Josh Ritter radiates joy when he performs. He bounced onto the stage at a sold-out Thalia Hall on Friday evening at the start of his show. A smile spread across his face as he told the audience: "I am Soooo happy to be here!" and launched into "Monster Ballads."

That joy never left him during his two-hour performance. We felt it when he played love songs ("Strangers"), frantic songs ("To the Dogs or Whoever"), dark songs ("Honeydew, No Light"), Anthems ("Wild Ways"), songs of lot love ("Truth Is a Dimension, Both Invisible and Blinding"), cover songs ("Rhythm of My Heart") and hymns ("The Throne").

His range was as impressive as his backing band, The Royal City Band, which included his longtime bassist, Zack Hickman, and the excellent pianist, Sam Kassirer. Each of them shared the stage with Josh in accompaniment, while the rest of the band took a break.

Multiple times during the evening, Josh told the audience, "Thank you soo much!" In return, we thanked him. We too were Soooo happy to be there!

Everclear released "Sparkle and Fade" in 1995. It was their first album on a major label (Capitol Records), and it launched a period of fame among the alternative rock crowd. The fame lasted through the next few years and subsequent albums.

When the band's popularity faded a few years later, most of the original Everclear members departed. But lead singer and songwriter Art Alexakis reformed the group with new members and the old name.

In 2025, this incarnation of Everclear celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of that landmark album with a tour. The tour concluded Sunday evening at Thalia Hall in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

The show began with two midwestern punk bands, resurrected from the 1990s and early 2000s. Detroit-based Sponge opened with a brief set. Chicago natives Local H followed, playing for nearly an hour. Local H is the first two-piece punk band I remember seeing live. They filled the theater with sound using just drums, guitar, and vocals.

Alexakis did a good job of channeling the difficulties in his personal life into moving and energetic music. For example, he wrote the song "Strawberry" while recovering from alcoholism. He told us this while declaring he was now "36 years clean and sober."

The setlist consisted of every track from "Sparkle and Fade" in the same order as listed on the album. The only exception was "Santa Monica" (the album's biggest single), which they teased with one verse and then reprised as the final encore song.

Everclear mixed in a few hits from other albums, including "Wonderful," "So Much for the Afterglow," and "I Will Buy You a New Life."

The three bands collaborate well. Everclear's bassist joined Local H for a couple of songs, and Everclear invited the lead singers of Sponge and Local H during their set. The latter donned a Robert Plant wig to sing a Led Zeppelin medley.

The three bands filled the show with energy and fun for both the audience and the musicians. My only complaint is that Alexakis overused his catchphrase, "Can I get a 'Fuck Yeah!'" too frequently throughout the show. It was annoying, but it was not enough to spoil the fun.

GCast 203:

Mastering GitHub Copilot course, Lesson 1 Getting Started with GitHub Copilot, Step 3

In this video, I walk through Step 3 of the excellent Microsoft Learn tutorial "Getting Started with GitHub Copilot." In this step, you learn to use the Edit Mode of GitHub Copilot to generate code for your application.

Links:
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/tree/main/Getting-Started-with-GitHub-Copilot

I recently ran into and corrected an issue with my PowerShell execution policy.

In my case, I was trying to install an npm package that was remotely signed, but my execution policy required that all packages be locally signed by a trusted publisher. I received the following error:

File C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.ps1 cannot be loaded. The file C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.ps1 is not digitally signed. You cannot run this script on the current system.

Microsoft remotely signed this file, but my PowerShell environment policy prevented me from running it locally.

You can view your execution policy with the following command:

Get-ExecutionPolicy

The possible return values are:

• AllSigned: All scripts, including locally running scripts must be signed by a trusted publisher
• Bypass: Signing is not checked. Any script can run.
• RemoteSigned: Allows running scripts that are signed remotely
• Restricted: Prevents some but not all scripts from running
• Undefined: No execution policy set. The operating system policy takes effect.
• Unrestricted: Unsigned scripts can run. Similar to Bypass, but it warns the user before executing an unsigned script.

My PowerShell session policy was set to "AllSigned."

The solution was to change the executing policy to "RemoteSigned," which I did with the following command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Running Get-ExecutionPolicy again returned "RemoteSigned"

After changing this policy, I was able to install the npm package succesfully.

Episode 875

Sam Gomez on AI Agents

Sam Gomez is Head of AI and ML at Geneca. He talks about AI Agents and how to build them by writing custom code or by using Azure AI Foundry.

11/2
Today I am grateful to see an improv show last night on my first visit to the Revival - Improv Theatre.

11/1
Today I am grateful to all those who donated this week to support Parkinsons research.

10/31
Today I am grateful for a new iPhone

10/30
Today I am grateful to attend an exhibition game against Western Michigan for my son's Kalamazoo College team last night.

10/29
Today I am grateful for four days in New Orleans.

10/28
Today I am grateful for my first visit to Smoothie King Center to see the Pelicans play the Celtics last night.

10/27
Today I am grateful to visit the Caesars Superdome for the first time yesterday and see a Saints - Buccaneers game.

10/26
Today I am grateful
- for an airboat ride in Jean Lafitte, LA
- to see the Krew of Boo parade last night in New Orleans's French Quarter

10/25
Today I am grateful
- for our team's virtual offsite this week
- to arrive safely in New Orleans this morning

10/24
Today I am grateful:
- to see Cyril Neville in concert last night
- to attend the ODi Pre-Conference Reception yesterday

10/23
Today I am grateful to spend a couple minutes practicing piano chords every day.

10/22
Today I am grateful for no meetings yesterday.

10/21
Today I am grateful that the stomach pain that kept me awake most of Sunday night is now gone.

10/20
Today I am grateful for dinner last night with Dan, Charity, and Donna

10/19
Today I am grateful to hear Stephen Dubner talk about his book "Freakonomics" yesterday at the University of Chicago

10/18
Today I am grateful for 3 doctor appointments this week.

10/17
Today I am grateful to see Jonathan Coulton in concert last night

10/16
Today I am grateful for dinner with Tim last night

10/15
Today I am grateful to attend the Chicago Ventures Summit yesterday

10/14
Today I am grateful for:
- 12 years at Microsoft
- a few days in Orlando, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville.

10/13
Today I am grateful:
- to see the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Seattle Seahawks yesterday on my first visit to EverBank Stadium
- to see dolphins swimming in the St. Johns River last night

10/12
Today I am grateful to walk around historic St. Augustine, Florida yesterday.

10/11
Today I am grateful for coffee with Esteban yesterday

10/10
Today I am grateful to speak at the #DevIntersection and #CybersecurityIntersection conferences yesterday in Orlando

10/9
Today I am grateful to attend the AI Tour for Partners yesterday at the Willis (aka "Sears") Tower

10/8
Today I am grateful:
- to volunteer to wrap gifts for patients at Lurie Children Hospital yesterday
- to Pete for presenting at my user group last night

10/7
Today I am grateful for a new car battery

10/6
Today I am grateful for breakfast yesterday with Megan and Amanda.

Brazillian Paolo Coelho wrote "The Alchemist" in 1988. The book sold poorly in its first printing, but arguably became Coelho's most famous work after he established himself with other successful novels.

"The Alchemist" tells the story of young Santiago, a Spanish shepherd who travels to the Egyptian pyramids in search of a treasure foretold by a fortune teller and a wandering king.

Along his journey, Santiago meets an ancient alchemist. As the pair travels across the Sahara, Santiago learns about life from the old man. Multiple times, the boy loses all his money, but manages to recover enough to resume his journey.

Much of the story is mystical: In addition to the alchemist's ability to transform lead into gold, Santiago has direct conversations with the wind, the sun, and God; dreams and omens always accurately foretell the future, albeit indirectly; and King Melchizedek of the Old Testament appears centuries after his death.

This book explores the themes of overcoming fear and hardship, as well as the role of fate in our lives. Coelho frequently brings up Santiago's "Personal Legend" - an encouragement to identify and pursue one's dreams and embrace one's destiny. The author emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things in nature, including the universal language of love. Although the boy suffers many setbacks, the universe ultimately rewards him for doing the right thing.

"The Alchemist" is an enjoyable fable told simply and straightforwardly.

Episode 874

Jayson Street on Hacking and Social Engineering

Jayson Street talks about low-tech ways that hackers can bypass cybersecurity systems, and ways you can protect your network and data against these attacks.

Even before Cyril Neville took the stage Thursday evening, his son Omari amped up the crowd with outstanding versions of the Neville Brothers' "Hey Pockey Way" and Dr. John's "Walk On Gilded Splinters."

The crowd was already on their feet dancing when the Cyril walked out, preceded by his horn section. For ninety minutes, Cyril, Omari, and the band entertained a packed house at Fitzgerald's Night Club in Berwyn.

The youngest sibling of the legendary Neville Brothers, Cyril has been recording and touring with his own bands for the past thirty years. Thursday evening, he drew on many of these recordings and the music of others. We heard covers of songs such as Professor Longhair's "Tipitina" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary." Cyril's arrangement of "Exactly Like You" was more soulful than the famous Frank Sinatra version. He also drew from the Neville Brothers' songbook, including "The Tambourine" and "Brother Jake."

Cyril turned 77 earlier this month, but you would not know it to see his energy as he sang, danced, and soaked in the solos of his backing band.

No matter what this band played, they injected the funkiness we come to expect from a Neville. It was a delightful mix of New Orleans blues, rock, R&B, and funk.

The Neville family has been producing excellent music for decades. That music lives on through the youngest brother, Cyril, and his youngest son, Omari.

Carol Shields's 1993 novel "The Stone Diaries" is about the life of Daisy Goodwill Flett and of the people around her.

Shields begins with the story of the courtship of Daisy's parents. Cuyler Goodwill fell in love with the obese orphan Mercy Stone, who died giving birth to Daisy. Daisy's youth is filled with trauma. A neighbor ("Aunt Clarentine") raises Daisy until her death. Clarentine's son, Barker, cannot care for her, so she moves to Indiana to live with her birth father before marrying Harold Hoad, an alcoholic who falls to his drunken death on the couple's honeymoon. Shortly afterward, she marries the much older Barker and moves to Ottawa, where she raises their three children.

Each chapter of "The Stone Diaries" describes a part of Daisy's life: Birth, Childhood, Marriage, Love, Motherhood, Work, Sorrow, Ease, Illness and Decline, and Death. Years - sometimes decades - pass between chapters. The author tells Daisy's story from the edges of her life.

Daisy's story is not heroic. She is everywoman, dealing with what life offers her. It is a saga that takes the reader from rural western Canada to an Indiana college town, then to the suburbs of Ottawa, and finally to a retirement in Florida.

The word "Diaries" in the book's title is misleading. The author frequently shifts from the third to the first person, often allowing others to tell Daisy's story. We hear about Daisy's career as a newspaper columnist through letters from her publisher and her readers. When she falls into depression after a rival, we learn the details through the voices of Daisy's friends and family speculating on the cause of her depression.

Shields shows us how people change throughout their lives. The scope of time allows us to see Daisy's growth from an insecure girl to a devoted wife and mother to a career woman through her struggles with and recovery from depression. But many of the peripheral characters also grow as they age.

"The Stone Diaries" is a touching story of a woman's life told from many points of view. It is about dealing with loneliness and about personal growth.

GCast 202:

Mastering GitHub Copilot course, Lesson 1 Getting Started with GitHub Copilot, Step 2

In this video, I walk through Step 2 of the excellent Microsoft Learn tutorial "Getting Started with GitHub Copilot." In this step, you learn: - to use the Inline Commands of GitHub Copilot to suggest code changes - to use Copilot to generate Commit messages

Links:
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/tree/main/Getting-Started-with-GitHub-Copilot

Episode 873

J Tower on Over engineering Software Projects

J Tower has seen many architects and engineers make the mistake of adding needless complexity to applications. He discusses the types of overengineering and ways to avoid these errors.

Links:

https://trailheadtechnology.com/blog

Yakov Bok was a handyman, also known as a fixer, which makes him the title character of Bernard Malmoud's 1966 novel "The Fixer." Bok was a Jew living in nineteenth-century Tsarist Russia, who moved to Kiev seeking a new life after his wife left him. The Russian government oppressed Jews, so Yakov changed his name and hid his religion, seeking work in a neighborhood forbidden to his people. After his employer discovered his deception, others accused Yakov of the murder of a Christian boy. He was imprisoned for years without a trial or formal charge.

The numerous lies and false testimony levied against him make his case appear hopeless, yet he survives. Bok is a victim of the fear and hatred heaped upon the Jews of his time and place. Antisemitism ran strong in the Russia of his day. The belief that Jews drank the blood of murdered Christians in mystical rituals fueled the public's fear and hatred.

This book is a painful novel to read. Malamud provides excruciating details of the torture and humiliation suffered by Bok.

Malmoud based Bok's troubles on the ordeal of Menahem Mendel Beilis, who was falsely accused of a similar murder in 1911.

"The Fixer" is a story of institutionalized discrimination; of paranoia and suspicion; of the hostility and the inaction of society in the face of oppression. But it is also the story of hope and defiance. Yakov refuses to confess under pressure and endures years of a bleak existence.

The lessons of "The Fixer" should resonate with readers today, who witness hate speech against immigrants and minorities in my country, who are accused of everything from stealing benefits to eating pets.

Jonathan Coulton has never achieved the fame he deserves. His music spans a variety of genres, and his ability to mix catchy melodies with clever lyrics is unmatched. But he has managed to build a fan base that loves his talent. This was evident at his sold-out performance Thursday evening at Chicago's City Winery. Many in attendance sang along to each of his songs. And he drew massive applause when he introduced songs with descriptions such as "Here is a song I wrote for a video game" ("Still Alive") or "Here is a song about zombies" ("Re: Your Brains")

With a catalog spanning hundreds of songs, Coulton announced that he developed an algorithm for deciding which songs to play in which order. The algorithm consisted of playing them in alphabetical order. He admitted the system was "stupid," but it had the advantage of letting the audience immediately know if he was skipping their favorite song, so they wouldn't have to wait to be disappointed.

Although he performed almost all originals, he did an impressive version of Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" - a mini rock opera that featured horns, strings, and orchestration on Joel's original recording. Although Coulton played an acoustic guitar unaccompanied by a band, he emulated the other instruments with his voice to the amusement of the crowd. His only other nod to another composer was his French tribute to Rick Springfield ("Je Suis Rick Springfield") in which he sang a few lines of "Jesse's Girl" to the tune of "Code Monkey."

He deviated from his guitar once when he picked up a zendrum – an electronic percussive instrument that he used to remix the funk dance break "Mr. Fancy Pants."

