A few quotes from the article:

"Can you build a drug company without bricks and mortar? For a local startup biotech firm, that's not a hypothetical question."

"CoLucid has no headquarters and only four full-time workers."

"But it's rare to contract out the work of key decision-makers such as the chief medical and financial officers."

"But being virtual makes CoLucid more nimble, White says, because it can easily change personnel when business changes."

Chris' Thoughts:

Outsourcing manufacturing and services such as payroll, engineering, web design, database management, and customer service to another company has been commonplace in the last few decades.

But here is a company that is even outsourcing most of their top management including their chief medical and chief financial officers to contracted employees.

WARNING: I am going off on a tangent to explore the term virtual as it's used in this context. It's a term that has certainly evolved over time and keeps morphing in new directions in the last few years. (Please don't get me started on the current use of the word digital!)

If the companies in Second Life are virtual, than these cannot be, or has the term virtual expanded to cover this use as well.

Based on my myriad experiences in the work world, what we have here is a company with very few regular employees, and a lot of "contracted" employees. The difference here is that they are contracting high-level employees that would normally be regular employees of the business.

The "virtual" in this case is that you don't have a big building where everyone comes to work with a sign out front and everything. The Internet has opened the possibilities for new business models like this one where a corporate building is not necessary.

And they found that they could outsource the top management positions as well, which seems odd to me since now you have contracted employees, who could have little allegiance to the company except that they want to keep getting a paycheck, making some top-level key decisions for the company.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that contracted employees can be let go a lot faster and easier than regular employees. An early ending to 1,000 contracts is a much different story in the press than laying off 1,000 employees.

It will be interesting to watch and see if a trend emerges.

Is this company really virtual? What's not these days?

I'm off to the North Carolina CTE Conference next week. I hope to blog here what I learn. If you come to the conference, look for my career data session on Thursday morning.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

As per msdn a CTE is defined as follows:
"A common table expression (CTE) can be thought of as a temporary result
set that is defined within the execution scope of a single SELECT,
INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or CREATE VIEW statement. A CTE is similar to a
derived table in that it is not stored as an object and lasts only for
the duration of the query. Unlike a derived table, a CTE can be
self-referencing and can be referenced multiple times in the same query."

Using a CTE offers the advantages of improved readability and ease in maintenance of complex queries.
- you may of course use nested SELECT statements in your query, but this can quickly get messy.

The basic structure of a CTE:
-- ========================================
WITH expression_name [(column_1, column_2, ...n)]
AS
(CTE_query_definition)

Example:

WITH myTable
AS
(Select CustomerID, TotalOrders = COUNT(OrderID), TotalOrderAmount = SUM(OrderAmount), AverageOrderAmount = SUM(OrderAmount)/COUNT(OrderID)
From Orders Group by CustomerID)

-- You can then do with your CTE what you like: SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, UDPATE, JOIN to other tables...
SELECT CustomerName, CustomerAddress, TotalOrders, TotalOrderAmount, AverageOrderAmount
FROM myTable m INNER JOIN Customers c
ON m.CutsomerID = c.CustomerID
--================================================================================

The above is just an example, and could of course, be done a number of different ways. The point was to demonstrate what you could do with a CTE.

All that is left to do now is wrap the code in a Create View Statement and that's it.

There are many other (& better) uses for CTE's, but I found this to be a great one. It keeps the code neat and tidy, and you are able to step through each part of your query simply in order to get you result. Which is great if you are still learning, or ensuring that your code is readable by the next developer to come across it. Don't forget: "Comments are King!"

