When I arrived at my office in Santa Cruz on Thursday April 9th, 2009, I discovered that the telephones did not work, my cell phone did not work, and our Internet connection was down. Yet we still had electrical power. We figured there was some type of outage in our area, so we closed the office and decided that we would each work from home.
At home it was the same thing, no cell phone service, no landline phone service, no Internet. When worse comes to worse with power outages here in Santa Cruz County, I take my laptop to the Coffee Cat in Scotts Valley, the next town over with more reliable PG&E service. When I arrived at the Coffee Cat, they had no service either and told me that it was out for all of Santa Cruz County.
Since I could not do any business, I thought I would take care of some personal chores and then try to go back to work again in an hour. First, I drove to the tile store to pay a deposit on an order. When I got there, they could not process my credit card, so I had to fill out a long form with all the pertinent information on it. They said they would enter the information as soon as they were back online.
Next I drove to another tile store that had some stuff the first one did not. When I tried to pay for my purchase there, they requested a check. Fortunately, I had my check book.
Next stop was the garden center to get some tomato plants. The garden store could accept credit cards, but there was a delay.
At this point, I went back to my office, but still no land line, no cell phone, and no Internet connection. I figured I would drive to Mountain View, the heart of the Silicon Valley, about an hour away. Surely Mountain View would have Internet access at one of the coffee shops. It was inconceivable that the Silicon Valley would not have Internet access.
I had to add gas to my car for this trip. At the gas station, it was cash only. Fortunately, I had enough cash.
When I started driving on highway 17, though, it was all jammed up, stop and go. At that rate, it would take two hours to get to Mountain View (and it did). In the car, I heard the news from the radio station: Somewhere in San Jose, underneath a manhole cover, the AT&T fiber optic lines had been cut. Intentionally.
Okay. Our office phone lines used AT&T and our Internet Service Provider uses AT&T as well. But our cell phones were based on Verizon. So why weren't the cell phones working? Verizon was leasing lines from AT&T. So Verizon's service went down when the AT&T lines were cut.
By 4 p.m., I was seated at Peet's Coffee on El Camino and Castro in Mountain View, finally back online, finally with cell phone service, and finally able to do some work in the remains of the day -- just one hour.
I did not arrive until 4 p.m. because there were two accidents on highway 17 on opposite sides of the highway (one Northbound and one Southbound). Both occurred at the summit and both involved overturned cars. The emergency responders were delayed due to the phone outages and finally managed to deal with the problem six hours after the crashes occurred.
It was not a very productive day and AT&T is responsible. There are a number of serious public policy questions that arise from this experience. It is obvious that the sabotage was perpetrated by someone who knew where the fiber lines aggregated, who knew how to get access, and who knew the best way to do so without detection. The perpetrator(s) was organized, had a plan, executed the plan very well, and had an escapte.
#1 why didn't AT&T have automatic failover for their outage?
#2 why didn't the Internet traffic get routed around the failure?
#3 what security does AT&T have in place to prevent such acts of sabotage? Why did the security system(s) fail?
#4 what would happen if there were a more extensive plan of sabotage so that all of Northern California would be affected? How long could the general public wait for the service to be restored? How soon would each individual's supply of cash on hand actually last? How long before we have a social breakdown?
Did AT&T provide answers to these questions? No. Did the press call AT&T on the carpet and demand answers to these questions? No.
The press ran a story that no AT&T customers should expect a refund on their bills because the outage did not last more than 24 hours. This story ran repeatedly.
The press completely missed the big story about the extreme fragility, lack of security and vulnerability of our communications infrastructure. There have been no public hearings, no investigation, and of course no follow up.
There are no suspects and no arrests for the act of sabotage, and there's been no follow up in the press.
Some individuals in the communications industry are speculating that this is just a warm up for a real terrorist attack. Alternatively, it serves as an example of what could happen in Northern California if we had a serious earthquake.
AT&T's performance is not acceptable. They failed in their most basic mission. The corporation should be dissolved.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Why Contractors are Like Professional Athletes
Our contractor has postponed our bathroom remodeling project twice in the last 14 months.
I think contractors live in some kind of fantasy world. They are the stars. They are the talent. They have unlimited demand for their services. They can charge whatever they want. They are paid to play with cool power tools. They are paid to do what others do as an unpaid hobby.
Contractors and professional athletes -- they have a lot in common.
Here are excerpts from an email I received today from our contractor's wife / business manager/ agent. The wife's comments are in purple, the color of royalty. My comments are in black italics; the color reserved for peons.
