Choosing the path…

April 30, 2013doandersen

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“He fell to the edge of a chasm and in his terror screamed for help.” The man paused and drank for the canteen. “The man seeking to save his love stopped and working his way to where the other man had been before his fall he gently helped the man back onto the mountain path and away from the edge. He carried the man seeking glory for a time as he trudged slowly up the mountain. The man seeking glory said “you may put me down.” after a time and continued both of their climb. They reached the summit at the same time, coming upon the flower growing on the top of the mountain. The man seeking the flower reached out to pluck it, and never saw the knife as it plunged downward into the base of his neck. He died instantly with a look of horror and the man seeking glory plucked the flower “proof” he said to no one in particular. He then made his way back down the mountain. When asked what happened to the other man by the woman who was dying, the man seeking glory said that in his eagerness he had fallen and despite great effort by him, he was unable to save him. The woman, hearing this died of despair at that exact moment. The man seeking glory walked the 20 miles to the castle of the King. When he arrived at the castle he was told that the King would not see him. The minister who came out said “climbing a mountain does not glorify the King. Build the King a mountain and that glorifies him, Climbing a mountain does not.” The huge wooden doors of the castle closed and the man seeking glory looked ahead at the empty road home.”

The traveler looked at the man for a moment. “I understand, it is as much the way you traverse the trail as it is the trail you choose.”

“That is the lesson.” The man said and he mounted his horse again, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “Let your heart choose.” He said as he rode away into the night.

The traveler got up and walked the 100 yards or so he thought the split in the trail was. On his 500th step he realized that the split in the trail was as far away now as it had been when he started. He realized that he must choose which way he would go before he could embark upon his journey.

So the traveler sat and reflected upon the two paths.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Glory and good

April 29, 2013doandersen

“These three pieces of fruit represent our lives. They are the life we wish for, the apple. The life we accept, the strawberry and finally the life we didn’t choose, the kiwi.” The man said revealing each fruit as he explained their role.

The traveler looked puzzled at the fruit, “I understand the peace of the cabin. I get that the path leads both ways. But the choices you have offered are confusing. Each represents something that was, and something that could be.” The traveler continued “you must be happy with the life you choose or there is no value in the choice.”

Smiling the man reached out his hand and touched the travelers shoulder. “You have learned the first lesson. You have learned that the choice you make must be the one you can live with. But you are you still on the path and on the journey. In effect you seek the apple still.”

The Traveler was taken aback by the statement for a moment. His hand rubbed his chin as he contemplated the statement rolling it around in his mouth and then swallowing it. He realized as he swallowed the mixture of saliva and air that it tasted of apple. The light opened his eyes and he looked at the man. “I still taste the apple.”

“Yes you do. It is why you are on this path. May I share food and a story with you?” The man asked.

“Please.” The traveler answered.

“There was once two villagers” the man said handing the traveler cheese, bread and the three pieces of fruit “who strove to climb the highest mountain in the kingdom. One for the glory of the great King who lived in the next valley. One because upon the mountain top was a flower and a tea made with that flower would save the life of the woman he loved.” The man pulled a knife from his bag to slice the cheese and handed it to the traveler.

“Thank you,” the traveler said as he also sliced some cheese.

“They both prepared for the climb the same way. In fact they both prepared at the same time. One was racing for glory. The other was racing for a life. The day of the climb came and the two began to climb the mountain. One looking forward to his glory the other looking back knowing he would lose something if he failed. They climbed all day and all night. The moon lit their way as they scrambled up higher and higher into the night sky. At some point the moon waned and the light disappeared. The man seeking glory fell.”

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

In the woods…

April 28, 2013doandersen

The traveler entered the woods after the long day on rocks climbing down from the cabin he would never return to. The shade and quiet of the forest was peaceful and he sat at the base of a tree and drifted off to sleep for a time.

The traveler was awakened by the clearing of a throat and started he opened his eyes to see a tiny man perched upon a huge horse.

“Welcome.” The man on the horse said.

“Thank you,” replied the traveler.

“What is it you seek?” The man on the horse asked.

“Why do you think I am seeking anything?” The traveler asked.

“Those who come on the mountain trail are always seeking something. For there is something to be found, and something to be found out on that trail that leads past the cabin to the woods.” The man on the horse replied.

