The proper use of volunteers is a unique challenge within the Information Technology department. There are many challenges that make utilizing volunteers in this area quite a challenge. Using volunteers for outreach is easy, but here there are concerns of confidentiality and risk. Because of this, use great discretion while screening these volunteers which should always include a criminal background check.
The following are areas in which the Fellowship Church Information Technology department utilize volunteers and in what capacity.
Volunteer Areas
1.0 System & Network Consulting
Desc: To help with architecture and design of new systems and network design
Example(s): To help with the planning of the migration from Windows 2000 domain to Windows 2003 domain. To make suggestions for secure firewall configuration if they are security experts.
Notes: Rarely do we allow the volunteer do the actual work in these areas, but more consult and advise in their areas of expertise.
2.0 Research Projects
Desc: Research technologies or products
Example: Researching the best software package to use to track time and attendance. Or what is a good application to use to manage all of our tape backups that is really in-expensive.
3.0 Weekend Preparation & Support
Desc: To help prepare computers and environment for weekend services
Example: Check each computer used for registration or event checkin and ensure that all is working properly. Checking internet connectivity for all ministry computers. Help with any printing or hardware issues that arise on the weekend.
4.0 Event Checkin
Desc: To help facilitate the checkin and/or registration for weekend events with the use of computer terminals and the FellowshipOne application.
Example: To help with children’s department checkin and registration at touch-screen computer terminals. To help with newcomers registration.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Friday, December 03, 2004
Microsoft introduces weblog service
Microsoft's MSN division has launched a test version of a free blogging service aimed at consumers, its first attempt to provide this popular activity for the mass consumer market.
MSN Spaces lets users create an online journal, post photos and digital music lists. Users can establish different levels of visitor access, customize the blog with a choice of different backgrounds and layout templates, and update the blog remotely via e-mail or a mobile phone.
It also features integration with the MSN Messenger instant messaging service and with the MSN Hotmail webmail service.
MSN Spaces lets users create an online journal, post photos and digital music lists. Users can establish different levels of visitor access, customize the blog with a choice of different backgrounds and layout templates, and update the blog remotely via e-mail or a mobile phone.
It also features integration with the MSN Messenger instant messaging service and with the MSN Hotmail webmail service.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Jack's Magic Beans
The Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is a freeware utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry. It has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping. It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Office 97, and Office XP.
Friday, November 19, 2004
It's Part of the Job
Recently God has allowed me the opportunity to share my faith as well as his goodness and grace to friends and fellow Christian brothers in need. I welcome the opportunity to help someone anyway I can, not that I have the answers, but I do have life experiences that I have learned from, and I believe that it is my job to learn from these and to pass the knowledge and lessons that God has taught me from these trials to others.
Isn't that our job as Christians, not to be judgmental of others, but to come to brothers or sisters in love when they are out of line? It kills me to hear recently how some new Christian brothers have tried to do the right thing and surround themselves with believers, but when these baby Christians have started to get off the path, the mature believers say nothing and do nothing. They have instead patted them on the back with things like "it must be tough going thru what you are" but did not use this as an opportunity to talk about how the devil is using these bad events and situations in their lives, to cause them to stumble and sin. True as it might be that these time are tough and it is hard to do the right thing sometimes, these are opportunities to share and to help guide these new Christians. By doing or saying nothing we let the new believers down, our God down and ourselves down. I know its tough sometimes and some of us aren't wired to be very confrontational or even just conversational, but God will overcome this if we allow him to work through us.
Isn't that our job as Christians, not to be judgmental of others, but to come to brothers or sisters in love when they are out of line? It kills me to hear recently how some new Christian brothers have tried to do the right thing and surround themselves with believers, but when these baby Christians have started to get off the path, the mature believers say nothing and do nothing. They have instead patted them on the back with things like "it must be tough going thru what you are" but did not use this as an opportunity to talk about how the devil is using these bad events and situations in their lives, to cause them to stumble and sin. True as it might be that these time are tough and it is hard to do the right thing sometimes, these are opportunities to share and to help guide these new Christians. By doing or saying nothing we let the new believers down, our God down and ourselves down. I know its tough sometimes and some of us aren't wired to be very confrontational or even just conversational, but God will overcome this if we allow him to work through us.
What's your IP ?
If you are ever somewhere where you need to know what public IP you are using, ShowMyIP is a handle little utility to get this and a lot more useful information.
Friday, November 05, 2004
IP and Fiber and SANS oh my!
Digital information is increasingly becoming a critical component of the way a church does business today. At Fellowship it has not only continuously grown in volume, but more than ever it must be available around the clock. During this growth, there has been a direct paradigm of volume and availability to the growth of our church. The inability to access data for downtime or system outages has grown to point where we have to make a change in order to meet this growing demand.
Ah, but recognition of the trend and the realization that it is time to make a change, that was the easy part. Now to solve the real challenge of adding to the ever-shrinking or forgotten IT budget, and presented with the real challenge of how do you provide for cost-effective, efficient storage, management, and most importantly, availability of your data?
That’s where we are at Fellowship Church. It has become time to look into a storage area network (SAN) solution. As you probably already know the cost and complexity of a SAN can be quite a frightful undertaking. Do we have the funds? Do I have the staff expertise and bandwidth to manage such a solution?
