Nov 23, 2022Artemis — YawnThe hoopla around the recent launch of Artemis to the Moon has me conflicted. The good side is that NASA is actually trying to do something other than send people to an orbiting tin can that is not suitable for humans, because prolonged stay there leaves them debilitated. …3 min read3 min read
Aug 12, 2022Scrum Was Unethical From the StartIn 2001 an ad hoc group of men (yes — all men unfortunately) gathered for a weekend to devise some shared ideas about how to fix the dysfunctional culture of software development, which — during the 1990s — had come to be dominated by PMI-centric waterfall ideas and heavyweight methodologies. …5 min read5 min read
Apr 16, 2022The Horrendous Design of Streaming AppsHave you found that streaming apps are a horrible experience? I am not talking about the content — I am talking about the aps that deliver the content. My wife and I use an Apple TV for watching Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Apple TV+. We also use a browser for…4 min read4 min read
Apr 9, 2022Climate Change Is Not Our Biggest ThreatI am worried about climate change, but I started out as a skeptic. Today I am like the reformed smoker, evangelizing about the need to control methane in particular and CO2 as well. My journey began when I noticed that the climate record showed that we are due for another…Climate Change5 min readClimate Change5 min read
Mar 11, 2022“Life” is a Non-Sensical ConceptScientists have updated the definition of “life” many times, and with increasing frequency. Philosophers have debated what “life” is for millennia — it is one of the cornerstone topics in philosophy. I claim that those debates are destined to lead nowhere, because there is no such thing as “life”. But…4 min read4 min read
Nov 29, 2021The Internet Did Not Have to Be This WayHundreds of passwords. Misogynistic and other toxic trolls poisoning online discussions. A few dominant e-commerce providers and a decimated small retail landscape. We celebrate the Web — England even knighted its creator, a lowly non-physicist programmer at CERN. Yet the “Web” that he created was a primitive and haphazard application…Internet Security9 min readInternet Security9 min read
Jun 28, 2021Old Versus New AgileAgile has changed. In the words of Jeff Patton, “When people say Agile today, they mean something different today than they did in 2001…it’s come to mean something else.” Unfortunately, some members of the Agile community are stuck in the past. …Agile Methodology7 min readAgile Methodology7 min read
Feb 13, 2021Why Democracy Is a Terrible SystemWhy do we in the West celebrate democracy? The reason is that democracy is how we unshackled ourselves from kings and lords who subjugated us, stole from us, raped us, and squeezed us into the subsistence margins while they lived with excess and privilege. Indeed, anything is better than that…Democracy5 min readDemocracy5 min read
Nov 15, 2020Google Has Become Mostly a Product Placement PlatformHave you noticed that Google search results have been getting worse and worse? That now they seem to be mostly product ads? …Google3 min readGoogle3 min read
Oct 22, 2020Why We Created Agile 2Most Agile transformations struggle. According to an Allied Market Research study, “63% of respondents stated the failure of agile implementation in their organizations.” This is despite the fact that Agile is increasingly seen as a strategic enabler. …Agile8 min readAgile8 min read
