greg hughes - dot net

Ahh, movie weekends.

I went with a friend to watch Ice Age 2 yesterday afternoon. I had, I must admit, somewhat low expectations of this one just because the first one was well-done enough to be hard-to-follow. But regardless of what Roger Ebert says, I enjoyed it. Sure, it's not as original as the first one (it is a sequel to an animated feature after all), but it had me laughing out loud at times, so in my book that means success. It has the standard fare of little kids' stuff plus some funny, subtle adult stuff (right from the beginning). The scenes featuring Scrat, the little sabre-toothed squirrel, are terrific and the story itself is not too bad. As Ebert points out, none of the characters ever seem to eat, and how the meat eaters could possibly survive if everyone in the animal kingdom (with the exception of the fish) just gets along so swimmingly (pun intended) is a mystery. But hey, again it's an animated movie, and I can live with it. I own the first film on DVD, and I'll be buying this one, too when it comes out. If for no other reason, just because there's bound to be more Scrat scenes in the extras.

Before the feature film started, though, along came a surprise trailer (or "preview" for those of you who prefer that term) for "The Simpsons Movie, coming to the screen, July 27, 2007." Woah, cool. I had to do a second take - 2007? Okay, okay I can wait - but like Homer says, "Oh oh, we better get started!" Supposedly (according to The Hollywood Reporter, anyhow) the trailer will also air tonight prior to the Sunday evening Simpsons episode on FOX (which means it will be posted all over the Internet by the time the first commercial break is over). I just hope the hype doesn't create expectations that can't possibly be met. Note that "simpsonsmovie.com" is registered to 20th Century Fox but there's no web site attached to that address as of this writing. And by the way, on a related note, if you have not seen the "real-people" version of the Simpsons TV show intro you can go here - and you can compare the cartoon version and the live version side by side here. Rumor has it, too, that the live-action version will appear on the Simpsons TV show tonight. Either that or this is all one big April Fools joke. Hope not.

Finally, on Friday I bought a copy of King Kong on DVD and took it home, where we loaded it up and gave it a run at blowing out  the speakers in my home theater. The speakers survived that attack, but it sure is amazing what incredible sound and special visual effects we get from movie makers these days - and in our own homes too boot. I remember when Dolby ProLogic surround was way cool - and now it sounds like oatmeal. It makes me wonder what's next. And DVDs sure are coming out more and more quickly these days. Didn't we just watch King Kong in theaters? Anyhow, it's worth the purchase if you liked the movie or if you want something to stress test that audio system with heavy bass and loud growls with lots of dynamic range.

Over on the Creating Passionate Users blog, Kathy writes about "Manager 2.0," which many would say is the desired role and style of effective managers in technology companies today. It's a good read. Once you get past the fact that anything with "2.0" attached to it is cliche hyped, click over and read a bit.

I have to agree that community is something that should be a part of every team in the tech world. It's not always easy to do. Professional managers are those who work not only for the company, but for the team as well. Not in a counter-productive, dysfunctional be their best friend kind of way. Rather, the idea is to empower the team to drive the ship, determine the routes to the destinations, and maybe even when the ship should arrive.

This, of course, flies in the face of traditional management (which is more dictatorial and doesn't always respect the ideas and input of the team members). So, it's not something everyone is comfortable with implementing. rely on others to do their part in my success? Give up control??? Huh?!?!?!?

It takes the strongest kind of manager to allow others so much control and influence, and to still effectively be the boss and manage. When it comes right down to it, the real value in management is in it's ability and willingness to stay out of the way and to enable and empower the people that create and do amazing stuff to - well - create and do their most amazing stuff. Let good, smart people be good, smart people. Quite a concept.

From Kathy's post, over to the right is a table comparing management styles. Which style would you rather work under? Which manager are you most comfortable being? Be honest... I can see a couple things here that I could improve on, but I'm glad to see that at least some of this I already buy into and try to execute on a daily basis. And if this is even remotely interesting to you, be sure to go read more at Creating Passionate Users (which is a great blog, by the way).

And her April 1 blog entry about a new book, "The Emo Programmer Book," is great.

Last week I was in Dallas, Texas for a conference. Typical of my way of doing things, I landed at the DFW airport and headed for the hotel and realized that somewhere in the back of my mind there was a lingering thought that was hinting that Dallas, Texas might have some importance, like maybe there was something (in addition to the conference) I needed to do since I was there. You know what I mean: One of those "seems to me there's something important I am supposed to do if I ever travel here, but I can't think of what it is..." kind of things.

