Ah, the Whispering Willow! Or just ‘The Willow’ if you’re trying to sound casual while nursing a frothy mug. This isn’t just any old tavern in Aurel’s Reach; it’s the place where half of my mischief has started… and maybe about a quarter of it has ended.

Exterior

Perched right against the city’s imposing northern wall and merging with that magnificent redwood – it’s almost as if nature herself decided to raise a toast! From one side, you have the lively humdrum of the city, while the other gives you that calming rustle of the Eldergrove forest. Imagine being sandwiched between urban energy and tranquil nature, all while you’re sipping your third – or was it fourth? – mug of Bardin’s special brew.

Now, on the outside, The Willow seems like your classic tree-tavern architecture. A three-story wonder nestled right inside that monstrous redwood. If you lean against its bark, sometimes, on a windy day, you’d swear you can hear the old tree whispering. Probably telling the wood nymphs about the one time I spilled an entire plate of honey-roasted nuts all over a passing elven bard. But branching out (hah!), we have the two annexed buildings. One of them, I heard, is where they keep the extra barrels of ale, and trust me, it’s on my bucket list to sneak a peek. The other, rooms for those lucky enough to fetch them, or too drunk to haggle the price.

Inside

Stepping inside? Ah, it’s like wrapping yourself in a warm, golden hug! A kaleidoscope of lanterns and glowing orbs dangle overhead, probably gossiping about the day’s visitors. The furniture? Rich, ornately carved, probably by some master craftsman – though I once told a traveler it was done by a blindfolded elf with a penchant for abstract art. And those tapestries? They’re not just decorative fabric; they are pages right out of Eldergrove’s history, each thread spun with tales of yore. I’ve tried to ask Marna how the willow could afford these stories in thread and she just tells me “clearly you don’t keep an eye on your tab, Rye!”

The Food and Drink

Now, for the culinary enthusiasts (yes, I’m talking about my belly), the gastronomic wonders of this place deserve a saga of their own! The succulent roasted boar, glazed in a secret sauce, and that mouth-watering blueberry pie… Trust me, you haven’t lived till you’ve paired that with Bardin’s cinnamon spiced mead.

Rumor whispers of a fiercely loyal kitchen brigade, headed by Chef Olrin, an enigmatic half-elf with a flair for turning the mundane into the magnificent. A sprig of herb here, a dash of mysterious spice there, and voila, a dish fit for the courts of kings!

The Staff

Speaking of Bardin, ah, the dwarf with a beard as frothy as his drinks! He doesn’t just serve drinks; he serves legends in a cup. Every mug comes with a story, and if you’re lucky, an anecdote about that time a gnome tried to outdrink an ogre.

Beside him, the radiant heart of this establishment, Marna. That woman could coax a smile out of a grumpy stone golem. With a knack for making everyone feel like they’ve returned home, I reckon she knows a spell or two about hospitality.

And then, there’s Maria. Delicate yet fierce, she’s a wonder. From the gnome settlement of Silverbrook, deep in the hidden canyon south of the falls, she graces us with tales from her home-caves. Her passion for wines and good smokes is only rivaled by her knack for befriending even the most peculiar of guests. Case in point, the evening a troll - lost, hungry, and irate - stumbled into The Willow. While the initial chaos sent mugs flying and patrons scurrying - you can see where its claws scratched through Old Martin’s fresco of The Blood Matriark’s Gift, changing the story, but in a sort of delightful way if you’ve enough imagination! - Maria, with an odd blend of calm and charisma, managed not only to soothe the beast but had him humming a gnome lullaby by the end of the night.

The Patrons

As the sun dozes off, The Willow becomes one of Eldergrove’s hidden respites for the lumberjacks returning from months long turns, to the little lords and ladies who’ve escaped their guards’ watch, to the clever beggars who’ve filled their purse, and plenty of strangers, enigmatic and boisterous from lands afar and deep in the Elderwood.

The melodious tunes, the boisterous tales, the foot-tapping beats – every corner is brimming with life. The tavern never closes and it seems there’s always someone raising a toast, although, in the wee hours of the morning, it’s mostly just itinerate owlbears and night-elves… and me.

Lodging

There’s everything available for those who ride in the palanquin to those who carry it.

