Best Practices for Agile Managers

6 months ago | Lalatendu Das: Interpretations of Technorealism

Agile Managers! Sounds like an Oxymoron?

In reality, there are organizations which have functional or product manager roles which do not fit under the traditional roles defined by agile methods. Jurgen Appelo started a thread (on his blog) to capture the best practices for a newly minted agile manager.

Here is what I think (as interpreted from the Agile principles)..please add on if I missed anything important

An agile manager should:

• Focus on optimizing the "business value" being delivered by the agile team. You may decide on your own metrics for business value (qualitative, quantitative or gut feel), but key is to have a sense ..at all times
• Pursue delivery of a fully working software at end of each sprint
• Periodically (pick your own frequency) Review and optimize the 'Done' list
• Identify key stakeholders and ensure their participation (as required) during the entire project life cycle
• Set expectations clearly (with all stakeholders), manage expectations to avoid last minute surprises
• Make an genuine effort to understand all aspects of the project (example: if you are not technical, don't avoid the architecture all together, try to gather just enough understanding)
• Set up information radiators (to convey real time information to all stakeholders)
• Focus on attaining a sustainable velocity quickly and early in the project life-cycle (it helps in planning and avoids burn outs)
• Watch out for 'Smells' (things which might be an impediment to agile practices

Last but not the least, an agile manager should demonstrate thought leadership and show genuine concern for professional growth of each member of the team. It's essential for the agile manager to win the respect of the team. You would always be better of by being a 'Leader' rather than a 'Manager'

Features list for Mobile Reporting

6 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Learning and sharing

Few days back, I got an opportunity to prepare features list for Mobile reporting solution tool.
We all know that days are not too far when everyone will move to I pad/touch-pad or Smartphone to access the real time BI applications.
Mobile Users need business intelligence data wherever they are to make information-driven decisions. Whether it’s salespeople who wants product details or executives who need bird eye view of the business. Mobile BI apps should be able to deliver information by providing interactive reports, dashboards, metrics and other to user’s mobile devices.
There are lot of tools available in the market.
Having knowledge of these features certainly helped me understand the tool better.
I can now use this feature list to compare various options which are available in the market so as to give informed consultancy to my clients.
My personnel opinion is for Cognos go mobile because in version 10 they leverage lot of functionality to satisfy the needs for mobile users.

Below is the link to feature list:


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiobrRxK74dwdGpzQjYyMW92b052WnFJZ2xjbndveGc&hl=en_US

Myths of agility

6 months ago | Lalatendu Das: Interpretations of Technorealism

In the context of Software development, the term “agility” is widely misunderstood. Even many seasoned software engineers associate agility with complex process changes to adopt ‘Agile’ methods such as XP, SCRUM, DSDM, FDD and Crystal etc. But in reality, this specious association can’t be any farther from the truth. Before you join the ‘Agile’ bandwagon and start reading a XP or SCRUM book, it is essential for you to understand the fine line between ‘Agile methods’ and being ‘agile’.

Being ‘agile’ is a state where your organization is completely adaptive to changing environment. You are driven by business value. Your entire infrastructure, not just IT department but also other business functions such as sales, marketing, finance, production, procurement etc look to maximize the business value generated for the organizations. All it requires certain level of maturity in the way you work, nothing else matters. In the context of Software development, you can adopt any methodology you like (yes, even waterfall, RUP) as long as you focus on a) maximizing “Business value” instead of “through-put” b) being “Adaptive” instead of being “Predictive” c) and Continuous sustainable improvement. All that ‘Agile’ methods do, is to enable some of the aforesaid attributes a bit more than any other traditional methods (such as Waterfall, RUP etc).

Looking from a holistic perspective, being agile is the end goal of all organization and adopting an ‘Agile’ method (for that matter any other software development method) is just a mean to achieve the end goal. However it’s unfortunate to see many organizations blindly adopt XP or Scrum process without giving sufficient thoughts to the values required to make an organization truly agile. It is, therefore obvious that such changes fail over long run.

If you care for being agile, have a look at the Principles behind agile methods. Have a open discussion within your team to determine what each principle means to you as a group. Look at your existing processes and see if they adhere to these principles (fully or partially). Start working on those processes which needs refinement. Change if you must, but only after fully grasping what change means to the overall organization. Rest assured you will ensure a successful and sustainable process change towards being truly agile.

Serialized Attributes Rails 3

6 months ago | Arun Agrawal: Ruby Rockers

This post will guide you how to do Serialization for your attributes in Rails. Serialize means you want to save arbitrary Ruby data structure into the database. Let consider we have a User model in which we want to store preferences for user in a Ruby data structure format. Previously it was only YAML. class [...]

