Month: May 2014

Making a difference

Sometimes, helping is hard work. Especially in software development. Occasionally, I feel like this chicken, and I suspect many of you do as well! I absolutely do not mind feeling like this, just not every week please. However, I detest feeling this way when I have no perspective on how my work impacted your organization. I thrive on knowing that…

How to decide?

A couple of years ago I was on vacation in New Zealand. Jonathan and I had the opportunity to go bungy jumping from the Kawarau Bridge. When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was how much it cost. Well over one hundred dollars! The first thing that came to mind, that’s way too expensive! I was ready to say…

Rules are irrelevant

I have a friend who writes about breaking news. He crafts meaningful stories about newsworthy events. Occasionally, when he posts an article, he’ll find a coworker has hurriedly thrown up a post, just seconds before. Out of respect for their work and an obligation to avoid overlapping content, he pulls his own article. Even though he started first, and labored…

Marco Polo And Software Development

The game of Marco Polo comes back to me from my childhood. I remember being blindfolded and reliant on auditory cues to catch another player. I’d run around shouting “Marco” and then chase the obligatory “Polo”. Given enough time I’d catch someone and they would take their turn being Marco. The game is entertaining because everyone is constantly moving, by…

Features Don’t Need To Be Forever

I recently purchased a kitchen timer. I smirked as I read a description of the last feature: Calendar displays day and date to the year 2099 This has to be the boldest display of a limitation I’ve encountered. Immediately the following questions came to mind: Will I be alive in 2100? Probably not. Will the timer survive 85 years? Probably…