Arnie Rowland: Ramblings of a Harried Technogeek

Rules of Holes #7: Some Will Look Down on You.

2012-11-30T15:28:00Z

I've been extoling the Rules of Holes, hoping to give you both courage to get out of your Hole, and solace for having allowed yourself to get in a Hole in the first place. How about the others, the folks that see that you are up to your neck, the folks that could guide you out, the folks that are secretly glad that it is you down in the Hole instead of them. So this brings us to Rules of Holes #7: When you are in a hole, some will look down on you. Only a few will offer their hand, and of those,...(read more)

Rules of Holes #6: Don't Draw Others Into the Hole with You

2012-11-20T17:15:00Z

In the Fifth Rules of Holes, you were encouraged to seek help from others in order to extricate youself from the Hole. And it should have been clear in that Rule that you want to seek out those that can actually help you. Not everyone, or just anyone, will be able to help you get out of a Hole. Hopefully, you have a mentor, or will take the opportunity to enlist a mentor. Just be selective. Being selective will help you with Rules of Holes #5: Drawing more people into the Hole with you is not likely...(read more)

Rules of Holes #5: Seek Help to Get Out of the Hole

2012-11-19T15:37:00Z

You are moving along, doing good work, maintaining a steady pace. All seems to be going well for you. Then BAM!, a Hole just grabbed you. How the heck did that happen? What went wrong? How did you fall into a Hole? Definitely, you will want to do a post-mortem and try to tease out what misteps led you into the Hole. Certainly you will want to use this opportunity to enhance your Hole avoidance skills. But your first priority is to get out of this Hole right NOW.. Consider the Fifth Rule of Holes...(read more)

Rules of Holes #4: Do You Have the BIG Picture?

2012-11-16T19:25:00Z

Some folks decry the concept of being in a 'Hole'. For them, there is no such thing as 'Technical Debt', no such thing as maintaining weak and wobbly legacy code, no such thing as bad designs, no such thing as under-skilled or poorly performing co-workers, no such thing as 'fighting fires', or no such thing as management that doesn't share the corporate vision. They just go to work and do their job, keep their head down, and do whatever is required. Mostly. Until the day they are swallowed by the...(read more)

Rules of Holes #3: A Better Shovel is NOT the Answer!

2012-11-14T21:05:00Z

You stopped digging. You looked around and saw that you were still in the Hole. You needed to get out. AHA! Problem solved, you thought. You'll just get a better and more efficient shovel! I regret to tell you that the Third Rule of Holes applies: Switching to a more efficient shovel is unlikely to help you get out of the Hole . Yes, your resumed digging may be faster, more directed, and even well planned and articulated. But you will still be in the Hole, and digging. And that's just not the solution....(read more)

Rules of Holes #2: You Are Still in a Hole

2012-11-13T21:05:00Z

OK. So you followed the First Rule of Holes -you stopped digging yourself in deeper. But now what? You are still in a Hole. Your situation has not changed much, but at least you are no longer making it worse. You need to redirect the digging effort into escape and avoidance efforts. The Hole has a singular purpose -consuming all of your time and effort. AND it has succeeded! But now you are going to redirect your efforts for your own survival. You have encountered the Second Rule of Holes: When you...(read more)

Rules of Holes #1: Stop Digging

2012-11-12T18:03:00Z

You may have heard of the 'First Rule of Holes'. It goes something like this: " When you suspect you might be in a hole, stop digging. " That seems like obvious, and good advice, but what does it really mean? How does the Rule of Holes apply to you? How does it apply to your job? When things are not going right, stop doing the "same ol', same ol'" You find yourself involved in doing the same type of coding over and over. Maybe it's time to stop, step back, take a little time and learn something new....(read more)

Financial Transparency is Good for Community

2011-11-07T15:44:00Z

I was recently in a conversation with several people that had previously organized one or more community events. The topic evolved into a discussion of Sponsors, and eventually, fund raising. Being able to adequately raise the funds necessary is critical to producing a successful event. Many vendors will readily provide products for raffles and give-aways (SWAG), but the success of the event hangs on being able to raise cold, hard, cash. Venues and equipment have to be rented, refreshments and lunches...(read more)

Paying for Free

2011-09-26T19:45:00Z

It seems like there is a widespread malaise in the country these days. Everyone's clamoring to cut taxes -but no one wants to have their neighborhood school closed, or fear bridges collapsing underneath them, or damage their automobiles while driving over deteriorating streets and roads. They expect Fire and Police personnel to magically appear when needed. The list can go on and on. Folks want and expect so many things to be available, yet they don't want to pay for them. They don't care if someone...(read more)

There should only be one ...

2010-11-16T08:07:00Z

When visiting clients, I often find that one or more databases have a table (or several) containing metadata. Most often, these tables have only a single row of data containing metadata about the company, the application, or the database itself. Quite likely, there should only be a single row of data in these metadata tables. Sometimes, I find an INSERT TRIGGER employed to make sure that another row of data is not accidentally added to the metadata table. The TRIGGER may count the rows in the table,...(read more)

Project Phoenix: Additional Proposals Receive Awards

2010-10-24T01:16:00Z

10/23/2010 Two more eligible developers and deserving projects have been selected. Any proposals submitted but not selected this time will be reconsidered at each upcoming award cycle. (Refer to this to review the award criteria, details, and benefits.) In no order of implied importance. Michael Peterson , Leesburg, VA Class Roster Management for Leesburg Open Arms School. The school currently uses a spreadsheet with a bunch of ugly macros to manage their class rosters. The information is duplicated...(read more)

Project Phoenix: Early September Awards Announced

2010-09-15T06:13:00Z

9/14/2010 Two more eligible developers and deserving projects have been selected. Any proposals submitted but not selected this time will be reconsidered at each upcoming award cycle. (Refer to this to review the award criteria, details, and benefits.) In no order of implied importance. Alan Minner , Camp Verde, Arizona Verde Valley Robotics is an organization in central Arizona working with schools and youth organizations in the Verde Valley to promote STEM education through robotics programs and...(read more)

Project Phoenix expands to Australia and New Zealand

2010-09-13T00:11:00Z

A couple of months ago, many Microsoft MVPs received Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate MSDN subscriptions (retail value: ~$12,000) to distribute as we saw fit. I started Project Phoenix , encouraging unemployed or underemployed developers to engage with a non-profit to propose a software solution to a problem for the non-profit. I contacted a few vendors, asking them to supplement the MSDN subscription with additional items, such as books, training, and tools. Soon, other MVPs joined with me to broaden...(read more)

Project Phoenix: Late August Awards Announced

2010-08-31T21:06:00Z

Two more eligible developers and deserving projects have been selected. Any proposals submitted but not selected this time will be reconsidered at each upcoming award cycle. (Refer to this to review the award criteria, details, and benefits.) In no order of implied importance. Carol-Lee Tutch , Hillsboro, OR SOLV is a non-profit organization that brings together individual vounteers, service and conservation groups, businesses and government agencies in activities to restore our natural spaces and...(read more)

Project Phoenix: Early August Awards Announced

2010-08-18T15:31:00Z

Two more eligible developers and deserving projects have been selected. Any proposals submitted but not selected this time will be reconsidered at each upcoming award cycle. (Refer to this to review the award criteria, details, and benefits.) In no order of implied importance. Nick Portelli, East Lansing, MI Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lancaster County Pennsylvania offers children opportunities for professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships with qualified volunteers. Each relationship...(read more)