One of the things I like the least about Microsoft is how large the company has become - it also happens to be one of the great things about the company. Before you tell me to shut up and stop being so confusing, I'll try to explain myself. One advantage...

The fable of “Boiled Frogs” says that if you drop a frog into a pan of boiling water, it will jump out immediately, but if you put the frog in a pan of cold water, and slowly increase the temperature, it will stay there until it is cooked. I haven’t tried...

In a machine gun, tracer bullets are phosphorus bullets spaced at consistent intervals in the clip. They allow the shooter to see where their bullets are going. Pragmatic programmers use the “tracer code” analogy as a method to get quick feedback on whether...

I think that we (“we”==my team, Microsoft, and the Industry) waste way too much time “doing” email, and I am amazed how much we tolerate this waste. I interact with a lot of people of various levels of influence, and in my experience, the “typical employee...

I think everyone has seen blog postings that have a little “what am I listening to?” p.s. statement.  Although I’m sure someone somewhere would be interested in my love of gangster folk, I thought it would be more interesting to tell you what I’m drinking...

Pragmatic programming says “Don’t Live with Broken Windows”.  The hopefully non-copyright infringement summary of this idea is that if a broken window in a building is left un-repaired for too long of a time, that it leads toward more breakdowns in the...

I’ve noticed a few things about blogs lately. One is that just about every time I say I’m going to post an article or series of articles, my life goes into overdrive, and I don’t post for a week or two. Chances are that if you’re reading this, I don’t...