• Christmas 2025

    Christmas 2025

    Is chaos the new normal? I am going to go with “yes”. Now that I have rewritten this article more than 8 times, I’m just going to abandon edits and write freestyle. Blindly dropping notes from inside my skull onto paper without a safety net seems like a sane idea, right? Hokay then. What an……

  • The death of critical thinking

    The death of critical thinking

    It was sometime in the late 1970s when I remember an eleven-year-old version of me finding Ben Bova’s Exiled From Earth in the “Teen” section of the library. Seeing the “not today, son” look in the librarian’s eyes, I knew I would have to justify my selection. “Read the first chapter out loud to me,……

  • Combating RCS SPAM

    Combating RCS SPAM

    Recently, Apple and Google fixed a long-standing problem where Apple and Android users had difficulty communicating via text together. My family uses both technologies, so this was particularly painful in our house, and we celebrated the day it was fixed with bridging RCS. Unfortunately, along with the better communication came the SPAM 😦 This post……

  • Boycotting Gilead

    Boycotting Gilead

    The last few weeks have been a tumultuous time in Canada. Between US tariff threats and our governing party’s internal meltdown, the country’s media outlets have had a hard time keeping up with the chaos. It is easy to see why many people have started to “circle the wagons” and shift into a protectionist mode….…

  • Make it snow

    Make it snow

    For me, this time of year is about closure and renewal. It’s about traditions and family and reflection. It’s about your friends and family and friends you consider family. I like to take some time at the end of the year to reflect and plan, but I am acutely aware that it is a luxury……

  • Resume reading for effective hiring

    Resume reading for effective hiring

    I earned my first management role when I was in my early 20’s and thought I knew everything. I was wrong, of course, which is something you don’t realize until much later in life. I messed up many things but learned many lessons while trying to fix what I broke. One of those very important……

  • Mardi Gras and business lessons

    Mardi Gras and business lessons

    Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. Pancake Day.  Shrove Tuesday.  Whatever you call it, today is the day you get to celebrate to the fullest and consume tasty, fatty foods like pancakes smothered in butter and syrup (yum). For Christians specifically, it marks the last day of Shrovetide, filled with celebrations of all the riches we have……

  • The Light of Christmas

    The Light of Christmas

    I love to surround myself in light and music and Christmas smells for the whole month of December…

  • Trauma, Recovery, and Rebuilding

    Trauma, Recovery, and Rebuilding

    A year ago, I was “Head of Email Solutions” …. at least, I thought I was.

  • Challenging the rules

    Challenging the rules

    “… there are so many opportunities to turn ideas on their head and ask “why”? Why do we do it this way? How important are titles and roles?

  • What is Customer Success?

    What is Customer Success?

    I’ve had some time to ponder the question lately…

  • Is nine to five dead?

    Is nine to five dead?

    Is the 9-5, M-F work day dead? Not really, it has just evolved.

  • There is always a first time.

    There is always a first time.

    I didn’t know how to set tile before I did it the first time.I didn’t know how to lay flooring before I did it the first time.I didn’t know how to install cabinets before I did it the first time.I didn’t know how to plumb a sink or wire a light switch or install a……

  • The importance of living documentation

    The importance of living documentation

    A very long time ago, I started a new job as a Sales Engineer (SE) at a company that would eventually be a very big deal in its space. I found myself learning new products, processes, and a new industry all at once. Add the fact that my “territory” was HALF THE PLANET, and you can……

  • Your company is not your family

    Your company is not your family

    The company you work for… won’t be there at your funeral, and it certainly won’t be available to help you move that sofa… [read on]

  • Rockets and Trajectories

    Rockets and Trajectories

    TBT: circa 1976 It doesn’t look like much, but this was the first rocket I ever built. From a materials point of view, it was just cardboard and balsa and glue, but it represents so much more

  • The Ghost of Christmas Present

    The Ghost of Christmas Present

    Dr. Seuss was right. Christmas does not come in packages, boxes, and bags. It radiates from the hearts of people who care about each other.

  • A very special TBT

    A very special TBT

    In August 2008 (I am pretty sure it was a Thursday), my good friend 🚚 Mike Hillyer reached out and told me about this small startup he had joined that was going to change the way people communicate, but he needed help explaining and deploying it for customers.  He introduced me to founder George Schlossnagle,……

  • Happy code-iversary to me

    Happy code-iversary to me

    At the risk of dating myself and inviting ageism, I’ll share with you that I am celebrating a strange anniversary. I just realized that I wrote my first useful code 42 years ago; It looked something like this: FOR X = 1 TO 10000LPRINT “I will not talk in class.”NEXT X My apologies to the……

  • On the road again…

    On the road again…

    As Willie Nelson’s crooning voice echoes in my head, final safety checks are being done as the crew works through their checklist before they can close the cabin doors. Sitting here in this 737 feels like going back to the summer cabin after a year away. It’s weird, but with so many flight miles under……

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