Columbia, South Carolina'da dünyaya gelen Jay Jenkins, çoğu Gangsta Rapper'dan duymaya alışkın olduğumuz türden bir hayat hikayesine sahip. 12 yaşındayken uyuşturucu satıcılığına başlayan Crip rapper, ileriki yıllarda çocukluğunun ne kadar boş geçtiğini farkedip rap'e yönelmiş ve ilk underground albümü olan, "Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.)"i Lil J ismiyle piyasaya sunmuş. Lil Jon'ın da desteğiyle çıkan albümü dinledikten sonra Jeezy'nin ses tonunun bile zamanla evrim geçirdiğini farkettim. 2003 yılında yayınlanan "Come Shop Wit Me"nin bir underground albüm için önemli bir rakam olan 50.000 adet satmasının ardından Jeezy kendine katılacak bir grup da bulmuştu. Bad Boy'un "Boyz N Da Hood" isimli grubuna katılan Jeezy, daha sonrasında bazı anlaşmazlıklar yüzünden gruptan ayrıldı. Yerine getirelen Gorilla Zoe'dan ise başka bir yazıda bahsetmek isterim. Şimdiki grubu U.S.D.A.'den daha umutlu olduğumuz da aşikar. CTE bünyesinde yeni yeteneklere de imkan sağlayan Jeezy'nin artık gerçek bir patron olduğunu gözlemliyoruz.

Çoğumuza göre en başarılı Jeezy albümü olan "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101"dan bahsetmeden geçmek olmaz! "And Then What", "Soul Survivor", "My Hood", "Trap Star", "Go Crazy" ve "Trap or Die" gibi başarılı single'ları ve albümün tamamına sinmiş "street" havası ile döneminin en popüler albümlerinden biri olan bu çalışmayı hala ara sıra mp3 player'ımızda dinlemeye devam ediyoruz. Bu LP'nin başarısı öyle büyük oldu ki o günden sonra Jeezy South'ın superstar'ları arasındaki yerini edindi ve belirli bir hayran kitlesine sahip, sürekli takip edilen isimlerden biri oldu. Zaten günümüzün en popüler South Sider'larını düşününce (Luda, Weezy, T.I. vb.) listeye mutlaka Jeezy'yi de ekliyoruz.

Üçüncü overground solo albümü "The Recession"ı ise merakla bekliyoruz. Öyle ki ard arda çıkardığı iki albüm olan "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" ve "The Inspiration" ile bizleri kalite açısından herhangi bir hayalkırıklığına uğratmadı. (Albüm satışlarında da başarı yakalayan bu albümler rahatlıkla 1 milyon kopyayı geçmiş ve Jeezy'ye birer adet Platinum Plak kazandırmışlardı.) Umuyoruz ki "The Recession" da en az diğer albümleri kadar başarılı olur. Albüm için yayılanan ilk single'ı olan "Put On" şarkısını dinledikten sonra beklemeye değer diyoruz...

The first thing that really caught my eye was question Q8, which asked "If you had to choose, which one subject do you think students should spend more time studying in school?" The respondents were given 11 choices plus an "other" category. Conspicuously missing from the list was any mention of CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses. In fact, I would have been happy with a mention of the archaic "vocational ed" term.

It's really no big surprise that the respondents selected Mathematics (38%) and English (21%) as the top choices. "Other" was a distant third place with only 10% of the vote.

Yet, back in question Q7, 77% of the respondents said that the problem of schools "placing emphasis on the wrong subject" was somewhat or very serious.

The responders ask for more math and English not realizing that NCLB (No Child Left Behind) forces the schools to emphasize math and English in order to increase scores on standardized tests in those areas. But do these standardized tests really prepare the kids for the real world?

What we really need is more applied math and English. When a student does poorly in math class, the prevailing opinion in education is to get the student a tutor and sign him up for an additional math class. This is like if the kid doesn't like to eat peas, then make him eat more peas!

What we need to do with the kid who is struggling in math or English is to get him into a CTE or art (visual, music, theater, dance) class where English and math are learned because they are applied to class activities, and applied in such a manner as to have real-world applications that the students will remember for years to come.

Hide the peas in a casserole, or sprinkle frozen peas on top of ice cream. That's applied peas versus "peas for the sake of peas."

Q14A got me going too. "If all Americans graduated from a two or four year college, what effect do you think that would have on the overall economy?" 84% of the respondent said that it would "help the economy."