Kwik Gourmet

6 months ago | Suman Thareja: Spice it up!..

Its amazing how many more street food carts are popping up everywhere in cities from New York to Philly to DC and Los Angeles. One of my favorites and extremely popular with all my colleagues is the Kwik Gourmet  (a Vendy award nominee) on Park Avenue and 47th Street.  He also has a 24hour cart [...]

Take a second look – they may not be stupid

6 months ago | James Torio: Designing the experience

That person is stupid. The client is stupid because he shot down my idea. The developer is stupid because he is pushing back on the worlds most beautiful design. The designer is stupid because she cares about the UI being pixel perfect in … Continue reading →

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."

6 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

“To acquire knowledge, one must study;
but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

-   - Marilyn vos Savant (Shared by Yanwing Wong)

At Globe in San Fransisco. Nice inky and medium body not too...

6 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

At Globe in San Fransisco. Nice inky and medium body not too fruity or earthy.  Enjoyed it with a roast chicken with grilled asparagus, pickled beets and steamed corn.

How to choose a good bicycle

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

So, you are on a hunt for a sexy new bike and you are confused to bits with all your research.
Looks like this is a pretty common experience. The local market is a glut of noise – brands/models/prices/spec’s and opinions.

So how do you decide on the bike of your dreams?

Well it’s kinda simple. You need to have answers to a couple of questions

• What kind of riding do you aspire to do – Trail rides, City Commutes, Road rides, a combination of them?
• How much are you willing to invest in this?
• Do you intend to spend some quality time on the saddle or is it for your daily up-the-road-milk purchases?
• Get an idea of the prices in the Indian market and have a realistic idea of the price of a bike.

With these answers you can do a couple of things to make your hunt easier

• Get options – the answers above will narrow down your choices to a couple of bikes. If not, try answering the questions again.
• Join the local cycling community – trawl the forums before you ask for advice on a new bike. It’s a common question and it’s pretty irritating to see newbie’s ask the same question everyday. Not the best way to get pally with your future riding buddies.
• Search for bike reviews on the internet. The internet is an awesome place for information. Be careful and take everything with a pinch of salt. Gushing bikers always love their bikes and most reviews are biased, especially when its the only bike they have ever ridden. Learn to sift the crap from the real stuff. Keep an eye out for niggling issues that they have faced.
• Visit the bike shops who stock your bike. Speak to the folks in the bike shop. Get feedback about the bike shops. The internet and social media (facebook, Twitter and your local cycling club) are fantastic places to get this info. Zero in on a bike shop that you think is good.
• Last but not the least – test ride the bike. Nothing like riding the bike before you buy it. This might work against you if you do not understand what you are looking for. Just riding the bike is an ego boost and nothing else. Do it anyways!

So, what role does the ‘good bike shop’ play in this

• They help you narrow down your choices and give some solid recommendations. They always have the inside scoop on the bikes.
• An experienced bike shop can often give you more than just run-of-the-mill advice. They can give seemingly contradictory but awesome advice which you will appreciate only after you own and ride a bike.
• They need to be trustable on bike fit and bike setup. Many of these bikes often require specific tools and knowledge of procedures.
• They are your bike doc’s. You choose them like you choose a doc for yourself.
• Bike shop’s do not have to process any warranties as the warranty on a bike is between a customer and the company directly. These are PITA procedures and a good bike shop actually spends time, money and effort to ensure you stay off the saddle for as short time as possible.

Kash Keval

6 months ago | Suman Thareja: Spice it up!..

Deli / Cheese Market in the front and lovely Wine Bar in the back.  Easily mistaken for just a Deli.  If you enjoy tapas sytle dining and like your wine Kash Keval is a must try. Its small and quaint giving you the privacy you sometimes want in a restaurant.  The lighting and ambiance is [...]

Braving it.

6 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

If you weren't in New York on Sunday, you might not know this, but...man, did it rain. Not pretty, misty rain. Serious, pounding, stay-inside-unless-you-feel-like-getting-soaked rain. It was one of those days that you're pretty sure you'd prefer to spend curled up with a cup of tea and a novel, you know?

But I didn't just curl up with a book - in fact, I had a pretty fantastic afternoon on the town, which started with a lovely brunch at Vandaag. Vandaag, opened its doors about a year ago in the East Village, and is one of my favorite eating spaces in the city. It feels cozy but open - nothing's crowded, but everything is intimate, if that makes any sense.

I've been for dinner, and I've been for cocktails, but this was my first brunch visit. My very favorite thing was the coffee, a pour-over brew of single-origin beans. Delicious - smooth, round and full. The way coffee should always be, but so rarely is.

