The Joy of Craftsmanship

I identify a great deal with the label of “Craftsman”, but some of the rhetoric around the current “Software Craftsmanship” movement bothers me. Why? A little lightbulb went on recently as I read “Let my People Go Surfing”, by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Patagonia was founded by a group …

The Importance of Being Idle

It says over there on the left that I like to be idle, but I don’t often take the time to write about it. I’m not going to write much now, really, but here’s a thought for you: An idle mind is a questioning, sceptical mind. Hence it is a mind not too bound up …

Battling Robots at Software Craftsmanship 2010

I’ve submitted a session for the Software Craftsmanship 2010 Conference. It’s a redux of the Robot Tournament I ran at SPA2010. The idea behind the session is to simulate the life of a start-up software company. In the early rounds of the tournament, the priority for each team is to get a robot, any robot, …