As I write this post, it is almost 2 weeks after the 2022 US midterm elections. There are still races that have not been certified, ballot recounts in process and along with them a multitude of news headlines and speculation as to why all of this is happening. Outside of the news outlets and municipal halls, rumors and doubts circulate. Of course there are more races that have been tabulated and certified with candidates declaring victory and their opponents conceding, yet those contests are not the “breaking news” as those still outstanding.

But does that have to be the case? Can ballots be counted and confirmed with confidence and within a reasonable amount of time to not cast a shadow on the overall process? The answer is yes, as this is already being done and has been done for years thanks to a sophisticated technology solution that isn’t getting headlines like it should.

Making Voter Intent Clear

Several years ago I had the good fortune of working with Larry Moore at a firm he was leading. At that point he was already a tech pioneer and visionary. His door was always open when I had a question or challenge and he was able to help me see things from aspects I hadn’t even considered. Later we later reconnected and I learned about technology he envisioned and with a great team brought to life to help solve the issue of voter intent and integrity. The company he founded was Clear Ballot and the technology involves scanning paper ballots and using advanced software to count both votes and voter intent. Think of how a ballot looks and if someone didn’t fill in an oval correctly or maybe circled the name instead of filling in the pesky oval, and this is what the software helps determine, with human reviewers, to properly audit an election.

Even as I re-read what I just wrote I know I am not giving this proper justice. Fortunately Larry recently produced a video where he describes the problem most are aware of and the solution most are not. The video “See the Vote - Fight Disinformation” is embedded below or click here to watch the video on this voting technology.

Deconstructing Defending Elections

It is beyond cliché to say how technology has positively impacted out lives. However as a result of issues with voting and certifying elections over the years, the prevailing thought of paper ballots and hand-counting, with all of their own challenges, has been the direction to insure elections are fair and accurate. I hope this video shed light on how technology has, can and will be a positive force in election integrity.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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There's no better preparation for Halloween like good horror stories. A few years ago I shared some spooky stories of Web site content horrors. So forget getting trapped in a car and hearing scratching sounds on the roof, as these stories of misadventures with domain names will certainly curdle your blood! Names have been changed to protect the innocent... and frightened.

Gone Killin'

Preparations were going well for the launch of the new Web site. In our weekly meeting we agreed we could confidently schedule a launch date and all marked our calendars. When launching a new Web site with different hosting than the current site, changes are required to the domain name settings (DNS) of the domain name. In the case of this client, the domain name was managed by their current hosting vendor. Knowing this at the beginning of the project, I tried to convince the client to transfer the domain name to their own domain registrar account. Sadly, my advice was not heeded, and that decision almost came back to haunt them.

With the date in hand I contacted their current vendor, who was aware of the project, told him the date and asked for confirmation he could make the necessary DNS changes on the launch date. He acknowledged, though I left the call with a queasy feeling, one I felt after most conversations with their vendor. It was a combination of what he said and how he said it - always very casual and somewhat dismissive. "Yea, I can do that" with someone whom I've yet to have a track record with doesn't give me a lot of confidence, but it's the best I can work with. I decided to send multiple reminders leading to the launch, all of which he responded to in the affirmative.

On the launch day I contacted their vendor with the DNS change information – I sent an email and followed up with a call that went right into voicemail. The email had a read receipt request I never got. I gave it about an hour, and then called again, and got the same voicemail. In the interim, several times I checked if he just made the DNS changes and failed to reply to me, which wasn't the case either. I then called the client to tell them the situation. They were prepared for this as I had shared with them my gut feel on their soon-to-be ex-vendor. They then gave me his mobile number – he was a small operation - and I called, again with no answer. This was followed by a text message and another call, which was answered.

In short, he forgot he had to do this and since it was a nice day out he decided to go fishing. Where he called from had poor service plus he did not have a computer and as he was out on a lake. But he said he would be able to take care of it later in the day, the time depending on how well fishing was going. After I hung up I decided I still needed my phone and throwing it across the room was not prudent. I called the client back and told them my news, to which they reluctantly accepted as we both knew we were at his mercy.

Later in the evening he made the changes though he did not call to tell me he did it. In subsequent days, after the shiny new Web site was up and running, I later facilitated the client transferring their domain name away from this scary vendor.

