Playing Chicken

Residents on Parsons Drive in Avon Lake have been housing a rooster throughout this past week.  “Tuesday morning I went out to work in the yard and I heard pecking sounds. I looked around and two feet from me was a chicken pecking the ground,” says Sam. They say he is friendly, however there is growing concern of sanitation issues as well as safety concerns for the children in the neighborhood.

One of the neighbors called the police, but was told no one reported a missing chicken. “I was shocked when I first saw it. Of course I took pictures and posted them to Facebook, but I expected it to wander through, not roost in our backyard,” says Laurie. 

 The family had left for the day, but when they returned, the rooster was still there, wandering between the adjoining backyards.  It has been eating the apples from a neighbor’s tree and sleeps in her pine tree. They have only heard it crow a time or two, but not at the crack of dawn.

Despite efforts from the neighborhood, they have not been able to find its owner. One resident contacted Holly Hill only to be told they strictly house horses. They were told to check with the family next door to the horse farm but were advised it was not their chicken. Their chickens apparently aren’t friendly like “Hen”ry. 

The rooster, named “Hen”ry by a neighborhood boy, seems to have become the neighborhood pet. He comes when called and has never bothered anyone, so far. “It’s like he likes hanging out and thinks he’s a dog,” says Dave a Parsons Drive resident who’s yard he has seemed to have taken ownership in. “He must be someone’s pet.”

As of today, these residents aren’t sure what this rooster’s future holds, but they hope it can find it’s owner or a farm so it can fly this coup in Avon Lake soon.

Facebook Unzips How Testing Is Done

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     Credit: Matt Harnack/Facebook

 Article first published as Facebook Unzips How Testing is Done on Technorati. Republished 3/9/13.

A little over a week ago, Boz, the Director of Engineering at Facebook, published a write up on why Facebook tests.  He gave us a sneak peek as to how it’s done. You might say their way is a little Clark Kent”esque”.

Facebook holds a vision which “Boz” translated in that article…”We believe that people want to connect with each other in a way that is personal and meaningful and that modern technology can provide opportunities for doing this in ways and at scales that were previously not possible…While this vision unifies us, it is sufficiently broad that the exact path to realizing it is unclear.”

The beauty of testing allows a company to realize what is unclear and create data, on a small scale, that, for lack of a better word, tests whether or not the product is viable.  Facebook utilizes their users, aka customers, to test their new ideas and concepts.  These tests help answer questions and support decisions that might be made off of a gut feeling or future trend expectation.

“Sometimes the answer to these questions is intuitive. Sometimes we do user research. Sometimes we build prototypes and see how they feel. Often, however, we’re working on products that have no analog for comparison in research and whose merits are difficult to gauge in the abstract or at small scale,” says Boz.

One of the fastest ways to grow a company or product category is to test…iterate and reiterate. Learning how customers will respond and finding out how a product will perform is amazingly valuable. When a company tests a product, it is used on a small group of people, whom are usually hand picked by their need or end use.  The information gathered may translate into a broader customer base or may stay streamlined into a niche market.  

“In technology we are constantly looking to the future and trying to see things the way the could be. Once we have a vision we want to work towards we tend to choose the shortest path to get to that place. On projects of sufficiently narrow scope this is clearly the right thing to do. When it comes to strategy, however, our success has come from not concerning ourselves with the entire path to the goal but rather focusing primarily on the next step in that direction. By taking one step at a time and iterating we are able to adapt quickly to a constantly changing landscape and bring our users along for the ride.”

The data Facebook users provide through everyday use and testing can hold the key to answering many questions that is worth its weight in gold. One of the greatest benefits that social networking has provided is the use of real time data. Facebook is able to use the real time data generated from its tests and react. This is one of Zuckerberg’s strengths and mantras: moving fast and breaking things.  Responding to user needs and working on finding the answers when they break is what Zuck pushes his staff to do.

For Facebook, testing provides answers to questions that become building blocks to their future strategy, not to mention your future strategy if you market on Facebook.  Facebook makes hundreds of small code changes to make your user experience the best it can be.  Boz goes on to say, “When you see such dramatic results from the smallest tweaks, you realize how much opportunity there is to improve things—and we feel a constant sense of urgency to do so.”
“When a test goes out we look at the data immediately and adapt the products quickly. We do this on a daily basis. This cycle of iteration is the engine of progress and the people who use Facebook are not just the beneficiaries but are also intimately a part of the process. We don’t just develop this product for them, we develop it with them.”