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (table I-1), only 26.1% of all job openings projected from 2006 to 2016 require a two or four year college degree.

74% of the jobs projected through 2016 do NOT require a two or more year degree, yet the public perception is that the economy would be helped if 100% of Americans got the education required for only 26.1% of the jobs. The only sector of the economy that this would help is the college sector of the economy.

Don't take my word for it, read the results yourself and see what you think.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

There is a clean solution to achieve it using CTE (Common Table Expressions) which is demonstrated below with a simple example.

The diagram below represents a parent-child hierarchy:

And the table “Persons” implements the above tree:

Here is the CTE approach (recursion) to retrieve all the descendants of a given person.

--To find all the descendants of Sam

DECLARE @parentID int;

SET @parentID = 1; --Sam

WITH Descendants (PersonID,ParentID)

AS

(

      SELECT PersonID, ParentID FROM Persons WHERE ParentID = @parentID

      UNION ALL

      SELECT Persons.PersonID, Persons.ParentID FROM Persons

            INNER JOIN Descendants ON Persons.ParentID = Descendants.PersonID

)

SELECT Persons.PersonID, Persons.Name FROM Persons

INNER JOIN Descendants

      ON Persons.PersonID = Descendants.PersonID

[Check out Ibn's blog for HQ Vid of the Perfomance!]

A few quotes from the article:

"At the typical college, only 40% of students earn their degrees in four years. The six-year graduation rate of 57% is better, but hardly impressive. Among African-American students, less than half graduate within six years. Overall, nearly a third of people older than 25 who have entered college end up with no degree (but often piles of debt) to show for it."

"When considering colleges, students and parents should look beyond rankings, grade point averages and SAT scores. What are a school's dropout and graduation rates? How satisfied are the students with their classroom experiences? Do they get jobs after they graduate?"

Chris' Thoughts:

Is anyone holding the colleges accountable for the promises they make to the potential freshmen? Do they really make any promises, or is it "society" who makes the promises, and we assume that the colleges will deliver?

I've been saying for years that half of the kids we send to college don't graduate (get their four-year degree in six years). I'm sure there are some really good reasons for this seemingly low percentage, but the reality is that high schools are sending kids to college because it's “the next thing to do," and apparently half of the kids are being sent to the wrong place.

We need to be sending kids to college because it's the right step in the student’s individual education/career plan. For those not familiar with my plan, I think that every eighth grader should create an ever-changing 10-year education/career plan that will take that student through postsecondary education to a successful entry into a career. I refer to it as the “Where do you want to be at age 25?" plan.

Kids need to go to college because it fits their education/career plan, not because “everyone else is doing it,” and so mom and dad can brag about it at the country club!

Stephen Covey reminds us to "begin with the end in mind." To me that means you pick a career, talk to people in that career field, and then let your future colleagues help you decide what kind of postsecondary education you need to achieve your goals.

Don't let your goal be just a college degree. Your goal should be a successful entry into the occupation of your choice, a family, house, car, and anything else you need for your "perfect life." Work backwards from the end (think Covey!) and find out what kind of education you need to get there! It might be very different if you choose your education first, and then looked for a job later on like most people do.

Find the college graduation rates at US colleges and universities.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

New Mixtape from The Prime Minister of The South, Hosted by DJ Infamous

LINK after the jump...

1. I'm Here
2. Put On
3. Black Dreams (Freestyle)
4. Translator
5. Out Here Grinding
6. Entertained (Freestyle)
7. Prime Minister (Exclusive)
8. Job For
9. CTE Freestyle
10. Serious (Freestyle)
11. Legal (Exclusive)
12. Lollipop (Freestyle)

LINK

via Def Sounds

Multi-platinum, award winning rapper Young Jeezy announced today the launch of USDA2Day.com, a new blog & social networking site created by the hip hop star to serve as "the official media source for the hood." (UPDATE: COMING SOON)

Available on the site will be daily updates with breaking news stories. Also, there will be new music by Jeezy and artists signed to his record label imprint CTE including rapper and USDA member Blood Raw, who will be making his solo major label debut with the CTE/Def Jam release of My Life The True Testimony on June 17th. Blood Raw's debut features the summer's street anthem, "Louie" featuring Young Jeezy.

