He Opened Doors – This week I learned that tech pioneer Clive Sinclair left this mortal coil at age 81. Where not a household name today, back in the 1980’s his inventions including the Timex Sinclair TS1000 and other computers were all the rage for aspiring nerds. It was a small computer with a built-in membrane keyboard that used a TV as a monitor, and was known for overheating. Because of its narrow shape many of my friends called it a door wedge. Beyond computing he was also known for other electronics, including an electric car. Sinclair was on the scene at the time when the consumer tech world was in its infancy, and his nickname of Uncle Clive was only fitting.

Something Positive About Education – I feel every time I hear something about educating our young people it is always negative. This is why I was pleasantly surprised to learn about Student Sponsor Partners an organization in New York City supporting kiddos getting a great education. SSP was the feature of John Stossol’s latest video as he has been directly involved with them. They are student-focused, which means its centered around getting kids into private schools and providing them with mentors. As dealing with the machine that is public education is daunting, such an approach – though not for all – will help some be the best they can be.

Clearly As-A Disservice – There’s a phrase in the tech world, “as-a-service,” which refers to virtual technology rather than having physical servers. This week I learned this has been taken to new lows, as there is now something called PHaaS, or Phishing-as-a-Service. Yes, you, in the privacy of your own Internet connection, can attempt to steal the private information of the masses... ugh.

Clearly a World Class – Have you bought chicken in the last decade? If you are not a vegetarian or vegan, you likely have. If you think this is a silly question, it is, but you may be entitled to a check – seriously. A class-action lawsuit alleges collusion among chicken producers. If you live in one of the nearly 2 dozen states involved in the lawsuit, checked out the aptly named OverchargedForChicken.com and put in for what I am guessing may not even be a dollar per person.

Real-Life Agile Coaching – An important aspect of Agile work frameworks is continuous improvement. This is why roles with the name “coach” in them are pervasive. But do coaches need coaching? The obvious answer to this question is why AgilityIRL started PartnersIRL, a service offering that in a variety of formats . I took my Certified ScrumMaster training from Mike Stuedemann, one of the principals at AgilityIRL, and I know people will collaborate and learn greatly from this service.

My Time of the Year – Fall started this week, which I can’t emphasize enough is my favorite season. With this entry, summer exits.

Ticket Free or Free Tickets? – The NFL kicked off the 2021 season this past weekend, and the local team to me was featured on Monday Night Football. Thanks to my friend Jason Jacobsohn of Propellant Ventures, I was at the game with him and his friends. This game had a lot of firsts, beyond my first regular-season NFL game in a long time , it introduced digital tickets and cashless for concessions. As one might guess, it didn’t go all that well.

After I waited over a half hour to go thru a metal detector, there was nobody there to scan my virtual ticket in my phone app. Had we not sought out someone who was scrambling around to scan the tickets, would we have been in Lambeau Field illegally? I saw online someone I don’t know post they knew people who had gotten more people into the iconic stadium than had digital tickets for because nobody scanned them.

In addition the payment for concessions being by debit or credit card only, the stand I went to at halftime ran out of bratwurst. For Wisconsin, it may have well had ran out of beer or oxygen for that matter. One could blame under-trained employees or poor planning, but this is the juggernaut that is the NFL and I cut them no slack. The next day I got a survey from said football team asking me about my game experience. As most of the questions were focused around safety – physical and viral – perhaps their focus needs to circle back to what they are there for, an escape from the problems of the world.

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

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