Moments

Wednesday May 27, 2009

Developing Professionalism

Today, I got a wake up call from a mechanic who alerted me to certain things that was wrong with my car and the need to return it to the dealership as soon as possible. He told me more of the impending problems that are likely to occur rather than simply pass on the idea that these things are not a problem and wait for my car to fall apart and need to pay for things. Well, that made me reflect on my own relationships with others whom I work with.

I am not sure that in my continued relationship with others that I strive to give that level of professionalism. I mean not just state that things can be done but alert persons of their options, what are their alternatives and why choose this path as opposed to another path. I think that I have been given quite a bit of power to make certain judgement calls in regards to my work and I don't think I am doing it at my outmost best and I believe that I should strive continued development of my level of professionalism.

I think I should strive for comfort, mastery and eloquence in my field of interest and convey, emulate and demonstrate the ideals of someone who is knowledgeable and capable in that field. I know it is all achievable, I just need to exercise the determination, patience and persistenc that I have done in the past to do so.

God help me!

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 05-27-2009 at 01:29  0 comment(s)

Thursday May 14, 2009

And Now For Something Different

Having been exposed to my new job as a programmer for quite some time, I have learned quite a bit about the programming aspect of developing applications. I think it is making me a more efficient programmer but I still feel there is something missing from the everyday. What I am talking about is being able to efficiently and effectively transform customer requirements into effective usable code.

Writing clean and efficient code is indeed an absolute God-send. It makes applications faster and more resistant to change. However, I believe the true strength of any application starts from the planning stage. Being able to gather as much information as possible from the client and identify who are the stake holders, what outcome they are looking for, what is relevant, what is not and how to best describe the problem. I figure that is just a part of the development process which catches my fancy. 

What I am doing now is part of the process but it focuses more on the rather rugged software building part. Nothing is wrong with that and I figure I should try to turn a negative into a positive this time around. I might as well sharpen my skills in both arenas if I am to improve over all as a professional.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 05-14-2009 at 19:07  0 comment(s)

Thursday February 05, 2009

Don't Rush It

One of my overall weaknesses when it comes to photography is that I have a tendency to take things a bit too fast. In a rush to capture the image I forgot to examine the scene and study it for other qualities. For example, it's mood, it's character, its light, it's other qualities that go beyond just raw aesthetics or relvancy to the subject I wish to capture.

I think I tend to produce my best work when i take my time - observe the scene and think openly of the options available to me for taking that oh so perfect shot. It may require me to return at a later time in the day when the light is at a different level, take the shot from a diffrent angle  - near the ground or high above, to the far left or right, changing the color scheme, changing the focus .

All these options provide varying possibilities to capturing the same scene and sometimes I can't assess the merits of one over the other if I rush the shot and loose the opportunity for taking alternatively good shots.

So, the best advice I can give myself when approaching new photo opportunities is simply Don't Rush the Shot.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 02-05-2009 at 09  0 comment(s)

Monday January 26, 2009

Getting The Feel For It

I am certainly getting a feel for the new DSLR. A small as the megapixel range is i think the ease of using the manual controls is a boon to photography in general. I believe that more use and exposure should put me more in the mood for using this new camera. And, more importantly, it will get me used to the controls.

I can't wait for warmer days so I can walk around the neighbourhood and take some more pics.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 01-26-2009 at 09  0 comment(s)

Sunday January 25, 2009

DSLR Fun

Well, today I took the opportunity to try out my new Nikon D40. The concepts are pretty similar to my point and shoot and it is as light as my point and shoot but with a lot more capabilities for things like bokey and telescopic capacity.

I think that for now I am going to see how I can bakance the use of both my point and shoot and my DSLR. Both, are truly excellent cameras and I think they both accomplish the same task but one is not better than the other. They both have their specific advantages.

The point and shoot has light weight and portability. The DSLR has bokeh effect capacity and the ability to take pictures in much lower light levels and with less noise.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 01-25-2009 at 09  0 comment(s)

Thursday January 15, 2009

No More Jobs

It is one thing if the various statisticians an economists announce that the US has no more jobs. It is a bad report. But it is absolutely dismal if that same announcement is made by Apple Inc.

Yet it's true. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc is stepping asside temporarily due to health problems as seen in this article . The pioneering salesman who brought us the Mac, Ipod, Imac, Macbook Air and had allways been a important facet of the macworld technology shows is going to be absent until his health is restored to a reasonable level. I wish him well even though he is an Apple guy and not a Linux guy. But, I am pretty certain that Apple is going to feel like a very different company in his absence. Not now, but further into his long absence.

I hope you get better soon and return to the forefront Steve.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 01-15-2009 at 09  0 comment(s)

Thursday January 08, 2009

Still working at new blog

It has been a while since I have entered anything here. I am still working on the new blog. It is taking such a long time because a lot of things break the design of the old blog. Whereas the old blog, logit, was more thoughtout and preplanned. This one is a build as I go type of system. This is primarily becuse a lot of new approaches and fresh ideas are being developed as I am building it. Consequently, it is delaying any grand releases.

Posted by Mervin McDougall on 01-08-2009 at 09  0 comment(s)