Sunday, December 02, 2007
database properties on my mind....
The paradigm for changing properties in Eclipse is different from Notes. Both ways have their advantages... The non-modality and the volume of modifiable information available is a real benefit for the infobox.
But as I look at the db infobox, I see two kinds of information. One kind is informational or a launch point for a dialog (think archive settings, etc), and the other is actually editing the design. If I look at the same infobox for a db for which I don't have design rights, it's all mostly greyed out information.
So I'm thinking of a divide and conquer approach. In the Designer navigator, have a pseudo-design element, probably right under the database name, that lets you launch a database property editor. This editor would let you edit the stuff currently on the design tab, the advanced tab, the launch tab and a few strays - all very much part of database design. The properties box becomes more informational (and support the copy command for things like replica id!!) Things like size/archive settings stay in the property panel with buttons to change them today as they are discrete operations, not really design operations and are also allowed for nondesigner users. Header/footer stuff probably needs to stay in the property panel if the client will ever share this work, but would show the current settings (for BOTH header and footer) and then to change, you'd probably press a button that popped up a little dialog.
At first I was quite resistant to this train of thought - I like how the infobox works! But it's been growing on me (badly enough I woke up thinking about it), and I think should the client ever borrow this work it could greatly simplify the interface for the client, and that it gives a more natural editing experience for designers.
So was this a dream or a nightmare?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
proposed UI change for agents, etc....
Would it be a huge hardship to lose that? Do you really change your mind about what language you're writing something in? If you do, would it be horrible to have to go create a new agent or whatever in that case? (Bonus - you wouldn't have to live through the "Are you sure/all existing code will be lost" message, and actually you would no longer necessarily be losing anything unless you chose to delete the item you were in!
It is a simpler design (that's what's in it for us!)
We made a similar change to script libraries in Release 6, and I didn't hear any issues, but taking it this much farther bears a question...
Saturday, November 17, 2007
and then there were five.....
It started with one frame, when my oldest had his first school pictures taken. It built up to six picture changes for the years when they were all in school. Then there's senior year in high school... Time freezes for four years until the college yearbook picture (or longer if said son doesn't believe in such things).
The frame for my oldest son contains the picture from his college graduation day, walking down the steps with his diploma in hand. The next three have been frozen in time as high school seniors as they are still in college or working.
Today my fifth son's senior picture went up on the wall. We went through each of the pictures in the back - a frame by frame documentary of his metamorphisis from day care to almost eighteen year old man.
I likely won't see Tom's grade school pictures again for at least four years. Next fall, we'll only go through Rory's pictures. And the year after that, this moment repeats with Rory.
The fall after that... I have to believe I'll just open up all those pictures and remember anyway.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
does anyone use the Tools menu?
This is different from how one would normally extend Eclipse so I'm not convinced it's a good fit with the new Designer. It's "just code" so we could bring it over, but is it worth the effort? Is it helpful to allow users who may not yet be Eclipse savvy enough to extend it with another mechanism, or is it just confusing to have more than one way?
Inquiring minds want to know first if anyone ever used this function, and second, what to do with it now?? thanks :-)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
how much energy does a meeting take?
After a day of coding, I feel (assuming things worked!) energized and as if my brain is well-worked. After a day of meetings, I feel anxious, restless, and exhausted. When I see a day that is "all blue" on my calendar, it is much harder to get psyched about getting to work. Ten hours of coding is easier for me to do than five hours of meetings.
One manager suggested that this was because of my INFP personality type... That meetings are hard work for introverted people. I think that's a large part of it. Another component is that I crave coding... I am hooked on the joy of making something work!
As I look to the next week, it has a better balance (so far) than last... I have a list a mile long of things I want to code. And a shorter list I have to code... This INFP will have to find the discipline to do the things on the shorter list first! With just a few things mixed in from my longer list....
Friday, October 12, 2007
barrington revisited
I was horrified by the thought of having a fur purse, that something had to die for me to have an "accessory." I went back and forth... The rabbit had already given its life, it was so soft a purse...
In the end, the purse was mine. I carried it all through college and through part of grad school, long past the time when it had seen better days. Rumor has it that he was thrown out the window of a bus taking Canisius students (including me) to Philadelphia to see a basketball game... Some guys I knew clowned around with it while I slept. Or they just told me that they threw it out the window and the bus had to go back and get it - I'll never know for sure.
Barrington was named for the bunny in this story - warning, it's a very sad story....
Tuesday night, I indulged in a little retail therapy after dropping Steven off at his new dorm room. I found a beautiful purse.
But it was made of rabbit fur. It was soft, the right size, and I loved it immediately.
A familiar crisis of conscience ensued. This time, I couldn't buy a rabbit purse. At least not so far.... My conscience has evolved sufficiently for me to leave the store without it. But not so far that I'm not still thinking about it...
Monday, October 08, 2007
there are two kinds of people
When a song worms its way into my head, it's the only song I want to hear. I have been known to keep a normal length song on repeat for up to an hour... This is fine if I'm driving alone, but doesn't always work so well when I am with others. Steve is fairly patient (up to about the third repeat...) but the kids are less so...
I've always loved music, I get completely drawn in to music that catches me. Conversely, I react physically to music I dislike - like opera. When subjected to particulary shrill opera, I curl into a defensive ball and/or look for the closest exit. Infinite tolerance for music I like, zero tolerance for music I don't.
I usually will listen to a cd at a time, and don't often get into these "repeat" moods. But once in a while, a song will hit a particular resonance, and I'm lost in it til it lets me go....
Saturday, October 06, 2007
and grace is just a measure
But I've always been a believer in making lemonade. Everything you ever do becomes part of you, what you learn changes you forever. And my time on LCD taught me a great many things; I return to Domino Designer a much stronger engineer than I left it. Domino Designer was likely to take much of my time anyway, putting it into Eclipse is a realization of a long held dream, and now my attention will not be split.
The details are an evolving story for another day. But thank you, LCD, for a great ride.
Friday, October 05, 2007
all for one, one for all?
![](http://www.quizilla.com/images/blue_drk_corner1.gif)
![](http://www.quizilla.com/images/blue_drk_corner2.gif)
What is your d&d alignment?
![](http://images.quizilla.com/D/delian/1080656027_eutralgood.jpg)
You are a Benefactor, Neutral Good.
Neutral good characters are devoted to helping others, but do not always do so through the institutions (such as church and government) created for that purpose. They are perhaps the most flexible among the good alignments, able to bend their approach to suit the circumstances in which they find themselves. They are honorable, but may sometimes behave dishonorably for a good cause. They may lie to an evil person, for example. As a general rule, neutral good characters do not attack unarmed opponents, harm the innocent, torture, kill if it can be avoided, refuse an honest appeal for aid, take bribes or betray their friends. The Three Musketeers are examples of neutral good characters.
