I went to a place called Lonnie Q's today in Topeka, KS. It's a local Bar-B-Que joint that is independently owned and operated. I was able to meet Lonnie on my visit today and he is a great guy that cooks fantastic food. Being from Dallas, I get all kinds of flavors of Bar-B-Que from Sonny Bryan's to Spring Creek. Lonnie Q's ranks right up there in both value and taste.
I ordered the combo plate with a sandwich and two sides. I had the pulled pork sandwich, "World Famous" cheesy taters, and baked beans. There was no shorting the serving size here. The pickle spear barely fit on the plate. My sandwich was piled high, the beans were plentiful, and the "World Famous" cheesy taters showed and tasted why they were "World Famous". If you haven't heard of them, you're not alone. I had never had or heard of them before I got there. However, once you have them it's impossible to stop talking about them.
The sandwich was simple, but full of flavor. I have had buns that were dry tasting and airy making the food taste dry overall. Refer to my Kravers review. This was not that kind of bun. It was a good moist bun with a ton of pork in between. I had a couple of home made sauces to choose from. I really liked the spicy Bar-B-Que sauce. The sauce was a little too watery in texture for my liking, but the taste was great. I like Bar-B-Que sauce to be a little thicker so that it doesn't drain off the sandwich too much. The taste of the sauce was full and spicy, so it was a conflict of likings for me. I have to give it a good grade overall, though.
The baked beans were pretty good. I don't know if they were canned or made from scratch, but nonetheless they tasted great. Now, on to the "World Famous" cheesy taters. These taters are a great change up to normal mashed potatoes. From what I could see and taste they consisted of shredded potatoes mixed with plenty of butter, cheese, and I believe a coating of corn flakes. It's an unlikely combination that is fantastically great. I could hurt myself eating those chessy taters. At the very least I could eat enought to where I'd have to rolled out the door once I was done.
I loved Lonnie Q's. If I could eat Bar-B-Que everyday without consequences, I'd eat there every opportunity I get. Those "World Famous" cheesy taters are definitely a crowd pleaser. His menu is simple and effective. You can;t go wrong with anything you choose. If you want Bar-B-Que, you get Bar-B-Que. From fall-off-the-bone ribs, to juicy pork, to tasty brisket, he's got it all.
For about $10 I got a drink, a sandwich, and two sides. You can't go wrong here. You better check the hours before you go, Lonnie's isn't open every day. Some days of the week are lunch only and some are lunch and dinner. Whenever you decide to show up be prepared to wait in line. The word is out about Lonnie's among the locals. Now, I am trying to put it out there for the tourists. Go to Lonnie Q's for some fantastic Bar-B-Que.
I'm going to be back in Topeka in a couple more weeks. Guess where I'm going to have lunch at least once while I'm here?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
West Virginia is the $600 Smart Phone Equalizer
I started my trip landing at Dulles International Airport and picking up my rental car. My car was clean on the inside, but not on the outside. It was fairly dirty with some dried up bird dung near the door handle. The counter inside was filling up, so I thought, screw it, I'll live with it and move on. I plug in my phone and put in my destination. The time frame says about an hour to get about 45 miles. Since, I am heading north, I am heading into the mountains a little, hence the longer time for 45 miles.
I hit my exit and turn off the highway. I have just over 20 miles to go even from my exit off the highway. Time for the mountain road driving. My GPS is still functioning and I am still receiving email. That's a good thing. As I got further into the mountain road, I noticed a message on phone. "No Data Connection Available" What!? Oh, right. I'm in the mountains, it will probably pick back up later. My GPS is still working, though, so at least I won't be totally lost.