I ordered the slow-poached eggs, which arrived cooked to oozy-yolk perfection and surrounded by mustard greens, some cherry tomatoes, croutons, a bit of corn, and the best part of all: pickled beets. The beets were sweet and just a bit piquant - and tasted to me as if they'd been tossed with a bit of butter on their way to me. Not a bad idea.

My friend Caroline ordered one of the house specialties: hette bliksem (hot lightning). A cast-iron crock arrived bearing the dish, which was made up of crispy potatoes and bacon tossed with a stroop syrup. (You know the filling in a stroopwafel cookie? That stuff.) Except that this syrup had a spicy kick to it. So it was a big ol' bowl of potatoes and bacon coated with spicy caramel. Crazy delicious and interesting, but perhaps better as a shared side than a main course.

I can't wait to go back and try the pork belly and scrambled eggs, or the other coffees. And since it's a straight shot down the east side, I don't think I'll have to wait too long.

Ruby on Rails Development Platform in Enterprise

6 months ago | Manohar Amrutkar: majestic rails

Ruby on Rails is growing in enterprises in India, but they are still lagging with popular development platforms like Mac or linux. As it's difficult for them to afford Mac and they cannot use Linux based Operating Systems (OS) on host machines due to security constraints or to use some windows based apps. So I decided to use Virtual Machine on my Windows based Host System.

Here is configuration of my host system:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, RAM: 2GB, Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise

Now To use Ubuntu (Linux based OS) with above configuration, follow below steps-

1. Download and Install VMWare Player which is free for personal non-commercial use. VMware Player is only distributable with written permission from VMware. So don't share the exe/setup, download it separately.

2. Download ISO of Ubuntu.

3. Create a New Virtual Machine for Ubuntu using VMware Player. Just follow 'Next' Its simple. It takes default 512 MB of RAM but I did allocate 896 MB of RAM as I had 2 GB of RAM. (It might install required files.)

Now you have Ubuntu ready on your windows based system. To install Ruby and Rails using RVM please follow below steps-

1. To install RVM you need git. Run below command to install git-
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install git
And then follow installation steps for RVM here.
OR
Run below command in terminal-

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ bash < <(curl -s https://rvm.beginrescueend.com/install/rvm)

And then follow steps mentioned in output of above command to update .bashrc.

2. After installing RVM successfully follow below steps to install ruby and rails. Steps mentioned below are used to avoid the issue mentioned here.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm pkg install zlib
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm pkg install openssl
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm install 1.8.7 -C --with-openssl-dir=$rvm_path/usr  --with-zlib-dir=$rvm_path/usr

3. Create new gemset using rvm.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm gemset create rails_3

4. Check available version of ruby and gemset.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm list
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm gemset list

5. Set default versions of Ruby and Rails using rvm. I am using ruby-1.8.7-p352@rails_3 as I have installed ruby 1.8.7 and created gemset named as rails_3.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ rvm use --default ruby-1.8.7-p352@rails_3

6. Now you can install rails.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ gem install rails

You are ready with ruby and rails, Now you need database. You can simply install mysql or postgresql using apt-get install command or from ubuntu software center.

I wanted to use Oracle but I didn't install it on my ubuntu system (virtual machine) as it's running less than 1 GB RAM which is kind of minimum requirement for oracle database. And I have already installed Oracle XE on my host system so I am going to use it using Host IP address in my database.yml of rails app.

To use oracle I need to install ruby-oci8 and activerecord-oracle_enhanced-adapter gems.

1. Follow steps here to install ruby-oci8 using InstantClient.

2. If you are facing any issues to install gem ruby-oci8, you have to set path for LD_LIBRARY_PATH in your .bashrc. Eg: export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/opt/oracle/instantclient_11_2"

Apart from these you have to install few required libraries and application like tortoisesvn, NetBeans(IDE) etc. Currently I am using Ubuntu just by using 896MB of RAM and it works fine.

Few things to remember while using this combination-

1. Increase RAM size allocated from 512MB, if you are going to use NetBeans as it takes bit lot memory.

2. Increase number of Processors to 2 if you have core 2 Duo, Default its set to only 1. It really helps.

3. From Virtual Machine Settings -> Hardware -> CD/DVD Device, dis-select 'Connect at power on' check box as you may not have CD-ROM available.

4. CTRL+G is used to enter into Virtual Machine and CTRL+ALT get out of it.
    CTRL+ALT+DELETE call is taken by both Virtual Machine and host system. So make sure you will be using host system if you want to lock it.

5. Add terminal in SYSTEM->PREFERENCES->KEYBORAD SHORTCUTS.
You can use-  Name: CTRL+ALT_DELETE  and Command: gnome-editor 

6. If you want to have shared folder between host system and virtual system, refer the article here to update Virtual Machine Tools first and then you can simply add folders from Virtual Machine Settings -> Options -> Shared Folders. You will get them in /mnt/hgfs

Note: I was using a network where I was able to download all required software.

