Sharing a post here https://medium.com/hackernoon/feels-like-faster-vs-makes-us-faster-828686facc7e
Category Archives: engineer
link: Tracy Chou : Inside the life of a tech activist: abuse, gaslighting, but ultimately optimism – Fast Company
Very inspiring profile of Tracy Chou’s journey to build Block Party tool to combat online harassment. https://www.fastcompany.com/90686948/inside-the-life-of-a-tech-activist-abuse-gaslighting-but-ultimately-optimism
Computer Programming is art, don’t overplan it
I’ve argued that building software is much more of an Art than Science. The teams who follow the agile manifesto strictly over plan this artistic endevor of birthing software from nothing with T-shirt sizing, rule of thumb and or fibonacci numbers in 2 week increments of a sprint. What I’ve observed in the real world of software engineering in 20 years is that during the planning and estimation process:
link: Protecting a tech company’s most valuable resource
See this post from Casey Newton’s Platformer newsletter about Twitch engineers leaking the entire source code. I wonder if there any effective way to prevent this from happening?
Unknown Unknown problems
We don’t even know this problem exist. How do we know it is even needed? How do we get to a better state with these unknown unknown problems? My co-worker Michael L. wrote an internal page about how he thrives on these type of Unknown Unknowns problems. I’m reminded recently that I get a lotContinue reading “Unknown Unknown problems”
2021 What should be in your toolbox as an engineer
If you want to be an effective engineer in our industry, get ready be good at the following Basics 0 – This is the basic toolbox as an engineer Be proficient in your favorite IDE (Visual Studio Code seems to be the most popular right now) – my personal favorite is still VIM. git –Continue reading “2021 What should be in your toolbox as an engineer”
Link: It’s Time For Unions In Tech
For far too long, contractors, people of color, H1B visa holders are treated as second class workers with no way to speak out as a collective.
2021 Goal – Getting to top 6 contributors to AntennaPod app
I’ve had 39 submissions to my favorite Podcast App – AntennaPod in 2020. Which makes me #7 on the contributor list. That was a good learning journey for me. For the next leveling up to be #6, 140 of my submissions would have to be accepted. That would take 2.5 years given my current rateContinue reading “2021 Goal – Getting to top 6 contributors to AntennaPod app”
When engineers cared about the content and product
20 years ago, while I was the lead engineer for Yahoo News, I was asked to build a very basic feature to allow users to send news articles via a simple email link. That feature was simple: let users click on a link to send the news article with the URL, title and a briefContinue reading “When engineers cared about the content and product”
Creating Software Is *Not* About Planning
What portion of your team’s time is spent planning vs. designing and writing and testing software? Even when you did a great job in planning, how often is your plan exactly on target? When you hit the target of what you plan after 3 months, is that plan still the right thing to solve? MyContinue reading “Creating Software Is *Not* About Planning”
The Cycle Of Creating Software
As software engineers, our job is to create useful services for other humans or other services that depend on our services. In the idealized world, we write software, deploy, and move on. In the real world, we have to think about Writing software Debugging our own software for bugs Testing it locally for the change,Continue reading “The Cycle Of Creating Software”
All Zoom’ed Out
At work, someone wanted to talk with me about answering the question of “Do people at work feel zoom fatigue?” What would be a good way to look at this question from a data perspective? I proposed the following question, now that we don’t have to commute, shouldn’t we have more time in the morningContinue reading “All Zoom’ed Out”
Podcast: Kubernetes Podcast from Google: Borg, Omega, Kubernetes and Beyond, with Brian Grant
Podcast: Cloud Native Computing Foundation with Chris Aniszczyk and Dan Kohn Holiday
Software Engineering Daily: Cloud Native Computing Foundation with Chris Aniszczyk and Dan Kohn Holiday Repeat http://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2020/11/24/cloud-native-computing-foundation-with-chris-aniszczyk-and-dan-kohn-holiday-repeat/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cloud-native-computing-foundation-with-chris-aniszczyk-and-dan-kohn-holiday-repeat [00:36:41]
My superpower is “troubleshooting” for engineers
My superpower in life and at work is “troubleshooting.” I’m an engineer who helps other engineers when they are stuck. This could mean very detailed technical issues that engineers run into that takes them hours to solve. They will bring that problem to me, and usually, through some questions and answers with me, we canContinue reading “My superpower is “troubleshooting” for engineers”
50th – embracing my engineer’ness
On my 50th birthday, at 6:27am my father at 81 years old, sent me a happy birthday message! He has been my role model, his quiet way of being there for the family, showing and doing rather than talking, his love for me and his expectation that I should reach my potential and his beamingContinue reading “50th – embracing my engineer’ness”
Contributing to Open Source
I love listening to podcasts, all 111 podcast feeds. In 2020, I wanted to go deeper and understand the podcast ecosystem. I first generated a set of RSS feeds for 12 categories and submitted to Apple’s itunes podcast directory.
