Daily Cup of Tech

A you may have read in the past, I have been a big fan of temporary e-mail addresses.  These are e-mail addresses that you can enter into a webpage and if they spam the website, who cares because you have already gotten the information that you need and the e-mails that go to the mailbox are automatically dumped after a period of time.

But, I knew it was only a matter of time before a number of these websites got smart to this type of thing.  For example, if you were to enter a Mailinator e-mail address into an Aweber form, it would be rejected.  And this is not limited to temporary accounts, either.  Many free e-mail accounts like Hotmail and Gmail are all starting to be banned from these places as well.  So what is a tech savvy person to do if they don’t want their e-mail to  get spammed?  The answer is to create your own custom temporary e-mail address!

Step 0: Get Your Own Domain Name

This this is not a critical step, it sure makes things easier.  And with domain names so cheap these days (I’ve gotten them for as little as US$2 per year), there is little stopping you from having your own domain name.  Many of you already have your own domain so you will not have to do this.

If you do need to purchase a domain name, I generally recommend GoDaddy.

Step 1: Determine Your Temporary E-Mail Provider and Address

There is no shortage of temporary e-mail providers.  A simple Google search will provide you with a long list of companies that will allow you to create a disposable e-mail address.  Remember this e-mail address.

Step 2: Create An E-mail Forwarder on Your Domain

Next, create an e-mail forwarder on your domain that points to the temporary e-mail address.  You could use something like spamstopper@yourdomainname.com and forward it to spamstopper@mailinator.com.

Step 3: Use Your New Custom Temporary E-Mail Address

Now, whenever you need to provide an e-mail address on the web and the page looks a bit questionable, you can give your custom temporary e-mail address and then check the website for your e-mail.

Bonus Step 4: Set Up An Alias in Roboforms

If you really want to speed up getting that newsletter, you can create an alias at Fake Name Generator and then enter the information along with your new custom temporary e-mail address so that whenever you need to provide information, Robocopy will quickly fill in all of your fake information along with your custom temporary e-mail address.

If you don’t have roboforms, I have made arrangements for Daily Cup of Tech readers to get a copy for free.  Just download, install, and go.

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I’ve run across this a few times and I have to admit, it makes me a bit nervous.  Mind you, I’m always nervous about anything that can completely prevent me from making my hardware ever work again if something goes wrong!

The OpenBIOS project:

“…provides you with most free and open
source Open Firmware implementations available. Here you find several
implementations of IEEE 1275-1994 (Referred to as Open Firmware)
compliant firmware.

“Among its features, Open Firmware provides an instruction set
independent device interface. This can be used to boot the operating
system from expansion cards without native initialization code.

“It is Open Firmware’s goal to work on all common platforms,
like x86, AMD64, PowerPC, ARM, Sparc and Mips. With its flexible and
modular design, Open Firmware targets servers, workstations and
embedded systems, where a sane and unified firmware is a crucial design
goal and reduces porting efforts noticably”

One of these days, I am going to get over my whimpyness and give this a try.  I had the same reservation when I did my first BIOS flash, my first firmware upgrade, and my first OpenWRT implementation.  Now, it’s just second nature and I don’t think twice about it.  And I’m sure this will become the same.

Does anyone out there have any experiences or stories about OpenBIOS that they would like to share?  Put them in the comments.

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It took all of my willpower to not run out and buy a whole pile of Wii hardware! You can get some of the software for free on Johnny Lee’s website.

Also make sure that you check out the Wiimote Project site for more cool ideas!

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Yesterday, we talked about the first four lessons that we can learn from Wile E. Coyote about project management.  To recap, they are:

1. Poor planning will trump intelligence every time
2. Murphy’s Law is in full effect
3. Don’t celebrate too soon
4. Don’t make a bad situation worse

Today, we are going to move on to the next five lessons.  Some of these may be less obvious but they are no less important.

