Category: Values

  • New Year’s 2012

    2011 was a year of change and by the time I reached New Year’s Eve and started work on my resolutions I was quite shocked. I have better measurements for January 2012 so I’ll use those numbers: I weigh 10 pounds less today than I did the day I graduated from high school. (was 161…

  • Software Architecture–Do One Thing Very Well

    As I look at nature, I’m struck by the idea that for truly reusable software you must architect it following the principle that it must do one thing and only one thing very well. Think about it for a moment… We are all made up of atoms. Individual units that generally stand the test of…

  • Parable of Two Villages

    I can’t seem to find the version I remember my wife reading me sometime back, so I’m going to work from memory on this one… Here is a link to a slightly different version. A couple was travelling from one village to the next when they came upon a farmer working in his field. They…

  • Drive

    A friend recently recommended a book to me called “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink. I’m glad I read it. There was much about the book that resonated with me. While I believe that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains the underlying principles for much of what is presented in the…

  • Passion for Software

    Headline: It’s been almost 20 years since I really dedicated myself to software development. I’m glad I did. I left the search for oil and gas in 1990 to join Landmark Graphics to help develop software. One year later I realized that I could not continue both my role as a Company Commander in the…

  • What I did on my winter vacation…

    Headline: I passed my Microsoft Certified Professional Developer exams using my vacation time and my personal funds to pay for the course. I’ll talk about several different areas that might be of interest to other as well as “journal” about why some of this happened. What was I thinking? (Or – Why I Did It)…

  • Getting It Right the First Time

    Just finished many hours of reading about .NET changes for 4.0… I was getting a bit tired and needed a change of pace, so I was listening to some music. As luck would have it, I heard two songs that were  basically first takes. They were Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez and Wake Up…

  • IM–The New Caller ID

    Headline: I’ve pretty much reached the point that if you want to call me, you had better IM (Instant Message) me first. I’m almost always online these days… and if I’m not, then I’m probably not in a position to talk on the phone. I’ve notice that increasingly phone calls are made immediately after IM’ing…