The Professor's Notes

My son put together a project for his history class. He had to do something that reflected some aspect of China. He decided to “visit” China and watch some ping-pong tournaments.

The avid listener and follower will know that he and I blog and podcast together over at “The Father Son Chats.”

Enjoy his video!

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You all might remember my good friend Fleshy or at the liberal blog Pressing the Flesh. Well, he found a great video where a Hillary and an Obama supporter duke it out in true name-calling fashion. It was–well, judge for yourself:

My brother (the Targuman) and I have another chat. We briefly chat about the YouTube video that I blogged on previously, and then move on to talk about the Mac Air. As a starting point we talk about the critique that Paul Thurrott of the Windows Weekly podcast gives of the Mac Air, and then discuss the various ways we can define “High End.”

After that, we then move on to talk about Merlin Mann, and his photo with Dr Pepper.

Then–well, we talk about the NFL Films set-up starting one week ahead of time for the Super Bowl.

Then we end it where we started–with the YouTube video.

Enjoy our podcast!

The Prof

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Okay, so if we were to make websites actually be “people” this MIGHT be how the party would go down, eh dawg? 

Over at the blog, Confessions of a Community College Dean, a commenter wrote that

Academics of all people should remember that the plural of anecdote is not data.

I find this to be a humorous, and in some way, interesting quote. I also find myself “engaging” with the quote in ways that I didn’t expect. This statement challenges really two fundamental concepts–that of anecdote, and of data. When does a collection of anecdotes step out of a collection of “stories” and actually add up to real, actionable data?

Data is, at the most broad, a collection of anecdotal evidence that builds a case over time. In fact, case-study analysis is simply a rigorous approach to gathering anecdotal evidence. Yes, you are limited in the amount of pure statistical analysis that can be accomplished through the gathering of anecdotal evidence, but anecdotes bring a richness to the data that one cannot get through simple “number crunching.”

In addition, an anecdote could be considered a data point of one. And sometimes “one” is all you need. How many times should a car not start before you suspect a problem? How many space shuttles do we need to blow up before we learn about O-rings? If one is seeking to improve service, enhance quality, or improve a reputation, then every negative “anecdote” is a story of failure–failure that must be controlled, corrected, and eliminated.

On the other hand, anecdotes of success should be plentiful, and instructive, if they help one overcome the failures in the other negative anecdotes. Anecdotes about repeated success help in that they demonstrate that success can be achieved, and perhaps can be “replicated” with appropriate processes.

Let’s look at one example. In a blog written by one of my students, he struggles with poor customer service from (stand by for stereotype) “the cable guy.” At the end of the day, the cable guy dragged mud over the carpets, cut two holes in the wall (only needing one) and then had to leave so couldn’t repair the damage to the wall.

The best part about the entire story was, the installer had to be at another appointment and couldn’t fix the hole in my wall. I asked what he was going to do about the wall and he gave me some putty and a sponge and explained how to fix it. He then gave me my $80 installation bill and was on his merry way.

Is it any wonder this customer was upset?

Comcast (as Wesley points out) “wants to be perceived as the leader in cable services.” If one seeks to deliver a high quality service, error free, on-time, every time, then a single story of failure is a failure. In fact, what the Comcast blog posting points out is that a service provider, Comcast, is failing in key aspects of the delivery of that service.

The Fitzsimmons’ write, in their book Service Management that reputation is often a key dimension to the provision of a service. They write:

The uncertainty that is associated with the selection of a service provider often is resolved by talking with others about their experiences before a decision is made. Unlike a product, a poor service experience cannot be exchanged or returned for a different model.

So the “take away” here is that for an individual about to make a decision an anecdote is “data.” And as negative experiences begin to collect, the weight of these anecdotes can tarnish (perhaps irretrievably) the reputation of an organization, or a person.

So, does the simple statement “the plural of anecdote is not data” hold true? I think not. Cute, but alas, wrong.

**UPDATE** I have added several additional posts. These include some recipes, as well as links to cookbooks and a crepe machine!  Start here to find the recipes

I suppose most, if not all of you dear readers are not old enough to remember the Magic Pan restaurant.  While reading the textbook “Service Management” by Fitzsimmons, I was taken back to the restaurant of my youth, and reminded once again of those wafer-thin crepes, and the delightful fillings that so often filled our Sunday afternoons.

