Scott Quiggle

“Modern Renaissance Man?”
  • Agile Coach, Technical Manager 80% 80%
  • Novelist, Writer 10% 10%
  • Foodie and Gourmet Home Cook 5% 5%
  • Vintner and Winemaker 4% 4%
  • Musician 1% 1%
  • Family Man 100% 100%

INTRO

Not too long ago, I was in a conversation with a couple of established writer/editors. I touched on each of the things I care about and have been involved with, actively or not, and explained that my pool of interests and knowledge is unusually wide but with the exception of my profession, it is not as deep as I would like it to be.  I spread myself too thin. It is my primary excuse for not finishing  my novel years ago, though I never give up on a thing I believe in.  I have always believed that I could be great at anything I wanted to be, but not without more dedication and focus. In response, I received one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had. “You are a modern renaissance man. Your breadth is what makes you who you are and that itself is great. We’ve read parts of your novel, and can’t wait to read more.”

Who am I?

Details and Credits

It’s 200 % accurate. I aim to entertain.

Scrum Alliance CSM Certification
Scrum Alliance CSPO Certification
 
Certified Scrum Professional
Certified Scrum@Scale Practitioner

Agile Coach, Technical Manager

My professional career began in the 1990s as a technical writer. With a degree in computer science and a degree in English, it seemed like the best way to merge my educated skills into a career that paid my way through life. A terrible, horrifyingly boring mistake. (Fail fast!) I jumped into writing code as quickly as I could, and was a software engineer for the better part of a decade. I shuffled from one project to the next, one language to the next, and never became a master of any one. It did give me quite a breadth of knowledge and It did pay the bills, but it didn’t satisfy my ego, need to have more influence or control over my projects, or tap into the magma chamber of creativity I possess. I became a lead, and then a project manager. I discovered that I loved being able to have that influence and control of a project from beginning to end. I wore many hats that all had some descriptor of manager and guided teams who successfully built software. It was in 2007 that I received my first training and introduction to the Agile Mindset and Scrum. I was not an instant convert. I couldn’t argue with the concept of iterating, or increasing visibility, and I’ve always been a proponent of teams over silos. The ceremonies and cork boards with index cards on them seemed like too much overhead and I had teams that I believed were performing highly. I delayed engaging for a small project I could run as a test, as I watched other managers struggle to implement it. I would have been better served to have jumped in with both feet and gone through “first hand” training and Scrum Master certification back then because I didn’t grok the whole picture at the time. A few years later, when I began chasing the dream of Cool Queue Studios, my knowledge, experience, and appreciation had matured and there was no question that I should execute our product development with Scrum. CQS led me into consulting, first as an attempt to fund our internal project, but ultimately it became a part of my profession. From there I hopped between companies completing contracts that fit any of my skills. It opened my eyes even more, seeing the value those who practiced Agile, and deficiencies of those who did not. I renewed my Scrum training, and donned the robes of an Agile Coach, helping companies and business units within make the change while actively producing software. I have to thank my mentor Alicia Mclain for the final push, and one of the rock stars of scrum – Mike Cohn – for “sealing the deal” of my conviction. And Finally, I had the recent pleasure of learning Scrum@Scale from Jeff Sutherland himself! I never stop learning, growing, (inspecting and) adapting, and overcoming obstacles. I know that people are the key to success. The Agile principles and the Scrum values promote teams as well as individual growth, which makes it a perfect fit with my own philosophy. I teach, I mentor, I coach, I help implement and execute. Does this fit with you company culture either the way it is now, or the way you want it to be? Contact me. I will get you there and we will thrive.

Scott with Jeff Sutherland

Scott with Jeff Sutherland and Alex Sheive of Scrum Inc.

Stephen King's On Writing Book

 

 

I think I wrote my first “real” short story in the 8th grade. I was reading The Lord of the Rings and the Shannarah books and playing Dungeons and Dragons and knew that I too had stories to tell. At the time, my pen name was Brett the Brutal Battler. These days every time I see Brett Battles name in authors and books, I scratch my head. I’ve yet to read him. Coincidence? Or did a weird mirror split my identity somewhere along life’s pothole ridden road?

