Working Up

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

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Data is the New…Nausea

July 25th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Data, data, data. Enough already. Just tell me something I don’t know. Data is the new oil. Data is the new bacon. Data will fuel the economies of the future. Data will determine the winner of the next world war. Data, data, data. I work with data. On some days, some folks […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Data Science · Information · Knowledge · Learning · Machine Learning · Teaching

The Standard Configuration

May 23rd, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Start at the beginning and build from there. That sure is boring. That is the standard configuration. If, however, resources are scarce and the desire to accomplish new work is high, it is a good place to start. I recently restarted a new job. That is a long story for another day. […]

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Tags: Adapting · Baseline · Culture · Learning · Management · Process · Systems · Work

The Edge and the Center

May 9th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips The edge is that area between the center of two places. Things are different at the edge. Try to remember the difference. I recently spent a few of strenuous days cleaning a fence row. A fence row comprises the ground a couple feet each side of a fence. In my case, the […]

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Tags: Adapting · Context · Differences · Expectations · Learning · Notice · Observation

Mistakes and Learning

May 5th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We all make mistakes. Some of us learn from some of our mistakes some of the time. The choice is ours. We all make mistakes. That is part of being imperfect humans. How many mistakes did I make this week? How about just this morning? (Forgot to bring my laptop’s power cord, […]

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Tags: Choose · Humility · Learning · Mistakes

The Machine Isn’t Learning

April 21st, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips “Machine Learning” is one of the biggest misuses of the English language I have seen. The machine isn’t learning. Let’s try to remember what is happening. Data science is a big deal these days. Well, it is until you read the fine print in the Help Wanted ads about data science jobs. […]

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Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Language · Learning · Machine Learning

First, Let’s Do Something Useful

April 18th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When introducing something new, it helps to do something useful at the beginning and then delve into more details and more powerful capabilities later. I am interested in robotics, software, and my grandchildren. The intersection of these centers on my grandchildren and finding things for them to do when they visit me. […]

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Tags: Childhood · Learning · Solutions · Time · Tools · Work

Discovery as an Unintended Result

April 14th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Doing something that goes beyond what is required often leads to discovery, and discovery may be a wonderful unintended result. Many years ago (in the last century), I was involved in an upgrade to an existing system. There were new requirements that required new capabilities. Some of the computing hardware was to […]

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Tags: Alternatives · Design · Learning · People · Requirements · Solutions

Fake Jobs

March 24th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Caution to the unemployed: beware of “just do this test” before we interview you. There are plenty of fake jobs out there that use one con or another to obtain free work. This recent article is about fake jobs. Con artists on the Internet are tricking people into believing they have been […]

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Tags: Jobs · Learning · Scam · Work

Is the Light Bulb On or Off?

March 21st, 2022 · No Comments

By Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we need to remind ourselves what it is that computers can and cannot do. Computers are taking over the world. Well, maybe not. Let’s recall what a computer can do. A computer can tell if a light bulb is on or off. That’s about it folks. Nothing more. Everything else is […]

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Tags: Cloud Computing · Computing · General Systems Thinking · Learning · Software · Teaching · Technology

A Meat Grinder (time for a reframe)

March 17th, 2022 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips That job is a “meat grinder.” It has chewed up several people. Stay away. Or do we simply need to reframe the situation? While writing this, I have spent much of the past week(s) looking at the help wanted ads and talking to several companies about their job openings. Several of the […]

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Tags: Adapting · Choose · Jobs · Learning · Reframe · Stories