Ah, the rooms of The Willow – spaces of reprieve, reflection, and respite. Their variety is, in a way, a testament to the tapestry of life itself, where every thread finds its place, no matter how rich or rugged.

For the weary traveler, whose purse may be light yet spirit undeterred, the welcoming aroma of the stables often provides a humble berth. There’s a sweet, earthy smell that permeates these quarters, reminding one of simpler times and starlit journeys. It’s the scent of adventure, of roads taken and yet to be tread.

However, for those with deeper pockets and tastes honed by the refined alleys of royal courts, The Willow offers chambers that are nothing short of opulent. Silks from the distant East, in hues of gold, azure, and crimson, drape every possible corner. The gentle rustle of these fabrics, combined with the soft glow of enchanted lanterns, transports the occupant to a realm of sheer luxury, fit for the traveling ladies and lords who grace the realms aboard majestic palanquins.

But The Willow understands the diversity of its patrons. Between the rustic allure of the stables and the lavish embrace of silk-clad rooms, lie spaces of myriad designs. Some rooms are tailored for the minstrels, where soft melodies from an unseen lute might echo in the hush of dawn. Others, perhaps, are for the scholar, with sturdy oak desks and shelves lined with scrolls and tomes from yesteryears.

A unique feature, one that often stirs whispers among those who like to tread the fine line of legality, is the positioning of several rooms. Many hang precariously, albeit securely, just over the city wall. Their discreet balconies and hidden passages grant occupants a certain freedom – the ability to come and go without the watchful eyes of the city guard casting judgment. Such rooms have seen merchants and rogues, diplomats and spies, all seeking the subtle blend of discretion and luxury.

And in this labyrinth of chambers and halls, there’s my sanctuary – a secluded corner room. Neither opulent nor humble, it’s a space where the worlds meet. From its vantage, one can gaze upon the bustling heartbeats of Aurel’s Reach and, with a slight turn, lose oneself in the timeless embrace of the forest. It’s where musings turn to tales, and tales to legacies.

The Feel

One might wonder, with the ceaseless inflow of patrons, from the giddy jester to the somber knight, how does The Willow maintain its allure? It’s in the details, my friend. From the gnome-crafted Glitterleaf Maria introduces to the curious, to the rumored ghost of a bard that serenades the lonely, The Whispering Willow isn’t just a tavern. It’s an experience, a journey, an ever-unfolding story in the heart of Aurel’s Reach.

So, if you ever find yourself in Aurel’s Reach and yearn for a night of stories, laughter, and perhaps a touch of mischief – or just a bellyful of fantastic grub – you know where to go. Tell them I sent you, but only if you leave good tips.

Major NPCs

• Maria, Gnome Waitress AC: 12. HP: 10. Speed: 25 ft. STR: 8, DEX: 14, CON: 12, INT: 15, WIS: 14, CHA: 17. Skills: Persuasion +6, Insight +3.
• Marna, human innkeeper. AC: 12. HP: 10, Speed: 30 ft. STR: 10 DEX: 14 CON: 12 INT: 13 WIS: 15 CHA: 17. Skills: Persuasion +5, Insight +4 Actions: Slap: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
• Bardin, Dwarf Bartender AC: 11. HP: 10, Speed: 25 ft. STR: 14 DEX: 12 CON: 16 INT: 10 WIS: 13 CHA: 14. Skills: History +2, Perception +3.

A Glimpse into Maria’s Life

Among the tavern’s many vibrant personalities, Maria stands out, not for her stature - for she is but a gnome - but for her captivating presence and tales that trace back to the shadowy depths of Silverbrook.

Hailing from this neighboring gnome settlement, nestled in the heart of a forested canyon, Maria’s journey to Aurel’s Reach was driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about wines. With dreams of one day returning to Silverbrook to establish her own tavern, she absorbs all she can from The Whispering Willow’s patrons and its vast cellar.

In the midst of her siblings - six in total - Maria’s role as the middle child has perhaps granted her the patience to listen and the flair to weave tales. Her stories, often exchanged for a patron’s own or even for a modest tip, add a unique flavor to the Willow’s nightly entertainment.

Whispers often circulate about Maria’s trove of trinkets, treasures gifted by travelers or picked up from distant lands. The centerpiece of this collection is a silver pendant of curious design. Though many have prodded, she remains tight-lipped about its origin, furthering the air of mystery around her.

