Katy Perry and Russell Brand: Wonderland Wonderful GOSSIP

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The Y2K BugCredit: Hannah YoestThe world was coming to an end at midnight 31 December, 1999.We had planned for it for years. It was, as one techno-wag said, "a disaster with a deadline."The Year 2000 roll-over was going to be big; world wide.o escape.We knew this would beo mere technology challenge to be solved with exceptional American ingenuity. Y2K was problematic with unknown unknowns.The internet would crash. Cell phones dead. The power grid dark. Armageddon. ***In the late 1990s one-half of the worlds internet traffic passed through the Commonwealth of Virginia, thanks to America On Line -- AOL.com. And maybe anotherorthern Virginia entity in Arlington: the Pentagon. We think that was a secret.Your Business Blogger(R) had the Y2K responsibility for Health and Human Resources, a $5 billion enterprise in the Virginia government. The boss, governor Jim Gilmore, a former military intelligence officer, knew what we could and couldnt do to combat the Y2K Bug. There was a lot we couldnt do. And it wasnt all technology.***It was a condition of continued employment that there were to beo interruptions or adverse incidents to the citizens of the Commonwealth and the rest of the World.(We worker-bees couldot get it wrong. The world ends AND get a bad employee appraisal. A sub-par job performance wouldot be a simple career-ending/world-ending mistake. Going out with a bang, so to say.)Business literatureotes the adrenaline rush of the "peak experience." The Governor of Virginia had this as he had The Whole World In His Hands.The web had to run for the wide world and more: Virginias hospital doors had to remain open; the prison doors closed. Fresh water and waste water valves had to direct flow in the correct and desired directions.Local first responders had to be able to coordinate communications across jurisdictional silos. Governor Gilmore was among the first to realize the importance of seamless radio traffic between Fed-State-Local law enforcement. (It still wouldnt be fixed years later. Re: 9.11). Lots of challenges beyond government resources. So Gilmore hired the biggest IT consulting firms on the planet and bought their solutions packages. In our weekly staff meetings We had a dozen of the smartest experts in the business. We wasot one of them.They let me think We was in control at the head of the table. And maybe so. But these consultants wouldnt let me, a mere bureaucrat, make a mistake. But there were some mistakes the professional tech-gurus couldot save me from.***One of the first steps was to inventory hardware, software for both the public sector and those private vendors who supplied the government. Every computer and bit of software that touched the government had to be inspected and brought into a procedure for standardized compliance. Verified with a form. With signatures. Every laptop. Everywhere.We started by reviewing the vendors for the $400 million Department of Health. It had over 11,000 suppliers.---Easy MBA 101 stuff---So We directed the staff to report on theumber of vendors that did most of the business with us, say 80-90% of the dollar volume.---More smarty-pants MBA inquiries---Too ones shock and awe, save mine, we learned that 900 vendors did 90% of the business with that government agency.We addressed the staff. "You mean," says I, "We have to manage over 10,000 vendors to deliver 10% of our purchase orders" our chin thrust with smug disbelief."So" the staff asked as one man.---Shortly, know-it-all MBA would meet political realities---We strongly suggested that we should look to consolidate some vendors and look at ways to reduce theumber of transactions and paper work. Time and motion studies demonstrated that processing each purchase order cost $150. We would fix this The efficiency of Frederick Taylor.The staff left the room. Slowly. They knew something We didot.But they got on the job and the machinery of government began to move. We so pride myself on getting completed
Two very coolew clips. Check them out How amazing does Bethany Joy GaleottWe from One Tree Hill sound And theext time We have to apologize to someone, I’m going to do it just like Chuck Bass…hilariousOne Tree Hill Trailer – ReturnsThe CW – It&s TV To Talk Abouthttp://www.youtube.com/watchv=CAp0a1wDGxU

Freedom Square hosted an exhibition of freestyle motocross riding yesterday afternoon. It was part of the Red Bull X-Fighters exhibition tour.The riders pulled off extreme mid-air maneuvers in the space between theational Theatre and theational Concert Hall. Despite having only a short run up to the launching ramp they gained some serious air





Grammys 2010: Russell Brand on uZood Video. Carrie Ann Inaba & Chris Harrison are live from the red carpet at the 52nd Annual Gramour Awards. Carrie Ann & Chris interview Russell Brand
Is Russell Brand really regarded as a legitimate filmstar in the US In the UK he is more famous for his stand up comedy and tv presenting. Funny as he is surely he must stretch those acting chops at some time.