BBCh #7 | 22Km Time Trial Madness | 21 Aug

6 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Ever taken part in an individual Time Trial ? Known how much fun it can be ?
Imagine this multi-fold.

BBCh #7 is all about introducing the Team Time Trial to Bangalore, with the hope of encouraging team formation. This would help us take our local bike racing scene to the next level!

While you could definitely race all by yourself (boooooo! booring!) it would be fantastic if you could race with your team or form an adhoc team, give it a zany name and race together.

Don’t want to race but would love to pitch in and help organize this race and ensure it is top notch ? Please do sign up as a volunteer

Important Race info

• When – Sunday, 21 Aug 2011
• Race Category – Team Time Trial or an Individual Time Trial
• Race route – 22.6Kms
• Start Time – 7am meetup to race at 8am sharp
• Where – check out the map
• Who – Anybody and everybody (get friends and family to cheer you along)
• Expected Average Speed for the TTT – 50Kmph+
• Distance from City – 35Kms

Team time trial dynamics

• Max team size – 6 members
• The time clocked by the 3rd team member crossing the finish line is considered the team time
• The above rule implies you need to have at least 3 members in your team to clock a time for the team

Helmet are mandatory. No excuses.

• Make sure you have read and agree with the BBCh Disclaimer
• Rules and Regulations page
• We fund the races primarily thru the Vitamin M concept
• F.A.Q

Useful links

• More about the BBCh
• Register to Race
• Register to Volunteer
• What is a Team Time Trial
• Individual Time Trial
• map of the Race route
• Driving Directions to race start
• Alternate Driving Directions to race start

Local Teams racing at the BBCh

• Team IVC
• CAM Racing
• KYNKYNY Racing
• Spectrum Racing
• Cleated Warriors
• Team Shift
• Veloscope
• Team BOTS

and more

Check out the compressed version of the entire race route. This was shot around 4pm on a busier day – truckers tend to shut eye earlier in the day!

<iframe src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/4x84pvtbqN8?rel=0' height='349' width='560'></iframe>

Happily ever after.

6 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

Ever since last summer's Meatless Week, I've been much more into eggplant. It's finally come into its own this month, and the Greenmarket is stuffed with all kinds - the big, almost-black glossy kind, the white, actually egg-shaped kind, and the tiny, adorable fairy tale kind.

The latter is my favorite, in part because it's small enough to be single serving-friendly, and in part because I find them to be a bit sweeter than their larger counterparts. And while I'd love to tell you about all the myriad ways I've cooked them up, I have to admit that I've been largely addicted to one particular method, a sort of cross between caponata and ratatouille.

It's so easy, you guys, and it's great as a side or a main, or as a pasta sauce. I mainly use it as a bed for cold, sliced pork chop, though sometimes I just eat it straight from the bowl. When I do that, my favorite thing to do is top the whole with a dollop of mascarpone. It makes everything more festive.

Because the eggplants are so small and sweet, you don't need to salt them - they're not watery, and they're not better. And no matter how you eat my eggplant mish-mash, though, one thing is for sure: this recipe could make an eggplant eater out of just about anyone.

Queenie's Summertime Eggplant Saute

1 small or 1/2 large white onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Olive oil
5-6 fairy tale eggplants, about one pound, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large red or orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2-3 small tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tbs. sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbs. capers, rinsed, drained and dried
1/3 cup mixed chopped herbs (I like basil, parsley and chives)

In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until hot. Add the onions and turn the heat down a bit if they are browning too quickly. Saute for a few minutes until just transluscent, then add the garlic. Saute for a few more minutes until the garlic is tender and fragrant.

Add the eggplant to the pan. Salt and pepper somewhat generously and cook the eggplant, stirring frequently, until it has browned slightly. Add the bell pepper and cook for a few minutes, until the pepper begins to turn tender. Add the tomatoes, sherry vinegar, red pepper flakes, capers and half the fresh herbs and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the whole thing has broken down a bit and turned into a thick stew.

Taste and adjust for seasoning, then remove the stew from the heat. Stir in the remaining herbs and serve immediately.

This works well when made ahead; just let it come to room temperature, then cover tightly and store in the fridge for up to three days. Re-warm gently on the stove before serving.

Serves four as a side, two as a main.

It runs in the family.

6 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

My cousin Jason makes a mean, mean Manhattan, folks. You heard it here first.

From Team to Wow Team

6 months ago | Gourav Tiwari: easy_software = Agile.find(ruby_on_rails)

Queenie's Treasury

6 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

Happy weekend, my doves! Sorry that the Treasury's been absent of late; things on this end have been a bit nutty. No more excuses, though - let's get down to business!

First up, from Design Shimmer, a remarkable vacation home on the coast of Spain. I am in lust with the setting, the way the house is built right into the cliff (and boasts it as a wall in certain spots), and the pool. It's just stunning, and I can't think of a better place to spend the last toasty days of summer.

Next, via Live Creating Yourself, an adorable Brooklyn apartment. The soft gray walls are calming and sophisticated, but I'm especially taken with the worn-in leather settee. Between the mysteriously smoke-darkened painting and the cozy tartan blanket, this looks to me like the absolute best place in the world to curl up with a book.

My eGullet friend Lucy lives a most remarkable life in Lyon. Her most recent blog post, however, is about bringing a bit of the States to the French - in this case, a cucumber-gin cocktail she first sampled here in New York. If that Spanish pool is the best place to be right now, this is the best thing to drink, hands-down. Cucumbers are at their height, and nothing's more refreshing than gin. (No, not even water. Don't be silly.)

Happy Haml :)

6 months ago | Doel Sengupta: Doel

You simply must.

6 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

If you're not on Pinterest yet, I have two things to say to you about that. First, why the heck not? Second, here's the link.

Seriously. Pinterest is my new favorite thing. It's essentially a communal inspiration board, where people can pin photos from around the web (or snap and upload them from their smartphones) to various pinboards, both personal and shared. The site automatically credits the source you pin from, so it's easy to find the way back to the origin, be it a recipe, magazine shoot or department store website.

As you can see, I've been pinning a wide variety of things lately, all colorful.

I love seeing what my friends share, and while the public feed is more and more a parade of mediocrity, you can find amazing things by following people whose taste you trust. And it's a fabulous tool if you're in the midst of gathering ideas for a home improvement project, or just collecting recipes you want to try out. It's simply marvelous.

So join me, won't you? You can find my pins at this link - hope to see you in the enchanted land of Pinterest tout de suite!

Diving in.

7 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

I've always been a bit leery of lentils. My family was not a legume-friendly one; aside from my mother's fantabulous baked beans (the woman was born in Boston, after all), I can't recall seeing beans on the table at all during my childhood. (This excludes string beans and haricots verts, both of which appeared with wonderful and delicious frequency.)

But in the last few years, I've become more bean-friendly. Until the last few months, my forays into beantown have been limited to the restaurant-and-friends'-houses sphere, but I've been branching out. You no doubt recall the chickpea stew I made approximately eight zillion times last winter and spring. My most recent adventure has been lentils.

It all started at Ouest (as many things do), where I had a dish served atop a bed of mustardy lentils. They were marvelous - firm, rich, a bit toothy. Nothing like the mushy mess I have to admit I'd been expecting. And I resolved then and there to eat more of them.

I've been hoarding lentil recipes for ages, but until Fairway opened in the neighborhood a few weeks ago, I had no luck finding the green, French variety everyone in the know had told me to use. Fancy Gallic lentils in hand, I finally got down to business. I set about making a warm lentil salad with bacon, sherry vinegar and leeks. Some of my favorite things.

The whole thing took about 30 minutes start to finish, and was well worth the effort. I worked off of this recipe, adding a bit of the spinach to the cooking vegetables and a bit more vinegar than called for. I was liberal with the salt and pepper (as one must be when dealing with legumes) and pondered - but ultimately rejected - the notion of adding a bit of mustard to the pan. (I think you should totally try it.)

I have deemed lentils a success. Good thing I have the better part of a sack of them in the pantry.

Warm Lentil Salad with Bacon and an Egg
Adapted from Gourmet

1/3 cup French green lentils
3 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch batons
1 leek, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped*
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 tbs. sherry vinegar
1 tbs. finely chopped thyme
1 cup baby spinach
Olive oil
2 large eggs
Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper, to taste

Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with two inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer the lentils, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Drain in a mesh sieve and set aside.

Meanwhile, place a large skillet (I used my 10-incher) over high heat until pretty darn hot. Add the bacon, then reduce heat to medium-high. Cook bacon until most of the fat is rendered and the batons are brown but still a bit meaty. Remove to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but a fine coating of the bacon fat and turn the heat to medium.

Add the leeks, carrots and celery to the pan and salt and pepper them a bit. Cook them until they're tender but not yet brown. Add the vinegar and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the thyme and baby spinach and cook for a minute or two, then stir the bacon back in. Remove from the heat, salt and pepper to taste, and set aside - covered to keep warm - while you prepare the eggs.

