You know… my Thingamahoochie… uhhh

No matter how you read the title to this post, let me assure you… it is NOT about my Thingamahoochie.

It is about a guy at work and his Thingamahoochie not working. I have a picture to prove it!

Ok, ok, enough fake inuendo.  This is just one of those fun geek observations that probably only humors me, but this is my blog and I get to post what I want.

If you are around IT for very long you run across some strange people, some strange code, and occasionally, some strangely named code (and people.)

Today, a guy who works with me walked by several times while I was having a conversation with someone else and I couldn’t tell if he needed to talk to me and even more intriguing, I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or boiling.

I’m taking some journalistic license with the following, but trust me… this is how it went down in my head…

I finally finished my conversation and he immediately stopped and asked if I’d ever seen the Thingamahoochie on his machine?

Uhhh, no. I’ve seen a Thingamahoochie, but not on your machine and definitely not YOUR Thingamahoochie and most definitely not at work.  Plus this is a professional workplace – you can’t be talking about that here at least not in the hallways :)

“Come here and let me show you my Thingamahoochie.”

Obviously he was just joking around and knew I would find it amusing, but this is one of those times it was just too good to not remember and share so I thought I’d show you his Thingamahoochie right here – I circled it in red in case it was too small to see easily:

Thingamahoochie

 

Yes, it is just a computer registry setting, but you have to admit it is a weird name and it makes you think… “What were they thinking?”

I hope it made you smile at least once.  Have a great day!

BI update

A quick update on how things have been progressing on the Business Intelligence front!

  1. The project prototype for the SOA solution was completed and accepted by the technical team. JEAH!
  2. The dweebi.com site is slowly progressing.
  3. We have started the dweebi.com Twitter account and have a plan for interacting
  4. Got the logo from the fiver gig. It is ok, but almost identical to our sketch without any real creativity, but for $5 what can you expect. Good enough for now for sure!

An interesting BI and Big Data observation – as much as big data is growing and BI is booming, so is writing/blogging on the topics. So much great information, but can’t. read. it. all… Argh!

dweebi.com business intelligence blog logo

dweebi.com business intelligence blog logo

If you are interested in the logo and the requirements we gave just let me know. Here is how it turned out:

See you tomorrow.

It depends on what the meaning of the word is is…

The prototype review for the Oracle SOA implementation went very well yesterday. Lots of great technical stuff!

As an added bonus, there was a classic moment that only myself and a couple of other people in the conference room picked up on. You have to know a couple of things about the people in the room:

  • Half are too young to remember much about the Clinton era
  • One fourth are foreign born and probably didn’t get caught up in all the political news of that time in the U.S.
  • Relations from a technical database standpoint refer to how things hook up. Come to think of it I guess that’s what it means in real life too!
  • I am easily amused especially when I’m tired :)

If you’re old enough to remember the Bill Clinton years and you had any political or current event news awareness at all then this headline regarding what the meaning of “is” is probably caught your attention. Long story if you don’t know it so just Google it.

So the scenario is that we are [Read more…]

Business Intelligence progress update

Things have been moving on the Business Intelligence front!

  1. The project prototype for the SOA solution is progressing nicely.
  2. The dweebi.com site is resolving and has WordPress installed along with a couple plugins and a theme framework.
  3. We had some great ideas on the logo
  4. Ordered the logo – can’t wait to see what the fiver artist creates
  5. Created a content strategy with a posting schedule and assigned tasks

Short update today because it has been a very long week and I am going home.

See you tomorrow.

Business Intelligence. Really?

After my Take Action Tuesday “Make Changes” post I decided to keep the daily actionable items going.

I continued with my health and wellness actions by eating right and working out and then running two miles. Great way to start the day. That takes care of the body part.

Now for the mind!

I am always trying to learn new things and since I work in IT I get that opportunity more than most. Since I wanted to accomplish a few things I thought what better way to get it done than incorporate it into my work life.

I am currently leading a strategic, long term project which involves Oracle SOA Suite and eventually OBIEE which is Oracle’s Business Intelligence tool. Since I am ramping up on [Read more…]

HP ALM Performance Testing

Back in the ATL doing some training for HP ALM Performance testing.

