Hidden Code Mines
Code is unforgiving. As the reasonable human beings that we are, when we review code we both know what the author intends. But computers can’t wait to Well, Actually all over that code like a lonely Hacker News commenter:
Read MoreReflective Parenting
This post is a departure from my typical software related topics, but I think you’ll find parallels with management and dealing with software developers.
Read MoreApplying Conway's Law
In some recent talks I make a reference to Conway’s Law named after Melvin Conway (not to be confused with British Mathematician John Horton Conway famous for Conway’s Game of Life nor to be confused with Conway Twitty) which states:
Read MoreBetter Testers
In a recent post, Test Better, I suggested that developers can and ought do a better job of testing their own code. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you read that post first. I’m totally not biased in saying this at all. GO DO IT ALREADY!
Read MoreUpcoming Speaking Gigs and a Podcast
Someone recently emailed me to ask if I’m speaking at any upcoming conferences this year. Good question!
Read MoreTest Better
Developers take pride in speaking their mind and not shying away from touchy subjects. Yet there is one subject makes many developers uncomfortable.
Read MoreTrust and NuGet
How can you trust anything you install from NuGet? It’s a simple question, but the answer is complicated. Trust is not some binary value. There are degrees of trust. I trust my friends to warn me before they contact the authorities and maybe suggest a lawyer, but I trust my wife to help me dispose of the body and uphold the conspiracy of silence (Honey, it was in the fine print of our wedding vows in case you’re wondering).
Read MoreA Caveat with NuGet Source Code Packages
The other day I needed a simple JSON parser for a thing I worked on. Sure, I’m familiar with JSON.NET, but I wanted something I could just compile into my project. The reason why is not important for this discussion (but it has to do with world domination, butterflies, and minotaurs).
Read MoreAsync Lambdas
Today I learned something new and I love that!
Read MoreFitbit Me
Back in March of last year, Stephen Wolfram wrote a blog post, The Personal Analytics of My Life. It’s a fascinating look at the data he’s accumulated over years about his own personal activities and habits such as daily incoming and outgoing email.
Read MoreHidden Pitfalls With Object Initializers
I love automation. I’m pretty lazy by nature and the more I can offload to my little programmatic or robotic helpers the better. I’ll be sad the day they become self-aware and decide that it’s payback time and enslave us all.
Read MoreMitigate The Billion Dollar Mistake with Aspects
Tony Hoare, the computer scientist who implemented null references in ALGOL calls it his “billion-dollar mistake.”
Read MoreReflections on 2012
I wasn’t prepared to write an end-of-year blog post given the impending destruction of the world via a Mayan prophesied cataclysmic fury. But since that didn’t pan out I figured I’d better get typing.
Read MoreMigrating Comments to Disqus
Merry Christmas!
Read MoreYou Don’t Need A Thick Skin
I have a confession to make.
Read MoreOne Year At GitHub
As of today, I’ve been a GitHub employee for one year and I gotta tell you…
Read MoreIn Los Angeles this Friday for .NET Rocks Roadshow
Once again, those crazy fools Richard Campbell and Carl Franklin are touring around this great country of ours in a big ass RV as part of their .NET Rocks Road Trip. Last time it was for the launch of Visual Studio 2010. This time it coincides with Visual Studio 2012.
Read MoreVoting is a Sham! Mathematically Speaking.
The recent elections remind me of interesting paradoxes when you study the mathematics of voting. I first learned of this class of paradoxes as an undergraduate at Occidental College in Los Angeles (well technically Eagle Rock, emphasis always on the Rock!). As a student, I spent a couple of summers as an instructor for OPTIMO, a science and math enrichment program for kids about to enter high school. You know, that age when young men and women’s minds are keenly focused on mathematics and science. What could go wrong?!
Read MoreThe Truth about NuGet and its Future
In my last post, I talked about the MonkeySpace conference conference and how it reflects positive trends in the future of open source in .NET. But getting to a better future is going to take some work on our part. And a key component of that is making NuGet better.
Read MoreMonkeySpace shines a light on the future of .NET OSS
At the end of last year, I wrote a blurb about the Open Source Fest event at Mix 2011. Imagine the typical exhibition hall, but filled with around 50 open source projects. Each project had a station in a large room where project members presented what they were working on to others. You could see the gleam of inspiration in the smiles of developers as they exchanged ideas and suggestions. I left this event completely fired up.
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