Another [expletive deleted] Code Blog??

Well…yeah. Sorta. But not really. I’ll get to that later.

I’ve been doing software development casually for many years, first by making Excel and Access live up to their full potential and for the couple years doing .NET work professionally–SaaS, hosted in Azure, I can spin up a webjob faster than I can a nutritious dinner. More recently, I’ve joined a consulting firm with a more language-agnostic approach to the software craft.

The Case Against…

In that time, I’ve frequently held the opinion that the LAST thing the internet needs is another white guy blogging about code. So often I’ve gone looking for a solution to a problem and been forced to waste time on multitudes of typo-ridden rehashes of Microsoft tutorials and wordy essays on why the pattern my boss told me to use is problematic.

Not to mention, as my wife kindly points out, I am a serial project starter. I’ve left the burnt out, rusted ruins of several blogs across the web (I make no apologies).

The Case In Favor…

I have stumbled across some sainted souls who manage to eloquently present the missing pieces. Or who provided a view point on a philosophy in such a way that it clicked things into sharp focus. Or I’ve read a thoughtful stackoverflow.com comment or answer and thought, “I would love to read what that person’s up to.”

Software development is a craft. Increasingly, I feel, it’s almost more important to know how someone thinks about the craft–their attitudes and approaches, their fundamental beliefs, their philosophies–than to know their technical prowess. Skills can be taught, and best practices indoctrinated…but philosophy is deeper and more subtle. Writing on the subject is one way to convey one’s philosophy without the hassle and stress of an interview.

The Final Result

I want to share joy. When I do something cool with code, I’m currently very limited in the number of people I can tell it to who will actually appreciate it (though I do have plenty who will nod along and reflect my happiness–no small potatoes). If even one person can read a post, find it relatable, and feel some happiness I call it a win.

I want to help elevate the knowledge base. One of my favorite things about the developer community is the amount of knowledge out there, for the taking–all the experiences shared build the foundations of the craft that much stronger. Given how many times my Google searches come up dry, I feel some of my experiences are unique enough to add value.

I want to go beyond my resume. The fact I still have recruiters asking if I want to drive a forklift (which I’m damn good at, thank you) highlights just how narrow a view a resume grants. Before software development I was successful at many things, and each of those experiences create a unique view on most problems–and even those “Tell me about a time” interview questions can make that hard to convey.