. It also contains the VCU Center on Society and Health and the administrative offices of MCV Physicians. The VCU Office of Continuing Medical Education, which is operated by University Health Services Professional Education Programs, is located in the building.

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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sweet Potato Pear Bake

Last week I left you wondering what in the world I made to go with my Cranberry Chicken!  Well, here it is...Sweet Potato Pear Bake...Yummy!  This highly nutritious side dish actually works well as the main course, but I like to keep the hubby happy with meat dishes once in awhile.  :)

  • 1 (15 ounce) can pear halves
  • 3 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
  • 6 tablespoons whole berry cranberry sauce

  1. Drain pears, reserving 2 tablespoons juice (discard remaining juice or save for another use). In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, 3 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and reserved pear juice. beat until combined. Spoon into a greased shallow 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Arrange pear halves onto top, cut side up.
  2. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, orange peel and remaining butter. Cook until heated through. Drizzle half over pears. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining honey mixture. bake 15 minutes longer. Fill pear halves with cranberry sauce.

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