By J. Timothy King on December 31, 2006
“Once upon a time, there was a quiet, little village in the French countryside whose people believed in tranquilite. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you. In this village, […]
Posted in Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Movies | Tagged Chocolat, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, innovation, Pam Slim |
By J. Timothy King on December 15, 2006
Writing is a communication skill. And they say that communication skills and the other soft skills are what programmers need today. Effective developers don’t work alone. They work with others in a team. And a team member needs to communicate with the other team members to be effective. It’s like playing football. No one person […]
Posted in Software Development |
By J. Timothy King on December 5, 2006
My first day as an entrepreneur, I got sick. Seriously. It was Thanksgiving. And I got a virus, which grew steadily worse through that day and the next. Immediately, I got to experience two differences about working for yourself: No paid holidays, and no paid sick leave. By Friday evening, I was completely incapacitated and […]
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories |
By J. Timothy King on November 17, 2006
Today I discovered a mantra that I hope will get me through my last four days in this place. And I wrote it on my dry-erase board. If you recall, I quit my job and struck out on my own. But I still have a few more days before my last. Four days, to be […]
Posted in Leaving Normal, Professionalism, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories |
By J. Timothy King on November 14, 2006
What is “good” code? Some define it as “beautiful.” Some equate it with experience. Some with cleverness. Some can’t tell you what it is. Others know it when they see it. For me, “good” means maintainable. Good code, yes, has grace and beauty. But what makes it worthwhile is that it’s easy to work with. […]
Posted in Software Development |
By J. Timothy King on November 10, 2006
I gave my notice this week, and I’m now officially self-employed (almost). My first reaction was, “How cool is this? I’m rockin’ now!” My second reaction was, “Oh s***! What have I just done?!”
Posted in Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories | Tagged Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pam Slim, Roswell |
By J. Timothy King on October 19, 2006
Monday, the school nurse called about my daughter. If you’re a parent, I don’t know whether you’ve ever felt what that’s like, the thoughts that race through your mind, the tightness in your chest, the conscious effort to breathe normally. Both of my daughters needed to come home from school. One of them had an […]
Posted in Leadership |
By J. Timothy King on October 10, 2006
House M.D. is indeed one of the best shows on TV. Like many others, I enjoy watching it. And to increase my enjoyment of the show even more, I started a House Drinking Game. With the help of others, inlcuding Jim “Suldog” Sullivan and Digg user toxicredm, I now present: The Dr. House Drinking Game
Posted in Entertainment, Television | Tagged drinking game, House M.D., TV |
By J. Timothy King on October 9, 2006
I’ve been meaning for some time to write about how slow “quick and dirty” is, how misnamed the term is, how misguided are the hoards of managers (many of them former and current software developers) who embrace “quick and dirty” as a fast solution to pressing problems, as though it could ever deliver an actual […]
Posted in Professionalism, Software Development |
By J. Timothy King on September 29, 2006
Recently, Alexander Kjerulf, the Chief Happiness Officer, asked, “What makes you happy or unhappy at work?” I pulled part of my answer from an old post from my LiveJournal, “Things to Make My Life Perfect.” This list of things I actually wrote in response to a writing prompt for the (now defunct) Alchera Project. At […]
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leaving Normal, Stories, Tales of a Wanna-Be Software Entrepreneur, True Stories |