This is bull shit. You cannot escape the laws of thermodynamics.
If you eat more calories than you burn, you get fat.
If you burn more calories than you eat, you get skinny.
It isn't that simple. I eat whatever I want and don't workout much and I haven't been able to gain weight ever in my life, and I have tried. I lived off of fast food lunches for several years when I was single but for some reason my body doesn't respond to the calories. I don't have high cholesterol or high BP and the doc says I am healthy - just skinny. I have met several people like me, and others that I know that (if they ate what I ate) would balloon up rather quickly.
I have been a full-time independent Crystal Reports consultant since 1995. I have helped hundreds of customers improve their business with nothing more than a copy of Crystal Reports and (if needed) a third party tool for scheduling or Email delivery or end user viewing. None of my clients would have a use for these 'full stack' BI tools. They may be free but the cost in time to implement them and even to understand what they do is not free. I have found that $450 for a copy of Crystal and maybe a few hundred for some extra tools can make a huge difference to people who are managing small businesses with spreadsheets. I am still waiting for a better combination to come along but haven't found one. Of course, I might be a bit biased.
I wouldn't call these 'my' standards or arbitrary. I think the qualities I listed are pretty universal concepts, if not self evident. Can you suggest any improvements?
Also, maybe it isn't as objective as a tape measure, but I think what I have written allows us to be less subjective and compare works in ways that are somewhat measurable, and beyond our personal preferences.
When I decided that my music degree wasn't going to give me the career I wanted, I decided to get an accounting degree. I used Thomas Edison State College in NJ which is regionally accredited but was all non-resident at that time. I was able to use CLEP, ACT, and other similar tests to test out of 75 accounting and business credits over 2 years. TESC combined those with my liberal arts credits from my music degree to award my accounting degree. When I went to Trenton State for graduate study I was prepared to explain my degree, but I didn't need to. The admissions person said that they had very good luck with Thomas Edison grads because they knew how to study on their own.
And if unions convince a corrupt or incompetent legislature to make impossible promises? A corporation that did that would just go bankrupt and start over and the promise would have to be adjusted. This does happen. I think states have to have a similar option.
Here are what I consider the 5 qualities of great art:
Powerful – It has an affect on your mind and emotions and is compelling.
Accessible – The affect it has on you is worth the effort you put into appreciating it.
Elevating - When it moves you, it moves you toward personal growth.
Universal – It can move people from different cultures and different time periods.
Perennial - It has the same power the second and third time you experience it.
This link explains it in more detail:
http://www.kensken.com/archives/52
What you or I like is subjective.
But what makes art great has somewhat criteria beyond personal preferences, as I wrote up here:
In the year of "Jubilee" all property was returned to the original owners and slaves were release. It didn't divide things up equally.
I do consulting and my last training session was with remote students in both the UK and France. Do any of you think I am being unethical because I am taking work from some consultant over there? So I think he should go for it and if the service can provide a solid value then it will grow and he will help a bunch of hard working people find jobs that they need. Does it matter that they live somewhere else? Not to me. If they make enough money they may turn around and hire me.
As background, I grew up in Flint, MI (ie "Roger and Me") and had a brother who worked for GM. He hated that every car I bought was a Honda. I bought them because they were clearly a better value - and still do.
I think my 'comprension' is fine.
Why would someone with a signed contract care about the pilot project halting? They are already convinced. Running the pilot shouldn't affect building the parts for the install.
But even if that was a holdup, if GPI wants to brag about a real location in France don't you think they would mention the city? Don't you think that a location in South American would at least mention the country? I could find nothing else on this anywhere. There is nothing specific enough for someone to say "no I am not under contract".
Andy why aren't these customers bragging about their projects? If I was convinced I would have Al Gore cutting ribbons on my project.
I still think something smells fishy.
A list is only as strong as its weakest link. -- Don Knuth