A few quotes from the article:

"(The high school graduate's) dream, in most instances, has been shaped by the advice of a parent or a school counselor that college is not an option - it's imperative if one is to be a success in life."

"A majority of the class of 2008, nearly 65 percent, will join their classmates this fall at a college or university because many simply don't know what else to do with their lives."

"Sadly, many still will not know what they want to do when they complete their studies. More often than not, this dilemma will be somewhat resolved by enrolling in graduate school. Their rationale is that an advanced degree will make them more competitive in the marketplace."

"Ultimately, teens have to ask themselves where they want to go in terms of a career, and then ask themselves if college is the best vehicle to take them there, as opposed to a technical school and apprenticeship program, or even the military."

"By eighth grade, all students should have taken part in curricular or extracurricular activities that help them pinpoint several tentative career interests that they can pursue after high school. Having organized a successful career day, I can attest to the value of inviting professionals to speak to our ninth and 10th graders who came away with a better understanding of the "world of work.""

Chris' Thoughts:

This is what I've been saying for years. The general public needs to wake up and realize that a four-year college degree is more about parental bragging rights than it is about preparing students for a career.

We need to be preparing the future workforce for the jobs that will actually exist rather then the old-fashioned way of "What looks like a fun college major?"

I started my college education in Electrical Engineering because I was good at math and liked building electronic kits from Radio Shack. I had never met an electrical engineer, and really had no idea what they did on a daily basis, but there I was, along with lots of other geeky freshman, spending lots of money to get a degree in electrical engineering. Finally I wised up, followed my passion and got into education, where the real money is!

We are in a position to help prepare our future workforce. Kids need to explore all of the careers, not just the ones around them. Kids need to take career interest and skills inventories so they can start investigating careers that they may not have even considered, but might be well suited for.

And most importantly, the kids need to get out into the workforce through job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, etc, and talk to adults about careers. Kids need to know about the world of work before they can plan their postsecondary education.

We need more people like this author, David A. Knepper, getting our message out to the public.

The decision to go to college should be because it supports your career goal, not because it's the next thing to do after high school.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

The New West Movement dahilinde tanıdığımız bir diğer isim de Roccett. Sık sık mixtape'ler ile karşımıza çıkan rapper'ın henüz resmi bir albümü yok. 2007 senesine kadar herhangi bir label ile masaya oturmamış olan genç MC, sonrasında imzaladığı sözleşme ile Southern Rap'in sevilen isimlerinden Young Jeezy'nin kanatları altında CTE stüdyolarında kariyerine devam ediyor. Görülen o ki Jeezy LA'deyken şahit olduğu bir freestyle show'undan etkilenerek CTE ailesine dahil ettiği genç MC'ye sonuna kadar da destek olacak!

Kısa ama yeni yetme bir MC için etkileyici olan kariyerine baktığımızda dönüm noktası Jeezy ile tanışmasından sonraki diğer büyük bir olay da West'in önde gelen DJ'lerinden DJ Warrior ile mixtape hazırlamasıydı. Benim de favori Roccett mixtape'im olan "Colors" isimli çalışmasını mutlaka edinmeniz gerekiyor.

Roccett'in şu ana kadar çalıştığı isimler arasında Spider Loc, CTE üyeleri, Killa Mike, Gorilla Zoe, Mistah FAB, Young Buck, Akon, Manson ve bazı underground MC'ler bulunuyor. Peki onun sevdiği, ilham aldığı isimler kimler? 2007'de yaptığı bir röportajda bu soru yöneltildiğinde ilk olarak 2PAC diyor; Common, Jay-Z, Nas, Dre ve Cube'ü de eklemeyi unutmuyor.

