Interesting articles on programming and management

The following are informative and frequently humorous resources for those of us working professionally in software development:

• The Hacker FAQ: Explains hackers to managers
• The Manager FAQ: Explains managers to hackers
• How to be a Programmer: Answers questions for those at various stages of the programming career-ladder

Anyone who fits the hacker archetype described in the Hacker FAQ may also find The Bipolar Lisp Programmer interesting.

My quest for waffles

As a child we had an old-fashioned waffle-iron. It was a two-handled affair that you would pour the batter into, close, and then cook over the stove. I favored my waffles with maple syrup and ice-cream.

Now that my children are eating solid food and enjoying occasional Sunday pancake (really crepe) breakfasts, I find myself pining for waffles, and wanting to share the experience with them.

So I am on a quest for a waffle iron, and I am torn: Do I go for authenticity and purchase a waffle iron of metal -- perhaps even an expensive Italian one that brands the maker's-mark into the waffle -- or a modern jaffle-like contraption that promises more consistent results, and easier cleaning?

Yesterday I bought a waffle at the local food-hall, and while adequate and not cheap, it was re-heated and not ideal.

Stay tuned. Meanwhile here is an article about the ancient and noble history of waffles.

Promoted: The Kibitzer becomes the Kibitzed

Around the start of the month I was promoted from Lead Software Developer to Chief Technology Officer at Austhink Software. [Look ma, I' m a CTO! If only we had an executive washroom. ;-)] I will still be hands on -- designing, programming, pairing, etc. -- but with the new title comes some additional power and responsibilities. In particular, I now have a hand in setting technology strategy plus additional leadership duties.

An interesting effect of the promotion has been that where previously I was the kibitzer -- giving unsolicited and sometimes unwelcome advice -- I have now become the kibitzed! The guys on my team -- Ben and Aaron -- are becoming increasingly assertive in stating to me what they think should be done. And that's fine with me. It seems to me that the allied challenge is to become a better communicator: Both in listening closely to the kibitzs (advice) and kvetchs (complaints), and in clearly articulating the over-arching priorities, so that we can all work together in setting and executing our plans.

Other than that, my motto since making the change has been: "Review, re-focus, and get on with it." The review part has been about taking stock of where we are, the re-focus is about articulating concrete changes in approach, and getting on with it is all about moving forwards.

So I expect that there will be a change tone in future entries, arising from my new perspective at work. OTOH: Whenever I run out of ideas I can always look back over my old blogs for inspiration!

What Ella wants for her 3rd birthday party

1. Cupcakes: No icing
2. Pink icy-poles
3. Mozzarella
4. Cheese sticks
5. Apricots
6. Snakes
7. Chocolate frogs
8. Lollipops
9. Birthday cake

Cross-promotion

My patchwork quilt obsessed partner has started her own blog: Patch Andi.

We're a blogging family now!

What's your vanity rank?

A vanity search is when you type your own name into a search engine.

Now, most of us vanity searchers have learned that we are not alone -- there are pretenders out there using our names! So I propose a new term: "Vanity rank". To determine your vanity rank, simply do a vanity search and find the first link that refers to you rather than some doppelganger.

What's my vanity rank? At time of writing -- using Google -- it is 2 as Daniel Prager, and 1 as Dan Prager.

Please look out for my coming book, "How to boost your vanity rank", Narcissus Press, a subsidiary of Mirror Corp.

Why Scheme rocks

Scheme is a modern Lisp dialect. It's what I program in for fun, and to learn new stuff.

Why is it so great? In a word, meta-programming. I can bend the language to my will.

For example, I have just added my own tracing to function definitions, without touching the insides of the function. Instead of using the built-in (define ...) I use my own 12-line* macro (define-with-trace ...). Now all I need to do is figure out how to redefine define.

Here is a more poetic endorsement.


* Plus 4 lines of auxiliary code.