Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips An age-old method of writing long pieces comes from writing short pieces without a plan or outline. The “outline” comes later. I recently stumbled across a description of writers as Story Quilters. This is not a method of planning or outlining a large piece before writing anything. This is not a method […]

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by Dwayne Phillips This is impractical. Still, someone wants to do it with their own resources. Please, do it. I want to write a novel. Why? We already have a zillion novels. Go to the library and read a few. I want to make a movie. Why? We already have a zillion movies. Go to […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Philosophy and utopia are great until reality punches everything in the nose—philosophically speaking of course. Philosophical discussions are great. They may stretch the mind to see other points of view or possibilities. They may lead to better ways. Philosophy, however, is philosophy and not reality. We need to keep that in mind. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Take care when confusing lab projects with real products. Both are good, but they are not the same. In all fields of endeavor, we have lab projects and real products. Both can be good. They, however, are not the same. Sometimes product managers and marketers confuse these at their peril. Students in […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Games are simulations of real life. Some games simulate real life better than others. The key is to connect the simulations to real life in a meaningful manner. Games are simulations. The Monopoly game is supposed to simulate business, commerce, and acquiring wealth or something like that. Tick-Tack-Toe simulates spatial logic and […]

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by Dwayne Phillips To be flexible enough to do new things, I often need a foundation of fundamentals in place first. If I am standing on shifting sand, I have to be flexible to adjust my stance and upper body so I don’t fall. Flexibility is required just to stay in place. If I am […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Is it okay to not be the person in charge? I am nearing the end of my professional working career. Maybe I will retire in a year or ten. Regardless of the retirement date, I have worked many more years than I will work, i.e., the past is bigger than the future. […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Many of today’s data scientists are similar to man of the web designers of the 1990s. I think this is a good thing. A recent conversation with a colleague helped me to realized something about data science in today’s world. I thought data scientists were computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who knew […]

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