“There is,” The traveler responded “and I do seek something.”

“There is much in the seeking.” The man on the horse said as he dismounted. “Will you share a meal with me?”

The traveler realized he was hungry and smiled at the man saying “yes I would share a meal with you.”

“What is it then, you seek?” The man asked as he pulled food from his bag and offered it to the traveler.

“It is something I never knew I had but now I realize it is lost.” The traveler said.

“Ah that which never was,” The man said. “this trail forks now,” he continued as waving his arm the traveler could see the trail clearly diverging into two separate paths. “and perhaps based on what is it you seek, when you discover that, the trail may yet fork again.” The man pulled a canteen from the horse’s saddler and handed it to the traveler.

“The decision I suspect then, is which path do I follow.” The traveler said as he swigged water from the canteen.

“Oh I think that decision has been made, the question is will you continue the journey long enough to find that which you didn’t know you had only to find it was gone?” The man replied, sitting on the ground next to the traveler.

“That I do not know.” The traveler answered.

“Then the fork in the trail you see in front of you, will stay in front of you until you can answer that question. Will you prevail in the journey or will you, content with enough, stop by the side of the trail and live?” The man said smiling.

“If I take the trail I will die?” The traveler asked.

“All of us will die, if on the trail or if living by the side of it content with what we have found. What was meant was that you would stop, happy in what you had found, no longer wishing for what you were seeking, and live by the side of the trail no longer bound to walk it.” The man reached into the bag and pulled out three pieces of fruit.

…

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Beyond the warm and friendly house

April 27, 2013April 27, 2013doandersen

The travelers journey done he rested for a time in the cabin at the edge of the woods perched on the side of the mountain above the valley so verdant and lush.

One day outside the cabin, tending the garden that gave so many great meals the man came up to the traveler.

“Each of us” the man said “is filled with two beings. The being within us that seeks forever to know what is on the other side of the hill and within us that is the rolling stone. The other half of us is the lichen, clinging to the spot where it is. In each case the other half desires what the half it is not has. Which one calls to you now, loudest?”

The traveler looked puzzled for a moment as he listened to the inner battle that was raging within him. Stay or go. He heard the voices over and over until finally he heard only the voice saying go. He looked at the man and said “the voice that says go.”

“Then you must go.” The man said “but first you have been here for a time and have given us much joy and laughter. For this we are obligated to give you a gift. Each of us has something for your journey. For once you leave this mountain side you will never be able to find this cabin again. This cabin perched on the mountain at the edge of the forest represents the resting place all of us seek. But once released can never be found again.”

The traveler nodded in understanding. His voice was not to stay. His voice was to go. “I understand and I must go.” the traveler said. In the corner of his eye and tiny tear began to form.

“You will be missed.” The child said as she hugged the traveler. “I give you light” she continued, handing him a stick that glowed. “with understanding you will never be in the dark.”

The woman came and hugged him as well. “I give you this bread that you will never be hungry on the road.” She and the child went back into the cabin.

“My gift unfolds differently” the man said. “For a time I will travel with you on your journey so that you are not alone. I can only go so far as a companion on your journey and when that time is done I will leave you this,” he said holding out his walking stick. “This walking stick will guide your feet on the journey your heart has chosen.”

Without another word they began walking on the path that led anywhere but back to the cabin. Within minutes the cabin was no longer in sight and then eventually even the smoke was gone. When they reached the woods the man handed the traveler the walking stick and smiling began walking back along the trail. As he walked the travel saw the trail he was on disappear behind him. As he came to a bend that had not been there before the man turned to the traveler and said “Remember there are two beings inside you, listen to your heart and know when it is time to stay. All journey’s must come to an end, but that is the beginning as well.”

“I will” the traveler said. And as those words echoed on the mountainside the man disappeared.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

The journey is done…

April 26, 2013April 26, 2013doandersen

There once was a traveler who came upon a verdant valley green and lush. He stared for time for the climb was long and his journey was just beginning. He spotted after a time a single strand of smoke rising lazily from a cabin about half way down the other side of the mountain he was on top of now.

