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The Amazon Technology Platform
Don420 writes "Jim Gray has an interview with Amazon CTO Werner Vogels for ACM Queue. It is filled with a lot of details about the Amazon architecture that we have not seen before: 'If you hit the Amazon.com gateway page, the application calls more than 100 services to collect data and construct the page for you.' But also quite a strong statements about developing software at Amazon: 'Developers of our services can use any tools they see fit to build their services. [...] Whatever tools are necessary, we provide them, and then get the hell out of the way of the developers so that they can do their jobs. [...] Developers are like artists; they produce their best work if they have the freedom to do so, but they need good tools.'"
After 25 years, I finally figured out how to impress high-school girls.
We all know how intimidating it can be to talk to high-school girls. I used to be too afraid and self-conscious to even make eye contact for more than a couple of seconds with the pretty ones. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out how to impress them. But now, all that has changed. I can look at any high-school girl for as long as I want without getting nervous. I can have great conversations with them about all kinds of subjects. In fact, I feel totally comfortable around them--because after a quarter-century of racking my brain and studying them closely, I finally know exactly how high-school girls like to be treated.
Take it from me, if you want a high-school girl to like you, the most important thing you can do is listen. When a sophomore is telling me about her favorite music, I don't go on about the time I partied backstage with the Little River Band, or what a great song "Rosanna" is. I've found that if I give the girl the lead in a conversation, I learn something from her--like what she and her girlfriends are planning to do that weekend. