GCast 167:

GitHub Actions [GCast 167]

Learn how to create and edit a GitHub Action.

Episode 785

Jose And Laurel Mojica on Virtual Reality Storytelling [EPISODE 785]

Jose And Laurel Mojica are creating a new film, which they plan to release in Virtual Reality. They discuss some of the challenges of telling a story using VR and some of the tools they use on their project.

Near the end of the American Civil War, the Confederate government ordered the construction of a camp near Andersonville, GA to house captured Union soldiers. Conditions at the camp were harsh. Overcrowding, lack of food, and poor sanitation led to the deaths of thousands of prisoners. The prison had no roof, exposing the prisoners to extreme elements, and lacked fresh water and toilets. Tens of thousands of prisoners crowded into a compound designed for a fraction of that number. Nearly a third of those incarcerated at Andersonville died in captivity.

MacKinlay Kantor's 1955 novel "Andersonville" tells the story of this camp and the people associated with it.

Kantor took some of his characters from history. Camp Commander Henry Wirz was never able to manage the prison effectively. Prisoner William Collins repeatedly stole from fellow prisoners for his own benefit. Confederate guards hanged Collins; Wirz was arrested, convicted of war crimes, and executed after the war. He created fictional characters to represent the tens of thousands who lived, suffered, and sometimes died under the horrific conditions, as well as those surrounding the camp.

The novel follows the camp, its prisoners, its management, and those affected by Andersonville through the end of the Civil War. We see the inhumane conditions suffered by the prisoners. We experience the prejudices that ordinary people use to rationalize their hatred against Blacks, Yankees, Jews, Catholics, and others. But not everyone we meet is consumed with hate. Landowner Ira Claffey fights unsuccessfully for better conditions for the prisoners. He retains at least some of his humanity despite the Confederacy taking his land to build the prison and the Union Army killing his three sons in battle. And a one-legged southerner assists a one-armed escaped POW at the end of the war.

The sheer number of characters sometimes makes the story difficult to follow. One never knows when we meet someone if they will be significant later in the book. I found it challenging to keep them all straight. No central character dominates the story. The prison serves as the center, and all action revolves around it.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It describes suffering and cruelty in detail. Kantor provides detailed descriptions of the disease, abuse, and starvation suffered by those imprisoned at Andersonville.

If you seek a depiction of the horrors and savagery of war, this book is for you.

An era is ending. Blues singer and guitarist Buddy Guy, who will turn eighty-eight this year, announced last year that he is retiring from touring. He posted his farewell tour on his website.

Fortunately for those of us in his hometown of Chicago, Buddy booked performances three nights a week during January at his club "Buddy Guy's Legends." For years, fans have anticipated this annual January residency and the chance to see the legendary bluesman in a small club setting. Each night, the show features a different warmup artist.

I purchased tickets for the January 12 show primarily because Bobby Rush was the scheduled opening act. I have long been a fan of Bobby's 1971 song "Chicken Heads," and the 90-year-old Rush has been performing even longer than Mr. Guy. Rush delivered a decent set. He talked a little too much, sang a little too little, flirted with the ladies in the front row, and finished with "Chicken Heads," adding some improvised verses. Although underwhelming, he set the mood nicely for the main act.

Buddy opened his set with "Damn Right I've Got the Blues" - an energetic song that rocked the house. For much of the evening, he paid tribute to many of the blues legends with covers of songs by Muddy Waters ("Hoochie Coochie Man"), John Lee Hooker ("Boom Boom"), Al Green ("Take Me to the River"), and Slim Harpo ("I'm a King Bee"). Buddy is one of the last of a generation of great bluesmen. He no longer has the stamina of his youth (his set lasted a little over an hour), but he brought great energy during his performance. Between songs, he expressed his appreciation for the crowd, his love of the blues, and his fondness for Chicago.

Near the end of Guy's set, Bobby Rush joined him on stage for an encore duet of "Chicken Heads," which delighted the audience.

I was thrilled to see Buddy Guy for the fourth time. His retirement announcement and his advanced years will limit his future performances. He has not yet indicated whether he will continue performing at "Legends." If this was my final time, it was a fitting finale.

Damen Fields was born with many disadvantages. His father died before he was born. His single mother raised him in poverty before marrying an abusive husband before she died. These events thrust young Damen into the social services system, where he suffered abuse at the hands of a series of foster parents.

Damen took the last name of his dead father, "Copperhead," in part because of his flaming red hair. He also embraced the nickname "Demon" - a nod to his fiery personality.

Barbara Kingsolver's 2023 novel "Demon Copperhead" tells the story of this boy as he grows to manhood. Kingsolver drew inspiration and many plot elements from Charles Dickens's "David Copperfield."

Demon's life parallels the life of Dickens's Copperfield in many ways. In addition to the single mother, abusive stepfather, and being orphaned at a young age, Demon faces torment at the hands of the unscrupulous U-Haul Pyles (a modern version of Uriah Heep), receives comfort from the kindly elderly Mrs. Peggot (Kingsolver's version of Mrs. Peggotty), and falls for the beautiful but irresponsible Dori (an incarnation of Dora Spenlow).