Eventually it popped into my mind: My mom had told me that my Aunt Marsha and Uncle Mike had moved to Texas a couple years ago. Maybe it was Dallas? My memory was not helping me much. I called them up, and sure enough they're living in Richardson, which is northeast of the big city. So, I got to spend a couple fun evenings at their home catching up, eating dinner and meeting their dogs. It was a good time.

During one of my visits, my aunt brought out some old family photos and things that she thought I might be interested in seeing. It was fun and interesting to run through the old photos, but there was also one piece of paper in the stack of things that especially caught my eye. It looked to be a family tree reaching back many generations, showing a history of the family dating back several hundred years. Wow! I've always wondered if something like this existed, and have never really known where to look. Score!

What I found our really caught my interest - Thirteen generations back, on September 6, 1628, my ancestors arrived at "Naumking" on the Massachusetts Bay (which they would eventually rename to "Salem") with John Endicott, who would become the first governor of the Massachusetts colony. They were the first group of Puritan colonists in Salem, and had left from Weymouth, England June 20 of the same year.

Encouraged by one sheet of paper, a few names and some rough dates, I have once again personally discovered the truly awesome power of searching with Google.

My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather was named Charles Gott. Charles and his first wife, Gift and their two young daughters sailed from Weymouth, England, on June 20, 1628, aboard the ship Abigail with Captain Endicott. They landed in Salem, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1628 and the sea voyage must have been harrowing ("the sea roared and the waves tossed us horridly ... it was fearful dark and the mariners made us afraid with their running here and there, and there was loud crying one to another to pull this or that rope."). The passengers of the Abigail were Salem's first settlers, and in 1635 Charles was made a deacon of the first Puritan church established in America. Gift apparently died in about 1636, and Charles then married Sarah Mansfield, with whom he had three children. One of those children was named Charles as well, and the line runs from there.

I've located on the web - again thanks to Google - several people who have traced the genealogy of their families back to the Gotts, and who's lines intersect mine. Distant relatives. I'll have to start sending some email to those people and say hi. I'll also have to finish this research and post it here so people can do the same with me.

On a loosely-related note (no pun intended), I read recently where Buzz Bruggeman sent a DNA sample off to Family Tree DNA, and the service found some relatives of his in their matching process. I ordered a kit and yesterday I completed my ritual cheek-scraping and will be sending the samples back to the DNA lab on Monday. The test focuses on the paternal side, so I wonder what I will find out about my dad's side of the family? My wild guess is Ireland, but hey who knows? I'm excited to possibly find out.

The other day one of my coworkers, Brent, asked me if I've given up blogging.

No, Mr. Sarcasm - I have not. But with the recent wholesale replacement of part of my spine, plus travel, work, a variety of stressors, the need to rest and a ton of other things, I have not been writing much here lately.

I have a lot to write about, though - eventually. I just need to get better caught up with life. Heck, we're losing an hour of sleep tonight. That doesn't help any!

So don't worry. I'm not dead yet.

Google's got some beta UI changes kicking around in the background, and you can check them out yourself if you like. Here's how:

1. Go to http://www.google.com

2. Copy and enter this line into your address bar:

javascript:document.cookie="PREF=ID=fb7740f107311e46:TM=1142683332:LM=1142683332:S=fNSw6ljXTzvL3dWu;path=/;domain=.google.com"

3. Do a Google search and see the difference

Of course, if and when Google implements thes new UI changes, this tweak becomes useless. But for now it's fun.

Thanks, Trevin.

If you ever end up at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, be sure to rent a car. Especially if you fly into Terminal B (which is pretty much every flight that's not American Airlines (which is the airline that RULES the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)).

Board the bus that delivers you to the rental car complex, and if you're lucky, it is there that you will meet Stewart.

Stewart is to rental car shuttle bus driving as Texas is to the rest of the United States - one great-big personality. From the second you meet him, it's apparent that Stewart is here to welcome you to the place where Everything Is Bigger™. He doesn't have a think drawl, but you can tell where he's from, if in no other way, by his personality, which is Big and Friendly.

I boarded the bus for my ride from the B terminal to the Avis desk, along with some other people and a whole slew of college-age guys sporting "North Carolina State Ultimate" garb. Who knew Ultimate (a game played with a flying disc and seven men on the field (and often incorrectly called Frisbee™ Football)) was a college sport? Well, it is.