Frankendomain

As I monitor domain names and Web sites for my clients, I was alerted a Web site went down, and upon further review I found the domain name had expired. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence, but one that can be quickly remedied by logging into your domain registrar account and renewing the domain name. That is, if you can log into it.

Right away I emailed and called the client and advised them of this, and offered my help. Later I heard back from them that they were not able to login, as their domain registrar account was challenging them with two-factor authentication and it was trying to text the code to the previous head of the firm who was let go under less than acrimonious circumstances. After that leader had left, nobody bothered to change the contact information on the domain registrar account, and thus their peril.

The quickest way to resolve this issue was to get a hold of the previous leader and ask them to send an authorization code when texted to them. The chairperson of the firm tried this to no response (maybe as they were the one who let go that person had something to do with it?). What to do next?

Following that failed Plan A, Plan B was to contact the domain registrar, explain the situation and submit payment over the phone so the Web site would come back to life, then try to retrieve the login account later. For some strange reason I was never able to understand, they wouldn't take payment over the phone - we weren't trying to take over the domain name, just reactivate it. They said the only real Plan B was to reclaim the account.

Reclaiming a domain name account is something I personally have been through too many times myself, as it is a straightforward but long, arduous process of submitting paperwork proving who you are - individually and as an organization. This typically requires items like a copy of your driver’s license, IRS EIN letter which lists your tax ID number, articles of incorporation, state or federal licensing information, et. al. With this proof, you should be able to get back the account within a few weeks. Yes, weeks - which meant the site would be down that long.

But there was a wrinkle, a huge, ginormous wrinkle - the firm did not have a copy of its IRS EIN letter. They knew their EIN number, but didn't have "proof" of it in their vital records file (well, I never asked them if they had such a file, as I did when I had my own business, but I digress). They then contacted the IRS in order to get one. Now here's where the ginormous part comes in - this was June of 2020, the country was in the midst of lockdowns, the IRS was working remotely and not issuing anything in paper form or digitally for that matter. In short, the firm was not able to prove who they were!

After learning this, I contacted the domain registrar myself, explaining the situation and asking if we can simply make a payment. They refused. What? I was pissed. I won't say what I said to them, but it wasn't civil. I slammed the phone down and vowed bloody revenge. But we still had a domain name to deal with, and it was getting close to the 30 days after it expired. Why was this important? At the 30-day mark the domain name would be listed for auction by the registrar as an abandoned domain name, and 15 days later it would go up for auction.

Thus Plan C was crafted to "win" the domain name auction and get the domain name back. Yes, it meant a month and a half of the Web site being down. Sure, we could have gotten a new domain name and started over, but then search history and SEO gained over the years would be lost. Plus I have never, EVER lost a domain name and was not about to now, lockdowns be damned! I explained all of this to the chairperson of the firm, who agreed with the approach and authorized the expense.

Daily I monitored the domain name until the auction took place, and let the games begin. I previously registered as a bidder with the registrar, and then entered the auction with a low entry bid. I forget the set duration of the auction but it was maybe 30 minutes to an hour. As the domain name was a longer, unique name, I did not expect many if any additional bids. Interestingly with about 10 minutes left in the auction a few additional bids came in, which I quickly outbid. Some registrars have been accused of having staff bid in active auctions to drive up prices, but I don’t know if this was the case here. In the end I "won" the auction with a high bid of around $30, but with all associated fees it went just over $100. Within a day I had the domain name in my personal account at that registrar and the Web site was once again alive.

After the 60-day transfer hold following the auction I transferred the domain name back to the client, but in a new registrar account with a different registrar with their new and accurate contact information. Where the registrar that refused to help gained from the auction process, they lost a customer for life.

Deconstructing Domain Name Horror Stories

The tales told here were indeed scary, but in both cases certainly avoidable. You should always have your domain names in an account you control. Setting a couple of calendar alerts and verifying the login and contact information on a domain registrar account semi-annually is the largest hurdle. Logging into the account and setting a domain name on auto-renew and verifying the credit or debit card will not expire before the auto-renew date will ensure the annual renewal happens. You can even extend the registration out a decade so you don't have to pay for a while. All of these steps will ensure you have no domain name skeletons in your closet.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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If you peruse the pages of this humble blog you will find many posts where I share things I do to keep productive. A couple that come to mind are 30h30d and using Kanban boards. Where some of these approaches have come and gone, some have remained, along with my on-going interest in discovering others.