Despite borrowing many characters and story elements from Dickens, "Demon Copperhead" is Kingsolver's story. The action mostly takes place in the Appalachian region of southwest Virginia and reflects the culture and poverty of that area.

The book has many themes - the effect of expectations on motivation, the caste system in America, stereotypes of the Appalachians, hero worship, and the roles of the education system and health care system in poor communities.

Two themes dominate the novel - each in a different part. The first part reveals the difficulties - and sometimes horrors - of growing up in the foster care system. At age 11, Demon moves from home to home, and each "caregiver" exploits him in some way. One keeps all his foster children out of school so that they can work his tobacco farm; another puts him to work in a meth lab, then steal his earnings. Even the kindest of his foster parents grooms him for the high school football team that he coaches.

The second part of the novel focuses on the dangers of drug abuse. Drugs are freely available among high school students, and doctors frequently prescribe addictive painkillers to their patients. Demon's addiction begins with opioids (drugs that contributed to his mother's death) before escalating to harder narcotics. When asked if a friend is taking drugs, Demon responds, "I don't know a single person my age that's not taking pills."

"Demon Copperfield" could have been a clever marketing ploy, drawing in readers already familiar with Charles Dickens's classic story. But it is more than that.

Ms. Kingsolver's novel shared the 2023 Pulitzer Prize with Hernan Diaz's "Trust," a testament to its appeal beyond being a tribute to the Dickens classic.

The overarching theme of the book matches that of "David Copperfield." "Demon Copperhead" addresses the enormous challenges of growing up in institutional poverty and the hope of overcoming those challenges to become something more than what you were born to.

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

The title character of Charles Dickens's novel "David Copperfield" relates his life story in the first person but opens with the above quote. He may be teasing the reader, or he may be uncertain of the answer himself - needing to record his life to decide whether or not he is its hero.

Copperfield takes us through his journey from boyhood to manhood.

David goes through a series of phases - in circumstance and personality - to lead him to his adult self. Some circumstances are thrust upon David, while others result from his actions.

David faces early hardships from his widowed mother's abusive second husband. He falls in love multiple times and meets a string of colorful characters. Some, like his family servant Peggotty, have his best interests. Others, like the sleazy Uriah Heep, are concerned only with their own gain.

A strength of the novel is the characters. Dickens introduces many people in this story. Some help David; others hinder him. Some turn out to be different than he initially perceives. Aunt Betsey first appears aloof and unlikeable but ultimately helps David in his life. David admires James Steerforth, who proves unworthy of that admiration.

Partially autobiographical, "David Copperfield" tells a moving story about the struggles in life and how people can overcome them through hard work, good fortune, and the help of friends. The author includes some of the tragedies of nineteenth-century British life. But it also contains much optimism.

If the book has a weakness, it is its length. Dickens often goes off on tangents about minor characters, devoting many pages to incidents that do not advance the plot. This practice is likely due to its origin as a magazine serial and the financial incentives to pay authors based on word count. But Dickens makes up for any weakness with the book's many strengths. He fills the narrative with humor, fascinating characters, and twists that keep the reader interested. These are why Charles Dickens embraced "David Copperfield" as one of his favourite novels, and why it has maintained its literary status for over a century and a half.

Episode 783

Kevin Gates on Photography [EPISODE 783]

Kevin Gates spends much of his free time taking photographs. He explains some of the art and science that goes into taking a great photograph.

Links:

https://www.dreaddontdie.com/
https://www.lensrentals.com/
https://dreaddontdie.notion.site/Kevin-s-Photography-Principals-aeffd5db8baf4617893db22f1d9b59c5

Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction - an award usually given to novels. But "Interpreter" is not a novel. It is a collection of short stories. And the stories are not connected narratively. None of the characters, places, or events tie together. Some stories take place in India, and some in the United States. However, each of the nine narratives features Indians or Indian-Americans.

And each explores relationships and the conflicts in those relationships. These relationships can be between lovers, a community, a parent, and a child.

Most of the stories end badly due to suspicion, adultery, wrongful accusations, or divorce. Lahiri brings life to the characters but leaves the reader with a sense of melancholy. My heart sank when overcommunication killed a marriage. Stories show the cruelness of others against their less fortunate family members and neighbors in "A Real Durwan" and "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar."

The final story redeems the others with a tone of optimism lacking in the previous eight. In "The Third and Final Continent," a visiting scholar fondly remembers coming to America and connecting with his 103-year-old landlord - the first American with whom he formed a bond.

"Interpreter of Maladies" is a well-written showcase of the diversity of thought among those from South Asia who immigrated to America and those who stayed in their home country.

In many ways, 2023 was a year of recovery and rebirth. I resolved some significant issues in mid-2022. This past year, I was able to focus on healing myself, improving my career, and helping those around me.

Family

Two engagements highlighted our family news this year. My son Tim proposed to his longtime girlfriend Natale on the Pont Neuf while they were vacationing in Paris. My niece Katie announced her engagement to her boyfriend Josh at Christmas dinner.
Tim completed his third year as an IT consultant at Microsoft. He received a promotion this year.
Nick is in his fifth season coaching the Kalamazoo College basketball team. The team began the season with a 4-1 record, their best start in over twenty years.

