Author: cantechit

Ontario Provincial Rally Championship 2015 – Round 2 – Lanark Highlands Forest Rally

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Isn’t this a tech blog?

However, I don’t live tech 24/7 – expect the occasional non tech, and yes probably rally related article.

I have been involved in the Canadian Rally scene for 10 years, first a scrutineer, marshal and medic but more recently as a stage commander and course car.   For the 2015 season I have been invited by the Rally Sweep Ontario team led by Bob Boland to assist with the recovery team, this is the elite core of individuals who excel at vehicle recovery.

First at Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki where I navigated for Dave and his team, and more recently at the Lanark Highland Forest Rally as the co driver for team lead Bob Boland.

The 2015 season round 2 for the regional event is held on a road used for many years near Renfrew Ontario and this year we had a new stretch of road to add to the previous “Lavant Mill” stage.  With Umphersons Mill bringing a new road to the race it was going to be an interesting day.   The weather was excellent and the event went well.

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It was great to see some serious competition,  Martin Donnelly and Angela Cosner, Chris Martin and Alan Ockwell,  Nick and Kelly Mathew, Jeremy Norris and Jeff Hagan.   These are some pretty serious competitors that have competed well in national events.   This was turning into a national level competition.

After only one recovery all day (6:50 in video), I found myself assisting in the service area operated by the Ryan Huber Rally Race Developments, servicing for both of his competitors during tight service intervals.

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Jumping back in to my co-driving responsibilities with Bob and the Sweep team, the rest of the day was uneventful for us, which means some great racing.

At the day end, Chris Martin and Alan Ockwell had a significant lead gaining top spot thanks to smooth driving. Nick and Kelly trading times more with Martin and Angela for the second and third position/

The coverage of this event can be seen here covered by the team at CDNRALLY.COM who are doing a great job at covering the OPRC events.

The next event is what I like to call the “Mini-Pines” with a chance to try many roads used during the Rally of the Tall Pines at year end.  The Black Bear Rally on July 11-12 in Gilmour Ontario.   http://www.mlrc.ca/blackbear/

Uber Eats – Is it disrupting UberX?

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After close to a week in San Diego at Cisco Live! – I was hooked on all forms of Uber.    Cisco really pushed digital revolution and digital disruption as a theme, and I couldn’t agree more.

Tesla – The apple of the car industry, disrupting the way cars are made, sold and fuel’d

Air BnB – Ok well, it seems like a revolution, and while I have no experience I know people that use it and are happy – except the few people who’s homes have been trashed.

So that brings us to Uber, and specifically UberX, and you can google/explore everything you want to know about it but for context let me explain it very simply.

1) Select source/dest on your phone

2) Watch as car comes to you

3) Get in

4) Talk to driver about their vehicle, or how awesome Uber is

5) Get out, payment is automatic, no tipping, receipt in inbox, for cheaper than a cab.

Disrupting taxi’s?  You bet, I wouldn’t ever take a cab again, They smell, they are impersonal, the payment is a pain – and receipts are horrible.

So what about Uber Eats?    In the catchment area below, I have the option of 2-3 dishes per day they can deliver.  A selection of the best restaurants (or rated anyway) in town delivering signature dishes hot to your door in minutes, think UberX, but you don’t get in – they hand you food.

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The entire idea looks great – however what made UberX popular was delivering VALUE and I just don’t see Uber Eats delivering that.    The “Just Eat” people have been delivering food to my door with a better selection for some time – ok so it isn’t in 5 minutes, but we all know when lunch hour is.

The catchment area is pretty small, and choices for food in these areas, especially in Toronto is pretty plentiful.  I could step out to get many quality food options outside my door in minutes just as easily as Uber Eats.

http://ubereats.com/eats/toronto/

The ordering process was great, but $15 later I had 4 quarter sized bits of beef in some tomato sauce and 4 slices of bread.    $12 for the food, $3 for the delivery.   I expect to pay a premium, but this was less than an appetizer worth of food.   Oily like it had been sitting in a car in a heater bag, I didn’t get the cheese that was supposed to go with it – and I went and got another lunch snack later.

They generally do not deliver any kind of side, a sandwich is just a sandwich and no drink options except for the occasional “coconut water” for $7 type options which are eco chic but not popular amongst many.

I get what they are trying to do – however unless they can deliver must better value this is not going to work.   If my hot lunch option could be delivered with a regular type beverage, or a bag of kettle chips, or a bag of nuts or something on the side would be better.    Right now the service doesn’t deliver value or a complete lunch offering.

Perhaps they should focus on what works for them – UberX, because right now this does not work for me.

2015 – Cisco Live! After a year off..

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After a year off in 2014 and no trip to Cisco Live!, and a significant change in my career and personal life it was time to return to #CLUS.    It would appear many of my colleagues from the event also took 2014 off.  It was unfortunate to miss San Francisco.

How the landscape has changed, with a new “Cisco Champions” program and a modified Social Hub – everything didn’t feel as organic as it used to be.    Tom Hollingsworth @networkingnerd wrote a great article on some of the changes http://networkingnerd.net/2015/06/16/thoughts-on-cisco-live-2015/

This year my focus was on Security, WoS, DevNet, IoT and Wireless.  Trying to figure out the landscape and how technology is evolving as I re-enter the partner marketplace after a few years off.

