Sunday, April 30, 2006
Sit Down, Have Some Coffee, Enjoy
Click on above photo to enter gallery.
Carl goes Digital
No, don't settle up on those bets just yet: I haven't converted. I've just added a digital SLR to my ever-growing collection of camera gear: the delightful Nikon D50. My goal in acquiring this camera was to integrate a time-efficient color capture and post-processing workflow into my current, mostly B&W film-and-darkroom process. Some things just look better in color; others demand black-and-white. Why limit myself to the latter fraction of subjects?
Film afficianados, don't fret: for really serious subjects, the D50 will likely be no more than a "rehearsal" or discovery device; when ultimate quality is required, I will still reach for the Hasselblad/Zeiss/Ektrachrome combination to produce the final source negative or positive from which to strike release prints for viewing. Just because digital capture is easy and fun doesn't make it right.
Anyway. Enough blabber. Here are the results of my first weekend out with my new baby. My object in creating these images was to see how close I could come to the look of ultra-saturated reversal film through the judicious use of post-processing techniques; I'm trying to avoid the flat, formica, pasty, purple-fringy look that we all tend to associate with 'digital.' Let me know how well I succeeded in your view!
posted 11:57 PM | 1 comments
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Bill Swanson of Raytheon is a Plagiarist, Part II
Whoops! Looks like the problem runs deeper than I thought.
This incident is not a one-time slip-up on the part of USA Today's fact-checking department -- it's part of a larger effort to publicize the book that Bill Swanson just published: "Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management." Raytheon's link to order this book is located HERE.
In an earlier promotional interview with Swanson (also published by USA Today), Swanson claims to have created the list of 33 rules himself after working at Raytheon for 33 years.
But perhaps Swanson knows that he shouldn't take the next step and try to SELL his pamphlet to a publisher. Listen in on this interchange:
Q: Publishers have called. Why don't you sell it?
A: We're evalulating that. I've got a full-time job, but my passion is education, so we would have to figure a way to get the proceeds to education, math, and science.
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Still, chartible fund-raising intents aside, a man -- particularly the leader of a major US defense contractor -- should not be passing off others' ideas as his own in order to catapult his career to stardom.
Swanson needs to add a 34th rule to his list: Give credit where credit is due.
posted 4:10 PM | 20 comments
Bill Swanson of Raytheon is a Plagiarist!
The following is a letter I submitted this morning to USA Today in response to THIS ARTICLE they ran a few days ago.
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In your article entitled "CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character" by Del Jones, you list 33 "Unwritten Rules" of Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson.
However, it should be mentioned to your readers that nearly all of these "unwritten rules" have indeed been written -- by another author in fact, sixty years ago. Mr. Swanson has plagiarized from the little-known book "The Unwritten Laws of Engineering" by W.J. King (1944, American Society of Mechanical Engineers), trying to pass off others’ work as his own. Perhaps there is a new rule he needs to swallow about taking credit for other people's work. Or perhaps this sort of thing has been his recipe for success in corporate America and, for him, stepping on the genius of others is business as usual.
Here’s just a partial list of the rules that were lifted verbatim from the text of “The Unwritten Laws of Engineering”:
- "Cultivate the habit of 'boiling matters down' to their simplest terms."
- "Do not get excited in engineering emergencies -- keep your feet on the ground."
- "Cultivate the habit of making brisk, clean-cut decisions."
- "Promises, schedules, and estimates are necessary and important instruments in a well-ordered business"
- "Be careful about whom you mark for copies of letters, memos, etc. when the interests of other departments are involved."
- "In dealing with customers and outsiders remember that you represent the company ... be careful of you commitments."
- "Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements."
- "Don't overlook the fact that you're working for your boss."
- "Be as particular as you can in the selection of your boss."
- "Strive for conciseness and clarity in oral and written reports."
- "Don't be timid -- speak up -- express yourself and promote your ideas."
- "Confirm your instructions and the other fellow's commitments in writing. Do not assume that the job will be done..."
- "However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear give them your best efforts."
- "In carrying out a project do not wait for foremen, vendors, and others to deliver the goods; go after them and keep everlastingly after them."
The list of similarities and exact quotations goes on and on. This is a particularly serious infraction that deserves the attention and correction of your editorial department.
Sincerely,
Carl Durrenberger, San Diego
Chemical Engineer
posted 3:48 PM | 28 comments