Friends

In 2023, I made an effort to reconnect with old friends. I have met so many excellent people over the years, and I missed talking with them, so I reached out to many and scheduled a phone call. I typically planned a half hour, but the conversation almost always lasted longer.

Travel

As many of you know, I set a goal years ago to attend a home game of every team in the four major professional North American sports - NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. I made significant progress in this list during 2023 when I attended home games of 2 NFL teams (Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers), 5 MLB teams (Anaheim Angels, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Texas Rangers), and 2 NHL teams (Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins.) I also saw many Kalamazoo College basketball games to watch my son coach the team. Most of these were in Kalamazoo, MI, but I also saw his team play in Lake Forest, IL, and Thousand Oaks, CA.

In the course of the year, I traveled to southern California twice, to Pittsburgh, to Houston and Dallas,

I can now see the end in sight of this list. I have ten or fewer unvisited sites for each league, and 28 visits remain among the four leagues.

Two things were noticeably missing this year. I had no international trips, and I had no work trips. I plan to change both of these in 2024. My team scheduled an offsite in the Seattle area in late February; and I submitted to several European conferences. DevSum in Stockholm, Sweden already accepted me as a speaker.

The Arts

I love concerts and live theater. I attended 43 concerts and 17 plays in 2023, which is a lot, even for me.

Here is a list of each I attended in the past twelve months.

Concerts

Theater

Museums

Last year, I created a new bucket list - visiting all 15 Presidential Libraries and Museums. This year, I saw three (George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan) bringing my total to five. In addition, I visited the Dallas Museum of Art and the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles for the first time this year.

Public Speaking

Focusing on my day job this year left me less time for public speaking at conferences and user groups. I did some virtual presentations. I delivered technical presentations at six virtual user groups (SpartaHack, Tulsa .NET User Group, Cleveland Azure User Group, Cleveland C# User Group, and the Memphis Python User Group) and in person at three user groups (Elastic Chicago User Group, AI Meetup, and TCS Road Show), as well as many presentations specifically for Microsoft partners. Next year, I hope to deliver more in-person presentations.

My Job

This was my first full year on the Global Partner Solutions team at Microsoft. It was a satisfying year during which I led a number of projects and contributed to even more. I am grateful to my current coworkers and managers for their teamwork and collaboration. The culture of this team contrasts starkly with that of my last team. My new managers encourage collaboration and highlight what their team members are doing correctly, in stark contrast to my previous manager.

Volunteering

I volunteered once again to mentor high school students as they create projects for the ISTC STEM Challenge. I have lost count. Is this my fifth or sixth year doing this?

Reading

I continue to read frequently this year, completing 44 books, which is fewer than the last couple of years. You can view my list and my reviews here. My current goal is to read every book awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. So far, I have read 36 of the 104 books granted this award.

Online

My online shows shows are still going strong. I decided an acceptable cadence is once per week for Technology and Friends and once every two weeks for GCast. I kept this up throughout the year. With fewer face-to-face interactions, T&F has almost completely shifted to virtual interviews.  At over 11,000 views, my most watched video of 2023 was Creating a JWT Bearer Token with Azure Active Directory [GCast 139]

I also continued to blog actively, publishing 240 posts in 2023 - an average of one every 1.5 days. I managed to post a new article every day in April, July, and August. I am especially proud of July in August because this is the first time I have published every day in back-to-back months and the first time I have posted every day in a 31-day month.

On social media, I began each morning by sharing something for which I am grateful. It has helped my mental health to start each day with this ritual. I am also in the habit of sharing interesting historical trivia, a song each day, and keeping track of friends' birthdays. You can follow me at the following links:

• https://www.facebook.com/DavidGiard
• https://twitter.com/DavidGiard
• https://techhub.social/@davidgiard
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgiard/

Personal Stuff

The year was mostly positive. The low point came a few months ago when a long-term relationship ended. It took me a while to accept this, but I am moving forward. I am grateful for the support of friends during this time.

Looking Ahead

My goals for 2024 are to continue to do well at my job, to travel more, and to do more public speaking - particularly in-person.

I will speak at the Michigan Tech Conference in March and at DevSum in Stockholm, Sweden, in June. I am waiting to hear from other conferences if they will accept my proposed presentations.

My team planned an offsite in Seattle in late February 2024 - an event scheduled and canceled in 2022. I am excited to meet my teammates - most of whom I have never seen in person.

I face the upcoming year with renewed optimism. 2023 was a good year overall, but I recognize what it lacked and will take steps to make 2024 even better!

How do you create a musical about a story that others have told, set to music, and virtually everyone has seen?

Dr. Seuss published the enormously popular Christmas story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in 1957, and it became one of the most popular children's books of all time. In 1966, Chuck Jones, Ben Washam, Boris Karloff, and Thurl Ravenscroft brought the story to life with a musical animated television special. A 200 live-action adaptation and a 2018 animated movie followed. Most recently, Timothy Mason (book) and Mel Marvin (music) created a Broadway musical version of the Grinch's story. A current national tour of this passed through Chicago, where I saw it Saturday evening at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

Just as in Seuss's original story, the green misanthropic hermit Grinch despises Christmas enough that he conspires to steal all the presents from the nearby town of Whoville to cancel Christmas and bring sorrow to the Whos that live therein.

