Was that Assignment # 1,000,000?

Well, two things accomplished tonight so far - eating too much candy and I completed my Chapter 8 MindMap - Assignment # 1 million. I still am working on my comparison, but the drop box states that it is available until tomorrow at 11:55, so I have some more time. Also, I am one paragraph away from finishing up my essay for BA2663. I am overachieving in completion time on that one! I actually thought it was due today, so I worked on it all weekend - that is one way of getting something done ahead of time...trick yourself into thinking it is actually due earlier than it is supposed to be! Anyways, don't have the energy to post much of anything else tonight, but I can tell you that I chose a MindMap instead of the CMAP. I know the CMAP has been getting a lot of bad press lately, but honestly I believe it is the MindMap that has gotten the shaft these days. The mindmaps seem to be more relevant for actually learning the material. I know that the concept maps are great for the overall relationship and "concept" of the material, but for some reason the MindMap just works better for me. I like to think of myself as a "concept" thinker, but the CMAP stuff is making me second guess myself. Anyways, here's to another week ahead ...filled with left over candy and guilt about eating to much of it!

Will post mindmap later....blogger photo seems to be on the fritz 2nite - edit 11/7 finally got the picture up...!

How to Manage Smart People...

In case anyone out there is managing smart people...checkout this essay. Highly recommended by Miss Evil Anna and myself

What is with the weather?

Have you noticed the crazy weather outside the last two days? It is windy enough that my poor Lhaso Apso almost could do a lift off when going outside for the regular "outside" rituals. I hope this is not an omen of what is to come this Winter. I really love the snow, but the cold puts a definite damper on the whole Winter Wonderland idea in my books. I vote for white cotton candy this winter instead of snow and maybe a little sherbert to give us that seasonal feel. Where did this come from? I have no idea!

Where does time go?

I am exhausted...I mean terribly tired and just really wanting to go to bed. So, why am I up still? Well, there are a few things that keep me up at night:

1. Work - thinking about what needs to be done, how much time I will need to get it done, what is even the value in what I am doing and of course the actual doing of the work

2. School Work = it never ends either. Reading / mapping/assignments / midterms

3. Laundry....as well as other household chores. It is amazing how quickly laundry and just about everything else at my house can turn into mess in a blink of an eye. I wish the laundry fairy would come to my house

Those are the main things. Why do I write this? I dont really know...just to complain I suppose.

What is Software as a Service model?

What is Software as a Service model?

Summary Of Work Effort

Prior to embarking on this subject, I did not know a lot about SaaS. For the most part I thought it was mainly online spreadsheet, mail and documents and the odd photbucket program. I was surprised to find out that SaaS is much more than that and really emcompasses a wide variety of programs, which range from CRM applications to Financial Management systems which support companies every day. The SaaS providers are many and there are avenues available to link up requirements and providers due to the large demand. I would say for me the biggest part of this project was of course the research and learning about a subject which I knew very little about. I was for the most part done a few days ago, putting the final touches on the eve the paper is due. I truly did learn a lot about SaaS providers and am glad I chose the topic so I can be more of a participant in conversation when a discussion occurs. I would consider my paper: clear, articulate, thorough and shows a lot of effort put forth on a subject that was very much new to the writer. I would give myself a solid B+ or A.

Mark =

Good research and an interesting paper! I've tried to provide some ideas and suggestions throughout that might be useful for future papers. And there are a few times when the wording of some sentences seems a bit long or awkward. Finally, there maybe could have been a bit more about the types of technology behind SaaS. Otherwise, good stuff. Mark = A- -Drfleet 11/7/06, 10:27am

References

Ambarkhane, Saket. (2006). Firms Open Up to Software as a Service. CRM BUYER. Retrieved Oct 28, 2006,. (http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/cMn2a6yFuiX7Uu/Firms-Open-Up-to-Software-as-a-Service.xhtml)

Banks, Martin. (2006). SAAS Goes Customizable. Channel Register. Retrieved Oct 27, 2006,. (http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/10/25/netsuite_customise)

Beal, Barney (2005). Making a big deal out of hosted CRM. SearchCRM.com. Retrieved Oct 29, 2006,. (http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid11_gci1093176,00.html)

Chaudhary, Rajendra . (2006). SaaS Security Concerns Are Cynical. CXOTODAY.COM. Retrieved Oct 30, 2006,. (http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/SaaS_Security_Concerns_Are_Cynical_Say_Experts/551-73540-908.html)

NetSuite, Inc. (2006). NetSuite Kicks Off 'Service as Software' Revolution With SuiteFlex. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved Oct 28, 2006,. (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061026/sfth033.html?.v=80)

Smith, Howard (2006). Software as a Service (SaaS) Sightings, Directory and Showcase. Blogger.com. Retrieved Oct 29, 2006,. (http://saassightings.blogspot.com/)

Think Strategies, Inc. (2006). The Software As A Service Resource Center. SAAS Showplace. Retrieved Oct 29, 2006,. (http://www.saas-showplace.com/industrynewsevents.html)

Wikipedia, Inc. SaaS. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved Oct 20, 2006,. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SaaS)

My report in the making....

