August 10, 2020
Beautiful Cookware
BTW, can't believe Amazon is now getting into bricks and mortar too!
These enameled cast iron dutch oven pots are colorful and useful.
In a way, they are too good-looking to use.
Maybe just put them on the stovetop and let them look pretty.
There is always the microwave for the real food. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
February 2, 2020
Business Case Scoring - Template
In evaluating various business cases, individuals can score each based on the following:
- Business Justification
- Analysis of Alternatives
- Technical Alignment
- Feasibility of Implementation Strategy
- Funding/Resource Availability
The ratings are done with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
The scoring sheet calculate average, and identifies highest and lowest scores.
Then the individual scores can be summarized and used to rank the projects in your portfolio.
Based on overall funding, you can determine how many of the top-ranked projects are doable in the year, and then roll over the others for reevaluation along with new business cases next go around.
Capisce? ;-)
(Credit Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
Business Case Scoring - Template
December 3, 2018
News - Real and Imagined
News--My Brain Hurts.
It's not only the 24/7/365 news cycle that make it often extremely repetitive and monotonous--where "breaking news" is the same news from 5 hours ago-sometimes even from 5 days ago. Ho hum, boring.
But it's also the forced news, where there always has to be a story even when there isn't one worth taking about. Every reporter has to earn their keep too. Oh no, not another cat rescue from a backyard tree!
Hey, in the end its ratings--that drives advertising, which of course pays the bills, so don't hold your breath as to how long we can continue to talk about the 2016 election, the Kavanaugh hearings, the Mueller Investigation, and so on. It's the news gifts that keep on giving and giving.
Sometimes, it's about getting different angles on a story--however, more often it seems like just the same old, same old--how many ways can you say, he did it or he didn't do it?
Then there is the fake news and alternative facts, where if there isn't a story (or one that supports the sponsor's world filter), then maybe--just maybe--we need to create one and get people unsettled or use it for social control (remember the "Echo Chamber"). And for sure, let's not forget the power of a good conspiracy theory! People certainly are gullible, right?
This all reminds me of a famous saying by Lenin:
There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.
In some ways maybe it was better to just have the morning and nightly news without all the B.S. in between, because...there are decades when nothing consequential happens.
I guess we all just are waiting around for the weeks when decades happen, but when that sh*t hits the fan, who says there will even be any news to be had.
No wonder, Dilbert says his brain hurts--doesn't yours? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
News - Real and Imagined
January 30, 2018
Take Off The Halo and Horn
The halo and horn effects.
This has to do with generalizing about people, things, places, or events.
With the halo effect, if we like (are positive) about one or a few things about it, we may put a proverbial halo on it and treat or rate everything about it as great.
Similarly, with the horn effect, if we dislike (are negative) about one or a few things about it, we may put a proverbial horn on it and treat or rate everything about it as horrible.
This means we're not really being objective or balanced in our assessment.
Usually, it's not all just good or bad, black or white--but good AND bad, black AND white.
And obviously, this can cause us to make bad decisions based on poor analysis and judgment.
Therefore, the importance of taking a step back, looking holistically at all the facts, and evaluating things for what they really are, rather than making snap calls to judgment--and poor ones at that! ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to darksouls1)
Take Off The Halo and Horn
July 2, 2017
CNN News May (Sometimes) Be Fake, But The Flowers Aren't
While we look to the media for honest and fair news reporting to educate and inform us all, it continues to be more than disappointing that they not only seem to take sides, but as one of their own producers admitted, they are looking out for their own ratings more than for the benefit of the American and global news consumer.
Political biases, chasing after ratings, alternative facts, fake news...what are people across the political and viewpoint spectrum to do to get to the truth? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
CNN News May (Sometimes) Be Fake, But The Flowers Aren't
December 18, 2016
Survey The Performance
Afterwards, I got an email asking:
"How was your experience with Beverly?
When I opened this my wife saw this and was like, "What the heck is that?!"
We should be surveying the work performance and not the experience with the person.
I can't imagine that super smart Apple didn't see this sort of double entendre about sweet Beverly.
All Apple needed to do was add in the word(s) at the top, shopping and/or at Apple, as in "How was your shopping experience with Beverly at Apple? (rather than burying it in the subtext later)"
But then their customer satisfaction survey maybe wouldn't get as much attention.
Sexualizing the customer experience shouldn't be part of marketing, unless maybe your purposely visiting a shady part of town for unscrupulous reasons.
Anyway, I did respond that Beverly was a definite 5!
Thank you for the wonderful technology Apple and for the experience with Beverly--it was great! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Survey The Performance
October 23, 2016
Your Score Is Your Life
Your Score Is Your Life
September 23, 2016
Big Government Turnaround
Sort of ironic for this sign that says:
"Big Government Sucks"
...to be handed out in the capital of the United States of America!
It would make sense that this negative notion of big government is connected to the low approval ratings of Congress (17%) and government services (64.4) provided.