I felt a part of this show. When the MC asked who was a Vinofile member, I was the only one who clapped. When Jonathan took the stage, he pointed me out as the only member and even remembered me when we met briefly after the show.

Coulton opened his encore set with a cleaned-up version of his racy anthem "First of May," replacing a four-letter word with "hug" to the amusement of the crowd.

Part of me wishes Jonathan Coulton had achieved more commercial success. But another part of me is grateful he is still playing intimate clubs like the City Winery. It was a show everyone should see.

Set List

Episode 872

Karl-Henrik Nilson on Software Archaeology

Karl-Henrik defines a legacy app as an application with a planned retirement date. He describes his approach to working with legacy applications, how he determines the history of an application, and how that history helps him develop an appropriate architecture.

Links:
https://c4model.com/
https://karl-henrik.se/
https://karlhenrik-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/karl-henrik_mean_se/EUS0YtEHD5pPkfkPqilW5aABbH72XUCDiMF2TblMEvt_sg?e=eJyndf
https://karlhenrik-my.sharepoint.com/:t:/g/personal/karl-henrik_mean_se/EVlj0v3dJklFtT4UWShu2hoBNsPV9qf0Vd0SqC-MWoLPyA?e=Zbdvpc
https://karlhenrik-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/karl-henrik_mean_se/EZlc-bZ1KUhGiKxHprkzpIABHKH4dIlkdvRzqHOacIT-Rw?e=MEePza

When I was in college in the early 1980s, I worked as a DJ at the on-campus radio station, which featured alternative rock music. Among our playlist was a punk band called "Hüsker Dü," led by singer Bob Mould. Over the next few years, I listened to Hüsker Dü and Mould's follow-up project Sugar. I continued to admire Mould's work when he launched his solo career in the 1990s.

I never saw Bob perform live until the summer of last year when he warmed up for Courtney Barnett at a music festival in Skokie, IL. Mould outshone the headliner on that evening, so I jumped at the chance to see him take top billing Saturday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

With a gray beard and a balding head, Bob Mould no longer looks like a punk rocker. But he still possesses frantic energy and manic guitar playing that defined the punk genre. He bounced around the stage like a man a third his age (He turns 65 next week)

His songs sound more melodic today, but they retain the thrashing guitar work that made his reputation decades ago. With barely a second between each 3-minute piece, he had little time to talk with the audience. But he stopped a couple of times to share his opinions on the state of the world, politics, religion, and gay marriage.

Few people can entertain with nothing but a guitar and their voice like Bob Mould. He did just that Saturday night.

GCast 201:

Mastering GitHub Copilot course, Lesson 1 Getting Started with GitHub Copilot, Step 1

In this video, I walk through Step 1 of the excellent Microsoft Learn tutorial "Getting Started with GitHub Copilot." In this step, you learn to use GitHub Copilot to explain, configure, and run an application.

Links:
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/
https://github.com/microsoft/Mastering-GitHub-Copilot-for-Paired-Programming/tree/main/Getting-Started-with-GitHub-Copilot

I arrived an hour early at the McCormick Convention Center for my shift at the Microsoft AI Tour. I had volunteered to help at the Azure AI Foundry "Ask the Experts" booth, and I wanted to confirm its location. I arrived and introduced myself to Sam, who worked the morning shift. As we were talking, an attendee walked up and asked a question. Then another person appeared with another question. Then another. Soon, people were waiting in line, and we were dividing them between the two of us. Some questions I could not answer, so I handed them off to Sam and invited another attendee to ask.

Sam stayed well past her scheduled end time, and I did not take a break until hours later, when I realized I had not yet eaten lunch.

The crowd finally thinned out in the late afternoon. I took the opportunity to walk around the expo area, checking out the other "Ask the Experts" booths, and talking with partners. Microsoft had scheduled a Chicago AI Tour specifically for partners a few days after, so not many partners attended this event. However, I had conversations with people I knew from Elastic and Long View.

The Folks at Long View invited me to a Happy Hour following the AI Tour, so I stopped by the VU Rooftop Bar around the corner from the Convention Center to meet a few of them. The views from this rooftop bar are impressive, and it was nice to meet a few more people from the partner's organization. I could not stay long because I had already accepted an invitation to a Microsoft MVP dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. My friend Betsy organized the event and invited me as a former MVP.

It was good to connect with this community, which does so much to help spread knowledge about Microsoft technologies. Most were in town to volunteer at the AI Tour.

Thanks to the number of people and questions at the Experts booth, I was unable to attend any breakout sessions at the event. Still, it was time well spent, connecting with people, teaching them, and learning from them.

Episode 871

Arthur Doler on Code Archaeology

After over a decade of consulting, Arthur Doler has inherited a lot of legacy code. He talks about how he approaches to understanding code that others have written. His process of surveying, extraction, and analysis allows him to more effectively work with this code.

10/5
Today I am grateful:
- to see Bob Mould in concert last night
- to attend a conversation with Nate Silver and Richard Thaler yesterday

10/4
Today I am grateful to see Il Divo in concert last night

10/3
Today I am grateful to see Midnight Sun last night at Hyde Park's Summer Music Series.

10/2
Today I am grateful to my neighbor Tim for helping me jump start my car last night.

10/1
Today I am grateful to deliver a presentation on AI for programmers at the Native Dev Road Show last night.

9/30
Today I am grateful to successfully organize a class on GitHub Copilot for our partner this week.

9/29
Today I am grateful for a new stepladder

9/28
Today I am grateful to Ed for sending me some freshly roasted coffee beans.

9/27
Today I am grateful for dinner and pickleball with Dan and Charity last night

9/26
Today I am grateful
- to pretend to be an expert at the "AI Foundry" booth yesterday at the AI Tour.
- to Betsy for inviting me to dinner last night with a group of MVPs

9/25
Today I am grateful to speak at VS Code Dev Day last night.

9/24
Today I am grateful to record a bunch of screencasts this week after a long gap.

9/23
Today I am grateful to deliver a presentation on AI yesterday at the Women in Technology meetup at the University of Illinois - Chicago.

9/22
Today I am grateful to see Cheech Marin last night in Little Village.

9/21
Today I am grateful for a relaxing day in Lemont, IL.

9/20
Today I am grateful to catch up on editing photos

9/19
Today I am grateful to play pickleball outdoors at night for the first time yesterday.

9/18
Today I am grateful for a long weekend in Florida, visiting family and friends, and attending exciting sporting events.

9/17
Today I am grateful:
- to see a Rays - Blue Jays game at the Steinbrenner minor league ballpark in Tampa last night
- for the hospitality of Kathleen

9/16
Today I am grateful for dinner last night in Bradenton with my cousins Kathleen, Kevin, and Judy

9/15
Today I am grateful:
- for the hospitality of Cam and Marnie
- to see an exciting Dolphins-Patriots game yesterday on my first visit to Hard Rock Stadium.

9/14
Today I am grateful to see an exciting Tigers-Marlins game yesterday on my first visit to LoanDepot Park.

9/13
Today I am grateful for coffee with Armando this morning.

9/12
Today I am grateful to arrive safely in Miami

9/11
Today I am grateful to see Roger McGuinn in concert last night.

9/10
Today I am grateful for the return of my espresso machine after two months.

9/9
Today I am grateful to find some folks with whom to play pickleball yesterday.

What do opera singers do when they are not singing opera?

