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Believe Women

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Bruce McKinnon Political Cartoon
Bruce McKinnon Political Cartoon

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court today. He had very credible accusers of him sexually assaulting women. Women (more than just Dr. Ford) that would risk a felony to testify to what he had done. Several of them weren’t even allowed to testify or included in the FBI investigation. Then to top it off he was a complete asshole in his defiant, crying testimony for the job. Testimony that in ANY job interview would get you shown the door.

Yet he was just confirmed.

Forget about the complete bullshit bi-partisanship of people simply pushing their nominee through, and it is bullshit. I’m going to focus on what the country and those senators did to assault victims. Making them relive their own pain, just to vote to push him through.

They basically said, we might believe you, we just don’t care.

I saw people state that all boys act that way in high school. I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I did drink, and to excess, but I never forced myself on anyone.

Stating that all boys do that is normalizing rape culture and it’s horrible, and wrong, and so against what good self-proclaimed Christians should be for. It’s just another checkbox in a long line of things that make me despise religion.

I also saw folks state that what you did in high school shouldn’t follow you around forever. Well guess what, if you sexually assault someone, maybe it fucking should. People who abuse children, murderers, and rapists should all face scrutiny and consequences, no matter when it took place.

Now I’m just one guy, but here are some of the women who I dated who have confided in me.

  • A high school girl I dated broke down in tears when we were in the middle of sexual activity, and confided in me that her grandfather and father had both sexually abused her.
  • Another woman was sexually abused by an adult neighbor as a child.
  • Another woman was gang raped by two members of the college football team.
  • Another was raped by a student who had been known to rape more than one woman.
  • Another was abused by her father to the point that family members rescued her and took the girl to safety in another state, not telling the parents where she was and that they had done so.
  • Another was abused physically and mentally by her coked up ex-husband.
  • A colleague was sexually and mentally abused by a boss, and her speaking up helped take him down.
  • A colleague was raped in the military, reported it, and there were no consequences.

These were all women whom I dated, loved or worked with. And these are just the ones that confided in me. This doesn’t even cover all the friends online who came forward with their own stories, and those were legion.

Now some assholes will state “then why didn’t they say anything when it happened?” Well just look at Dr. Ford. She came forward now and was doubted, derided and had actual death threats. Women have been afraid to come forward because they always get demonized in these situations. They dressed too sexy or got too drunk, or why did they put themselves in that position? All things that shouldn’t fucking matter in the least. They were attacked, and saddled with something that breaks a piece of them for the rest of their lives.

None of these women confided in me nonchalantly, it was always with deep pain and uncontrollable sadness. It changed them forever. It didn’t change the abuser. They simply got away with it. Like Brett Kavanaugh.

I have two daughters, and I hope they never have to experience anything so horrific. We teach them safety, and what to do in those situations, but for fuck’s sake we shouldn’t have to.

I wish I had sons so I could teach THEM that it’s not acceptable, and that women aren’t their property or their right to conquer. If you have sons, please, talk with them now. Tell them what is right and what is not. Instill in them the respect for others that everyone deserves. That’s where things have to change.

I have never been more angry or upset with our government as I am right now. Physically sick at how this all came down.

Some assholes say this was just a Democratic tactic to bring down the Supreme Court pick. But if that’s the case, why didn’t anything like this surface when Gorsich was nominated? Could it be because he didn’t fucking assault anyone?

And why would someone like Dr. Ford come forward? This doesn’t gain her ANYTHING, it just gave her more to lose. Every time she teaches a class (if she can even continue) everyone there knows she was sexually assaulted, and she’ll feel shame about that. She SHOULDN’T, because it wasn’t her fault at all, but she will. Some people will judge her, probably verbally abuse her, and like I said, the family has already received death threats.

None of this is right, and if you support Kavanaugh, fuck you. Unfriend me and never speak with me again. I’ve tried to remain friends with people in this cesspool of political crap, but this is a bridge too far.

Have compassion, have empathy, believe women, vote.

New Year, Who Dis?

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Follow Your Dreams Douchebag

As I do every year, I try to make some resolutions to better myself in the upcoming year.  This year is no different in that regard, but some of my goals will be a little more specific.  Let’s see how that change of tactic goes.

