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

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Entries from November 2014

Drones, Remote-Controlled Aircraft, and Reality

November 27th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Can we stop the silliness surrounding drones and come back to reality? This recent story decries coming regulations that may require a pilot’s license to fly a drone. Let’s repeat a bit of reality: Today’s drones are not autonomous flying robots are remote-controlled (RC) flying vehicles For decades, hobbyists have flow RC […]

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Tags: Government · Technology

Two Unspoken Requirements

November 24th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Many projects make no sense. They are driven by two unspoken yet paramount requirements. I have seen many projects that were driven by two unspoken but paramount requirements: The project must cost a certain amount of money—no more and no less You have to look like you are trying to do something […]

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Tags: Culture · Expectations · Magic · Management · Requirements

The Smartphone: Today’s Transistor Radio

November 20th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Today’s smartphone bears a striking resemblance to yesterday’s transistor radio. Okay, yell at me. I will wait. Now that you’ve screamed your lungs out, let’s compare today’s smartphone to yesterdays transistor radio. In case you are young(er) and don’t know what a transistor radio is, see this page. Attributes that the smartphone […]

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Tags: Change · Systems · Technology

Science, Politics, Hyperbole, and Trust

November 17th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Politics often delves into hyperbole to make a point. Hyperbole could be the death of science. A recent poll (don’t you love it when someone starts with that phrase?) shows that Americans view scientists as competent but not trustworthy. What’s up with that? Politics. IMHO, scientists are depending too much on politicians […]

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Tags: Science · Systems

Hello World

November 13th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Yet again, we have a less expensive way to broadcast live to the entire world. Recently, GoPro (makers of those neat little action cams) announced that if you wince just right and combine GoPro with LiveStream with a smartphone with the Internet with some imagination…you can show the world what your GoPro […]

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Tags: Communication · Culture · Technology

Unpaid Overtime and Undertime

November 10th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Unpaid overtime is almost always followed by undertime, i.e., people not working. Unpaid overtime is a fact. It is not just a recent occurrence as it has occurred for, oh, let’s say, centuries. People work extra hard for a period of time (hopefully a short period of time). Then what happens? People […]

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Tags: Management

It’s Not the Event, It’s the Reaction

November 6th, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We don’t choose what happens in life. We do choose how we react. The title of this post is something that I’ve heard numerous times from consultant and author Jerry Weinberg. It seems that almost every day I trip over yet another example of this. The phone rings at 2 AM. Something […]

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Tags: Choose · Reaction

Hyperventilation, Hysteria, and Commitment

November 3rd, 2014 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Hyperventilation and hysteria are shows of emotion, not commitment. A recent post from Seth Godin reminded me of the above. I have been the victim of the “why aren’t you going berserk?” syndrome over the years. I was once reprimanded for concentrating on performing the work instead of yelling and screaming at […]

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Tags: Choose · Communication · Differences · General Systems Thinking · Reaction