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From Algorithms to Zabaglione: Left brain meets right brain
by Guest Writer, Valerie Whitmore If you ask me what my favorite part of my job is I will always say - without hesitation- programming. I spend way more time hanging out with the left side of my brain writing code than I do writing prose. I heart code
Writing code requires precision, accuracy, and brevity. Shorter code is usually considered faster and more efficient. And when you're operating a site like CDKitchen, that's important. In fact, just to start blogging I had to create code for the new interface that you see here, allow for commenting, security, scalability, and efficiency. Just thinking about code makes me want to go create a new feature for the website.
But, unfortunately, my job isn't all about writing code. Sometimes I have to fire up the right brain and actually write <> words.
I've always been good with numbers and mechanical objects. But, I apparently used to be decent at writing a paper as well. I will occasionally stumble across something I wrote in college (yes, we had computers back then) and think "wow, I was good!" But, it's been years since I have had to write with any depth or frequency. I've mostly left the verbosity up to Brent - a former university professor who taught communication before joining me at CDK. He's my words guy.
But this year my job changed a little. Oh, I'm still happily writing code - but now I have to frequently switch between the left and right brain. This has been difficult for me.
It's a challenge I've accepted, however. Game on! I'm getting better at recognizing what my brain wants to be working on and tailoring my day around it. It's actually one of the reasons I felt I could start - and stick with - this blog. Sometimes if the words don't come to me I find that I'm thinking too precisely and should maybe be working on a coding task. And on the flip side, when I just can't figure out a technical issue on the site it's often because my brain would rather be dealing with flavors and textures instead of variables and arrays.
So why am I bothering you with this? Two reasons. First, to let you know that if Feed Daily isn't actually daily it's not because I'm not working. Most likely I'm in geek-mode and working on other parts of the site. And second, to encourage you to figure out how to get both sides of your brain to play nice together and push yourself to do more, and be more. It's a fun challenge
But maybe that's just my left brain being geeky.
Sincerely,
Valerie's right brain
Writing code requires precision, accuracy, and brevity. Shorter code is usually considered faster and more efficient. And when you're operating a site like CDKitchen, that's important. In fact, just to start blogging I had to create code for the new interface that you see here, allow for commenting, security, scalability, and efficiency. Just thinking about code makes me want to go create a new feature for the website.
But, unfortunately, my job isn't all about writing code. Sometimes I have to fire up the right brain and actually write <
I've always been good with numbers and mechanical objects. But, I apparently used to be decent at writing a paper as well. I will occasionally stumble across something I wrote in college (yes, we had computers back then) and think "wow, I was good!" But, it's been years since I have had to write with any depth or frequency. I've mostly left the verbosity up to Brent - a former university professor who taught communication before joining me at CDK. He's my words guy.
But this year my job changed a little. Oh, I'm still happily writing code - but now I have to frequently switch between the left and right brain. This has been difficult for me.
It's a challenge I've accepted, however. Game on! I'm getting better at recognizing what my brain wants to be working on and tailoring my day around it. It's actually one of the reasons I felt I could start - and stick with - this blog. Sometimes if the words don't come to me I find that I'm thinking too precisely and should maybe be working on a coding task. And on the flip side, when I just can't figure out a technical issue on the site it's often because my brain would rather be dealing with flavors and textures instead of variables and arrays.
So why am I bothering you with this? Two reasons. First, to let you know that if Feed Daily isn't actually daily it's not because I'm not working. Most likely I'm in geek-mode and working on other parts of the site. And second, to encourage you to figure out how to get both sides of your brain to play nice together and push yourself to do more, and be more. It's a fun challenge
But maybe that's just my left brain being geeky.
Sincerely,
Valerie's right brain