Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Any topic and just about any situation. Please provide three pages that contain a thousand words and several figures. Right or wrong, we reach a point in life and history that we need information on this or that. What format? Try the title of this post. On three pieces of standard-size paper […]

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by Dwayne Phillips It is important to use the right or correct word and avoid using the wrong word. This is an old fundamental in writing and speaking. Why am I writing about this? Because I continue to encounter professionals who make this error often. What is the right word and the wrong word? Consider […]

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by Dwayne Phillips As a writer and just about anyone else, we must be flexible in a rigid manner. The same is true for almost every adjective and its antonym. A writer must be flexible. Except when the writer must be rigid. Except when exceptions arise. The same goes for just about any adjective and […]

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by Dwayne Phillips These inconvenient facts seem to be everywhere. They are inconvenient, however, only when we have a story to tell that denies reality. There are some old sayings like, “opinions being mugged by facts,” and “don’t confuse my opinion with facts,” and “there is nothing like facts getting in the way of my […]

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by Dwayne Phillips This is one of the fundamental questions that persons working projects need to answer. We know what we are attempting, but we don’t know the actual progress and how that compares to the expected progress. There are several fundamental questions that should be asked and answered by people working on projects. Among […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Though we hate to admit it, the goal of us who work in computing is to produce a TPS report. The “TPS Report” is the butt of all office jokes. It is meaningless paperwork that serves no purpose. For a full explanation, see the Wikipedia page on it. Those of us who […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I see a trend in people using the word “modern” to describe technology. I find that unfortunate. Just this morning, I read: modern data stack modern programming practice modern machine learning modern artificial intelligence modern compilers And then I quit. I guess I am one of “those people” who expect others to […]

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By Dwayne Phillips Time is a marvelous tool. Allow time between an action or event and the reaction or the feedback for the event. I have spoken at large gatherings many times in my career (500 or 600 persons attending, most of them staying awake). I enjoy it. When I am finished speaking, I am […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The basic yes-no question is quite easy to answer. It is either “yes” or “no.” Recognizing the question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible. There is a type of question for which the answer is either “yes” or “no.” It is quite easy to answer as there are only two […]

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by Dwayne Phillips This discusses a technique that helps move “decision meetings” in a favorable direction. You spend time to save time. It works more often than not. I have been assigned the task of presenting an idea to a meeting of decision makers. Yes, many organizations still have groups of decision makers, and they […]

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