Continue the Health Trends

I want to maintain the current weight, or lose some more.  I’ll continue counting the calories, but I will also endeavor to work out once a week.  I know, mind-blowing right?  Since I never exercise, this will at least be a start.

Read

I don’t read a lot of books generally. I spend some time every day keeping up on a vast list of blogs and news sites through my feedreader, so I do read a LOT, just not generally novels.  So, this year I endeavor to read one book or graphic novel a month.  I’ll also count listening to a book via Audible.

Keep up with Photography

I will try to spend at least one hour a week on photography related things.  Whether it is culling the library, keywording and tagging, picking out prints for the house, learning Photoshop and Lightroom tricks, developing with new tools, or simply TAKING photos, I want to make sure to do something photo related for at least one hour a week.

Focus on music

The most tangible thing is that I want to create one playlist a month in my Apple Music subscription.  It could be based around moods, or genres, or my favorite songs by an artist, but I want to hand curate some playlists that I will enjoy listening to and sharing with others.  I may try to write more reviews this year, and at least share with folks new music I’m finding that I really enjoy.  Maybe I can even come up with a Top Ten list of albums at the end of the year.  We’ll see.

De-clutter even further

I have some stuff to still clean up in the Man Cave as well as my office, so I want to finish up both of those.  I also want to take all the old DVD and Blu Rays and alphabetize and catalog them like I did with music this past year.  I’ll also continue to donate old clothes and streamline my wardrobe.

2017 was a rough year in the world, and with all of the negativity out there I’m simply going to try to do things that make myself and my family happy.  If that means blocking some trolls or taking breaks from social media and the like, so be it.  But I’m going to concentrate of removing negativity and replacing it with positive things.  Let’s hope I’m successful.

2017 Goals Recap

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Weightloss GraphWell this year was pretty shitty huh? Horrible natural disasters like the hurricanes and wild files, White nationalists emboldened, the greed of our politicians, the dismantling of all of the good things done by prior administrations, obvious evidence of Russian collusion while much of the country just sticks its head in the sand, oh and all the sexual assault cases. All in all it’s been a disaster of a year in those regards. On the bright side, I personally have had a decent year with myself and my family. But how did I do on my goals for the year?

Create instead of Consume

Abject failure. Seriously, I’ve been so depressed about the state of the world that I’ve escaped more into entertainment than ever just to avoid it. I’ve spent a lot of time playing Gears of War 4 and other games on my Xbox. It’s been a good stress relief, but hasn’t lead itself to creating anything of value.

Declutter and Organize More

Knocked this one out of the park. Alphabetized the music collection and put it on shelves, donated a ton of old clothes that no longer fit, cleaned up the photo libraries, totally cleaned the man cave including the tub which had become a filthy storage facility for junk. I still want to do more, but I feel very accomplished here.

Concentrate on Health

Another one I’m proud of. I’ve used the app “Lose It!” to count calories and for the year I’m down about 40 pounds. I didn’t use any pyramid scheme shakes and alkaline crap that it seems many of my old high school classmates are pushing. I just ate whatever I wanted, but when I hit my calorie count for the day, I quit eating. No exercise at all, although I made sure to hit my move and stand rings on the Apple Watch. I feel better and breathe better and don’t want to go back. I’ll definitely keep it up this next year.

Be Vigilant

I haven’t seen anything to defend so much in the wild because I live in a diverse city that isn’t so closed minded. I have had to defend black lives matter and the fact that NFL players have the right to kneel for the anthem, and more importantly WHY. So when I’ve heard folks denigrate that, I have spoken up. Luckily I haven’t had to fight much more than that.

Pick My Battles Online

I’ve done well here. I’ve avoided jumping into battles online for the most part. I don’t see a point any longer, and I only really jumped in when things like Charlottesville happened. For the most part, I’ve tried to make my Facebook reflect happy things in my life. My family, great photos, funny situations. I’ve been happier there removing the vitriol for the most part. So, another goal I did well on.

Most years I’ve done a pretty poor job of hitting these goals, but I’m pleased with how I did this year. I’ve got ideas for next year that are more specific and I think I may actually accomplish. Here’s hoping the world does better as well.

