What Got Me Excited the Week of August 15th!

This week's update is a little later than normal, but I'm determined to keep this newsletter at a weekly pace and luckily I get up super early in the morning! So without delaying any further, I'll share what got me excited this week with you over my first cup of coffee for the morning.

1. Artificial Intelligence: This weekend I passed the AZ-900 Azure AI Fundamentals certification exam, which advanced my learning journey to get deeper AI skills into my toolbox. In the past, I didn't see AI as a practical or accessible technology, but over the past three years I've changed my position on the matter. As it's sprung up more in my day to day adventures, I have become excited about its potential to enhance applications. The exam was a great way to certify my knowledge of the AI capabilities provided by Azure, some of which I cover in my LinkedIn Learning course, Calling REST API's with Java.

2. Google AutoDraw: Sticking with the AI theme, I was very impressed after checking out Google's AutoDraw, which uses machine learning to enhance your doodles. The tool guesses what you are attempting to draw using its algorithms and then suggests a better rendition from talented artists.

3. Git 2.33: This week the latest version of Git (2.33.0) was released. Sifting through the release notes revealed the new merge-ort merge strategy which brings performance enhancements to how Git merges two branches. Currently, Git uses the recursive strategy for resolving merges as its default, however the announcement for Git 2.33 hints at merge-ort becoming the new default in the future.

4. Software Engineering Radio Jez Humble on Continuous Integration: During one of my weekend runs I had the pleasure of listening to an older podcast where Jez Humble talked about continuous integration. The podcast touches on many important concepts for technical teams and organizations that want to deliver software faster. I would highly recommend a listen if your delivery processes or organizational approach could use a boost.

5. Bear Wallow Glove Company: This last one is out of the tech arena, but still very exciting! I always like to purchase goods from small businesses when possible, so when my wife needed a pair of gardening gloves I was thrilled to find Bear Wallow. Bear Wallow is a small company based in Palo Cedro, CA that makes and sells a variety of leather goods such as gloves and belts. The product quality was excellent and they included a hand written note thanking us for our purchase. I love the personal touch small businesses put on their products and services, so I dediced to share their company in this week's newsletter to give this excellent small business some visibility.

That's what got me excited this week! What put the sparkle in your eye this week?