Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Writers need not be afraid to take a chance in their writing. Criticism first requires something that most of us writers lack. Writers are insecure. Well, I read that a lot on the Internet. We don’t write this or that because we are afraid of being criticized for writing something like that. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I sing the praises of Jumpcut: a little clipboard buffer for OS X. I do a lot of copying and pasting on my computer. That saves me untold hours of time typing. It also saves me from making data entry errors. I use Jumpcut: a little clipboard buffer for OS X. It […]

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by Dwayne Phillips “Be the Best” is a misguided goal because it is based on other people. A few years ago, I worked for a government agency who proclaimed loudly and often that it was the Best fill-in-the-blank agency in the Federal government. I tried in vain to convince people that was a misguided goal. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The napkin or envelope is still one of the best tools for the engineer or manager or fill-in-the-blank. I have a(n old-fashioned) laptop computer, a smartphone, and a tablet – and I still write notes on a napkin. Yes, I am old, that is part of the explanation. Yet, there is something […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Why do we do that? I find two answers to that question. The world is not complicated – at least if viewed from certain perspectives. Why do we burn fossil fuels? Why do athletes use steroids? Simple answer: because they work. But we move on to observing people do things that don’t […]

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by Dwayne Phillips People often choose a development method without any reason other than, “that is what everyone is doing now.” I urge a bit more thought. More thought on day one brings more time and energy the rest of the way. Agile development is all the rage today. I know because I am unemployed […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I build a heater from two clay flower pots and some tea candles. I saw this on the Internet (how many times have you heard that one) and decided to build my own. It was very cold the week I did this, so that explains why I did it. I saw that […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Take care with the reasons why you write. You may be putting the decisions of others as the key to your satisfaction. Why do you write? People who don’t write often ask me this. Google that question and see a million blog posts for answers. One of the things I do is […]

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