REVIEW: Lucky Boys Confusion – Stormchasers

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Back in 2001 Lucky Boys Confusion released their debut major label album on Elektra records.  The band mixed a great rhythm section, melodic pop punk, great vocals and some pretty catchy guitar hooks.  The first single “Fred Astaire” really resonated with me and I instantly became a fan.

They were a local Chicago southwest suburbs band and I had heard some of their songs locally, including Fred Astaire and Dumb Pop Song, since their inception in 1997.  So when they hit a major label it was home-town boys done good story.

Fast forward 20 years since their inception, and after an 11 year absence of new music (save one b-sides album I’ll just not mention) they have returned with their best, most solid album yet, Stormchasers.  This one was done by the band without label support, and it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.  It debuted on the Billboard charts at #16 Heatseeker.  It proves that if you are a good artist, you don’t need a label telling you what to do.

LBC currently consists of Ryan Fergus on drums, bassist Jason Schultejann, guitarist/vocalist Adam Krier and self-proclaimed “brown guy with the microphone” Kaustubh “Stubhy” Pandav.

This album is melodic upbeat pop rock, or as Adam calls it in “Good Luck” – punk rock with the polish.*  I’ve always loved Stubhy’s vocals as they have a unique edge to them that makes them instantly recognizable.  But don’t think that these are all happy-go-lucky tunes, the lyrics are somewhat dark but very relatable.

There are songs about having a record company press you into being something you aren’t “Name in Lights” a couple apart during wartime “Candle in the Window (Please Come Home),” working for the man “White Collar,” being stuck in your hometown and having to keep secrets “Your Friends are Whispering” the very melancholy (for me anyway) “The Sun In My Eyes” which is hopeful but also talks about how we make up the past in our minds as being better and then “Burn a Little Brighter” that’s either about suicide or school violence where they lost a friend where the officer said “that you didn’t come home from school today.”

You’ll find yourself quickly singing along to all the songs on this album and also really contemplating the lyrics and how you can relate.  Especially if you are older fans of the band. Better yet, for someone like me it’s really inspiring me to write lyrics and maybe create music again.  As a 46 year old IT Director, I miss being on stage singing to an audience.  I didn’t do it much in college, but it among my most fond memories.  There’s nothing like sharing your music with other music fans.

So that brings me to the song “White Collar” again.

Aren’t we all
Worried about things that don’t matter
So take a chance
And press against this glass ’til it shatters
Show up, get paid
Hold on to your breath while you plan your escape
Show up, get paid
‘Cause they’re on to you
‘Cause they’re on to you

I actually love my job, but sometimes it does feel like everything is arbitrary, and no matter how confident you are, sometimes you get imposter syndrome where you are worried you’ll be found out as a fraud.  ‘Cause they’re on to you indeed.

In “I Slept With the Devil” the following lyrics are actually pretty inspirational to me.

Our dreams our burning
We breathe the smoke
There’s only so much time before we choke
So stop complaining
Embrace the thrill
There’s only so much time left here to kill

I know it might seem fatalistic, but quite frankly they are right.  If you have dreams, you need to go for them because if you don’t, you’ll run out of time.  So do it, it’s scary but embrace that thrill.  Don’t waste time just sitting around being lazy and complacent. Take up that hobby. Ask that person out. Try out for that play. Write those lyrics. Don’t let your dreams burn out.

So in the end, this is the best thing LBC has ever released.  Not a skippable song on the album, and if you give it a listen you won’t be disappointed.  I can’t wait to see them live, and here’s to another 20 years.

In “Good Luck,” Adam sings:

Burned out, they call us
Screw ‘em, we got endless memories
Punk Rock and nail polish
I hope it gave you something to believe
If we burn out fast
Don’t surrender
Summer songs will last forever
That’s forever
Now and forever, good luck

It did give me something to believe, so thank you.  And the songs will last forever.  Good Luck.

Buy it on iTunes. Stream it on Apple Music. Stream on Spotify.

UPDATE: @Stubhy let me know on Twitter that I had some lyrics wrong, and one of those is “punk rock and nail polish” instead of “punk rock with the polish.”  I’ve updated accordingly 🙂  That said, I do think LBC is punk rock with some polish to it, but okay.  I personally think that “summer songs will last forever” is actually “some our songs will last forever” but I’ll track it down for sure at some point.  Lyrics are supposed to be in the forthcoming vinyl, so I’ll know for sure 🙂

Resolutions 2017 Edition

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I know it’s already the middle of January, but I’ve just not been able to gear up to write this like every year.  I imagine it’s because I’m kind of afraid of where 2017 will take us.  Well enough with my lethargy, it’s time to stand up and get to work damnit.

