Rob Farley : non-tech

40,000 days since the beginning of ‘time’

Rob Farley — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:12:33 GMT

Next Tuesday feels like a significant day. Not only is it 7/7, and the fourth anniversary of the London bombings (in 2005), but it’s 40,000 days since the beginning of time. Well, not proper time, but since the start of the 1900s.

SELECT DATEDIFF(day,'19000101','20090707')+1 AS DaysOf1900s

So if Day 1 is Jan 1, 1900 (as many systems tend to use – SQL actually considers it Day 0), Day 40000 is 7/7/2009.

I actually rate the start of the twentieth century as a very significant event in the human race. In 1900 the world was changing faster than it had ever done before, and no-one can deny the significance of the twentieth century in history. I’m sure change will continue to become faster, but I found it interesting recently when I noticed that we were approaching this ‘milestone’ of sorts.

New business cards via Click

Rob Farley — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:30:27 GMT

For over six months I’ve been meaning to get business cards. Work has been busy though, and I just haven’t prioritised it. Last week I finally got around to it, and I was really quite impressed with the process.

I’d been playing around with layout for a while, and also had to work out what title I should use. A couple of people recommended Click Business Cards, and so I checked them out. I submitted my appropriately-sized JPGs and put my order in for gloss on both sides. As I was hoping to give some out this week, I had dropped them a line to ask if I could get the order marked ‘Urgent’, which they kindly did. As a result, the order was finished about a day and a half after I submitted the order, and they arrived in the post today.

As a result, I’m inclined to use Click again, and will be happily recommending them to people who want a quick and easy business card service.

The Pope and sneezing

Rob Farley — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:26:34 GMT

I flew into Sydney recently, around the time the Pope was leaving after World Youth Day. I figured if I saw him, I could go and stand near him and sneeze. (Don't ask me how I'd make myself sneeze - I hadn't worked out that part of the plan.)

Hopefully, he'd reply in the standard way, and I'd have a great story about getting a blessing from the Pope. But then I thought - hang on, the current bloke is German. He'd probably say "Gesundheit" instead, which doesn't have the same ring to it. I'd be stood there, complaining at the Pope, telling him that he should've said "Bless You" instead of "Gesundheit". At least right up until I got carried away by his security.

I'm also thinking that I missed out on a great opportunity in a lift earlier in the year. I must remember to have the sniffles next time I bump into one of the great religious leaders of our time in an enclosed space.

Welcome, Charlotte

Rob Farley — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:57:53 GMT

In the early hours of Monday morning (Dec 10th), I was in Melbourne, ready to teach a course in the morning. I made it back in time to help my new daughter Charlotte into the world, but this is what I wrote from the airport:

"Welcome to the world, my daughter. I'm writing this from Melbourne Airport. Your mum called me a little while ago to tell me her waters had broken, but this is nine days early, and I was expecting to teach a course today. Ironically, the course was going to be on SSIS - about moving information from one system to another - and instead we're both in transition. You from the womb to the world, me rushing from one airport to another.

"Except that I'm not rushing right now. I'm on the first flight out, at 6:15am. That's over three hours away, during which time you'll probably be born. I don't even have internet access from here, so by the time anyone reads this, I'm sure you'll have arrived.

"I'm looking at pictures of you now, from your scan a couple of months ago. You're very beautiful. I hope and pray for the best for you. I'm tired now - it feels like I'll be waiting here forever for this flight. I can't sleep - couldn't even if I dared. I just want to get to you.

See you soon."

She waited for me, arrived on Monday morning, weighing 7lb 12oz. Everyone's well, and the boys and I took them home from the hospital that evening.