The new musical incorporates many of the melodies from the 1966 TV show set to updated arrangements mixed with new numbers. The new songs are good, but the classics deliver the most punch. Near the end, the entire audience sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," as Max, the dog, flipped cards to reveal the lyrics. The sing-along refocused the many children in the audience whose attention span wandered.

Much of the dialogue was lifted directly from Seuss's book, and extra dialogue consisted of Seuss-inspired rhymes. Even the sets looked very much like Dr. Seuss's artwork.

There were a few differences. An older version of Grinch's dog Max (played beautifully by Bob Lauder) served as narrator of the story (replacing Boris Karloff's excellent job in the 1966 version). And muppet-like muppets appeared as a chorus of Whos a few times during the show.

Anthony Cataldo was excellent as the title character. His mangy green fur and long fingers made him creepy enough to scare anyone, but his wiry frame made him fun to watch.

This adaptation was very faithful to the source material. Singing and dancing stretched the running time to 85 minutes. The short run-time was perfect, given the number of young children in attendance and the shorter attention span typical of boys and girls.

I grew up with the Grinch's story. I read it and watched it many times as a boy and with my boys. I enjoyed this retelling of a familiar tale.

Although jazz trumpeter Marquis Hill currently lives in New York City, he retains his Chicago roots. Hill was born and raised on Chicago's south side and regularly returns to his home city to visit and perform. He played two sets at Jazz Showcase in Printer's Row on Friday evening. I caught his first set. The venue was as crowded as I have ever seen it.

Hill kicked off the show, chiming bells, a tambourine, and other small percussion instruments perched on a stool by his side. He returned to this stool, despite gravity toppling many of these instruments to the floor, where the pianist had to retrieve and replace them. In addition to the chimes of bells, he interspersed his playing with looped recorded samples of an unidentified musician describing the inspiration behind his music.

Hill's trumpet playing was flawless and emotional, but he was supported by three musicians (bass, drums, and piano), which he sometimes refers to as his "Blackett." The pianist stood out with his outstanding solo work.

The set was short - barely an hour - but he packed a lot into it, ranging from upbeat funk to slow ballads. It was enough.

After stowing away on a boat from Darkest Peru, Paddington Bear came to the Brown family. He speaks fondly of growing up with his Aunt Lucy, who still resides in Peru at the Home for Retired Bears.

But we never get to meet Aunt Lucy.

Until "Paddington on Top."

Lucy appears in the final two stories of this book after Michael Bond mentions her in nine previous collections. She does not do much, but it is a delight to see her - if only briefly - after her and of Paddington's affection for her for so long.

"Paddington On Top" is another set of charming stories about the well-meaning bear who messes up with the best intentions. In this book, Paddington briefly attends school with the Brown children, gets taken in by a swindler, accidentally wanders into the wrong courtroom, attempts water skiing, signs up for a mail-order fitness class, plays rugby, and enjoys the company of his visiting Aunt.

It is seven more terrific stories from Mr. Bond.

I was in southern California four months ago but decided to return. I chose December 16-21 because:

1. My son Nick's Kalamazoo College basketball scheduled two games in Thousand Oaks, CA this week
2. LA Rams and LA Kings had home games this week, allowing me to make progress toward my bucket list of attending a home game for every team in the four major North American professional leagues

During my August trip, I stayed in Anaheim and San Diego - south of Los Angeles. For this trip, I mostly stayed in Thousand Oaks - north of LA - because this is where Nick's team played their games.

Day 1

I drove straight from the airport to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, CA. History would remember Nixon for his significant foreign policy initiatives (ending the Vietnam War and establishing trade with Communist China), but his role in the Watergate scandal overshadows almost everything else during his administration and taints his memory. The museum is in the backyard of the house in which Nixon was born. The graves of He and his wife Pat are between the two buildings. His entire life, from birth to death, is captured on a couple of acres.

Day 2

I stayed in Thousand Oaks, and my cousin Bob lives in nearby Ventura, so we planned to spend Sunday together. Bob met me at my hotel, and we drove together to the Inglewood neighborhood of Los Angeles to see the LA Rams defeat the Washington Commanders. The game featured three turnovers and excellent LA defense. Washington made a game of it when their backup quarterback led a late touchdown drive to close to within eight points. But a blocked extra point and some timely first downs sealed the victory for the Rams.

Day 3

My friend Sara drove down to meet me. We had not seen each other in a few years, so we spent much of the day catching up before attending my son's basketball game. Redwoods College defeated them handily, but I got to have a beer with Nick after the game.

Day 4

On Tuesday morning, I visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA. The museum sits atop a mountain with beautiful panoramic views of the unspoiled area surrounding the buildings. The most interesting part of this museum was a temporary exhibit on the Jewish Holocaust, which featured artifacts from Nazi concentration camps and video recordings of eyewitness accounts. This museum is the home of the Air Force 1 plane and the Marine 1 helicopter that transported Mr. Reagan during his presidency. Guests are permitted to board these vehicles, but not to take them out for a spin.

In the afternoon, I watched Kalamazoo lose to a very good Cal Lutheran University team.

Nick and I spent his last evening in the state tasting beers at a local dive and eating In-N-Out burgers unavailable where we live.

