Beyond Development

"First and foremost, you are your own customer: You build stuff that you love yourself. What Woz did..."

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:06:00 -0500

“First and foremost, you are your own customer: You build stuff that you love yourself. What Woz did with the Apple II was he just filled it up with so much love — love because it was his lifelong dream… That’s the basic approach I learned, to work from your heart, and to really, really care.””

- Andy Hertzfeld, great developer, part of the original Mac team. Longer article on him and the impotence of talent here.

No horse gets anywhere until its harnessed, otherwise it just...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:29:00 -0500

No horse gets anywhere until its harnessed, otherwise it just runs wild on the field. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it’s tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined”. ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick.

The power of focus and discipline brings success! Learn to use it to get the best from your abilities, and talents. Keep balance, focus on what’s good, give to others and finish strong. These are the principles of greatness.

Inspired by: 2nd Timothy 1:7

“The road to life isn’t linear. It isn’t Sherbrooke...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:45:00 -0400

“The road to life isn’t linear. It isn’t Sherbrooke Street. It’s more like Côte-des-Neiges. It’s a country route, dusty and dirty, with soft shoulders and high banks, Don’t be afraid of taking chances – of striking out on paths that are untrod. Don’t be afraid of failing. Don’t be afraid of making an ass of yourself. I do it all the time and look what I got” William Shatner.

Two factors lead us to success: First being who you are, and this implies being the best you can possibly be. And second taking chances, embracing risk. The better you do those two, the more rewards you will find in life and business.

Quote Source: McGill Reporter.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1899, Borges continues to be...

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:06:00 -0400

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1899, Borges continues to be one of Latin America’s greatest authors. His poems and work of fiction have no equal, and is undoubtedly a giant in literature.

Sometimes we hear in the IT world: code is poetry. Although code can be sometimes a work of art, it is not, and can never approach poetry. Poetry reaches the heart, the spirit, it goes beyond any other artistic work. Only music can approach it.

Below one of his poems, first in English and then the original in Spanish. If you like what you read, pick any book from him, you won’t be disappointed. For me his poems are like the cool breeze of the ocean on my soul.

The Just
by Jorge Luis Borges

A man who cultivates his garden, as Voltaire wished.
He who is grateful that on earth we have music.
He who takes pleasure in tracing an etymology.
Two workmen playing, in a café in the South, a silent game of chess.
The potter, who imagines a color and a form.
The typographer who sets this page well, though it may not please him.
A woman and a man, who read the last tercets of a certain canto.
He who strokes a sleeping animal.
He who justifies, or wishes to, a wrong done to him.
He who is grateful that on earth we got one Stevenson.
He who prefers others to be right.
These people, that we ignore, are saving the world.

Los Justos

Un hombre que cultiva un jardín, como quería Voltaire.
El que agradece que en la tierra haya música.
El que descubre con placer una etimología.
Dos empleados que en un café del Sur juegan un silencioso ajedrez.
El ceramista que premedita un color y una forma.
Un tipógrafo que compone bien esta página, que tal vez no le agrada
Una mujer y un hombre que leen los tercetos finales de cierto canto.
El que acaricia a un animal dormido.
El que justifica o quiere justificar un mal que le han hecho.
El que agradece que en la tierra haya Stevenson.
El que prefiere que los otros tengan razón.
Esas personas, que se ignoran, están salvando el mundo

"The map, the map, the map is not the territory… look at the ground."

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:37:00 -0400

““The map, the map, the map is not the territory… look at the ground.””

- Ronin ~ Sam, played by Robert de Niro.

On July 2010 acclaimed director Ridley Scott and friends...

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:51:00 -0400

On July 2010 acclaimed director Ridley Scott and friends embarked on a Social Media experiment on Youtube to capture one day of our lives. They gave just two questions to guide film makers: what do you fear, what do you love?

The result appears to be spectacular. A personal look into the souls of hundreds of people around our planet, it seems we are much more similar than we think, earth has hope. A must see when it hits theatres July 29, in the meantime I do recommend the Tree of Life, a similar view through the eyes of a kid and his family, from birth to adulthood and beyond.

