Adrian Smith

Aussie programmer living in Perth. Tech, gaming, books, chinese, being a Dad.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@willmcgugan Already following you, happy to try the app.

[Fesshole🧻 @fesshole]

I've started asking people the thought experiment "are there more doors or wheels on planet earth?". I don't really care about their answer, but the speed at which they ask ChatGPT allows me to assess how much I care about their thoughts and opinions on other matters.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@Bridgeman_Books @Swancon @kat_clay oh, I missed you there

[aleX🪐 @ALEXAGY0]

the marie kondo "does this spark joy?" method of decluttering never worked for me, but an ADHD tiktoker just changed my entire life by introducing
"the poop rule: if this object had poop on it, would you wash it off, or throw it away?”

[marqix ☆ @fwmarqix]

Me: inside Japanese police station.
not arrested. hopefully.

I came to report lost wallet.

officer very polite.

Officer: Where did you last see it?

Me: Probably train station.

Officer nods, types for two seconds.

Officer: Found.

Me: …what.

Officer: Yes.

Me: That fast?

Officer: Japan.

another officer walks over holding my wallet carefully like sacred relic, everything still inside, cash untouched.

Me genuinely emotional.

Me: This country is unbelievable.

Officer smiles proudly, then pauses.

Officer: There was one issue.

Me: …what issue.

Officer opens wallet slowly, pulls out embarrassing anime sticker I forgot existed.

silence.

both officers staring at me respectfully but differently now.

Officer: You like magical girls?

Me: …we all have struggles.

older officer suddenly leans forward.

Old Officer: Season two was disappointing.

Me: WHAT.

Old Officer: They ruined power scaling.

younger officer immediately joins debate.

Officer: No no movie fixed it.

suddenly entire police station arguing anime lore passionately.

one detective emerges from back room holding instant noodles.

Detective: Original manga better.

Me: I CAME HERE FOR A WALLET.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@techdrgn what's your duolingo username?

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@john_chandler Exactly, mine too!
(minus a bunch of electronics/gadgets/computers)

[tmuxvim @tmuxvim]

I put a prompt injection into my LinkedIn bio and recruiters are messaging me in Old English and calling me Lord.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@shrydar @john_chandler heresy!

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@john_chandler What do you think of it?

[Fesshole🧻 @fesshole]

I was a dev team lead. Delivered a big project and I was given a large amount of money to take dev team for a meal. I suggested to the team we threw it open to supporting functions and went to pub instead. Next day over twenty people phoned in sick. Proudest moment of my career.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@0xSero comment

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@elonmusk @elonmusk How about funding a new series with a positive view of the future?

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

Thank you @ossia for writing this helpful article about freeCodeCamp in 2025.

Christmas gifts for you from the freeCodeCamp community: Learn Python, SQL, Spanish, and more

https://t.co/3ZnDl5W4NS

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

The company hired me to lead their "Agile Transformation."
I don't know what Agile means.
Nobody does.
That's why it works.

I make $425,000 a year.
To move sticky notes.
From left to right.
On a board.
The board is digital now.
The sticky notes cost $80,000 in Jira licenses.
Progress.

Day one, I said "we need to break down silos."
Everyone nodded.
Silos are bad.
I don't know why.
But destroying them is a career.
My career.

I introduced "squads."
Squads are teams.
But disrupted.
We disrupted the teams into teams.
Different names.
Same people.
Same problems.
But Agile problems now.
Agile problems are strategic.

A senior engineer asked what we're actually changing.
I said, "The mindset."
He asked what that means.
I said, "It's a journey."
He asked where we're going.
I said, "Toward agility."
He asked what agility means.
I pointed at the sticky notes.
They were moving left to right.
That's velocity.
We have velocity now.

The VP of Engineering said two-week sprints don't fit their work.
I said, "That's waterfall thinking."
Waterfall is bad.
Like silos.
I don't know what waterfall is.
But I know it's bad.
She stopped talking.
Waterfall accusations end conversations.

We had a retrospective.
In the retro, we discussed what went wrong.
Everything went wrong.
We put it on sticky notes.
Then we moved the sticky notes.
Into a column called "Parking Lot."
The Parking Lot is where problems go to die.
It's full.
We don't look at it.
That's agile.

Velocity is up 40%.
I defined velocity.
I also defined the points.
I also defined the stories.
We're crushing it.
At the things I made up.
To measure.
Ourselves.

The CEO asked for ROI.
I showed a chart.
The chart went up.
Charts should go up.
This one did.
I didn't label the Y-axis.
Nobody asked.
Leadership is confidence.

We do standups now.
Every day.
We stand.
For 45 minutes.
Standing is agile.
Sitting is waterfall.
My legs hurt.
But we're transforming.

The transformation is now "Phase 3."
Phase 1 was assessment.
Phase 2 was implementation.
Phase 3 is "continuous improvement."
Continuous means forever.
Forever means job security.
I'm very secure.

My contract was extended.
Three more years.
For "cultural impact."
The culture is confused.
But impacted.

Agile transformation isn't about being agile.
It's about transforming.
Continuously.
Toward more transformation.
The destination is the journey.
The journey is billable.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@SandyofCthulhu Of course, we don't know for sure that animals don't have religion.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@WannabeJohnGalt @stewartlynch8 My best effort is over a thousand lines!
Those were the days.

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@pydanny I use both together!

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@OmarHamadD Hello from Australia

[Adrian Smith @_fon]

@mhdksafa Yes