I am a father, friend, and programmer. I do not share personal information about my children or my friends online. Therefore, this site mostly contains my opinions about programming, society, books, and other impersonal subjects.. This belies the fact that I identify much more as a father and friend than programmer.

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about Programming. This site collects some of these works, and is the repository for new articles.

My opinions about programming and other subjects change over time. For example, my book Extreme Perl was my early thinking on how to devolve responsibility in a team. The methodology parts are too structured, and are not consistent with how I evolve software now, which is much more ad hoc.

Evolution factors big in my current thinking about software. This wasn’t always the case. I was a big fan of the waterfall model in the 1980s until I saw people and relationships as the core issue. Programming-in-the-large requires a team of trust.

Code evolves by integrating feedback. The more feedback, the better. A team of trust is fearless and can accept any feedback thrown at it. Team members are never fearless. Only in a team do we create a bond of trust that enables us to overcome our particular fears in any one instance.

Psychology figures centrally in my life and work. I strive to understand how my psyche affects my actions and reactions. I used to visit a psychologist regularly to help me integrate the feedback the real world threw at me. I’m better able to do this on my own now, but I also rely on my incredibly supportive family, friends, and work colleagues.

In the last few years, I have been meditating daily. I highly recommend Jeff Warren’s guided meditations.

In addition to conversations, my opinions are informed by my reading. You can find many notes on books I find interesting on this site. I continue to backfill on this site years of notes I’ve taken about books.

I have had rapture of the bits since I was nine. I have always worked in software, and continue to do so. Check my LinkedIn where I’m working now.

This page will evolve over time. It’ll reflect my current thinking on a variety of subjects, and serve as a jumping off point of what I think is relevant. Alternatively, you can sign up for the RSS feed for recent updates.

Cheers,
Rob
12/14/2025