My latest “hack” if you will has been one I have been using for a few months now and with some success. Unlike others, this one is three-dimensional and requires batteries. It’s a timer cube, as pictured above.

Simplicity In Its Solution

The cube is a straightforward device – turn it on and flip the cube until a desired time is facing up. A red light will start flashing indicating the clock is running. When the selected time is up the cube starts beeping and can be stopped by turning it off. It’s that simple.

So why would I want this? When I first learned of it, I saw one benefit right away in helping me focus for a fixed period. A “trait” of mine I am not totally fond of is that I can start in on a task and be heads-down on it, not realizing hours have passed by. Where it is good that I can concentrate on something, I can end up doing so for too long and thus not managing my time wisely. The cube has been helpful in this regard. For example, if I am not sure of how to solve something I will set the cube to 30 minutes and dive in. When the alarm goes off, I can decide to stop where I am, continue or move on to something else.

An added benefit I quickly discovered is it also reminds me to not sit on my butt all day and move around! I typically set it at 30 minutes, then when the alarm goes off, I will save where I am and take a short walk around the block. As a result my joints don’t completely seize up from prolonged inactivity, plus I have the walk to help clear my head. During these walks I have often come up with ideas I didn’t think of when I was staring at the screen or other inspirations. This 5-10 minute break literally gets the blood pumping, especially to my brain, and I am then ready to take on my next 30-minute sprint.

With one device about 2 inches square, I have helped myself keep focused with a little exercise to boot.

But Don’t You Have a Timer on Your Phone?

Upon being questioned by someone who observed the cube on my desk and asking why I bought this little plastic cube when I have a timer on my phone, my answer was simple, “exactly!” My mobile device has had its own positive impact on my productivity (namely with apps that let me use it as a second computer) but it also can be a distraction. From texts from friends and family to email alerts to the latest transactions from the New England Patriots apps and so on and so on, using the phone’s clock app can be counterproductive to my efforts at increased productivity. I will often turn off the ringer and put the phone out of the way so I don’t sense its vibrate mode allowing me to better focus.

The Sources of It All

When I have told colleagues about the timer cube, many mentioned the Pomodoro Technique, something I was unfamiliar with. This technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo where he set a tomato timer (a timer that literally looks like a tomato) to 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break and repeating. Perhaps the concept of the cube was inspired by this – I don’t know, but setting the cube to 30 minutes is close enough for me.

Buying the cube was inspired by a video brand marketing guru Mike Gastin posted on his newsletter where he professes his own success with the cube. Check it out and in return for his recommendation I share his Amazon affiliate link for you to get your own timer cube. I also recommend subscribing to Mike’s newsletter for it goes above and beyond marketing, as you can see here.

Have I inspired you to try a timer cube? Or have you been a user of one or something similar already? I welcome your thoughts in the comments to this post.

Deconstructing Productivity and Awareness

Often the focus in work and life is on doing and being productive and not on taking mental or physical breaks, as these are seen as non-productive. But does sitting in one place and going from meeting to meeting to meeting mean you are productive, or simply busy? Taking time to regroup, reflect and move on is important. So is regular physical activity. Where this timer cube has not transformed my life completely, it has been a welcome addition and aid in it. Time will tell if it does change me.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Recently a friend moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, the city where I live. Like me he is in the tech industry, so I started forwarding him links to Web sites and other resources in the community to help him get acclimated in his new community. I also logged them and am sharing this list here to a greater audience.

By no means do I believe this is the be-all, end-all of what is out there and going on in Willem Dafoe’s hometown – if I left something out, please leave a comment to this post. I have organized these into community and the tech industry, and they are in no particular order. Though many of these outlets have a social media presence, here I have listed the traditional ways of how to reach them, highlighting their Web sites, email lists and RSS feeds.

Community Resources

All Things Appleton – In the last year or so this site came onto the scene and is dedicated to the finer details of the inner workings of city government you can’t find elsewhere. It is frequently updated and has an email list and RSS feed.

Appleton Post Crescent – The local newspaper is among most all major papers in Wisconsin that are owned by Gannett and fall under the USA Today banner. Where the changes in the newspaper industry are evident in its publications, it does encompass most of what is going on. They offer email lists and RSS feeds, and much content is available without paying for a subscription.

Appleton Magazine – This is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering the greater Fox Valley and features people, dining and entertainment. Much of the content is available on their Web site and it has an RSS feed, and you can pick it up the paper version in stores and restaurants or subscribe by mail for a nominal cost.

