September is ruined, it seems. September is my time of reflection, just as it was 2 years ago. I looked out upon Chevy Chase in Lexington, on bi-monthly afternoon off, and I was both over-caffeinated and sad. Today isn’t all that different: I’m pensive, alone among a crowd, and over-caffeinated. I’m a Christian without a church home, a football fan without a team, and a father down one child. ...

Joey fired us. Tomorrow marks two weeks since that was official. I love my son. I miss my son. Maybe this was all a mistake. I have no idea. Perhaps that’s the beginning of Faith. If so, faith is painful as Hell. And lonely. So fine, and sunny, and smiling, and empty. It’s said that God breaks us, so he might rebuild us. I’m a thousand pieces flying in close formation. ...

“Hey, this traffic isn’t so bad!” I thought a month ago. It was July and I was averaging 15-20 minutes to work down a 6 lane surface street with an effective 70mph speed limit (Yay, Texas?) …then school started back. That same street became one backup after another this morning, and it took me 30 minutes door-to-door, even though I live 9 miles away. Between schools being back in session and UT classes restarting, something like 40,000 more Austinites are on the road each morning and afternoon. ...

I’ve been reflecting lately. Huge life changes will do that to you. You know, things like: Quitting your job of 17 years without another one handy, moving to a state you’ve only driven through once, working at one of the big 4 tech firms, and being fired as a Dad by my own son. So, when do you decide to make a change? Looking back on it, there were several discrete moments where I was ‘out’. ...

Just wanted to pause and write about that super-exciting topic: Code reviews. Let’s begin with defining what code review is, and establishing the case for making it part of your development process. We’ll also take a trip down memory lane and acknowledge doing code reviews was really hard for years, and now it’s laughably easy. What is Code Review? Simply, code review is when someone else looks at your code to critique for defects. ...

Thus far the quote of the month has been: We should’ve moved here 5 years ago. So far Austin is amazing. In true Freudian fashion, my fingers wrote that last sentence as ‘Austin is amazon." :) Amazon is amazing, too, but I can’t quite talk about that. So, it’s August. It’s 100 degrees every day, 81 degrees at 7 am, and it’s great. Pollen counts are laughably low here, so everyone’s improving in their allergies. ...

A letter to myself in July 2015 from July 2016: Dear sir, This is your future self speaking. Don’t question and go all ‘Dr Who’ on me, just listen. Your life is about to change. You’ve worked at Lexmark for 16 years unofficially. You’re looking forward to that congratulatory “15 years of service” email you’ll get on June 4th, 2016. You’ll never see it. Let me explain a bit what’s going to transpire: ...

So, I’ve had a few rants thoughts on process in the past. I’d like to revisit those with my Big Boy pants on. For one thing, during my current job search process, my experience in Agile in the past 4 years always comes up, so I thought I’d parrot here what I generally say in the interviews, on why you’d choose one versus another. If you’ll allow me, I’m going to argue that both are valuable, and both should be in your organization. ...

Well, the goodbye echos are over, the severance check is safely in the bank, and the initial supernova of Job Hunt Hysteria has died down. Yep, I’m just unemployed at the moment. Nothing terribly special…just a guy looking for his next gig, like millions of others. The first week of “not going to work” didn’t go so well. I was completely off-schedule at home, and an person with my brain chemistry devoid of structure tends toward anxiety and acting-out. I did act-out on Wednesday, so the road back there continues. I have calmed down considerably, and I feel like I’m through the change curve to the point of “Yep, I don’t work at Lexmark anymore.” ...

Double entendre….on darn, already off to a poor start. So, as 11 month ago, I took the leap, signed the papers, and volunteered to leave my former employer. This came with some stipulations. For one year, I may not: Try to recruit anyone actively employed at Lexmark or assist any new employer in same. Besmirch or otherwise criticize Lexmark. Return to work there. That’s right. In the course of one afternoon, I went from a a fully-employed Software Architect at a (nominally) Fortune 500 company to 4 weeks from out-the-door on the job market. ...

