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The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

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Screen-Time, Dangers and Fallacies

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Parental Struggles with Screen-Time

As a parent, the general notion of screen-time is challenging to disregard. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, as it is a concept that bothers me. It is also an important concept that cannot be ignored as it hides real risks. What troubles me is not the widespread concern about the dangers of screen-related obsessive behaviors; that concern is healthy, and I share it. The problem I have is more about semantics, generalizations and delicate nuances.

Screen-time is an expression that describes any time spent in front of a screen. Watching TV, playing video games, reading e-books, using social media, reading or watching the news, watching videos, coding, etc. It is all technically screen-time; but, is all screen-time bad? ... 

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A Programmer Burnout Story; How to Recognize it And Avoid it

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

I am very interested in psychology, but I am not a psychologist. I do not have any specific or tangential formal education on the phenomenon of burnout. My experience with it is from the trenches. I have been in some nasty ones, knee deep in the mud, grasping for something solid to avoid going down and drowning. I have observed software developers burnout, and I know how bad it can get.

I got close to get burnout myself a couple of times but managed to avoid it by doing research on the topic and taking decisive actions. I have seen friends and co-workers fall deep into it, and struggle to get out of its hideous embrace. I have also helped some of them to get out of it. ... 

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Best Strategies To Invest Your Engineering Time Wisely

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Reading Time: 11 minutes

When I started coding in 1984, there weren’t many choices of languages and technologies. Basic, C and Pascal were the main ones. Only a few books on the topic were available, and the internet didn’t exist. With such a limited choice, it wasn’t difficult to decide how to spend my learning time to become a software developer. Distractions were not a problem, and networking wasn’t much of an option either.

Over the years things changed dramatically. Today you have an incredible array of options and information to choose from. Deciding where to spend your time can be daunting. Should you become a generalist, and know a little bit of everything? Or a specialist, and know one thing well? Also, should you learn to write code at all? Are you trying to start a business, or are you trying to learn to code? What are your goals? ... 

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A Day in The Life of a Software Engineer

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

Meet Bolbo.

Bolbo is the name of my mental framework for the quintessential software developer. I draw it with a square jaw, black messy hair, round glasses, a cynical sense of humor and a snarky attitude. He doesn’t exist in the flesh, he never did and never will. He is a fictional character that I use as a thinking model in a few situations. For example, I write code comments as if I was trying to explain to him how the code works. I mentioned this in 9 Software Engineering Career Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs. ... 

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Doodle Tuesday: The Beginning

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Meetings in tech are left-brain work; unless you doodle.

My schedule is normally packed like a dishwasher after Thanksgiving dinner, and much of my time is spent in meetings. Important meetings. I do not accept meetings that have no agenda, meetings where I cannot bring value or meetings with unclear value.

When I am in a conference room, I take old fashioned notes using pen and paper. Notes are important to me, and I do not use any cheap old paper. Maybe I am a bit of a paper snob. As such, I like to use Moleskines, an Italian brand of quality notebooks with a cult-like following in North America. I love the feel, the quality of the paper, and the durable bindings. I like my notes to last because I go back to them often; sometimes years later. I also periodically scan and archive my notebooks into Evernote for easy access from any device.  Despite the electronic copy, I like to collect and use sturdy and durable originals. ... 

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