If you haven't done so already, you should definitely check out Jimmy Bergmark's course on "Autodesk Network License Manager". It covers a vast amount of information about setting up, configuring, managing and troubleshooting the FlexLM environment and your Autodesk products. Good stuff! Highly recommended.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Saturday, 26 November 2011
"Using scripts to process data is more like panning for gold than transmuting lead into gold. So if there is gold in the garbage, the scripts can find it, consolidate it, and output it in a shiny pretty form. If there isn't any gold, then you will just get some finely sorted and polished garbage." - Joe (Joeware.net)
I couldn't agree more. It takes the age-old phrase of "garbage-in = garbage-out" and sprinkles some technical context on it like a good seasoning on a grilled chicken (can you tell I'm hungry?)
This also reminded me of a quote from a colleague (and former supervisor) regarding the use of software-based "automation" for business processes: "If you automate a broken process, you only get an automated broken process." (fix the process before you try to automate it!!)
I couldn't agree more. It takes the age-old phrase of "garbage-in = garbage-out" and sprinkles some technical context on it like a good seasoning on a grilled chicken (can you tell I'm hungry?)
This also reminded me of a quote from a colleague (and former supervisor) regarding the use of software-based "automation" for business processes: "If you automate a broken process, you only get an automated broken process." (fix the process before you try to automate it!!)
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Since the dawn of mankind, the popular perception of the status quo for almost every single "technological" thing was "it works fine, why change it?" They said that about the chariot, the map of the heavens/planets/sun, the catapult, the bow and arrow, the wagon, the castle and moat, the front-loading single-shot pistol and rifle, Sulpha drugs, leeches, slavery, battleships, Model T cars, steam engines. Remember Roger Bannister? Yeah, EVERY single "expert" and physician of his time swore on a truckload of Bibles that any human who broke the 4 minute mile would die. The human body simply couldn't achieve that goal.
Then someone stuck their neck out and said "fuck that!". I'm sorry if that offends you, but that's essentially what they said/did. And for doing that they were ridiculed, shunned, banished, jailed and even killed. They dared to disagree with the Status Quo; the masses; the majority. Nearly every single one of the people the broke those de facto "rules" or "limits" endured mockery throughout their efforts to break the barrier they set out to overcome. Some never saw recognition, as they died before the "masses" woke up and realized that they had indeed done something incredibly helpful or history-changing for mankind.
Remember the story of Thomas Watson Sr. and Thomas Watson Jr.? The infamous head of IBM who insisted a "personal computer" was a dumb idea and would never be practical. Junior waited until his turn came up and then he seized upon the moment to introduce the "IBM personal computer". Same thing for HP and Atari and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
So, when I look around at the stupid crap we just "live with" and pay little attention to, saying things like "it's worked for years/decades, why change it?" I want to shake my head in disbelief that we've given up. A bar of soap? A toothbrush. Deoderant. Frying pans. Toasters (have they ever been improved? it's long overdue), Roofing Technology, Door ways. A coffee cup. Software. Computers. Aircraft. Surgical Procedures. Medicine. Cancer Treatments. Education systems. Weapons technology. Network routing and throughput. Movies. Music. Art. Food. The list goes on and on.
Never say "good enough"! Anything you point at can be improved upon. Anything. Maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe not until future discoveries lead to secondary potentials to be realized. But they will happen. The longer we stand still, point and say "it's fine as-is" the longer it will take to make it better.
Most people look at Cancer treatment and say "wow, look how far they've come.", until their 5 year old child is diagnosed with Cancer. Then it quickly becomes "when will it be cured?" and "why can't we make faster progress?" Aircraft are just fine until the next crash investigation reveals a design flaw. Music is just fine until you hear that one new song that grabs your attention and makes you ask "who is that?!" Same for art, movies and food by the way. And software? In 2004 there was no Facebook. There was no Twitter, FourSquare, Yelp or UrbanSpoon either. In 2000 there wasn't any Google either. No VMware. All the "smart" phones were bulky, limited and boring. Are you old enough to remember the first laptops? The first microwave ovens? The first video tape recorders? The first tablet prototypes in the 1990s? Today those things seem like steam engines. Remember when car companies swore air bags, even seat belts, were a complete waste of time? Remember when they thought stomach ulcers were just bad luck and you had to live with them?
Good enough is NOT good enough. Ever.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
You know that nifty, clever feature, where you paste a URL into Facebook or Google Plus, and they chew on it for a second or two, and then create a mini-snippet to post? Usually, they pull in a graphic and maybe the page description, or meta-description. So, I noticed today how different they really are. I also noticed that, as much as I really don't like Facebook anymore, it does a better job of rendering and polishing that result before posting it. Case in point: I posted the URL to an interesting book (ha ha!)... http://www.amazon.com/Stuck-Up-Inserted-Ingested-ebook/dp/B0056DR5KY into Facebook and Google Plus. Here's how each of them rendered the result...