link: Effective_Engineer Summary
Android Dev: EventBus : Publisher + Subscriber
While trying to implement a feature for AntennaPod to allow users to auto skip intros and endings in this pull request #3975, I need to be able publish the event when a preference has changed and for a previous object with state that has already read the value of the preference to refresh it’s content.Continue reading “Android Dev: EventBus : Publisher + Subscriber”
podcast: Developer Tea: Growth, Uncomfortability, and Deliberate Practice
Software Was Never Meant To Be Free
We used to have shareware and that was how programmers could give you software for free. When 2% of people pay for ‘free’ software, the rest of the world could get the benefits of free software. Because people don’t pay for mobile & desktop apps developers started adding very annoying ads into software causing someContinue reading “Software Was Never Meant To Be Free”
Podcast Ecosystem : Fun Facts
When I started working on a hackathon project to publish the Splunk .conf videos from our conf.splunk.com site into a podcast form, I learned a lot that I didn’t know. This learning through hands on work has led me to contributing software code to an open source project call AntennaPod. I will write more laterContinue reading “Podcast Ecosystem : Fun Facts”
Men in Tech In Positions of Power Making the Industry Look like a Cesspool
Link: Salary data on levels.fyi
https://www.levels.fyi/2019/ – I have no idea how accurate this salary data is, but it’s pretty outrageous how much software engineers are paid.
Quick, what is the % of female graduates in computer science?
Before googling for the answer, what do you think is the % women who receive computer science bachelor’s degrees in the United States in 2019? 50% 40% 19% See answer here
Each Of Us Has A Part of The Solution, Together We Have The Whole.
Each Of Us Has A Part of The Solution, Together We Have The Whole! Splunk is a company of thousands of talented individuals, distributed across product development offices in 8 offices in the U.S., AUNZ, Europe, and Asia. How do we do our best work collectively and continue to push innovation while expanding at hypergrowthContinue reading “Each Of Us Has A Part of The Solution, Together We Have The Whole.”
Hiring practice thoughts and questions
I’m looking for a list of best practices, (maybe mechanics) with data to back up recommendations: For example, starting with resume reviews all the way to closing the candidates. (some random thoughts ) 1) In the resume tool: Do you create a set of standard templates to send? Do you try to respond by aContinue reading “Hiring practice thoughts and questions”
Podcast: Chris Lattner creator of LLVM infrastructure, Swift programming language
I geeked out listening to this podcast following along the career of the creator of one of most successful compiler platform LLVM.
Falling in love with a book
I started reading the book The Pragmatic Programmer, published In 1999! It is such a fantastic book with very relevant tips for professional software engineers. I am just on chapter 2 now, but I have already marked up the book about important ideas that I need to follow up. How did I skip this vitalContinue reading “Falling in love with a book”
Learning at Splunk via Technical books
6 offices in San Francisco, Santana Row, Vancouver, Seattle, United Kingdom, Boulder and Sydney are received 145 copies of 3 books. Pragmatic Programmer, The Code Complete & 97 Things Every Architect Should Know. Happy reading fellow engineers!
Meeting time, maker time
Everyone needs maker time at work. Otherwise either you work more at home, or you often feel unaccomplished. My maker time is about 60%.
