Month: January 2016

Is it possible to enjoy vacuuming the house? This weekly chore is definitely not my favorite activity. You take the apparatus and rub the end back and forth across the floor, and there's no real feeling of progress or satisfaction. When you paint, you immediately see the results and can feel good about it. With vacuuming however, you just seem to go through the actions without perceiving improvements. How much cleaner did the house get after expending so much energy over a period of so many minutes?

Today for some reason I actually enjoyed it. I stopped thinking about achieving results, comparing the present with the past, wondering how much longer it would take before I reached the bottom floor. I was in the zone, kind of meditating and not caring at all. My mind wandered a bit before disappearing into who knows where. When I realized that the last square meter of the kitchen floor had been reached, that was that.

Now it's time to continue the flow.

According to the newspapers, it is still officially January. Normally this would mean that we are smack dab in the middle of winter. Whenever the December climate seems to have been more temperature than expected, at the turn of the new year mother nature almost always gets back by blasting us with icy cold winds and lots of snow.

Not here though.

Believe it or not, today was the warmest 25th of January in recorded time. Namely the temperature peaked at 16,3 ℃ which is 61 ℉. I was never a fan of winter weather, so psychologically at least I felt much happier inside. I was definitely in the golfing mood which is a good sign.

The yellow flowers in the fields are blooming, the green buds are appearing on the trees, the birds are tweeting away and the insects are zooming around. Nature seems to be getting more and more confused as the years roll by.

Is this a fluke or caused by the carelessness of mankind?

When I finished reading The Rails Doctrine I felt re-inspired to continue what I am currently doing, and it gave me courage to move forward with what I believe is the best route for me to follow right now. Although the odds are probably not with me, and it's going to take alot of hard work and perseverance, it's all about programmer's happiness anyway.

Having had the privilege of being a (small) part of the wonderful world of software development, one of the most important things that I have learned is that in the long run it is NOT technology which is the limiting factor.

The possibilities of technology are pretty much limitless, meaning that in general one can achieve anything that is required. Given enough sweat and tears, creative thinking, time and labor. However, it is "human nature" which is the limiting factor, and if left unchecked it is humans and not machines which usually cause a new project or enthusiastic startup to fail.

People relate to one another in a very unpredictable way. Not only within an organization or the chaotic dynamics of the team. External relationships with the market, ever-changing government rules and regulations, public fickleness or an unexpected dip in the economy. The products are usually pretty good, but it is the brand which must be developed and the potential customers which have to be convinced that they really need what we are building.

To make matters even worse, the endless possibilities of technology can confuse us and lead to indecision and uncertainty. Choosing to pivot in one direction and then switching to the other is only too easy. One needs to be flexible and have the ability to switch but not too easily. Hesitation makes us miss the window of opportunity, while forcing premature decisions doesn't usually work either.

Buddha spoke of always taking the middle path, and wavering ever so slightly is not a bad thing either as long as you do not veer off of the road, e.g. at those sharp turns.

I am not pretending to be a wise person, because I do not know the right answers either. Every startup and new project is different, the constraints and people forming a unique mix of variables. Keep focused, prefer the long run to the short, and tackle the future challenges in a positive and confident manner.

If I had to guess the perfect mix of technology versus the human factor, I'd give it a twenty-to-seventy percent. The last ten percent needs to be reserved for good old serendipity.

Be very thankful for what you have and who you are.

Live one day at a time.

It's going to be a fantastic year, cannot wait.