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Author: adaptiman

  • Political Quandry

    Political Quandry

    “I will never vote for Donald Trump.” That’s a direct quote from your’s truly in February of this year. But as a middle-aged white guy, I also remember the Clinton years. For those of you from that vintage, you remember; Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, Hillary Healthcare version one, impeachment, Vince Foster – you get the picture. I’m not trying to impugn Hillary for the behavior of Bill. It just seems that 1) controversy and scandal follow the Clintons and 2) their explanations don’t seem to ring true. I see them as the prototypes for Frank and Claire Underwood. For Hillary’s part, the Benghazi explanation really stretched credibility. The email scandal, while probably blown out of proportion by critics, reached new heights of spin (to be charitable) or lying (to be honest).

    It really doesn’t matter, though. As negative as I am about the Clintons and the Democratic Party in general, I was done with the Republican Party with the second Obama term. I figured if they couldn’t beat Obama after his first term performance, they had truly lost their way. They have confirmed my assessment by creating Trump. That’s right – I said the Republican Party created Trump. He is a natural outcome of outrage from the party of Lincoln really not having a clue how to win. I mean, REALLY. If the best the party can field is Jeb Bush, we have a problem. Cruz and Rubio don’t count as as they are not true Republicans. Even if we go back to Mitt Romney, while a fine man, he wasn’t the kind of leader we needed. And to lose to Obama after a first term liberal performance reminiscent of French politicians but not as stylish, the Republican Party is dead.

    So what is a fiscally conservative, socially moderate (except when it comes to the sanctity of life), environmentally liberal voter supposed to do? Our electoral system is so skewed toward the two-party system that third-party candidates are not taken seriously. The Libertarian and Green Parties are really out there. Should I write someone in? Elmer Fudd perhaps? Should I make a political statement by throwing away my vote? Texas will undoubtedly go to Big Hair. I don’t know that I can vote for either The Donald or Hillary without feeling shame. Maybe I’ll stay home that day.

  • Doris Mae Sweeney, 1944-2016

    Doris Mae Sweeney, 1944-2016

    My mother, Doris Mae Staton Sweeney, passed way early in the morning on Saturday, May 21st, 2016. She died in her sleep after having a nice dinner with her husband and friends at a local restaurant. She had been working in the garden on Friday pulling weeds. Her Easter lilies had started to bloom and she was very proud of them. There was nothing wrong with her other than the common ailments of anyone 72 years old. She wasn’t feeling ill. I had spoken with her on the phone that night. She asked me about my dissertation proposal, and finished the conversation with a simple “I love you.” That night, she simply passed away, peacefully, in her sleep. (more…)

  • Grow Your Own

    The speed of change in IT is dizzying. Exciting, but dizzying. Sometimes it feels that we move so fast, we can’t even get introduced to a new process or service before it changes. Other IT shops seem to be feeling the pressure as well. Here’s an example: an article titled Are 18-month org charts and constant training the new reality for IT? Dr. Carver makes the case that truly agile organizations can’t look out ten, five, or even three years – IT rolls over every eighteen months, so be prepared. (more…)

  • Purpose, Principles and Systems

    I just saw a new webinar from the Lean IT Association called Lean IT in Action -A Tale of Two IT Transformations. Very interesting. The basic premise of the webinar is that organizational transformation takes time and commitment at all levels. It takes holding employees responsible for carrying out the commitment. It means doing the hard work first, even if it’s not fun or sexy. Here are some examples. (more…)

  • Technology Implementation in Student Affairs

    Congrats to the newly hooded Dr. Ed Cabellon for recently completing his PhD. His dissertation topic caught my eye: Redefining student affairs through digital technology: a ten-year historiography of digital technology use by student affairs administrators. On his site, he has a new post on a technology implementation model for student affairs (SA), which is based upon his dissertation.

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  • 20 Miler with T159 Senior Scouts

    20 Miler with T159 Senior Scouts

    This was a recent 20 mile hike with some of my senior scouts to complete their hiking merit badge. We had just crossed a dam through shallow water and they were taking a breather. Allyson was with us, but not in the picture. She vowed to never hike that far again. I’ll convince her otherwise.

  • Austin takes a break on the AT, 2013

    Austin takes a break on the AT, 2013

    I love this picture! I took it the first year Austin and I hiked the AT together. We didn’t know much back then. He’s bigger now.

  • Feeding the Beast

    What is the nature of IT Governance (ITG) in Higher Ed? This is a question I, and most of the TAMU IT community, have been wrestling with for a long time. As a Tier One, TAMU has such a distributed model of power (read: budget and decision-making), that common methods of governance don’t really apply.

    IT governance (ITG) is defined as the processes that ensure the effective and efficient use of IT in enabling an organization to achieve its goals. – Gartner

    (more…)