Walk over and ask to see a demo
(The photo is one of my favorite pencils I borrow from my daughter. I finally used up all the lead in the pencil) 20 minutes, that’s all it takes. “Could you show me how you work?” Let’s turn on screen capture. Oh, interesting, what else? Why do you like this over, let’s say this otherContinue reading “Walk over and ask to see a demo”
In the areas of learning and development
(This post is not for you, it’s for me) It started out as 5% of my time. Just a 4-hour hands-on workshop with new hires once a month. Now it’s the following 1 engineer working on developing a hands-on workshop that will track start, finish, and verification. Able to track usage, validate answers and replaceContinue reading “In the areas of learning and development”
Prioritizing with difficulty x cost x quantity = value??
Could it be that simply to calculate the value of my backlog at work? I once heard on a podcast that a simple way for a startup founder to prioritize all the product backlog in order to focus is via a spreadsheet and do hard ranking. Difficulty x cost x quantity == value? WhileContinue reading “Prioritizing with difficulty x cost x quantity = value??”
Experiment : Operating at 2 levels ahead
Last week a senior software engineer who has deep knowledge in a very specialized and high value skill (Machine Learning) for our company asked me for advice on getting more exposure and impact for her work. She was in a situation where her skills and opinions are sought after by senior leaders in engineering, productContinue reading “Experiment : Operating at 2 levels ahead”
Pick one, and go deep
As an engineer, I’ll give you 4 attributes to define your work to choose from Ownership Customer focus Data driven Cadance You have to chose at least one of these to drive your work. Pick one and focus.
Impactful work takes planning, preparation and follow through
(The art piece is done by a SF local artist of migrant workers working in California central valley) Yesterday, my direct report, a principal software engineer who is an expert in our C++ code base presented to over 150 engineers on a piece of code walk through of a “Life of a single data eventContinue reading “Impactful work takes planning, preparation and follow through”
The profile of an engineer
(The photo is a piece of in store made of thick bacon from Luke’s, Cole Valley, San Francisco) A potential engineer doesn’t have to like math, abstract thinking, typing on the computer all day creating software. I head an interview with a IBM Fellow, who happens to be a woman say that she didn’t fitContinue reading “The profile of an engineer”
Communications habit
Last week at work, I learned that an executive has been working on a diversity and inclusion effort monthly. They really care about moving the needed to increase the gender and under represented diversity in our engineering ranks. I was pleasantly surprised that they are so active in this area. I personally have not heardContinue reading “Communications habit”
It is 2019, how could FB store passwords in plain text?
( my opinions are my own and not my employer) I just read this article: NY Times: Facebook Did Not Securely Store Passwords. Here’s What You Need to Know. https://nyti.ms/2YdyAKj As an engineer, I don’t understand how it could happen to a company like Facebook. They have engineers and security folks who audit designs andContinue reading “It is 2019, how could FB store passwords in plain text?”
Why should engineers write?
I write a lot of internal documentation, blogs to convey ideas for my future self as well as for engineers internally to reference. Younger engineers often are reluctant to write anything other than code. Here are reasons to write Writing something down clarifies your own understanding of the topic It’s one of the highest leverageContinue reading “Why should engineers write?”
What is next most important to add value?
Our VP Of Engineering asked us to think about this at work. We are all busy at work, but are we adding value to our customers with what we are doing now? What is the next most important item on our backlog that add value to our customer immediately? It’s a great way to prioritizeContinue reading “What is next most important to add value?”
My Email Flow
If you send an email to me, it’s very likely (95% chance) I will reply If you are recruiting me for a position at company X – You will get a polite / canned response that “I am extremely happy at Splunk and want to be there for 4 years to help the company grow”.Continue reading “My Email Flow”
What does Tony do in Engineering Productivity?
My full time job is to work on engineering productivity. Often folks ask me what I do every day / every week? I often tell them what I’m working on this quarter. Quarterly Focus Well, the first quarter in 2019, my focus is on creating coding labs and content for new engineers that join SplunkContinue reading “What does Tony do in Engineering Productivity?”