Yet, her most prized possession is not a trinket but a tobacco, the rare Tobacco Glitterleaf. Unique to the shadowy alcoves of Silverbrook’s caves, this non-magical plant dazzles onlookers with its shimmer, a reflection of the mineral-rich soils of its birthplace. When smoked, it’s not just the tobacco that’s shared, but a time-honored gnome tradition symbolizing unity and deep contemplation. In the caverns of Silverbrook, amidst echoing tales and the play of dim lights, this tradition persists, a symbol of the enduring spirit and unity of the gnomish community.

At The Whispering Willow, Maria is not just a waitress but a bridge to a world unknown, a subterranean realm of stories, traditions, and the sparkle of Glitterleaf.

Encounters

d20 Possible Patrons in the Tavern

1. Old Thom: A wrinkled man recounting tales of dragons. Hook: He once stole a dragon egg and it’s about to hatch.
2. Lila the Bird Lady: An elven woman speaking to her pet bird. Hook: The bird is a polymorphed prince.
3. Bruun: A hefty man challenging folks to arm wrestling. Hook: His strength is from a cursed gauntlet.
4. Lady Annelise: A noblewoman incognito, observing. Hook: She seeks a bodyguard for a covert mission.
5. Fletcher: A man selling maps. Hook: One map leads to a forgotten city.
6. Bria: A girl crying, lost from her family. Hook: Her family was abducted by goblins.
7. Norgal: A half-troll boasting loudly. Hook: He wants to find and challenge his full troll father.
8. The Hooded Figure: A mysterious entity in the shadows. Hook: They are a time traveler with a warning.
9. Sir Cedric: A retired knight, now a drunk. Hook: His haunted past calls him for one last quest.
10. Twins Lora and Lona: Synchronized in every action. Hook: They share a psychic bond due to a magical experiment.
11. Faelan: A minstrel with a harp, avoiding eye contact. Hook: His songs can predict the future.
12. Jara: A merchant selling odd seeds. Hook: These seeds grow into sentient plants.
13. The Cursed Poet: Speaks only in rhymes. Hook: Needs help breaking a witch’s curse.
14. Captain Elin: A sea captain recruiting. Hook: Her ship sails to the underworld and back.
15. Lilith: A young woman, surrounded by cats. Hook: She’s seeking a rare herb for her ailing familiar.
16. Merek the Mute: Communicates via drawings. Hook: His sketches can become real for a short time.
17. Doran: A scholar looking exasperated. Hook: Accidentally awakened a slumbering entity in an old tome.
18. Sera: A dancer with a snake. Hook: The snake is her twin, transformed by an enemy.
19. Peldor the Jester: Cracking jokes. Hook: His humor hides a tragic story he’s willing to share for the right price.
20. Glenna: A gardener with flowers. Hook: Her garden has a portal to the Feywild, and she needs protection.

At the very heart of the Elderwood, Aurel’s Reach unfurls. Envision the central region of the Elderwood map: this is the Eldergrove, the verdant heart where Aurel’s Reach proudly stands. Its origins remain a mystery to me, yet over countless centuries, it’s blossomed to accommodate a lively 15,000 souls. The city sprawls gracefully alongside a serene, straight stretch of the river, which some say lent its name to the town.

Debate flourishes over the eponymous ‘Aurel’. Was he a pioneering explorer, the city’s founder, or perhaps the river’s original namesake? Only the whispers of ancient trees might tell.

The city’s vastness mingles seamlessly with the forest, a dance of wood, stone, and greenery. One can’t help but notice the distinct Old Town, ensconced behind high walls, evoking ages past with its robust towers and gates. It’s a clear nod to traditional city planning, standing in stark contrast to the rest of Aurel’s Reach, which exudes a more…organic ambiance.

As the years rolled by, the inhabitants took a delightfully eclectic approach to expansion. Their choice of materials and seemingly spontaneous design decisions lend the city a unique, bricolage essence. This delightful architectural marriage ensures the city and forest blend so intricately, it’s hard to discern where one ends and the other begins. Roads and buildings, over time, have harmoniously co-evolved with the trees and groves. Despite the city walls, I’ve often felt navigating the dense Elderwood was simpler than maneuvering through the labyrinthine alleys of Aurel’s Reach.