For those of you that are not so familiar with the technology, here is a little synopsis:
LANs enable multiple PCs to share key IT resources such as applications, servers, shared files, and printers. SANs provide similar resource sharing, but they are specifically designed for servers to share storage devices such as disk arrays or tape libraries.
SANs key benefits:
• Online scalability, so you can easily add storage to meet changing capacity requirements
• High levels of availability, ensuring your data and applications are fully accessible at all times, even during backup
• Centralized data management
• High utilization of disk capacity even during backup or in the event of component failure
• Faster data restoration
There are basically two different types of SANS. There are Fiber Channel and IP SANS. Each of which have benefits, but typically the most cost effective is the IP SAN.
Fiber Channel SANs
· Better performance for transaction-intensive applications such as databases
· Requires specialized knowledge
· More expensive technology
· Super fast and very reliable
IP SANs
· Good for less high performing file/print sharing, Exchange and SQL server apps
· Requires experience with Ethernet (as opposed to fiber channel)
· Less-expensive technology – about 20-30 percent
· Minimum disruption to infrastructure
We have yet to make a decision on what technology we are going to use and who we are going to get it from. But the need is there. We just have to do our due diligence on finding the best solution for our environment and requirements. We are currently looking at solutions from Dell, HP, Xiotech, and StoneFly. I hope to have a solution picked out and being implementation by the first quarter of ’05.
Ah, but recognition of the trend and the realization that it is time to make a change, that was the easy part. Now to solve the real challenge of adding to the ever-shrinking or forgotten IT budget, and presented with the real challenge of how do you provide for cost-effective, efficient storage, management, and most importantly, availability of your data?
That’s where we are at Fellowship Church. It has become time to look into a storage area network (SAN) solution. As you probably already know the cost and complexity of a SAN can be quite a frightful undertaking. Do we have the funds? Do I have the staff expertise and bandwidth to manage such a solution?
For those of you that are not so familiar with the technology, here is a little synopsis:
LANs enable multiple PCs to share key IT resources such as applications, servers, shared files, and printers. SANs provide similar resource sharing, but they are specifically designed for servers to share storage devices such as disk arrays or tape libraries.
SANs key benefits:
• Online scalability, so you can easily add storage to meet changing capacity requirements
• High levels of availability, ensuring your data and applications are fully accessible at all times, even during backup
• Centralized data management
• High utilization of disk capacity even during backup or in the event of component failure
• Faster data restoration
There are basically two different types of SANS. There are Fiber Channel and IP SANS. Each of which have benefits, but typically the most cost effective is the IP SAN.
Fiber Channel SANs
· Better performance for transaction-intensive applications such as databases
· Requires specialized knowledge
· More expensive technology
· Super fast and very reliable
IP SANs
· Good for less high performing file/print sharing, Exchange and SQL server apps
· Requires experience with Ethernet (as opposed to fiber channel)
· Less-expensive technology – about 20-30 percent
· Minimum disruption to infrastructure
We have yet to make a decision on what technology we are going to use and who we are going to get it from. But the need is there. We just have to do our due diligence on finding the best solution for our environment and requirements. We are currently looking at solutions from Dell, HP, Xiotech, and StoneFly. I hope to have a solution picked out and being implementation by the first quarter of ’05.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
LogMeIn
3am Labs is now offering a new Web-based remote control tool, LogMeIn. The final version, will be available at no cost whatsoever. That's right: Free remote control. Much like Citrix's GoToMyPC, LogMeIn lets you access your PC (or PCs) from across the Internet using no more than a standard Web browser. And thanks to built-in SSL security, you can do so without worrying about interlopers.
The package isn't as robust as a GoToMyPC, though for $12.95 per month you can upgrade to LogMeIn Pro, which includes such advanced features as file and folder synchronization, secure file distribution, and remote-to-local printing.
With a remote control utility, office workers can access their office PCs from the road or their home PCs from the office. But, because they're so easy to install and use, they're often an annoyance to IT managers trying to keep tabs on who's coming through their corporate firewalls. For this reason, 3am also offers a free tool called LogMeIn Scout, which lets IT professionals sniff out the use of Web-based remote control.
The package isn't as robust as a GoToMyPC, though for $12.95 per month you can upgrade to LogMeIn Pro, which includes such advanced features as file and folder synchronization, secure file distribution, and remote-to-local printing.
With a remote control utility, office workers can access their office PCs from the road or their home PCs from the office. But, because they're so easy to install and use, they're often an annoyance to IT managers trying to keep tabs on who's coming through their corporate firewalls. For this reason, 3am also offers a free tool called LogMeIn Scout, which lets IT professionals sniff out the use of Web-based remote control.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Microsoft Network Access Protection
Network Access Protection (NAP) is a policy enforcement platform built into the Microsoft Windows operating system that allows IT professionals to set policy (for example, operating system and antivirus update policy), which restricts clients from accessing a network until the clients can prove policy compliance. The initial release of NAP will be delivered in Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2). For more information about Windows Server 2003 R2, see the Windows Server Product Roadmap
Friday, September 17, 2004
Top Vulnerabilities to Windows Systems
The vast majority of worms and other successful cyber attacks are made possible by vulnerabilities in a small number of common operating system services. Attackers are opportunistic. They take the easiest and most convenient route and exploit the best-known flaws with the most effective and widely available attack tools. They count on organizations not fixing the problems, and they often attack indiscriminately, scanning the Internet for any vulnerable systems. The easy and destructive spread of worms, such as Blaster, Slammer, and Code Red, can be traced directly to exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities.
