Martin (Chaim) Berlove | Et Cetera

4 Sep

The Human Solution to Design Process

Note: when I say designers below, this can apply to any technical+creative types, such as engineers, product designers, etc. You put five designers in a room with a big free slot of time to let them solve a challenging and...
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13 Jun

The Future: A Short Anti-Complaint

It’s a common complaint that “the future isn’t what it used to be”, and I don’t disagree: I demand cheap flying cars, a personal robot staff, convenient interplanetary travel, an end to world hunger, and total immunity to disease. But...
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12 Jun

Questions and the Common Ground

Everyone knows a good job interview goes in two directions — the potential hire is learning as much about the organization as organization learns about the candidate. Yet often the questions that get swapped around come from very different places....
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4 Jun

CSS Cursor and the Modern Web

The W3 specification for styling the cursor provides a surprising amount of flexibility. You can do any of the following, and then some: Specify an alternate cursor for an arbitrary element, e.g. cursor: se-resize; Use a PNG image, e.g. cursor:...
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27 Jul

A Developer’s Impact

There are a few metrics in common use for gauging a developer’s ability: Proportion of success Years of experience Speed / efficiency Quality of code Fame or reputation Amount of code written Ability to think abstractly Different people and...
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20 Jul

Hanami (Ruby) on Ubuntu

Hanami is a modern Ruby web framework. I’m experimenting with it right now. Ubuntu, compared to other linux distros, or to a mac, can often require different steps when getting started with a new tool. Here is the process...
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17 May

“Begs the Question” and “Proves the Rule”

Intellect and vocabulary aren’t interchangeable, but the power of a good vocabulary goes far, and contrariwise, poor command of your native language bodes ill. With that in mind, indulge me in clarifying a couple of commonly misused expressions…. Beg the...
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16 May

Text Editor Wars

If you’ve been anywhere near professional programmers or enthusiastic hobbyists, you’ve heard the contentions over “best text editor,” in guises which range from gentle ribbing to outright flame wars. I can’t weigh in on that. I have my preferences,...
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12 May

Clinch Your Technical Interview: It’s Not All Technical

The words technical interview strike fear into many a technical job-seeker. You’ve heard the horror stories, maybe you’ve gone through the process before: the grueling and sweat-inducing second- or third-round interview to make sure you know your stuff cold. You...
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1 May

Working in a Coffee Shop Is Fun until You Must

The lifestyle of a digital nomad has its romance. New cities, new ventures, new faces: the image of a young, enterprising tech professional is very appealing to many young people (and not a few older ones). And indeed,...
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