Working Up

Working Up in Project Management, Systems Engineering, Technology, and Writing

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Entries from May 2015

Most of the Time, Nothing Happens

May 28th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I seem to want to see the amazing and new. I am rarely satisfied. On several occasions I have been taught the lesson of the title. It doesn’t rain most of the time. People don’t change most of the time. Riots don’t occur most of the time. Most of the time, nothing […]

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Tags: Change

Adults Wouldn’t Do That! Right? Seriously?

May 25th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many of my big, but slow-to-learn, learnings in life occurred because I didn’t think adults would act like that. It was the early 1980s. A senior manager said, “Whats his name works for another-government-agency. Everyone who works for that-government-agency is stupid. Therefore, whats his name is stupid.” I couldn’t believe that an […]

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Tags: Adapting · Learning · People

Best Pencil and Sharpener in the World

May 21st, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Late in life, I discover the best pencil and sharpener in the world. This isn’t high tech stuff. It is embarrassing how low tech it is and still be incredibly useful. Best pencil in the world? Palomino Blackwing 602. Best pencil sharpener in the world? The Blackwing Long Point Sharpener. What causes […]

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Tags: Technology · Writing

How to Build a Secure Computer Voting Machine

May 18th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Want computer voting? Want it to be secure? Here is how to do it. Just about everyone in America today votes on some sort of computer. Now and then, someone writes a story about how someone discovered that their computerized voting machines are insecure and easily subject to election fraud. Here is […]

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Tags: Competence · Computing · Programming · Technology

Smart People, Worthwhile Problems

May 14th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Here are the secrets to success in tech and any other business. (No, there isn’t anything earth-shattering here.) Okay, here it is, right at the start: Have smart people work on worthwhile problems. Sorry, I told you in the summary that this wouldn’t be earth shattering. So, let’s delve into this a […]

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Tags: Management · Money

Is Everyone in Mississippi this Nice?

May 7th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Recent experiences show me that the nicest people in the world are in Mississippi. During the past month I spent more time in Mississippi than I ever have before. The time was stressful as we were moving my mother from her home to an assisted living facility. Did I mention that the […]

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Tags: People

How to Breathe

May 4th, 2015 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A crucial skill to working and working with others is breathing. Working and working with others can be frustrating. We can replace “frustrating” with just about any word that expresses a feeling that we don’t like. The result is the same. If those fill-in-the-blank people don’t start doing what I want, I […]

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Tags: Breathe