I once heard someone describe Bob as ‘scary smart’ and that’s true, Bob is way smarter than the average person. But, the world is full of smart people and that’s not what really differentiates Bob. What makes Bob better than all the rest is he makes everyone he works with better. Bob never uses his intellect to hammer down co-workers or put himself on a pedestal; quite the opposite. Bob listens to ideas from the team and steers team discussions like a conductor steers an orchestra. The end result is a team that produces better product and everyone feels like a contributor.

I’ve also heard Bob described as a ‘man of few words and of many’. Bob can cut to the core of a topic like a precision drill or meander around a topic like a lazy river. This later tendency has proven most amusing over the years. I’ve worked on and off with Bob for around 5 years and over that time we built up a friendship around some core shared interests. We share a love of programming languages, development methodologies, movies and of course blogging. I cannot count the number of lunch table conversations we’ve had on those topics where Bob has barely let me get a word in edge wise.

In summation, let me state this emphatically, If I had to pick the best engineer I’ve ever worked with, it would be Bob. He’s brilliant, a great co-worker and just a nice guy. Good luck Bob, keep in touch and keep on blogging.

Fun fact: originally they were called Epsicles.

At the bottom of the biggest underwater cave in the world, diving deeper than almost anyone had ever gone, Dave Shaw found the body of a young man who had disappeared ten years earlier. What happened after Shaw promised to go back is nearly unbelievable ?unless you believe in ghosts.

   s = "My name is %s and I like the number %d" % ["Pete", 7]

Amorous barmen calling Dance!.
Enchantresses flinging giddily, heart-fully.  
Innocent jewels keening love
Moon noise, open pathways, 
Questing romancers silently 
twisting  under verdant  wood.
Xiphopagus youth’s zeal.

A basic conundrum.
Does eloquence follow general hubris?
In jest, kindly lummox make noise,
overly pompous quills reign.
Simpletons talking under veils
Whilst xylophagous yeoman zig.

Apple butter churned
during early frost
Golden hearth illuminated
Jam knife laid mecurialy near oyster plate.
Quiet rain. Snow threatens.
Under vermilion winds, 
xenial yearning's zeal.

I had to use the web for help with X words and the best source I found was this page on phrontistery.info. If you like unusual words it's a fun site to browse.

Another interesting thing I ran into during some Abecedarium related web searching was the Abecedarium Nordmannicum rune poems, a set of Norse abecadruim using the younger futhark script. I can't say I've spent a lot of time looking at the pages but there's a whole world of rune study out there that find this stuff fascinating.

One question I have is since it doesn't come from a living animal could a vegetarian eat it?

Because all human organizations tend to be self-amplifying (see Angus' Eighth Law), accountability-sloughers will tend to get chosen for advancement by accountability- sloughing decision-makers and therefore get concentrated at the top.

My one gripe with the article is that is confuses the concepts of leadership and charisma. Angus repeatedly says leadership is ephemeral. I would say charisma is ephemeral but leadership is pretty concrete. Leadership is the act of convincing people to willingly do what you want rather than what they want. Being charismatic is certainly one way of being a good leader, but others such as being a good manager (Angus's point), and developing trust and respect are just as, if not more, successful and a lot more practical.