Kyle has emailed me multiple invitations to contribute to his blog, and he keeps asking me when I will do it, so I guess I will try today. I don't have much to say. I am just busy trying to keep up with everyone.
My big breakthrough this week was going grocery shopping with the three children home during the day. (Kyle has been handling that since Erica was born.) I have been worried about how to manage both Erica and Paul and still have room in the cart for the groceries. Paul is simply too young to walk (I would spend the whole time chasing him), so he has to be strapped into the seat. If I'm just getting a few things, I could put Erica's car seat in the cart, but that doesn't leave enough room for a week's worth of groceries for a family of seven. So Monday morning after the girls went to school, I fed Erica, made a quick list, got the boys ready, and headed off to Wal-Mart. By the time we got there, Erica was looking drowsy. I put her in the Snugli and headed inside. She quickly went to sleep in the Snugli, Paul happily rode in the shopping cart while he practiced putting the cap of a pen on and off, and Joshua helped put the cans in the cart. I even spent some time going through the clothing clearance racks and found some things for the kids. A successful shopping trip!
Actually, the grocery shopping problem illustrates the hardest adjustment to Erica's birth -- Paul's young age. Paul and Erica are only 16 1/2 months apart (the next closest are Megan and Josh, and they are 23 months apart), so I can't do things the same way as I did with the others. Previously, I would have had the next youngest walk at the grocery store, but now that doesn't work. Church also presents some challenges. Paul can now officially go to nursery, but he isn't happy there without me or Kyle because he is not familiar with the people. So either Kyle or I am in nursery with Paul, and the other one has Erica. Add in trying to fulfill our callings for Kyle in Elders' Quorum and me to play the piano in Primary, and we are constantly juggling. No wonder Brittany, Megan, and Josh sometimes feel like they don't get any attention. Actually, it is a good thing that they are so willing to help. Whether it is holding Erica, helping Paul get something, or just waiting for their turn, I am grateful for all their help. Brittany has even been helping Paul get his breakfast, since the two of them are usually the first ones up in the morning.
Despite the necessary adjustments, I am glad to have Erica, and Paul, and Joshua, and Megan, and Brittany. Each one enriches our lives and our family.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
http://www.mrpicassohead.com
Check out this funny site...I got a kick out of making my own Mr Picasso Head picture. There are some real time wasters out there. ;->
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Megan's art
I have a hard time believing that this picture was drawn by a child in kindergarten! I think we have a budding artist!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Software or Hardware
Often when I introduce myself to someone else, people ask about what I do for a living. More often than not, I don't think the people I am talking with have any clue about what I really do, especially
when I say that I work in "Business Intelligence." So more often than not, I just say, I work in IT (Information Technology) or I work with computers. While these statements are true, the connotation is far from the truth.
I think that most people would say that someone who works in IT spends their day in a cold server room fiddling around with servers or typing code all day or working behind the scenes of a computer network. When I really started looking into IT I had to decide whether I wanted to get into the hardware side or the software side. At one point I studied for and took one of the two exams to become A+ certified (a test about all of the parts and components of computers, printers, networks,
etc). I learned a ton about the different components of a computer. But I also learned that I really don't like dealing with the hardware (except as a hobby) side of IT. So I turned to software.
As I continued to feel around the software side of things, I discovered the many different kinds of opportunities. I had to decide. What part of the software side of IT do I want to work in?
I didn't want to be stuck managing systems or performing system maintenance. I did not want to be a system administrator. In large part I found that I understand how business practices can benefit from technology. The year I spent as a consultant taught me that my greatest talents are found in system design. Had I remained in my job as a consultant, much of my time would have been spent on projects analyzing and designing systems. A quasi IT position, a skill looked down upon by many in IT (including my current employer) but I've never considered myself an all-out techno-geek. I think it is best stated that I am a systems designer or business analyst at heart (who happens to be in a job which is a system administrator role! -- anyone know of a job opening? ;->).
The next question I needed to answer was what kind of systems do I want to work with. Someone I attended school with was starting his own gaming company. Another enjoyed coding operating systems and database systems. There are other systems in marketing, human resources, finance, web systems, database systems, and many more. Lucky for me I was able to answer the question early in my search. I found the concept of Business Intelligence systems early in my graduate studies and knew it was for me.
Business Intelligence is an interesting term. Most businesses aren't that intelligent. And most business systems aren't either. Historically this term was branded as Executive Support Systems, Decision Support Systems and in early mainframe applications as reporting systems. Early systems were developed to print everything from your monthly phone bill to the month end finance report. A Wikipedia article defines business intelligence as "a set of concepts and methods to improve business decision making by using fact-based support systems."
For simplicity sake, BI comes in three flavors: (1) reports, (2) data analysis tools, and (3) dashboards.
Reports come in many shapes and sizes. In the past they were generally printed out. Today, they are just as often saved in PDF
or HTML files. Every bill you received last month was printed by some type of BI system. Your paycheck was likely printed by a financial or HR reporting system. Think of reports as static data. Once they are created they don't change.
