Wednesday July 18, 2007
Wednesday July 18, 2007 I am now working back in Managed Services but in a new group called Managed Services In-Market which seems to be quite an interesting area. I am also very busy as a member of the CEC Content review team. I always enjoy reviewing the CEC content as I find out so much about what is happening in Sun.
On a more personal level I am busy researching a new white paper, which has a working title of "The Feasibility and Desirability of running a mission critical environment entirely on Open Source". So if you have any views I would be interested in hearing from you.
Friday November 24, 2006 We have been working on services to wrap round Project Blackbox, so for those customers who may have resource as well as space issues we have a complete offering. We can provide an operations function that plugs into existing customers process and procedures or provide our own IOM type service as a stand alone function.
Where did the time go!!
So what have I been doing well it would be easier to list what I havent been doing. However, I survived my first efforts at lambing so did seven lambs, although we have subsequently butchered four of them for the freezer. We have currently borrowed a Ram from a neighbour and are expecting new editions in April 07.
The five Kune Kune pigs we purchased earlier in the year are doing well and are now full grown. We have two boars called Captain Pugwash and Badger and three sows called Brenda, Oprah and Crystal they come from two seperate blood lines and we are hoping to start piglet production after christmas.
We had a very productive year in the kitchen garden with a large amount of produce, in the fruit department we grew all our favourites strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries, plums, damsons, greengages, apples, pears, figs and grapes but we also had a go at our own melons this year, which worked pretty well. I
In the vegetable line we grew in excess of thirty varieties and have become firm converts to eating chard, the small leaves can be used in salads and the the older leaves used as a replacement for spinach. The brightly coloured stems can be chopped, parbolied and baked in a cheese sauce. And if the family leave any the pigs love them straight from the ground.
Tuesday February 21, 2006
I have just had a week off at half term which we split into two halves. The first part we spent on the small holding repairing fences, stocking up for lambing and learning about pig keeping. The second half of the holiday was a trip to Scotland including visits to distilleries and of course the obligatory sampling of whisky.
Back in December 2004 I purchased 6 ewe lambs with the proceeds of a book on "Autonomic Computing and its impact on traditional ITIL based Service Management" which was published in Japan. The ewes have mostly lived in the field with little or no intervention from us and an occasional visit from the local shepherd. However, we wanted to be much more involved in the whole process and so intend to do the lambing ourselves. The first week I spent learning how to treat foot rot in sheep and checking if all the ewes were pregnant. Well the good news is they are all expecting and we have the possibility of 3 sets of twins so all being well we could have 9 lambs. The plan (and I use the term loosely) is to fatten up the boys for slaughter and keep some of the girls for future breeding stock.
We collected the pigs the Saturaday before last and so far havent managed to kill them. We have been suprised by how friendly they are,they all rush to greet us when we appear and squeal repeatedly until we feed them. I have checked them all over carefully and brushed them with pig oil and they nearly all have names. When they all have names I will post the pictures with the names.
The second part of the week we went up to Loch Tay in Scotland the scenery was fantastic lots of waterfalls and wild animals. I did have some problems with the food but I am coeliac (gluten intolerance) and it can be tough eating out at times. We did drive 20 miles on the Friday trying to find somewhere I could eat. We stopped at three villages and checked out 8 or 9 menus before we found somewhere I could eat. So if you like bread,cakes and pies you will do well in Scotland.
But, you do have to admire the scots, when the farmers got bored in the winter they used to form co-operatives to make whisky for the community. These small local stills are now illegal but they have left an indelible mark on the countryside. I can definitely recommend a visit to the Edradour Distillery, it is a small traditionally run distillery producing 15 barrels of whisky a week the same way is has done since 1825.
So I was wondering why did the English never do the same?
Back in December 2004 I purchased 6 ewe lambs with the proceeds of a book on "Autonomic Computing and its impact on traditional ITIL based Service Management" which was published in Japan. The ewes have mostly lived in the field with little or no intervention from us and an occasional visit from the local shepherd. However, we wanted to be much more involved in the whole process and so intend to do the lambing ourselves. The first week I spent learning how to treat foot rot in sheep and checking if all the ewes were pregnant. Well the good news is they are all expecting and we have the possibility of 3 sets of twins so all being well we could have 9 lambs. The plan (and I use the term loosely) is to fatten up the boys for slaughter and keep some of the girls for future breeding stock.
We collected the pigs the Saturaday before last and so far havent managed to kill them. We have been suprised by how friendly they are,they all rush to greet us when we appear and squeal repeatedly until we feed them. I have checked them all over carefully and brushed them with pig oil and they nearly all have names. When they all have names I will post the pictures with the names.
The second part of the week we went up to Loch Tay in Scotland the scenery was fantastic lots of waterfalls and wild animals. I did have some problems with the food but I am coeliac (gluten intolerance) and it can be tough eating out at times. We did drive 20 miles on the Friday trying to find somewhere I could eat. We stopped at three villages and checked out 8 or 9 menus before we found somewhere I could eat. So if you like bread,cakes and pies you will do well in Scotland.
