Today I realised that every time I hear the phrase if it isn't broken, don't fix it I feel kind of uncomfortable. I fully understand the notion: the process yields the results we want, so why bother?  As it is being said, I detect the whatever works attitude emanating from the person saying i... [More]

It’s not uncommon to find a software developer who works on their own side-project outside of work. It’s a great way of keeping your skills up-to-date and some developers even aim to build a business from it. It’s also not uncommon to see these projects start out with tons of optimism and gradually... [More]

It was Aristotle who said "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind", but what is it about paid jobs that make this the case? To find the answer let’s consider the differences between paid and unpaid jobs. One summer I got a 5 day job working at what could only be described as an ex-bo... [More]

Meet Roofus. He’s a professional painter. He paints because he’s discovered that paintings sell pretty well and it affords him the finer things in life. Roofus gets particularly stressed when producing his work, and sometimes he’s not even sure if the painting will work out. Usual... [More]

Often I hear short meaningful statements that seem to make so much sense. I thought I’d note them down so I can remind myself of them later. Learn by doing. Self-organising and autonomous wins over managed. Be inspired and have a well defined vision. Work is not unenjoyable by definition. It takes... [More]

Most of us have worked on our own little side projects. Usually we have some inspirational moment where we conceive an idea and then go through a mental process to map out the project in our heads. At the end of it we have a new killer idea for a project. In mapping out the idea, we have thought a... [More]

Some people think that solving the problem is the only thing that matters. Wrong. While solving the problem is key to building a successful product, a successful product is more than simply a solution to a problem. A great product makes you feel happy and actually want to use it. A really great pro... [More]

And now for something completely different. A programming language allows a human to talk to a computer, in the same way that a spoken language allows a human to talk to another human. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s consider what programming and spoken languages have in common. The... [More]

Our current product sucks. The code is so embarrassing I wouldn’t show it my own mother – even she would know it sucks and never wash my laundry for me again. It’s hard to maintain, hell it’s hard to even look at. We can’t easily change it and we don’t have the confidence to try. The average numb... [More]

If you are not failing, you are doing something wrong. Having made that statement, let me attempt to read your reaction. You either read what I just said, thought about it, and reached eventual agreement or you violently disagreed by throwing old fruit at your computer. Probably the latter. I’m n... [More]