The text book, in discussing quality control in delivering a service, mentions the “foolproof machine” that the Magic Pan designed to cook their crepes.  (For that same upside down pan, perfect crepe experience, try the VillaWare V5225 Crepe Maker) I remember it like it was yesterday, and yes–it was a great example of standardizing a service delivery process. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been viewing the independent documentary, Jesus Camp, on YouTube, and reading the comments on there as well. In addition, I watched a discussion with the directors of that film. All in all, I think it is a very well done documentary.

In reading through the comments, one thing has struck me. Many accuse the evangelicals of “brain washing” these kids, and the old canard makes its way back once again with a few arguing that children should not be exposed to religion until they are old enough to think for themselves. Ahhh, yes. And at what age do we believe that to be?

I am not being flippant here. The question that comes to mind, for me, is when do we stop teaching our children only how to read, write, and do math, and instead instill in them the tools necessary for critical thinking?

Is that at age 3, when they start asking the “why” questions? Is that not their first attempts at seeking to critically explain the world around them?

Is it at age 8, when they have started school, and are now beginning to see that not everyone looks the same, dresses the same, or likes the same foods?

Is it at age 12, as they enter puberty, and notice that boys and girls are different? As they begin to grapple with the changes in their bodies (or wonder why their’s hasn’t changed yet?)

Perhaps it is 16, when we tell them they are now old enough to drive a car, or 18 when they can vote and join the military, or 21 when society says we can now trust you with alcohol?

Perhaps it is not so far fetched to assume that religion can play a role in all aspects of growth. That it isn’t a bad thing for children to grow up with the sense of worth that comes from knowing that you were created, and that God loves you in a perfect way that your imperfect parents cannot.

Perhaps it is not a bad thing for children, at all ages, to question, and challenge, the accepted views of the world, to say “maybe evolution isn’t the best explanation for the world around me.”

Maybe we should focus more on instilling and developing critical thinking skills in our children and less time “protecting” them from having to think critically.

Now, for those of you that wonder when, if ever, I will talk about Supply Chain issues on this blog, let’s make this more of an ongoing discussion.

Obviously I have had an interest lately in fuel economy, and alternatives to the status quo. These are not driven simply by an altruistic vision of the future, but by rather practical personal and business considerations. Considerations that one can see in the supply chain. That said, I would like to invite your thoughts, in more of a conversational vein.

Perhaps you can share your thoughts on the impacts on supply chains of:

• Local food producers gaining a foot-hold in the market
• higher fuel prices as driven by crude oil prices
  • Consider off-shoring in this discussion. Labor prices drive production off-shore. Will fuel prices bring them back?
• alternative, native-grown fuel sources
• transportation routes devoted to moving crude oil
• transportation networks designed to move grains and grasses
• Economic impact of alternative fuel sources
  • If demand for fuel shifts to biomass, what would the impact be on crude oil prices?

I would recommend that you also visit the blog of “Imperfect Mommy” specifically where she outlines the benefits of local eating.

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Even the few of you that actually know me probably didn’t know that at one point I was the Public Speaking winner at my state’s FFA (still Future Farmers of America, then) convention, back in the early, EARLY 80s. That contest is a “prepared speech” contest, and for that speech, I chose to talk about the two major crises facing our nation: parity for farmers, and the continuing energy crisis. It appeared to me, as a young high school kid, that a farmer’s cooperative could work towards a grain for oil deal. But beyond that, I wrote how a shift towards “biomass” energy would actually remove the oil-baron middlemen, and rather than “grow to trade”, this would allow the farmers to essentially “grow to fuel.”

The past few years have seen an increase in the attention given to biomass as a fuel source. You all may recognize this a little better as the “ethanol from corn” movement, among others. Read the rest of this entry »

I must admit that I, like so many others, had not read Andy Olmsted’s writings until today.  A blogging soldier in the US Army, he left a final entry, to be posted in the event of his death.  Since I have read it, I am sure you can gather he has given “that last full measure of devotion.”

The entry is thoughtful, funny, and touching.  One would find it hard to read this post, regardless of perspectives on the military and the war in Iraq, and not finish without a tear in the eye, and a warm spot in their heart for the American Fighting Man.

Our soldiers deserve our respect, and honor, not only in their deaths, but in their lives as well.

Please–take the time to read his post.  You will be changed.

And, while he didn’t want his death to be politicized, I feel it remains only proper that we remember him with the closing words of Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg:

 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

 

President Abraham Lincoln

November 1863