Now I am getting out of the mountains and close to my destination. Still no data signal. My super smart phone that can do the work of 10 major personal electronics has just met the equalizer. A no data zone. I have arrived at my hotel in Ranson, West Virginia, a place close to Charles Town, West Virginia. When I got to my room, I pulled up my carrier's data coverage map. Based on what I saw, it looked like the carrier had been barred from the state. All around the state lines the carrier had very limited if any data coverage. They were serviced by roaming data coverage only. I discovered shortly afterward that AT&T was the major carrier in the state that provided data coverage. Their main competitor, Verizon, had only about 10% of the state covered.
My phone had just been equalized to a phone that simply texts, makes calls, and takes pictures. It became the most expensive feature phone I had ever owned in my life at that point. The wireless coverage in the hotel, was okay, but not great. The funny part of this story was reading the Best Buy ad. They had 4 major Verizon phones on sale at the store that were 4G capable. Wait! 4G!? I can't even get a 3G signal and they are selling 4G phones in an area where the carrier has almost no coverage!? I bet Best Buy has its own Verizon tower that fails to connect once you leave the parking lot.
One nice piece of information that came out of this is my battery life. My battery life has been increased dramatically. I have about 90% of my battery left even after nearly 8 hours. I could probably let it go over night and use it all day tomorrow without even sweating about losing power before the end of the day. How long has it been that one can go without charging a phone for more than a day? I have to charge my phone every night, and on busy days, after about 14 hours of use.
So, in my opinion, West Virginia is the place where my phone met its equalizer. Outside of West Virginia it is one of the most powerful phones around even though it's a 3G phone. It can record video in HD, take 8 MegaPixel pictures, take panoramic photos, and listen to FM radio, play graphically intense games, act as a hot spot for others, manage my email, calendar and contacts for both personal and business, gets me from place to place with GPS navigation, keeps me up to date on my social circles, and let's me search for things like the best restaurant in the area or where to find the cheapest gas, and can do hundreds of other things. Without data, 80% of what I use it for becomes unavailable. No GPS mapping, no email or other types of updates, I'm out of the social circle, I have no clue where to eat, and I will probably pay too much for gas. I have a $600 phone that can text, do phone calls, and takes nice pictures and video. Welcome to West Virginia on Verizon's network.
I hit my exit and turn off the highway. I have just over 20 miles to go even from my exit off the highway. Time for the mountain road driving. My GPS is still functioning and I am still receiving email. That's a good thing. As I got further into the mountain road, I noticed a message on phone. "No Data Connection Available" What!? Oh, right. I'm in the mountains, it will probably pick back up later. My GPS is still working, though, so at least I won't be totally lost.
Now I am getting out of the mountains and close to my destination. Still no data signal. My super smart phone that can do the work of 10 major personal electronics has just met the equalizer. A no data zone. I have arrived at my hotel in Ranson, West Virginia, a place close to Charles Town, West Virginia. When I got to my room, I pulled up my carrier's data coverage map. Based on what I saw, it looked like the carrier had been barred from the state. All around the state lines the carrier had very limited if any data coverage. They were serviced by roaming data coverage only. I discovered shortly afterward that AT&T was the major carrier in the state that provided data coverage. Their main competitor, Verizon, had only about 10% of the state covered.
My phone had just been equalized to a phone that simply texts, makes calls, and takes pictures. It became the most expensive feature phone I had ever owned in my life at that point. The wireless coverage in the hotel, was okay, but not great. The funny part of this story was reading the Best Buy ad. They had 4 major Verizon phones on sale at the store that were 4G capable. Wait! 4G!? I can't even get a 3G signal and they are selling 4G phones in an area where the carrier has almost no coverage!? I bet Best Buy has its own Verizon tower that fails to connect once you leave the parking lot.
One nice piece of information that came out of this is my battery life. My battery life has been increased dramatically. I have about 90% of my battery left even after nearly 8 hours. I could probably let it go over night and use it all day tomorrow without even sweating about losing power before the end of the day. How long has it been that one can go without charging a phone for more than a day? I have to charge my phone every night, and on busy days, after about 14 hours of use.
