Category Archives: Off-topic

Dennis Ritchie, supremely literate codeveloper of the C programming language and its accompanying little book, “The C Programming” language, died as a titan in the programming world and as a footnote–if that–elsewhere. (My favorite tribute to him: This first-rate sonnet … Continue reading →

This awesome c. 1670 harspichord is parked at the New York  Museum of Art, which has a small but stunning musical instrument section. We saw it along with pocket violins (called pochettes), saxophones made by Adolphe Sax, and a gold-plated … Continue reading →

At this point you’re no doubt completely without sympathy. You are no doubt observing that at least the poor little rich CEO gets to work at home and won’t get fired if his productivity hits the floor with a whump, as it has the last few weeks. You’re right, it could certainly be worse. But man, I felt like crap for a long time. I still have days where just reading my email is triumph. Continue reading →

Sometimes, the customer really is wrong. Continue reading →

Somewhere Microsoft may still have a warehouse full of Visual Basic 5.0 manuals printed up because I crusaded for the customer when the customer didn’t really care. I joined Microsoft in 1996 as a Program Manager for Visual Basic, at … Continue reading →

I was working in my home office a few days ago. I was finishing up a new product, concentrating intensely. Despite being deeply engrossed I heard something unusual. It faded in and out of consciousness, but it finally hit me: … Continue reading →