22/05: The Anthology
The No Fluff Just Stuff 2006 Anthology is now available. I read the initial manuscript, and it's a wonderful collection of individually authored chapters offering broad, but in-depth exposure, to a wide range of technical topics. Many of the speakers on the No Fluff Just Stuff tour contributed a chapter discussing a topic they are passionate about, and regularly speak about, on the tour. This is a great book for folks who want a stimulating read over the lunch hour, during a break, or on the ride home (disclaimer: but not if you're driving). Read the book...be smart...get a big raise. The book will pay for itself. But don't loan it to your co-workers...make them buy their own copy.
03/05: Alignment
I'm not near as enamored with the specifics of the technology du jour as I used to be. Being the nervous type, I always like to stay abreast of emerging technology and trends. I've really been trying to work hard on controlling this. Sure, I have a relapse every once in a while, but that's only because I love this stuff. Yet I also recognize there is a more important mission. Alignment!
05/04: Primitives != myFriend
I almost forgot why I don't like primitives...but tonight, I received a gentle reminder. My dislike for primitives actually began some time ago. The short version is that the team was developing a business application, and the database layer would accept certain values and execute a query to save the data to the database (yes, this was quite a while ago). Problem was...when using primitives, there was no way to disinguish between 0 and null. Usually, it's important to distinguish between zero and null! Tonight, I was stung by primitives again.
06/02: A new career
Today I join a company named QWANtify, as their Chief Technology Strategist. It's a small company with some big ideas, and I'm very excited about it. Part of my role will be to drive the technical direction...making choices related to technology stacks, promoting sound development principles, and much more of what I truly enjoy doing. But most importantly, we're going to have fun.
I recently attended a demo of a system I helped developed. A manager from the client side was giving the presentation. It's undoubtedly the best demo I've ever attended. Honestly, I walked into the room feeling a bit sluggish. I'd attended events like these before, and they were usually boring. After spending a year developing the system, the last thing I needed was a presentation where someone else was going to show me how the system works. But it didn't take long for me to grow very interested in what he had to say. It wasn't your standard demo.
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