One might surmise that the Old Town was the meticulous work of high elves, while the remainder of the city seems inspired by what little an Illithid left in the mind of a genius gnome tinkerer. All in all, wandering its streets evokes the same joy as savoring a masterfully prepared 11-course Elderwood feast.

Elderwood. Ah, dear reader, it’s so much more than a mere word on parchment. It’s the delicate shiver of leaves under a morning breeze, the deep-rooted tales older than the oldest oak, and the harmonious symphony of bustling life and placid landscapes.

To the north, run a mountain range, The Elf’s Wall. These peaks casts lengthy shadows, towering sentinels of age-old stone that I’ve often found myself wondering about. How many stories have they witnessed, unchanging and eternal, as empires rose and fell? But just between you and me, tucked in the east, there’s a sneaky passage. If walls could talk, eh?

Down these mountains, the flora paints a verdant scene so lush that even the most skilled painter might surrender his brush in awe. I once met an old dwarf who claimed his ancestors mistook this place for the Feywild, and who’s to blame them? The trees stretch so thickly, it’s as if the ground is playing an endless game of “more the merrier.”

Now, let’s chat about that life-giving river, a liquid ribbon gracefully meandering from the northeast. There’s a bit of predictability in its course, straightening up with purpose around Aurel’s Reach. Ah, that city! Nestled where the river seems to take a calm breath before diving into its next adventure. The hub of timber trade, it’s a city that knows its wood like a bard knows his lute.

Speaking of Aurel’s Reach, imagine a place where the sounds of hammers and song blend seamlessly. A mosaic of cultures — humans, halflings (like yours truly), elves, and so many more — each contributing a note to the city’s harmonious tune. The river divides yet connects, its bridges reminiscent of friendships formed over shared ale and campfires. Across the waters, the farmlands. Oh, the patchwork beauty! Each plot telling tales of hard work and nature’s bounty.

But let’s take a little detour, for my wandering heart calls. To the west, the forests give way to plains, vast and unending. These plains stretch out like a bard’s tale, eventually leading to the Royal Coast that caresses the enigmatic Sea of Passage. Ah, the sea! A force that’s both nurturing and wild. I once heard an elf sing of its tales; of its moods that range from serene lulls to tempestuous roars.

Back to Elderwood, though. The symbiotic dance between civilization and nature here is a thing of beauty. The denizens, respectful of the forest’s whispers, and the forest, ever watchful, sometimes peeking with curious eyes at the bustling life beyond its embrace.

For every timber merchant counting his coin, there’s a nymph singing an ancient song; for every halfling child chasing fireflies, there’s a treant reminiscing tales of old. It’s harmony, in its purest form.

As for the denizens of this rich land, they’re a reflection of Elderwood’s spirit — vibrant, diverse, and rooted in age-old traditions. Tales of timber, magic, and camaraderie echo in every corner. There’s depth beneath the surface, waiting for the curious soul to discover.

And as Rye Leafoot, the ever-curious halfling druid, I invite you to take this journey with me, to delve deeper into the heart of Elderwood, and perhaps, just perhaps, discover a piece of yourself amidst its tales.

VMware Explore’s 5 Big Reveals: Updates To Tanzu, vSAN, NSX+, Workspaces And An AI Deal With Nvidia - As it says. Includes some actual deal size info for Tanzu and Workspaces.

Suggested episode theme song.

How are things going for you?

Avoid using Vision and Strategy as an Executive Peace Out

Here is something from an article I’m reviewing for a co-worker:

It’s vital for any digital transformation to have a clear vision, purpose and a set of expected business outcomes. It lets everyone know what is changing, why it’s changing, and how it will positively impact the organization. All too often though, that simple message becomes bloated or lost entirely as the project moves forward.

This is true! Also, strategy needs to be practical, which means those who make up the strategy need to have some idea of how it would actually be done.

I like to suggest that vision and strategy should always be accompanied by principles: guidelines and constraints to use to determine what to do. And these should as specific as possible.

