Another sleep-think event!

Boys!
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Luke and Lifeguards

This is a shot of Luke stuck in the sand with our favorite Lifeguard in the background.

Luke makes sure he says hi to the lifeguard every time he sees one.

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Broken Sun?

Lukes first reaction to a sunset was...'Dad, is the Sun Broken?'
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BarberShop 001

This is Lukes first visit to the local barbershop.

He did very well and even tipped Johnny the Barber.

PS: he was a lot more co-operative with Johnny than he usually is with me.
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My 'Simple Life' at Internet Brands

Introduction:

This page is supposed to be a summary of my ‘simple’ life at Internet Brands and should contain a collection of process, methods, tasks and solutions that I created, used or collaborated in.

Methodology:

Having previously participated in numerous successful projects that were implemented using Rational Unified Process(RUP), I observed that the Database Team spent 80%-90% of our time in the Construction and Transition phase.

This is not such a bad thing except that the other phases require just as much attention.

I can best describe the challenge as follows.

If nothing were to change, maintenance of existing systems would be simple and almost predictable with a few menial tasks such as hardware replacement.

Now if you throw in the need to compete, innovate and create new products, change is introduced which requires some investment of time in the Inception, Elaboration and Construction stages of RUP.

The less time spent in these phases by the DB team, the harder the challenges in the Transition phase.

Change:

Change is an interesting thing. We need it to make progress but are resistant to it depending on how it is brought about.

In my experience, I have found that most software methodologies succeed in introducing change by incorporating the following:

• COMMUNICATE CHANGE.
• CHANGE CONTROL.
• COLLABORATE.
• EXECUTE.

Problem Solving:

My philosophy about problem solving is simplistic and falls in the following categories.

1. Troubleshooting.
1. Problem Identification.
2. Historical Metrics.
3. Problem time-line.
2. Impact Analysis.
1. Systems impacted.
2. People impacted.
3. Solution:
1. Create and Test Simple solution.
2. Create and Test Preventative solution.
4. Execution:
1. Communicate Solution.
2. Schedule window for execution.
5. Post Mortem:
1. Communicate closure.
2. Document closure.
3. Document Solutions.

Now I must confess that I did not follow these steps religiously but where time permitted, this approach proved to be most effective in adopting a best practice.

The above philosophy is rooted in the following:

• Problem identification is at least 50% of the solution and is made easier if the problem can be re-produced.
• Historical metrics regarding the problem and environment aid in at least 50% of problem identification.
• The simplest solution is often the best solution.
• Documenting the solution aids in being proactive and thinking about preventative measures.

Daily Tasks:

08h00 – 10h00

This 2 hour window is crucial in getting ahead of the wave.

I call this time ‘window-gazing’ time which is essential for strategic thinking, planning and some execution.

I utilized this time to do the following.

• Day planning.
• MS SQL Server and MySQL task management and review.
• JIRA task management, delegation and review.
• Outlook mailbox organization.
• Meeting request management.

10h00 – 16h45

This window is the actual execution window for most tasks.

Quite a number of meetings are scheduled in this window too.

• Validate that Oracle RMAN backups completed.
• Check and resolve OEM ‘critical’ and ‘warning’ alerts
• Check and resolve error emails in outlook (oracle and OEM) alerts.
• Check and resolve assigned JIRA tasks.
• Connect to UNIX hosts and watch load, memory file systems.
• Attend scheduled meetings.
• Resolve walk-over requests.
• Group discussion on various tasks and problems.

Weekly Tasks

• Check that OEM completed gathering the weekly baseline.
• Review JIRA tasks and timelines.
• Check data warehouse status.
• Check, review and implement access control.
• Database Team Meeting.
• Review and red-flag unattended issues.
• Check documentation status and add to the wiki.

Monthly Tasks

• Capacity and License planning and execution.
• Space and Disk utilization.
• Review OEM reports and dashboards.
• Review SOX compliance tasks.
• Expense reports.
• Vacation time scheduling and review.

Annual Tasks

• Database Team performance review.
• Database Backup and Archival.
• Architectural review and planning.

Hermosa Beach Pier.

This was taken at Hermosa Beach Pier at night.

New Olympic Sport.

Luke invents a new sport. Frog Riding. Not an Olympic sport.....yet.

May 2008 - Reflections and Collections!

This May has been a wonderful and blessed month. With the parents in town, we have been able to take some time off, shop, boogie-board, go to the movies, go late-night-dancing and most importantly take Luke to church.

Many memories were created in May 2008 and I was forced to stop and reflect on the many blessings in our large dispersed growing family, our health and careers.

If you haven't already done so, take a moment in June to thank God for this and more to come.

We have slightly re-organized our Flickr collections which hardly do justice to the blessings of May 2008.

Enjoy and be blessed!
Kim

My Girlfriend!

El Segundo, CA

Golfers!

Mum's Golf Swing.

Golfing 101!

Needless to say with the parents in town golf has been the highlight.

This was taken in El Segundo, CA  at 'The Lakes'.

Our Lady of Angels Cathedral

Wipe Out!!

This was taken outside our house after a day of boogie-boarding at Hermosa Beach in April.

Lukie (he refers to himself thus) decided to start paddling and caught some concrete waves and I couldn't help but snap away.
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Fallbrook Avocado Festival!

Yesterday was one of those days you wish could go on forever.

The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, not windy, not humid just PERFECT.

Now, top that with the annual Avocado festival in Fallbrook, CA and some wine sampling in Temecula, CA and you have a perfect Sunday afternoon.

This is a picture of Luke entertaining the locals with his newly acquired acoustic guitar.

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Luke Chillaxin!

Luke is quite attached to his sunglassess.
This was a hot afternoon at TK and Monicas.
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Hole in the deck!

Yup! There is a hole in my deck. I clearly have some work ahead.
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Blogging from a CrackBerry

I have been wondering about the mailtoblogger feature for a while now.

Well this is a picture of Luke and Smita this wonderful summer evening. The picture was taken indoors with poor lighting with my crackberry curve and then emailed with the afore mentioned thingy.

Enjoy!

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Another Year Later!

Now this is really weird. Exactly one year since I last posted on this blog, I decide to come back and see if it still exists and to my wonderment and amazement, it does!

So I decide to post something to keep with the timing. One post per year does not maketh a blog but here I go anyway.

Life has been going on as usual with the usual grind of work, parenting and keeping healthy.

Luke is proving to be quite the charmer as he learns to manipulate us both with his sweetness. He is talking up a storm and seems to love music. His preference currently seems to be the guitar based on his reaction to any guitar shapes and sounds.

I promise to post a March 2008 picture but for now here is one from December 2008!

See you next year same time....or not