On the Pro Leisure Circuit, I’m spending a lot of time in random coffee shops. Cafe Dio in Los Gatos. Long-standing desk. View of the redwoods in front of my high school. Can recommend. It’s been a while since I’ve documented what’s in my bag, but there have been several recent notable updates worth discussing,… more
Prologue. Westworld was an HBO reboot of the 1973 Michael Crichton movie. The pitch: we’ve built vast amusement parks populated with ultra-realistic robots (called “hosts”) who act their parts within the park. The first season is set into motion when the creator of the hosts, an inspiring Anthony Hopkins, uploads a new software update, which… more
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
As I’ve written about before, Saturday morning is sacred. In weeks full of meetings, travel, people, and other productive distractions, having four consecutive hours to actually think is precious time – it’s time for writing. As a nerd afflicted with a decent case of NADD, this time can be problematic. It’s hard for me to… more
A long time ago, there was a big fight between Engineering and Marketing regarding the name of a new 1.0 product. I was not there, but the fight went something like this: Engineering: “So what are we going to call the product?” Marketing: “We’re not sure yet. The focus group data isn’t complete.” Engineering: “A… more
There are two periods of time regarding your job that I’m fond of quoting and they both involve the number three. First, it takes three months to understand a new job. Until those 90 days are over, you don’t really know what hand you’ve been dealt. Second, it takes approximately three years before you’ll become… more
I enabled Google Analytics on October 21, 2006, roughly a year after I started using Shaun Inman’s real-time (yet infrequently updated) Mint software. Both packages are part of my daily routine to see what is going on with the site, but I’ve rarely used them for more than understanding the basics: How is this article… more
A quick search of Rands in Repose archives reveals that I have never mentioned Piers Anthony as a major influence. I consumed the Xanth series over the course of several years, and am certain much of a formative teenage wit is based on the literary stylings of Anthony. These books have not aged well, or… more
The fundamental goal I have for a wallet via its design is that it prevents me from randomly collecting crap. Years of folding leather wallets with myriad pockets and flaps all yielded precisely the same result: a Costanza-sized monstrosity that contained random crap that at one time I thought I needed, but eventually became useless… more
Ten years ago, the world was collectively freaked out by the Y2K bug. The idea was that when innumerable software-driven clocks flipped at midnight from 1999 to 2000 that the digital shit was going to hit the fan. I blame the origin of the world-wide freak-out on the nerds. Y2K collectively freaked out the nerds… more