But, you do have to admire the scots, when the farmers got bored in the winter they used to form co-operatives to make whisky for the community. These small local stills are now illegal but they have left an indelible mark on the countryside. I can definitely recommend a visit to the Edradour Distillery, it is a small traditionally run distillery producing 15 barrels of whisky a week the same way is has done since 1825.
So I was wondering why did the English never do the same?
Tuesday February 07, 2006
We had a plan my husband and I, that within 10 years we would move fromour townhouse in Bolton to our dream home. This would be a small farm where we would grow all own food vegetables & fruit, meat & poultry.
Well year six arrived and we had the money, so we started to hunt for "the dream house". We eventually found a Victorian Farmhouse with 3 acres in a rural location in Somerset with the essential broadband available. Well rural life is fine but there are some minimum standards!
That was just over two years ago and we have discovered many things,not least about ourselves.
Last autumn I had what I thought was a really good idea, as a family (I have two sons) we would plant an orchard. I had visions of sitting beneath the trees with the chickens scatching around and the beehives in the corner. I carefully researched fruit trees and selected apples (eating and cooking), pears, plums and cherries. Well we sectioned off part of the paddock, moved the ducks, geese and chickens into the "would be" orchard area.
The day came for the planting and it was raining, well my oldest son Phillip went out because roller blading was more interesting that digging holes in the rain. My youngest son Garion informed me he was "an indoor boy" and promptly went into the media room to play Masters of Orion.So my husband and I went out and planted the trees in the rain, when we had finished I felt that we had started to really stamp our mark on the place and imagined what it would be like fully grown.
The following week, the weather was worse but I went up to feed the chickens, as I got nearer something didnt look right, the sheep had broken down the fence and were eating the fruit trees. I chased them all away and tried to repair the fence. The following day it was obvious they had got through again, but as I got nearer I could'nt see any of the birds. A fox had got in as well, so I was stood in the rain looking around my dream orchard at the devastation. The fox had killed all the birds, 3 geese, 6 ducks and 12 chickens and the sheep had eaten the fruit trees and trampled the fence.
Since then we have learnt alot about fencing, the orchard has been replanted and we have a new henhouse and run that is totally enclosed.The sheep are all pregnant (I hope) and due at the begining of March.We had a very sucessful year with the vegetables and fruit, I even made 26lb of Raspberry Jam.
Saturaday we are expecting some new editions. I have purchased 5 Kune Kune piglets. I have visions of............
Well year six arrived and we had the money, so we started to hunt for "the dream house". We eventually found a Victorian Farmhouse with 3 acres in a rural location in Somerset with the essential broadband available. Well rural life is fine but there are some minimum standards!
That was just over two years ago and we have discovered many things,not least about ourselves.
Last autumn I had what I thought was a really good idea, as a family (I have two sons) we would plant an orchard. I had visions of sitting beneath the trees with the chickens scatching around and the beehives in the corner. I carefully researched fruit trees and selected apples (eating and cooking), pears, plums and cherries. Well we sectioned off part of the paddock, moved the ducks, geese and chickens into the "would be" orchard area.
The day came for the planting and it was raining, well my oldest son Phillip went out because roller blading was more interesting that digging holes in the rain. My youngest son Garion informed me he was "an indoor boy" and promptly went into the media room to play Masters of Orion.So my husband and I went out and planted the trees in the rain, when we had finished I felt that we had started to really stamp our mark on the place and imagined what it would be like fully grown.
The following week, the weather was worse but I went up to feed the chickens, as I got nearer something didnt look right, the sheep had broken down the fence and were eating the fruit trees. I chased them all away and tried to repair the fence. The following day it was obvious they had got through again, but as I got nearer I could'nt see any of the birds. A fox had got in as well, so I was stood in the rain looking around my dream orchard at the devastation. The fox had killed all the birds, 3 geese, 6 ducks and 12 chickens and the sheep had eaten the fruit trees and trampled the fence.
Since then we have learnt alot about fencing, the orchard has been replanted and we have a new henhouse and run that is totally enclosed.The sheep are all pregnant (I hope) and due at the begining of March.We had a very sucessful year with the vegetables and fruit, I even made 26lb of Raspberry Jam.
Saturaday we are expecting some new editions. I have purchased 5 Kune Kune piglets. I have visions of............
Monday February 06, 2006
Best Practice is "good working
practice that has been proven to work based on results that can be
measured", according to the CCTA. It also gives
the customers and the providers of IT a
common understanding and perhaps more importantly a common vocabulary
when talking about IT provision which is increasingly important where a
number of partners and/or providers have to work
together.
Well currently there are many options you can choose from; ITIL, BS15000, ISO20000, cobIT, ISO17799, eTOM, ISO9000:2000, CMMI, etc. Then if you add to that the regulatory and legal requirements; SOX, HIPPA, CFR21 Part 11, DPA, BASELII
Certification in many of these standards by itself does not appear to be of great benefit, the benfits can only be gained from really buying in to the ethos of process improvement.
