Rod Paddock

In early 2026, I attended the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas—the annual showcase where businesses demo their current and futuristic products and services. I arrived at the show early and attended some sessions on the current state of AI in entertainment, advertising, and other industries. A common theme emerged: while companies have spent recent years experimenting with many technologies, 2026 marks the shift to production deployment.

A few weeks ago, while driving around listening to podcasts, I came across one where they were discussing great documentaries. I immediately turned the radio up, as the documentary is one of my favorite genres of film. This particular podcast mentioned a documentary on Netflix called “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” and was described by the host as a bunch of friends recreating a late friend's life from his time playing World of Warcraft.

One of my favorite memories of community college was sitting in my professors' offices admiring their extensive book collections. These tomes of technology were stacked to the ceiling and I was jealous. “Someday, I'll possess a library to rival these profs. Someday!” I told myself. Well that someday came to pass and eventually I ended up with an extensive collection of books written by legends of the technological world. Yourdon, DeMarco, Brooks, The Gang of Four.