2019-05-29

2019-05-29 Wednesday - Ola Bini Detained in Ecuador

Ola Bini, a citizen of Sweden, someone I have met while attending the Strange Loop conference in St. Louis - has been detained by the government of Ecuador. I do not know the specifics of any charge that may be in play - but from this letter to the Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, of Sweden, it appears that Due Process has not been faithfully observed. 

This is the pertinent and salient point: 
 "At the hearing, the prosecutor offered no evidence against Ola Bini. Based on the Ecuadorian Penal Code, he was accused of one very serious crime – attacking the integrity of computer systems. Despite the lack of any evidence, the judge placed Ola Bini in pretrial detention for 90 days. There was no bail hearing." 

 Until proven otherwise by evidence, I choose to believe what I know of Ola's professional interests and dedication - and of what he has written - that he has not committed any crime - and that his only possible transgression is his passionate defense of the right to Privacy. 

 If you are concerned about the erosion of Privacy - and the increasing encroachment of surveillance in our lives - then please find some way to raise your voice in support of securing Ola's freedom. 

One voice is but a drop in a limitless ocean - but what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?


Related Links:

2019-05-30 Update: 
CNN interviewed Ola Bini, while he is still being held, for the 7th week, without being charged - in a prison in Quito, Ecuador 
 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/30/politics/wikileaks-associate-interview/index.html


2019-06-20 Update:
Ola Bini granted habeas corpus
After 71 days in preventative detention without formal charges, Ola Bini was granted habeas corpus and will be released from prison

 

2019-05-28

2019-05-28 Tuesday - IPAM Workshop Lecture Videos

An incredibly deep and rich resource of workshop lecture videos on advanced Machine Learning topics:

Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (IPAM), An NSF Math Institute at UCLA

  • "IPAM was founded in 2000 by Mark Green, Tony Chan, and Eitan Tadmor as an NSF Mathematical Sciences Institute with a grant from the NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences.  "
  • "IPAM seeks to bring the full range of mathematical techniques to bear on the great scientific challenges of our time"
  • "IPAM is located in the heart of the UCLA campus, adjacent to the Mathematical Sciences Building and directly across from Moore Hall."
http://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/workshops/

2019-05-07

2019-05-07 Tuesday - Natural Language Processing (NLP) - Suggested Reading


A suggested textbook for those interested in learning more about Natural Language Processing (NLP):


Draft chapters of the third edition available online: Speech and Language Processing (3rd ed. draft)


The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering (University of Washington) course material from the following Graduate and Professional (evening) courses may also be of interest.





2019-05-03

2019-05-03 Friday - An Ineffable Quality

[Mark Basarab on Unsplash.com]


There is a particular skill (that is also a quality) that I find to be exceedingly rare - and much to be valued - in any candidate, for any position - but, one that I have never heard discussed by any candidate interviewing team.

It is not a skill that you would see cited on a resume.

It is not a skill for which you might gain expertise through a course or a degree.

You cannot determine whether a candidate possess this skill/quality simply by asking whether they have it - but it may be inferred by questions that are oblique to the nature of the quality.

Experience is no sure measure or indicator of its presence. Many people glide through their careers - for decades - and seem to have never learned the value of this particular quality.

As hiring manager, or as a manager responsible for actively cultivating the growth of employees under your stewardship - this quality should be more valued in candidates - and nurtured in employees - but few managers themselves seem to be aware of it - and fewer still have the requisite coaching temperament to actively nurture it.

What is this ineffable quality?

While there are several qualities/skills that might fit the parameters of this puzzle/question (e.g. the ability to listen, the greatly desired trait of curiosity, and the ineffable quality/skill of empathy) – the skill/quality that I deem to be greatly desired in any candidate/employee – has a s strong bias towards action.

The quality/skill of which I speak?

The Skill of Anticipation / The Ability to Anticipate

The ability to anticipate - and take action to prepare - what will be needed vs. reacting to a request that must be explicitly made.

The effectiveness of every team, manager, leader, executive – of every organization - would be greatly amplified – by elevating and acknowledging the value of this ineffable quality/skill – as a desired trait to be nurtured by managers - and demonstrated by every team member.

This should not be misconstrued to mean simply showing initiative – which may or may not be aligned with the goals and objectives of the leadership team – but anticipation is the essence of initiative in alignment with the goals/objectives of the leadership team.

Anticipation is more to be desired in a candidate/employee – than reaction.

It is the conscious meditation on – and the result of deep pondering – of this key question: “What are the second and third order effects of the goals/objectives of the leadership team?”

It is the manifestation that "Think Time" has been applied.

In this context - Anticipation is attention, awareness, mindfulness, an inclusive mindset of the needs of the team – not the individual. It is a strong bias for action - and a demonstration of initiative - that is guided by considering what is most needed for the success of the organization and the leadership team.

2019-05-01

2019-05-01 Wednesday - AWS Well Architectured Framework

"The Well-Architected Framework has been developed to help cloud architects build secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure for their applications. Based on five pillars — operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization — the Framework provides a consistent approach for customers and partners to evaluate architectures, and implement designs that will scale over time."

For my fellow CTOs and Enterprise Architects - who may be pondering how to move their organizations to an Agile Architecture model (and the attendant challenges of fulfilling the responsibilities for governance and oversight) - I encourage you to read this well written document - but, in particular, pay close attention to page-3, under the section entitled "On Architecture"

Additional resources:

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