Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
The Human DevOps - 2nd June 2024 - Peanut Butter
|
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
|
The Human Software
Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
Writers are terribly impatient. We are so fragile, we crave attention all the time. So, for us, writing into a vacuum and not getting anything back is the worst. We will happily take anything including "wow, it really sucked" or "how could you be so old and so feeble at writing?" At this point in the journey of Human Software, I'm so desperate for feedback, I'm even willing to pay for it! So that's what I did. In January, I hired an editor, and he's been great. He helped me with the...
Over the last week, I drew a map of Kent reimagined as if the 1286/7 floods hadn't happened. According to the history books, those large storms and tidal events significantly changed the coastline of eastern England. The former Wantsum Channel became blocked with alluvial mud and sand, turning the once important seaport of Sandwich into a landlocked town too far away from the sea to accept large boats. Further afield Dunwich in Suffolk suffered a similar fate: In the Anglo-Saxon period,...
Three years ago, I started a podcast without much idea of its future. Before that, I'd started writing, wandering through automation, programming techniques, infrastructure, DevOps, and thoughts about management, leadership, and how companies are organised. Where was I going? While I'd read a few books, it was clear that I was searching for something. Was I just talking for the sake of it? It sometimes certainly seemed that way. And then, about eighteen months ago, I started writing a novel....