In college, the computer science track was the logical half of my brain aiming at a career. The English (creative writing) track was my passion. Gaming was becoming a thing. Was there a way I could combine them and live a joyous life? Alas no, despite many attempts. The two (or is that three?) remain separate, but I keep my goals. I have never surrendered. It took a self-retrospective to fully recognize that I love hearing, collecting, and telling stories. I’d been doing it my whole life, but not with deliberation and care for the craft until I went over the hill.  I have developed a better ear listening to people like Betty Jurus and the San Diego Writers Haven Writers.

Though it wavers from time to time, I have faith in my abilities. In addition to the occasional blog post and some comedy materials, I have five book projects that I have started over the years. The one I began in 2006, a few years after my second attempt at starting a game company (Lionlands Entertainment),  is fiction set in the world I built for the “Desconocido” project. What began as a short story has grown over the years into the one manuscript I believe most in today. Are you doing the math in your head? I am slower than George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss combined. There are many pages in the cloud, but It’s 2018 and my first draft is not done. I think I have better excuses than George does, not being a full time writer and all.

With the support and encouragement from the good people of SDWHW and SCWC, I crawl forward through the deep sands and strong winds of life that oppose me.  I know where I am going and edge steadily closer. One day in the not too distant future, I’ll be looking for Beta readers. Interested? Let me know. If appropriate, there might be wine it for you (read the next tab).

Quiggle Vineyards Roy's Red Label

When I crossed the thirty five year yard line, I fell in love with wine. Not in a drunkard way, but in an experience way. Who knew there was so much variation and subtlety to one drink? Well, a lot of people from near the beginning of civilization, but not me! It was a discovery. Tasting, pairing, and consumption was not enough, oh no. I had to make it. But I couldn’t just ferment grape juice, oh no. I had to grow the grapes! I used to blame my neighbor, who in the politest way possible, complained about the side hill between us – both its view of shabby tumbleweeds as well as it’s infirmity after a season of rain.  Grape vines and their deep set roots seemed like the best solution possible. It might also have been a bit of a rationalization.

In 2002, following a painful recovery from back surgery, and with a lot of help from friends, I started building the trellis. And then I planted nearly 100 vines. I started making wine in 2008. It was drinkable if you held your nose. It got progressively better as I slowly added to my knowledge and equipment, until 2013. It was definitely drinkable by then. Some people that aren’t family or owe me money even said they liked it.  I remember bottling that year and continually taking sips all day. “I made this!” became slightly more slurred as the day went on.

Then, pestilence. The area was taken over by fig beetles. I mentioned them briefly in a previous blog when they started to damage my crop. It has gotten progressively worse. They wipe out every grape in my vineyard. It is a problem I have not had the time or money to solve, and despite a lot of reading, I am not sure there is a solution. Walking along the 3 ½ trellis lines and seeing more beautiful grape clusters than ever before and knowing that in a month their destruction will begin is a tough bill to pay.

And then, a ray of hope lit things up in the summer of 2017. After three years of destruction, the fig beetles did not return. The vineyard, overgrown now and falling into disrepair, yielded up enough fruit to to play with. I need more friends with strong backs and a willingness to get their hands dirty to help make things right.  Are you a daring soul? Help me, befriend me, and we will choke down some of my previous years vintages together. I’ve got shelves of bottles and carboys full.

The Holy Trinity of Creole Cooking

I had to put “home” in the title because I didn’t want anyone to think that I am a pro – that I have ever been paid for my cooking. But I know I am good at it, because I eat it, and some of it is better than highly regarded restaurants. I have had guests say “that is the best I have ever had.” That is the ultimate compliment. Much like reading a good book, tasting good wine, or playing a good game, I have a palate fit for and happy to consume good food. I like trying new places as much as trying a new menu item at a place I already know I like. Foodie. I don’t know if I would like to cook for a living, and/or on an everyday basis. I think if it was work it would lose its luster.  However, I love it enough to have used it to get out of a funk. Throw on my headphones, grab some knives and pans and ingredients. Rock out and get after it. There’s a prize at the end. I have grilled since I was about thirteen. The discovery of real cooking didn’t happen until later in life, it came from a push from my wife. When she moved in, she brought with her a bread maker. I put that thing through its paces. I didn’t like the way it baked, so it led me to oven use. Its role was relegated to dough maker. I wore out bread recipe books, and eventually the maker too, and upgraded to a pro grade mixer. Who doesn’t love the smell of baking bread? The taste of it warm out of the oven? Dieters maybe. She was working and making the family meals and wanted help. We gave everyone a day. I had been a heater-upper. Buy the frozen stuff from Costco and heat it up. But she made the point, you are doing it with bread, and look how much better that is than anything you buy from a grocery store. I tried it. I had some early success. It led me to get serious. Read books, watch Food Network, challenge Bobby Flay (not really). Not everything has been great – I’m looking at you Durians – but you live and learn. Sunday is my cooking day and I enjoy hosting as long as I don’t have to clean up after.

