Upcoming Posts....

Well, I finished my 2nd Master's degree. Exciting news. But, what I want to do is re-learn the material that I've likely forgotten...or never learned while simultaneously indexing this information for myself and others. After all, what's knowledge worth if you can't at least teach someone else what you've learned. I know I have more left to learn from others....so much that it is overwhelming to think of how it'll all fit without forgetting stuff.

I will also shortly be posting on the new Harvard Business Review Case, "From Steve to Stephanie." This will be an interesting case...as we are definitely in need of being more aware of diversity in the workforce and how to behave appropriately.

But, back on point. The material will be indexed from various textbooks. This could take a matter of months...but most likely at least 1 year. After all, I spent over 3 years learning all this stuff the first time through.

The material ranges from all of your standard business practices:

• Accounting - mostly just Activity-Based Accounting (ABC)


• Economics


• Finance




• Financial Analysis & Decision Making


• Investment Management


• National and International Finanacial Management




• Business Law/Ethics


• Leadership Management


• Marketing


• Information Technology Management


• Operations Management


• Competitive Strategy

To more technical material:

• Usability Engineering


• Information Security Management


• Building Internet Applications with ASP.NET and C#


• Database Design


• Internet Marketing


• Information Systems Project Management


• Systems Analysis and Design


• E-Business Strategies


• Business Architecture Techniques


• Voice/Data Networking

If there are specific areas of interest I can start on a particular topic. But, they will be indexed with fairly understandable tagging methods so it can be accessed pretty easily.

Otherwise I'll just start from the left of my bookshelf and work my way right over the coming months/years. Each post will have a top level tag like "Internet Marketing" and will then have secondary tags identifying chapters or topics covered in the post.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (for those of us in the United States) and at least a great week or weekend for those of you out of the US that don't celebrate turkey day.

Another Book Idea

One thing I've noticed from my experience in work and school is that we've really scratched the surface of an appropriate way to attack projects revolving around Information-based systems. So, much like the last time I came up with a book idea I'll throw the title out there and see if there is any comments driven by the concept.

The title:
Thoughts Through the Information System Lifecycle: A Management Level Approach to Information Systems

One of the key problems I'm seeing is the disconnect between the management and the "worker-drones" in an IT organization. If there wasn't such a disconnect we wouldn't all enjoy Dilbert cartoons so much.

But, the main idea is a management level vision of the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) integrated with observations at a professional level perspective. Any ideas/thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving (those that celebrate) and you will be prepping for the holiday season

IBM XML Challenge

I found this great website, XML Challenge. Basically it allows peopleto use their database scouring skills using XQUERY statements. While I have basically no knowledge of using XQuery statements with DB2 Express-C. When you get Express-C downloaded, I admit there is a bit of set-up difficulty. But, after those troubles pass you're ready to go.

There are some basic similarities between Oracle and DB2....but unfortunately, the XML challenge is demonstrating how differently these programs work. So, after you say "start the challenge" you are given 24 hours to answer 5 queries. And...the queries have to be 100% perfect. It is interesting how the logic works and how there is no additional feedback on the queries. Needless to say, I guess I had an error.

The following are my questions and my answers:

Question 1:Question #1: List the five countries with the smallest population in ascending order.

Answer 1:select name, p.population
from countries c, c_info ci,
xmltable('db2-fn:xmlcolumn("C_INFO.INFO")/country' COLUMNS "POPULATION" INTEGER PATH 'population',
"CTRY_ID" INTEGER PATH '@cid') as p
where c.id=P.ctry_id
and c.id=ci.cid
ORDER BY p.population;

Question 2:List the five countries with the largest total area in descending order (largest to smallest).

Answer 2:select name, a.total_area
from countries c, c_info ci,
xmltable('db2-fn:xmlcolumn("C_INFO.INFO")/country' COLUMNS "TOTAL_AREA" DOUBLE PATH 'area/total',
"CTRY_ID" INTEGER PATH '@cid') as a
where c.id = a.ctry_id
and c.id = ci.cid
ORDER BY a.total_area desc;

Question 3:Which countries have more water area than half its land area? As your answer, enter the name, population, land area, water area and coastline of the first country in the list.

Answer 3: select name, a.population, a.land_area, a.water_area, a.coastline
from countries c, c_info ci,
xmltable('db2-fn:xmlcolumn("C_INFO.INFO")/country' COLUMNS "CTRY_ID" INTEGER PATH '@cid',
"POPULATION" INTEGER PATH 'population',
"LAND_AREA" DOUBLE PATH 'area/land',
"WATER_AREA" DOUBLE PATH 'area/water',
"COASTLINE" DOUBLE PATH 'coastline') AS a
where c.id = a.ctry_id
and c.id = ci.cid
and a.water_area > (a.LAND_AREA/2);

Question 4:Which continents have the shortest coastline? For the answer to this question, enter the names of the continents in ascending order of coastline (least to most).

