http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/articlerss.pl Where the machine of the media uses light and shadow to transmit the message. en-us http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=12 In the dreaming, my wife, my mother and I went on vacation to an adult amusement park. It was made to look like a historic village. It was situated in a deep ravine.The facility lost power. We lost track of my mother. My wife and I were able to climb out of the ravine. One of the highlights was climbing out of a stairwell that had an abandoned school bus in it. There was a city nearby that provided the workers for the amusement park. The city still had power. We went to dinner but just to a national franchise. It wasn't anything special. We were just glad to get out of the failed park and find something to eat. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=20 Many pundits have claimed that the web will destroy traditional broadcast media. The only danger that the web poses is to the out-dated modes of thinking about the economics of media. Rethinking how media is sold is the paradigm shift that broadcast media needs to transform the web from threat to salvation. There is also a printer friendly version of this article. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=18 A large majority of the software in any business application is concerned with creating, reading, updating, and deleting the complex data that models the operation of any business. This paper surveys how modern business application software development attempts to solve this problem by formulating the data access strategy that is most appropriate and efficacious to the problem being solved by the software. There is also a printer friendly version of this article.{/dataAccessStrategyMindMap.png|Mind Map} http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=16 When two or more technology trends meet, they are said to converge. The actual specifics of that convergence, the why, what, where, who, which, when, and how of it, can be a very interesting and elusive thing. The only aspect of a convergence greater than its power is its unpredictability. There is also a printer friendly version of this story. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=17 Open Source Software has become a very important and influential movement in the world of Information Technology. Software developers can gain a lot of ability by embracing OSS tools. This article lists my favorite OSS projects, it also explains why and how I feel that these projects are so relevant in the areas of requirements capture, designing, and coding software. I listed some fun projects here. Finally, I mention some projects that are breeder projects for the entire software ecosystem in that they lay a foundation for other projects to grow. Unless otherwise stated, you should assume that these tools run on both MS-Windows and Linux. There is also a printer friendly version of this article. {/oss.gif|Favorite OSS Mind Map} http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=15 Recently, I read a blog entry about the non-linear nature of the web and it got me to reviewing my own observations about what influence that modern technologies, such as the web, and its precursors have had on how we frame our world.What I read made observations on how we tell our stories where the events of the story unfold in the order that is most efficacious to understanding. It also references a book, called Everything Is Miscellaneous, that expounds on the subject of how we organize information in modern times.The story, that you are about to read, talks about the use of time in the art of the narrative. Some early visionaries on the subject are surveyed along with some more modern approaches. Different technologies are surveyed that address the need for organizing and presenting information in narrative form. Finally, some themes or meta-patterns are presented that attempt to set the context for these innovations. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=14 This story is about a poetic odyssey that I took recently to honor a friend. His birthday was coming up and I didn't want to get him yet another bottle of wine. My friend is a musician who loves experimental music scores written especially for him.I have always been fascinated by DNA. I recently ran across some research about a particular gene sequence for longevity. So, I wrote a program to generate a muscial score for my friend with that gene sequence. I gave it to him for his birthday as a wish for longevity. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=13 The web site that you are seeing now is more than just stories. It takes software to serve these stories in the format that you see them. I wrote that software. This story explores why I released the software as open source. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=1 There is a video that has been out for about a year which is called The Secret. I find the name to be a little ironic considering how aggressive the marketing campaign that this video has. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=11 In the dreaming, I was a child again. I was walking back to my house which, at this time in my life, was my mother's house. I was carrying with me a potion in one of those bottles where the cap is also a dropper. I knew that this potion had the power to transform me into someone else. If I drank just one drop of this potion, it would change me into a different person. Although I might have the same name, I would no longer be the same person. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=10 Though not exactly new, AOP is growing in popularity in various diverse software development camps. I believe it is poised for rapid adoption in the next few years. Here, I discuss the drivers and the trends for this technology. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=9 When designing and writing software, one way of making your software more flexible is to embed a programming language in it. Imagine a product where privileged users could enter scripts to implement new or temporary business rules right in the application itself. One of the best ways I know to do that is to use a technology called antlr. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=8 I just read a blog entitled Top Ten Things Ten Years of Professional Development has Taught Me.Item number three is Learn to Say No. Item number four is If Everything is Important, then Nothing is Important. These two points pretty much sum up, in simple terms, the most important advancements in the past ten years of software process development. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=6 Have you ever wanted to write a novel but never got around to it? Now there is help and you can do it. Yes, even you can do it. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=7 In the dreaming, my family and I were living in a multi-story building that looks like a public library made in the 60s. I was doing some repairs in the top floor near the roof. Guests came to visit and we were lamenting over the fact that our kitchen rennovation had not yet completed. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=5 What role does the symbol of the mirror play in modern life? Two recent works, who use that symbol, are explored here. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=4 John Bright-Fey runs a training center in the Southeast USA called Blue Dragon Academy. I attended a book signing of his where he presented two recently published books; The Whole Heart of Zen, the Complete Teachings from the Oral Tradition of Ta-Mo and The Whole Heart of Tao, the Complete Teachings from the Oral Tradition of Lao-Tzu. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=3 Every year, hundreds of cinematographers and thousands of cinema buffs converge on Birmingham, Alabama to participate in the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. This blog contains my reflections on the 2006 or 8th run of this festival. http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=2 The truth will set you free. This well known passage from the Christian bible is often quoted but is it always a good idea? Do the consequences that come with speaking your personal truth sometimes make it a better policy to hide or muddy the truth? http://www.transitionchoices.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=19 The phrase "Time to Market is Everything" is often quoted and many believe this to be about the so called "First Mover Advantage" for those that enter a market earlier are more likely to dominate in that market then those who enter it later. Perhaps this is true. Another advantage of getting to market quickly is getting quality feedback from your early adopter customers. A well focused product will have a better chance of grabbing market share. A simple road map is presented here for how to go about getting to market fast. There is also a printer friendly version of this article.