There’s a concept in search algorithms that makes a good analogy for life. As analogy, imagine a large forested area with small hills and depressions in it. You have the task of finding the highest point in this area. One popular algorithm for finding a maximum like this is to look around from whereContinue reading “Using Randomness as a Tool”
Tag Archives: dotnet-archive
Books that have changed my life [2012-2018]
I try to read a lot. I find it valuable to change my perspective, teach me new things, or simply for entertainment value. The following are books that, whether by content or by chance, taught me something that has stuck or changed my approach to life. In order to be included in this list, theContinue reading “Books that have changed my life [2012-2018]”
Hours to Mastery
10,000 hours is famously (and likely wrongly) quoted as the number of hours of deliberate practice one needs to achieve mastery in a skill. I was curious today, so I put together some calculations of how many hours I’ve put into different skills (to be fair, not all of these hours are deliberate practice –Continue reading “Hours to Mastery”
5 Lessons Learned Drawing Daily for a Year
I’ve always been intimidated by drawing. I vividly recall times when being invited to do art projects with others has made my palms sweaty and my heart speed in my chest. As a fairly competent person, this fear has always bothered me. I spent the last 12 months trying an experiment. In the past IContinue reading “5 Lessons Learned Drawing Daily for a Year”
Drawing Lines, Not Dots
A dot on a graph with no context is often fairly useless unless you have already established a sense of context. A good example from my last job: if I tell someone that they used 200 kWhs last month, for the large percentage of the population, that doesn’t mean anything unless they also know howContinue reading “Drawing Lines, Not Dots”
Prioritizing Tech Debt and Opportunity Cost
Last week I found myself arguing with one of our engineers at Simple Energy about the ‘correct’ implementation of a feature. This argument centered around the issue of accruing ‘tech debt.’ (If you’re not familiar with the concept, check out the wikipedia page.) He argued that a longer implementation time to add additional functionality wouldContinue reading “Prioritizing Tech Debt and Opportunity Cost”
Should I Use a P&L as a Product Manager?
I was recently trying to determine the value of building a P&L for some development projects. Concerned that it might end up being a time sink that doesn’t pay off in the end, I asked a mentor of mine for his thoughts. Here’s his reply: I think if you approach the per project P&L withContinue reading “Should I Use a P&L as a Product Manager?”
Black Boxes and Filling in the Blanks — Early Dating and Compatibility
Dating has long been a subject I’ve avoided on my blog. First, because I tend to want to write things about dating when I’m feeling frustrated with it and I don’t want all that logged in the public record. Second, it’s usually a lot of personal things. I try to write when I feel thatContinue reading “Black Boxes and Filling in the Blanks — Early Dating and Compatibility”
Premature Optimization and the 95/40 Rule
I drew this diagram on my whiteboard several months ago to explain to a friend why eating a Standard American Diet (SAD) and trying to fix it with supplements is foolish. The SAD is the column on the right, achieving, for argument’s sake, 40% of an optimal 100%. The column on the left is somethingContinue reading “Premature Optimization and the 95/40 Rule”
Technology for Learning Vocal Music
My typical method for learning new music is something like this: Get the music and look over it for general patterns in the music like repeats, etc. Find a recording if possible and familiarize myself with the music Learn the music by singing/playing through it with a keyboard Make clips of the music and listen/runContinue reading “Technology for Learning Vocal Music”