An Atheist in an Airplane
No one raised in a religious environment wants to come out atheist. Few people who grew up in the US would want to use that word. And when I finally told one of my close friends that I was an atheist, she said, “Oh no! You lost your faith?!” But after I explained exactly what […]
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 5)
This is part 5 in my series of how the Mac reminded me why I fell in love with software development, and why it still matters. While reading Andy Hertzfeld’s anecdotes (and those of his colleagues) of designing the original Macintosh computer, I was inspired, inspired to take account of my own passions, the passions […]
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 4)
This is part 4 in my series of how the Mac reminded me why I fell in love with software development, and why it still matters. While reading Andy Hertzfeld’s anecdotes (and those of his colleagues) of designing the original Macintosh computer, I was inspired, inspired to take account of my own passions, the passions […]
Why I Will Probably Never Earn a College Degree
While writing my latest post in the “Computer Folklore” series, I went off on a bit of a tangent. And I had to delete several paragraphs of story in order to get back on track. The post is going to be all about how important it is for me to find meaning in my work. […]
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 3)
This is part 3 in my series of how the Mac reminded me why I fell in love with software development, and why it still matters. While reading Andy Hertzfeld’s anecdotes (and those of his colleagues) of designing the original Macintosh computer, I was inspired, inspired to take account of my own passions, the passions […]
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 2)
This is part 2 in my series of how the Mac reminded me why I fell in love with software development, and why it still matters. While reading Andy Hertzfeld’s anecdotes (and those of his colleagues) of designing the original Macintosh computer, I was inspired, inspired to take account of my own passions, the passions […]
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore
A couple weeks ago, I was reading through Andy Hertzfeld’s anecdotes at FolkLore.org, about how he and his colleagues developed the original Macintosh. These stories brought me back, first to nostalgic times, then to a nostalgic purpose. I remembered all the reasons I first fell in love with software development, many of which are also […]
Nemo: Good, Bad, and Beautiful
Now that the storm is passed, and we’re all dug out—which is a whole other story, for another time—we can look back at the fun, the pain, and even the beauty Nemo left us. The funnest part, of course—for many of us—was being bundled up safe at home, with plenty of supplies, while the cold […]
Let It Snow: The Blizzard of ’13
The bill has come due for the mild winter we had last year. And since Punxsutawney Phil (played by the classic actor Bill Murray) has predicted an early spring—which here in New England means snow, rain, sleet, hail, and 90-degree swelter, all within a 24-hour period… Since Phil has predicted an early spring, God has […]
Yelling with the Boss
The last clear memory I have of my school-year jobs was the VP yelling at my manager, red-faced, outside his office, right out in the middle of the hallway. The job, at this now-defunct manufacturer of centrifuges, for me started as a co-op job in college, while I was studying electrical engineering. They hired me […]