Three years ago, the SANS Institute and the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the FBI released a document summarizing the Ten Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities. Thousands of organizations used that list, and the expanded Top Twenty lists that followed one and two years later, to prioritize their efforts so they could close the most dangerous holes first. The vulnerable services that led to the examples above Blaster, Slammer, and Code Red, as well as NIMDA worms - are on that list.
The SANS Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities
· W1 Internet Information Services (IIS)
· W2 Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL)
· W3 Windows Authentication
· W4 Internet Explorer (IE)
· W5 Windows Remote Access Services
· W6 Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC)
· W7 Windows Scripting Host (WSH)
· W8 Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express
· W9 Windows Peer to Peer File Sharing (P2P)
· W10 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Three years ago, the SANS Institute and the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the FBI released a document summarizing the Ten Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities. Thousands of organizations used that list, and the expanded Top Twenty lists that followed one and two years later, to prioritize their efforts so they could close the most dangerous holes first. The vulnerable services that led to the examples above Blaster, Slammer, and Code Red, as well as NIMDA worms - are on that list.
The SANS Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities
· W1 Internet Information Services (IIS)
· W2 Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL)
· W3 Windows Authentication
· W4 Internet Explorer (IE)
· W5 Windows Remote Access Services
· W6 Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC)
· W7 Windows Scripting Host (WSH)
· W8 Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express
· W9 Windows Peer to Peer File Sharing (P2P)
· W10 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Carbot - The Ultimate Car Toy
CarBot is a car-based computer system designed and built to enhance your driving experience. You can play MP3 files, legal ones of course, check your e-mail and even discover new hot spots around town. Best part is, you can do it all with your eyes on the road with the Carbot audio user-interface.
Now this is something that I would definitely be looking into if I had the scrilla. WiFi remote, 60 gig hard drive, and get this, it even has GPS! For those of you that know a "gadget guy" (and I know we all do) make sure to pass this along.
Now this is something that I would definitely be looking into if I had the scrilla. WiFi remote, 60 gig hard drive, and get this, it even has GPS! For those of you that know a "gadget guy" (and I know we all do) make sure to pass this along.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Windows XP Remote Assistance
Sometimes the best way to fix a problem is to have someone show you how. Remote Assistance is a convenient way for a distant friend to connect to your computer from another computer running a compatible operating system, such as Microsoft Windows XP, and walk you through your solution.
Remote Assistance allows the appropriate person to log into your system to view what you see on your computer screen and chat online with you in real time through the use of Windows Messenger about what you both see on the local system.
By following the easy steps in Remote Assistance, you can use Windows Messenger Service or an e-mail message to invite a friend, coworker, or support professional to connect to your computer. After he or she is connected, your friend will be able to view your computer screen and chat with you in real time about what you both see. With your permission, your assistant can take control of the mouse and keyboard to work with you on your computer.
Both you and your helper must be using either Windows Messenger Service or a MAPI-compliant e-mail account such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. You and your helper need to be connected to the Internet while using Remote Assistance. If you are working on a local area network, firewalls might stop you from using Remote Assistance. If for some reason you are unable to send an invitation by using e-mail or Windows Messenger Service, you can create and save an invitation. On the first page of Remote Assistance, click Invite someone to help you, and then click the save option at the bottom of the next page. You can then send the saved invitation file to your helper in the manner you choose, such as copying it onto a floppy disk or a shared network location, sending it over another e-mail service or an FTP connection, and so on.
Remote Assistance allows the appropriate person to log into your system to view what you see on your computer screen and chat online with you in real time through the use of Windows Messenger about what you both see on the local system.
By following the easy steps in Remote Assistance, you can use Windows Messenger Service or an e-mail message to invite a friend, coworker, or support professional to connect to your computer. After he or she is connected, your friend will be able to view your computer screen and chat with you in real time about what you both see. With your permission, your assistant can take control of the mouse and keyboard to work with you on your computer.
Both you and your helper must be using either Windows Messenger Service or a MAPI-compliant e-mail account such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. You and your helper need to be connected to the Internet while using Remote Assistance. If you are working on a local area network, firewalls might stop you from using Remote Assistance. If for some reason you are unable to send an invitation by using e-mail or Windows Messenger Service, you can create and save an invitation. On the first page of Remote Assistance, click Invite someone to help you, and then click the save option at the bottom of the next page. You can then send the saved invitation file to your helper in the manner you choose, such as copying it onto a floppy disk or a shared network location, sending it over another e-mail service or an FTP connection, and so on.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Microsoft TechNet Virtual Lab
Ever wanted to test Microsoft's newest software in a sandbox environment? Wouldn't it be great to be able to test new servers immediately, without formatting hard drives or dedicating one or more computers to the project? Now you can, with the TechNet Virtual Lab.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Who are you ?
As a parent of two, I often find myself asking "Who are you?" Could you possibly be my offspring? Did I really create this creature? Most of the time I am not asking this out of the best of situations but from the "challenging times" as a parent. And most of the time the conclusion is, "nope, they are my wife Julie's kids, not mine!"
