This was a recent find surfing the internet. Sara is a tech evangelist at Microsoft, formerly program manager for Codeplex. It was in this position that she literally jumped off of a building during TechEd in New Zealand.

You can view the short and sweet version:

Or view the longer, more fulfilling version:

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Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (Second Edition)

Peopleware is a classic text on why most companies fail at software and what managers of development can do to avoid this failure. DeMarco and Lister decry the status quo of Corporate America taking on everything from building design to quality requirements and time estimates. What they say about the psychological need for quiet space and natural lighting hit home for me - these are all things we know to be true but it's great to hear someone else say it.

Most of their conclusions seem like common sense or at least conventional knowledge. I wish more of their data was collected more scientifically, but the authors are software consultants and this is just what they've observed.

Peopleware was originally published in 1987, and again in 1999. The second edition includes eight new chapters. I found the new chapters to be strikingly different in tone. By their own admission the new chapters were a result of another decade of experience and include a change in perspective. While the original content focused very sharply on identifying the things that organizations did to make software fail from an outside view, the new chapters could be considered almost a manager's handbook of how to keep that from happening.

This was a very enjoyable read, and is definitely a resource I will return to again and again for inspiration on 

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"Why can't we build software like we build bridges?"

Because when you build a bridge, the shoreline doesn't change and you don't redesign the purpose of the bridge every six months.

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My baby gets me the best presents.

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Download now or watch on posterous

VIDEO0014.3gp (10669 KB)

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Seriously, this is the sort of thing we blast Fox News for.

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Chuuuuu!

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So this is pretty interesting: Google is now offering a package download of its most popular tools as well as RealPlayer (ew) and Adobe Reader. It’s called Google Pack.

I’ve always been a fan of tools that make it that much easier to get up and going on a new machine or a recently formatted one. As a power user, I end up having to clean out the old system at least every year and a half, and getting back up to speed with all the little utilities I need takes a long while. It’s nice to see Google doing this, but they need to step it up a notch, Ninite has them beat with about 60 apps, including most of Google’s!

I’d be interested in finding out if there’s any Mac equivalents to these types of services. Anyone know?

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I've noticed a distinct lack of discussion revolving around people's New Year's resolutions this year. I'm not sure if it's the general feeling of depression over the total amount of suck lately, or if people have given up on making goals for themselves that they may break. Setting goals is a really important part of being successful, and not enough people try to do it on a regular basis. Anyway, there's a few things that I really want to accomplish this year:

Write More

I'm terrible at keeping my blog up since it's so much easier to just compress my thoughts into 140 characters for Twitter. But I really need to start exercising the writing part of my brain. To this end, I plan on updating my personal blog at least 3 times a week and publishing more material through it instead of straight to Twitter. I also intend on opening up at least one other blog devoted solely to software development, probably on MSDN.

I've also decided to use the jwwest.com domain I've had sitting around instead of the less personal penguinwired.org I had set up. However, penguinwired still forwards to my blog. I've also enabled the ability for people to comment on it using their Facebook login.

Lose 60 Pounds

I've really been overweight for way too long. In the spirit of traditional resolutions, I'm hoping to lose at least 60 pounds this year. Luckily, I already have lead time on this. At the behest of my doctor, Jackie and I are going to try the HCG diet starting this month, which means I can possibly see this goal reached by May.

Be a Nicer Person to My Family

I've been terrible at just being there for my family. I'm hoping to remedy this by putting more effort into communicating and just being available.

Finish ArmoryNet and jArmory

ArmoryNet and its port, jArmory are APIs for interacting with World of Warcraft Armory data. I started out in October hardcore and just sort of fizzled out on them. Finishing these two will give me a boost for some other project ideas I have.

Get at Least One Application Published on the Android Market

I really love Android and I have a lot of ideas for applications that I may be able to monetize. This is a big goal.

Reach 10k Reputation on StackOverflow

Yeah, I know it's silly, but I figure it'll make me a better programmer. :)

Master Ruby and Lisp, Brush up on Python

I really want to learn Ruby. It seems like a very elegant language. Lisp seems interesting, and I'd really like to see why everyone goes on about it. I love Python, and I don't do enough in it anymore.

Pass at Least Level 4 of the JPLT

I first started learning Japanese 10 years ago. I'm still not that good at it. I think by making a goal, I might be able to make some progress.

Learn to Play More Than 3 Chords

I have a guitar collecting dust. I love music and the idea of playing an instrument again. I need to force myself to sit down and practice this year.

Play More Games

By this, I mean different games. The last 4 years have almost been entirely consumed by MMORPGs, and while I love the genre, I really need to start rekindling my love for other games. In fact, I think it's probably a good resolution to just play less WoW!

So those are my ten resolutions for this year. I'm going to really work hard to make progress in them and become a better, more rounded person. I've never really been good with meeting goals I set for myself, but I'm hoping this year can be different for me. How about you guys? What resolutions do you have for this year?

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Seriously, ton of freaking value here. My 13 year old self is in heaven.

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