Destroy Obstacles

 I'm glad attend in-person events again that are local to me in South Florida. This has been a great opportunity to connect with other technology professionals, both in large organizations as well those starting companies to lead the future with technology such as AI. I also recently went back to school, not just to teach but also to complete a program on cybersecurity and networking. I earned my A+ certification and plan more like Security+ soon. The program I completed was through a government grant to provide free training for in-demand jobs like healthcare, IT, etc. I was happy to qualify for the program and many others qualify as well, so just reach out if interested. There is also the Microsoft AI Skills Fest, with a chance to earn free certifications weekly.  Now is the time! If you are going for a free cert, reach out and maybe we'll even start our own study group…. The link to the Microsoft AI Skills Fest is https://aiskillsfest.event.microsoft.com/ Under the Explore ...

Free Cert Data AI Cyber I love learning new things, so working in technology is a non-stop adventure! There are fun topics like: Cyber Security - it's no surprise that the rapid growth in technologies like AI, IoT, & Cloud have made securing vital data & infrastructure for companies more important now than ever before. I wanted to keep up to date, so it was a pleasure to attend the Official Cyber Security Summit last week in Miami, my first large technology conference attended since COVID. I met a lot of great people in the InfoSec community, and am looking forward to more events like that.  Data - as a 2017 article in The Economist says "the world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data." It is what powers a lot of our everyday lives. Once we capture data, we can use analytics to visualize data insights. AI - with the rise of AI brings lots of great things as well. AI is powered by data (Large Language Models, LLMs) to generate fresh content as we...

Another month of fun is flying by! Usually when schools take off for Spring Break, our family will rush to travel away from South Florida to go somewhere else. This time we wanted to slow things down, so we finally had a great staycation together to enjoy more things like: Rollercoasters at the Fair - we enjoyed lots of rollercoasters, carnival games, & other fun at our local fair. We went during the week when it was less crowded, and it was also a great deal since they discounted that weekday. Sports (Table Tennis & Biking) - I took a break from my usual games of pickleball on the weekdays, but luckily we have plenty of other ways to keep moving. We now have a professional table tennis table setup at home, and the competition is fierce against tough opponents like my young daughters.   And I also signed up for a bike tour around all five boroughs of New York City, so I'm excited for fun ways to stay fit. Gaming (Arcade & VR) - I also battled my daughters on games ...

My Top Books in 2023 I'm looking forward to surpassing my goal of reading 50 books again for the Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge! This year I've had a large number of books I gave 5 stars, so I took extra time to enjoy them. For many years I gave myself the excuse that I didn't have the time to sit down and read, and barely read 1 book a year. So how did I do it? Well listening to audiobooks while driving or training for sports to stay in shape  https://ninja.ninjaforlife.com/ definitely helps. Luckily books in Amazon Kindle format can also be read by Echo devices and even using the Alexa app. My top books by category read in 2023 were: Data & AI • Power and Prediction https://amzn.to/411oHAn • The Signal and The Noise https://amzn.to/3GpKTup Business/Technology • Chip War https://amzn.to/3R5KEcR • Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making https://amzn.to/3RpoDag • Sandworm https://amzn.to/3TcuHo5 Mindset/Motivational • Motivational Legends ...

Geeking out on Data & AI I tend to obsess over at least one subject to keep me always learning new things, and this time it is Data & AI: Data - it is all around us, & tools like Microsoft Power BI allow us to harness that power. Since it is one of our main tools used at work, I knew I needed to use it more. Luckily, Microsoft Learn offers free hands-on labs that walk you through all the basics. After completing their cloud skills challenge at one of their recent events, I was offered a discount to take the Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300) exam. After attempting the exam, I'm glad to share that I passed! AI - I'm also amazed by how powerful AI tools can help us out with daily tasks. My main go-to is ChatGPT for generating content, summarizing content, & much more. And if you have Microsoft Edge, Bing Chat is built into the browser & lets you do things like summarize articles & generate images. I enjoy sharing what I'm learning, so I'm putting toget...

 I'm looking forward to surpassing my goal of reading 50 books again for the Goodreads 2022 Reading Challenge! This year I've had a large number of books I gave 5 stars, so I took extra time to enjoy them. For many years I gave myself the excuse that I didn't have the time to sit down and read, and barely read 1 book a year. So how did I do it? Well listening to audiobooks while driving or training for sports to stay in shape  definitely helps. Luckily books in Amazon Kindle format can also be read by Echo devices and even using the Alexa app. My top books by category read in 2022 were: Business/Technology • The Innovators https://amzn.to/3GQmP5b • Invent & Wander https://amzn.to/3EIe7DF • The Code Book https://amzn.to/3icsx7j Mindset/Motivational • Ego Is the Enemy https://amzn.to/3ODAX3O • Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life https://amzn.to/3gDpPau Health/Wellness/Psychology • How to Change Your Mind https://amzn.to/3U5J0re • Why We Sleep https://amzn...