People are seeing and sensing that big government is bad government when it is:
- Dictatorial, corrupt, and discriminatory.
- Mired in fraud, waste, abuse, and coverups.
- Self-serving for the politicians that are elected to serve the people.
- When it is bureaucratic and ineffective.
- When it is confused and without vision or plan for the country.
- When it's indecisive, makes bad decisions, or can't successfully execute short- and long-term on it's mission.
- When it is lacking in basic values of democracy, freedom, and human rights for all.
At the same time, big government can be great government, when it is a beacon of light for its citizens and for the nations of the earth.
- When it protects us from dictators, demagogues, terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, criminals, and all sorts of disasters.
- When it holds strong and cutting-edge the economy, prosperity, innovation, education, and competitive advantage of the nation.
- When it safeguards and keeps sustainable the environment for future generations.
- When it preserves and fortifies freedom, human rights, social equity, equality, and justice.
- When it looks after the needy and less fortunate.
- When it lead the world in exploration, discovery, partnerships, and ultimately doing good for the people, the planet, and our future.
Big government sucks when it goes wrong and then they start handing out these sad signs on our nation's premier college campuses.
This is a big problem to turnaround?
But with smart, committed, and moral leadership, it can be done! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Big Government Turnaround
June 9, 2016
The Kool-Aid Overfloweth
As the promises are made...
As glass ceilings are broken for gender and outsiders...
As the endorsements are coming in...
As legacies are made and lost...
Everybody seems to be drinking a lot of Kool-Aid.
Somehow, the (social) media doesn't seem as discerning as it should or could be.
Maybe it's more about brands, what outrageous, who's insulted, ratings and advertising dollars.
Many (or almost all unless they have personal skin in the game) seem resigned to just vote for the candidate they deem least worst.
Accountability for actions and words--scripted and blurted out--don't seem to be taken with the seriousness they deserve.
Just say or do whatever it takes...shake hands, kiss babies, promise more of everything for everybody.
Wash it all away with the insincerity of the moment for the prize of the ultimate power grab awaits.
The new leader of the free world will be sitting in the Oval Office in just a little more than half a year.
Kool-Aid is filling our screens, our newspapers, our conversations, and our minds.
What's real and what's bullsh*t about what we're being fed?
Transparency, ha...feeding time is almost over.
But where's the real vetting, critical thinking, and values informing the process?
It's not about what to think, but how to think!
Bellies are almost full...the herd is almost ready to vote.
The new King of the Jungle is almost ready to take their place at the head of it all.
Four years, maybe eight years...
How will the wild world be then? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
The Kool-Aid Overfloweth
January 23, 2015
Poli-trick-ians, No Way!
So I find a way to ask someone(s) what they are seeing and experiencing, and what they think about what's going on in Washington, D.C.
So this time, I asked someone about whether they watched the State Of The Union this week.
The answer?
No way!
Why not?
They said (as if they heard this little mnemonic from others before), "because, they are all 'POLI-TRICK-IANS!'"
I said, well that's cute, but what do you mean?
This is what they said (paraphrasing):
- They don't speak the truth.
- They just say what they think people want to hear.
- It's all just fighting between the (political) parties.
- It's not really about the people.
- It's not about making a difference, anymore [just about being in and keeping power].
Wow, this was pretty powerful.
I could sense the anger and frustration.
Also, the disillusionment.
Checking in on the ratings, this seemed to jive with CNN (and other news media) saying, "State of the Union was President's Lowest-Rated Yet."
According to Nielsen only 31.7 million people tuned in...that's out of a current U.S. population of 324 million!
On the positive side, the number of tweets was way up to 2.6 million during the hour-long address--how sweet those tweets.
Seriously though, we are here to serve the people...how do we get back their respect?
I suspect that the answer revolves around the following:
- We need to turn from fighting each other to fighting our real enemies like the threat from Islamist Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction.
- We need to break the gridlock and get something done (lot's of things done)!
- We need to stop the political cliches and talk from the heart to the heart.
- We need to stop thinking about ourselves and focus on the people--all the people (not the middle-class versus the rich, not main street from wall street, not the color or race that you are or aren't)!
- We need to tackle the many big problems we are facing--the national debt, national defense (including cybersecurity), environmental sustainability, raising the level of housing, food, medical care, and education for all, and of course, everything technology and innovation!
We need to go from a perception of poli-trick-ians to genuine representatives and leaders of the people for the people. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Poli-trick-ians, No Way!
January 20, 2015
Buyer Beware, Else Buyer Remorse
He used to say (or so my dad used to tell me), "You open your eyes or you open your wallet!"
Put another way is that "A fool and his money are soon parted."
But I like the way my grandfather put it even better--easier to remember and no name calling involved! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Buyer Beware, Else Buyer Remorse
September 1, 2014
You're Probably Not A 10
But what you may not realize is that the knife cuts both ways...you are not only the reviewer, but the subject of reviews.
And if you're not all that...then everyone can know it!