“One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily...

Tue, 31 May 2011 22:39:00 -0400

“One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity” ~ Bruce Lee.

Image Credits Pat McDonald.

Less noise, less “information”, leads to less...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:42:01 -0400

Less noise, less “information”, leads to less stress and that equals more peace.

Image Credits: here.

Over 100 years after his death, Jules Verne continues to be an...

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:31:07 -0500

Over 100 years after his death, Jules Verne continues to be an inspiration to millions. His many books showed an uncanny ability to predict the future, inventions like the Rocket Ship, the elevator, the modern submarine and even the way man would reach the moon were predicted, and made into exciting works of fiction.

It’s a pleasant surprise to see that even Google, the epitome of a 21st. century company pays homage to this special mind in their homepage with their logo resembling the Nautilus submarine.

“Success and proper timing go hand in hand. In war, in...

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:32:00 -0500

“Success and proper timing go hand in hand. In war, in love, in business those that act at the right time win. And yes that also takes guts!” Joseph Hurtado

Two challenges however will face you on your road to action: Confusion and Fear. The first one makes it difficult to see the signs and recognize the trends or discern the truth; the latter stops you cold, with images of defeat.

Wisdom says be brave and notice the signs! First listen to your heart and then act in faith! Signs will never be crystal clear, but they should be enough to give you peace to move forward. Prayer helps too, since it brings you knowledge from above, from the one who truly knows and cares about all of us, if your desires are righteous God shall help you.

Finally, remember even if you were wrong, you are one step ahead of everyone else, you took a step forward. Persevere, you shall find victory!

Inspiration: Joshua 1, Ecclesiastes 3.

Photo: Erin M.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but...

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:26:00 -0500

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson.

There is wisdom in this quote. So Stop, read it again two or three times if you need to. Now, think about it, if your heart is right and righteousness lives in you, despite setbacks, you will always be able to make a good ending. Always remember that it is YOU who writes the pages of your own book, and whether you believe it or not God is watching, and yes He does care. Cheer up, you can do it, He will help you, he will shine on you!

Image Credits on Flickr.

"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in..."

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:37:00 -0400

“I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.”

- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789. Words for the wise.

Today Mario Vargas Llosa, the remarkable writer from Peru, whose...

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 23:34:00 -0400

Today Mario Vargas Llosa, the remarkable writer from Peru, whose life has been divided between his passion for literature, and his dedication to political causes finally won the Nobel prize of Literature.

This is particularly important to me, since I have not just read his books, but been personally influenced by his passion for freedom, democracy and political accountability.

Mario started as a left-wing liberal, supporting Castro and socialism in his early days, but soon after he realized freedom was lost in the socialist countries, and center right policies were better for a democracy, he did a 180 degree change, and even became a candidate for Peru’s presidency, which he lost. Bitter a few months after the race, he would even criticize harshly his homeland, gaining many enemies in the process.

However, Mario the writer eventually got over his loss as a politician, wrote a book about his fascinating experience: ”The Fish in the Water” or El Pez en El Agua; and some years later actually apologized to Peruvians.

On his first interview today, he actually was full of compliments to Peru, Peruvians and the land that inspired most of his books.

Being a writer who aligns with the right was hard on Mario, mostly because writers in Europe and Latin America are either on the left of the political spectrum, or at the very least are not vocal of their “right-wing opinions.” Mario however would never have that, he openly attacked Castro’s socialist Cuba regime, and Venezuela’s recent turn to the left with Hugo Chavez.

Many feared that perhaps his outspoken political stands would prevent the Swedish Academy from ever honoring him with a Nobel, like it unfortunately happened with the great Argentinian writer Borges. What a pleasant surprise it must have been for him to know that it actually happened today, and what a celebration for Peru, Spain and all of Latin America to have a new winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature.

¡Bravo Mario, siempre confiamos en ti, este premio Nobel es un reconocimiento a tu carrera, y también para el Perú donde ocurren tantas de tus historias, para el idioma español y para la literatura Latino Americana!

