Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way
tech: software development principles
After working on a project for a while with Agile and analyzing why some things went wrong, I came up with the following guidelines for our team. I printed them out and posted it on my cube wall so I would see it multiple times daily. I see these as supplements to or applications ofContinue reading “tech: software development principles”
tech: Google Play store updates and Android foreground notifications
In the office we’re working on an Android app which isn’t your usual app: we work with a handset OEM to get it pre-loaded on their handsets in the system partition. At the time it required system permissions and had a foreground notification. The slow rate of ROM OTA updates from OEMs being what theyContinue reading “tech: Google Play store updates and Android foreground notifications”
life: the epic road trip
Stats: duration: 23 consecutive days driving distance: 6747 miles longest single day: 856 miles, 15 hours driving (not including breaks) total hours driving: 112 average mpg: 29.1 gas consumed: 321 gallons number of kids upon departure: 5 number of kids upon return: 3 (2 left at college) family groups visited: 9 Monuments / Parks /Continue reading “life: the epic road trip”
life: going to college with financial responsibility
Now that my second child is on their way to college, I think my wife and I have narrowed in on an approach to higher education that is sustainable. Here are the principles we’ve been teaching and doing with our children. Go to a school that is affordable. It would be great fun to driveContinue reading “life: going to college with financial responsibility”
food: the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail
I stopped by a recommended BBQ restaurant recently (Hersey’s in Graham NC), and noticed a plaque on the wall. Part of the plaque reads: NCBS (the North Carolina Barbecue Society) has designed a barbecue trail from Eastern North Carolina to Tennessee. The trail will meander across the state with stops at 24 NCBS Historic BarbecueContinue reading “food: the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail”
life: visiting Disney World?
My family visited Disney World over the Christmas holiday. Yes, this is the absolute peak season for visitors. So I went bracing myself for an hour in every line all day long. Right before leaving we talked to a neighbor who recommended a service named RideMax. He told me you feed it a list ofContinue reading “life: visiting Disney World?”
life: family guidelines
Several months ago my wife and I were lamenting some of the things we saw weren’t going well in our family. So after some long talks, we came up with a set of guidelines for our family that really hits the nail on the head (at least for the issues our family is struggling with).Continue reading “life: family guidelines”
life: extending the life of a household water heater
My home has a gas-powered hot water heater located in the walk-up attic (3rd floor). I’d like to give the architect a dope-slap for doing that. Especially when the master bath directly below the water heater takes the longest to receive the hot water. But the real reason why the attic location is an issueContinue reading “life: extending the life of a household water heater”
life: advice for the new father
After having significantly more kids than the average family (well, I didn’t give birth to them, but I did cut the cord), to say that I have learned some things is a vast understatement. Some of these things took a long time to learn, even as late as the last kid. For the men outContinue reading “life: advice for the new father”
life: confessions of a LASIK patient
It’s not something I was originally looking to do. We had been using our pre-tax health savings account for the kids’ braces, and miscalculated the payment schedule, so we are at the end of the year with $2000 of unused money in that account. Use it or lose it. (I checked, when unused the moneyContinue reading “life: confessions of a LASIK patient”
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