This Developer's Life

Life is long. A series of chapters as you move from one scene to the next. Childhood, becoming a young adult, possibly a parent at some point, and more. But how much more? We talk to two people who are well into their later chapters. Scott talks to Lawrence Lockhart about reinventing yourself well into midlife. Rob talks to his mom, who, in her early 80s, was far from her final chapter. Lawrence Lockhart LinkedInInstagramTikTokMusic Whipping the Horse's EyesYin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man),Spy Always Dies AloneOleksandr StepanovYrii SemchyshynNiN, Ghosts

What do you do when your voice gains an audience? Do you rattle cages or open doors? That's what we talk about in this episode. Scott talks to Anjuan Simmons about the power of lending your privilege, lifting people up by getting out of the way. Rob talks to April Edwards about being an ally, listening, and shutting up. April's blog post about her health battle can be found here. Music The music used for this show is shared, kindly, by the following artists - our thanks to them! Zakhar DziubenkoSPMusicOctoSoundAlexi ActionNine Inch Nails Praz Khanal

How does our Faith drive us? Do you have Faith in yourself and your abilities, and how do you know you're on the right path? In this episode of This Developer's Life we offer you two stories. Rob has packed up his family and is travelling the world. He talks about his Faith in his children, recorded in a small town in Greece. Then we talk to Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, aka Sammus, about her crisus of Faith. She's juggling getting a PhD from Cornell while her side career as a musician is starting to take off. Which path is the right path? SammusSammusSammusSammusSammusSammusSammusSammus

In this episode of This Developer's Life we ask the hard questions about space. Why aren't we on Mars? Why haven't we gone back to the moon? We talk to Paul Lutus, Dan Bricklin, Tamar Cohen, and hear from Ray Bradbury. Scott and Rob have not yet gone to space and don't understand why. In this episode of This Developer's Life we ask the hard questions about space. Why aren't we on Mars? Why haven't we gone back to the moon? We talk to Paul Lutus, Dan Bricklin, Tamar Cohen, and hear from Ray Bradbury. Credits Thank you to Jeff Goldsmith, maker of the free storytelling app Backstory, for allowing us to use his recording of Ray Bradbury from Comic-Con 2010.

Big thanks from both my wife and myself for the outpouring of support after our Cancer announcement. Last year was a long year and the Cancer part of the year was particularly long. We were very private about the whole thing and waited to tell anyone until we knew we were mostly OK. However, to my surprise, the day of the diagnosis my wife, who has never shown much interested in podcasting announced "I want to record an audio Cancer Diary. Can you do that?" So we did. We honestly didn't know if we were going to publish this when we started but after a month of editing late into the night, we are. This episode of This Developer's Life takes a half year of our lives and many, many hours of audio and turns it into a single hour show that Mo and I are happy to share it with you today. I hope you enjoy the show and that you and yours are, and remain, healthy. Music The music tracks this week are used under Creative Commons. Please check out our friends on SoundCloud. XinbiIan Redfield MusicYogi MusicLunova LabsJéan-Paul D. JacksonSlightWhiteRabbitSeven Lionsitsjakez

Where does drama come from? How do we react to it? How much drama can be created by simple semicolon? This week we explore The Great Semicolon Affair. Peter CooperDerick Bailey H. Alan StevensDave WardSara ChippsTenderlove Music The music tracks this week are either Creative Commons from Magnatune or 30 - 60 seconds snips used as Fair Use.

How many empty brain cells do you have in your head? How capable are you of learning something completely new, and retaining what you already know? Scott and Rob talk to two developers this week who flex their ability to learn to both have fun, and succeed at their career. Patrick CauldwellZach Johnson Music The music tracks this week are either Creative Commons from Magnatune or 30 - 60 seconds snips used as Fair Use. Most of the music for the show was from a single artist: Aluminum Forest. An amazing album worth your time - go check it out. Aluminum ForestNine Inch NailsDaft Punk Photo This week's evocative photo is from Flickr and is used under Creative Commons.

You're so old! What a dinosaur! You're using old software and old languages to do old things! Or are you? Scott and Rob talk to David Sokol, Sean Bamforth and Pete Brown about Fortran, DataFlex and the Commodore 64. All these dinosaurs are doing useful work. Or, are they? David SokolSean BamforthPete Brown Music The music tracks this week are all Creative Commons from SoundCloud and most are less than 10 seconds. djpenegreMattyBlades~djrain~mrevaaaaaWenzelRanchAlexDanielsLucent ZoomLucent ZoomMIDI ControllerBDarner2The Apex Photo This week's evocative photo is from Flickr and is used under Creative Commons.

What do you do when you're not staring at your computer screen? What obsession grips you as you drive home? In this episode we ask David Heinemeier Hansson and Pete Brown this very question. David Heinemeier HanssonPete Brown Music The music tracks this week are a combination of Fair Use, Royalty-free, and Mashups. As with most of our mashups I won't link the source but you can find them on any video serving site. LadytronNine Inch NailsJerry BerlongieriKarftwerkDJs From Mars

Who cares about typefaces and why should you? Well, these guys do and you should start caring. Rob and Scott explore the world of reading online with one of the godfathers in the world of typeface and fonts. Bill HillGeoffrey Grosenbach Music The music tracks this week are a combination of Fair Use, Royalty-free, and Mashups. As with most of our mashups I won't link the source but you can find them on any video serving site. Juno ReactorNine Inch NailsTrent Reznor and Atticus RossNine Inch NailsCalexico

