On Design, Nature, Technology

Since starting Archipelago Glass about a year ago, I made the decision to use open-source software on a Linux platform as much as possible. I run several flavors of Linux as well as a Windows environment so I’m able to get a good comparison of functionality and speed of execution in both major platforms.

I’ve found that my Ubuntu desktop environment actually speeds up the administrative tasks of business operation significantly. Not only is the responsiveness of individual applications better, but the ease of multitasking applications has improved significantly over the years.

One task that is regular, repetitive and potentially time-consuming is loading and configuring product images. With Ubuntu, this process is fast and reliable. Using F-spot, my images are imported, I can crop and adjust as necessary. Resizing and uploading are simple command line tasks and product configuration occurs on the web in Firefox.

I recently installed this on a spare partition and am amazed at the flexibility and speed that this OS offers. I also have Windows 7 64 bit, but I have to say, I can do 95% of what I need in Ubuntu at this point.

Looks like no going back.

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I’ve been an Allstate customer for over thirty years – off and on. There is a pattern with Allstate: they will offer very competitive pricing to  new customers and then gradually increase the rates from year to year until they are substantially higher than their competitors. I understand the business model and I’ve responded by leaving Allstate every five or six years and then coming back a few years later.

I canceled all of my policies recently and found a much more competitive provider. I duly notified Allstate a week or so before the termination of my policies.

You can imagine my surprise when I received a bill for coverage beyond my termination date along with a fairly nasty letter requesting immediate payment. I wrote back of course and indicated that I wouldn’t be paying for products I didn’t buy…

A week later I got a new bill and a refund check for a small amount I must have over-payed.

Okay, that’s good.

Then a few days later I get another bill and nasty letter for policy coverage beyond my termination date.

Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

Can I trust Allstate to handle my claims if my house burns down or I’m in an accident?

I don’t think I’ll be going back this time.

I’ve now been running my latest microbusiness for two months. I can say with great certainty that this has been a positive venture in most ways. Conceptually, the micro business model allows for greater flexibility and responsiveness than most other models since the consequences of failure are minimized and the impact of product diversification can be evaluated almost immediately.

Sometimes innovation comes through the open sharing of ideas, even with the very real possibility of those ideas being lifted or used without permission. Below is a link to one such entrepreneur – Rick Toone:

http://www.ricktoone.com/lutherie.html

The Stradivarii family is renowned for the art of violin making. Today, a stradivarius made duing the 17th century would command a seven figure price tag at market. What is the innovative secret to the stradivarius design that made these violins endure? What this design team realized is that violin making is a four dimensional art. All violins are carved – often from a solid piece of wood. The instrument is shaped and the tone constantly checked as wood is painstakingly removed, bit by bit, in order to capture the essence of the resonant characteristics in the wood itself. The process of shaping, finishing, polishing and tuning the instrument is what forms the violin into a work of art and a functional instrument.

What Antonio Stradivari realized – and his competitors didn’t – is that time shapes the instrument as well. Not just a few months of drying the wood before construction, but the years, and decades, and centuries, of subtle changes in tonal characteristics that modifies the instrument.

Building for the lifecycle, not just the immediate need, sets the stradivarius design process apart from the rest.

I’m designing a building a quick web application that maintains email accounts for an engineering application. This little web app has be be built quickly in order to save a substantial amount in licensing renewal fees. I’ve found that both prototyping and developing using an Ajax framework is a highly effective means to get this done quickly and efficiently.

I’ve always considered an Ajax based approach to be good for performance, but I never really considered it a boon for rapid application development. I can see that this framework will be at the top of the toolbox from now on.

It’s cold in my van. This is not a surprise given the outside temperature in the teens. The problem is that the interior of the van stays cold – the temp needle hardly moves.

It’s a stuck thermostat. This has happened to me before and is not uncommon. Fortunately the new thermostat was only $10 and the process fairly straightforward. The fix involves removing the upper radiator hose, the thermostat housing where it goes into the engine block, removing the bad unit, installing the new unit and new gasket, reattaching the hose. Then it’s just topping off the radiator fluid and checking for leaks.

No problem for the casual mechanic like myself – not too complex – no special tools required.

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I’ve created a new blog specifically for music and video. This site will be dedicated to the art and science of software design and engineering, as well as more mundate technologies. Please stop by the new site.

I build guitars.

I’m also a software engineer and project manager for a large manufacturing firm and often find myself consumed with implementing large, multi-stage IT projects (macro projects). I also spend a fair amount of time handling requests for enhancements or upgrades. Often these are short duration projects that can be completed quickly and only involve a handful of stakeholders (micro projects). As I reflect on the nature of my work (in and out of the office) I realize that many of my activities and hobbies could be classified as micro projects.

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