GB News Network – GB stands for Green Bay, which is a short 30-minute drive north from Appleton. This is a news and events site for the Green Bay area. You can also subscribe to their weekly email for the latest information leading into the weekend.

Appleton Public Library – The city’s one and only library is in the midst of a metamorphosis, where the current building will be expanded and reimagined, and in the interim the library will be temporarily in a former Best Buy store. Their email list is a great way to keep up with the comings and goings over the next few years and beyond.

Go Valley Kids – As a parent of young kids this Web site is a go-to resource for family-friendly activities in the area. Their Web site lists current activities and events, but what I find the best is their robust archive of evergreen places both indoors and outdoors, especially for those times when you can’t think of what to do with the kiddos. Subscribe to their email newsletter for the latest news and events plus they have recently launched a podcast.

Fox Cities Magazine – It’s nice that there’s more than one monthly lifestyle magazine in the area, and this is another. You can read entertainment and activities listings on their Web site, though their RSS feed is infrequently published to You can also pick up the paper version at restaurants and stores or subscribe by mail for a low cost.

Appleton Downtown, Inc. – The business association for the downtown/College Avenue area, their site offers events and business profiles for that area. In addition to their Web site they offer an email newsletter and RSS feed.

Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce – This is the largest Chamber in the area and features events plus business listings (hint: restaurants are a business!) in the area.

Appleton Historical Society – If you want to dive deeper into the history of the city, this is a place to visit. What looks like an old house has a wealth of displays and photos of the city over the years and hosts events on various aspects of that history.

History Museum at the Castle – Formerly a Masonic temple (thus the name “castle”), the museum has a mix of historic displays of the area as well as traveling exhibits. A must-see is the permanent exhibit on Harry Houdini, who lived in Appleton in his younger years, and tells the secrets of many of his magic tricks.

TGVG – The Greater Valley Guide – This printed publication and Web site is primarily focused around sports activities but also includes a variety of other kid-related events and things to do around the area. They offer separate RSS feeds for their blog and events.

The Wheeler Report – This is a Web site that aggregates news stories from across the state of Wisconsin and is centered on state and local government. They used to have an email newsletter but stopped it for some reason, but this is a site to bookmark and visit daily.

Mile of Music – As the photo above mentions to singing, it’s likely referring to the beginning of August for this week-long music festival. Artists from around the country and the world converge on Appleton for this music festival which some compare to the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas. They offer a mobile app during the festival to set your entertainment schedule.

Flag Lowering Orders – A little outside from the others here... but if you have seen a flag at half-staff around Dairyland and wondered why, subscribe to the email and text alerts and be in the know. Alerts cover all orders that pertain to the state, including from the federal level. This is useful as Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers seems to issue an order almost weekly if not more often.

Tech Industry Resources

Insight on Business Magazine – This is a monthly business magazine that covers all business in Northeast Wisconsin. You can subscribe to its print version, read online and subscribe to their email newsletter.

IOM – A sibling publication of Insight on Business, it focuses on – you guessed it – manufacturing in the area. As well, you can subscribe to its print version, read online and subscribe to their email newsletter.

BizTimes – Out of Milwaukee, a state-wide business magazine that also covers news from the Appleton area. They offer a paid subscription to their paid version, free email newsletters and a subscription to their Web site.

New North – This is an economic development organization focused on Northeast Wisconsin. They offer an email newsletter and have a wealth of resources on their Web site, including a section targeting people to move to the area.

NEW Digital Alliance – This organization focuses on the technology sector in the area. They offer a monthly email newsletter and listing of tech-centered events in the area.

Women In Technology Wisconsin Inc. – Started locally, WIT now has chapters statewide and offers live and virtual events throughout the state and has an email list. Though the organization started to foster the community of women in the tech sector, men are also welcome at their quality events.

Meetups in NEW – Here you can find local tech events on the global event listing platform.

WisBusiness – There is a wealth of business news and information on this statewide site, featuring an email list, podcasts and an RSS feed.

Greater Green Bay Chamber – The Green Bay area has a vibrant tech sector, and the Chamber there offers a number of events there, especially at their own co-working incubator, UrbanHub.

Start In Northeast Wisconsin – Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, WEDC, is the state’s economic development agency and this section of their site lists some events in the area. They also offer an RSS feed.

