This week is passing by rather more quickly than I had hoped.
Indeed, I had hoped by this time to have accomplished some significant progress on the software project I'm ostensibly leading. And much progress would've been made, were it not for the fact that the system on which the software runs is so unstable.
The better part of the week was spent merely attempting to get the software to run on the hardware platform, consisting of seventeen processor boards attached to a common VME bus. My developers have been complaining that the boards won't boot up correctly, that they seem to be interfering with one another as they are going through their initializations, so the net effect is that the "Master" processor crashes and the rest stop functioning.
After nearly a week of thrashing the system, I can now heartily agree. It will be impossible for us to continue in this manner unless we get some assistance from the low-level bus engineers. We have to find out why the boards are not cooperating.
Meanwhile, my efforts to review the code continue. It seems that most of the coding was done in a vacuum, in the dark, with two broken wrists and a sprained thumb. Or perhaps it was only that there was too much pressure to finish the software in too little time, because it is a ghastly mess of unorganized, slap-dash, oft-redundant functions and undocumented procedures which give the reviewer no idea of its purpose. Indeed, it is a miracle that the code even compiles, let alone running on hardware.
Ah! I need another week or two to finish this work, but the release is due Friday, and there will be much sadness if it is not ready to hand over to the testers on the following Tuesday.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Happy Birthday, Dear Cheryl...
Every year it seems more difficult than the last, trying to make Cheryl's birthday as much fun as Christmas, if not more so; and each year it seems that both Christmas and Cheryl's birthday are here quite before I'm ready for them.
Now that the children are a bit older, they are able to shoulder a little more of the responsibility of reminding me that "it's time to shop for Mom!" or "Wouldn't Mom love this for her birthday?" or "I don't think Mom would like that."
This year our instructions were clear. There were only two items on the list, and one of those was clearly outside the realm of childrens' cognizance (i.e. cabinetry), so the plan would be simple. A pair of house slippers. How could we go wrong?
Only when we had gone through half a dozen stores and not found the right "ones" did we realize that it was not going to be as easy as we had assumed. Apparently the ones we wanted were not in stock, or in fashion, or in the planet anymore. So we did the next best thing - off to the Dollar Store!
The girls decided that Mom would really like a picture frame (to put pictures of the girls in, of course!), and some balloons (everyone loves balloons!) and some pom-poms. Well, actually, the girls decided that Mom would like it if the girls had pom-poms to cheer her on her birthday. What Mom wouldn't want that? So we got these, and those, and some of the other as well. With all that we could buy in such a store, there was bound to be something she'd enjoy!
The boys were convinced that Mom needed more chocolate, but I dissuaded them from that. The house had been full of sweets since before Christmas, and we were still attempting to finish off all of that glorious inventory (Neugebauer chocolates must be savored slowly and carefully, so as to experience each joyous morsel).
I had been hoping to find the right slippers right up until the last moment, but it was not to be, so instead I opted for the gift card, hoping that we might be able to spend some time out shopping later this week. She's a lot of fun on a shopping trip because she usually goes out to get something and doesn't waste any time once she's found what she likes. And we always have fun browsing!
We were hoping to have a nice dinner either at the Olive Garden or the Macaroni Grill, since they are both somewhat family friendly. The kids like the simple pasta dishes at the Olive Garden, and the Macaroni Grill has paper tablecloths and crayons for their patrons. We arrived just after the peak of the dinnertime crowd, but it was still noisy and claustrophobic, and they ran out of pizza dough (?!!?), and Mary and Deborah were starting to get ear-aches, so it wasn't quite the festive meal for which we had hoped.
But when we got back home, there were roses in a beautiful vase, and cards from her loved ones, and plenty of cake (which we would save for another night); and she and the boys stayed up and watched Lord of the Rings again while the girls took their medicine and went to bed.
Now that the children are a bit older, they are able to shoulder a little more of the responsibility of reminding me that "it's time to shop for Mom!" or "Wouldn't Mom love this for her birthday?" or "I don't think Mom would like that."
This year our instructions were clear. There were only two items on the list, and one of those was clearly outside the realm of childrens' cognizance (i.e. cabinetry), so the plan would be simple. A pair of house slippers. How could we go wrong?
Only when we had gone through half a dozen stores and not found the right "ones" did we realize that it was not going to be as easy as we had assumed. Apparently the ones we wanted were not in stock, or in fashion, or in the planet anymore. So we did the next best thing - off to the Dollar Store!
The girls decided that Mom would really like a picture frame (to put pictures of the girls in, of course!), and some balloons (everyone loves balloons!) and some pom-poms. Well, actually, the girls decided that Mom would like it if the girls had pom-poms to cheer her on her birthday. What Mom wouldn't want that? So we got these, and those, and some of the other as well. With all that we could buy in such a store, there was bound to be something she'd enjoy!
