Inspired by a blog post of Dave Thomas I started to implement my technology learning roadmap by writing little code katas. To kill two birds with one stone I first solve a programming puzzle with my lingua franca Python. That helped me to concentrate on solving the algorithmic part of the puzzle because I don’t…
I was reading “The Passionate Programmer” by Chad Fowler and came across an action point which literally read “go to a software conference”. But spending hundreds of euros on a conference like OOP in Munich with travel costs and expenses for hotel and meals wasn’t quite the way to go as a father of two…
I became aware of James Bach through the Google Techtalk “Becoming a Software Testing Expert”. Then I quickly got his book “Lessons Learned in Software Testing”. In this book Bach presents with his colleagues Cem Kaner and Bret Pettichord 293 tips and tricks (“lessons”) from the test practice. Divided into 10 chapters, this book covers…
Today I introduce you to one of my favorite books, “Rework – Business Smart and Simple” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. The two authors are the founders of 37signals (now basecamp) and have developed the framework Ruby on Rails, on which most of their products are based. After devouring their first work Getting…
We continue with motivational literature. After having lured you with reviews of the biographies of Richard Branson and Gene Simmons, today is a book from local climes. Why Dieter Bohlen? “Phew,” I hear some say, “I’m supposed to read or even buy a book from this dude? Of course this is the parting of the…
Who is the author? Richard Branson: There is almost nothing this man hasn’t achieved. A private island in the Caribbean, the knighthood, crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific in a hot air balloon. And then there’s a little company called Virgin with a whopping 40+ affiliates. Did I mention that Virgin Galactic also flies into…
Who is the author? Gene Simmons is the bassist and founder of the band Kiss, with whom he has released twenty studio albums, six live albums and countless compilations. In addition, he has released two solo records and played in 11 films. In the 1970’s he was with Cher and Diana Ross, then married model…
Here’s the attempt of a definition: “Bootstrapping is a funding strategy for a start-up that ideally requires no outside capital and leads to growth of the business by avoiding spending and reinvesting revenue.” Simply put: spend only money on your business that your business has brought in as well. Like Baron Münchhausen, you pull…