Exploring the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming. Learning to work with the systems, not against them.
The Human DevOps - 2nd June 2024 - Peanut Butter
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I have an emotional reaction to peanut butter that is so strong, it’s actually physical. I feel physically sick getting it on me, cleaning it off a surface, or even contemplating eating it. Why? A story. When I was seven, my parents sent me to a preparatory school. During the weekdays, I would board—I would stay over—in a dormitory with other kids around my age. I would come home on Friday night and then leave again for school on Sunday afternoon. I dreaded it. At least, to begin with, I dreaded it. And this is where my distaste for peanut butter arose. It was always on offer. White bread, jam, peanut butter. Crunchy or smooth. I think I preferred the crunchy stuff. And I ate a lot of it. It was my comfort. Perhaps I overate. I was young, there were no rules, I was away from home at age seven, and those in charge often left us to do what we liked. We adventured through the woods, for this school was in the middle of the Kent countryside. We’d explore. We’d come back exhausted and gorge ourselves on peanut butter. But the nights seemed long and alone. A French kid wet the bed all the time. There was a Malaysian boy I was friendly with. We kept in contact for a while after the ordeal was over. We were scared little boys away from our parents. But perhaps we discovered what freedom was that year. But peanut butter was never again to be my friend. -- Richard Peanut Butter photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash It’s not all Plain SailingPublished on June 1, 2024 To sail is to be in constant uncertainty. The sea is never the same twice. The conditions are never the same twice. There are no two boats alike. Crews change. The experience is never the same. That said, we’re not all racing the America’s Cup every time we set foot on the water. Therefore it’s… Read More »It’s not all Plain Sailing
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The Human Engineer
Exploring the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming. Learning to work with the systems, not against them.
January is over. The longest month! I managed to get a break in Chamonix, nominally to do some skiing, but for the most part it was marvelling at the beauty of it all. The world around us. So, I'm in the alps taking a break from the uncertainty of the present and facing my own mortality on the gentlest slopes near Mont Blanc. It's wonderful being up there with friends, I feel very lucky, and I also don't feel any real need to push myself like I would have done in the older days. I went out...
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REBRAND ALERT!! So it's been a while since I renamed this newsletter but I feel it's due a slight sidestep following the launch of my book. So welcome to episode 286 overall, but episode #1 of The Human Engineer. Despite me constantly rename this newsletter, over these years the subject has never really varied too much. I talk about software systems and how they relate to human systems. I find my work increasingly focusses on the human side of the this divide - because it is a divide right?...