Each year we go back to Texas for the Christmas break. We’ve lived in Amsterdam for six years, so whenyou’re a stranger yourself at home, you notice things. Here’s a selection. Using the word “awesome.” Dip Cup. People starting sentences with “Honestly…” Adults saying the word “TikTok.” Ford Ranger truck. Hotel rooms with three flat screen TVs. Egg Nog, various sizes, brands, also available in soy and oat. Can’t buy wine before 10am on Sunday, whether to drink now or later.

AI Stone SoupOne of my co-workers, AI Adib, pointed me towards the AI stone soup, uh…analogy? Parable? Anyhow, the point of it is that the models at the core of all this AI stuff are cool, but it’s the layers and layers of applications and people on-top that make the difference. The app that you put on-top of the AI is what matters. Indeed, the whole reason we’re talking about AI now is because of the app of ChatGPT, then Gemini, Midjourney, NotebookML’s podcasts, Claude, Perplexity, etc.

Where are people putting their modernized apps? Here’s a recent survey chart on that topic from 451: Recent ContentThree things for you today: The private cloud equilibrium - my most recent attempt to figure out how much private cloud is out there. Platform Engineering and UK Digital People, with Abby Bangser - this week’s Software Defined Interviews: As if platform engineering and expat'ing in the UK weren't enough, Whintney and Coté discuss the forgotten technology of business cards wih Abby Bangser.

Open Source $$$ Ethics, How Analysts use AI, Advanced Chicken Nugget Diplomacy, with Rachel StephensIn this episode of Software Defined Interviews, Whitney Lee and Coté dive into the insights of Rachel Stephens from RedMonk about the world of being an industry analyst. They discuss experiences from working as an analyst, the balance between qualitative and quantitative analysis, the challenges and misconceptions surrounding open-source business models, and the impact of AI on the analyst profession and beyond.

I did a second interview with the GM of my division at work, Tanzu. The first one was about Prunima’s career in IT management and, now, cloud. This second one is all about private cloud. Here’s a video except: Here’s a summary from our AI friend: When it comes to cloud infrastructure, Purnima Padmanabhan, Tanzu GM, highlights that customers often require both private and public clouds, depending on their application needs.

Use the last paragraph for something funWatching the video is more fun, but here’s he transcript you can’t be bothered: The way you learn to write a conclusion to an essay or a paper or whatever kind of text you're writing in school: just totally forget that. What you want to do when you write a conclusion is not summarize what you've done, return to your argument, and say how you've proven it out or whatever.

Comparing two years of Twitter engagement to a month of Bluesky engagementLike everyone else, I consider giving up on Twitter daily, especially with the US election bullshit. I don’t really read much on there anymore (I’ve tried all the tricks, even subscribing some months ago), but I still post things hoping to get the eyeballs. Since Twitter shut down is APIs (or made them expensive, or whatever), it’s harder to automate posting.

Making Money with Open Source - Software Defined InterviewsWe talked about a lot more than making money with open source in this interview with RedMonk’s Rachel Stephens, but the part was pretty good: In this episode, Whitney Lee and Coté dive into the insights of Rachel Stephens from RedMonk about the world of being an industry analyst. They discuss experiences from working as an analyst, the balance between qualitative and quantitative analysis, the challenges and misconceptions surrounding open-source business models, and the impact of AI on the analyst profession and beyond.

Private PaaSAlong with our summary of Explore EU last week, around the start of this I go over my thinking about private PaaS, VMware, and Tanzu. At least that’s what I remember doing. Wastebook“THINGS HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER—BUT THEY’RE IMPROVING” Systemantics. The Systems Bible, John Gall. And: “we are interested, not in the process of forgetting to mail a letter, but in the Post Office Box that is too full to accept that letter.

Detroit, 2015.Wastebook“I’m still in my pajamas — haven’t changed since Tuesday night. I’m also drinking a fair amount…” ProfG. “My conspiracy theory has a much higher budget.” Lordess. “To create this post, I used a cascade of AIs.” Tomasz Tunguz. “improvident” is an adjective meaning lacking foresight or failing to plan ahead, often resulting in wasteful or reckless behavior without considering future consequences. Culturally, the term is often used to critique individuals or societies that prioritize immediate gratification over long-term well-being.