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Welcome to a world of limitless possibilities, where the journey is as exhilarating as the destination, and where every moment is an opportunity to make your mark on the canvas of existence. The only limit is the extent of your imagination.
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The tree
A Saturday afternoon in the 80s. The Christmas tree was coming down, headed out to the street, and small-me fell apart over it — two hours of crying for a dead tree I wanted to save. I still think about it, and about what we trade away to stop caring.
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From support request to pull request
A customer reported a bug. I opened a pull request to fix it. That last sentence is the part I love about my Support Engineer role at Workbrew. The chance to treat support requests as opportunities to eliminate future ones, and travel from inbox to deploy in a single afternoon.
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They laughed
Many years after university, I flew to Athens to interview for a BCS membership. When I mentioned Michael Dertouzos’s What Will Be as a favorite book, both professors laughed uncontrollably. They never told me why. Twenty-eight years later, nearly everything Dertouzos predicted came true.
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As an employer you can’t have it all
Reflecting on my early programming career, detailing the inherent challenges of unpaid overtime and implicit pressure to meet tight deadlines. Recounting a pivotal moment that changed my work ethic, leading me to enforce strict hours despite the demands. Ultimately, the experience shaped my resilience and perspective on professional boundaries.
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Hands off the fretboard
Coding felt like playing a song. The notes came out of your fingers. Now someone walks up mid-song and says, “Stop playing it yourself, or you’ll fall behind.” The maker, the artist… hands off the fretboard. Something is lost when you stop touching the strings. But the instrument has changed, not disappeared.
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Radical transparency in support
Support teams often default to vague responses when customers report issues, prioritizing corporate image over transparency. Embracing “radical transparency” enhances customer relationships by sharing honest details about problems and limitations. This approach fosters trust, reduces repeated inquiries, and encourages collaborative solutions, ultimately benefiting both customers and the company.
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