Take this quiz!
Monday, October 01, 2007
sometimes it's the little things....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnfln9C76h70MR3t3WpCYldckKglUinvs1KVoojfgcHO1TFNteDbEIZ_4rX9Zwt7wifhV9pLOcw_nYCN90nIdNk7c4C2VnmxC3SyM8r06xd1KIvFHV-qRS3OfOKif8yOZvtBDEg/s320/noshow.jpg)
I'm in Miami at the Advisor conference, and I just wanted to show one more little thing than we've been working on... I thought back to the things on "my list" that I know have always bothered me and others... This one came to mind... A teeny bit of code, and there it is. If you change your mind about the "don't show me this again," you can set it back with a preference, or you can continue to still be prompted if you've ever been burned with having design changes overwritten and you never want it to happen again....
Last week someone said we were "porting" Domino Designer to Eclipse. It's this kind of change, as well as the more dramatic editor replacements, that to me make it far more than a port. It's a rethinking, a reinvention... And it feels really good to make that dialog box go away!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
oh where or where...
We'll be adding some new ones, so we'll need more room to complicate the issue further.
Historically, they've been in the selection hierarchy of any infobox. Changes are immediate, and not batched in a transaction like form or view or any other design element editor.
With the first release of Designer in Eclipse, we'll have a mix of infoboxes and property panes (unless of course users decide they'd rather wait for us to rewrite all the infoboxes before releasing it...)
Two questions:
- is it ok to remove database properties from the infobox selection hierarchy in Designer (where infoboxes remain)?
- is it ok to have to click on the database header in the bookmarks or make another gesture to get to database properties?
thank you :-)
Friday, September 14, 2007
batman returns
Today Batman returned to the dog show in Falmouth as a champion entered in the best of breed competition. We both need practice, so I chose a Friday, which tends to be quieter. there were 4 other dogs there who were still working on their championships.
still, batman looked and behaved great, and I didn't fall down, and he won best of breed!!!
A certain black dog just dropped a tennis ball in my lap - time to reward him with some play!
Sunday, September 02, 2007
multigenerational magic
We went to pick up the tickets we'd bought online at Outerland in the afternoon - and Ben was there setting up. As we were getting our tickets, he came up to the front to ask the lady in charge a favor, but very politely said Hi in the smoothest voice - Carly and James did well with their boy!
Friday, August 24, 2007
it's happening again....
Introduction to Old English Literature? Hmmm... Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales? Introduction to Modern Irish? One of those could be fun... But is there time?
Every fall I go through this. Every fall there seems to be too much else to do to tackle a course... This year promises to be busy, too. But still, September beckons....
visiting an old friend....
Tom normally drives Blueberry, my precious 94 Camry wagon, so I haven't been able to drive her in months. Yesterday I drove her to work, as I will today. She has 195,600 miles now, and except for a vibration in the wheels when she goes over 70 (maybe a tire threw a weight?) she's in great shape.
In three years (when Rory goes off to college), I get her back. In the meantime, I'll keep stealing her for short snippets while I can to make sure she's ok. And enjoy driving a car that is as comfy and fits as well as an Aerosole shoe.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
still free
I haven't been as nervous about waiting for the results as I was for similar events in the first years after dealing with Merkel Cell Carcinoma. But it's been in the back of my mind... What if I have to fight *that* battle again. What if...
But the message on my answering machine when I got home said "benign." There is no more beautiful word.
What doesn't kill you does make you stronger :-) But you never forget.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
I'm not winning the desktop battle
A few days ago I walked by it, and it had a desktop picture on it that I ordered removed as inappropriate. After the predictable statements that it wasn't offensive, I turned into Imperious Mom and ordered it off anyway.
I just walked by it again. It does have a new desktop. It's a tiled picture of Stalin with a cartoon bubble saying "I am not offensive."
I should be glad he knows enough history to consider that "blatant sarcasm"? There's a bright side here somewhere, I just don't see it yet....
Friday, July 27, 2007
I was hoping it wasn't quite this bad...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
puppy love
Georgia and James had three boys and a girl on June 7, 2007. The pups are seven weeks old now, and soon will be off to their homes.
If only I had room for one more....
... See my Tabblo>Tuesday, July 24, 2007
the old girl lives on
An 800 yard run is child's play for the Islander, but it is a far better next step than the scrapyard.
I may have to make a trip to Manhattan!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
processes and directories, oh my....
As I thought about how to solve this problem, I came upon one thought that is very important to verify. My belief (please say if I'm wrong!!) is that the "typical" Notes developer *uses* a different set of databases than he or she *designs*, and based on several Lotusphere conversations, people who design also often want to design using a different ID than they use in the client.
That would mean that the data directories (and desktops) could be different between the client and designer, making the process separation much, much, MUCH simpler. We could still do a Notes preview in this world by launching a separate instance (in Eclipse-speak, target platform) for the Notes client to view the preview of interest.
Things get less simple if you actually want to preview a database that you use in your local client data directory, with the data that's there. So I need to know how important that case is...
Do you most often design databases that you simultaneously use locally in your client or are they typically different?
Your responses will really help me work this issue through! Thanks!
Friday, July 13, 2007
happy birthday, Nana
It is a great family mystery as to whether she was actually born on the 12th or the 13th. July 12th is of course Orangemen's Day and my grandmother was of 100% southern Irish descent, and it would be completely inappropriate to be born on that day. Rumor has it that she was born on the 12th (albeit near midnight) but that *her* grandmother deemed that a completely unacceptable birthday, so her date of birth was officially recorded as the 13th, and we certainly always celebrated it on the 13th.
She was quite an artist, and I am lucky enough to have a few of her paintings in my house. They are rare - she painted just enough for her house, and then stopped painting when she started raising her family.
She threw elaborate parties, and hated to be left out... When my grandfather had a company Christmas party that did not include wives, she called the party anonymously to tell them that their headquarters was on fire, sending all the partygoers racing to their building to discover all was well.... When they still didn't invite spouses the next year, they were surprised with the delivery of an unfathomable amount of ice cream.
It is her name, Grace, that is my middle name. May I live up to it :-)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
maybe I just shouldn't fish....
I have caught a crab, which was safely returned to the sea, a bit annoyed, but fine.
I can mostly deal with the reel and the lure, and I know I don't like to cast from the uneven rocks of a jetty, I need the steady sand beneath me whenever possible.
My cast goes out a bit farther each time, though I still struggle with having it land where I want it to.
