Reflecting on Robert and Joel Spolsky

I’ve realized something today as a result of a discussion with Jeff and Christian, two of my good friends and coworkers. My boss, Robert, is a genius. He knows how to manage a team of programmers perfectly.

We were reflecting on how nice it is to work in that office. We all have nice, modern computers – Macs, no less – large secondary monitors, comfortable chairs, and a private desk with drawers that lock. We have a kitchen that’s fairly well equipped with utensils and access to the building any hour of day or night. We work with great, intelligent, passionate people. We have office lunches frequently, and this semester, Robert has been offering all of us a few fried eggs every morning when he cooks his own breakfast. I have never had to fight the bureaucracy, and only rarely am I asked to help with something other than coding. We have complete autonomy on many of our projects, and I’ve had the opportunity to lead projects and head meetings frequently. Finally, and to top it all off, our hours are completely flexible. If I show up at a different time of day than I’m scheduled to, there’s no problem. If I disappear for three weeks without even giving any warning, Robert will ask me when I get back to email him next time, but there will be no repercussions. I am absolutely free to put my schoolwork first. That’s something you just can’t get anywhere else.

Now, we’re paid better than most people on campus, but we could make much more money off-campus doing the same thing. Robert knows that, and so he has done everything in his power to make the job more attractive despite the lower pay. It works. I turned down a job in Salt Lake that would have paid significantly more largely because of the benefits at this job.

As a result of all of this, only the best and brightest work here. Robert and Michael have a fairly rigorous interview process that focuses not only on technical knowledge but on problem-solving skills. Very few will have all the knowledge they’ll need to work in this environment when they’re hired, but Robert intentionally hires the kind of people with the problem-solving skills to learn what they need, without formal training, on the job. All of this helps produce part of the positive work environment – intelligent, hard-working people to associate with. You can tell that we get the cream of the crop partially by where graduates from this office go. Several work at Apple, one at a supercomputing contracting company, one at a high-end internet luxury retailer, and so forth. Smart people work here.

While we were discussing all of this, I realized that Robert has created exactly the kind of environment Joel Spolsky, one of my favorite software authors, writes so passionately about. Spolsky created a company with the goal of creating this kind of an environment in NYC. He writes articles about what he does that makes it work. Robert, without knowing it, does everything Spolsky recommends. He creates an environment in which programmers can work without interruption. We can focus when we’re focused and breathe easy when things are moving slowly. We are always comfortable and well-fed.  I spend an enormous amount of time in my office during the day because I want to. It’s my home base on campus where I leave all my food and books and go to relax. I love my coworkers and I love the projects I work on. I get to make architecture decisions in important applications almost every week, and the software I write will be in use for years if not decades. We have one meeting a week that lasts less than one hour. We voice concerns and Robert thanks us for our work and reminds us that we keep the entire department running. Many nights, I’d rather stay at my office another hour than go home. I’ve never even heard of another job with this kind of environment.

In summary, I never gave any thought to why this office is so great. I knew Robert worked hard to get things the way he wanted, but I hadn’t fully recognized his genius. He has the art of managing a team of programmers down to absolute perfection. If he didn’t have a committee of professors interrogating him over his every move, he would have a workplace that people would be quitting “real” non-student jobs to get into. What Robert does manage to do is exactly the kind of thing Spolsky says a good manager will do – fight with the non-software people who just don’t understand until he can create an environment in which coders want to work. Why he and Michael, one of the most brilliant sysadmins I’ve ever met, don’t work somewhere bigger and more prestigious is a complete mystery to me. All I have to say is that I’m grateful they took what they had and ran with it!

I will always be comparing future jobs against this one. This is the kind of environment in which I would always like to work. I could handle a more formal environment, but if it’s not as pleasant, it’s not worth living in.

Go read some articles by Spolsky. They’re fantastic. If you ever had any interest in managing programmers or in creating a startup, you need to read what he writes.

Edit: Final remark. I think, when I’m still young and potentially unmarried, I’m going to need to try working at a startup. I think it’s one of those things I’d like to try out, and while I’m young is the time to do it.

Oops

Guess I couldn’t cool it that quickly after all.

Missed post

I had to finish my CS240 project. Post to come later this week.

Unusual People and List Week

I seem to have run into a lot of unusual people this week. Or, in one case, normal people put into unusual circumstances. A list seems in order.