So here we go:

Create instead of just Consume

I need to be more creative to be fulfilled.  So this year I’m going create more.  Write longer pieces, write poetry/song lyrics, blog, take pictures, make music, code.  A little less consumption, a little more creation.

Declutter and Organize More

I have more things to clean up at home.  Clothes to get rid of, closets to clear out, photos to tag, all of my old CD’s to sort.  I also want to do more to organize my day to day life.  I’m going to put what’s going on into To Do lists so I can more easily remember everything I need to take care of. The more I can declutter, the better I feel.

Concentrate on Health

This past year had my mother fight and beat cancer, and my Dad dealt with back issues that resulted in spinal surgery.  Take that and all of our childhood idols dying and it’s made it very clear to me that I need to get more healthy.  I know I say it almost every year, but damnit I need to make it a reality.

Be Vigilant

I believe in empathy for all humans.  I’m against racism, misogyny, xenophobia, anti-LGBTQ sentiments and anything else people do to make others feel small.  I’m a straight middle-class white male.  A lot of the hate and the vitriol in the world isn’t directed my way. It’s definitely a place of privilege.  So if I see things in real life that go against my firm belief that we are all equal, I’m going to speak up for those being attacked or belittled.  I’ll do this in real life, at work, in the store, on the plane, at the restaurant and anywhere else I happen to be where I see crap like this taking place.  We all have to stand up to this kind of hatred, wherever we see it.

Pick My Battles Online

I know it kind of goes against what I posted about being vigilant, but I need to do much better at picking my battles online.  You see, this last year I got into a lot of debates online, and spent a lot of time debunking stories that just weren’t true.  And for some people, no matter how much I cited facts, they still believed the false news.  So screw it, I’m basically unfollowing (not unfriending) people for whom you simply can’t have a debate around facts.  I do have conservative friends with whom I can debate, and I’ll continue my efforts around those conversations.  To the other folks who post nothing but articles that have been proven false, I’m not wasting my time.  You only believe the world view you wish to believe, and won’t be swayed. You aren’t worth my time any longer.

I think it’s going to be a rough year, but I certainly hope I’m wrong.  Either way, I have things to work on.

2016 Recap

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My girls at Universal Studios

As I do every year, I like to recap how I did on my resolutions from the previous year.  I’ll get to that in a minute, but I wanted to touch on 2016 for a bit.

2016, in general, was a shitshow.  The election had us more divided than ever, Brexit did the same.  And it seemed that in both, common sense and decency lost.  More icons died than you can count. Many of them profoundly influential to me.  Prince was probably the hardest one for me.  My mother got cancer and my Dad had back problems that resulted in surgery.  Wars, refugees, and pussy grabbing.  It was all kinds of surreal and depressing.

The good news is that it’s almost over.  My mother is cancer free, my Dad’s surgery went fantastically and he’s without pain and those two things are huge.  So 2016 sucked, but at least my parents kicked its ass.

As for my resolutions, let’s see how it went.

Maintain or Lose Weight.   It went well until the summer.  We got really busy and stopped cooking at home as much, ate out more, and I gained weight when I was supposed to lose.  I was trending down again, but then, you know, the holidays arrived.  I *WILL* do it this coming year, because after my parents health scares, and every childhood icon dying, I have a renewed urge to get healthier.  I want to be here writing these for several decades to come.

Focus on Photography.  This was okay.  Once again, earlier in the year I did really well, and had a wonderful time taking pictures on our vacation at Universal Studios.  I also did clean up some stuff in the photo library, and got everything organized on Google Photos.  I even took one of my favorite pictures of all time.  So I did okay.  I could still do better.

Work/Life Balance.  This went wonderfully.  Since I now have a CIO running the show and another director on the team, we’ve split up a lot of the duties that were solely mine in the past.  This has meant less travel and less stress overall.  It was a hard transition from owning the whole team, and now being a part of the team, but for me personally, it’s been good.

