I've been a big fan of Cote and Charles' DrunkAndRetired podcast for a while now - it helps to ease the 10 minute walk to work every morning. I came across this great post on enterprise software by Cote on his People Over Process blog.
To those who don't know, I work in the BPM sector for a company called Pegasystems - we specialise in providing business process managment solutions to our clients. Cotes post perfectly states the complexity we encounter on a daily basis - the fact that each organisation involved - each vendor - specifies that their product is middleware. From network infrastructure solutions (IBMs Websphere family) through to SAP and Pegas own PRPC, to some degree this all consitutes as middleware. Having to deal not only with middleware, but a miriad of different front and back end technologies is enough to keep any developer on his/her toes.
Cote mentions the 'customization tug of war'. Each client will want the software to perfectly align to their business processes. Each vendor wants the client to accept the software to be provided OOTB (out of the box). Where I fit in is to ensure the two align by configuring the application to meet business requirements.
With software positions moving out of the country, it is very important to never underestimate the importance of business knowledge - the 'MBA programmer' may keep business related development jobs in the country, but going forward the emphasis should lie on the programmer - changing context to the programmer with an MBA. A floating workforce, with the maleability to rapidly adapt to different verticals is my vision.
Hm - where's my London Business School brochure gone again?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
“I know, I know. I should be happy with my 12″ PowerBook. But I can dream, can’t I?”
So - you all remember my post proclaiming my undying love to all things apple? I think I may have come across someone who could relate:
I wonder if she'll be free to sing at my wedding? ;)
I wonder if she'll be free to sing at my wedding? ;)
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Not surprising in the slightest...
Why would it not surprise me if the net lost its neutrality? Ten years ago, I would never have been able to imagine an internet that was not equally available to all - all areas of the internet, limited only by your baud rate. Allowing certain organiations to pay our ISPs to get a faster connection to us would have seemed ridiculous.
Network Neutrality — or "Net Neutrality" for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.
Net Neutrality ensures that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. With Net Neutrality, the network's only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.
Net Neutrality prevents the companies that control the wires from discriminating against content based on its source or ownership.
Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It's why the Internet has become an unrivaled environment for open communications, civic involvement and free speech.
(from SaveTheInternet.com)
Have a read of this article on net neutrality. The very concept is chilling - and gives us an idea of the level of freedom we enjoy on the internet at the moment. Regardless of whether you're looking for the Microsoft site or a quick update on my life at neilsamtani.com - there's a level playing field. Give giant corporations the ability to 'control' the internet, and we're heading on a slippery slope to the end of the current era of 'our internet' to a stark vision of the 'corporate internet'.
Network Neutrality — or "Net Neutrality" for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.
Net Neutrality ensures that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. With Net Neutrality, the network's only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.
Net Neutrality prevents the companies that control the wires from discriminating against content based on its source or ownership.
Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It's why the Internet has become an unrivaled environment for open communications, civic involvement and free speech.
(from SaveTheInternet.com)
Have a read of this article on net neutrality. The very concept is chilling - and gives us an idea of the level of freedom we enjoy on the internet at the moment. Regardless of whether you're looking for the Microsoft site or a quick update on my life at neilsamtani.com - there's a level playing field. Give giant corporations the ability to 'control' the internet, and we're heading on a slippery slope to the end of the current era of 'our internet' to a stark vision of the 'corporate internet'.
An Ode to Kit Kat Chunky
So driving yesterday - stopped for petrol and picked up a kit kat chunky, peanut butter. Made a mental note to write something about how great it was. I promise this (fairly terrible) poem sounded better in my head while I was eating the kitkat, thought I should post it here regardless.
Kit Kat Chunky,
Makes My Belly
Very Happy
When Im hungry.
Kit Kat Chunky,
And My Belly
Go Together
Like Peanut Butter and Kit Kat.
(poems are better when they don't rhyme)
Weekend details to follow on a later post. For the moment have a look at this - I always thought cats were useless animals, and as unlikely as it is to find a bear in canary wharf, this does make me think again about getting a cat...
Kit Kat Chunky,
Makes My Belly
Very Happy
When Im hungry.
Kit Kat Chunky,
And My Belly
Go Together
Like Peanut Butter and Kit Kat.
(poems are better when they don't rhyme)
Weekend details to follow on a later post. For the moment have a look at this - I always thought cats were useless animals, and as unlikely as it is to find a bear in canary wharf, this does make me think again about getting a cat...
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
New vocabulary....
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest,
in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation withYiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die,
your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary,
alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.
The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an
indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right?
