See a panorama image of paris from half-way up the eiffel tower, really amazing, almost feels like you are there yourself - link
Monday, July 18, 2005
halfway up the eiffel tower
See a panorama image of paris from half-way up the eiffel tower, really amazing, almost feels like you are there yourself - link
tapping into creative people
Harvard Business Review ran a feature recently on SAS, a privately held business software company that has revenues in excess of $1 billion, 3-5% employment turnover, sells its products to 90% of the Fortune 500 & has a 98% subscription renewal rate
The article tells us that SAS is successul mainly because:
a. it makes an effort to nurture creativity of its employees, from programmers to sales support to managers (sounds like an oxymoron, "creative managers" ;) by providing an obstacles free environment, and a team of supportive and creative middle and upper-level management
b. and it really focuses on providing the best support as possible to customers by delivering almost bug-free software and quick customer support
Highlights include:
"Help employees do their best work by keeping them intellectually engaged and by removing distractions. Make managers responsible for sparking creativity and eliminate arbitrary distinctions between “suits” and “creatives.” And engage customers as creative partners so you can deliver superior products."
"In all cases, form follows function. As much as leaders at SAS value technology, they strongly believe that it’s people who make technology useful, not the other way around. If a tool is constrictive or makes people change their preferred ways of working, then it gets scrapped. The goal is always the same—to help workers be great. "
"On campus, it has medical facilities for employees and dependents. Additionally, there’s a Montessori day care center, and children are welcome in the company cafeteria, so families can eat lunch together."
"Not only do the benefits make workers more productive, but they also help retain those workers, reducing the company’s expenses for recruitment and replacement. SAS saves about $85 million a year in such costs"
"The corporate philosophy is, if your fifth grader is in his first school play, you should be there to see it. SAS has earned a spot on Working Mother’s list of best companies so many times that professionals are lining up to apply."
"The importance of that point cannot be overstated. Knowing that your boss thoroughly understands and respects the work you do—because he or she has actually done it—has many positive outcomes. In addition to feeling that your contributions are appreciated, you’ll probably be less hesitant to ask questions, because you know your manager “gets it,” and you’ll have more faith in your boss’s decisions. Business life abounds with stories about managers who’ve failed to earn the respect of professional, technical, and other creative employees: the university president with no scholarly credentials, the law school administrator who’s not a member of the bar, the movie studio executive who provokes a rebellion among directors, actors, and other talent."
"That’s not to say that SAS never has difficulties with employees. With its enticing array of benefits, SAS is bound to attract a few people who would rather enjoy the perks than do the work. The company uses rigorous hiring practices to prevent such candidates from getting in the door; applicants may have to wait months for a decision while the company conducts a thorough vetting."
About the customer aspect of the company :
"Day in and day out, SAS gathers—and acts on—customer complaints and suggestions through its Web site and over the phone. The company also solicits feedback once a year through its Web-based SASware Ballot, which asks users about additional features they would like."
"Additionally, SAS collects feedback at an annual users’ conference, which is quite unlike the usual sales-pitch-in-disguise event. Imagine for a moment the vast creative potential of millions of users—highly intelligent professionals hailing from diverse disciplines and 110 countries. According to SAS’s marketing creative director, Steve Benfield, it’s difficult to develop software “when you don’t have some external validation of one particular set of ideas over another…. But finding out what resonates with those beyond the office walls—that’s gold!” "
"In large part, SAS can thank its subscription-plan business model for these regular interactions between employees and customers, and for its relatively stable revenue flows in a volatile industry. Customer loyalty is so high that the company saves money on advertising and other sales efforts. As a result, fully 26% of SAS’s budget gets channeled directly into research and development. The average for high-tech companies is 10%. A well-funded R&D department leads to better products, which leads to happier customers, which leads to—you can see where this is going. "
link
The article tells us that SAS is successul mainly because:
a. it makes an effort to nurture creativity of its employees, from programmers to sales support to managers (sounds like an oxymoron, "creative managers" ;) by providing an obstacles free environment, and a team of supportive and creative middle and upper-level management
b. and it really focuses on providing the best support as possible to customers by delivering almost bug-free software and quick customer support
Highlights include:
"Help employees do their best work by keeping them intellectually engaged and by removing distractions. Make managers responsible for sparking creativity and eliminate arbitrary distinctions between “suits” and “creatives.” And engage customers as creative partners so you can deliver superior products."
