Lessons Learned

This morning we loaded the bikes and “drove” over to the Little Miami Scenic Trail or as we call it -the Loveland bike trail.  As luck would have it the slightly overcast sky kept the heat down for awhile and we enjoyed our time on the trail. Since my husband bikes often, I am left to my [...]

I’m on my way home…and Karen’s bringing you the last of the guest bloggers for a little while… tomorrow, I hope to get back in my normal routine of blogging… but i may have to sleep. Or clean. Or unpack. Or do laundry. Regardless, enjoy Karen’s post and go pay her a visit… When [...]

Technically Easy is my first attempt at blogging. I had designed web sites in the past, but never took up the task of blogging, especially on a regular basis. I have learned many lessons over the past year, and now know what it takes to make a better blog.I have written posts in the past about what not to do with regards to web sites, but this post will share my experiences of what I have learned

Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood. Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson was a pretty wise guy. He gets quoted all the time by people trying to sound like they know what they are talking about, so when he says something (from beyond the grave!) I listen. But [...]

I’m coming up on two months in the Blogosphere…two months. For some reason, it seems longer…much longer. When I started out, it was like a new toy. Some days, I would post three times. It was/is exciting and gives me a venue to explore my writing obsession. I wanted to go to college to become a writer when I was in high school. Unfortunately, there was this war going on in Southeast

Me in front of the Village’s museum project; April 26, 2008 — Photo by Mom. . My doctor thinks I have diabetes, so a few weeks ago he asked me to keep track of my blood sugar. Several dozen little holes in my fingertips later and I’m pretty sure he’s right because normal is in [...]

When teaching kids hot Include more than your stove top Think of your light bulbs. One touch, few seconds Blisters and redness emerge Crocodile tears, too Curious toddlers Will not be contained to one Pain experience But protecting them Is in our very nature Screw the lessons learned From pain and sorrow. Keeping my baby from a Blistery finger Again would be grand. The monkey’s too curious It cannot be helped She’s too [...]

We had the most exhilarating special promotion, and BOY! did we learn a lesson or two…    Kudos to Kristin Hilton, Patricia Walker and Paul Robins. For their endurance, tunnel vision and do-or-die attitude. Here’s the story… During our regular morning staff meeting, 1 hour before the Hump Day Sale my team made a rather RISKY bet with me.    They [...]

When we constructed our facility in Santa Fe, we heavily invested in ventilation systems. Over the years, we have also researched solders and fluxes which were as safe as possible. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our work environment. We brought this practical experience with [...]

Making Memories (Creating Memories for Your Family that Last a Lifetime) (Lessons Learned) (Hardcover)By Josie Bissett Buy new: $14.95$11.6636 used and new from $0.95 Customer Rating: First tagged “parenting” by Tara Paterson [...]

... is supposed to be the world's leading online payment facility. The call center where I used to work in had a Paypal North America and Paypal UK wing, but unfortunately I never had the chance to become part of their team. That's why I'm as much of an ignoramus about Paypal as most normal folks, who can barely afford to keep money in their bank accounts, let alone have their own credit cards.Earlier today, while I was sifting through the dozens of new email, which were mostly notifications about new comments from my blogs, a lone email stood out. It read: You have a payment pending, and it was sent from service@paypal.com. This immediately got me excited and when I opened to read it, I just couldn't help but smile because it absolutely made my day. I received my very first Paypal payment

In the event of a large-scale Israeli invasion of Gaza, the report said that Hamas would refrain from fighting against the IDF in open areas but would instead channel the fighting into more densely populated areas. And where did they get this idea?: "Hizbullah's success in providing an asymmetric response to the IDF's might during the Second Lebanon War made it a role model for Hamas," Why is

Congress tomorrow will begin a second round of hearings on Iraq featuring General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. A major topic is likely to be the recent round of fighting in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, and its implications for U.S. policy....(read more)