Anyhow, Stewart saw the jerseys, too. After launching into a friendly and boisterous rendition of Helpful Hints for Visitors to DFW (which was very useful, BTW), he started a friendly over-the-loudspeaker conversation with the Ultimate guys and the rest of the passengers. He asked if they thought they'd be champions (and they said yes, of course). "Hey," asked Stewart, "do you want to hear a true story about the man who was perhaps the greatest sharpshooter ever?" Everyone (of course) said yes, and so he started to tell the story, which was approximately seven minutes long (and which, he explained, also happens to the the amount of time it takes to drive from B terminal to the rental car facility). It was clear that Stewart has a knack for telling stories and captivating an audience.

So - about seven minutes later, we got to the rental car terminal and as I stood up to get off the bus, I realized (seriously) that I'd completely forgotten to go to the baggage claim to get my suitcase when I got off my flight. I guess umpteen hours of flying and time zone changes incurred while crossing the Atlantic twice had baked my brain or something. I told Stewart what I'd done and laughed at myself, and he smiled and looked a bit concerned about me having to go back for my bag. Maybe he thought I had to be somewhere or something. No big deal, I told him - I'd just stay on the bus and ride back around and get my bag at the terminal. He looked a bit pained when he had to tell me he wished he could do that, but that I would have to go up to the upper deck and take the out-bound bus from up there. That last time he tried to return someone to the terminal on his bus, he'd gotten into some trouble.

Not a problem, I told him, and thanked him. He told me where to go and I located the upper deck access and then rode the bus back to Terminal B. I retrieved my bag after some searching and speaking with the United baggage office, then went back out to the curb to catch one of the buses back to the Avis desk.

Along came one of the buses, and off came a zillion people. When I climbed on, there was Stewart, smile on his face. We were the only people on the bus. "NOW," he exclaimed, "now you're ready for a rental car!" I laughed and agreed. "You want to hear a story?" he asked. "Yeah, but not the one about the sharpshooter," I said. He laughed and turned to me. "I have a repertoire, you know," he said. "Three stories. They're all about seven minutes long." And then he told me the story of Goldsmith Mare, perhaps the greatest race horse that ever lived. If you want to know the details, you can either Google for it or you can fly to DFW Terminal B and jump on the bus to go to the Avis counter. Maybe you'll be lucky enough (as I was twice in a row) to get Stewart as your driver.

My point is, EVERY airport should have people like Stewart. Hell, I'd fly to Texas and rent a car once a year or so, just to enjoy the seven-minute ride on the bus, along with a good seven-minute story and a smile.

Welcome to Texas. Thanks, Stewart.

For the zillion of you who have asked me for Windows Live Messenger (note - this is for Live Messenger, not Mail!) invitations, Trevin says this link will let you sign up even without an invitation now.

Or, if you want to feel extra-special through personal treatment, email me (greg-at-greghughes-dot-net, you know) and tell me something about yourself - like where you are from and your name and something else interesting (not optional - seriously - share and share alike!) and I will hook you up personally.

My co-worker, Milind, recently posted a link to the web site of Julian Beever, who does 3D pavement art and some other cool artistic stuff such as his wall murals.

Check it out - these 3D sidewalk sketches are way cool. Below are a few examples - and he has many others that are just as amazing. Clicking each image takes you to the artist's web site.

Prior to my business meetings today, I was able to spend a short time with my friend Florian here in Germany. His parents hosted me at their home and shared a bit of real, small-town Germany with me, including some of the food and customs. Florian took me all over the countryside to a few places, including a few that most tourists never see - off the beaten path, as they say. It was a great weekend, one that I will remember for many, many years.

The Heidelberg Castle is a common tourist stop, but we went there anyhow, and I am glad we did. It was actually the second castle we visited (the first one, Hardenburg, I did not have a camera for). It's a pretty amazing place, and we first climbed the hill on the opposite side of the river from the castle (called the Philosopher's Walk), which has a great view of the old city and the castle. Then we crossed the old bridge and walked through the city, then up 315 steep steps to the castle. Given my recent condition, this was a healthy climb, to say the least. But I made it.

From the top one can walk through the castle and see all sorts of interesting things. There's a huge wine barrel in a lower level of the castle - like huge as in you have to see it to believe it. And of course the architecture is amazing.

Actually, the smaller castle we visited the day before, called Hardenburg (follow link for pics), while smaller and relatively hidden away at the far end of a valley in the town where we stayed (in an area called the Rhineland-Palatinate), was probably more fun to explore because it's not heavily visited and almost every nook and cranny is accessible, with the exception of part of the lower levels. It's interesting to learn about the history of the construction - and periodic destruction, typically by the French armies - of these castles. The Hardenburg Castle was built sometime shortly after 1200 A.D. That's some serious history.

