[Last updated Oct 2, 2010] All items here are either Stokely Consulting's own opinions, or the works of others we strongly agree with.
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Some of our favorite sayings, truths learned from experience:
As Bad as It Gets: Superbly written list of all the things you can do to make sure your project gets completely screwed up. Written by Frank Hayes, published in Computerworld. Business Model Tutorial: It's critical to get a good business model of your software application (What are the business requirements of the software?) before you create a technical model (How does the software function to meet the business requirements?). Creating a good business model is what you do before you create that great UML model, and both are big parts of Stokely Consulting's business. Cecilie Hoffman's tutorial explains the process. Many business never figure out when a project is doomed, nor how to deal with it. These projects are often called "dead horses". Interested in a dead horse business venture? is a funny piece showing the ways some places deal with their dead horse projects. Stokely Consulting's Golden Rules of Consulting, the rules we work by and wish other consultants would work by. Stokely Consulting's Breadth of Vision - A Key to Successful Consulting Being Your Own Boss seminar given by Celeste Stokely at LISA '96 (Chicago, IL, Sept-Oct 1996). This talk covers Stokely Consulting's view of what it takes for you to become a successful independent System Administration consultant. Slides and speaker notes in PDF format (47K bytes). |
Three Corporate Lessons: Lesson 2: A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree. Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there. Lesson 3: A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold that the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!
Morals of these lessons: |
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After a long, hard day of convincing computers to do your will, take a low-tech comfort break with good food. All these recipes are easy to make, even for novice cooks. Mississippi Cornbread is a salty, satisfying, soul food recipe the webmistress grew up with. Mexican Chocolate Brownies give a Mexican cinnamon twist to deep chocolate, chewy brownies. Lazy Cook's Guacamole celebrates the avocado, pairing it with your favorite excellent salsa. |
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On being a webmistress where our webmistress gets to share the joy and to blow off steam about the pains of the job. The Internet: From Here to Ubiquity - Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt's excellent speech to the IEEE Symposium on Hot Chips, August 28, 1997. Read his knowledgeable and entertaining view of what we as a nation and global community need to do to get the Internet out of its current "2 tin cans and a string" era. The computer mouse was invented by Doug Englebart of Stanford Research in 1967, and modern computing owes much to Mr. Englebart's genius. See this historic U.S. Patent 3,541,541 X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System, issued in 1970. |
The Egoless Admin teaches 5 simple, excellent rules to system administrators: 1. Remember, it's not about you. 2. Shut up and listen. 3. Focus on actions. 4. Get out of the way. 5. Always give them something to do. By Ross Lonstein. Giving good report, or, I keep doing work, why do they keep yelling at me? explains how techies can establish good communication with management, and why it's a very good idea to do so. Good communication can make your work much easier. By Richard Threadgill. SAGE Code of Ethics is a set of ethics guidlines for system administrators. Extremely well-written! |
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Watch your thoughts; they become words. |
The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. |
by Lame Mango Washington Attributed to Memphis Earlene Gray with help from Uncle Plunky, revisions by Little Blind Patti D. and Dr. Stevie Franklin
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Stokely Consulting, http://www.stokely.com |
Enough is enough. Vote Libertarian if you believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility, a free-market economy, and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade. |