Starting over
I've been absent here for a long time, for lots of reasons, which I'll expand on in the next few posts. For starters, I've recently...
People, Process, Product, Customer, and how people fit in organizations
My best work has been in places that are process-customer, but I've done well in process-product as well. I have not done well in people-dominated...
In praise of simple tools
I write using Emacs and LaTeX. I'll grudgingly copy and paste to other formats because the organization demands it but I do better work with...
Broadly vs. Locally-useful skills
Early on, I programmed on mainframes in COBOL... I'm sure I could do it again. But I'd be tossing away some highly valuable, broadly-applicable and...
Get up, dress up, show up, never give up… and be replaced by a robot
Never giving up at the things you were told to do was the essence of work in the industrial age. Giving up quickly on things...
Rosh Hashana (New Year) Update
It's been a busy year with a lot of changes, both Covid-related and otherwise. As is my custom, here's my update for this circle around...
How I got hired at AWS
Being yourself matters as much as anything.
And be nice to the airline staff. They can really make or break your life....
How I became “glue”
As has often been the case in my life, I was in a category of people who were not supposed to exist. I was that...
It’s not coming back
In 1945, some still expected the world to go back to familiar pre-crisis reality. They would be disappointed, as will those who are waiting for...
Don’t buy tech from somebody you meet in Church
If the answer to why you should do business with somebody is ever "we're part of the same group, you can trust me," then you...