As I compile this list on my computer I realize it’s the National Day of Unplugging. In the background a movie is being streamed over Netflix, not to mention too many lights on in the house. At least the adult beverage I am sipping now didn’t require any wired power to pour.

Who Comes Up With These Days Anyway? – World Backup Day is March 31. However I really, really urge you to backup your files way sooner, and just like voting in Chicago – early and often. If you’re not sure how to approach backing up your vital pictures and files, I offer this oldie but goodie on my own backup strategy.

Speaking of Your Data... – I signed up for this free Webinar titled, “Government Access to Private Data: Who gets what when and how?” being offered by the University of Wisconsin next week. The speaker’s bio alone intrigued me to watch this, and I also found it interesting that recordings of the event are prohibited.

The Next Generation of Wikipedia? – Larry Sanger, one of the founders of Wikipedia, is starting Encyclosphere as an alternative to the popular digital encyclopedia. It’s not live yet, and from descriptions I read it will not be a central site but a network of resources. Could The Hot Iron be one? Who knows. I have subscribed to their email list to learn about progress in this endeavor.

There has been a lot of talk about how Wikipedia works, using volunteer editors whose influence on content can show their bias. However this is nothing new to me or something that has happened just in the last 4 years. Almost a decade ago I first learned of this by someone I knew in tech networking circles in Chicago. She told me that many edits she and other colleagues made on women’s sports were continuously being deleted. Note I said sports, not politics.

Define Rockstars – “... it’s better to have a rockstar team rather than a team of rockstars...” is a paraphrase of a great quote I heard this week on an episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast. This made me think back on all of the teams I have been a part of over the years, and I concur wholeheartedly with it.

Two-Minute Catholic – With all of the podcasts that are queued in my mobile app, the last thing I wanted is another long show to subscribe to that I will likely never get to yet keep holding out hope I will. I recently learned about Relevant Radio, a network of Catholic radio stations that also has an app, and this week found Fr. Kubicki’s 2 Minute Prayer Reflection. Two minutes! This daily timeout is welcome in the mix of news and technology listening.

Six-Months Italian – They say all good things come to an end, and I decided to stop my daily streak of “learning” Italian at 180 with the Duolingo app. Six months is nothing to shake a stick at, but lately I have been repeating lessons rather than taking new ones simply for the sake of keeping the streak alive. Where I have gained a better understanding of my mother tongue, I don’t have a venue to practice it. I may resume lessons in the future. In the meantime I am going to focus on career-advancing studies.

No Cost to Viewer’s Remorse – Last weekend the new combo animated/live-action Tom & Jerry movie came out concurrently in physical movie theatres and on the streaming channel HBO Max. As I get HBO Max for free for being an AT&T customer, I didn’t mind it as much how horrible the movie was as the only cost was my time, which did not last through the entire duration of the film.

No Cost and No Remorse for this Agile Learning – This week Agile coach and educator Anthony Mersino released the second edition of his book Agile Project Management for free in PDF and Kindle formats. As a paper book aficionado, I have started reading this as a PDF, but will still buy a copy in paper format when it comes out. I have taken courses from Anthony and he has a great style of educating that gets you excited about using Agile and Scrum methods.

End of a Friendly Era – I learned that last month S. Presley Blake, the co-founder of the East coast Friendly Ice Cream restaurant chain, died at age 106. In its heyday Friendly’s was a go-to place for Fishamajig sandwiches and Fribble shakes. I worked at the store in my hometown for 60 days exactly, allowing a friend to get a bonus for referring me, as I quickly realized food service wasn’t my thing. A philanthropist after selling the restaurants, Blake was also known for building a replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in northern Connecticut when he was in his late 90’s.

Go Cubs Go – The gratuitously cute bear cub photo at the top of this post was sent to me by my cousin. The cub’s mother is being monitored by state wildlife officials and thus they were able to capture this photo and others of mother bear and her newborn cubs on said cousin’s land. Where I would never think of using cute animals to drive traffic to this humble blog, I’ll fully assess this position after checking the traffic to this one post.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Here’s my workspace as I compile my list of learnings from the week: I am sitting outside at Little Switzerland ski area in Slinger, Wisconsin wearing a flannel shirt and cap but no jacket while looking out to the ski slopes. There also may be a hopped beverage close by. Not trying to brag, but with temperatures in the mid 40’s F this week after subzero the past few weeks, I am in literal amazement of this scene!

Less Scrolling LinkedIn – I deleted the LinkedIn app from my mobile device this week. Why? I have found myself endlessly scrolling through the highly-algorythmed timeline of the business networking app far too often. I came to this realization after listening to a recent episode of the PhoneBoy Speaks podcast, where he talked about doing the same. I still use LinkedIn but only on my computer. Where I don’t have specific measurements, I feel my general interactivity with the meatspace world has increased a smidge.

