Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of persuading people with words

Tales from the Tech Support Crypt

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This post is dedicated to everybody who’s ever worked in tech support. When a packet hits a pocket. http://thedailywtf.com/articles/Some_More_Tech_Support http://thedailywtf.com/articles/Support-Should-Never-Be-Necessary http://thedailywtf.com/articles/radio-wtf-presents-quantity-of-service http://thedailywtf.com/articles/Its-the-Only-Way-to-be-Sure http://thedailywtf.com/articles/Could-You-Explain-Programming-Please http://www.techtales.com/techroom.php     Got any more? Please put them in the comments.

When (not if) software requirements change

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A young acquaintance asked me this question. How is it best to handle mid-project changes from clients? Are there times when a project is beyond the point of some kinds of changes? How is it best to resolve such issues? Every project experiences specification changes; it’s a normal occurrence and a part of the business … Read more

Ethics: slippery subject because people have different stances.

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Ethics is a slippery subject. Different people have different ethical stances, so if I were to say “that’s unethical” to you, you’d be likely to misunderstand me. One common ethical stance is utilitarianism. This stance purports to optimize collective welfare. I don’t know any NSA people, but it seems likely that they share a utilitarian … Read more

Glance Networks — a good company!

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I’m presently working at Glance Networks.   They’ve been around for well over a decade; they’ve never taken an investment from venture capital firms, and they provide screen sharing and co-browsing services. They make it possible for one person to help another person online with a minimum of fuss. This company stands out in the … Read more

Using words like John McPhee

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One of my favorite writers is John McPhee of Princeton, NJ. He’s written for The New Yorker since my memory of him began, and published many books with the Macmillan publishing company.  He’s the good reason I preach from a manuscript rather than extemporaneously: if a phrase is worth listening to, it’s worth constructing well. There are bad … Read more

Slowing down Wall Street

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Wall Street, lately, has been using high-speed trading to allow insiders to front-run trades by ordinary investors. So, for example, when an outfit like TIAA-CREF (pension funds for teachers) tries to place an order to buy shares of a company they like, other investors’ computers can detect the trade before it happens, buy the shares, … Read more

A useful tool for writing

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Check this out! an online tool for looking over text we write and scoring it for readability. Try it on the next memo or blog post you crank out, and weep! When you’re done weeping, tighten up your writing! http://www.hemingwayapp.com/