Finding the lynchpin

How do you turn a vision into reality?
By understanding the data, the flow, and the interaction.
Every time we meet a new client, we learn about their business, their clients, their dreams and their pains.  Once we get a good feel for how the software or site fits into that world, then we can design an effective system.

Today, we met with a client to talk about a large relational database project.  The goal is to integrate many disparate things into a cohesive system.  To link these lists into one. It is not straightforward.  But, by reviewing all the pieces and brainstorming through some options we found the part that links them all.

Now, not only do we all feel positive about the direction, we have also imagined ways to make it easier to use, to link to other sources. The lynchpin to data can be elusive, but it is always there.  And always a joy to find.

Back to the Blog

I have been bad about posting lately.  The good news is that this is because we have been busy

I have a few ideas saved up and will be posting more shortly.

Have any topics you would like to see posted? Let me know by commenting to this post and I will be sure to address them all.

PS3 Grid – Amazing computing power

Ariticle on MSNBC.com:PlayStation 3 tackles black hole vibrations
Consoles capable of running simulations that rival supercomputer

“Rather than renting computer time on a supercomputer that could cost $5,000 per simulation, Burko and his colleagues used the PS3 Gravity Grid built by Gaurav Khanna, a physics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

The cluster can be built for around $6,000, and allows simulations to be repeated at no extra cost. The system is tailored to simulations that require massive amounts of computations, but relatively little RAM memory.”

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AMH on Twitter

Follow me @ http://twitter.com/amhitul

I Love Logic

Great Post on “Beauty Brains“!

They dissect arguments for cosmetic acupuncture.  It is a great example of how arguments that “sound” can be illogical and untrue.

When you really listen to what people are saying to defend a position, often there is no substance.

Thank you Beauty Brains for a great use of critical thinking!

New Release: Cristando House & CACT

I-Tul was happy to release 2 new marketing sites at the end of 2008:

Sierra College Training & Development: http://sierracollegetraining.com/

Cristando House: http://cristandohouse.com/

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Calendars

Today, I spent part of the morning getting all of my calendars set for the new year.  I have my Wall calendar for a qucik overview, my Outlook & BlackBerry for details, and my franklin for a week at a glance.

Why so many? I like being able to get the view I want at a glance.  I could see all in Outlook, but I would changin views.  So, multiple options work well for my own needs.

I have always been a fan of scheduling software, even way back in the Windows 3.1 days.   I like that you can easily move appointments, set reminders, track trends.  It may not be cutting edge, but having a good calendar system is somehow comforting. Then again, I always like to know what time it is, what temperature and other measures.  My inner scientist revels in numbers.

BLOG CHANGE: Now, you can comment on blog posts without registering.  Let me know what you think of my posts, I look forward to hearing from everyone.  To keep spam at bay, I still moderate. But am working to quickly approve comments.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

May 2009 have twice the blessings and half the bane of 2008.

May your dreams be clear and their paths be true.

We wish you all the best

FactCheck – Year End Whoppers

This year, there were many times to be amazed and alarmed at the full out lies that spread so easily.  We may disagree on the importance, envision different outcomes and suspect different causes for politics, problems, happenings and trends.  But, we should always be able to agree on the bald facts of a situation.

When in doubt, be sure to check out FactCheck.org or Snopes.com.  If it comes in a forwarded email, there is almost always some half-truths, exaggerations and spinning.  Check them out and you will know the truth that is there and be able to dig through the rest.

Here is a great article on NewsWeek from FactCheck about some of the big year end lies that are flying around. Hope you find it interesting too.

-Amanda

———————————————————–

Year-end Whoppers

Summary
We’ve often said that the spin never stops in Washington. And the weeks since Nov. 4 offer further evidence of that.

Consider some of the bogus claims we’ve debunked just since Election Day:

• It’s not true that unionized auto workers at Detroit’s Big Three make more than $70 an hour, as claimed by some opponents of federal aid.
• And no, 3 million workers won’t be tossed out of work if aid is not forthcoming, as claimed by those favoring a taxpayer bailout.
• President-elect Obama never promised to seek a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, as claimed by some fearful gun owners.
• And no, Obama did not propose a Gestapo-like civilian security force as claimed by a Republican member of Congress from Georgia and any number of overwrought bloggers.
• Democrats in Congress are not discussing any plan to confiscate the assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, another falsehood spread about by chain e-mails and Internet postings.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not demand a 757-size personal jet, a false claim resurrected when Democrats criticized Big Three executives for flying to D.C. on their own private jets to beg for aid.
• And Pelosi’s husband doesn’t own a $17 million stake in a food company that she may (or may not) have tried to help with an exemption from a new minimum wage law.

For details, plus bonus features including video of misleading TV spots by the United Auto Workers and by auto dealers, please read on to the Analysis section.

Watch our “Ask FactCheck” space for new items in the next few days. We’ll post the truth about a claim that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to levy a tax on farmers’ cows and hogs. And we’ll give you the real story behind a widely circulating (and false) claim that the murder rate in counties that voted for Obama is six times higher than in counties that supported McCain.

Read Full Article on NewsWeek

Net Neutrailty

“Net Neutrality” means that all web pages and content are treated equally. That no site is given preferential treatment over another at the ISP level.
Wikipedia on Net Neutrality

Every small business owner should care very much about Net Neutrality. Without it, large business could pay or negotiate for faster download or upload speeds. In other words, your ecommerce site would load like a dog while Wal-Mart’s opened immediately. Your videos would take forever to download and YouTube would be instant streaming. It would mean that certain players would start t have undue influence over web sites and content. There is no doubt, lack of Net Neutrality would make it more expensive for small business to succeed on the web.

There are other ramifications for your TV, video, cable and entertainment options which would bring the tyranny of the cable monopolize to the web. But, I think the chance of small business ending up on the “old road” while the big guys build a “super highway”.

But, from what I can tell, Google’s OpenEdge does not damage this concept. Allowing ISPs to cache content means that content that is loaded by multiple people will be saved at the ISP. It will load faster. Your internal proxy server works the same way. If one person loads it, the proxy gets it from the source server. The second person downloads it from the proxy and it loads faster. As long as you can get multiple people to load your content, your site will benefit too.

Yahoo Tech Article Link