When I was 8 years old, I remember having a friend over to dinner one fateful night. Sometime during the course of the meal, someone told a funny joke, and I burst out with an explosive laugh – which wouldn’t have been a big deal, except that my mouth was full of milk. My parents […]
For a while there, I was doing pretty well. I was going to bed early, waking up at 4 am(!), hitting the gym, and getting back home before my son woke up. Then I pulled a muscle, my daughter was born, and BAM a year and a half later I’m 15 pounds overweight. Other parents […]
I’ve been thinking (again) about what it is that makes some coders special, and have come up with the following idiosyncratic, completely unscientific, my-employer-does-not-endorse-my-views classification. It should go without saying (but won’t) that not only is this graph not to scale, but that it’s a pretty scary power function as you move up the pyramid. […]
Here are some things I recommend to my family. My friends. My coworkers. Sometimes, to complete strangers. Some are funny, some are serious, some are just plain strange. Some are longer, others shorter. But I think they’re all worth taking the time. Do this. Watch Dove Evolution This is Water It’s not about the nail […]
My wife and I were recently talking about one of our mutual friends, a researcher in a “soft money” position. This means that instead of getting paid by the university from general funds, she’s responsible for bringing in the money for her salary, research team, facilities, etc., through writing grants. This has become increasingly difficult over […]
A quick thought experiment. I’d like for you to imagine the best version of yourself. Not the rich you, or the more attractive you. Not the version of you that went to a different school, grew up in a different country, made different choices. This isn’t the version of you that had different opportunities, or […]
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. – Mark Twain When communicating in a public space (Twitter, Facebook, blogging, meetings, etc.), it’s easy to censor yourself though the simple fear of saying something irredeemably stupid. Something so vapid, so provably false, that […]
Well, it’s been a year since I started blogging, and honestly, I’m a little surprised I’m still at it. But somewhere along the way, even after getting through the things I initially had in mind, I realized I still had some things I wanted to say. And so, here we are. By the numbers: 12.5 […]
When I joined TripAdvisor, I’d been out in the world as a professional coder for a decade and a half. I’d had significant management roles at a prior company, and had just come off of six years of running my own company. I was used to being in charge. And so, when my soon-to-be-boss asked […]
Regular visitors will know that this blog is usually about technical subjects, primarily technical management. However, Thanksgivukkah approaches, and I’ve been asked by a number of people for my Mom’s pumpkin nut bread recipe. I occasionally make this for my team, and I can tell you that it’s easy, delicious, and always a big hit. […]
Dan Dreams of Coding 