The New York Times has an opinion piece by Delia Ephron about how reports cards are no longer just for kids, and that they are "for the rest of my life...[and] this is going on your permanent record."
From cabbies that won't pick you up because you've been rated a bad fare to your therapist that says you can't stop obsessing, restaurants that complain you refused to pay for the chopped liver, and the department store says you wasted their salesperson's time and then bought online, and even your Rabbi says you haven't been giving enough to the synagogue lately.
People hear things, post things, and can access their records online...your life is not private, and who you are at least in other peoples opinion is just an easy search away.
In Tweets, Blogs, on Facebook, and even in companies customer records, you have a personal review and rating waiting for discovery.
Your review might be good, but then again...you are not always at your finest moments and these get captured in databases and on social media.
Data mining or exfiltration of your personal information is your public enemy #1.
Of course, you'd like to think (or wish) that you're brand is a 10, but not everyone loves you that way your mother does.
Too bad you can't tell them, "If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it"--either way, your gonna hear what people think of you loud and clear. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
You're Probably Not A 10
April 10, 2010
Knowing Who Your Friends Are
You’re on the Internet doing your business, but who is at the other end and how do you know that you can trust them?
That is what so called Reputation Systems are all about—creating mechanisms to authenticate the identities of partners online and measure just how trustworthy they are or aren’t.
Some familiar examples of reputation systems include everything from scores for vendors on Amazon or eBay to activity statistics on Twitter to recommendation distinctions on LinkedIn to networks on Facebook.
The idea is that we measure people’s trustworthiness through the number of transaction they conduct, reviews and recommendations they receive, and associations they keep.
These are all instances of how we unmask the identities and intent of those we are dealing with online—we obtain 3rd party validation. For example, if a vendor has hundreds or thousands of transactions and a five star rating or 99% positive reviews or is a select member of a power seller” network or other select organization, we use that information of past performance to justify our current or future transactions or associations with them.
MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2010, has an article about reputation systems called “Online Reputation Systems: How to Design One That Does What You Need.”
According to the article, reputation systems are “the unsung heroes of the web,” because “they play a crucial role is building trust, promoting quality, improving collaboration and instilling loyalty.”
Without some way of knowing whom we are sending a credit card payment to, friending, or chatting with on the Internet, we would be violating the cardinal rule of safety that our parents and teachers taught us from the earliest time that we could understand that you “don’t talk to strangers.”
I remember a very good video for children produced by Service Corporation International (SCI) called “Escape School,” which taught just such lessons by Bob Stuber a former police officer and child safety expert.
Even as we grow up though the dangers from people criminals and predators still exist; hopefully we are a little older and wiser in recognizing it and dealing with it, but this is not always the case.
For example with online dating networks, people sometimes pretend that they are a rich brain surgeon or the proverbial “tall, dark, and handsome” physique to lure someone on a date, only to be exposed for who they really are upon the first date.
People are inherently driven to connect with others, and online we are able to connect easier then ever before—with people from all over the globe, virtually anytime of the day or night—and it is often tempting to let our heart lead and dismiss any concerns about who we are dealing with. Further, the veil of anonymity online seems to only heighten the opportunities for abuse.
The dangers of people pretending to be something they are not and the need for recognizing whom we are dealing with is an age old problem that society struggled with—from the snake oil salesman of time past to those occasional dishonest vendor on sites like eBay today.
The MIT article states “Small, tightly knit communities arguably do not need central reputation systems, since frequent interactions and gossip ensure that relevant information is known to all. [However,] the need for a central system increases with the size of the community and the lack of frequent interaction among members. In web-based communities with hundred or thousands of members, were most members typically know each other only virtually, some form of reputation system is always essential.”
Predators act out online everyday using social engineering to trick people into divulging personnel or organizational information, getting them to send money (like the fake emails from Nigeria or a lottery) or sending out malware when you click on the link that you know you shouldn’t be doing.
Another example with children is evident on NBC Dateline’s “To Catch A Predator” series where Chris Hansen stakes out the child predators who arrange meetings with kids in chat rooms on the Internet and then make their appearance at their homes or other meeting spots. Child predators prey on the fact that the children online don’t realize who they are dealing with and what their evil intentions are. Thank G-d, law enforcement and NBC has been able to turn the tables on some of these predators when law enforcement is pretending to be the vulnerable kids in order to catch the predators---who are fooled into thinking they are talking to children, only to be caught often literally “with the pants down.”
Whether we are socializing online, surfing the Net, or conducting some form of ecommerce, we must always pay attention to the identification and reputation on those we deal with. As the MIT article points out, with reputation systems, we can use ratings, ranking, and endorsements to build up information on ourselves and on others to build trust, promote quality, and sustain loyalty.
Of course, even with reputation systems, people try to manipulate and game “the system,” so we have to be ever vigilant to ensure that we are not duped by those hiding their true intentions or pretending to be somebody or something they are not.
As social creatures, optimists, and those of faith, we are tempted to just trust, but I prefer the motto of “trust and verify.”
Knowing Who Your Friends Are