Older blog entries for nymia (starting at number 543)

12 Sep 2002 (updated 12 Sep 2002 at 06:53 UTC) »
Thoughts On Software

Does project management in software development contribute to quality? This has been the question that's been rattling inside my brain for several hours now. Is it management guidance or just pure developer talent that is responsible for delivering useful applications? Is quality in software development really measurable? And if they are, who sets the standard? Do management or committees set them? Or are they just a collection of anecdotes, bits and pieces of information gathered from the trenches?

Project leader Demoted To Developer

This is probably the first time I heard of a project leader getting demoted to developer. Reasons were lack of technical skills in handling the details of the project, being not aware of the interconnection between several pieces of homegrown and off-the-shelf tools. It seems though that being good at tracking schedules and presiding over meetings wasn't enough, though. What really counted was the fact that insufficient knowledge contributed to the failure.

Laid Off

A friend who came here several months back is now umenployed. Unfortunately, Andersen Consulting folded leaving the employees here. It has been three months now and no sign she will be getting a job, though.

Animation Tool

Wondering about any Free Software or Open Source counterpart of Macromedia Flash. The nearest one I could find is Gimp. Maybe there are tools I'm not aware of, let me know if there are any.

Found some references, thanks. [ 1 ]

Shared Cost

What kind of organizations would tend to benefit more from the FSF and OS development model where volunteers can get compensated for their work? One good idea is to write offer letters to non-profits (possibly profits as well) about sharing the cost of development of an application. This concept of sharing development cost might become a possibility provided the number of contributing members is large enough to keep the project going.

An offer letter containing the details of the proposal, including the cost breakdown per partner is shown. Once the application gets delivered, an exclusive usage is given to the partners for a certain time, say two years. Once the time lapses, the code is released to the public.

Partners will have a say on the hiring of developers. A consulting firm will be commisioned to perform this task of hiring developers. Resumes will be submitted to the partners for perusal, they may give points but will only carry a certain weight. Consultants will also enter their points and the resulting team is formed. The development team will work together in one location, similar to any proprietary shop. Working time is strictly business.

The offer letter may contain the complete project proposal, including the schedules and milestones. Costing materials are also provided as well, with the objective of recruiting many partners as possible.

Flash Animation

After reading several chapters, it looks like I can make a simple anime character, making it move in several keyframes.
Part Time

Talked to the manager about the situation, requested I can only work for the weekends if they still need me. The supervisor understood the situation where I'm in and took my request. In the end, it was both a win-win situation.

Project X

Met a for half an hour on where things are and what steps are needed to move it forward. The client is willing to shoulder the development cost in order bring down the cost. This is real, it's going to start soon.
Flash

Went to the local bookstore browsing, found some quite interesting items such as the Flash 5 Cartooning book. Decided to give it a try, took it to the cashier and paid the asking price. Currently playing with drawing images. More to come once I get familiar with the tool, though. My neighbor told I need to learn at least the basics of Flash and it sister tools to get into the business.

Vacation or Resign

Now that I'm starting on this short assignment, I'm not really sure how will I handle the other job. Schedules are in conflict at the moment, I don't want to lose any but it looks like I need to decide how will I leave. Should I apply for a long unpaid vacation? or just resign?

Assignment

Just met the people at work, got introduced to the work and after going through the briefing, I took a dive into the code and started tracing (TRON'ing) them line-by-line. The code belongs to an extinct grammar, not even found on Google. One thing that is really hard about it was the absence of the programmers manual and the API reference book. This is going to be hard, that's for sure.
8 Sep 2002 (updated 8 Sep 2002 at 03:24 UTC) »
Wasabi Shake

I've alway wondered what it is like to invent new things, especially in the area of food and beverage. The thought of just conjuring up images and never-before-tasted things create a seemingly intriguing feeling. Like a person waiting for the bus to arrive, thinking if the last digit of the plate number would be an odd or even. Take for instance the cold and spicy wasabi shake, a delightful taste the world will enjoy. Every sip of this spicy beverage will bring hours of fun and enjoyment. But of course, hitting Google yielded zero results, which is quite telling nobody in the history of man has ever written an idea like the Wasabi Shake. Perhaps it's an idea whose time has come?

