The Obsession: An Introduction to Our Love for Data

Data has always fascinated us, even before the advent of the internet. We’ve been captivated by the idea of storing vast amounts of information digitally, marveling at the possibilities it holds. Our attachment to data stems from our desire to leave a lasting legacy, to pass on knowledge from one generation to another. We believe that through data, we can uncover new wisdom and transform the world. This article explores our obsession with data and the implications it has on our lives.

The Obsession

Let’s face it. We love data. Even before the internet we had expanding digital storage systems, and we marveled at what percentage of known books could be stored where digitally. That only points to our earlier obsessions with hard copy. We still mourn the loss of the Library of Alexandria, thousands of years later. While we can debate exactly what the root of this is, most can agree that we tie our legacy, or generational success, to our ability to write down and pass on wisdom. Similarly we also see data as a way to find new wisdom and that if we just get enough evidence we can form new thoughts and ideas to transform the world around us (which again, ties back to legacy and the striving of immortality).

While this will never be an award winning show car, it’s my canvas with which I paint a picture of speed to my heart’s desire.

Because New Year resolutions are sooo last February.

All the wonderful things, now brought to you by github

No really, if your company doesn’t have this attitude, they’re bound to be replaced by someone leaner.

Why Start Here

Because you’ll hate yourself less.

Okay, maybe not really entirely. Hell, I did go to puppetconf 2016 and had a well enough time. But there’s some larger points to be made, and while I feel puppet is my top choice for configuration management currently, we should keep honest about the pitfalls in order to improve the breed.

To agent or not

This can be a very heated debate, and I see merits to both sides. So I’m just going to lay out the ground work for those that don’t know the game is being played, as well as maybe help people see that both sides have reason to exist, even if they still want to kill them.

/dev/urandom

Serious blew my mind first time I used it.