Answer 4:select con.continent, sum(a.coastline) "total_coastline"
from countries ctry, c_info ci, continents con,
xmltable('db2-fn:xmlcolumn("C_INFO.INFO")/country' COLUMNS "CTRY_ID" INTEGER PATH '@cid',
"COASTLINE" DOUBLE PATH 'coastline') AS a
where ctry.id = a.ctry_id
and ctry.id = ci.cid
and ctry.continent = con.cid
GROUP BY con.continent
ORDER BY sum(a.coastline);

Question 5:Which countries have the shortest coastline per square kilometer of (total) area? Exclude all countries that do not have a coastline. For the result set, enter a table of those countries with the name, the coastline per square kilometer as "COASTLINERATIO", the coastline, and the area. As the answer to this question, enter the first five countries in ascending order of coastline ratio.

Answer 5:select name, DECIMAL(a.coastline/a.total_area,6,5) "COASTLINERATIO", a.coastline, a.total_area
from countries ctry, c_info ci,
xmltable('db2-fn:xmlcolumn("C_INFO.INFO")/country' COLUMNS "CTRY_ID" INTEGER PATH '@cid',
"COASTLINE" DOUBLE PATH 'coastline',
"TOTAL_AREA" DOUBLE PATH 'area/total') AS a
where ctry.id = a.ctry_id
and ctry.id = ci.cid
and a.coastline > 0
order by (a.coastline/a.total_area);


The only real way that you'll understand what's going on is by actually going to the XML Challenge website and at least poking around a little. It does seem like a lot of fun...and if you get the answers correct you win stuff. So, you actually get some value back out of your 2-4 hours of thinking.

iPhone Apps

Ok. So, in a Usability Engineering course at DePaul I was part of a team that created an application that eliminates the need for purchasing audio tours at your local museum. I've posted the slides on my LinkedIn Account.

I'd love to get your initial response on if you'd be interested in the application.

The obvious challenge is buy-in from the museums. This eliminates the overhead of paying licensing fees to the audio tour companies. Corporate sponsorship and advertising can be embedded into the tours (for the profit)....and there are so many talented folks at these museums already that can create the content on a web-based tour generator that is yet to be developed.

Please, let me know what you guys think of the VERY low-fidelity prototype.

Fear.....and Greed

My parents, who have been great mentors in my life, have stressed that the stock market is driven on fear and greed. When I first started actively investing in 2001 I didn't want to believe this ideaology. "The markets are driven on the fundamentals," I said. My strategy worked fairly well for a number of years. Of course, I didn't realize rule #1. It's easy to make money in an upward moving economy. In a down economy things get very difficult.

These bailouts happen. The newscasters try to spin the bailout plans as being horrible, company-saving non-capitalistic measures. So, I thought I'd give my very small viewing audience a little insight as to my thoughts on the bailout plans. Since they seem to be ever-present in our minds....and I even got interviewed on the street regarding this bailout thing. I told the news people that what I'd like to see is:

1. Accountability -hold the people that created this mess accountable. Don't allow them to continue the actions that created this problem. However, this doesn't mean an immediate firing of all the C-level guys. But, it does mean that there needs to be a transfer of power.

2. Tranparency - we, the public and/or the shareholders (truthfully the public has become the shareholders with the bailout) should know where the money is being spent. Simple concept, no elaboration required there. But, the effort to deliver transparency may create some jobs in the IT sector to deliver an information repository....I'm not sure exactly how they'll do it.

But, a lot of people are agreeing with some of the folks out there that say "let the auto companies fail, let the banks fail...don't give them bailout money." To them I say, think about what the money is doing. What happens if these companies fail? If the companies fail and the pensions go away, well, the government foots the bill. Billions of costs are immediately transferred to the government without ANY job creation. Additionally, if the companies fail and the unemployment rate goes up...what happens? Yep, the government foots the bill there too. Benefits, compensation, etc. all gets transitioned to a LIABILITY on the GOVERNMENT's books.

Does spending the money required to help the company crawl it's way out of the hole and fund some R&D to create sustainable growth make better sense? Uh....yea, it does. So, my two cents there.