As I noted a few days ago, the New York Times blog, of which I was a "regular", has put up its last post. It's definitely bittersweet for me (I can't deny there are SOME emotions to seeing the last post, since I've hung in here for close to a year!) But, somehow, I think I'll be able to work tomorrow. :)Here are the lessons that, I think, one should learn.1. Plan in advance. As far ahead as you can, as soon as you are thinking about remodeling or building a home, start the process to find a kitchen designer. Alison and Paul's (the homeowners) builder told them to wait until the kitchen had a floor. That's...I can't find the words.2. Find a kitchen designer - Take a look at this post for tips to find a kitchen designer. Allow for time up front, it may not be able to get done quickly. 3. Bef

Wow! I recently finished one of the best pieces of Christian fiction I've read in a long time..."The Shack" by William P. Young. I'm not a big fiction reader, but this book is one of those rare life-changing gems.I guarantee that this book will give you a new perspective about God, your relationship with Him, and provide answers to that ever-gnawing question, "If God is so loving, then why do bad things still happen?" Here's a brief glimpse at a few other lessons "The Shack" brought home:1. God loves you more than you think...way more than you think. If we can get this concept through our thick heads, then life takes on a whole new meaning. It's hard to think sometimes that God really loves a screwup like me, but it's true. This book gave me a picture of that truth like nothing I've ever

Long layovers in exotic locations are one of the perks of working as a flight attendant. But a bureaucratic problem threatened to end the careers of James and two fellow crew members, until one of the ladies figured out what to do. More: continued here

Lately I’ve been reading about Joseph Smith.He was only 14 when he entered into that stand of trees to pray. He was only 38 when he was killed.In those short 24 years he changed the world.I have been Mormon my entire life but have only recently taken it seriously.It’s was so much easier to pretend I didn’t know what I should and shouldn’t be doing, just to get along with people. Or so I thought.I sold out just to fit in.I thought I was being independent. I told myself that it didn’t matter.But it does. I just didn’t realize how much until recently.All of the troubles I had were not with the Gospel, but with the people entrusted with teaching it.It is a perfect principle, taught by imperfect people.I didn’t get that.I harshly judged those I learned to be hypocrites and liars.U

Thirteen Lessons Learned from my Kids1 - Persistence. We are trying to get Princess JL to stop needing "potty breaks" in the middle of the night, so we cut off all drinks after 7pm. But, this does not stop her from coming in the room and saying, "Mommy, can I have a yogurt? Please? Thank you." And then she quickly turns and walks briskly away ... and continues until she figures out we aren't giving in. I have to admire her persistence though (and her manners)! :)2 - Believe. Princes JF has such a huge imagination. She loves to have tea parties and, when she was 2, had a long list of imaginary friends. Oh how I wish I could be like her. If only my beliefs could carry me delightfully through the day as she allows hers to!3 - Dream. Prince W loves to entertain (all the kids do ... but he more

Traveling is hard work. Here's how to make the best of itRule No. 1: Travel is no funReally. If you think it’s all about smiling stewardesses attending to your every whim, friendly hotels offering fawning service, and romantic sunsets on the beach, it’s time for a reality check.javascript:void(0)Publish PostYour stewardess will probably stop smiling when you refer to her as one, because no one calls a flight attendant a stewardess and gets away with it today. Your hotel? They’ll be pleasant until you check out. The moment you complain about that surprise $20-a-day resort fee or the $5 charge for receiving a fax, then the grin on the manager’s face will tighten into a grimace of icy resolve. You’ll hear insincere apologies, but you will probably still pay.And the sunsets on the be

Traveling is hard work. Here's how to make the best of itRule No. 1: Travel is no funReally. If you think it’s all about smiling stewardesses attending to your every whim, friendly hotels offering fawning service, and romantic sunsets on the beach, it’s time for a reality check.Your stewardess will probably stop smiling when you refer to her as one, because no one calls a flight attendant a stewardess and gets away with it today. Your hotel? They’ll be pleasant until you check out. The moment you complain about that surprise $20-a-day resort fee or the $5 charge for receiving a fax, then the grin on the manager’s face will tighten into a grimace of icy resolve. You’ll hear insincere apologies, but you will probably still pay.And the sunsets on the beach? Last time I went to the b

Friday morning broke cloudy and bleak. Mr. C's pain was worse then ever, and an early morning podiatrist appointment saw him clad in a heavy black boot, an immobilization cast. I eyed the boot and asked if he had to wear it to bed. He nodded. "The nurse told me if I didn't take it that they [...]

