I read a piece this week that illustrates the importance of building diversity into our teams. In the waning days of NASA’s Apollo program, the money was running out. Not to go deep into the why or politics, Apollo 18…
Sharpening one’s Edge
“Not Invented Here.” This is a popular corporate syndrome that was often mentioned as part of Microsoft’s organizational culture back in the late 90s/early 2000s. Being that it was org culture, it kept popping up in different ways. For example,…
Lost Horizons of Tech
Last week I was talking to someone about the sad realities of not having access to good backups. The example I talked about was the famous “NotPetya” attack on the worldwide shipping firm, Maersk. It’s fascinating reading (WIRED wrote a…
Hanging on the Telephone
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…
Don’t tell the parents…
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…
Hiding in Plain Sight
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…
The Post Office gets Smart
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…
Under the Tulsan Sun
One of the things I harp on is that creativity and invention are, contrary to popular opinion, hardly ever the result of bolts out of the blue. Instead, they are a result of synthesis — reading, studying, or seeing things…
Happy (Step-Grand) Father’s Day
For Father’s Day weekend this year, I bring you a pic of my step-grandfather, Joe Duran. This is his certificate of naturalization in 1944 and recently found in a safe deposit box, along with his original birth certificate. He was…
All good things…
June 10, 2019 Last week I severed my final tie to the Tulsa Area United Way, my wonderful employer for 8+ years. I maintain the highest respect for their mission and the great folks who work there, doing so much…