Oh, and Sarah Palin....seriously....2012....seriously....? Practice your speeches before you deliver them on a national level...because it is ok for me to make a runon sentance in class and feel a little silly. But, when you're not able to talk effectively to the national media what makes you think you can be a presidential candidate. Or, be able to hold a rational debate against one of the most polished and prolific speakers of the modern era in 2012? Perhaps you aren't thinking. Rant complete.

SQL Queries

A group member in one of my Usability classes asked me an interesting question regarding deleting records from multiple tables in a database.

My answer, well, it depends on the data. But, what does your query look like:

delete from MAIN_TBL where REQUIREMENT in
(select REQUIREMENT
from MAIN_TBL A, LINE_TBL B, DETL_TBL C
where A.REQUIREMENT = B.REQUIREMENT
and A.REQUIREMENT = C.REQUIREMENT
and B.REQUIREMENT = C.REQUIREMENT
and A.eff_status = 'I');

So, my initial reaction was....there aren't any attributes you're deleting. What are you deleting from MAIN_TBL?

So, I said first thing, is the select statement performing the way you want? Is REQUIREMENT really the primary key? How can requirement be unique? If it is, what do you want to delete? Do you want to delete the entire row of data and all the data in the child tables? Finally, is this TEST_DATA? If it is test data I'd probably try and delete the rows from one of the child tables first, then add in both child tables, then add in the parent table. Iteration is our friend.

Start with:

delete * from detl_tbl where requirement in
(select b.requirement from main_tbl a, line_tbl b, detl_tbl c
where a.requirement = b.requirement (+)
and a.requirement = c.requirement (+)
and UPPER(a.eff_status) = 'I');


So, yay. I get to use some of my database troublshooting skills

Allstate and Mensa

Two topics today. Completely unrelated. First, I had an all-day interview/information session with Allstate. I must say, I'm impressed with the culture and the environment. There are people from all backgrounds, and varying levels of education present. It made for a great day. So, kudos to them for putting on a great presentation.

The second topic is about Mensa. So. I took the test a little under two weeks ago. I know I briefly blogged about the details of the test and second guessing some of my performance. However, I'm proud to report. I've been given the green light....I apparently am smart enough for Mensa. So, I will soon be joining the society for those in a High IQ bracket. Very cool.

Alright. Since I had an all-day event today and a lot of work to do to prepare for my group meeting tomorrow....I have to get back to it. But, things do seem to be falling into place.

Usability Engineering

I'm in this class called Usability Engineering. It is a graduate course at DePaul. I may have mentioned it in prior blogs...but the main project in this class is to develop a mobile application. Which is very cool.

Our group came up with an idea with a mix of using the iPhone, GPS, and audio tours. The premise is simple. Who wants to go to the museum and use the clunky and unsanitary audio devices? There are other functional tid-bits, but I can't really give it all away, can I?

Anyway, Angelique, our team member with a penchant for graphic design, went to an Apple iPhone Developers Conference yesterday. I wish I could have gone....damn. Anyway, she ran our idea and some low-fidelity screenshots by one of the Apple guys. He seemed to love the concept....so there is an MIT $100k challenge that I may peek into....but I need a part-time or full-time MIT student on the team. Or, maybe just proposing the concept to a few museums. Luckily, Angelique works for the Adler Planetarium (made famous by John McCain and his projector comment).

Nevertheless, I was excited that the Apple Guys were interested....and we were at a stage where the low-fidelity prototype didn't really look like an Apple iPhone app. So, it was promising. Our team will be presenting to a few Motorola folks next week. I just wanted to blog about it....

I will try and get the screenshots available to the blog soon. Feedback will be welcome.

Book Idea to throw out there...

I've been applying for many a job lately. Some know this, some don't. But, from all of my insights gained from the Job Fair front and the job market front it appears that in this new digital age one of the departments of an organization that has typically been though of as a more hand-on people-centric divison has changed. The Human Resources Department. So, I thought about maybe writing a book on my thoughts.

The title would be:

"Go and Apply Online: Why HR has Taken a Turn towards Bits and Bytes"

Based on the title, what do you think this book would be about, and would you buy it if enough additional research was done?

November 2008 HBR Case Study

Ok, so I'm going to give my "expert" opinion on November's HBR Case Study. The case is called: "When Your Colleague Is a Saboteur". I want to stress that I have not yet read any of the expert opinions and this is my own little personal take on the case study.

Overview of the Case

The case tells us a story of Mark Landstad, a new Invenstment Banking Executive that has moved up through the ranks of CliffBank. He is sitting in his office going over a presentation that he will be giving to CliffBank executives on a company called Millhouse. He's searching through a network drive for updated information from the previous employee and was having ZERO luck finding the information.