Instead of “we strive to listen to our customer” (which, first, is there a business that would ever say the opposite, out-loud at least?), you would say “we will follow product management principles to constantly learn what helps our customers and adjust our products and services accordingly.” Even that’s vague. If you know the actual industry and “medium” you’re operating in, that should be encoded in there. For example, are you doing this with software? Grocery stores? Sawmills?

Too many people treat vision and strategy as descriptions of the desired end-state (or, like, virtue-signaling bullshit - see “listen to our customers” above) rather than how the company will get there.

“Inspiration” and “leadership” are great and much needed. But they’ve been too interwoven with “vision” and sometimes strategy. At one point, maybe vision was a useful tool, but now I feel like every time I see that word I think “this is what the organization unconsciously thinks is its biggest flaw” or, at best, I just tune out.

And, again, a good test of the bullshit level of vision is to ask “would anyone ever have the opposite of that as its vision?”

I suppose you could have a vision somewhere in-between that test. For example, you might be in AI and automation and have a vision of “to eliminate the need for people to work five days a week.” Applying my opposite test, it’s not so much that any company would have the vision “to shift the work week to six days.”

A vision like that is what I like to call a “pony vision.” We all would like a pony for Christmas. The question is not even so much how we would get it (pay a lot of money and have it dropped off at your door around 5am on Christmas morning [and wake up around 4:30am to have that big cup of coffee before all this], trot it into the living room and put a big bow on it, picking and poop or pee until the kids wake up), it’s what we do to take care of it for the rest of its life. And how do we get the money to buy the pony. And then figure out how you buy the pony.

And, sure, there’s a fine line to walk between tops-down micromanaging and passing on responsibility for how strategy is implemented. No one likes to be micromanaged - that’s why we call it micromanaging instead of managing. As I like to say “bad things are bad, and good things are good.” However, management can’t just toss down some un-executable strategy. Strategy is just the first step, execution can’t just be delegating to some other group to “figure it out.”

What this means in practice is that management (and their corporate strategy group) should be able to answer the question “how were you envisioning we’d get this done? Like, week to week, day to day.”

Wastebook

• There’s a certain, vaguely dangerous feeling to writing a conference talk or webinar abstract that describes the talk you wish you could give instead of the one you (currently) can give.

• When listen to Rick Ruben interview people, I realize about myself: to evolve my podcasting skills I need to be happy and at peace with myself. Then I could ask the questions I’m curious about instead of trying to be smart, or, at best, helpful and educational.

• There must be a moment when you’re a young kid and an adult explains chewing gum to you, and you’re like “wait, you chew, it tastes good, like candy even, but it’s not food that you swallow. This is some fucked up, big people shit!”

• I’ll never be a always make your bed person, but I might could pull off being a always scoot your chair back under the table person.

• A feeling is just a thing that a stranger delivers to you. You can decide to do something with it, or just ignore it. Also, excellent live streaming skills/production here.

• There was a strange time, when I was a teenager, when people wore pleated khakis that are well ironed, dry-cleaned even.

• “The sun still hot but the glare from the Mediterranean no longer angry, the Promenade des Anglais given over to people perambulating rather than exercising, remembering that their bodies are primarily sites of pleasure, not denial.” Here.

My Content

First, if you’re the kind of person that reads this newsletter (and are in tech), you should check out this interview with Mike from Jaguar Land Rover. It’s very rare to get stories from real world, large organizations getting better at software, doing the cloud native, etc. Here’s one! (Also available in podcast form, if you prefer.)

We had Brian on this week as a guest on Software Defined Talk. He’s great, and it was a fun show: “This week, Brandon and Coté are joined by a special guest host, Brian Gracely. We discuss HashiCorp's transition to BSL and break down the recent interview with AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. Plus, some thoughts on the use of the word ‘orthogonal.’” Take a listen, or watch the video of the unedited episode.

Relative to your interests

There’s a lot to catch-up on.

• 80% of execs regret calling employees back to the office - Hmm. It seems really hard to tell what the effects of remote working and in-person working are. People just have to make shut up.

• Banks fined $549 million for hiding messages in iMessage and Signal - One of those things that makes boring, old enterprises so different than consumer tech companies, regulations. // ‘"Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined banks for being unable to produce discussions going back to at least 2019. The regulators say employees used their personal devices to discuss official company business via apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal and that those “off-channel communications” weren’t “maintained or preserved.”’

