Willy-Peter Schaub's Cave of Chamomile Simplicity

Redmond Sabbatical - Day 11 (D-Day ... or FiFi Day)

We have practically conquered the beachhead and "FiFi" is about to be beaten ... the "Find It Fix It" system checking initiative. This brings the first phase of a very interesting and eventful sabbatical to an end and we can look forward to many more victories in due course q;-)

So where does the "beachhead" actually come from? Well, what I refer to as paradise ... a place my wife and I spend the best holiday ever ... is a lonely atoll in the Pacific, named Truk Lagoon. For the historically interested, the paradise was once a place of frenzy, activity and sheer terror. On February 17, 1944 the American Navy, Task Force 58, unleashed a naval and aerial bombardment for two days, destroying countless aircraft on the ground and in the air, as well as around 60 ships. The result is what we know today as the "Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon", which has remained undisturbed on the bottom of the lagoon.

When starting a project I normally envisage the 2 days of what must have been sheer hell, followed by what we know today as probably the most secluded and beautiful place on Earth. While the pictures at the beginning of this blog highlight the dark times, the last photo, made by us on our 3 week wreck diving excursion, demonstrates a typical IT solution as the chaos, the terror and the activity dwindles, as the tenacious bugs are driven home and as the expected functionality magically begins to mature and blossom.

Well, "FiFi" is definitely in the blossoming stage and while we will have to invest a lot more passion, effort and commitment in the initiative, it is great to see the true value of the tool starting to show.

Enough of the waffle ... as my Geography teacher used to say ... I need to digest the "huge" steak I enjoyed with Bill Essary the exceptional TFS "guru", “mentor” and "guide", tonight and I still have to pack for tomorrow.

Why do the cases always seem smaller on the return trip?

Top seven memories of the sabbatical:

1. The passion and expertise hovering at Microsoft Corp.
2. The friendly and very competent warmware, i.e. Bill, Jeff, Brian, ...
3. FiFi q:-) ... and TFS BPA
4. PowerShell
5. Windows-Live and Desktop Search
6. The game played with a round bat and by men in tight pants ... baseball.
7. The walks from the Homestead Suites, through the beautiful Redmond campus to building 25, and back.