Finished reading: The Mythical Man-Month, by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. I liked the insights into managing software, and the time traveling to the computing industry circa 1975–1995. Took me 1 month and 6 days.
I found Wendy Carlos’ Switched-On Bach thrifting in Providence. First time I’ve heard it, and can recommend to all the #synthnerds #music.
To celebrate adding images to my blog’s micro posts, here’s a #photo of Wiz on a rug.
Started Adam Wade’s storytelling class this past weekend and really loving it. He’s a raw, compelling, caring guy, and I’m really inspired by my classmates.
Back in the saddle writing my music comedy about The Traveling Wilburys Solving Crime novella. At the moment, it’s all about getting the first two chapters right. #amWriting
“Read” the short story The Simplest Equation by Nicky Drayden, via Levar Burton Reads. Really beautiful. 📚
Tired: using the 😂 emoji to advertise a #comedy show. Wired: using the 🍆 emoji to advertise a vegetable show.
“Read” River’s Giving by Heather Shaw, Tim Pratt, and River Shaw over on LeVar Burton Reads. Cute, all ages holiday fantasy story.
Video game testers approve the first union at Microsoft. I’ve long been out of the video game industry, but from my brief experience a union was sorely needed. Congratulations to the team! More like this.
Finished reading: Classic Tales of Horror (Arcturus Classics) by Edgar Allan Poe. Took me a bit to sink into the language, but once I did I really enjoyed this. Nice to read the big stories again as an adult, and I sometimes enjoyed the deep cuts.
Went rollerskating for the first time in forever for New Years Eve. Surprised how much came back, and not surprised that I still stop with a wall.
I’ve started using Micro.blog’s bookshelves features to track my reading. Right now I’m obsessively trying to catalogue all the books I’ve ever read. That’s possible, says my brain.
Exporting Mastodon Posts to My Blog
Twitter’s public implosion has redoubled my interest in blogging, and I’ve been posting more. Through Micro.blog, I syndicate my posts to the fediverse, namely Mastodon at … Read more
It’s that time of year again…where seemingly all the lotion in the world can’t keep me moisturized.
I watched The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). Interesting twist on the Frankenstein legend, but I thought this one was less focused and entertaining than the other hammer horrors I’ve seen. Still, an engaging performance from Peter Cushing.
Finished reading: A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide by Cyd Harrell. Useful tips for technologists on how to work in collaboration with government. It took me 27 days to finish reading.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Neal Francis lately. Tight piano-driven pop songs with downbeat lyrics and uplift music. Feels very “live”.
I finally splurged for a pre-built Ferris split keyboard - I’ve been using a Ferris-inspired keymap on my ErgoDox for a few years. I’ll still need to solder the keyswitches, which I’m nervous about. I soldering a macropad and I only got 50% of the switches to work. ⌨️
The first snow of the year is falling in New York City today. Feeling cozy. 🌨️
TIL there’s a movement to refer to Neovim/Vim as a PDE, or Personalized Development Environment, instead of a text editor. “Text editor” can be confused with categorically different editors like Notepad++, while PDE indicates the deep personalization and power available.
I’m a long time Neovim user (and Vim before that), but it’s my first time tuning into the NeovimConf. It’s really fun! #neovim
Listened to the short story I Was A Teenage Space Jockey by Stephen Graham Jones on the Levar Burton Reads podcast. Effecting, intense, and full of texture.
Until estimating is on a sounder basis, individual managers will need to stiffen their backbones and defend their estimates with the assurance that their poor hunches are better than wish-derived estimates.
—Frederick P. Brooks
The Mythical Man Month was written in 1974, and it still feels like despite our many new techniques, the software industry’s estimation hasn’t evolved much past “defend an educated hunch”.
Started reading: The Mythical Man-Month, by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. I never read this often-discussed collection of essays on computer programming management. Excited to dive in. I had it on my reading list before Frederick Brooks’ passing, but death has a way of re-arranging priorities.
Still reeling from seeing TJ & Dave live this past Saturday, with surprise guests Tracy Letts and Michael Shannon. Reminded me of the beautiful serendipity than can happen in NYC and the improv world. The show was also really really funny.