So, in my opinion, West Virginia is the place where my phone met its equalizer. Outside of West Virginia it is one of the most powerful phones around even though it's a 3G phone. It can record video in HD, take 8 MegaPixel pictures, take panoramic photos, and listen to FM radio, play graphically intense games, act as a hot spot for others, manage my email, calendar and contacts for both personal and business, gets me from place to place with GPS navigation, keeps me up to date on my social circles, and let's me search for things like the best restaurant in the area or where to find the cheapest gas, and can do hundreds of other things. Without data, 80% of what I use it for becomes unavailable. No GPS mapping, no email or other types of updates, I'm out of the social circle, I have no clue where to eat, and I will probably pay too much for gas. I have a $600 phone that can text, do phone calls, and takes nice pictures and video. Welcome to West Virginia on Verizon's network.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Project Planning 101
There you are being given the rains of a project for your company. You have participated in projects before and you have even been a team leader in projects. This time you are no longer the team lead, but the man with the plan. The success of the project is going to be riding on your ability to plan it, communicate the plan, and execute the plan. This is a new world for you. Where do you begin?
Anyone who asks me about planning a project for software deployments, infrastructure upgrades, or anything else requiring a project plan I always tell them to begin with the end in mind. Have a complete understanding of what the finished deliverable will be. It doesn't matter if it's a software upgrade, a server upgrade, or complete technology overhaul and refresh always know what the finished deliverable will be. Without that information there is no effective way a plan can be made.
The next step is to identify the project management methodologies in place. Does your company condense project management to through it against the wall and see what sticks, or is there a proper procedure to follow at each stage of the plan? Some companies have been adopting a method called Agile that indicates there is a collaborative nature to the requirements building and deployment of the project involving multiple stakeholders where requirements are discovered along the way through execution. The traditional method indicates there is a structured approach from the top down where the Project Manager is the primary point of communication for the requirements and deployment of the project before execution begins.
Most projects I have worked with have an Agile feel where the requirements and scope are discovered along the way through the execution of the project. While Agile is the name of this method it can create chaos if the company is not well prepared to work with this type of collaborative and dynamic method. Like wise with the traditional approach companies can get bogged down in the structure and processes in place to identify the correct requirements before moving forward. I personally like the Agile methodology as it allows for quicker migrations and typically invites more communication due to its collaborative nature.
When creating your plan make sure you have the resources available to meet your proposed time line. If you are too aggressive you will miss your end date and if you are too timid you will probably look slow to respond and incapable of meeting business needs. The timeline needs to have an effective schedule that allows use of your resources including time for vacations if any have been approved. Also, ensure you leave time open for vendors known to be late on delivery of services or equipment. These are all risks to your project that could derail the delivery date. make sure your stakeholders are aware of their role in the project either as an affected party, a contributing party, or as a standby party. They need to be aware of their exposure and risks for failing to meet the needs of the project.
Finally, once the plan is together make sure it comes to the end you had in mind. Make sure your risks have been identified and contingencies have been created. If no contingencies are available these are areas of the project to note as potential risk for delivery date derailment. Get commitment from the stakeholders on the schedule and end date to be sure they meet requirements.
Anyone who asks me about planning a project for software deployments, infrastructure upgrades, or anything else requiring a project plan I always tell them to begin with the end in mind. Have a complete understanding of what the finished deliverable will be. It doesn't matter if it's a software upgrade, a server upgrade, or complete technology overhaul and refresh always know what the finished deliverable will be. Without that information there is no effective way a plan can be made.
The next step is to identify the project management methodologies in place. Does your company condense project management to through it against the wall and see what sticks, or is there a proper procedure to follow at each stage of the plan? Some companies have been adopting a method called Agile that indicates there is a collaborative nature to the requirements building and deployment of the project involving multiple stakeholders where requirements are discovered along the way through execution. The traditional method indicates there is a structured approach from the top down where the Project Manager is the primary point of communication for the requirements and deployment of the project before execution begins.
