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Last year a co-worker at my last job mentioned a really good book that I should pick up called the One Minute Manager. I finally got the chance to read it this weekend and I enjoyed it. A very short read [ 10 hours tops? ] and presented in a very comfortable tone, this book teaches you about how to become a more effective manager. While not everyone has been blessed [ cursed? ] with such a position, this book might mean different things to different people. From a technical perspective, it really means being transparent to my team members when it comes time to managing software development.

Here are the key points found in the One Minute Manager:

Agree (commit) to some goals. Then write them down somewhere so you can look at them daily. Figure out how your behavior is helping or hurting your from reaching the goals you set for yourself.

Catch someone doing something right! Openly praise them for it and encourage them.

If someone is capable of doing something but their performance is lacking, make sure you are specific in letting that person know what is wrong and how you feel about it immediately. Do not attack their character - just their behavior.

In the workplace, it is becoming rare that you find a good person that will be honest and forthcoming with the progress of you as well as your peers. Practicing the lessons found in The One Minute Manager can go a long way in making sure that you will be an individual that other people can count on.

It had been awhile since I’ve had a chance to visit nyc. While mostly I was excited to be back, I forgot how needlessly intimidating New York really was. I was reminded of this pretty fast when I flashed one my classic cheesy smiles and a couple of raised eyebrows. I guess that’ll teach me to be friendly. My dad was a lot more patient than I was but even he got visibly agitated when he asked a couple of questions to the baggage claim attendant and got nothing back but dismissive one word responses.

BTW, the rain smells in new york. I mean, I know that sounds like a weird thing to say but it really does. A cross between metallic paint and wet dog fur. I mean, do you New Yorkers not notice all this stuff when you’re out there busy ‘representin?’. Moving on…

That night my cousin Janice dropped us off to stay my other set of cousins Kevin, Alan, and Ryan. It was nice to see them after such a long time. There was none of that awkwardness that usually happens when people haven’t talked in a long time ya know? We just picked up where we left off and caught up with what’s been going on since we last spoke to each other. We did this for the remainder of the night… it was nice.

The next day the entire Mayalil family went to Alin’s wedding ( pretty much the reason for my trip ). It was in this really great place called Russo’s By the Bay. The ceremony and reception hall had this rich feel to it, almost like I just stepped into a small Victorian era palace. By far, the most memorable thing about this place was the food. I counted 4 courses and each of them was really flavorful. Although the DJ wasn’t the best I still tried to make sure that everyone at our table was having fun.

After the wedding, we all came back and chilled at Kevin’s place and busted out the Cranium board. We took our time getting started though. I found out that I am really good at drawing accurate minute long sketches and not as good as I thought in the spelling cards <<curse you yellow cards>>. We (Iris, Ryan and I) ended up losing by one card… not too bad for someone who has only played it twice.

Fun times, and all of this in one day…

Not as cool as this but I still love my two wall cubicle at Bonnier.

Reflections of a computer scientist….What do computers tell us about God… I was really expecting much more of a sophisticated presentation.read more | digg story

I thought this was an interesting read. I wonder how much money private companies will be making for these barebones machines. While not as sexy as, say, the Apple lineup of computers, I am really happy to see that average computer users are realizing that they do have a choice.read more | digg story

Another one of Microsoft’s attempts to dominate the PC market. The target this time is developing third world countries. Shame on them! If Microsoft does indeed want to play “fair and square”, they might want to release an open-source version of their OS to keep the OLPC project financially feasible for other countries. Sorry, I am not seeing it with Microsoft… not going to hold my breath… the cynic in me knows what Microsoft wants… more market share.

For some reason, this latest move of theirs reminds me of what tobacco companies will do… they already got the adults hooked, now go after the (third-world) children!

full story | digg story