Former Slacker

You can call me a software engineer or a software developer. You can call me a computer scientist. You can even call me a Technical Yahoo! Software System Development Engineer. Whatever. I call myself a programmer, maybe a hacker on self-congratulatory days.
My first programming-related job was working as a systems administrator […]

I accepted a new job in Silicon Valley recently. The short version is that I am now gainfully employed with Yahoo. The long version will be arriving in several parts. Look for part one soon.
The first part will cover the reasons we (my fiancée and myself) chose Silicon Valley, along with the […]

How rapidly does programming knowledge really become out-of-date? Do things change so frequently that it has become unreasonable to expect programmers to keep up with the pace of technology? I’m not so sure the pace is really that fast.
A few days ago, Half Sigma posted an article claiming that a career in programming […]

This is a response to the author of Half Sigma, who wrote a post about why a career in computer programming sucks. This topic could be considered slightly off-topic for this blog, but I’m a programmer, so I feel it’s career-related enough that it falls slightly into the realm of this blog. Besides, I want to respond.

Sometimes it seems that practical advice has died. Get-rich-quick schemes have become as common as they are ineffective, with everyone pitching the easy path. These eight steps provide a straightforward, realistic path to reaching your goals. These steps won’t provide any easy fixes, but if you want advice that actually works, read on.

Let me break down The Secret for you. Basically, there’s this “secret” that’s been kept from you. World leaders have suppressed it since the dawn of civilization. The world leaders use it, even abuse it, refusing to share its great “power,” while the ignorant masses grind their way through their lives. And if you spend $29.95 on the DVD, the secret will change your life.

Here’s the deal: I’m judging you based on appearances, and so is everyone else. Not only is it happening, but I argue that it should happen, that it’s right to judge people based on appearances. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s unfair, or you think I’m a cold-hearted ass. You can get up in arms if you want, but it won’t affect anything.

What do all productive people have in common? They’ve all followed the same simple advice we’ve heard over and over: Do something you love. It sounds so simple that it hardly seems worth mentioning, but it’s absolutely fundamental to productivity.

I’ve already posted 9 obvious resume rules. Here’s four more “bonus” rules, that might not be quite as obvious.

These are all basic rules, but they all seem to get broken constantly. All of these should be obvious to anyone who’s conscious (maybe even the lightly sleeping), but they must not be. On to the rules!