I.T. Erudio

Category: business

  • programming, teams, and the limits of automation

    It is always worth pointing out that (as a general rule) human beings are terrible at predicting the future. This isn’t a harsh condemnation so much as recognition of the human condition. It wouldn’t take much effort to fill up a small book of quotes/proverbs/sayings that all boil down to “it is out of our…

  • Capitalism, unions, THINK

    Capitalism“Capital” is simply “money and goods” used to produce more “money and goods.” Merriam-Webster tells me the first known use of the term “capitalism” goes back to 1833. It is slightly interesting that “Banking” goes back to 1660. Then the parable of the “minas” also comes to mind (where earning “interest” is mentioned in passing…

  • roots of happiness

    A study of characterJust watched “Citizen Kane” again – always near the top of the “best American movies” list, it wasn’t a commercial success when first released. PART of the problem is that the movie is very much a “character study.” I suppose the main character getting divorced twice might have been more interesting in…

  • situational leadership, reciprocity, football?, Hamlet?, random thoughts …

    Random thoughts …I find myself wondering this morning if saying “I’m a proud Gen Xer” is an oxymoron. Kind of like saying someone is enthusiastic about apathy. hmmm – I’m usually TRYING to be funny when I say “proud Gen Xer” – a line from “Chinatown” comes to mind “’Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all…

  • “Movies”, “Records”, and me – part 2

    RecordsNotice that the word “movie” is not bound to a specific technology. e.g. “Movies” used to be synonymous with “films” – then the film went away, but the pictures remain … The same is true of “records” as a noun. Remember, gool ol’ Mr Edison made the first sound recordings on wax cylinders. So “records”…

  • “Movies”, “Records”, and me – part 1

    All the cool kids are doing it…I imagine that most people exist on a sort of “sliding scale” of “fashionableness.” At one extreme end is “hip/cool/fashionable/in style/trendy” near the middle is “not as young – but capable of understanding ‘what the kids are saying’” then the other extreme end is “What is everyone talking about?…

  • A rose by any other name …

    The Bard reference:An optimistic young singer named Sara Niemietz responded to a fan question by saying something like “she never met a flower she didn’t like” (or maybe it was she “never saw an ugly flower” – it was on her Instagram feed – the exact quote isn’t important) Which brought to mind Mr Shakespeare’s…

  • The business of motion pictures …

    First principles In the category of “first principles” put “healthy competition is good for everyone.” To be clear – saying “HEALTHY COMPETITION is good” implies that there is such a thing as “unhealthy competition.” “Healthy competition” – is a version of the classic “win-win” scenario. Ok, obviously in many/most “competitions” someone “wins” and someone else…

  • Nokia-Microsoft, Compaq-HP, thoughts on company size and culture

    Just watched a documentary “The Rise and Fall of Nokia Mobile” – which is available online from various sources (the link is to Tubi). From a “history of tech” point of view it was interesting. Nokia is one of the companies that “invented” the mobile phone – i.e. they tell the story of “mobile communication”…

  • Security, “cyber security”, system administration

    “Enough”During the “lost decade” of my “20’s” I had a LOT of different jobs. PC repair, high school wrestling coach, security guard, and a lot of “student” time in general. The (pre 9/11) “security guard” time was nice because I was usually left alone all night. I was there to be visible and act as…