If they are members of Il Divo, they sing pop songs, show tunes, and a few operatic pieces.

This multinational group brought their show to Hammond's Horseshoe Casino Friday evening to perform for an audience that one of the singers joked: "included no one from Hammond."

The quartet alternated between singing harmonies, providing background vocals for one another, and each performer singing a solo song. Each singer introduced his song with a brief story of how his interest in music began.

The evening mixed songs by pop singers Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton with those by classical composers (George Frederic Handel), along with some love songs and standards. A highlight was their Italian language version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." They overcame technical difficulties when the microphones failed for a few minutes during the opening number. The string trio Simply 3 opened for Il Divo before settling in as the quartet's accompanists for the main act.

Il Divo was founded in 2003 by Simon Cowell (yes, that Simon Cowell!), and included tenors Urs Bühlerand, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard, along with baritone Carlos Marín. Steven LaBrie joined the group in 2022 to replace Marin, who died of COVID-19. After more than two decades, the group remains strong and continues to entertain audiences.

Episode 870

Arunava Majumdar on AI and an Automation Platform

After 23 years at IBM, Arunava Majumdar has entered the startup world, creating Open Development Platform and ResearchNet. He describes the platform that he is developing that uses AI and LLMs to understand and solve problems and to generate products.

Links:
https://researchnet.ai
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arunava-majumdar/

The United States underwent significant changes in the early twentieth century. The automobile was replacing the horse-drawn carriage, the economy was shifting from agriculture to industry, and a new breed of industrialists began to emerge. Booth Tarkington's 1918 novel, "The Magnificent Ambersons," documents this national change through a story set in a midwestern city and its inhabitants.

At the beginning of the novel, horses fill the city's roads, and the Amberson family dominates the city's social and political system, as if they are royalty. It is not long before automobiles produced by Morgan's company fill the roadways.

George Amberson Minafer was born into a life of privilege. His mother, Isabel, spoiled him endlessly, and his family lived off his grandfather's fortune. George aspired to nothing more than to live a life of ease, which he believed was his birthright.
By contrast, Eugene Morgan attained his fortune through hard work and intelligence. George's courtship of Eugene's daughter, Lucy, highlights their cultural and upbringing differences. George's pompous rudeness contrasts with Lucy's practical nature. Their relationship serves as a metaphor for the two cultures in the nation.

George rationalizes his feeling of superiority: "really, don't you think that being things is rather better than doing things?"

George's relationship with Lucy serves as a metaphor for the clash of cultures and the shifting power in America. Lucy sees the value in all people, while George rates them based on their family's status. The power shifts from the old money of the Amberson family to the industriousness and work ethic of the Morgan family. George is intelligent and charming, but his sense of entitlement is off-putting. George looks down on those around him and even prevents his widowed mother from marrying Eugene, whom he believes was born into a lower class. Isabel was in love with Eugene, but George made it clear he would consider the match below her station.

The Amberson family fails to recognize the changing world, which ultimately leads to their inevitable downfall. Those who were offended by George's youthful rudeness and condescension take pleasure when his family fortune inevitably collapses.

"The Magnificent Ambersons" is a parable about the dangers of pride and hubris that can afflict individuals and groups.

Mark Twain's nineteenth-century novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" introduced the character of Jim, a runaway slave, who traveled with young Huck down the Mississippi River. Twain chose to tell the story in Huck's voice and from Huck's point of view. Jim was arguably the bravest and most intelligent character in this novel, but the author presented him as simple, superstitious, and uneducated. Percival Everett's 2024 novel "James" tells the same story from Jim's point of view and in the voice of the slave.

In Everett's novel, James is educated and articulate, but he hides these attributes from the whites he encounters, knowing they will feel threatened by an intelligent negro. He instructs his family to feign ignorance and hide behind poor grammar to remain safe.

Everett fills in some of the gaps of Twain's novel when Huck and Jim separate, such as what happened when the "Duke" and "King" sold Jim. In addition, we hear Jim's thoughts, getting a glimpse inside his head of what he knows, what he thinks about Huck's words and actions, and how he chooses to respond. At the end, the book serves up a twist that helps explain Jim's loyalty to Huck.

"James" is much more than fan fiction. It is an intelligent story about a character we think we know well. It provides a new perspective on an old story that forces the reader to think about the faces people put forward.

GCast 200:

Recording and Editing a Screencast

In this video, I show the steps I use to create, record, and edit the screencasts for this series. Tools include Microsoft Teams and Adobe Premiere Pro

I recently sat down to interview Harshvardhan Pathak and Gajanand Singh of Celebal Technologies. We talked about CT Vision – their video analytics platform.

The interview is part of the Azure Kubernetes Service team’s series “Partner Cloud Native Showcase.”

Streamline video content management with Celebal: CN Partner Showcase: Azure Kubernetes Service

Episode 869

Jennifer Reif on Graphs, Graph Databases, and Neo4j

Neo4j Advocate Jennifer Reif defines graph databases, including Neo4j, and describes the use cases when they are most useful.

John and Julie Gottman have been studying interpersonal relationships and writing books on the subject for decades. Their latest book - "Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love" - focuses on helping those in a long-term relationship.

After years together, a couple may fall into a routine in which they take one another for granted. The Gottmans recommend keeping things interesting by continuing to date. One does not need money for a successful date. In fact, one does not even need to leave home. The important thing is to dedicate some time to focus on each other and on your relationship.

This book suggests ideas for eight different dates. The topics of each date are Trust and Commitment; Addressing Conflict; Sex and Intimacy; Work and Money; Family; Fun and Adventure; Growth and Spirituality; and Dreams. Each chapter covers one of these ideas, but only a small part focuses on the date itself. Each chapter opens with a description of the topic and how it can potentially lead to conflict or misunderstanding, and how couples can resolve these issues. The authors illustrate many of their lessons with anecdotes of couples they have observed. The Schwartzes have been married for nearly forty years, and they have used their own experiences as examples on multiple occasions. They follow each case study with a set of questions for the couple to go through together, answering each in turn. Finally, we read a description of the date, which usually involves finding a private place to talk and discuss the chapter's ideas, and compare their answers to the questions.

My partner and I each read this book. We did not go on every date described, but we held many of the conversations suggested in the chapters. It helped our communication, and we learned things about one another during these conversations.

This book will not repair broken relationships, but it will provide a starting point and spark conversations that can remind you why you fell in love in the first place.

When I was a boy growing up in Rockville, MD, my father would sometimes take us to RFK Stadium to see the Washington Senators. After the Senators moved to Texas in 1971, the family attended a few  Orioles games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. We moved to Michigan in 1972 where my father's job included some free tickets to see the Detroit Tigers play at Tiger Stadium. When no customer or vendor wanted these tickets, he would bring his family.

Those three ballparks have long since been torn down, but they sparked my love for baseball - particularly for seeing games in person.

During my consulting days I traveled often across the US, and I made a point to see a baseball game if the local MLB team was playing at home.

At some point, I decided that I should visit all 30 Major League ballparks. This was a difficult goal because teams often move to a new city or tear down their old stadium and build a new one. When that happened, I decided I needed to return and visit the team's new ballpark.

I have had many jobs that included travel around the United States, so I tried to attend home games when visiting a new city. I happened to be in Kansas City on Opening Day the year after the Royals won their first World Series in decades. Tickets were sold out, but someone must have returned their tickets since I was able to buy one behind home plate. I have gone with friends, family, co-workers, and people I had just met. And I have been to many games by myself.

