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Category: Blog

Code Complete

Part of the Twenty Books in Twenty Days series.

I was given the first edition of Code Complete [affiliate link] in a training course in my first job, post-university. My Computer Science degree covered a number of sophisticated but impractical techniques for software engineering, the most memorable being testing. By comparison, Code Compete was incredibly refreshing. Its advice is practical and pragmatic, yet based on solid research and experience. It also rarely says “this is the way” to do something. Instead, it will list the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches. I treat with suspicion anyone who advocates for One True Way to do something.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Part of the Twenty Books in Twenty Days series.

As I type this I am wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Don’t Panic” on it. Douglas Adams [affiliate link] was always going to make a “best of” list from me. Might as well get it out of the way at the start. The combination of science fiction, satire, and the quality of the writing just works for me. I am one of those people who is forever quoting the books. Sorry, not sorry.

Twenty Books

I’ve been following and participating in the twenty books in twenty days hashtag on Mastodon. It’s described as follows:

20 books that have had an impact on who you are. One book a day for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just book covers.

I’m going to cheat. I am going to explain my choices. The posts that follow are all part of the challenge. As with my annual reading lists, these are not reviews per se, more notes, observations or thoughts that occur to me as I read them.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow

For a while, this book [affiliate link] was everywhere. It was recommended on podcasts. Every second person on the Tube was reading it. Friends suggested I take a look.

In the end, I added it to my queue at the library but its popularity meant that I had to wait six months for it to become available!

For various reasons, I wasn’t able to read it in the three weeks loan period. I could have waited another six months to read the end, but I was invested enough to buy a copy.

SWAT

My wife mocks me for watching SWAT. Sadly with some justification. It is kind of silly. The main character is supposed to be a heart-throb but – I dunno – I don’t quite see it.

If you’ve not seen it, it’s a police procedural set in the SWAT team of the LAPD. In each episode there’s some disaster or crime that’s being committed that needs the efforts of our heros to resolve. Standard stuff.

The Kaiju Preservation Society

Those with extraordinarily good memories will recall that I read a couple of John Scalzi book a few years ago and enjoyed them (“Redshirts” and “Fuzzy Nation”). In fact, it took me longer to pick up another one of his books than I expected, though, to be fair, when I did it, I did it in style: I bought a “Humble Bundle” of them. “The Kaiju Preservation Society” is the first of that bundle that I’ve read.

Repost

Over the next few weeks, you’ll see a bunch of posts that I have previously shared elsewhere. (Plus the last couple of posts.) For the most part, the posts will be as-is. Each post with note where and when it came from, plus information on any changes.

I’m gradually closing down my Medium account, because of their continued “enshittification.” I didn’t post much there, and some of it can already be found here.

Make Something Wonderful

Make Something Wonderful,” a collection of Steve Jobs writing and photos is… well, it’s a good thing that I write these notes for myself. You’ll already know if you’re interested.

I’m not sure there’s much new and undiscovered here, but it’s nicely collated and fascinating reading.

One highlight is the script from his Stanford commencement speech. But what I enjoyed most were the notes. The speech was almost perfect, but the notes allow you to see the process that led there. The common perception of the lone genius having a eureka moment is a lie. Jobs worked and practiced and iterated and sought feedback. Much of his work he attempted to make everything look simple and obvious, but the reality is that ‘effortless’ takes a lot of hard preparatory work. Some might argue that this detracts from his achievements, but I’d say that the exact opposite is true.