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

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Entries from December 2016

Fire the Cashiers or Allow Them to Add Value

December 29th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips About to be replaced by a machine? We must add value. In some cases, employers must allow us to add value. Amazon recently made news with a grocery store that has no cashiers. Wow. How convenient for the shoppers. Wow. There go a bunch of jobs as all the cashiers who weren’t […]

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Tags: Employment · Work

The $80 Writing Computer

December 26th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips A new edition of the cheapest computer in the store finds a small tablet and keyboard for $80. Slow, but sufficient. Want to write a book? Can’t afford a MacBook Pro or Surface Pro or someone-else’s-pro? Here is a writing system for $80. It comprises an Amazon Fire 7″ $50 tablet and […]

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Tags: Technology · Writing

The Gift of Expectations

December 22nd, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One of the best gifts to give another is that they expect you to be consistent. This holds for managers on the job as well as grandparents at home. ‘Tis the season to give. Consider giving someone the ability to expect you to be consistent. Let’s start with Grandparents: When my (absolutely […]

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Tags: Authentic · Expectations · Family · Management · Work

Programming Without Programmers—the Holy Grail

December 19th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Those who don’t program still seek the Holy Grail of business: the ability to flush programmers from their lives. Google recently launched its App Maker. Its a tool kit that allows persons who don’t know how to program to write programs. Well, sort of. I guess Google’s product, similar to other similar […]

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Tags: Adults · Programming · Technology

Black Box Analysis

December 15th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips What does this thing do? Exploring the question is the act of analyzing a black box. Reveal the results of black box analysis carefully. I often encounter systems for which I have no knowledge of their inner workings. Airline reservations, online retail, job listings and applications, etc. I don’t know how they […]

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Tags: Analysis

Sustainable Endeavors and the ISTJ

December 12th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If your organization is to begin an endeavor that will take time and patience to bear fruit, employ the right type of person. Some endeavors require years to come to fruition. A college degree is one example. It comes after four years, not four hours, of sustained effort.  Some companies sponsor college […]

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Tags: Adults · Work

Copyright 0.2—Protecting Your Writing Samples

December 8th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Companies will often request a writing sample from potential writer hires. Without adequate notice, the companies have a license to steal. I am writing a few posts about copyright. I am compelled to do so by recent interviews with employers who seem ignorant of copyright basics. There is much good information on […]

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Tags: Copyright · Work · Writing

Copyright 0.1—We Don’t Own the Words, but Others Act Like We Do

December 5th, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Words written in the employ of a company belong to the company. Still, others will ask for them. Beware as you could be an accomplice to theft. I am writing a few posts about copyright. I am compelled to do so by recent interviews with employers who seem ignorant of copyright basics. […]

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Tags: Copyright · Work · Writing

Facial Recognition Folly

December 1st, 2016 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Facial recognition is easily fooled. So when will our law enforcement stop using it? The polygraph is one example from history of technology barred from court. Facial recognition is one of the latest hot technologies in law enforcement. Facial recognition software scans huge databases to identify a person at the scene of […]

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Tags: Security · Technology