Today, casting from the rocks by the side of the bridge at the Oak Bluffs/Edgartown border, on the very first cast of the day, I watched to see where my plug landed. I couldn't see it anywhere. Then my line started going out pretty fast and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Til I realized that the line was going towards the road above me. And that it was going about the speed of a car. I had hooked an SUV headed in the opposite direction. Steve told me not to drop the rod (which I thought was a perfectly good idea, but I figured he knew better). The line got tauter and tauter, and after what seemed an eternity, relaxed.
Steve told me to start reeling in the line, but it was caught in the bridge. The lure was gone, but eventually we got everything back together and I moved much farther from the bridge before I dared cast again.
I didn't catch anything else.
Driving back home, about a quarter mile up the road, I saw my lure at the side of the road. That was an immense relief, as I was really worried that it could have hurt someone.
My "one that got away" was a 2 ton SUV. I think I'm going to leave the fishing to Steve.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
living up to my blog's name
Life is good.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
private in desktop views
Driving in this morning (since I had to drive in by myself, and could be relaxed rather than clinging to the armrest because Steve doesn't like to brake as early as I do, but that's another story), I had the thought that we could probably get away with editing such views only within the context of a client. It is my belief that most of the users/editors of such views are those users who have an ACL access where they can create views, but do not have design rights to the database. They do their view design in the client anyway.
So I am seriously considering removing the ability to create private in desktop views when in the Designer, and only providing that function if you are editing a view in the Notes client itself (we'd probably have to have some UI to open the design in the client then even if you had design rights). The alternative for all this is some kind of replication between desktops.
Is my belief correct that that is the predominate use case for that kind of view? If so, I am leaning hard towards having them be client only. Anyone think that's a terrible idea?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
question....
Particularly, we're trying to figure out in what release to include the support for the Notes client as a target development platform for LCD. In 6.0, we could deploy to portal, and with our alphaworks edition, to WASCE. My own sense is that supporting Notes client applications is tremendously important, but it would really help if I could reference a cast of thousands who agreed with me :-)
Is it important to you that LCD build Notes client applications? If so, do you plan to predominantly use Domino data in them, or would you want to use LCD's onboard XML document store, or both? If you would need the XML document store, would it be ok or not to wait for offline access to that data from the client?
I'll try not to prejudice the answers with my own views other than my already saying I think supporting Notes is important :-)
thanks for your thoughts!
Monday, June 18, 2007
we didn't forget....
Saturday, June 16, 2007
I guess I still sound like home....
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Northern You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for. |
Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Domino Designer DNUG presentation
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBNlwKjcBHCHJgbi5jpT31buU1lPSdYvc3fl0_iL3rCnKsTrd8b0E5f-fZnYQBti_6VcXTAPfZ_Qh3O1eFq-IDxDWG_zvJaTA30rlZw5-b8euFJ_hio1VBV6i_ZQWARffvq_7lQ/s200/javaeditor.jpg)
A JavaScript editor:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRSgwUdyfie9rG3sQFLKlYeDeOJzBWBWC5u947zKlg_rbfCB_xossjchCKMYhfnBuJ9r3mJzETgSMHN5AweEQBbRjOH3S4v5yAEW99itBKcHXIT_Q_XIsFS4BHmqMzh4c828Fjw/s200/jseditor.jpg)
and just a little bit of fun:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbmAhGubQuCJGRR76rTGtTqkHTSR1v5_kPv-uUfsh9tdCCeVPjcltx9BfJy3VUzEPtuxFvukozpvde1oeBIK1MFCkSKiY81qTfIllfgASrcXiS7W7hZ18ahvSuTD9QvipVDxq8Q/s200/designerwelcome.jpg)
There's more to do for sure, but it's fun and moving forward!!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Safely to Dresden, via Prague
We took the train from Prague to Dresden, negotiated the Metro several times, including a final ride to get from the wrong train station to the right one... Who knew?
Haven't been in Dresden very long, but so far seems like a very pretty city. Have heard that it is all rebuilt to look as it did, but it looks quite authentically old (or I'm easily fooled!)
Drifting off to sleep, but so far a great start to the DNUG adventure!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
on my way to DNUG
On our way there, we're stopping in Prague - which I have heard is an intriguing city. Hoping to see Prague Castle and get a new stamp on my passport!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
memorial day
I always come back to the soldiers
with their courage and ideals
I’ve seen them smoking in the airports
there’s no telling how it feels
on the road of good intentions
all gets justified to hell
the price revealed in stories
too short, too sad, to tell
One of those soldiers was my dad.
He was sent to the Pacific just before the end of WWII, served in the army of occupation in Japan, went back to school, returned to the army, went back to school, went to the Korean war, went back to school....
His story was too short, but I remember it.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Prom Day!
Tom's Junior Prom was today - a beautiful May evening at Mechanic's Hall in Worcester. That part of the evening was their own - this part, as they awaited their limo-chariot ride to the prom, was shared with the parents who were uniformly marvelling at the transformation of their children. I hope their evening is as magical as they are!
... See my Tabblo>
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The measure of a man
I couldn't really get Tom to look at any of the tuxes while we were waiting - he waited until he was asked by the clerk what he had chosen to actually investigate. "Black" was the primary criteria, and I can't say there was much concern for stripes or pattern or number of buttons or material... He did say the word green about a vest and tie, and did find one that he was happy with.
Then you watch the little boy be measured for his thoughtfully chosen tux. Instructed by the store clerk to put his arms at his sides, to stand straight... When he tried on the pants, he was told to wear them at his waist at least for the pictures at the prom...
When I saw him in a try on for size tux and shoes, I wondered who is this man they just measured? That experience is likely to be the same as the mother who gets to see her daughter try on the first prom dress. He looked so grown up!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
something funny with Google maps
Now I'm happiest in UI code and networks and connections are pretty far from my comfort zone and even farther from my area of expertise. But I can't help feeling suspicious that there is some kind of network querying going on in Google's html....
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
how important is LotusScript?
Inquiring minds want to know :-)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
when it rains...
The recent Nor'easter caused a flood in our basement. Nine inches deep of water everywhere... We had never totally unpacked from moving here almost five years ago, so there were many too many boxes, and much too much in harm's way.
Lots of things are headed to the dump, but many are still ok. And it's been a nostalgic trip through our history - that Mark Knopfler song "This is Us" keeps running through my head.
The value of things lost is not at all measured in monetary terms. Some college books are ok, others are not. I found I felt little nostalgia over my graduate school texts, which are probably far more valuable than my undergraduate texts. But I didn't enjoy BU like I did Canisius, it simply reflects the value I place on the memories.
