The say that you need one day for every hour of time zone difference to recover from jet lag. That must be it, because I am still dragging. Of course, that fact that I've been working, even through my day off, probably has something to do with that as well.

This weekend was very much needed. I got to spend some quality time with my babies. That always cures whatever else is going on. They are so pickin' cute and adorable. And there is no quicker way to get your head out of your own garbage then to spend time loving on someone else. Especially when they are great as my babies.

I did get a chance to take in the Snow Patrol concert with a new friend which was a neat adventure and lots of fun. They played all the songs I love and did a 4 song encore which I thought was pretty cool. During the show they asked a girl from the audience to come up on stage and sing with them which was unique. They have great showmanship and I'd highly recommend you see them in concert.

Despite forward progress at work, this continues to be a stressful and hectic year, especially when it comes to travel. I'd appreciate your well wishes...

All around us are people with their own discouragement and desperation. In my own walk, especially when I'm tired from traveling and the fog of jet lag just won't lift, it is easy to become one with them. To sink into depression, to let my eyes drift from the ball that is my salvation and my service.

Do you ever feel that way?

Certainly we are not like the million refugees shuffling around in the Sudan or the displaced in Afghanistan. But still as I shuffle through my life and from time to time distress overtakes me, I cry out like the apostles did, "Increase our faith."

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
-- Luke 17:5-10

There are many interesting things to note in Jesus' reply. For example, we see Him using rhetoric and humor, common to the vernacular of the day to make His points. By comparing faith to a mustard seed, He is telling us that we shouldn't give up so easily. Even a little faith, as small as a mustard seed, is enough to accomplish tremendous and outrageous things.
Like many good comparisons, there is more than one aspect to examine. We may only need a small amount of faith, but like a mustard seed , we need to nurture our faith and help it to grow. This means we can't just give up quickly. Given time, attention, and food, and our little faith can grow strong and powerful.

As we find our mustard seed of faith, care for it and watch it grow, it can be easy to forget that it is not our strength that feeds the faith. It is not by our own works that we are saved and serve. Even when you think you have it all together, remember the days you cried out for your faith to increase. The power that pulled you from that place was not your own but His. When we are walking rightly, when we are strong to serve, when our faith is tempered in trials, even then, we are only doing as we ought. And it is His grace which frees us to do so.

This past week has just flown by. I've been working hard and there is lots to do. During the frenzy I did get a chance to listen to some cool Punjabi dance mixes. Which are not to be confused with Hindi mixes.

I have tremendous respect for people who will just up and dance at the drop of a hat. Can't we all just dance together?

The time difference you get used to in your head and in your sleeping schedule. But the separation in time from your friends and family can put a little strain on things.

This week, I was really productive at work, but couldn't seem to connect with anyone from back home. It is like once you are out of sight, you are out of mind. This is something I am usually okay with, but for some reason it hit me more than usual this weekend.

I've been looking ahead at my travel schedule and there is evidently no rest for the wicked. Schedule is booking up quickly. My only regret is there is no personal time on the books any time soon. For now, I'll just have to make time with the dailies.

You'd think I would be finding more time to blog, but alas. I think it is because when I have a long or hard day it's spent thinking and planning. At the end of one, I don't have the cerebral power to crank out any prose. Maybe I can adjust my schedule to prioritize better...

In any case, I'm missing my pop culture a little bit. That's the downside of being plugged in and then not.

There is a myth and mystery about software development. It started back with War Games (remember Matthew Broderick, I love that guy!) and continued in the tradition of Hackers and so forth. The engineer creating software is painted as the loner, working in isolation, eating Hot Pockets and drinking Mountain Dew. And sometimes, more and more infrequently, there is an element of truth to this portrait of my brothers.

In reality, the best engineer is a very Social Activity. It requires participation and engagement from many sources, sharing information like wine at a fancy dinner party. Like good wine, there are many steps in the process to produce it, and it absorbs elements of the environment in which it exists.

As I find myself interviewing, training, and growing engineers, I often find myself struggling more for the environment they are growing in, then for the performance of the individual grapes. This tends to not always be obvious to everyone and appreciate how counter-intuitive it can be. We see engineers as isolated and independent. We even call them Individual Contributors. But in reality, they are much like the grapes going into the wine. Sure, they each are unique and add to the end product, but environment has much to do with how they harmonize to create something palatable.

To stretch this analogy even further, consider one step in making this wine (our software product).

When you make wine, you have to squish the grapes. Stomping the grapes can be done in many ways, but I think it could be argued that the most intriguing (read: fun!) way is roll up your pants, wash your feet, hop into the vat and jump around. In many social systems, getting people engaged in the activity of work by releasing the rules of decorum is considered not only an acceptable practice but encouraged. Stomping out the grapes is no exception.

Coming up, I'll explain how a good software methodology is like Stomping Grapes.

These last couple days have been kind of a blur. Too much work, random sleep schedule, cold shivers, sweaty fevers, all around physical grossness, it was just a little much. Not entirely, but partially, I am out of the woods.

Now that I can think more or less with lucidity I will resume my less than stellar ramblings.

Thanks for the support (and the Cipro). ;-)