(One) More Email from LinkedIn – Earlier this week I published a post on allowing LinkedIn connections to download your email address and though a few days later I was curious if, of my 1,600+ connections, I had any more than 25 with email addresses in my download file. After just checking, the number increased to one more. One. It’s nice to see someone read it.

Rockin’ Releases – Software developers often give code names to new releases of their hard work. Sometimes those names are fun, other times they are boring. I was thrilled to see the latest release of YOURLS, the short URL link server I use, named its latest version after Mike Muir, the lead singer of Suicidal Tendencies. As YOURLS rocks, it’s only fitting its releases should rock too.

Rockin’ Across Politics – A story that did not get much attention as I thought it would following the death of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh regarding his show’s theme song, My City Was Gone, by The Pretenders. Why? Because Limbaugh and Chrissie Hynde, the lead singer of the band, are polar opposites in their political views. So why would Hynde allow her song to be used? Her Dad was a fan of Limbaugh. But there’s more to the story, and read the link for more on how these 2 celebrities came to common ground.

Unlocking Words – There is a workaround to edit a locked Microsoft Word document.

From Iceland With Broadband – When I heard Wisconsin was asking residents to use an Internet speed test Web site to collect broadband speeds in the state, I visited the Web site to do my civic duty. However, I use a VPN on my computer, and when I did it registered me in Iceland. Weighing Internet privacy over a low-impact display of my citizenship, I opted for the former.

RIP Bobby – This past week my friend Jimmy’s brother Bobby lost his battle with a fast-moving form of cancer. When he was diagnosed a GoFundMe page was setup where Bobby would post updates, when he could, of this unfortunate journey. I felt was very brave. The GoFundMe is still open to help support his family.

Power to the Product Owner – When I became a Certified ScrumMaster last year, what really intrigued me most from my training was the role of the Product Owner on the Scrum team. Since then I have read and listened to much on this vital team role, including this recorded Webinar this week on better understanding the Product Owner. It is due to this “mystery” that I am planning to become a Certified Scrum Product Owner as well this year.

Meme More Better – For all the memes out there, I always find the need to make more. I have used a variety of sites to do this, as past ones keep changing, usually for the worse. I have decided to use this site to Meme Better.

Stacked Potential – New to me is the Amazon Dash Smart Shelf that was launched last fall which is basically a scale for detecting when products on it weight less (or are in short supply) and will order more. Where the idea is nice, I would consider getting one if it could double as a postal scale or even a human scale. Otherwise that’s a lot of overhead for determining if I need more printer paper.

Credit Where Due – My CPA Ron Axe is awesome. I met him years ago at the first business networking event I went to in Chicago and I have been a client of his ever since, and so have other family members. This week I heard that when a family member submitted for their taxes the letter that came with their 2020 US federal government stimulus check, it was the first one Ron had gotten from a client. Apparently, everyone thought it wasn’t a tax document and threw it out. In honor of this, Ron made a donation to Rescuing Leftover Cuisine in their name.

Don't Buy The Dips – Hedge fund manager, financial educator and all-around great guy Jonathan Hoenig is offering another free webinar next week, Don’t Buy The Dips. I will be watching and learning, and you should too.

Hope Comes and Goes – Last week my fair city had a program called Avenue of ice where ice sculptures were dotted along the main drag, College Avenue. I got the picture above of one of them, HOPE, which was not far from the HOPE sign I learned about late last year. It’s a good thing I got this picture the day it started as a few days later the above-mentioned heat wave did a number on it. This is a case where hope lost is not necessarily a bad thing.

"I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things."
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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While watching my kiddos grades rising now that they are back in the physical classrooms in contrast with the falling temperatures outside, I guess there’s worst trade-offs out there.

Herb Will Be Your Valentine – Former Wisconsin US Senator and current billionaire Herb Kohl once again fully funded several hundred DonorsChoose campaigns for Dairyland teachers this past Valentine’s Day. DonorsChoose is a platform where school teachers can raise money for supplies or equipment for their classrooms. This is the fourth time the heir to the department store chain has done this. Note to Wisco teachers, mark your calendar for next February.

Taxing The Ignored – Maryland became the first US state to tax online advertising after the state’s legislature overrode the governor’s veto of the bill. Where many people ignore banner ads and general ad links, it is the lucrative business that made Google and Facebook the giants they are. It will be interesting to see how many other states follow suit, as well as how Maryland businesses find ways around the tax.

Lesser is Morer – When you try to cut grains out of your diet, it’s a challenge when you want a “treat” and Doritos is out of the question. This is why I was happy I found the Lesser Evil snacks brand this past week. Based in Connecticut, the company makes snack foods with basic ingredients. What has become a new favorite in the house for me – and others as well – are their “No Cheese” Cheesiness Paleo Puffs. Though they have a different consistency of a standard cheese puff, they also don’t have the dayglow orange tint to them, not to mention being tasty.