I am using writely to do my "personal" project...check it out!

Assignment 10 Concept Map

Well, it's done. The concept map that is. I struggle to no end doing these things. I think I should have stayed with the old mindmap. It was quick, easy and pretty neat looking once I got it done. I think I had it down pat...and even enjoyed writing the notes on the side. Now, my concept maps are just a glob of disjointed relationships that dont seem to want to work together to accomplish a true reflection of the chapter. Oh well, I have tried and for those of you out there still mind mapping...keep up the easy cheezy way...at least your assignments will make sense.

Now, speaking about exceeding expectations in terms of performance. This class is one of those classes that makes you feel like you are at work a bit. I do wonder if there is any relative contribution considerations made when you get down to all the great work effort put forth by a few top achievers. I mean isnt that the way the world works now adays? It is a scramble to the top...those who get lucky among the best of the best get the grade. Really though, when you are working for a company it is like a grade when you get that "exceeds" or "outstanding" result for the year. It is not a letter grade, but if it was it would be the coveted A+ or 4.3 that makes us all want to celebrate!

So, yes....it is that time again at work. My ranting does have purpose. The whole relative contribution, performance rating thing has me at odds every single year. Don't get me wrong, for all years I have done very well. The company has always provided me with a rating that I believe fits the overall work I have put forth that year, but still every year it drives me a little closer to the brink thinking about what on earth I could get.

Now, my friends will tell you that I am a bit competetive....I do tell them no, knowing full well that they know I do have an ever so slight tendancy ....so I know that just a tad of my wondering and hoping about the annual performance rating is that I really just want to get that "I did great things" result or ...win the 1! Doesnt everyone think they are grand though? I mean, you dont meet many people who will offer up during a performance rating discussion that they really did a terrible job at everything during the past year and they deserve a super low rating and please give me less pay even if they reallly did deserve both.

It is pathetic really..why wouldnt almost outstanding be okay? It has been for some years, but still when you work hard every day, do everything you can to make it work you wonder how you could potentially fall short. But...did you fall short? If you are lucky enough to get in the bucket of "maybe you did great" people...it really just boils down to relative performance to enable a definite "you are great" rating.....and that can suck...I mean maybe everyone is just "great".

I guess it boils down to this: Gone be the days where there are only so many outstanding people allowed in one organization.

In fact, don't organizations want a ton of outstanding people? I know, I know...it is the constantly raising the bar, which is a truly wonderful concept.

Time is Flying By...

Well, let's see. I am back from my trip from the big TO and yes the shopping was great! I of course had to buy a few things for moi and I got the best Cafe Mocha from Starbucks that a girl looking for a great cup of coffee could get. It was the one near the Eaton's Centre for all those savy Toronto goers out there. There was a band playing outside the Eaton Centre, the kind you stop and drink a few gulps of coffee down before walking down the street in search of more interesting things to see. The band was interesting..don't get me wrong.. but hey...there is a lot of stuff to shove into 1 day. I guess my biggest adventure was the Subway and Bus journey to the downtown area. You know, for a girl who can not remember the last time she took the bus by herself that is a huge feat..pathetically huge.

Anyway, the trip in whole was great. I got to meet a lot of great people at work that usually are just on the other end of a telephone cord somewhere. I also got to experience the difference in the culture between the SJ office compared to the big Markham mecca. I loved it really....wish Ms.Evil Anna could have joined me...it would have been a splendid occasion.

I did the usual evening ritual when many miles away from the home.... dinner, wine and then interesting conversation with people I will never likely speak to again. Sometimes those conversations are the most interesting.

Anyways, I have some work to do..you know the Concept Map stuff. I have some other exciting stuff to post, but I want to keep you hanging......

Peace!

October 13th: A Week in Review

Well, let's see. To my surprise here I am at Saturday already with load of time to complete some outstanding work items as well as get some sleep and what am I doing first off? Blogging.

To tell you the truth, this week has shaped up to be a lot better than expected. I went to Ottawa, which turned out to be a very good 2 day visit with the typical "lot of conversation" and now I am in the big TO. Well, what does 1 girl do in such a big city?

Day #1: I stayed in my hotel room working most of the day and then went into the IBM office and worked a bit then came back to the hotel, logged on and worked a bit more. That was yesterday.

Day #2: Now, what to do on a Saturday? My intention...you know the good ones that we all seem to have and sometimes come to fruition, is to work on a course that I have to complete sooner than later. Completing the course would really take a weight off my shoulders, which is a good thing! Now, I have all week to do this, but you and I both know that once the week begins the need for this and than by all the people in the office coming back to work will likely squash some of the time I had set aside for this course.