Read More.  I did actually read more than last year.  That isn’t saying I did a ton, but I did enjoy reading several full length novels, a bunch of magazines, and comics.  I do need to continue on this upward trajectory because I really do love to do it.

Clean Up My Stuff.  This one I knocked out of the park.  I redid my office and it looks fantastic, I redid the Man Cave and I really like how it turned out, and we redid furniture in our bedroom that totally cleaned things up.  It also allowed me to get rid of a bunch of clothes that we donated.  On the digital side I cleaned up a lot of duplicate pictures and deleted photos that I really didn’t need to keep.  So this was my biggest success of the year.  And having it all clean has been very calming as well.  Really glad I did this.

Continue Kindness.  This was hard.  Everything was so divisive this year.  I tried my best to be kind, but I also fell into the traps of arguments over politics and everything of that nature.  It was frustrating, and hard.  That said, moving forward I’ll keep the kindness going in real life.  And I’m going to try to avoid the drama online as much as possible.

In general, the world sucked in 2016, but my family and I are healthy and here, and that’s what I’m going to focus on.  Let’s end this, and start off on the right foot.  Here’s to 2017.

Everyone Should Matter

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I’ve seen quite a few of my friends and family post with the hashtag ‪#‎alllivesmatter‬. And for the vast majority of those people, it’s with good intentions. They are saying that black people, and police officers, and gay people etc. all matter. And they do, absolutely, I agree. But there’s a problem with simply saying #alllivesmatter, it tends to dismiss the real issues that black people face in our society.

‪#‎blacklivesmatter‬ rose in response to the killing of black people by the hands of police officers where the suspect was unarmed, or not being confrontational, or already subdued by police. This has happened at at alarming rate. I really think the BLM movement should have labeled it ‪#‎blacklivesmattertoo‬ because that would cause less controversy.

The problem isn’t just that it has happened, it’s that in a lot of cases, the officers in question never get punished. Take the Eric Garner case, they had an officer ON VIDEO taking down Eric with a chokehold that is prohibited by the NYPD. There’s no disputing any of it. That banned chokehold killed that man, but the police officer was never charged. It was fully documented on video, and you couldn’t even press charges then.

That’s why Black Lives Matter exists, to try to help right these wrongs when and where they occur and to bring awareness to the fact that there is still a real problem when it comes to race.

I have friends and acquaintances who are (and who were) police officers, and I know that they are decent, awesome people who would never commit these kinds of acts. In fact the majority of police in general never would. But when it happens, all I want to see is that the bad cops who perpetrate such acts are brought to justice. And that doesn’t happen enough.

And if you don’t think this is about race, google for pictures of white people with guns around police. You can find lots of pictures with white gun advocates armed to the teeth where police aren’t flinching and killing them. In fact take the guy who shot up an abortion clinic not too long ago. White guy, who killed a police officer, wounded several more, and killed two civilians was taken alive. If there’s ever someone who should have died in an incident, it should have been him. You shoot at police officers, all bets are off, you SHOULD be gunned down. But he wasn’t.

So there IS still a problem, and that’s what BLM is about. I still really wish they were called #blacklivesmattertoo as I think that’s really the point they are making. They aren’t saying that ONLY they matter, they are saying they should matter as much as a privileged white person, of which I am one.

So please, don’t use #alllivesmatter even though your intentions are good, because it sweeps the real problems black people face to the side and it’s still a very real issue.

So in case any of this is unclear, my stance is the following:

  • I support law enforcement
  • I support the rights of people to protest injustice
  • I want to see bad cops face consequences for their actions
  • I want to see actual criminals face consequences for their actions
  • I want unnecessary killings to stop
  • All lives do matter, but there is still a racial problem in our society

The Black Lives Matter march in Dallas was peaceful, no incidents, in fact the Dallas PD twitter account was posting pictures including ones of protesters and police officers shaking hands and posing together. The attack was a disgusting, horrible thing perpetrated by a sick mind. It’s not anything anyone in BLM wanted.

Right now I’m scared for our country. I’m scared that violence will escalate and we’ll see more of these incidences. I fear for the safety of my police officer friends, and I fear for the safety of my black friends. It’s not a good time, but maybe, just maybe this incident will help people come together. People will support police, and also weed out injustice when it happens. We can only hope, and hope is a commodity that I have precious little of nowadays.

