PAUL COLMER
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Consulting
  • Experience
  • Certifications
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Consulting
  • Experience
  • Certifications
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

24/3/2020 0 Comments

COVID19 Lockdown in Brisbane

Picture
Wow...what an absolute turnaround, since my last blog post.  We had hardly heard of COVID19 4 or 5 weeks ago and now Brisbane and the whole of Australia is in entire lock down.  As a face to face trainer, my revenues have dropped to zero, but don't worry...I've decided to pivot.  I've decided to join Elon Musk in the manufacturing business.  I'll start with loo roll...and eventually move onto soap dispensers.  🤣

Seriously, if you want to work with me on comedy, writing, presenting, coaching, training, architecture or anything in the tech space.  Best to reach out on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/paulcolmer

I even have experience as an Advanced Motorcycle Instructor and a Music Teacher.  Maybe I should I transfer those skills through online medium.

I found in these crazy times that we need have more laughter.  So below is an infographic I created to help lighten your moods.  Enjoy.  🚀🚀🚀
Picture
And if you're after more comedy, I've included 3 of my most fun videos below:
0 Comments

21/2/2020 0 Comments

Brisbane RAW Comedy Competition

Picture
Last night, I stood up in front of around 100+ people at the SitDown Comedy Club in Brisbane, as part of the RAW Comedy 2020 competition.  It was a fantatsic night.  I had an incredible experience on stage, and I am absolutely thrilled to be able to share the video with you all.

It was a very strong heat, with 14 people, including myself, all competing.  Normally they select a maximum of 4 people to go through to the next round, but due to such a strong field, 5 people went through.  Unfortunately I think I just missed the cut.  

Check out the video below.  The opening minute gains 2 big laughs....which was phenomenal.
0 Comments

8/2/2020 0 Comments

RAW Comedy 2020

​I’m super excited at the moment.  I have secured my 14th stand-up gig, in the beautiful city of Wellington in New Zealand and my 15th at the RAW Comedy 2020.  Certainly one of the biggest stand-up competitions in Australia.  🚀

Click on the pic to see details of my Heat 6 gig:
Picture
​So how does comedy work?

Let’s talk about the basics.  Firstly you need a microphone, a great sound system and load of excited people who want to laugh. The sound system is very important, as you can use the nuance and tone of your voice to really draw out the comedy. 

This is why Comedy Clubs were invented.  My local club is in Paddington, it’s called the SitDown Comedy club and I’m performing there for my 2nd time at the RAW.  Check out the video to my very first standup gig....it' funny....🤣
​There are 3 important components to comedy:
  1. Your body language and facial expressions make up 50%-60% of your comedy style.
  2. The voice inflection and tone variations make up around 30-40% of your comedy style.
  3. Only 7% is based on what you say, i.e. your words.
This means that in order to be funny you need to focus on your body language, facial expressions and voice style, as well as define a sound script for your act.

But…and here is the kicker…it’s need to be 100% natural for you…so you need to be very comfortable and work on your natural abilities.

Many open-mic comedians focus a lot on number 3…which is good to start with…but once you become more experienced….about my level….then focus more on number 1 and number 2.

​Here is a great video that outlines these basic concepts:
​The next piece that is important is how you structure your material. The way to think of comedy laugh is consisting of 3 parts:
  1. The story…technically known as the setup.
  2. The punchline
  3. The laugh
The key with the story is to make it engaging, interesting and ultimately you’re using it build tension.  Then you have the punchline, which is like the release.  It needs to be unexpected but provide meaning to the story.  And then once you finish the punchline and wait for the laugh. 

​Here is one I prepared earlier:
For beginners, the laugh will be small or not at all. 

Remember, just because someone doesn’t physically laugh at your material, doesn’t mean they don’t think it’s funny. 