On my recent trip to Florida, I finally completed this bucket list. For my birthday in March, my sons gifted me tickets to a Miami Marlins home game - the only stadium remaining on my list. They joined me as I celebrated. It was a fitting finale. Although I was pulling for the visiting Tigers to win, the Marlins won on a walk-off home run in the eleventh inning.

Thanks to the many moves, I have seen a Major League Baseball game at 45 different stadiums - 50% more than there are teams in the league. This includes two games at Minor League parks. The A's moved  to Sacramento temporarily and played at a Minor League stadium while developers in Las Vegas build them a new home; and the Rays are playing this year at a Minor League park in Tampa while the Tropicana Dome is under repair.

Major League Baseball places far fewer restrictions on field dimensions than the NFL, NBA, and NHL place on the dimensions of fields and courts. As a result, baseball stadiums vary greatly in size and shape. I love stadiums that embrace their home town. Detroit's Comerica Park and Pittsburgh's PNC park offer spectacular views of their city skylines. The outfields in San Francisco and Cincinnati open up to the adjacent waterways. Detroit and Baltimore include the walls of old buildings that existed before the stadiums, while Dodger Stadium is built into the side of a hill. I love the history of Wrigley and Fenway, which are both over a century old. I love when a new stadium pays homage to its predecessor: The new Yankee Stadium retained the monument park in the outfield and Guaranteed Rate Field includes a digital version of the pinwheels that adorned Comiskey Park. The Ferris Wheel at Comerica Park and the Coca-Cola slide at Oracle Park are fun distractions. I like to see stadium food that reflects the local culture, such as BBQ in Texas, paninis at Cleveland's Progressive Field, and Chicago dogs at the Windy City ballparks.

I paid a premium for some games, but others were a huge bargain. Several times, I was offered free tickets because I was with my two young boys. In San Francisco, we sat with the local Boys and Girls Club, which did not use their donated allotment. The Rockies had a $1 ticket promotion the day I attended. Because they would not take cash, they probably lost money on the transaction.

I have seen some memorable games over the years. Here are few of the best:

- Clay Bucholz no-hitter at Fenway Park, Sep 1, 2007
- Phillies Walk-off RBI at Citizens Bank Park during a playoff race
- Giants Grand Slam at Pac Bell Stadium. We got free tickets in the Boys Club section, because they did not use - all of theirs.
- Biggest comeback in Nationals history at Nationals Park, July 5, 2018
- Royals Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium the year after their World Series victory. Rematch with the Mets - their World Series opponent. Apr 3, 2016
- Walk-off victory by the Oakland A's, July 4, 2014
- First-ever Opening Day at Great American Ball Park, Mar 31, 2003
- Walk-off RBI by Yainer Díaz at Minute Maid Park lifts the second-place Astros over the first-place Rangers, July 24, 2024
- Ohtani grand slam; triple play by the Angels; Rays win in 10 innings, Aug 18, 2023
- Walk-off RBI by the Mets in the bottom of the 11th, Citi Field, Sep 15, 2013
- Grand Slam by Royals' Bobby Witt Jr., Guaranteed Rate Field, July 29, 2024
- Longest losing streak in AL history, Guaranteed Rate Field, 2024
- Rookie Troy Johnston hit a walkoff 2-run home in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Marlins over the first-place Tigers 6-4, LoanDepot Field, September 13, 2025

Now that I have made it through my list, I can focus on visiting the remaining NFL, NBA, and NHL home venues. Only 18 of these remain. Of course, I will travel to a game when a team builds a new stadium. The next scheduled one is for the A's in Las Vegas.

It took me over 50 years to complete this bucket list. I began it with my father and I finished it with my sons.

Below is the complete list:

- Angel Stadium (Anaheim Angels) - 2023
- Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks) - 2019
- Sutter Health Park (A's) - 2025
- Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) - 2014 *
- Truist Park (Atlanta Braves) - 2024
- Camden Yard (Baltimore Orioles) - 2002
- Memorial Stadium (Baltimore Orioles) - 1970 *
- Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) - 2007
- Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) - 2005
- Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox) - 2012
- Cellular One Park (Chicago White Sox) - 1999 *
- Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) - 2003
- Cinergy Field (Cincinnati Reds) - 2002 *
- Jacobs Field (Cleveland Indians) - 2004
- Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) - 2022
- Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) - 2001
- Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers) - 1979 *
- Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) - 2023
- Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals) - 2015
- Dodgers Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 2023
- Marlins Park (Miami Marlins) - 2025
- Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers) - 2014
- Target Field (Minnesota Twins) - 2015
- Hubert Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota Twins) - 2005 *
- Citi Field (New York Mets) - 2013
- Shea Stadium (New York Mets) - 2006 *
- Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) - 2012
- Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) - 1982 *
- O.Com Colliseum (Oakland Athletics) - 2014 *
- Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies) - 2007
- Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia Phillies) - 1998 *
- PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 2007
- Three Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 1999 *
- Petco Field (San Diego Padres) - 2023
- 3Com Park (San Francisco Giants) - 2000
- Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners) - 2004
- Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals) - 2015
- Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals) - 2005 *
- Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays) - 2013
- George Steinbrenner Stadium (Tampa Bay Rays) - 2025
- Globe Life Park in Arlington (Texas Rangers) - 2018 *
- Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers) - 2023
- Rogers Dome (Toronto Blue Jays) - 2005
- Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) - 2018
- RFK Memorial Stadium (Washington Senators) - 1969 *

Episode 868

Mihai Tataran on Testing and Evaluating Generative AI Solutions

Generative AI projects present challenges when trying to test and evaluate nondeterministic output. He describes his approach to validating the quality of these systems and ways to improve them.

I don't know anyone who does not feel the pressure of time. This feeling may stem from the need to complete all one's daily tasks or from the desire to achieve long-term goals within one's lifetime. In my case, I feel both pressures.

Chris Guillebeau's 2025 book "Time Anxiety" addresses these pressures.

Here is some of his advice:

- Schedule transition time between your appointments, so you have time to prepare
- Allow a few extra minutes to travel than you think you might need. Avoid doing last-minute tasks before you head out the door.
- Not every task has to be accomplished with excellence. Some things can be good enough, leaving more time for higher-priority activities.

Most of his advice revolves around deciding what is important to you, focusing on things that support that, and deproritizing unimportant things. For example, it is not necessary to finish a book or movie if you are not enjoying it or not getting anything from it. Ask yourself how you will feel about a decision ten years from now. That may help you to decide.

The best advice I read here was in addressing overwhelming negative thoughts, which everyone experiences sometimes. Guillebeau advises us to focus on the positive - to remember a time you faced a similar challenge and succeeded.

"Time Anxiety" is not a bad book. The author provides simple, straightforward, and concise advice on managing time. But nearly all of it is common sense, and I think I am already doing all his recommendations.

When Roger McGuinn performs, he brings his life story with him.

The veteran musician sang, played, and talked for nearly two and a half hours, breaking for a 15-minute intermission. He interspersed stories of his long career between classic songs. After strolling onto the stage with a cordless electric guitar and playing Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages," McGuinn sat down to talk about growing up in Chicago, attending Latin School in the Gold Coast neighborhood, and learning guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music. A guitar and a microphone were all he needed to entertain the Skokie crowd on Wednesday evening. He played some of the songs he loved to listen to as a boy, talked about the teachers who had influenced him, and shared the story of moving to Los Angeles after high school graduation to record with The Limeliters.

