Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher. …perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away… ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY, Terre des Hommes,Continue reading “Make it SIMPLE”
Category Archives: technical writing
How to make your ideas stick. Part 1/7: Introduction
This is the first in a series of posts on my journey as a technical writer to improve how I deliver ideas to readers’ minds and make them stick there. You never know where you’ll discover a gold nugget. I found Chip and Dan Heath’s work by chance in a Google docs slide template called MakingContinue reading “How to make your ideas stick. Part 1/7: Introduction”
Overview: Write the Docs, Portland 2020
This year’s WTD conference was online/virtual only. This shift to virtual conferences make them more inclusive and accessible to attendees whose work, personal responsibilities, finances, or other constraints would normally discourage them from participating. Although this conference was well-attended by folks on the West Coast, by my estimate, half of the attendees were from otherContinue reading “Overview: Write the Docs, Portland 2020”
My first (awful) video presentation
Ughh! 8 days for 8 minutes of awful video A few weeks back, I saw an opportunity to give a presentation to my fellow developers. The dev lead for oVirt put out an RFP for the upcoming oVirt 2020 Online Conference. Oh, and by the way, please prerecord your presentation so we can upload itContinue reading “My first (awful) video presentation”
Well begun (in Git) is half done
Well begun is half done. ~ Aristotle Inspired by James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, I’ve started starting tasks before it’s time to do them. For example, I prepare the Keurig coffee machine before bed each night. I fill the reusable filter with fresh coffee grounds and top up the reservoir with water. As a signContinue reading “Well begun (in Git) is half done”
Developer-contributed content in upstream docs
“No software spec survives first contact with the compiler.” One of the interesting bits in the project type #1: Team=Both, Code=Up>Down, Docs=Down>Up scenario is when developers write up their feature plans in the upstream repo. Often, these show up in the /doc subdirectory. Often, before coding, a developer writes up a description of the new featureContinue reading “Developer-contributed content in upstream docs”
Writing and publishing on GitHub
I hope to create an open community around documenting open-source software and practice what I preach: To eat my dog food, as they say. What better way than to create a repo and invite the contributions of other writers? To be honest, its a bit tough to do this. I believe in “open source.” IContinue reading “Writing and publishing on GitHub”
