July 2007
7 posts
Peak Oil
In the 1940s and 1950s, a Shell geologist named M. King Hubbert observed that the production from any given oil field follows a bell curve, with annual volumes increasing until half the oil in the field is depleted, and declining thereafter. Basically, the bottom oil is harder to extract. King reasoned that production from all U.S. fields would follow a similar curve and predicted in 1956 that...
Be An Executioner
It’s so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas. (People who want me to sign an NDA to tell me the simplest idea.) To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. Explanation: Awful idea = -1 Weak idea = 1 So-so idea = 5 Good idea = 10 Great idea = 15 Brilliant idea = 20 No execution = $1 Weak execution = $1000 ...
The right way to develop software
“Technical Debt is a wonderful metaphor developed by Ward Cunningham to help us think about this problem. In this metaphor, doing things the quick and dirty way sets us up with a technical debt, which is similar to a financial debt. Like a financial debt, the technical debt incurs interest payments, which come in the form of the extra effort that we have to do in future development because...
“I believe there’s more innovation ahead of us than behind us.”
– Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
“I hope the next big thing is a consolidation of what we have learned over the...”
– Jeff Atwood (CodingHorror.com)
“The human mind craves clairvoyance, but anyone’s ability to see the future...”
– Frederick L. Muller, CFA