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Retiring my most successful session after 20 presentations. Not because it failed, but because it exploded beyond what one session can hold. Splitting the original ‘The Untruthful Art’ into multiple new talks, with the final bow at DataMinds Connect in October.

Conferences aren’t the party most people think they are. The hidden reality: spending 10-100 hours preparing a single session, the mental exhaustion of networking, and why professional conferences are about career growth, not celebration.

One virtual session at Global Power BI Summit, then straight to the airport for SQLBits in London. Two talks, three countries, five days. The European data conference scene doesn’t stop, and neither do I this week!

Pandemic killed 2020’s plans. Now finally back on stage at DataMinds Connect in Belgium with a new session on something technical speakers ignore: emotions. First in-person conference travel since the world stopped. I’m so ready to teach again!

Years ago, fear kept me silent about bad actors in tech. Now stepping away from Data Weekender after organizers kept a speaker with documented harmful behavior. Safety demands action, not just codes of conduct. No longer afraid to speak out.

Survived a year of remote work with three essential tools: OBS for presentations that don’t bore people to death, Hugo to escape WordPress hell, and a Kindle that keeps me sane when screens become too much.

Live demos waste time at conferences. After 20+ years training, I’ve learned that controlled, pre-crafted demonstrations teach better than live coding. Can’t zoom, highlight, or control pacing when coding live. My job is helping you learn, not showing off.

Built a full-size R2D2 from scratch. Learned CNC machining and wood inlays. Got back in a glider cockpit after 16 years away. How I’m staying sane: making things with my hands and flying when my mind needs grounding.

I just had an absolute blast presenting at the Data Platform Discovery Days - both the European and the US edition! For the US edition I presented “Azure Machine Learning for the Absolute Beginner”, a session looking at machine learning in general, walking through Azure Machine Learning and giving several examples of machine learning in action - in both expected and unexpected places! The European edition asked for “Building an Empire - Implementing Power BI Step by Step”, a session on Power BI, datasets and dataflows. 

After an exceptional year of speaking internationally and contributing to the community, an unexpected email brought news. The recognition marks a journey from being intimidated by MVPs at a first PASS Summit to becoming one, with a mission to continue mentoring and sharing knowledge.

Woke up in Tel Aviv after speaking to a room that went from two people to 40 in minutes. From a small Swedish town to seven countries this year — never expected databases would take me this far.