Reporting systems evolved into data analysis tools. Reports were static snapshots of data, analysis reports are powerful interactive query and analysis reporting tools. Combined with well designed reporting data marts (or databases designed for reporting and analysis) these tools allow users to drill in and out, up and down through data sets to look for useful information which answers specific business questions. Well designed BI analysis reports/systems are designed by carefully analyzing business processes and placing only the needed information in the data marts.
Finally, the image shown here is a decent example of a dashboard. A dashboard is generally intended as a summary of data. Dashboards are intended for upper management types and those who need to see the overview of what is happening within the organization. Many times they use "stop-lighting" [the art of turning things red, yellow, or green depending on their status] or graphics to indicate the status of a component of the organization. The dashboard usually allows the user to perform some drilling into summarized details. These systems rarely have detailed data. The dashboard is a one-stop shop for how the business is doing.
So today, I have about four years experience all three types of reports mentioned above. I have spent most of the past four years working with Hyperion BI tools (recently purchased by Oracle). I am currently working mostly as a Hyperion system administrator, but I also build reports, teach/mentor new report creators, create dashboards, and generally do everything related to Hyperion/Oracle's System 9 BI+ reporting system.
Well, I never intended for this blog to be so long. If you made it to this last paragraph, thank you. I want to give a challenge. Please let me know what you think I do for a living. Help me create a new "introduction."
Hyperion - (Greek mythology) a Titan who was the son of Gaea and Uranus and the father of Helios and Selene and Eos in ancient mythology
when I say that I work in "Business Intelligence." So more often than not, I just say, I work in IT (Information Technology) or I work with computers. While these statements are true, the connotation is far from the truth.I think that most people would say that someone who works in IT spends their day in a cold server room fiddling around with servers or typing code all day or working behind the scenes of a computer network. When I really started looking into IT I had to decide whether I wanted to get into the hardware side or the software side. At one point I studied for and took one of the two exams to become A+ certified (a test about all of the parts and components of computers, printers, networks,
etc). I learned a ton about the different components of a computer. But I also learned that I really don't like dealing with the hardware (except as a hobby) side of IT. So I turned to software.As I continued to feel around the software side of things, I discovered the many different kinds of opportunities. I had to decide. What part of the software side of IT do I want to work in?
I didn't want to be stuck managing systems or performing system maintenance. I did not want to be a system administrator. In large part I found that I understand how business practices can benefit from technology. The year I spent as a consultant taught me that my greatest talents are found in system design. Had I remained in my job as a consultant, much of my time would have been spent on projects analyzing and designing systems. A quasi IT position, a skill looked down upon by many in IT (including my current employer) but I've never considered myself an all-out techno-geek. I think it is best stated that I am a systems designer or business analyst at heart (who happens to be in a job which is a system administrator role! -- anyone know of a job opening? ;->).
The next question I needed to answer was what kind of systems do I want to work with. Someone I attended school with was starting his own gaming company. Another enjoyed coding operating systems and database systems. There are other systems in marketing, human resources, finance, web systems, database systems, and many more. Lucky for me I was able to answer the question early in my search. I found the concept of Business Intelligence systems early in my graduate studies and knew it was for me.
Business Intelligence is an interesting term. Most businesses aren't that intelligent. And most business systems aren't either. Historically this term was branded as Executive Support Systems, Decision Support Systems and in early mainframe applications as reporting systems. Early systems were developed to print everything from your monthly phone bill to the month end finance report. A Wikipedia article defines business intelligence as "a set of concepts and methods to improve business decision making by using fact-based support systems."
For simplicity sake, BI comes in three flavors: (1) reports, (2) data analysis tools, and (3) dashboards.
Reports come in many shapes and sizes. In the past they were generally printed out. Today, they are just as often saved in PDF
or HTML files. Every bill you received last month was printed by some type of BI system. Your paycheck was likely printed by a financial or HR reporting system. Think of reports as static data. Once they are created they don't change.Reporting systems evolved into data analysis tools. Reports were static snapshots of data, analysis reports are powerful interactive query and analysis reporting tools. Combined with well designed reporting data marts (or databases designed for reporting and analysis) these tools allow users to drill in and out, up and down through data sets to look for useful information which answers specific business questions. Well designed BI analysis reports/systems are designed by carefully analyzing business processes and placing only the needed information in the data marts.
Finally, the image shown here is a decent example of a dashboard. A dashboard is generally intended as a summary of data. Dashboards are intended for upper management types and those who need to see the overview of what is happening within the organization. Many times they use "stop-lighting" [the art of turning things red, yellow, or green depending on their status] or graphics to indicate the status of a component of the organization. The dashboard usually allows the user to perform some drilling into summarized details. These systems rarely have detailed data. The dashboard is a one-stop shop for how the business is doing.So today, I have about four years experience all three types of reports mentioned above. I have spent most of the past four years working with Hyperion BI tools (recently purchased by Oracle). I am currently working mostly as a Hyperion system administrator, but I also build reports, teach/mentor new report creators, create dashboards, and generally do everything related to Hyperion/Oracle's System 9 BI+ reporting system.
