We stay-at-home dads see this video from a special perspective:
Working moms, do something special for your husband-homemaker today.
And everyone, have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
-TimK
Found in My Bathroom
Looks like somebody left a little pea on the toilet seat…
Have a great weekend!
-TimK
P.S. Photo courtesy my daughter, Abbie.
Bits & Pieces 2014-01-30
Links and things that I’ve run across recently.
… or not so recently.
Perl and other programming stuff
Some of what I’ve been doing during my absence from this blog, and some stories I hope to tell in more detail both here and on my software-development blog:
-
Tom Metro and I launched a new brand for our Perl project consulting: welcome to The Perl Shop.
-
I gave a talk on Perl 6 benchmarking, for our local Perl Mongers group, in December.
-
I also participated in the Dallas/Fort Worth Perl Mongers Winter Hackathon. I hope to write more about the experience, the reason I participated, and my data-deduplication solution, all on my SD blog.
-
In the interim, I also happened upon a phone interview with a local company looking for real developers to do advanced JavaScript stuff. I imagine it’s probably a really nice place to work, but I was left with a less-than-competent impression based on the interviewers displayed programming skills. That’s yet another story, but it’s also how most companies do programmer interviews. Brief lesson: if you don’t mind looking like an idiot, feel free to follow what all the other idiots are doing.
The Curious Story of Tamar
“Dead Girls Tell Some Tales,” Emily Teel
Matthew begins his gospel by breaking the rules.
It’s not so much that he includes a boring genealogy that breaks the rules—although from a storytelling perspective, starting with a boring genealogy certainly breaks the storytelling rules. To the ancient Jews, genealogies were very important, and they pop up throughout the Bible.
Rather, it’s the way that Matthew tells his genealogy that’s likely to raise eyebrows.
For one thing, he names several women, which is definitely against the rules. The last was Bath-Sheba; King David murdered Uriah in order to steal her for himself. And in David’s ancestry, he mentions Ruth, who was a Moabite. And before that, Rahab, the whore from Jericho. And before that, Tamar, the mother of Peretz and Zerach, of whom you may never have even heard. Continue reading “The Curious Story of Tamar”
Being a “Good” Parent
I ran across this e-card on social media:
Maybe… But I also think it’s more complicated than that. Our job as parents is to teach our kids how to be adults. So in every experience, we should be looking for the learning opportunity and how to make it real to our kids. Continue reading “Being a “Good” Parent”
Share a Little Good News This Thanksgivukkah
Just wanted to wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Hanukkah.
In a series of studies published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, study participants were more satisfied with their lives if they shared good news at least twice a week, with someone who responded positively to the good news.
So take an occasional moment this holiday season to share the good things in your life with those around you.
Happy Thanksgivukkah!
-TimK
Listening to the Siddur Project CD
Julie Lavender, “Modim” (The Siddur Project)
Recently, my friend and fellow creator Julie Lavender released her music CD The Siddur Project.
Julie hosts the syndicated Dreamfarm Café radio show, which features area musicians: an “experience of eclectic jazz,” says the show’s website, “an intimate window into the very heart of an artist’s creative process.”
But Julie also writes and performs her own original music, and paints original art as well. Hence, The Siddur Project. Continue reading “Listening to the Siddur Project CD”
If You Followed This Blog for My SD Posts…
…I’ve moved all my software-development posts over to my new software-development blog, where I’m currently in the midst of a series chronicling my evaluation of Perl 6.
At least since the mid 2000’s, when I wrote about software, I tried to keep it popular, non-techie, or at least about the culture rather than the coding. On my new SD blog, I am no longer afraid to use lots of code snippets. And I’ve taken to publishing sample code on GitHub.
Why the change? Am I going back to software development? Yes, I think so. I haven’t given up writing. But I’ve updated my resume. I’ve come to terms with the fact that not everything and everyone and everyplace in software is like this:
On the other hand, I’m trying to avoid getting caught in a workplace like this again. For a creative type like me, who depends so heavily on innovation, on constant improvement, on challenging the status quo for the better. Working with others who do not share that passion, it can be positively demoralizing.
You may recall my struggle with depression, precipitated by working conditions common to the software industry.
However, as a consultant, I’ve had a number of gigs that have been utterly pleasurable. In fact, most of them have been. So it is possible to do good work inside a modern software-development organization. And it is possible to find fulfillment in it. True, I still have friends who complain about their dysfunctional workplaces. But the functional ones also exist, and I know it is possible to find them.
I don’t know how long the search will be, but I’m no longer afraid of it.
-TimK
State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 5)
Photo © 2011 Giuseppe Savo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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 that these stories reminded me of. Today, I continue that list:
-
I love to create new patterns. I love solving problems through discovery, inventing that which has never existed before. (From part 1.)
-
I love applying principles in new ways. I love working with abstractions, and turning them into concrete expression. I love challenging the status quo, breaking through the limits of what everyone else says is “possible.” (From part 2.)
-
I love achieving status through collaboration, which is compassionate conflict. I am not a baboon. I do not achieve a sense of status by beating up (literally or figuratively) on my colleagues and friends. But I do expect to be recognized for the ideas I bring to the table, and I want to be taken seriously. (From part 3.)
-
I love moving in the right direction. I believe in making the world a better place, one step at a time, and that helps fulfill my need for purpose. Whatever I work on, it’s more than the work itself; it’s also how that work changes the bigger picture. (From part 4.)
-
I love taking time to think, time to learn. A relatively small portion of my day is normally spent actively producing output, whether writing or developing software.
Continue reading “State-of-the-Art Computer Folklore (part 5)”