Mike-O-Matic

An Anecdote
Funny story.
I started at the University of Maryland as a Comp Sci student in 1997, just a punk rock kid in a hip hop world. Through 2 stress-filled years it looked like I just might pull off that flashy Bachelor of Science degree; the lowered expectations that come from 35-point grading scales told […]

Lidor’s blog had an interesting post the other day about how code ages over time. He urges programmers to treat inherited or older code suspiciously, and to not rule out rewrites.
Used code. Used code is a lot like a used car. I’m really paranoid when it comes to used code. Code someone else wrote. Code […]

I was reading headrush.typepad.com the other day and it got me thinking about the elements of viral marketing. What is necessary for a product to catch fire and spread through word of mouth? Near as I can tell, the following elements must all be present:

It must be easy to use: The products […]

Editor’s Note: The following list is tongue and cheek, and is not meant to be taken seriously.
Programmers like to make tools for other programmers; we understand the domain and we love basking in the envious stares of our fellow developers. Seriously. Language/framework developers are the kings on the chessboard of life. […]

I’m headed up to The Cradle of Western Civilization (aka New Jersey) in a few minutes to visit family for the holiday. It should be a good time filled with mirth and an ungodly amount of food, but I stiill feed a little unprepared. Probably because I’m operating on 4 hours of sleep. […]

If you notice that I’m smiling a little more nowadays, there is a reason.
Yesterday, I bought an Apple MacBook Pro.
It didn’t start out like this. I’ve been shopping for a computer for a little over a year now to replace my aging HP Pavillion ZD7040 and never thought until two days ago that I […]

Here in the United States have a love/hate relationship with money.
On one hand, we stand in awe of celebrities, professional athletes, and business tycoons, watching incessant television shows touting their exploits, buying their books, and scooping up magazines with their faces on the front. It isn’t just the money that pulls us in; it […]

As Paul Graham’s article Mind the Gap has started to make the rounds online, there has been a good amount of criticism that seems to be flowing his way. I registered some of my own compaints on Monday, but still thought it was a fine piece. Most of the other criticism I have seen […]

Ever since I was a kid I always dreamed of having my own business. I used to talk about it all the time to anyone who would listen. In college I had had a friend (named Jason. I know a lot of them) who was an economics major, and he would often […]

The project manager is the redheaded stepchild of the IT world.
Developers don’t relate to him because he doesn’t know the difference between a float and that dollied-up car in a parade. If he had any skills, he’d be a developer, right? Real managers look down on him because he often doesn’t have any […]