Also in the same area is the Limburg Monastery, on top of another hill across from the Hardenburg Castle. It is a large and spectacular ruin, as well. It's been added on to recently, so some of the structure is a little too modern looking, but luckily you cannot see it while walking the grounds, at least once you leave the parking lot. This is a huge structure, and was built in the 9th century. It was first a castle of sorts and then was converted to a monastery for Benedictine monks. It's an interesting and rich history - the Hardenburg Castle was actually built illegally on Limburg land by the governors who were responsible for protecting it, but it seems that did not make the Limburg residents happy. Read more here. As is typical, the history is colorful and full of interesting stories over the years.

If you even get a chance to visit Germany, be sure to take some time to get off the common paths followed by tourists. While the Autobahn is fun (for us Americans with our annoying speed limits and all that), taking your time by taking the back roads through smaller German towns to get to your destination is worthwhile. It's there that you get to see Germany in it's full color, not on the superhighway.

We also visited a museum that has lots of aircraft (including an actual 747 you can walk though and a whole slew of military aircraft from around the world), a U-boat, and many fine cars on display. An amazing selection of very cool items.

Thanks to Florian and his parents for a terrific few days - I hope have the opportunity to visit again soon. Germany is a beautiful country.

I'll post a few more pictures and some details shortly from the other stops and things we did along the way.

Sure, it's nothing new, but this is the first flight I've been on that has Connexion by Boeing service on board. It's kinda cool - Using my WiFi card I get an access point on the plane that in turn lets me get to the Internet via satellite service.

Instant messaging works and obviously I can post to my blog. Latency is about what you'd expect from satellite service, but all in all this is a great way to get some stuff done on an eight hour flight.

By the way - I forgot to bring my digital camera with me on this trip to Germany. Go figure. If anyone has any suggestions on a digital camera to pick up over there (I'll have to figure out the power plug stuff when I get back) let me know. Can't believe I did that, heheh...

Speaking of getting stuff done, time to do some (real) work... I even got a VPN connection to the office - nice!

I had the pleasure of visiting the School of Science and Technology here in Beaverton, Oregon on Friday for the junior class career day. Along with a whole slew of other talented and much-more-interesting-than-me adults, I was able to converse with a wide variety of students about what they're about to face in their lives: Financial aid forms, the Real World™ and not really knowing what life has in store (but wishing they did).

It was a great time, and it gave me a chance to reflect on where I've been and how I got to where I am today. there have been many highs and lows in life along the way. But (and this is probably one of life's most important lessons) regardless of what all happens in life and why, I'm a better person for having experienced all the things that have happened around me over the years.

So, for the couple of you students who manage to find your creative and inquisitive ways to this blog, thanks for the opportunity and don't forget the open-ended offer: Send me an email or call me (the number is over there on the right) if you have more questions or want to see what the crazy world of software, Internet security, catching online bad guys, and IT is all about.

For everyone else: When was the last time you spent half a day at a local school talking with the students and staff? Everyone should do something like that at least once a year - participate in some event and give back a little of what you've got - your experiences, good bad or otherwise. Share it with the upcoming generation of geeks, actors, cops, lawyers, engineers, recruiters, sales execs, dentists, marketers, accountants, entrepreneurs, nanotechnology physicists, and rocket scientists. Call a school, give half a day. All you have to do is ask, and you might be surprised what you learn.

Okay. I'm outa here. Pray for WiFi on the airplane. Deutschland hier komme ich!

I haven't posted much recently because I have been out of pocket quite a bit, and during the few days I've been in town and functioning normally, it's been quite busy for me. So, even though this blog's been quiet, I have quite a few things stacked up and waiting to be written. I'll get to them soon. Plus I think the slow down in writing is good for me for a little while. Creativity recuperation you might say.

Hopefully they'll have WiFi on the flight to Europe this weekend - that would make it easy to catch back up some. And easier to get some work done.

Meanwhile, I went and saw Scott Willis, one of our past IT interns where I work, in his school's performance of An Ideal Husband (by Oscar Wilde). Had a good time, and I am once again amazed at what young people can do all on their own when simply provided the opportunity and support when requested.

More to come soon. Hopefully some pics from Germany, too.

