Welcome to 30 Elm

There is a hard truth in IT leadership that does not get said often enough: IT budget management defines whether IT leadership is succeeding or failing. When an IT department consistently exceeds its budget, leadership has failed to plan, execute, or control spending. Staying on or under budget is n…

I hear a lot of debate online about AI. Opinions fly fast, and emotions run hot. Instead of theory, I want to share something that just happened to me. Setting the Scene: A Slow-Moving Town I live in a small, remote town. One police station. One fire department. One movie theater. The next largest t…

Outdoor Activities Are Always in Season This destination proudly offers outdoor activities all year long. Visitors can enjoy fresh air, beautiful scenery, and endless opportunities to explore the outdoors, no matter the time of year. Right now is an especially exciting time to visit. Heavy snow and …

As the year winds down, I’ve finally taken the time to pause and reflect. Instead of rushing ahead, I looked back at what actually shaped the last twelve months. What stands out most is that this year wasn’t defined by a single win or a clean, linear path forward. Instead, it became a year of&hellip…

Not All Work Situations Are the Same I keep hearing arguments about how bad remote workers are and how working from home supposedly hurts productivity. In reality, productivity depends on the individual and the environment. For me, remote work productivity comes from structure, focus, and experience…

Unexpected setbacks in life have a way of showing up when you least expect them, even when you do everything right. This happened to me just last week, and it came from something so small it was almost laughable. I drive a Kia Soul. “Drive” might be a stretch, since I only use it once… R…

It was the night before Christmas and across LinkedIn’s site,Not a recruiter was stirring, not even a byte.My resume was polished and uploaded with care,In hopes that a remote job soon would be there. While others were nestled and dreaming with cheer,I refreshed my job alerts for the thousandth time…

Looking Back Over the Year Well it is Thanksgiving and an important time to start looking back over the year. I think everyone should take a moment to reflect like this. It helps you see how far you have come even when the year has been filled with challenges. This year started off with a…&nb…

When you look at the world right now, it is easy to feel the opposite of optimistic. Between global tension, rapid technological change, and the constant pressure of information overload, a hopeful future might feel out of reach. Yet when I step back and look at the direction technology and society …

In a world where AI keeps advancing every week, one of the best decisions you can make for your business or personal workflow is to run a local LLM. Tools like Ollama let you keep everything private, customize your AI to your needs, and integrate it with the systems you already use. Local AI is&hell…

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving, Yet Still Full of Hope This will be the first Thanksgiving where I do not have a job since I was in high school. My finances are weighing on me and I know I may not see much progress on the job front with the holidays coming up. I turned… Read More &raqu…

Introduction To the Imperial Recruitment BureauCoruscant, Imperial Center Dear Imperial Hiring Committee, I am applying for a senior operational role within the Galactic Empire. My background includes strategic combat leadership, political elimination, and large scale military coordination. Because …

Strange things in an old Victorian house do not usually get to me. Being an electronic engineer with deep expertise in computers and networking, I am not prone to believe in anything supernatural. My whole career is built on logic, facts, circuits, and solving problems with a nice clean root cause. …

A new Chrome zero day update arrived only a few days ago, and it fixes a dangerous flaw that attackers already started using in the wild. Because the exploit works the moment you visit a malicious webpage, you should update your browser as soon as possible to stay protected. What this zero-day does …

Engineers playing Space Engineers may sound like a strange way to relax, but it makes perfect sense once you watch how they unwind. Instead of taking a normal break, engineers jump into a game that feels simple at first and then turns into a full engineering workout. Space Engineers looks like an ea…

People often ask what makes someone a strong employee or a dependable leader. For me, the answer is simple. You learn who someone truly is when life gets difficult. Anyone can look organized and confident when everything is easy. Real leadership shows up when the pressure is on and you still find a …

Retool is a powerful platform that helps companies build internal tools faster and with less effort. Instead of writing full applications from scratch, teams can drag and drop components like tables, charts, and forms, then connect them to data sources such as APIs or databases. This makes it an ide…

