This year, I found a new love: roasted okra. One weekend, I picked up a small basket at a stall at a farmer’s market downtown, shades of purple and green. The stall woman said to generously coat in oil and season as desired. I keep it simple: sunflower oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper. I cook the okra until it’s nutty brown, the seeds nearly black.

New books populate the shelves in my cozy apartment tucked away in the farmlands. I originally swore only to read what I brought in a small box. I thought I didn’t need much, but that isn’t true. And I’ve read less than ten this year. I bought clothes to navigate the many conferences I found myself dreading, wishing to be home. I also found that I desperately needed a puppy when the grief of my last nearly overtook me this summer. Now, there’s a constant source of curiosity and affection, a great joy, but I still cry at times. Let’s not even discuss the amount of yarn I own.

After a decade, I sensed a creeping dissatisfaction in my work; a futility I had not felt before. Even with having a job I enjoyed and with fabulous people. I’ve dedicated much to technology, and it seems as if nothing and everything has changed. If anything, the next life-altering thing is just around the corner, only to be proven to not be the silver bullet we imagined, but instead, merely a tool to catalogue away among the other tools as we approach an undeterminable point in our evolution—to go beyond ourselves and our capabilities. Become extensions in the vast reaches of greatness, of space. Even so, I have a fantastic new job, though a renewed sense of purpose is still in the works, but that will come in time.

Creatively and despite the rejections, I put my poetry into the world to various publications. They can’t all be winners, but I’ve still had one of the most creative years I’ve experienced since college. We’ll see if any of it goes beyond my laptop, but at least I’m putting in the work.

I’ve also returned home as I haven’t since I was a teenager. I realize how I missed my family, understand how precious our time is together. To have coffee with my mother each morning, to learn my stepfather framed my painting from college, to have weekly calls with my father and brother. I’ve taken time to turn inward and found a depth of relief I didn’t know I worried over.

Above all, I’ve realized a deep selfishness has taken hold. The desire to hide away, to not do as much, to be in a constant state of need. Whatever lies ahead, this year I want to turn the crystal and focus not on what I need, but what I have, who I have, and what I will do to find more joy, more purpose, more love for myself and others. I hope the same for you.

By Joyce Deuley

I remember when I first discovered that I had a role to play in emerging technologies. I was studying English at the University of the Incarnate Word, working in a wine shop, and thinking about either becoming an English teacher or a speech pathologist. Or maybe staying in wine. Then someone working at the Geekdom coworking space said their office mate was looking for a writer and thought I should check it out.

A 20 min. conversation and a week later, I had a brand new job as a secondary researcher for Compass Intelligence, working in the Machine-to-Machine Communications department, and it clicked. I could serve as a translator for what was happening in emerging technologies and help shape how we think about integrating them across markets. I fell deeply in love with this industry right then and there.

The Internet of Things (IoT) was starting to ramp up and we talked about enabling technologies that would change the world. Smart cities would deploy some of these solutions, create efficiencies to better manage resources, and improve people’s quality of life. But, as a humanities major, I knew there were some serious implications to deploying these kinds of technologies and what it could mean if we didn’t consider them fully, think about who would use them and how.

It gave me a sense of purpose and I was determined to positively impact this space, and I think I’ve largely stayed that course, despite challenges and a whole lot of learning.

In those early deployments of IoT and Smart Cities, there was a lot of trial and error, a lot of uncertainty. But things got better, and now those markets are starting to hit their stride, even progressing to next-generation enablements!

They say all that’s certain in life is death, taxes, and change. And boy, have things changed in the last decade! Even now things are changing. Recently, Generative AI came on the scene. And it isn’t going anywhere but everywhere.

Whether you’re planning on actively using it or not, it’s being built into the products and services you use daily. But there are a lot of concerns as the hype cycle ramps up. Understandably so. But, we need to recognize that while it’s disruptive, AI is not yet where we would like it to be, where it could be. Not in terms of functionality, nor in how we interact with it ethically. Yet.

Honesty Time: It’s odd for an emerging tech analyst to be somewhat resistant to new tech, but I know that I am not an early adopter of most things. I’ve gone through enough hype cycles to wade through the noise to find the things that stick and tend to wait a beat before jumping in. And while AI will go through a similar cycle, perhaps it’s the scale in which it’s happening that makes me more hesitant than usual.

