:: LAAS Web Site - Release 4.0 - September 2007 ::

Index :: Everyone can cook

[Article No. 18 @ 2007-10-26]

Last saturday I went to cinema with my family to see the last Disney/Pixar movie: Ratatouille. Really a funny movie. The story is about a little rat that want to cook in a famous French restaurant; after a lot of adventures, finally Remi (the mouse) reach its dream: to become a cook. In this way we know that: everyone can cook.

The message behind the movie is: if you want, you can.

Yesterday I've ended to read the last Chad Fowler book: "My Job Went to India" and all I've thought is: "Hey, everyone can write a book!"
I don't want to be critical, but I think that the book is full of obvious observations. The sub-title of the book is "52 Ways to save your job", but if a developer does not know at least 5 of this "ways" it means that he had never worked

Long time ago I saw a book to be used in this way: when you are sad or angry take the book, open a random page and read its content. It was just lika a "zen" exercise in order to feel better.
This book should be used in the same way: don't read it. When you have some minutes (at home or at job) open it randomly and read the chapter. If you are lucky you will read useful pages, otherwise you will read well known things.

I think that Chad really don't beleive in every thing he wrote. Actually he is a Manager, but I know that deeply He is a "Developer" and, as a real developer, he understand that to be a programmer is a brain activity. Developing is a complex process: one day you are not able to write a line of code and the following day you write an entire library of code.
Developing is a continuous "problem solving" activity.

I think that every chapter of this book should be discussed deeply. Every chapter should be your daily guide line, but if you are an expert developer than you can also not buy this book.

IMHO the most interesting chapters are where Chad talk about his experience in India.
I really like when Chad describes the differences between America and India and the different approach to life of people in both countries. Unfortunately the author ends the final chapter with the following phrase: "it's not what you do for a living or what you have that's important. It's how you choose to accept these things."

I don't live in America but I've learned this lessons whan I was 10 years old.

At the end: "find all you need in your mind"

Thanks however, Chad.

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