We leave tomorrow for our four week vacation trip; it has been altered considerably due to civil unrest in Thailand.
Hhm... let me see.. my last four week vacation was in 1989, but the contractor and his family take one every year.
My goodness it was so thoughtless of the Thai People's Alliance for Democracy to demand an end to corruption and restoration of democratic rule by shutting down the airport. Obviously they did not realize that American contractors and their families had reservations for five star hotels in Bangkok. They should stop protesting and get back to work as maids and busboys for the multinational corporations serving American tourists.
We are now going to Mexico instead.
Oh my God... four weeks vacation in Mexico during the winter that is such a hardship. Damn those Thais.
We would like to meet with you on the morning of ---. to go over last minute details and drop off tools. Will this work for you?
Of course, I have been waiting only fourteen months so if --- is the date, I will drop everything to be the bag carrier for the contractor's tools.
Also effective at the start of 2009, his hourly rate is $45/ hr
So nice of you to give me notice of his 50% wage increase. Let's see I have not had a raise since 2001. The unemployment rate including those who are too discouraged to look is 12.5%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the lowest overall numbers for construction jobs last month in the past four years! But what the hell... raise your rates... enjoy your fantasy.
and we will need a 10K deposit before he commences work.
Hhmmm... well according to the California Contractors State License Board:
The down payment cannot be more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, for a home improvement job.
No, you don't get to bypass state law by calling it a "deposit" instead of a "down payment".
Also, according to the California Contractors State License Board pamphlet for consumers (page 16):
Scheduling the Payments
Make sure the payment schedule is based on the contractor’s performance. Never let your
payments get ahead of the contractor’s work, and make sure the contract provides for a
“retention” — a percentage of each payment or of the total job, ordinarily 10 percent, which
you retain until the job is complete.
-------
So that is what the law says, but I am sure that plenty of people are lined up, panting, checkbook in hand, for these contractors.
What mystifies me is that the jobs for software engineers are moving overseas, but contractor jobs, which require skill, but not as much skill as a software engineers, remain wanting.
I get that athletes like Tiger Woods or Shaquille O'Neal are the best in the world and that the fans want to pay really big bucks to watch them play sports. But how does this work for contractors?
I think contractors live in some kind of fantasy world. They are the stars. They are the talent. They have unlimited demand for their services. They can charge whatever they want. They are paid to play with cool power tools. They are paid to do what others do as an unpaid hobby.
Contractors and professional athletes -- they have a lot in common.
Here are excerpts from an email I received today from our contractor's wife / business manager/ agent. The wife's comments are in purple, the color of royalty. My comments are in black italics; the color reserved for peons.
We leave tomorrow for our four week vacation trip; it has been altered considerably due to civil unrest in Thailand.
Hhm... let me see.. my last four week vacation was in 1989, but the contractor and his family take one every year.
My goodness it was so thoughtless of the Thai People's Alliance for Democracy to demand an end to corruption and restoration of democratic rule by shutting down the airport. Obviously they did not realize that American contractors and their families had reservations for five star hotels in Bangkok. They should stop protesting and get back to work as maids and busboys for the multinational corporations serving American tourists.
We are now going to Mexico instead.
Oh my God... four weeks vacation in Mexico during the winter that is such a hardship. Damn those Thais.
We would like to meet with you on the morning of ---. to go over last minute details and drop off tools. Will this work for you?
Of course, I have been waiting only fourteen months so if --- is the date, I will drop everything to be the bag carrier for the contractor's tools.
Also effective at the start of 2009, his hourly rate is $45/ hr
So nice of you to give me notice of his 50% wage increase. Let's see I have not had a raise since 2001. The unemployment rate including those who are too discouraged to look is 12.5%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the lowest overall numbers for construction jobs last month in the past four years! But what the hell... raise your rates... enjoy your fantasy.
and we will need a 10K deposit before he commences work.
Hhmmm... well according to the California Contractors State License Board:
The down payment cannot be more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, for a home improvement job.
No, you don't get to bypass state law by calling it a "deposit" instead of a "down payment".
Also, according to the California Contractors State License Board pamphlet for consumers (page 16):
Scheduling the Payments
Make sure the payment schedule is based on the contractor’s performance. Never let your
payments get ahead of the contractor’s work, and make sure the contract provides for a
“retention” — a percentage of each payment or of the total job, ordinarily 10 percent, which
you retain until the job is complete.