• Every time someone sends an email to the entire ward (to announce ward choir, for example) one particular member of our ward responds with a somewhat patronizing message announcing his off-topic, unusual, gospel-related beliefs. This week it was a backronym for swine flu finished off with a warning not to let Satan trick us into getting any vaccines.
• I got told this week by a perfectly normal person put into odd circumstances that I am not allowed to dance with a partner in the hallways at the Wilkinson Student Center. Apparently, it’s enough of a problem at BYU that there’s an official policy – no dancing in the Wilk.
• Finally, and to top it all off, I was asked to help guide a group that was hunting for ghosts through an abandoned mine.

Yes, you heard that all correctly. Especially the last one. I have certainly never met a group of people quite like them before, and I anticipate that I never will again. (Life is long, however, and one can never be sure.) Regardless, in an effort to never say anything negative about anyone, here’s a list of good things about this group.

• They were very earnest.
• They seemed to have nothing but the best intentions.
• They were very polite and grateful for our help.
• They’ve found a hobby that they seem to enjoy greatly that harms no one.

By now, it’s list week, obviously, so I might as well list a few other things I’ve done.

• I slacked a major Computer Science project until I have a mere week and two days to accomplish it.
• I slacked a test to the point that I now must pay the testing center $5 for the privilege of taking it.
• I worked four minutes over my weekly 20 hour limit. I expect no consequences for an overage so small. If they holler at me, I’ll submit a form stating I punched incorrectly and just chop the offending four minutes off.
• I received a text message, sent via Google Voice, from a friend who’s currently serving a mission. I decided not to encourage him to break the rules and therefore “neglected” to respond.
• I practiced the piano for a few minutes and was able to pick up one of the pieces in my repertoire from my senior year of high school with very little difficulty.
• I practiced the cha-cha and foxtrot with a good friend and remembered quite a few steps I had forgotten.
• I explored a large portion of the Hidden Treasure mine with the MU.

In the process of the mine exploring, I hiked 1500 vertical feet in what Stuart claims was roughly 10 minutes. (He and I raced each other to the top.) I don’t know what the lateral distance was, but if Stuart’s time estimate was accurate, we climbed over two vertical feet per second. I think I can believe that. The incline was very, very steep – well over 45º in some places – and we were moving as fast as two lazy hikers possibly can. Regardless, we started somewhere between five and ten minutes after everyone else and were the first two at the top.

The mine is very large and in decent shape. It’s not as well preserved as the Ophir, however, which is odd, given that they are in the same mountain. In fact, they’re connected. A portion of the group walked all the way through the mountain and came out the main door of the Ophir. The Hidden Treasure is much wetter and as a result is rotting more quickly, however. Within a few hundred years, I suspect significant portions of it will cave in.

Sadly, I forgot my camera on this trip. I put in on my desk to charge the battery and left it there. Fortunately, others in the group have much more expensive cameras and take quite a few pictures. They’re also much more likely to photograph me than I am to photograph myself. (I previously had so many pictures of myself because James and I traded photos after each trip.) So, within a few weeks, I’ll download all the pictures from the MU’s website and link to a few of them. It’s a neat mine.

My calling continues to go well. I’m going to teach a few lessons to members later this evening and commit them to do something definite to further the missionary work in our ward. There are already two people within our ward boundaries coming to church with us on Sundays. One of them, Kate, is being taught by the missionaries and is friends with my one of my companions in the ward mission, Hyrum. Hyrum tells me that she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and would like to join the church. It’s very exciting. I know it will bring her a great deal of happiness and fulfillment if she does. We need to make certain she feels welcome and loved.

My frustration continues with my slightly messy roommate. I simply need to keep things in perspective. We get along very well, and he’s very laid back. I like him a lot – I just dislike his messes. Oh well. It makes me grateful for what Mom has taught me regarding how to keep a house clean and tidy. I really have no quarter to complain, because I know people who can’t get along with their roommates at all. I was certainly blessed to wind up with such a nice situation.

One of my roommates (the one who was living in a tent) has moved away. He’s off to California for a month or two. None of us know where in California he’s going or what he’s planning on doing. One night, his tent was down and he was sleeping on the sofa. The next day, I got home from work and all his stuff was gone. I asked where he went and was told he was on his way to California. So, we’ll miss him a bit. I like him – he’s friendly and funny. We figure he’ll be home by Christmas. I guess we’ll see.

