About Scot
Scot is a writer for Oracle. He's a slacker and smartass involved in content engineering, content architecture, big data, cloud computing, and other buzzwords related to technical crap. He loves his family, political books, jazz guitar, and the Minnesota Vikings. Scot is a proud father, so don't ask him about his family unless you have four hours to listen to him blather on about his kids.
Oh yeah: all opinions are his and his alone, blah, blah, blah, random legalese, etc.
Author Archives: scotmarvin
Communication Hubris
From the Googles: hu·bris /ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs/ noun excessive pride or self-confidence. synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More antonyms: humility (in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis. Just when … Continue reading
Posted in communication, parenting
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A Luddite’s Take on Cloud Implementation
In 1987, farmer, essayist, and poet Wendell Berry offered up his standards for technological innovation: The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. … Continue reading
Posted in cloud
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Goodbye cloud. Hello big data. Oh yeah: nice to see you again, cloud
This week I started my new gig at Cloudera. I’m quite excited about the opportunity. Although, I already miss my colleagues and friends at Eucalyptus. It’s a big change for me. For the first time in seven years, I won’t … Continue reading
Posted in documentation
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Thanks for Nothing: Help that Sucks
I love Amazon. I used to work there for years. Most of their documentation is really good. However, I found the following help for downloading Kindle for Mac to be . . . well . . . please refer to … Continue reading
Posted in documentation
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Change and Stability
Well, it looks like I’ll be an employee of Hewlett Packard soon. HP bought the company I work for, Eucalyptus. We’ll be joining the cloud org. I find change a bit more difficult as I age. However, I still have … Continue reading
Posted in documentation
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On Jazz Snobbery: Letting Go of Rock Star Status
“You rock.” “She’s a rock star in our industry.” Rock schmock. I have an appreciation for rock music. I grew up with it. I bought my first Beatles LP when I was five. Went to see Jethro Tull at the … Continue reading
Posted in music, writing
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The Writer’s Toolkit: Word Up!
I have a new book to store in my Powers That Be reference shelf. This shelf holds what I consider to be the pantheon of grammar and stylistic reference material. This collection includes Garner’s Modern American Usage and Grammar Girl’s … Continue reading
Kindle Unlimited and my dysfunctional wishlists
I am trying out the most expensive library card ever. Kindle Unlimited seems like a nifty idea. $9.99 a month for unlimited reading. As long as the offered books are ones you want to read. That should be the tagline. … Continue reading
Posted in books
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What a great theme song
Yes, the television show is dated. Yes, the show was sexist (hey: it was the 1970’s, even the non-sexist stuff was sexist). Still, what a theme song. RIP, Mr. Garner.
Posted in music
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Saturday Haiku
Early morning: dark, silent, quiet, filled with books, coffee and poems.
Posted in poetry
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