Bath University's description of my grandfather

Rob Farley — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:56:35 GMT

Some people asked me about what Grandpa achieved. This from Bath University News:

The University is saddened to announce the death on Saturday of Professor Martyn Farley, a member of University Court since 1983, representing the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Professor Farley contributed immensely to the University and was elected by Court to serve on the University of Bath Council from 2000 to 2006. He also served on the Ethics Committee and the Buildings Committee.
Professor Farley worked for nearly 40 years with Bristol/Rolls Royce Aero Engines in various roles, including Divisional Director, Head of Design and Chief Engineer.
Professor Farley was designated Emeritus Professor of the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham and Cranfield University in 1986. He was Professor and Head of Department of Management Sciences at the Royal Military College of Science from 1975 to 1984 and Vice-Chairman, School of Management and Mathematics, RMCS Faculty of Cranfield Institute of Technology, from 1984 to 1986.
He also acted in a variety of roles for institutions including Brunel, Bristol, Loughborough and Luton universities, NASA and US universities. He was a Freeman of the City of London and was elected International Engineer of 1984 by the US Institute for Advancement of Engineering.

A tribute

Rob Farley — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:11:00 GMT

It seems my hero may not last the day. Martyn Graham Farley, my grandfather.

When I was a child, I thought he knew everything. As I grew up and realised that nobody knows everything, there was a part of me that considered that if anyone came close, it would be Grandpa.

When I was a boy mourning the death of my father, he was someone who also missed Dad, someone who could tell me stories about him, someone who shared many of Dad's views of the world.

As an adult, Grandpa has been a link to my past. A time when I lived on the other side of the world, when Christmases were cold, and life was carefree.

I have had conversations with him that I'm sure I will remember forever. I wanted him to be always around so that we could continue having them. I remember talking to him on the phone (long-distance) during the last overs of the cricket when England beat Australia, and celebrating England's rugby wins with him. I remember telling him about my kids being born, and about the child of mine he may never meet.

He is always passionate. Always caring. A man who adores his wife and family.

He's strong. "The heart of an ox," his doctor said a handful of years ago. When the rest of his body failed him, his heart remained ever powerful. Literally and metaphorically.

His mind has always been incredible. He wasn't just the person who knew everything there was to know, but he achieved everything there was to achieve: a successful career at Rolls Royce, rising to become MD of the Small Engine Division; a Professor Emeritus at the Royal Military College; Engineer of the Year; President of the Royal Aeronautical Society; on the boards of several universities. He even helped NASA with the Shuttle engine. There was nothing he couldn't do. If he had achieved that today, he would be all over the Internet. Instead, there's a only a couple of pages that refer to his work in setting up a school for managers in engineering at Cranfield.

He has been my hero in so many ways. I have looked for similarities in the mirror, and hoped to be like him. I have enjoyed every time he's told me he's proud of me.

Above all, he has been my friend. I pray I see him again one day.

My views on Arsenal comings and goings

Rob Farley — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:00:36 GMT

(completely non-tech)

I've had quite a few people ask me my opinions on the Arsenal transfers this summer (well, winter here in Australia, but summer for Arsenal).

The big question of course is around Thierry Henry. Our champion who left for Barcelona this year. Personally, I think it was a year too late, but if he'd left a year ago, it might've been a year too soon. This past season for him was a major let-down, and I wonder if he will ever achieve the same kind of level as the past.

As for his 'replacement', Eduardo da Silva, I think he'll be a great asset. Wenger has been chasing a 'fox-in-the-box' for a long time, and having had no luck with his attempts to sign someone like this in the past (notably Franny Jeffers), I think this guy stands a great chance of being the player able to convert possession into goals.

Whilst he's not a new signing, I think this may be the season for Theo Walcott to shine. Our defence is looking good, and although I think we will still miss Lauren and Campbell, I think Sagna will be a useful addition. But our main problem this past season was in attack, and with da Silva, Walcott, and the return to fitness of Robin van Persie, things are looking up.

I'd still like to see some big names come to the club. I'm not sure Anelka is the right person, and I think Tevez or Torres would've been good if Wenger had pursued them. He knows the kind of person he's after though, and perhaps those players don't fit the profile.

On a different note, I do feel bad for Leeds United. They're a team with great history, and it seems they may end up falling apart completely. Let's hope they can be restored in time.

Transformers movie - worth the rating?

Rob Farley — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:17:48 GMT

My almost-ten-year-old son wants to see the new Transformers movie. It's rated M, which means that it's not recommended for kids under the age of fifteen. On that point alone, my answer is no. But I was curious about the movie - I remember the cartoon from twenty-something years ago, plus my kids have seen the cartoon themselves. So I went with my brother this week. Before the US release, too. Lucky Australia.