Know Your Limits

One of the constant themes that I have discovered exists in these cartoons is that Wile E. will often come to the conclusion that all he needs is the ability to move as fast as the road runner.  Often, he achieves this goal through various means just to realize in the end that going as fast as the road runner is only part of the equation and that there are several other skills which the Road Runner has accomplished which allows him to stay in control while at these speeds.  Skills such as the ability to stop quickly,turn at high speeds and control direction of travel are all just as important as getting up to speed.  Unfortunately, Wile E. Coyote never masters these skills.

If Wile E. knew that he did not have the skill set to properly travel at high speeds, he could have potentially come up with a different plan or called in some help, saving himself a lot of pain and aggravation.  The same can be said for your IT projects.  If you know your limitations regarding what is required for the project, you will know exactly when you need to bring in outside help or change your plans accordingly.

Think Through All Possible Outcomes of Your Actions

More often than not, Wile E. has some good ideas.  The problem that he runs into is that his thought processes stop at what he believes will work.  He does not think about what other things could happen.  He never goes to the next step to determine what else might happen.

We all do this.  We are so excited that we have finally figured out what we believe will solve that nagging problem which has been frustrating us for what seems like forever that we forget to take it the next step and figure out what the rest of the side effects are.  Sure, you may have solved that Word problem but you managed to take down the entire network at the same time.  Not exactly a good solutions.

More Complicated Isn’t Always the Answer

Some of the ideas that Wile E. comes up with are nothing if not creative.  He will often put together a combination of seemingly unrelated objects to invent something that is truly brilliant.

But, yet again, it does not work.  In fact, it is often the shear complexity of the device which causes the problem. Remember the old saying, “The more you fix the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”

My advice is to follow the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid).  There are definitely times when a complex solution is the correct solution.  Just take a look at how complex something like the space shuttle needs to be.

But this is IT, not rocket science.  If there are two different solutions that will provide you with the same outcome, I highly recommend you go with the simplest because they are easier to implement, easier to troubleshoot, less likely to fail, and generally less expensive.

Don’t Get Trapped by Brand Loyalty

Is it just me or does Wile E. need to start shopping elsewhere?  I mean, really!  Of often does a company need to send me something that does not work before I start thinking, “Maybe there is an R&D issue at this company,” or “The QA department needs to be replaced!”

The ACME Corporation (which, some people believe stands for American Company that Makes Everything) will apparently provide Wile E. with everything that an enterprising young coyote needs, except for satisfaction.  (It appears that there was even a lawsuit filed against ACME by Mr. Coyote at one point!)

While we may find it funny that Wile E. continually goes back to the same company for all of his road runner catching needs, we do the same things!  I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard people say things like, “I will only use…”:

• Linux
• Windows
• Microsoft
• Apple
• Cisco
• Open Office
• open source software
• commercial software
• HP
• Dell
• fiber channel
• IP SCSI
• Intel
• AMD
• online stores
• brick and mortar stores
• local companies

When we make statements like these, we immediately limit ourselves and the creativity of our solutions.

I recently had someone ask me, “Are you a Mac or a PC guy?”  My response?  “I works with several different operating systems and various hardware platforms and I have come to the conclusion that, while each will often excel in specific areas, there is no one perfect system or configuration that will work the best in all situations.  That is why I choose the correct operating system and platform depending on the task that I need to perform.  I have no loyalty to any one.”

Spend Your Funds Wisely

From what I have seen of the shows, the primary reason that Wile E. is after the Road Runner is to get a good meal.  And it does appear as thought he has skipped a meal or two in his day.  But, here is the one thing that has bothered me about this cartoon ever since I was a kid:

If Wile E. has enough money to pay for all of these contraptions that from the ACME Corporation and the time to wait for them to arrive by mail order, why doesn’t he just ORDER SOME FOOD!?  I mean, seriously?  Has this idea never crossed the mind of our coyote genius?  Just pick up the phone and order some KFC, Whitecastle, McDonalds, WHATEVER.  The food will come quicker and there is a significantly less chance that a bomb will explode next to you and knock you over a cliff while you are chowing down on a Whopper and extra large fries!

