To all reading this who believe in the birth of Jesus Christ or simply acknowledge the national holiday, Merry Christmas! To everyone else, Happy Friday!

My gift to all of you would be a big hug and a drink of an adult beverage of choice. All I would want from anyone is the same, preferably a brown liquid aged in oak barrels in Kentucky or Scotland. However I realize such a gift exchange may be in direct violation of local or national executive orders.

A New Symbol of the Season

One day my oldest kiddo suggested we get a dumpster fire ornament for our Christmas tree. When I searched Amazon I found a plethora of them, in all ways shapes and materials, and I decided on this laser-cut wood design. I only hope in the future the words of Bruce Springsteen in the song Rosalita will apply, “someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny.”

I hope you all have the merriest Christmas as you possibly can have!

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

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Despite what those who interact with me on a fairly regular basis may think, I am truly thankful for a lot this Thanksgiving. Yes, emotionally this was a rough year for me. As a full-blooded Italian-American I wear it loudly on my sleeve. And arm. And hell, my whole body.

But when I get off the never-ending merry-go-round that has been 2020 and gain firm footing, I can reflect on positives. Note this is by no means a thorough retrospective of the year that was, simply some of the higher points.

My family, and that they are healthy. Beyond none of us getting tabulated as a case, we had no other physical ailments either. As for sanity, that remains to be seen.

Sadly I know some who have not been as fortunate health-wise and have lost loved ones to the virus or otherwise, or have had other dreaded illnesses. In my thanks I am also praying for all of them.

Employment. Throughout all of this both my wife and I have been employed. I almost thought of putting this first, as many people are not so fortunate, but seeing you need to be alive to work, it came in a close second.

Where of course this was good for sustenance (not to forget VISA) for me it was a very busy and stressful time at work. The demand for the technology I manage spiked along with the cases, in addition to a plethora of technical issues which I choose not to elaborate on. Taking into consideration how I wear my emotions, I wasn't always the most agreeable soul, and I had zero interest in working on the puzzles the rest of the family were making during the spring and summer. I make no apologies for not being into them, for after some of the days I had I just wanted to turn off my brain. The occasional dining room table ping-pong was fun though.

My kiddos are back in the pool. And on the soccer field for one of them. With everything shutting down in the spring, this included the swim team, which is a big part of their lives. On the first day the pool was reopened for simple lap swimming, they were there. Practices resumed over the summer, and now they are finally getting back to meets. Plus the general consensus has been submerging in a chlorinated pool for hours a day is good for whatever could be plaguing society.

Living in Northeast Wisconsin. There were a lot of reasons for why we moved here 3 plus years ago and in general it has been a good move. One thing about this area is that it is "purple" politically – there is a big mix of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and people like me who don't consider themselves any of the above. Being confined in close quarters and hearing all of the noise about the US Presidential election drove me off of Twitter almost completely. Closer to home the balance was refreshing. I only had to look outside my front door as one neighbor flew a Trump flag and next door was a Biden flag.

The escapes we made. We did a getaway for a week to a lake house this summer, as well as some get-togethers with friends and family. Yea, yea – distancing and masks were involved. These interactions were direly needed; even the pontoon boat misadventures the first day of the lake house that were eclipsed by the second day of me actually getting the hang of driving one of those things was welcome.

NCIS. I couldn't have any such list without including the TV show we binge-watched from beginning to end. Where I don't think I personally watched every episode, and was mildly disturbed at how many "dead Marines" there were, it was a good drama for all in the family to watch together.

Deconstructing Thanks at Thanksgiving

When you actually stop and look for something, you may find it. I did this here in briefly reflecting on the year. I hope if you do as well, there will be some good for you to discover.

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

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I have often said the technology needs of non-profit organizations are similar to those of for-profit businesses. To begin with, many for-profit businesses are actually non-profit, but I digress. Where the difference comes into play is in the significance of the technology to support the mission of the organization, especially when it has a greater cause. The following is a true story and the name of the organization have been withheld to protect the innocent.

What this particular organization offers to its community – services for inner-city youth – is vital. When it comes to their tech infrastructure, they needed help, and that’s how I came into the picture. I first got involved with a past program they had with refurbishing computers for kids, later consulting to them pro-bono on their Web site through my previous Web business.

One day, and I remember it was July the third, I got a phone call late in the day from the Executive Director of this organization. A few days earlier on July the first, they switched to a new Internet provider in their office, something I was aware of. However, what I was not aware of – and neither was their Executive Director – was the hosting of their Web site and email went away with the switch, as it was at their previous provider. As a result, their Web site went down, and so did their email.

