I’m glad I wasn’t born a woman. Life seems hard enough as it is being a man. Wiser people said it before. John Lennon comes to mind. I don’t want to cover the pay gap, the differences in working conditions, or even the relative absence of women in IT despite their clear added value. TheseContinue reading “One For The Ladies”
Category Archives: Tips
Seek and Destroy
One of my favourite ways of keeping my computer secure is passive protection. It keeps my CPU and memory free to focus on the work at hand. I never did like the idea of paying top dollar for a top-of-the-line CPU and fast memory only to spend a large portion of them on anti-virus softwareContinue reading “Seek and Destroy”
I Guess This is Obvious
A lot of the decisions I make rely on assumptions. It’s so much easier to work with assumptions than to validate every bit of information that is factored into a decision. It can also prove to be a terrible mistake. Assumptions are risky shortcuts. What if your assumption was correct at some point in time,Continue reading “I Guess This is Obvious”
Hmm… Let’s Get Those Crisps
One of the most time consuming menial tasks I have is grocery shopping. It is also one that can easily become a money drain. This is why I spent a lot of time trying to optimise it. Here are my takes to date: 1. Don’t shop when hungry The first thing I did was notContinue reading “Hmm… Let’s Get Those Crisps”
Heavy Weight
Keeping my pc software up-to-date should have been easy. I mean, look how easy it is on your smart phone. You go to the app store, it lists all relevant updates, and with a push of a button you have the latest and greatest. There is no such central place for PCs. This means it’sContinue reading “Heavy Weight”
Someone Will Do It
There is always a chore waiting for me. For every chore I complete, a couple of new ones line up. Some of these chores are team chores. By team chores I mean anyone can pick them up. At home, that could be doing the dishes or the laundry. At work, it could be creating ticketsContinue reading “Someone Will Do It”
Who Said That?
My computer makes funny noises sometimes. They sound like notifications, but I can’t figure out what they’re meant to say. Well, until recently. And then I figured it out. If you’re a mobile developer, you may have had a similar experience. Unlike normal notifications, which are usually accompanied by a visual clue, these seem toContinue reading “Who Said That?”
If It Isn’t Broken…
How many times were you told “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”? Working isn’t necessarily optimal. You may find something to be working in a sub-optimal way. When this happens, fixing it should be a valid option. Very often, “if it isn’t broken” is said when “we’ve always done it this way” is intended.Continue reading “If It Isn’t Broken…”
The Life Of A Contractor, Part 1
A colleague suggested I’d share my experience as a contractor. Hopefully this helps you if you’re about to become one or are just starting out. In this post I will cover the growing pains. I will then touch on managing your finances as contractor. Lastly, I will discuss ways to get more work. How itContinue reading “The Life Of A Contractor, Part 1”
It’s Like Apples And Pickles
When I need to explain a complex idea, I often use an analogy. This helps convey concepts to people from different disciplines, too. One thing I learned is how important it is to choose the right analogy. A colleague recently used car design as an analogy to software development. This analogy was fundamentally wrong onContinue reading “It’s Like Apples And Pickles”
Optimising My Life 