• As HashiCorp adopts the BSL, an era of open-source software might be ending - Is it too soon to say that open source businesses no longer work? (Unless you’re a bit public cloud or you do open core?)

• How to Set Up a Platform That Effectively Supports Your Development Teams - This seems like the kind of thing I should read…

• It’s Time To Tell The Healthcare CX Story In Terms Of ROI - The focus is healthcare, here, but this applies to all industries: “Meeting with C-suiters and boards of directors, the disconnect is pretty clear. While CX pros (in many industries, not just healthcare) tend to talk about customer experience improvements in terms of better, CX-specific metrics, they fail to connect those changes to things that matter to the decision-makers and budget-holders. On the other hand, when we talk about the impact that better CX can have on key business goals — increased revenue, lower cost, and improved resilience — I see those business leaders lean in and say ‘Tell me more.’” // I’m befuddled as to why this is still a problem after decades. Is this not institutionalized thinking in IT? That is, each generation has to rediscover this.

• Bike maker VanMoof also files for bankruptcy in Germany - I had no idea that this luxury bike company was in such bad shape. Their bikes sure seem awesome, but are hella expensive compared to the €80 beaters you can get that, you know, do the job just fine.

• The next generation of developer productivity - As ever nowadays, developer productivity is the top problem. Also, full CI/CD (or just good pipeline automation) is still hovering around 50% as it has been for a decade or more: “Over half of the respondents (51%) said that their organizations are using self-service deployment pipelines to increase productivity. Another 13% said that while they’re using self-service pipelines, they haven’t seen an increase in productivity. So almost two-thirds of the respondents are using self-service pipelines for deployment, and for most of them, the pipelines are working—reducing the overhead required to put new projects into production.” // I’m a little leery of survey like this because these the conclusions you’d make from there results seem to always be the case. But also, I didn’t read it in detail.

• PayPal Makes Strategic Moves With Expansion Of Venmo Offerings - Update on Venmo, especially the teen bank account features. A great example of creating new markets and features in retail banking. Also, some buy now, pay later (BNPL) stuff: maybe as great of a business now (having been sold off to PE)? // I always forget that PayPal owns Venmo: “What started as a bill-splitting, emoji-sharing social payments app has become a secure business transaction tool with increasing utility while remaining cool with the hard-to-please generations. No wonder Wall Street is impressed.”

• Checking In On ChatGPT - Text-centric AI best used for text-centric toil: “The most common uses cited in the survey were for creating first drafts of text, personalizing marketing materials, identifying trends or communicating with customers with chatbots. AI isn’t quite doing iRobot stuff yet, but taking the sting out of some of the more “boring” corporate tasks will always have its place.”

• Cloud-native approaches are now default software development practices - Highlights from a recent 451 survey. “Many organizations using cloud native expect their adoption of these technologies and architectures to become more ubiquitous over time. Among companies using cloud-native resources, approximately 60% say more than half of their applications are currently architected using cloud native, rising to 77% when organizations project two years into the future.” // “Homegrown cloud-native software development is strong. Looking specifically at how organizations are building and buying these services, 65% of organizations say at least 50% of their cloud-native software is internally developed.” // “Improvements to IT operations efficiency is accelerating as cloud native’s biggest benefit. Efficiency improvements continue to be the top benefit seen by organizations using cloud native (66% in 2023 versus 61% in 2022), while the role of cloud native in delivering sustainability is now moving front and center alongside security (respectively 45% and 44%). Improvements to developer speed and productivity (43%), cost reduction (40%), and improved time to market (40%) are other key benefits.” // “Fielded from May 4 through June 29, 2023, with a panel of IT decision-makers, 330 of whom were actively using or currently implementing cloud-native technologies and methodologies.”

• Helen Garner on happiness: ‘It’s taken me 80 years to figure out it’s not a tranquil, sunlit realm’ - Project versus product for happiness. Also, living life by waste book/commonplace book - something I certainly can appreciate. (Bit it a ringer it being Helen Garner, but don’t let that stop you.)

• Necronomicon all’italiana - Fantastic stuff.

• How Barbie Went Viral - “by creating meme-able content, centering your audience instead of yourself, inviting connection, and building in the right incentives, you can increase the odds of a lightning strike” // Yes, and…it is so exhausting to have to be your own marketing and social-media agency.