Hot Air Balloon

Right after 7:00 AM, a hot air balloon was preparing to launch at the top of the other mountain. It was hovering probably at twenty to thirty feet. I went inside immediately looking for the digital camera. Took some minutes to get the camera ready. Made some final adjustments in setting the mode and quickly took snapshots of the scenery, including the launching air balloon as well.

Open Source Project Management

An interesting thread has caught my attention, regarding Open Source Project Management. ESR has written quite number already and has "covered every tile in the kitchen," so to speak. The motivation differentiating the open and closed model may have some overlaps, though. One thing mainly different is the way how mission of the project, being freedom-centric may have a lot to do with it. It is true that OS projects can exist without the backing of an investor since the product itself is entirely coded independent of management influence, though.
7 Sep 2002 (updated 7 Sep 2002 at 07:39 UTC) »
21 Inch Monitor

Got interested in getting a 21 inch monitor after comparing some prices. After playing around with two Mac monitors made me feel I need two big monitors just for fun. Anyway, maybe give it another week if the itch to buy will still be there though.

New Assignment

Got the information needed for Monday, the work is 80% telecommute since they don't have any office space left for another person to hold office, though. Plus it is only a short stint lasting for several weeks until the application upgrade takes off the ground. The previous developer left the app in semi-working condition, leaving me to pick up and continue the work.

Project X

Went to his SOHO for a simple meeting. Made some progress in shaping the mission, objective and purpose of the project. His clients were requiring the application to have all the bells and whistles of .Net, which made us look for Web Hosting [ 1 ] providers that have .Net offerings. Found some of them and will pick the simplest next week. There are also another client requiring Unix/Linux [ 2 ] tools, though. But it might take some time for him to get into the development model since most of his time were spent on the other.

This guy is defintely a Mac type who doesn't believe the ideas espoused by FSF and OS. He actually doesn't care about freedom, but what he actually cares about is the bottomline, a superior product designed to satisfy the customer. And that is the only way he can pull those money out of their pockets or wallets.

Also listened to his stories on how he managed to get some clients. Definitely hard work and a lot of eye candy was the main idea, though. It soon became clear to me that good packaging doubles the value of the product which is actually in the area of marketing and advertising.

Also figured the Intermet is really an advertising and marketing medium, designed to comminicate to a wide range of users. Of course, that is what businesses see the internet, a way of reaching out to the customers so money will come in. And the essence of this idea will probably be the central theme of the project.

Tofu-dog, Sushi-burger

It looks like I may have to shell out some money for Macromedia MX bundle. This is a significant investment I am not ready for. Although, the experience will definitely help my career in software development, I am not so sure if I want to go this route.

Ramble

With the recent RedHat+KDE tandem on the desktop front, it looks like the desktop may be going in the direction of KDE, though. While it is definitely good to see choice and freedom on the desktop, it is also good to know the direction is heading towards a convergence. This is really good since I can target a development platform on which I can use for building applications. A few more years and perhaps I will see the winners finally there at the top.
4 Sep 2002 (updated 4 Sep 2002 at 20:08 UTC) »
New Project

We had a simple discussion on our skills inventory, trying to get a feel on what skills are needed to put up a simple project. I showed him my tools and programs that were made from those (Win/GNU) tools. He was quite impressed to see some of them too, although they were homegrown the code produced were, nonetheless, above par.

Then we somewhat agreed on working on setting up a simple application. He will take care of the overall layout and behavior, while I will supply the code behind the layout. He has several potential paying clients who will want to see this demo site soon.

It seems that his place was a good office since he has one extra room that is probably 20x15 of space. I'll chip-in one linux server box and connect them to the three Macs. We'll see what will happen next.

Sprinkler

Just barely started with segment B, I might shelve it since a new project will start soon.

Home Network

Just got the network up and running, only two machines are working, though. The setup is currently running on Windows OS and will soon move it to a Linux OS soon. Next is figure out how to setup a multiplexer/demultiplexer channel controlling sensors and other things.