-------
So that is what the law says, but I am sure that plenty of people are lined up, panting, checkbook in hand, for these contractors.
What mystifies me is that the jobs for software engineers are moving overseas, but contractor jobs, which require skill, but not as much skill as a software engineers, remain wanting.
I get that athletes like Tiger Woods or Shaquille O'Neal are the best in the world and that the fans want to pay really big bucks to watch them play sports. But how does this work for contractors?
Excessive Use of Adjectives on AM Radio
As I was driving North on California Highway One, all the traffic came to a halt near Aptos. I figured I better turn on the radio and try to get a traffic report to find out what was going on.
I found an AM station reporting that a big rig truck had a tire blow out, slid across the freeway, and burst into flames. So, we were going to be stuck a while.
While I was channel hopping to find a radio station with the news, I caught portions of conversations between the radio host and the callers. There was a very strange phenomenon occurring. The callers seem to have a fascination with long strings of adjectives. For example, one caller described a lawyer as a double decaf latte drinking, granola eating, Volvo driving, Eastern, liberal. Okay. I could visualize that person, and I probably know a lawyer who has most of those characteristics. However, the story and the conversation stopped there. The string of adjectives seemed to be the point. The caller seemed quite pleased with himself for coming up with the description. The host said something complimentary and moved on to the next caller.
Huh? Where is the plot? Where is the action? Where is the denouement? Where is the conclusion?
How about this:
The double decaf latte drinking, granola eating, Volvo driving, Eastern, liberal lawyer walked into the court room and made his closing arguments in his defense of his client, the accused child molester. As a public defender, this was his ninth time defending a child molester and the unseemliness of the whole process was wearing him down. He finished his summation and quickly drove home. In the quietness of his kitchen, he poured himself a Jack Daniels straight up and sat at the kitchen table gulping it down, staring out the window at the brick wall of the office building next door. He finished the drink, pulled his revolver out of the kitchen drawer, inserted it into his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
Okay. That was depressing. But at least it was a story. I challenge the AM radio callers to come up with more than a string of adjectives.
But then, the traffic started moving again, and I, the Darjeeling tea drinking, bicycle riding, Western, independent, married, software company president, turned off the radio and concentrated on driving back to my office where I could continue to ponder ways to attract, develop, motivate, and retain highly talented employees.
I found an AM station reporting that a big rig truck had a tire blow out, slid across the freeway, and burst into flames. So, we were going to be stuck a while.
While I was channel hopping to find a radio station with the news, I caught portions of conversations between the radio host and the callers. There was a very strange phenomenon occurring. The callers seem to have a fascination with long strings of adjectives. For example, one caller described a lawyer as a double decaf latte drinking, granola eating, Volvo driving, Eastern, liberal. Okay. I could visualize that person, and I probably know a lawyer who has most of those characteristics. However, the story and the conversation stopped there. The string of adjectives seemed to be the point. The caller seemed quite pleased with himself for coming up with the description. The host said something complimentary and moved on to the next caller.
Huh? Where is the plot? Where is the action? Where is the denouement? Where is the conclusion?
How about this:
The double decaf latte drinking, granola eating, Volvo driving, Eastern, liberal lawyer walked into the court room and made his closing arguments in his defense of his client, the accused child molester. As a public defender, this was his ninth time defending a child molester and the unseemliness of the whole process was wearing him down. He finished his summation and quickly drove home. In the quietness of his kitchen, he poured himself a Jack Daniels straight up and sat at the kitchen table gulping it down, staring out the window at the brick wall of the office building next door. He finished the drink, pulled his revolver out of the kitchen drawer, inserted it into his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
Okay. That was depressing. But at least it was a story. I challenge the AM radio callers to come up with more than a string of adjectives.
But then, the traffic started moving again, and I, the Darjeeling tea drinking, bicycle riding, Western, independent, married, software company president, turned off the radio and concentrated on driving back to my office where I could continue to ponder ways to attract, develop, motivate, and retain highly talented employees.
Friday, March 13, 2009
"Loving Frank"
I just finished reading "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan. It is a fictionalized account of a real-world event, the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney, from about 1900 to 1912. Frank and Mamah were married, but not to each other. Mamah's husband gave her a divorce, but Frank's wife would not give him one. Regardless, Frank and Mamah continued their scandalous relationship, as both of them were "free thinkers" wanting to do what they wanted to do. Unfortunately they both had children -- a total of nine children. The children paid a high price for Frank and Mamah's free thinking.
