Introducing context-sensitive RSS feeds
I've just finished what I consider to be the last big feature for my blog, context-sensitive RSS feeds. What this means (to me, anyway) is that the RSS link in the upper right hand corner of the site will now change depending on which page you're on. The only use I could find for this is when viewing all posts within a specific label. So if you were to click on a link at the top of the page under "labels", which displays all posts categorized under that particular label, the RSS link will give you a feed for that particular label. Try it out! It can be really handy if you want to keep up to date on places I travel, for instance, but don't care much about what I have to say about software development. You'll also notice that the RSS feeds will direct you to my site instead of Blogger, which is good since the posts aren't actually visible in Blogger. I did this by creating my own feed in PHP using Blogger's API and I'll try to posts some more specifics about how I did that in the future.
On another note, I finally finished Peopleware: Productive Project and Teams over the weekend while at the beach (I'll post some pictures in a couple days). It has been immensely helpful and I have even passed it on to our CEO. In the final few pages I found a particularly delightful passage:
As systems developers, we have selected ourselves into the world of cool, calming, rational thought. Either our code compiles, or it doesn't. The compiler is never happy for us, nor mad at us. Perhaps this is why we tend to apply logic as our main device for resolving disputes.This puts into words something that I have thought for a long time. I remember once having an argument where Debbie exclaimed "Things don't have calculate exactly correct all the time, Cam!" Well, this sort of explains why I think things do, in fact, always have to calculate, and knowing that will probably help me be more understanding in the future.
Next up on my plate is The Mythical Man Month, which I'm not quite as excited about but should prove to be another useful tool. The fact that I'm not that excited about it probably means that it's a good thing I'm reading it :-)
