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Blog: Claudia Imhoff

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The Dog Days Are Here...

It's official -- the Dog Days of summer are here. It is hotter than blazes here in Colorado (and I imagine just about everywhere else). So I thought a bit of cool trivia was needed. Who knows the origin of Dog Days? If you do, post a comment with the information. If no one posts a definition, I'll post an "official" one in a few days -- after I recover from heat stroke.

Here are some things to know about Dog Days though...

Dog Days are thought to be times of great evil - stuff rotted, everyone became listless or crazy, animals got nutty or sick, and so on... The time frame consists of the 40 days from July 3 to August 11.

So -- what does this have to do with BI? Well... How about the following:

1. Probably is a bad time to start a project
2. Explains why your team/users/sponsors/vendors are at each other's throats
3. Explains the sudden dip in utilization of your environment
4. Should be avoided for your performance evaluation
5. Can have negative effects on user acceptance
6. Stops requirements gathering because no one shows up to meetings
7. Features for the next release should not be determined by vendors during this period
8. Confrontations with your (fill in the blank -- boss, spouse, user community, co-worker, neighbor, etc.) are likely.

Yes -- all sorts of bad things happen until August 11. So my advice to you is to go on an extended vacation for the next three and a half weeks. You can tell your boss that it is mandatory or else you run the high risk of catastrophic failure. That should get his/her attention and permission! (Right...) I plan to have a low profile until August 12...

By the way, this does not apply to those of you living in the Southern Hemisphere. When you know the answer to what the Dog Days are, you will understand why it doesn't work in Australia. Sorry, mates.

Yours in BI success

Claudia

Technorati Tags: Dog Days of Summer, BI, evil time

  Posted by Claudia Imhoff on July 18, 2007 2:54 PM |

Comments

Well, it has something to do with Canus Major being prominent in the heavens at that time, but it's...too...hot...to...think...Oh, wait, I'm in the Pacific Northwest where it's lovely! A couple days of misty rain have freshened up everything and everyone, and we're ready for August. Still don't remember the details about the dog star, though...

Posted by: Shelly | July 19, 2007 12:34 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in the night-time sky.

The Latin name for this star is Canicula ("little dog")

In Greek mythology, Orion's dog became Sirius. The Greeks also associated Sirius with the heat of summer: they called it Σείριος Seirios, often translated "the scorcher." The dog days of summer were also connected to Sirius.

Posted by: Jean-Luc BILLY | July 19, 2007 3:06 AM

Hurrah! We have a winner (and a half...)!! Yes, Jean-Luc Billy has the right answer regarding where the term "Dog Days" comes from. Shelly gets the "half winner" honorable mention for almost getting it right!

Congrats and thanks for responding!

Posted by: Claudia Imhoff | July 21, 2007 2:05 PM

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