Converting Story Points To Hours (That Old Chestnut)

Mike Cohn posted a very nice explanation of why it's such a challenge to turn story points, the unit of estimation used by many Agile (and some non-Agile) teams, into hours, the beloved unit of project managers the world over.  As Mike points out, it's a somewhat reasonable question when applied to a single team whose composition has been kept relatively intact over time, but a ridiculous one when applied to multiple teams, each of whom have differing ideas of what represents 1 story point of work and therefore work at differing velocities.

From One Fringe To The Next

We've been incredibly busy lately, which is at least part of the reason for the lack of blogging on my part.  Among other things, the London Fringe Festival wrapped up a week ago, which saw us volunteering and going to shows all while dealing with some family matters.  In fact, we didn't take in as many Fringe performances as we'd hoped to, and that has us feeling like we need more Fringe.

Fortunately, Toronto Fringe is just over a week away, and now we're making plans to take it in with Tammy.  She's already started a spreadsheet for it and everything, so I think it really will happen.  Now we just have to decide amongst about a hundred shows, boiling our choices down to what will fit into a 3-day weekend.  Stressful, and yet still fun!

Summer = Fringe!

The Final Jar

Nearly 6 years ago Vicki and I spotted a cache of Bick's Dill Pickles with Garlic in the 1.5 L size, a rare bird which had long since gone extinct in these parts.  We excitedly bought as many jars as we could carry home by foot.  In the end, after more than one trip to the Superstore, I think we had stockpiled roughly 20 jars.  And I was in Heaven.

Today I'll begin enjoying the final jar of that stash.  When the NHL playoffs began two months ago, I decided I'd crack open the sole remaining jar once the Rangers were eliminated, as a small form of consolation for another disappointing year.  Little did I know that the Blueshirts would actually make it to the Finals, coming up just 3 wins short of capturing the Cup.  The postseason wrapped up late last night with another heart-breaking overtime loss, but today I'll get my reward on the 20th anniversary of the last time they actually didn't fail in their pursuit of the utimate glory.

This is also the 2nd anniversary of Jonesy joining our family, another event for which I'm extremely thankful.  And yet, even he's not getting any of the precious contents of that jar!

Tesla Opens Its Patents To The World

Wow.  This is actually pretty impressive.  Elon Musk has decided that the various breakthroughs he and his team at Tesla have made with electric car technology will better serve mankind and the planet (and even the company itself) by being available to all rather than zealously guarded as is usually the case with secret sauces.  The more I learn about this Musk guy, the more I like and admire him.

Must See Theatre: Roller Derby Saved My Soul

Three years ago, Vicki and I took in Hamilton Fringe and one of our favourite of its shows was called Roller Derby Saved My Soul.  Its creator and star, Nancy Kenny, was a delight to watch as she brought the two female leads to life in the form of a pair of very different sisters.  Her script was full of pop culture references to Buffy, Xena, Wonder Woman and other iconic figures, and the physicality of Ms Kenny's performance was amazing... she actually does a good portion of the play on roller skates, motoring around the stage at a good clip as the story, and her derby skills, develop before our eyes.

This summer, Nancy has brought Roller Derby Saved My Soul to London, as well as several upcoming Fringe Festivals, including Toronto and Montreal.  I was fortunate enough to get a lunch date with her today so I could ask her a few questions about how the play came to be and what it's like to do a one-woman show on roller skates.  She told me she'd been inspired by seeing a one-man show back in 2009 and had decided, more or less on the spot, to write something of that sort for herself.  Not too long after that resolution she happened to see a newspaper article about a local roller derby league and was intrigued by what she read.  Several months of in-arena research and rough draft-writing later, Roller Derby Saved My Soul was born.

The play has been tweaked in some interesting ways since we saw it in 2011, but it's still the tale of Amy and June, two sisters with almost nothing in common.  And it continues to overflow with laugh-out-loud moments, powerful stunts and a terrific all-round performance by Ms. Kenny.  I was able to get out to see the new and updated version last week while Vicki was busy doing some volunteer work, and we're going to see it together later this week.  It's just that good!

And don't let the title fool you: while RDSMS celebrates the world of roller derby in its own funny way, you definitely don't have to be a fan of that sport to thoroughly enjoy Nancy Kenny's creation.  Everything you need to know about it comes out over the course of the hour, and (as Bill Cosby used to say), if you're not careful, you might just learn something while you're at it!

There are three performances of the show still to come this week before the tour moves on:

Tonight @ 8:30
Thu night @ 10:00
Fri night @  7:00

All of them are at the McManus Studio (downstairs at the Grand Theatre on Richmond) and tickets are $10 at the door, although you'll also need to spend $6 on a Fringe Button (also at the door) if it's your first Fringe show of the year (all the proceeds from the ticket sales go to the performers, so the button money pays for the venues and other expenses).  Even at $16 per person, this show will over-deliver, big-time, on the laughs and thrills, trust me.

Don't miss this opportunity to see a truly wonderful one-hour show!
 

Poopy Birds Defeated?

After nearly a decade of dealing with large quantities of bird crap being deposited around and even into our pool by grackles who nest in the trees of our neighbourhood for about two weeks each May, we seem to have finally found an effective deterrent for this springtime annoyance.

Vicki deserves the credit, as she was the one who read on the Internet that fishing line might keep them away.  Willing to try anything at this point, we set up several garden supports on either side of the pool and then strung lines between them, crisscrossing the entire area.

It's probably hard to see in the photo but if you can click on it to make it bigger that should bring our handiwork to light.  We've received so little bird poop in the time since we put them up that we honestly thought "poopy bird season" might not have even started yet.  However, one of our friends who lives nearby and always has the same problem confirmed for me last week that the filthy spring ritual is in full swing already.  The baby grackles must've been born earlier this month and now the parents are dropping their offspring's crap near a convenient water source (so that it'll be washed away from the nest and not give away their location, a practice that evolution has instilled over countless past generations).

I'll admit to being skeptical of this solution when Vicki suggested it, but not any more!  It definitely seems like a winner, with the only downside being that the pool is less accessible for swimming and skimming while the lines are up.  However, I think we can live with that for a couple weeks every spring if it means not having to clean up hundreds of little piles of shit, as we've had to do for the past eight or nine years now.  Yay for Vicki and the Internet! 

John Oliver's Takedown Of The Climate Change "Debate"

I really miss John Oliver since he left The Daily Show to star in his own weekly comedy program, Last Week Tonight.  He clearly showed just how talented he was during Jon Stewart's summer-long sabbatical last year (to film a movie in Iran) so it's no wonder the British comic was given his own show shortly thereafter.

Anyway, in case you haven't seen it, Oliver did a hilarious bit on climate change and the false equivalency that most media reports give to both sides of the "debate" as to whether it's man-made or not.  If you haven't already seen what he did, you should definitely check it out.

Steve Albini And The Music Industry

Scanning the Boing Boing headlines a few days ago, I stumbled across a strangely familiar name: Steve Albini.  I wasn't immediately sure where I'd seen that name before but I was pretty sure it was in relation to the great Magnolia Electric Company and the late, very lamented Jason Molina.  A quick Google search confirmed my suspicion and made me all the more interested in digging into it.

As I started reading the article entitled Who Cares What Steve Albini Thinks?  You Probably Do, I found myself being quickly drawn in by the historical significance of Albini's career as well as his unique attitude toward the role of "music engineer."  I strongly recommend checking out the article yourself if you're at all interested in music, and especially following the links "Letter to Nirvana" and "The Problem with Music" included in the piece.  It's a fascinating read that I still haven't gotten all the way through, several days later, as I keep stopping to think about whatever I've just absorbed from it.  It's an absolute must-read, if you ask me.   

Lost And The Operational Theme Problem

Here's a really good article by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, one of the people responsible for the much-missed Lost TV show, that sheds a lot of light on why some television programs work while others clearly don't.  I'd never looked at it in quite this way before, but it makes perfect sense to me: the characters on the show all have to be directed along the same "operational theme" axis in order to propel the episodes forward in a consistent and compelling manner.  It's the sort of thing that's obvious once it's pointed out to you, but maybe not before that.  And it's also very much in line with the kind of thinking that I put into each of my novels, though I've now got new insights on the topic to consider.

Crazy Physics!

This news of scientists figuring out how to "trick the uncertainty principle" is pretty mind-blowing in its possible implications for the future of quantum science.  If it leads to the ability to extend quantum behaviour to non-quantum (macroscopic) objects, we could be talking teleportation or instantaneous communication over large (really, really large) distances, among other major breakthroughs.  Yikes!

The XBox One Fiasco

I own both an XBox 360 and a PS3, and I'd say I got my money's worth out of each of them, although the Sony device got used about ten times as much as Microsoft's console.  However, when the XBox One and PS4 were announced last year, it was pretty clear to me that I needn't waste any money on the new box coming out of the house Bill Gates built.  Bad decision after bad decision were revealed by Microsoft in the months leading up to November (when both new consoles arrived), and to be honest I never once wavered in my decision to give the XB1 a pass... not even when I found out that Titanfall, the long-awaited first release from the ex-Infinity Ward crew at Respawn Entertainment, would be exclusive to the XBox family of devices.  Hard to believe anything could sour me enough to pass up a highly-touted first person shooter, and yet there it was.

Today I saw an article on the topic that brought back all those memories and reinforced my decision.  My six-month-old PS4, on the other hand, gets used every week and has been a delight to own so far.

