Yearly Archives: 2012

Why Does Congress Take a Five Week “Vacation”?

Congressional approval ratings have matched the all-time low of just 12 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. That means that fewer than 1 of every 8 Americans thinks Congress is doing a good job. Much of this dissatisfaction is surely deserved, but far too many people have the wrong idea about whatRead… Read more »

Admit It, Customer Service Is Our Job

Well, well, well folks. It seems I’ve hit a hot button here: customer service. I cross-posted a post titled “Get to Know Your Customers on a Personal Level” to the NCMA group on LinkedIn. There strong feelings on both sides. Some think that contracting officers absolutely need customer service training. Some think that customer serviceRead… Read more »

Manipulating Blogs and the Internet

Http://LeonardSipes.Com Are blogs the journalistic scumbags of the internet? I just finished reading (for the second time) Ryan Holiday’s “Trust Me, I’m Lying—Confessions of a Media Manipulator.” Holiday heaps tons of slime on both blogs and the mainstream media. The premise of the book is something he refers to as “trading up the chain;” convinceRead… Read more »

US Government Takes down App Piracy Sites, BBES 10 will be backwards compatible and more

If law enforcement can cut down on pirated apps, Android will become a shinier target for developers Here is today’s top tech news. Three top Android piracy sites seized – The DOJ has stopped three large sites from distributed pirated Android apps. Developers for Android have long complained (and rightfully so) about the ease ofRead… Read more »

Save Your Project And Money With Agile

The FBI’s Sentinel project is a recently completed case study of the potential of Lean/Agile methodologies for managing government projects. “so fraught with miscommunication, incompetence and failed oversight that the entire debacle would have been a shoo-in for the most flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars since, well, ever” They were over-running and close to killingRead… Read more »

A day in the life

I’ve always worked in very traditional environments where there were either thinkers or do’ers. The do’ers were on the front line and did and the thinkers were behind them, researching, reading, discussing and then issuing strategies and directions which would then be cascaded down to the do’ers. My current role is a wee bit differentRead… Read more »

Could millennials actually SAVE the workforce?

As a millennial myself we’ve heard it all before: we are the entitled, spoiled and self-serving generation. Gen-Y is the youngsters typically born between 1982-1999. But could we also be the workplace savior? Maybe so says Emily Matcher. She is a freelance writer for the Washington Post. She’s written an article outlining how this “pampered”Read… Read more »

Exploring Geo-Enabled Government Services

Across government, there are fascinating uses of GIS. Whether it is the development of custom web apps, integration of cloud and/or mobile technology, or using GIS to improve citizen services. In many ways GIS is transforming how government delivers services. There are also many different ways GIS is improving services. The use of 3D andRead… Read more »