Time For A Redesign

... thats causing the most problems is information architecture, which continues to be driven more by how the information is produced than by how its consumed. Intranets are usually divided up by which department does which things, as opposed to what tasks employees have, or which work activities people have.
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1610163,00.asp

McClellands Highland 16 Year

I took a chance on this one, never having heard of McClellands before. Its not bad, buttery with lots of fruity flavors yet with the throatyness of a highland. I hear its a rebottling of Glen Garioch, which I also like. Suprisingly mellow. Not bad.
http://www.singlemaltscotchwhiskies.com/inventory/review/mcclellands_hi.htm

The Business of Software

OK Book. Heres some coding best practice highlights:

• Focus Creativity
1. Divide large projects into milestone cycles
2. Use a vision statement and outline feature specifications
3. Base feature selection and prioritization on user activities and data
4. Evolve a modular and horizontal design architecture
5. Control by individual commitments to small tasks and fixed project resources
• Work In parallel but synchronize continuously
1. Work in parallel teams but synch up and debug daily
2. Always have a product you can ship
3. Speak a common language
4. Continuously test as you build
5. Use metric data to determine milestone completion

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/074321580X/qid=1088791120/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-5581219-8642469?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Farenheight 9/11

The trailer for Michael Moores new film about Bush and 9/11. Looks amazing.
http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2642193

Suicide by Pseudoscience

The Union of Concerned Scientists in a February report pointed out something the science press has known for years: The Bush administration has no respect for science. Ideologues prefer to make up the laws of nature as they go.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/view.html?pg=4?tw=wn_tophead_3

The Brand Mindset

Good book. Genuine brands are:

internalized sum of impressions

distinctive position in minds eye

perceived functional and emotional benefits

Business Expertise (Doing things right)+
Brand Expertise (Doing the right things) =
Optimum Brand Equity
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/007134795X/qid=1086713868/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8364830-6977448?v=glance&s=books

Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know

Very good.

intuition is compressed expertise

dont expect software to solve all your problems

founded on mutual trust

gossip = knowledge networks updating themselves

"well stolen is half done" - proverb

a good story is often the best way to convey meaningful knowledge

cant share knowledge if there is no common language
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578513014/qid=1086040641/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-0920314-4494445