Ironically my graduate diploma is fine; my bachelor's is irreparably damaged. I would not have bothered replacing my graduate diploma; I will be contacting Canisius to find out if it's possible to get a replacement....
In a very wet volume of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Letters to His Daughter is a priceless letter my mother's college roommate on my 14th birthday, the first birthday I had after my dad died. The book may need to be replaced (the jury is still out), but the letter will be ok, and it will be carefully placed back in the book (or its replacement) when it can. The book *can* be replaced, the letter cannot.
Baby pictures, some picture albums, genealogical research, fortunately much of that is ok. Toys, some books, some older electronics, are destroyed, indeed some pictures, are destroyed, too.
It's also fun to tease my husband about his carefully attempting to rescue letters from some of my old friends, but not the ones from an old boyfriend :-)
It's a horrible amount of work to clean all this up. But revisiting our past has been a gift, too. It slows the task down to read the old letter, or to look carefully at the picture of my grandmother... But it offers spring cleaning of the soul in return.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
She was a very bright lady (a Smithie), who knew and spoke her mind. I hope I can be half as spunky as she when I (hopefully!) reach her age. When she could no longer drive, she just took taxis to Legal Sea Foods, not to be denied her favorite lunch. A voracious reader, she also loved the ocean and Cohasset. I didn't know her when she was young, but I know she loved her family, and I can see her influence in Steve and in our boys. I am grateful for the influence she has had on me.
I am very sad she has left us, but happy for her that she is now with her husband again. I will see and feel her spirit when I watch the ocean with her grandson.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
a new rythmn
Anyway, as I was starting to fight the battle of staying awake another hour or so, it occurred to me... Teenage boys sleep in. There's no need to assemble and hide the baskets tonight - I'll be up before they are in the morning, I can do it then. And that way the Peeps won't be stale!
This morning, I assembled four Easter baskets (the older two no longer live at home). One is yet unsearched for as its owner hasn't arrived home yet (college kid due in later)....
It seems the pattern of our lives is changing a bit. We're still pretty far from most people's definition of empty nesters with three kids living at home full time and an itinerant college student, but it is so much less populous than it used to be, and the kids are far more independent. One Friday this month on the way home from work we realized that no one was home... We impulsively stopped for dinner on our way. That must be what it's like to not have kids at home.
I think it's going to be ok.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
the fear is still there
But needing to forget means that at some level, the cancer still controlled me. I had been thinking not remembering was being cured. Maybe remembering and taking control is being cured. The scar on my left temple is my badge of courage, it is not invisible, it is part of me.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
desperados waiting for a train....
I hear this music, and it's July 3, 1975, and I'm on a picnic blanket on the side of a hill out in Lenox, Massachusetts. It's an all day concert at the Lenox Music Inn with Tom Rush, Wendy Waldman, Leon Redbone, Orleans, and others I don't quite remember. I foolishly wore long jeans, and foolishly rolled them up and got a terrible sunburn on my legs. The lemonade was cold and sweet... I was with my first true love - and it could not have been more beautiful a day. A bit tinged with sadness around the edges - when Wendy Waldman sang about "nothing to do but let your wild bird go.." I already knew that love would end someday. But that was still a ways off.
I saw Tom Rush again last summer on the island. He's aged a bit, but is still amazing. Just him this time, indoors in the Old Whaling Church, so no sunburn. This time I was with the true love that lasted.
When I hear this album, I hear both the summers of 1975 and 2006. They're both all good.
No Regrets.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
extension points....
To help us out, though, since at some point a program actually has to have some immutable code, what pieces are a priority for you to extend? Since we are taking an iterative approach to moving Domino Designer over to Eclipse, starting primarily with the script editors, what extensions will you be looking to add, and what Designer behaviors do you want to contribute/attach to?
thanks!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
I don't know how I feel about this...
I suffer from being online way too much, and it used to be that the boat was a safe haven, in so many ways. Now with the world so much with us, will it remain my sanctuary? How can we escape when there is no escape?
Just drove on the boat, and had to reconnect, but I'm still live, even on the freight deck of this massive four story boat...
Which means of course that the control must come from within... Time to go up on deck and look at the sky...
Saturday, March 03, 2007
polls and rumors
I know Stephen created his poll with all the nicest intentions, but I did worry when I saw it that it would have exactly the effect that John describes. But I thought maybe I was worrying too much (worrying is one of my best things...) and put the thoughts aside til I read John's post.
At this point, it does seem important to state a few things. First of all, it isn't just me believing this needs doing, my boss does, my boss's boss... They wouldn't let me talk about it if they didn't believe in it. We have real people working on it (as their day job), as it clearly is so large of an endeavor that while I love to code, I could not possibly accomplish the project by myself in a reasonable amount of time.
So work is ongoing, and we are lining up the right release vehicle for the work. What release it will be will be a calculus of a critical mass of features and alignment with a Notes release. I don't know the answer to that yet, or I'd be screaming it from the rooftops. There are the usual caveats as in any engineering project that we might hit unsolvable problems, past performance is no guarantee of future results, etc. But the reality is that we are working very hard on it!
Monday, February 26, 2007
The last trip on the Islander
Saturday, February 17, 2007
she's home!
She did well at Westminster: she won Best of Opposite Sex to her brother's Best of Breed for field spaniels. I couldn't be more proud of her if I tried - it was a wonderful day in NYC, and I am still floating on air.
She seems happy - she's been with a wonderful professional handler since September. She was well taken care of, and did well on the show circuit all along, but I can just see her in ruby slippers (four, of course), saying there's no place like home, there's no place like home.
She's smiling, and so am I.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Georgia's Big Day
She's been with a professional handler since September - and after this she's coming home :-) This may well be her grand finale in the show ring, though sometimes I think I may show her once in a while (maybe I'd do better with a dog who actually knows what they're doing, that way one of us would!)
Her day at Westminster will be immortalized at this link - right now it just shows her entry, but tomorrow it should show the results, and a video of the breed judging!
Here's hoping #7 is lucky!
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Hand me downs and birthdays
At least I got to drive Blueberry a bit in the interim. A car in the care of a teenager can suffer a bit. When I first drove her, she seemed quite rough on the highway, and overall not herself. An oil check revealed a likely reason - she was down two quarts of oil. That got fixed on Friday, and today I took her out on the highway, and she seems much better. I can't say she's as peppy as she was when new, but she's doing quite well considering her nearly 192,000 miles.
