rands

Seven Steps to Monday Ramp

Remember. Monday. It’s not Wednesday when everything is already blowing up. Monday is a blank slate before 9am; this is my chance to set the tone. While it is still quiet, get a fresh cup of coffee (I prefer black and strong). Not a coffee drinker? Great, try Chai or just a glass of water.… more

January 8, 2024 2 Comments

The 2024 Bookmark Situation

The New Year is an excellent time to tidy. I’ve been sitting on the same browser information structure for years, meaning cruft has been acquired. My initial plan was to describe the current structure and then describe the proposed changes. As I evaluated my current set-up, a slew of apparent inefficiencies showed up, so this… more

January 7, 2024

An Unreasonable Investment

Do you remember your first job? Correction: not your first job, but the first job you wanted. This is my career. This is what I want to do. I don’t want to screw this up. I was a grocery store clerk, a butcher, a video store clerk, the guy who backed up the system onto… more

January 3, 2024 10 Comments

Seven Steps to Fixing Stalled To-Do Tasks

You need to understand my to-do list process before you read these steps. I strive for a daily inbox-zero task system, which means I can scrub the complete list in less than 10 minutes. The size of individual entries varies. Most can be completed in one work session, but others are project-like tasks where the… more

December 28, 2023 4 Comments

Ten Reasons to Play Destiny

Destiny. You’ve got some time on your hands right now. It’s the holiday season. You’ve got free time. Take a call. There’s quite a bit of content. Destiny has been around for almost ten years. A lot is going on in that world, but more importantly, they’ve had a lot of time to make the… more

December 24, 2023 4 Comments

The Software Developer’s Career Handbook

I am delighted to announce The Software Developer’s Career Handbook has been published. I call it the Bird Book because, well, there’s a bird on the cover. The Bird Book is the second edition of Being Geek. The absence of the words “being” and “geek” in the title hints that something is up. Reading the… more

October 9, 2023 2 Comments

The Seven Meetings You Hate

Why Are We Here? Seems like a good set of people, but everyone is looking at each other, wondering what is happening. It’s nefarious; it’s just.. confusing and agenda-less. Why Am I Here? It seems like a good set of people, but I have no clue how I’m relevant to this meeting. I will sit… more

September 28, 2023 7 Comments

300 Times a Day

When your favorite software tool receives a major update, it’s all dread. It’s not you expect them to ruin the application (although possible); it is because it’s your favorite tool, you know all the intricacies of how it works, and you know exactly how you need it to work. This is not a casual tool.… more

July 17, 2023 10 Comments