The entire social experience felt different this year, sponsored scavenger hunts and yellow capes.   Is this really organic?    The same gang that I missed last year was still here – but now it feels like there is some kind of line in the sand – the group did not feel as inviting as it previously did, and I found myself feeling like a newbie all over again.    Is Cisco encouraging the type of engagement they want?    Cash and prizes for the most re-tweeted photo, or for visiting the most World of Solutions booths on the scavenger hunt.     Every time I went by the Social Media Hub the staff commented on the quality of my content, and the engagement I was receiving from the rest of the community.    However, I didn’t spend my time taking selfies in the World of Solutions.     My point is not to be dis-ingenious, but to look at the bigger picture.   In 2013 in Orlando – Cisco focused on online influencers and engagement, those with retweets and engagement on legitimate content, and not antics.    The message seems lost in social this year.

This year I was asked if I could provide some comments on the event, and how I felt about digital disruption.  If you watch the Chambers and tech keynotes, you will see me there.   Not sure if I was there to add some humanity or as the butt of a joke but it was my 15 seconds.  Like I said, they ended up with a good blooper reel.   The display was a genuine display of me that is for sure.

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I did meet a few very influential people this year, one of note was “The Fish” @denisefishburne – www.networkingwithfish.com a team lead in the Cisco Customer Proof of Concept Lab and an expert troubleshooter.    I was introduced by @amyengineer and instantly something was different about “The Fish”, it was more that her addiction was troubleshooting, bring up a problem and her eyes light up like a teenager on redbull. A skill that I have always found sacred with any IT professional.   After listening to her session on being a “Network Detective” it was obviously that Denise was extremely skilled at her trade and I began to read everything I could on her blog.   I was honored to attend a social event where we were able to discuss at length various troublesome topics and I was a little star struck.   Denise if you are reading this – late on Thursday night (or was it Friday morning) I told you how important your work is to our industry, to the future of young professionals to learn from your experience.   I wasn’t kidding.    Thank you for sharing your experience and skill with the rest of us.

This comes back to “I don’t live on Social Media” – as much as I enjoy the interaction, I do not have time to scour the web, and read blog after blog, and keep up on twitter. We only have enough time in our days, and between family and other things – I wish I could dedicate more time.   Some say that if it was important to me I would make the time.

So why blog now?    I suppose as I get older it provides me with some kind of method of getting my thoughts down somewhere.     If you go back and look on the “Twitter List” published for the event, you will not see my previous account (@grinthock) mentioned anywhere.   As a bit of a social outcast, I have never been the person who signs up for these types of events.   I have always felt like a bit of the outsider, as someone who does technology for a living, and while technology is my life, I have many passions in life, performance rally,  amateur radio and community service.

This blog will contain mostly my musings, thoughts and opinions on technology subjects.   Will someone read them?   Maybe and maybe not.     I tried to cover the #CLUS event on twitter as best I could by providing insights to others on twitter about the event as best as I could.   Some people commented about my coverage in positive and negative, some attended sessions the next day based on my content.    For that I felt like I did the job right.

The organization I work for has over 500+ Cisco practice team members, and only a small number will go to Live! each year and while next year the company may not send me – I will be there either way.     I cannot miss the friends, people and influencers that I experience.

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My CLUS Journey – 2013 – Cisco Figures Out Social

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2013 – Cisco Figures Out Social

In 2013, I was lucky enough to be allowed to return to Live!, this time in Orlando.    I felt much better prepared for this event.   Booking early enough to be in the hotel right beside the convention centre means no 100+ degree walking outside.    As everyone knows, book early to get the sessions you want and I was able to book everything I wanted to see.

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On arrival day we were presented with a beautiful new Social Hub from Cisco.   Screens and leaderboards, and a scavenger hunt game here and there.   We felt supported by Cisco – but not controlled.   A beautiful white carpeted space with loungers, tables, and a semi-private area hidden behind the social hub.   Cisco welcomed us with open arms with receptions, food and drink and the community and Cisco started to build a relationship.   Just like any social group there were lovers and haters, up’s and down’s and the occasional pre-madonna.  Let us be honest, in a group full of geeks and nerds there had to be some kind of tension and for me that tension was starting to mean we were growing as a group.

This year I started to connect with more canucks like myself,  Jody Lemoine – @ghostinthenet and Mario Gingras – @gingmar.  Speaking about IT in Canada and how the landscape was different.   Continuous thanks goes out to Mario for making me his +1 at the CCIE event which this year was something special when Universal shut down half the park just for us.

This year my focus was UCS,  Hyper-V, Security and Nexus Architecture.   As my employer was not a partner, and we were not a networking company – I had to keep my skills sharp to remain competitive.   Cisco was in a state of flux internally and a segmentation of BU’s was in progress.   Even internal competition was starting to be evident with the Nexus and Catalyst teams competing in some way.

