Nate Sickler

Recent Articles

SEP Blog Battle: I Don’t Have Time

No really, I don’t… At Least Not Right Now Before we start, consider the below tidbits about myself: I have a huge backlog of side projects, books, blogs, podcasts, chores and things that I’d love to do right now – but I believe I’d be sitting around 1 hour of sleep per night if I […]
Read Full Post

TDD Study Groups Week 3 – Mocks and Stubs

Last week in our TDD Study Groups was mocks and stubs and how to effectively utilize them along with TDD. Readings Test Double Patterns Mocks Aren’t Stubs Mock Roles, Not Objects Mocks Aren’t Stubs How tied is our knowledge (the difference between Fake, Dummys, Stubs and Mocks) to our current framework? RhinoMocks.Automocker Discussion Is this […]
Read Full Post

TDD Study Groups Week 2 – Refactoring

Two weeks ago, we discussed refactoring in our TDD study groups, and it’s time for some updates and statuses from what we’ve learned (from completing the stories) as well as some discussion on the readings we did. But first… Blogging Update For our group, we’ve got a new blog up and running. Derek Plote has […]
Read Full Post

TDD Study Group: Week 1

As you’ve no doubt heard from another blog post/email/coworker if your an employee here at SEP, we’re beginning some TDD Study Groups here at SEP. One of the goals of the TDD Study Groups is to have some visible output from each of the groups, so we can spread some information further than just those […]
Read Full Post

Unwinding

Though this blog has focused on a means to improve one’s professional success, there are many other means by which life can be measured, and although I don’t feel my job defines who I am, I accept the fact that I will spend a significant portion of my life at my job. Even assuming I […]
Read Full Post

Being Selfish

Dear Reader, I must confess a deep dark secret of mine. This blog… it’s not about you. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate someone out there reading what I write – it keeps me honest and motivated to continue writing, but I have my own selfish reasons for posting to this blog and setting a […]
Read Full Post

“Weapon of Choice” or Belt of Tools?

The title of the SEP Blog Battle for this week is “Weapon of Choice”, and I thought I’d provide what insights I have on the topic as it relates to Programming Langauges. Origins for this Post In an effort to more effectively convey my thoughts on the matter, I thought I would provide a precursor […]
Read Full Post

Being Present

As with any thought intensive job, there is a need for a certain level of intelligence place on the employee. However, in most of these cases, another attribute can be even more valuable than shear intelligence… being present. Of course, I don’t mean just showing up for work on time; I mean an employee who […]
Read Full Post

Engineering Over/Under: Finding Balance

The Blog Battle title for this week is “Engineering Over/Under”, and I thought I’d simply share my own experiences/inadequacies with this problem. As a young engineer (I am 23 and graduated roughly a year and a half ago), I have struggled much more with under-engineering, rather than over-engineering, but feel like I have some insights […]
Read Full Post