Thoughts on Engineering.

Blame Fortnite For Why Linux Gaming Isn’t Ready Yet – Part 1

Published 2021/07/19

Blame Fortnite For Why Linux Gaming Isn’t Ready Yet – Part 1

Before writing any words on this piece, let me state that I am fully aware of how polarizing Fortnite can be.

It may be that the whole premise is flawed. Fortnite is so yesterday. Fortnite is so teenage. Nobody plays it anymore.

So let’s just get it out in the open.

Fortnite is holding gaming on Linux back.

Now with that out of the way, let’s step back and please put your personal vitriol on hold for a second.

This isn’t about Fortnite.

Well, it kind of is because I keep mentioning it. What it really is about are games like Fortnite.

100 Posts In: Lessons Learned In Blogging, Engineering, & Life

Published 2021/07/19

100 Posts In: Lessons Learned In Blogging, Engineering, & Life

Ideas are awesome. Ideas are great.

However, ideas don’t pay the bills. Ideas don’t manifest themselves out of thin air, hopes, and dreams.

How often do we have ideas?

MDIs are great. MDI stands for Million Dollar Ideas.

How often do we find ourselves sitting around and some amazing and practical thought worms its way from the back of our heads to a shining spotlight position of prominence right up front?

This would be the type of idea that you find yourself coming back to while sitting around bored. The one that rents space in the back and pops up early and often.

The one that, if implemented and turned into reality, could easily net you at least a million dollars.

Stop Using Me As A Reference On Your Resume

Published 2021/07/13

Stop Using Me As A Reference On Your Resume

Boom! Right smack dab in the middle of my day I get a fresh, unsolicited email dropped into the middle of my inbox. Dear Kevin, So-and-so listed you as a reference and I wanted to reach out and ask you some questions. Can you please provide detailed responses to the following 12 questions about this person for me please? Thanks,Corporate Recruiter Wow. Yeah, that is just what I needed. More work to do today. Hey, so-and-so. Why don’t you just take me off your references list as I don’t have time for that. Whew – deep breath. Let me start over. Having ranted and raved about the whole resume process and how awful it is many times previously, the act of putting references on a resume and then in the recruiter following up and reaching out to said references is just the cherry on top of a putrid pie. However,…

7 Things You Should Get Out Of An Engineering Co-Op/Intern Experience

Published 2021/07/11

7 Things You Should Get Out Of An Engineering Co-Op/Intern Experience

Go get me my coffee!

That is right, you, intern, are here to make my life easier and do all of the grunt work that I don’t want to do.

But you can start by bringing me my coffee.

Two sugars and 1 cream.

This sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Whatever perceptions and expectations that exist in society, whether from badly scripted movie and tv shows or from horror stories from really bad places to work, an Engineering Co-op or Intern experience should not be lumped in with all of that.

A good intern experience should give you just that: experience.

Adventures In Docker, Minecraft Servers, & Mods – Part 1

Published 2021/07/10

Adventures In Docker, Minecraft Servers, & Mods – Part 1

Minecraft is awesome. I also hate part of it with every fiber of my being. Wait… backup, rewind. Let’s start at the beginning. This is not a story about how amazing Minecraft is. It is also not an explanation for someone that doesn’t know what Minecraft is. Honestly, if you aren’t aware of Minecraft at this point then skip this article altogether. However, if you are looking to get up and running with a dedicated home server and don’t know where to start or have started and find yourself stuck then you are at the right place. So… Minecraft. What an amazing game. I have spent countless hours placing simple blocks on a screen. It is amazing how such a simple concept can engross so many people and be so popular. However, there is one aspect to Minecraft that I hate with a burning passion. I. Hate. Minecraft. Mods. If…

Embrace The Creative Spurt

Published 2021/07/10

Embrace The Creative Spurt

Computers are amazing. You plug them in, tell them what to do, and as long as they have consistent power and good data they will keep doing that over and over. And over. And over. Humans are not computers. Humans are biological beings with attention spans and distractions. Also, don’t forget those icky things called feelings. No matter how exciting something feels, or how interesting a topic is right now, at some point, that interest and excitement will fade. Think about it. You are surrounded right now by vast quantities of potential. You could go write a program. Author a book. Create a life-saving device. Design an algorithm to end world hunger and save the environment. Pick your poison here. The possibilities are endless. The world is your oyster and the opportunities abound. Yet you are sitting there reading these words instead of doing something amazing. Why is that? Don’t…

I Have The Power (Toys)!

Published 2021/07/01

I Have The Power (Toys)!

He-Man AND Microsoft PowerToys?!? What year is it again? In the last 45 days what is old has become new again. He-Man is back along with Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Man-At-Arms, Tr-Klops and the rest of the gang. Kevin Smith is resurrecting this classic Saturday morning cartoon. For the uninitiated, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a cartoon show made in the 80s and showed on Saturday morning cartoons. The synopsis from wikipedia says it all: The series takes place on Eternia, a planet of magic, myth and fantasy. Its lead character is Prince Adam, the young son of Eternia’s rulers, King Randor and Queen Marlena. Whenever Prince Adam holds the Sword of Power aloft and proclaims “By the Power of Grayskull!” he is endowed with “fabulous secret powers” and transformed into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. On the tech side of things, Microsoft has released PowerToys for Windows 10! If you aren’t familiar,…

How High Do Developers Jump?

Published 2021/06/27

How High Do Developers Jump?

How high can you jump? The answer doesn’t really matter – the whole question is theoretical in any case. The real question is – when your boss tells you to jump what initial thrust is needed and at what angle to achieve the desired flight path while sailing through the air. It might also just be the case that your boss doesn’t even want you to jump at all. Sit down. This isn’t about leaping about all nimbly-bimbly here and there. What this is about is a discussion about professional development as a software developer. The jumping metaphor is a great way to describe a transition for any developer from a fresh-faced newbie to a more seasoned next level developer. You know, one of those people that now has just enough information to be dangerous? Let’s take a step back and not jump to any conclusions yet. See what I…

Microsoft Wants To Kill Custom PCs With Windows 11

Published 2021/06/26

Microsoft Wants To Kill Custom PCs With Windows 11

Windows 11 was officially announced on June 24, 2021. This may also be the day where we have witness the beginning of the end of custom PCs. Hidden in amongst the fanfare and the shiny new features are two seemingly minor footnotes that will have a major impact for anyone not buying a prebuilt, from the factory PC. These two statements are scary for those of us working, writing and playing games on homebuilt computers. They may have a huge impact on how computers will operate in the future. But how did we get here? We can blame the rise of mobile for most of this. If you were an executive at Microsoft, having watch your mobile and tablet efforts fail year after year then seeing two upstarts, one a fruity computer company who made decent hardware but didn’t focus on the operating system too much and the other an…

Cats, Code, And Being A Better Developer

Published 2021/06/25

Cats, Code, And Being A Better Developer

I can’t stand cats. This is because I am allergic and the second reason is that cats are a-holes. Yes, I will freely admit that I am a dog person. Having a pet that will love you unconditionally and will get just as excited upon your return no matter if you are out of the room for 5 minutes or 5 days. Cats, on the other hand, are pretty much 1/2 second away from clawing your face off at any given moment. It is a good thing that cats are lazy. Their sun-sleep-recharge cycles mean that they have less time for creating claw-shredding mayhem as they appear to sleep 20+ hours per day. However, cats can provide one huge benefit to developers: That is right. This person’s cat found a UI-breaking bug simply by sitting down on the keyboard. So is this telling us that in order to be a…

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