March 12, 2024

Today I had to break my fast. After days of only water, juices and broth, I had solid food again today. An apple and a pear. The taste was indescribably good. I fast every year. It gives me clarity. Energy. A reset. Getting away from habits and the like.

January 15, 2024

It's always a shame. I visit companies and see their IT and software landscapes. But instead of the beautiful floodplain, where the meadows are lush, the orchards productive and the front gardens well-tended, I see Mordor, with sulphurous swamps, ash-covered land and infertile soil. And every now and then an orc peeks around the corner.

November 17, 2023

My wife got me thinking the other day: "Richie, what is the purpose of your blog? Why are you doing this?". Good question. Money? There is none. Fame and honor? Some of the feedback wasn't so nice. Customer orders? No. So I took a look back over the last few years ... Yes, exactly, years. I was flabbergasted.

November 16, 2023

Everything used to be much simpler. There was only zero or one. You voted red or black. Watched Roseanne or Lindenstraße on linear television. You were a fan of Star Wars or Star Trek. Was a woman or a man. Believed in science or the church. Used Microsoft Works or Microsoft Office. That was our lived truth.

March 20, 2023

Well, tried it out yet? ChatGPT, midjourney or Jasper? "Write me a column with about 4000 characters for IT-Spektrum on the topic of agility in the future. Short sentences, casual language style" Or "What exactly does this regex do? rege(x(es)?\ xps?)" Oh yes, I become a childlike researcher again, curious and fascinated by what ideas for prompts my colleagues and acquaintances come up with.

March 6, 2023

When I look at the software development projects that I have come across in recent years through the lens of sustainability, I see one thing above all: little to nothing. Sustainability appears at most in the decision for tools, in small doses in the choice of technology, but it is then faded out at the latest in the process design.

January 16, 2023

One could think that the universe does this on purpose to show us up. Just at the time when man is at the peak of his complacency, proud of himself, to have subjugated everything so beautifully and to be able to control it, it shows us where the hammer hangs. Now that we have been able to capture and solve even complex problems, the next level comes: chaos.

October 31, 2022

In companies, I see two types of leadership and collaboration again and again: on the one hand, strongly hierarchical structures, mostly in - let's say - more traditional organizations. Tasks tumble down the management levels until at some point something reaches the employee and he does this or something similar.

September 16, 2022

For an hour in the ICE Stuttgart - Essen. Laptop in front of me, with no idea what I could inspire you with in my blog this time. Yes, I am stressed. Why? Three days of the German Speakers Association (GSA) Convention. Days full of input, lots of talks, self-promotion and nights full of parties. I am tired.