The traveler made his way down the hill towards the cabin and the inviting strand of smoke that spoke of warmth and humanity. The traveler was cold the journey up the mountain much harder than he had believed in the beginning.

He struggled towards the cabin. The rocks were slick with moss and lichen and melting snow. Eventually he came upon a trail. He thought for a moment and did not know why that the trail in fact led to the cabin but it also led away from the cabin. He stopped for a moment realizing there was choice to be made. Go towards the cabin and what lie within or go away, both paths traveled. I shall he thought take warmth and comfort this time and began walking towards the cabin.

As he neared the cabin he realized there were three people standing in the doorway of the cabin. They were not people he recognized but he knew them. It was a woman, a child and a man.

The woman spoke first saying “what do you need?”

The child spoke second saying “what makes you happy.”

The man spoke last “where are you going?”

The traveler stood there for a time, each of the questions was universal and specific. Locked to him but opening doors and showing him things he had not considered for a long time.

To the woman he said “food and warmth.” She smiled and waved her arms in a welcoming gesture revealing the roaring fire and a table set for many guests with lots of food.

To the child he said “the journey I am on.” The child smiled laughing in the way only children can and quietly the child “may it last forever.”

Finally he turned to the man and said “I do not know my destination for I believe my journey is the true path” the man smiled at the traveler and lifting his hand the light revealed a path that stretched onto infinity.

The traveler stopped for a moment and warming himself by the fire he stopped walking for the first time in a long time. Now that the journey was revealed he was done.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

DXB Walkie-talkie dock for the cellular phone…

April 25, 2013doandersen

Thinking about green consumer IT is an interesting thought exercise. First, because there is an explosion of extended life batteries on the market that leverage solar and kinetic power. It is an expanding market. Just hang around the edges of Kickstarter and you will in fact see lot’s of opportunities.

Anyway – A Kickstarter project I am really excited about. The first is a multi-band hand held radio that integrates with your cellular phone. Simply the coolest project I have frankly ever come across on Kickstarter (well ok since the two really cool screen as a service projects – who are we kidding – this is a cool project but frankly just about every project on Kickstarter is. This one however integrates two very cool things that have too long been apart, amateur radio and packet cellular devices)!!!

For more information this project go here: http://www.alianzahd.com/kss/ which is the RSS feed they have set up detailing more information. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bricomnj/dxb-walkie-talkie-dock-for-iphone-android-and-blac is the link to the project on Kickstarter.

A blurb from the KS page:

The multi-band feature allows the two-way radio to communicate across all frequency bands(VHF, UHF, 800Mhz) allowing for seamless interoperability. It also uses your existing smartphones data to extend the communication distance from 25 miles to anywhere in the world using Radio-Over-IP repeater/gateway feature.

When we think about crowd funding, it is ideas like this that frankly help people change the world. This integration is something I find cool and I am sure a few others will as well. You get a working unit with a 400 dollar donation. If you are a radio geek, and a cell phone user this is the project for you!!!

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Earth Day Green IT continued…

April 24, 2013doandersen

Ever since Earth day I’ve been noodling around the edges of green IT. From solar mobile chargers to the large concept of data center consolidation there are a lot of ways to save IT cost by moving more into the green IT space.

I’ve seen interesting building designs that take advantage of cold air sources (like moving air low to high in a building, leveraging cold mountain air). Solar and wind power are renewable energy resources that allow a data center to be more green.

What I wonder is the potential for the consumerization of green energy. Years ago, enterprise and government groups were the forefront of technology. They spent 3 and 4 times what consumers spent on technology solutions. Today that has reversed and frankly it is 10 to 20 times more spent on the consumer side. I believe the green technologies would greatly benefit from moving into the consumer space.

This brings me to the concept of what green consumer would look like. From renewable energy to recycling there are a number of aspects of greenness we all aspire to, reality is however we aren’t as green as we think we are. We could be greener.

So, let’s think about what green IT and green consumers might want over the next few years.

Cheaper solar power for the home.

A campaign by the DOE to have HOA’s around the country allow solar panels. They don’t drop the value of the house, they increase it. (congrats on the new house, your electric bill during the summer will be $25 a month, i.e. what the power company charges to keep a line running to your house).
More solar capabilities you need more power to run air conditioning than you think.

There is more to come…

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Sustainable…possible?