This Cookie Option, Not So Much – Cookies have been used in Web browsers to “remember” information for almost as long as there have been Web browsers. They have evolved (devolved?) to being the means for companies tracking you as you traverse across various Web sites. Many Web browsers and tools can optionally block cookies, and now the major browsers are looking to eliminate them altogether. Google, who as previously stated is in business to make a lot of money, is coming up with alternatives to cookies. Where the intent of cookies wasn’t originally to track your every move, I am also suspect of any attempt by Google to control their replacement.

A Different Take on No Comment – Comments on blogs, articles and social media were designed to engage readers in a conversation. Just as cookies had a noble beginning and devolved, the same can be said for comments. An alumni of the University of Wisconsin is suing her alma mater for hiding comments on social media critical of animal testing at the school. This may lead to organizations simply not posting on social media or people getting off the platforms altogether. With the state of how these social media sites are today, this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Be Billions – I have started binge-watching the Showtime series Billions with Paul Giamatti. Where I am not really into finance or law, there’s something about the characters in this story that has really drawn me into it.

Modeling the Creative – This week I caught up on a webinar I missed live on Learning Loops. It is a “mental model” for keeping the creative juices flowing when innovating products. It’s an energetic presentation and one I encourage you to watch even if you don’t have a product challenge right now.

Riddle Me Tech – As I am studying for the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification, which would prove I have a good high-level understanding of the tech giant’s cloud services, my friend Raj recommended IT Exams to review practice questions. Where this link is to the actual Microsoft exam questions, you can browse the site for all sorts of practice questions for, as they say, the very low price of free.

A Sunnier Outlook – When the thermometer goes up nearly 30 degrees over a few days, yet is still below freezing, you think a lot of why you are where you are. As dwelling on this wasn’t going to do me any good, I would often minimize all of my open apps and stare at the wallpaper on my computer. I took this photo last December when my family went to Florida, and this is the sunrise over Cocoa Beach. My daydreams of warmer, sunnier days may be coming soon, as the forecast for next week will have temperatures above freezing, though by only a few degrees.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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With all of the people I know that are moving to Florida, it makes me wonder - how many people can fit in the Sunshine State? As I ponder this, I look out the window to the thermometer pinning below zero.

Pre-preview Value – On a trip to an actual movie theatre I learned something from whatever they call the “pre-roll” videos before the movie trailers begin. Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Psycho was the first movie to have a flushing toilet in it. Why? Because showing a commode in a film in 1960 was considered filthy.

What’s In a Name? – A forthcoming movie is Land starring Robin Wright. I saw the preview for Land and I am planning to see it. There’s something about the name of the character she plays... I just can’t put my finger on it.

Only the Shadow Knew, Now We All Do – Presented without comment is this article from Time about a “secret” election campaign in 2020 If you know me, you can likely guess what my comment would be.

A New Spin on Front Office – I have to hand it to the local minor league baseball team, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, as they have come up with creative ways to make money when games couldn’t be played. The latest is where you can rent a work suite at the ballpark which is a reconfigured suite where you would typically watch a game. Where this is not something you would likely do every day, it offers a better view than you likely have from your current bedroom workspace.

Daily Scrum Podcast – I recently started listening to the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast. It’s a daily, 15-minute show that covers various aspects of Scrum. As most of the other podcasts I listen to are much longer and seem to be getting longer, it’s nice to have a short but thought-provoking episode every day.

Hungry? – Did I mention my kiddo is selling Girl Scout cookies?

Streaming Ideas – Last weekend I volunteered for the first time to run the streaming of my church’s Saturday mass. The software they use is the open-source OBS software and I was told this is what most organizations are using to stream events. I’ve downloaded a copy of the software locally, and am hoping to brush-up on this. If my hopes are fulfilled and there are outdoor swim meets this summer, this would be a great way to let people see their kiddos in the water.

Backfilling Knowledge – The online training site Pluralsight had a free weekend and after much searching I decided to take Learning ExpressionEngine even though the course was 7 years old and for 4 versions back on the blog software I use. Why? All I know about EE is self-taught, and I learned features I wasn’t aware of. Now that I know all that I should, I can build on that as I learn about the latest version.

A Silver Bullet for Several Sources – New to me this week was CORS which stands for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing. It is, and I am paraphrasing here, a way to indicate your Web page is getting content from other Web servers. Where I am not coding as much as I used to, I continue to keep close to how things work – for me, it’s not just what, but how.

SIM Swapping Shysters – Just when you thought you were randomly dropping a mobile phone signal, it could be an indication someone is stealing your identity! This article from Hacker News talks about how people were caught “SIM swapping” and the accompanying video details how SIM swapping works. This was eye opening to me, and maybe I just need to turn my device off more and keep it in a drawer.