Like most movies of TV shows, they seem to want to put the whole plot (or in this case, war) into a single movie. That frustrates me a little, but it doesn't spoil the movie. On the whole, the movie is great for the giant-robots-fighting-each-other genre. There's plenty of action, particularly towards the end of the movie, and although it's predictable at times, that's not why you go to see it.

It doesn't feel as violent as it is, because they're robots fighting, not people. Sure, there are buses that get wrecked, things like that... but it doesn't feel any different to the Superman movies of the 80s. There is no bad language (that I can remember), and although there are references to sex, it's not a major factor. It's not a kids' movie though, and my son won't be seeing it for a while yet. In the UK it's rated 12A, and PG-13 in the USA, but in Australia M is as close as it gets. 12A or PG-13 seems to be the right kind of level for it.

An Adelaide icon waves goodbye

Rob Farley — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 07:28:31 GMT

The State Bank building was built in Adelaide in 1988, and remains the tallest building in Adelaide. When the bank (not the building) collapsed in the early 90s, it became Santos House, and got branded with the Santos logo. It was like this when I first got introduced to Adelaide in 1994. It's the building where Microsoft have their Adelaide office, and Level 2 hosts the user-group meetings that I run. At Christmas there are green lights in the shape of a tree, and it displays a cross at Easter time.

In the last few weeks, the word Santos has disappeared. It now shows the red W of Westpac. I suppose it makes little difference to most things. I'm happy enough to refer to it as Westpac House, or whatever its new name is supposed to be. But I'm saddened. Santos is a South Australian brand. The 'Sa' at the start of the word is "South Australia" (and interestingly, the NT is Northern Territory, like the NT in Qantas). It's very disappointing that the branding associated with this important Adelaide building no longer reflects Adelaide. Something's been lost.

I have similar emotions about the branding of the Arsenal stadium at Ashburton Grove. I appreciate that Emirates Airline have paid a fortune for the naming brand. But it's a shame that this fantastic stadium, the third largest stadium in London (after Wembley and Twickenham) should have its branding rights sold, but to a company who doesn't reflect London at all. At least Wigan Athletic's JJB Stadium is named for a shop owned by the chairman of the club, a company which is based in Wigan.

Number three due in December

Rob Farley — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:50:18 GMT

A few months ago, after almost an eight year gap, we decided to try for a third child. Now we only have about six months until the new baby arrives. It's very cool - we're just hoping that the baby is born before Christmas.

Isoccerhedron

Rob Farley — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 01:50:00 GMT

At school my son is looking at polyhedra (that's the proper word for polyhedrons - like cubes, tetrahedrons, etc).

The other day he came home with pictures of a dodecahedron (that's the one with 12 pentagon sides) and an icosahedron (20 triangle sides). The icosahedron is really neat. Each point has 5 edges hitting it, and if you hold it right, you can have 5 sides in a top layer, 5 on the bottom, and 10 around the middle. It's nicely symmetrical, and it feels familiar.

I think the reason it feels so familiar is because if you chop off the corners you get a truncated icosahedron. This makes each point into a pentagon (because there are 5 edges that meet at the point), and each triangle into a hexagon (because you've chopped each the corner off). Pump it up a little, and then you can play football with it. I think this should be called an 'isoccerhedron' though.

(Image is from the Wikipedia site)

The class didn't actually look at the isoccerhedron, but I think the class full of boys would've enjoyed seeing such an application of polyhedra. After all, maths doesn't get applied much when you're in Grade 5.

Getting married today

Rob Farley — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:40:00 GMT

Roslyn & I are getting married this afternoon. Again. But this time, for pretend. Her mum is getting her celebrant's licence, and needs to conduct a pretend-wedding so that they can be sure she knows how to do it. So Roslyn and I are getting all done up, and trotting off down the beach to say some vows.

I think we have to take our wedding rings off for it, which will be strange, as I don't tend to take my wedding ring off. Hope it goes okay. Have to take it seriously for Mum, otherwise we'll have to do it again. Can't cough at the "impediment" bit or anything...

