Remote profile

Tradition

(n.) Peer pressure from dead people.

5 years ago today I pulled out of this little garage in Springfield IL and began a 2-day run to Monterey CA, to take on the role of MST's 1st CIO.

This was coming off my work as the CIO of the Illinois State Board of Elections (and a much needed sabbatical after).

It was also the only tech leader role that I did not land through an intro or recruiting effort (i.e. I cold-applied). At the time I was more than a little surprised that I got an offer.

Fortunately it has been a great gig so far.

🎞️ 🍿 🎃 October #MovieNight

Monster House (2006)

Yeah, my film tastes are very eclectic, but this is a smartly written and fun little animated haunted house film.

Zee: What is your problem?

DJ: Uh... puberty! Yeah, I'm having lots and lots of puberty.

I guess I shouldn't really find it surprising that I have been getting more MAGA-related SMS message than scams this last week.

But I am surprised that the vast majority of them are threatening and/or intimidating. Is that really proving to be effective in getting people to respond to these?

Microsoft offers a quarter of its global workforce (60k) voluntary buyouts as AI spending accelerates:

https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-buyout-ai-layoff-xbox-c5a639f53615be198db1799adf6837e1

One of a handful of odd little milestones in the next few weeks.

Was straightening out my home office yesterday and ran across this, which is (hopefully) the only time I end up as front page news somewhere.

I remember being quite surprised when this got printed, as:

I had not interviewed for it.

The Rensselaer Republican ended my long and odd history as a news item for them by getting my title wrong (Chief Intelligence Officer?)

I hated that picture.

🎞️ 🍿 🎃 October #MovieNight

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Let's be real, this is all about Al Pacino.

It's not that Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron aren't great actors (they are), but only Pacino could do such an over-the-top, scenery-chewing, scene-stealing portrayal of Lucifer and make it work.

"Who, in their right mind, Kevin, could possibly deny the 20th century was entirely mine?"

"All of it, Kevin!"

"All of it!"

P.S.

Fun fact - My Mom has no diplomas - not even High School.

She was forced to drop out when she with child (uh... that would have been me).

But... she is probably one of the most intelligent and well-read people I know.

At (soon to be) 82 years of age, her and I still talk regularly about the world, politics, history, and what we have both read lately. To this day she surprises me with her insights and her knowledge.

And it many ways it began with a mostly-forgotten, $1.25 mass-market paperback book, but a relatively obscure author, published during what was likely the height of the fiction-printing era.

I'm so glad to have been around during that time, and so thankful to have had a parent that encouraged me to leverage it.

By the time I was thirteen I had read several hundred books.

Still predominantly Science Fiction and Fantasy, but as ideas and concepts came up in those adventures, I also moved into mythology, history, philosophy and more.

Much (if not most) of my education came from the ability to obtain and read whatever I wished to, in whatever direction I wished to go in.

But... the inevitable happened, and after a couple of years of this I got a bit too demanding and began pushing my preferences for certain kinds of novels (her romance novels for example were really my thing).

This resulted in an evening in which a somewhat irritated parent informed me it was time to start reading these novels on my own and handed me a copy of this.

I never looked back.

Since my Mom was an avid reader of her own, with a strong liking for Science Fiction and Fantasy, and did not want to interrupt her own "quality reading time", she simply began reading the stuff she was into out loud.

These times remain one of the most treasured early childhood memories for me.

When you are so cool that you get your own traffic cones...

#Photography #SeaLions #WildLifePhotography

🎞️ 🍿 🎃 October #MovieNight

Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton's fascination with stop-motion gave me three of my favorite films. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, and of course this one.

💿 One of my Go-To's when I need to lower my Blood Pressure about 30%:

The Essential indigo Girls

https://www.discogs.com/release/14759424-Indigo-Girls-The-Essential-indigo-Girls

And so it begins...

https://apnews.com/article/alaska-senate-race-sullivan-name-lawsuit-certification-d8f4a3c7b5247cc427a05f796d7c0d82

(Jackson Florida Transit Authority) has reported a $39 million shortfall for fiscal year 2027, prompting plans to lay off nearly 200 employees and reduce transit services. The financial problems have raised questions among city officials about how the authority’s finances deteriorated after years of reported budget surpluses.

As a result, the City Council’s Finance Committee has voted to subpoena the departing chief executive of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority

https://www.transittalent.com/articles/index.cfm?story=Jacksonville_City_Council_Subpoenas_Departing_CEO_10-21-2026

🎞️ 🍿 🎃 October #MovieNight

Coraline (2009)

Honestly I never really need a reason to watch this, but for October it is a must.

Weird.

Delightful.

With just a touch of Scary.

Not mention visually stunning.

Got the 4k UHD Blu Ray when it was released and it looks and sounds every bit as good as you would expect it to.

"Students were sold on the hopes of finding a lucrative job — reviewing security alerts, responding to breaches, testing company systems — at a time of economic uncertainty and rapidly rising costs. In the end, though, they reported the company often gave improbable, deceptive or false information about job prospects and oversold its own support services":

https://hechingerreport.org/a-university-branded-boot-camp-promised-tech-jobs-it-delivered-only-debt/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A%20tech%20boot%20camp%20s%20broken%20promises&utm_campaign=HE%2010%2021%2026