It's important, this time, to draw conclusions, and to do so publicly. Because Bali has taken us - barely and painfully - over a line and into a new and even more difficult level in the climate game we'll be playing for the rest of our lives. In fact, it's not too much to say that, with the realizations of the last year and their culmination at the 13th Conference of Parties, the game has, finally, belatedly, begun in earnest. First up, we knew going into Bali that if the old routine continued without variation, we'd really be in trouble. The timing of this meeting alone made this clear. Here we were, after the skeptics, after the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, after Gore's (and the IPCC's) Nobel Prize. We know now how grave the situation is. So it's with great relief that I'm able to say that, judging at least by Bali, the game has indeed changed - except, of course, for the United States. The most important change was that the G77, the South's negotiating bloc, did no

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. foot house four inches deep. 2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with rollerblades, they can ignite. 3. A 3-year-old's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. 4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape. It is strong enough, however, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 foot room. 5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way. 6. The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan. 7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh", it's already too late. 8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it. 9. A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint rock, ev

Filed under: Wacky and Weird TMZ.com: Usually, when words start flying around the infamous parking lot at Les Deux — fists, feet and sometimes even bullets follow suit. Not so last night!In the most surprising news since Britney started... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

SO, this whole blogging daily thing has been a big experiment for me. I find that my blogging waxes and wanes, depending on lots of things. Positive impacts: time, creativity, making art, comments negative impacts: no time/overworked, lack of creativity, not making art, feeling like no one reads this As for the creativity aspect, that’s something I just can’t force. I know some writers/artists who will just write/create anything as a means to break the block. Not me—when I’m having a creative block, it means 1)I’m stuck in a rut with the medium of my choosing and I need to make some sort of change 2)more interested in something which doesn’t fall into traditional art or 3)just tired and burned out (resolution: rest and no art). I’m not sure where I am at the moment. The

From PR 3 to PR 2, now down to 0. Yes, unfortunately I lost any PR I had. And there goes my chance on paid blogging. So, it's kinda sad but I guess during the time that I entered the paid blogging world, there are lots of bloggers who are into this thing already and the competition is quite tough. It would have been nice. But, there are still other things I can do to earn a little extra on the side. I just have to ponder on that soon to get the ball rolling. Maybe, paid blogging isn't meant for me. But really, I never really cared about rankings until I decided to try paid blogging. With or without PR, what matters to me is that I still have my blog, where I am given a great opportunity to meet a lot of good friends online and where I'm able to share my stories about being a mom t

Rule No. 1: Travel is no fun. Really. If you think it’s all about smiling stewardesses attending to your every whim, friendly hotels offering fawning service, and romantic sunsets on the beach, it’s time for a reality check. More: continued here

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days worth of sales from one of my sites and there were none. This had never happened before and of course I was anxious to find out what was wrong.I quickly found out that the credit card processor Clickbank was under a hacker attack. Their service was effectively paralyzed by computers around the world flooding Clickbanks computers with bogus requests for information.They weren't the only web site being attacked. Similar attacks have happened against Yahoo and CNN in the past.This is the first one that effected me directly... right in the wallet.Time For Emergency ActionNobody knew how long Clickbank would be down.I wasn't going to wait around to find out! I had to take emergency measures to cope with it.I was not only losing sales that couldn't be placed, I was also losing money on online advertising. Pay per click accounts were sending people to my site which they couldn't order from.The first thing I did was pause my pay per click

