SIGAVDI #35: Jetlag edition
Hello friends, I’m just back from the YOW! conference series in Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne, and boy howdy there is a lot to unpack from that trip. It was remarkable experience that I’m…
How to be a shy newbie at a conference
A friend was asking me for some advice on how to have a successful first conference experience (at a non-tech conference) and I had some thoughts that might be useful…
Making local friends: a technical breakdown
An experience report on the process of intentionally making nearby friends, after years of neglecting my local network.
Retrospective 2007-2017: Losing the Joy of Coding
At the transition of 2017-2018, prompted in part by upheaval in my personal life, I did some reflecting on my intellectual journey as a software developer over the last decade….
Some thoughts and feelings on RubyConf 2017
It’s the day after RubyConf 2017, and I’m still a bit raw and porous around the edges. I thought I’d write a few thoughts before I revert to a steady…
Please help me find a web design mentor
My wife Stacey is getting back into web design after a 15-year hiatus, with a goal of having a job in the field a year from now. She may also…
The daunting economics of cheap services
Reader Rob asks: One thing stuck out to me reading this, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to elaborate on it further: “The trouble is, the economics of…
Three Object-Oriented Programming Books Worth Reading
A friend asked me to name my top three object-oriented programming books. I found this a little bit difficult to answer. It wasn’t a matter of narrowing down a large…
A random selection of marketing, business, and personal development resources
As I’ve mentioned before, my current study focus is marketing. Marketing naturally drags along with it a penumbra of related topics, including business models and work on personal focus and…
Side-hustle mindset versus product-business mindset
If you occupy the same technocratic sphere I do, you know what a “side hustle” is. In fact, there’s a good chance you either have one, or feel like you…