Last night was a rainy, icy mess. The weather could not decide between rain or snow, so it coated everything in a slick layer of ice. I got a call from my oldest son who needed a ride home from work. I grabbed my coat and shoes and got ready to head out into the… Read More »Home

Leaving a job after years of working with the same people can feel like more than just a career change. It can feel like the end of a small community that you have been part of for a long time. When you spend that much time together, sharing challenges, success, and even the occasional frustration,&…

AI data and security regulation is now one of the biggest forces shaping the future of technology. Governments around the world are introducing new laws that redefine how innovation, privacy, and cybersecurity must work together. These changes are setting new boundaries for how fast technology can m…

Microsoft just took a big step toward a multi-model future.They’ve officially integrated Anthropic’s Claude 4.1 into Microsoft 365 Copilot, giving enterprise users the ability to switch between Claude and OpenAI models inside the same Copilot environment. This might sound like a small update, but it…

The Problem with Misleading Job Postings After 20 years in IT, I have seen both sides of dishonesty in hiring. On the employer side, misrepresentation is becoming common. You get an interview, and then the truth comes out.• The pay is half of what was advertised.• The “remote” job requires you to be…

Safety concerns are reshaping how people view large conventions. Recent shootings and threats have forced creators, brands, and fans to reconsider whether the benefits of massive events outweigh the risks. Many top streamers have already pulled back from attending well-known cons. The esports shooti…

Job hunting in 2025 feels like juggling AI, coffee, and chihuahua diapers before the sun even comes up. Today started like any other day. I rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn only to discover that our elderly hospice chihuahua had pulled off her diaper overnight. That meant coffee would have to …

Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming a part of daily business operations. From chatbots to intelligent agents, companies are finding new ways to automate and innovate. Yet with all of this potential comes new cybersecurity risks that many organizations are not prepared for. Cybersecurity expe…

Looking for the ultimate game changer to supercharge your company’s revenue? Step right up, because we have a one of a kind professional still on the lot. That is right, Kenny Doerhoff, a proven IT, AI, and cybersecurity expert with over 20 years in the field, is still available for immediate hire. …

Most people look at a Queen Anne Victorian house and just think fancy. The truth is these homes were the sports cars of the Victorian age. It was as if architects told engineers to go wild with design and airflow tricks. Many of these heating and cooling features have been forgotten, and too often m…

The day started out just like any other. I got up early, had breakfast, and enjoyed my coffee. I knew I had to send out my 50 minimum job applications early because one of my sons had an eye doctor appointment. That is when things turned strange. I only ever use my cell phone for… Read M…

A Weekend That Took an Unexpected Turn This past weekend, I decided to step away from job hunting and spend some quality time with the kids. I thought it would be a quiet, relaxing couple of days, but life had other plans. Instead, we faced one of those moments where you’re forced to focus on&hellip…

One of our four rescue chihuahuas has more health challenges than most dogs should ever face. His issues are long and complicated: ocular albinism, Cushing’s syndrome, hearing loss, joint problems, and poor eyesight. Add in a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde attitude, and you can imagine how colorful life wi…

Job hunting can feel overwhelming, but with the right tools and mindset, you can simplify the process and find opportunities that match your skills. Here are a few job hunting tips using LinkedIn and ChatGPT that can make a big difference. Use LinkedIn Job Alerts the Right WayAt the top of LinkedIn,…

Everywhere I look, I see posts about scams, layoffs, or the state of the job market. Those are important, but today I want to share something different: my motivation to keep going each morning. For me, it starts with waking up to clean blue skies in a town that looks like a Norman Rockwell painting…

My brother sent me a batch of electronic parts, and in that box sat this contraption. Take two seconds, look at the image, then close your eyes and answer: When I first got it, I laughed. Instead of spending hours online digging through forums, I snapped this picture and dropped them into ChatGPT. W…

AI workforce transformation is not a distant trend, it’s happening right now. When Roman Yampolskiy recently warned that AI could cause up to 99% unemployment by 2030, many dismissed it as alarmist. Yet Geoffrey Hinton, often called the “godfather of AI,” has spoken of “massive unemployment” as well…

