Michael Barrow

Twitter...WTF?

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 20:11:00 -0800

There has been much virtual ink spilled over the state of Twitter recently. I guess it’s time for me to add my worthless two cents! I think joined Twitter around 2008 or so and was mostly a lurker. It was a really exciting platform to be able to get the pulse of what was going on in the world.

Who says that IT has to be complicated?

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:30:00 -0700

If there were one, single maxim for the IT industry, it is: “The only constant is change.” Surely, anyone who has spent more than a few days in this business could figure that out on their own. However, I have noticed that a lot of the change is due to an inexplicable movement towards increased complexity disguised as innovation. This is – to put it bluntly – complete idiocy.

What's with draconian pet adoption people?

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 10:00:00 -0700

Recently, my family was interested in expanding our family/menagerie with one or two dogs. So, we did the responsible thing and asked around about good local dog shelters. We figured that the process would be not too different than what we went through ten and a half years ago when we adopted our current dog. Alas, it was a bit more difficult.

I wish you were still here

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 09:30:00 -0800

Quite a few months ago, I started writing this post to honor my friend, Doug Pitters, who departed from this world far too soon. Unfortunately, I never got around to posting it. Well, today marks the one year anniversary of his death, so here it goes…

Don't diss Science

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:44:00 -0800

This morning, my wife and I had the displeasure of hearing a school administrator show some disrespect for Science. I admit that we are pretty biased towards STEM: I majored in Computer Science and my wife majored in biochemistry and teaches Physics. But, even in consideration of this, I was alarmed by this person’s comment that Science could take somewhat of a back seat to Mathematics and English at the elementary school level.

Who's that old guy?

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:00:00 -0800

One Saturday afternoon several years ago, I sat at the bar of The Library Ale House in Santa Monica, CA with a good friend of mine. We were sipping our pints and chatting about a whole range of topics. After a while, I started talking smack – definitely par for the course for a couple of guys gathered at a pub. My friend listened to my babbling for some time and when I paused, he exclaimed, “Hey, look at those two old guys!”

Don't believe your hype

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:41:00 -0700

In today’s world of constant self-promotion, it’s pretty easy to fall into the trap of thinking that – to steal an old saying – your shit don’t stink. For individuals (and startups) trying to get noticed in an ever-crowded landscape, a little overt promotion never hurt. In fact, it is required in order to get access to the air, water, and sunlight the nascent enterprise needs to succeed. The point here is that it’s ok to exude confidence or even braggadocio as conditions merit; just don’t let things get to the point where you believe your own hype.

I'm blogging this

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:31:00 -0700

There is the old saying, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” That is the general explanation of how I have felt about blogging. In my case, however, “nice” means “with useful content that will move the human race forward.”

I'm not starting a company

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:35:00 -0700

Overall, I am pretty happy to see the high level of interest in entrepreneurship these days. I actually think that we need more of it and wish that more teenagers were getting into it instead of just being passive consumers – but that’s another rant for another time. Out here in Silicon Valley, practically everyone here has a side job doing something entrepreneurial – even if it’s just writing mobile applications.

Another assault on education

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:43:00 -0700

My wife just told me today that our local library branch would no longer be open on Saturdays. I almost shed a tear.

Not only does my daughter love going their for Story Hour after her class at Little Gym, but because I remember the great many hours I spent at the library on Saturdays when I was a kid.