Tommy Vat

IT technologist, Network/Systems Servant, Rabid Rural MN Advocate, Service Management Wannabe.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 Right on! I'm trying to be a good ancestor too. Raise good humans and support them as best I can.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 These are great questions by the way! I wish people thought about these things with curiosity (like you're doing).

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 Maybe we don't need pain? We need fewer business people and more average folks. Maybe public funding for campaigns?

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 Getting involved by being on a committee or board is a great way to work on finding those answers (at the local or state level). At the federal level we need to stop electing partisans. I don't know of any other solution at that level.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 Gov has always had a blank check to a certain extent. The only check on that power is the threat of losing their elections. It takes a lot of skill and leadership to cut without harm.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@zip100473 I think it's best to start with the question of 'what is the purpose of reducing the size and cost of government?'

Next questions: What are we trying to accomplish by those reductions? What do we want government to do?

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

Excellent GIS opportunity!
https://t.co/uw3XnAujlm

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

It's that time of year in Minnesota for Truth-in-Taxation meetings. Make time to go to them. You'll learn a lot about how local government operates and what it takes to provide services.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

We took this old dinosaur out of service today. Pre Y2k tech. Just sat there operating as a powered speed limiter for one endpoint for decades.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

UI consistency (lack of, really) is a major fault of cloud tools. Log in on a Monday and get surprised by what changed.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@np3tersen Glad you're OK! That's a terrifying experience

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@patiomensch @girlmeetsgeek @mnstatefair 4-H Share The Fun! That's what got me started in theater on a path to a scholarship in college. That crowd will have a lifetime impact!

[KITKAT @KITKAT]

Time to have a break... KitKat® anyone? 🍫

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@cote I agree a lot. Like they said - the problem is never getting enough enough resources to the application. It's always the data services

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@mattberan It had to be a conscious decision. They're great art but IYKYK, right?

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

@mattberan At an appointment with my provider I asked why all the paintings in the waiting room were from Van Gogh's time in Saint-Rémy Asylum.

[John Moe @johnmoe]

For a while, I’ve been involved in a very exciting business. I’m a real estate agent leasing and selling old warehouses. My clientele: mob bosses, violent smuggling rings, larger gangs, the occasional cult. Anyone who needs lots of interrogation space or room for LOTS of crates.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

And "boring" is just a shock word I use. "Routine", "unremarkable" are less jarring words for the goal.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

So much of my anxiety right now is how long it takes to make IT boring. I do not like surprises and too many people tolerate IT surprises.

[Tommy Vat @nateberan]

IT surprises are the result of many decisions over time. Making IT boring takes even more time.