Monthly Archives: September 2012

Glass memory

Posted by corecatcher on

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/08/15/Glass-memory-can-hold-data-for-centuries/UPI-81541313453583/

Noticed the news about this glass memory. This is what future will look like. Data is stored forever on piece of glass. This could make memory cards look like floppy disks.

But usually these kind of ideas are wrong. We are probably moving to cloud services and people really don’t even carry any data storing device in the future.? Why would they if the cloud has everything?

JP

How to lead people

Posted by corecatcher on

During my working years I have met many different management styles. What I have noticed that leading people is not done by following the progress. It’s done by leading and after that following. Most managers just follow the progress and report the progress. This is not how leaders should work.

The best management style I have noticed was by group manager that had very simple and laid back style to lead and follow the work. He kept meeting every week or two weeks. He had a task list of things to do. He distributed the unmarked task list at the beginning of each meeting. Then he asked who would do certain things that are new and distributed those tasks. Next week he would ask the status of those activities and would distribute new tasks.

This sounds simple and almost stupid, but it’s the best method I have ever witnessed. There is couple of reasons why this works so great. First of all, when tasks are distributed, people need to acknowledge the task on front of their peers. They just don’t take the task, they sort of promise to the peers that they are going to do it.

The weeks task list keeps people focused on the fact what they need to do. It could be they do it during the last evening, just to be able to say they have done it. They can miss it for one or two weeks and say they are busy, but they just cannot come continuously to the meeting and say that they haven’t done it. The peer pressure is there. Sometimes they haven’t do it all, but they have tried.

Also the method can be used without knowing the actual task for the next week. Like thesis worker case. Boss has very hard time to get grips what is the actual progress of the work and is there any progress at all. But just ask each week, what are your plans for the next week. Write it down. Next week ask was that task filled and what is the next weeks task. This method is amazing. Thesis workers are young and can be horrible at planning tasks and cannot divide big tasks to small weekly parts. But this simple question, what you going to do next week is all it takes. The thesis worked thinks suitable part of the job that is not too small so it would not sound unimportant, but not too big, so he could accomplish it in a weeks time. And he takes the task, or at least the part he is able to do. So he can say they have at least tried it.

And what is the most important, he determines the task at front of peers.

Problem with this method is that if you are the boss, you cannot attack the employees if they haven’t done the task. You need to trust that the peer pressure is enough. Don’t give any critic. Just mark it for the next week as ongoing task. Actually you should not care. Do not change the job to another worker easily, but be very accurate that the tasks are small and accomplishing is possible.

Problem with this kind of task list, is that you shouldn’t in any case say that it’s a promise list. Or that it has anything to do with peers, you should be casual with it. It’s just a small reminder list to help your memory. Don’t ever say that they promised, because they didn’t.

Of course this works best in tasks that have variable tasks that need to be distributed. It is not necessary to monotonic work. But the more new tasks there is, the better it works.

Also it’s very effortless way to keep you on track.

-JP-

Evolution, religion and God

Posted by corecatcher on

hi

I was thinking yesterday that because religion is so widespread it must be good for the human evolution. If it would be harmful to people from surviving point of view, those believing people would have died long time ago. Now it looks like atheistic people are minority and majority of people are believers. This would suggest that religion has a evolution benefit.

How could it be beneficial? During the middle ages they used to burn non believing people on bonfires, so believing was beneficial. Crusaders killed thousands of non believers?

But Jesus and also other christian people were persecuted and still they survived?

One idea that we need to consider is that God could actually be on their side? What about different religions? I checked wikipedia and noticed that Christianity is leading, but islam is the second biggest religion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups

Maybe Christian god is more powerful compared to Islam god? As it’s more widespread? Some say they all believe in the same god. If this is the case, maybe the God is more pleased with the Christian way of worship?

Other way to look it, is to separate religion evolution from human evolution. So religions get better over time and people are just the intermediate, the substance religion is based on.

-JP-

price is what you pay, value is what you get

Posted by corecatcher on

hi

i’ve been thinking about money and stuff. People save money for retirement and they dream to buy some things and enjoy those things when they are retired. But you make certain amount of money during your life time. What matters is what you use it for. It doesn’t matter if you wait until you are retired and then use your saved money to buy those things. You could just buy those things today(if you have the money already saved). This is true only if the product is so high quality and so usable that you can use it for decades.
What kind of products fit this description? I’ve been thinking about that and noticed that high quality hand tools are in this category.