I found this book so intriguing that I could not put it down. It did make me wonder about the history of divorce. Obviously at the turn of the 20th century, divorce was considered an unthinkable, shameful act, suggesting a failure of moral character on the part of the individuals involved. I wonder when and how that outlook changed to the extent that today, divorce is common, and considered unfortunate, but not usually shameful?
I found this book so intriguing that I could not put it down. It did make me wonder about the history of divorce. Obviously at the turn of the 20th century, divorce was considered an unthinkable, shameful act, suggesting a failure of moral character on the part of the individuals involved. I wonder when and how that outlook changed to the extent that today, divorce is common, and considered unfortunate, but not usually shameful?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Our Inner Ape
I just finished reading "Our Inner Ape" by Frans de Waal, a primatologist, with expertise in all varieties of apes -- chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, bonobos. I had never heard of bonobos before I read the book. Well... I recommend learning about them. All popular ideas about "survival of the fittest", and competition, etc. can now be discarded. All of the apes have developed cultures and societies that work for them. They take care of their sick and wounded. They compete and they cooperate. Some are matriarchies. All have complex ways of handling and resolving conflict.
I found the most interesting idea in the book the notion that humans could be considered the neotenous branch of the ape family. This means that the adults of our species retain attributes of the juveniles. When compared to other apes, we have spare body hair and enlarged heads. We also seem to retain a capacity for learning and curiosity more characteristic of children.
My only criticism of the book is that I do not see how de Waal is practicing the scientific method, specifically the requirement to collect data through objective observation. It seems that de Waal interjects the human perspective throughout his observations, rendering him a non-objective observer. However, this was intended to be a popular book for the general public, so perhaps the details were omitted.
I found the most interesting idea in the book the notion that humans could be considered the neotenous branch of the ape family. This means that the adults of our species retain attributes of the juveniles. When compared to other apes, we have spare body hair and enlarged heads. We also seem to retain a capacity for learning and curiosity more characteristic of children.
My only criticism of the book is that I do not see how de Waal is practicing the scientific method, specifically the requirement to collect data through objective observation. It seems that de Waal interjects the human perspective throughout his observations, rendering him a non-objective observer. However, this was intended to be a popular book for the general public, so perhaps the details were omitted.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Contractors -- can't live without them and cant kill them
Our contractor has postponed our bathroom remodeling project twice in the last 14 months.
I think contractors live in some kind of fantasy world. They are the stars. They are the talent. They have unlimited demand for their services. They can charge whatever they want. They are paid to play with cool power tools. They are paid to do what others do as an unpaid hobby.
Contractors and professional athletes -- they have a lot in common.
Here are excerpts from an email I received today from our contractor's wife / business manager/ agent. The wife's comments are in purple, the color of royalty. My comments are in black italics; the color reserved for peons.
We leave tomorrow for our four week vacation trip; it has been altered considerably due to civil unrest in Thailand.
Hhm... let me see.. my last four week vacation was in 1989, but the contractor and his family take one every year.
My goodness it was so thoughtless of the Thai People's Alliance for Democracy to demand an end to corruption and restoration of democratic rule by shutting down the airport. Obviously they did not realize that American contractors and their families had reservations for five star hotels in Bangkok. They should stop protesting and get back to work as maids and busboys for the multinational corporations serving American tourists.
We are now going to Mexico instead.
Oh my God... four weeks vacation in Mexico during the winter that is such a hardship. Damn those Thais.
We would like to meet with you on the morning of ---. to go over last minute details and drop off tools. Will this work for you?
Of course, I have been waiting only fourteen months so if --- is the date, I will drop everything to be the bag carrier for the contractor's tools.
Also effective at the start of 2009, his hourly rate is $45/ hr
So nice of you to give me notice of his 50% wage increase. Let's see I have not had a raise since 2001. The unemployment rate including those who are too discouraged to look is 12.5%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the lowest overall numbers for construction jobs last month in the past four years! But what the hell... raise your rates... enjoy your fantasy.
and we will need a 10K deposit before he commences work.
Hhmmm... well according to the California Contractors State License Board:
The down payment cannot be more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, for a home improvement job.
No, you don't get to bypass state law by calling it a "deposit" instead of a "down payment".