Offensive movies on a plane?

Rob Farley — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:10:00 GMT

I was on a plane recently and saw the new Helen Mirren movie The Queen. It was a well-done film, although in many ways it was just a curiosity about how they would show the events, rather than wondering what would happen next.

One thing got me though... I thought at first that there was an occasional problem with the sound, but on the third time I realised what was happening there's a line when someone says "It was a vow before ... " (I've put the dots where the sound cut out). And I realised that they were cutting the sound every time someone referred to God.

Considering that the Borat movie was also showing on the plane, it does make you wonder what the definition of 'offensive' is these days. And will the text used at the coronation of George VII be altered so that he no longer makes a vow before God, and isn't made the head of the Anglican church?

England are charitable to Warne

Rob Farley — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 03:21:00 GMT

England have let Warne be Australia's top batsman in his final test. Very nice of us. And just to demonstrate that it was charity, we got him out less than ten runs after he beat the next best Aussie.

Five things

Rob Farley — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 23:15:00 GMT

Nick tagged me. Thanks Nick. Turns out you are still here. Hmm... Five things about me you might not know.

1/ I'm a Christian (and proud of it). I have been all my life, and don't remember not ever being a Christian. I actually come from a long line of Christians, and 'minister' is one of the more common career choices in my ancestry.

2/ My grandfather is a personal hero of mine - he's a past-president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and was Engineer of the Year in 1984, I think partly because of a few helpful passing comments he made to NASA regarding some of the problems they were having with the shuttle.

3/ Most of my high-school years were spent at a school called Habs just north of London (I figure most people know I'm actually English and that doesn't qualify as something you don't know), where Matt Lucas was in my year and Sacha Baron-Cohen was a couple of years ahead. It was my father's high-school too, but he died when I turned ten and never saw me go there. Neither of us appear on the Wikipedia entry about the school.

4/ I only have one GCSE, an A in Maths. Most people have lots, but I only have one, because of the timing of our emigration to Australia. But I do have three bachelor's degrees, which mainly comes from starting with a double degree and then doing honours in something else.

5/ The last few years have been somewhat hospital-centric for my family. I had a back injury in 2003 and spent a while in hospital learning to walk again, and in 2004 my son Samuel (who was seven at the time) got Kawasaki Disease. In many ways, both experiences shaped us more than we would have liked, but we're both still here and doing well.

Now I need to pick five other people to tag (who haven't already been tagged by others). In no particular order...

Geoff Orr (good friend in Sydney, knows SQL), Brian Madsen (ASP.Net MVP in Perth, runs the SQL UG there), Glenn Block (works for Microsoft Learning in Redmond), David Gardiner (member of my SQL UG in Adelaide) and Joel K. Furr (the inventor of the word 'spam' - lives in the US state of Vermont).

The only way to do a handover

Rob Farley — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 06:19:00 GMT

Over the years I've seen a few people quit their job, and typically as soon as they hand in their notice, panic sets in as the person's replacement is identified and a handover is done.

And how is a handover done? Essentially by pair programming. It doesn't matter whether it's a role that involves writing code or whether it's a role that involves handling clients, or even making coffee. The handover is done by having two people sit at one desk for a period of time.

I say typically, because of course there are times when it's handled differently.

I'm sure that when I leave my current role (or any role for that matter), there will be an element of handover that needs to be done - me explaining to people as many of those unwritten things that I can think of, in the fear (their fear, not mine) that after I've gone, things will fall apart because they can't get at the information that I store in my head.

Luckily, I often can't get at the information in my head either.

Don't chuckle, I'm serious. And if you're serious about your work, you'll know that you can't get at all the information in your head when you need it either. Otherwise you wouldn't make project plans, or to-do lists, or write anything down. It would all just be there, able to be accessed whenever you needed it.

But the answer isn't just to write everything down. Nor is it to store it in a database. :) I think the answer is to write handover documents for everything you do as you do it. I don't mean documenting every line of code, or every decision you make. That can be useful, but it doesn't actually help when someone tries to do your job for a while. What you need is something which describes all those things that you do. Like an expert system. The "I've found a problem with this... where do I start looking?" kind of documentation. All that information you have (yes, in your head) that makes you the best person to do your job.

