Comments for chrisgagne.com http://chrisgagne.com service, creativity, leadership Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:27:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on A privacy breach at eMusic? by Troy http://chrisgagne.com/3/a-likely-privacy-breach-at-emusic/#comment-13604 Troy Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:02:35 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=3#comment-13604 I found this old blog post of after searching for other people who've gotten spam at their emusic-only address. I wanted to find out if there was indeed a pattern... Interestingly, my first UCE just showed up today (more 419 crapola) though I've been with emusic for a couple of years now. I don't really want lossy 160kbps tunage anyway. I found this old blog post of after searching for other people who’ve gotten spam at their emusic-only address. I wanted to find out if there was indeed a pattern… Interestingly, my first UCE just showed up today (more 419 crapola) though I’ve been with emusic for a couple of years now.

I don’t really want lossy 160kbps tunage anyway.

]]> Comment on I hate priorities by Chris Gagne http://chrisgagne.com/22/i-hate-priorities/#comment-11483 Chris Gagne Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:44:59 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/22/i-hate-priorities/#comment-11483 Greg, I totally agree about the stakeholder representation. I've heard that it is difficult enough getting the product manager to sit in for the sprint planning session. That said, I don't believe that a business owner needs to be present for the sprint planning session. In fact, I think it is counterproductive in the same way that a product manager trying to pair-program with the developer is counterproductive. One of the things that has worked well for me since I started working with Scrum is to hold a one-on-one meeting with the business owner a few days before the sprint planning meeting. This allows me to complete the product backlog prioritization work and ensure that I have all of my ducks in a row in anticipation of the actual sprint meeting. This also makes me much more confident that I, as the product manager, can be an effective proxy for the business needs as we begin our sprint. All this said, I think it's still the product manager's ultimate responsibility to set the priorities of all of the items in the product backlog without the business owners having to intervene in the mundane details. As I'm getting better at setting priorities, I'm finding that these meetings are becoming a "yes, that's OK" sort of confirmation meeting rather than one in which all of the details and priorities are agonized over. One of the things that makes this much easier for me is having a clear sense of the quarterly objectives and business needs. This allows me to keep the business owners as voices in my head as I go through the process of figuring out what to do next. Greg, I totally agree about the stakeholder representation. I’ve heard that it is difficult enough getting the product manager to sit in for the sprint planning session.

That said, I don’t believe that a business owner needs to be present for the sprint planning session. In fact, I think it is counterproductive in the same way that a product manager trying to pair-program with the developer is counterproductive.

One of the things that has worked well for me since I started working with Scrum is to hold a one-on-one meeting with the business owner a few days before the sprint planning meeting. This allows me to complete the product backlog prioritization work and ensure that I have all of my ducks in a row in anticipation of the actual sprint meeting. This also makes me much more confident that I, as the product manager, can be an effective proxy for the business needs as we begin our sprint.

All this said, I think it’s still the product manager’s ultimate responsibility to set the priorities of all of the items in the product backlog without the business owners having to intervene in the mundane details. As I’m getting better at setting priorities, I’m finding that these meetings are becoming a “yes, that’s OK” sort of confirmation meeting rather than one in which all of the details and priorities are agonized over.

One of the things that makes this much easier for me is having a clear sense of the quarterly objectives and business needs. This allows me to keep the business owners as voices in my head as I go through the process of figuring out what to do next.

]]> Comment on I hate priorities by Greg Cohn http://chrisgagne.com/22/i-hate-priorities/#comment-11482 Greg Cohn Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:30:32 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/22/i-hate-priorities/#comment-11482 I agree with you. Assuming that scrum is practiced properly and there's stakeholder representation in the room, there's no need. But often the desire to impose a hard priority is a proxy for the absence of the internal customer. I agree with you. Assuming that scrum is practiced properly and there’s stakeholder representation in the room, there’s no need. But often the desire to impose a hard priority is a proxy for the absence of the internal customer.

]]> Comment on Followup on eMusic spam by Dave Beauvais’ Web Site » Blog Archive » eMusic spam and other sleazy business practices http://chrisgagne.com/8/followup-on-emusic-spam/#comment-9085 Dave Beauvais’ Web Site » Blog Archive » eMusic spam and other sleazy business practices Thu, 24 Jan 2008 07:18:52 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=8#comment-9085 [...] A search for eMusic spam turned up several people who have had unique addresses given only to eMusic become targets for spam. I complained to eMusic support about about this and actually got a response from a human asking me to forward complete copies of some example spam along with message headers. I sent them twenty samples and a week or two later got the same response others have received: it’s a dictionary attack. [...] [...] A search for eMusic spam turned up several people who have had unique addresses given only to eMusic become targets for spam. I complained to eMusic support about about this and actually got a response from a human asking me to forward complete copies of some example spam along with message headers. I sent them twenty samples and a week or two later got the same response others have received: it’s a dictionary attack. [...]

]]> Comment on Ms. Silvia and Supreme Bean’s Ethiopian Yirgacheffe by Sloane http://chrisgagne.com/21/ms-silvia-and-supreme-beans-ethiopian-yirgacheffe/#comment-9077 Sloane Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:30:34 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=21#comment-9077 Very cool! I'm so excited about my new machine, thanks for sending this along! Very cool! I’m so excited about my new machine, thanks for sending this along!

