A Keep-Alive Post

Though it has no formal name, every blogger eventually writes a post to reassure readers that yes, s/he is still alive and well. Call it a keep-alive post that pings on the socket between the writer and the audience.

Such a time has come for this blog: the CtJ Nation has been clamouring for something -- anything -- to put some spice in their otherwise quiet browsing.

Things have been busy at CtJ HQ. It is a busy time for some personal pursuits, and also in preparing for a talk at the Lambda Lounge in March. I also confess that I've been distracted by the evil, seductive Twitter, much as I had feared.

Here are some quick notes on ideas in store for CtJ. Drop a line if any of these resonate with you:

• My upcoming talk is on monads, and so I've been cramming Haskell from Real World Haskell. This is a gorgeous language, and shares some psychic fingerprints with Unix, in that _everything_ is on its terms. Once you accept that, Haskell makes a very good case for the power of strong, static typing.
• I have been working in a war room for a couple of years now. This is fertile ground for blogging, but I generally avoid any subject that might seem personal towards my colleagues. However, I think I have enough experience (direct, or overheard) that I can safely abstract themes and episodes in a way that is essentially fiction. I'm considering a series called Adventures in Agility.
• Ted Neward has written about women in IT. I've been thinking about something similar for a long time, since I am on this list about male privilege. It pains me deeply that I'm on there, as I agree that some of the items are issues. I'm a free spirit at the pub, but I'm genuinely mortified to offend anyone in the workplace, on any criteria. I've been trying to reconcile this with the famous sticker posts. I'm considering a piece on the criteria I use to rate someone as a geek (hint: it has nothing to do with gender, race, religion, etc).
  

And that's the news from CtJ HQ. Stay tuned!