​I always make a joke when no-one laughs at my punchline…as it’s unexpected and appears improvised.  It also builds empathy with the audience.  Did you see I did that in the video too....watch back if you missed it. 😍

That’s it for today guys.  Go forth, be funny and record some videos of yourselves having fun! 📹📽📸

​This blog has been verified by Rise: Ra7540c712fcd526f20707909c6599ba8
0 Comments

10/1/2020 0 Comments

Malicious Email - Simple Tips to Keep your Family Safe

Picture
 I love running courses, coaching great people, and generally enteraining my class.  As a cyber security and cloud computing trainer and coach, I love helping people understand the latest secure tricks and tips.  Many of my clients are from some of the largest organisations in the world and I endeavour to provide really cool knowledge in a fun and engaging way.  My work as a stand-up comedian definitely helps...and allows me to present challenging concepts in a simple, but fun manner.  Keep an eye out for me, at the RAW Comedy Festival🎤
Picture
​One of the biggest challenges that we all face is the existence of malicious email.  In this blog, I'm going to give you some very straightforward tips and tricks to keep yourself  and your family safe. You can apply these at work and at home.  And they work whether you are young or old.  Rich or poorer, for better or for worse....  😂

 Digital Coach Tip 1 - Never Click on an Email Link You DO NOT RECOGNISE

Now, the challenge with this tip, is that we often need to collaborate with others.  It's a bit like saying....don't connect to the internet....then you'll be 100% secure.  😂  This is very true when we are creating content with others.  Usually in the form of Office 365 documents. 

So my tip here is to never click on an email link.  And if you do have to click, because you're collaborating with others on Office 365 documents, then follow tips 2,3,4 and 5.  Hopefully that makes sense.  😎

DIGITAL COACH Tip 2 - agree on the document collaboration system 

In the event that you do need to click on a link to view an Office 365, my next tip is to establish a common cloud computing system that will allow you to collaborate and share material.  There are many products. 

My personal favourite is Microsoft OneDrive, which is part of Office 365. 
​
Whichever cloud computing system you use, be sure that you can identify that the link has come from that system.

So for OneDrive, it will look something like this:

https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ag_UA13V9QhmgZhBh83Q1Oa6aFrVIQ?e=twM9tk

The key is to recognise that it starts with https://1drv.ms which means it's a One Drive link. 

​The rest is all part of the unique hash that can be ignored at this stage.


A great best practice is to ensure that your OneDrive shareable links expire.  I usually have a 2 week window.  That way, if the link does end up in the wrong hands, you have controlled the risk.  The other tip is to agree a system of how you will update the documents.  My preference is for each party to have their own OneDrive folder that is read only to the other person.  That way the author always retains control of the original.  

Click on the image below to learn more about OneDrive security.
Picture
Picture

DIGITAL COACH Tip 3 - Use WhiteLists

​Understand who you need to collaborate with.  Write down their names and email addresses.  This is called a whitelist.  It’s a list of trusted data sources.

I discuss this best practice in my Certified Cloud Security Professional course (CCSP), which you can check out by clicking on the image below.
​
In the context of email, it's a list of trusted names and email addresses. And when I say trusted I mean these are the people who you are working with right now.  In a small company, this white list will be one or two people in a very large client company. It may be 10-15 people.  It should be small and very selective.

​Click on the picture below to learn more about whitelisting.
Picture

Digital Coach Tip 4 - Pick Up the Phone

This is the most important tip, and is a practice derived from a cultural movement know as DevOps. 

​Once you receive the OneDrive link from your trusted person, give them a call.  You will probably need to do this to discuss the nature of the collaboration in your document.  More importantly you can ascertain that the email is from them and the link is genuine.

Digital Coach Tip 5 - Pay for Anti-Virus Software

Make sure that you have the latest anti-virus software running on your Windows devices.  It needs to be up-to-date with the latest signature file updates.  This software will hopefully catch known malicious software, and is another important protection for your family.  Especially for email.  I always recommend a paid version, because it includes support.  Trust me, if anything ever goes wrong and you find yourself in a pickle, you'll be very thankful for the support from your anti-virus vendor.