Most projects I have worked with have an Agile feel where the requirements and scope are discovered along the way through the execution of the project. While Agile is the name of this method it can create chaos if the company is not well prepared to work with this type of collaborative and dynamic method. Like wise with the traditional approach companies can get bogged down in the structure and processes in place to identify the correct requirements before moving forward. I personally like the Agile methodology as it allows for quicker migrations and typically invites more communication due to its collaborative nature.
When creating your plan make sure you have the resources available to meet your proposed time line. If you are too aggressive you will miss your end date and if you are too timid you will probably look slow to respond and incapable of meeting business needs. The timeline needs to have an effective schedule that allows use of your resources including time for vacations if any have been approved. Also, ensure you leave time open for vendors known to be late on delivery of services or equipment. These are all risks to your project that could derail the delivery date. make sure your stakeholders are aware of their role in the project either as an affected party, a contributing party, or as a standby party. They need to be aware of their exposure and risks for failing to meet the needs of the project.
Finally, once the plan is together make sure it comes to the end you had in mind. Make sure your risks have been identified and contingencies have been created. If no contingencies are available these are areas of the project to note as potential risk for delivery date derailment. Get commitment from the stakeholders on the schedule and end date to be sure they meet requirements.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tech Snack - The Importance of Accurate Software Licensing
Today's snack is about software licensing. It's that big elephant in the room everyone knows is there, but tries to ignore as much as possible. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is out there receiving tips from all kinds of people about unlicensed software. Even if you did not know the software was installed illegally your company is still on the hook for up to $50,000 per infringement. That's not chump change. Most often tips come from disgruntled employees, either current or past. The tipster can be anonymous and get a percentage of the fines levied against the company. at $50,000 per infringement, the tipster can get a hefty pay day with just one anonymous phone call.
All companies and even individuals have been guilty at one point or another of knowingly using unlicensed software. For several years tools have been widely available to help companies identify the installed software in their network. The trouble was you had to usually do manual labor to acheive an accurate count of each installed software program. Also, there was no good way to really identify the unknown applications requiring proper licensing, without the help of a good database inventory and programmer.
Today, the landscape is filled with top notch applications designed to perform counts against known licensed software. Even the unknown licensed software can be easier to identify in these applications without complicated database queries written by a database specialist. Some of the top manufacturers of these applications include Numara, Symantec, and even ScriptLogic. The software used by these companies allows an administrator to quickly and efficiently identify software license exposure.
Trying to perform this process manually will take a monumental effort and it will never be accurate, unless you manage a very small network. There are too many variables to manage on a manual basis. Even VB scripts have limitations on efficient performance and capabilities. When it comes to picking a solution for a set of requirements I always provide the Good, Fast, and Cheap model. When I provide these options I tell my customer to pick two of the three. An example of my model is provided below.
All companies and even individuals have been guilty at one point or another of knowingly using unlicensed software. For several years tools have been widely available to help companies identify the installed software in their network. The trouble was you had to usually do manual labor to acheive an accurate count of each installed software program. Also, there was no good way to really identify the unknown applications requiring proper licensing, without the help of a good database inventory and programmer.
Today, the landscape is filled with top notch applications designed to perform counts against known licensed software. Even the unknown licensed software can be easier to identify in these applications without complicated database queries written by a database specialist. Some of the top manufacturers of these applications include Numara, Symantec, and even ScriptLogic. The software used by these companies allows an administrator to quickly and efficiently identify software license exposure.
Trying to perform this process manually will take a monumental effort and it will never be accurate, unless you manage a very small network. There are too many variables to manage on a manual basis. Even VB scripts have limitations on efficient performance and capabilities. When it comes to picking a solution for a set of requirements I always provide the Good, Fast, and Cheap model. When I provide these options I tell my customer to pick two of the three. An example of my model is provided below.