I personally believe that ITIL used as it was intended as a framework can provide guidance to enable most of the problems encountered to be solved. However hard it may prove process improvement is not a choice Forrester estimate that 30% of $1bn+ companies are experimenting with ITIL alone with approx 13% having fully implemented it. IT by itself is no longer the differentiator it once was. Cost constraints around IT budgets mean that more and more companies are looking to maximise their IT investment using process optimization and continuous improvement over hardware and software spend.
Well currently there are many options you can choose from; ITIL, BS15000, ISO20000, cobIT, ISO17799, eTOM, ISO9000:2000, CMMI, etc. Then if you add to that the regulatory and legal requirements; SOX, HIPPA, CFR21 Part 11, DPA, BASELII
Certification in many of these standards by itself does not appear to be of great benefit, the benfits can only be gained from really buying in to the ethos of process improvement.
I personally believe that ITIL used as it was intended as a framework can provide guidance to enable most of the problems encountered to be solved. However hard it may prove process improvement is not a choice Forrester estimate that 30% of $1bn+ companies are experimenting with ITIL alone with approx 13% having fully implemented it. IT by itself is no longer the differentiator it once was. Cost constraints around IT budgets mean that more and more companies are looking to maximise their IT investment using process optimization and continuous improvement over hardware and software spend.
Do we need Consultants?
Do we do
services, well what do we mean by a service, according to the English
Oxford Dictionary service
means the act of helping or doing
work for another or for a community etc. So by definition an IT
service can be anything that helps an individual or a group, whether
that is automated via technology or provided by IT consultants. I have
spent a number of years as a consultant and have come to the conclusion
that whilst technology has matured and can undertake more and more
complex tasks the methods and toolsets available to consultants have
not changed much and neither has the customer.
Twenty years ago I was reviewing customers IT processes to enable a baseline to be produced from which to measure their service improvement process, last year I was doing the same.
Does that mean we haven't moved on? I think not! Technology is significantly more complex, the problems it solves are more varied and its impact on everyday life more considerably, from our mobile phones and MP3 players through to our GPS systems. What has remained the same is the customers and the consultants, people are not changing as fast as technology, in fact adapting our toolsets and environment means as a species we are less and less likely to evolve. No matter how automated a process and how reliable the infrastructure people will always need 3rd party objective measurement to show that:
Twenty years ago I was reviewing customers IT processes to enable a baseline to be produced from which to measure their service improvement process, last year I was doing the same.
Does that mean we haven't moved on? I think not! Technology is significantly more complex, the problems it solves are more varied and its impact on everyday life more considerably, from our mobile phones and MP3 players through to our GPS systems. What has remained the same is the customers and the consultants, people are not changing as fast as technology, in fact adapting our toolsets and environment means as a species we are less and less likely to evolve. No matter how automated a process and how reliable the infrastructure people will always need 3rd party objective measurement to show that:
- they are managing the IT the best way,
- they are better than their competitors,
- they are getting the expected return on their investment
- they are world class
Friday February 03, 2006 I have been asked by many people both inside and outside of Sun whether
or not I blog I normally come up with one of two excuses "I dont have
the time" and "I dont have opinions".
Well firstly I figure if Jonathan and Scott can make the time, I should be able to and secondly anyone who knows me knows I am not short of opinions nor the ability to voice them!!
So what will I blog about, what do I care about!
I have old-fashioned ethics, I want to do the best job I can with everything I do. I want Sun to be the best it can be (and better). This quest for "the best" has lead me to an unnatural interest in Industry Standards and best practice; ITIL, cobIT, BS15000, ISO20000, ISO17799, ISO9000:2000 to name a few. So no surprise I have set up a category for Best Practice and intend to talk about the relative merits or otherwise of different industry standards.
I have spent most of my career as a consultant of one type or another and feel strongly about providing real solutions to customers business problems. So I have set up an IT Consulting category.
I have also set up a Personal category as I know many people are interested in my quite unusual life style........more on that later.
Well firstly I figure if Jonathan and Scott can make the time, I should be able to and secondly anyone who knows me knows I am not short of opinions nor the ability to voice them!!
So what will I blog about, what do I care about!
I have old-fashioned ethics, I want to do the best job I can with everything I do. I want Sun to be the best it can be (and better). This quest for "the best" has lead me to an unnatural interest in Industry Standards and best practice; ITIL, cobIT, BS15000, ISO20000, ISO17799, ISO9000:2000 to name a few. So no surprise I have set up a category for Best Practice and intend to talk about the relative merits or otherwise of different industry standards.
I have spent most of my career as a consultant of one type or another and feel strongly about providing real solutions to customers business problems. So I have set up an IT Consulting category.
I have also set up a Personal category as I know many people are interested in my quite unusual life style........more on that later.