Fox Cities Founders – This is a group consisting of tech founders in the Fox Valley. You must be either referred or apply to be in it.

Editors Note: Modified on 4/7/2022 to add Fox Cities Founders - thanks for letting me know Andrew!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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With no apologies to The Righteous Brothers, I may have lost that learning feelin’, I want to bring it back but I am conflicted as to how I want to bring it back.

Throughout the lockdowns, people around the world were doing new and different things, and one of them was online learning. Some of it was forced, namely when schools closed their doors and moved to virtual. Then there were people like myself, who purposely sought out online learning. Where this was a global movement of sorts, it didn’t start out that way for me, as I would like to share before I go on.

At First, Forced Into It

My first online course was not by choice. I was signed up to take Certified ScrumMaster training in mid-April, 2020 in person. The course was a 2-day program offered at a hotel outside of Milwaukee, and I was planning to stay the night there to get the most out of it.

Without needing to completely restate that painful time, I was later informed the class was going to be offered online instead. Really? How? You couldn’t take any Scrum classes online up to that point, as they were highly engaging with whiteboards and Post-it notes all over the walls. To compound things the company that offered the course wouldn’t allow me to postpone it and said I (ok, my employer) would lose the registration fee if I didn’t show up virtually. As I wrote about shortly after I took the course and passed the exam to be a Certified ScrumMaster I ended up having a great instructor, great classmates and it turned out to be a great overall experience.

So The Graduations Hang On The Wall

After that first class, it felt like everywhere I turned there were online courses being offered – both at work and from learning platforms for free or reduced prices. Some of these platforms offered free weekends, who couldn’t pass that up? As it was alluring I took many courses online, certainly many more than I had in the past.

At the conclusion of most classes, you could download a certificate of completion in PDF format. Where I knew many people who simply ignored them, I collected them like Happy Gilmore did large checks and printed them out, hanging them inside the cabinet doors of my work desk. As the doors only held 6 certs, I would replace older ones with newer ones, keeping the “major” ones up all the time and replacing them all at the end of the year. The picture above is of the certs I just took down that I earned in 2021.

Is The Feelin’ As Intense Now?

Now we are a month into 2022 as I write this, entering year 3 of restrictions that vary depending on where you are in the world. As I worked from home years before it was, um, trendy, my situation is different, coupled with where I live in Northeast Wisconsin. In short, I am out more than shut-in, have more options and with that normalcy I am not seeking out other things to keep me occupied. Towards the end of 2021 I didn’t end up taking many online courses.

When I took down the above-pictured certs, I started thinking more about learning in general, part of which was the catalyst for me writing what you are reading right now. To try to get some of that learning feelin’ back, I recently took a couple of courses offered on LinkedIn Learning. One was on having a more positive workweek, the other on NFTs. As you may guess, I have the certificates from these hanging on the inside of my desk cabinet doors.

Planning To Bring Back The Feelin’

Even with the few nuggets I learned from those 2 most recent courses I tool, they were not really fulfilling to me. Why? I pondered this and realized there was nothing really driving me to take them. I scrolled through the list of courses on LinkedIn Learning and said, hey, this may be interesting. Early on, motivations like maintaining a shrunken amygdala drove me to take courses. Now I need more than them being a simple prop to occupy my time.

So I am working on a plan. The elements of the plan will include what I “need” to learn and what I “want” to learn.

For what I need, it will include video presentations and books on Scrum, as I need to complete education hours in order to maintain my certification. There is also the software and services I will be using in my work to either get ahead on or for just-in-time training.

For what I want, a few are obvious, but I need to put more time into what else I will take. I want to learn more about livestreaming in general, and specifically around the software and hardware needed to take the basics I know to the next level. I also want to learn more about soccer. As a relatively astute swim Dad, I am lacking in soccer, a sport one of my kiddos has switched to and is doing amazingly well at. However I don’t always see where there’s an offsides on the field, and don’t know a lot of the rules and strategy on the sport. Beyond these 2, I am not sure if I want to take on a new hobby or interest, and am open to suggestions from anyone out there in the peanut gallery.

Deconstructing That Learning Feelin’

We should always be learning ... something, whether in formal courses or from real-life experiences. For the former, there’s an investment required, and with any investment it must be done wisely. Even with different motivations and time schedules, I am excited on bringing back that learning feelin’ and want to make sure I approach it with a purpose-driven plan I have the ability to complete. Do you agree?

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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