http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=V.+Berba+Velasco Etiquette V. Berba Velasco Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=281234&ca=Etiquette Say you’ve got a dozen sweaty people — maybe more — crammed into a single workout room. They’re all competing for the same equipment. If you’re one of these guys, what can you do to avoid unduly inconveniencing to anyone else? Here are a few simple tips. Keep conversations to a minimum Remember that... Home Management V. Berba Velasco Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=231503&ca=Home+Management I will never forget the shock that I received after the first winter gas bill for my house had arrived. I knew that I had to take drastic action to reduce my heating costs. Like many professionals though, I had precious little time to spare. Work pressures, exercise needs, social obligations, variou... Business Management V. Berba Velasco Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=162408&ca=Business+Management Three years ago, I had an opportunity to have dinner with the CEO of an engineering startup company in Pennsylvania. As we discussed engineering design matters over a Chinese meal, he took a few moments to talk about his philosophy of product development. “As far as I’m concerned,” he told me, “if a... Self Help V. Berba Velasco Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=109519&ca=Self+Help Television. It can be an incredible waste of time. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching television. I enjoy watching Jack Bauer defeat the bad guys. I like watching Adrian Monk unravel the most hopelessly Byzantine mysteries. I even like seeing Donald Trump dispense his corporate judgments, and... Computers and Technology V. Berba Velasco Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=102134&ca=Computers+and+Technology Pair programming: People either love it or hate it. The concept of pair programming first became popular thanks to “extreme programming” or XP—a set of practices that supposedly allows companies to develop software in a more efficient, more “agile” manner. Proponents of XP claim that it allows prog... Computers and Technology V. Berba Velasco Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=84071&ca=Computers+and+Technology It seems obvious, but it’s often ignored. A good user interface design can spell the difference between acceptance of a software product and its failure in the marketplace. If the end-users find the software to be too cumbersome or difficult to understand, then an otherwise excellent product could... Computers and Technology V. Berba Velasco Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=82306&ca=Computers+and+Technology I’ve seen it time and again. A computer programmer proudly proclaims, “Yeah, my code is object-oriented. See? My data members are all private, and they can only be reached through public member functions. That’s what being object-oriented is all about.” I’ve even heard this kind of drivel come from... Pets V. Berba Velasco Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=82304&ca=Pets If you’re like me, then you don’t really have the luxury of keeping a high-maintenance pet such as a dog. Even a less demanding pet such as a cat might be beyond your time constraints. Fish tanks can be difficult too, since it’s easy to under-estimate the time and effort involved in keeping them cle... Writing V. Berba Velasco Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=78564&ca=Writing Internal documentation. It’s one of the most frequent casualties in software development. It’s not hard to see why. For most companies, time is money, and they frequently find themselves scrambling to release a product. It can therefore be tempting to save time by cutting corners—by shortening or el... Pets V. Berba Velasco Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=77051&ca=Pets If you’re looking for an unusual, eye-catching pet, it’s hard to go wrong with a snake. They’re exotic enough to catch people’s interest, yet hardy enough to require minimal care. Nevertheless, uninformed first-time owners tend to make some basic mistakes, some of which can be quite costly. Here...