This podcast was recorded on August 2 2023, using Zoom to join the crew.
This is my 1st appearance on this podcast! It's always fun to try something new, especially with these super smart IT folks that I've had the honor of meeting at various IT user groups over the years.
Click/tap to listen to "Gigacast Episode 48 - TinkerHeldstab with Paul Braren and Matt Heldstab"
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Disclosure:I hold no stocks, and never held stock in any of the tech companies on TinkerTry, including those mentioned in this podcast.
On this episode, I was given an opportunity to catch up with a bunch of great IT folks who I've had the honor of meeting in real life, in some cases, several times! I gushed about the VMware User Group organization, and how very good they've been to me, my blog, and my career over the years, including buying ad space at TinkerTry for so many years. I'm super grateful for that.
Many of the friendships I made at those IT events have persisted for over a decade now. My last 6.5 years in System Engineering roles have taught me that my fellow SEs also tend to care more about how each other's jobs and lives are going. Not as much about whether our career paths lands us at a competitor.
The always amazing Matt Heldstab caught up with the crew, the same generous soul who invited me to speak at the Minneapolis VMUG once upon a time, what a great time that was, speaking in front of a crowd where folks had actually read some of my articles! That memorable adventure led me to write one my most fun-to-write posts ever:
Soon we migrated to other topics, including my recent adventures in electrifying everything about my recently remodeled 33-year-old my home. In a way, this was the biggest IT project I've ever undertaken. I think my blurb for an upcoming public speaking gig about this journey says it best:
Decarbonizing vehicles and buildings requires working with a suite of incentives, electric utility programs, and equipment vendors. Learn about the latest EV/EVSE incentives and utility programs for homeowners, business owners, developers, municipalities, and nonprofits. Preview of Paul's upcoming very close-look at his Tesla Solar Roof project.Paul will also share best practices as a recently remodeled homeowner, sharing lessons learned from going all-in by enrolling his Tesla Solar Roof with Powerwalls in Virtual Power Plant with ConnectedSolutions and his family’s two EVs on both Managed Charging and Charge on Solar. He’ll also mention how his SPAN smart electrical panel and heat pumps enabled year-round comfort with no natural gas.
Paul's solar system isn't quite fully operational yet, but permission to operate and permission to export are expected any day now.
If you're interested in following Paul's biggest sustainability project ever that details his (mostly) successful effort to go all-electric at his home using heat pumps, solar, and batteries, consider subscribing to the TinkerTry YouTube Channel, then click on the alarm icon to get notified of his videos. Also consider showing your support on his Patreon page.
If you found the info in this podcast informative and you're interested in Tesla products including solar, using Paul's referral link ts.la/paul68544 will get you a discount and Paul will receive a perk too, with referral details fully disclosed here.
After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop selling them in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. So far, Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh looking a little better for 2024. More cores, but still just PCIe Gen4 and DDR4. Looking ahead, I'm glad it's Pat Gelsinger at Intel's helm. I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when Pat was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.
