No Job "Alumni"

The outplacement service...
It appears that I've been moved to 'alumni' status with my outplacement firm.  They are really a valuable resource and very helpful in getting one's head around the next phase or job in your life.  As advice I would recommend that no job last longer than five years.  For many reasons, some stated or alluded to here, my gig

Pope Francis - Five Year Job

was 27-years.  Leaving that takes some getting used to.  Had I won the lottery it would have been simple but that was not part of the program, not that I did not try.

It's not clear what the 'alumni' status means.  I'd like to re-visit some of their resources so I'm checking with my personal consultant.

The five year advice idea is pretty standard.  Even Pope Francis has stated that he may follow Benedict's lead and head back to South America in a few years to get back to what he likes to do, not what others' want him to do.  That's good advice.

Small Business...faced with changing standards...

The small business is a cafe.  Everyone's home kitchen needs updating every few years.  Certainly refrigerators and microwaves die and you drop something hot or heavy on the floor, etc.  The cafe is like having 200 people a day come in your kitchen to eat.  They all spill things.  Food falls out of them from who knows what orifices and it gets ground into the carpet.  You schlep hundreds of pounds of food into the prep area and set it all on the same counters and floor locations.  Parts wear out.

There were a number of broken floor tiles.  This space was built out at least twenty years ago.  The cracked tiles in the prep area were unsightly and perhaps something the next inspector (health/food) would decide to be the source of the next plague.  Matching tiles is problematic.  Apparently 8x8 ceramic tiles are no longer in style.  Unable to find grey tiles I found red, black and white options.  White seemed logical.

Installing tile does have sense of reward and if you are methodical it is something everyone could do.  Not having removed tile I checked out YouTube which had a number of nice videos suggesting that with an inexpensive grout saw and a few other tools this would be a simple process.  Over the past few years I've found that the more I have to work with older equipment, vehicles, tools, etc. the more I've had to reach for a big hammer.  Now every garage sale is a search zone for another three or five pound one-handed hammer or sledge hammers or picks or adzes...tools that really are about brute force.

The grout saw seemed worthless.  In the video a few strokes caused the tile grout to easily be removed, be swept up and made quickly into the trash bucket.  Perhaps the effort at least 'scored' the grout.  The BFH was called into play with the risk that it might do more damage than good.  The YouTube videos suggested that not removing all the grout, followed by a 'smash' attack might break more than you want.  Fortunately no new damage was caused during the removal of twenty tiles.  Replacement was straightforward and painless...except that I'm drawn to the white tiles in a sea of grey...but I'll get over it.  The tiles cost about $22, the grout was $16.  I miscalculated on the thinset adhesive and had to make a run to the hardware store but kept the cost under $25.  The grout saw was $8 and $4 for some extra blades.  The three pound hammer came for $2 at a garage sale about six years ago on a hot August Saturday.  A couple was selling their lake home and the man had all his tools laid out on tables in the garage.  Other shoppers were offering far less than the marked prices.  I knew that some day I'd be selling my tools and paid him $2.

Brute force has it's place.  Ideally you have equipment that you maintain.  You deal with the problem aspects before they become big problems, and replace worn and broken parts.  Organizations need the same attention.  Target did not make the sounds and performance of a tuned machine for a long time.  The new guy Cornell is fixing Target with a three-pound hammer.  That's what happens when coaching and managing fails.

Early Spring...

Work, Annoying...

• my 98 year old aunt was paying ATT for long distance service.  it took 30 minutes to get that disabled and the $34/month charge stopped.  five minutes with Centurylink and $8/month solved the problem.
• I needed to change my eBay password and telephone contact info.  the phone number was 18 months old and from the 27-year gig (old job).  I spent 20 minutes trying to change, actually find the number change option in my eBay profile.  Were it not the case that I spend a lot of time online I'd find that OK.  The customer service rep was fine and walked me through the process, certainly thinking I was some sort of neophyte, not a former CIO.  well...I did pass on the opportunity to suggest 'user experience' testing.
• I do use Keepass for my password.  It seems implausible but I have over 400 entries.  How would I explain that there was a time without passwords that require upper and lower case letters, special characters, no letters that spell a word and nothing similar to any previous password or user ID.  My Google password is the only one that I don't routinely have to look up in Keepass.  In 1978 I worked for a state agency doing statistical analysis.  My recollection of the user name or our primary system is long gone but the password was 'evaltinu.'  
• passwords that expire with no online method of re-setting is quite annoying.  Organizations that fail to realize that it's a 24x7 computer world are not worthy.  "Your password has expired.  Call our office between 8:30 and 5:30 M-F."
• Today (March 17) I received a letter from a financial institution  mailed March 10 confirming my election to receive all statements and communication electronically.