Erik on Software

Latest — Mar 27, 2026

Treadmill Maintenance: Part 3 - Maintenance-free for 11 years

Over a dozen years ago in 2010 and 2013, I published a very popular series of two posts about maintaining my Smooth Fitness 5.25 running treadmill that can be found here and here. The first post walked through how I replaced the rear roller after it completely blew out

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Media Query Source: Part 60 - HackerNoon (US online publishing platform); The M&A IT problem

* HackerNoon (US online publishing platform) * The M&A IT problem * A top problem needing to be solved involves data & systems integration * When overlooked / postponed, firms risk fragmentation & unforeseen tech debt The query responses I provided to HackerNoon on March 13, 2026: HackerNoon: I am writing a report

Media Query Source: Part 59 - Corporate Board Member (US digital magazine); Seeking corporate transformation experts for board-level advice

* Corporate Board Member (US digital magazine) * Seeking corporate transformation experts for board-level advice * Healthy oversight means an effort is being holistically kept on track * Micromanagement begins following a breakdown in trust The query responses I provided to Corporate Board Member on March 11, 2026: Corporate Board Member: Seeking governance-oriented advice

New Book Review: "42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role (Second Edition)"

New book review for 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn't Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager (Second Edition), by Pam Fox Rollin, Super Star Press, 2012: Rollin mentions in her introduction to this book that while people typically get significant

Community Comment: Part 44 - Ask clarifying counter-questions when experts provide different answers to the same question

* Why do experts sometimes provide different answers to the same question? * If answers don't align due to differing scenarios, the same question isn't being answered * In other words, multiple questions are being answered rather than just one * Before moving forward, ask clarifying counter-questions in return

Community Comment: Part 43 - "Future proofing" is similar to "predicting" because nothing is certain

* The future is a known unknown that contains risks * Risks can be mitigated through scenario planning * "Future proofing" is similar to "predicting" because nothing is certain * Planning over plans, yes, but lack of strategy can be a risk in itself

Community Post: Part 7 - Regardless of method, time isn't being saved if a comparable amount of time is being spent on rework

* How much time do you think you are saving each week by using AI? * In one survey, executives and staff demonstrated differing perspectives * What does "saving" time actually mean when it's not qualified with a definition? * Time isn't being saved if a comparable amount

Blog Note: Part 8 - Blog post categories consolidation (cont.)

Blog post categories have been further consolidated as follows. Goals: further simplify and deprecate. architecture ==> architecture & software architecture & software blog note book reading list book review book review solicited case study community conference consulting data entrepreneurship healthcare software leadership media query media query quoted pro bono process

Blog Note: Part 7 - Free paywall added for subset of posts

Of the total current count of 505 published posts, I've recently modified 184 to be behind a free paywall that solely requires an email address to be considered a member. I have no plans to ever charge a fee to read members-only posts. The sole reason I'

9 years of running in Altra shoes

An article that I came across a few weeks ago entitled "The running brand growing 35% with almost zero name recognition in the US is outpacing HOKA and On" was admittedly the nudge I needed to finally write the one you're reading now. I've

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