As reported by the New York Times, Genarlow Wilson was released from a Georgia correctional center on Friday after serving more than two years of a 10 year sentence for having consensual sex with a 15 year-old while he was 17 at what the Times describes as a "drug- and alcohol-fulled New Year's Eve party." As more evidence that today's teens and twenty-somethings wish to live as if they are starring in their own version of The Truman Show, Mr. Wilson's engagement with his teenage inamorata was captured on videotape.As the other party was not of the legal age of consent, Mr. Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation, and under Georgia's Child Protection Act of 1995 (CPA), he was subject to a mandatory minimum prison term. Following Wilson's conviction, the General Assembly amended the CPA to include a so-called "Romeo and Juliet" exemption that makes consensual sex between teens a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in prison - although the legislature decline

For me, one of the most frustrating aspects of investing has been having all my “playing money” tied up in one or two plays and ending up having to hold those stocks for a longer period of time than expected waiting for the price increase I am certain is coming. I guess you would call me a bottom feeder, I have learned to scan a huge number of stock looking for stock at or below their 52 week lowest price, Their RSI (Relative Strength Index) at or below a certain number (25), the MFI (Money Flow Index) at or below a certain level (30), and of course since I like the risk/potential profit gain to be as high as possible the close price below $.50 per share. Then I examine the charts visually looking at average volume, to determine liquidity, and the basic pattern of the candle sticks before I decide to add several more technical indicators in an attempt to determine an entry point into a stock I feel has reached very close to its bottom price. Because I started this project

By now, every long distance running web site has these results as old news last week. You can read a full recap of both races here. The video of the close finish of the Men’s Marathon can be found here, and the women’s here. So what are the 2 lessons from these races? Simply put, never give up and never showboat until the race is over. I’m not a big fan when athletes celebrate or wave to the crowd before the finish line. Afterwards, sure, a victory lap and carrying your national flag is fine, but please don’t wear it as a turban, or, even worse, let the flag touch the ground! USA Brian Lewis’ post Athens 2000 Olympics 4×100m relay Gold medal celebration. Photo source: www.abc.net.au Copyright 2007 by Speedendurance.com. All Rights Reserved.

Never ask Adam to write your advice column: Dear Andrea, My uncle left me a very nice ring. This man in a tall hat who says he’s a wizard suggests that I journey thousands of miles through dangerous terrain, guarding the ring with my life, so that I can drop it into a volcano. On the other hand, when I put it on, it makes me turn invisible, which is very cool, and gives me a lot of strength. Should I go on this long and dangerous quest, keep the ring, or sell it on Ebay? -A concerned Hobbit Dear Concerned Hobbit, Go on the quest! At the end you’ll have had an awesome adventure, learned lessons even cooler than invisiblity, and have a blockbuster movie or three that’ll bring in way more than you could get for the ring on ebay. If you do sell it, don’t let that Sauron guy buy it; his checks always bounce. In Christ’s humor, Andrea Graham P.S. Don’t want more inane letters from Adam? Send me a real one!

It's time to ask Philadelphia politicians some tough questions. While they continue to scream and shout about the need for more gun-control laws, they're doing nothing to make sure that the criminals in Philly are getting what they deserve. Take the case of Vondell Roundtree, a 27-year-old Philly man who's been charged with three counts of homicide and attempted murder. Roundtree, who goes by the street name of "Pooh," is no stranger to police, prosecutors or judges. In fact, he's been...(read more)

Okay, so I learned a lesson with Acrylics and Masking tape on my cubic abstract project. They don’t work well together. Maybe if I had rolled paint onto the canvas this would have worked, but I used a brush. The paint migrated underneath the tape causing weird runs. Not really what I was intending here. The funny thing about a technique that doesn’t work is well, now you know. Share This

Okay, so I learned a lesson with Acrylics and Masking tape on my cubic abstract project. They don’t work well together. Maybe if I had rolled paint onto the canvas this would have worked, but I used a brush. The paint migrated underneath the tape causing weird runs. Not really what I was intending here. The funny thing about a technique that doesn’t work is well, now you know. Share This

