Disqus - Latest Comments for tstocky

Re: 3 suggestions for engineering managers

Tom Stocky — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:00:43 -0000

I agree the a healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing, as is being open and going all in when it's clear the team needs to change directions. I also agree that it's a tough balance. I think over-communicating and being direct goes a long way in maintaining the trust you need on all sides.

Re: 3 suggestions for engineering managers

Tom Stocky — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:41:57 -0000

Nice post -- great to see you writing.

On the "shit umbrella" point, I think the intent behind it is correct, that you should care more about protecting your team from unnecessary distractions, busy work, etc than looking good in front of your boss. But I question the example you chose because it seems to imply that just because you don't believe in the new requirements and didn't expect them, that necessarily means they're wrong. If you assume the person above you is also a good manager and following your advice, it could be that this is just one of those times when change is needed, and short-term pain will pay off in the long run. Clearly, accepting the new requirements unquestioningly is bad, but dismissing them without thoughtful consideration might not be so great either.

Re: What I'm working on in Africa (Kevin Edition) - Los Meanderthal

Tom Stocky — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:12:45 -0000

This is a very cool project -- I'm glad you took the time to share the details!

Re: The Sundowner Report, Episode 1 - Los Meanderthal

Tom Stocky — Thu, 19 May 2011 03:07:12 -0000

You guys are awesome.

Re: San Francisco giants - Los Meanderthal

Tom Stocky — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:27:56 -0000

Why is there no "Love" button? Saying I "Like" this post just isn't enough!

Re: What it's like to visit a restaurant in a foreign country with Kevin - Los Meanderthal

Tom Stocky — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:03:52 -0000

As hilarious as this is, I must admit that I aspire for Kevin's appreciation of food.

Re: Applying World Understanding to Ko Phi Phi - Kevin and Page's Blog

Tom Stocky — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:34:29 -0000

That first photo is *amazing* -- the other 2 are great, too, but seriously the first one was already amazing and then you decided to add a tiny paraglider in the corner. I'm loving the vacation play-by-play, and Ko Phi Phi sounds awesome.

Re: Thoughts on The No Asshole Rule - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:11:11 -0000

Glad to be of service!

Re: Two random thoughts - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:08:29 -0000

Haha, yeah definitely. Dogs can definitely be an icebreaker for meeting people. But that's actually what I think is funny -- that first people will engage with the dog and then the owner's kind of secondary, and in some cases, the owner never gets any attention. =)

Re: Two random thoughts - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:24:18 -0000

Ha! Ok, point taken. Of course, it's not a simple problem. There are some cases where you might want different comment threads with different sets of people, so it's not as easy as just taking all comments for a single page/item and putting them everywhere. But I agree that the current situation is broken and unnecessarily redundant.

Re: Two random thoughts - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:13:13 -0000

Disqus and FriendFeed aren't perfectly integrated, so comments here won't show up there. If you want to comment on FF the link is http://friendfeed.com/tom/5...

I think the Facebook Share bookmarklet (http://www.facebook.com/sha... does the equivalent of the Like button, but I'm not positive on that. You could also just like/comment on the item as it's listed on my Facebook profile. =)

Re: Mail from my 5-year-old nephew - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:13:00 -0000

It's not an official superpower until one of your kids (or nieces/nephews) draws a picture of it.

Re: Mail from my 5-year-old nephew - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:37:28 -0000

Ha! I think you might be taking his homage too literally ...

Re: Mail from my 5-year-old nephew - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:27:42 -0000

Wow, comparisons to Michelangelo at age 5. Not bad!

Re: Mail from my 5-year-old nephew - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:21:28 -0000

Haha! For the record, I'm pretty sure those are motion waves -- like we're running or maybe I'm coming in for a hug. =)

Re: My theory on genius and chips distribution - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:59:30 -0000

Thanks for the links/references -- I'll check them out. And I want to hear more about your take on these theories, especially if they're grounded in actual research. Let's chat more when we have lunch.

Re: My theory on genius and chips distribution - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:00:36 -0000

I don't know ... Like I was saying to Jason, I actually think the total amount of chips people get (to stick with the metaphor) doesn't vary all that much. Certainly, the types of chips people get varies a lot, but I think the real difference in terms of realized talent comes from people not discovering their strengths and/or not nurturing them.

Re: My theory on genius and chips distribution - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:05:30 -0000

My intention was to capture nature and nurture -- i.e., the chips you get are the nature part, but that just defines your capacity for those talents. More chips will mean certain things will come easier to you, but it doesn't mean you'll actually be good at those things unless you put forth the effort to realize your potential.

But maybe my metaphor's breaking down ... Because I also think that people can learn most anything, though it may be harder for some than others. Of course, there has to be a limit. Or maybe it's just a question of time ... perhaps each of us does have the capacity for Beethoven's musical talent, but we don't have enough time on this earth to develop our skill to that level because it would take 10,000x as long for us to get there.

Re: Please comment on this post

Tom Stocky — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:56:24 -0000

Also trying this out ... and also awaiting sync ...

Re: Airlines pilots handing out Captain Donut cards on flights? - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:14:27 -0000

No, I didn't try emailing him ... Was yours also from Captain Donut?

Re: Thoughts on The No Asshole Rule - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:04:05 -0000

I was trying to imagine a version of you that fit the description you were laying out. That would've been quite a transformation to get you to your present day self. You totally had me going -- I laughed out loud (literally) when I got to your key learning. Of course, I should know better than to trust anything a comedian says. =)

Re: Airlines pilots handing out Captain Donut cards on flights? - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:54:38 -0000

Haha -- I actually did call the number, but it was just a generic voicemail that picked up before it rang even once.

Re: Thoughts on The No Asshole Rule - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:14:52 -0000

Eudora did something along those lines for email a few years back (http://www.eudora.com/email..., but most of my friends at the time just disabled the feature because it made the email client run slower. I wonder if email/chat tools would actually get people to change their behavior or if they'd just be annoying or entertaining (and eventually get disabled) ... it'd be interesting to test out at a broad scale.

Re: Worst cheese packaging ever - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:15:04 -0000

No doubt, selling food on airplanes is a great business. I imagine it's high-margin and the airline has complete control over supply and pricing for its passenger customer base. I just wish they picked higher-quality ingredients ...

Re: Using the FriendFeed API with App Engine - Tom Stocky's blog

Tom Stocky — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:58:17 -0000

Awesome -- thanks!