Eight Words
I remember a lot of things about that day. It was July in Texas, which is to say, it was unbearably hot. For the work I ended up doing that day, I was way overdressed in my long-sleeved blue button...
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On Perspective
Perspective can make or break a career. Maintaining a proper perspective is very often the differentiating factor between a good technologist and an incredible one. In my 15-ish years in IT, I’ve said...
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Six practical tips for social media success
Social media is the new résumé. In many ways, it’s even better than a résumé – a person’s social media stream can reveal attitudes, biases, and deficiencies that wouldn’t dare appear on a résumé....
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On Failure
The first rule of blogging is that you should write about topics you know a lot about. And I know a lot about failure. This post will be the first in a series on the topic, through which I’ll share a...
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The Idea Book
How many times have you said to yourself, “Someone should build an application that does [x]…”, or “Wouldn’t it be easy to add automation to [y]”, or “It would be a lot of fun to work on a project to...
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Why I Want to Have Coffee With You
Yesterday I read an article entitled “Why I Don’t Want to Have Coffee With You”, in which the author writes that he doesn’t have the time or the desire to simply “have coffee”. While I empathize with...
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On Failure: On Being a Screw-Up
“He’s a screw-up. Always trying things that don’t work.” I’ll be honest: I used to be afraid of being the person described above. I didn’t want to be known as someone whose ideas didn’t work. And to...
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A Tool for Every Job
I’m a fixer. A tinkerer. As a kid, I would take my toys apart just to see how they worked, and to prove that I could put them back together again (and these experiments often had mixed results). Even...
View ArticleThe Discomfort Zone
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I read a book entitled The Phoenix Project. This book has been in my Kindle library for some time, but only this weekend did I make time to read it – and I’m glad I did....
View ArticleTechnical Dogma
Humans are creatures of habit, and I suspect that engineering/technical types are even more so. We find something that works and tend to stick with it, sometimes neglecting to occasionally experiment...
View ArticlePolishing The Silverware
A few weeks ago I met a couple of my business partners in a moderately upscale restaurant in the Washington, DC area. It was not my typical kind of place – I’m more of a casual dining guy – but I did...
View ArticleWhat if Your Employer Won’t Support Your Career?
I’ve had a lot of luck in my career, especially as it pertains to my work environment. Although I can’t say every technical job I’ve had was all unicorns and bacon, I’ve been very fortunate to have...
View ArticleStudying Failures
Over the weekend, I went to the local theater to watch Sully, the movie about the US Airways pilot who successfully landed his A320 jet on an icy river after losing both engines shortly after takeoff....
View ArticleOn Failure: On Being a Screw-Up
“He’s a screw-up. Always trying things that don’t work.” I’ll be honest: I used to be afraid of being the person described above. I didn’t want to be known as someone whose ideas didn’t work. And to...
View ArticleA Tool for Every Job
I’m a fixer. A tinkerer. As a kid, I would take my toys apart just to see how they worked, and to prove that I could put them back together again (and these experiments often had mixed results). Even...
View ArticleThe Discomfort Zone
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I read a book entitled The Phoenix Project. This book has been in my Kindle library for some time, but only this weekend did I make time to read it – and I’m glad I did....
View ArticleTechnical Dogma
Humans are creatures of habit, and I suspect that engineering/technical types are even more so. We find something that works and tend to stick with it, sometimes neglecting to occasionally experiment...
View ArticleOn Being Disruptive
Being disruptive is a powerful way to conduct business. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates insisted that computers belonged not just in business offices but in the homes of regular joes, and built businesses...
View ArticleSurvey: Skipping the Holidays?
For a little pre-holiday fun, I’ve got a simple scenario to present to you, and I am interested in your response. Your holiday plans are made. All of your family and friends expect to see you at the...
View ArticleThe Side Project
When I first started working as a technologist some 17 years ago, I was doing fairly low-level stuff: moving and reimaging computers, network cabling, and basic desktop support were the extent of my...
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