http://duanegran.com/blog thoughts on technology and culture, as time permits Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:16:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Its hard to see the big picture when you are working on implementation details and it is no wonder that programmers are often viewed as being out of touch with the organization as a whole. When the developer is deliberating depth-first versus breadth-first for an algorithm they are bound ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=522 Blaise Pascal famously started a letter stating, "I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have time." Its often easier to make things hard, complex or time intensive than to achieve the short and simple version. If you would have asked me three months ago what ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=520 Have you ever seen those "x days since an accident" signs in a workplace? They are placed there because the very act of measuring something has an effect on improving it. Every organization is measuring something but not every organization takes the time to make sure they select the right ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=518 I recently upgraded to Wordpress version 2.6.5 and it appears that comments are currently broken. I'm investigating it. Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions. :) Update: This has been sort of low priority lately, but the comments are working again. The solution was rather simple and involved ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=510 The marketplace is, frankly speaking, a mess right now. Nothing earth shattering or newsworthy in itself, but what is driving the current malaise? In a word, uncertainty. Take the latest example where the Treasury Department is considering a program to offer fixed mortgages at 4.5%. For the past ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=508 A must read if you are curious about the inner workings of the sub-prime collapse. “We always asked the same question,” says Eisman. “Where are the rating agencies in all of this? And I’d always get the same reaction. It was a smirk.” He called Standard & Poor’s and asked what ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=506 On this day 491 years ago Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis as a challenge to the excesses of his day and opened the doors to mass schism. He could have been a renown reformer in the church, but the legacy today is nearly 30,000 protestant denominations. I used to ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=505 An explanation from a well-read Libertarian is the best summary I've seen of how the markets have become so volatile and why the government bail out is the wrong answer. http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=504 It doesn't get any more succinct than this: The very best manager you could ever have manages the people above him, not the people below him. I'll only add that I think great managers do both, but insulating developers from upper management is an often overlooked function of good gate control. ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=503 I’m pleased to announce, for those not in my immediate email orbit, the birth of my daughter — Maria Katherine Gran. She joined our family the evening of August 13, 2008. She is 6 pounds and 7 ounces. She is quite healthy and adorable. We are ... http://duanegran.com/blog/?p=502