snowdeal.org > ex machina

ex machina

cam writes a list of things he learned in 2001 which contains a really simple lesson:

"No matter how good your idea may sound, chances are someone else has already thought of it. Accept this as a kind of self-compliment."

for whatever reason, i had this lesson burned-in at birth and it always amazes me how many people will assume that a perfectly good idea is a bad idea if someone else has thought of it. strange really - the world is a big place and it's just a conceit to believe that your idea is a new idea. a conceit which is much less difficult to propagate now that google is around.

this lesson is really a rule, with a corollary relevant to programmers:

"It’s been said by other people, but it’s worth repeating: the best programmers these days know how to use the Web to solve problems.

I’m not talking about just knowing how to find things on MSDN online or Apple’s developer site . As often as not, the problem I need to solve hasn’t been addressed there—but somebody, somewhere has run across the same thing and found a solution."

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1/03/2002 08:59:00 PM 0 comments

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“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”

the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh

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this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.

if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.

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