Macs

After seeing a full-blown Mac setup, I wondered if I will ever get excited on owning a Mac soon. There is no doubt the Mac is really a beautiful machine, a fine work of art. But the thing is, it doesn't interests me. Guess I know where my interests lie, though. If I can't get my hands inside that Mac, might as well forget it.
3 Sep 2002 (updated 3 Sep 2002 at 07:27 UTC) »
Sprinkler

Segment A is now working, the water is strong using only three sprinkler heads. Next is work on segment B.

Friend

Met a new friend which is actually one block away from here. He showed me his works like his drawing of the Titan AE, sketches of the ship containing the DNA of planet Earth's animals. I was amazed to see the drawings of the various ships that were drawn. After that, he showed me another which was Anastacia, but my attention was fixed still on Titan AE. He said the illustrations he made was actually in the movie, there are some additionaly production drawings that were used as backgrounds.

Also talked about other things like his idea of setting up a simple shop, him being the boss and me a partner. He has several offers already waiting except he was looking for a programmer who can do backend processing. His skills are really class A and his websites are absolutely amazing. I won't mention his name here because names aren't really important here, though. Anyway, I think I just hit a jackpot. We might be able to make some money here.

Most of his setup are basically Mac. There are three G3 (maybe G4, I dunno) boxes and two big monitors, all Mac. Although I'm not really a Mac fan since I'm more of an Intel/Linux/Win/Embedded/Frontend/Backend type. He also has this rig containing a lot of knobs and dials, he said it was his personal studio, wherein he composes the background music. Hmmm, he sure knows what he is doing.

Zen

From our conversations, I think this guy who goes by the name of Jai, 38 year old who came from Hawaii has already made his Zen all figured out. From the way he lays out his experience from the past to the present reminded me something of a road made of bricks that were neatly arranged. It seems though, that this guy who is working in the day as an employee has his own antique shop earning thrice his salary. It's quite surprising to be able to understand how this thing called Zen can lead an interesting path.
28 Aug 2002 (updated 28 Aug 2002 at 03:47 UTC) »
pics

Made several snapshots of the flowers around the house and some of the neighbors. Most of them were not good, but this one seems to be OK.

Roses

One thing I noticed about shooting roses is they give this really nice image of a flower. I don't know, I'm simply just a sucker for roses, though. Roses remind mostly of women as they have this power to attract and captivate men, even though they have torns on their sides, meaning care should be taken in order to not get hurt by its sting.
24 Aug 2002 (updated 24 Aug 2002 at 05:07 UTC) »
Pics

Finally got the camera working after being stored for almost two years. This photo was taken today, it is the street facing south. Now, the second was the two cabinets I made using particle boards.The computer terminal wasn't in the picture, though. Since it is considered classified at the moment. The last one is a shot of the backyard, taken on a summer day. Nice day, actually.
23 Aug 2002 (updated 23 Aug 2002 at 17:14 UTC) »
Motherboards

It's my day off and I'm currently laying out the cables. Decided to use only four areas in the house, though. Two 3Com 905B net cards and two 3Com ISA net cards are going to be used. Have not yet decided where to run the cables, the tough part is running the cables from the garage to the second floor, making a line drop from the ceiling.

Next is figure out what kind of casing is good enough to mount the motherboards behind the wall or ceiling.

My neighbor just got their timer module installed and the cables running behind the walls. Wondered and asked them about how they managed to do it. He will come over and help install the ethernet cables later. If I only knew I would be installing cables, I would have probably asked the builder to install them for me. Although they didn't offer any CAT5 cables during that time, it could be they don't have the resources to get them done, though.

Tried borrowing a one or two feet drill bit, long enough to cut through the wall. No luck so far, might try Home Depot before lunch.

Sprinkler System

One neighbor will come today and assist me lay-out the pipes. What the plan was to lay them out and dig six inches deep, bury and the 3/4 pipes and attach the funny pipe to the sprinkler. Also mentioned how the valves can be controlled electronically without using any cables. Will go over the net again and canvass for more.

Rent

Finally decided to back out and turn down the applicants. Almost all of them are financially stressed at the moment and letting them rent the house might bring more problems later. I'll hold on it until the economy turns around, though.

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