At 4:40pm today, my sixth son turned 15. Another year and he'll be behind Blueberry's wheel learning to drive. He was only two and in a car seat when we drove home in Blueberry for the first time - miles and miles in between, bringing him to this 15 year old young man who plays basketball and World of Warcraft today, and who will be driving Blueberry all too soon.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
surprise :-)
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My Lotus Component Designer sessions were also fun - though there was far too much to show than could be done in 60 minutes! Tonight was full of celebration :-) More tomorrow, at this point, it is long past time for sleep.
Friday, January 19, 2007
ready... set....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2WehTH4R5f3xTdZCSAm7Tz_-akYgU9w088fTGOiMgoJwFLYmp5wr69tQTZmpS6mt9x8wpsdi0OEKjbwDx5MIDOJ02WjnV5V70AyV36-a9WRfS-gIVYExun6VZb6TnNQA59PfDQ/s400/sneakpeek.jpg)
You can see to the left a little hint of something close to my heart... The full picture is quite nice :-)
And so it begins again!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Five things....
1) I grew up in Tonawanda, NY, in the full swing of the baby boom (I will not say what year). My kindergarten class had 60 kids and two teachers in it. I missed a lot of days in kindergarten and 59 days of first grade because, as an only child, I finally was introduced to a germ pool. By fourth grade, my parents transferred me to an all girls school, where there were 13 in my fourth grade, which shared the same classroom and teacher as the third grade. This was an improvement, particularly in fifth grade, when I could listen in on the sixth grade material. After nine years in the same school, I was the only girl not crying at graduation.
2) I can only light a match under great duress. As a chemistry major, this caused me much difficulty with my bunsen burner. For a while I was paired with a partner in lab, but after a while got tired of doing all the work EXCEPT lighting the match. I can light wooden matches now, if I really have to, but still can't light the matchbook kind. Birthday cakes are always lit by Steve or one of the kids. My graduate degree is in theoretical chemistry, where computers take the place of bunsen burners.
3) I dropped the only computer class I took in college, as it meant three labs that semester, which happened to be the first semester I had a serious boyfriend. Besides, toggling assembler programs into a Nova II console (with paper tape and a drum for storage!) just wasn't fun. No UI! For anyone trying to figure out my age, my college did not have state of the art computers :-)
4) I can get seriously addicted to games like Tetris, Katamari, or Sudoku but just cannot focus on other kinds of games. I'm sure that says something about how my brain works, but I'm not sure what. It also means that I have a seriously high barrier to even trying something like Second Life.
5) My first car was a blue 1970 Mustang convertible (used, for anyone still trying to determine my age). I loved that car, and even learned the Bic pen trick for starting it when the carburetor was feeling sticky. When I finally could afford a new car, I drove my Mustang home to my mom's house, where it stayed in her garage for three years. Three months before I got my own first house (with a garage), she finally had enough of keeping her car outside in Tonawanda winters and got rid of it. I still miss it.
OK, that's five. I tag Jen and realized everyone else in my bookmark list has been tagged! But I reserve my four remaining for future use!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
be careful what you name things
I was doing a side project all on my own, so I named a directory something kind of silly. Soon others joined me on the project, and now this directory's silly name has been immortalized in source control....
It's a diversion to put cutesy names in your environment, but you can never be sure how widely used they may end up being....
Monday, January 08, 2007
two kittens a grandmother make?
Now two kittens really don't make me a grandmother. But my child has taken responsibility for another living thing (or two) in his own household. It feels like a baby step towards a future that still feels like it ought to be distant.
I am not ready.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Champion Batman!!
Today, at American Spaniel Club, *the* place to be if you're a spaniel, he won Winner's Dog in an entry of 12 field spaniel dogs to gain another five points - making him a Champion. His official name is now AKC Ch. Freedom's Caped Crusader.
There's a little part of me that is sad that I wasn't the human at the end of the leash, but he was very well handled by his breeder and my friend Julie, and it is said he's becoming too much of a mommy's little boy, so this is good for him.
Earlier this week, I was feeling so guilty about sending him off without me that I almost didn't send him. I'm very glad that both he and I decided to be brave.
Maybe next year he'll be at Westminster :-)
Sunday, December 31, 2006
writing prose or code, it's the same.....
I echo his wish for us in 2007 - may we all find something we can't do. That's the only way we know we're achieving the most we can.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
re-creation
Christmas morning, the boys actually slept til 9. All six were home, which was very rare, and we had a very nice day and dinner all together. I can't say I've accomplished all the things I wanted to since Christmas - I haven't played the viola every day, I haven't spent enough time on the elliptical machine, but I have slept in, baked some cookies, reached the yoke of the Icelandic sweater I'm knitting, and feel much better than I did a week ago.
In the first few days of vacation, my work would try to push through my mind, but I was able to push it back. Even Lotusphere could be put on hold - I know roughly what I want to say and demo, and while there's still lots to do, I'm not panicked (yet).
I remember Pete telling me once right after we shipped R5 that he needed to take a break so coding was fun again. That really rang true for me this week as coding had ceased to be fun before Christmas.
I haven't rebooted my laptop since vacation began. There in the task bar is my development environment. An hour or so ago, I maximized it, just to look at something quickly to put a thought to rest.... Before I knew it, I had a file checked out, a new file created, and here I am in the thick of it again.
I think it's fun again :-)
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
still a wii little boy....
He was so excited, it was really fun to see. He had his first Wii related injury within 5 minutes playing the tennis game - he managed to scrape his knuckles on the ceiling... He was still up when we folded for the night, and when we got up this morning, we found him curled up on the couch, the Wii remote dropped out of his hand. All I could think of was when he was four, refusing to nap, but finally falling asleep in place in a similar pose.
It was nice to see the little boy inside the gruff teenager. Good to know he's still in there.
Friday, December 01, 2006
the music is on again
I used to code to music most of the time. In the past year, with more meetings in my life, I have gotten out of the habit of turning on the music when I get those precious chances to code.
Today I remembered... And at the end of the day, my code was working, and I felt better and less fragmented. The music is going to be staying on!
Monday, November 27, 2006
cyber monday thoughts.....
There are some great applications of mouseover effects, but it's being overdone, and not in a considered manner. I'm pretty darn good with a mouse, but I often found a popup obscuring what I was aiming at in the website's zeal to provide me with dynamic content. I'd hate to think how my mother (who frequently calls with "I lost my toolbar" kinds of mouse accidents) would navigate these sites.
Just because we *can* do something technically doesn't mean we should do it everywhere!
Friday, November 24, 2006
this was unexpected...
![](http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/images/911.jpg)
You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
cycles
But as a product nears completion, you can feel a shift. The tasks are done, and you continue to polish til it is ready to go out the door, but part of the energy starts shifting towards the next release. As work begins in earnest on the next release, it becomes an annoyance to go work on the product that is done in your mind, but not yet in deed.