Homage to a Hustler – This week Larry Flynt died. If you didn’t know who he was, or even if you did (or think you did), I recommend reading this article on Larry Flynt by Dr. Vincent Filak.

Light sight – This time of year, the outdoor solar lights around our house don’t always illuminate consistently. It has something to do about how actual sunlight is needed to recharge a battery with a solar cell or something like that. As I was racing out the door to the car the other night, this one pictured caught my eye.

“Rumors fly when information isn't out...”

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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In the same week Dunkirk Dave didn’t see his shadow thus forecasting an early spring, my area got clobbered with a huge snowstorm coupled with high winds, coupled with poor road plowing. If you don’t know Dave, he’s the “other” groundhog. Said other groundhog predicted a longer winter, so I am going with the rodent from my hometown.

Improved is Subjective – What you see in this post is compiled with a lot of copying and pasting of links from my Microsoft Edge browser. Last week I noticed links were labeled with the title of the Web page and not the actual URL text, and I had no idea why. It turns out this is a new “feature.” Scrolling down this article fortunately showed me how to disable it.

Or Maybe Just Surf – Perhaps my browser expectations are too high, and I should just use the Edge browser to do a different type of surfing offline as my friend Craig does?

Can’t Widget Your Way Out – You may have seen a floating icon over the edge of some Web sites, and by clicking you get “help” in the form of accessibility tools. I have been suspect of these, as with all of my research and hands-on experience, there is no magic bullet for Web accessibility. This report from the Seyfarth law firm confirms that fact.

What to Do? Tell Me a Story – User story mapping is a term that applies to an agile approach of defining what you are going to do (e.g. build software, design a service) instead of writing detailed specifications that nobody reads. This is a good article on user story mapping from a design point-of-view.

Zoom Like a Pro – If you think the only prep you need before going live on camera is to make sure you are wearing something, then you may not want to read this post from my friend Roland on how CEOs and other experts approach streaming. Not surprising, there’s a lot more going on you don’t see in that little box on the screen.

There Once Was a Sidewalk from Nantucket – Appleton, Wisconsin is soliciting poetry to be set in concrete in sidewalks. I showed an example of this sidewalk square prose last summer in one of my What I Learned posts. Where I am not “there” in writing poetry, I’m equally as interested in seeing what is laid in concrete as seeing crumbing sidewalks repaired.

It’s Spongebob, For You – The Nickelodeon kids TV empire now has a birthday club where you can have one of their show characters call you. As my kiddo who has an upcoming birthday doesn’t read my blog, I’m not worried she sees what I may do for it. I’m also thinking of doing this for some not-so-kiddo friends.

Fluffy Unicorns for Adults Only – Last weekend I had the pleasure of imbibing a Fluffy Unicorn... IPA, that is, at the Stillmank Brewery in Green Bay, Wisconsin while attending a meetup there of listeners of the No Agenda Show Podcast. It was a delicious brew, but I decided not to get stickers of the beer label for my kiddo who loooves unicorns. Perhaps a call from the school in the morning asking why there is a such a sticker on the Chromebook may have led to this decision.

Unlocking the Nextcloud – I often say I need to write more about Nextcloud, the private cloud software I use to manage photos, calendars, contacts and more. Though I am not going to do it now, I do want to share this link to fix if you get an error when deleting files on how to clear Nextcloud file locks.

Christmas (cards) by the numbers – This past week I took down Christmas cards (don’t worry, the decorations came down weeks ago!) and as I went through them, I counted a 50/50 split between traditional cards – ones where you actually write on them – and photo cards – ones where you build and print online or at a store. With recent trends towards the latter, I was surprised at the actual mix.

18 (bottles of?) Books On The Wall – When listening to a Scrum podcast listing recommended books to help ScrumMasters like myself, I looked up and saw all the unread books on my bookshelf. Counting them, I have accumulated 18 books I have yet to read. As I still want to read them, I decided to scratch the list and read what I have. Look for more book takeaways when I find the time to do so.

What I Know – My friend Gary shared this post on LinkedIn from organization psychologist Adam Grant with an interesting chart on what we know, and the humility of admitting what we don’t I know at least in the US admitting you don’t know something is a sign of weakness in some organizations, where the reality is others may not know the answer either.

Burnt Cookies – I’ve been using the DuckDuckGo Web browser as the primary one on my iPhone for the last few weeks and have enjoyed its user experience. Built in is the simplicity of clearing your personal data by clicking a “flame” logo, literally seeing flames burning your cookies and other private information as shown in the accompany image. You can alternately choose a whirlpool or airstream animation. The browser also supports Android devices but not Windows or MacOS. If you’re conscious of being tracked as I am, this is an elegant way of thwarting it.

“We shape our tools, thereafter our tools shape us.” – Marshall McLuhan

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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