Skip to main content

Good luck Denman

I have worked with some very interesting people over time. From the strange long bearded fellow who slept under his desk surrounded by plants, lived two hours away (a bus, a boat and god knows what else to get to his place) and signed all his emails with 'love and light' to the incredibly intelligent (like the fellow who got his PhD at like 22 and now works for google) to the geiger himself... but, I have rarely met someone like Denman.

Denman, otherwise known as the high five guy is a blend of a bunch of things. From a software developer to a chef specialising in pork, a brewer, a beer connoisseur, to a fairly capable musician and singer who plays a mean mandolin... he is something else. Denman, now sporting a hippy beard, is heading off to San Francisco to work for another part of the company I work for, live on a boat and keep urban chicken!

I first met Denman as he went around the office giving high fives. He seemed to be committed to doing that on a fairly regular basis. From what I recall, he actually went around the entire building giving people high fives on national high five day. Knowing as little as I know about him, I know this much: he will do well wherever he goes. So, good luck Denman, thanks for all the high fives! And someday, I'll see you in San Francisco.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Birthday Canada

I have celebrated more than 20 Canada Days in Canada. While this nation is far from perfect and we have so much further to go, there is hope. We are a nation, at 153, looking at the future with a mixed record: we have immense prosperity, peace, safety and a relatively good standard of living for most . We are welcoming to immigrants, refugees and guarantee people with a wide range of rights. We are a leader in respecting people's human rights and punch above our weight internationally. We are also a country that is in the midst of a reckoning right now. We have systemic racism, we are at war with the environment - we are actively digging things out of the ground to sell to the rest of the world. Climate change is ravaging our country - we have floods, fires and drought.  Our past and present deeds towards indigenous people is shameful. We have a long way to go yet, but there is hope. In the midst of a pandemic, with social upheaval to correct past wrongs, or at least make amen...

How to make a good thing go bad quickly in tech

I haven't written a work related post in what seems like ages. I am currently living through the aftermath of a third M&A in my career. The company I currently work for is in its third incarnation - from a small tech startup 15 or so years ago to something that was sold to a large software company - one of those lumbering giants that have their hands in all kinds of technology driven fields - where they invested sufficiently in it to grow it in its current location - to now finally being acquired by an even larger technology company - one that its hands in all kinds of technology fields.I came along post the second phase but I have seen 2 other US tech company acquisitions, one that made me quit fast and the other that took me around the world but made me leave anyway. The difference from the previous take-over of the current place and this one is stark. While there was a lot of churn up top in the previous acquisition and differences in what you paid for benefits etc, for...

Thoughts on the new year