Day 5

I woke up early Wednesday morning to drive Nick and one of his players to the LA Airport for a morning flight. Fortunately, I could check into my hotel early and enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the hotel's 35th floor as I watched a gentle rain fall outside the window.

With a free afternoon and a steady rain falling, I decided to spend a few hours at the Grammy Museum. It was a worthwhile experience. Special exhibits on hip-hop music, the famous Roxy nightclub's 50th anniversary, and Latina singer Shakira made it extra enjoyable. The special exhibits seemed to take up more than half the museum, which was fine with me.

In the evening, I bought a ticket to see the LA Kings take on the Seattle Kraken in ice hockey at Crypto.com Arena. The home team dominated the first period but could not solve Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord, who stopped forty-two shots. Seattle's offense came to life after 20 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead before Blake Lizotte cut the lead with a shorthanded goal late in the third period to make the final score 2-1.

Day 6

On my final day, I found a quiet place for breakfast and an outdoor cafe to sip a latte (the rain continued, but the temperature was warm enough to sit under an awning) before heading to the airport. LAX maintains its reign as the worst airport in America. A poorly designed rental car experience caused this trip's headache. The rental car facility sits about three miles from the airport, and the shuttle bus must navigate LA  traffic and the gridlock of the airport terminal driveway. I dropped off my car 2.5 hours before my flight, yet my luggage and I almost missed the plane due to a long ride on the shuttle.

But I made it, and so did my luggage.
 

Final Thoughts

Southern California is known for its great weather, but it rained steadily during most of my visit. The rain did not diminish my enjoyment of this vacation. I got to spend time with my son, visit an old friend, watch Nick's team play (even though the results were disappointing), and check two more home stadiums off my bucket list. I even finished reading a book*.

This was an excellent way to close out 2023!

* "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan, which I highly recommend.

Episode 780

Fernando da Silva on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework

Fernando da Silva is a security architect who focuses on protecting customers, partners, and users. He discusses the 5 pillars of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and how you can use them to protect your systems.

GCast 164:

Using Git and GitHub Together [GCast 164]

Learn how to the git command line tool to manage sync local changes with your GitHub repository.

I bought the tickets months ago but had no idea what to expect from Ana Gasteyer. I knew her from her six seasons on Saturday Night Live, and I saw her perform as Elphaba in a production of Wicked. But I have not followed her career since. Would she tell jokes? Would she sing? Would she dance? Would she tell stories?

It turns out that she did all the above Saturday night at Evanston's SPACE. Mostly, she sang. And mostly, she sang Holiday songs - or, as she called them, "secular seasonal songs."

Tonight was a homecoming for Gasteyer, who graduated from Evanston's Northwestern University. Her daughter (a current NU student) was in the house.

Midway through the show, Ana brought out a bucket of airline-sized bottles of Fireball cinnamon whiskey to hand out to selected audience members.

Many numbers came from the American songbook and featured winter or holiday themes - "Let It Snow," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Sleigh Ride," and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Ana altered some of the lyrics for comic effect. In "Let It Snow," she celebrated the departure of party guests who overstayed their welcome with the line: "They finally said 'good night.'" She also mixed in many originals, such as "Nothing Rhymes with Christmas," "Secret Santa," and "Sugar and Booze." She drew many songs from her 2019 Christmas album "Sugar and Booze."

Backed by a solid six-piece band (piano, bass, guitar, drums, woodwind, and percussion), Ms. Gasteyer performed for over two hours. Most songs featured jazz arrangements led by musical director Julian Fleisher.

She closed with a rousing version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," followed by a moving rendition of "Children, Go Where I Send Thee."

I came home with a feeling of holiday contentment and a couple of tiny bottles of Fireball.

Episode 778

Nic Jackson on Hashicorp Vault

Nic Jackson discusses Hashicorp Vault - a tool that helps you store and manage application secrets. He talks about how the tool works, in what situations it is most valuable, and how to use it.

12/3
Today I am grateful to see an exciting overtime hockey game last night - my first home Pittsburgh Penguins game.

12/2
Today I am grateful for dinner and ping pong last night with Randy and Pam.

12/1
Today I am grateful to attend a Spartan victory last night as the women's basketball team won at DePaul.

11/30
Today I am grateful to the students who told me that my explanations helped them better understand some concepts.

11/29
Today I am grateful to kick off and help coach a GitHub DevOps workshop with a partner this week.

11/28
Today I am grateful for the friends in my life.

11/27
Today I am grateful to catch up on editing videos last night.

11/26
Today I am grateful to spend a few days in Michigan with family and friends.

11/25
Today I am grateful to spend yesterday with John and Kim.

11/24
Today I am grateful to spend Thanksgiving with my family yesterday and to my niece Katie for hosting us all.

11/23
Today I am grateful for the hospitality of my sister Debbie.

11/22
Today I am grateful to arrive safely in Michigan late last night.

11/21
Today I am grateful to learn a lot of new things about GitHub this past week.

11/20
Today I am grateful to see the world premiere of Boop! The Musical last night.

11/19
Today I am grateful to experience the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival last night.

11/18
Today I am grateful for a drink with Suzanne last night.

11/17
Today I am grateful to attend AI Camp AI, ML, and Data Meetup last night.

