Waiting for Spring

by Larry Eiss

Riding home on the train the other night I was struck by the fact that during the southern part of the ride it seemed to be spring, while in the more northern portion it was clearly still winter.

Down south there was no snow anywhere and migratory waterfowl were floating blissfully on the newly open waterways. From my window I could see common mergansers in their breeding plumage, mallard ducks, green-winged teals, hooded mergansers, and even Swans. Here the first growth of spring was evidenced in sprouting ground plants, maple trees and forsythia bushes. The addition of green leaflets, red buds, and yellow blossoms to the otherwise brown landscape fairly screamed of promise.

As the train progressed north, the forest floor was paused in anticipation as the first plants prepared to emerge from hibernation. Waterfowl sightings grew more infrequent, but the occasional deer could be seen foraging for anything green. The world seemed suspended between seasons, uncertain of which way the weather might turn.

Moving north further still, the view continued to change until open water was a rarity and several inches of snow still blanketed the ground.  Even there, however, signs of spring were visible to the diligent seeker. At one point a flowing current had opened a small pond-like area in an otherwise frozen alcove. In that small area were hundreds of mallards. They sat there in close quarters waiting for spring. Farther north still I observed robins hopping after early-worms and even a few eastern bluebirds flitting from tree to ground and back again.

At home the days are steadily warming. Two days of temperatures in the 60s, have reduced nearly a foot of snow by half. Earth is even visible in patches now. Soon there will be nibs of Lilly and Iris, blooming daffodils, and sprouting tulips. By the time our annual Summit conference is underway, the rains will be mostly over. Spring will be in full bloom even here in the northeast.

Currently, snow and cold rains conspire to convince me that winter may linger and warmth delay, but in the end I know that the sun will once again prevail as its angle to our latitudes becomes increasingly acute.

Spring promises renewal of life, and freedom from winter confines. No longer must we eschew comfort and don bulky coverings to venture outside. Birds sing new tunes and molt into brighter plumage adorning the landscape with jewels of color. Warm breezes rustle newly unfurled leaves. Rabbits and robins race to and fro. Bird babies lift wrinkly skinheads on wobbly necks awaiting “prepared” snacks from parents. Grass grows, bees buzz, and in a million little ways life seems more beautiful.

One of those million little ways is WebFOCUS 7.6.1.  In this issue of the Newsletter you’ll find several articles on features added to Release 7.6 yielding spring-like brightness to an already outstanding BI suite. 

Our engineers touched lots of little areas (and a couple not so little) to spruce up the product and add highly valuable functionality in interesting areas from ReportCaster to Power Painter.  (Author’s note: Please take note of the author’s self-control in not writing the more obvious, if less factual, “ad-hoc to zSeries.”)

From where I sit, spring is a joyous celebration of freshness, renewal, and life.  WebFOCUS 7.6.1 is one way we’re trying to contribute to the merriment.