Boom! Where I had “mastered” grilling and smoking and slow cooking… an abrupt learning opportunity has thrown me into the Mirror, Mirror universe. Dr. Michael Greger and his book, “How Not To Die” was the strongest influencer. For better health, both active and preventative, I now shun all meats and dairy and processed foods. My ship has embarked on a new culinary adventure, exploring whole plant foods and methods of preparing them. Colorful meals fill my plates. Fruits are sweeter. I can sense the enemy of all American eaters, excess salt, in anything I don’t make myself with a single bite. Whole vegetables, greens, and nuts, and fruit, and berries, and legumes. Cooking without oils and animal fats. I’m having fun learning all over again.

How Not To Die

The book that changed my health – click it to buy on Amazon

Before Haircut

Before haircut, after refurbish began


Kit Before Refurbish

Sitting down to play after many years away

Music is a river that flows though my life. Deep in some places, shallow in others. It can carry me, it can cleanse, it can sustain. Though I do appreciate many forms and genres, rock is the heart pump that moves blood through my cardiovascular system.  Songs connect me to memories, feelings, and the people who have populated my plane of existence through time.  I think I was in first grade when I first picked up a pair of drumsticks and started banging on a rubber practice pad. I was always a part of school bands. I obtained my first kit in middle school. It was a mash up of Remo and Ludwig and Zildjan handed down from Jack Delametter, a family friend. The tri-toms (we called them triples) in high school were a blast to play. I snagged a pro kit, the Pearl Export II double base, not long after I moved to California in 1994. I have always dabbled. I built a sound proof studio in my otherwise useless garage in the dawn of the 2000s with the help of my buddy Phil. It was my expectation that I was finally going to take the next step with another buddy, Trey, who could play guitar and sing well enough to start a “real” band. Then he moved, and I got remarried, and kids came… Then, we needed the space in the studio for humans. The Pearl kit was stacked in the corner of my garage for more than ten years gathering dust. In 2018, the people moved on. It has been restored to active duty. The studio is once again my office, wine cellar, podcast studio, and host to my drumming. These days I mostly listen to music, occasionally write about it, and as often as I can afford, attend live shows. With the drums, I am back to dabbling.

Connor Gabby Arabelle Penny Xmas 2016

Listing this anything but first will get me in trouble with my Renee. If she reads it. Which would happen only if I make her. So maybe I won’t tell her about it. My mom will read it because she always does. Thank you Mary Kay. Family has always been important to me. For a quarter century, it was more in my heart and mind. Family meals, holiday get-togethers with the Swanson’s and the Quiggle’s were my baseline. Once I built a family of my own, philosophical importance translated into reality. There is great reward in being an involved father. Perhaps none more than those hugs that meet you at the door when you come home from a day at work. Gabby, Arabelle, and Connor are my center point. A major time, money and energy sync?  Al Bundy says yes. All jokes aside, they’re an investment of love with frequent dividends paid at a good interest rate. In 2016 I solved a mystery I’ve been working on for almost 20 years. It was my Harry Bosch moment. Imagine learning that you have two sisters, a brother, a mother, and a train load full of cousins you didn’t know of. I’ve been practicing telling this story on friends and acquaintances. One day I’ll blog it. This Bio-post is being published on Father’s Day in 2017. Happy Father’s Day to my dad Roy, who left us in 2008. He set the bar of fatherhood high.

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