A blog about nothing much
Coding Agents on Teams Introduction Unless you have been living under a rock over the last year you are probably aware that AI agents have taken the software industry by storm. It has become clear that a coding agent can deliver software to varying levels of quality in timelines that are accelerated compared to what your average developer could deliver. It's not a magic bullet for speed or…
Cultural Christians, Aren't There is a growing trend for certain groups of the US to refer to themselves as Cultural Christians. What they mean by this is that they like the aesthetics of certain parts Christian moral precepts and cultural norms but they don't want God in the mix. It may sound as if those people are natural allies of the Christian politically. I am not so sure that is…
Our industry, like any other, is prone to fads and trend following. Sometimes the fad is positive, sometimes it's neurtal, and sometimes it's misguided. Adopting a fad just to follow the crowd is almost always a mistake though. The fad around having DevOps, SREs, instead of SysAdmins is an example where many companies are adopting a trend as a way of following the crowd. Companies of a…
I've just recently begun a new job. For 7 years I've been doing some form or or another of engineering management at GoHealth, Inc. There were definitely things that I appreciated about being a manager. Mentoring other engineers has been one of the more rewarding things I've ever done in my career. But being a manager is exhausting work. It's emotionally and mentally…
Be aware the following is a rant. It is not carefully researched, nor is it a methodical analysis or logical argument. It is instead an attempt to capture my feelings after the events of Jan 07, 2021. I'm really angry I'm angry. Not just a little angry, I'm furious. Angry enough that I want to punch something. For context, I am a Christian. There are times in my life that I would…
Perception can make or break your culture Perception : a mental image; quick, acute, and intuitive cognition; capacity for comprehension; Merriam-Webster Perception is our word for how people experience and comprehend the world around them. When you are in leadership, understanding how people perceive their workplace environment informs how you guide them. Managing that perception will in part…
Managing change A significant portion of my job these days is to act as an intermediator during change. intermediate: verb (used without object) to act as an intermediary; intervene; mediate. Dictionary.com I stand between upper management and the teams that report to me. I mediate the interaction between them. My role is one of translator, shield, and understand-er in chief. I am the primary way…
I'm a Remote Manager now If engineering management is hard try doing it remotely I'm one of those people who enjoys working from home. I'm just introverted enough and have enough focus that working from home is kind of my ideal state. I'm also a manager now though and that adds a whole dimension to working from home compared to being an engineer. It's no longer about your…
Learning to be a manager Some time ago I took on a Management role at work. This is a role that, seven ago, I swore I never wanted, but life experience has a way of changing how you feel about certain things. Before joining this company I experienced one of the most incompetent engineering managers I've ever worked with. I've had some sub-par experiences but never true incompetence. I…
This is my last week at Google. Friday will be my last day. Which feels very strange I must admit. I'm a high inertia person. I tend to stay the course once I've picked one which is probably why I've been at Google for 6 years now. But now that is all changing so this is as a good a time as any to look back. Google is without a doubt the best company I've worked for to date.…