Real Time View

As I look back at the past year perhaps the best way to describe it was how there were many times where things were broken. I am not talking about the occasional drinking glass or dinner plate but objects that mattered to us. When things are broken their performance is hindered to where in some cases they no longer serve any useful purpose. Replacement appears to be the order of the day. Mind you, I am not talking about the weather here in Colorado as I have lost track of how many days have passed without a meaningful snow fall. This morning may have been the exception as a little rain together with what might pass as a little sleet did fall but not for long enough to stick to anything. Enjoying December days that have climbed into the 70sF (20sC) would surely pass as unusual even if we didn’t talk about weather patterns that look to be broken. However, before developing this story line further, please be happy for us as remedies for almost everything have been found. But what was brok

Walking into my office the only thought I had on my mind was how the year was coming to an end. I distinctly recall getting an early night New Year’s Eve 2020 and yet, here we are and 2021 is drawing to an end. It is also pretty easy to remark over how different 2021 had been to what was predicted two, three years ago. Remember the pundits writing about the coming doom that will overwhelm us and it had nothing to do with the global pandemic? Leave it to the predictions of the French philosopher Michel de Nostradamus (who some think has been “freakishly accurate”) when he wrote of “World-ending asteroids, zombies and ruinous famine are on deck for 2021.” In response I can only repeat the most famous words of the American tennis ace John McEnroe, “you cannot be serious?” Renowned for his on-court theatrical outbursts, we all learnt to love the guy in time. However, it is another image that perhaps sums up the year better than others and it is of the British actor Peter Sellers when he

I have just added another post to our social blog, Buckle-Up, that was the last of ten posts retelling stories that first appeared in Speed News, a digital publication of the track club to which for the better part of a decade Margo and I belonged. The title of the post was Retiring from HPDE and for those not familiar with the HPDE programs they were all about H igh P erformance D river E ducation and catered for those car enthusiasts who prefer to experience speed on tracks rather than on streets. When it comes to the subject of retirement nothing tugs at the heartstrings more firmly than thoughts of lazy days spent on a tropical beach, beneath a palm trees, sipping on a fruity cocktail. However, for most of us, those tugs on the heartstrings are only part of the story as there is a lot more that influences us than the quiet life. When it comes to the IT industry and, particularly when it comes to all those dedicated to support of the HPE NonStop ecosystem, is a quiet nap even in

With as many virtual events as there continue to be, it’s not always easy to get a message across to a target audience. I was reminded of this just a few days ago when I was enjoying an exchange with another vendor about an upcoming purchase. To say it was car related purchase would be something that you would expect to hear from me and so it was.  GM announced the arrival of a new car and it did so in a virtual event that it broadcasts to the globe. Calling it an event, free to all interested parties and recorded for posterity, maybe a stretch at a time when much is being conveyed in webinars and podcasts, but then again, the launch of a new Corvette certainly warranted the creation of an event all by itself. It was only a short time ago that this year’s NonStop Technical Boot Camp (NonStop TBC21) came to a close and in the intervening time, we have all had time to review sessions of interest to each of us. I certainly have been no slouch in this regard and have found that taking a se

Driving into Ft Collins, Colorado, Margo and I came across this big billboard. It brought a smile to both our faces even as we were later to comment that in fact, it was a poor reflection on our times. The creative process leading to innovative expressions seems to have lessened during the lockdowns driven by the global pandemic as not being able to congregate around the water cooler, throwing out ideas, and challenging each other just doesn’t seem as productive in the virtual world as it did when we could hassle over the choice of words in person. I wasn’t familiar with Creative Agency of Ft Collins, Colorado, but when I looked them up on the web, turned out that they were “a full stack digital marketing & creative agency.” Naturally enough, the reference to a full stack caught my attention, but then again, as they state on their web site, “ Your time is precious. Leave the strategizing up to us.” Well, there you go again, leave the strategizing up to you marketing partner. Ouch!

From Photos posted on Whova For as long as I can remember participation in NonStop focused events has been the highlight of the year! I have had the good fortune to travel to events worldwide, from Europe to Asia and even to Australia. The opportunity to simply catch up with former colleagues and newfound friends has made any inconvenience experienced on the day a moot point. Then again, my enthusiasm for customer-focused events can be traced back to 1979 when I attended my first global gathering of the EDOS community. As an Australian working in the early days of IT, making plans for any overseas trip was always a mixture of angst and longing, given how the price of the airline ticket to almost anywhere on the planet was exorbitant. The companies I worked for wanted to maximize any perceived value on offer, so at the time before I joined Tandem Computers in 1988, these trips to international events seemed to always total something like six weeks. Many telexes and faxes were involved a

  I have been a story teller for a very long time. I continue to tell stories, it is something I like to do. When it comes to IT and the ever-changing IT landscape there really is no end to the stories that can be told. While I am not up to the standard of ancient Greeks who wove a moral into nearly all their stories, all the same, I have never been at a loss to highlight something positive about NonStop and in particular, the strong bonds that continue to bind together the many participants that make up today’s NonStop community. If as yet you haven’t read the September – October 2021 issue of The Connection you may have missed reading my article, Data; it lives and it grows – with NonStop SQL, data truly has found a home . In that case you have missed my opening observations on IT and data - In the Information Technology (IT) world where the majority of us within NonStop community work, our reliance on data cannot be underestimated. Whether it’s a simple request, “Show me the data”

  Over a morning cup of coffee I read an article promoted on Facebook. Or, was it Twitter or perhaps LinkedIn? Can’t quite recall right now, but it matters little although at a guess it must have been an article related to the cloud experience or perhaps even platform-as-a-service (Paas). The article took me to yet another web site and while the story itself and the attraction it held for me are not all that important what struck me was just how reliant we have become on social media to help us navigate the news – technology or otherwise. For the past few days Margo and I have been heads down finalizing the September issue of NonStop Insider. With this issue going live we have successfully completed five years of publication and the sixty issues that can be accessed online contain a wealth of information on all things NonStop. Naturally enough, over that five years period there have been numerous changes to NonStop and these can all be seen as the editorial direction evolved right alon