When selecting a solution to provide insight to your software licensing exposure one of these three items will have to be left off and considered not important to the solution. Software licensing has an extremely high cost to ignore simply it. If you are using unlicensed software on a business computer, it could cost you significantly more than the most expensive software licensing tools around, even if you didn't know it was there.
The best way to handle cataloging your software is starting with what known purchases. That is your base count. The next step is to inventory all of your computers and compare the overall installed licensed software counts with your purchased counts. If the amount of installations in your computer inventory is greater than the amount you purchased, you are under licensed and need to purchase additional licenses or remove installed software where it is not required.
The next step is to identify installed licensed software in your environment detected in your inventory. If any of these applications are installed, they have most likely occurred without your consent. many times end users with administrative rights may install software on their computers without your knowledge. I know! Crazy, right!? In most organizations laptop users are the biggest culprits, due to their mobility and the fact many companies allow administrative rights on laptop computers for remote administration support. There are several ways to combat this scenario including removing administrative rights or company policies enforcing unauthorized software installations. Typically these policies have some nasty teeth, meaning suspension or termination even on the first offense.
Once the software has been identified and counts have been tallied, the company needs to take appropriate action either through true-ups at the end of the license cycle or purchase additional licenses if they are licensed independently. Software manufacturers do not like when their products have been installed illegally. I tell my clients to think of it in a way that affects them. If they made widgets and your widgets are being used by people without any payment whatsoever that affects the company's bottom line, resulting in higher prices for the widgets. Software manufacturers work the same way.
I hope this Tech Snack has helped give a better understanding of how to tackle software licensing and the negative effects it has not only on your company, but the software industry as a whole. Keeping your software licenses properly allocated and accounted for will keep your company out of harms way if an audit is performed at your company for licensed software.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Bypass 45 Deli - Columbia, TN
I had lunch the other day at a local deli called Bypass 45 Deli. It is an unassuming little place with personal service and opportunities to get to know people around town. Not to mention a satisfaction guarantee. More on that in a minute. This was recommended to me by my customer to check out.
Pulling up to this place, I wasn't sure what to expect. It is not flashy by any means and is right next to a liquor store. Walking in I saw there was not a lot of independent seating and there was also a place to stand and eat if you desired to do so. Bypass 45 Deli makes sandwiches and fresh hamburgers. It's a nice and simple menu. When I attempted to pay, I was told to wait until I was done eating. If I didn't like I wouldn't have to pay. Really!? Great! I'm in! So I got my meal just a few short minutes later.
I must admit, I think I had just had one of the better hamburgers I had ever had. It was juicy, cooked just right, and not too greasy. The seasoning was pretty well spot on. I got curly fries with my meal. These were definitely fully seasoned and tasty. While sitting I was able to meet some local people as the tables were very close together. When I go out to eat on the road I almost always by myself unless my customer goes along with me. In this case I was by myself and was able to have some friendly conversation with some local people of Columbia, TN
When it came time to pay, because I enjoyed my meal, there was a small problem. Their credit card machine was broken and that was all I had. The owner was kind enough to let me go across the street to get some cash and come back to pay. I, of course, came right back and paid for my wonderful meal. Less than $10 for a great hamburger, a ton of fries, and bottle of coke. I'd be glad to it again. Great job Bypass 45 Deli!
Pulling up to this place, I wasn't sure what to expect. It is not flashy by any means and is right next to a liquor store. Walking in I saw there was not a lot of independent seating and there was also a place to stand and eat if you desired to do so. Bypass 45 Deli makes sandwiches and fresh hamburgers. It's a nice and simple menu. When I attempted to pay, I was told to wait until I was done eating. If I didn't like I wouldn't have to pay. Really!? Great! I'm in! So I got my meal just a few short minutes later.