The boys were convinced that Mom needed more chocolate, but I dissuaded them from that. The house had been full of sweets since before Christmas, and we were still attempting to finish off all of that glorious inventory (Neugebauer chocolates must be savored slowly and carefully, so as to experience each joyous morsel).
I had been hoping to find the right slippers right up until the last moment, but it was not to be, so instead I opted for the gift card, hoping that we might be able to spend some time out shopping later this week. She's a lot of fun on a shopping trip because she usually goes out to get something and doesn't waste any time once she's found what she likes. And we always have fun browsing!
We were hoping to have a nice dinner either at the Olive Garden or the Macaroni Grill, since they are both somewhat family friendly. The kids like the simple pasta dishes at the Olive Garden, and the Macaroni Grill has paper tablecloths and crayons for their patrons. We arrived just after the peak of the dinnertime crowd, but it was still noisy and claustrophobic, and they ran out of pizza dough (?!!?), and Mary and Deborah were starting to get ear-aches, so it wasn't quite the festive meal for which we had hoped.
But when we got back home, there were roses in a beautiful vase, and cards from her loved ones, and plenty of cake (which we would save for another night); and she and the boys stayed up and watched Lord of the Rings again while the girls took their medicine and went to bed.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
Twas the night before Christmas, and we were all watching Napolean Dynamite.
Yep, that's what we did. We'd seen it before at cousin Joyce's house, and loved it, so we bought it a few weeks or months ago, and have been waiting patiently to watch it ever since.
And we picked Christmas Eve to do it.
Weird, huh?
Well, not really. That's just the way we are. We are raising our children with Monty Python, Weird Al, Gilligan's Island, Napolean Dynamite, [Captain] Jack Sparrow, and any other odd and bizarre personalities that come down the pike, because life needs a bit of humor in it, and we like to laugh.
Can't wait to see what we watch tomorrow!
--
Yes, we also went to the Christmas Eve service at church, and we had our weekly devotional (which was the traditional reading of the Christmas Story), and we had our fancy quiche dinner. So we're not completely 'round the bend.
But we're getting there!
Yep, that's what we did. We'd seen it before at cousin Joyce's house, and loved it, so we bought it a few weeks or months ago, and have been waiting patiently to watch it ever since.
And we picked Christmas Eve to do it.
Weird, huh?
Well, not really. That's just the way we are. We are raising our children with Monty Python, Weird Al, Gilligan's Island, Napolean Dynamite, [Captain] Jack Sparrow, and any other odd and bizarre personalities that come down the pike, because life needs a bit of humor in it, and we like to laugh.
Can't wait to see what we watch tomorrow!
--
Yes, we also went to the Christmas Eve service at church, and we had our weekly devotional (which was the traditional reading of the Christmas Story), and we had our fancy quiche dinner. So we're not completely 'round the bend.
But we're getting there!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
A New Post
Pardon me for a few moments while I spout off about work-related things; it's been on my mind quite a bit lately. And, as you can tell, it has been taking up a large portion of my time.
The current project was supposed to have been completed a year or so ago, and yet here we sit in our cubes, still slaving away at the code, trying to get it done. Part of the reason for this was budgetary; a reduction in the allotted funds per year translates to a stretching out of the overall schedule. Part of the reason is technical - biting off more than we can chew, underestimating the scope of the work, jumping into the puddle and finding ourselves in water up to our necks, if not over our heads completely.
Engineers are generally bright people in search of a challenge, and tend to lose interest if they are not kept challenged, or if the work drags on and on without any sign of closure. We have lost a number of engineers due to this phenomenon; they have moved on to other, more interesting projects. The net result of this is, of course, that we have fewer engineers to do the same work. Thus my promotion to Technical Lead in another department.
I had already been the Lead for the Training and Support department, but since that department consisted of only myself, it was not considered much of a leadership role. All those who had been promised to me, to assist in the duties of providing Training and Support, were pulled away due to other, higher-priority concerns, leaving me with a huge amount of work and none but myself to accomplish it.
Such is the nature of the business.
A few weeks ago, it was brought to light that one particular individual was overburdened with too much responsibility - he had charge of two departments, both consisting of multiple engineers with complex requirements - so it was decided that half of his duties would be given to me. This, right before a major Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) with the Customer; which meant that I spent the better part of two weeks getting up to speed on the project, revising planning charts, calculating new completion dates, scouring the land for required engineers to assist, meanwhile continuing to attend to my pre-existing duties.
It has been a hectic couple of weeks. I was scrambling to get up to speed on everything, and do a lot of last-minute planning.
We survived our TIM, relatively unscathed. The customer's only concern was that any departure from our new schedule, with our current short-handed staffing, would create havoc with the schedule. My only response was, we'll deal with it when it comes.
And we are dealing with it, in our own way. Truth be told, we're in a constant state or re-planning, trying to meet impossible schedules with insufficient staff and far too many complex requirements. My team has their work cut out for them, and they're going to be working a lot of overtime.
Good thing they're mostly contractors. (That's why they get paid the Big Bucks.)
