This is a stream of consciousness entry. There isn’t any intended relationship of the following items. Something of a panorama of stuff this early Monday morning.

• It is SO GREAT to have Highway 1 open again. It certainly was quiet living in the world’s largest accidental cul de sac, but it’s much better to be able to visit our neighbors in Pacifica. Thanks to everyone who put in the hard work to get the slide back open!
• Last week, starting quarterback Rhett Bomar was kicked off Oklahoma’s football team for taking $18,000 of pay while not working. This morning, I saw a thread started in January naming him in this activity. So why did it take 7 months to come out into the mainstream?
• U R Sckd – the text message a worker in England got last week.
• The largest US oil field has been shut down due to pipeline corrosion, that is not good news.
• Speaking of energy, I heard a radio report of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Minnesota last week. The campaign slogan for the mid-term elections may well be “Would you rather spend your money in the Middle East or the Middle West for energy? (referencing using corn to make ethanol.)” I hope it sticks. Probably it won’t, it’s pragmatic and makes too much sense.

I think that’ll do it for today.

Technorati Tags: Oil | Football | Devil’s Slide

This is going to be a pretty short entry simply to answer the question, “what are you going to do now?”

The short answer is, I’ve purposely decided not to decide right now.

Background: I’ve been working at least 40 hours (and more routinely, 80+ hours) a week for the past 24 years, the longest break I’ve had in that time is a two week vacation taken for my honeymoon in 1995. The time is right to take stock, think about what I really want to accomplish and contribute, and then chart a course. As a consequence, I’m targeting October to make firm plans about Mike.Nxt by answering a few key questions.

The questions are as follows:

• Do I take another job or start a company?
• If I take another job, is it merely a “job” (no emotional attachment, allows for personal balance) or is it a “cool job?” (emotional attachment expected, balance is tough)
• If no job, do I start a “lifestyle company” (small, local, and intended to stay that way) or indulge my technopreneurial streak to start a more traditional tech startup?

As you might imagine, there are many details beyond those choices, but until I’m settled on those, the details are largely irrelevant. I’ve got about 15 ideas/concepts in all categories above. If you have a concept, idea, or opportunity you want to discuss, please feel free to do so.

That’s it, I’ll get back to more interesting posts in the usual vein of innovation, invention, technology, silliness, and probably more OSU football.

Technorati Tags: Career | Business | Decision

Troy Smith – Ohio State Quarterback

The Buckeyes start the season at #1 in the Coach’s Poll. Here’s a story to provide a little more color. As Coach Tressel correctly observes, it’s not where you start, it’s where you end the season that matters. I’m delighted to see the national respect, but I personally believe any one of 8 or so teams could stake a legitimate claim to a #1 ranking presently (though with the events of this week it’s hard to see how Oklahoma is real and I don’t think the offseason has made Notre Dame’s defense any faster – 617 yards of offense for tOSU.)

So far as the Scarlet and Gray go, I’m concerned about 9 new defensive starters and a couple of replacements on the offensive line. In my experience, those things take a little while to come together. And, unfortunately, the schedule is not kind with early tests at Texas and Iowa, away, at night. Let’s face it, as successful as tOSU has been, night games haven’t been kind nor have away games. Think Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, PSU, and Texas losses in the last few seasons.

We’ll know alot more about this year’s version of the team by October. I can’t wait!

On other fronts, this has been one of the worst weeks of my professional career. I’ve never had to endure so much bad news in so little time with so many people. I want to take time to thank everyone who sent kind notes, great outreach calls, and the support of my leadership team. Going with the football theme from above, we’ve been through some horrible times and I can state categorically that our team held together through the toughest of times. Eric, Klarissa, Subodh, Connie, Kevin, Nancy, Denny, and Peggy – my hat is off to you. You rock. Thank you.

I’ve gotten a load of questions about what I’ll be doing next. Stay tuned for an entry about that in the next couple of days. I’m afraid I feel like a wrung out dishrag right now.

To everything there is a season
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to laugh, a time to weep
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time of war, a time of peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (or The Byrds/Simon & Garfunkel if you prefer)

Change is an interesting phenomena. Some fear change, some crave change, some flee change, and some embrace change. Ultimately, it is change that enables us to grow and mature. Today brings a big change for Sun, for my team, Customer Network Services, and for me.

