The importance of laws (sueing) and processes in USA / On military papers in the SE…

The importance of laws (sueing) and processes in USA

I have been wondering why life is so much more regulated by laws, processes, and regulations here in USA than in Europe. It is really irritating. Today, while walking idly, I finally got it. It is because multi-cultural nature of the society: one cannot know how people would behave without the processes, regulations, and fear of getting sued. In Finland, we have a very homogenous population, with very much shared values and ethical standards: there is no need for external guidance/threats - we all know how to behave anyway. (this is not to say that there would not be laws or that we would not respect them. On the contrary, Finns can be very legalistic sometimes. But we do not fear getting sued, nor do we leave our brains at home when going to work, we can even take own initiative even in normal service occupations).

On military papers in the SE course

Even though I do not really like the amount of military influence in MIT, I have to admit that the paper on Theater Battle Management Core System we need to read and study in our Systems Engineering-course is one of the best papers on the mistakes happening in large scale systems engineering I have ever read. It is phenomenal, really honest, saying things as "The requirements process for TBMCS V1.0.1 was profoundly flawed from the start", " the communications architecture was not well defined or understood until after the failure of the first operational test","TBMCS did not have a vision that the program could follow.", etc. What I have read earlier, these and other similar problems are quite common in developing large systems. I recommend this paper for everyone who has something to do with such an activity; the more the higher in the organization one is.
Bill gave a good advice: we should ask for a non-military project. It is not fair to be forced to work with military systems. It is against my deepest convictions - in the future I have to be more principled.

On productivity in France and in USA

Paul Krugman has been reading an interesting new study on Work and leisure in the U.S. and Europe.. It turns out, that the French are as productive, or actually even more, as the American, when measured by GNP per working hour. It is just that the French (and other European) have collectively chosen to work less and enjoy life more (and spend more time with friends and family). Is that good or bad? I think it is good: I see no point of spending whole life working and not having time to travel etc. If the consequence is to, as Krugman puts it, "having smaller car and smaller houses and less eating out", so be it. But how large a car is sufficient for having good life? Is a bigger car always better, something to strive for, to sacrifice many hours? Why not buy a bus right away? Or, what is the point of having 5 bedroom house in suburbs, if one has to stay in the office 60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year? Would it not be nicer to have a smaller place and some time to stay in the place? Anyway, read the column and decide yourself.

Aimee Mann

Aimee Mann gave a concert in the Copley Square yesterday. I like her songs quite a lot, especially I like her voice. But it seems that her voice does not sound so good in an outdoor concert. It was quite thin and hard to hear. Maybe it was just the way they had mixed the sounds. Anyway, it was nice to see her and hear her singing. And a good way to have a break in active work on systems dynamics.

Daily cronos

Yesterday, just work and Aimee Mann. Today, cycling in the morning, then writing a research plan in a vain effort to get some money. (See also my thesis outline - they do not match!). Then, some hacking at home after which I went with Kumar to the SDM-LFM-SloanFellows-party. It was supposed to begin at 4.30pm, but the logistic students of LFM (the organizers) had forgotten to check when the bar opens. So, we waiting outside 45 minutes. I cannot believe I did that. Maybe it was worth it since I got to talk with some interesting Sloan Fellows. Afterwards, we went to pick up our new server-computer from Watertown UPS and had dinner. Then just hanging at home. By the way, UPS stands for Unbelievable Poor Service. They cannot even call when they are at my door. Rather,they just leave a not saying that I was not at home. Nor can they ring the puzzer. If I ever run a business, I will not use UPS a single time. They just lost a possible customer.

SysAdim-day

Today was the official System Administrator Appreciation Day. I notices it a bit too late. But I just want to say, that I do appreciate the work they do. Without them, my blog would not be online, not to speak of many other, and more important things, like having electricity etc. Keep on the good work, SysAdmins!
Check also what Lazu has to say about vacations. I tend to recognize myself from the things. I like to have vacation, and much of it, but having nothing to do drives me nuts in 5 minutes and I start to "sleep all the time, drink too much, or be in a bad mood" as I learned from a book and from S. I think Dick Feynman was right. He did not have holidays in the traditional meaning: during his vacations he usually worked in some other field of science - having vacation from physics, not from using his intellect. That's what I intend to do, too, in the future. No just idling and doing nothing. I think half of day of idling is the absolute maximum for me - and even then I need to have something not-too-light literature to read.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs from July to September 2005".