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This is the e-mail I sent out this morning to Bankrate folks explaining my decision to leave the company. It’s as much business related as it is personal. I’m displaying it here because I believe in openness and transparency. Fellow Bankraters, Today, after serious consideration, I tendered my resignation as Manager of DevOps at Bankrate. There are a few reasons behind this decision that merit some explanation: I have reached a point in my life where I can take a moment to figure out exactly what it is I want to be when I “grow up.” Life is all about balance. Not being able to take part in significant life events this year has shown me that I need to focus on what matters most to me. It’s time I take a deep breath and determine how best to balance the role of husband, father, and community leader while coping with a permanent, debilitating nerve injury and other issues this position has exposed that I can no longer effectively manage while working at Bankrate. ...

I had the opportunity to participate in All Things Open this week. It was quite an experience. 3300+ people who are all part of the open source software community all in one place is truly moving. Even better they let me take a mic on one of the main stages to give a modified version of my DevOps README.md talk. I can’t thank the opensource.com crew enough for the opportunity. This is also available at devopsreadme.com ...

As previously mentioned, I spoke at DevOpsDays Raleigh. It was an awesome experience organizing and participating at the event! Videos from DevOpsDays Raleigh 2017 were recently released on YouTube. I wanted to take a moment to share the one’s I was a subject in here. The first video is from my Dark Side of DevOps talk. The second video is from Ignite Karoke the second day (which I highly recommend). The Dark Side of DevOps - Chris Short Watch Now: The Dark Side of DevOps — DevOpsDays Raleigh 2017 ...

I helped organize and spoke at DevOpsDays Raleigh 2017 back in September. From an organizers perspective the team was fantastic! If you ever have the opportunity to organize an event with any of the fine organizers in Raleigh you will be learning from true professionals. From a speaker’s perspective it was a blast. I had the opportunity to convert my article The Dark Side of DevOps into a talk. While it went very well I wish I could have elaborated more on it in the future. There is so much story to tell! But, I held back a little because in the audience there were former co-workers who had been on these journeys with me. ...

UPDATE: According to Kara Swisher at Recode, Google has fired James Damore, the author of the memo that is the topic of this article. On Friday, August 4, 2017, several Google employees took to Twitter to discuss a ten-page document that was circulating internally at an alarming rate. The manifesto focused on the topic of “ideological diversity” replacing Google’s current diversity policies. The author states, “Women on average show a higher interest in people and men in things.” Needless to say, the manifesto (screed) was not well received but had a fair number of supporters inside Google that bolstered the author’s position. Google’s response was tepid at best, “Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws.” Not exactly what you want to see when this manifesto has you questioning why you’re at a company not denouncing the opinions expressed in this screed. I’m all for free speech (I pay for my defense of it every day). But, the First Amendment is a construct to prevent government silencing of dissent. The First Amendment does not apply within the confines of a company. Free ideas are great so long as they do not cause harm to those around you. ...