That's a good thing - we release a more stable product if development actually slows down before delivery, and that's how we build software. But a side effect of that is that when the product actually ships, it's more like a whimper to the engineer. When a product ships now, I sometimes feel like I've missed that moment of birth - it's an oh yeah, it's out the door now, rather than the excitement of being currently focused on that product and being completely overjoyed with its shipment. A release should still end with a bang, not a whimper!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
disconnecting
Today the power went out for a couple of hours because a tree fell on wires on our street. When the power went out, my initial reaction was excitement - it feels like an adventure (at least if it's only for a few hours!) We made tea over a camp stove, and I walked away from the computer with a burst of energy that I didn't know was pending, and started sweeping the stairs, and when I finished that, I tackled the top of my dresser, which was beginning to look like a leaning tower of clothing. I heard the power come back on, turned on a light to be sure, but because I wasn't ready for it yet, I turned the light back off and kept going.
The world is different without electricity - and in some ways, it's better. I think when the power went out, my energy burst was a refocusing of the energy that usually gets focused on electronic devices. It's neat to do something different with that energy - to feel a different part of life.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
poor blueberry
Too soon after he left the house, the phone rang, and he had been in an accident. Probably not his fault, and no one hurt on either side. Except Blueberry again (and the other car looked worse than Blueberry).
I could drive her home, so I think she's fixable. When she's fixed, I think he has to drive a car that means less to me. I have a newer car, but Blueberry is like that old comfy Aerosole shoe that fits just right.... And they don't make Camry wagons anymore, so she is truly irreplaceable.
I feel like my priorities are all messed up. I am grateful no one was hurt, especially Steven. I am fortunate that my biggest worry is my car - I haven't lost sight of that, and I feel guilty to be so upset over a car. But upset I will be til I drive her home in one piece again.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Gym class, revisited
I have not had a lot more luck showing Batman. He got two more points at a second show, but in the shows since, I've had trouble getting him to stand still when he's supposed to... Today he won his puppy class, but when it came time to go back in the ring with the winners of the other classes, he just didn't want to cooperate.
A lot of this is in my own head, I think. I'm feeling like I'm not good at this, so I don't approach the task with confidence. I feel far more confident in front of 6000 people with my computer at Lotusphere than I do with Batman in a show ring with only 10-2o people watching. Just like I would have far preferred to go to any class other than gym at school...
I have to show him again on Thursday - I'm going to try a new approach - confidence. He's my dog, I'm entitled to walk him wherever I want. If I want him to stand, he will. I want him to do well, and he needs me to be confident to do that.
And if that doesn't work, I can always retreat to my laptop.
Friday, October 06, 2006
we did it!
This would be why: https://www14.software.ibm.com/iwm/web/cc/earlyprograms/lotus/ilcd60/
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3167/577/320/smilydesigner.png)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
I'll join the fray
James Taylor - Gaia
James Taylor - In My Mind I'm Goin' to Carolina
Ellis Paul - Conversation with a Ghost
Ellis Paul - Weightless
Dar Williams - Playing to the Firmament
John Gorka - Flying Red Horse
John Gorka - Morningside
Eric Clapton - Layla
Byrds - Chestnut Mare
Tom Rush - No Regrets
Carly Simon - Bound for the Island
Yes, that's 11. I thought of the Carly Simon song after I was done, but couldn't take any other off the list. If it works for Spinal Tap, I can do it, too. The order is only slightly significant - if I heard any of those, the words coming out of my mouth when I heard it would be "that's my favorite song!"
Ask me tomorrow and you may well get a different list. As I look at that list, many (but not all) of those songs are associated with different events in my life. Odd to think of music as a soundtrack to a life, but it's true :-)
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
this is probably not a good thing
I'm not alone in these cravings - when I was last in Buffalo, I stopped at Ted's Hot Dogs, and the woman ahead of me in line was born in Buffalo, now lived in Colorado, and her first stop in the area was at Ted's. I understand completely.
One of my stronger cravings is for milk chocolate sponge candy (http://www.fowlerschocolate.com/page/FC/PROD/MC/SC1). There are some lame imitations in New England that they call Krackle. I stopped at a local candy store this weekend (Hebert's). I saw a display of candy bars and blinked. The label didn't say Hebert's, it said *Fowler's*. In disbelief, I read the label. Made in Buffalo, NY. All self control gone, I went up to the counter and asked if they were going to carry the sponge in the winter (it can't be made in warm weather). He said yes, as soon as it was cold enough to make it, it would be there. So will I.
I need to start dieting now to make up for some anticipated chocolate sins.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
the shape of things to come
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3167/577/320/teenyform.jpg)
I've been meaning to post this since I got back from Advisor... We've made some good progress on the Domino Designer in Eclipse front. This is not the final form, but thought I'd share the progress, because it's pretty exciting. What you're seeing is a real Eclipse navigator, showing the design elements in a Notes nsf, and the Eclipse navigator is active and opening up the Notes editors for the listed design elements. It will get prettier in time :-)
Sunday, September 17, 2006
My dog show debut....
We found our way to the ring with the official armband number (no small feat if you don't know where you are supposed to get them!). Way too soon, it was our turn to go in.... It was obvious to all concerned I was new at this, but the judge was kind, and told me what to do when. Batman did better than I did - and actually left with four ribbons.... First place, Winners, Best of Winners, and Best of Opposite Sex. Best of Breed was his mom, Georgia, who fortunately didn't get too bothered by her son's antics.
I think this show thing could be fun :-)
Friday, September 15, 2006
Nine years....
I did my R5 Domino Designer work here, with Pete on one side of me, and Ned on the other. R5 was a long march, and I spent many late nights here (this was before the days of laptop working at home). There's a champagne glass on my shelf from the day R5 shipped. V6 Domino Designer was built here, too, with a few new and continuing team members. Next to the R5 champagne glass is another (somewhat smaller) glass for the V6 ship. Then V7, too, until I decided to spread my wings into Workplace Designer. And on my corkboard, the six calendar pages of my children's birthdays that have been in each of my offices since I returned from each maternity leave.
I have to clean today - I am a bit of a packrat, and when choosing between doing some code or cleaning, the choice has always been easy. But today I have to make up for the lost cleaning time. The archaeology is going to send me right down memory lane, I'm sure there will be some tears shed. It's been a good nine years - I hope the next office brings me as much luck in finding good work and good people to do it with. I know for now I'm fine - we have a great team and great work to do, but what will the world be like if I stay in my next office nine years? I know in the fall of 1997 I probably couldn't even carry on a conversation with my 2006 technical self, how will we all be different in 2015?
