First-year of college at UCSC. First computer science class. Introduction to Programming. The language: Pascal. Failed it. Failed it badly. Knew I was going to fail it halfway through the class. This was my chosen profession. I’d been a grocery store clerk, a butcher, a video store clerk, the guy who backs up the system… More
Archives
Feedback is a Mirror
You have an internal storyteller, and they are always telling you a story. Today the story is, “Almost done with all of my bugs. There were ten at the beginning of the week, but now I have two. One of them is hard, but I’ll figure it out. The other, I’m sure, will be a… More
You Are Going on a Quest
The most common conversation I’ve had during the last three start-ups was the growth conversation. Some version of: “Rands. I am here. How do I get there?” For leadership-minded engineers, there are four career paths available to you. I will describe three briefly, and then I’ll talk about the fourth one a lot. The first… More
Doomscrolling at Scale
WARNING: The contents of this article might adversely affect your information consumption habits. A few weeks back, the sitting President incited domestic terrorists to storm the Capitol, so they did. For reasons I still don’t fully understand, this was a relatively straightforward process for the insurrectionists. It was also an incredibly well-documented events thanks to… More
The One About Small Things, Done Well
In our 44th episode, we walk through the first chapters of Lopp’s 3rd book. Learning to deal with endless meetings, understanding The Situation™, and learning that people often just want to be seen. Spend 45 minutes with Lyle and Lopp talking about important things. Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed… More
Fear is a Liar
He says things so sweetly. He knows all your failures. He remembers your emotional scars. He sounds like you. And he craves your attention. The Thursday after the election, I woke up, grabbed my phone next to the bed, and scanned the latest news. We were still two days from announcing the winner of the… More
The One about Bingeworthy Shows
In our 43rd episode, we recommend shows you just gotta binge this holiday season during our end times. (Recorded November 2020) Enjoy it now or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing0043.mp3