"In all cases, form follows function. As much as leaders at SAS value technology, they strongly believe that it’s people who make technology useful, not the other way around. If a tool is constrictive or makes people change their preferred ways of working, then it gets scrapped. The goal is always the same—to help workers be great. "
"On campus, it has medical facilities for employees and dependents. Additionally, there’s a Montessori day care center, and children are welcome in the company cafeteria, so families can eat lunch together."
"Not only do the benefits make workers more productive, but they also help retain those workers, reducing the company’s expenses for recruitment and replacement. SAS saves about $85 million a year in such costs"
"The corporate philosophy is, if your fifth grader is in his first school play, you should be there to see it. SAS has earned a spot on Working Mother’s list of best companies so many times that professionals are lining up to apply."
"The importance of that point cannot be overstated. Knowing that your boss thoroughly understands and respects the work you do—because he or she has actually done it—has many positive outcomes. In addition to feeling that your contributions are appreciated, you’ll probably be less hesitant to ask questions, because you know your manager “gets it,” and you’ll have more faith in your boss’s decisions. Business life abounds with stories about managers who’ve failed to earn the respect of professional, technical, and other creative employees: the university president with no scholarly credentials, the law school administrator who’s not a member of the bar, the movie studio executive who provokes a rebellion among directors, actors, and other talent."
"That’s not to say that SAS never has difficulties with employees. With its enticing array of benefits, SAS is bound to attract a few people who would rather enjoy the perks than do the work. The company uses rigorous hiring practices to prevent such candidates from getting in the door; applicants may have to wait months for a decision while the company conducts a thorough vetting."
About the customer aspect of the company :
"Day in and day out, SAS gathers—and acts on—customer complaints and suggestions through its Web site and over the phone. The company also solicits feedback once a year through its Web-based SASware Ballot, which asks users about additional features they would like."
"Additionally, SAS collects feedback at an annual users’ conference, which is quite unlike the usual sales-pitch-in-disguise event. Imagine for a moment the vast creative potential of millions of users—highly intelligent professionals hailing from diverse disciplines and 110 countries. According to SAS’s marketing creative director, Steve Benfield, it’s difficult to develop software “when you don’t have some external validation of one particular set of ideas over another…. But finding out what resonates with those beyond the office walls—that’s gold!” "
"In large part, SAS can thank its subscription-plan business model for these regular interactions between employees and customers, and for its relatively stable revenue flows in a volatile industry. Customer loyalty is so high that the company saves money on advertising and other sales efforts. As a result, fully 26% of SAS’s budget gets channeled directly into research and development. The average for high-tech companies is 10%. A well-funded R&D department leads to better products, which leads to happier customers, which leads to—you can see where this is going. "
link
Thursday, July 14, 2005
wanna be a manager?
a lot of people i meet in real life dream of the day they are promoted from coder to manager (i live in pakistan... great talent here but 50 years of a beuracracy led country has many kids dreaming of becoming a "babu", or "suit-wearing, platitude-speaking, looking-busing-doing-nothing kind of no-gooder" )
img © dilbert.com
i had the misfortune of working for a manager long time back who was the real-life version of dilbert's PHB, so i know what dilbert feels like.... i was also "manager" (coder/team lead/product manager/program manager) for a while so i know also why it's such a droll job, specially when you hate writing code higher-level than the windows API and you have to manage a web-based (JSP, Oracle, Javascript) web application !!! EEyucch!!!
Being a coder rocks because, as many of our taxi cabs say on their bumpers, "no tension"... design, code, unit test.... that's it, gimme coding any time of the day
img © dilbert.com
i had the misfortune of working for a manager long time back who was the real-life version of dilbert's PHB, so i know what dilbert feels like.... i was also "manager" (coder/team lead/product manager/program manager) for a while so i know also why it's such a droll job, specially when you hate writing code higher-level than the windows API and you have to manage a web-based (JSP, Oracle, Javascript) web application !!! EEyucch!!!
Being a coder rocks because, as many of our taxi cabs say on their bumpers, "no tension"... design, code, unit test.... that's it, gimme coding any time of the day
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Pakistan cheer for the Indian side
Another example of the good spirit of Pakistanis, this time the military boxing team of Pakistan cheered and supported the Indian team in the Military Boxing Championships at Pretoria, South Africa link
Neither team won a gold at the championship but "friendship came out as the winner", as they say
In March 2004, India toured Pakistan in a cricket series and the reception Indian fans and team received surprised and overwhelmed everyone from across Wagah - the tour was won by India but the spirit shown by Pakistani fans was fantastic. The winning Indian team were cheered and given standing ovations and Irfan Pathan, the bowler, was cheered loudly in Peshawar as he bowled to the Pakistani batsmen. Top Indian actors, former sportsmen and politicians turned up for the historic series, even the two scions of the Kennedys of India, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi
img © tribuneindia
In March 2005, the Pakistani team returned the visit and it left the Indians wondering if their countrymen could reciprocate Pakistani hospitality. Even though the Indian people were found to be generally supportive off the field, in the streets and markets, in the stands it was a different story. Eyewitness accounts of Pakistani fans sitting in the crowd tell how they started to feel hostility when the Pakistani bowlers started putting the pressure in Delhi and only singing we-love-delhi ditties created in run-time could helped them sit through them match
The biggest winner for Pakistan would be if the Indians could forget the previous Indian governments' propaganda that Pakistan is the Big-Evil and both countries could have a culture of hospitality and friendliness to match and even exceed that within the EU... england, france and the others forgot their centuries old tribal wars, why not the peoples of one of the richest and most ancient cultures in the world?
Neither team won a gold at the championship but "friendship came out as the winner", as they say
In March 2004, India toured Pakistan in a cricket series and the reception Indian fans and team received surprised and overwhelmed everyone from across Wagah - the tour was won by India but the spirit shown by Pakistani fans was fantastic. The winning Indian team were cheered and given standing ovations and Irfan Pathan, the bowler, was cheered loudly in Peshawar as he bowled to the Pakistani batsmen. Top Indian actors, former sportsmen and politicians turned up for the historic series, even the two scions of the Kennedys of India, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi
img © tribuneindia
In March 2005, the Pakistani team returned the visit and it left the Indians wondering if their countrymen could reciprocate Pakistani hospitality. Even though the Indian people were found to be generally supportive off the field, in the streets and markets, in the stands it was a different story. Eyewitness accounts of Pakistani fans sitting in the crowd tell how they started to feel hostility when the Pakistani bowlers started putting the pressure in Delhi and only singing we-love-delhi ditties created in run-time could helped them sit through them match
The biggest winner for Pakistan would be if the Indians could forget the previous Indian governments' propaganda that Pakistan is the Big-Evil and both countries could have a culture of hospitality and friendliness to match and even exceed that within the EU... england, france and the others forgot their centuries old tribal wars, why not the peoples of one of the richest and most ancient cultures in the world?
Friday, July 08, 2005
cartoon laws of physics
full list: link
Cartoon Law I
Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation.
Daffy Duck steps off a cliff, expecting further pastureland. He loiters in midair, soliloquizing flippantly, until he chances to look down. At this point, the familiar principle of 32 feet per second takes over.
Cartoon Law VII
Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot.
Cartoon Law Amendment D
Gravity is transmitted by slow-moving waves of large wavelengths.
Their operation can be witnessed by observing the behavior of a canine suspended over a large vertical drop. Its feet will begin to fall first, causing its legs to stretch. As the wave reaches its torso, that part will begin to fall, causing the neck to stretch. As the head begins to fall, tension is released and the canine will resume its regular proportions until such time as it strikes the ground.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
googleEarth - how to see NY in 3D
Download the free version of googleEarth from here
Start the application, it should login automatically or select "Free version"
In the menu on the top left, select "Fly To" and write "New York, NY"
Wait a little while and data is streamed, when the progress meter at the bottom shows 100%, all the satellite imagery has been loaded
In the toolbar at the bottom, click on the button that says "Tilt down"
The view should tilt and you can see the city of New York in perspective - only the earth is flat
In the "Layers" menu on the left, scroll down and select "3D buildings"
Wait a little and the earth will be populated with the skyscrapers of NY!! They are not texture mapped yet, maybe Google will fix this in the near future....
(Click to see large view)
You can navigate now using the toolbar at the bottom, try flying above the NY landscape...
Start the application, it should login automatically or select "Free version"
In the menu on the top left, select "Fly To" and write "New York, NY"
Wait a little while and data is streamed, when the progress meter at the bottom shows 100%, all the satellite imagery has been loaded
In the toolbar at the bottom, click on the button that says "Tilt down"
The view should tilt and you can see the city of New York in perspective - only the earth is flat
In the "Layers" menu on the left, scroll down and select "3D buildings"
Wait a little and the earth will be populated with the skyscrapers of NY!! They are not texture mapped yet, maybe Google will fix this in the near future....
(Click to see large view)
You can navigate now using the toolbar at the bottom, try flying above the NY landscape...
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
wacky dude face thingy...
USAF toystore
where they keep all their surplus planes, all shrink wrapped and ready to fly.... also have redundant planes like the B-52 bomber, these were mercilessly destroyed in large number after the cold war ended...
This is SE of Tucson, Arizona
This is SE of Tucson, Arizona
more googleMapping
I've been experimenting with Google Maps and it turns out that you can go to a location directly by giving a lat/long... could not decipher the url googleMaps generates when you click "link to this page", (solved it later) so tried it out in the edit box itself and it turns out you can specify lat/long in this form:
115 44 00 W 37 38 30 N -or- 45.9820 N 63.5560 E -or- 45.9820 , 63.5560
...don't need to give the tuntuna for degree, and hypehns etc, spaces will do.. you *do* need to specify W/E & N/S though...
so I googled for an Area 51 location (what ARE all those green thingies?) and the Baikonur Comsodrome, Kazakhastan and the Nazca Lines in Peru using lat/long values
since a google map search for these phrases would turn up nothing, my approach was to web search for: MY_PLACE latitude longitude - and someone had always had it listed somewhere, and then map search for that lat/long
- More Area-51 lat/longs here
While googling for this post, I came across this page... are they just bombing targets or is there something more sinister here?....
More sinister Area-51 GoogleMap images here... God bless google & gis, sniff sniff
115 44 00 W 37 38 30 N -or- 45.9820 N 63.5560 E -or- 45.9820 , 63.5560
...don't need to give the tuntuna for degree, and hypehns etc, spaces will do.. you *do* need to specify W/E & N/S though...
so I googled for an Area 51 location (what ARE all those green thingies?) and the Baikonur Comsodrome, Kazakhastan and the Nazca Lines in Peru using lat/long values
since a google map search for these phrases would turn up nothing, my approach was to web search for: MY_PLACE latitude longitude - and someone had always had it listed somewhere, and then map search for that lat/long
- More Area-51 lat/longs here
While googling for this post, I came across this page... are they just bombing targets or is there something more sinister here?....
More sinister Area-51 GoogleMap images here... God bless google & gis, sniff sniff
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