Well, I never intended for this blog to be so long. If you made it to this last paragraph, thank you. I want to give a challenge. Please let me know what you think I do for a living. Help me create a new "introduction."
Hyperion - (Greek mythology) a Titan who was the son of Gaea and Uranus and the father of Helios and Selene and Eos in ancient mythology
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
High speed test
We received the dreaded yearly letter this week from our cable company...your contracted rate is about to expire, call us immediately. Today, they gave us a call today to follow-up on the threat. Shawnie quickly handed the phone over to me.
"First off, let me explain that we don't need the cable TV," I said taking charge of the call.
"We'd like to offer you our current 99$ deal. TV, Internet, and telephone," responded the nice lady on the other end.
"We tried your phone a year ago and it kept going out. What do you have for just internet?"
"We can only offer you this deal today," she said.
"I guess I'll have to look into AT&T. They offer DSL in the neighborhood now."
The phone call ends.
Now I wish I had taken AT&T up on their U-verse offer. U-verse is AT&Ts new TV system which uses the internet to feed the tv programs to a digital receiver box which connects to your TV like cable or dish. However, now when I check, the service is not available for my address. I must have made someone mad or it really was the beta test group for the neighborhood like I suspected.
Never-the-less, to keep tele-commuting and enjoying the joys of CNN political coverage, now we need to decide how to go about paying for it.
The options:
1. Drop Cable for DSL:
--AT&T Yahoo DSL (3mb) for$24.99/month
--Dish network for $49.99/month (which includes twice as many channels, with twice as many outages)
2. Keep cable and pay more (note, I called them back and negotiated down from the $99 package to pay just 10$ more than we are right now...just because I'm such a loyal customer)
"First off, let me explain that we don't need the cable TV," I said taking charge of the call.
"We'd like to offer you our current 99$ deal. TV, Internet, and telephone," responded the nice lady on the other end.
"We tried your phone a year ago and it kept going out. What do you have for just internet?"
"We can only offer you this deal today," she said.
"I guess I'll have to look into AT&T. They offer DSL in the neighborhood now."
The phone call ends.
Now I wish I had taken AT&T up on their U-verse offer. U-verse is AT&Ts new TV system which uses the internet to feed the tv programs to a digital receiver box which connects to your TV like cable or dish. However, now when I check, the service is not available for my address. I must have made someone mad or it really was the beta test group for the neighborhood like I suspected.
Never-the-less, to keep tele-commuting and enjoying the joys of CNN political coverage, now we need to decide how to go about paying for it.
The options:
1. Drop Cable for DSL:
--AT&T Yahoo DSL (3mb) for$24.99/month
--Dish network for $49.99/month (which includes twice as many channels, with twice as many outages)
2. Keep cable and pay more (note, I called them back and negotiated down from the $99 package to pay just 10$ more than we are right now...just because I'm such a loyal customer)
------------------------------
OK, its a couple of hours later and I just talked with Charter again. I agreed to stay with them for the 10$ more per month. (The current deal for the services we have). I tried to negotiate a price decrease, but with the DSL/Dish package comes contracts (or fees to go without contracts). So paying 10$ more per month is about the same for the next 12 months.
Staying with Charter we also get a speed boost from 3MB to 5MB download and no contract terms. I also don't need to buy a modem right now (a 50 or 80$ cost depending on which I chose). So the only thing we're leaving on the table is BYUTV which would have been nice to have, but its just TV anyway (right?).
My speed tests:
Before talking with Charter...
After talking with them...
After talking with them...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Grandma Leonard
At 93, Grandma Leonard is still going strong. She has been painting this past year. Our two older girls received a painting from her for Christmas. This story in the Davis County Clipper features her.
Keep up the painting Grandma!!!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Erica's blessing
Photos posted of Erica and the familyIt is true that participating in the ordinances of the priesthood provides you with opportunities to have your faith increased. Giving Erica her name and a blessing today was such an event for me. Erica is a very special girl, reserved for a special work in preparing the way for our Savior's return.
I really love this photo of her. She is dressed in the outfit worn by Shawnie, Brittany, and Megan when they were blessed. The blanket used was sent by Erica's Great-Grandma Leonard.
One other thing to note, Megan lost here two front teeth this week. She has been very self conscious of the loss. Shawnie pulled the first one out when it was dangling Wednesday night. Megan cried because she wanted to loose it at school. It was placed in a plastic bag so she could take it to school and show her teacher. Apparently, anyone loosing a tooth in the class gets a special container for the tooth and some other gift.
The next tooth came out Saturday afternoon when Megan's Grandpa Crane asked if he could pull it out for her. Surprisingly she said yes! Since Megan didn't show the first tooth to her teacher on Friday (she stayed home from school sick on Thursday), she now has her two front teeth in a plastic sandwich bag waiting to accompany her to school tomorrow.
Enjoy the pictures.
--KJL
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