ODE TO DELILAH for it was this week, I laid her to rest. 

She will be remembered for her sleek grey body and underwhelming sense of purpose.

She never asked for much during our time together, just to keep things light (mostly off her desktop) and a proper goodbye (or shut down) at the end of the day.

Delilah, my seasoned Dell laptop bit the dust this week, leaving me just a little broken-hearted. OK---maybe devastated is the right term.

Meet Barrie Jones Cook, a Network Engineering and Automation Consultant who redefines what it means to excel in tech—combining sharp technical expertise with a deep commitment to balancing her family and career life. 

Whether solving complex technical challenges as a successful entrepreneur or crafting cosplay costumes for her kids, Barrie exemplifies how a dynamic career and family life can coexist. She possesses a nurturing and supportive nature with technical brilliance.

"When I went to my first NANOG, I was scared—the mailing list was intimidating, and everyone seemed to speak with such authority. But then I met Abha Ahuja, and she welcomed me so warmly. She made me feel like I belonged."

As a 20-something U.S. citizen playing pro tennis in Europe during the late 1980s, a tech career was not what Principal Program Manager for Microsoft Peter Cohen envisioned for his future.

Married and father of two, Cohen said he has been in the "convincing business" side of the Internet industry for more than two decades. However, a passion for travel and culture has steered his non-linear career.

You'd end up washing your clothes in a bathtub or a shower because you couldn't afford a laundromat, or you didn't even know how to find one, or you weren't even near one — this was before the Internet,"

Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

Les Williams, technical business development manager for Amazon Web Services (AWS), is an unforgettable man. 

His tall stature, the fact that English is his second language and that his hometown is on a different continent makes him stand out in a crowd. However, his sincere, genial, and kind demeanor makes him most memorable.

His attentive presence is evident in the connections he effortlessly makes, and a resilient optimism is present in every conversation he has. Les calls himself a realist optimist.

"I'm realistically optimistic. I'm big on facts. I think a lot and dive deep into things. I know what is not going to work. But I also know what can work, and I will always drive towards that," Les said. 

"You should never stop evaluating where you can find a solution instead of another problem and imagine what else is possible," he continued.