11/16
Today I am grateful to watch the Ignite keynotes virtually.

11/15
Today I am grateful to see two exciting basketball games at the Champions Classic last night.

11/14
Today I am grateful for new winter gloves.

11/13
Today I am grateful that repairs are finally complete in my building's garage, so I no longer need to park two blocks away.

11/12
Today I am grateful for dinner and a basketball game in Kalamazoo, MI with John and Kim yesterday.

11/11
Today I am grateful:
- for coffee with Glenn yesterday morning
- to see My Morning Jacket in concert last night

11/10
Today I am grateful to hang out with Tommy all week

11/9
Today I am grateful to attend networking events after the conference yesterday.

11/8
Today I am grateful to attend KubeCon for the first time.

11/7
Today I am grateful:
- to be on a Tech Community Panel at the Veeam workshop yesterday
- to speak on Azure integration and API tools at Elastic's meetup last night

11/6
Today I am grateful for dinner with Cassandra and her co-workers last night.

Henry Winkler came to the attention of the world (and to me) when he starred as Fonzie on the hit TV show "Happy Days." Fonzie was an iconic character - a man so cool he could start a jukebox by tapping it in the right place or snap his fingers to attract beautiful women or silence a crowd with a single word.

But that character was not Henry Winkler. By his own admission, Winkler grew up the opposite of cool. He wanted desperately to be accepted by the popular kids at school. He wanted the approval of his parents, but his undiagnosed dyslexia led to low grades, which led to his parents' disdain. His German parents called him "dummer Hund," which translates to "dumb dog."

"Being Henry: The Fonz... and Beyond" is an honest story about an actor's rise to success and his challenges along the way.

Growing up, Winkler lacked self-confidence in everything except acting. He was so enthusiastic about performing that he managed to qualify for Yale drama school despite his reading issues. In his audition, he improvised much of the Shakespearean dialogue he was supposed to deliver.

After struggling for a few years following graduation, he won the role of Fonzie. Audiences loved the lovable tough guy character so much that the producers restructured the show, shifting the focus from Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham to Winkler's Fonzie, which discouraged Ron Howard. Despite this, Howard and Winkler remained close friends, and Winkler had nothing but praise for Howard in his book.

"Happy Days" ran for eleven seasons, was a top-20 rated show for eight of those seasons, and spawned multiple spin-offs, including the successful "Laverne and Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy."

When the show ended, Winkler struggled to maintain his acting career without being stereotyped as a cool greaser. He worked steadily for decades before beginning an association with Adam Sandler and appearing in a handful of Sandler's successful comedies. The two met when Winkler called Sandler after hearing his name mentioned in Sandler's Saturday Night Live performance of "The Chanukah Song." The two remained friends afterward.

Winkler's career continued to climb when Bill Hader cast him as acting teacher Gene Cousineau in his dark comedy series "Barry." This role earned Henry his first Primetime Emmy Award.

Henry Winkler has experienced success, marginal success, and mega-success throughout his five decades of acting. But not everything came easy. His dyslexia hindered much of his career, and he found relationships difficult - in large part due to the lack of support and love from his parents. Years of therapy and a strong support group helped this.

I saw and met Henry on his recent book tour, where his "Barry" co-start D'Arcy Carden, interviewed him. D'Arcy had kind things to say about him, and Henry's smile and responses reinforced his reputation as one of Hollywood's good guys.

What impresses me about Henry Winkler's life is that he was able to be successful without being spoiled by the Hollywood lifestyle. By all accounts, he remains grounded and loyal to his friends. His kindness came across in his writing. "Being Henry" tells the actor's story with honesty, vulnerability, and gratitude. So many of his anecdotes are about people who helped him along the way. Every few chapters, his wife Stacey chimes in to relate a story of their life together in her own words.

Henry is in a good place now. He is approaching 80, his career is at its strongest since his Fonzie years, he has a good family and good friends, and he has learned to accept the things in his life that held him back. Watching "Happy Days" was a part of my life as a boy, and I am happy to see Mr. Winkler remain successful. He attributes his success to talent, work, and luck. We should all be so lucky.

GCast 163:

Getting Started with GitHub [GCast 163]

Learn how to create, manage, and delete a GitHub repository

Episode 777

Ashton and Ryan Clark on TicketFalcon

Ryan and Ashton Clark talk about their online ticketing business, including the history of the business and the technical issues they needed to tackle to make it successful.

https://www.ticketfalcon.com/

Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the 1930s changed the course of European history. But Hitler and his Nazi Party inspired many Americans as well. These American groups nearly succeeded in their efforts to support the Nazi cause and prevent America from helping to defeat the Third Reich's efforts to take over the world.

Rachel Maddow's "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism" explores the rise of Naziism in the United States before and during World War II. Many people contributed to this movement with a range of motivations. Some opposed American involvement in any foreign war; others advocated fascism as a superior form of government over democracy; and many embraced Hitler's Great Lie that a secret cadre of international Jews controlled the world's economy and politics.

The significant actors included politicians, businessmen, and preachers. Organizations like the Silver Shirts and the Christian Front actively advocated and trained for the violent overthrow of the United States government. Congressmen used their franking privilege to mass mail Nazi propaganda to US citizens at taxpayer expense. Others incorporated Nazi messaging into their speeches.