]]> Comment on Ms. Silvia and Supreme Bean’s Ethiopian Yirgacheffe by mike http://chrisgagne.com/21/ms-silvia-and-supreme-beans-ethiopian-yirgacheffe/#comment-4361 mike Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:33:32 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=21#comment-4361 So I'm browsing OpenLaszlo blogs, come across an article about coworking, look at Los Angeles, pick a name from the list. Hmmm, see you went to Oxy, so did I, but in 1979. But more amazingly, you're drinking my brothers coffee (he is a partner at Supreme Bean). Good choice! So I’m browsing OpenLaszlo blogs, come across an article about coworking, look at Los Angeles, pick a name from the list. Hmmm, see you went to Oxy, so did I, but in 1979. But more amazingly, you’re drinking my brothers coffee (he is a partner at Supreme Bean). Good choice!

]]> Comment on A privacy breach at eMusic? by Nick http://chrisgagne.com/3/a-likely-privacy-breach-at-emusic/#comment-2742 Nick Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:02:34 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=3#comment-2742 I get spam all the time to an address that only emusic have ever been given. Like Nick Askew, I find it's mostly advance fee fraud ("419") spam. Emusic has clearly had a security breach. No reply from them when I reported the problem though, except for a request for a copy of some of the emails; then silence. Perhaps they'd claim as other hacked companies have done, that it could be a dictionary attack. I know I haven't ever been subjected to a dictionary attack: no-one has ever tried to deliver an email to an address I haven't given out. I've about six companies leak unique email addresses to spammers, but emusic is much the biggest of these companies. We need laws to require companies to come clean when they let our personal information be stolen. I get spam all the time to an address that only emusic have ever been given. Like Nick Askew, I find it’s mostly advance fee fraud (”419″) spam. Emusic has clearly had a security breach. No reply from them when I reported the problem though, except for a request for a copy of some of the emails; then silence. Perhaps they’d claim as other hacked companies have done, that it could be a dictionary attack. I know I haven’t ever been subjected to a dictionary attack: no-one has ever tried to deliver an email to an address I haven’t given out.

I’ve about six companies leak unique email addresses to spammers, but emusic is much the biggest of these companies. We need laws to require companies to come clean when they let our personal information be stolen.

]]> Comment on “You Are NOT the Anything-Killer Until You Actually Kill Something” by Wil Schroter http://chrisgagne.com/20/you-are-not-the-anything-killer-until-you-actually-kill-something/#comment-2699 Wil Schroter Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:10:51 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=20#comment-2699 Sorry for the delayed response - thank you! It was a fun article to write. Sorry for the delayed response - thank you! It was a fun article to write.

]]> Comment on A privacy breach at eMusic? by Nick Askew http://chrisgagne.com/3/a-likely-privacy-breach-at-emusic/#comment-36 Nick Askew Wed, 28 Feb 2007 13:17:26 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=3#comment-36 I too received several emails from 'Michael Matson' addressed to the unique email address I used to sign up to eMusic, never used anywhere else.. it can only have been distributed (my email address that is, not the spam) by eMusic.com Today I received one from Karen Peterson, telling me to contact an agent who has US$1.5M waiting for me.. again to the email address I soley used to subscribe to eMusic dot com. I wrote a letter of complaint to them after I received the first email from Michael Matson on the 26/11/2006, and received no reply. I received three further emails from 'Michael Matson' on 01/12/2006, 08/12/2006 and 11/12/2006. I dislike companies that do not appreciate the concept of data protection, I dislike companies even more for ignoring complaints and trying to 'sweep it under the carpet'. I would be very interested to locate more people suffering Michael Matson syndrome so we can put our heads together to give eMusic the rude awakening they obviously deserve. Sincerely Nick Askew I too received several emails from ‘Michael Matson’ addressed to the unique email address I used to sign up to eMusic, never used anywhere else.. it can only have been distributed (my email address that is, not the spam) by eMusic.com

Today I received one from Karen Peterson, telling me to contact an agent who has US$1.5M waiting for me.. again to the email address I soley used to subscribe to eMusic dot com.

I wrote a letter of complaint to them after I received the first email from Michael Matson on the 26/11/2006, and received no reply. I received three further emails from ‘Michael Matson’ on 01/12/2006, 08/12/2006 and 11/12/2006.

I dislike companies that do not appreciate the concept of data protection, I dislike companies even more for ignoring complaints and trying to ’sweep it under the carpet’. I would be very interested to locate more people suffering Michael Matson syndrome so we can put our heads together to give eMusic the rude awakening they obviously deserve.

Sincerely

Nick Askew

]]> Comment on Some delicious coffee by wordpress http://chrisgagne.com/4/some-delicious-coffee/#comment-5 wordpress Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:47:19 +0000 http://blog.chrisgagne.com/?p=4#comment-5 Laura, give them a call at 1-888-288-JAVA. They'll mail some to you. Laura, give them a call at 1-888-288-JAVA. They’ll mail some to you.

]]>