Also, according to the California Contractors State License Board pamphlet for consumers (page 16):
Scheduling the Payments
Make sure the payment schedule is based on the contractor’s performance. Never let your
payments get ahead of the contractor’s work, and make sure the contract provides for a
“retention” — a percentage of each payment or of the total job, ordinarily 10 percent, which
you retain until the job is complete.
-------
So that is what the law says, but I am sure that plenty of people are lined up, panting, checkbook in hand, for these contractors.
What mystifies me is that the jobs for software engineers are moving overseas, but contractor jobs, which require skill, but not as much skill as a software engineers, remain wanting.
I get that athletes like Tiger Woods or Shaquille O'Neal are the best in the world and that the fans want to pay really big bucks to watch them play sports. But how does this work for contractors?
I think contractors live in some kind of fantasy world. They are the stars. They are the talent. They have unlimited demand for their services. They can charge whatever they want. They are paid to play with cool power tools. They are paid to do what others do as an unpaid hobby.
Contractors and professional athletes -- they have a lot in common.
Here are excerpts from an email I received today from our contractor's wife / business manager/ agent. The wife's comments are in purple, the color of royalty. My comments are in black italics; the color reserved for peons.
We leave tomorrow for our four week vacation trip; it has been altered considerably due to civil unrest in Thailand.
Hhm... let me see.. my last four week vacation was in 1989, but the contractor and his family take one every year.
My goodness it was so thoughtless of the Thai People's Alliance for Democracy to demand an end to corruption and restoration of democratic rule by shutting down the airport. Obviously they did not realize that American contractors and their families had reservations for five star hotels in Bangkok. They should stop protesting and get back to work as maids and busboys for the multinational corporations serving American tourists.
We are now going to Mexico instead.
Oh my God... four weeks vacation in Mexico during the winter that is such a hardship. Damn those Thais.
We would like to meet with you on the morning of ---. to go over last minute details and drop off tools. Will this work for you?
Of course, I have been waiting only fourteen months so if --- is the date, I will drop everything to be the bag carrier for the contractor's tools.
Also effective at the start of 2009, his hourly rate is $45/ hr
So nice of you to give me notice of his 50% wage increase. Let's see I have not had a raise since 2001. The unemployment rate including those who are too discouraged to look is 12.5%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the lowest overall numbers for construction jobs last month in the past four years! But what the hell... raise your rates... enjoy your fantasy.
and we will need a 10K deposit before he commences work.
Hhmmm... well according to the California Contractors State License Board:
The down payment cannot be more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, for a home improvement job.
No, you don't get to bypass state law by calling it a "deposit" instead of a "down payment".
Also, according to the California Contractors State License Board pamphlet for consumers (page 16):
Scheduling the Payments
Make sure the payment schedule is based on the contractor’s performance. Never let your
payments get ahead of the contractor’s work, and make sure the contract provides for a
“retention” — a percentage of each payment or of the total job, ordinarily 10 percent, which
you retain until the job is complete.
-------
So that is what the law says, but I am sure that plenty of people are lined up, panting, checkbook in hand, for these contractors.
What mystifies me is that the jobs for software engineers are moving overseas, but contractor jobs, which require skill, but not as much skill as a software engineers, remain wanting.
I get that athletes like Tiger Woods or Shaquille O'Neal are the best in the world and that the fans want to pay really big bucks to watch them play sports. But how does this work for contractors?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Men and Trains
The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, www.ctrc.org, is having their volunteer recognition dinner this evening. I plan to attend (as a spouse of a volunteer).
This is a wonderful organization that is dedicated to restoring steam locomotives. I have attended some of their meetings. The meetings are usually all male, and the men are usually over 40 years old. They are really dedicated to their trains. They know a lot about them and they seem to be fascinated by their inner workings.
These men track the history of these trains. They know about the updates and retrofits. They spend weekends cleaning off layers of grease on parts and repainting them.
So what exactly is the appeal of these old trains? I think we live in an electronic age, but prior to that we lived in a mechanical age. Mechanical engineering is a wonder and that's what fascinates them.
This is a wonderful organization that is dedicated to restoring steam locomotives. I have attended some of their meetings. The meetings are usually all male, and the men are usually over 40 years old. They are really dedicated to their trains. They know a lot about them and they seem to be fascinated by their inner workings.
These men track the history of these trains. They know about the updates and retrofits. They spend weekends cleaning off layers of grease on parts and repainting them.
So what exactly is the appeal of these old trains? I think we live in an electronic age, but prior to that we lived in a mechanical age. Mechanical engineering is a wonder and that's what fascinates them.
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