One of my apprentices from this past summer just accepted a job… at another company. I’m totally pumped for him, but most of the people I brag to about it say the same thing with the same reaction: <sigh_of_defeat>Shoot, we didn’t get him.</sigh_of_defeat> As if we failed miserably. For me, the apprenticeship/intern process has the […]
Don’t Single Me out!
In my few days of being a developer, I’ve heard and seen lots of talk about Singletons. Things like Singletons are teh suck. Don’t use them. EVAR. to Singleton’s saved my life and marriage! In fact, I might’ve been the person that said both of these… gasp! I never like to speak in absolutes, so […]
Every team needs a toolsmith
Every software project is different, and there are subtleties associated with each one. Every project requires unique and specific tools, and we need someone to build them, or each member of the team needs the freedom and responsibility to do it him/herself. I have very little (zero?) tolerance for waste when it comes to automatable […]
Question Debugging
There isn’t much I dislike more than asking a question at a high level and getting an answer back that feels demeaning because the answerer explains everything to me from the ground up [without ever pausing to breathe or giving me an opportunity to say ‘Yeah, I know, move on’]. I typically already understand the […]
Do You Own Your Tools?
I saw this tweet from @unclebobmartin the other day. Why do we feel like our company ought to buy our tools for us? This is an interesting concept to me, because, as of late, I’ve been considering pimping my work area to be mine… just as any other craftsman might. My dad is a skilled […]
