Builders gotta build

When I talk to people about what I like about what I do - there are usually two things that I tell them. First that I like to build stuff and second to solve problems. I am a builder - both in my professional and personal life. Building software is what I get paid to do because I have demonstrated that I am good at it. Building in the physical world is just fun.

Take for instance "building" at home. Fixed things in the house. Upgrades. Or creating something that I need. The one that I wished I had yesterday was a yard tool holder. I recently moved and left the yard tool holder behind. It was something that I built out of extra lumber I had around the house. It looked something like the picture I attached, but custom made for the tools and the materials I had available. I knew what I wanted / needed but was constrained by what I had available.

Sounds like a parallel to building software. There are the requirements and then there is what you can do. The components available and time are both constraints to what you can complete. This is one place where the problem solving comes into play - putting it all together to complete (deliver) something.

There is something rewarding about completing something that I built. Yesterday it was waxing poetic about my yard tool holder. Sounds like an opportunity to consider version 2.

My phone is a fishing lure

Through a series of natural causes/events my phone was in the kayak, the kayak filled with water, the phone is dead and probably is better for catching fish or throwing at large game and rendering them unconscious.



This, of course, means that I have to buy another phone. Note that I did not say a new phone. It seems to me that the cell phone market sucks for anyone who, like me, is hard on a cell phone. There is no way for me to afford paying full retail because I am only months into my new contract.

This model is why I see so many screens with the spider cracked glass. Heck, someone at work actually had a piece of clear box tape over his screen to keep his phone usable to the end of the contract.

I cannot believe that the hardware for a phone actually costs that much. My hunch is that cell phone manufacturers are trying to recoup R&D costs for the phone and all the customizations that they put on top of the base OS. Apparently the competition is so tough that they feel they need to customize in order to distinguish themselves.

Wish someone would figure out a way to make a fast (obviously not going to be cutting edge) phone with base (aka free) version of Android. Rather than going after the performance or feature rich environment they go after the cost. I have seen some base Android phones and the OS is very usable. Negotiate with carriers to not put those annoying apps that kill the battery life. Figure out a different model, maybe even a Kindle with ads-like model.

Thinking about prevention...in this case it would have just taken a ziplock bag. Wish the kayak dude had a box of them for his clients. Otherwise, I guess the only case that may work for me is one of those industrial-double the size of your phone cases. I had an Otter case in the past and they were just too big to put in my pocket. Reminds me of the cucumber scene in Spinal Tap.

In the meantime, I am trying the following...

• Scouring the used phone sites for a replacement.


• Using article's like this to try and save the old phone.