GDG Great North DevFest 2020 – Continuous Integration and Delivery In The Cloud

Automating the deployment of software is critical to increase the speed at which you deploy software. With the numerous tools available, it is sometimes overwhelming to determine what to use. Depending on the tools chosen, you might also have to deploy additional infrastructure that needs to be maintained and configured.

This session helps you understand what is currently available in Google Cloud to make deploying software easier, faster and not having to worry about maintaining complicated infrastructure.

Here is the video from my session at the Great North DevFest 2020. It was a virtual conference, which was a different experience for me, as I was not able to interact with the audience throughout the presentation.

Posted in CI/CD, Containers, Practices, Software Development | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Social Media Challenge




I have come to the conclusion that almost no one has ever grown up. And I include myself in this assessment as well. Take a good look at many social media posts. He says this. She said that. We say this. They say that. It should be done this way. No, it has to be that way. Why are people behaving like children?

What happened to respect? Honor? What about love? Empathy?

Remember that we are human beings. Forget the other arbitrary labels that society has invented. Labels are divisive. They create an us versus them mindset.

In today’s social media world, people just seem to want to spew their thoughts, without any real deep thinking about what those thoughts say about us as individuals or as a nation. It appears that people want to point fingers and lay the blame on someone.

Why? Because it’s much easier to do this than the alternative.

People have forgotten or perhaps never learned about confirmation bias. Simply stated, confirmation bias seeks out stories that match what we believe and we then point to it and say, “Ah ha! I’m right, see. So and so says it.”

Social media exploits confirmation bias to keep people on their platforms, reading, commenting and sharing. It’s rare to see an opposite point of view on topics and if someone does, they are likely to say, “That’s a lie!” without giving it any thought or consideration.

I challenge you to change the way you interact with social media. Don’t just blindly look for things that confirm what you believe and then share them. Do your own research. Figure out what another point of view is on a topic. Think about it. Decide. And then share. Share not only what you believe in but the why behind your beliefs.

And when you share something that you have researched, remember that you are no longer a child. You are an adult, who is respectful. Who honors, loves and has empathy for other people. It’s okay to have a different opinion, just make sure that you have done your research and have not been misled or are simply relying on someone else’s thinking. Be responsible for your own opinions based on solid research that you have done.

Yes, this is time consuming. But it is so worth it.

Imagine a world where people could have meaningful conversations about the differences they have and avoid the rampant name calling and finger pointing. To have different perspectives shared in a respectful and open manner. And more importantly come up with well thought out solutions to our complex problems.

Are you ready to be the difference?


Posted in Commentary, Politics, Social Media | Leave a comment