The one-way ticket to California marked the beginning of a musical journey that enabled him to meet, record with, and tour alongside many of the legends of rock and folk music. Roger introduced "The Ballad of Easy Rider," telling of how Peter Fonda approached Bob Dylan about writing a song for his new motorcycle movie. Dylan scribbled a verse on a napkin and told Fonda to "give this to McGuinn. He'll know what to do with it."

We heard about Bob Dylan's 1975-76 Rolling Thunder Revue. McGuinn joined the tour, which inspired McGuinn to write "Take Me Away" and "Jolly Roger" - the latter based on the rocking motion of the tour bus, which reminded Roger of a pirate ship.

McGuinn met David Crosby after seeing him perform in a Samuel Beckett play. The two became friends and later formed The Byrds, a group that rocketed to stardom and transitioned from folk rock (Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man") to country ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere") to psychedelic rock ("Eight Miles High"). McGuinn performed each of these as he told of the rapid evolution of The Byrds.

When Roger turned down the chance to play a country banjo player in a motion picture, he was told he would never work in Hollywood. "I never have," he quipped, "but I still play the banjo," before launching into traditional banjo tunes "The Preacher and the Bear" and "Old Blue."

The audience joined in on "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door," which brought a smile to the singer's face.

Each story led into a song, and each song felt like an old friend. Roger's speaking voice is soft and high-pitched, like his singing voice. At 87, he still projects joy when he sings and talks of his career and his friends.

I left the concert feeling like I knew Roger McGuinn better.

Episode 867

Sam Nasr on Data Cleansing

When working on Machine Learning projects, Sam Nasr spends most of his time cleaning data. In this video, Sam discusses why data cleansing is important, the types of data that he needs to review, and how to address data deficiencies.

9/7
Today I am grateful to shop for an iPhone with my son yesterday.

9/6
Today I am grateful to see comedian Stephen Rogers at the Lincoln Lodge last night

9/5
Today I am grateful for a successful Chicago Cloud Computing User Group meeting last night.

9/4
Today I am grateful to hang out with Jayson last night.

9/3
Today I am grateful to celebrate Tim's birthday with a bbq dinner last night.

9/2
Today I am grateful to Tim for helping me hang my new TV

9/1
Today I am grateful for lunch yesterday with Pat and Pat.

8/31
Today I am grateful for breakfast with Amanda yesterday in East Lansing.

8/30
Today I am grateful to attend a Michigan State football game last night at Spartan Stadium for the first time in years.

8/29
Today I am grateful to see Laretha Weathersby perform at Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven last night.

8/28
Today I am grateful to talk with Gaines yesterday.

8/27
Today I am grateful for a new TV

8/25
Today I am grateful to attend Charity's birthday celebration yesterday in Lansing, IL.

8/24
Today I am grateful to attend the Chicago House Music Festival yesterday.

8/23
Today I am grateful to see Bossa Nova Noites, Larry Williams, and Najee in concert last night.

8/22
Today I am grateful to attend the AI Collective meetup last night.

8/21
Today I am grateful for a new neck reading light.

8/20
Today I am grateful to catch up on writing book reviews this week.

8/19
Today I am grateful for a massage yesterday.

8/18
Today I am grateful to play pickleball much of yesterday afternoon.

8/17
Today I am grateful to talk with Jayson yesterday

8/16
Today I am grateful to the organizers of #KCDC who put on an excellent conference this week!

8/15
Today I am grateful to deliver two presentations at the Kansas City Developers Conference yesterday.

8/14
Today I am grateful to attend the #KCDC Speaker Dinner last night.

8/13
Today I am grateful for those who made last night's Chicago Cloud Computing User Group a success, especially:
- Mike, for giving an excellent presentation on Fabric and AI
- Ron, for recording and live streaming the meeting
- all the people who braved the thunderstorms to attend

8/12
Today I am grateful to celebrate an 87th birthday with her family yesterday.

8/11
Today I am grateful for the love of Jesus Christ.

8/10
Today I am grateful to see Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in concert last night.

8/9
Today I am grateful for a phone call with Kathleen yesterday.

8/8
Today I am grateful to attend Juan's going-away party yesterday before he moves to Washington, DC.

8/7
Today I am grateful to attend the Discovery Partners Institute Summer Tech Interns Summer Project Showcase yesterday.

8/6
Today I am grateful to talk with Brent yesterday.

8/5
Today I am grateful to talk with Josh yesterday

8/4
Today I am grateful to see Firefall and Orleans in concert last night in St. Charles

I don't know anyone who does not feel the pressure of time. This feeling may stem from the need to complete all one's daily tasks or from the desire to achieve long-term goals within one's lifetime. In my case, I feel both pressures.

Chris Guillebeau's 2025 book "Time Anxiety" addresses these pressures.

Here is some of his advice:

- Schedule transition time between your appointments, so you have time to prepare
- Allow a few extra minutes to travel than you think you might need. Avoid doing last-minute tasks before you head out the door.
- Not every task has to be accomplished with excellence. Some things can be good enough, leaving more time for higher-priority activities.

Most of his advice revolves around deciding what is important to you, focusing on things that support that, and deproritizing unimportant things. For example, it is not necessary to finish a book or movie if you are not enjoying it or not getting anything from it. Ask yourself how you will feel about a decision ten years from now. That may help you to decide.

The best advice I read here was in addressing overwhelming negative thoughts, which everyone experiences sometimes. Guillebeau advises us to focus on the positive - to remember a time you faced a similar challenge and succeeded.

"Time Anxiety" is not a bad book. The author provides simple, straightforward, and concise advice on managing time. But nearly all of it is common sense, and I think I am already doing all his recommendations.

Episode 866

Ted Neward on Writing Prose

Software developers are good at writing code but tend to do a poor job at writing prose. Ted Neward discusses why writing is important and how to improve in this area.

Links
https://www.amazon.com/PRFAQ-Framework-Adapting-Amazons-Innovation-ebook/dp/B0DPXT6YTV

Daniel Kahneman's 2011 book "Thinking Fast and Slow" describes two ways that we make decisions.

Fast Thinking (sometimes called "System 1") is intuitive. We often do not know on what unconscious knowledge we base our decisions. This system can be helpful when we have limited information and limited time to act.

Slow Thinking (sometimes called "System 2") uses logic and known facts to make decisions. This system can lead to more accurate and appropriate responses.

System 2 tends to be more reliable because we try to take into account all available information, but System 1 can also be useful because our unconscious mind provides a lot of context, and it allows us to react more quickly.

Kahneman provides numerous examples throughout the book. Many are obvious (poor people value a gain of $100 far more than rich people; People often respond differently depending on the phrasing of a question or scenario) but some are thought-provoking (people are more willing to take risks if they ) but others are less obvious (e.g., A Credit Card Surcharge and a Cash Discount are the same, but most people find the latter more appealing.)

The most interesting examples are those in which people behave in a seemingly illogical manner. For example, when people hear a description of a woman, they may assume she is more likely to be a feminist librarian than a librarian. This logic is absurd because all feminist librarians are also librarians so the second category will be at least as broad as the first.

"Thinking Fast and Slow" provides an interesting list of ideas and psychological experiments. It includes enough applicable content here to make it worthwhile.