And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10 Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning
and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation withYiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die,
your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary,
alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.
The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an
indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right?
And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10 Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning
and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Serious poses....or at least trying!
Keeping your eyes on the prize and your fingers on the pulse; welcome to round 2 of the weekly weekend round up...
One point of conversation between us is whether going out on Friday night is better than going out on Saturday night (we're now too old to go out both nights!). Friday nights have some crucial benefits: the weekend seems longer, the evening, although planned, tends to be more impromptus - we go to places where we don't have to worry about guest lists/tables/ridiculous entrance costs. This time around costs were less than usual thanks for a brilliant promotion sent around by Dips - 50% off food and drink at a number of London bars. This meant we managed to get 10 drinks (6 beers and 4 cocktails!) for £22. That's the equivalent of 3 and a half drinks at other clubs (i.e. Teatro - Dips).
After a few drinks, the customary 'pose-off' between Seems and myself was in full swing. I came out with an almost customary 'thinker' - stroking my chin, the look that exuded a powerful connection with the camera. Seema hit back with the relaxed slouch that she's got down. I attempted to retort, but the chuckles from the onlookers put me off - you were lucky this time Seems - next time I'll going to 'Magnum' your ass.
Saturday was spent on wedding related matters. Went up to Deeps' place and met the Maharaj who's going to marry us. Some interesting things to know about our Maharaj:
* His father was a Maharaj, as was his father before him.
* He's a policeman from Leicester (I didn't realise these guys had lives - I thought they just lived in temples until they got called out!)
* He's an advocate for female Maharaj's (or would that be Maharanis?)
* He doesn't think Jade was the real racist in Big Brother - the other two are the ones to beware of...(we all agreed on that point!)
After that, we went up to meet a mehndi artist, before heading up the road to pick up Habs - he had just come off his shift (he's in da po-lice),
so we grabbed a bite to eat at Prakashs restaurant, where aunty made us try the best tasting veg food -e v e r- created - Majestic Paneer. Even the name sounds royal.
Anyway, nothing happened on Sunday. NOTHING. Utd didn't lose to any London based football team - there's no proof - the table hasn't changed, Utd are still 6 points ahead of second place Chelsea. You can't prove a thing.
Tomorrow the blogs go back to our existential philosophical discussions, mixed with enterprise software discussions.
I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.
One point of conversation between us is whether going out on Friday night is better than going out on Saturday night (we're now too old to go out both nights!). Friday nights have some crucial benefits: the weekend seems longer, the evening, although planned, tends to be more impromptus - we go to places where we don't have to worry about guest lists/tables/ridiculous entrance costs. This time around costs were less than usual thanks for a brilliant promotion sent around by Dips - 50% off food and drink at a number of London bars. This meant we managed to get 10 drinks (6 beers and 4 cocktails!) for £22. That's the equivalent of 3 and a half drinks at other clubs (i.e. Teatro - Dips).
After a few drinks, the customary 'pose-off' between Seems and myself was in full swing. I came out with an almost customary 'thinker' - stroking my chin, the look that exuded a powerful connection with the camera. Seema hit back with the relaxed slouch that she's got down. I attempted to retort, but the chuckles from the onlookers put me off - you were lucky this time Seems - next time I'll going to 'Magnum' your ass.
Saturday was spent on wedding related matters. Went up to Deeps' place and met the Maharaj who's going to marry us. Some interesting things to know about our Maharaj:
* His father was a Maharaj, as was his father before him.
* He's a policeman from Leicester (I didn't realise these guys had lives - I thought they just lived in temples until they got called out!)
* He's an advocate for female Maharaj's (or would that be Maharanis?)
* He doesn't think Jade was the real racist in Big Brother - the other two are the ones to beware of...(we all agreed on that point!)
After that, we went up to meet a mehndi artist, before heading up the road to pick up Habs - he had just come off his shift (he's in da po-lice),
so we grabbed a bite to eat at Prakashs restaurant, where aunty made us try the best tasting veg food -e v e r- created - Majestic Paneer. Even the name sounds royal.
Anyway, nothing happened on Sunday. NOTHING. Utd didn't lose to any London based football team - there's no proof - the table hasn't changed, Utd are still 6 points ahead of second place Chelsea. You can't prove a thing.
Tomorrow the blogs go back to our existential philosophical discussions, mixed with enterprise software discussions.
I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Enlightenment Principles and Empiricism
A comment made to Ron Suskind by a member of the Bush administration.
''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
Puts it all in perspective...
''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
Puts it all in perspective...
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