In the realm of engineering, perspective is not just a lens through which we view the world; it’s a critical tool that shapes our approach to problem-solving, innovation, and team collaboration. Recently I made the observation that there are three distinct perspectives that engineers tend to adopt. The Gardener’s Perspective The first gardener is focused solely on planting seeds. The second is concerned with tending the entire garden. The third is envisioning the community enjoying the beauty and fruits of the garden.

I recently found myself missing a series of standups due to conflicting commitments. While my absence didn’t cause any immediate disruptions—thanks to my work being isolated from the rest of the team’s tasks—it did lead to a noticeable disconnect. I was out of the loop on the team’s activities, and they were equally uninformed about mine. This experience got me pondering the true essence of effective standups. The Silent Impact of Missed Standups On the surface, my absence seemed inconsequential.

Let’s face it, meetings often suck. They can be a black hole that swallows productivity, especially in large corporations. While the intent behind meetings is usually good —facilitating decision-making and team coordination — poorly executed meetings can become a vortex of wasted time and resources. So, how can we make meetings suck less? Making Meetings Suck Less Ditch the Crowd: Large meetings often turn into a spectator sport with only a few active participants.

There is a huge, yet often overlooked benefit to working as a freelance software engineer: the opportunity to engage with diverse teams across various sectors. This unique vantage point can offer invaluable insights into team dynamics, project management, and engineering best practices. Each new project serves as a fresh canvas to observe, learn, and refine the approach of tackling challenges effectively. Below are my tried-and-true guidelines that have been shaped by real-world experiences; these are not merely theoretical ideals.

The Feynman Method is a learning technique that emphasizes understanding over memorization. Named after the physicist Richard Feynman. I found out about this method after my high school physics teacher lend me a book about Feynman: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!. It’s a funny and insightful book about Feynman’s life and work. I highly recommend it. In this post, I’ll break down each step of the Feynman Method, talk about my specific implementation and tools that I use, and share some tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along the way.

I recently discovered that Oracle Cloud offers an Always Free tier that includes two virtual machines with 1GB of RAM and 50GB of storage each. I decided to use this to create a VPN server that I can use to access my home network from anywhere. My brother, based in Qatar, relies on a Private Internet Access subscription for VPN. However, the service has proven to be a letdown for VoIP calls, plagued by frequent disconnections.