After recently watching the first season of the hit TV series "Dexter," I learned that the show was based on the 2004 novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay.

Dexter is a likable professional who works as a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Police Department. But he has a dark secret. Dexter has the urge to kill - an urge he satisfies by hunting down murderers who have evaded the criminal justice system. Once captured, Dexter kills and dismembers these killers before dumping their bodies in the ocean. When a new mass murderer begins killing and dismembering in Miami, Dexter is fascinated by the similarity of this killer's style to his own. Things become creepy when the new killer begins sending messages to Dexter, sometimes by breaking into Dexter's apartment.

Watching Season 1 of the TV show prepared me for most of the twists Lindsay presents in this story. The episode plots followed the novel closely. But that did not diminish my enjoyment of this book and my respect for the author's misdirections and red herrings.

"Darkly Dreaming Dexter" is a human story about a man devoid of human emotion, but who still manages to live by a strong moral code. He tries to reconcile a double life and come to terms with who he is and where his loyalties lie.

It took me almost two decades to watch the TV series and even longer to discover the book, but I am glad I experienced them both.

Episode 865

Steve Smith on How Generative AI is the New Offshoring

Steve Smith explains how the current hype around generative AI and its promise to do the work of developers is reminiscent of similar promises when offshoring became popular 25 years ago. As in that case, savings were often offset by long-term costs in terms of rework, maintenance, and rising prices.

For 25 years, Alison Bechdel published her comic strip, "Dykes to Watch Out," in various LGBTQ+ magazines. The strip featured a collection of friends who met, dated, broke up, worked, stressed, and grew older. Most of the major characters were lesbians, and most were politically active and left-leaning, providing a strong social commentary to the strip. But "DTWOF" also provided human interest stories. Relationships formed, grew, and grew apart. Each character is unique, stressing that the lesbian world is far from homogenous. The character Mo is opinionated, socially active, sexually frustrated, and looks suspiciously like the author.

"The Essential Dykes to Watch Out" collects most of these strips in a 400-page volume. By reading the series in this way, I was able to enjoy the evolution of the characters and the stories.

I saw Alison Bechdel speak in Chicago a few months ago, drawn by the fact that she was the inventor of the Bechdel test, which measures female representation in film and other media. I read this collection after that talk because the test originated in a 1986 strip of "DTWOF" (although Bechdel did not give the test a name). For some reason, that strip is not included in this volume. But enough is included to make it entertaining and engaging.

Some explicit sex scenes make this at least a PG-13 rating. But none of it feels gratuitous. I enjoyed watching the characters age and evolve, as well as the improvements in Bechdel's artistic style and the stories themselves.

What do you get when you take a group of top-notch Brazilian musicians, add one of the most accomplished producers and arrangers in jazz, mix in a Grammy-nominated saxophonist/flautist, and throw in a few other musicians for good measure?

We found the answer on Friday evening. American arranger and musician Larry Williams brought together members of acclaimed Brazilian group Bossa Nova Noites for a performance at Chicago's City Winery. Williams played keyboard and saxophone and served as music director. He initially made his name as an arranger for Quincy Jones and Al Jarreau. On this evening, he invited other musicians to the stage, including Robert Irving, co-composer of Miles Davis's "The Man with a Horn", and recording artist Frank McComb.

The first set consisted entirely of bossa nova songs and arrangements. Most songs originated from Brazilian composers, but they also performed their version of the Beatles' "Let It Be." Vocalist Monique was energetic and charming. She smiled and told the audience this was her first time outside her native Brazil.

The second set followed a brief intermission and featured American soul music. The band treated us to versions of "Respect Yourself," "Oh Girl," and other R&B classics. But the real treat was a guest appearance by Najee, who accompanied on saxophone and flute. Najee promised to return to the City Winery to headline a show in January.

The band closed with "The Girl from Ipanema," arguably the most famous Brazilian song of all time.

Friday was the first night of Bossa Nova Noites's United States tour. I was unsure what to expect when I decided to attend. I am a fan of bossa nova music, of Najee, and of the musicians for whom Mr. Williams served as arranger. The combination Friday evening was a delight.

GCast 199:

Getting Started with Draw.io

Learn how to use draw.io to create flowcharts, UI mockups, logical diagrams, and more

Episode 864

Jennifer Marsman on NLWeb

Jennifer Marsman talks about NLWeb - an open-source project that provides a protocol and an implementation for integrating the power of LLMs and natural language into a web site.

Links:
https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb/tree/main
https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/company-news/introducing-nlweb-bringing-conversational-interfaces-directly-to-the-web/
https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb/blob/main/docs/life-of-a-chat-query.md
https://github.com/nlweb-ai/NLWeb/blob/main/docs/nlweb-hello-world.md

Louisa May Alcott's 1869 novel "Little Women" focused on the March family as they dealt with their father's absence during the American Civil War. That book told us little about Mr. March or his activities during the war. He appears only briefly when his wife travels to Washington, DC, as he recovers from an illness.

Geraldine Brooks fills in the details of the father's life in her 2005 novel "March."

Alcott based much of the March family story on her own childhood. Brooks chose to incorporate much of Alcott's father into the March father, Amos Bronson Alcott. Like Amos, March was an abolitionist who worked as a traveling salesman in his youth. And, like Alcott, March befriended many of the literary intellectuals of New England, such as  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.

Although she based the character on a real person, Brooks invented many of the incidents in March's life. While traveling in the south, he befriended and lived for a year with plantation owner August Clement. March grew close to many of the Clement's slaves but was banished when caught teaching them to read. He reconnected with one of them - Grace Clement - while serving as a Chaplain in the Union Army years later.

Mr. March writes numerous letters to his wife during the war, but he omits brutal battle details and stories of his mistakes.

Brooks brings life to a minor character of a classic book. She presents March with moral conflicts that challenge his views of the world. His responses are flawed, which gives depth to his character. His idealism leads him to serve as a chaplain, but his abrasive manner, his infidelity, and his cowardice offset that idealism.

Grace is the most interesting character in the novel. She was a literate slave woman who had a chance to escape when Union soldiers captured Clement's plantation. Still, a complex sense of loyalty caused her to remain and care for her abusive former master.

"March" may not become the classic novel from which it drew inspiration, but it is thoughtful and inspiring.

In "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," Mark Twain introduced Tom's best friend, Huckleberry Finn. Huck represented what Tom aspired to. Without parental supervision (his mother was dead and his father was a mostly-absent drunk), young Huck never attended school, wore shoes, or took much responsibility.

A few years after the publication of "Tom Sawyer," Twain continued Huck's story in his 1884 novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

The story begins with Huck's father, Pap, returning to town and demanding money to fund his drinking. Huck fakes his own death and runs away to escape the abusive Pap. The adventures begin at this point in the saga. Huck and runaway slave Jim travel down the Mississippi River together, where they encounter murderers, a violent family feud, con men, and slave catchers.

Interwoven with all the adventures is Huck's growth as a person - particularly his attitude toward Jim. Early in the story, the boy took delight in tricking and mocking the older black man. In time, young Huck began to recognize Jim's humanity and his right to a free life. Huck wrestles with whether he should respect Jim's freedom or the property rights of Jim's owner. As their travels continue, Huck's attitude toward the black man changes, and he treats Jim with more respect.

The book includes many racial stereotypes and slurs, but its message is non-racist, especially for its publication time. Jim is arguably the most intelligent and honorable character in the story. The black man provides a moral compass for Huck throughout the book, and Huck's attitude toward Jim reflects the boy's personal growth.