Standing your ground
Two and a half years ago, when I joined my current company I was attending a new hire training and the last slide showed a very long URL to a document that we were suppose to remember for more information. I asked the presenter whether there is a URL shortener so that we URLs areContinue reading “Standing your ground”
podcast: John Hennessy and Dave Patterson, winners of the Turing Award 2018
In June, the two engineers will formally accept a Turing Award, the computer science equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in recognition of their work. Hennessy later became president of Stanford University and is now the chair of Alphabet; Patterson is a professor emeritus at U.C. Berkeley and a distinguished engineer at Google Listen to theContinue reading “podcast: John Hennessy and Dave Patterson, winners of the Turing Award 2018”
Interview 1: Lyn Campbell, Corporate VP, Global Operations at Proofpoint
I’m celebrating a milestone for a personal 10 year project and I’m seeking your time and attention. Impactful Engineer shares the stories and journeys of women and men who are making significant impact in the software industry. The purpose of Impactful Engineer is to inspire young software engineers to see that are many paths they can take toContinue reading “Interview 1: Lyn Campbell, Corporate VP, Global Operations at Proofpoint”
Talking About How, Instead Of What
This post is not meant for you, it’s meant for me; So no need to read. Start With “What” People ask for advice. “What should I do, I’m running into this situation where I don’t know whether I should choose A or B?” Rather than telling them what they should do, I have been realizingContinue reading “Talking About How, Instead Of What”
Trending? #deleteFacebook, #metoo, #marchforourlives, #nevergain?
Recently there has been news reporting about #deleteFacebook, #metoo, #marchforourlives and #nevergain. You can track the interest over time at Google Trends For me, I wanted to know the relative traction each of these movements are actually making. Looks like #deleteFacebook is gaining traction, check back in 7 days to see if the internet memeContinue reading “Trending? #deleteFacebook, #metoo, #marchforourlives, #nevergain?”
link: Facebook’s “engineered addiction”
http://calnewport.com/blog/2018/02/09/facebooks-desperate-smoke-screen/ The Smoke Screen In my opinion, the first problem — the engineered addiction — is the more pressing issue surrounding social media. These services relentlessly sap time and attention from peoples’ personal and professional lives that could be directed toward more meaningful and productive pursuits, and instead package it for resale to advertisers soContinue reading “link: Facebook’s “engineered addiction””
TED: Why I’m done trying to be “man enough”
Thank you Justin Baldoni, because of your speech I *know* I need to dedicate 10 years of my life to mentoring women engineers!
Link: What Should We Measure?
In this blog post, Tim Ottinger shares his thoughts on what we should measure in the software industry and more importantly on what not to measure. https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/what-should-we-measure/
Social media sites are a trap for businesses
When social media sites like Facebook requires businesses to pay to show content to their own followers, it is time to rethink how businesses engage with their customers. Facebook puts a limit that only 2% of followers will see shared content if a business does not pay. Give this article a read: Social Media isContinue reading “Social media sites are a trap for businesses”
Dear LinkedIn, Make Diversity Data Transparent For All Companies?
Dear LinkedIn, You are the only service out there to discover data about companies both private and public, what type of employees work there, which universities the employees graduated from and lots of other useful data about the professional lives of the workers. LinkedIn is a fantastic service for professionals. There have been many articles in recent yearsContinue reading “Dear LinkedIn, Make Diversity Data Transparent For All Companies?”