But, one of the joys as a parent are the times that our children do or say something that makes us stop in our tracks, and think "Wow!". I recently had one of those with my twelve year old son Tyler. Tyler was recently given a writing assignment at school, and was asked to answer the following question, in paragraph form of course.
Question: Where is a place that I am perfectly happy?
Here was his answer...
"Church is not exactly an exciting or interesting place to a lot of people, and most choose to avoid it. There are even laws in schools encouraging us to avoid church and religion. But here from the very table where I am writing this, is a place that I never have fear, never saddened, never angered, never forgotten, and for sure never bored. The holy place of which I speak is Fellowship Church of Grapevine Texas. In this place of which numbers are now over 18,000 a weekend, there is fun and excitement in song, games, message, faith, and love that no one could even imagine without seeing and experiencing..."
But, one of the joys as a parent are the times that our children do or say something that makes us stop in our tracks, and think "Wow!". I recently had one of those with my twelve year old son Tyler. Tyler was recently given a writing assignment at school, and was asked to answer the following question, in paragraph form of course.
Question: Where is a place that I am perfectly happy?
Here was his answer...
"Church is not exactly an exciting or interesting place to a lot of people, and most choose to avoid it. There are even laws in schools encouraging us to avoid church and religion. But here from the very table where I am writing this, is a place that I never have fear, never saddened, never angered, never forgotten, and for sure never bored. The holy place of which I speak is Fellowship Church of Grapevine Texas. In this place of which numbers are now over 18,000 a weekend, there is fun and excitement in song, games, message, faith, and love that no one could even imagine without seeing and experiencing..."
I picked this up and read it, and then I had to sit down and read it again. Could this possibly be the same child that I have to remind daily to stop making vulgur noises and that the couch is not the launching pad for his next destination? At twelve I was appreciating the many wonderful flavors of Hubba Bubba bubble gum and consumed with the planning of how to obtain the next game for my Atari game system. Never with such deep thought and with any appreciation of my surroundings or what I had been given.
Often times I think we look down at children and have the mentality of they could never understand the big picture or they are just to young to understand so many things. This is a huge reminder to me of how Christ viewed and spoke of children in scripture and that we should never underestimate their thought, understanding, or spiritual maturity.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
MOM 2005
Microsoft on Wednesday announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition, a new version that the company previously called MOM 2005 Express.
Microsoft executives say the product will be generally available in about six weeks. MOM is designed to improve IT efficiency by providing operations management of Microsoft infrastructure products. MOM 2005 is the second Microsoft version of a technology the company bought from NetIQ. Extended Management Packs (XMPs) from NetIQ are available to extend the MOM infrastructure to allow management of non-Microsoft infrastructure.
Microsoft executives say the product will be generally available in about six weeks. MOM is designed to improve IT efficiency by providing operations management of Microsoft infrastructure products. MOM 2005 is the second Microsoft version of a technology the company bought from NetIQ. Extended Management Packs (XMPs) from NetIQ are available to extend the MOM infrastructure to allow management of non-Microsoft infrastructure.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Service Pack 2 Woes
Windows XP Service Pack 2 is now available through Windows Update. However, some problems have been reported. Might be worth waiting a bit before upgrading. We have deployed it to a handful of systems and have only had a couple of issues. However, from some of the things I have been reading about others misfortunes, I would suggest that you take the time to test it out in the lab with every corporate application you use before delployement.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Qm - The Quick e-Mailer
Qm is an extremely small, fast program for sending E-mail. Its size and flexibility make it ideal for those times you want to quickly send messages or files without starting a large E-mail suite.
Features
- Easy to integrate with a Web browser for quick handling of mailto links
- Add to Windows Explorer "Send To" menu to quickly E-mail files
- Easy to send messages from various E-mail addresses
- No complex installation, just run from any directory - even a floppy
Features
- Easy to integrate with a Web browser for quick handling of mailto links
- Add to Windows Explorer "Send To" menu to quickly E-mail files
- Easy to send messages from various E-mail addresses
- No complex installation, just run from any directory - even a floppy
Saturday, August 28, 2004
You're Fired!
I recently attended The Summit Leadership Conference hosted by Willow Creek Community Church out of Chicago. It was a great conference and there was a terrific cross-section of speakers representing many different sectors including business, academia, athletics, and church to name a few. An item that kept coming up regarding being a successful leader and manager, was being able to, and knowing when to fire an employee. With many speakers going out of their way to bring up this point, I thought I should do some research on how to get better in this area.
Firing an employee is no fun for anyone. It’s sort of like that thing I used to hear ever so often, “son this is for your own good”. Or here's a good one, “this hurts me as much as it hurts you”, sure, right I used to think. Every boss hates doing it, but the tough pill to swallow is that the day will come when you'll have to fire an employee. Sometimes a new company or church direction means it's time to part with some of the current staff. Other times an employee just gets into a slump or complacent and needs a new direction. Often, the best thing an employer can do is release an employee from a situation that's not working for either of them, and that will be even truer when the firing is done. In a way, that lets the employee save face. But fire an employee poorly, and you'll be leaving yourself open to a possible lawsuit for wrongful termination or defamation.
Here is what I have come up with from different sources, but the majority from Network World.
