Videos

Review: Boston Scally Cap

August 2, 2020 by JegErAlan 15 Comments

So, I am really going to try to make sure this doesn’t just become a review site, but I love these caps so much I wanted to do a shout out to the Boston Scally Company.

I don’t like wearing hats. I have a huge, size 8 head, and even size 8 hats sometimes are uncomfortably tight. Adjustable hats are horrible, because it is almost always at the far end of their adjustability.

Don’t let them fool you. One size does not fit all. 🙂

The first time I saw a Boston Scally cap was via a Facebook ad, and I didn’t buy it because $50 seemed too much for a hat. However, when they came out with the ‘Black Rose’ Plaid Peaky Boston Scally Cap, I couldn’t help myself and grabbed my first. The rest, as they say, is history.

Please check out the review to see four different styles…and please forgive me for not using a wind muff. 🙂

Oh, and grab one for yourself at https://bostonscally.com.

P.S. The Boston Scally Company also has awesome customer service.

Review: Cycorld Mountain Bike Shorts

July 25, 2020 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

Lest you all worry, Data Guy (Me) is not meant to be a review blog. However, especially when reviews are about things that connect with work or work/life balance, I like putting them here.

Additionally, I should note that this I got these shorts to review free as part of the Amazon Vine program. Trust me, that didn’t influence the results and they deserve 5 stars. 🙂

Why?

They are:

Light
Stylish (my wife keeps telling me how much she likes them)
Well built (fabric, stitching, etc.)
Very functional (great pocket design, ties with protectors on the end, stretching material in all the right places, and more)
Un-constricting

Review: Smatree Hard Carrying Case for the DJI Mavic Air 2

July 19, 2020 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

Please watch the video for a more complete review, but I gave the Smatree Hard Carrying Case for the DJI Mavic Air 2 five stars on Amazon because:

It has a great design and sturdy build quality
It is functional and stylish
It securely holds the DJI Mavic Air 2, Fly More kit, and more

One con:

The charging brick doesn’t fit as well as it should in the area intended for it

Review: GAOMON PD2200 Drawing Monitor

November 29, 2019 by JegErAlan 19 Comments

I recently purchased the GAOMON PD2200 drawing monitor from Amazon to create math tutorial videos (and for live tutoring). I have no artistic abilities, but my wife…who has an art degree…hopefully will push it a bit harder than me.

(Quick note: please read the update at the bottom of the post. The monitor is not red-ish like the image to the left and the video make it look.)

I am very impressed with the PD2200. Why? [Read more…] about Review: GAOMON PD2200 Drawing Monitor

Review: Bowflex C6 Indoor Exercise Bike

November 3, 2019 by JegErAlan 388 Comments

I debated which of my blogs to post this on…but settled here. Although I love what I do for work, “work/life” balance is important, and part of “life” should be exercising.

Where I live on the high plains east of Denver, I consider it relatively temperate. However, my favorite mode of staying in shape, bicycle rides, isn’t always…err…comfortable. 🙂

So, I always have an indoor exercycle too. Bowflex just released their version last week, although it is an “exercise bike” versus an exercycle. (What is the difference, if any? Are exercycles recumbent?)

I’m a huge fan of Bowflex equipment, so I bought the Bowflex C6 Indoor Exercycle the first day was available and assembled it two days ago. Yesterday I exercised it (pun intended!) and a few applications that work with it. Here is my first use/first impressions review based on that positive experience: [Read more…] about Review: Bowflex C6 Indoor Exercise Bike

Interview: Jasmine Cain

June 13, 2019 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

Now for a change of pace here on the Data Guy (Me) blog…

A bit of self-history here: The first two albums I purchased were “Macho Man” and “Cruisin'” by Village People. The next two were “Zoso” (or “IV”) by Led Zeppelin and “Left Overture” by Kansas…

And I’ve never looked back. I have a ridiculously large music collection (30K+ tracks?), subscribe to three streaming music services, and have two Internet music radio stations.

Yes, I love IT…but, before long before I ever professionally type a single key for IT I loved music…and I love finding new artists.

I’m not sure how I was first introduced to Jasmine Cain, but last year she became “new” to me. She is a committed, talented musician who is also a genuinely nice person (as are all the members of her band). She is the group’s bassist and lead vocalist…a singer who doesn’t need to be in a studio to sound great (as proven by her live Periscope videos). She is the real thing. [Read more…] about Interview: Jasmine Cain

Interview: Mike Rognlien

May 29, 2019 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

On Memorial Day, I had the honor of interviewing Mike Rognlien, author of This Is Now Your Company (my review of that book). Mike was a key HR leader for Facebook during their exponential growth (in part, building its industry-leading unconscious bias training), and is now Chief Builder of Awesome People at Multiple Hats Management.

Please take time to listen to (and see) a very smart, congenial guy…you’ll be a better leader if you do!

Galton Board Video

March 22, 2019 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

This awesome mathematics teaching tool came in yesterday from Amazon:

Okay, it was a bit hard to hold my Note9 and flip it…but you get the idea!

The Bell curve and standard distribution are obvious, but it also…

Both the Galton Board and the superimposed Pascal’s Triangle incorporate many related mathematical, statistical and probability concepts. Can you spot them all?

In the Galton Board you may see: the Gaussian curve of the normal distribution, or bell-shaped curve; the central limit theorem (the de Moivre-Laplace theorem); the binomial distribution (Bernoulli distribution); regression to the mean; probabilities such as coin flipping and stock market returns; the law of frequency of errors; and what Sir Francis Galton referred to as the “law of unreason.”

With Pascal’s triangle, mathematical properties and patterns are evident. Those include prime numbers; powers of two; Magic 11’s, Hockey Stick Pattern, triangular numbers; square numbers; binary numbers; Fibonacci’s sequence, Catalan numbers; binomial expansion; fractals, Golden Ratio, and Sierpinkski’s Triangle.

More info available at galtonboard.com.

Sure, maybe I get too excited by stuff like this…but…come on…it’s pretty cool! 🙂

Video Review of Crucial Conversations

March 16, 2019 by JegErAlan Leave a Comment

A “must read” book for anyone is Crucial Conversatons. This video gives a great summary. Please check it out…but still read the book! 🙂

Counterintuitive IT™ (Part 1)

February 21, 2019 by JegErAlan 1 Comment

Intuition is a handy thing to have in IT. As a former IT Jack-of-all-trades, I could join an outage call and frequently identify what was wrong more quickly than the experts. As a newbie with DevOps, data science, and other emerging IT fields, I don’t have that advantage anymore. It is uncomfortable.

But, it is exciting.

That does not mean I am entirely bereft of intuition in these new areas. Logic is logic, regardless of subject. However, it is invigorating to discover new, Counterintuitive IT™ facts or assertions. This is the first in an ongoing series of posts where I will share Counterintuitive IT™ examples as I run into them.

Counterintuitive IT™ #1: CABs Don’t Help, They Hinder

Having spent too much time on outage calls, I can appreciate any effort to reduce change induced incidents (CIIs). Avoiding those is especially important in healthcare IT (my present career). At a minimum, we inconvenience our clinicians and/or patients. Worst case, it impacts patient safety.

One popular approach to minimize CIIs is to require all non-standard, non-emergency modifications of production systems go before a change approval board (CAB). Having multiple sets of eyes will ensure you have all your ducks in a row, significantly reducing the likelihood of a problem.