The Ocean is Not Full
Seeking flow state on the foil in the first week of September, a reflection on the pursuit of an open-faced wave.
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Foils Have Hooks
Foils are pretty easy to ignore, ask me. I managed for nearly 8 years. I managed to miss the barbed hooks and swim on. Surfing, bouldering, drones, wave pools, offshore sailing for a seasick summer, you name it. This is a story about how you need patience to let the barbs catch.
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The future history of Data Engineering
On Data Engineers and their place in a Data SaaS world. This is a narrative for the near future of Data Engineering in startups, and I think makes some interesting points. I do think the post has avenues for expansion, especially counter-arguments in the context of enterprise tech.
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Getting into Data
Rapid fire thoughts on transitioning from a technical role into data. I’ve been asked frequently enough about making a transition into the Data Analytics space, aka my day job, that I thought it would be useful to combine my thoughts into a coherent post. This is a quick take on who this indus... Read more
dataform and dbt
A quick rundown on two of the “indicative-of-the-future” SQL tools in data analytics at the moment. Dataform and dbt. Welcome to my third post, one I have wanted to write from the beginning. Getting these posts done isn’t easy, and the time between publishing is a commitment that I undertook r... Read more
Snowflake Field Notes
This is a technical intro to deploying Snowflake data warehouse, as a follow on from my previous post. This may be useful if you have decided to implement Snowflake. In this post, we’ll be taking a look into my notebook on storing. Specifically, the things I’ve noted as useful when implementin... Read more
Making the case for electric skateboarding racing
A lockdown investigation into e-skateboard-racing, something you might hope never takes off. As an ex-skateboard-pro-am racer, I have a passing interest in skateboards. Recent developments in battery technology led to the Boosted board, and more recently the logical next step, racing. Amateur ... Read more
Data as a Utility Tool
Within the companies I have worked for and plan on working for, uncertainty is a common thread. Sales may continue to accelerate, funding should land next quarter, we hope to keep in touch. The uncertainty may be more concrete. We should change to a new CRM. We probably need to stop reporting ... Read more
The crash of rent-to-let
This time, an investigation into Airbnb and the property market, and looking for hopeful signs in the virus outbreak. Seemingly, people, property and leverage don’t always mix. Borrow from the bank, buy property, rent it out, generally fine. What if you cannot borrow from the bank, but want to... Read more
Risk and Global Systems
This time, the impact of a virus on globalism. Moving around the world has typically been something to aspire to do, and so an article pondering the ethical implications of leaving South Africa. caught my attention. Cynical reasons for working abroad include optimising conspicuous consumption ... Read more
What works at work
What works in ML and AI. The dual threat this week of climate-change and a disease sharpens the mind, especially with attention snatchers like the following, which I suppose may be true of any time in history. > People born in the 1960s may be the last human beings who will get to live out ... Read more
Progress and Pressure
Fleeting opinions on progress. I’ve often thought about what is necessary to help South Africa, given the opportunities the country has available as the world’s most undervalued currency. Although ppp (*purchasing power parity) is a poor predictor of exchange rates in the short-term, it stacks... Read more