In a small skillet, fry the eggs one at a time over gentle heat, until the whites are set but the yolks are still a bit runny. (If salmonella is an issue in your area, use pasteurized eggs or cook until yolks are firm.) Divide the salad between two plates, then top with the eggs. Add another sprinkle of salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Salad, without eggs, keeps nicely in the fridge for a couple of days. Bring to room temperature or warm gently in a skillet before serving.

Serves two.

*To clean the leek, first chop it, then placed the chopped leek into a bowl filled with cold water. Agitate a bit with your hand and let sit for several minutes. The dirt and grit will fall away. Remove the leeks from the bowl with your hand or a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to dry.

Lets Play with Scala

7 months ago | Aishwarya Singhal: Aishwarya Singhal

Sometime earlier this year, I read a blog  and an article. These are interesting thoughts and coming from the Java space of enterprise applications, I know exactly how bad performance and unmaintainable the code can get. Scala’s claim of reducing the code by a factor of 2 or 3 is extremely tempting! Add to that a lot [...]

Empellon

7 months ago | Suman Thareja: Spice it up!..

Its been a while since I added a restaurant to my ‘I will go back anytime!’ list.  Empellon made it there easily.  Alex Stupak has a really mouth watering menu and does wonders with his Mexican flavors. I got an amazing deal through thrillist (which if you haven’t use yet, you must!).  Greed for flavor [...]

Guest Post: Louisa Edwards, author of Too Hot to Touch

7 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

Good morning, all! Today we have a very special treat - a guest post from my dear friend Louisa, whose fourth novel was released last week. Louisa writes culinary romances, and her latest trilogy is set against the backdrop of a cooking competition. Enjoy, my doves!

Thank you so much for having me! Queenie Takes Manhattan is my favorite food blog, bar none--and not just because Ms. Queenie herself has helped me develop and test the recipes I put in my contemporary romances, the latest of which is Too Hot to Touch.

Below is a scene from the book (not one of the dirty scenes, sorry!) in which the heroine, Jules, executive chef of Lunden's Tavern comes to the end of a busy Friday dinner service. She's been distracted all night by the recent return of the prodigal son, Max Lunden, who also happens to be her first crush, from when they were kids.

But they're all grown up now, about to enter the biggest culinary competition in the nation - if Jules can keep her cool and manage to work with Max...

Seasoning the roasted sprouts with salt and pepper, Jules savored the nutty, rich scent rising from the pan as they warmed through. While they got hot, she checked her vinaigrette—a little low—and swiftly added a generous glug of balsamic vinegar and a steady stream of olive oil, whisking like crazy.

A sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs from her stash of bowls at the corner of her station, and her stock of vinaigrette was replenished.Scraping the sprouts and crispy pancetta into a bowl, Jules drizzled them with the vinaigrette and shook the bowl to make them jump. Since she’d done new vinaigrette for this order, she grabbed a clean tasting spoon and popped one of the sprouts into her mouth.

The sharp sweetness of the balsamic vinegar burst across her tongue, and as she crunched into the sprout, she took a second to marvel at the way the little vegetable retained its deep caramel flavor and pleasingly burnt edges. A warm sauce would’ve turned them into the limp, soggy sprouts of her youth, uninspired and unappetizing. This bright vinaigrette elevated them to another level.

A quick dash of salt, a few more turns of the pepper grinder, and the sprouts were done.

“Sprouts up,” she called, shoving the bowl onto the rack, where Emilio, one of the runners, was waiting to carry it up to the front of the kitchen.

Jules spun around and checked her rib-eye again, the noise of the kitchen a soothing background music to her thoughts.

The kitchen was a living, breathing organism during the rush of dinner service, especially when it was busy like this. Every chef, runner, and dishwasher was a major, life-sustaining organ, all working together to power the beast through the frenetic couple of hours between 7:30 and 9:30, when everyone in Manhattan seemed to get hungry for steak at exactly the same time.

Jules barely noticed the sweat sticking her shirt to her back and stinging the shallow knife scrape on her knuckles. She was only peripherally aware of Nina bringing tickets up to the pass and handing them to Gus, who called out the orders in the sharp, no-nonsense bark he’d perfected long before Jules ever thought of becoming a chef. She danced with Winslow and Beck as they maneuvered their way around the narrow, heated confines of the kitchen, and she only surfaced long enough to slap Danny a high five when Gus called out, “Last ticket cleared! Danny, they want two crème brûlées, and we’re done.”The fog of war was slow to clear from Jules's head; she missed it the instant it was gone.

Jules found a lot of comfort in the buzz of adrenaline and strain of muscles it took to get through dinner service. Once it was over, all that was left was her life—and she’d rather think about meat temperatures and oil to vinegar ratios any day of the week...

