A mint leaf and a burnt match

Life after DevOps'ish

Update (2023-06-23) I’ve created a page on the DevOps’ish site so that you’ll always have the latest access to what I’m sharing out to social media. The DevOps’ish Firehose is available for your regular consumption (Bonus: there’s an RSS feed) In the last issue of DevOps’ish, I stated, “I’m under explicit doctor’s orders to cut stressors out and do things that bring me more joy… I need to stop doing so much....

February 20, 2023 · 10 min · Chris Short
Three images that represent who Chris Short is

A getting to know you exercise

In November, I went down to Raleigh to meet my team for planning meetings and team building. For a few of my teammates, this is our first face to face interaction with each other ever. My boss wisely gave us a relatively simple assignment. Create a slide sharing what we’ve done this year and want to do next year (which I’ll share to an extent in a later post). Create another slide listing three things that make us who we are (born in a unique place, grew up on a farm, etc....

December 20, 2019 · 4 min · Chris Short
Image from [rework.withgoogle.com](https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/)

The Importance of Psychological Safety

I have mentioned this a few times in various talks, on social media, and in my newsletter; the importance of psychological safety in creating effective teams is often overlooked. Google did an enormous amount of research to determine, “the secrets of effective teams at Google.” Code-named Project Aristotle, Google wanted to nail down, once and for all, what factors contributed to team effectiveness. The number one contributor to team effectiveness at Google was surprising at the time; psychological safety....

August 8, 2018 · 4 min · Chris Short

Long Thoracic Nerve Palsy

I’m Chris Short and I have Long Thoracic Nerve (LTN) Palsy with Winging of the Scapula. On October 12, 2003, during a military hurricane evacuation exercise at Avon Park Air Force Range, I managed to permanently damage my LTN leading to winging of my right scapula. Continued service and aging has led to multiple bone spurs in my neck. My life has changed dramatically since I got hurt. Pain is something that I am constantly learning to live with and occasionally thrive with....

October 3, 2015 · 6 min · Chris Short

Shoulder Update 2005-05-19

I had my “procedure” done on my shoulder this morning. Everything went fine. I was asleep and woke up and mobile so that is a good thing. However, I still feel like I’m having an out of body experience at the moment. The good news is that the pain I had this morning is pretty much gone.

May 19, 2005 · 1 min · Chris Short

Shoulder Update 2005-03-15

When I first started writing this article I decided to write about how bad the military health care system is and what a farce TRICARE (the military’s HMO) is. However, I think that’s not in the best interests of myself or this web site so I’ll provide an update on my shoulder (back, ribs, spine) injury. But, please allow me to say that you get what you pay for and, in the military, you don’t pay for health care....

March 15, 2005 · 3 min · Chris Short

Shoulder Update 2005-02-22

Costovertebral Dysfunction of Rib T-8. That’s what’s wrong with my shoulder. After a year and a half of worthless medical treatment the military doctors have finally figured out what’s wrong. There is a rib bulging out from my spine just below my shoulder blade. This is what is pushing back against the muscles in my shoulder thus making my shoulder hurt. Last Tuesday, a physical therapist folded me up like a lawn chair trying to discover the cause of my pain....

February 22, 2005 · 1 min · Chris Short

Shoulder Update 2004-06-25

The Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Study yesterday was a somewhat painful experience but it proved that I don’t have any permanent nerve damage. I have to wait until after the 4th to talk to my doctor (he’s on leave and no one else picked up for him). I did talk to my doctor’s technician and she assured me that my doctor will contact me on the 6th.

June 25, 2004 · 1 min · Chris Short