• Creating an integrated business and technology strategy - Use business strategy to drive tech activities. This series seems good.

• Non-knowing growing - “…non-knowing, growing. It’s what babies do when they learn to walk. They get up, they fall over, they get up, they fall over, and they gradually figure out what walking is. They don’t know how to walk.” // If you’re open enough to the universe, you make sure that doesn’t ever stop.

• Culture vultures - “Traditional word-based culture—and, sure, I’ll stick Twitter into that category—is now a feeding ground for vultures.”

• MacWhisper is a tool I both do not use enough, and that you should use more.

d20 alone

I’ve played two, Dungeons and Dragons “solo” adventures, see afore mentioned American-vacation status. This format has a lot of potential. If you ever played the Lone Wolf books back in….uh…long ago…they are kind of like that. (Obviously, yes, they’re like the old choose your own adventure books, but much more intense with the rules and such.)

First, it was The Executioner’s Daughter. Then, the much praised The Death Knight’s Squire. They’re fun! The second is a classic, map driven “dungeon [and forrest] crawl.” The first managed actually do the type of adventure I liked to DM more: a story, without so much dungeon.

The encounter tool at D&D Beyond is super helpful for playing these. Otherwise tracking your character, an NPC, and four blood hawks would be tedious. That tool could be better, but it’s better than nothing. (I’m sure there’s all sorts of tools, I haven’t taken the time to look. I haven’t yet figured out the D&D online community, so I don’t know how to filter the crap from the good stuff yet.)

There’s a lot you could do with this solo adventure format. Maybe one day I’ll try. And I suspect there’s a good market it in. There must be millions of people like me who want to play but lack the social group to find friendly people to play with. I mean: I’m not going just go play with strangers online!

I’ve been tracking some narrative-tool ideas and “rules” of the format.

• I think the first one is: you can’t kill the player. I mean, come one, at a business-level, you can’t kill your customer. That’ll shit the bed on churn, account expansion, and TCV. The Executioner’s Daughter is good on this, the other, not so much. Otherwise, the player will cheat! (I mean, I’m not saying I did…just that…uh…it seems like some people would…). There should be a ground rule that you won’t kill the player (unless they want that) - bad things might happen, so the player should just keep going, but you need some kind of safety gap. The point is for them to have fun, after all!

• If it’s all digital (PDFs), you should take advantage of the infinite nature of digital stuff, as The Death Knight’s Squire does. And, also, in PDFs you can have links that follow the old “if you choose to eat the chicken leg, go to page 45” format. I almost think that you need to keep each scene as its own page in a PDF, not run together with the other scenes. So what if you PDF is 600 pages long? You have infinite space!

• You should include some brief instructions on how monsters will attack, tactics they’ll use. Will a dragon blow fire at you, or attack with claws? If a pack of four goblins gets down to one, will it retreat?

• Along those lines, you should prompt players to do some prep work and planning. Will they need torches?

• You should remind players to do things like eat, take rests, etc. The Death Knight’s Squire is pretty good at this, even building little loops in about finding a camp sight.

• I think there’s the potential to take, like, the wonderfully endless random encounter things Chris Tamm does and come up with some one page side venture and even role-playing scenarios. My favorite part of DM’ing and playing was always improvised, made up stuff between adventures…I mean, at some point, that’s what the adventures became. Again - you have infinite space, so you could just pack in 300 pages of this extra stuff and be like “go to page 243 and roll some dice.”

• If you were really ambitious, you could write some good prompts for ChatGPT, even putting them up as URLs so that the player asks ChatGPT to fetch the contents of URL (meaning the player can’t read it), and then ChatGPT walks you through a tiny side-story. Hmmmmmmm….. Maybe people do!

• The key to authoring these (as with all things) would be to streamline it as much as possible. Your customers would want it to never end, to keep going.

Anyhow. It’d be fun to make some.

(Or, you know, I should just find people to play with.)

Upcoming

Talks I’ll be giving, places I’ll be, things I’ll be doing, etc.

