Content Type: Episode

Why is Everything So Slow w/ Scott Louvau

Today we welcome to the show Scott Louvau, twice retired from Microsoft and now focused on his Relentless Optimizer blog! How exactly did Scott go from a small vineyard in North California to being twice retired from Microsoft and what set him on the technological path? It isn’t all programming and coding today though, as we also delve into Starbucks Cold Brew Refill Hacks and using AI to dominate game levels.  Stuck on a level of Kingdom Rush? You can find a solution for that and more, in this episode.

Written by on October 25, 2022

Soaring the Skies of OPTIMIZEDAX(), w/ Narayana Windenberger

Narayana Windenberger sits down for a chat on data, travel, and the ethics of the financial markets. Nar is a 5-year veteran of P3 with an unforgettable name and a penchant for being a digital nomad. Whether he is working from the Midwest, Germany, or enjoying hang gliding in San Diego, Nar puts the remote in remote work and regardless of his location, still creates epic analytic masterpieces.  Nar also has the distinction of being the author of a P3 Adaptive blog that shook the Power BI world to its core in 2020 and earned him the title of Power BI Super Villain.

Written by on October 19, 2022

Cloud Services Used to Be Really Dumb w/ Eric Vigesaa

In today’s episode, we welcome Eric Vigesaa of Microsoft to the show. Rob describes Eric as one of the rare breeds that enjoy the excitement of building an emergency solution. Someone who prefers a shorter distance between the software and the problem. The closer he is to impact, the more satisfying the solution becomes to him. Sardonically, Eric is also like the groundhog of Microsoft, emerging from IT, looking around, seeing the shadow, and returning back to IT: empowered, passionate, and skilled. Eric describes his non-IT time as an evolutionary course that allowed him to explore and grow his aptitude.

Written by on September 27, 2022

Women In Data w/ Sadie St. Lawrence

On this episode, we are bringing in a true leader in workplace diversity, Sadie St. Lawrence from Women in Data! Be prepared to be surprised when you learn that Sadie’s idea of diversity is more of a value-driven balance that benefits all people regardless of gender. Improvements, she points out, made in the workplace under the guise of removing gender disparity enhance the workplace for all employees, not just for a single demographic.

Written by on September 20, 2022

The Cloud is Powered by People w/ Jeff DeVerter

Have you ever been curious about what moving to the cloud really means? Is it a one-and-done move or is it more? Today’s guest, Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist of RackSpace, breaks down the cloud, cloud-based services, and how it can impact your business. From an engineering point of view to the creation of a supply chain for data, Jeff describes the trends and implications facing ingress, egress, and utilization of the ever-growing volume of data that companies curate.

Written by on September 6, 2022

Setting Up For Success w/David McKinnis

Today we welcome David McKinnis of Tech DNA to the show. David is Microsoft alumni from the days before the development of Darwin, the software that revolutionized install, uninstall, and repair for Windows-supported programs. Prior to Rob and Dave’s work on Darwin, software installation was a long and cumbersome project that often-included multiple floppy disks, and the patience of a saint and Windows uninstall was rarely considered. Post Darwin, those tasks are often taken for granted.

Written by on August 30, 2022

The Software Hall of Fame, w/ Microsoft’s Conor Cunningham

In this episode, we focus not on people, but on the software itself. Today, we create the Software Hall of Fame, set the rules, and get down to building the inaugural class with special guest Coner Cunningham. Coner’s multi-decade software skill set combined with his fun personality makes him a perfect fit to be the final member of the initial tribunal of software critics. This tribunal will step up to fill a long-standing void in an episode that will run the gamut of emotions: Joy, anger, exasperation, and maybe even a little zen.

Written by on August 16, 2022

A Most Generous Mentor, w/ Microsoft’s Dany Hoter

Today, we welcome to the show the most transparent international man of mystery, Dany Hoter. Working on his 5th stint with Microsoft and living his best life in his 8th decade, Dany brings both wisdom and fun to those around him. He brings a passion and joy for teaching to his training sessions and always manages to create a connection between people and technology.

Written by on August 9, 2022

Technophobes Make Amazing Technologists, w/ Kerry Kolosko

Straight from the Outback, recorded past midnight, and punny as hell, Kerry Kolosko, freshly minted, accidental Microsoft Data Platform MVP. An avid fan of JIT learning (Just In Time) and a follower of the teachings of Google, Kerry is a self-professed technophobe whose desire to remove redundancies just won’t let her disconnect. She has a storied past of chasing answers and creating solutions. She truly is living the dream by dabbling in every interesting technology that comes her way. From Array formulas to Deneb, learning on the fly to save time and frustration is Kerry’s superpower.

Written by on August 2, 2022

Tinkering is a Way of Life w/Darinee Louvau

Darinee Louvau is twice retired from Microsoft and is one of the few people who admit to an admiration of testing in production. From hosting LAN parties in her Tween and Teen years to designing and building gaming crates for those parties, she is not afraid of getting her hands dirty. A self-proclaimed fan of lowering the cost of iterations, she moved up quickly through the ranks to become program manager for Microsoft on projects such as Answers, Bing, and even the streaming service, Mixer.

Written by on July 26, 2022