Monthly Archives: September 2015

Tempus Fugit

A common concern programmers have when I talk about my year off is that I’ll be unemployable at the end of it. After all, the industry moves really quickly and if I’m off thinking about things that aren’t programming, I’ll … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | 2 Comments

Week One

Nearly eight days ago I stopped working to have a break. I’ve been describing it as a “gap year”, because I’ve arranged my finances to last at least that long with some contingency. Also, I want to set a year … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | 2 Comments

Criticising the Four Freedoms

The core principle of Free Software is that people who use software retain certain freedoms, unlike the situation with proprietary software in which all of the freedom associated with the software remains with the vendor. Those are the Four Freedoms: … Continue reading

Posted in freesoftware, Responsibility | 2 Comments

Improving a presentation with slides

Take a look at your slides. For each slide, think how you would present the same information if you didn’t have the slide. Practise that, so that you can give the information on the slide without using the slide as … Continue reading

Posted in performance, Talk | 2 Comments

“When I had that problem”

A common lie in programming is that every project is new, that no problem has been seen before. This is the reason given for estimates being bad, for plans being bad, for design being bad…for anything other than diving in … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self, edjercashun | Leave a comment