Don’t hesitate to get counsel
I have always lived by, “never make a major decision, in a time of indecision”. If you are unsure of letting someone go, seek counsel about it. Get a manager that you have a good relationship with, and that is good with managing people, to hear the details of the situation and give you their thoughts. Arrange a meeting with HR regarding the decision. They obviously deal with these types of situations a lot more than most of us and often have a lot of wisdom to pass along. Going to others not only helps you shape your decision, but it builds and strengthens relationships with those you have gone to by showing them that you respect their opinion and perspective on the matter.
Keep Good Records
If misconduct is the reason for dismissal, be sure to document the warnings the employee received. Some corporate policies say the individual should receive on verbal warning, one written warning if another incident occurs and termination after the third incident.
If warnings are given, particularly if the cause is performance-related, be sure to document the job specification, where the individual is falling short, and how and by when the improvements should occur. Give a copy of the documents to the employee, and let them know when the next review date will be.
Pick the proper time and place
The best time to terminate a worker is at the beginning of the week, according to experts. This allows mangers explain to explain to their staff’s what has happened and how the work load will be distributed.
Schedule the termination meeting to occur when there are as few people around as possible, such as early in the morning or at lunchtime. It also should take place in a neutral room preferably close to a building exit. If you conduct the discussion in your office, the employee might feel reluctant to leave the room, and if it takes place in the employee’s office, that person would feel awkward after you walk away.
Plan the participants and dialogue
The direct manager should conduct the meeting if at all possible. If a manager can’t terminate as well as hire, they’ve lost respect of their team. Don’t pass the buck to Human Resources, whose role is to sit in on the meeting to provide support and be ready to answer any questions about benefits that the company might owe to the employee.
When delivering the “good news”, be sure to cover what is happening, why, the effective date, and affirmation that there is no alternative and an expression of condolence. An example would be, “We’ve talked with you several times of our needs and asked you to meet deadlines, but we have not seen any improvements. Effective today, we are relieving you of your duties. Sorry, but today is your last day with the company. There is no alternative.”
Arrange the exit
Remember the goal is to treat everyone with respect, professionalism, and compassion. If it is necessary to have security involved or you think the potential is there for a volatile situation, arrange to have security present or close should the need arise.
Give them a choice to arrange to get their things now or at a scheduled time later. How you arrange and handle the exit could determine whether the employee pursues litigation, which no one wants.
Firing an employee is no fun for anyone. It’s sort of like that thing I used to hear ever so often, “son this is for your own good”. Or here's a good one, “this hurts me as much as it hurts you”, sure, right I used to think. Every boss hates doing it, but the tough pill to swallow is that the day will come when you'll have to fire an employee. Sometimes a new company or church direction means it's time to part with some of the current staff. Other times an employee just gets into a slump or complacent and needs a new direction. Often, the best thing an employer can do is release an employee from a situation that's not working for either of them, and that will be even truer when the firing is done. In a way, that lets the employee save face. But fire an employee poorly, and you'll be leaving yourself open to a possible lawsuit for wrongful termination or defamation.
Here is what I have come up with from different sources, but the majority from Network World.
Don’t hesitate to get counsel
I have always lived by, “never make a major decision, in a time of indecision”. If you are unsure of letting someone go, seek counsel about it. Get a manager that you have a good relationship with, and that is good with managing people, to hear the details of the situation and give you their thoughts. Arrange a meeting with HR regarding the decision. They obviously deal with these types of situations a lot more than most of us and often have a lot of wisdom to pass along. Going to others not only helps you shape your decision, but it builds and strengthens relationships with those you have gone to by showing them that you respect their opinion and perspective on the matter.
Keep Good Records
If misconduct is the reason for dismissal, be sure to document the warnings the employee received. Some corporate policies say the individual should receive on verbal warning, one written warning if another incident occurs and termination after the third incident.
If warnings are given, particularly if the cause is performance-related, be sure to document the job specification, where the individual is falling short, and how and by when the improvements should occur. Give a copy of the documents to the employee, and let them know when the next review date will be.
Pick the proper time and place
The best time to terminate a worker is at the beginning of the week, according to experts. This allows mangers explain to explain to their staff’s what has happened and how the work load will be distributed.
Schedule the termination meeting to occur when there are as few people around as possible, such as early in the morning or at lunchtime. It also should take place in a neutral room preferably close to a building exit. If you conduct the discussion in your office, the employee might feel reluctant to leave the room, and if it takes place in the employee’s office, that person would feel awkward after you walk away.
Plan the participants and dialogue
The direct manager should conduct the meeting if at all possible. If a manager can’t terminate as well as hire, they’ve lost respect of their team. Don’t pass the buck to Human Resources, whose role is to sit in on the meeting to provide support and be ready to answer any questions about benefits that the company might owe to the employee.
When delivering the “good news”, be sure to cover what is happening, why, the effective date, and affirmation that there is no alternative and an expression of condolence. An example would be, “We’ve talked with you several times of our needs and asked you to meet deadlines, but we have not seen any improvements. Effective today, we are relieving you of your duties. Sorry, but today is your last day with the company. There is no alternative.”
Arrange the exit
Remember the goal is to treat everyone with respect, professionalism, and compassion. If it is necessary to have security involved or you think the potential is there for a volatile situation, arrange to have security present or close should the need arise.
Give them a choice to arrange to get their things now or at a scheduled time later. How you arrange and handle the exit could determine whether the employee pursues litigation, which no one wants.
Friday, August 27, 2004
RoboForm
AI RoboForm is a one-click web form filler and password manager with some serious Artificial Intelligence inside.