Head of Open Source at Facebook Interviewed on Changelog Podcast
This is worth listening to learn about how Facebook thinks about software and expecially how they are trying to push software developer forward for the entire industry. React and React Native are being called out as very successful open source projects from Facebook. Cassandra has also been a huge winner. The interesting takeContinue reading “Head of Open Source at Facebook Interviewed on Changelog Podcast”
Why Work @ Splunk As An Engineer
Splunk’s Company Mission I like the simple and clear mission: We make machine data accessible, usable and valuable to everyone Update: Oct 24, 2018 2 years at Splunk so far Personal I’ve started a large community of badminton players and even setup a badminton net in our court yard I’ve grown a community of engineering helping each other virtually on Slack I’veContinue reading “Why Work @ Splunk As An Engineer”
link: What makes a good engineering culture? : The Effective Engineer
From Edmond Lau’s The Effective Engineer blog 1. Optimize for iteration speed. Quick iteration speed increases work motivation and excitement. Infrastructural and bureaucratic barriers to deploying code and launching features are some of the most common and frustrating reasons that engineers cite during interviews for why they’re leaving their current companies. Read the rest ofContinue reading “link: What makes a good engineering culture? : The Effective Engineer”
If you want true privacy, do not use your mobile phone
(The photo is of my sister and I in China 1975) I was listening to Leo Laporte’s Tech Guy podcast and he was commenting on the FBI vs Apple case about unlocking an iPhone used by the the shooters. He was pointing out the following misconceptions in the popular press. Inspired by his comments aboutContinue reading “If you want true privacy, do not use your mobile phone”
link: Error 451 is the new HTTP code for online censorship (Wired UK)
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the body responsible for overseeing the internet’s technical standards, has approved HTTP 451, “an HTTP Status Code to Report Legal Obstacles”. The new status code will show viewers when a web page is being blocked for legal reasons.Source: Error 451 is the new HTTP code for online censorship (WiredContinue reading “link: Error 451 is the new HTTP code for online censorship (Wired UK)”
Digital Entertainment I Am Willing To Pay For
We do not pay for cable, never did and do not have a TV. We do have a movie projector and a 90″ drop down projection screen. Looking at our digital entertainment obligations: We get the recent DVD ‘s free from the San Francisco public library. We pay for Comcast for 6mbps for faster internetContinue reading “Digital Entertainment I Am Willing To Pay For”
Goodbye dropbox.com, hello box.com
2018 update: Now I have box.com for long term storage, dropbox for daily syncs update: box.com is not doing any better either after my switch. The box.com sync app hung and I had to kill it. Recently the dropbox.com sync app on my Mac has been chewing up 100% of my CPU causing my machineContinue reading “Goodbye dropbox.com, hello box.com”
A Very Fulfilling Day By Helping Others Remove Frustrations
As a software engineer, I had one of the most rewarding day in recent months. When I got into the office, a developer from Flickr filed a ticket about UI browser testing into another Jira queue (bug tracking) and I happen to see that it’s related to the SauceLab project I now own as aContinue reading “A Very Fulfilling Day By Helping Others Remove Frustrations”
When The Noise Is Too High You End Up With A New Norm Of Mediocrity
My co-workers and I were doing some user studies with an internal developer who was using our tools in order to see how he was using it daily and also asking him how he debugs problems with our tools. It was amazing to see the developer go to the homepage of the tool, he noticed aContinue reading “When The Noise Is Too High You End Up With A New Norm Of Mediocrity”
podcast: DevOps culture and misconceptions
Really enjoyed this background of DevOps as a movement to remove friction from a product idea to a feature making it to the end user. Not focus just on continuous delivery, not focused on specific tools. Worth listening to for anyone who cares about how to increase the velocity and quality of software releases http://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2015/08/31/origin-of-devops-with-john-and-damon-from-devops-cafe/
Prediction of 2015 bubble and crash: Stock Market explained to my 14 year old daughter
On August 08, 2015 my wife and I decided to get out of the stock market 75% into bonds. Leaving 25% in the market. We made this decision because my daughter will be going to private high school for 4 years and very shortly she will need money for college. We asked ourselves 3 questionsContinue reading “Prediction of 2015 bubble and crash: Stock Market explained to my 14 year old daughter”
reading: Infrastructure As Code
Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/jedi4ever/code-but-not-as-we-know-it-infrastructure-as-code Book Preview: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920039297.do ” With Early Release ebooks, you get books in their earliest form—the author’s raw and unedited content as he or she writes—so you can take advantage of these technologies long before the official release of these titles. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, new chapters as they’reContinue reading “reading: Infrastructure As Code”
Making a difference in the large corporate world
While chatting informally with some co-workers, I heard some of them talking about their frustrations about not feeling recognized for their work or working on projects they don’t think makes a difference. Corporations, which usually mean people in management roles, value those individuals who go beyond doing what they are told to do and lookContinue reading “Making a difference in the large corporate world”
Corporate Efficiency : “Humans Are The Problem”
I sometimes say in jest that in the corporate world the “humans are the problem”. Communication, expectation and difference in perspectives are some of what causes executions of projects to not work. This is a response to frustrations expressed by people on my team that “other” people are doing things the “wrong” way. I findContinue reading “Corporate Efficiency : “Humans Are The Problem””
Link: Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
April 21st, Google will rank sites higher if they are mobile friendly. Check out your site’s mobile readiness with Google’s tool https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
link: Consensus-Driven Development | NCZOnline
Nicholas Zakas take on consensus building. http://www.nczonline.net/blog/2015/04/14/consensus-driven-development/
Android Development: Troubleshooting Nested Fragment
I am working on an Android app which takes the menu data from Locu.com API display the dinner, drink, dessert menu and allows a customer to add items they are interested in into a ‘cart’ for the wait staff to look at and discuss the item the customers are interested in. I’m using the projectContinue reading “Android Development: Troubleshooting Nested Fragment”
link: Mike Long on Modern C++ and the C++ Memory Model
Mike Long on Modern C++ and the C++ Memory Model.
