Epic Mikey

  • Why Event-Driven Microservices?

    Many teams adopting microservices end up with a “distributed monolith,” facing complexities similar to monoliths due to tight coupling. Issues such as synchronous dependencies and shared databases can arise. Transitioning to an event-driven architecture fosters true decoupling, addressing these challenges while introducing new complexities, like eventual consistency.

  • A fresh start

    I’ve repurposed my previous personal, travel-oriented blog to be more developer focused, giving me a place to share technical content now that I’m semi-retired. I still have an interest in programming and technology in general, so I’ll be reporting on topics I find interesting as I pursue projects that excite me. Watch this space for…

  • D23Expo 2015: Walt Disney Animation

    On Friday afternoon (Aug 14), Walt Disney Animation and Pixar presented their upcoming slate of animated features. The presentation was kicked off by Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios.   He showed a history reel of Disney/Pixar animation highlights, and explained how proud he was to be connected to the heritage and legacy of Disney…

  • Expedition Everest Challenge, Part 3: The Hunt

    After completing the 5K, the ‘Challenge’ part of the Expedition Everest Challenge is to complete a scavenger hunt.   (I’m not sure why this is called a scavenger hunt, as there isn’t really any “find something” aspect to this at all — unless you didn’t pay attention on the race to where the clue stations were…

  • Expedition Everest Challenge, Part 2: The Run

    The run portion of the Expedition Everest Challenge is a 5K.  Our course started out by running around the circumference of the Animal Kingdom parking lot.   This portion of the run made up approximately a mile of the 5K course.   Just before we reached the park entrance, we came to the first of 3 obstacles…

  • Expedition Everest Challenge, Part 1: Before the Race

    I recently returned from my latest WDW trip and wanted to write up some memories of the trip while it was still fresh in my mind. The main purpose of this trip was to run in the Expedition Everest Challenge (EEC).   I’ve always thought this looked like an interesting race but the timing has never…

  • May 31/June 1 – Homeward bound

    Saturday morning the sun rose into a clear sky over the beaches of Rio. Packing day. I’ve done some shopping while here, and most of what I purchased is somewhat fragile, and mostly too large and/or too heavy to put in my carry-on, so it took me a long time to get everything packed away…

  • May 30 – my last full day in Rio

    I arrived in Rio early in the morning on Tuesday, May 20 after my overnight flight – this is my 11th day “in country”. Today was our debriefing session and two special meals to share what we’ve experienced and learned and to cement the connections among us that have started during the seminar. This morning,…

  • May 29 – my 10th day in Rio

    Today was our last day of learning from ‘experts’, except that we have some experts who are with us every day. The CIEE staff has been incredible: Matthew Ryan, the head of the CIEE study center here, has lived off and on in Rio working with traveling students and faculty for 20 years. Also, Dr.…

  • May 28 (Rio Day 9) – Vila Autodromo

    Just two days of our seminar left, and after that my Rio-related posts to Epic Mikey will be complete. If you like the info and the commentary you’ve been reading here this week, please follow me on twitter – @MarcusAIngram. I post there regularly, and I plan to continue to follow the stories you have…