The spambots who regularly read my blog know that I have a fascination with language, and have a background in linguistics. So, I’m always fascinated by language and how we use it. This post is a bit pointless, but amusing (perhaps only to me). In my last post I mentioned I might file a bug […]
Themes, again and again
For my regular readers, as I like to say, all 2 of you, I’ve noticed that the theme I switched to a few months back does not display well on mobile. In particular, my last post had code blocks which get cut off when viewing on a mobile browser. Now that I’m not a manager-type […]
VRRP, IPv6, and the “Why” Question
Ivan Pelpnjak has an interesting post (H/T to Ethan Banks) critiquing Cisco’s VRRP v3 CLI implementation for IPv6. It got me thinking about a question I was told never to ask: “Why?” Never ask why? Back when I really wanted to get into networking, I took a five-day bootcamp with Global Knowledge taught by a gentleman […]
My years in management: Looking forward
As of December, my role at Cisco has transitioned from a leadership role back to an individual contributor. Gone are the constant approval emails; gone is the stack ranking of employees; gone are the performance reviews and the one-on-ones. It’s both relieving and eerily quiet. As I make this transition back, after nearly eight […]
Are network engineers obsolete?
Continuing on the theme of AI: I can tell you what the MBAs are saying. Remember, the MBAs know more about network engineering than you, despite your training and experience, because, well, they’re MBAs! The went to Stanford! Or Kellogg! Or San Jose State! The MBAs are sure you’re going to be replaced by AI. […]
The Next Big Thing, TLDR version
At the last Cisco Live in June, I was asked by marketing to do a “center stage” presentation. My days of getting normal sessions at Cisco Live seem to be over. Perhaps I’m too far into the management track (although that’s changing) to impress the Cisco Live Session Group Managers. Eager to speak again, I […]
Blog Updates
Updates for my regular readership of two people plus 5000 spambots: I stayed away from the blog for a long time because I made the mistake of sharing my last post, on HPE/Juniper, on LinkedIn. Imagine the panic when people actually read it, including SVPs at Cisco. I’m fairly open with my thoughts on this […]
Feeling like a Puppet
Starting a new job is always a challenge. It’s one thing to do an internal transfer within a company, like I did when moving from Technical Marketing Engineer to Product Management. I even stayed in the same team. But moving to a new company and new role is overwhelming and risky. I experienced this when […]
Why I am not an FBI Agent
Some years back I wrote a post poking fun at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based on an experience I had at a briefing in their office. The funny thing is–and this did not color my article– there was a point in my life when I badly wanted to be an FBI agent. Back in […]
HPE Buys Juniper
In 2007, I left Cisco after two brutal years in high-touch TAC. I honestly hated the job, but it was an amazing learning experience. I draw on my TAC experience every single day. A buddy of mine got a job at a Gold Partner, offered to bring me in, and I jumped on the opportunity. […]