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! And if you want to find out what happens next, I'll be giving away a signed copy of Too Hot to Touch to one randomly chosen commenter...and the book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and select indie bookstores.

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.0 Cookbook

7 months ago | Bhargav Gandhi: AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

BOTS University - introducing a Team Time Trial

7 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

A team time trial (TTT) is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock.

Teams start at equal intervals. Late starters have the advantage of knowing what times they need to beat (and this also makes the event more interesting to spectators).

Unlike individual time trials where competitors are not permitted to ‘draft’ (ride in the slipstream) behind each other, in team time trials riders in each team employ this as their main tactic each member taking a turn at the front while team-mates ‘sit in’ behind. After their turn, the lead rider will swing over, allowing the next rider to take the lead, while the leader goes to the back of the team.

Should one team overtake another, the overtaken team would be expected to drop back.

The main principle behind a TTT is that a few riders can ride at the front of the formation slightly above their aerobic threshold while others draft behind these riders. The riders then rotate, allowing some riders to recover while drafting behind fresher teammates. A rider who is riding at the front is said to be taking a ‘pull’. A rider who needs more time to recover may take a longer time at the back of the formation while the other teammates rotate in front of this rider. With increased desired speed, the riders take harder but shorter pulls at the front as to not burn themselves up.

The recorded finishing time in a team time trial is often based on the N-th rider of that team. For example, in stage races such as the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia the finishing time is based on the 5th rider of the team, out of a total of 9 riders per team. Therefore a team may choose to have a few of its riders take a death pull towards the end of the TTT event, in which the riders take as hard a pull at the front to lift the pace at the cost of exhausting themselves with no hope of being able to latch onto the back of the formation for drafting. They then drop back and leave the remainder of the team to finish the time trial.

A motivation video – hoping it will get you on the bike and practicing asap

<iframe src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/2nnZi9LvQvQ?rel=0' height='349' width='560'></iframe>

BOTS University - Basic maintenance session

7 months ago | Rohan Kini: blog@BumsOnTheSaddle.com - Home

Time to kickstart BOTS University at the new location

Where: BumsOnTheSaddle
When: Saturday, 6 Aug – 11am to 12:30pm

Do signup for the event on facebook or on a google spreadsheet

The session would be basic maintenance and upkeep of your bike – more of a discussion rather than a hardcore session.

The hardcore ones will follow the next couple of months. So stay tuned!

Rails 3.0.10 and JRuby

7 months ago | Arun Agrawal: Ruby Rockers

Finally, The Rails is coming with template support with JRuby platform. We used to use “-m” option to generate new Rails Application for JRuby platform. Which is no more need now. Just set your platform to JRuby and create a new Rails Application as you do normally and it will generate a Application which is ready [...]

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the..."

7 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

- Mark Twain  (Reblogged from Praful Baweja)

"I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."

7 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

“I don’t know the key to success,
but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.”

- Bill Cosby

Prior to Agile, our Sponsors were in the habit of committing a...

7 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

Prior to Agile, our Sponsors were in the habit of committing a drop dead production release date and aggressively heightening the sense of urgency by asking the team if the product features are going to get delivered by that time.  When they got introduced to Agile.. they readily adopted the liberty to add/change the stories in the backlog but continued to hold us to the original deadline.  On one such project, my team and I used the Scope Burn Down chart to demonstrate to the sponsors that we are not only completing what was originally in the scope but also completing stories that have been added later on.  It also helped them visualize how much the scope changed at what point in the project.  

Using the Release Burn Down chart we were able to demonstrate that if they removed stories, we could deliver the project sooner.  This enabled the sponsors to take a hard look at the stories and remove the “nice to have” features (so called “bells and whistles” shown below the x-axis).  When they could no longer remove stories, we convinced them to split the delivery into two releases instead of one.  The first release had the features the users would want to see on day 1.  The second release had features that users would not use before the end of the year or early next year.

Making smaller circles.

7 months ago | Nirmal Merchant: Urban Gypsy

This is the second installment in the series - Bringing it all together - Philosophy, Agile, Lean and Learning

How does one eat an elephant?

One bite at a time!

In The Art of Learning, Josh recommends breaking down an activity into smaller steps and repeating each of the steps enough number of times to appreciate the nuances and make it second nature.  Once each step is internalized, he practices different permutations of the steps until he has mastered the entire activity.  This is the core discipline one needs as one moves from Apprentice - Journey Man - Master.  A common misunderstanding is that if you know more about something you can move up this ladder.  The truth is that you cannot be a Journey Man until you have practiced the activity enough number of times to have learned the essence of that activity.  As Josh says: We have to be able to do something slowly before we can have any hope of doing it correctly with speed.

