How software is made

I observed a big difference how small and big companies are making software. Until recently I've only seen how small companies are doing it.

If you're delivering a customized software solution, you prepare it for one customer. That customer - in a lucky situation - has a concrete vision why the need the software and how it should work, based on their existing business processes. The software creation process starts with business analysis. The software company tries to understand what the desired business processes should be and where their software would play any role. The outcome of the analysis than formalized in a document. Based on that document software architect(s) come up with the solution architecture and detailed functional and non functional specifications. The client signs off these documents in an agreement that the software they are going to receive will behave exactly as these documents state. And in most of the cases they want to know the details because their life literally is depending on it. As a result these documents are fine graded and serve a good basis to the development team to start the work. With agile methodology becoming widespread the document development is sliced up to match up the sprints (or however you call them), but the big vision of things is laid down upfront.

As a matter of fact an Agile project require you to define it's scope just like any project...

And this is - I personally think - the main purpose behind while customized software solutions tend to deliver higher quality.

On the other hand big software companies are creating software solutions used by many people and they serve to solve common problems. Big software companies have more resources, and they don't have a client that can hold them responsible really. As a result people honestly think things like agile methodologies mean that there's no process in your development, and there should be no documentation created. And such nonsense. As a result to achieve the same or at least similar quality more cycles are needed and the software creation is more expensive and you can only hope that the quality matches the quality of a custom solution.

And when you point out things like the definition of software means the software code _and_ the documentation, and creating specifications does not necessary mean that you want to do traditional waterfall model based software development, people call you process oriented.

And you end up with the strong belief that you could do anybody's job way better.

Well, it's just the brand new quality engineer growing in me speaking maybe, but there must be a reason while all the quality management standards like ISO, CMM etc. are defining, focusing and auditing processes creating products and not products themselves.

But call me whatever you want to...

The wickedest allergy nasal spray ever

I was struggling with my allergy symptoms. It's ragweed and mold season... I spent every evening after work in my gym's steam room just to open up my sinuses enough so I don't have to live on Advil because of the headache they caused. I've seen a doctor, got new pills and they helped me a lot.

But from time to time my nose got congested, and I finished up my nasal decongestant spray so I went to shop for a new one. For a reason these are on the bottom shelf in the pharmacy and there're plenty of them. So I squat down and was browsing through the selection when I found one that had all the answers:

• Helps with runny nose (I'm using allergy nasal sprays so this is not a problem)
• Sneezing (Same, no symptomps)
• Nasal congestion (That's my problem right there!)
• Headache and sinus pressure (Yepp)
• All natural (Whatever, even cocaine is natural and it definitely fixes your clogged nostrils! Along with the headaches! But I can't afford them o_O Hm, that gives me an idea. Maybe I can get it prescribed. I wonder if my HMO would cover it! $10 for a monthly dose sounds like a deal!)
• No addiction formula (Wow! That's cool! It's always a problem for me to get off these after my allergies calmed down. It takes weeks juggling between nostrils to finally be able to stop using these and still be able to sleep through the night!)

Great, I've found the perfect fit. Ups, it's double the price as all the others! Well, whatever, maybe it's so good, and that's the reason.

Things I didn't see (small print on the box) however were deadly. Let's see if you can spot them!

The box I found had the picture of chili in smaller size. And the word 'homeopathic' even smaller!

No addiction formula my a**! Who's so stupid to develop a habit of spraying chili in the nostrils?! I'm certainly not, and probably if I asked 100 random people they would agree! And homeopathic to me means two things: it ain't gonna work but it's expensive.

$15 thrown out the window. And it doesn't even unclog my nose either. My headache however is certainly gone in a second as the burning nostrils from chili provide a much stronger sensation for sure...

DIY car window tint is impossible

Tinting car windows for a living? All my respect!

* this is not my car

I have a Dodge Charger. That car cries for pimping :) Many people pimp it up nicely. So far I only replaced the exhaust pipes, but always wanted to have my windows tinted, too. I was too cheap to spend $300-350 on window tint. So I ordered a pre-cut kit from Amazon for $35 and thought I'm going to do it myself. I watched I think enough tutorial videos on YouTube and I was positive I'm able to do it myself. It seemed so easy.

It ain't!

Side windows are not too complicated. Note: There's a huge difference between a heat gun and a blow dryer... Rear window, impossible. First you are supposed to heat-shrink the tint from the outside so it takes the curves of the window, than you should put it up from the inside. The Charge has a huge and relatively  horizontal rear window. I just couldn't do it.

I think if I had a minivan or SUV with relatively vertical windows I could have succeed if I started with the heat gun from the beginning. But this car is gonna be tinted in a shop by a guy who does this for a living!

Even darker than the Internet

The Internet is a dark place. It's full with underground stuff. Whatever cyber-punk sci-fi movies can imagine is there. But there's something more evil, darker and deeper than that... The scariest thing one's mind can ever imagine. And I found it on my journey on cable entertainment. A show on TLC that is the deepest pit of television.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for Honey Boo Boo Child!

Beauty pageant reality shows themselves are scary but this tops of all of them. I saw my first episode yesterday. It's about a family. A real Southern-Georgia redneck family. Nobody will be able to make me move there....

Mam the mother is 32, will be a grandmother in a month, over 300lbs. She likes burping, farting and grunt on TV. She had her first child when she was 15. She's 17 now and 8 months pregnant.

Her husband has no teeth, and looks retarded. The kids are hyperactive, constantly drinking sugary soda and eating junk food. All of them are overweight... The smallest daughter, Alana (see above) is a frequent beauty pageant contestant.

They live in South-Georgia. The train literally goes behind their house through the backyard. Dad drives a pickup truck. A Dodge Ram, to be precise. And they own a four wheeler they like to take out for a spin every now and then.

In yesterday's episode I saw how they enjoy themselves playing in the mud (literally) and at the redneck festival. Like pigs. And we get it on basic cable. Yeyy!

I suggest everyone who can to watch a couple of episodes. It's purely entertaining even though it hurts badly to watch.