April 23, 2013doandersen

Leave the planet in better shape than when you started.

You can easily power your mobile device with extended batteries and even with solar power. The solar piece is the most intriguing.

First off – what percentage of American homes have solar power today?
Second off – what percentage of people carry solar charging devices in their bag or in their pocket?
Finally (off) – what percentage of people run their cell phones to the ground every day?

The last one is my personal problem. Between using the phone for email and talking on the phone, plus location and Bluetooth my phone uses about 120% of a charge per day. Some of that is solved with an extended battery case. But frankly having a solar charger makes a bigger difference when I am out and about. I can keep my extended battery charged and not worry about how much I use my phone.

Based on the number of people I see with cords dangling from the bags to their ears and to their phones I suspect many other people have similar problems (yes half the cords are ear phones, but the other half are charging the phone).

The reality of sustainable computing is that we have to change our applications a little. The first one to consider is the GPS. Yes they are wonderful devices but still…

Turning on the GPS in your phone shouldn’t suck the battery as badly as it does. The thing to consider at that point is how frequently does the application need to talk to the hardware? I understand when driving in your car, the GPS should be constantly checking your location, but your car GPS, mobile gps or phone can be plugged in while in the car so there isn’t a battery drain. When you are running, walking or hiking it really doesn’t need to course correct as frequently as a car/plane/truck/boat does. So shut down the service and only have it on once in a five minute period.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Green IT and consumer tech…

April 22, 2013April 22, 2013doandersen

Where does green IT really begin? I am asking only because yesterday I did my usual prep for the week (research my internal newsfeed articles, clean up the items left from last week and charge the various devices I use). It dawned on me around 11 am yesterday that I hadn’t charged my iPad all week. But I have used it every day – I do it for quick fact checking and other applications at work so it actually use it a lot.

I got the Kudo Solar charger and extended battery case for the iPad about four months ago. I have been charging that case on occasion, but not often as it recharges itself in my office (based on overhead lighting only). I’ve charged it twice in the past two weeks and frankly I use my iPad every day. In fact I only charged it yesterday because it was at 2 bars from sitting in the basement all weekend. The iPad was at 100% charged.

Green IT is a movement that encompasses more than one device but my argument now is that in fact it starts with one device and builds outward from there. Solar recharging systems are expanding in their capabilities every day. I suspect over the next 3-5 years you will see more and more solar power in homes as people look to cleaner sources of energy. Once solar panels get below 5000 per house I suspect is the breaking point.

I suspect as well that we will see solar farms on top of many buildings as the panels become cheaper and cheaper. After all its an easy thing to turn the roof of a building into a solar farm. The reason I am pushing the consumer market first approach is simply scale. In the US we spend billions on IT. But consumer electronics are over a trillion dollar market in the US. It is a 3 or 4 to one variable that means consumer technology will continue to drive the IT marketplace.

Solar is coming. Well heck its already here most days. Except November, in the DC area, November is a sunshine free month.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

What if…

April 21, 2013April 21, 2013doandersen

What do you do when something about a person doesn’t add up? Its pretty straight forward with a technology item. You evaluate the expected results or expected functionality. You review the requirements and trace the requirements against the functionality and then finally if in fact it doesn’t work you start over or pitch it. Or you can modify what you have to fit what was needed.

Pretty straight forward. But you can’t do that for a person. Code you can throw away. People you cannot. So how do you deal with the reality that a person doesn’t add up. That they tell one person a variation of something, that is different enough from what they told you that your antenna pops up and you start to wonder.

What do you do when a person’s statements don’t add up?

It is a vexing problem. One that you have to spend some serious time considering the options. Its always best to handle things like this one on one. That way there isn’t a backlash in public (and the creation of a sworn enemy). But honestly someone who is being misleading is going to react in private as well. The sad answer to the blog question of today is it depends.

Is the person senior to you? If so, its best to let it slide and note it for later.
Is the person junior to you but a good team player otherwise? You need to coach them.

If they add to the team – help them. If the problem above however is related to their specific anti-pattern be careful. It won’t be a one time thing.

.doc

Scott Andersen

IASA Fellow

Docandersen's Blog

Last friendly blog before, well you know.

Month April 2013