A team of MSDN Events Managers have put together a professionally-produced, non-goof-off, “reality” show called The Code Room about a team of .NET developers who are tasked with writing an e-commerce app in 5 hours – before their laptop batteries run out.
Month: January 2005
Sometimes It Takes So Little…
…. to make it a good day.
Like, having central heating that works, indoor plumbing, hot water, reliable electricity, fast internet.
Okay, these are not LITTLE things, as we are reminded in the news reports from Baghdad.
Old, New, Borrowed, Blue
A friend of Peter’s has issued a challenge on his weblog to write an entry that incorporates old, new, borrowed and blue posts.
I don’t know if he checks mine, but Corey, if you’re out there, this one’s for you:
Awesome Blog
David Corn. Please check it out.
Snow, More Snow
The Boston area has broken records going back over 100 years for total snowfall in a single month.
We hear that somewhere in Eastern Massachusetts, people are frolicking under a sunny sky. But here in Mudville, or maybe it’s Siberia, it is STILL SNOWING, and there is no joy as a result.
American Dream?
Well, FINALLY, the rest of the world has caught on to something we’ve known for a long time: the American Dream is an illusion.
While half of the country – the “Red” half – still seems to be asleep, most of us have woken up a long time ago, around the time of the Reagan presidency in fact.
A thoughtful article from Newsweek does a very good job of describing the House of Cards that used to be the US.
The Meaning of Team, Part 2
So, what is a “programming team” exactly? It almost seems a contradiction in terms: programming is, by its nature, a solitary occupation.
It’s sort of like an “electrician team” – do you as a homeowner want your electrician to obtain consensus so s/he doesn’t cross the wires the wrong way and incinerate your house?
As I’ve Been Saying All Along…
People have given me sanctimonious advice my whole life about how looks don’t matter, it’s what’s inside that counts, etc.
As anyone who had the misfortune to grow up homely knows, that’s a pantload.
And telling people who weren’t born lucky in looks that if they would only change their at-ti-tude, they would be happy/rich/successful – well, it just adds insult to injury.
Clear Today, Snow Tomorrow
Misery, thy name is Mashpee.
Only kidding.
Yesterday, my neighbors and I dug out of the 36 inch+ Blizzard of 2005, the worst in 100 years of recorded history on Cape Cod.
I guess there’s comfort in assuming that we won’t get another one like this for another 100 years.
The Meaning of Team
I cringe when I read job descriptions for technology positions that mention the word “team”.
I’ve worked in a couple of environments in which this word was bandied about by clones of Jack from “Lord of the Flies”. These people had no idea, no clue in heaven or hell, of what it means to lead a team.
And I think I know why.