Main Features:
• Memorizes online passwords.
• Automatically logs you into a web site.
• Generates Random Secure Passwords.
• Fills long registration forms from personal profiles.
• Encrypts password-protected info using 3DES.
• Prints list of collected passwords on paper.
• Allows easy backup and restore of passwords.
• Is absolutely FREE for personal use.
• Is well-behaved: NO ADS, NO SPYING.
It works on Windows 95/98/NT/Me/2K/XP as an add-on to browser: IE4-6, AOL5-7, MSN; NN7, Mozilla. If you surf and use forms, this one is definitely worth a try. The free version will limit its features after 30 days of use but will still function. There is a PRO version available for $29.95. For the differences, READ HERE.
Main Features:
• Memorizes online passwords.
• Automatically logs you into a web site.
• Generates Random Secure Passwords.
• Fills long registration forms from personal profiles.
• Encrypts password-protected info using 3DES.
• Prints list of collected passwords on paper.
• Allows easy backup and restore of passwords.
• Is absolutely FREE for personal use.
• Is well-behaved: NO ADS, NO SPYING.
It works on Windows 95/98/NT/Me/2K/XP as an add-on to browser: IE4-6, AOL5-7, MSN; NN7, Mozilla. If you surf and use forms, this one is definitely worth a try. The free version will limit its features after 30 days of use but will still function. There is a PRO version available for $29.95. For the differences, READ HERE.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Shields Up!
An unprotected PC tossed on the Internet will become infected by a worm within an average of 20 minutes, down from 40 minutes only a year ago, according to researchers at SANS.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Captains Log Day 7
Thought I would give you an update to how the 30 Days of Family Focus is going. I am very pleased with the results so far, and I think the rest of the family is as well. The biggest thing that I did not account for is what happens when you take all of these time wasters and stimulants away. Conflict is what has been happening! I have found that with everything else taken away, that it forces conversation and discussion that typically would not happen. Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing and critical for growth in relationships. Thru this conflict and resolution, I think we will become a closer family and friends to each other.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
It’s all about Pimpin’ it out!
It’s all about Pimpin’ it out!
Having much luck reaching people in your strategically-rusted '84 Gremlin? How do you transform your tired old ministry into a full-fledged, fully-loaded pimped out chariot for God?
Whoa! Let me stop you right here. If you absolutely have no idea what I’m talking about already, there is no sense going on. Try starting with getting to know today’s culture a little bit and come back and see me. Just move along, move along, there is nothing to see here. For the rest of you, let’s get rollin’…
I have had the opportunity with my position at Fellowship Church, and background being a preacher’s kid, to talk to and be exposed to all types of churches, denominations, and styles of ministry from all over the country. And my experience has been that too often I see the same old thing, done the same old way.
There is nothing more disheartening for me to see than a dead church. Not reaching anyone, and much more interested in keeping the saved then reaching the lost. Not willing to even entertain any type of change that might bring what they are doing into this century because they are too caught up in their holy huddle and quite frankly are just fine with it. I think it is way time that we get it together, look at how we have done it in the past, and start “Pimpin’ it out”.
I feel that the central problem with the church's way of doing ministry is their refusal to change. This is some new phenomenon; the Bible addresses this in Acts with the struggle between the Holy Spirit and the people running the church. Over and over again, God tried to move out through the church to reach the multitude of lost people outside the church. But he was met by over-conservative foot-dragging Christian believers who were not willing to change. Acts 10 and 11 are some of the clearest passages on this unfortunate tendency.
Bishop T.D. Jakes summed this up really well, “If you always do what you have always done, then you will always be where you have always been”. It seems so simple, but today’s churches are trying to fight today’s fight with yesterday’s weapons and are getting nowhere and we are losing the battle. Hundreds of years-old music, strange seats, stained glass, and a language people can't understand. These things don't do the church any good in accomplishing its mission and they alienate and confuse the un-churched. And still, the church refuses to change! Our culture continues to move forward, but in the church the anthem is the same, "It is written, Thou shalt not change”.
Here are some things that I think are key to consider when making change in ministry:
Know Your Scene
When shaping your ministry, what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like, take a hard look and study the culture around you. These are obviously the people you are trying to reach. For example, if you are smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley with genxr’s and techies, the entire worship experience should be shaped, tailored, and communicated in a way to reach that culture and the needs of it. By relating to the culture you will have a better opportunity to reach them. The tough part is that relevance and culture are moving targets and it will take continual change to keep your ministry relevant.
The Dubs
Have you been driving down the road and ever seen a Lincoln Navigator with brand new twenty-inch rims (dubs) with spinners? Cool huh? Where your ministry happens needs to be physically and audibly appealing. The context of ministry is just as important as the message. We can not make people accept Christ, but we can create comfortable and appealing environments that will hopefully allow the Holy Spirit to work in them.
The business world really understands this concept. Is there anyone better at this than Disney? They know there target audience and create a creative, interactive, appealing, and ever-changing environment to engage and attract their audience.
The Engine
While I think all of that change is important, one area that I do not think there is room for compromise it the engine (theology). The thing to overcome here is to be able to separate theology from methodology. You don’t compromise doctrine, just try and create relevant, engaging, and appealing environments to communicate the life changing message of Christ.
