Friday May 20, 2005
Last night I took my seven year old son and my four year old daugther to
see Star Wars. Before handing me the "Bad Parent Award", I must say that
my little guy has a strong sense of real and pretend and that he has
seen all of the other Star Wars movies about 50 times each.
I was quite pleased that my daugther was sleepy for the 6:30pm movie.
She really didn't make it much more than 30 minutes into the movie
(which after 30 minutes of previews) is about her bedtime anyway. (We
couldn't find a babysitter if you really must know.)
My son really enjoyed the GREAT movie. Lucas Arts did a great job and as
with all the other StarWars, there is no human blood and gore that could
so easily have made it into the movie. If only Disney could exercise the
same restraint... Anyway. Do know that they was tons of implied violence
that in your minds eye, the adults knew what was happening, but I think
that kids don't process information in the same way.
The movie for adults and fans of StarWars was great. If your kids are
fans of the series and can understand the difference between reality and
movies, do take them. Keep in mind that the screens when Darth Vader is
fighting in the lava fields, that at the end of that, it is pretty
graphic, but at that point he is a bad guy and the good guy won that
battle. So for kids, all is well.
Thought I would share. My sons favorite part was Yoda taking out the
Emperors Guards.
Friday May 20, 2005
Sun has a great program called IWork and I'm part of the Work From Home
project. So to the non Sun folks, I don't have a Sun office, there isn't
the name Scott Jolly hanging on any doors in any building. Sun saves
tons of $$$ on facilities, hardware, parking, etc. and I have a great
quality of life with no commute and no worry of "did I wear that the
last time I saw Paul and his team".
This program is totally an employee trust issue. I would say that WFH
folks are probably more productive than the traditional crowd at Sun. We
aren't distracted with a commute, the NCAA basketball pool, deciding
where all 5 of us want to go for lunch (those are fun aren't they -
deciding where a group of people is going to eat?), etc. I'm on concalls
and doing other stuff at the same time.
Some keys to being out of the office, ie Remote. Be available thru many
different delivery channels, phone, email, Instant Messanger (IM). I
have 2 phone lines at home. The house phone and the one in my office
that only rings in my office. The office line is only for my office,
none of my friends and family know or use it. I also have BOTH DSL and
cable modem internet service. I would rather pay an extra $50 per month
than have someone say, "Scott's DSL is out AGAIN"... That is not the
image that you want to give if your smiling face isn't seen all the time.
Another office key is checking email often and answering the phone... I
usually come up to my office early morning and check email. This is pre
breakfast and before getting the kids ready for school. It is a quick
scan to see if something needs action ASAP. I also usually check after
the little ones go to bed. Again, not a major production, just a look
and see for important email. I (now) make it a habit to try NOT to do
big work after 8:30pm or so... I would certainly trade to no commute for
a few peeks at email.
I will post more Home Office tips over the next few days/weeks. I've
worked for several different groups within Sun over the past 4 years and
have been working remotely since leaving Silicon Valley with great
success, if I do say so myself.
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