So, I’ve been at Lexmark longer than: I’ve been married (10 years) I’ve had kids (10 years) I knew what autocross was (13 years) I could swim a full lap in a pool (1 year) I’ve known the Java Programming Language (in all its 1.1.8 glory) (15 years) I’ve lived in any one place continuously (13 years) The only thing I’ve done longer than have the email address hcombs@lexmark.com and the same strangely 4-digit employee ID (they recycle them) is: ...

To quote Donne: Never ask for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. The South Carolina primary will likely be the end of Jeb Bush’s run for the Whitehouse. I’m on the record decrying the idea that we’ll have yet another member of either the Clinton or Bush family lead our nation. Still, I’m struck by what this means, not only for Jeb and his personal legacy, but also for the Party and our nation as a whole. The saddest part of the slow-motion denouement of Jeb Bush’s campaign: This is not who Jeb is. ...

It’s been a fascinating, sometimes frustrating year. Today’s my last official workday; I’ll probably check email from here on out. Some highlights to share: Code activity That pretty much tells-the-tale. Up through July I was hot and heavy on of our projects, then I had a week of vacation (which was awesome…I really recommend Nags Head, NC.) Throughout that time, I was working with a very sharp team, and we had a go-live with our changes on April 23d. I didn’t sleep much that night. ...

Except for a 1 month break during the summer, Maria and I have been swimming every weekday morning, and I’m quite proud of our progress. In January, we could barely make 1 half-lap of a 25 yard pool without being totally out of breath. Maria was very scared–she could barely swim–and she would only do kickboard stuff at first. I was a complete goof, and the thought of doing even a full 25-yard stint frankly scared me. I couldn’t coordinate my movements, I couldn’t breathe properly, and everything felt like a struggle. I honestly didn’t know if we’d make it out of January still swimming. ...

Once upon a time, my employer decided I was enough of a naive workaholic to put me on a list. This list contained other people who were naive workaholics. They decided they should herd us together and teach us to be more effective, slightly less naive workaholics. The guy who taught the class had many nuggets of wisdom, but this one stuck with me. He drew this simple diagram on a pad of paper at the front of the class. ...

Yes, I’m still alive, as my twitter stream would substantiate. Felt led to share this. First, some background: I’m a Protestant Christian. As such, I follow the doctrine of Justfication by Faith (Sola Fide). Justification by Faith, broadly defined, means that we are ‘justified’, that is, redeemed or saved, by Grace from God alone through Faith, **For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,**not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:9, ESV). ...

This is sort of a follow-up to my On Steve Jobs post. I write this with myself as the audience, after getting slapped with fish by life for the past 10 days. No one cares. You’ve been raised in child-centric America, from 1990 to the present. You’re behaviorally Millennial; you don’t remember a time before computers, minivans, or helicopter parents. You’ve always felt entitled to speak your mind, in whatever the situation. ...

I did a quarter mile worth of laps in a pool. Holy crap! Maria is now on a summer swim team, racing other kids her age. Holy crap! Got a good pair of goggles at Costco, and my breathing patterns are better, if only my cardio would come along with it.

I’ve been a software developer throughout the “Agile Revolution.” My first team lead, back in 2001 said these words to me and I’ve always taken them to heart: I think the world’s pretty done with us [Software Developers]. I feel like we’ve got about 5 years to get our act together or that’s it. Apropos, that same year a highly influential group of practitioners signed the Agile Manifesto. Amid waves of Dot-Com-Bubble-Bursting, offshoring, and right-sizing, they kept it simple: Here’s what works; apply liberally. ...

Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s valediction as an old man. From the purported wisest man that ever lived–gifted with wisdom from God Himself--comes a book that seems a real downer on the hollowness of nearly every pursuit in his hedonistic life. Sometimes, having worked as a developer for 16 years, I’m reminded off Ecclesiastes. With apologies to Solomon: To everything there is a season: _ A time to build big, and a time to build small,_ _ A time to write, and lots more time to sustain,_ _ A time to break systems apart,_ _ A time to pull systems together._ A time to delete, and a time to merge. Most telling is the author’s refrain: “All is vanity! There is nothing new under the sun.” ...