Der Steppenwolf

Way back in the early 90s, after Twin Peaks’ ratings dropped (surprisingly enough, in direct correlation to its quality) and ABC cancelled the series, David Lynch planned to continue the saga of Harry S. Truman, Audrey Horne, et al through several films. But after the studio slashed an hour and a half from Lynch’s cut of Fire Walk With Me, then (mis)marketed the Twin Peaks prequel as a slasher flick, and all involved watched it bomb, Lynch’s plans for multiple films were eventually dropped. Now, according to TP co-creator Mark Frost, the franchise may live on in a new vehicle for Kyle MacLaughlin’s character, Agent Dale Cooper.

“We’ve talked a little about [a new project], and it’s a possibility down the road,” Frost said in an interview with MTV. “I think it would be hard to re-create the world of Twin Peaks at this point, but Kyle is still there and still a terrific actor, and that’s a character we could possibly take other places.” In the 13 years since FWWM, MacLaughlin has had a hand (and, quite often, other body parts as well) in a number of pop cultural phenomena, from Sex in the City to Showgirls. But I know I’ll always associate him with the work he did with/for Lynch, in Twin Peaks but also in Blue Velvet and Dune ? let’s hope, if the new project does get off the ground, it doesn’t do anything to screw up that legacy.
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EL TIEMPO.COM – Columnas opinión -> El ingeniero de sistemas: “El ingeniero de sistemas (21 de noviembre de 2005)

Es común ver los homenajes que se les hacen a los grandes empresarios de importantes compañías de todo el mundo, seguramente muy merecidos. Pero, así como el adagio popular dice que detrás de cada gran hombre hay una gran mujer, también se podría afirmar que detrás de cada gran empresario hay unos grandes ingenieros de sistemas.

Así es. Los crecimientos y buenos resultados de muchas empresas se sustentan siempre en una buena aplicación de la tecnología, alineada con las estrategias de negocios. Esta sencilla frase, dicha de este modo, parecería referirse a algo natural y fácil, pero generalmente es desconocido y muchas veces poco apreciado el trabajo de los ingenieros de sistemas, que implementan y soportan la infraestructura informática de las empresas pequeñas, medianas y grandes, para que dicha frase se cumpla.

Un ejemplo común lo constituye el sencillo hecho de recibir y enviar correos electrónicos, que implica una intensa labor de implementación y de soporte, que se hace en el back office de las empresas. Y este apelativo, back office u ?oficina de atrás?, describe bastante bien el trabajo de los ingenieros de sistemas que muchas veces trabajan hasta altísimas horas de la noche, sin recibir ningún reconocimiento, para que los ejecutivos y el personal empresarial no vean interrumpido su trabajo.

Y qué tal si hablamos de aplicaciones bastante más sofisticadas, como los sistemas administrativos o los de misión crítica, que son aquellos que permiten que las empresas puedan abrir sus puertas todos los días. Muchas veces los altos ejecutivos son los primeros en pegar el grito cuando algo no funciona bien, sin entender la compleja labor que estos trabajos conllevan y el tiempo que se necesita para hacerlos bien.

A los ingenieros de sistemas se les exigen resultados casi inmediatos, pero se ignora que para una buena implementación o modificación de un sistema se deben cumplir ciertos pasos con algún rigor. Y cuando, por el afán de entregar resultados, aceptan la informalidad en su trabajo y producen resultados que no son los esperados, la culpa recae siempre sobre ellos y no sobre aquellos que les suministraron unas especificaciones y requerimientos difusos y poco concretos.

Cómo sería de bueno que así como se premia con gran bombo a los más importantes ejecutivos del país, se les otorgara el merecido reconocimiento a los ingenieros de sistemas que estuvieron detrás de toda la infraestructura informática y de telecomunicaciones que les permitió subir al estrado a recibir su merecido premio.

Con esta columna pretendo rendirles un homenaje a aquellos ingenieros de sistemas que luchan muchas veces en el anonimato empresarial para que todo funcione bien, en determinadas ocasiones nadando en contra de la corriente y de los recortes presupuestales, que generalmente comienzan por los temas tecnológicos.

guisan@eltiempo.com.co

The Mars Volta: De-Loused in the Comatorium

Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)

Transient jet lag ecto mimed bison
This is the haunt of roulette dares
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor….to all that enter here
Open wrist talks back again
In the wounds of its skin
They’ll pinprick the witness
In ritual contrition
The am trinity fell upon asphyxia-derailed
In the rattles of…
Made its way through the tracks
Of a snail slouching whisper
A half mass comute through umbilical blisters
Spector will lurk
Radar has gathered
Midnight neuces from boxcar cadavears
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
It’s because this is
Cranial bleeding
Leaches train the living
Cursed are they who speak its name
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor to all that enter here
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
It’s because this is
Ratteling the laughter
Hinges splintering inside
Bludgeoned to a saddle
Rang the cloister bell inside
inside
inside
exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
it’s because this is

The production company wanted a set that looked like an abandoned metropolitan area, but it was too costly to build. The producer drove through downtown L.A. one weekend and discovered there were no shoppers, so the majority of the film’s exterior was shot on location during the weekends.

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By Apala Lahiri Chavan, Managing Director, Human Factors International, Mumbai, India

The main challenge with usability testing in Asia is that it is impolite to tell someone they have a bad design. It is embarrassing within this culture to admit that you cannot find something, so it is very hard to get feedback.

I conducted a test on a site that offered airline tickets for sale. I used a conventional simulation testing method and got little feedback. I could see that users were not succeeding, but they would not willingly discuss the problems they were experiencing.

I then tried a new method I had developed, called the Bollywood Method. Bollywood is the Hollywood of India and makes far more movies each year than Hollywood does. Bollywood movies are famous for having long and emotionally involved plots. The movies have great pathos and excitement. In applying the Bollywood Method to this testing scenario, I described a dire fantasy situation. I asked each participant to imagine that his or her beautiful, young, and innocent niece is about to be married. But suddenly the family receives news that the prospective groom is a member of the underground. He is a hit man! His whole life story is a sham, and he is already married! The participant has sole possession of this evidence and must book airline tickets to Bangalore for him- or herself and the groom’s current wife. Time is of the essence!

The test participants willingly entered this fantasy, and with great excitement they began the ticket booking process. Even minor difficulties they encountered resulted in immediate and incisive commentary. The participants complained about the button naming and placement. They pointed out the number of extra steps in booking. The fantasy situation gave them license to communicate in a way they never would have under normal evaluation methods.

This method worked well in India and may even be able to be generalized to special situations in North America and other places where participants may hesitate to communicate freely.