Equipment review and lessons learnedNew Balance 1100MDS shoes.Performed well. I had no foot soreness and never felt they lacked cushioning. They are heavier than most trail shoes for this reason. I chose a size a little too large and did get a couple of blisters that were sizing related. I will probably continue to use these, and I’ve now been using them (and the 1100 predecessor) for over 12 months. The winners of the event wore Inov8 Flyroc’s. I have a pair, but the lack of cushioning makes them too harsh for me.Raidlight Gaiters.If I would have had time to stitch the supplied Velcro onto my shoes I would have done. However, I just used Evo-Stik serious stuff (comes in one of those glue-gun type tubes. I just cut off the end and squeezed it out!). The adhesive held for the whole event, in temperatures above 30C. The gaiters didn’t leak any sand. I did tear one on brambles on the last day. I recommend carrying a needle and cotton for evening repairs, or even a spare

Well I held my garage sale this weekend from 8am to 2pm and after advertising and beer expense I made a total of ...80 bucks. Certainly not a fortune but a lot better than nothing.Other than getting rid of some extra junk I actually learned a few lessons from my first garage sale experience.1. Your garbage is truly another man’s treasure.2. Active selling works.3. People will usually pay more than you think something’s worth (I ended up taking my price tags off half way through)4. Tax free money sure is sweet.

A core tenet of the SDL is to take and incorporate lessons learned when we issue a security update, and there is a great deal to learn from the recent animated cursor bug, MS07-017, so I want to spend a few minutes to go over some of the things we have learned from this bug. First of all, this code is pretty old; is in Windows 2000, and predates the SDL. The SDL has parts (i.e., design review, threat modeling, testing, and security push) that focus on the product as a whole, and parts (i.e., code review and use of tools) that are focused on code. In the Windows Vista process, we banned certain APIs, like strcpy and strncpy, and changed well over 140,000 calls to use safer calls. memcpy wasn’t on that list. We also built in a lot of defense-in-depth measures because we know that the SDL can’t catch everything. Let’s start by looking at some of the defense-in-depth measures we have in place that didn’t stop the threat: -GS The bug is a stack-based buffer overrun in code that loo

What do Mary Winkler and Seung-Hui Cho have in common? They SNAPPED! They both snapped! Yes, both of them killed. Mary killed her husband, Cho killed 33 people. Yes, both of them took the lives of others…and it’s sad. It’s very sad. But the more I read about them..the more I see that these two people SNAPPED! No, they are not innocent. No, they should not be acquitted. Yes, they are responsible for what they did. Nevertheless, they SNAPPED. And that’s what I would like to explore… to learn from… Both Mary and Cho came from a good family. I read Cho’s family’s statement and I just feel so sorry for them. The letter touched me so deeply. It’s hard to imagine what they are going through at this time. They call it a living nightmare. Both Mary and Cho were quiet. Maybe in a different way … but they were both quiet. Both did not reach out to their family and friends when they needed their family and friends the most. They kept their frustrations

Web and client/server load testing can easily become a complex task. Most people I've met got started in load testing with only minimal training in using the test tools. This is how I got started in load testing -- although I had an advantage in that I had been exposed to load testing of communications systems. I also had experience with automated single-user performance testing. I had led some small-scale manual load tests with multiple testers on a conference call hitting the same client-server application at once. (And we found some show-stopping bugs doing that manual testing.) I had watched others perform load tests. I had read numerous load test plans and reports. However, I had never directly participated in executing automated load tests... then I was asked to lead a load testing project. Through the years, I have made many mistakes designing, scripting, and executing load tests. Load testing easily becomes complex. Tool sales people sometime tell us that nearly anyone can cre

It’s the middle of the night. I’m tending to a sick child. Cait’s sleeping peacefully at the moment. I know that won’t be the case for long. So I do what I always do when it’s the wee hours and I know I won’t be getting much sleep. I play solitaire. It’s a game that suits me on so many levels. My dad taught me how to play long before there were such things as home computers, never mind computer solitaire games — back when we actually played with real cards. He also managed to pass along a few life lessons under the guise of having fun playing cards. I think about my dad a lot still. I especially miss him in this deep silence of the night. So to comfort myself on the long vigil ahead, I conjure his voice as I start a game. “So, Dad, do you want to pull up a seat and play?” “My pleasure, sweetie. That red eight can go on the black nine.” “Dad, I’ve just set up the cards. Let me at least take a look before you tell me the moves!” “Just trying to be help