This morning LinkedIn told me I would be a top applicant for a Fitness Coach role. I had to laugh. After twenty years in IT, my idea of exercise usually means crawling under my desk to hook up a new keyboard. That may count as stretching, but it does not qualify me to lead a… Read More &…

Today I got an unexpected boost, a care package during my job search. It came from my brother, who knows how much time I spend looking for the right role. Some days it’s 8–10 hours of searching postings, talking with recruiters, and trying to get noticed. He’s even connected me with his own contacts…

Are you sending emails and no one is receiving them? Do your messages keep ending up in the spam folder? You’re not alone, this is one of the most frustrating issues for both businesses and individuals. At one point in my career, I managed the domains and email servers for more than 300 top hotels&h…

So, what did you do for your Labor Day weekend break project? Me, I had to take a break from job hunting. There are only so many times you can check the boxes for white, male, non-veteran, no disability before it starts eating at you. Even the search algorithm got tired of me, it started…&nbs…

Part of my daily job hunt routine is sitting down at my computer, heading to LinkedIn, setting my filters, and working through the listings. With the instant apply option, you’re allowed 50 a day, so I knock those out first before moving on to other applications. I don’t apply to everything, just th…

On July 1, 2025, astronomers spotted a new interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS, making it only the third confirmed interstellar visitor to enter our solar system. Following in the footsteps of 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019), 3I/ATLAS is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing discoveri…

Well, I hit that point where I’m being hit with a new type of spam. Yesterday I got two, and this morning I just got another one. Here’s how it works: Someone replies to one of your posts with something like: “There is currently an open IT Manager position available at [a well-known large company],&…

Every day I sit down at my computer to search for jobs, and every day I run into the same thought: Why hasn’t the hiring process evolved? Back in the old days, companies posted jobs in newspapers or local job boards. Applicants mailed resumes, crossed their fingers, and hoped the phone would ring. F…

My home NOC setup is where coding, testing, and real-world operations meet. On the left is my desk; on the right is my wife’s. The tablet, laptop, and center server are federated so I can use them as one workstation, and detach the tablet or laptop in seconds when I need to be mobile. Under…&…

Ever feel like applying for jobs is a full-time job itself? Welcome to the job seeker’s nightmare. You polish your resume, hit “apply” hundreds of times, and what do you get? Crickets. Unless you count the friendly scammer who insists you’ve just been hired as a “remote package quality inspector” fo…

In 2025, cybersecurity is more critical than ever. Yet surprisingly, the biggest security mistakes companies make in 2025 are often the same ones that have plagued IT for years. These oversights continue to put businesses at risk of costly breaches and downtime. Let’s break down the top three mistak…

My new brakes were delayed and now won’t arrive until 8/21. That’s fine, I can limp by for now. But it got me thinking about brake maintenance and IT department comparison—and how alike they really are. Just like car brakes, IT departments are often ignored until something goes wrong. The only other…

I’m back to being active on LinkedIn. Sadly, I tend to spend more time here when I’m looking for a job. The process is familiar—update the resume, polish the profile, connect with recruiters, and fill out job applications. I wish I could hang out here year-round, but work usually keeps me too busy. …

Since my job ended, I’ve committed fully to my job search journey 2025. I updated my email server, revamped my resume, and refreshed my LinkedIn profile. I started sending my resume to recruiters and set up web crawlers to track down new opportunities. The social side of job hunting is just as impor…

AI Tools for Streamers & a Much-Needed Chill Night After a long day of work, gas stops, and food shopping, I’m finally settled back at my desk and ready to explore some exciting AI tools for streamers. The weather outside is cold, rainy, and just generally nasty, but I’m happy to be inside where…

Spring Snow and Streaming Setup Adjustments Today was full of surprises—including snow in late March! It’s a mix of cold, rain, and yes—even snowflakes. While nothing stuck to the ground, it’s safe to say we’re all beyond ready for some consistent warm weather. On top of that, I’ve been making a few…