Disconnecting

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IBM Connect (formerly Lotusphere) starts next weekend in sunny Orlando, Florida.  This is a tech conference I’ve attended every January for nearly the last 20 years.  I’ve attended as a developer, an admin, a speaker, the press, a blogger, and as a pointy haired boss.disconnecting

This past week has been filled with throwback photo apps showing me pictures of this day and that day in history, and every one has been brimming with pictures of this awesome yearly pilgrimage.  So many memories of really wonderful times.

This conference has meant an awful lot to me all these years.  I’ve met people from all over the world whom I will consider friends for the rest of my life.  I’ve been able to hire and work with people who were part of this community.  I’ve experienced bachelor parties, and cigar meet ups, and random dinners with folks who happened to be in the same town as me at the same time. It’s a special thing, this community.  And I’ve been thrilled to be such a part of it over the last 20 years.

So why am I not officially attending this year?  Well it really comes down to the technology.  We’re moving to Outlook and Office 365.  We will also be replacing our HR and ERP systems, and with it, some of our Domino development. Quite frankly a lot of the choices make sense, and we’ll probably have a better environment because of it.

So as IBM Technologies are fading within my place of business, so too are any valid reasons for attending Connect.

Unless I have an abrupt career change (which I’m not anticipating) I will be starting a relatively new chapter in my technology career.  It’s going to be weird, but the yellow bubble is like Hotel California.  I can check out, but I can never leave.

Nor do I want to.  I’ll still be on Twitter, Facebook, and here and I’m even taking a family vacation during Connect this year so I can stop by and see everyone.  I would miss you all if I couldn’t.

So, since my time in the bubble is coming to an end, I figure I’ll lay this out there for posterity.  It kinda seems like tooting my own horn, but it’s more for me to remember all the stuff I’ve accomplished with this technology.  I loved this tech, and it is what gave me an IT career and for that I will be forever grateful.

  • I started as a trainer, training 1700 users of a bank how to use Lotus Notes (version 3 to 4 I believe)
  • I became an admin and help desk for those 1700 users, supporting the software for everyone.
  • I became a consultant and was trained as a developer, and did work on Fortune 500 accounts
  • That same consultant gig lead me to admin work for a tech services company
  • So I was back to being an admin, and doing some dev work, and helping run an IT org
  • Then I went to my current company as an admin of all the collaboration services
  • 4 years later I took over as Manager of IT
  • The next year I became Director of IT and have been doing that for the last 7 years

In the same time span

  • I wrote professionally for Intranet Journal for 3.5 years on how to use Lotus technologies in your intranet.
  • I was a board member of Granite, the Chicago Lotus user group
  • I’ve blogged here about IBM/Lotus for over a decade
  • I had a white paper I wrote given away by a vendor at their booth at Lotusphere
  • I had a picture I took appear in every Lotusphere giveaway bag
  • I’ve spoken at Lotusphere
  • I’ve spoken at IBM Edge
  • I’ve been the official photographer of IAMLUG
  • I helped our company become a member sponsor of OpenNTF
  • I’ve been a part of several official IBM whitepapers, including writing one with John Head
  • I was one of the customer interviews for the worldwide webcast launch of Notes 9
  • I’ve had the privilege of managing and being teammates with the absolute best private company group of X-Pages developers on the market.

And as much as I have championed the technology, I wasn’t a total fanboy.  I made sure to use software that was always best for the job, not just because it had IBM branding.  A look back through my blog will attest to that.  Workplace Services Express is a very good example 🙂

That said, I owe IBM and Lotus an immense debt of gratitude.  Those companies are really responsible for me having a career and two decades full of wonderful memories and friendships. 

So thank you IBM, thank you Lotus, and thanks to all of you reading.  I hope everyone really enjoys IBM Connect this year, and I hope it goes on for decades to come.  It’s time for other people to enjoy the kind of things I have.

Anyway, I’ll still be around.  Don’t be a stranger.

On Appreciation

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My pointy hair and I have been thinking about this topic a lot over the last six months and it was finally time to sit down at a keyboard and get it out.appreciation

There are a lot of things that determine job satisfaction in this world.  Money, benefits, being challenged and not bored, work/life balance, commute time and more.  To me however, one of the most important things is simple appreciation for the work that you do.

