On Working Weekends
There was a pleading look in his eyes. My manager Tom* was stuck, having promised certain features to a client by a certain deadline, and those features were not delivered yet. Throughout the project, I had done my best to…
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On Hair In A Bag
I watched in increasing horror as the TikTok video my wife was sharing progressed. With upbeat music and a peppy voice, a woman was narrating her journey. She had noticed that at the end of every shower, there would be…
On Gray Words
Good words are worth much, and cost little.* George Herbert Whenever I read the word it sends a small twinge up my spine. My mind editorializes. It highlights, bolds, and underlines need whenever I see it. Phrases like “we need…
On The Meaning Of Production
Produce, produce! Were it but the pitifulest, infinitesimal fraction of a product, produce it in God’s name. ‘Tis the utmost thou hast in thee? Out with it then! Up, up! Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy…
On A Foot In The Door
Why don’t I strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into Jobland where jobs grow on jobbies! Charlie Kelly, It’s Always Sunny In Philidelphia I nervously walked through the doors of the…
On Automation
I wonder. I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: ‘You’ve got mail’. Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail I sent the…
On Sane Tradeoffs
The design called for four tires in both the front and rear, together with four-wheel drive, which required a new suspension solution. Vladimir Zagorsky, Chief of BelAZ’s Suspension Design Engineering Department What’s better, a Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster…
On Nightstands
The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.* Mark Twain I didn’t read very much for a long time. I felt guilty about it, feeling that reading was part of my DNA…
On Toes In The Water
Toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hands. Toes, Zac Brown Band I had to finish the 3D CAD design I was working on so it could get…
On The God File
The mouse wheel flicked, and the page scrolled down. Into the depths of the page the sidebar slid, until finally, silently resting at the bottom. 2,000 some lines of code in a single file. Untested code sitting static and dead.…