Clarke Ching's Rocks and Snowballs

Kanban and Lean conference in Miami

I like the stuff coming out of the kanban software development, ah, "movement".  Given it's TOC heritage it is much closer to my own version of agile.  I don't like all the petty politics and not-so-petty commercial posturing that goes on within the Agile community though and the Kanban, ah, "movement" seems to have stirred that side of things up a bit more than was probably strictly necessary.

That said, the lean kanban conference conference should be superb.  Don Reinertson, one of my long time heroes, is lined up to speak.  I won't be going because, frankly, I already know everything about everything and ... only kidding, I'd go if it were in Scotland, but I don't actually  enjoy going to conferences and I don't like traveling all that much.  It's in Miami.  Besides I've read enough Carl Hiaasen to know that I'm the sort of person who'd probably go to Miami and be eaten by an alligator.

How can an MP3 player save your life?

You're a skier, your lost on a hill, your phone battery has just died and your rescuers can't find you.  Your mp3 player still works. [something happens involving your mp3 player].  You survive!

sugarsynch

I use sugarsynch to back up my files and stuff. It got great reviews when it first lauched ... but it's a pile of shite. There is a possibility that I'm thick and it is really good, but I do find it terribly confusing to use, despite it's apparantly simple interface.

It pisses me off several times a week and I'm quite sure I'm going to dump it.

gift voucher!

Amazon.co.uk just sent me a £0.13 gift voucher. It's valid for a year so I'll probably not spend it straight away.

As one wit said

"Being certain is nice, but it's doubt that gets you an education."

Dan Gilbert at TED

Dan Gilbert wrote a wonderful book called Stumbling on Happiness ... which I never read all the way through.  The essence of the book is that we -  people - aren't very good at figuring out what will make us happy.

You can save yourself some time and some money, and make yourself quite happy by watching him speak at the ted conference, for free:

Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness -- sharing some surprising tests and experiments that you can also try on yourself. Watch through to the end for a sparkling Q&A with some familiar TED faces.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_researches_happiness.html

'tis a good investment of 30 minutes.

Santa is nearly here ...

My wife spent the evening wrapping gifts for the two chinglings.

The oldest daughter (or should that be eldest?) put out a plate of stuff for santa and the reindeer - two carrots, a cup of milk, a couple of clementines. 

We're off to bed now and my lovely wife has just drunk the milk, put one of the carrots back in the cupboard under the sink where we keep the root veges and taken a good solid bite out of the other one (it now looks just like one the reindeer did it). 

I ate the clementines.

I also offered to take a reindeer sized dump in the back garden to add to the "authenticity" of our ruse, but my offer was declined.  Oh well. I'm trying to get into the christmas rythm ...

Co-opetition

I'm reading co-opetition (which is the somethingerater of competition and co-operation) by Nalebuff and Brandenburger.

Its about using game theory in business and life. You could call it win-win thinking I suppose. I'm thinking of it as "the toc way" or, as Bob Billington from new book might put it "I tried to figure out how I could get what I want by getting them what they want".

'Tis a good book.

Here's a thought paraphrased from the book: creating value is inherently co-operative, capturing value is inherently competitive.

A few pages on: Suppliers to the car industry haven't forgotten compliments, either. Until tire manufacturers figure out a way to add a fifth wheel to a car, there's really only one way for them to boost sales, and that's to whet people's appetite to drive. That's why the French maker of Michelin sells the Michelin guidebooks. These guidebooks don't give the shortest route, they make sure to point out the longer scenic routes as well. It encourages travelers to keep moving, to wear down those tires.

Fascinating book.

Sent using my BlackBerry Bold - the thinking man's iphone. www.clarkeching.com +44(0)7920114893 Clarke Ching - Author of "Rolling Rocks Downhill" ... a business novel about software development; coming soon from the Pragmatic Bookshelf.

Santa's email

The kids behaviour has improved dramatically since it leaked that I have Santa's email address.
Sent using my BlackBerry Bold - the thinking man's iphone. www.clarkeching.com +44(0)7920114893 Clarke Ching - Author of "Rolling Rocks Downhill" ... a business novel about software development; coming soon from the Pragmatic Bookshelf.

vba help?

My good friend and fellow Kiwi Kelvyn Youngman has developed a really nice little TOC "dice" simulation - if you've read the goal then you'll know what I mean.  He built it in excel using VBA.

He has one little technical problem that I used to know how to fix - once upon a time - but I can't know. I'm wondering if just one of you out there can remember enough VB or VBA to help out.  It should only take a minute!

The problem is this:

• Kelvyn's VBA code moves the cursor around the screen as it recalculates values 
• Although the cursor moves very quickly you can still see the movement
• The cursor moves from right to left ... but the simulation is meant to move from left to right.  So, even though it's a minor cosmetic thing, it sends the brain every-so-slightly mixed messages

So, in the old days, there used to be a way to turn screen refresh/drawing off and on.  (I can't think of the correct words otherwise I could have googled a solution.)

Can you help with a tiny snippet of VBA code or a link?