buckle-up

Posts

We faced a lot in 2023, but it was the faces we remember most.

Our appetite for travel went unabated. With October already a few days old, Margo and I begin our fifteenth year of working together for our company, Pyalla Technologies, LLC. Our client list continues to grow and for that we are most thankful. What we enjoy most though is the opportunity to spend time with our clients and even though the global pandemic remains fresh in our minds, having the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues has been a reminder of just how much we missed the personal connection during those lost years. Travel may dominate our calendar but then again, it’s not all work, work, work. There are hours where we can escape the rigors of meetings to simply take in our surroundings. Ultimately though, when you pack your bags solely by sight – this item should be here and that item must be tucked in over there – then there is a brief moment where we muse to ourselves, is this normal for folks like us? Or, the light at the end of the tunnel is truly the li

When time comes to reflect, I don’t do a good job!

It has always proved difficult for me to spend any time on reflection. It may be easy to say that there were highlights even as there were moments of angst. Margo and I have just returned home having spent a week downtown in Denver at a HPE NonStop (formerly Tandem Computers) Conference, the TBC 2023. When held at this time of year these conferences are the annual big-tent marketing affair that draws equally from the HPE NonStop team, the NonStop vendors as well as HPE NonStop customers. With the audience and speakers drawn from all quarters of the globe, these can be invigorating times even as they are exhausting. For the event this year in Denver, Margo and I had the opportunity to occupy the Hilton presidential suite on behalf of the client. With ours and clients employees present in the suite, it was also our task to entertain NonStop community members nightly which we need to explain, meant late nights for the conference duration. All good fun mind you – yes, the presidential

Dog days of summer coming to an end

The term “ Dog Days ” traditionally refers to a period of particularly hot and humid weather occurring during the summer months of July and August as they occur in the Northern Hemisphere. This period of sweltering weather coincides with the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. I have to admit I never knew much about the meaning of this phrase other than what I heard in movies and songs, The dog days are over The dog days are done The horses are coming So you better run I can think of no better way to segue to this post’s storyline than this chorus from the song, Dog Days are Over, by Florence and the Machine. All we seem to have been doing of late is running and in this heat and yes, it’s been a very hot summer, surprisingly hotter than we experienced in previous years, exhaustion is near. As for the horse, not sure what was inferred in the song but all I can think of are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! For much of the summer it has been our participation in industry events

The UK behind us, it was off to Norway (as newbies)!

Finding ourselves between meetings on both sides of the North Sea, it only seemed fair that we succumbed to the temptation of making the crossing by ship. After all, it was a long holiday weekend back in North America as both sides of the forty-ninth parallel celebrated historically important events. To say it was a sleepy time for all involved would not be accurate and yet, suggesting fireworks doesn’t seem to convey the significance. For Australians 1776 marked a change of destination for ships out of England as one day it was off to Georgia and the next, to Botany Bay. Eking out a little downtime while maintaining a working schedule is always a difficult proposition at the best of times and yet, relief was at hand given how Wimbledon was in full swing as was the ashes battle between old sparing partners, Australia and the Marylebone Cricket Club (Otherwise known as England and Wales). Not to mention that supporters of St Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox were in old Lond

Return trips can be challenging but London Called (again)!

Having only returned from a business trip that included stops in London and Edinburgh, it was just a few weeks later that we boarded a flight to follow a similar itinerary. Mixing a little business chatter with an opportunity to visit old haunts wasn’t so much a chore as it was yet one more opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the greater London town we are getting to know well. When you find yourself back in a place you only left a short time before, such familiarity doesn’t take long to take hold. Many years ago, I happened to be on a trip to London as part of extending the reach of our business. While I was there, I was given the opportunity to visit a hotel that could serve the HPE NonStop community well as a place to hold a conference. It was a Hilton DoubleTree with a location that placed us close by to many of London’s main attractions and while the designated chatter often extended into the wee hours, being able to step outside to dine by the Thames in the late twilight