by Dwayne Phillips People in distant lands use the same words differently. Time and generations create distant lands. I was fascinated by this story about younger folks putting things on TikTok et al. Then older folks who admit people to college and hire them for jobs noticed those things. The younger folks spoke in the […]
Entries from February 2023
Words and Distant Lands
February 27th, 2023 · No Comments
Tags: Communication · Conversation · Culture · Humility · Language · Time
50% is Not One Half
February 27th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A review of percent may surprise some. Sorry about that. Use this information cautiously. I recently read a contract that purported to calculate 50% of 50%. That struck me as odd, so given too much time on my hands, I thought about it a while. Warning: thinking about basic things for a […]
Tags: Approximation · Concepts · Data Science · Mathematics
Not This Place and Time
February 23rd, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The persons who are in this place at this time to decide this thing are usually in the wrong place and time and deciding the wrong thing. Let’s decide. We are the deciders. We are in the deciding position because at some time and place in the past we showed how well […]
Tags: Choose · Decide · Learning · Mistakes · People · Time
First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, …
February 20th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Events occur in a set order, unless they don’t. Thought is encouraged. The title is from a nursery rhyme (origin unknown by me). The third event is a baby in a baby carriage. Events occur in a set order. Breakfast-lunch-dinner. Entree then desert. Eat breakfast, then brush your teeth (or is that […]
Tags: Design · Learning · Rest · Systems · Testing · Thinking · Work
Increments, Perfection, Fear, Candor, and Pride
February 16th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Today’s practice of delivering software and systems emphasizes continuous delivery. Today’s practice, however, fails at this. Technology is not the problem. CI/CD is continuous integration and continuous delivery (or deployment). Work everyday. As each little increment of capability is finished, deliver it. Perhaps we deliver every day and perhaps several times every […]
Tags: Communication · DevOps · Expectations · Experiment · Honesty · Ideas · Leadership · Technology
Job Interviews: Can You Learn?
February 13th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Most job interviews center on one question, “What do you know?” Here’s a suggestion for a new central question, “Can you learn?” I don’t like job interviews. The folks interviewing me are usually quite pleasant. They want to know what I know. The central question is, “What do you know?” That question […]
Tags: Jobs · Knowledge · Learning · Questions · Work
What About the Teachers?
February 9th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips In the past month or two, many have bemoaned the appearance of software that can write essays for students. I have yet to read concerns about software that teachers can use to write essay assignments. ChatGPT is ruining the world. Well, at least some folks think it is ruining their world. The […]
Tags: Computing · Ethics · Machine Learning · Teaching · Technology · Writing
Sometimes I Don’t Take the Podium
February 6th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I like to speak in front of audiences. I like to take the podium and talk. Sometimes, however, I don’t take the podium. Sometimes, I need another person to stand in the way and say, “No, not today.” I recently attended a memorial service for someone who died. Close family members stood […]
Tags: Breathe · Clarity · Decide · Fatigue · Health · Honesty · Humility · Permission
Next Slide, Please
February 2nd, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips This one is finished. Time for the next one. It too will finish, and another one will come after it. Many years ago as a much younger man, I spoke with a much older and wiser man. He was about to leave an assignment and begin another assignment. He had learned the […]
Tags: Expectations · Experiment · Growth · Learning · Time