Geek Speak

I’m past mid-point in the book “Far from Home” by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and my lifelong friend dating back to the Alaska daze Charles “Coolie” Wohlforth. The quality of the writing and editing continue to impress me. And, again, I’m compartmentalized reading the book itself and when I finish I’ll have plenty to say about “the vote” that Lisa cast on July 3, 2025. Soon I’ll run a Lisa approval poll and post the results in my final comments after I finish the book) 

 The SMB MSP community was built on exactly that: community. Over the epoch from SBS and beyond, we’ve always come together in different ways depending on the need. Here are a few past and present examples. 

 MSP Navy

We rallied the geeks to assist with Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. In NOLA with Katrina it was legendary SBS MVP Jeff Middleton leading the way in his hometown. So inspired we were that a few SBSers went to New Orleans to assist. 

Overview

Harry Brelsford and Dux Raymond Sy discuss the latest developments at Avepoint, a global leader in data security, data resilience, and data governance. AvePoint has introduced new features on its Elements platform to help managed service providers (MSPs) scale their business in data security and IT management across various platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. Dux, the Chief Brand Officer, highlights the importance of data security for AI and the company's 20-year history. He also mentions AvePoint partner program, launched three years ago, and its success in helping partners build new services and recurring revenue. Dux shares his recent travels to Europe and emphases the growing demand for AI and data security solutions.

Geeks gotta live life to the fullest and have fun where we can find it. As a tech exec, summer was also a fantastic time to participate in festivals, events, reading and (gasp) vacation time. It’s also when a lot of worthy causes deserve your geek love. 

 In the past, myself and family participated in numerous multi-day bikeathons for numerous causes such raising pledges for the National MS Society. Most recently I participated in and completed (see the pic yay!) the American Cancer Society’s July 2025 5-mile Swim Challenge here in the Texas Hill Country outside Austin. 

Mine is “Far From Home” by Lisa Murkowski and Charles Wohlforth. It’s the story of senior US Senator Murkowski’s journey growing up in Alaska to a long-time tenure in the US Senate. I’ve just completed chapter one and will periodically check-in with you from bucolic coffee shops in the Texas Hill Country. Such is life as we recover from the devastating floods in the region. 

Ever wondered what to do with all those Amazon boxes you receive with consumable product goods (CPG) that nearly (ok all) readers receive. Sure the easy answer is to trot them thar boxes to the green recycling receptacle, flat ‘em and toss ‘em in without a second thought. 

But there is another way and I learned it from the smarty PhD pants in Los Alamos, NM (home to the National Labs). Instead of recycling the cardboard boxes, how about reuse? 

Welcome to the Maker Movement 2.0

It’s very simple and I don’t need 800+ words to lay it out. But seeing that a lot of my audience is in Texas and surrounding southern states, I’m going to go REAL SLOW.