Anyway, I think I’ll do a little reading before it’s time to head out and start my teaching appointments. I’ve got to finish The Death of a Salesman before the library wants it back. See you all next week.

Crazy week

Extreme short shrift tonight, Morrowlife style. This has been the craziest week by far since I got here. I normally have enough time to work 20 hours and get all my homework done and socialize with no problems. This week I worked 4 hours and barely finished all my homework on time. I did it, however, and I think I’ve passed with flying colors. All my exams scores so far have been A-worthy except for Math, so I think I’m on the right track.

I have been involved constantly in my calling. Today I spent several hours on missionary-related things. We’re doing a 40 day fast in our ward for help in our missionary efforts. The ward missionaries are individually visiting every person who committed to fast and issuing them a specific and personalized invitation to do something overt to further the missionary work in the ward. “Be a good example” isn’t good enough for us. So far, all three members we visited today were completely willing without any hesitation to commit to do something significant. In the words of my companion, Hyrum, “The members are on FIRE!” If we have 40 people each do something to invite someone to learn more about the gospel, we will undoubtedly be blessed for our efforts, and we may even see success in bringing specific individuals to the gospel this very semester. I am feeling strongly the missionary spirit – now I need to begin doing missionary things. I was told in my setting apart that this calling was specifically to help me prepare to be a missionary, but I didn’t understand how until I began doing the work. I love it.

Anyway, I’ve been busy from 8 this morning until 10:30 at night. It’s been a pretty packed Sunday. Hyrum was saying it reminded him of being back in the mission field. If that’s really true, it will be wonderful. I’m sure I won’t have the same kind of success as I’m having here, but I could do this every day for a long time and be happier than any clam I’ve ever come across.

I did manage to get a little outdoors time this weekend, too. My friend Marisa and I hiked to the peak of Y Mountain. In order to climb the peak, one follows the trail that leads to the letter Y itself and then continues onward several miles and several thousand feet in elevation more. It was a more intense hike than Squaw Peak, largely because we gained 4000′ in a short distance, whereas Squaw Peak is only about 3000′ feet above Provo and the trail is longer. I’m excited to try Provo Peak. I need to find some hikers to do it with, because it’s not the kind of hike a non-hiker would enjoy. I really need to get to know people in the Outdoor Adventure club.

One final observation. Today, my temple preparation teacher shared with me a wonderful principle which I never before fully understood. We all know there is a time and a season appointed for all things. What never occurred to me, however, is that there is a time and a season when we are expected to give more or less of our time and means to the Lord’s work. Right now, I am expected to spend most of my time in school. Shortly, however, I will be called to give every second of every day for two years and my entire life’s savings to the Lord. It will be the right thing and the right time. I am dying to get started and know I’ll never be happy without it. Once it’s finished, however, I will once again be expected to give my time and money to my schooling and later to my family. I struggled with this as a younger child. I felt guilty that I had any money at all (even if it was only a tiny amount – but to a child, worlds) and wondered if I ought to give everything to the Lord in the form of a fast offering or tithing. That’s not what I was called to do then or now, however. There’s a time and a season, and when I return from my mission and am eventually married, my family will be the focus of my life. I love the gospel. It is adapted to each individual without adaptation. It is truly one size fits all. The brilliance, love, and mercy of the Lord are manifest beyond doubt through His plan for us.

Odd Play, Good News

We’ve come to the conclusion of another great week. My first round of midterms is finally finished, to my great relief and satisfaction. I received a B on my math test; however, other than that, I believe I did very well. I’m not too worried about the math class, either – I expect I’ll make it up. If I receive one B, it won’t be the end of the world, as Dad reminded me today.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve taking an interest in mountaineering. I was trying to find a group of people here at BYU who share that interest but might already know what they’re doing so I could join them on excursions. After despairing of finding such a group thanks to meeting nothing but dead ends on the internet, I discovered that my coworker Bill is a member of just such a group. Bill enjoys rock climbing, ice climbing, hiking, snowshoeing, and a little skiing, I believe. In short, he does everything I’m interested in doing. I asked him about groups nearby and he directed me to the BYU Outdoor Adventure club. They meet weekly and go on expeditions monthly. Bill said he believes they’re going to Moab soon to go rock climbing and that they visit Hansen Mountaineering in Orem with some frequency to climb in their rock gym. What an absolute windfall! Certainly a blessing. I hope to attend the next club meeting this Tuesday.

