MoreCowbell.me/cubetalk

I've been a premium LinkedIn member since 2017. A lot has changed on the platform since that time. They say you should start with a complement before you start talking about your gripes.... 🫤 I like that for the most part LI has stayed professional. I've stopped using other similar platforms because they've just become too sloppy & often negative. Tho, it could be that I've chosen to follow only well-behaved feeds on LI. What I'm not a fan of on LI, tho, is how the algorithm

I become a spreadsheet nerd around this time of the year. This is when I take my full previous-year statements from my different accounts and do analysis on the family spending.  I. Geek. Out. Pivot tables. Categories. Charts. A nice cup of coffee. [insert Homer Simpson drool image] 🤣 This year, tho, I'm gonna see just how well AI allows me to ask questions of the raw data versus doing my own manipulations. Instead of a multi-level pivot table to figure out how much Dining O

I enjoyed sharing my Kwanzaa 2025 thoughts with you this year! As a final gift ( #zawadi ), I've listed all 7 LinkedIn posts here for your convenience. Enjoy, and please use the comments to share your thoughts: Umoja:  https://lnkd.in/eK-e5Ytb Kujichagulia:  https://lnkd.in/eM5fXG7w Ujima:  https://lnkd.in/e8VcVZ5J Ujamaa:  https://lnkd.in/ergJ4qEW Nia:  https://lnkd.in/eczkAPc6 Kuumba:  https://lnkd.in/ewkFSpsw Imani:  https://lnkd.in/eaYZjzDU MoreCowbell.me/cubetalk

Kwanzaa Day 7 of 7 |  #Imani  (Faith): Today 2025 is officially behind us. For many, including those in my industry, 2025 was tough. I'm not sure how one deals with the complexities of life (aka 'adulting'), or finds the will to look forward into 2026 confidently, without having Faith as a foundation. To keep my faith strong, I've been part of a men's bible study group for many years. In 2025, when searching for passages for us to study, I've been using AI to help. There are

Kwanzaa Day 6 of 7 | #Kuumba  (Creativity): Believe it or not, before I became a super nerd, I used to write poetry. 🤓 I can't explain what caused my season of poetry-writing back then, nor can I explain why I haven't written any more poetry in the many many years since. But, today's principle made me go back and look thru some of my stuff - I found one I'd written called "When Women Sing" that talks about the beautiful melody of the female voice. It's too long to post on t

Kwanzaa Day 5 of 7 |  #Nia  (Purpose): In 2012, I wrote an article called “ The 3 T’s of Giving Back to the IT Community ”. It was a piece about the intentionality behind giving back to the community - in this case, the IT community.  I was reminded of the article when I thought about Purpose. In the article, one of the things I highlighted was the concept of "Teaching", and I mentioned the year I was a volunteer instructor for a high school STEM/computer competition team (we

Kwanzaa Day 4 of 7 | #Ujamaa  (Cooperative Economics): This principle is about the importance of building together. This year, we ventured forward on a commercial real estate investment with partners that we've been collaborating with over the last few years. For us, it wasn't just about a simple ROI calculation. It was also about creating networking opportunities & generating legacy wealth. Ujamaa reminds us that economic strength comes from shared effort and mutual support.

Kwanzaa Day 3 of 7 | #Ujima  (Collective Work and Responsibility): In 2025 we became sports parents, as our daughter played on her season-winning school volleyball team, and went on to play Club volleyball as well. When I think about collective work & responsibility, the idea of parents working together to manage the responsibilities and logistics of raising a kid comes to mind. We take our marriage and our parenting seriously. And when it comes to managing schedules and acti

Kwanzaa Day 2 of 7 | #Kujichagulia  (Self-Determination): In 2025 I put some thought into how I wanted to "define my path". Spending time thinking about what kind of man and leader and mentor and husband and father I want to be, both in personal and professional spaces. Years ago, I wrote this article: “Everything I Learned About Self-Promotion I Learned from The Princess Bride" (link below). I tried to share light-hearted lessons on confidently owning your narrative and bui

Kwanzaa Day 1 of 7 | #Umoja  (Unity): As I reflected on how I've lived out Umoja in 2025, I think back to my trip to New Orleans to attend this year's national conference for the 100 Black Men of America, Inc.   It was such an overwhelming feeling seeing representatives from different chapters across the country come together to share successes from the year and collaborate on ways to make the organization, and our Community, stronger and more unified. Each of our chapters h

Reflecting on my humble beginnings , versus my current situation ... :)

#DadJokes #GeekDad

April is National Minority Health Awareness Month, a time to recognize the importance of improving the health and well-being of...

Ok, I'll play too... 🤓 (Linkedin Post Mar 31, 2025)

To my daughter and all the other girls working hard in the lab, Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

Learning about AI tools might make your soul glow...

On this 7th day of Kwanzaa, here's an AI prompt you could use in the spirit of Imani (Faith)... " I want to understand how my faith can...

On this 6th day of Kwanzaa, here's an AI prompt you could use in the spirit of Kuumba (Creativity)... "Pretend you are poet speaking at a...