What’s The Value of College?

Not long ago I found myself working alongside a brilliant college dropout–A young junior programmer who was just plain gifted when it came to software development. I was very surprised that he hadn’t completed a degree of any kind. It made me wonder why I had, without much consideration, put such high value on a…

On Writing Tickets (Part 1)

(Right-Sizing Tickets) Spoiler alert: I’m going to tell you right up front what my conclusion is: Tickets should be large in scope. Also, tickets should be medium in scope. Finally, tickets should be very small in scope. Tickets, tickets, tickets! Tickets for everything! Imagine a ticket with the instructions “create user login.” Cringing? Me too.…

Coding Horror/The Software Career

I don’t like to just post links to another blog or article. Anyone can do that, and there are far too many blogs out there that create no original content. So I try to write original thoughts and articles. That said, sometimes this is a rule worth breaking. Jeff Atwood has a great post over…

Where Are the Females?

I have an idea for an article, but I’m not entirely sure how to approach. It’s a subject that I believe some have written about, but as a male, it isn’t a subject that I have given much though to until recently: Where are all the female software engineers? I suppose the only reason I’ve…

Boss vs. Leader

I’m not sure where this image originated from, but I like it.

Do Not Flounder (Stay Un-bored)

The following is an article that I am working on for a yet-to-be-determined publication. Having done this before, I will say that getting an article published in a journal/magazine isn’t as difficult as one may think (as long as you have something to say). This hasn’t been proofed, so please forgive any typos or errors.…

Exercise Boosts Productivity

Software engineers aren’t the only ones who spend much of the day sitting. But we certainly do a lot of it. This is just one case, but I can certainly attest to this: Being physically fit absolutely helps with focus and productivity at work.

Let Developers Choose Their Keyboards

Reading the Google workplace article a while back, it struck me that what works at Google likely doesn’t work in most workplaces (for a number of reasons). Cost, physical work environment, supported platforms, workplace culture–all of these are reasonable barriers to allowing employees choose their work environment. As I type on my home computer, using…

Life at Google

NY Times has an article about working at Google: Looking for a Lesson in Google’s Perks. Among them: private reading areas comfy chairs (take your laptop elsewhere for a change of environment) custom workspaces (let employees choose their equipment) fitness classes in-house courses (on a range of subjects) free food/snacks All of this is designed…