Arb thoughts and web experiments
If you should ever visit the Shoreline Hotel in Donabate, Co Dublin be sure to say “Hi” to Ollie
He made us feel welcome and right at home, from the moment of our (very late) arrival.
I dub him the hotel’s CCSO – Chief Customer Satisfaction Officer.
Thank you Ollie, you rock!
In this fast-paced and ever evolving world the technology landscape is changing at a phenomenal pace.
There is a massive push towards all things “Cloud” – with impressive showings by the big 3 – AWS, Microsoft and Google.
In order to stay current I decided to study for and attempt the AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification and after months of hard work and late nights I’m very pleased to say that I passed my certification.
Given that yesterday (16th of June) was Father’s day I couldn’t help but remember my Dad – who not only was a terrific human being (even discounting my bias) but an extremely successful small-business man.
I cannot help but wonder how the compute power and extra-ordinary services offered by AWS (and others) will impact small to medium sized businesses and how they will leverage these technologies to their advantage.
Perhaps an equally important questions is: “Will they leverage these technologies to gain an advantage and if so, how?“
Corporations enjoy “big data” which is leveraged with astonishing results but they are often also bogged down by “legacy” – whether that speaks to infrastructure, mindset, policy and so on, which often impacts their agility.
It is in that space (less legacy coupled with agility) that I see small to medium enterprises leveraging “Cloud” services and potentially gaining a significant performance improvement – whether that be as a result of reduced costs, greater flexibility, agility, responsiveness and ultimately (and hopefully) an improvement in the bottom line.
Have thoughts or comments – why not get in touch via email?
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s indicative of the erosion of family values (although I hope not).
Perhaps it’s simply a result of all work and no play and a life out of balance but this year I just haven’t felt the Christmas spirit.
And I’m saddened by the ‘loss’.
I used to love Christmas and look forward to the entire Festive Season – it’s not only a time for gifts (but who minds getting a couple of these, right?) more importantly it was a time for family – with Advent observed over the four Sunday’s leading up to Christmas with the burning of candles, family gathered around, a sense of gratitude for what we had and the smell of Mom’s Christmas cookies baking in the oven.
This year simply felt rushed. Without pause nor a moment to catch your breath.
No Advent. No family gatherings. No cookies.
Sigh!
This is a sample post in which I test the automated “Tweeting” of my new posts using a wordpress plugin.
This should substantially increase the “visibility” of the post, not only to search engines and subscribers but also by drawing attention to the post through Twitter.
Lets see how this works!
It’s Earth Hour tonight – the initiative that asks folk to switch off their lights and appliances to raise awareness on the peril to our planet and our existence thereon from rising greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
Remember: When all is said and done the PLANET will be fine. It will be here long after we humans have been wiped from its surface (most probably as a result of our own carelessness and inaction.)
So stop thinking about it as saving the planet – think about saving yourself – and without this planet being left in a state in which we, the human race, can survive and thrive then we are in deep trouble indeed!
The much criticized “Secrecy Bill” was approved yesterday (Tuesday 22 November 2011) by the South African National Assembly by a majority vote.
The ruling ANC party used it’s huge majority to push this legislation through. It must still be sent to the National Council of Provinces before being signed into law.
From my understanding, one of the most contentious issues, is the exclusion of a “public interest” defense.
Under Apartheid the National Party passed similar legislation – also abusing it’s majority in Parliament. Is this truly what the people of South Africa deserve? I believe not.
This bill must be scrapped – it hinders a young democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and access to information.
Shame on you ANC!
More here:
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-11-22-black-tuesday-secrecy-bill-passed-by-parliament
Three oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell, Falcon Oil & Gas, and Bundu Oil & Gas are eyeing the exploration of natural gas trapped in the underground shale formations in the Karoo. Shell recently applied for exploration licences for an area of 90,000 square kilometres – roughly three times the size of Lesotho.
For the full lowdown go here.
I vote NO! Our planet, our home (and let’s be clear it’s the only one we and our children have) is already under extreme threat. Let’s not pump poison and other chemicals into sensitive areas where fresh water supplies are harmed and the environment is left even more scarred.
Surely by now we should have learnt something from our past mistakes? My parents lives through 1 world war – I don’t want to have to do the same, especially over something like fresh water (something we should have in sufficient quantities if only we would look after it properly!)
Royal Dutch Shell, Falcon Oil & Gas and Bundu Oil & Gas – forget profit for a while and consider the fate of others, and it “others” is too vague a term, think about yourselves and the fate of your own children!
PLEASE don’t go FRACKING in the Karoo! (Or anywhere else for that matter!!!)
I came across this video, a copy of which is available on Youtube and which I have shared below.
At first glance I was not sure whether to be outraged or to just laugh this off as so much “anti-establishment” bumpf. No matter your take however, there certainly is a lesson to be learned here.
That is, look beyond the obvious and the information presented as “facts” – especially by the producer of a product and ask yourself: is this true, can it be, who benefits really? At whose expense?
In general I prefer my water bottled, although here in Johannesburg tap water is generally safe to drink. It tastes a little chlorinated, but it’s never made me or anyone I know personally, ill. Long may that last.
So take a peek at the video and draw your own conclusion – personally I think the presenter has a point!
What say you?
Sometimes elegance is forgotten in this fast-paced gender equal world of ours.
Have a stunning day now!
