Dear Reader: while the expected audience of this website can probably be counted on one hand, I nevertheless persist in writing things and sharing them with the world at large. These includes essays, blog posts, computer programs, podcasts, poetry, and the occasional work of fiction. If you enjoy any of this even briefly, then I have succeeded.
Glen Campbell
San Antonio, Texas
A knight and his men return to their castle after a long hard day of fighting. "How are we faring?" asks the king. "Sire," replies the knight, "I have been robbing and pillaging on your behalf all day, burning the towns of your enemies in the west." ...
Shut up and let your people get stuff done.
Most software development organizations have a fairly clear path for their individual contributors. Whether they call the job "Member of the Technical Staff," "Software Developer," or "Programmer," a young developer starts at a level 1 and moves up, ...
In April, 1991, lots of things were happening. My wife, Anita, was pregnant with our first child (due at the end of May), and I had two job offers in front of me. One was as a systems administrator for the University of Texas Balcones Research Center, ...
Every organization has its "sacred spaces," those physical locations that help contain the identity of the organization. For decades now, for example, Silicon Valley prided itself on the "open" culture, represented by cubicles that even the senior ...
I know that you, like me, have often wondered whether or not the Internet is still running. Now you need worry no more. I have created the Internet status page: http://internet-status.info Simply point your browser to this site, and it will let you know ...
I was with a number of musicians this evening; they were preparing for a rehearsal by playing around on their instruments. It's a common occurrence in creative endeavors; they weren't practicing scales, or harmony, or even trying very hard to make a ...
Percussive sounds of rain Accompany whistling gusts That announce the arrival of a front. Coffee in the morning, solitary Browsing online, mist rising Above the rain-slicked vegetation And I think, "Bread." Coffee requires toast. Toast requires thought, ...
Karl lay flat on the damp leaves under the pines, trying to catch his breath. It had been a long struggle up hill to this point, and he didn't want to give away his position with his heavy breathing. The dozen or so deer were about 400 meters in front ...
This morning, I added the php-opencloud library to the Travis continuous integration service. Travis is a very cool service that automates continuous code testing. It hooks into the Github system and automatically performs tests whenever new code is ...
Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, living in The Villages in Florida, are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in. Jacob addresses the ...