I personally have opted to use anti-virus on both Windows and Android devices.  And my personal choice is Kaspersky. 

Why….well….it’s reliable, low-cost, uses only a small amount of resources on my Windows machine and tends to score very highly in independent reports on successful malicious detection. 

​Kaspersky also offer a whole host of other security features in their  Internet Security Suite, that I use to help protect me from malicious activity.  Thinks like malicious software on public wi-fi routers and protecting my data when using banking apps.

​Click on the pic below for more information.  The image below is showing pricing in AUD....
Picture
These 5 simple tips will reduce your risk dramatically and keep you and your family safe.

That's it.

I hope that helps guys. Have a fantastic day and feel free to reach out to me on my LinkedIn profile.  Take care....and may the force be with you.  ✨🤺
​ 
P
Picture
0 Comments

29/11/2019 0 Comments

Why is 5G a Game Changer? - 6 Minute Blog

Picture
G'day everyone.  Today is blog Friday. So today.....I'm going to talk about 5G networks.

5G stands for fifth generation (5thGen) networks. When I say network, we mean mobile phone network. It's basically the fifth generation of mobile phone network, after 3G and 4G.

What does that really mean?  Well....it means you're about to get super super fast speeds, with a very low amount of delay.  Speed is measured as bandwidth in gigabits per second (Gbps).  Delay is measured in milliseconds (ms) as latency.

The great news for gamers, remote communities and all consumers of apps in the cloud, is that it poses a serious alternative to technologies like ADSL2.  ADSL2 is also known as broadband. In Australia in particular, we have something called the National Broadband Network, known as NBN.  Which is meant to provide highspeed broadband.

To be fair, it hasn't really delivered the speeds and service quality the government promised.  In fact....it's been......a disaster.  So let's redesignate the NBN acronym to.....Nil Bandwidth Network.  😂 

Check out the awesome cartoon taking the mickey out of the entire saga, copywright of Westpix:
Picture
Anyway...moving on....   According to Wikipedia, which is one of my favorite resources for learning, 5G networks are digital cellular networks, that are divided into smaller geographic areas.  These areas are called cells.

These cells, allow mobile phones to seamlessly connect.....to different areas of the network. So as you move across different locations, you're able to move between cells. This  gives you seamless coverage, and provides you with uninterrupted speed with minimal latency (delay).

The main advantages of using 5G are:
  • Download speeds are significantly faster through higher bandwidth allocation.
  • Delays on the network are much lower due to lower latency.

​Let me use some real data, based on the AT&T 5Gn network.  This is taken from the CNET article below:
Picture
The testers in this article were gaining at least 1.4 Gigabits (Gbps) per second. To give you an idea of how fast that is......your current ADSL2 connection is capable of 0.02 Gbps per second maximum.  You're more likely using 0.01 Gbps.  So 5G, is 140 times faster. 

This article is specifically measured in the US.  In other countries, bandwidth and latency it will vary.  So the speeds are dependent on the quality of the infrastructure, the spread of the population across a country and the investment needed in each country. 

For example, in Australia, we'd be looking at lower speeds. But I would typically be expecting a speed of at least 0.2 Gbps once the rollout is maturing towards the end of 2020.  Unfortunately in the early part of a rollout  in Australia, it's likely to be a lot less.  But even if we only get 0.1 gbps, that's still 10 times faster.  You can check out my mental arithment below...courtesy of Uncle Google.  The Uncle you can't do without....and is less embarrassing at family parties...😂
Picture
The next question everyone tends to ask is why would you want 5G.  Well...imagine this situation.  You're living in a  a remote community in outback Australia.  Kangaroos and Koala Bears are running wild. Running cables out to say...Woorabinda....no I didn't just make that name up....is going to be very expensive.  It's also unlikely to provide a reliable and high bandwidth solution.

But wait....5G offers a very cost effective alternative. This means that remote communities are not at a disadvantage and benefit from improved services, higher quality of life and better health outcomes.

