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An Organizational Constraint that Diminishes Software Quality
One of the biggest problems in software performance today occurs when the people who write software are different from the people who are required to solve the performance problems that their software...
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Is “Can’t” Really the Word You Want?
My friend Chester (Chet Justice in real life; oraclenerd when he puts his cape on) tweeted this yesterday:can’t lives on won’t street - i’m sure my son will hate me when he’s older for saying that all...
View ArticleWhen is Video Better?
Ok, I’m stuck, and I need your help.At my company, we sell software tools that help Oracle application developers and database administrators see exactly where their code spends their users’ time. I...
View ArticleAnd now, ...the video
First, I want to thank everyone who responded to my prior blog post and its accompanying survey, where I asked when video is better than a paper. As I mentioned already in the comment section for that...
View ArticleNoSQL and Oracle, Sex and Marriage
At last week’s Dallas Oracle Users Group meeting, an Oracle DBA asked me, “With all the new database alternatives out there today, like all these open source NoSQL databases, would you recommend for us...
View Article“How did you learn so much stuff about Oracle?”
In LinkedIn, a new connection asked me a very nice question. He asked, “I know this might sound stupid, but how did you learn so much stuff about Oracle. :)”Good one. I like the presumption that I know...
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What happened to “when the application is fast enough to meet users’...
On January 5, I received an email called “Video” from my friend and former employee Guđmundur Jósepsson from Iceland. His friends call him Gummi (rhymes with “who-me”). Gummi is the guy whose name is...
View ArticleMy Friend Karen
My friend Karen Morton passed away on July 23, 2015 after a four-month battle against cancer. You can hear her voice here.I met Karen Morton in February 2002. The day I met her, I knew she was awesome....
View ArticleI Wish I Sold More
I flew home yesterday from Karen’s memorial service in Jacksonville, on a connecting flight through Charlotte. When I landed in Charlotte, I walked with all my stuff from my JAX arrival gate (D7) to my...
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Messed-Up App of the Day: Crux CCH-01W
Today’s Messed-Up App of the Day is the “Crux CCH-01W rear-view camera for select 2007-up Jeep Wrangler models.”A rear-view camera is an especially good idea in the Jeep Wrangler, because it is very...
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The Fundamental Challenge of Computer System Performance
The fundamental challenge of computer system performance is for your system to have enough power to handle the work you ask it to do. It sounds really simple, but helping people meet this challenge has...
View ArticleWhat I Wanted to Tell Terry Bradshaw
I met Terry Bradshaw one time. It was about ten years ago, in front of a movie theater near where I live.When I was little, Terry Bradshaw was my enemy because, unforgivably to a young boy, he and his...
View ArticleThe “Two Spaces After a Period” Thing
Once upon a time, I told my friend Chet Justice why he should start using one space instead of two after a sentence-ending period. I’m glad I did.Here’s the story.When you type, you’re inputting data...
View ArticleLoss Aversion and the Setting of DB_BLOCK_CHECKSUM
Within Accenture Enkitec Group, we have recently been discussing the Oracle db_block_checksum parameter and how difficult it is to get clients to set it to a safer setting.Clients are always concerned...
View ArticleFail Fast
Among movements like Agile, Lean Startup, and Design Thinking these days, you hear the term fail fast. The principle of failing fast is vital to efficiency, but I’ve seen project managers and business...
View ArticleMessed-Up App of the Day: Tables of Numbers
Quick, which database is the biggest space consumer on this system?Database Total Size Total Storage-------------------- --------------- ---------------SAD99PS 635.53 GB 1.24 TBANGLL 9.15 TB 18.3...
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Words I Don’t Use, Part 1: “Methodology”
Today, I will begin a brief sequence of blog posts that I’ll call “Words I Don’t Use.” I hope you’ll have some fun with it, and maybe find a thought or two worth considering.The first word I’ll discuss...
View ArticleWords I Don’t Use, Part 2: “Holistic”
The second “word I do not use” is holistic.When people use the word “holistic” in my industry (Oracle), it means that they’re paying attention to not just an individual subcomponent of a system, but to...
View ArticleWords I Don’t Use, Part 3: “Best Practice”
The third “word I do not use” is best practice.The “best practice” serves a vital need in any industry. It is the answer to, “Please don’t make me learn about this; just tell me what to do.” The “best...
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Words I Don’t Use, Part 4: “Expert”
The fourth “word I do not use” is expert.When I was a young boy, my dad would sometimes drive me to school. It was 17 miles of country roads and two-lane highways, so it gave us time to talk.At least...
View ArticleWords I Don’t Use, Part 5: “Wait”
The fifth “word I do not use” is the Oracle technical term wait.The Oracle Wait InterfaceIn 1991, Oracle Corporation released some of the most important software instrumentation of all time: the “wait”...
View ArticleSometimes the Simplest Things Are the Most Important
I didn’t ride in First Class a lot during my career, but I can remember one trip, I was sitting in seat 1B. Aisle seat, very front row. Right behind the lavatory bulkhead. The lady next to me in 1A was...
View ArticleHow I Spent My COVID Vacation
I haven’t blogged in, what, ...forever. A couple of years.I have been writing, though. Just not here. A lot, actually. Here’s some of the stuff I’ve done during my lapse here:2020-01-28 – “Solving the...
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The New Book Is Ready: “Faster: How to Optimize a System”
My new book called Faster: How to Optimize a System is ready! You can buy the PDF now at method-r.com. The hardcover format should be available at Amazon sometime around mid-January. The physical book...
View ArticleWhy the Oak Table Was So Great
This weekend, I watched a wonderful TEDx video by Barbara Sher, called “Isolation Is the Dream-Killer, Not Your Attitude.” Please watch this video. It’s 21 minutes, 18 seconds long.It reminded me about...
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