Thursday, September 07, 2006
sweet sixteen
My youngest is 14, home of the monosyllabic response. "Do you have a favorite class yet?" "No." "Do you have a least favorite class yet?" "No." He exits the kitchen, heading towards the computer to IM his friends, at least carrying a cookie.
It's not like this is the first time I've had a fourteen year old. Each time I've been saddened and worried by the lack of interaction. Somewhere between 15 and 16 we'll get back to full sentences, and I hate to wish time away, but I can't wait.
losing the battle
After two days, the kitchen counters had been excavated, remaining treasures sorted, and things were looking good. Starting to think of what color it *should* be.
This morning I came down to the kitchen to find on the counter: two small rocks.
I fear I will soon forget again what these counters look like....
Monday, August 28, 2006
Eight miles high (almost)
Went to Mike Rhodin's and Ron Sebastian's keynote this morning - very good summary of where we're going with really cool demos (I LOVE Ron's iTunes for Notes!) Exciting stuff.
While I proclaimed I just wasn't going to go outside in the 100+ heat here in Phoenix, I missed the sky - and walked around a bit outside the hotel. A hummingbird flew by which was very cool. I love the Phoenix area - the land is so different, starkly beautiful. And the sky. The sky is amazing.
And tomorrow after the presentations are over, I am going to go for a walk!
Friday, August 25, 2006
I've done it again
So I'm working hard on both the presentations and my day job of contributing to the product... When I'm deep into code, I feel like I'm gone - and those around me feel that way too. I love to code - I love that deep absorption that happens when at full throttle trying to get something done (can anyone say adrenalin junkie?) In that state, I forget how to balance, forget to actually look at the sky when I'm outside. This state that I love - it isn't good for me (at least when it continues for weeks as it has).
After Advisor, I am going to take a vacation. I am going to look at the sky, walk in the sand, and try to remember how to slow down.
But I do have some cool things to show at Advisor :-)
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Folk Festival Musings
http://www.festivalproductions.net/newportfolk/index.php
Can we track the baby boomer's "evolution" through the sponsorship of the Newport Folk Festival? The folk festival began with the boomers, and seems to be morphing with them.
1959-1971, 1986-7 - no sponsorship
1988-2000 - Ben & Jerry's
2001 - Newport Creamery
2002-2004 - Apple & Eve juice
2005-2006 - Dunkin Donuts
The generation that first spurned corporate sponsorship, then accepted sponsorship from a new age company like Ben & Jerry's is now sponsored by Dunkin Donuts.
I was too young to be a hippie - by the time I got to college, people were starting to major in business of all things. But I can't help feeling like we've sold out.
And yes, I have stopped at Dunkin Donuts, too.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
softwear engineering
I've been knitting since I was nine. I love to knit, and find it very relaxing. I knit socks, sweaters, Aran knits, and am currently attempting an Icelandic pattern I brought home from Iceland.
It occurred to me that it is not all that surprising that I like both knitting and programming. In many ways, knitting is very similar to programming - knitting is executing a design in yarn; programming is executing a design in a particular language. The designs are written down (patterns/specs). In both, it is best to know what you are setting out to do ahead of time, and the end result is hopefully useful. And it is the more experienced knitters/programmers who write the designs.
The similarities run deeper still. The state of mind I find myself in when knitting is similar to that I experience from coding, and I get similar rewards from looking at the finished product.
Perhaps there are things to be learned from knitters in programming. Imagine if the creation of a sweater was handled as a software product. Assignments would be doled out - this team member does the cuffs of the sleeves, another does the rest of the sleeves, another the back, another the front, another would be in charge of putting it together, and yet another fixing any issues that arose, and there would be someone in charge making sure it all hung together in the end.
But as a knitter, I would never ever pick up anyone else's sweater and start working on it. The knitting project is a very personal endeavor. Everyone's stitch is unique - if I started knitting in the middle of a sleeve on someone else's sweater, the sleeve would have a discontinuity. The other knitter would be highly annoyed. And the end result would be the less for it.
Today's software projects are usually way too large for a single person to build themselves, but the lessons to be learned from the craftsman are still important. The differences in knitters' stitches are a very visual clue, but the software product does reflect the programmers who put it together, too. When dividing up a project, we need to make sure that each programmer has something they can look at and say "I did that!" and feel the craftsman's pride in accomplishment. And we need to manage the boundaries between different areas of code to ensure that they fit together seamlessly (pun not intended, it just happened...) Those seams affect the feel of the product.
I still remember one of the best things anyone ever said to me.... Speaking of ViP, a senior Lotus architect told me that he could see me in the product. That is one of the best things anyone can tell an engineer. When we divide up a software project, we need to make sure that every engineer can hear that!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
memory lane
I'm in Buffalo, and spent the day in the hospital in which I was born. My mom was there for a very different reason today, but she is now recovering from successful heart surgery. A scary day, but a good one since it went well.
It's odd being in Buffalo. I've forgotten so much, at least superficially. Yet when I missed a turn on the way home from the hospital, I maneuvered my way through some old shortcuts I used to know. Turn off the brain, trust the instincts, and found my way home. When I got home, I walked around the block. The names on the houses are different, but the houses are labelled in my head just as they were when I left home for grad school. I didn't recognize a soul, and I'm sure those who saw me had no idea I lived here for 21 years.
Tomorrow I am going to stop by Canisius on my way to the hospital. I've forgotten this part of me, this part that never touched a computer and had very different dreams. I certainly love my chosen path, and couldn't abandon it, but wonder how to synthesize in the rest of me. Those parts of me are as alive as the ingrained memories of the paths home.
Life is fragile, as seeing my mom connected to a host of monitors reminds me. We can't afford to let any bit of ourselves be neglected - maybe I do need to start that novel!
Friday, July 07, 2006
But then he showed me a viola he had made, gave it to me, and said try it.
It's home with me now for a trial. I have much to remember and yet to learn, but I think it's going to be fun :-)
Monday, July 03, 2006
at least I wasn't barefoot
And five spaniel faces looking at me, none confessing.
I'm closing the door to the outdoors before they find the rest of them.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
adrenalin
A white clumber spaniel, strolling around the front yard. Not in the fenced back yard.
The house seems strangely quiet. If Wendy is loose, who else is? It's very quiet...
All five dogs have escaped the yard. I don't remember putting them outside. OK, breathe, one at a time. Get Wendy in the house. I put on a hat and go to the door. It's wide open, well at least now I know how they got out. Call Wendy. Go back to the door (chased dogs tend to run) and wait trying to breathe. Wendy appears at the door, with Batman. Not sure where he was, but that's two down, three to go.