Facebook
Google Plus
Google Plus pulls in the authors and makes it part of the subject heading, but it ends up being too cluttered. The Facebook result is cleaner and easier to read. Also, the descriptions are very different. Entirely different, actually. I think the Facebook result wins.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
I was driving home from work and thinking about ponderous experiences in my past career endeavors. I do that sometimes when I'm not speeding and weaving around like a blind man with Turrette's. It stemmed from a lengthy discussion with one of my nephews about our relative "quality of life" and "career satisfaction" stuff, and so on. Guys often get into this subject matter after blabbering about titties and power tools. (There's nothing wrong with either of those, but you can only talk about them so long before you run out of superlatives and metaphors.)
I said to him "I think I'm in the best situation I've ever been in, at least so far. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, because nothing lasts forever."
We digressed into two aspects of that statement: one for each sentence.
As for the second one (I'm working in reverse): I've been in too many "sure bet" situations that suddenly turned a wrong corner. Once after 10 years, another after 7 years, and another after only 5 months. Shit happens. When you've had a CEO shake your hand and hand you a mixed drink, smile, and tell you with utmost sincerity that "your job is as safe and secure as it could possibly be", only to close your office and lay you off two weeks later, it tends to leave to an impression. That was five months into the new job. The 7 year job was one I thought I'd retire from and live happily ever after. The CEO of that place turned into a vindictive paranoid dick and stabbed everyone, even his VP's, in the back and left with a golden parachute. Those two situations, along with the death of some very close colleagues, really hit home with me and given me a perspective that you have to plan for the worst, hope for the best, and be prepared for whatever comes next.
Enough of that though. On to the first sentence...
As far as building cool applications are concerned, at least where I define "cool" as (A) fun to write code for, (B) produce something that helps not only myself but those around me, and (C) is actually beneficial to my employer's line of business, I can point to three distinct experiences:
Employer 1 - I had an idea to build something that was helpful for my group, but the company pushed back hard at every turn. Their rationale? I was hired to do job "A", so working on something outside of that, even though it automated more than half of what job "A" entailed, was outside the duties of job "A". Period. In one situation, I was flat-out told (and I quote): "We are a defense contractor. We don't get paid to save time. We get paid for the time it takes to do it right." Awesome reflection of the true American work ethic. Regardless of being approached by four peer-level businesses to license it, and three government agencies, the employer refused and effectively killed the project.
Employer 2 - I had a manager with amazing vision and self-direction, who approached me to help him build something that was aimed squarely at automating our daily workload. It grew and grew, mostly with his ideas and direction, based on what he had seen accomplished at each step, and propelling it on to the next level. It was a cool project indeed. The company fought back, again, with a slightly different rational: "Your group is tasked with "A" not developing software. If you wanted a solution, you should have requested the AppDev group." Translation: feasibility studies, requirements analysis, pre-dev evaluation, code and test, evaluation, UAT, the whole stupid-ass CMMI assembly line. And this is to build something that really warranted none of that excessive bullshit. The real aim was control and something to provide time-charge coverage for a bunch of people with not enough work to cover them. In the end, I left and another developer was brought on to continue work on it, but it was eventually given over to the AppDev group and given the lobotomy treatment.
Employer 3 - Both my manager, and the entire management structure saw the results of a small example, pulled me aside and said "do more!". Regardless of my official duties, they allow me incredible latitude to push things as far as it makes sense, as long as it produces results that satisfy others. So far so good.
To sum this up: One place let me build a car but not let it out of the garage. The next place let me build a car, and get it out on the road, but not go faster than 55 mph. The next place let me build it, and take it out on a race track with no limits.
Conclusion
Regardless of technology. Regardless of technological potential. What most often holds back progress, or often outright KILLS it, are people. People with narrow vision, no concern for innovation as it pertains to making real progress, are what build speed bumps. Vision builds roads with few potholes.
No place is perfect. I'm not going to even attempt to say that Employer 3 is perfect. That would be nonsense. But finding the right balance between ideal and tolerable is what makes things work for each person. It's like a girlfriend or boyfriend. You'll never find perfection, but if you can find enough good traits to outweigh the bad ones, it can often work out great.