I know that skills can't be written into a document. I'm not talking about skills. And in fact, you should be able to assume that the person who's reading your documentation is skilled at what they do. So you probably wouldn't need to explain why a particular control was used somewhere, but you do need to make notes of any quirks that you have come across with that control before. Not something that might get put into official project documentation (although it should), but definitely something that your successor would need to know.

So in my opinion (and of course your mileage may vary), the ONLY way to do a handover is to just give your successor a pile of handover documents and then wait for the questions. Every time there's a question, your handover documents aren't complete. You amend the document so that the answer to that question is in there, and the handover continues. As soon as you need to sit at the same desk, you have a problem. You're passing on information that is in your head - using a medium (speech) which does not record easily.

Obviously this documentation needs to be kept up-to-date. Yes, I know this is a nightmare for all kinds of reasons, but if your documentation is suitable for a handover, then you need to be able to find it easily and make sure that anything that anyone may need to know to do your job is written in there. If you tweak something, write down why you tweaked it, so that someone else doesn't untweak it. Or so that they can tweak it in a similar way another time.

When I left my previous job, my successor didn't remain at the company long after I left. So anything that I had told him didn't remain either. The only thing that was left was stuff that had been written down. The company survived, and continues still today, but clearly the handover could've been done differently.

So why not practise your handover? If nothing else, you'll be able to go on holiday without getting a phone-call. But hopefully when your boss realises that you are replaceable, they'll sack you. I mean, promote you. Give you new responsibility without worrying that you'll keep getting called back to do your old job. If you're not replaceable, you're not promotable. Of course, you might not get it right first time. You may find that you do a handover and that your documentation isn't up to scratch, to the point that you get questions and need to amend those documents. Once those documents are done though, and you find that the people under you can cope just fine without you, then you can afford to get hit by that bus, or go on a holiday, without feeling like anyone needs to call you. And perhaps when you come back, areas of higher responsibility may have fallen your way.

My brother - not quite a Hawk yet

Rob Farley — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:19:00 GMT

Well, my brother hasn't quite joined an AFL side yet, but maybe he'll get in through the Rookie Draft on Dec 12. He's not one of the big names expected, but then again, a few months ago he wasn't expecting to even be training with Hawthorn.

Not glandular fever

Rob Farley — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 02:21:00 GMT

I do have something - although I'm nearly better now. But my blood test showed that my white cell count wasn't up, so therefore, it wasn't glandular fever. I had most of the symptoms though, and the doctor said it was some virus similar to the glandular fever one.

I'm hoping to be back at work tomorrow, although I might have to ease back in. Working from home might be a better option.

My twin's birthday

Rob Farley — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:49:00 GMT

Today is my twin brother's birthday. He's 32, poor guy. He'll probably call me later on today, which will give me the opportunity to wish him a happy birthday. But if he reads my blog, he'll see me wishing him happy birthday here. Happy Birthday, Andrew. You're getting old!

Oh, I get it. :(

So, the thirty-second year is over. Felt like it took longer than half-a-minute, although in some ways it didn't. Time to reflect perhaps - I'm sick today, so maybe there's a good opportunity.

Mono = Glandular Fever

Rob Farley — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 06:46:00 GMT

Tomorrow I get birthday presents and blood test results. I'm sick at the moment, have been for more than a few days. Today I had blood taken out, which is being tested for glandular fever.

I told an American friend of mine (in Phoenix), and he said "What's that?" Turns out that it's what Americans call 'mono'. I never knew that! I knew there was a thing that Americans called mono, but I didn't know it was glandular fever.

I'm not sure whether the news would be good or not. I guess it depends on what they can do about it.

Looking at the wikipedia site, I don't have the fever which it says tends to occur. But I do have the swollen glands, and fatigue. My throat isn't great either, and 3 out of 4 ain't bad. Or ain't good, whichever way you want to look at it.

So I've been resting. Only doing a bit of work... wishing I had wireless at home, and wondering how the user-group meeting this Thursday is going to go. If you're going to be in Adelaide, you should come along...