Tools:

You can enjoy tools for decades and when you retire you still have good tools. There is no reason to wait. The sooner you buy the tools the better, you don’t have to buy all at the same time, but over the years, when ever you need a tool, just buy one and with a good quality, and it’s a great usage for your money.

Guns:

High quality shotguns, rifles and even handguns are going to last almost forever. At least your lifetime. It’s not the 500$ over and under cheapo, but the 2500$ browning.

Gold:

Gold chain is going to be a gold chain 50-100years from now. it’s not going to rust away, it may go out of fashion, but it can be melted and it’s still valuable. Gold bar is valuable, but you cannot use it? So the decades of usage is not possible.

Motorcycles:

Some classic motorcycles can be used for 100years. They don’t rust and are usually fixable for ever. Some Harley Davidson models could fit this category, but sometimes it’s best to buy those at fair value when they are 10-20 years old and continue to use them for ever. Buying new and selling at 15 years doesn’t give you the best value for the money. But it depends on your mechanic skills…

Land:

Land is not a good investment, but it stays in value and you can use it for recreational usage or farming or hunting for decades and you enjoy it rest of your life and it’s going to stay there for ever. Of course the land quality/location matters like in any other stuff. This of course also depends on the country, if property tax is low or non existing it’s better, if it’s high it’s not.

House:

You can live in it. And it provides a good inflation protection. But only houses that last for ever. At least your life time. And are cheap to upkeep. (low property tax and heating/maintenance cost)

Instruments:

Good quality guitar lasts a lifetime and is enjoyable for a long time. Same with some good quality tube amplifiers. But most people buy cheap, then upgrade and buy another cheap. Buy just one. A good one.

What other categories are there? I’m still thinking… feel free to chime in if you come up with some new category.

The final though is: ‘price is what you pay, value is what you get -Buffet?’. Aim for a simple life, select only one of each, but use your time to find and select the best. You have to work for your money, so make it count what you use the money for.

Br
James Parus

Life on the screen

Posted by corecatcher on

hi

I noticed that when I wake up I open the television. At work I watch the screen the whole day. When I get home I watch television screen or computer screen. There is times between, but I also have my smart phone screen to watch. What kind of live is this? Is this really what life should be alike? These screens are quite new in the evolution of things. There was no screens 100 years ago. I was thinking what could be similar and I think of books.. Some people have read books their whole lives. Monks! They copied books and read the bible and lived like monks. This was ongoing in some places maybe 500years ago. Maybe earlier.

Just remember that the life on the screen is not your life. It’s the best minds of the entertainment industry trying to keep your eyes glued to the screen. And you are buying it. You like it. You get the excitement, hate, war, love and fake human contact through these screens. You are not part of it(television), you are just watching it. It’s fake!(well most of it is, some documents are real)

If work demands screen time it’s unavoidable for office hours, but try to limit it. Look out. Watch less television. Stay less time on the internet. It may be hard, but just think that screen is not your life.

Br
James Parus

Epicurus- Postponing your happiness

Posted by corecatcher on

I have read lot of different philosophy books. But one that stands out and is closest to my ideology is Epicurus.

I have been thinking about this one saying for a long time.

“14. We have been born once and cannot be born a second time; for all eternity we shall no longer exist. But you, although you are not in control of tomorrow, are postponing your happiness. Life is wasted by delaying, and each one of us dies without enjoying leisure.”

it’s one line from Epicurus Vatican sayings collection.
http://www.epicurus.net/en/vatican.html

What does it mean? It starts by stating the obvious(which many of us don’t even realize). We have been born ones and cannot be born a second time. Continues to give the wider meaning: for all eternity we shall no longer exist. Then it focuses and sort of blames the reader: ‘But you’. Stating the obvious and bringing to mind that we cannot control the world, but still we are postponing our happiness. And ends up with closing statement, ‘Life is wasted by delaying, and each one of us dies without enjoying leisure’. The last line almost like admits, that life is wasted by delaying and each of us dies without enjoying leisure. The writer joins the reader almost by admitting that he’s one of us and also doing the same thing.

I’ve been thinking about the leisure. What is accounted as ‘leisure’? How the life is wasted by delaying? Are we delaying the leisure or just keeping our self busy with stuff we don’t want or need?.

JP