More Comments On Leap Of Faith

It's still rolling in:

"I LOVE IT!! It's honestly one of those books, I can't wait to relax and read, but I also don't want it to end, so I don't want to read it too fast."

and

"I really liked it! The ending shocked me!"

and

"I really enjoyed this book..particularly the main character and how she responds to the whirlwind of information coming her way...I like her personality and her history and ultimately very excited about her choices! The book is a fun ride to read... Like potato chips ..hard to stop at one chapter! Enjoyable and well constructed!"

not to mention this enthusiastic assessment:

"Leap of Faith is epic!!!  Your best novel yet!!!  Love it!!!"

Glad to see that most people are getting their money's worth...

Not That Anyone Asked Me But...

I think the Washington Redskins controversy is easily solved: rename the team to be the Washington Americans, keeping the logo the same.  The proud Native American depicted in the current team logo, decked out in full headdress, is the perfect icon for the new name.  Sure, some folks would continue to refer to the team by its old name for awhile, but fortunately that problem will solve itself as those intractable few inevitably die off.  Problem solved.  You're welcome.

Some Early Feedback On Leap Of Faith

I've only heard from a few people who've finished Leap of Faith in the first couple weeks of its release, but the feedback so far has been almost universally positive.  Here are a few samples:

"Well- I've finished it Matt and I'm misty eyed.... Thanks for a great read and you've wowed me. Can't wait to tell everyone! — feeling wonderful."

"I wanted to thank you again for your wonderful book.  As always, you have brought the characters to be very personal and real as if you could meet them on the street.  This makes them, for me, individuals that you can identify with and care about...  I read the book in 2 days.  Congratulations and keep up the good work.  Put me on the list for your next release."

And, in the spirit of brevity, there was this one:

"fantastic" (that's all there was, really... I didn't edit it down!)


Anyone else out there done the book and ready to tell me what they thought of it?

Kind Of A Big Deal

In a week that saw Leap of Faith achieve profitability just 12 days after its release, I would've been happy just reporting on that fact here.  But I actually have much bigger news to pass along...

I've been lucky enough to be selected as the first Emerging Artist by the website BOOM-QA.  If you click on that link, you'll see that they've posted lovely profiles of both Leap of Faith and its author.  Much to my delight, they also sent out press releases to a couple of the local news outlets here in London, which may lead to some further exposure for the book, if things go well.  This is exactly the sort of opportunity I was hoping for with the new book, as I think it has a huge amount of potential if I can get it into enough hands.  Please help me spread the word about Leap of Faith.  

A Five Bike-Ride Week!

Three round trips downtown (Mon, Fri & today), a lunchtime ride to Westmount Mall and back (Wed), and an hour-long spin class (Tue night) all add up to my busiest biking week since I retired back in 2008.  The best part?  I wasn't feeling all that tired as I pedaled the last few kilometres home today, mostly uphill and into the wind.  It's been years since I've tested myself like this, but it's nice to know that even at 51 I can still handle this much exercise over a six day period.

Wind Turbines Don't Kill Many Birds

The next time someone tries to warn you against building more wind turbines "because of all the birds they kill", just refer them to this article (and chart) and you'll be good to go.

Approaching Profitability On Leap Of Faith

Just eight days after its release, Leap of Faith is very close to being "in the black" in terms of making a profit!  I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll get there later this week, which would be one of the quickest starts I've ever had for one of my books.  Thanks to everyone out there who came to our Launch Party two Sundays ago and to everyone who's bought a copy of the book since then.  It really helps to have the money rolling in so quickly as that gives me something to play with as far as promoting Leap of Faith, such as my current plan to do a flyer blitz in our neighbourhood for it.

I've gotten a little bit of feedback on the book so far, all of it very good, but I expect to hear a lot more over the next few weeks.  Really looking forward to that!

Launching Leap Of Faith

Another book launch party has now come and gone!

We had a great turnout for Leap of Faith's kickoff this afternoon, hosting 31 people along with Vicki, Susan Garner, Emma and ye olde author himself.  As usual, I didn't get nearly enough time with each attendee as I'd have liked, but that just seems to be the nature of the beast.  Hopefully everyone understands that, and no one felt neglected.

Before most of the people arrived, Emma took this lovely photo of Vicki, Rich and I showing off my four novels.  Not a bad start to my body of work, I'd say!

If you couldn't make the party but want to get your hands on Leap of Faith, get a hold of me any time now and we'll set up an opportunity to make that happen.  Though the list of readers of the book is still quite small at the moment, every bit of feedback I've gotten so far has been very positive.  Leap of Faith definitely seems to be a winner, and that's all I could ever ask for.

Raising A Moral Child

Via Tammy, here's a great article about various studies done on the topic of how to raise a moral child. There are lots of gems in there, including experimental proof of the old adage, "Actions speak louder than words."  It really puts the boot to the notion that parents can successfully preach one type of behaviour to their kids without living by those same standards themselves.  You really do have to model the sort of principles and values you want your children to adopt, it turns out.