You’ve likely heard the acronym IOT by now, but in case you haven’t it’s the Internet Of Things. I remember when Sun Microsystems REALLY, REALLY wanted Java to take hold as the new, hip language for developers of all stripes. Boy did they pull out all the stops. Unfortunately (as with many marketing-driven things) it was […]
Process Automation du jour… I recently finished a really interesting, fun, process automation project for a new client: Mandated Technology Systems. Mandated Technology Systems is a new startup focused on solving burdensome, manual processes for the Electrical / Building industry. They came to us to help automate the process of building a report for Anritsu™ Spectrum […]
I follow several “influencers” on social media, but to be honest there really isn’t a great deal of value in doing so. Part of the reason I say this is: despite the accepted concept of brevity and honesty in blog-writing, people are still way-too guarded with their opinions. Too many lame platitudes and catch phrases. […]
My first big client was a major retailer who had grown tired of paying a huge ($400k / year) maintenance bill for SAP software they were barely using. They asked me to build a much simpler application that was designed to meet a simple, strict set of requirements. Our first iteration of the app was […]
Professionally and personally we’ve all had periods of time where we are uninspired, unmotivated and just downright “meh”. Sometimes it’s just a natural process of the ebbs and flows of life. Other times it’s a series of unfortunate events or even worse if it’s your own damn fault for making bad decisions. Everyone handles these […]
Easily one of the most difficult things I had to learn as a developer is this: Estimating my time accurately There are key questions to ask, unforseen issues that arise, and fickle client requirements and changes. About 4 years ago I changed the way I build my proposals and estimates for projects. I no longer sell hours. […]
“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” or “How I learned to stop dithering and make a decision” I have probably mentioned it before, but the best career advice I’ve ever gotten came from a mentor of mine who told me: “You are very persistent, but you […]
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Why do so many pro athletes experience what they call “The Sophomore Slump”? In case you aren’t familiar with it, The Sophomore Slump is the idea is that a rookie comes in to the league has a great first season, exceeding anyone’s expectations and when the next […]
Fellow guitar players will surely read the title of this post and say “what the hell does a weird guitar chord have to do with this nerd blog?” Well, I was trying to find an alternate voicing for the F#ms sus4 because the rest of the thing I was working on was way up the […]
Admittedly, I’m no Harvard MBA and my own understanding of the business world is quite literally my own, but I’ve made it a point to listen closely to some pretty amazing people I know when they drop nuggets of wisdom. One of those was uttered by a good friend who had been the Cheif Marketing […]