Peki Roccett'i özel kılan nedir? Akılda kalıcı bir ses, smooth flow ve kendisinde gördüğüm "geliştirilebilir potansiyel". Kendisinin de söylediği gibi o "lirik" konusunda elinden geleni yapmaya gayret ediyor, bu sebeple de umut vaadediyor.

Bu arada, isminden de anlaşılacağı üzere kendisi bir LA Crips üyesidir. ;)

İşte en son çıkardığı mixtape'i:

Download: Roccett - Corporate America - 2008
Şifre: www.hiphopbanks.com

/*
Description: Sample script that shows paging using T-SQL Server 2005. It is utilizing CTE and the new function ROW_NUMBER()
Remarks:
*/

declare @page int;
set @page = 3;

declare @size int;
set @size = 4;

declare @sort_column varchar(50);
set @sort_column = 'last_name';

with result_set as (
    select
        row_number() over (
            order by
                case
                    when @sort_column = 'first_name' then first_name
                    when @sort_column = 'last_name' then last_name
                    when @sort_column = 'company' then company
                    when @sort_column = 'email' then email
                    else cast(no as varchar(50))
                end asc
        ) as row,
        first_name, last_name, company, email
    from dbo.contacts )

select *
from result_set
where row between (((@page * @size) - @size) + 1) and (@page * @size);

Happy coding!

I have some strong opinions about what I read. This article received 617 reader comments during the 72 hours after it was published. Here is comment number 618.

A few quotes from the article:

"It's graduation time and once again we say "Stand back all bosses!" A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie."

"how to deal with this generation that only takes "yes" for an answer?"

"The workplace has become a psychological battlefield and the millennials have the upper hand, because they are tech savvy, with every gadget imaginable almost becoming an extension of their bodies. They multitask, talk, walk, listen and type, and text. And their priorities are simple: they come first."

"It's their way or the highway. The rest of us are old, redundant, should be retired."

"Today, fewer and fewer middle class kids hold summer jobs because mowing lawns does not get you into Harvard."

"they've never punched a time clock. They have no idea what it's like to actually be in an office at nine o'clock, with people handing them work,"

"You now have a generation coming into the workplace that has grown up with the expectation that they will automatically win, and they'll always be rewarded, even for just showing up,"

""Where does this fantasy about 'I'm going to find the dream job' -- there's no such thing as a dream job. I mean, a few of us like me happen to have it. But where does this fantasy come from?" Safer asks Dorsey. "

"Family and friends are the new priorities, while blind careerism is beginning to fade."

Chris' Thoughts:

Who stuck a gun to the head of these employers and forced them to hire these lazy employees. Are these the same employers who strongly encourage hard-working older employees to retire early so they can hire these lazy kids? If the reporter got this right, then it's the employers who should be criticized, not the kids. The millennials are acting the way they are because the employers allow it.

If our current employers don't hire these kids, they are going to get together on FaceBook or Second Life and create their own company that makes sense to their generation. Maybe it's time for the big dinosaur-like companies to close up shop. This next generation does not seem to need them.

What's wrong with a focus on family and friends rather than on career? Don't happy people make happy employees?

Pointing the finger at Mister Rogers for telling a generation that they are "special" is not what has lead to the trouble in the workplace. I grew up with Mister Rogers, and I'm not the lazy bum that the author describes. Everyone is special, and we all need to help this next generation realize the special gift that they have, that when used appropriately, can make the world a better place in which to live.

School-to-Career educators, it's our job to help find that special quality in each kid that can be turned into a fruitful and rewarding career.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

WORK will begin on Monday to widen the Central Expressway (CTE), but officials say the construction will cause minimal delays on Singapore's busiest thoroughfare.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will add a fourth lane on both sides of a 1.5km stretch between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

The work, which will cost $16.9 million, is scheduled to last till the end of next year. The LTA said for most of that time, the expressway's six lanes will remain open.

However, it will close after 11pm on some nights for repaving and to remove an overhead pedestrian crossing.

