Category: newsletter
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Why do they even have nets in Dungeons & Dragons 5e?
Software Defined Talk #434 That’s the opening topic of our podcast this week. Oh, and we talk about a bunch of tech shit too: Watch the video above, or just listen to the audio only, edited podcast. Do Less My colleague Bryan Ross has been writing up some tiny videos I made last year. They’re…
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The Tech Marketer’s Problem
Thought Leadership Hidden in Plain Sight There’s a variation of The Plumber’s Problem that I suffer from: The Tech Marketer’s Problem. When I see a new idea in tech bubbling up and I can smell the marketing strategy behind it (which, with my background, I usually can), I stop enjoying the, you know, story. This…
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What is a service mesh? Why do you need a service mesh? And which is the best service mesh?
The infrastructure drives the app architecture A cloud native applications is typically designed as a bunch of little components that coordinate with each other over a network. They may use events instead, and while that isn’t the same as point-to-point network communications, it follows the same idea: you have a bunch of indepedent-ish bundles of…
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A handsome grandfather clock
A NEW CAR! The first episode where Bob has his real hair. I’m not sure how it happened, but The Price is Right is a major show in my life canon. The music, the camp, the excitement and sincerity of it all – it’s perfect in every way. At my first job at a dot.com…
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Tech companies should do regional events more
Small, regional events are probably better than the mega-conference I’m starting to think that small, regional events are much – like much – more important for enterprise software sales than the big, annual events. In enterprise sales (where you’re looking to work for a few years to build up multi-million dollar deals), you’re usually targeting…
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The purpose of enterprise airport ads
The week so far, a selection I don’t really know what “platform engineering” is Last episode I shared the the email Q&A I had for an article about platform engineering. The finished article is up, much nicer edited than just copy and pasting my email. It’s part of the buzz around the SHIFT conference next…
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What exactly is “developer experience”?
Press Pass I’m speaking at the SHIFT conference next week in Zadar, Croatia. Here’s some questions they asked me ahead of time for their ShiftMag outlet. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t send the third one in and saved it up for this here newsletter. (1) Where do you stand in the DevOps vs.…
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Focusing on just outcomes leads to whacky tech decisions
Confusing outcomes with capabilities I don’t have this sorted out well, but the baby keeps crawling on me to remind me to chill the fuck out about being a professional thought leader and be more of a professional dad. (That’s right, I’m blaming my three year old for the shoddiness of the below!) In the…
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It’s hard to make content from 20 yeas of transcripts
In Iowa I was in Des Moines this week to give one of the keynotes at DevOpsDays Des Moines (it went well). Here’s some snapshots from around town: CEO Therapy This week’s Software Defined Talk: This week, we discuss Netflix’s DVD deprecation, the remote work debate, and how to fork an open-source project. Plus, thoughts…
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Privileged Sad Sack
Iowa I’m in Des Moines, Iowa for the keynote I’ll be giving at DevOpsDays here. I believe their registration is closed, so…if you’re not already registered, I won’t be seeing you! But, you can check me out rehearsing it here. There’s 20 minutes of bonus content! Like and subscribe, MOFOS! Garbage Chairs of Amsterdam. ChatDM…
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In favor of crushing 2,000 Cans of Miller Highlife
Trees do not grow in straight rows This picture clarified what it’s like to be an American living in Europe. Everyday, you’re confronted by how old everything is. The word “old” deserves attention, and explains the whole point. To an American, “old” tends to be a negative term. (Well, a left leaning American, at least.)…
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Lots of Marvel super heroes this halloween, but a little more clowns than the last two years
Not much today. Halloween Clown Tailwinds From Chris Rogers at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Among outfits, the best performers have been those linked to clowns, which increased by 43% year over year.” Somewhere, there’s a financial analyst who really cares about the increase in clown costumes this Halloween. Wastebook “So I quit my job as…
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New Report on Platform Engineering – what is it?
Jennifer Riggins and The New Stack crew have a good booklet out on Platform Engineering. I read over it and talked with Jennifer a couple times. I should have recorded those calls to munge into some articles, but, whatever. You should check it out, I think it’s a good go at trying to nail down…
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When “customer Value” is weird framing, if not dangerous
Don’t get hung up on “customer value” and “business value” I feel like this metaphor of “customer value” (and “business value”) has gone too far. It’s become something that people think is real, not just metaphor. Instead of “value” what we’re talking about is something like “is useful at a price the customer will pay.”…
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Making vision and strategy practical
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…
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What they don’t tell you about conference MC script writing
A quick one today, no time to compile the links and stuff Writing good MC scripts for the keynote sessions I’ve been writing the MC script for our upcoming SpringOne conference. I was supposed to go be one of the MCs but had to cancel. It would have been awesome to know both sides of…
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Half-harpy
I’ve had an unhealthy1 obsession with getting my kids to play D&D recently – they asked to! So, I haven’t had my usual liminal time to get a newsletter out. To that end, my son wanted to make a harpy character. While there are home-brew (is that the right lingo? I stopped playing D&D in…
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Money spent on containerized workloads is growing fast, but overall spend is still small compared to traditional infrastructure
PSA: I recommend that you use your personal email address to subscribe to this newsletter. We’re approaching and in layoff and job change season. Starting now to the end of the CY/FY, bonuses are paid out, promotions have been denied or gained, etc. If you’re subscribed with your work email, consider switching to a personal…
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