In the meantime, not only am I tasked with managing a team of overworked and cranky engineers, maintaining budget spreadsheets and progress charts, attending far too many "status" meetings (I'd have better status if it weren't for all these meetings!), and trying to keep everything going smoothly with team members who go together like nitro and glycerin, but I'm STILL trying to keep up with the User Manual updates.
Thank heaven for caffeine!
The current project was supposed to have been completed a year or so ago, and yet here we sit in our cubes, still slaving away at the code, trying to get it done. Part of the reason for this was budgetary; a reduction in the allotted funds per year translates to a stretching out of the overall schedule. Part of the reason is technical - biting off more than we can chew, underestimating the scope of the work, jumping into the puddle and finding ourselves in water up to our necks, if not over our heads completely.
Engineers are generally bright people in search of a challenge, and tend to lose interest if they are not kept challenged, or if the work drags on and on without any sign of closure. We have lost a number of engineers due to this phenomenon; they have moved on to other, more interesting projects. The net result of this is, of course, that we have fewer engineers to do the same work. Thus my promotion to Technical Lead in another department.
I had already been the Lead for the Training and Support department, but since that department consisted of only myself, it was not considered much of a leadership role. All those who had been promised to me, to assist in the duties of providing Training and Support, were pulled away due to other, higher-priority concerns, leaving me with a huge amount of work and none but myself to accomplish it.
Such is the nature of the business.
A few weeks ago, it was brought to light that one particular individual was overburdened with too much responsibility - he had charge of two departments, both consisting of multiple engineers with complex requirements - so it was decided that half of his duties would be given to me. This, right before a major Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) with the Customer; which meant that I spent the better part of two weeks getting up to speed on the project, revising planning charts, calculating new completion dates, scouring the land for required engineers to assist, meanwhile continuing to attend to my pre-existing duties.
It has been a hectic couple of weeks. I was scrambling to get up to speed on everything, and do a lot of last-minute planning.
We survived our TIM, relatively unscathed. The customer's only concern was that any departure from our new schedule, with our current short-handed staffing, would create havoc with the schedule. My only response was, we'll deal with it when it comes.
And we are dealing with it, in our own way. Truth be told, we're in a constant state or re-planning, trying to meet impossible schedules with insufficient staff and far too many complex requirements. My team has their work cut out for them, and they're going to be working a lot of overtime.
Good thing they're mostly contractors. (That's why they get paid the Big Bucks.)
In the meantime, not only am I tasked with managing a team of overworked and cranky engineers, maintaining budget spreadsheets and progress charts, attending far too many "status" meetings (I'd have better status if it weren't for all these meetings!), and trying to keep everything going smoothly with team members who go together like nitro and glycerin, but I'm STILL trying to keep up with the User Manual updates.
Thank heaven for caffeine!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
This isn't real snow...
We had a bit of a snowstorm the other day, but it wasn't quite what I'd expected, and the snow quality has rapidly dropped off due to the fact that it started out as freezing rain, so I'm planning on taking it back for a refund.
We were all looking forward to having Friday off.
The kids got up early to check the school closing information on the Internet, and waited patiently ("Refresh" "Refresh" "Refresh") until they saw what they had hoped to see - SCHOOL CLOSED - and then there were shouts and screams and laughter and all sorts of noise.
At 6:45 in the morning.
There wasn't much real snow at this point. It was merely freezing rain mixed with snow, and only minor accumulations. But the roads were slick, numerous accidents had already occurred, and the School District took the safe route and cancelled classes.
As the day progressed, the precipitation turned to snow, but there was never much of it. The total was something in the neighborhood of two inches - which Michiganders completely ignore - so there was no excuse for us "professionals"; I had to go to work.
The snow finally stopped after I'd endured several meetings, and the day dragged on and on and on through several crises, a few heated "discussions", a telecon or two, and an hour of battling the lab gremlins. Finally, after nearly everyone else had left, it was time for me to go, too.
And when I left, the snow had all turned to slush and the roads were nearly dry.
We were all looking forward to having Friday off.
The kids got up early to check the school closing information on the Internet, and waited patiently ("Refresh" "Refresh" "Refresh") until they saw what they had hoped to see - SCHOOL CLOSED - and then there were shouts and screams and laughter and all sorts of noise.
At 6:45 in the morning.
There wasn't much real snow at this point. It was merely freezing rain mixed with snow, and only minor accumulations. But the roads were slick, numerous accidents had already occurred, and the School District took the safe route and cancelled classes.
As the day progressed, the precipitation turned to snow, but there was never much of it. The total was something in the neighborhood of two inches - which Michiganders completely ignore - so there was no excuse for us "professionals"; I had to go to work.
The snow finally stopped after I'd endured several meetings, and the day dragged on and on and on through several crises, a few heated "discussions", a telecon or two, and an hour of battling the lab gremlins. Finally, after nearly everyone else had left, it was time for me to go, too.
And when I left, the snow had all turned to slush and the roads were nearly dry.
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