Part of the reason why I supported the organization, in addition to the great things they did, was the Executive Director himself. His professionalism and enthusiasm could have him leading any corporation. So as he acknowledged what happened and what they didn’t prepare for, in his unique style he asked for my help. How could I not? Despite the timing before the holiday, I told him I could restore his Web site and email accounts by the time they were back in the office on July the fifth.

Even while I was on my call with him, I was putting together a plan to restore their services. Luckily I had recently taken a copy of their entire Web site so I was able restore it. I established new Web hosting and email and setup and configured it all. Once completed I crafted instructions for managing email, sending it to the Executive Director’s personal email. In the message I let him know I will offer the hosting to them at no cost.

When they got back in the office after the holiday, I got emails from their new email accounts thanking me for all I did.

Deconstructing Consulting For A Greater Cause

I gladly setup and offered the organization its hosting as I was helping a greater cause. Although what I did for them was not pushing the technical limits of what I can do, it was up there with the most gratifying work I have done. Today I look back on this with pride for the important services I was able to offer this vital organization.

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

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Several years ago I “got into” writing. Granted, I was blogging here at The Hot Iron for over a decade at that point. Even with a body of work – some of it even beyond the world of business and technology – I never considered myself a “writer” per se. Visiting the Lit Fest in Chicago and taking it all in for the first time, a mere few blocks from my then home, was the boost I needed. Where I haven’t published yet beyond this Web site, I have expanded on what I write here, and have in various stages pieces in need of time to finish and submit for possible publishing.

That is if you don’t count some short stories I have submitted recently. And the emphasis here is on short – as in 53 words short. On and off for the last year I have submitted entries for the monthly 53-Word Short Story contest by Press 53, a fiction and poetry publishing house in North Carolina. I discovered this when looking for writing contests for one of my kids, who at one point was interested in such contests then later wasn’t. However I got bitten by this serial unique challenge.

For August’s contest, the writing prompt was to write about “Sunday.” That’s it, that’s all they give you, and it is up to your creativity – and brevity – to craft something unique and prize-winning. As you can tell by the title of this post I did not win, and as a result my prose will not be published in one of their journals.

But as words must be free, I share “Any Given” with you here:

"While awaiting our lobsters to brighten, we slurped steamers – simmered in Harpoon IPA, from the same Portsmouth dock as the crustaceans. Aptly accompanying our ocean harvest was corn on-the-cob, homemade potato salad and more of said IPA.

Ten o’clock may seem early for such a feast, but there’s only three hours till kick-off."

The preceding is a true story, as annually we would have a lobster bake during one week’s tailgating before a New England Patriots home game back in the day.

If you’re so inclined you can read the winning entry here, learn about this month’s contest and how you too can compete with me for the fame and glory of a very, very short story.

Deconstructing Short Story Writing

Writing can take many forms. What I originally saw as business and technology writing was in reality story writing, and upon that realization it opened and expanded my mind to what else I could write. But I will save an in-depth deconstruction for another time – just get out there and write!

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

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What the hell have I gotten myself into? I was just looking for a place to stay!

These were just some of the thoughts racing through my head as I was white-knuckling the drive to our hotel outside of Bozeman, Montana as part of our family cross-country road trip. We were booking hotels along the way and The Lodge at Big Sky was the closest hotel available to Bozeman, where we planned to anchor our trip to Yellowstone National Park. We didn’t get to Bozeman until sunset, and by the time we went thru the city and towards our hotel it was pitch black – too dark for my liking with trailer trucks coming and going around us. The fact we had no sense of where we were truly heading added no comfort either.

What was in actuality under an hour drive seemed like an eternity, and upon arrival I was drained. Soon after we checked in and arrived at our room, a corner suite with high ceilings and big windows. About all we could see outside at this hour was a firepit on the patio below us. Closing the curtains, I thought about warming by the fire with adult beverages the following night.

In the morning we slowly rose and I made my way to the lobby for coffee. Back at the room we were slowly rustling the children for our day trip to Yellowstone, and I decided to shed a little light on the situation. Fumbling with the curtains until I found the pull rods, in unison I pulled them apart, opening them not only to a bright sunny day but one of the most beautiful natural sights I’ve ever seen.

In awe, I grabbed my phone and snapped the picture at the opening of this post. It is Lone Peak, part of the Big Sky ski resort. Of course, I say this with great knowledge now, but I had no idea where we were heading or what we would encounter once the new day arrived. We bookmarked these views and prepared for our trip to see Old Faithful, and ended up spending another day and night longer to explore the beauty of this area. What was pure chance became a highlight of the journey.

Recounting this story – and this is my deconstruction as well – I am reminded that you never know what will arrive in the morning. Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of stress, but some bright spots as well, as we adjust to events we have no control over. In telling this tale from last summer I am offering hope – to you my fair reader, and to myself especially.

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

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