I must admit, I think I had just had one of the better hamburgers I had ever had. It was juicy, cooked just right, and not too greasy. The seasoning was pretty well spot on. I got curly fries with my meal. These were definitely fully seasoned and tasty. While sitting I was able to meet some local people as the tables were very close together. When I go out to eat on the road I almost always by myself unless my customer goes along with me. In this case I was by myself and was able to have some friendly conversation with some local people of Columbia, TN
When it came time to pay, because I enjoyed my meal, there was a small problem. Their credit card machine was broken and that was all I had. The owner was kind enough to let me go across the street to get some cash and come back to pay. I, of course, came right back and paid for my wonderful meal. Less than $10 for a great hamburger, a ton of fries, and bottle of coke. I'd be glad to it again. Great job Bypass 45 Deli!
Service Desk Manager's Snacks - How to Determine Priority
This is a snack of information about Service Desk Management. Today's snack has to do with prioritizing issues using an ITIL concept of combining impact and urgency to determine priority. One of the core responsibilities as a Service Desk Manager is determining priority of incoming tickets. We all know our customers well. Their problem is the only we need to be looking at, regardless of who else has problems, right? How do you appropriately determine the priority of the issues coming into your ticketing system? I handle this using a combination of two questions. What is the impact? And what is urgency? Together these two fields create the priority. Our customers may not like what it translates into, but that is how we are able to determine where to allocate resources.
So what does impact and urgency mean? What values should you apply to them that makes sense in your environment? How do these really help me determine the priority? Glad you asked. Impact has to do with effect on the customer's ability to perform their job function. Some of the values I typically use for impact are individual, department, building, site, and company wide. Each of these values help me identify the number of resources I can most likely expect to spend on the issue. I typically use none, normal, medium, high, and critical for urgency. Each of these values help me identify the level at which I should respond. Together they tell me how many resources I should expect to use to resolve and work on the issue as well as what quickness do I need to respond.
To create the priority I create a matrix of priority results based on impact and urgency. The combination of impact plus urgency equals priority. I have created an example of what a matrix might look like using the values I provided of Impact and Urgency and making up my own values for priority.
As you can see from the matrix we have an appropriate priority based on the combination of impact and urgency. This design may not fit within your organization or processes so you may have to modify portions of it. The goal of this snack is to help you efficiently prioritize the tickets coming into your service desk so as to keep costs lower resulting in a direct impact on the Service Desk's ability to respond appropriately to the issues it receives. Keeping costs lower through efficient staffing as a result of effective prioritization has a direct and positive impact to the company's bottom line.
I implement service desk and infrastructure management software in many organizations across the country. Part of my job to is to help those organizations improve their service desk processes. This is one of the greatest impacts I see with my customers. They are able to implement it quickly and see immediate results.
So what does impact and urgency mean? What values should you apply to them that makes sense in your environment? How do these really help me determine the priority? Glad you asked. Impact has to do with effect on the customer's ability to perform their job function. Some of the values I typically use for impact are individual, department, building, site, and company wide. Each of these values help me identify the number of resources I can most likely expect to spend on the issue. I typically use none, normal, medium, high, and critical for urgency. Each of these values help me identify the level at which I should respond. Together they tell me how many resources I should expect to use to resolve and work on the issue as well as what quickness do I need to respond.
To create the priority I create a matrix of priority results based on impact and urgency. The combination of impact plus urgency equals priority. I have created an example of what a matrix might look like using the values I provided of Impact and Urgency and making up my own values for priority.
As you can see from the matrix we have an appropriate priority based on the combination of impact and urgency. This design may not fit within your organization or processes so you may have to modify portions of it. The goal of this snack is to help you efficiently prioritize the tickets coming into your service desk so as to keep costs lower resulting in a direct impact on the Service Desk's ability to respond appropriately to the issues it receives. Keeping costs lower through efficient staffing as a result of effective prioritization has a direct and positive impact to the company's bottom line.
I implement service desk and infrastructure management software in many organizations across the country. Part of my job to is to help those organizations improve their service desk processes. This is one of the greatest impacts I see with my customers. They are able to implement it quickly and see immediate results.
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