Long ago, Molly made an unwise bargain. Her mom had bought her a Furby which Molly wanted to bring over to my house for the weekend. I loathe Furbies and think they should all be destroyed (preferably with cleansing fire), but I was willing to accommodate My Favourite Person: I would allow her to bring … A Thousand Kisses
A few days ago, in a bout of frustration, I disparaged the hard work of some of my coworkers in a stream of tweets. This was inexcusable. You might think I would be particularly sensitive to this as I work on a product which routinely gets scathing reviews on the App Store. I know it’s … Unprofessional Conduct
I’m not sure why email from recruiters annoys me so much. Maybe its the fact I’m as white as a white guy can get. I’m really the last person the recruiter should be contacting. Recently I received the following from Uber: Hi Jeff! My name is [REDACTED] and I work directly with the Expansion engineering … Greetings from Uber
Last year I attended Úll for the first time. I make no secret of the transformative effect it had on me. Thanks in part to talks by Anil Dash and Baz Scott, I began thinking about what I was really doing in the tech industry. What my role should really be. Even more important, Úll … Thinking About Úll
Molly is this week’s Super Star at school. One of her parents had to write a letter telling the class why she was a Super Star. This is my letter. Molly is my favourite person: every moment I spend with her is better than moments I spend by myself. We walk to school together in … Superstar
Scouting was a big deal in my family when I was a youngun. Both my brother and I earned our Eagle Scout badge. I’m old enough that I was in Scouting when it was all uncomplicated fun tromping through the woods trying not to get ticks or squashed by a moose. However, in more recent … A Scout Is Trustworthy
There has been so much written about why having a Code of Conduct is critical to conferences and online communities, but easily the best work I’ve read so far is Ashe Dryden’s amazingly thorough Codes of Conduct 101 + FAQ. Of course, I’ve never had to really worry about the lack of a Code of … Codes of Conduct
Cocoa Conf Yosemite kicks off in a few days. I’m super excited to learn new things, explore Yosemite National Park with my peers, and I hope to meet a couple of my heroes. When I met the organisers of Cocoa Conf, Dave and Solomon Klein at Cocoa Conf San Jose last year, we talked about … Cocoa Conf
Earlier this month, I announced I would begin teaching public speaking classes starting in February. I indulge in compulsive preparation. So before I could possibly feel comfortable teaching a class, I needed to be absolutely certain I had the material right. I’ve attended several speaker training classes over the last several years. Each was targetted … Feedback on Day One
I have some teacher friends – well, I know some teachers and I suspect under light torture (like withholding their chalk allowance3) they will grudgingly admit to knowing me – so I’ve heard them remark nothing teaches you about a subject like trying to teach it. I’ve been preparing for my upcoming Speaker Training classes; … Learning by Teaching
