andrew
If you have a failing hard disk, and it has something really valuable on it (a bitcoin private key, irreplaceable photos, or the only copy of an unpublished book manuscript, for example), you should pay a professional to recover what’s on there. In my case, a relative had asked me if I might try...
bluemoonliteratureclub
AbdulFattaah Popoola
Over twenty years ago, I arrived at OAU as an eager adolescent. Registration meant managing paper documents, and enduring long queues in intense heat. I arrived at the faculty before 7 a.m., holding my documents, joined the crowd, and hoped the official would remain available when it was my turn....
AbdulFattaah Popoola
You inherit a team you didn’t build—perhaps because of a reorganization or leadership turnover. Insiders say everything is incredible; outsiders say the team struggles with execution. It’s tempting to say, “That’s not fair. I didn’t hire this team.” You would be right, but here’s a deeper...
andrew
This post focuses on one of the points covered in the Far Phase board training session on Generative AI, and complements the previous posts on AI risks concerning hallucinations (making mistakes) and intellectual property. There seems to be a new AI tool every week, and that every month a big...
andrew
This post focuses on one of the points covered in the Far Phase board training session on Generative AI, and complements the previous AI risk post on intellectual property. If you have heard anything about Generative AI, you have heard about its “hallucinations”. They provide great fodder for...
andrew
This post focuses on one of the points covered in the Far Phase board training session on Generative AI. Unlike Predictive AI, which is largely about doing analytics on in-house data, Gen AI exposes a company to a new set of risks related to Intellectual Property (IP). Boards and Directors should...
andrew
This may be a controversial post for some, since the data analytics industry has seemingly done its best to blur the line between the data domain and today’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom. That said, board directors and executives will be best-served by better understanding how these domains...
AbdulFattaah Popoola
Goldilocks went inside. First, she tasted the porridge of the great, huge bear, and that was far too hot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the middle bear, and that was too cold for her. And then she went to the porridge of the little, small wee bear, and tasted that. And that was...
andrew
There’s currently a spate of negative articles about the Apple Vision Pro. I think these overstate any “failure” of this device, and I’m going to tell you why. Assuming you read on. Zuckerberg got in early with his own negative take, but recently we’ve had some others. You might have seen...
andrew
Writing prompts for Generative AI systems will be a skill as critical as writing good web search queries has been over the past two decades. If you aim to be effective in making use of GenAI tools, “prompt engineering” is a skill that you should develop. A search box has become ubiquitous in...
andrew
I deliberated putting a question mark at the end of that title. Education Technology is a topic of contradictions, and has a history of hype, so it is clearly bold of me to be asserting This Time It is Different. But, maybe this time it is different. The recent State of Australian Startup...
Aaron Bos
In the rush of everyday life, it's easy to lose sight of your "North Star". For me and this blog, my North Star is learning. If I'm not learning, then chances are I'm not feeling energized. It's time to get back to what I have enjoyed so much with this blog over the last three years. Sharing what...
andrew
Artificial Intelligence (or AI) has meant different things at different times, all through my career. I started working in AI back in the 1990s, when the most prominent use of a neural network was to decode hand-written post code (zip code) digits on letters, and if an organisation was using AI,...
AbdulFattaah Popoola
Introduction I dreaded interacting with Lagbaja1 – the slightest slip could trigger undesirable consequences. So I tiptoed around eggshells – carefully choosing the right words, time, and place to avoid exhausting misunderstandings. At other times, I was Lagbaja, lashing out emotionally and...
Aaron Bos
This time of year (holidays and New Year's) means something different for everyone, but for me, they are always a time to reflect on what has been and look ahead at what could be. As I've done in previous years I'm going to review the previous year in terms of this blog and my career as well as...
Aaron Bos
Working in a field that is constantly changing can be challenging for a multitude of reasons. Our mindset for approaching the constant barrage of challenges can make a world of difference in both outcome and attitude. In this quick post, I'm going to share my thoughts on approaching problems with...
Aaron Bos
I’ve heard of others experiencing feelings of burnout in relation to free time or side projects, but I had never experienced it for myself. While I’m sure it’s different for everyone, I recently started to feel burned out with the time I spent outside of work on things that felt like work. In this...
Aaron Bos
I recently made the switch from Senior Engineering to Engineering Manager 😱. In this post, I'll share some general thoughts on the experience so far. While everyone's experience and situation is different, I think it's helpful to share my initial thoughts about making the transition a successful...
Aaron Bos
Life can be challenging. We are put into situations that challenge us mentally and physically all of the time. The mindset that we have going into these situations can significantly affect the outcome positively or negatively. In this post, I'll share my takeaways from the book Mindset by Carol...
