Author Archives: stevek

Computer Science for Parents

Posted on April 22, 2012 by stevek

I was discussing recently with friends that it would be amusing to create a computer science reference for parents. So for those of you out there who know something about computers and babies, I offer a few definitions. critical section … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Humor | 1 Comment

Oddball Questions, Part 2

Posted on March 23, 2012 by stevek

Here is my part 2 follow up from Oddball Questions Part 1. These are my responses to the Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions from Glassdoor, presented in Snappy Answers format. Snappy Answers 13-25 13. “Name 5 uses of a stapler … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Interviewing | Leave a comment

Oddball Questions, Part 1

Posted on March 19, 2012 by stevek

When I was a kid, I loved Mad Magazine, and read it a lot (And from an early age! What were my parents thinking?!?) One item I really enjoyed was Al Jaffee’s Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, and those come … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Interviewing | 1 Comment

New Pedals

Posted on March 2, 2012 by stevek

My Dahon-D7 originally came with the standard Suntour folding pedals.  One of them went bad on me recently.  The pedal was making crunching noises and wasn’t rotating properly – not good!  Apparently a ball bearing crumbled.  Reading online reviews, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking | Leave a comment

Wizards and Dwarves

Posted on February 17, 2012 by stevek

I wrote about interview puzzle questions recently to set the context for this article. A few years back, a colleague asked me to ponder a Wizards and Dwarves puzzle as a potential interview question.  A typical statement goes something like … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Interviewing | 3 Comments

Puzzling

Posted on February 1, 2012 by stevek

Some time ago, I had an amusing interview experience. A young fellow interviewing me asked a reasonable set of basic technical questions, had me code a few things on the white board (also reasonable), and so on.  The interview was … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviewing | 3 Comments

Thrashing The Delivery Truck

Posted on January 19, 2012 by stevek

I’ve previously compared software estimation to variations in the time required to drive to work. Dispatching delivery trucks is my mental model for comparison to changes in project direction.  This can help others to understand the impact when changes happen … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software | Leave a comment

Hidden Chronicles

Posted on January 4, 2012 by stevek

Today Zynga launched a new game called Hidden Chronicles.  Hidden Chronicles is a “hidden object” game in which you search for all the objects hidden within an illustration presented on the game screen (like the one to the right).  It … Continue reading →

Posted in Zynga | 2 Comments

Ball Cookies

Posted on December 27, 2011 by stevek

These round cookies are a family holiday tradition.  They are fairly easy to make, and not overly sweet.  Like potato chips, it’s hard to eat just one. This recipe yields about 50 cookies. Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened at room … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking | Leave a comment

Technical Pecha Kucha

Posted on December 17, 2011 by stevek

Pecha Kucha is a fun presentation format, bound in both content and time (20 slides of 20 seconds each – about 7 minutes long).  At NetApp we employed a similar format for “outrageous opinion” talks in engineering which I really … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Pecha Kucha, Zynga | 3 Comments