by Dwayne Phillips I finally did it—I spilled a cup of coffee on my computer (first time ever over 40 years). A few lessons learned. After 40+ years of using my own personal computer, I spilled a cup of coffee on my current Apple MacBook Air. After a couple of hours, the coffee saturated the […]
Spilled Coffee
October 31st, 2022 · No Comments
Tags: Accountability · Chaos · Cloud Computing · Computing · Failure · Humility · Learning · Mistakes
Leaking or Sharing?
October 6th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Is it a data leak or an information share? Perhaps it is both; perhaps it is for the greater good. An old question has been asked again several times recently. Several decades ago I read of the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that the chip makers in Silicon Valley had. Employees signed legal documents […]
Tags: Employment · Jobs · Knowledge · Learning · Work
WDYLT?
October 3rd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A new acronym for each day: what did you learn today? I have read about a new trend called “quiet quitting” in which persons earn their paycheck (a necessary component) and do not more. They are not climbing the ladder or whatever we call is these days. They work hard and then […]
Tags: Learning · Remote Work · Work · Writing
What will This Tell Us?
September 29th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Most tasks provide us with something and information. Often the information is more important than the something. Often the information is something we already know. If that is the case, skip the task. Testing is a task that provides information. Well let’s back up: a good test provides information we can use. […]
Tags: Communication · Design · Information · Learning · Process · Testing
And Why Would They Know That?
September 8th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips When assuming that another person already knows something, ask, “And why would they know that?” It happened again the other day at work, someone interrupted a presentation, pointed to something mentioned but not shown, and asked, “But what is that thing? What does it do?” The presenter, unable to hide the aghast […]
Tags: Communication · Expectations · Knowledge · Learning · Work
Data is the New…Nausea
July 25th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Data, data, data. Enough already. Just tell me something I don’t know. Data is the new oil. Data is the new bacon. Data will fuel the economies of the future. Data will determine the winner of the next world war. Data, data, data. I work with data. On some days, some folks […]
Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Data Science · Information · Knowledge · Learning · Machine Learning · Teaching
The Standard Configuration
May 23rd, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Start at the beginning and build from there. That sure is boring. That is the standard configuration. If, however, resources are scarce and the desire to accomplish new work is high, it is a good place to start. I recently restarted a new job. That is a long story for another day. […]
Tags: Adapting · Baseline · Culture · Learning · Management · Process · Systems · Work
The Edge and the Center
May 9th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The edge is that area between the center of two places. Things are different at the edge. Try to remember the difference. I recently spent a few of strenuous days cleaning a fence row. A fence row comprises the ground a couple feet each side of a fence. In my case, the […]
Tags: Adapting · Context · Differences · Expectations · Learning · Notice · Observation
Mistakes and Learning
May 5th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We all make mistakes. Some of us learn from some of our mistakes some of the time. The choice is ours. We all make mistakes. That is part of being imperfect humans. How many mistakes did I make this week? How about just this morning? (Forgot to bring my laptop’s power cord, […]
Tags: Choose · Humility · Learning · Mistakes
The Machine Isn’t Learning
April 21st, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips “Machine Learning” is one of the biggest misuses of the English language I have seen. The machine isn’t learning. Let’s try to remember what is happening. Data science is a big deal these days. Well, it is until you read the fine print in the Help Wanted ads about data science jobs. […]
Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Language · Learning · Machine Learning