Sharpening the Ax

I haven't been doing a lot of coding the past few weeks, but I have been working and studying. Getting familiar with Algorithms and Patterns. Going back and looking at algorithms for the first time since I was in university was interesting. In may ways easier for me to pick up now than it was then. What seemed pointless then has much more meaning to me now. I suspect that's the difference experience makes. I see a project in my future to actually play with the lowlevel algorithm implementations for a good exercise.

At a higher level I've been looking at Patterns. I've been exposed over the years to various Patterns from the GoF. MVC, Facade I've put to practice in quite a few projects, but this was a chance to look at all the patterns. I ended up reading "Head First Design Patterns". What a great book! Highly recommended to anyone trying to see what's what with Patterns. An engaging well written book that put even my old friends MVC and Facade into a new light for me.

Reading Seth Godin's "Linchpin" as well. Inspiring read. Reminds me of Daniel Pink's Brand New Mind. Important to recognize we've entered an era that forces us to compete against the world on skills. Internalizing the lessons learned from the luxury brands : there is more to compete on than price. Service, quality and customization can still pay off.

I realized recently that part of the reason this resonates so well with me is that these are the same messages my father gave me growing up. Looking at it from a different perspective it helps motivate me towards some new goals and projects.

Good Company

Sweet deal! My Inove flashlight died while I was in RTP. This is one of my favorite EDC, so I was a bit bummed about it. I sent an email to Inova to try and see if it would be covered by a warrenty. I got a GREAT response from them very quickly:

I’m sorry to hear that you are experiencing problems with your INOVA T1 flashlight.

All of our INOVA flashlights carry a limited lifetime warranty. We will be more than happy to replace your flashlight for you. Simply return your flashlight in a box including a brief description of the problem you are experiencing.
We have just recently released our brand new, upgraded 2008 T1. The new T1-MP light has been increased to 100 lumens. We will replace your current T1-WB with the new improved upgraded
T1-MP. I think you will be very pleased with your new flashlight.

I'm sending it back this week, but I was really impressed with their service and response.