The Heap

heap (noun) /hēp/

1. a pool of memory where blocks of memory can be allocated and freed in an unordered manner
2. a disordered pile

This is where I store things I think are interesting and hope might be useful at some point. Like a heap, this page is dynamic can be changed as need be.

Programming

• In shell scripting, adding \ to the end of the line in order to join it with the next line works because it escapes the new line character. [learn more]

#          ↓ escapes the new line character you don't see
echo hello \
world

• The ASCII code for deletion is 127 which is 1111111 in 7-bit binary. This was useful for punch cards because you could punch out all 7 holes to indicate you made a mistake. [learn more]

Company

• Most process issues are actually hiring issues. Good people figure things out without the need for a lot of process. Bad people can sometimes be constrained by process to do reasonable work, but no innovation will happen. If you find yourself making rules to prevent bad people from doing bad things, why not just weed out the bad people?
• Not everyone is ready or able to make career progress. Companies should not try to develop a career plan for every employee. It’s better to tell employees they aren’t on a track to get a promotion than it is to give the employee a promotion when they aren’t ready.
• Promoting a person to a role they are not ready for is catastrophic.
  • They can’t do the job.
  • They won’t be able to guide their reports properly because they don’t know what they are doing.
  • Others know the person can’t do the job.
  • Others will expect to be promoted before they are ready too.
  • Promotions won’t be taken seriously.