Today would have been my brother-in-law’s birthday. Over dinner a couple of days ago, my wife told me about an automated message she had received. “It’s almost Lothar’s birthday! Do you want help planning a party?” She had tears in her eyes. Think about all the people who had a hand in creating this feature. …
Assigning job candidates a programming task to complete at home, despite having some problems, isn’t going away anytime soon. So how about some advice? Usually you’ll have a set deadline. Good companies will indicate roughly how much time they think the task will take and not expect you to spend more than a few hours …
Assigning potential employees a software task to complete before their interview has become normal. Is this a bad practice? It assumes that the candidate has or can quickly get all the equipment and programs necessary. It assumes that the candidate, who is often already working full-time and may be going through multiple job application processes, …
Horse, it’s been another anniversary of the date we met each other, and that seems like a good time for a performance review. I am aware that you don’t care very much what I think about you, except for the part where I give you carrots, but I hope you will consider my words carefully. …
There’s a brilliant piece by Chelsea Troy explaining why even very experienced programmers can have gaps in their knowledge about topics other programmers deem super basic. Let’s go back to our cheese slicer: if you’d never seen one, you’d use a knife to cut your cheese. Which of these conversations leaves the knife-wielder feeling like …
I used to work myself up right after waking up. I’d go peer out the window to see if it was raining, go check the outside thermometer, then log onto my laptop and check the weather forecast to judge if the conditions for riding before work were favorable. Even when all that looked good, I …
Well, it’s not simply length of time programming. Someone who’s spent five years re-programming basically the same thing again and again hasn’t learned anything new. I saw this working at an agency, where different clients request very similar solutions and it’s a plug and play type of thing. So what do I look for in …
It’s the last few weeks of winter as I write this, the tail end of February, and it’s been a stormy, wet week. I’ve caught time outside here and there between the rains, but my riding has narrowed down to a sedate loop on the one path that is gravel and asphalt – every other …
Say yes to that which will bring you further and say no to that which holds you back. What are your personal areas for improvement? Say yes to anything you possibly can which falls in this umbrella. Do some risk-reward comparison – i.e. you might say yes to a meetup but not to a six-month …
You know what, every blog needs a first post. Before I spend half an hour trying to decide what to post first, I’m just going to load us up with some bacon ipsum. Yum. Bacon ipsum dolor amet tongue kevin ground round meatloaf sirloin. Bresaola shoulder andouille drumstick salami short ribs prosciutto jerky fatback alcatra …