Not, however, if it conflicts with going out to dinner with Grandpa and Grandma McCulloch! They’ve started a tradition of taking me out for dinner on my birthday, which I have no opposition to. I very much enjoy their company. It ought to be splendid. I need to decide where we’re going to eat, as they’ve left it up to me.

This past Saturday was one of the best weekends I’ve had in some time. Although I accomplished very little in the morning, that was no great surprise. I have yet to bring myself to do homework on a Saturday. The highlights, however, were going to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument with Jeff as mentioned earlier. It’s a system of three caves which have been connected by man-made tunnels, paved, and lighted. Very commercialized; however, the mineral formations are well worth it. They have some extremely impressive flowstone and helictite formations. I found it ironic, however, that the tour guide reminded us several times how much they were working to keep the cave in its natural state when they have, in fact, completely desecrated it by tunneling it out, filling it with concrete, and drilling holes everywhere to attach lighting and run wires. But they’re keeping it in its natural state, right?!

Anyway, after returning home from my trip with Jeff, I got cleaned up and went to see The Death of a Salesman with my friend, Adriana. It was put on my Theater Mitu, a very avant-garde group from New York. All the major characters except Willy, his wife, and Biff were played by strange, strange puppets. Hap, the second son, was played by a punching bag; Ben and Bernard were contraptions made of florescent lights; Charlie was a refrigerator door; and so forth. The music was provided entirely by one man playing the piano and occasionally (and simultaneously) the drums. Adriana and I were on the first row, which was pleasant – the stage was not excessively high and so we had an excellent view – however, we were directly next to the piano, which was deafeningly loud at some points. In short, I cannot quite find the words to describe how odd this performance was, but I enjoyed it regardless. I’m still pondering its meanings and implications. The Lomans seems to love each other very much and want nothing but the best for each other, but their insatiable avarice and selfishness drives them apart. Although it’s taken to extremes in this presentation, I think it provides a pattern for miserable family life that is followed every day across the nation. I think its heart is found in greed, lies, pride, and selfishness, as mentioned earlier. A more full examination in the form of an essay may be on its way as I continue my musings. I need to read the play now to give some comparison against this particular performance of the story.

I’ve been saving the best for last this week. Just this very morning, I interviewed with my stake president. He feels that I am worthy and preparing adequately to serve a mission. He is submitting his recommendation and forwarding my paperwork to Salt Lake this very evening. At last, my paperwork is complete and out of my hands! All that remains now is to wait for the arrival of my call. My stake president told me that my call may be delayed slightly because of my minor medical history, so I may have some significant time to wait. However, the paperwork is in, and I will have my call within a few weeks! My excitement is unparalleled. This is truly a moment for which I have been preparing since I was a child. I have been trained and groomed to serve as a missionary my entire life, and the crowning events are already upon me. I am ready to leave today! My call can’t arrive quickly enough.

Third General Conference at school

This is the third time I’ve attended General Conference while at school. It’s a bit crazy. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been at school for that long. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Once again, it’s been a good week. My friend Callie turned 20, so we had a minor celebration. Perhaps the highlight, however, was going to the Hansen’s house for the Saturday sessions of Conference. My friend, Brad Hansen, is currently serving his mission in Moscow; however, his parents know and love Keaton, so they invited him and me over for conference. It was a blast to meet Brad’s family. They’re all very nice and quite funny. It was a wonderful weekend, and I’d love to repeat it.

Conference was absolutely amazing. There aren’t any other words for it. Keaton and I missed part of the priesthood session thanks to a misestimation of traffic between SLC and Provo, which I regretted. I’ll read the parts I missed when the Ensign is printed.

I was bemoaning the early snows in the higher mountains to the east to my boss earlier this week, complaining that I wouldn’t be able to hike safely. He pointed out that with the correct gear and training almost anything can be done. For some reason, I had never before considered hiking in the snow – perhaps because some of the hikes I’ve done in Rock Canyon wouldn’t be possible simply because of how steep they are. Regardless, the thought of hiking in the snow or doing serious mountaineering had never before occurred to me. I’m quite excited by it now. I’ve been reading up on avalanche safety and rescue techniques and the gear used for serious snow climbing. At first I thought it would be prohibitively expensive; however, it turns out that Outdoors Unlimited, the outfitter in the Wilk, rents most of what I would need for very little. I could be comfortably outfitted for an extremely steep hike with basic avalanche rescue gear for about $25 a day. Besides, the current amount of snow poses no threat and little difficulty.

