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...

What actually matters in your organization - the People? Or the Process?  OK, that's a bit of a trick question, right?   I mean, of course  the people matter, because you're all People Persons, and y'all care about your peoples, and y'all want to do The Right Thing, etc. etc. But, and this is one of those things that is kinda hard to face, is that actually true ? After all, there are very few companies out there that basically come right out and say "Yeah, we don't care about our employees". Instead, what you'll find is any number of declarations along the lines of  • Our employees are our most important assets • We foster personal development • We are honest with each other, and don't play politics etc. If anything, the more sociopathic the organization, the more likely that their ostensible values are the exact opposite (probably thanks to some very judicious word-smithing courtesy of their Marketing/PR wings 🙄) And that very sociopathy is what ...

Why "Red Chicken Curry"?  Well, first of all, because this isn't really some kind of official recipe - not that there are really all that many "official" recipes for most Indian dishes, but, well there you are. And secondly because when I made this, I decided to actually get the dish to come out red (like in the restaurants, y'know?) and added red food coloring. And, well, turns out that the food coloring was pretty potent, and turned the dish not just red, but RED . So, there you go... Anyhow, it's good, really really good - recipe below. Marinate the chicken 1.5 lbs chicken thighs (leave the bone in, and the skin on) 1 clove ginger chopped into wee tiny bits 1" ginger grated 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup yoghurt Put all this in a bowl, mix thoroughly, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and preferably overnight, in the fridge. Masala Powder 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 tsp black pepper...

Pizza di patate is a classic Pugliese dish (ok, technically from Bari. Whatever) and goes by other names in other places - potato gateau, potato crumble, etc. Basically, think of it as "baked mashed potatoes", which is exactly like calling wine "fermented grape juice". True, but entirely missing the point. The recipe below comes from a friend of mine from  Puglia . OK, technically, it's her mom's, which only makes it even better, right? (Incidentally, if you want to learn - or improve - your Italian, you can do far, far worse than working with her. The site is called  LearnAmo , she's incredibly good at it, and the  videos are endlessly entertaining .) Anyhow, enough of the plug - recipe below. Ingredients 4 medium potatoes (russet, but pretty much anything will do) 2 eggs 8 oz mozzarella di bufala, diced. Not too small though. Perhaps 1/4" - 1/2" chunks 8 oz shredded cheese (use whatever you like. Mozzarella, cheddar, "fiesta cheese"...

Polpettone is kinda, sorta, but not really, "Italian Meatloaf".  It's actually a pretty ancient northern-Italian dish, dating back to the 1500s and possibly earlier. Regardless, it's pretty awesome comfort food, and once you figure out the base you can have a blast changing the filling, ingredients, spicing, and whatnot. The recipe below comes from a friend of mine from  Puglia . OK, technically, it's her mom's, which only makes it even better, right? (Incidentally, if you want to learn - or improve - your Italian, you can do far, far worse than working with her. The site is called LearnAmo , she's incredibly good at it, and the  videos are endlessly entertaining .) Anyhow, enough of the plug - recipe below. Ingredients 1.5 lbs ground beef (I prefer the good stuff, not the lean kind. But, whatev) 2 eggs 1 medium boiled potato, mushed w/ a fork 1 small handful of chopped parsley 1 large slice of bread, left to soak in water for 5 minutes 1 clove of garlic,...

The key here is fat. Pork fat. Guanciale  fat, but in a pinch, bacon fat will work just as well. Ok, the second  key is preparation. Read the recipe, and get everything set up before  you get started. This is one of those recipes where, when all the pieces come together it's magic, but ... "when all the pieces come together" is carrying a lot  of water here 😔.  It's really like riding a bike, once you figure it out, it's obvious , but till then, oh so many falls... Anyhow, here we go - this recipe serves 2-4 people depending on how much you eat 😜 Get your pasta-water started. About half the amount of water that you'd normally use, along with a hefty dose of salt.  You're reducing the water, because you'll be using some of the - starchy starchy! - water later! Dice up 6 strips of bacon (or an equivalent amount of guanciale ), and place in a pan. Cook on medium till all the fat has rendered, and the bacon is crisp and brown. Do not eat the ...

You’ve hear it all the time. Stuff like “ Yeah, we process about 20 orders/day manually. If we ever got to a hundred a day, we’d be in trouble, but  it’d be a good problem to have! ” “ The system is setup for about 10,000 users. If our user-base went up to 50,000, it’ll buckle, but  it’ll be a good problem to have! ” As an off-the-cuff statement, I’ve got nothing against this. However, I frequently see this used as a Business Rule, used to justify a decision that falls into the “need to do something *now*” category. And, even then I’ve got nothin against it,  as long as time is factored into the decision . The thing is, most companies aren’t growing rapidly. Oh yeah,  some  are, but that is a very,  very  small percentage of the economy. Most companies, on the other hand, are growing (or shrinking. or flat) at a very,  very  small rate. And for  these  companies, the orders/day, or the user-base, will grow 5x in, oh, two...