Having much luck reaching people in your strategically-rusted '84 Gremlin? How do you transform your tired old ministry into a full-fledged, fully-loaded pimped out chariot for God?
Whoa! Let me stop you right here. If you absolutely have no idea what I’m talking about already, there is no sense going on. Try starting with getting to know today’s culture a little bit and come back and see me. Just move along, move along, there is nothing to see here. For the rest of you, let’s get rollin’…
I have had the opportunity with my position at Fellowship Church, and background being a preacher’s kid, to talk to and be exposed to all types of churches, denominations, and styles of ministry from all over the country. And my experience has been that too often I see the same old thing, done the same old way.
There is nothing more disheartening for me to see than a dead church. Not reaching anyone, and much more interested in keeping the saved then reaching the lost. Not willing to even entertain any type of change that might bring what they are doing into this century because they are too caught up in their holy huddle and quite frankly are just fine with it. I think it is way time that we get it together, look at how we have done it in the past, and start “Pimpin’ it out”.
I feel that the central problem with the church's way of doing ministry is their refusal to change. This is some new phenomenon; the Bible addresses this in Acts with the struggle between the Holy Spirit and the people running the church. Over and over again, God tried to move out through the church to reach the multitude of lost people outside the church. But he was met by over-conservative foot-dragging Christian believers who were not willing to change. Acts 10 and 11 are some of the clearest passages on this unfortunate tendency.
Bishop T.D. Jakes summed this up really well, “If you always do what you have always done, then you will always be where you have always been”. It seems so simple, but today’s churches are trying to fight today’s fight with yesterday’s weapons and are getting nowhere and we are losing the battle. Hundreds of years-old music, strange seats, stained glass, and a language people can't understand. These things don't do the church any good in accomplishing its mission and they alienate and confuse the un-churched. And still, the church refuses to change! Our culture continues to move forward, but in the church the anthem is the same, "It is written, Thou shalt not change”.
Here are some things that I think are key to consider when making change in ministry:
Know Your Scene
When shaping your ministry, what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like, take a hard look and study the culture around you. These are obviously the people you are trying to reach. For example, if you are smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley with genxr’s and techies, the entire worship experience should be shaped, tailored, and communicated in a way to reach that culture and the needs of it. By relating to the culture you will have a better opportunity to reach them. The tough part is that relevance and culture are moving targets and it will take continual change to keep your ministry relevant.
The Dubs
Have you been driving down the road and ever seen a Lincoln Navigator with brand new twenty-inch rims (dubs) with spinners? Cool huh? Where your ministry happens needs to be physically and audibly appealing. The context of ministry is just as important as the message. We can not make people accept Christ, but we can create comfortable and appealing environments that will hopefully allow the Holy Spirit to work in them.
The business world really understands this concept. Is there anyone better at this than Disney? They know there target audience and create a creative, interactive, appealing, and ever-changing environment to engage and attract their audience.
The Engine
While I think all of that change is important, one area that I do not think there is room for compromise it the engine (theology). The thing to overcome here is to be able to separate theology from methodology. You don’t compromise doctrine, just try and create relevant, engaging, and appealing environments to communicate the life changing message of Christ.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
SysInternals
The SysInternals web site is a great site if you're interested in things like processes, logging, passwords, security and so forth. Some excellent free utilities and code (all in C, but enough to get you started) for all varieties of Windows too.
http://www.sysinternals.com/
http://www.sysinternals.com/
Saturday, August 07, 2004
The Purpose Driven Family
I am sure by now that most people have heard of the book, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. Well, I know at least 20 million of you have. In this book Rick Warren discusses finding your purpose in life and re-focusing your life on the plan and life that God has in store for each of us.
The book has inspired me to do something in my own family to bring purpose and focus back to our family. I feel that our family unit has become cluttered with to many branches, and that many are keeping us from growing in the areas that we should. There are so many things these days that allure and prevent growth personally, spiritually, and of course as a family. With the allure of television, video games, extra-curricular activities, and the internet just to name a few. Each of these has the intention of attracting thoughts, minds, and resources from you and your family. They spend millions of dollars in developing advertising, creative programming, games, to do so, and they do it well.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all of these things are of the devil and that there will be gnashing of teeth should you do any of these things. What I am saying that un-checked that not just these things, but a lot of things can get in the way of what we were put here to do. Now that part, I know the devil has a hand in. Anything to distract us from what Gods has for us the devil will use against us. For us this was not immediate, but a very gradual process, which is typical of you know who. He does not necessarily want us to jump of the deep end immediately; he is just fine with a slow gradual draw much like the Millennium Falcon being pulled in by the tractor beam of the Death Star.
I am at the point where I have seen too many things in our lives that have got in the way. But, what do I do now? What changes do I make? How do I get our focus back on the things that God would have us do? As the leader of the family I had to figure this out.