Microsoft has released the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 List Web Part. If you've started using CRM v3 and you have a SharePoint Portal of Windows SharePoint Services setup, you can use this web part to bring data from CRM v3 into your SharePoint pages to build dashboards and information pages for quick, at-a-glance data.

You can downloaded it here. From the site and the documentation, here is a brief overview:

The List Web Part for Microsoft® Dynamics™ CRM allows users to view their Microsoft CRM data from a Microsoft Windows® SharePoint® Services 2.0 page. The records are displayed in a grid that behaves similarly to the grid within the Microsoft CRM application. Users who have the proper privileges will be able to perform actions such as create and edit. It allows users to view Microsoft CRM records as a list from a SharePoint dashboard, open records in Microsoft CRM 3.0 from the list, and connect Microsoft CRM Web Parts to filter different lists.

Microsoft CRM security is maintained at the grid and record level. If the user does not have access to a particular record, it will not be visible in the grid. Likewise, if the user does not have privileges to view the entity configured, an error will be displayed to the user. The Web Part uses adaptive UI. For example, if the user does not have permissions to edit accounts, the Edit button will not be visible to the user.

Starting next week, I'll be healed enough to able to travel again. That's good, since travel is - relatively speaking - low impact, and because I'm scheduled to be several places around the world in the next few weeks for meetings and speaking engagements.

• This week I'll be up at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington for some can't-really-talk-about-it-yet kind of stuff, and to meet with a few people up that way. I also have a surgery followup appointment with the doc. I'll be in Redmond Monday, Tuesday morning and Thursday. On Wednesday I'll be back home so I can see one of our recent IT department interns, Scott Willis, performing in a play called The Ideal Husband.
• On Friday I'll be doing a community even and speaking at the School of Science and Technology in Beaverton, Oregon about my job and career with a group of high-school juniors interested in information technology careers.
• On Saturday, I'm off to Frankfurt, Germany for some business meetings and I hope to catch up with a friend while I'm there. I'll arrive on Sunday the 19th and be there through Wednesday the 22nd. I took four years of German language classes in junior high and high school many years ago, and this will be the first time I've ever been to that country. I wonder how much of the language will come back to me?
• Then it's back home to the USA, by way of a stop in Dallas. I'll arrive in Texas on the 23rd, and will be speaking on Monday during a session at Microsoft's Convergence conference - that's the big annual Microsoft business solutions event (now they call MBS their "Dynamics" product line). The topic of the presentation is Customer Relationship Management for service, and I've been asked to give some color commentary of the when's, how's, why's, pitfalls and process of complicated CRM and related projects along with a Microsoft partner we've done a lot of great work with, InterLink Group.
• After a few days back at home, It's off to Orlando, Florida April 4th-6th, where I'll be speaking during a session at the Forward Financial Bank Security Forum on the topic of combating cybercrime and partnerships between private industry and law enforcement.

If you have plans to be in any of the same places at the same time, send me an email and let me know, and hopefully we can meet up - greg@greghughes.net.

My good friend and co-worker Simon is being his typically great self, and has accepted the fact that he's going to jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This is a great chance to make a donation to bail him out (it's a tax deductible charitable donation, and if your company matches donations, even better! Hey Microsofties!). I've been locked up for MDA before, and my friends and colleagues have always come through for me and posted my bail.

And to all Corillian employees - I'm challenging you here and now to contribute!

Below is the information from Simon's campaign. I've already done my part and contributed to the cause - will you do yours? Even the smallest of contributions makes a difference, and it doesn't matter where you live or who you are. If you have any questions, let me know (email or comment here) and I'll get 'em answered for ya. Contribute as soon as you can - the deadline date is March 9th, just a couple days away!!

This year, I have the honor and pleasure of participating in MDA's Hillsboro Lock-Up 2006 to help "Jerry's Kids®". To reach my goal I need your help!

I'd like to include you or your company on my list of contributors who are helping me reach my goal. Your donation would help MDA continue the important fight against muscular dystrophy. Check out my web page by clicking on the link below. There you'll find all kinds of information about MDA, and be able to make your tax-deductible donation on-line using your credit card.

MDA serves people in our community with neuromuscular disease by providing clinics, support groups, assistance with the purchase and repair of wheelchairs, braces and communication devices, and summer camp for kids. MDA also funds research grants to help find treatments and cures for some 43 neuromuscular diseases that affect people of all ages, right here in our community.

I sincerely hope that you'll take the opportunity to support MDA.

Here's the link to donate!

On behalf of the families MDA serves, thank you!