OK.  I’m glad I got that off my chest!  But, I’ve talked with IT managers who use projects as ways to get “perks” at the office so that they can try out new tech toys or they will buy the first gadget that appears to do the job without performing proper price checking due diligence or seeing if there is a more economical solution.

Part Three Tomorrow

We will finish up this series tomorrow with part three.  Hope to see you then.

Critical Project Management Lessons from Wile E. Coyote

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

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I was watching Saturday morning cartoons when an old favorite of mine came on.  Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner suddenly graced my television screen and brought a smile to my face.  Suddenly, I was seven again and trying to figure out ways for that coyote to catch that bird.

But, it didn’t take long for reality to set back in and it was once again 2009.  And my project management hat went on.  Viewing that coyote and that road runner from a project management perspective, I soon came to realize that both were making classic decisions that every project manager faces.  And the outcomes are often very similar to what some project managers see.

So, I thought that I would present to you some of these project management lessons that I learned the morning from Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.

Poor Planning Will Trump Intelligence Every Time

One of the early episodes, Operation: Rabbit, is one of the few episodes where we hear Wile E. Coyote speak and he is paired up with Bugs Bunny.  A lot of the dialog is about how much of a genius Wile E. Coyote is and how Bugs should just give up now and save them all a lot of trouble.  Of course, in the end, Wile E. Coyote is without his rabbit stew.

We will often do this as IT people.  We are so accustomed to being the person who knows how the systems work, how hardware and software interact, and it is not uncommon for us to receive accolades because of it.  The worst thing that we can do is to start believing some of the misconceptions that people have about us.  We do not know everything.  We can’t just walk into a room and make any problem disappear.

Strong planning is the key.  Without it, it is irrelevant how smart you are.

Murphy’s Law is in Full Effect

Sometimes, lack of planning isn’t Wile E. Coyote’s biggest problem.  He’s had some pretty well thought out and well documented (something most of us can’t say we do) plans.  And still, things go horribly wrong.

No matter how hard you try, how many details you think of, there is always something that is out of  your control.  The spring on the pistol doesn’t have enough tensile strength or the fuse on the rocket burns faster than it did in testing.

This is why when you are planning your IT projects, it is critical to have a full set of back-out and recovery plans in case things go completely wrong.  You can’t think of every single factor that could affect your project so make sure Plan B is ready, just in case.

Don’t Celebrate Too Soon

Wile E. Coyote has a nasty habit of thinking from time to time that he’s actually done it!  He’s finally caught that road runner.  But, alas, it is too good to be true.  And, in the end, he discovers that he is worse off than when he started.

I’ve definitely done this!  You just finish a complicated project and everything looks perfect.  You are just on the way out after hurting your arm from patting yourself on the back for doing such a great job when the phone rings.  Something isn’t working. Then another call. And another.  Suddenly you realize that not only did your project fail, you’ve caused a significant amount of problems.  Instead of your day winding up, you are just starting a very long and frustrating process of calming people down and troubleshooting unforeseen problems.

Make sure that you have checked over every possible factor you can think of before announcing you are done and even then, be prepared for the unexpected to come back and bite you in the derriere.

Don’t Make a Bad Situation Worse

There is never an end to the things that goes wrong for our friend Wile E.  And sometimes he is his own worst enemy.  Instead of stopping and thinking through why something went wrong, he charges in, more concerned with fixing the problem than any potential consequences.

I did this one time.  I was so focused on correcting the problem with the computer that I had just images that I did not notice when I went to re-image the machine I chose the wrong image name and indicated that I wanted to image to, not from the machine.  I had to tell the client that we lost all of the data and that there was not way that I could get it back!

Take your time when things go wrong.  Think through your actions.  Then act when you have a sound updated plan.

Part Two Tomorrow

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow, we will look at some other things Wile E. does that gets him into trouble.

Critical Project Management Lessons from Wile E. Coyote

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

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