After much prayer about this, here is what I came up with. We are going to have a Purpose Driven Family with a 30 Days of family focus. We are immediately going to cut certain things out of our lives for 30 days and get our focus back. I have decided make these changes immediately for the whole family:
Cut television entirely
No Video Games
No Computer or internet use at all
Addition of daily journaling (prayer or personal)
Daily age appropriate bible study
Weekly family meetings to talk about where we are and how it’s going
Now comes the hard part, how do I communicate this to a 7 year old girl, a 12 year old by boy, and my wife? After much deliberation and prayer and trying to make it harder than it is, which is typical of us men, God gave me a plan. I gathered the family we prayed and I gave each of them a quick questionnaire. It asked things like:
1. What is some of your favorite things to do?
2. What is a new book or series that you would like to read?
3. What is something that you would like to improve on?
4. What is something that you have wanted to do but have not found the time?
5. Who are your friends that you play with or talk to most of the time?
6. Who is someone that you know but would like get to know better?
7. What do you spend most of you your time doing while you are at home?
Read this verse:
John Chapter 15 verse 2
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
What do you think this verse means?
There were more but the idea of it is I wanted to get a gauge for where we were individually of what is important to us and how we spend our time trying to make the things important to us really important. As well as when I hear the “I’m bored and have nothing to do”, I have a list of stuff right here. I know it’s presumptuous and sneaky, but what can I say. Part of it also was goal setting, and part of it was the realization that the things that we say are important to us we do not show it in how we live or spend our time or efforts. Hopefully this will give us something to come back to in 30 days to see how it has changed.
God put this verse on my heart to illustrate what we were doing. We were cutting off the branches of our family tree that were taking away from our “tree food”, so that our other branches like spending time with family, personal bible study, spending time with mom and dad could grow. The 12 year old picked it up real quick, but it took the 7 year old a little time, but she got it. She explained that the tree can only take so much food and water and that it could only grow so much. So if we cut off some of the bad limbs, that our good limbs could grow bigger and better. She got it! They all got it! Shame on me for expecting moans and groans about what we were doing.
We were almost done. The last thing that we did was we took an item representing each of the things that we were giving up (such as a remote control) and laid them on the table. We each put our hands on them and prayed for God to release us of the control that these things have brought to us and bring focus back to our family.
Everything has been going so well, and I am so thankful for the family that God has given to me to enjoy.
The book has inspired me to do something in my own family to bring purpose and focus back to our family. I feel that our family unit has become cluttered with to many branches, and that many are keeping us from growing in the areas that we should. There are so many things these days that allure and prevent growth personally, spiritually, and of course as a family. With the allure of television, video games, extra-curricular activities, and the internet just to name a few. Each of these has the intention of attracting thoughts, minds, and resources from you and your family. They spend millions of dollars in developing advertising, creative programming, games, to do so, and they do it well.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all of these things are of the devil and that there will be gnashing of teeth should you do any of these things. What I am saying that un-checked that not just these things, but a lot of things can get in the way of what we were put here to do. Now that part, I know the devil has a hand in. Anything to distract us from what Gods has for us the devil will use against us. For us this was not immediate, but a very gradual process, which is typical of you know who. He does not necessarily want us to jump of the deep end immediately; he is just fine with a slow gradual draw much like the Millennium Falcon being pulled in by the tractor beam of the Death Star.
I am at the point where I have seen too many things in our lives that have got in the way. But, what do I do now? What changes do I make? How do I get our focus back on the things that God would have us do? As the leader of the family I had to figure this out.
After much prayer about this, here is what I came up with. We are going to have a Purpose Driven Family with a 30 Days of family focus. We are immediately going to cut certain things out of our lives for 30 days and get our focus back. I have decided make these changes immediately for the whole family:
Cut television entirely
No Video Games
No Computer or internet use at all
Addition of daily journaling (prayer or personal)
Daily age appropriate bible study
Weekly family meetings to talk about where we are and how it’s going
Now comes the hard part, how do I communicate this to a 7 year old girl, a 12 year old by boy, and my wife? After much deliberation and prayer and trying to make it harder than it is, which is typical of us men, God gave me a plan. I gathered the family we prayed and I gave each of them a quick questionnaire. It asked things like:
1. What is some of your favorite things to do?
2. What is a new book or series that you would like to read?
3. What is something that you would like to improve on?
4. What is something that you have wanted to do but have not found the time?
5. Who are your friends that you play with or talk to most of the time?
6. Who is someone that you know but would like get to know better?
7. What do you spend most of you your time doing while you are at home?
Read this verse:
John Chapter 15 verse 2
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
What do you think this verse means?
There were more but the idea of it is I wanted to get a gauge for where we were individually of what is important to us and how we spend our time trying to make the things important to us really important. As well as when I hear the “I’m bored and have nothing to do”, I have a list of stuff right here. I know it’s presumptuous and sneaky, but what can I say. Part of it also was goal setting, and part of it was the realization that the things that we say are important to us we do not show it in how we live or spend our time or efforts. Hopefully this will give us something to come back to in 30 days to see how it has changed.
God put this verse on my heart to illustrate what we were doing. We were cutting off the branches of our family tree that were taking away from our “tree food”, so that our other branches like spending time with family, personal bible study, spending time with mom and dad could grow. The 12 year old picked it up real quick, but it took the 7 year old a little time, but she got it. She explained that the tree can only take so much food and water and that it could only grow so much. So if we cut off some of the bad limbs, that our good limbs could grow bigger and better. She got it! They all got it! Shame on me for expecting moans and groans about what we were doing.
We were almost done. The last thing that we did was we took an item representing each of the things that we were giving up (such as a remote control) and laid them on the table. We each put our hands on them and prayed for God to release us of the control that these things have brought to us and bring focus back to our family.
Everything has been going so well, and I am so thankful for the family that God has given to me to enjoy.