Sun has been very transparent about changes the company intends to make in order to achieve and sustain profitability. As a result of these stated plans, we have executed a reduction in force in Customer Network Services today.

Consistent profitability is vital to Sun’s long term survival. As a consequence, many difficult decisions were made to ensure that appropriate focus and investment are channeled into the most important products, programs, and activities. It’s easy to criticize any of the decisions that have been made; the encouraging thing is difficult decisions have been made and executed against for the greater good of the company. Hopefully, this is the last time Sun needs to resort to such measures to achieve stated financial objectives. If you haven’t been through this sort of thing before, I can assure you the selection processes for what to continue, what to dial back, and what to stop are gut wrenching. There is no good answer available, only “less bad” alternatives.

While it is disappointing to be affected by these choices, they are necessary to allow Sun to move forward. That doesn’t mean our work has been in vain or not had an impact. During this era of CNS, we’ve been able to create a platform over which network services can be created, deployed, and operated. We’ve released several new network services including Sun Update Connection, Hosted and Enterprise in production and for sale. In addition Eco Connection, Security Connection, Asset Connection, and Knowledge Connection have been developed and released into Fresh Tools. We’ve also been the key technology provider for Sun’s Services business, with Sun Preventive Services the foremost client therein. We’ve been able to maintain and improve some 50 odd services products and tools as we’ve advanced the overall state of network services. The network services capabilities have either been embedded or are being embedded in all of Sun’s technologies since Solaris 10, Update 1. We’ve successfully acquired and integrated a company into the network services team, and released the first product within the first quarter of joint operations. The financial impact has been impressive in terms of direct revenue, enabled revenue, and efficiencies. I am proud of what our team has accomplished.

There are several messages I’d like to convey in this entry; to our customers and partners, to those team members leaving Sun, and to those team members remaining with Sun.

First to our customers. You are why we’re here. We’ve provided a number of interesting innovations that you can choose to take advantage of by connecting and participating in our network services infrastructure. If you like what you see, provide feedback and lots of it. We’ll continue to support and develop network services in production today. If you see something in Fresh Tools that you really like, let us know. That will help us prioritize and promote the right network services for your benefit.

To our partners, we’ll maintain the same level of engagement with you and continue to provide network services you can take advantage of in your business. Like the advice to customers above, if you like something in Fresh Tools, let us know.

To our team members affected by the reduction, you’ve all done a fantastic job. I am proud of each of you for helping to make the network services business a reality. There’s no way around it, being notified that your job is gone sucks. It’s going to feel bad. However, I hope that with the passage of time you can reflect on what we’ve accomplished and feel the pride of a job well done. Meanwhile, use your packages to craft a new era for yourself: start a company, get a new job, switch careers, go back to school. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something you love to do in a place where you are surrounded by good people.

To our team members staying with Sun, you’ve also done a fantastic job. And in some ways, your mission is more challenging now than it has ever been in the past. The scope of the mission has narrowed and you’re left to carry it forward. You can do it. We’ve laid the groundwork to make network services a success at Sun and to help drive and lead the industry in this area. Keep your eyes on the prize and excute with the same intensity and focus and everything will come out right. Roll with the changes, embrace them, and improve upon them. In this way, you can help Sun win.

Finally, a word about me. Like Jay Littlepage before me, I’ve made the decision it’s time to pass the baton to the next runner in the network services race. Steve, get ready, here’s the pass. Go! As for my future, I’ve decided that the time is right to leave Sun and take on a new challenge. Watch my personal blog for details if you’re interested.

Change is inevitable. In every change there is opportunity. Seize your opportunity and make the most of it.

Technorati Tags: Sun Network Services

Haven’t gotten back to my smart wear series yet, I will get back to it in due course. But, I did run across this fascinating story in the meantime.

The Blue Crab

It seems that some enterprising researchers at the University of Maryland have found a way to use chitosan (think kite-o-san) in combination with micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) to detect many different chemical and biological substances. Chitosan is harvested from the shells of the crabs. The function is pretty simple, chitosan is placed on an arm that is allowed to vibrate, the frequency is monitored. When a substance is detected, the chitosan changes causing the vibration to change which can then signal the presence of a particular substance. The coolest things are often simple in concept.

Nano Cantilever

The hope is to be able to apply this knowledge to create biological and chemical substance alarms, perhaps to help aid in the fight against terror. Pretty cool stuff.

Technorati Tags: Crab | Nanotech | Science | Sensor