Downstairs, the boys have become aware. Georgia walked by the other door, and they let her in that way.
That just leaves Woody and Zoe, brother and sister, partners in crime. Call, no pitter patter of soppy, wet feet.
OK, outside again, two leashes in hand, and a hat to try to keep some of the downpour off me. Walk up the driveway calling - notice two cars in the road stopped facing each other. My heart stops. too. At the end of the driveway appeared two smiling spaniels, very proud of themselves, apparently having just run through the space between the two cars.
Safe home. Breathing again.
Another graduation
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Questions and Answers
Most of these responses are from those who know the answer, but instead of just answering, they don't include the answer, in seeming punishment for asking the question. Those who answer with the you should have searched this database response must have actually done the search to be able to say that - yet all too often the link to the answer is not included.
This is creating a culture where it isn't safe to ask questions.... Whatever happened to the "there are no dumb questions" attitude?
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Bittersweet
I took a bunch of pictures... Before I start crying again, here's the tabblo!
Monday, May 29, 2006
island time
So I gave in. I stayed home while Steve headed down to do some prep work on the house for summer. I made sure the nearly graduated senior didn't throw a party and that things were calm on the home front. And I slept decadently late on Sunday morning.
And woke up with energy.
I made sure all the kids were under control of the oldest one here (who is more than 21, so I'm not being terribly irresponsible!) And I left my laptop behind, put the puppy on the leash, and left for the island. The drive that seemed so daunting before sleep passed quickly, the tall New England pines slowly replaced by the scrub pines and sandy soil of the cape. Parked the car, hopped the bus to the ferry, and watched the water bring me home.
I remember endless summers stretching in front of me - and it felt like I should just stay forever. But reality calls me back, and I returned to America on the 10:45 this morning. But the island worked her magic, even in way too short a trip. My heart is lighter as I return, and it beats with an island rythmn now.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
the long way home
There will be more to say about the Domino Designer in Eclipse project, but Chris has done a great job http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideLotus?entry=dnug_domino_designer_7_plus filling in some details! We'll keep you posted, and be asking for feedback as we progress.
I did the Golden Circle tour today - walked between the American and Eurasian continental plates, saw the Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir and Strokkur geysers (though only Strokkur was feeling like spouting), lots of geothermal energy, volcanos and craters, a glacier, and even a bit of snow fell. A magical day!
It will be good to go back home tomorrow, though. Have to wonder why the kids were cleaning the house....
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
my working heart's desire
Seeing what the Eclipse editors could do for the same experience in Workplace Designer out of the gate, it was clear to me what needed doing. I've been championing a cause inside IBM for a while, gaining support for it, and yesterday, I was thrilled to show a prototype of Domino Designer embedded in Eclipse.
The prototype was fun to build, and my team pitched in to help with some last minute requests - and if I read the audience response correctly, this truly is the right thing to do. It's the beginning of the road, but I am so happy that we are doing the right thing for our Domino developers.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Michaelangelos or Monkeys
As Wang was thrashing, they signed up hook, line, and sinker for the "Quality Leadership Process" program (QLP). Every employee in the company had to take an initial short introductory course, and were supposed to follow up with a multi-month course that took something like 20% of your time for that period. Employees in the intensive course were supposed to complete some sort of project that would make a positive impact on the bottom line.... One of the more famous ones was putting up signs encouraging people to take the stairs instead of the elevator if they were only going up one or two floors in the Tower...
I escaped the long course with a well timed maternity leave, and deciding to leave the company before I could get snared into such a time sink. I often wondered what would have happened had I taken the course and suggested that one of the better ways of making a positive impact on the company would be to stop wasting employees' time in that program....
So one of my scars from Wang is that I shiver at the word "process."
I understand that it must be hard to manage engineers - but I struggle with applying process to art. If there are too many rules, the creative process gets thwarted. The key is to give engineers enough creative freedom in a problem to enjoy solving it, without so much freedom that there is chaos in a project. And that's a tough balance to find. Programs like QLP have a formulaic approach to how to do software/business. But when things get formulaic, they lose their art.
I'm told that when Dave Cutler interviewed people at DEC long ago, one of his trademark interview questions was whether software was a science or art. Had I ever interviewed with him, I would have said quite firmly that software was art.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Out of the mouths....
I remember asking Dr. Stanton - my p-chem (physical chemistry) professor - how I would know when I was working hard enough in a conversation where he was lamenting my tendency to do just enough work to get an A in the course, but no more. He said you were working hard enough if you found yourself thinking about work when you were doing other things. He didn't explain it any more thoroughly than that, but over time I learned he was right, and realized that was a reasonably elegant and perceptive answer. And over time, I also realized that he probably realized before I did that I was not meant to go on in Chemistry, regardless of being able to do well at it.
But when I'm deep into code, there's a background process in my brain working regardless of where I am and what I am (ostensibly) doing. Having found a subject I care deeply about, I can now understand what he was trying to say. And maybe tincture of time has brought me a limited amount of wisdom, too.
So now I need to ask him the next question - how do you stop your brain from working when it is already working hard enough?
Laptops. Chains or wings? Or as Dr. Dolan in one of my favorite courses in college (History and Structure of the English Language) would say - not either/or, but both/and.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Eternal vigilance
At first, I had monthly checkups with my dermatologist, then every other month, then every 3 months, then every 6 months, then yearly. It took a long time, but I finally began to feel safe again. One year, when the anniversary of my surgery passed and I didn't even notice, I realized that mental freedom was part of the cure - the increase in the number of years survived was no longer a significant event. My life was moving past the trauma of diagnosis and treatment.
But I just experienced a new release. One of the benefits of having a rare cancer is that the most prestigious doctors are *interested* in your case. While my dermatologist only sees current surgical patients, he has continued to monitor me - until this year. This year, I was told I could just see one of his associates. To me, that is the final return to "normal." It's as if the final rope tying me to cancer has been thrown off. I still have to watch and monitor, but my case is no longer interesting. And boring is good where health is concerned!
But I won't forget to wear sunscreen.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
I forgot
I'm just under 5'7. Above average height for a girl. When I was in my all girls' high school, I was taller than about 90% of the class.
But then I went to a recently coed college, where there were 10 times as many men as women, and I work in a predominantly male field. So I became accustomed to being shorter than most of the people I know. To add insult to injury, my youngest son finally passed me in height last fall.
But yesterday, I had to drop a note off at the high school, and I happened to be walking in the building at the same time as a flock of high school girls getting off a bus. I was confused to realize that I was taller than almost all of them. And then I remembered - nothing has changed but my perspective. I think I'm distressed that environment can change my perception so much!