Sep 6th O’Reilly Infrastructure & Ops Superstream: Kubernetes, online, speaking. Sep 6th to 7th DevOpsDays Des Moines, speaking. Sep 13th, stackconf, Berlin. Sep 14th to 15th SREday, London, speaking (get 50% of registration with the code 50-SRE-DAY) Sep 18th to 19th SHIFT in Zadar, speaking. Oct 3rd Enterprise DevOps Techron, Utrecht, speaking. Oct 5th & 6th Monktoberfest, Portland, ME, attending. Nov 6th to 9thVMware Explore in Barcelona, speaking.

Logoff

I’ve been off the publishing grid for a while, even off the consuming the Internet grid. This is a mix of partial vacation (you European would call this “an American vacation” - why don’t I just fully commit to taking a days off? I have so many of them available. But, nope.), taking care of some family things, a renewed obsession with D&D, and the first crack in my workaholic nature for…20…even 30 years?

It is time for a few new habits, rather than bobbing along the waves of the old ones.

Return to the officeless-office

The most counter-whatyoudthink is probably to start going into the office more. My work has an OK-good office in upper west Amsterdam. It is a 40 minute bike ride, each way. That amount of biking a day would both give me more exercise than I’ve ever had in my life and also more lazy-mindfulness time than the same.

(By far, the thing I like about living in Amsterdam the most is biking. I don’t do it enough.)

But, the office lacks, well, offices, which is the huge problem with the anti-WFH people.

I have a whole desk-studio setup for all the videos and podcasts I do. Lights, camera, mic, and shit. There is no place for that at a regular white-collar office.

I bet if there were actually close-the-door offices at work, people would want to return more. But open plan offices are shit. Everyone knows this; you don’t need to go selective-bias find some HBR article or some McKinsey study.

Nonetheless, working from home with all of the distractions is too difficult. Plus, that bike ride…

Editing

The second change: when I say I’ve been “doing nothing,” what I mean is that I have not been publishing my own work. I have been doing plenty of work on other things: spending a lot of time editing others, writing an MC script, the grind of conference season scheduling, content prep, and planning for the future.

The general “helping others” is what I should get more comfortable with as real work.

I’m pretty sure I’m very good at editing and general content-creation, uh, “pedantry.” I am not good at spelling and typo-prevention - I am not a copyeditor. As a consequence, I value and respect copyeditors a huge amount. I am also wordy, etc. But this is a thing about editing: whether or not you can edit yourself has little to do with your skill at editing others.

There’s something in the weird mix of my skills at writing, narrative, speaking/podcasting, having gazed at my rhetoric-navel for 30+ years, my total unwillingness to be confrontational about anything, and then my taste that makes for comfortable, welcoming, but effective editing and content-creation shepherding. I don’t know. I should edit more people’s stuff.

After all, the Rhetoricians were my favorite. While Socrates and his crew were talking about some mystical, Truth bullshit, the Rhetoricians were getting shit done with words.

I’ve almost done enough of nothing to be ready to get back to doing more of something.

Culture vultures - “Traditional word-based culture—and, sure, I’ll stick Twitter into that category—is now a feeding ground for vultures."

Non-knowing growing - “…non-knowing, growing. It’s what babies do when they learn to walk. They get up, they fall over, they get up, they fall over, and they gradually figure out what walking is. They don’t know how to walk.” // If you’re open enough to the universe, you make sure that doesn’t ever stop.

It’s Time To Tell The Healthcare CX Story In Terms Of ROI - The focus is healthcare, here, but this applies to all industries: “Meeting with C-suiters and boards of directors, the disconnect is pretty clear. While CX pros (in many industries, not just healthcare) tend to talk about customer experience improvements in terms of better, CX-specific metrics, they fail to connect those changes to things that matter to the decision-makers and budget-holders. On the other hand, when we talk about the impact that better CX can have on key business goals — increased revenue, lower cost, and improved resilience — I see those business leaders lean in and say ‘Tell me more.'” // I’m befuddled as to why this is still a problem after decades. Is this not institutionalized thinking in IT? That is, each generation has to rediscover this.

How Barbie Went Viral - “by creating meme-able content, centering your audience instead of yourself, inviting connection, and building in the right incentives, you can increase the odds of a lightning strike” // Yes, and…it is so exhausting to have to be your own marketing agency.

Necronomicon all’italiana - Fantastic stuff.