Reading List: Think Like A Freak
Think Like A Freak – Currently just started, but already loving the way the authors encourage us to use data instead of intuition to understand the world.
Git pretty graphics
A good graphic to have handy if you are using git
link: What are the best life hacks to tackle procrastination? – Quora
What are the best life hacks to tackle procrastination? – Quora. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for it’s completion”
Linux system tools cheat sheet
Math Get To 24 iOS App
My daughter C. designed the logo, intro video and the entire app screen for this fun math game. Try it out and let me know what you think. download on The 24 Game is an arithmetical card game in which the object is to find a way to manipulate four numbers so that the end resultContinue reading “Math Get To 24 iOS App”
Read: John Resig – Write Code Every Day
I want to learn from others on how to maintain good habits, one of those is to code everyday. I have missed a few days, but I’m very happy with my progress so far. It has resulted in 3 mobile apps published on the Android and Apple Appstores John Resig – Write Code Every Day
Read: An iOS Developer Takes On Android
Nice article about some of the differences between development in iOS and Android. http://nfarina.com/post/8239634061/ios-to-android
read: Larry Page: The Untold Story – Business Insider
Larry Page: The Untold Story – Business Insider.
link: Apps To Help You Get More Done In A Day – Business Insider
Apps To Help You Get More Done In A Day – Business Insider.
iPhone version of How To Tip app
A quick follow up to the simple tipping app for Andoroid This is the iOS version of the How To Tip app
Trello to track life goals
I use Trello to keep track of my long term life goals. I setup ‘organizations’ for ‘health goals’, ‘work goals’, ‘money goals’, ‘family goals’. Then setup boards for each goal. I still use Remember The Milk for single task todo. Using Trello allows for multiple taks for each goal. I also look over all theContinue reading “Trello to track life goals”
First Android App: How To Tip Calculator
How To Tip Calculator – Android Apps on Google Play. Calculate how much tips to pay. 10%, 15% or 20% Also includes a guideline on tipping in restaurants, bartender, barista, delivery person, hairstylist, cab driver, chauffeur, hotel housekeeper
Picking Samsung Galaxy S3 over iPhone 5
In trying to pick iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S3 to replace my Blackberry. I was torn and have switched back and forth for the last 4 days. I finally found an old document written on November 1, 2011 7:52 AM in Evernote. I wrote this document when I had the Blackberry and why I actuallyContinue reading “Picking Samsung Galaxy S3 over iPhone 5”
link: State of the Computer Book Market, part 4: The Languages – O’Reilly Radar
http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/04/computer-book-market-2011-part4.html Large Programming Languages — 50,000 — 200,000 units in 2011
What Makes Us Happy And Motivated At Work?
It’s that time of year for me to reflect on why we are here working everyday. Please chime in with your thoughts. What motivates us to be happy and motivated at work? Money Recognition Being valued Making a difference in the world and self motivation Money is a great motivator, it’s an enabler for futureContinue reading “What Makes Us Happy And Motivated At Work?”
As A Leader, Do You Communicate Enough?
