Speed of Sound

Working for a startup exposes an individual to a whole lot of tech challenges, and the one thing about these challenges is that their solutions cannot be Googled. I remember that just about 3 months ago, I graduated with a feeling that I know EVERYTHING (well if not everything, I surely am aware of most things, and for the rest, theres always Google).

The last two weeks were pretty rude shocks for someone as cocky (hmm….am I?) as me. I suddenly realised that theres way TOO much I dont know when it comes to writing code. And even more when it comes to understanding why the code should be written in a particular way. Talk about enlightenment in 2 weeks!!!

One more thing I’ve found out is that I’m working with a bunch of BLOODY AMAZING people at encentuate. And its not just writing good code that they’re fantastic at, but they happen to know the fundas inside out. Something which I definitely cannot claim, even after 4 long years of Computer Engineering at NTU.

Moral Of The Story -

If (youThink=”IAmGreat”)

youAre=”BigTimeLoser”;

Else If (youThink=”EveryoneIsDumb”)

youAre=”DumbYourSelf”;

Else If (youThink=”IAmDumb”)

youAre=”DumberThanYouThink”;

Else

youAre=”EmptyHeaded”;

This week, we have a ‘celebrity’ in our office….Phil Zimmermann. For those of you (not equal to computer geeks) , Phil Zimmermann is the father of PGP (pretty good privacy), an email encryption software, which landed the poor man into a whole lot of trouble with NSA, FBI and the Federal government. I’m sure you folks would have seen the movie “Enemy of the State”. Well Phil did not have to run around like Will Smith and Gene Hackman, but he did end up making countless trips to the court and lawyers offices. I guess this background should generate some interest in you folks. Visit www.philzimmermann.com for more details on him.

Coming back to my 2 seconds of conversation with the man.

The Setting: In the office pantry, me with a plate of delicious chicken pie and mouth watering chocolate cake. Aircon in the office turned on to the maximum. Bright tubelight illuminating the whole pantry. The Coffee maker in the background purring ‘grrrrr’. Phil Zimmermann, empty handed looking at my face.