The one caveat Facebook must deal with while testing is that things often break and can make for an unhappy user experience. In the grand scheme of things, when talking about tests, we are talking about small user groups, therefore the unhappy user experience tends to be small but fixable and holds large benefits for those users in the future. When things break, people fix them, usually. Maybe this can teach us all to have more of an open mind.
 Boz says, “To keep improving, we must constantly test different versions of Facebook with real people to even have a chance at creating the best possible experience.”

So, when you see something different on your Facebook profile page or newsfeed, think about it like a scientist. Ask questions while using it. Use it to figure out if you like it or if you don’t and why. Don’t just post…Facebook is stupid. In the end, you only end up with egg on your face and who really wants that on their Facebook page.  

Could Bambi be a Nuisance?

Protecting the deer in Avon Lake. Photo by: The Morning Journal

Where is the solution for “No hunting” signs that litter the yards in Avon Lake, Ohio in regards to the deer population?  Avon Lake is dealing with more than Bambi strolling through wooded paths and backyards.

Two Parsons Drive residents recall their close encounter with a deer last month only a few blocks from their home. “For a moment, my life went on pause. I couldn’t speak. The deer’s face was pressed up against the window and my thoughts were wondering if this deer was going to bust through. Luckily we didn’t go left of center. It might have ended quite differently.” That incident left a $3,000 bill for their insurance company, not to mention their deductible. 

It’s estimated that 50 resident’s cars have hit deer in Avon Lake over the last 6 months.  News Net 5 reported that AL can only support 50 deer. There are a reported 300 living within the city limits.

Mayer Zilka has stated the case that some residents see the deer as attractive elements of nature and others see them as a nuisance.  This is more serious than watching Bambi. The city is to provide a safe community for its residents. Injuries and significant damage involving resident’s lives are more than a nuisance.

City Ordinance 618.01 in Avon Lake is a city leash law that states dogs and cats must be on leashes and never in public streets or areas. It appears the deer issue needs to be put to rest. Bypassing the money lost on gardens and flowers due to deer feeding habits and jumping to the over population in the city, the deer are causing life threatening danger to it’s residents and city workers.  Must we wait until a fatal accident happens before the city finds a bigger resolution than flashing signs?

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Is Failing an Option?

                                   

To fail. Or not to fail.  To be. Or not to be.  Those are the questions.

Many times we will fail, however we are bombarded with phrases such that failure is not an option.

We must interpret what it means to fail.  To fail is a failure.

However, I believe to fail will always lead to success.  This is true when studying any inventor or scientist.  We can not learn without failure.  We can not.

However, it becomes one's choice to decide how to process failure.  There are a few different ways.

One is to deny the failure, move on and repeat the cycle.

Two is to panic and absorb negative feelings of inadequacy into your soul.

Three is to accept the failure.  Forgive if need be.  Decide what the reason for failure was.  Accept it and decide how to move forward and to either be or not to be.  To either correct or not to correct.  The latter will lead you back to option one.  History does repeat itself.  We are human.  We can learn.  We will fail.  We will survive.  We will progress.  We just will.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  This is true.  Sometimes we feel like we are killed and we take those feelings in and let them eat us up.  While they remain a part of us, we remain dead to the world.  We can not function.  We can not succeed.  We harbor feelings that will not allow us to succeed.

We all must face the music.  We are where we are.  We must deal with it.  If we fail to deal with it, then we will continue to fail.  Failing is good, but denying failure or not accepting failure will not allow us to move forward.

Steve Jobs has said that, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the difference.”

To dissect his comment further, in order to connect any dots, we must acknowledge our failures and our weeknesses.  If we do not, the only dots that we will be able to connect will be those of historical family legacy....the ones that we would like to leave behind and change.

However, accepting the failures we find will allow us to press on.

Don't be afraid to fail.  Don't be afraid to break anything.  For it is in these moments that defines who we are.

So, today I failed.  I did something that was not acceptable....not tolerable.  I had the 3 choices above.  I chose option 3.  I accepted.  I apologized.  I offered to make up for it.  Whatever comes of it is yet to be determined.  What I know today is that I forgive myself for making a mistake.  One that could have easily been avoided, but wasn't.  It is what it is.  The only thing I am going to do is accept that I screwed up and press on.  I am going to make sure it doesn't happen again.....as best I can.  That is all we can do....the best we can with what we have....with what we know....with what we choose.  We all make mistakes and will keep on making mistakes.  It's all in the angle we choose to look at it.  It is our choice to decide to evolve to change or not.

Bon Chance!

Zuckerberg Takes a Bite Out of Apple

Article first published as Zuckerberg Takes a Bite Out of Apple on Technorati.