I think Jeff, one of my more adventurous coworkers, and I are going to go see the caves in Timp this upcoming weekend. I’d love to go backpacking and camp near the peak of one of the taller mountains up Rock Canyon, but no one I know has the time. I only have one class on Friday that I’m willing to skip, so I could have started Friday morning and had more time out. Oh well.

Anyway, I’m going to find something to do for the evening. I’ve spent too much time at my computer between watching conference, reading about both mountaineering and going to Antarctica (a childhood dream that I’m now making plans to fulfill), and writing letters to missionary friends. See you all next week.

Yet another good week, but with a hike

I’ve had yet another good week. This Saturday, however, I finally got outside and went hiking. It was wonderful to get out from behind a desk and stretch my legs. My friend Adriana and I hiked Squaw Peak, the mountain on the northern side of Rock Canyon. It’s an easy three mile one-way hike with a 2700′ elevation change. I broke in a new pair of hiking boots and managed not to get a single hot spot, let alone a blister. The forest on the top of Squaw Peak is unlike anything else I’ve seen in Utah. It reminded me of the forests in California – somewhat sparse compared to the East Coast, but very green and full nonetheless. I took a few good pictures, which you can see here. Because we were there in the middle of the day, the lighting wasn’t ideal; however, I think a few of them turned out nicely regardless. Feel free to ask for originals.

I didn’t have any homework to do at all yesterday. I finished everything that’s due until Tuesday night on Friday. It was great, because I didn’t have to feel guilty on Saturday about putting off homework or anything like that. I was supposed to go grocery shopping and I didn’t, which luckily did not cause a problem this morning (fast sunday), but I think Keaton and I can take care of that tomorrow afternoon. I really enjoy shopping at Costco. Things are cheap, and the samples are a definite attraction.

The first set of midterms has started. I took my first test for Physics 121 on Thursday, my first math test is in-class on Monday, and I have an exam for CS240 on Friday. I feel very confident about the physics exam, and I think I’ll have no trouble with the math. None of my classes have been very difficult thus far – they’ve simply required a lot of time. CS252 will become difficult, I believe, but we haven’t gotten there quite yet. I’m fine with that. It’s nice to ease in.

I’ve been reading some about exciting developments in the web world. HTML5 is coming nearer and nearer to full standardization, and many browsers are already supporting large parts of the yet-unfinished standard. Safari 4 / WebKit is the most important one, since Google Chrome and the browsers on the iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre all use WebKit. HTML5 will bring web applications closer and closer to competing with desktop applications. It makes Apple’s initial recommendation of “developing for the iPhone using the web” sound almost reasonable, especially when you look at jQTouch. It’s a jQuery plugin for getting an iPhone look-and-feel UI practically for free. Between that and HTML5 offline and animation support, you can build a web app for the iPhone that’s almost as cool as a native app. Just not as fast. I know this is all old news in the tech scene, but I get so busy with homework that I don’t have time to follow all this. It’s exciting for me.

Well, I need to go to bed. It’s going to be another long week, but I’m looking forward to it. See you all next Sunday.

Tents

No joke, no lie, no exaggeration. Kyle & Mr. Baughan’s tents. I don’t know if Mr. Baughan really slept out there last night, but there’s the evidence to say he did. I’m trying posting a photo from my phone. We’ll see how it works out.

Missionary related events

I’ve just seen my friend Tyler, who I roomed with for most of Fall semester last year. He’s heading into the MTC today at 1. He and his family are in Provo for the day, so they stopped by to say hello and we went out for a brief dinner. (Everything in Provo closes at 9:30, and they arrived rather late, so we wound up at Arby’s.) He’s headed to Rosario, Argentina, and seems quite excited about it. It was fun to get to see him again.

Speaking of missionary-related items, I’ve just had my interview with the bishop in my ward here. He also said that the medical paperwork is all in order, and he is submitting his recommendation to the stake president. Hooray! I’m one step closer to having my paperwork into Salt Lake. Theoretically, it could have been turned in on the 17th, since my availability date is the 26th. That’s alright, however. I’ll still get my call and everything will work out as the Lord intends.