Most of the players were unknown to me, but too many wielded enormous power. Some congressmen and journalists pushed for the United States to join the war on the side of the Nazis. Industrialist Henry Ford was so enthusiastic in his hatred of Jews that Adolf Hitler came to admire him. Hitler quoted Ford in his book "Mein Kampf" and even hung a portrait of Ford in his office. Aviator Charles Lindbergh delivered many public speeches in favor of Hitler's government.

The racist message of these far-right groups came close to succeeding. Many American citizens and authorities viewed Communism as a more significant threat than fascism, and these hate groups pushed the narrative that most Jews were Communists. The American Fascist movement failed because of the people who dared to stand up to them. Sadly, very few of the conspirators were ever brought to justice. An attempt to bring to justice the Nazi sympathizers who sought to overthrow the government was unsuccessful. The trial dragged on so long and was so chaotic that the judge eventually died of stress. Prosecutor O. John Rogge brought back from the Nuremberg Trials evidence of direct ties between Nazi officials and US politicians. His report was suppressed by the Truman administration, which hoped to avoid a public scandal. The public ignored the report when it was finally released decades later.

History has forgotten this xenophobic movement, yet it could have had disastrous consequences for democracy in America. We mustn't forget so we can recognize the signs when others try something similar.

Betty Boop was the most famous star in the world. She sang and acted and captivated audiences wherever she went. But her world was not the real world. It was the black and white animated world of America's jazz age. Bored with her life of celebrity and unsure of her identity, Betty borrows her grandfather's invention to transport herself to the "real world" She finds herself at a New York City Comic-Con in 2023, surrounded by a culture of escapism. Soon, she befriends bright teenager Trisha and her stepbrother Dwayne, who help her to understand her new surroundings.

Boop originally appeared in a series of shorts created by legendary cartoonist Max Fleischer.

Nearly a century later, a production team of Bob Martin (script), David Foster (music), Susan Birkenhead (lyrics), and Jerry Mitchell (director / choreographer) brought Betty's story to the stage. "Boop! The Musical" premiered at Chicago's CIBC Theatre Sunday night before a sold-out audience, where it will run until Christmas Eve before heading to Broadway. I was fortunate to attend the world premiere event.

Jasmine Amy Rogers excels as the energetic Betty and newcomer Angelica Hale steals scene after scene as young Trisha.

Foster is best known for his work as a producer and arranger for popular musical artists, but he has penned hits for Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Whitney Houston, and others. His first attempt at writing a Broadway musical is wildly successful.

Characters in the animated world act with the exaggerated body language of cartoons. The scenes between Betty and her new friends are touching and believable, despite the implausible storyline.

The audience laughed and cheered their approval throughout the show.

"Boop! The Musical" is a fun-filled fantasy for all the senses.

Episode 776

Travis Shepherd on Flying an Airplane

Travis Shepherd is a software engineer at Kin + Carta; but, he has been earning his pilot's license in his free time. He talks about many of the technical, mechanical, and mental aspects of flying an airplane.

GCast 162:

Managing Azure Subscriptions [GCast 162]

Learn how to create and manage Azure Subscriptions.

LP does not talk a lot. At least, I did not hear much talking when I saw them in concert Friday evening at the Salt Shed.

Instead, LP launched from one song to the next with a fervor that projected a love of playing and singing.

The non-binary singer was born Laura Pergolizzi but now goes by the initials "LP" and identifies as non-binary, using "they/them" pronouns. They have released six albums and three EPs, and they drew from many of them this evening.

Their voice has the power to bring passion to their rock melodies. The backing band contributed to the energy, particularly a female guitarist who shredded song after song.

I only recently became aware of LP's music. Still, I recognized many songs from the evening, including "Burn It Down," "One Like You," and "Long Goodbye" - a passionate song that closed the set before their encore. "One Last Time" was the final song of the evening, leaving the audience energized.

On this night, LP let the music do their talking.

Steve Hackett first gained fame as a virtuoso guitarist when he joined the progressive rock band Genesis near the beginning of their career. Hackett has stayed true to his roots. He has continued the tradition of playing progressive rock music and still performs the Genesis music of his youth.

Thursday evening at the Copernicus Center, Mr. Hackett paid tribute to some of that music, performing Genesis's fourth studio album, "FoxTrot," in its entirety. The album was released 50 years ago last month and still holds up well.

Hackett reserved his "FoxTrot" replay for the band's second set. Their first set consisted of songs from his extensive solo career. Steve has assembled a top-notch group of musicians to accompany him: Roger King on keyboards, Jonas Reingold on bass, Craig Blundell on drums, multi-instrumentalist Jonas Reingold, and Peter Gabriel sound-alike Nad Sylvan on vocals.

Many guitarists switch instruments between songs to change the sound they wish to create. Steve Hackett keeps the same electric guitar but modifies the output electronically between - and sometimes during - each piece. The effect is the same, but the transitions are faster and smoother.

The concert reached its climax two hours into the show. Steve brought out an acoustic guitar to perform "Horizons" before the rest of the band joined him and launched into the epic "Supper's Ready" suite, which dominated most of FoxTrot's second side. It was a great send-off to the evening.

