Stop Piling on Yahoo!

I have been a big fan of Yahoo! for many years, as both a user, investor, and ex-employee. And, if anyone has a reason to revel in Yahoo!’s recent troubles, it’s me (trust me on this). But, I find myself sickened by the jokes, pranks, and cynicism directed at Yahoo! in the blogs lately. Don’t [...]

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The Scientist, the Artist, and the Engineer: S/W Dev Archetypes

After many years of working with, hiring and managing a wide variety of software developers, I noticed a trend that guided me in my hiring decisions. And, I often used this when giving feedback or career advice to programmers, as well as in my hiring choices.
While there are many ways to categorize and rate software [...]

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What you know vs. what you don’t know (part 2)

This is my second attempt to explain this little jewel taught to me by Dr. Dan Garber, professor of Engineering at the University of Maryland (sometime around 1979). See my original attempt.
A couple of people have commented “doesn’t the yellow circle represent your current knowledge better than the blue circle?” Answer: “No.” First, [...]

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