He decided to ask his partner on the presentation, Nicole. He liked Nicole because she was so inviting and showed him around the office and introduced him to other senior managers in the division. He realized that Nicole would not be able to access her email due to a trip and began to write a second email to one of his mentors, Ian Beasley. Ian works at Millhouse and could provide a great deal of help to the presentation...but he avoids doing so as he didn't want to ask Ian for the help. So, he sent an email off to Nicole and continued working over the weekend.

On Monday he met with Nicole and asked her to quickly go over the presentation scheduled for a post-lunch meeting the same day. Nicole said she would review it and get back to Mark later. With 30 minutes until the meeting Mark was nearly pulling his hair out and Nicole hadn't given any feedback. She just said, "it looks good" and to get ready for the meeting.

In the meeting Nicole started the presentation and started to give additional information that Mark was looking for all weekend. Nicole deliberately didn't share this information with Mark. The CliffBank executives were so impressed with Nicole's information that Mark's portion of the presentation was never reached or acknowledged. After the meeting, Mark's new boss Paul told him that he should bounce Nicole's ideas off of his mentor, Ian. Mark did so, and Ian told him that Nicole had contacted him for a meeting as well. Another point that Nicole did not mention.

Mark became irritated and confronted Nicole. Her response was "I'm trying to grab ALL the credit on this project." Paul, Mark's manager doesn't really care about this problem and is really only interested in results.

So, the question that Mark is facing:
How can Mark regain is footing after being sabotaged?


My personal insights would be as follows:

Nicole is apparently a "shark" and not a true team player. As such, she must have a habit of this and the concept of "laying a pool of the dead on your way to the top" comes to mind. People with this mindset can still make it to the top...but they don't stay at the top because employees just won't work for them. So, eventually, Nicole will fail. But this doesn't really help Mark's immediate problem.

I would probably say that Mark needs to fight fire with fire on this particular project (as much as I hate thinking this). This is Mark's first project with CliffBank and as such, it is critical that he succeeds to put confidence in the eyes of the senior management. With his mentor, Ian, being an executive for the company that his project is for, Mark has a huge advantage in this situation. Mark should call Ian and explain to him that he needs "an advantage on this proposal to make a good impression with senior management and he does not want Nicole at the meeting." If Ian asks for additional information, he should provide it. Ian is aware of Mark's past, and is more likely to believe Mark in this crazy situation.

Forcing Nicole into a position where she has to take a back seat with Ian is a very harsh move, but he needs to demonstrate to Nicole that he isn't a pushover. Mark should intimate that he wants to give the information to Nicole, but wants this to be a "group proposal where they both get credit for success." if he does give information to Nicole, he should not give complete information. An even better alternative is to see if Paul wants to come to the lunch meeting if Nicole is there. With Paul seeing how well Mark gets along with Ian and Millhouse it is likely that Mark will be put into the lead on the project. This being said, Mark will need to give Nicole some of the credit on the proposal...or he may face constant problems on future projects. It may even be worth it to record future conversations with Nicole in case of future sabotage and to build a solid case for her dismissal. Any recorded conversations should be placed in an office vault due to the sensitive nature.

No executive team wants a member of the team to be solely after their individual success. A true test of a person's ability is not only their success rate, but their ability to teach others what they've learned along the way.

This was a difficult case for me to stomach and conceive...as I have never worked with someone like Nicole before. This is not to say that I won't the future...and I don't think I'd be able to have the same approach to the situation.

Pending Posts

I've finally uploaded about 100 more pictures from my trip. For the 1 day that I was in Los Angeles I took a lot of pictures. I'm also noticing that 90% of my pictures are just buildings and landscape. Why didn't I take more pictures with friends and family? Next time I visit family I vow to take ONLY family pictures. Anyway, I'll be posting lots of pictures in the coming couple of weeks.

I have also been putting off posting the November HBR Case Study. I will likely do this in the next week.

Time is starting to free up as school sort of winds down so my blogging may increase. I hope it does anyway. However, my job searching is ramping up immensely. So, unless I land a job and can just sort of lose that level of stress (which is pretty big given the markets and financial crisis...I refuse to blog about these topics) I may continue sporadically blogging as applying for jobs is truly a full-time job.

So, expect some "pretty" pictures soon. Since the train is nearly impossible to sleep in I often took both sunset and sunrise photos. But, please, take at least one multi-day train trip in your life. It is an experience....

I think that's all for tonight.