Surviving and Thriving in a BigCoIf you work in a large organization, you’ll like this new video series I did with O’Reilly. Check out the intro above, and here’s the topics covered: Cultivate your Style and Character. How does a BigCo Work? Mentors are Nice, Champions are Better. Asking Questions Leads to Homework for You. Assign Homework to Filter out Vampires. To Innovate, Hide Out. Slides are Docs. Always Have an Ask Ready to Go.

Better put PR on the backlogArt for no one, by no one. Art whose only audience is the collective pathos. Incredible. [AI culture problems as art] The Gemini thing: the conversation around AI technology is now based on how it can navigate social and cultural issues, less if it “works.” These social and cultural issues eventually wear out - people forget - so you have to just stay alive and hold it back.

Relative to your interestsCluetrain at 25 - This was an important book to me when it came out. It probably had a huge influence on my professional life. All these years later, I think it was right. The biggest evolution, unexpected, was that the Big Bad Corporate Octopus took it seriously and figured out how to monetize the shit out the Cluetrain. Toot! Toot! How to Stay Grounded Through Organizational Chaos - There’s a lot of good advice here, but the most important is here: “If your organization’s approach raises concerns or if you find yourself constantly questioning its strategies, it’s worth considering whether you’re in the right place.

Relative to your interestsCan we reenergize the transactional workforce? - Hmm. Cloud without Kubernetes - Start by hiding Kubernetes, only touch it as needed. There’s enough work to do already. Wastebook“Unhappiness with air travel took a new turn when maggots rained down on passengers on a Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday.” Here. The only reason I get away with all this shit is that I just started trying to get away with it.

Never use slide notesRelative to your interestsOrganize Your Change Initiative Around Purpose and Benefits - ‘An easy method of finding a change project’s purpose is to continuously ask, “Why are we doing the project?” Usually, you need to ask this question three to four times to get to the core purpose.’ // Does anyone actually have this level of clarity? When would executives have/make the time to do this work?

Why did Kubernetes Win the Kontainer Wars?*John Willis finally explains why the underpowered, not fully ready, overly complex container orchestrator from Google became the cloud native juggxrnaught. Also, there’s much whole lot more DevOps and Demming talk in the interview I did with him last week. *Also, sure: I know that the victors never like the “war” framing. Yup. Wastebook“Well, we lost a lot of material things, but the great thing is, we’re all still alive, and Mom only broke one hand, and now Dad can buy a new toupee, and that will look lots better!

What I’m doing here is trying to figure out some benchmarking tests to rate all the AI systems out there. The “application” I’m using is Dungeons & Dragons, in particular, having it be a Dungeon Master. Today, I tested out one of the more difficult parts of D&D, combat. There’s a stack of rules, and then crossed with different monsters, player abilities, terrain, etc., there’s a ton of combinations and possibilities.

Here’s an overview of the prompt I’m currently using to play D&D with ChatGPT: In my mind, I’ve got as new talk that evaluates several of the AIs out there based on how well they can play Dungeons and Dragons. After using ChatGPT for about a year, I have first hand experience that makes all the hype - good and negative - seems a lot less amazing. ChatGPT is practical, it’s quick, fun, and even creative.

There is already a delightful article on all this, but… If I needed some kind of thesis or dissertation, how about the roll of alcohol in Wes Anderson movies. How is it used as a plot device, character motivation, and just overall establishing the Wes Anderson feel. The rat in The Fantastic Mr. Fox is motivated by “cider,” it’s what made kept him going - an alcoholic. Mr. Fox makes a rash celebratory toast after, as he says, having had too much to drink already.

“They say all foxes are slightly allergic to linoleum, but it's cool to the paw, try it.” Enshittification considerificatedThis week’s Software Defined Talk, episode 451: How does anyone use the Internet? This week, we discuss what “enshittification” is, what causes it, and whether it can be prevented. Plus, stay tuned until the end to hear the Software Defined Talk origin story. (Sadly, we made no 451 Research references.) Relative to your interestsEnterprise developers: what they do, where, and how - Highlights for a recent survey of developer types.