Pretty good stuff – haven’t seen it since it was WinRunner/LoadRunner back in the day.

Getting into the fun stuff tomorrow – scripting/automation/etc – fun if you are a geek I guess, but I’ll take that.

BTW, hit me up on FB if you know anyone looking for some part time stuff over the holidays – @Daxko is trying to pick up some people. My cousin and another friend work there and I’ve known many people from there over the years..

Back to the grind… Later.

HP ALM Sprinter

Back in the HP ALM training today and going over Sprinter which is the automated testing tool for manual tests. Pretty cool functionality.

I really like the smart defect feature as a developer because you can see the exact steps the tester took to get to the defect and the screen capture, annotation, and markup will allow more information to be conveyed than just a simple “it’s broke” and “the screen doesn’t look right” or other defect language.

There is also a defect reminder that I think would be very useful when you aren’t quite sure there is a defect or you need to verify that there is something wrong… happens more than you might think.

Using the subtitles feature also gives you much more screen real estate and seems to have the most common controls readily available. Finally some features to optimize testing built in!

Here are a couple of screen shots you might find interesting.

HP ALM Sprinter Toolbox Run Control and Step Details

HP ALM Sprinter Toolbox Run Control and Step Details

HP ALM Sprinter subtitles feature

HP ALM Sprinter subtitles feature

HP ALM Sprinter Smart Defect Reminder

HP ALM Sprinter Smart Defect Reminder

HP ALM Training Class

In the ATL this week for HP ALM training.

Very interesting tool that is the evolution of the old “x..runner” apps that I used in previous positions. The focus right now is on the testing portion… I am not a tester per se, but any good developer should understand testing and any good tester should understand development.

Since I manage IT projects I have to understand the tools and options available to the teams. The tool we used prior to this one was decent, but didn’t look like it had evolved much in a decade.

HP appears to have really thought through how they implemented this product. The proof is in the pudding, but from a training perspective you can usually tell if a product is usable or if it is just bad. Nice so far. I like the full integration from requirements, testing, automation, defects and more. They don’t feel like bolted together pieces…

Here are a couple screen shots from the first day of training… much cooler stuff in the test flows and what they are calling Sprinter today, but I haven’t taken the time to screen shot anything yet. If you are interested feel free to ping me and we can discuss.

HP ALM Test Center Release Progress image

HP ALM Test Center Release Progress

HP ALM Test Center Requirements Analysis

HP ALM Test Center Requirements Analysis

HP ALM Test Center Release Master Plan

HP ALM Test Center Release Master Plan

HP ALM Test Center Requirements Analysis

HP ALM Test Center Requirements Analysis

If you have any experience with this tool and have any thought on the latest version post a comment and I’ll get back with you!

Steve Jobs and his legacy

With the news of Steve Jobs passing away it reminded me of an exercise I’ve done in different forms over the years…

Write your own legacy/eulogy/what people would say about you when you died.

Do you think Steve resigned as CEO knowing he was close to passing and realized he needed to do other things with the remainder of his life?  I would like to think the answer is no.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs Legacy


There are very few people I know who could honestly say that there isn’t much else they would have done or done differently with their lives, but Steve Jobs has got to be one of those people.

He fundamentally changed four of the largest markets of our time.  Personal computing, music players(anyone remember a walkman anymore?) and music, smart phones and tablets. 

Before you go thinking I’ve drank the apple koolaid please know that I don’t have an iphone, mac, ipad, etc.  I have an old ipod I inherited from my daughter, but that is all.  I like their products, but don’t see the cost benefit although my wife and kids have their products so I can see the benefits, just not the cost benefits in relation to other products.

What I think is the most interesting thing is that he was basically an entrepreneur and visionary who never lost the spirit even when apple became the larget company in tech/world/life.  He was able to inspire an entire corporate entity to follow him and make followers out of customers.  He was the epitome of a leader.

I guess you can add a fifth, sixth and seventh industry that he fundamentally changed…  Design/UI, Marketing, and sales as well because all of those industries/markets were handed their butts by a tech company that redefined cool.

RIP Steve!  Your legacy will live on…