I’m annoyed by Google’s Analytics. It works great, but it’s heavy and overkill for my needs. Not to mention that it’s very privacy-intrusive. It’s not like I don’t give Google all my data already, but perhaps you don’t make that same choice, and you shouldn’t be forced into it simply by visiting my website.
I’ve been looking for a solution that lets me see what content folks are looking at and where they’re coming from, while being extremely cheap, and easy to maintain.…
“Disruption” is commonly thought of as a bad thing…
Disruption: disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity or process.
But to teams that yearn for change to their status-quo, like many in the 90th, disruptive innovation can be welcome.
Disruption: radical change to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation.
Disruptive innovation is something that many would not expect to exist inside the government, much less the Department of Defense.…
This post documents some thoughts I have about accountability within my organization, and how I plan to speak to the team about accountability.
Accountability is vital in an organization. Within an organization members must be able to work together with trust. Trust often manifests as the belief that individuals will operate within a set of expectations. When behaviors deviate from those expectations, trust within a team is broken. When behavior deviates from expectations, accountability can bring team trust back into balance.
Almost everybody experienced the dreaded “team project” during high school. When the teacher picked the team members and you divvied up work you almost certainly had that one member, “Skip”, who did not pull their weight. Your team assigned them an entire section of writing, but the night before the project was due they didn’t turn anything in. They didn’t pick up their phone. They didn’t respond to email. You may have spent an all-nighter fixing the problem they caused just so your grade wouldn’t suffer.
I am fortunate enough to lead the 90th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, a unit that delivers software to enable cyberspace operations for combatant commands and the military services. Testing is a vital part of delivering software successfully, but there are many philosophies around how to do so. Our needs around testing are somewhat unique. This post describes how we need to shape our thinking for the future.
Today Today we are in a fortunate position regarding test.…
Some friends are coming over around veteran’s day… Time for some pulled pork. 17.3 lbs pork butt from Costco for $2.29 per lb. Using 1.75 cups of Memphis dust, and .5 tsp salt per pound (2.75 Tbsp).
2200 11 Nov: pork is on at 225℉, apple wood chips, red probe on top blue on bottom.
1020 12 Nov: top is at 175℉, bottom at 165℉.
1240: 180℉ top, 171℉ bottom. Bumping temperature to 275℉.…
Brisket. 13.6 lbs, $3.79 per lb (Costco).
3.5 Tbsp salt 3.5 Tbsp pepper 1.75 Tbsp garlic powder
Around 2300 3 June: brisket on the smoker at 225.
Around 0900 4 June: turned the smoker up to 275.
1230: both slabs of brisket are over 202, time to come off!
1250: putting the fish on, now at 120.…
In the unit I am taking command of, we value an environment of continual improvement, agile delivery, and rapid innovation and risk-taking. These are the philosophies and behaviors that will enable us to win, and that will enable our customers to win in competition and conflict against our adversaries. Each of these philosophies and behaviors requires a diversity of thought.
Diversity of thought breaks through group-think. Diversity of thought raises issues early, and solves them more quickly.…
I recently finished The Unicorn Project and found it compelling, as was The Phoenix Project. I wanted to document some of the lessons it teaches, because they’re something I hope to keep in mind while leading a software development unit. These lessons are “the three ways” and “the five ideals”.
The Three Ways My thoughts here are expansions of some of the excerpts at IT Revolution.
Flow/Systems Thinking Amplify Feedback Loops Culture of Continual Experimentation and Learning Flow/Systems Thinking Consider the performance of an entire system instead of just a part.…
Costco leg of lamb, 4.6 lbs, $5.49 per lb. Slathering it in, per lb:
2 cloves garlic .25 Tbsp salt (this is a change from the past, when it was too salty) .25 Tbsp pepper (to match the salt now) .5 tsp oregano .5 Tbsp rosemary (my current recipe says .5 tsp but I don't believe it, so I'm trying Tbsp) .5 tsp thyme 1 Tbsp olive oil So, 5 cloves garlic, 1 1/8 Tbsp salt, 1 1/8 Tbsp pepper, 2.…