Lean vs Fat behaviours and the Public Sector

“Lean behaviors” is a fantastic paper written by Bob Emiliani. If I was to use a highlight marker, I could easily paint the whole paper.

“[an organization] must possess an ability to change how it thinks, which requires a culture characterized by trust, shared responsibility and openness to experimentation without fear of failure“.

“Lean behaviors are defined simply as behaviors that add or create value. It is the minimization of waste associated with arbitrary or contradictory thoughts that leads to defensive behavior; ineffective relationships, poor co-operation, and negative attitudes. […] [“fat” behaviors] include the display of irrational and confusing information that results in delays or work stoppages, or the articulation of unsubstantiable subjective thoughts and opinions. Fat behaviors are recognizable as lots of talk where nothing has actually been said, or indirect words whose meanings are subject to variable interpretations”.

What an accurate description of the Public Sector!

[The cost of communication waste]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

At my good friend’s S.B. suggestion I read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time“. Although I am biased, this is easily one of the best books I have ever read. The main character of the book is a teenager on the autistic spectrum, who upon discovering a neighbor’s dead dog, makes it his mission to find out who killed the dog. This proves to be an adventure far more complicated than he expected and the hero is forced to deal with situations he is not accustomed to.

On the surface people may find this book entertaining, reading the narrative from the point of view of the hero and how he reacts to different stimuli (and how and why his reactions are different than what “normal” people would do). But this is not a teenage autistic version of Sheldon Cooper. This is not fun. This is not cool even though Christopher (the hero) can understand the Monty Hall problem or Conway’s Soldiers better and faster than you. This is the life of a high functioning autistic and it takes its toll on him and his supporting environment. And it shows how totally unprepared (and prejudiced) “normal” people are when needed to deal with people with slightly different wiring in the brain. It is also a story of trust, how easily it can be broken and how hard it is to build it up again.

You will enjoy the chapter numbering though.

If you have friends (or extended family) living in the problem, read the book. It will help you understand their situation. The book has been translated in Greek as “Ποιος σκότωσε το σκύλο τα μεσάνυχτα;” and it will take you a couple of days to read it. I read the English ePub version. For a shorter version in understanding what goes on in an autistic mind you may read “Ο Αυτός“.

Almost 2000 pages of PicoLisp

Thorsten Jolitz posted on the picolisp mailing list two free books on the language:

→PicoLisp Works (a title I contributed)

→PicoLisp by Example

The Revenge of the Rose

Any book where Elric uses the Stormbringer is interesting enough.

Dear Telecom Operator,

I really have no use for you “crystal clear” signal in urban areas where in just about every corner a coffee shop offers me comparable internet access, do I?

It it at the rest of the country that your service should work, isn’t it?

Database debunkings are back!

Database Debunkings, the site run by Fabian Pascal, thanks to which people among other things can understand what the First Normal Form is really about (and not) is being resurrected as a blog.

Good to have you back FP, both you and your sharp debunkings.

Tourism – Our heavy industry?

Happy Sysadmin Day today!

Yes! It is this time of the year again. Sysadmin Day is today. So off your desk and walk towards that guy who is taking care of your network and machines and is required to perform magic when your PC is damaged, the network is not responding and your work is lost. Give him a hug, say “Thank you“, buy him coffee, a book, do a small gesture of appreciation, for if you reflect back in the past 364 days, you surely had a chance to thank them and you did not.

When treated properly at least once a year, sysadmins do not bite!

“Τι κάνεις;”

Έχω σταματήσει να κάνω την ερώτηση. Πιστεύω πια πως αναγκάζω τον άλλο να μου πει ψέμματα.

– Καλά είμαι.

Definition of A System

“A system is a construct or collection of different elements that together produce results not obtainable by the elements alone. The elements, or parts, can include people, hardware, software, facilities, policies, and documents; that is, all things required to produce systems-level results. The results include system level qualities, properties, characteristics, functions, behavior and performance. The value added by the system as a whole, beyond that contributed independently by the parts, is primarily created by the relationship among the parts; that is, how they are interconnected.”

[source]