What is taste? What is style? Do you have it? Scott and Rob have no idea what it is or how to get it - but they know it's important. In this show they talk to a designer who flexes his good taste for a living - and a developer who is committed to spreading good taste where he can. Michael BachGeoffrey Grosenbach Music The music tracks this week are a combination of Fair Use, Royalty-free, and Mashups. As with most of our mashups I won't link the source but you can find them on any video serving site. Jeff BuckleyHymnNine Inch NailsJagLow and Spring Heel Jack

Scott and Rob discuss the value of a degree - and talk to two developers who used their passion to pull them through school and into their careers. Aqueelah GrantSeth Juarez Music The music tracks this week are a combination of Fair Use, Royalty-free, and Mashups. As with most of our mashups I won't link the source but you can find them on any video serving site. DeftonesMusic InsideThe KillsLisa DeBenedictus / SidetrackSwamplandThe KillsTricky Sandman

Scott and Rob talk to a group of Top Gun developers: the StackOverflow team, about the day their database melted - and how the team responded. Geoff DalgasSam SaffronJeff Atwood Music The music tracks this week are a combination of Fair Use, Royalty-free, and Mashups. As with most of our mashups I won't link the source but you can find them on any video serving site. Beastie BoysNine Inch NailsStar GardenCalexicoRildrim

In this episode we talk to three developers about criticism - some they've given and some they've received. In addition we talk to a very vocal critic of this podcast. Ayende RahienG. Andrew DuthieBoris Pavlović Music The music tracks this week cycle around remixes of a single song: On We March by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The different faces of the music seemed to mirror the phases people go through when confronting criticism - either from others, or their very own. Nine Inch NailsDavid BowieNine Inch Nails

In this special episode we explore the Egyptian revolution. We talk to Remon Zakaria about his experience writing software for a day job and overthrowing the government at night. Big thanks to Ahmed Remy and Reem Ahmed for their help. We recorded hours and hours of content to bring you this show. We wish we could have used everyone's story - there were so many. Remon Zakaria Music The music this week, aside from the very last song, is from a single composer: Jami Sieber (Lush Mechanique). If you've listened to this show for any significant amount of time - you know that music is a big part of it. This week is no exception: Jami's music is evocative, wonderful, compelling and simply a joy to listen to. Go download these things. All of them. They're wonderful. The final track is a song from Ramy Essam - an Egyptian folk musician who became the "Singer of the Revolution" and led the masses in Tahrir Square in song. The track we ended with is a remix of his famous song, found on YouTube.

Rob Sullivan talks about his obsessiveness and how it helps him, and hinders him in his job. Rory Blythe and Scott then talk openly about Rory's compulsion to keep learning - which he has embraced completely. Rob SullivanRory Blyth - the smartest man in the world Music We featured some remixes this week from Nine Inch Nails which is issued under Creative Commons. The band allows you to download their tracks, remix, them, and then load them back to their site for common consumption. If you like the following tracks, please support the band by buying their CDs. Nine Inch NailsNine Inch NailsOther tracks for this week are used under Creative Commons from Magnatunes. In addition we have some bootlegs and I've linked to the DJ's websites: Jami SieberRildrimThe following tracks were used under fair use (played for 30-60 seconds): Foo Fighters

In this episode we talk to competitors who are also programmers. Or, programmers who also compete. Are coders pre-wired for this? Jon Skeet, David Fowler, Aaron Jensen and Danielle Banks share their stories. Jon SkeetDavid FowlerAaron JensenDaniele R. BanksMusic We featured some remixes this week from Nine Inch Nails which is issued under Creative Commons. The band allows you to download their tracks, remix, them, and then load them back to their site for common consumption. If you like the following tracks, please support the band by buying their CDs. Nine Inch NailsNine Inch NailsNine Inch NailsOther tracks for this week are used under Creative Commons from Magnatunes. In addition we have some bootlegs and I've linked to the DJ's websites: StargardenSwivel Neck JonesHeavy MellowMatt Hite

In this episode Scott and Rob talk to 4 entrepreneurs about the risks they take, and what's happened as a result. Dave Nielsen, Tom Preston-Werner, and Nate and Niki Kohari. Dave NielsenTom Preston-WernerNate and Niki Kohari Music Most of the the tracks for this week are used under Creative Commons from Magnatunes. In addition we have some bootlegs and I've linked to the DJ's websites: 2 Many DJsNine Inch NailsGeneral FuzzNine Inch Nails RemixesWilliamsonRildrimWilliamsonMark Vidler - Go Home ProductionsThe following tracks were used under fair use (played for 30-60 seconds): PusciferMC 900 Foot JesusIn addition - we used a few clips from the movie Rushmore. If you haven't seen it - go get it. Wes Anderson - Rushmore

In this episode Scott and Rob talk to Chad Myers, Chad Fowler, and Doug Rohrer about the scars they've received from dead end projects they've been on. In addition - Sara Chipps contributes her first story for us - interviewing Scott Reynolds. Chad MyersChad FowlerSara ChippsScott Reynolds Music The tracks for this week are used under Creative Commons from Magnatunes. In addition we have some bootlegs and I've linked to the DJ's websites: FissunixDJ CaryNine Inch NailsGeneral FuzzRildrimDJs From Mars

This week it's just Scott and me - Scott gets to go off to Disneyland with his wife and 2 boys, and I get to hang out with my girls for a week as their mom goes on a retreat in California. Music The tracks for this week are used under Creative Commons from Magnatunes: Nine Inch NailsGeneral FuzzGeneral FuzzJohn WilliamsMelissa Polinarhttp://www.melissapolinar.com.RildrimOGMAThe following tracks were used sparingly, but are not Creative Commons. If you like them - please buy them: Hapa - Justin's Lullabye Hapa - Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai