Paul van Zyl

help us #flattenthecurve together! The #CoronaFighter app is available to all South Africans to help us prevent the spread, monitor cases and alleviate pressure on our medical response teams. Join the cause and do the screening now! testforcovid.co.za

@svpino or -- um --you know.... get good. 🧌🧌

Software estimates are one of the oldest lies we tell ourselves. We all know they don't work, but pretend they mean something and later feel enraged when shit hits the fan. I focused a big part of my undergrad on software estimation. After graduating, I wrote plenty about the topic. Then, I started working for a company where I spent years researching how to make better estimates. We sold multiple millions of dollars of software using the tools I built. I read everything there's to read. I could recite Steve McConnel's "Software Estimation" book from top to bottom. Here is the most important lesson I learned: People can't estimate software. It doesn't matter who they are or how much experience they have. Estimating software reliably is science fiction. And the best part: They will ask you to estimate something. They will tell you they understand it's not exact. They will promise they won't hold you accountable. And then they will. They always do. There are two solutions for this. Let's start with my recommendations for those who don't have a choice: 1. Remove "quick," "simple," "straightforward," "easy," and every similar word from your dictionary. Never use them. Don't let others use them when referring to your work. 2. Never volunteer an estimate. Everything you say will be used against you. 3. When forced, estimate work you know you can complete today. Always estimate with a range: "It will take me 2 - 4 hours." 4. Estimate anything you won't do today in days and weeks. Say, "I should finish that feature sometime this week." Do not estimate future work in hours. But we all know your manager will force you to give an estimate. Here is what you should do: 1. Estimate how long you think it will take you to complete the task. 2. Multiply the number by 3. This will be the lower range of your estimate. 3. Double the lower range of the estimate. This will be the upper range. Example: If you think something will take you 1 day of work, say "between 3 and 6 days." Here is the funny part: It won't take you between 3 - 6 days. This is as much bullshit as any other method you can think of. The true solution for this problem: Work for a company that doesn't care about estimates.

New guitar day, #prsguitars #tremonti #usa instagram.com/p/CNXTF-ipZ2m/…

Time to say goodbye to theae two beautiful teles #fender #telecaster #baja instagram.com/p/CNPunl5peFk/…

So long my Mexican friend #fender #stratocaster #guitar @ Sandton, Gauteng instagram.com/p/CMeLObJJYpP/…

Steve Jobs on Managers youtube.com/shorts/4JVJdKn… via @YouTube

@s8nstan you really saved my bacon yesterday. You know why. Keep it toasty big guy.

@GrapheneDB thank the heavens!! he'll be so pleased, and loyal customer for years to come!

@pushplaybang Yes! We've just answered the support ticket that your friend opened ;)

@GrapheneDB So, those hobby plans you deprecated, and warned us about, any chance there are still backups accessible via your support team? asking for a friend.....

@_Kevin_Pham move to #jozi #johannesburg

I think this is my cue to leave California. People are getting increasingly desperate.

South African Tech Startup Raises R2.2-Million getfundedafrica.com/2020/12/01/sou… @LetMeIn_to @Chatbotcom @JarradVZ @Doc_D_9 @pushplaybang @SigmaEM @DevonSolomon6 @Lead_Robot #entrepreneur

I'm thrilled to officially announce 'Word Perfect': Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year, publishing this October. #WordPerfect @johnmurrays

I feel it's the day for a reminder of the 18th-century verb 'quiddle': to attend to trivial matters as a way of avoiding the important ones.

@tim_fargo What a chop.

History says you get the rally first, and then defaults peak econ.trib.al/SiL15U0

Starting today, US hospitals are banned from reporting COVID data to the Centers for Disease Control. Instead, they must report it to a no-bid, privately-contracted server under control of the Trump political apparatus. nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/…

"How YOU can learn enough RegEx in JavaScript to be dangerous" by @chris_noring #DEVCommunity is.gd/lA61jB

@danidonovan - distracting yourself on twitter from the nightmare.

#ADHD mood: - wanting to get shit done - thinking about getting shit done - doing unproductive shit instead - avoiding the shit you need to do - feeling ashamed for not doing shit - promising yourself you'll change - disappointing yourself regularly

@Kerry_Contrary @YouTube its only the fake ones. Don't worry.

How Fake Psychics Fool Their Victims | Adam Ruins Everything youtu.be/QpbTCNOYDWU via @YouTube

Many Thanks to the engineers who shared their opinions 🙏🙏🙏@ashishashen @mdkail @saivittalb @Pier_Paolo_28 @omerlh @davetron5000 @katopz @aidanfeldman @ZevBrodsky @eminetto @k2xl @pushplaybang @JackRix @vbarzana