Bike riding on campus, still

Bike riding in buildings
On April 18, 2008 I took the photo above of an SJSU faculty member to see the rest of the story on this; see this post on my union blog.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

What our Lotus Domino Server meant to say this morning

Our soon to be unplugged Lotus Domino server sent a message to each faculty and staff employee at SJSU this morning that said:

This account has been scheduled for termination after [future date].

Later our University Technology Services team sent a message to techs at SJSU this morning that said:

These deletion notices may be disregarded. They were sent by a legacy email support system that is failing. The condition that triggered these deliveries has been cleared and the agent that sends the notifications has been disabled.

What the Domino server really meant to say was:

I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you.

Opinion: Embrace your whiners

I am a liberal, a democrat and a union steward.
So, you can imagine; I have been called a whiner many, many times. I consider it a compliment. That's a big reason I blog. Blogs can be great places to whine.
Many people are afraid of confrontation. They will remain silent even when they see problems. In my opinion a strong organization is one that confronts problems. But, how does an organization know it has a problem? It embraces its whiners.
The whiners are your canaries in the coal mine, your first line of alert. So, if you call me a whiner don't be surprised if I say, "why thank you."
Organizations who recognize the value of whiners and provide them with a venue; have a lot to gain. Even if the whiners are only right ten percent of the time, you want to know that ten percent! Those who don't, risk finding much harsher critics; their customers.

On the Federal Budget Mess of 2011

Politics - I have an opinion blog where I post my opinions on many things including politics. You can post comments there as well. If you really want to read my personal political opinion, it is here!
If you disagree and get steamed, remember by clicking on this link you have chosen to read my opinion!

Opinion: Criticism is good

In my opinion no matter what kind of organization it is, a university, another type of organization or a nation; criticism is a good thing. It means people care. Care should to be taken by critics to criticize the process, not the person. Critics and leaders should try to check their egos at the door. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and are entitled to voice their opinion. Critics and leaders are advised to not imply malice without very, very strong evidence. Leaders in an organization that is the subject of criticism should not take criticism personal. It is not personal and it does not mean your efforts are not appreciated. All criticism means is that somebody thinks something should be different. Hey, the critic may be wrong! But, at least give the idea some consideration. At least the critic cares enough to voice an opinion. That is a good thing. Sometimes, I know rarely, it is possible the critic may be right. A little thick skin is recommended for all involved. Today's critic may be tomorrows leader, or not.

Mammoth Microsoft Patch Coming

According to a post by Gregg Keizer of Computerworld on April 7 the patches to be released on Tuesday April 12 will tie Microsoft's record for the number of posts. Keizer said:

Microsoft today said it will patch a record 64 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, Windows graphics framework, and other software next week, and tie a December 2010 record for the number of security updates it issues.

SJSU Windows system administrators and others with computers running Windows should be aware this is coming.