For those of us who loved Genesis and remember the days when they pioneered the progressive rock movement, this night was a journey back in time. And a pleasant one, at that.

Episode 774

Steve Andrews on A Safe Work Environment

Steve Andrews has developed a neuro-social model of emotional well-being. From this model, he developed ten dimensions for leaders to consider:

1. i. Safety
2. ii. Identity
3. iii. Messages
4. iv. Agency
5. v. Positive Social Connection
6. vi. Environment
7. vii. Mission and Purpose
8. viii. Body and Brain
9. ix. Human Needs
10. x. Strengths

He discusses each of these dimensions and how leaders can use them to cultivate a safe and productive work environment.

Links: 

Looking for Bears

Steve Hackett first gained fame as a virtuoso guitarist when he joined the progressive rock band Genesis near the beginning of their career. Hackett has stayed true to his roots. He has continued the tradition of playing progressive rock music and still performs the Genesis music of his youth.

Thursday evening at the Copernicus Center, Mr. Hackett paid tribute to some of that music, performing Genesis's fourth studio album, "FoxTrot," in its entirety. The album" was released 50 years ago last month and still holds up well.

"FoxTrot" was reserved for the band's second set. Their first set consisted of songs from Hackett's extensive solo career. Steve has assembled a top-notch group of musicians to accompany him: Roger King on keyboards, Jonas Reingold on bass, Craig Blundell on drums, multi-instrumentalist Jonas Reingold, and Peter Gabriel sound-alike Nad Sylvan on vocals.

Many guitarists switch instruments between songs to change the sound they wish to create. Steve Hackett keeps the same electric guitar but modifies the output electronically between (and sometimes during) each piece. The effect is the same, but the transitions are faster and smoother.

The concert climaxed at the end. Steve brought out an acoustic guitar to perform "Horizons" before the rest of the band joined him and launched into the epic "Supper's Ready" suite that dominated most of FoxTrot's second side.

For those of us who loved Genesis and remember the days when they pioneered the progressive rock movement, this night was a journey back in time. And a pleasant one, at that.

GCast 161:

Sorting a Microsoft Word Document by Headers [GCast 161]

Learn how to sort the contents of a Microsoft Word document by the headers in that document

Episode 773

Cameron Turner on Predictive and Generative AI

Kin + Carta Vice President Cameron Turner discusses how his company approaches Artificial Intelligence solutions for their customers. He talks about the kinds of solutions, how to use data, and ethical considerations.

Before I talk about Justin Hayward's performance Monday evening at Chicago's City Winery, I want to talk about Mike Dawes. Dawes performed a solo warmup act before Hayward's show. He is a guitar virtuoso who uses every bit of the instrument, moving his fingers and palms up and down the entire neck of the guitar to make his six-string sound like multiple twelve-strings. If you have a chance, he is worth seeing perform live.

Dawes was part of Justin Hayward's band during the main act, along with keyboardist Julie Ragins and flutist Karmen Gould, who all provided vocal harmonies.

Justin delighted the audience by opening his show with "Tuesday Afternoon" - a big hit for the Moody Blues. Justin was the lead vocalist and frontman for the popular progressive rock band. He played some of his solo compositions this evening, but the audience was most excited to hear the Moody Blues classics. Justin did not disappoint, performing "The Voice," "Never Comes the Day," "Your Wildest Dreams," and "Question." With each song, the crowd burst into cheers upon recognizing the opening chords.

When Hayward sang a beautiful version of the mega-hit "Nights in White Satin," we assumed that would close his show, but he remained for two more songs. He extended his set beyond two hours rather than leaving and returning for an encore.

At 77, Hayward still retains an impressive vocal range, and the music he made famous with the Moody Blues tested that voice this evening.

He impressed me and the sold-out audience.

I had a chance Friday to volunteer at the STEAM Hack-to-Learn. The event was held at the Chicago downtown Microsoft office.

The event brought in students from suburban Chicago and featured several guest speakers, as well as hands-on activities.

Jeff Gettis opened the event, describing his journey from Chicago's south side to his 20 years at Microsoft.

Jon Browning, CEO of Global Mentorship Initiatives, spoke about the importance of networking in building your career, pointing students to LinkedIn and ChatGPT as tools to help them in a job search.

Author Gayle Keller hosted a panel of industry professionals who answered questions about professional careers.

Ravi Penmetsa gave an overview of Artificial Intelligence.

The talks were all interesting, but I was most impressed by the kids' questions, which showed a genuine curiosity about a career in IT. They asked questions like "What is the most interesting part of your job?" and "What would you be doing if you were not in this field?"

After the presentations, the students broke into teams and rotated between building applications with low-code and no-code tools and learning to dance to K-pop music.

At the end of the day, each team stood at the front of the room and shared what they learned.

It was an excellent chance to experience young people learning something new.

Episode 772

Jon Skeet on Enhancing His Church's A/V System

In his spare time, Jon Skeet has been helping his church improve its Audio and Video production. He talks about the "Zoom and Enhance" and "At Your Service" applications he created to control audio and video, control cameras and displays, translate speech, and allow people to participate in the service from home.

Links:
https://tinyurl.com/at-your-service