Toots from 2023-07-17
Picked up some new debugging buddies at the beach.
Picked up some new debugging buddies at the beach.
Mastodon Source 🐘
Fast feedback is helpful so long as there is alignment on the vertex labels.
Fast feedback is helpful so long as there is alignment on the vertex labels.
Mastodon Source 🐘
“This dynamic ignores that to elicit good contribution the entire meeting needs to be designed …
“This dynamic ignores that to elicit good contribution the entire meeting needs to be designed around it. If you fail to do this, then most of the group’s collective wisdom will remain a hidden profile (more on this later).”
https://charleslambdin.com/2022/11/22/meetings-are-design-products/
Mastodon Source 🐘
““A partial solution to a whole system of problems is better than whole solutions of each of …
““A partial solution to a whole system of problems is better than whole solutions of each of its parts taken separately.”
• A partial solution for the whole is good for the system’s purpose, and can be improved yet further as we study and learn more;
• ‘Whole solutions’ to each part will likely harm, and can ultimately destroy, the system and its purpose.”
https://squiretothegiants.com/2016/06/16/so-you-think-youve-got-a-problem/
Mastodon Source 🐘
Instead of looking for ways to synchronize shell incantations across the team, invest in incremental solutions that eliminate the need for the shell incantations in the first place.
Mastodon Source 🐘
This seems like a good opportunity for the XKCD modern infra diagram, where COBOL is holding up t…
This seems like a good opportunity for the XKCD modern infra diagram, where COBOL is holding up the financial system.
“Being “stable” and old, though, can create a paradox — a curse of success. Because when code runs nicely without anyone needing to check up on it, eventually people drift away. They stop looking at it, stop inspecting it. And that means they stop understanding how, precisely, it works.”
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/magazine/cobol-controls-your-money
Mastodon Source 🐘
“But the tip here is probably: look into what are the behaviors you want to see happen, and giv…
“But the tip here is probably: look into what are the behaviors you want to see happen, and give them room to grow.”
https://ferd.ca/embrace-complexity-tighten-your-feedback-loops.html
Mastodon Source 🐘
“Loads of folks were talking about emergent system properties like metastability. Unfortunately…
“Loads of folks were talking about emergent system properties like metastability. Unfortunately, not a lot of folks seem to be writing papers about it, or getting grants to work on it…Metastable failures in distributed systems and Metastable Failures in the Wild are some of the most important systems work of the last few years, in my opinion. There’s a lot more to do here.”
https://brooker.co.za/blog/2023/07/13/osdi.html
Mastodon Source 🐘
“Most workers want to come and work. They want to show up, give a fair eight hours of work, and t…
“Most workers want to come and work. They want to show up, give a fair eight hours of work, and they want to feel good about themselves,” said Scott Latham, a strategic-management professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who worked in the tech industry during the start of the internet boom.
Mastodon Source 🐘
“This stuckness starts with an improper understanding of “power” and “influence” and su…
“This stuckness starts with an improper understanding of “power” and “influence” and subsequently not recognizing and appreciating your power and that of others. Based on an ad hoc sample, I can tell that many people at work secretly hope that power doesn’t exist and stay away from it, which is sad and career-limiting.”
https://www.subbu.org/articles/2023/mid-career-stuckness/