Aaron Bos
As I've grown in my software engineering career I've learned that time isn't always easy to manage. Learning to deal with writing code, context shifting, collaborating, and all of the other aspects that go into being an effective engineer can be challenging. In this post, I'm going to try to flesh...
AbdulFattaah Popoola
Introduction “How can I trust you? You keep telling me about a new direction every other month” My report after the 3rd organizational pivot within three months. Background I was dumbstruck – there was nothing I could say. As a line manager, I was responsible for delivering the message...
Adam Membrey
I just wanted to draw my favorite snake. I classify snakes in the same group as birds, scorpions, and spiders: organisms that have beaks, pinchers, or unpredictable attack patterns that leave me constantly anxious of their possible attack. What makes snakes even more terrifying is how calm...
Adam Membrey
As a young Deaf person often operating in hearing spaces, I often looked for something that might make me look just cool enough to be on equal footing with my abled peers. I fully recognize the internalized ableism in that mindset, but at the time it felt like the only logical way to look at the...
Adam Membrey
Sometimes what keeps you crispy also burns you out. I think about this a lot whenever I’m going through yet another newsletter or chasing another YouTube video for insights, when I’m looking for something that will help me finally get something together – be it my creative process or my ideas or...
RetirementInvestingToday
I was not going to write this 4 years of FIRE post but I’ve had a number of requests for it which made me do a little thinking. In the end I thought it might add a little value as it’s no secret that my FIRE journey has been a roller coaster of ups and downs around the personable side of FIRE...
Adam Membrey
The real sparks come when you ride the wave of creativity. When you know there will be moments where you’re stuck and unsure where to go next and need to go into a more idle mode, busying yourself with random tasks such as taking a shower, going for a walk, or driving around the neighborhood. When...
Adam Membrey
Can you connect four emotions? So much of the writing process can feel technical. Certain things need to happen by certain pages or certain points in the story. But when you go too far in the direction, you lose what makes it last: the emotion of it all. I become a far better, more engaging...
Adam Membrey
When I see the word SPLAT, I think of those Nickelodeon slime machines. The ones primed and ready to be sprung on any unsuspecting celebrity at the annual Kids’ Choice Awards? The kind boldly trying to make a technologically-boosted comeback with the…NFL? Yes, that did happen. But the beauty...
Aaron Bos
In this post, I'll present my case for using conventional comments in code reviews. I've been an advocate of conventional comments for about a year and have enjoyed using them. I'm hoping to share the benefits so others can adopt their own standards for code review. Let's dive in!
AbdulFattaah Popoola
Am I an Effective manager? That is the million-dollar question every manager wants to know – we all want to be good at our jobs, we crave that satisfaction in knowing we are delivering impact and nurturing talent. Reviews, engagement surveys, and 360-degree feedback help a bit, but they come...
Aaron Bos
As the calendar year comes to a close, I'll take a moment to reflect on the posts and site improvements this year and also provide a sneak peek at what will be coming in 2023. Let's dive in!
Aaron Bos
In this post, I'll share why I recently decided to step away from a handful of social media platforms. I'll also touch on how I plan to replace the value that social media provided me with other alternatives. Let's dive in!
Diederik
I pay hardly any attention to anything that can be considered the “tech du jour”. When it comes to tech I’m a late adopter (if not a laggard), and unapologetically so. Sometimes I miss out on really cool tech that works amazingly well, but most of the time new tech is a dead end. Either it doesn’t...
Diederik
Imagine two startups. One startup makes a business chat app similar to Slack. The other startup has a business wiki product. In principle, these are very different apps that solve different problems. In practice, both apps face constant pressure from their customers to become more like the...
RetirementInvestingToday
2021 has been my third year since I took that initial leap into the FIRE unknown and for me it’s been my biggest year ever for change. Some good and some not so good. So with the sun fast setting on 2021 I thought it was time to take stock and write some of this down. Warning: If you don’t like...
RetirementInvestingToday
I’m not sure if it’s the COVID-19 lockdown affecting me, or whether this is really a thing, but over the past month or so I’ve started to really notice companies stretching their take on integrity. Maybe I was just in a bubble before but for me if you don’t have integrity I don’t want to be...
RetirementInvestingToday
With us now being only a single working week away from the new UK financial year and the investment world still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 situation I thought it might be worthwhile sharing a little about how my portfolio and life is changing given where we currently find ourselves....
RetirementInvestingToday
November 2019 marks a couple of significant anniversaries for me. The first anniversary is that it’s now 10 years since I started this blog with this first very amateurish post. As far as the FIRE movement goes, particularly when we compare it with the number of FIRE blogs today, these were very...
RetirementInvestingToday
The organisation I up until recently worked for closes its year at the end of December. With shutdowns between Christmas and New Year it meant that the run in to the Christmas bank holidays were always absolutely manic. It meant long hours and little time to soak up the Christmas spirit until...