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Reclaiming Focus: The Lost Art of Downtime
Modern software builds traded the forced tea time of Borland Turbo C for complex YAML pipelines and noisy distributed failures. To avoid burnout and logic errors, you must reclaim your time to think. Build a fake commute, step away from the screen, and go make a proper cup of tea.
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Consistency
The importance of consistency in both bourbon production and software development. It emphasizes that, like distillers who maintain quality through careful processes, software developers must ensure strong quality control at every stage. By taking individual responsibility for output quality, producers can enhance consistency and overall effectiveness in their work. Read Post ⇢
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Empathy
The importance of empathy in product development, encouraging creators to consider the end user’s experience. By understanding users’ perspectives and needs, developers can enhance productivity and create solutions that resonate emotionally. The goal is to foster a positive connection with users, ensuring outputs are accessible and valuable. Read Post ⇢
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Art of Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS)
We, humans that is, love to complicate things and it seems to come naturally without too much effort. The longer we work with a given project, the more complex it becomes. I am not just talking about software engineering, but pretty much anything we undertake. Yet how does this seem to happen? The short answer Read Post ⇢
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A day in the AI life of a CTO
Let me take you through a typical day in the life of a Chief Technology Officer in the age of AI and how it has woven itself into every aspect. Read Post ⇢
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Open Source Means Never Being Stuck
Reflecting on the advantages of open source software in development, using a recent experience with the libvips library as an example. Faced with limitations I adapted and improved the library, significantly enhancing performance. Open source provides autonomy and opportunities for contributions, embodying freedom and progress. Read Post ⇢
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Simplicity and power of UUID v7
UUIDv7 addresses performance issues associated with earlier UUIDs by embedding a timestamp, ensuring better data sorting in databases. Discover how to use this powerful variation in your auditing and logging tables Read Post ⇢
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Why I Love Leonard Cohen: Insights and Musical Highlights
Reflecting on my admiration for Leonard Cohen, sparked by a song heard years ago on a flight. This appreciation deepened through Cohen’s profound poetry and storytelling in music, which deserves focused listening. Read Post ⇢
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Inside the FTX Scandal: Michael Lewis on a Crypto Catastrophe
The book recounts the rise and fall of the FTX crypto exchange, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, resulting in a $8B loss and his 25-year imprisonment. Michael Lewis explores the complexities and naivety of those involved but leaves the true story unclear. The narrative is engaging but feels incomplete due to ongoing developments. Read Post ⇢
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New Years Resolution for the CTO
The new year offers a chance to reset initiatives, but studies show 88% of resolutions fail due to overly ambitious goals. To combat this, tech leaders should adopt small and simple achievable resolutions. Read Post ⇢
the leg-end that is, Alan Williamson.
For over 20 years, I’ve shared my thoughts whenever the muse strikes. It’s unpredictable, honest, unedited, and occasionally witty. I’m living the best years of my life, working harder than ever, and enjoying every second.
Alan Williamson 