However, I have this huge urge to go into the city this morning and just take a peek around. Is it safe? likely not, but fun...definitely! I want to have a cafe mocha at one of those small little coffee shops with a yummy muffin of some sort and then maybe shop around for something you would not see in New Brunswick. Now, the good part of doing this now, at 8am in the morning is that I will likely get back by lunchtime and start the work I am so wanting to get done...it is like having your cake and eating it too.

So, I think I have definitely convinced myself that this is what I am going to do now. I will post later on this week about my adventure, likely......before I post my assignment, which is always a pleasure to complete : * )

Sincerely, the girl in search of a great cup of coffee in the big city of Toronto

Is this the next level?

Not really sure if I accomplished the "next level" concept map this week. Why you may ask? Well, I actually found that the software was a bit complicated to use...at least for a beginner like me. I spend a lot of time trying to get the right relationships going on and in the end I came out with a somewhat finished product...? This took a long time for me to do, considering the prep work and so on.

Well, heres to next weeks concept map at perhaps an even higher level!

Do you Goggle Spreadsheet?

If you don't maybe you should? Check out this cool spreadsheet I did up for the fun of it...well it was an assignment, but it was kindof fun!

Week Ending October 13th

Strange title don't you think? I thought it was representative of how this week is going for me though. I am flying out to Ottawa in the morning and into Toronto for Friday morning from Ottawa and it seems as though the week for me is almost at an end .....an end of getting any actual work done that is.

It is funny how when you go away(off site) to work, you find yourself doing alot of everything except actual work that contrbitues to anything, but interesting conversation. I find that happens when you are going to customer sites and then flying off to work at an office you would not normally be at. Even with the best intentions there is the the impossibility of finding time other than at night to getting work completed if you are at a customer site all day. When you are offsite at another location working there is always the shuffling around trying to find a workstation to plug your laptop into...although I am sure the IBM office in Markham is wireless now, at least the section I am going to be at.

That is one good thing about these days.....there are alot of "flexi-stations" that you can park yourself at. I think the thing I dislike the most about travel though is the airports and the lay overs. I would be so happy if the airports would implement wireless technology, or at least Flexi-Stations so people could at least be productive while they are waiting around for their flight. I know some do have this for a fee, but at the TO airport it is only available to those who are members of the extravagant "Maple Leaf" room, which very disheartening. I never seem to get myself organized enough to get the points applied properly to my account to allow myself access to the lavish room..or least that is what you think when you are at the Tim Horton's close by trying to see if you can pick up some sort of faint signal from the wireless room upstairs...by the way YOU CAN'T!

For some reason I started my blog first tonight. Maybe because posting to my blog is the easiest part of the assignment? Maybe because I enjoy this part of the assignment the most? Hard to say really......but one thing is for sure...I better get to my concept map right now!

Anyways, I always have good intentions to post here more often, but of course...those are just good intentions. However, I can honestly say that I look forward to posting to this site on Tuesday afternoons as I think about the assignment I need to get handed in that night.

Till next week....live long and prosper!

My Blog Spot Needs a Face Lift

Okay, so maybe I am not the best at making my blog spot look spectacular and original...I dont think I am a very good blogger to begin with either. I dont have much of anything useful to say other than the regular stuff like...I am tired..need more sleep...require more time to do this or that and a little wishful thinking on occasion. However, for some reason it is bothering me that my blogspot is so "templated" and to be perfectly honest with you I am a bit at odds about the whole thing. I dont know quite how to spiff it up. Perhaps I will try and get it looking a bit better over the next week..a little renovation seems to be in order. Stay tuned for some construction after I do some research on what exactly I can do.

MindMap - Assignment #6 Complete

Just finished my mind map. That took me longer than expected...the chapters seem to be getting longer..or I am just more tired? Anyways, here is a jpeg of the mind map...after I finished it I thought it looked a bit lopsided. I will use a suggested link capability in the next week and post the mind maps I have done so far. For now, here is a picture.

This week in review

Well, let's see. I have managed to get myself involved in so much stuff at work that I hardly have time to even sit down and think about what I need to complete for my mindmap this week. I actually enjoy doing the assignments for BA2663...it is more of a time issue than anything. I have decided that from here on out I am not going to be a "yes" girl. Instead, I am going to stand up for "my time". My time meaning family time, school work time and just plain sleep time - all the good things in life.

#1 problem - Over committing and driving myself crazy because of it.

I really do have good intentions, but in the end...........I am getting very overextended and for what????

Now, my blog....I guess it is more of a vent this week...but I think that is okay for a blog. One thing point Dr. Fleet brought up was the potential to use the blog in the future....humm...my blog is FALL 2006: BA2663 blahblahblah. I might have to look into changing it eventually or perhaps linking one off of this one and vice versa so that I have a more "permanent" place like the one Ms. EvilAnna has going on!

Now.. mindmaps this week. So, we were able to choose which assignment we would prefer. I thought about it and decided to go with the mind map....because I like em. Plus, I think they are helping me with remembering the information in the chapters..which is really what it is all about. So, once my mind map is completed...I will post it up!