A core use case to help improve health outcomes in remote areas is the use of Telehealth services. Telehealth services, allow patients and doctors to interact and collaborate effectively to help solve health issues.  In a 5G network it would not only provide a reliable high-resolution video link. It would also allow the transmitting of complex medical information in real-time. 

This would save a patient driving many hours to see a medical practitioner.  A 12 hour drive in remote areas is not uncommon.  A far cry from Brisbane city dwellers moaning about a 40 minute rush-hour commute into the city.  😂

So a telemedicine capability would be able to stream live video between a doctor and a patient and resolve various medical conditions.  

Other use cases for 5G include:
  • The use of a network to help autonomous cars communicate with each other.
  • Having better connected Smart Cities and better connected Smart homes. 

With all of our devices connected to the network, humans can make better decisions, based on advanced analytics.  This helps improve our lifes and lifestyles....and allows us to become more sustainable.  Because our kids deserve a cleaner planet....right?  😎

Check out the use cases from Ericsson:
Picture
More importantly from an everyday perspective, if you're living in a metropolitan area, 5G is now a serious alternative to broadband, 4G and other networks like NBN.

It also allows us to change our lifestyle. So 5g would allow us not only to have high speed internet at home but also have that mobile speed as we travel.  Quite simply, you could have a network that effectively follows you around, which means the paradigm of working from home or working from office is fragmented further....which means people like me who do a lot of travel can do more with less.  Lean is good.  😎

I consider myself a road warrior.....I'm constantly traveling Australia, running courses....so this type of technology is a game changer. It means I can carry more of my apps with me, and do a lot more with them in faster time frames.

​It's a huge differentiator for me and allows me to gain an advantage over other coaches and other training companies.

Smart vehicles is a little bit into the future, however without a 5G network, those innovations would never have happened.  Just like Netflix and Spotify would not exist without Amazon Web Services and cloud computing. 
Picture

In order to see autonomous smart vehicles, we are going to need a very reliable, high speed network that is available anywhere.  5G is an important platform for this type of innovation.

Finally, a very important use case will be human machine interaction.  If we are able to interact faster with our devices, such as using virtual reality or augmented reality, then then we can communicate more effectively between each other using more efficient methods.  Less....is clearly more!

The picture below is a rendered picture of a real hologram table.  It's real, because I've used it.  5G would open up the possibilities of using this technology in real-time between multiple people....in different locations:
Picture

​I hope you really enjoyed this blog post. Today's been an awesome blog Friday, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Take care.

P

​@TheDigitalCoach

Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Categories

    All Active Directory Architecture Big Data Blockchain Cloud Comedy Cyber DevOps Driverless Cars MicroServices Office 365 Scaled Agile Social Media

    Picture

    Author​​

    Paul Colmer is a digital coach and a freelance technology consultant.  Paul has an infectious passion for empowering others to learn and to applying disruptive thinking in an engaging and positive way.

    Paul has experience in building digital architecture strategies.  This includes the development and execution of training material and workshops, architecting and leading digital transformation initiatives, providing expertise on social media marketing, as well as advanced presenting using comedy, drama and music.

    Certifications cover the Scaled Agile Framework (SPC), Cloud Security (CCSP), Amazon Web Services (AWS Ass Arch), DevOps Culture (DevOps Foundation & DevSecOps Engineering), Big Data (EBDP), Data Science (EBDA), Microsoft Azure (AZ-900), Office 365 and mnay others...... 

    He is currently one of the Rise.Global Top 50 Global Cloud influencers on social media.

    ​www.rise.global/the-cloud-social-influencers-power-100/p/1804096/r/2556192

    And one of the OnalyticsTop 100 Big Data influencers on social media:

    onalytica.com/blog/posts/big-data-top-influencers-and-brands/

    He is also a keen writer and an award-winning open-mic comedian.

    Contact Paul Colmer via LinkedIn.
    ​
    Or simply watch his videos on YouTube.

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly