This morning I went hiking to the fantastic Eagle Lake (seen here) just off Lake Tahoe in California, and then attempted to get up to Velma Lake and Dicks Lake, but was beaten by nature as the trail was covered in snow beyond 7600 feet.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Farewell Dinner at Bathers' Pavilion, Balmoral Beach
Quail for entree, Barramundi for main, Strawberry and Rhuburb for dessert, all washed down with a 10yr old Pepper Tree Grand Reserve Cab Sav. Nice!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
James Gardner writes a letter to the Architects
"Dear Architect,
...we don't think we should have to pay for a "business process management" platform or implement "service orientation" so that future propositions that might come along have lower costs. If you want to build out "cool" architecture, you must find your own way to fund the bits and pieces that you need, rather than loading us up with costs."
The full letter can be found on James' blog.
Such is the dilemma of the way computer systems are designed and built in the corporate environment. An effective architect in a corporate environment needs to be forward thinking, yet practical and aware of cost and time pressures that their "customer" faces.
In my experience, effective architecture involves laying out a roadmap for technology choices, integration platforms, services orientation, etc, etc, and then spending a significant amount of time lobbying business users, other IT stakeholders, project and program boards, and C-level management for endorsement of that architectural roadmap.
It's a game of two steps forward, one step backwards, two steps forward. Some business systems projects will still need to go tactical, but as long as they go tactical with the support and understanding of the architects, then plans can be put in place to bring those systems back onto the architectural roadmap when the funding and/or time allows.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Bitter harvest for agri schemes
[the australian] "AUSTRALIA'S managed investment scheme industry was dealt a crushing blow yesterday with the collapse of the biggest agribusiness investment company, Great Southern.
...
"One of the big red flags for agricultural managed investment schemes was the amount of money they had to pay advisers in order to promote their products," Australian Shareholders Association chief executive Stuart Wilson said last night. "There has always been some concern about the tax breaks provided for investors in these schemes and it brought into question whether they were really sustainable over the long term ... and now that two substantial schemes of managers have gone under, it leads us to believe that those who were the pessimists may actually have been right."
My accountant kept trying to push this tax break scheme onto me for years, but I kept saying no and eventually switched to another accountant who actually focused on getting the tax return right rather than trying to cross-sell this high-commission / low-return investment product.
The ultimate 2009 UK music festival map
[TimesOnline] "From the big-name festivals like Glastonbury and Isle of Wight, to the more intimate affairs of Wychwood and The Green Man, right through to the summer's opera must-sees at Glyndebourne, we've researched more than 60 festivals and brought them together on one handy map."
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Betting on the house
[smh] "Think house prices here are going to fall? Soon you'll be able to short-sell Sydney housing, by taking out a derivative contract based on indices compiled by Rismark/RPData and quoted daily on the sharemarket."
Now this is an interesting concept, a way to get some exposure to the property market (either on the long or the short side), without have to take on a massive mortgage.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Star Trek (2009)
J.J. Abrams reboots the Star Trek franchise. Impressive cinematography. Great new (young) cast playing the roles of Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov in a alternate Star Trek universe this is fun, well-conceived, and action paced.
9 / 10
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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