Words On Wednesday

Want to order an old favorite, but sound fancy doing it? Get a Cuba Libre! It's just a rum and cola with lime, but it sounds cultured. Plus, it's fun to say: Cuba Libre. As the Lima One Capital annual company party was approaching, I was discussing it in the office with the data engineering team. You know, before I got laid off? I really felt like if there were no hard feelings, they should've let us still attend the party to go out with a bang. Alas, I digress. At that point, I still had every intention of attending the celebration. One of the data engineers said she planned on getting a Cuba Libre. I was intrigued, a Cuba Libre? I hadn't heard of that. "Oh, it's just rum and Coke with lime." How droll. I love a rum and cola, and I frequently throw lime in it because lime is amazing. Turns out, I had been drinking Cuba Libre for years and didn't even know it. Beyond being simple and delicious, it's also cheap. When you don't have a job, you...

Modern Christians are frequently concerned with being more "Christ-like," but I think we often ignore the little ways in which we can see Christ in our day-to-day lives and follow those same principles. Recently, I was able to see Christ in a simple praline. Now, before we get started, I'm not trying to boast about my own charity. I'm well aware of the caution against that; "but when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (English Standard Version, 2016, Matthew 6:3). It was a $4 praline. I'm just trying to illustrate how we can pay attention to those around us a bit more, and be more like Christ each day. A few weeks ago, I went to Kilwins to get a caramel apple for my wife for Valentine's day. While I was there, I started eyeing the pralines. They looked so good, and if I was already making a purchase, why not get something for myself while I was there? I decided to buy one. This was extremely unusual. ...

As a software engineer, I've written a lot of code through the years and forgotten most of it. Some bits, though, I remember vividly. One routine in particular sticks out in my mind as simultaneously the best and worst code I've ever written. Picture this: we have a set of official forms used in nursing homes that need a UI to set the configuration for each form. There are three types: Physician Order (A), Medical Administration Record (M), and Psychotropic (P). For reasons I can no longer remember, there were two categories: the first had only Physician Order and MAR forms, the second had all three. With me so far? Herein lies a cautionary tale against the "it's just..." reasoning. The request probably sounds simple so far. It's decently easy to explain and understand. However, because of the complexities around that functionality, I wrote a routine that persisted in that code for probably a decade or more until the project was officially deprecated and shut ...