Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

Yes. All. Everything

My favorite movie niche is the classic save-human-race movies with wizards and arrows and swords e.g. LoTR, Conan, The Littles Hobbit, Dragon Wars etc. That notwithstanding, I am a big fan of extreme-action movies. Especially Scifis.

I vividly remember this conversation from the Alien vs Predator [Whoever wins.. we lose] movie [Alexa and Adele are in a just-formed cave whose mysterious appearance they are investigating. It was just a scientist fact-finding mission, BUT Adele had a gun.].

Alexa: “Seven seasons on the ice, and I’ve never seen a gun save someone’s life.”
Adele: “I don’t plan on using it.”
Alexa: “Then why bring it?”
Adele: “Same principle as a condom. I’d rather have one and not need it, than need it and not have one.”

And this convo always males my day.

So, with time, this became my age-old mantra. But I related it to knowledge. #sipendiSex

When it comes to knowledge, In the modern time and era, it is far much better and more rewarding to be a Jack of all trades and a master of a few, if any, than to be a jack of nothing and master of one.

As an entrepreneur, thence cometh the dilemma. Do you specialize in a few and be a master of them, or do you learn bits about most of the lot? After the dilemma, thence cometh the question. Specialize in a few ‘what’. You want to code, thus a few languages, Do you want to be a DBA, hence a few Databases. Do you want to be a hacker, hence a few tools, tricks and methods? etc?

Personally, I believe (being trained as a coder who can hack and manage databases as well as configure networks, servers and routers. ) one needs to be an TechnoSlut to be able to survive as a budding or maturing outfit. As a techie, you need to know a little about everything. When it comes to getting things done, you can now confidently recruit and VET for the best candidates for what you need, or learn more. Hiring is always better. But you can’t personally hire the best unless you know WHAT to look for, and what they should know.

A newspaper plant general manager must know how to source for the best paper. What the best printers are. What the best content (day-based) is. What the best distribution models would be. What the best revenue streams are. A little bit of everything. Better know it and never use the knowledge, than be in need of the knowledge and be ignorant.

This presents a problem, however. How do you learn about everything, albeit bits, and still be productive.

My way – The big-picture-mode:

You need to decide on a big project. Do your own twitter or mPesa. Am mPesa clone for example, will force you to do the following:

• N-tier programming.
• Databases (Optimization, Redundancy, High-Availability)
• Programming (Concurrent Multi-threaded, load-balanced)
• Interfaces (STK, Web Technologies [Ajax, PHP/C#, SSL, Your own CA])
• Learn ISO8583 (for ATMs and POS).
• Reporting – Accounting, isolated reporting, end-user customization.
• Tools : Apache/IIS (whince), PHP/C# (.NET), memCached.

So, clearly, challenging yourself to re-do an existing BIG SYSTEM has many benefits as it throws you to the deep-end of technology. It took me about 3 months to develop an mPesa clone, but the time spent is wayyyy well worth it. You see development from a new level. Am eagle’s eye-view.

Back to code…

Wazi.