It's shaping up to be a Good Friday

Dear members and constituents,

What do laser, radar and scuba have in common? (No, the answer does not involve the plot to a James Bond movie). Give up? They are all acronyms...

Laser = Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Radar = Radio Detection And Ranging
Scuba = Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Sure, the world of telecommunications is fraught with them (try to think of the last five sentences you uttered, I'd be extremely surprised if at least one of them did not contain one or more acronyms), however they've been around longer than you may realize. Early Christian inscriptions in Roman catacombs used the image of a fish as a symbol for Jesus because of an acronym—fish in Greek is ΙΧΘΥΣ (ichthys), which stood for Ιησους Χριστος Θεου Υιος Σωτηρ (Iesous CHristos THeou Uios Soter: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior).

In case you're wondering, donut is not an acronym (although, understandably, geeky scientists and engineers have from time to time named things so their acronym would spell donut). Donuts are, however, here courtesy of Roger Greene! So, come on down, get yours and walk away feeling energized to discuss the SLAs your customer wants for VT, EPL or CDN (although technically the jargon in the preceding sentence has initialisms, not acronyms, because none of those abbreviations are pronounced as words... but that would be splitting hairs)

Have a Good Friday!

Comments

Family and Friends

Friends,
I’m trying to maximize the time I spend with friends and family while in Ecuador. My dad had nine siblings, my wife’s dad 15. As you might imagine, my cousins and their families are fairly numerous (despite the fact five of my dad’s brothers didn’t marry or have children). Then there’s my wife’s family and my childhood friends. Needless to say, there is never enough time to see everyone, despite a valiant effort. Of course, I’m also working from “home”. Corny as it may sound, working half a world away, I realize I miss my Windstream “family” and I look forward to seeing you soon. In the meantime, there are donuts, here today courtesy of John Huddleston. So, enjoy some comfort food with regards from my Cuenca family (pictured) to you!

Donuts and Space-Time

Friends,
Have you ever stopped to consider the profound (and sometimes unforeseen) impact our actions can have on the fabric of the universe? The thought occurred to me as I was watching Pablo, my 6 foot something fourteen-year-old son. He is a smart, likeable, independent young man who is starting to assert his personal tastes (big Afro) and will, sooner than you know it, be an adult -fully in charge of his own destiny. If you rewind just a little, it was not so long ago he was that "I'm cute and I know it" six-year-old, small enough to sit on daddy's lap, sporting a hairstyle to daddy's liking. Rewind a little further and he was a twinkle in his daddy's eye. A decision waiting to be made. An action ready to be taken. Pure potential. Today, I can’t imagine life without him (or any of my other kids). Back then, I couldn’t imagine how much he would enrich my life. The same can be said for so many decisions. Enrolling in University, starting a new project, maki…

Muffins and Covfefe

Friends, I’m surprised that none of those trolling POTUS over the Covfefe tweet have suggested an acronym-related explanation. After all, he is the commander in chief, and much like telecom, the military is replete with acronyms and abbreviations. Here are some plausible explanations. ·A new top secret chemical weapon, inadvertently referenced due to an innate desire to Brag –it would explain the ensuing “oops” silence. Referenced by its chemical elements: Cobalt Vanadium di-Iron (CoVFeFe or CoVFe2). ·He may have been talking about the border wall: Concrete Obstacle Visioned to Forcefully Exclude Foreign Entry ·It could be that he was contemplating a new shorthand that packs a high concentration of superlatives. Charming Outrageously Very Fabulous Extremely Fantastic Eyepopping (which could be followed by any noun) ·It’s possible he was explaining the rationale for leaving the Paris accord: Climate Optimistic Views Fiercely Avoiding Factual Evidence ·It could also be a new telecom techno…

Friday Donuts

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