Welcome.
Thank you for finding me. I’ve written at carymillsap.blogspot.com and method-r.com since 2008, and now I write here. I hope you’ll check periodically, or subscribe to my feed.
Some of my articles contain amazon.com links. I earn from qualifying purchases made through those links.
The Dog Collar Incident
My family moved to an 80-acre farm when I was about 7 years old. My parents raised catfish as a side gig. Living on a fish farm gave me an opportunity to become a bounty hunter. My Dad paid me 25¢ for every cottonmouth water moccasin I killed. Cottonmouths are big black snakes that eat just… See more ›
A Cure for Writer’s Block
Ever get stuck writing a technical report or a presentation about a project? I’ve got a process that can help. It’s not the only way, but it’s my way. I’ll list, then explain. Here’s the list: And now the explaining: See more ›
On Being Stuck, Part 3
Ever have to clean up a “junk room”? One of these rooms that has disorganized itself out of control, and it needs fixing? I’m not naturally very good at junk-room–style problems. I love to fix things, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by projects that have, let’s call it, “too many variables.” I can get stuck… See more ›
On Being Stuck, Part 2
In “On Being Stuck, Part 1,” I wrote about how my friend Henry helped me finish by master’s thesis. Here’s another story for you. A few months ago, I shared the story of the little 1:8 scale Wasp aircraft engine model that I built, which won an award. In my article about the contest, called “A… See more ›
On Being Stuck, Part 1
In mid-1987, I was in trouble. Not real, actual trouble, but deadline trouble. I was supposed to be making great gains on my master’s thesis, but I wasn’t. In fact I was stuck. “Software Testing Strategies for Automatic Test Data Generators” was going nowhere. I don’t today remember exactly what the pressure was, but I… See more ›
On the Value of Mistakes
It’s baseball season. (!) I miss getting to watch my son play, but my colleague Jeff’s son is a junior in high school, and I can still watch him. He’s a pitcher. Yesterday, he threw four innings and did great. Allowed just one earned run. In case you don’t study baseball, let me sum it… See more ›
Compound Interest
This article is inspired by a confluence of events, some of which happened. First, I don’t think Einstein ever said this quote that follows. However, someone said he did, and I derived inspiration from it nevertheless: The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest. —Albert Einstein (only not really) He did actually say… See more ›
Awesome App of the Day: Schlage Warranty Service
A few weeks ago, the door to our back yard stopped closing. When we’d swing it shut, the latch bolt wouldn’t do its spring-loaded retraction thing. It would hit the strike plate, not retract, and the door would bounce open defiantly. We could still close the door by turning the knob, but we’re not conditioned… See more ›