Heads up… Do you communication enough with your direct reports? What about your peers in the same group? What about other peers across the company? And your management chain, 1 level, 2 level and ultimately up to your CEO? How often should you communicate? What is the most effective way to communicate (email, face toContinue reading “As A Leader, Do You Communicate Enough?”
Why I’m re-energized to work at Yahoo! after Livestand iPad app launched
The Livestand from Yahoo! iPad app launched on Nov 2nd and became the #1 News iPad app and #2 overall app on the iTunes AppStore in 1 day. Today on Friday Nov 4th, it became the #1 app in 3 days on iTunes. You should try it yourself and compare it with Flipboard and ZiteContinue reading “Why I’m re-energized to work at Yahoo! after Livestand iPad app launched”
link: How To Set Performance Standards for Your Startup’s New Hires – Yahoo! News
How To Set Performance Standards for Your Startup’s New Hires – Yahoo! News.
GTD and investing
In June 2011 this year, when I was looking at my investment accounts, I noticed that it had fully recovered from the nearly 40% drop since March 2009. I was in the middle of selling my house, moving into a new rental, planning for a wedding for next year and starting an investment in aContinue reading “GTD and investing”
Actively Maintain Your LinkedIn Profile : Ask For Recommendation Early
Something I started doing last year is to ask for recommendations on my LinkedIn profile while I’m still working at the company. Instead of only doing so when I have already left the company. LinkedIn’s value is the business contacts and also an online resume with real recommendations from people who are also on LinkedIn. Continue reading “Actively Maintain Your LinkedIn Profile : Ask For Recommendation Early”
*-public email aliases
How many meetings have you been in, or email exchanges with a selected small number of people. What you discuss and decided doesn’t get surfaced to the right people? How do you know where to send the information to? In general, how do you get the right information to the right people? I’m trying somethingContinue reading “*-public email aliases”
Single Tasking In The World Of Multitasking
I have been wanting to be a proficient iPhone programming for 1 year now. I have tried 3 times to start but have stopped for various reasons. My most recent attempt has worked, and here is what I’ve changed Focus, pay attention to only one thing at a time I have created a separate accountContinue reading “Single Tasking In The World Of Multitasking”
Getting People To Change Is.. Impossible?
That was my thought last year… however, I have changed my stance. The most successful way to get children and adults to change is to model the behavior yourself consistently. If you want people to act a certain way you model it over and over again. Don’t ask them to change though, just act onContinue reading “Getting People To Change Is.. Impossible?”
Be Prepare, You Will Win Most Of The Time
Be prepare for meetings ahead of time. You will be in the minority and you will get more of what you want Have an agenda ahead of time and send it, you will likely get more time If you want to a decision to go your way, anticipate the arguments, the fear, convince the deciderContinue reading “Be Prepare, You Will Win Most Of The Time”
Self Monthly Review: 3rd Month Of Being Solution Architect For Media
I have a reminder to myself to review whether I’m doing what my job description is defined as Here is the job description and how I rate myself from 1 (needs work), 2 (meets), 3 (exceed) • Evaluates new technologies; builds prototypes if necessary 1 : I barely do any of these right now asContinue reading “Self Monthly Review: 3rd Month Of Being Solution Architect For Media”
Taking Ownership Of Your Career
I have been mentoring several engineers and a common theme has emerged. We often don’t spend enough time actively managing our own career. These are the positive steps you should ask yourself. 1) The things I am working on right now, are they important and will they help further my career? 2) If they areContinue reading “Taking Ownership Of Your Career”
Soft Skills Of A Software Architect
I will not try to repeat what a software architect is, you can read it here at wikipedia There are various types of architects. Solutions Architect Enterprise Architect Application Architect Systems Architect A large part of the duties of an architect in a large organization is to design and to communicate. In my experience asContinue reading “Soft Skills Of A Software Architect”
NYT: 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology +2 Of My Own
This article from NYT has been on the top 10 technology most emailed since December 29, 2010. Almost 16 days now. Read it at 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology Here is my take and I’ve added 2 more 1. GET A SMARTPHONE Also Why: I use my Blackberry for calendar, musicContinue reading “NYT: 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology +2 Of My Own”
Tony Tam 