Bravo Mario, we always had faith in you, this Nobel prize is a recognition to your career, to Peru where most of your stories take place, to the Spanish language and to all Latin American Literature!

Best English Coverage about this good news on the LA Times, and Living in Peru.

Cover art: Mario’s picture from the book “Freedom and life”, a book that touches on Mario’s life, more details here and here.

JosephHurtado.com is online! To all the kind Folks who read my...

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:47:00 -0400

JosephHurtado.com is online!

To all the kind Folks who read my blog, I realized as much as I like this forum, I needed an official place for my professional self. Still w/ a bit of fun of course, just because I can’t help it ;-)

But if you want to read my thoughts on project management, Social Media, Agile methods, Marketing, business and software development in more detail, or just know what’s up with yours truly, visit: JosephHurtado.com. I’ve got a few entries there already, I think you’d like it, I call it Thinking Business.

In the mean time Beyond Development, will continue forward, as the informal, life loving place it is.

After a while Twitter.com updates it’s web...

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:34:00 -0400

After a while Twitter.com updates it’s web interface!

Changes will be gradually rolled over to all users, be a bit patient, and enjoy the video.

"Action will destroy your procrastination. Act now, for now is all you have."

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:23:00 -0400

“Action will destroy your procrastination.
Act now, for now is all you have.”

- Og Mandino. He lived this quotes in his life.

Loïc Le Meur’s 10 Rules for Business Success, from the...

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:17:24 -0400

Loïc Le Meur’s 10 Rules for Business Success, from the great piece Chris Nutall wrote for the Financial Times. Some do sound counter-intuitive, that makes them even more interesting. So read, and THINK before you do them.

1- Do not wait for a revolutionary idea, the idea of your life will never happen, just focus on a simple exciting empty space you see and execute as fast as possible

2- Share your idea as much as possible, the more you share, the more you get advice and the more you learn. Meet and talk to your competitors.

3- Build a community around you through blogging and social software

4- Listen to your community, answer questions and build your product with their feedback, involve bloggers as early as possible and get their feedback, if negative, adapt your product permanently

5- Gather a great team with a very different skill set than yours, look for people who are better than you without being afraid of it

6- Be the first to recognize a problem or a mistake you have made. Never hide it behind the carpet. Address the issue in public, learn and correct it.

7- Do not spend time on market research, but launch as early as possible in alpha or beta versions. Keep improving the product in the open.

8- Do not focus on a large spreadsheet business plan, you are so sure it is not going to happen anyway

9- Do not plan huge marketing, growing with your community loving the product is much more powerful

10- Do not focus on getting rich or selling your company, focus on your users, money is a consequence of success, can’t be a goal.

Remember though that military strategy, and business strategy recommends discretion. However once an idea is close to fruition, I do agree sharing, and using social media sounds like solid advice.

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see."

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:40:00 -0400

“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.”

- Winston Churchill. In Project Management this is a rule, and the consequence to this rule is that the further into the future we try to plan, the less reliable plans become.

However we still must plan! How can we solve this paradox? The answer lies in Agile Methodologies, particularly Lean Kanban. I will explore this subject in the near future.

Happy Birthday Peru! Feliz 28 de Julio Perú! This amazing place...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:43:00 -0400

Happy Birthday Peru! Feliz 28 de Julio Perú!

This amazing place located in Peru’s high-altitude jungle, has been visited by millions of people, and continues to be a landmark of the Inca Empire that flourished over 800 years ago. It’s capital was in Cusco, the same region where Machupicchu belongs to. Today it is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Peru has an amazing geography: thousands of beautiful beaches, the second highest mountain range in the World (the Andes) and is the birthplace of the Amazon river. Now add to that great food, and good people and you get a great place to visit!

EFF wins case: jailbreaking an iPhone and video mashups are legal now.

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:11:00 -0400

EFF wins case: jailbreaking an iPhone and video mashups are legal now.:

Before the the Electronic Frontier Foundation won this case it was a grey area that Apple chose to ignore, but others on the video front of fair-use opposed vehemently.

On a related subject the court decided that selective ripping of DVDs, or using video clips for “noncommercial works for purposes of criticism or comment” is permissible under US law.