When I reflect on my own prior efforts at learning something new, dancing stands out as the one area where I have practiced such tenacity.  I am not a master dancer yet, but I know that certain aspects of dancing have been internalized to the level of a reflex action or response. 

Both Agile and Lean Startups recommend expediting the learning moments by shortening the feedback loop.

In Agile, we practice this by breakdown business requirements into stories small enough that about 5 to 7 of them can be constructed, tested and deployed into production in the smallest possible sprint (one or two week long sprints are recommended).  As the team practices this discipline again & again, it inspects & adapts and gets better at software development.  As a result, its velocity begins to improve.

Lean Startups conduct incremental experiments that follow the Build-Measure-Learn loop to discover valuable truths about a Startup’s present and future business prospects.  In other words, they conduct a series of small, low risk experiments to ascertain that their hypothesis on the next product feature that needs to be built, the price the customer is willing to pay and the customer that they are targeting are actually correct.

Both Agile and Lean Startups practice the principle of Making smaller circles to expedite learning and avoid or reduce waste.

A cricketer is born

7 months ago | Prasoon Sharma: Enterprise Software Does not Have to Suck

JRuby + BIRT Reporting + TorqueBox = Enterprise Reporting Solution with Seamless Integration

7 months ago | Rohan Daxini: void TechFuels()

Recently I got an opportunity to work on a rails application to implement an enterprise solution using JRuby + BIRT reporting + Torquebox and Trinidad. All an all a great learning experience in integrating all these latest technologies to build an enterprise and reporting solution. We are still improving performance for BIRT reporting. Torquebox provides lots of flexibility and high performance in deployments. JRuby is a year older now and came up with various bug fixes so it again helps. We used Trinidad too that became our default application server to use with JRuby.

This kind of solution is ideal for the Rails app containing blend of Java and Ruby as architectural stack that heavily wants to reuse, consume stable reporting platform such as BIRT (offers rich variety of reports to an application). Rails stack lacks heavy reporting and readily available solution that delivers rich set of features in all the available formats. Thus BIRT is a good fit for solution that wants to implement reporting in Rails app with the help of Java ecosystem. BIRT offers charting engine too along with features for Lists, Crosstabs, Compound reports etc. Easy integration, rich documentation, lots of active forums for help adds good points in favor of BIRT and thus we tried it in our application.

Freshening up.

7 months ago | Queenie Takes Manhattan: Queenie Takes Manhattan

Come summertime, I'm always interested in ways to eat well while using the stove and/or oven as little as humanly possible. This, of course, leads to thinking about how best to impart flavor without heat, which leads to thoughts of fish sauce, lime juice and chiles.

The Thai beef salad I made for dinner on Sunday is the perfect example. In exchange for about five minutes in stove time, I feasted on a dish that brought together many of my most favorite things. Riffing on a Patricia Wells recipe, I subbed in rare hangar steak for the roast beef and left out the cilantro. (The devil's herb, people!) The cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and bird chiles all stayed, though, and the combination made for a delectably refreshing, satisfying meal.

If you don't have some of these ingredients already, it's worth investing. (I say "investing," but fish sauce is about $2 a bottle, max.) Both the soy sauce and fish sauce will come in handy, even when you're not cooking along Asian lines. For example, a tiny bit of fish sauce can really perk up a vinaigrette, and soy sauce adds complexity to marinades and pestos from here to kingdom come.

Thai Beef Salad
Adapted from Patricia Wells

1/2 pound hangar steak
1/4 cup salted peanuts
1 1/2 tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tbs. fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 kirby cucumber, washed, dried (not peeled), sliced in half lengthwise and then across on the diagonal
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bird's eye chile, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into long, thin strips
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
1 cup fresh basil, leaves torn

Prepare the steak:

Heat a skillet over high heat. Meanwhile, lightly salt and pepper the steak on one side. (Cut the steak into two pieces if necessary to fit it into the skillet in one layer.) Once the skillet is very hot (a drop of water should dance across its surface), place the steak in the skillet, seasoned side down.

Lightly season the other side and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn the steak and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes, until the steak is nicely browned but still rare most of the way through. Remove to a plate and allow to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the peanuts:

In a small skillet set over medium heat, gently toast the peanuts until they are fragrant. Remove from the heat and chop roughly.

Prepare the salad:

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Taste for seasoning.

Thinly slice the steak crosswise, then lay the pieces flat on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Pour half the dressing over, cover the plate with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for two hours, occasionally turning the pieces of steak.

Once the steak is ready, toss it with the cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and chili. Add the remaining dressing and toss gently. Arrange the salad on a plate and top with the herbs and peanuts.

Serves two.