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It’s that time again for My Three Wishes for NonStop.

So much has been written about how difficult it is to predict the future. The topic is simply self-explanatory – the future is unpredictable and for many, attempting such a feat is tantamount to a total waste of time and effort. And yet, for as many years as I have been posting to this blog, going all the way back to 2008 and the post My Wish for NS Blades, simply contemplating what might be has me turning to my magical lamp to check in with the genie. Perhaps not, but every three years which in IT years I view as being close to an eternity, I “have at it” and put pen to paper. Well, my fingers to a keyboard at least. If you look back through the labels created for this blog and check the regularity of the posts about my three wishes for NonStop, separation of three years seems reasonable. Having said that, when contemplating the future for NonStop today you will see that four years have elapsed between this post and the previous post. I put this down to the COVID year as opportunities
Recent posts

What’s new with NonStop may not appear to be shiny and yet NonStop will allow us to shine!

Everything shines on a modern cruising yacht With 2023 firmly in the books, it proved to be a statement year for Margo and me. That’s right, we didn’t buy a new car all year. This may come as a surprise for many of our regular readers but our ongoing support of our clients was such that we simply didn’t have the time to take in any of the car shows or to walk showrooms floors.   Perhaps even more shocking, we were given the opportunity to take delivery of an upgraded C8 Corvette – the new Z06 model – but we turned it down delaying such purchase for at least one more year. You might say, we resisted all temptations to jump on opportunities to drive away in shiny new cars. A blogger I follow on LinkedIn provided insights into what distracts start-ups during their first months of operation. To save you scrolling back through constantly changing LinkedIn feeds, her observations were right on the money. What she wanted to convey was that after working with a company to the point of a produc

Did someone say party time ?

  The trappings of the festive season are now all around us. Inescapable, it would seem. Choosing gifts, cards and the right wrapping paper. It’s all happening and for many of us, it’s not only the season of joy but a time to reflect. Where were we this time last year? A decade ago? And then there are the numerous business gatherings held at this time of year. Reluctant to throw around the word party and yet, for many enterprises, this is exactly how best to describe the occasion. Paper hats? Streamers? The clink of glasses? Perhaps not but regardless, there is no escaping what the season means for each of us.   For Margo and I there was our return from our sojourn in the South Pacific. Spending the last weeks of November in Sydney, Australia, watching as we did the weather turn from mildly warm to very warm, even as we kept an eye on the weather back home in Colorado. It seems an anachronism to view Santas in Sydney decked out in full Northern Hemisphere winter kit. Ringing bells an

HPE NonStop: community sees shadows shortening

  Wherever travel takes Margo and me, I often take photos at that location. A reminder of where we have been and a way to start conversations with family and friends. With today’s smartphones, it seems as though we are provided with endless device memory so much so that we can keep on snapping photos indefinitely. When it comes time to review the photos and to perform minor edits – I still cannot seem to capture a straight horizon – some photos don’t make the cut and are quickly deleted. The longstanding problem of trying to keep a foreground in focus while wrestling with the impact from different lighting strengths more often than not leads to barely recognizable photos and are usually the first to be deleted. This was the case when visiting business colleagues and clients but one or two photos that fell into this category had me thinking to the point where I opted to keep the questionable images captured by the smartphone. Maybe software can improve the quality? On the other hand, t

Will lightning strike twice For HPE NonStop

  Greeley, Windsor and Weld County under severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. It was late at night last week when the house shook violently. After stepping out on to our patio deck, another round of lightning bolts crossed the sky and again, the shock waves reverberated for some time. Close calls? For those who like to time the interval between flash and thunder, it was almost instantaneous. We have entered fall, but still summer conditions prevail with daily temperatures climbing to 90F followed by an evening of unsettled weather bringing with it short-lived storm fronts. Photo above appeared in the nearby Greeley Times and was captured around the same time as I was standing on the patio deck. Unfortunately, I still haven’t mastered the settings on my iPhone that will enable me to snap a photo quite like that, although I tried several times. Entering fall after a period best defined as tempestuous and unlike any summer previously experienced, can we expect conditions to continue

NonStop TBC 2023 – lasting impressions?

It has been only a matter of days since this year’s big tent user conference ended. The NonStop TBC2023 Conference drew attendees from all over the world, with every continent represented as best as I could tell. I am sure there will be those who remind me that as yet, no attendee has made it from Antarctica. Nevertheless, it was a clear demonstration of the value proposition this annual gathering of the NonStop community provides – did you make it this time? Right from the start we were able to enjoy the networking opportunities these conferences always seem to create. Whether you were attracted to the downstairs bar as escalators passed you by, or to the vendor pavilion where if you asked TCM nicely, a wee dram of Scotch could be sampled. And then there was the hospitality provided by the Presidential Suite sponsored by NTI and TANDsoft that managed to attract a crowd each night that fostered conversations that went past midnight and closer to the witching hour. For Margo and me

Unexpected misdirection: What does change bring?

  There comes a time when it is not just the seasons that remind you of changes to come. Maybe yellow foliage is a clue. But the seasons are only one instance where change can come with vigor even ferocity; changes in our business and social lives can generate unexpected upheavals. From our earliest age, we are told not to run across the road, don’t dive into a rock pool and perhaps most important of all, don’t take sweets from strangers. There has always been the illustration where puppies are featured; just because someone wants you to see their puppies is not an opportunity to blindly follow someone. And yet, it happens even with adults. Many years ago, stopped at a remote gas station for fuel, after pumping gas and paying the attendant I returned to the car to find Margo missing. Only a short time passed before she returned. A truck driver had liked her Corvette and asked if she would like to see the cars he was transporting. Inside a covered car hauler – go to the back and you w