Another day, another learning experience..well many actually! I am learning to better understand people based on what they show me through their words.There is a group I have emailed to regularly about my progress as an apprentice copywriter. Some of those members have opted out of the list, some have responded positively to my daily stories and some have simply ignored me.One person asked to get into the program and they then moved through the first step. The second step was assigned and they didn't want to do it. They saw it as a waste of time and pointless...their email to me said as much. It was said in much more vulgar terms but that was their message to me.After some discussion, I was able to see and interpret this person's response. They see everything as "someone trying to sell them something". They have a problem with promotion and sales. It would be difficult for this person to become a copywriter. Copywriting sells. That's it's purpose. And as a copywriter you must belie

1. Good baking requires patience. If you try to rush it, you will end up with a mess. A good cake, pie, cookie, the list goes on and on, cannot be rushed. Things tend to turn out half-baked (yes, literally) or so badly that they are not edible. People tend to frown at you when serve them burnt cookies. (Hey, at least I tried.)2. You do not have to always follow the recipe. I have started to learn to cook and bake by feel and taste more than by following a recipe. If you do not like one thing that is in the recipe but you do like everything else that is in it, take out the thing you do not like. I tend to add more of things I like into a recipe (chocolate) and take out things I don’t (not chocolate). I have been known to add double the amount of chocolate chips to a cookie recipe and omit the nuts entirely. (Really, who needs all those nuts getting in the way of a good chocolate chip cookie!)3. The devil is in the details. Little things like adding ingredients in the proper order can

I was being disingenuous in one of my recent posts. I was also trying to avoid appearing too self-pitying. So I edited out a big portion. Unfortunately, it kept me up two nights in a row thinking about it. Here's the unexpurgated post: What did I learn in 11 months on the streets of Prague? I can't trust or rely upon anyone but myself, and then only about half the time. I have no friends here.

I shipped out my last major order yesterday, which is always a bittersweet event for me. It's nice to know that I can finally catch up on some sleep after a hectic holiday season, but it also means that the excitement of being out and about and working with my customers on a daily basis will slow down a bit. The first couple of weeks in December are crunch time here at Whirled Events, and every year is a learning experience. Here are five lessons learned...1. Plan, plan, plan. When it comes to the holidays, you can't do enough planning. Next year I plan on getting ahead with blog entries, doing my own Christmas shopping sometime in July, and having holiday cards addressed long before September arrives.2. Hire someone strong. While I couldn't have made it through the holidays without the help of my dear gift wrappers, Stephanie and Elise, next year we've all agreed that we need a big, burly man to help us with some of the heavy lifting. On the plus side, this unexpected worko

What lessons did the kids learn yesterday? Elle learned that just because you can eat crayons does not mean that you should eat crayons. Joseph learned that no matter how upset it makes you I will not be able to stop myself from laughing if you're playing a game and you scream out to me "Mommy! My balls are out of control!"Yesterday we the 5 year anniversary of Joseph's adoption. I have a lot of ooshy-gooshy thoughts about that but I'm not able to get them organized. It's sort of overwhelming when I think about it. I'll just say (for now) that we took him out to dinner and a highlight was when he broke out him impression of me yelling at him. "This is what she sounds like on Christmas 'Joseph! Open those presents!' and this is what she sounds like on Thanksgiving 'Joseph! Eat all your stuffing!' and this is what she sounds like when we're in Scotland 'Joseph! Put on a skirt and do an Irish jig!'" Ay yi yi.

In looking at lessons learned, many times we find things like - should have had a better schedule, or better budgeting, or more communications, spent more time on requirements, etc. All of these things relate to how we do the work, not what we work on. Talking about how things get done or working on how things get done does not, in and of itself, get anything done. This is one of the reasons so many people hate planning - planning is not doing and we all like doing.

It's said there are no new project management sins, just old ones repeated. It's also said that we don't learn the lessons from past projects and this must be true, otherwise why would we keep making the same old mistakes.