Now I work in IT.  And in IT you have to have pretty thick skin as generally the only time people tend to talk to, or about IT, is if something is malfunctioning.  Joe Blow can’t get his email or Jane Doe can’t get to her files.  When everything is running smoothly and all systems are at 100% we simply don’t exist.

No one tends to realize how much work goes into maintaining networks, servers, laptops, desktops, tablets, software stacks, phone systems, mobility options, printers, wireless connectivity, software development, security and everything else that a typical IT team deals with.

In addition, we, as IT Professionals, would never fathom that we could do the job of a carpenter, accountant, or a mechanic better than those experts in their fields.  Yet, anyone with a smart phone seems to think they know how to run an IT organization.  It’s frustrating, but it comes with the territory, and most of us in IT have grown to understand this phenomenon and deal with it accordingly.

We have grown to accept the fact that folks rarely show us any appreciation.  It’s kind of a sad reality, but one I know every IT person reading this can relate to in some form.

Now in my role as an IT leader, I try hard to let my team know how much I appreciate the work they do.  I thank them often, and let them know that the work they do matters TO ME.  That I appreciate what they do, and how hard they work, and all the long hours they put in when issues rear their ugly heads.

Now sometimes even within an IT organization, teammates will bicker about each other, and still focus on the bad stuff some people do, without ever considering all the good things a person brings.  This is also detrimental.  Situations aren’t always ideal, and you need to look at the good as well as the bad traits someone may exhibit.   There’s always a tipping point mind you, and bad employees do have to be dealt with, but if no one ever has an appreciation for what others bring to the table, how can they expect to be appreciated themselves?

There’s not much worse than knowing you’ve sweat and bled for something you’ve done and no one gives you any sort of credit for it.

So if you manage a staff, let them know how much their hard work means to you.  And mean it, don’t just say it.  If you work with others, let them know.  Thank them and let them know that their work hasn’t gone unnoticed.  And even random people you deal with, thank them and let them know that you recognize how hard they work.

Simple appreciation that someone works hard to be good at what they do (no matter what it is) goes a very long way.

I like to think I’m a decent manager, and I hope I’ve been good at telling my staff that I really couldn’t do my job without them.  I’ve worn the pointy hair in my current gig for nearly 8 years now, and I am insanely proud of all we’ve accomplished with so little.

I know what we’ve done, and I know how hard everyone worked to get to where we are.  I’m full of gratitude and appreciate for that.  And I try to let them know as much as possible.

How about you?

resolute

2016 Resolutions

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Maintain or Lose Weight

This past year I did pretty well bringing my weight down, but I would really love to lose another 10-15 pounds.  I need to keep at it and at least maintain where I am, but it would be good to get some exercise going too.  If I can do that, I might be able to shed some more weight.

Focus on Photography

Okay, I failed on this last year, but photography is a passion for me, something I love.  So I am going to try to post at least one picture a day on Instagram.  If I keep doing it, I’ll focus on composition and trying to keep my skills up.  I also really need to focus on cleaning up my Lightroom library.

Work/Life Balance

2016 is going to be a very interesting and challenging work year for me for a variety of reasons.  Because of this, I need to be in the right mindset to deal with what is going to happen.  It’s not that all the change will be bad, I just need to deal with it in the right ways.  I also need to make sure that I don’t bring my work home and take out any frustrations on the family.

Read More

I like to read but I just never make time, so there’s no excuse.  I enjoy good novels as well as magazines and some comics.  I have Texture so I should take some time to read magazines as well as some stuff I have queued up on Kindle.

Clean Up My Stuff

I need to redo my basement office with a new more streamlined design.  I need to sort through my clothes and pair them down to what I really wear.  I need to throw away all the old technology boxes I’ve kept for far too long. I also need to go through and rip a bunch of DVD and blu-rays and get them on my file server.  So whether my stuff is physical or digital, I need to tidy up this year.

Continue Kindness

With the election coming up, the refugee crisis, and terrorism rearing it’s ugly head, people will be even more divided this year.  It’s going to suck, and I think all I can do is simply be kind to people.  Be nice, be kind, and don’t engage in arguments that will lead nowhere.

So here’s to a good 2016.  I’m generally an optimistic person, and I think I can make this an extraordinary year ahead.  I hope to share it with you along the way.

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