I often say I got a degree in professional report writing, so it can be difficult for me to separate the pride and the uncertainty about what these new AI tools mean in the workplace. I find myself being more precious about what I write, the information I share online, which services I want to commit to. But, ultimately, I recognize that burying my head in the sand isn’t going to do a lick of good to anyone.

In that same vein, I don’t want to reduce my own professional skills and value to the point that I position myself as obsolete. I need to reinvigorate my thought process around my work and find new areas to explore. So, I’ve started to get more familiar with the unknowns and learn about what gives me pause in the face of a new disruptor like AI. Discomfort usually brings about growth and this is definitely a period of growth for me. For a lot of people. It’s nice not to be alone.

Thankfully, there are far more brilliant people than me working in this space to ensure the right kinds of guardrails come in, that different voices have space, that inherent biases are identified and corrected in our data sets, that people are uplifted and protected during this season of disruption.

Ultimately, I’m on a mission to build amazing things with even better people, and do a whole lotta good while I’m at it.

If you’re one of those individuals, too, and want to share more about what you do and how, please email me: info@tekchatr.com. Until then, let us #BeHelpful, diligent, and hopeful.

By Joyce Deuley

Whew! I can’t believe it’s been roughly 7 years since I last wrote something. And, in some ways it’s special that Alan Weinkrantz’s post is what has been left up all this time. #BeHelpful.

I can’t make you any lofty promises about writing more or doing more in general. I spend a good chunk of my day researching, writing, and innovating for Zpryme, focusing on the utilities and smart cities industries. It’s a fantastic gig and it is awesome that I get to pursue all that I love in one place!

Let’s see… in the last seven years, I’ve moved on from James Brehm & Associates, actually did my own thing with the Smart Texas Alliance before finding my way on staff at Geekdom! (I know, it actually happened). I launched a civic innovation program, CivTechSA, in partnership with the City of San Antonio, ran a pre-accelerator for a couple of years, and created and launched a smart cities incubator at Geekdom in partnership with the City of San Antonio! It was AWESOME to be able to #BeHelpful in a community I cared so much about.

It was through that work that I found Zpryme and it just so happened to all fall into place. Now, I am the Director of Research & Innovation and it’s an absolute blast. One of the best things is that I can still collaborate with my friends at the City of San Antonio’s Office of Innovation doing this work. It’s even more important as now I’ve moved out to the country!

Yup! An emerging tech analyst reporting to you live from a small farm in Texas.

I hope to write on all of the things happening, I mean, AI is here. C’mon! But, we’ll see if I don’t come back in a few years and have to blow the dust off this thing again.

By Joyce Deuley

I haven’t logged on in more than 57 days, or so my email tells me, which is true. I had, however, been slowly working on a blog about the Tech scene in San Antonio, a recap of the most recent TechStars cohort, and how excited I was to have my friend Alan Weinkrantz join the James Brehm & Associates team. But, I had allowed so many things to come between me and sharing that news. So, I am numb as I sit here, writing about him and how he is with us, but now only in our hearts.

This weekend, he was tragically killed while doing what he loved-helping people-in one of his favorite places on earth, Tel Aviv. Alan’s passion for narratives, Tech, and the people of Israel was overwhelming, as is their love of him.

I met Alan when I first joined Geekdom. He immediately welcomed me like an old friend, and was always available for a coffee or a quick chat or a joke. One of the best things about Alan was his enthusiasm for all that he did. He was a devoted father, a talented musician, a brilliant writer, PR guru, and so much more.

In the outpouring of affection since we all heard the news, I keep seeing #BeHelpful. Alan embodied this in all that he did, and always with love. If anything, the loss of him is a violent reminder that nothing is guaranteed. There is no excuse for waiting. I loved him dearly, and was beyond excited to work with him, and now I will be proud to do his memory justice and spend my time as he would.

For those of you who wish to help Alan’s family deal with this loss, there is a GoFundMe page dedicated to him. Thank you for any thoughts, prayers, and support.

With great love, Alan. I promise to #BeHelpful.

 

By Joyce Deuley

If you guys missed it, SpaceX just landed on the International Space Station’s platform. This is the company’s 5th ocean attempt, and, let me tell you, it was flipping gorgeous to watch!

You can watch it all here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html.

I am really glad I got to see this today — definitely a bit of history in the making.