New Haircut?

I was mildly surprised today by the non-reaction to my now defunct beard. For me, it was a very big move to rid myself of the muskrat at the end of my chin. I got a few questions of "new haircut," yet nobody really zoned in on the beard.

Other news...I'm enjoying the new home in Dedham, and I'm getting very interested in vintage lighting. I really don't know how this happened - I'm normally into guitar pedals and associated boy toyz -- am I entering a new phase of my life? I do think if we didn't move into an Arts and Crafts-style house, I wouldn't be half-interested in this domestic pursuit.

Work has been good. Howvever, in my usual style, I'm trying to absorb the entire IT, business, and editorial infrastructure in a month, which as you may guess, it has produced a small amount of frustration. That being said, things are going very well.

I promise I will get pictures of the house up and my face in the coming days.

RIP -- Beard 2/12/2001 - 7/25/2008

Beard has been shaved off. Why I did this I don't know, but I'm now clean-shaven. Pictures online tomorrow. In other news, I moved my 50 amps to the new house. I met my new neighbors, and discovered my neighbor's son also plays guitar. As she said, "My son saw that you had tons of amps."

Closing Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our closing. So do you think I'm packing? No, I'm stuffing my mouth with yellow corn Tostitos watching House Hunters, Designed To Sell (same thing). The episode I'm watching features a dude in Atlanta trying to sell his converted church. The personality/designer has recommended that this individual install a bar into his basement to maximize his value. Huh?

Pictures later...

Technology Teams

I work with technology. But the more I work in technology, the more time I spend working with people. We have the all these great systems in place, but they are nothing if you have not built the following soft human aspects into them:

1) business intelligence or rules built into your code
2) some kind of UI for human beings to access your great box
3) processes for managing change

And in almost all cases, you can assume that everyone thinks they have steps 1 through 3 locked and sealed, but they always don't. I forgot the author, but s/he posited that the web's ease of use made everyone think they're an expert and that any change is a piece of cake. Result: CHAOS. And you have no infrastructure to support building intelligence into your technology because it's all assumed.

How do you manage change?
In larger, more mature organizations, you already have systems in place, but what about smaller groups? Smaller groups remind me of the primordial soup theory where you hope to god some lightening bolt hits your content group or some business users in the ass, and you'll some emergent process or organization. Nah, in reality, you need to reach out to people and effect change by shifting attitudes. Sans technology. By changing attitudes and perceptions you can put in the foundation of a functioning IT or technology group.

Links for your edification:
Life Soup

Here We Go!

Every so often I choose to blog (like every three years), and the urge has struck me once again. I'm normally a very private person, so sharing on the web feels a bit odd. If I do write anything, I'm usually adopting some kind of persona, so I'm making a conscious effort this time at writing with some degree of sincerity and honesty. We'll see how long it lasts.

Initial tidbit of the day. Why Cotton Mather? I was named Cotton Mather in my college years for my great "moral fortitude." I earned this reputation for basically giving up light beer for a year. The sacrifices we make! The name stuck, and despite some disagreements I may have with dear Cotton's writings, I resonate with the clan's crabby New England persona.