If you take the word apple and slice it in half, you get the word app.  Yesterday, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, took a new liking to an app, called Friendsheet, that again will change the reflection of Facebook in your eyes.  His liking came on the eve of Apples big announcement event, set to take place March 7th.

Many of us have taken a liking to Pinterest.  It's a neat bundle of ideas and inspirations in the form of pictures organized in a fashion that allows for quick visual browsing and additional filtering on the users end.

The Friendsheet App takes your photos and displays them in the Pinterest fashion.   As one user said, "Love it. A faster glance. Like the visual follow. Improvement to the slow feed and filters...nice."

Newsfeed is good for stories, but this new "Pinterest-like"  app gives your pictures a quick, new panoramic view. 


Some Facebook users continue to "dislike" changes to their beloved Facebook, but Facebook will continue to be a reflection of change, day in and day out, whether the user can see it or not.  I chose not to say whether the user likes it or not because the purpose of change is to improve the user experience, just realize the word "user" is all encompassing.  There will always be those that resist change, and always those that pave the way.  Who doesn't want to take advantage of someone's hard work that gives you an advantage?


This change, once again, puts more added value to the Facebook experience.  It's more pleasing to the eye.  It's more pleasing to my, what always seems to be lack of, time.  Friendsheet allows you to quickly scan the pics that are happening in the lives of you and your friends.  How do you like them apples?  The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  If you hurry up, you may catch their next one rolling down a hill near you.  If you haven't heard already, it's something about a new ipad, iphone or was it the new Apple T.V.?  Let me know.  I'm short on time today.

Dreaming....Out Loud

Wikipedia defines dreams as "successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history."

Why is it then that we say it's o.k. to dream?  Specifically speaking of dreams, it is stated that dreaming is done during a state of sleep.  So....why is it then that so many of us refer to dreaming in a conscious state?  Are we ever really conscious when we dream?  

What is the difference between dreaming and desiring?  The saying goes...what ever your little heart desires.  But, Wikipedia defines desire as "sense of longing for a person or object or hoping for an outcome. Desire is the fire that sets action aflame. The same sense is expressed by emotions such as "craving" or "hankering". When a person desires something or someone, their sense of longing is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of the item or person, and they want to take actions to obtain their goal. The motivational aspect of desire has long been noted by philosophers."

One might say...without desire there is no dreaming.  Desire is the protagonist...the one that must light the fire such as Wikipedia proclaims.  Where desire lives...so do dreams.  Where dreams live...so does pain.  

Pain? You say.  Pain.  Pain is the source of stalling.  Pain is the source of resistance.  Pain is the source of power.  Release the pain and you will release the desire to dream.

Is that in your sleep or in your reality?, you ask.  

Your pain body holds a force field around you.  It keeps you from your hopes and dreams.  So, if you desire something, you must find a way to materialize it...otherwise it will keep you from attaining your conscious dream. (If there is such a thing.  Plato says if you believe it, than it is thought to be true...therefore there is such a thing as a conscious dream because I believe it)

You see desire can be good and desire can be evil.  Put in perspective....desire must live to light a fire to an action.  For without desire lives an institution...the institution of what some may call life.  However, what one may call life, another may call a prison.  

Therefore...desire alone does nothing but burn, but desire coupled with a plan of action breeds dreaming out loud.

So, yes...dreaming is for both the conscious and the unconscious.  However good the unconscious dream my be...the conscious one must drop the match once it's lit...otherwise it will keep a burning desire in flames for eternity.  

So, when you dream unconsciously....don't forget to dream out loud in the the conscious.   As the saying goes...be careful what you dream...actually it's what you wish for...but wishing doesn't really do much for anyone, unless you have a fairy godmother like Cinderella.  

Dream a little dream with some desire and then make it happen with a plan....even if what you dream may seem impossible....you can't get there without desire...feel the pain and then let it go..where there is pain...there is paralysis...but yet still life...where there is life, there are dreams...where there is life, there is pain...but if it wasn't for pain...there might not be much power....feel the pain...let it go...dream a little dream and do what you have to (of course only for the greater good) and then ship it.

The only caveat...sometimes you can't find a plan that seems to fit...you might need a prince charming when faced with that...and then a fairy godmother to make it all come true.  Don't forget that that's all built by desire...real life is full of mazes and riddles...don't get caught up in the matrix of desire...because you may never check out.

Light the fire, feel the pain, let it go, make a plan and live the dream....outloud. 

Did someone want to lend me a hand?...I might need one.  I was always told to ask for help when you need it.  I'm pretty sure I need it right about now.  How about you?  Are you dreaming out loud yet?