9 posts tagged with "community"

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to accompany a group of twenty-four exchange students from a local university. Some of them came from countries as far as Singapore. While up in the North, the Aurora Borealis might be a common sight, for tourists, it is still pretty much a calculated risk that it might be a fruitless journey. The night skies were overcast on the first night that they arrived, and it was bitterly cold for folks used to tropical weather, but they persisted. On their second night, there was a minor emergency that delayed a few of them from heading out to the remote site for viewing the Northern Lights, but again, they were determined. Within minutes of their arrival at the viewing site, there was a sudden break in the cloudy skies that coincided with a display of greens and purples that illuminated in the heavens. What a treat!

As we near the end of 2022, I'd like to reflect on the year's challenges and milestones.

Is this a lasting treasure, or just a moment's pleasure?

~ Will You Love Me Tomorrow. The Shirelles.

As a technologist, we are constantly bombarded with buzzwords and terms like blockchain, IoT, AI, machine learning, quantum computing, and so much more! I love buzzwords, and wholeheartedly enjoy deciphering the future of technology and work. Hence, for the last few years, I have been a proud member of the committee that peruses and selects abstracts for the Kscope Emerging Technology (ET) track. For next year's Kscope22, I am honoured to be leading the team that will help select a series of sessions that are visionary, and hopefully, give us guidance on what to expect in the years ahead.

My personal journey with programming started more than two decades ago. Back then, the one language that I was very passionate and determined to master was Java. Early in my career, I would find any opportunity to attend a Sun Microsystems event like the Sun Tech Days, where I had the opportunity to learn about the constantly evolving platform that went from desktop, to enterprise and then on mobile devices. I can still remember watching the cool things you could do with Lego Mindstorms and an embedded Java runtime, and the vision that JXTA was going to revolutionise the Internet of Things with its state-of-the-art, peer-to-peer technology.

Every Singaporean Son grows up to respond to a codeword alongside an image of a soldier on guard.

When your codeword is flashed on the screen, you wrap up whatever you are doing, head home, pack, bid your goodbyes and then report to camp. Hence, when I heard this call to help, instinct kicked in and I had to respond.

In a blink of an eye, it has been more than four years since I set up the ORCLAPEX-YVR Meetup Group. This is a Meetup group in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia, that serves as a platform for promoting interest and supporting local Oracle Application Express (APEX) professionals and enthusiasts.

For those unaware, as organisers, we pay a biannual organiser's fee. Thanks to ODTUG's, these fees are kindly sponsored by #GetInolved initiative.

Thank you ODTUG!

Recently, I had an epiphany...