Re-uniting with previous Cisco Live colleagues was great, running to sessions only to return to the Social Hub to discuss what we heard in sessions and learned in the World of Solutions.   Watching the evolvement of social within Cisco was interesting.    Taking the bull by the horns was Kathleen Mudge – @kathleenmudge who was the brave person within Cisco who was willing to try to “Wrangle the nerds”.   We were offered some perks for our activities but everything felt very organic.  The group was growing organically, and our contributions were also organic.    Nobody expected prizes, rewards or swag – but we all seemed to be rewarded genuinely for our efforts within this community of professionals.

A few of us decided to sit out the keynote speech and watch it on live stream at the Social hub.   With 3 different people covering the keynote – one with tech details, one with social response and one with other insights the #CLUS hashtag started to trend.   It turns out trending hashtags for corporate events cost money and Twitter decided to start locking out anyone using the tag excessively.    Social was starting to take hold.

This was the year I met some more amazing people, @wifijanitor – Steve one of the most gifted wireless professionals I have ever met, Steve always has strong opinions about wireless topics with his extensive experience at being unplugged.   @amyengineer – Amy a UC professional with a spunky attitude towards technology and an amazing UC BLOG which I have been reading for some time was, not exactly who I thought in person.   @sharpnetwork – Yvonne – Well, I mention this extraordinary individual simply due to the personal encouragement provided.

A great conclusion to the event, I was able to spend time with one of my close friends Kaj Niemi – @Kajtzu, a quiet but extremely intelligent Finnish gentlemen who I admire as a leader in the IT field with significant leadership and architecture experience.  My wife who flew down for a vacation after the event and the three of us enjoyed some local seafood and shopping before saying goodbye as we left for the Caribbean and Kaj left to head back to Finland.

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My Cisco Live Journey – Part 1 – 2012

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2012 – My introduction to #CLUS

For me this started in 2012, when my employer at the time was willing to let me go to Cisco Live 2012 in San Diego.    I knew absolutely nobody, I did some reading on how to get the most from the event – I had no idea what I was getting into.      I packed what I thought I needed into one standard roller bag and flew to the venue in San Diego.  For a few years my time was spent outside of the partner space, working for a small dairy producer and now for a cloud services provider here in Canada.  As the lone internetworking resource for the company, I was responsible for anything that had to do with routing, switching and security for the company – I was here to learn and catch up on the latest and greatest, but how?   There is so much content around every possible discipline and with Cisco now seriously in the server marketplace and virtulization really taking off, this was no long just about routing and switching.

I responded to a tweet by @networkingnerd – Tom Hollingsworth which was something as simple as “Hey I’m meeting up at 6pm in the corner of the convention centre”.   I didn’t have anything going on that arrival day, so I went there.   I ran into this jovial southern gentlemen who made fun of me for saying aboot, eh and sorry – but I made up for it when he tossed me a “Y’aller”.    Clearly Tom had the ability to bring people together, in a very relaxed manner.  This was some kind of dis-organized organization.    We played “Keynote bingo”, and compared notes about sessions; in the progress meeting some of the most intelligent and witty people I had ever met.   These people challenged me.

One of the most interesting people I met that day was Kellen Christensen – @ChrisTekIT a very interesting individual from Portland whom we struck up an immediate bond and to this day we have become good #CLUS friends.   We both worked in the dairy industry so we had some things in common and his general nerd-ery was very compatible with mine.   One day I hope to spend time with Kellen outside of #CLUS.   I remember fond memories of spending time at the Customer Appreciation Event with him, also wandering the World of Solutions floor.

Cisco Live! is overwhelming for a first timer, you almost need 2 full weeks to really see everything that is possible to see – 4 days is simply too short.   However after a week of up at 6AM and sleep at 1-2AM – it does start to drain on you.

I will feel bad for forgetting the names and twitter handles of all of the people I met that year.

Social was just a bunch of nerds in a corner that year.

Hello world?

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I figured, I can simply leave this “included” post on the blog.  After all it is a bit of a “hello world” post.    While the majority of the posts you will see here will be technology based, there are a few ground rules or guidelines that I would like to see the blog live by.

– Integrity

I will blog with integrity, opinions are my own, and my mistakes as well.   While no blogger, journalist, media or writer will ever write with perfection, I will already strive to.   Sometimes I will get it wrong, and when I do – I will call it out.  This also means there are

– Opinion

This blog is about tech, but more than that it is about my opinion, with close to 20 years in technology and working with many different industries I have seen much in my time.   That means, I tend to build my own opinions.   Sometimes people agree, sometimes people do not and sometimes they are controversial, but no matter what, they are my opinions.

– No Sponsorship, purchased opinion or suggested posts without disclosure.

Anyone that knows me, will tell you that I enjoy free expression, and as a result I will not accept remuneration for any form of post without full disclosure.    What does this mean?   As a writer we are given the opportunity to have early access to things, or we are given details before others in order to write our articles.    Even within other forums I have been offered everything from trips to free dinners – but the bottom line is, I will always disclosure any kind of vendor involvement in my posts.

– Topics

You might see it all here, sure I am a “Tech” guy but you might see it all.