Mark Twain's biting satire pervades the novel. Aunt Sally and her family treat Huck with kindness but see no qualms in enslaving human beings - a hypocrisy easily identified today, but subtle in the nineteenth century.

Twain tells this story in Huck's own words, using the voice of an uneducated midwestern American youth. He gave a voice to America and established a style of storytelling that resonated with readers and inspired many other authors.

Returning to this story for the first time since high school was like visiting an old friend. In the years between, I have seen numerous movies, TV shows, and plays, but the original book remains strong in my memory. Huck represents the independence of America. More significantly, the young protagonist learns from his mistakes and grows as a person.

Episode 863

Guy Royse on Ham Radios

Reddis Advocate Guy Royse (Call Sign W8GUY) describes the history of Ham Radio, the technology involved, how he uses it, and the origin of the term "Ham Radio."

Links:
https://aarl.org

Trumpeter Herb Alpert rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with his band "The Tijuana Brass." Decades later, Alpert brought the latest incarnation of the TJB to Chicago's Harris Auditorium for two performances. At the first show Saturday evening, I was impressed by the talent and energy of a musician who recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday.

Alpert opened with his 1962 hit "The Lonely Bull," which led into a medley of his tunes, before taking a seat and talking with the audience. His stories enchanted the sold-out theatre with tales of his life and career. He spoke about TikTok views reviving interest in the decades-old song "Lady Fingers"; and he spoke of conversations with Louis Armstrong and Burt Bacharach. But his most moving story was about his discovery and support of Sergio Mendes. Herb signed Mendes's "Brasil 66" band to his A&M label and invited the Brazilian to tour with the TJB. Mendes had recently hired Chicagoan Lani Hall as a vocalist. Despite warning his bandmates to avoid chasing the women in the group, Herb and Lani fell in love. Last year, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. To the crowd's delight, Hall then came onstage to sing a medley of Sergio Mendes hits.

The current version of the Tijuana Brass features seven musicians (including Mr. Alpert), and each is top-notch. In a version of "Love Potion Number 9," each had a chance to prove this with solos in sequence.

Videos projected behind the band showed old photos and videos - many from Alpert's numerous television appearances. His single "Spanish Flea" was used regularly during "The Dating Game," and an adaptation of "The Mexican Shuffle" served as the backdrop for a commercial for Clark's Teaberry gum.

This concert was far better than I expected, mainly because Herb Alpert exceeded my expectations. His talent and energy remain strong nine decades into his life and over seven decades into his career.

Sometimes, a song comes on the radio, and it takes me back to a time in my life when I heard it frequently. When I was in high school, I loved the tight harmonies and soft melodies of Firefall and Orleans. Both bands entertained the audience on Sunday evening at St. Charles's Arcada Theatre.

Orleans took the stage first. Brothers Larry and Lance Happen co-founded this band in Woodstock, NY, in 1972, along with John Hall and Wells Kelly. Larry and Lance's brother Lane joined the group a few years later, and the membership has shuffled numerous times over the past five decades, including the death of Larry Hoppen. Today, Tony Hooper (guitar), Brady Spencer (drums), and Tom Lane (guitar) join the Happen brothers, who play bass and keyboards.

Orleans launched into their 1975 hit "Dance With Me" in the second song of their set. They drew primarily from their early, but celebrated their move to southern California with a medley of songs by songs recorded by their Elektra labelmates in the 1970s (Jackson Brown's "Somebody's Baby," Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," Linda Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved?," Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy," and The Eagles' "Take It Easy.")

They closed with the upbeat hits "Love Takes Time" and "Still the One" - two of their biggest hits, before surrendering the stage to Firefall.

Like Orleans, Firefall retains only a single member from its original incarnation. In this case, it was guitarist Jock Hartley. And like Orleans, Firefall experienced its greatest success in the 1970s. Hartley declared that there would never be another musical decade like the 70s. Hartley was joined onstage by Sandy Ficca (drums), Steven Weinmeister (guitar), John Bisaha (bass), and Jim Waddell, who played keyboards, flute, and saxophone.

Firefall played the hits from their glory days, including "You Are the Woman," "Strange Way," "Mexico," "Cinderella," and (my personal favorite) "Just Remember I Love You." Their recent albums featured covers of classic rock hits, so tonight they admirably performed their interpretations of The Beatles ("You're Going to Lose That Girl") and The Doobie Brothers ("Long Train Runnin'")

As with Orleans, Firefall band members alternated singing lead vocals.

Highlights of the set included Waddell stepping to the front for sax and flute solos.

Firefall and Orleans are a part of musical history that defined my formative years. Their soft rock and tight harmonies would later be defined as "Yacht Rock." But for me, they are a memory of a simpler time.

Firefall Photos

Orleans Photos

Episode 862

Sarah Dutkiewicz on EventStorming

EventStorming is a workshop format for managing complex domains and executing Domain Driven Design. Sarah Dutkiewicz explains how EventStorming helps to understand and design business processes.

Links:
https://www.eventstorming.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@nimblepros/search?query=eventstorming

8/3
Today I am grateful for my first pedicure

8/2
Today I am grateful to Dan for loaning me his bike yesterday when mine had a flat tire.

8/1
Today I am grateful to attend a Toastmasters meeting at McDonald's Headquarters yesterday.

7/31
Today I am grateful to talk with Kevin and Judy yesterday.

7/30
Today I am grateful to see Macy Gray in concert last night.

7/29
Today I am grateful for 3 doctor appointments the last 2 days.

7/28
Today I am grateful to celebrate one year with an amazing person

7/27
Today I am grateful to celebrate the wedding of Josh and Katherine yesterday

7/26
Today I am grateful to return home safely from overseas.

7/25
Today I am grateful for 2 amazing weeks in Greece and Turkey

7/24
Today I am grateful for the hospitality of John and Kim, who opened their home in Greece to us.

7/23
Today I am grateful for a drive around the island of Chios and a walk around the town of Mesta.

7/22
Today I am grateful for my first visit to the Greek Island of Chios.

7/21
Today I am grateful for an amazing week in Athens

7/20
Today I am grateful:
- to visit the Byzantine and Christian Museum
- to watch the sun set over Athens from the top of Lycabettus Hill

7/19
Today I am grateful to visit Ancient Agora Athens and the Temple of Hephaestus.

7/18
Today I am grateful for a visit to the National Archaeology Museum in Athens, Greece.

7/17
Today I am grateful for a walk around the Acropolis

7/16
Today I am grateful for an amazing experience on my first visit to Istanbul!

7/15
Today I am grateful to explore the Kadıköy neighborhood in Istanbul.

7/14
Today I am grateful:
- to visit Topkapi Palace
- for a walk around Gulhane Park

7/13
Today I am grateful for:
- a visit to the Hagia Sophia
- a cruise down the Bosphorus Strait

7/12
Today I am grateful to visit:
- The Blue Mosque
- The Basilica Cistern
- The Hagia Sophia museum
- The Grand Bazaar

7/11
Today I am grateful to arrive safely in Istanbul

7/10
Today I am grateful for a visit from my son this week.

7/9
Today I am grateful to host a group of students yesterday, teach them about AI, and give them a tour of the Microsoft office.

7/8
Today I am grateful for bubble tea in Chinatown last night.

7/7
Today I am grateful to spend a long weekend with friends