Lance Greenfield's Blog, page 30
March 20, 2019
Book Review: The Pocket Statistician by Shirley Coleman and Tony Greenfield
The Pocket Statistician: A Practical Guide To Quality Improvement by Shirley Coleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you are an engineer, or an operations manager in a manufacturing plant, or anyone else who does not have an academic grounding in statistical methods but would like to use such methods for quality improvement, then this could well be the perfect book for you. It explains, in simple language, how you can use statistical process control and design of experiments to make rapid, significant, measurable improvements to whatever processes underpin your business.
The data that you need to work through the examples is provided on an accompanying CD. Once you have worked your way through the book, it is great to keep on your desk as a handbook as you implement your improvement programme.
A small book, as the title implies, but packed with useful information.
March 18, 2019
Flutter Away
Originally, I wrote this for my BFF when the spirit of her mother, whom she called her ‘Little Bird’, finally rose from her frail, Earthly body and flew off into the universe, joyfully free.
For some inexplicable reason, I awoke this morning with this poem swirling around inside my head. I just had to re-share it with you.
A tribute to a little bird, who became weaker, and smaller, until eventually, she fluttered away to grace the universe with her beauty.
I found you at the bottom of my garden.
You were very weak.
You tiny little bird.
Did you fall from your nest?
I took you indoors,
And put you in a shoebox.
You would not eat the worms that I caught,
But you took a few drops of milk.
You grew stronger.
Day by day,
You grew stronger.
But your wings were broken.
I hoped that you’d survive,
But I knew that you would die.
Your eyes sparkled at me,
But I knew that you would die.
Your spirit grew stronger,
But your body became weaker.
Even the milk dribbled onto your feathers.
I knew that you would die.
I watched as your spirit rose
From your failing body.
You fluttered away, joyfully free,
Into the…
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March 16, 2019
Book Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This must be the saddest book that I have read for a very long time. The writing is superb. The prose is exquisite and the research adds great authenticity to the characters and to the scenes, which are set in seventeenth century Amsterdam. The atmosphere is palpable and the action is intense.
I became immersed in the characters and quite attached to some of them.
The cruelty and brutality of the protestant religious leaders of the Dutch Republic is appalling. They flex their man-made power in the name of God and they wallow in the satisfaction that the get from their unchallengeable authority. Even the wealth of the merchants is trumped by the pastors.
I loved the mystery that surrounded the wonderful craftmanship of the miniaturist who supplies tiny replicas of people and objects which predict actual events. She is seldom seen and is a prophet of reality. That is rather scary at times.
The story is gripping. This book kept me awake until well after one in the morning on several occasions.
For me, because of the background, the scene-setting, the religious undertones, the character-building and the starkness of society, The Miniaturist struck echoes of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. I mean that as a huge complement to the writing of Jessie Burton.
For a while, I wavered between awarding four stars or five stars because I became irritated by the number of missing inverted commas and apostrophes. However, it would have been very unfair to award less than five stars to a book that gripped me from beginning to end and stirred my emotions so much that I wept many tears for the tragedy.
You must read this book.
March 12, 2019
Simple Yet Wise
Over the years, I have collected quotes which resonate with me.
I use them, whenever they are relevant, in my presentations and in my writing.
In this post, I bring five of my favourites to you.
I believe that they all carry significant meaning in these troubled times.
Please use the Comments section to let me know what thoughts they stir in your mind as you read through them.
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“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people”
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
This is relevant to all bloggers. We can only appreciate the true value of your expert opinion and advice if we can understand what you are telling us. The real genius is not in the cleverness of what you have to tell us. It is in your ability to explain it to a bunch of five year-olds.
“Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.”
Finagle
This quote is generally accredited to Finagle* but is also listed as one of many Murphy’s Laws. Whatever your opinion on the much-discussed Brexit, I think that you’ll agree that this quote is particularly applicable to all the attempts to negotiate ‘an agreement.’
* I am unable to discover Finagle’s identity. Can any readers inform the rest of us?
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“Whether you think that you can or you think that you can’t, you are right.”
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Almost all of the bloggers that I follow tell me about the positive changes that they make in their lives and I never cease to be inspired. Underlying all of those blogs is a self-belief that the author CAN achieve their goals.
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“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
I too learned much more out of school, travelling around our wonderful planet, than I ever did inside of school.
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There is great truth in Lincoln’s words.
March 5, 2019
Book Review: The Dangerous Book for Boys by Hal and Conn Iggulden
The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don’t think that I can say much more than that this book brought me some very happy childhood memories. It also told me about a few adventures that I could have got into had this book been around at the time.
There was a children’s encyclopedia around when I was young, which contained many similar suggestions. I wish that I still had it.
Anyway, this book is bound to have the same reminiscent effect on anyone who was growing up before children entertained themselves with computer games, and maybe it ought to be bought for our current young generation too!
March 4, 2019
Scatter my Ashes
. . . I posted a page with a direction to this poem on my Titbits tab.
A few people liked that post without, apparently, following the link to read the poem itself. So, I have decided to post my poem at the top level of my blog.
Please let me know what you think of it.
Hint: You’ll “hear” it better if you read it out loud.