Each of the three employers had plenty of skilled, intelligent, funny and progressive people. The problem for two of them was a barrier of culture that keeps them from achieving their full potential. I know for certain that most of the people I had worked with, if placed into different environments, would damn near explode with positive results. A suppressed culture suppresses everyone within it. Whether it's by standing up roadblocks, meetings, committees, reviews, forms, forms and more forms, and decisions made by people with absolutely zero understanding of the case being decided, or by the nature of the work itself being limited to one road, rather than a network of roads with unlimited potential, the environment shapes the potential of every employee. The employees become the environment and it becomes them.
All I can suggest is this:
Look for the barriers, the obstacles, the roadblocks, and if you can't remove them, try to work around them. Find a way to get your ideas into action. My manager at Employer 2 did just that, and pressed ahead against incredible push-back and apathy, and refused to give up. I simply drafted behind him enjoyed the opportunity to break out of the assembly line work I was hired to do. If you have a good idea, find others who will listen. Band together and share your ideas and feed off each other's positive views. If you're lucky, that's an easy thing to do. For a lot of people it's a struggle, but don't give up. Do the homework and confirm your beliefs with hard facts and numbers. If you think it will save time and money, be ready to back up your estimates. It's really hard to argue against good numbers. The real people in power live on numbers.
When you run into people at work that just don't get it, move on and find the ones that do.
I said to him "I think I'm in the best situation I've ever been in, at least so far. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, because nothing lasts forever."
We digressed into two aspects of that statement: one for each sentence.
As for the second one (I'm working in reverse): I've been in too many "sure bet" situations that suddenly turned a wrong corner. Once after 10 years, another after 7 years, and another after only 5 months. Shit happens. When you've had a CEO shake your hand and hand you a mixed drink, smile, and tell you with utmost sincerity that "your job is as safe and secure as it could possibly be", only to close your office and lay you off two weeks later, it tends to leave to an impression. That was five months into the new job. The 7 year job was one I thought I'd retire from and live happily ever after. The CEO of that place turned into a vindictive paranoid dick and stabbed everyone, even his VP's, in the back and left with a golden parachute. Those two situations, along with the death of some very close colleagues, really hit home with me and given me a perspective that you have to plan for the worst, hope for the best, and be prepared for whatever comes next.
Enough of that though. On to the first sentence...
As far as building cool applications are concerned, at least where I define "cool" as (A) fun to write code for, (B) produce something that helps not only myself but those around me, and (C) is actually beneficial to my employer's line of business, I can point to three distinct experiences:
Employer 1 - I had an idea to build something that was helpful for my group, but the company pushed back hard at every turn. Their rationale? I was hired to do job "A", so working on something outside of that, even though it automated more than half of what job "A" entailed, was outside the duties of job "A". Period. In one situation, I was flat-out told (and I quote): "We are a defense contractor. We don't get paid to save time. We get paid for the time it takes to do it right." Awesome reflection of the true American work ethic. Regardless of being approached by four peer-level businesses to license it, and three government agencies, the employer refused and effectively killed the project.
Employer 2 - I had a manager with amazing vision and self-direction, who approached me to help him build something that was aimed squarely at automating our daily workload. It grew and grew, mostly with his ideas and direction, based on what he had seen accomplished at each step, and propelling it on to the next level. It was a cool project indeed. The company fought back, again, with a slightly different rational: "Your group is tasked with "A" not developing software. If you wanted a solution, you should have requested the AppDev group." Translation: feasibility studies, requirements analysis, pre-dev evaluation, code and test, evaluation, UAT, the whole stupid-ass CMMI assembly line. And this is to build something that really warranted none of that excessive bullshit. The real aim was control and something to provide time-charge coverage for a bunch of people with not enough work to cover them. In the end, I left and another developer was brought on to continue work on it, but it was eventually given over to the AppDev group and given the lobotomy treatment.
Employer 3 - Both my manager, and the entire management structure saw the results of a small example, pulled me aside and said "do more!". Regardless of my official duties, they allow me incredible latitude to push things as far as it makes sense, as long as it produces results that satisfy others. So far so good.
To sum this up: One place let me build a car but not let it out of the garage. The next place let me build a car, and get it out on the road, but not go faster than 55 mph. The next place let me build it, and take it out on a race track with no limits.
Conclusion
Regardless of technology. Regardless of technological potential. What most often holds back progress, or often outright KILLS it, are people. People with narrow vision, no concern for innovation as it pertains to making real progress, are what build speed bumps. Vision builds roads with few potholes.
No place is perfect. I'm not going to even attempt to say that Employer 3 is perfect. That would be nonsense. But finding the right balance between ideal and tolerable is what makes things work for each person. It's like a girlfriend or boyfriend. You'll never find perfection, but if you can find enough good traits to outweigh the bad ones, it can often work out great.
