Programming insights to Storytelling, it's all here.
On Android, the takeover of SMS is almost complete. For the longest time, I resisted letting Google manage my messages. I don’t recall exactly when I gave in. Maybe it was during one of those countless pop-ups interrupting my conversations, prompting me to agree just so I could continue texting. Now, I get slick animations when someone “likes” a message, see real-time indicators when people are typing, and enjoy the perks of using the internet to send messages. Along with that, however, I get auto-generated replies.
One day, I was looking for my manager in the Luxury furniture store I used to work at. I needed help resolving an issue with an order. I found her in the office, both hands covering her face and shaking. I hesitated for a moment while her shoulders danced up and down. When I finally knocked on the opened door, she didn't even react. I walked a couple steps and she was startled. She grabbed a tissue from her desk and wiped her eyes and nose. Her eyes were still blood red and dark. She had been crying. Before I could ask anything related to the help I needed, she said. "I'm leaving."
Before hopping on the computer, I went to see my mother with a well rehearsed speech. She was in the living room, talking on the wall phone balancing it on a shoulder while watching TV. I sat down beside her, rehearsing my speech in my head while waiting for her call to end. She noticed me fidgeting.
When I was a kid, my sister came home with a book she claimed could give you superpowers. People said that after reading it, they could levitate. I had no idea what that meant, but I was sold. The book was Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins.
As a manager, if I propose a solution and someone on the team has a better way, all they need to do is defend their method, and we’ll use it.
When the pandemic was in full force, my kids were at the perfect age to love the playground. Other parents stood at a distance, armed with Lysol wipes and full COVID gear, watching and waiting for their turn. I, on the other hand, hovered protectively over my kids like a human bubble. The unspoken rule was clear: the sight of another parent approaching the playground was our cue to leave. Looking back, my kids barely got to enjoy the playground during those years.
In some jobs, your superior is the person who knows how to do your job better than you do. They’ve spent years honing their skills, mastering the nuances of the work, and rising through the ranks. Eventually, they are promoted to leadership roles, where their expertise guides the rest of the team to perform at their best. This model of seniority, where experience and skill in the task itself are paramount, is common and highly effective in many professions.
After reading thousands of Stack Overflow questions, I've come to a conclusion: people don't provide the necessary details to get their questions answered effectively. This is a recurring problem, not just on forums but in any situation where someone seeks help. To get a useful answer, you need to include all the relevant variables, and just as importantly, filter out the irrelevant ones.
The MP3 format, once the gold standard for digital audio files, is now free. The licensing and patents on MP3 encoders have expired, meaning you can now include them in your applications without paying royalties. For software developers and audio enthusiasts, this might seem like a big deal. But, surprisingly, almost no one noticed. Why? Because the world of technology has changed so drastically that MP3's significance has faded into the background.
As a software developer, the best way to get a raise isn’t by waiting for your annual performance review. It’s by applying for a new job. This has been the industry standard for years. In many sectors, raises rarely keep up with the cost of living, and recent inflation has only made this gap more glaring. Today, this dynamic is no longer limited to the tech industry; in nearly every field, the easiest way to secure a pay bump is to leverage an external job offer. Consequently, job boards are no longer primarily used by the unemployed. They’re increasingly a tool for career advancement.