The Special Rock of Bonar Bridge
incorporating lines from Elisabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet 43
Scatter my ashes on my rock,
On my rock where I played.
With Grandpa at the back of our croft,
On the rock on my hill
At the back of Rhinamain,
On my heather-strewn hill: Lydsurach.
Promise me, that you’ll scatter my ashes
On my rock on Lydsurach,
Where I played with Grandpa
And my lovely collie dog – Meg.
She was killed by an adder.
I can still hear her howl.
So, we scattered Mum’s ashes
On that rock where she played
With my great granddad,
Clearances’ hero,
Behind his croft, Rhinamain.
A few words from my sister.
Some tears from my Gran.
Uncle Chris splashed whisky:
Uisge beatha – water of life
On her rock – on Lydsurach.
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I recite, out of context – sonnet forty-three
But THIS love was Mum and me.
I shall but love thee better after death.
Low-flying tornadoes roared over us.
“Trust June to arrange her own fly past!”
Quipped Uncle Chris.
. . .
Her spirit bird rose, as her ashes scattered
Over her rock at the back of our croft.
A Poem for Mum: Bonar Rock
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This is a poem that I wrote last year and recited during the Poetry Open Mic Evening at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School 2018. It is about the scattering of my Mum’s ashes.
I posted it on my blog, but it has had no hits. That is probably because it is hidden away under my Titbits tab. If you like this or you are ready for a few COL (chuckle out loud) moments, you should take a few minutes to explore some of the short items in the Titbits section. Please leave comments to let me know what you think.
Follow this link to read my poem: Bonar Rock
I hope that you like it
Views from an Ordinary Life
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Andover town centre
Celandine Grove – Beside the path where I was walking the dogs
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Path behind Andover War Memorial Hospital
March 3, 2019
Book Review: A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It is fairly obvious, right from the start, that there will be a happy ending to this story.
What kept me gripped was wondering how it could ever be possible to achieve that outcome. The author introduces several conflicts, some of which seem impossible to resolve. That takes very skilful writing. So, well done, Sue Moorcroft!
The characters, and the interactions between them, keep the reader enthralled. The pace is very good and there are plenty of twists and turns and bumps along the road. The main story is about the endeavours of Georgine to produce the stage performance of A very Kerry Christmas, Uncle Jones at the Acting Instrumental college in Middledip village. There is something vaguely familiar about her new assistant, Joe Blackthorn, but it takes a while to work out what it is.
Joe is a much more complex character than even Georgine can imagine. There is more to him than immediately meets the eye. His childhood was troubled, but his fortunes have been completely reversed, in a good way. He is now a somewhat secret philanthropist. By contrast, Georgine’s life has gone in completely the opposite direction. As a child, she was privileged and without financial worries. She is now plagued by debt, mostly brought upon her by her ex-boyfriend, and is harassed by debt-collectors.
The on-off relationship between Joe and Georgine, fuelled by misunderstandings and secrecy, is at the core of the story, but I was more intrigued by the interactions between Georgine and her sister, Blair. Sibling love and conflict abound. It makes for great reading.
I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to all as a holiday read, regardless of season.
Don’t wait for Christmas. Read it now.
Roots to Cosmos
In the centre of the coppice on top of the hill, I sit, alone, on the damp grass. As the light of dawn had filled the sky, making the stars disappear, the rain had died to a soft, silken drizzle. My damp clothes are draped over the branches of a nearby tree. I have no fear of being disturbed. For almost ten years, I have been coming here to find peace and commune with the universe. Nobody comes here at this time on a Sunday morning.
I close my eyes.
My roots descend into the earth beneath me. They explore widely and deeply, seeking the power which will rise within me like the sap rising in the trees that surround me.
The spinning sphere grows within my core. Today, I feel different colours and sounds. The most usual colours in my sphere are predominantly light turquoise with bright flashes of pale yellow and gold. Often, the main colour is purple with the flashes are red and orange. The sounds resemble the resounding dongs of bass tubular bells with the background notes of cellos and bassoons.
For the first time, in my experience, my rotating sphere is a deep navy blue with streaks of white and silver. It feels very strong as it throbs inside my tummy. The sounds are similar to wind chimes.
My skin is slick with a film that has been formed by the drizzle. It is March. I should be shivering with cold but the heat emanating from my core is reaching every point on my surface. I am glistening and glowing.
Broad ribbons of energy rise through me, entering through my root, whirling around in the growing turmoil in my core and then rising through my shoulders, arms and head to emerge into space.
The time has come. You, my eternal friend, enter my thoughts. I know when you need me to send this energy in in your direction. I focus upon you. I can feel the connection. A ship’s hawser joins us. The energy flows into you through your own root, building much-needed strength within your core before flowing to your pain points. It seems that you need relief in your ankles and wrists and in your head and neck. You have been feeling weak. Now you feel the energy and strength and happiness that universal energy brings.
Do not think that this is my energy. It is not. I am just the conduit for the energy that you desire. It is my privilege to focus it in your direction and I am gaining huge benefits as it flows through me and you and back into the universe. It loops around to come back through the earth below me in the coppice on top of the hill.