Each of the three employers had plenty of skilled, intelligent, funny and progressive people. The problem for two of them was a barrier of culture that keeps them from achieving their full potential. I know for certain that most of the people I had worked with, if placed into different environments, would damn near explode with positive results. A suppressed culture suppresses everyone within it. Whether it's by standing up roadblocks, meetings, committees, reviews, forms, forms and more forms, and decisions made by people with absolutely zero understanding of the case being decided, or by the nature of the work itself being limited to one road, rather than a network of roads with unlimited potential, the environment shapes the potential of every employee. The employees become the environment and it becomes them.
All I can suggest is this:
Look for the barriers, the obstacles, the roadblocks, and if you can't remove them, try to work around them. Find a way to get your ideas into action. My manager at Employer 2 did just that, and pressed ahead against incredible push-back and apathy, and refused to give up. I simply drafted behind him enjoyed the opportunity to break out of the assembly line work I was hired to do. If you have a good idea, find others who will listen. Band together and share your ideas and feed off each other's positive views. If you're lucky, that's an easy thing to do. For a lot of people it's a struggle, but don't give up. Do the homework and confirm your beliefs with hard facts and numbers. If you think it will save time and money, be ready to back up your estimates. It's really hard to argue against good numbers. The real people in power live on numbers.
When you run into people at work that just don't get it, move on and find the ones that do.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Unfortunately, there was a problem with formatting that was discovered after I published "The Packager's Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition" for Amazon Kindle. I have uploaded a corrected version and have asked Amazon to repost it and email customers to notify them of an updated version. The update is free for those who have already purchased it. I apologize for the inconvenience and as always: I appreciate your support.
Thank you! Dave
Thank you! Dave
After years of watching sci-fi TV shows, movies, etc. it's finally come to a point where even the so-called brightest of our authors and screenwriters are annoying the shit out of me. Why? Because the common, no, strike that, not "common", but more accurately, the "only" view they seem to follow is that interplanetary/intergalactic "aliens" will fit the following mold:
We all know about culture dichotomies like how cows are viewed in America versus India. How handshakes are viewed in the Middle East, versus Japan or Africa, and how showing the soles of your feet when sitting down is offensive to some cultures, as is offering your left hand to shake (or even wave hello). So we see cows as a source of milk and food in America. They exist to provide milk and be slaughtered for beef. In India they let them walk the streets like we view dogs and cats. What if aliens view horses and dogs the same way? What if they view skin tones in that way? What if brown skin is ok to have around, but pale skin means extra crispy batter coating? What if?
You're probably snickering. Most humans would. That's because we humans know everything. We can predict everything. We apply our logic to predict what can be possible beyond what we've experienced. We are awesome. That's why we can predict the stock market so well.
- Intelligent
- Two legs and two arms (yes, I've see the others with octopus bodies and heads like bugs)
- Two eyes and a mouth (or three eyes and no mouth)
- Most of them don't have a nose (wtf?)
- Their vision is in the same light spectrum as ours
- Their hearing is in the same frequency range as ours
- They sense heat and cold like we do
- They wear clothing to cover their naughty bits (or don't have any naughty bits)
- They don't smell really bad
- They don't make obnoxious sounds (farting, snoring) all the time
- They don't leave trails wherever they go
- They understand our body language and colloquial aspects
What if? What if they smell like shit? What if they ooze from all their pores all the time? What if they leave a slug trail? What if they find some of our gestures aggravatingly offensive? Imagine that some of our common names for things sound like words they use to describe offensive things. What if they introduce themselves and have names like "fuck" and "c**ksucker"? Go ahead and smirk and laugh, but what if they sounded so much like that we'd do a double-take? What if reaching out to offer a handshake is a sign of aggression in their culture? What if we look like food to them?
What if they like to be naked and they have six 24-inch penises sticking out from all around them?
What if they have eight testicles that hang from beneath their face?
We all know about culture dichotomies like how cows are viewed in America versus India. How handshakes are viewed in the Middle East, versus Japan or Africa, and how showing the soles of your feet when sitting down is offensive to some cultures, as is offering your left hand to shake (or even wave hello). So we see cows as a source of milk and food in America. They exist to provide milk and be slaughtered for beef. In India they let them walk the streets like we view dogs and cats. What if aliens view horses and dogs the same way? What if they view skin tones in that way? What if brown skin is ok to have around, but pale skin means extra crispy batter coating? What if?
You're probably snickering. Most humans would. That's because we humans know everything. We can predict everything. We apply our logic to predict what can be possible beyond what we've experienced. We are awesome. That's why we can predict the stock market so well.
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