Is Twitter Blue a Cure for Social Entropy?

So, I subscribed to Twitter Blue. The goal (or wish) is that “investing” $8/month in Twitter will help fund it and make it better. Twitter used to be a place to follow and share, and learn from like-minded people. But I am growing weary. Now more than ever (side note: I’ve been using Twitter since … Read more

Three rules to keep in mind when dealing with organizations and its people

There are three constants when dealing with organizations and its people. And there are three rules or laws that can describe these constants. Keeping these mind have helped me throughout my career. At the top-level we’ve Conway’s Law and the fact that Organizations are resistant to change. “Organizations which design systems … are constrained to … Read more

Is blogging dead?

It has been a long time since I have written something in this blog, on random thoughts on tech and software, and other. Today I use LinkedIn for professional, and Twitter for the rest. There is plethora of other social networks that I don’t use. The social network is fragmented, and perhaps that is a … Read more

Amat Victoria Curam

Tech and software projects are complex by nature. And with this complexity comes Chaos. Between Order and Chaos we find the Edge of Chaos (or Edge of Order depending how you see things). The good news is that Chaos in tech and software, and in life, can be understood and managed through observation, preparation, organization, and applying … Read more

Cool Austin Company: LIFT Aircraft

Me being a total air/spacecraft geek (and an ex-Space Shuttle avionics software engineer), it is very cool to see the Austin company called LIFT Aircraft. Founded by Matt Chasen, a well-known Austinite serial entrepreneur, and investor, the company is building a super cool personal transportation aircraft called HEXA which has the potential for revolutionizing personal … Read more

Notes on Amazon DeepLens Setup

(Note: This is a post from Sept 3, 2018 that I had lost and am recovering for archiving purposes) The setup of the DeepLens took me a number of tries. I believe that perhaps, it was a self-inflicted issue when I unintentionally exited the setup prematurely. I decided to write this blog to provide quick pointers and … Read more

Kranzberg’s Laws (and unintended consequences)

Dr. Melvin Kranzberg is known for his laws of technology. Circa 1985, Dr. Kranzberg wrote his six laws: Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral. Invention is the mother of necessity. Technology comes in packages, big and small. Although technology might be a prime element in many public issues, non-technical factors take … Read more

2020 Return to Human Flight – Crew Dragon Demo-2

As the Crew Dragon splashes down back to Earth, it is all excitement to see the successful return to human flight. Congrats to SpaceX, NASA, and the US of America. Congratulations to astronauts Doug G. Hurley and Bob L. Behnken, and the whole Astronaut Core. An awesome manned-mission, the return to human flight after ~10 … Read more

The Return Of the Manned Space Program

Today is a big day for the USA– after almost a decade, the return to flight of the USA manned space program. I salute the Astronauts, and I salute SpaceX and NASA, for returning to flight. Godspeed. In honor of today’s launch, I am reposting this blog of mine from 2011 last Shuttle launch: weblog.cenriqueortiz.com/space/2011/07/… … Read more