Great day with Jen and the boys walking around Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond. It helped to clear the cobwebs.
The family has upped their Hobonichi Techo Planner order to three this year. One for me, one for Jen and now one for our oldest Ethan.
Build paths first
Michael Wade explains the sidewalk rule and why we should build paths first.
Keeping things simple and action-oriented is difficult and yet if that orientation is not present from the start, it may be too late. Territory may already have been seized and boundaries drawn.
— The Sidewalk Rule
In a recent project, I took the advice of another team when setting up a new project and categorising the work involved based on a template this team used. In doing so, I complicated the project before it even began. I should have built paths first before building sidewalks.
Time and attention are unrelated
Jason Fried recounts a tale showing that time and attention are unrelated.
What I don’t have – and what I can’t squeeze in – is more attention. Attention is a far more limited resource than time. So what I should say is “I don’t have the attention”. I may have 8 hours a day for work, but I probably have 4 hours a day for attention.
I may have created a monster by showing my youngest son the new Aliens Pulse Rifle from Nerf.
More recommendations from humans please
This blog has been quiet of late. I haven’t felt the need to share much of anything over the last year. In fact, in the previous few years, I’ve bounced back and forward on the want to keep running this blog. The motivation to blog has waned, but it’s something that I still want to do. It’s a strange feeling to have.
One of the things that I enjoy about blogging is the passing on of information. In the past, I would often share links to stories and posts that I have found through my daily read of the websites that I follow. It’s an excellent way of passing on the good stuff on the internet. The old fashioned way. Without the vanity metrics of likes and followers. Without the need for algorithms to find you the right content.
I should do this more often. I should share more links to the things that I find interesting on the internet. Not because I want more followers or readers, but for the intention of passing something else on that I found fascinating as an individual. As a reader of my blog, you might like it; you might not like it. However, there’s one thing that I can guarantee you. Each of the links I share on my blog is a post or a story that I found interesting and recommend as a human and not as an algorithm.
Maybe that’s something that we could do with more of on the web.
One of the things that I enjoy about blogging is the passing on of information. In the past, I would often share links to stories and posts that I have found through my daily read of the websites that I follow. It’s an excellent way of passing on the good stuff on the internet. The old fashioned way. Without the vanity metrics of likes and followers. Without the need for algorithms to find you the right content.
I should do this more often. I should share more links to the things that I find interesting on the internet. Not because I want more followers or readers, but for the intention of passing something else on that I found fascinating as an individual. As a reader of my blog, you might like it; you might not like it. However, there’s one thing that I can guarantee you. Each of the links I share on my blog is a post or a story that I found interesting and recommend as a human and not as an algorithm.
Maybe that’s something that we could do with more of on the web.
Proud of Ethan winning his first Junior Club Championship at Paisley Golf Club.
A superb match over 36 holes that went to a second playoff hole before the winner was decided.
An older post from Lifehacker in 2016 outlines the benefits and drawbacks of using plain text.
Amazed by GitHub Copilot
I must admit, I am blown away by GitHub's latest technical preview, Copilot, despite not having access to it yet. It's almost like having Stack Overflow, your favourite snippets collection, and a pair programming buddy rolled into one.
There are some concerns being voiced about how this will impact the value of a developer's role.
While GitHub's Copilot will in time automate a fair amount of time in a developer's typical day, it can't account for the complexity involved in solving real-world problems using code. While the snippets generated by Copilot look to solve simple tasks, it's piecing these tasks together by the developer that counts. A developer's role is not just to write code but to understand the code being written. GitHub's Copilot looks to do both by providing generic suggestions that the developer can change to solve the problem they face.
Given that my brain is not quite as sharp as it once was, I welcome any tool or product that helps me write and understand better code. GitHub's Copilot will definitely help me do both. While it won't make me a 10x developer in the future, it will definitely make me understand and be more proficient with more programming languages.
There are some concerns being voiced about how this will impact the value of a developer's role.
While GitHub's Copilot will in time automate a fair amount of time in a developer's typical day, it can't account for the complexity involved in solving real-world problems using code. While the snippets generated by Copilot look to solve simple tasks, it's piecing these tasks together by the developer that counts. A developer's role is not just to write code but to understand the code being written. GitHub's Copilot looks to do both by providing generic suggestions that the developer can change to solve the problem they face.
Given that my brain is not quite as sharp as it once was, I welcome any tool or product that helps me write and understand better code. GitHub's Copilot will definitely help me do both. While it won't make me a 10x developer in the future, it will definitely make me understand and be more proficient with more programming languages.
Lunch date
I just had a wee lunch date with Jennifer at one of our favourite local restaurants.
Nice to get out of the house, have the cooking done for you and be in great company. Shame I have to get back to work now.
Nice to get out of the house, have the cooking done for you and be in great company. Shame I have to get back to work now.