Height of .NETing! (1892 meters Above Mean Sea Level)

It's been week and the memories of trekking to a height of 1892m AMSL are still hovering in my mind.

It was just 3 months since the escape to the jungles, the nature invited another visit to the peaks, valleys, jungles, water falls, wild. The timing was not very perfect as my presence would have really helped the team to go ahead with the product release smoothly. Despite the tight schedule, made myself way out of this noisy Bangalore to the bliss of the Western Ghats.

This trek was to the KudreMukh (The peak that looks like the Face of a Horse) in the Western Ghats of Karnataka.

The Western Ghats greeted us with leech bites and steep climbing. All of a sudden, we had the perfect location for lunch and found ourselves surrounded by cloud hidden peaks.

The habbit of not looking up into the skies had not left me. I was just looking at the forest down and when suddenly looked up by chance, could not resist the view of a huge peak slowly being uncovered by the clouds. Felt how small humans are amidst the nature.

Upon reaching the peak (The KudreMukh) thought of .NET was still lurking behind me. In the silence of 3 minutes at the peak, felt the need for a laptop and wondered how good a program can be written at that silence and height. Just missed a laptop.

So, thats the highest point I've ever been as a .NETian. (1892 meters above mean sea level)
Would be interested in knowing if any .NETian has trekked above this.

The arrival of Microsoft VS Team System

It makes me awe at the pace with which Microsoft is introducing new products. Added to that list is Microsoft VS Team System. Just the kind of product we wanted.

Got to appreciate the way this product was released. No clue about it till the last minute of announcement. Being a avid reader of the blogs, not many gave any clue about such a product. (or, have there been news about it? Not to my knowledge!)

While the attention was diverted in the blogs about new features in existing products (Office and Whidbey) or about features in some distant product (Longhorn), a silent product was under development with tight lips.

Now, is Microsoft creating a pattern for the usage of blogs. “Use blogs mostly for gaining/providing insights into distant/existing products”

This becomes evident as a blog being created immediately for VS Team System!
Any case, good going!

Lots of stuff ahead in 2005.

The Daily Pattern - General work culture related blog entry

This week began very boring, without any focus and always busy thinking of doing new things rather than solving the problems at hand.

This has happened quite some times for me and has put me into a very bad shape.

This time though, I thought about a mechanism to satisfy myself and others.

I normally keep some work for the next day morning. I found out that this was the culprit. So, decided not to plan for tomorrow. Everyday morning I shall get up without any pressure to reach office in time and start as planned yesterday. Instead, reach office and then spend a cool 30 minutes looking into the “This Week” notes and preparing “This Day” notes.

Now comes the interesting part. Do not start off with the first task at hand. Instead, read a technical book (thats what interests me in morning. Novel's are for evening) for 30 minutes - 45 minutes.

Check official mails and get on to the first task at hand. Normally, I keep one task for rest of the time till lunch hour.

After lunch, play a game of carrom till end of lunch break and get on to read blogs. Start the next task or continue the pending task from then on.

This pattern has really worked out very well for me and my company supports such a people-driven environment.

Things are getting to feel great and the problems also get solved in much more efficient way.

Currently reading “applying UML and Patterns”,Craig larman.

Although, have read the beginning chapters earlier, upon reading the chapter 2 (UP) I am feeling as though our team has naturally fallen into such a precise process. The description of the process correctly fits into the daily work what happens in our team. Some of the +'s being, “ye-but”, weekly iteration, iterations not producing prototypes instead working system, rapid feedback from client, constant refactoring etc...

Feels great that any process that keeps people in front does survive without regard to what that process is called. Good that our team has not fallen pray to the “people for process” scenario.

Book reading
Blogging
Brooding over .NET

That the 3 B's for me right now.