Improving Perl’s New Programmer Outreach
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much demand for programmers or programming training. In an economy that’s still recovering from the recession, the remarkably...
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Stop Hoarding Knowledge
Imagine a manufacturer who starts up a production line knowing that each time a worker reached a certain point in the process she or he would have to walk ov...
‘Fail’ doesn’t have to be a four-letter word
Projects fail. Companies crash and burn. Screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place. Just because it happens doesn’t mean we can’t do our ...
Common Resume Mistakes
I’ve been hiring in the tech industry for the past ten years or so. In that time I’ve looked at hundreds—if not thousands—of resumes from people applying for...
Managers: It is NEVER OK to be a jerk
Earlier today I had a conversation with a friend. She had just been chewed out by her manager. It seems my friend had let a typo slip into some copy. Normall...
Increasing the Role of OSCON in Community Education
I recently returned from OSCON. It was, as usual, brilliant. My talk—a part of Business Leadership Day—was well-received, which is always validating. As I pe...
Program Like a Pixar Story Artist
A friend recently tweeted a list of story basics from Pixar Story Artist Emma Coats. These basics are some of the story-writing guidelines Emma has learned f...
Open Source: Why Can’t We Just Make It Easy On New Contributors?
As an Open Source advocate I’m frequently asked to which projects I contribute. My answer is typically, “None right now.” Why is that? There are a few reason...
Staff Quality Deserves the Same Care as Software Quality
The Wikipedia definition of Continuous Integration (aka CI):
Rant: I Am Not a Cat Herder
It’s a no-brainer. It’ll happen. If I were the betting kind I’d lay good money on it. Any time I’m mingling at some social event (cocktail party, BBQ, confer...