snand.org – Page 2

workshopping linkedin posts

before I go primetime with my drivel, I figure I’ve got my own blog, so why not workshop posts here first. I overshare, I know this; one of my strengths is my opennes, but I do sometimes need to temper it. so, sometimes just seeing my stuff in public helps me with the editorial process.

the following is not really meant for LinkedIn, this is prep for some networking that I’m doing. apparently, I’m a planner so…

My Career Journey: From Technical Leadership to Architectural Strategy and Back Again

My professional journey has been defined by leadership, technical strategy, and a relentless drive to improve IT operations. Over the years, I’ve built scalable infrastructure, optimized security, and driven process improvements that have saved organizations time, money, and frustration. But, like any journey, mine has had unexpected turns—each one teaching me something new about leadership, company culture, and what makes me thrive in a role.

At Infinite Campus, I was in my element as a Lead Infrastructure Engineer, overseeing large-scale VMware and Nutanix deployments, security initiatives, and infrastructure modernization projects. It was an environment where I was given the freedom to build, optimize, and lead a high-performing team. With clear goals and technical challenges to solve, I had the autonomy to make meaningful, lasting improvements to the organization’s IT strategy. The work was demanding, but I loved it.

When an Infrastructure Architect opportunity at Western National came along, I saw it as the logical next step. It was an environment where culture mattered, and I deeply respected the people I worked with. However, I started the role while recovering from a brain injury, and that made it difficult to ever feel fully settled. I never felt like I was producing my best work, and the structured, high-level architectural focus left me missing the hands-on leadership and direct impact I had at Infinite Campus. While I appreciated the supportive culture, I knew I wasn’t operating at my full potential, and I began to realize that I needed to get back to what I truly enjoy: leading teams and driving change.

That realization led me to Cambria, where I believed I was being brought in to modernize IT processes, implement structured improvements, and build the kind of operational maturity I had successfully driven at Infinite Campus. I was excited about the challenge, but I quickly learned that I was not at the right company for my leadership style. Unlike the autonomy I had at Infinite Campus, Cambria was a highly micromanaged environment, and my efforts to implement strategic IT improvements and operational efficiencies were met with resistance. The changes I was brought in to make were not truly wanted, and when my boss miscommunicated a key deadline, I became the scapegoat.

This experience reinforced something I already knew: culture matters as much as the role itself. Leadership isn’t just about technical expertise or strategic planning—it’s also about having the right environment to execute ideas, mentor teams, and make a meaningful impact. I realized that where I work is just as important as what I do, and that’s why I’m now focusing on finding a company that values collaboration, structured leadership, and continuous improvement.

I bring deep technical experience, a leadership style that empowers teams, and a strong focus on process-driven success. My next step is about aligning with an organization that appreciates these strengths and provides the right cultural fit for me to thrive.

I love it when a plan comes together.

my LED project in the basement is turning out great!

excuse the mess, we’re still under construction. big step out of the way though.

this is about 12 meters of dual color COB LED strips (warm white & cool white). they are running a 24v system with a Tuya controller from BTF-Lighting. there’s a 300w 24v DC power supply feeding it from both ends. there’s 18 gauge wire running the length of the channel to feed power from the other side invisibly (it keeps uniform brightness across the strip).

I still have the other side of the room to do. I think I’m gong to mid-power the next strip from one of the inside corners I have. so, hopefully I shouldn’t need to run wire through the channels again.

beats crown moulding, easier and looks awesome!

Balancing Life’s Challenges While Job Seeking

Life doesn’t slow down when you’re in transition. As I search for my next professional opportunity, I’m also managing the complex realities of modern life—a balancing act that so many of us experience but don’t always talk about. I wanted to put my situation out there since I cannot imagine I am alone in these challenges.

Right now, I’m:

An Assistant Scoutmaster helping guide my three sons and their troop. One of my boys is spending five weeks working at Many Point, sailing off the coast of Florida, and was chosen as one of two troop representatives for leadership training. All three are working hard on their Scouting advancements.
Helping my kids build a musical future, with a house filled with music, saxophone, clarinet, guitar, soon-to-be trombone concerts, and the glorious cacophony of thieir practice, practice, practice.
Balancing sports, braces, schoolwork, tutoring, keeping the house clean and raising three good boys in this world. (My youngest is 10-0 in basketball!).
Caring for my elderly mother, who relies on limited assistance while the programs that support her are being canceled one by one by this administration.
Supporting my father however I can for our family, who recently lost my 103-year-old grandmother, and now helping my stepmother through cancer treatment (please pray for her, she is in the ICU right now).
Supporting my wife, whose esophagus is paralyzed from Achalasia, leaving her unable to eat.
Recovering from a brain injury less than two years ago—still putting the pieces back together (always wear your bike helmet, I was and it likely saved my life).
Rebuilding our basement—after a flood a year ago, I took on the project myself: framing, running electrical, installing flooring, adding a wet bar, and creating feature walls. Just as I was finishing… our water heater failed, flooding it again.

And in the midst of all this, I’m looking for my next role—a place where I can bring my leadership, experience, and process-driven mindset to a team that values collaboration and structured problem-solving.

Through all these challenges, I remind myself of the values I’ve built my career on—resilience, structure, and forward-thinking problem-solving. Whether in IT, Scouting, or home projects, I believe in being proactive, creating structured solutions, and showing up for the people who need me.

If you’ve navigated job searching while managing life’s curveballs, I’d love to hear your perspective. And if you know of a company that values experience, resilience, and leadership, I’d love to connect.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this transition—I appreciate it more than I can say.

this post was meant for linkedin but I’ve crashed through the character limit. I’ll downsample and post it.

