And you are here why?

Are you a "tidy plate" kinda person? Or one who pretty much just loads the plate up willy-nilly, because, hey, "eating is where it's at!"? I'm actually being serious. I mean I know people who are extremely clear about their food - the potatoes can't touch the peas, and god forbid the ragù overflows and ends up touching the bread! And then again, there are those for whom "plating" basically translates to " put it on the plate, that's all there is to it! " I know, you're sitting there thinking "And, pray tell, what does this have to do with software?" Well, very broadly speaking, software folks also tend to fall into these two categories. On the one hand, you've got folks that like clarity. Give them a task list, a well documented requirement, a bug to track down, or some such, and they're happier than clams in a bake. On the other hand, you've got the folks who thrive in chaos. Ambiguous requirements, flak...

Ever been a Systems Administrator? I have (first job I ever had!), and I have to tell ya, it’s a pretty thankless gig. I mean yes, there is the satisfaction of a job well done, the joy of knowing that everything is up and working to spec, etc., but, behind all of this, you are left with the knowledge that  Nobody Cares Till It Breaks  😔. Mind you, it’s not that they don’t care at all. It’s more like, from their perspective, “It’s Working” is normalcy, steady-state, the way things should be. You don’t get into a Toyota Camry, and say to yourself “ Hmm, I wonder whether the engine-block will fall out of the car on the way to work ”. Engine-blocks remaining in the car is the default state of existence, and if one  does  happen to fall out of the car, then hey, it’s definitely Bizarro-City! And that, my friends, is what SysAdmins — and software engineers in general — deal with all the time. As far as users are concerned, systems are Toyota Camrys, and are supposed...