This is the first phase of a plan to ease congestion on the CTE, which is plagued by traffic jams during morning and evening peak periods.

The Ministry of Transport hopes the work, together with the opening of the Circle Line, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and North-South Expressway, will ease congestion on the north-south stretch.

The LTA also plans to expand another 5.5km section of the CTE from the Pan-Island Expressway to Yio Chu Kang Road by 2011.

As part of the project, a new sheltered overhead bridge - replacing the old uncovered bridge - will be built to connect Housing Board blocks with the Serangoon Gardens private estate.

To keep the racket down, the LTA will use noise reduction blankets on its hoardings and put noise guards on machinery.

The authority will also use, for the first time, a more costly method of installing pipes running under the roads.

Unlike the usual 'cut-and- cover' method, where motorists have to be redirected to their lanes, the pipes are laid underground without the need to tear up lanes.

Source : Straits Times - 31 May 2008

WORK will begin on Monday to widen the Central Expressway (CTE), but officials say the construction will cause minimal delays on Singapore's busiest thoroughfare.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will add a fourth lane on both sides of a 1.5km stretch between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

The work, which will cost $16.9 million, is scheduled to last till the end of next year. The LTA said for most of that time, the expressway's six lanes will remain open.

However, it will close after 11pm on some nights for repaving and to remove an overhead pedestrian crossing.

This is the first phase of a plan to ease congestion on the CTE, which is plagued by traffic jams during morning and evening peak periods.

The Ministry of Transport hopes the work, together with the opening of the Circle Line, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and North-South Expressway, will ease congestion on the north-south stretch.

The LTA also plans to expand another 5.5km section of the CTE from the Pan-Island Expressway to Yio Chu Kang Road by 2011.

As part of the project, a new sheltered overhead bridge - replacing the old uncovered bridge - will be built to connect Housing Board blocks with the Serangoon Gardens private estate.

To keep the racket down, the LTA will use noise reduction blankets on its hoardings and put noise guards on machinery.

The authority will also use, for the first time, a more costly method of installing pipes running under the roads.

Unlike the usual 'cut-and- cover' method, where motorists have to be redirected to their lanes, the pipes are laid underground without the need to tear up lanes.

Source : Straits Times - 31 May 2008

A few quotes from the article:

"Over the past decade or so, though, courses under the CTE umbrella have been revamped, tailored to the modern workplace that demands workers with a higher degree of technical savvy."

"Such courses include bioscience, finance, television production, computer programming and, in Matthai's case, clothing design. CTE supporters argue that such courses are vital to today's economy, in which an auto mechanic needs to master computer diagnostics."

"'CTE is another way of learning," said senior Mary Eggleston. "You get some reassurance that the math you're learning you're going to use again.'"

Chris' Thoughts:

I was very pleased to read this article. It's not often that the press explains CTE in a way that doesn't sound like the old vocational education that most of us grew up with.

This article starts with a student who planned on being an orthodontist, but is now planning for a career in fashion. I've always said that it's less expensive to change your major in high school than it is in college. That's why career education needs to start before high school so we can allow our kids to start planning a career and allow them to change directions whenever they need to before they graduate from high school.

The article looks at the possible cuts in Perkins funding, and compares this to the president's No Child Left Behind legislation. The writer does a good job explaining the funding issues to the public.

All in all, this is a very positive article about CTE. We need more of these to convince the public that the careers we are preparing the kids for are not the careers they grew up with.

Please, invite the media out to your schools to see what we are doing to prepare the next workforce. Hopefully they will be surprised at what they see and want to tell the public about it.

Well, that's the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.

Description

Ready to take the next step in web site development? A full 14% of the North Carolina e-Commerce curriculum is devoted to including JavaScript, Cascading Stylesheets, Multimedia, and Java Applets in web sites. Furthermore, students love adding pop and sizzle to their web sites, so why be afraid to add them? This workshop will gently lead teachers into an understanding of JavaScript, what it is, how to work with it, and how to include it both effectively and safely in a web site.

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