I’ve got the stories

if you know me, you know I’ve been talking about stories a lot lately. well, I should probably finally post this one. some good family history, in case any of my family would like to see this.

at a crossroads

posted this to LinkedIn today. reposting here for posterity (since this is my social media replacement)

To my Linkedin friends and colleagues.

For the first time in my career, I find myself in uncharted territory. Since I was 14 years old, I have always had my next step mapped out—whether it was pursuing a new skill, stepping into a leadership role, or driving the next big infrastructure project. But today, I’m in a different position.

After several successful years as the Infrastructure Lead at Infinite Campus, I transitioned into an architectural role at Western National, drawn by the opportunity to take a more strategic position. Western National had a culture I truly appreciated—I felt valued and supported in ways that I still reflect on today. However, I hold myself to a high standard, and I never felt like I was able to contribute at the level I expect from myself. The biggest mistake I made was not having open conversations with leadership about my long-term goals. Instead of discussing my desire to get back to hands-on leadership, I assumed I needed to make a move elsewhere. That was on me.

My next step was a management role at Cambria, but unfortunately, the culture and expectations were not the right fit for my leadership style. This experience reinforced an important lesson: when you’re in an environment that values open communication, use it. Talk to your leadership. Advocate for your own growth. Because not every company fosters that kind of dialogue, and I learned the hard way what happens when that’s missing.

Now, I’m focusing on finding an organization where collaboration, structured processes, and operational maturity are truly valued—and where I can bring my leadership experience, technical expertise, and process-driven mindset to help a team thrive.

Beyond my career, I’m a father of three boys and an Assistant Scoutmaster to a big troop of incredible kids. Mentorship and leadership are core to who I am, and I’m eager to bring that same energy to a team that’s ready to evolve and grow.

If you know of an opportunity that aligns with my skills and leadership style, or if you just have advice on navigating this transition, I’d love to connect. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey—I truly appreciate the support.

Lesson learned: If you’re in a company that values open communication, take advantage of it. Be upfront about what you need. Because not every workplace operates that way, and you don’t want to realize too late that you could have stayed somewhere great.

doesn’t get much closer than this!

E’s Battle for the Ball, nearly had it. they played so great! So much fun seeing this team come together. it must be why they are 10 and 0 in their league :).

E, I know you are disappointed but I’m so proud of you. you played amazing, you were such a good team player and you guys are more fun to watch than any NBA game 🙂

site update.

this is for my family who I will be seeing today. if anyone would like an account to see the private family posts, please feel free to login (I don’t put photos of the kids online in public, but I have some good private vacation posts and such).

also, I have a photo site which is entirely privately hosted (lives in my basement) so if anyone would like to view or share photos, let me know and I will create you an account: https://immich.snand.org.

see you all in a few. sad day for sure, but will be nice to catch up and share stories.

goodbye grandma

Grandma Bettye, what a life she had. I’m someone who’s had an obsession with stories lately, and how our lives are just the one that we’re each experiencing. What a story she had. My Grandma lived through a World War, multiple stock market crashes, I mean what hasn’t she seen at 103 (she almost made 104). Most importantly she has a story of family.

My Grandmother lost nearly her entire family in an automobile accident when my father was a teenager. She and him were the only survivors; and together, boy did they survive.

She later married a man who became my Grandfather, at least as far as I considered him. Bill McClain, a wonderful man, who brought with him a wonderful family. And so, she and my father were able to build a new family, and my father build more of his own, including of course me.

We’re all a little nuts, some of us a lot. But we’re all here, we’re all finding our way through this life, we’re all surviving. She was a Great-Grandmother to my children, but also a Great Grandmother. Our family was so sad to hear the news, many tears have been shed, but we are so glad she was able to spend her final days in the loving care of her son.

I love you grandma, I couldn’t be where I am today without you. I’m so glad you are at peace, your family will make sure you keep living on in our hearts, memories, and our stories. Your’s isn’t complete yet, it was just the beginning of many more.

update- her obituary.

oh man..

this Deepseek R1 stuff is banannas. I mean, can’t say they weren’t warned. AI is great, I’m a big fan but the hype train it’s been riding had nowhere to go but off the rails.

we’ll see where it goes, going to be interesting anyway.

update- been having fun with Ollama on my machine, wonder if I should give it a try. probably be good for more python learning.

update- a good article worth sharing on the topic from The Linux Foundation:

in the end, it turned out ok.

lit a fuse today (metaphorically), no idea what’s going to happen. something needs to blow up though.

all that aside, I made a decision this weekend. I’m both feet in on my kids scout troop, it’s been so amazing for my boys, thanks to this fantastic troop we stumbled across years ago. I had a rough scouting career as a kid, something not uncommon with the troop I came from. this one though, it’s everything that my troop wasn’t, plus a whole lot more.

I honestly cannot thank our troop leaders enough. and so, to start to try, I have recently signed on as an ASM. I’ve been involved and helping here and there, but this is now official. I’m once again officially part of the scouts, an Assistant Scoutmaster. I’ve got a ton to learn but I can’t wait to do it. there’s 61 (soon 67 and growing) kids I get to help become the awesome people they are.

I hope this site evolves in that direction. much better content than my political hopelessness.

before I go, I want to reflect on a moment of joy I had tonight. after the scout meeting, my dorky son has his laces untied, so I was of course stepping on them. he tried to run away but I was able to sick one of his friends on him to chase him through the church lot, trying his best to trip the kid. I was laughing one of those laughs that is so genuine and full that it made the muscles in my head hurt.

I needed it. No matter what happens when that thing blows, today ended just how a dad’s night should end. I’m feeling great.