Why you're (probably) not building your own web tools...

I think I've spotted a trend.  I've worked with a lot of brilliant developers over the years, but only a few create their own tools ( Jeremy Ruppel, Don Robins ).

Others that I thought would, don't seem to.  (I'm looking at you AKQA Boys).  If they do, they don't mention them.

The trend I've noticed is expressed by Adam Savage of Mythbusters Fame.  He's a big promoter of making and was at Maker Fair saying so.  He even wrote his own 10 commandments of making:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IclNcfEqYaA

The trend I think I've noticed is that if you got into software because you were smart and thought it sounded like a degree for a smart person, or you were at the head of your class in high school ( you know, head of the idiots that were back in HS ), then there is a very high chance you won't create your own software.

On the other hand, if you got into software because you were a maker, an electronics tinkerer, or because you were trying to solve a problem, realized you were good at this and then got a job - even if you went back to school and got a degree - then there is a very high chance you create your own software.

Disaster avoidance: Step one, check for false beliefs...

In early 2012 I was scrum-master on the largest project my office had ever attempted and it was to be a disaster of epic proportions. I tried to prevent the disaster but couldn't. Now, a year and half later, I think I have figured out why. The bad news is that almost all organizations and teams face some variation of this tale. The good new is this story just might help you prevent your own disaster.

The disaster that is declared a success...

Have you ever been a part of this weird - yet very common - dynamic?  The successful disaster?

Are you models skillful...

If you get a chance, you should consider watching this TED Talk

I'm not asking you to watch it to increase your belief in the hoax that is global climate change, but rather to hear his argument about the models themselves.

He takes the position of asking if the models are "skillful."  In other words, do the models offer us more than if we didn't have the models at all.

Are Your Post Google Activities Making You Smart...

The link below is of an interesting interview: Is Google Making Us Stupid? This interview got me thinking...

I get a lot of crap from coworkers (and other observers) because I keep a LOT of browser windows open at once (hundreds). However, as this discussion points out, the web makes it easy to gather information but it's rather poor at letting you ponder and consider this information. By keeping things in my context I can shuffle and reorganize the info. Sometimes I get ideas about things days after I've found it and have had time to consider the implications and reflect on the idea. This is because it's open in a window and in my consciousness - it stays in context.

Innovation is status quo. Discovery and invention is still hard to do...

When a tech company (or car company, which today are tech companies) say INNOVATIVE what they mean is "WELL DESIGNED."

How I Spent My Spring Break or Why I Took the "Architect Master Class by Juval Lowy"

Getting to where I could practice being a software architect has actually been a much bigger problem over the years than the act of trying to decide on how to structure the software or apply this framework or that one.

In one fell (week long) swoop, Juval's Architect Master Class has propelled my understanding forward by years, probably decades.