It’s a fact: you run a business, you need a phone. And once you grow to the point where it’s more than just you, you need a phone system. It’s no secret that all the original telcos (Ma Bell and all the Baby Bells) have largely merged together again, and are seeking to get out…
Counting backward, I realized that I’ve been using my tech skills to support nonprofits off and on for the last 15 years. That’s this time around * Since separating from the Tulsa Area United Way I’ve been doing some consulting and chatting with nonprofits in Tulsa — some who are partner nonprofits and some who…
A colleague and I were chatting (okay…texting) this week about recruitment issues, and I was reminded of one of our challenges back in the Dot Com Era in Seattle. I was Director of IT during the mid-to-late 90s at a couple of higher ed institutions in the Pacific Northwest, and it was at this time…
July 9, 2019 I’ve written a lot about my enthusiasm for smart homes. My two WiFi-enabled smart thermostats, the sensor that alerts me via App when my garage door goes up or down, etc. But the US Postal Service has an offering that makes one’s physical mail smart: their free Informed Delivery Service. In the…
Lots going on lately — at the office we’ve been working on replacing staff vacancies, retool with new positions, etc. I’ve also been cleaning out and consolidating boxes, which means I find notes and documents from previous gigs. One folder contained info on an employee I had to let go. These things together make one…
Sheldon and Rose had retired, and they were taking a well-deserved luxury vacation to Australia. But on their way across the Pacific, their plane encountered mechanical difficulties and was forced to crash-land on a deserted tropical island. They were blessed that they were able to land safely, but the pilot was unable to radio…
December 29, 2017 Gather round, kiddies — we’re going to talk about business ethics. Wait! Don’t run away! When my wife worked at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, one of her coworkers used to ask interesting interview questions to get at the heart of the ethical dilemmas inherent in modern work. For example: “Would you…
Every now and again, I have a technology-themed “Marcel Proust Moment”… In the first volume of Marcel Proust’s ‘Remembrance of Things Past,’ he dunks a cookie into his tea and immediately he’s transported back, into a reverie and remembrance of his life years before. That’s how I feel when I hear the latest news about Pine,…
Back in the mid-90s, I worked at Centralia College in Centralia, Washington. It was my second time moving away from Oklahoma, and the first time where the experience changed me and helped me develop into the leader I try to be today. It also taught me about the many different names for rain, as well as…
October 26, 2017 One of the best parts of my profession involves being a tireless seeker of truth, and by extension, information. It’s been a part of me forever. When I was growing up minor arguments would erupt at the dinner table that would be solved by me rushing to the bookshelves, grabbing a World…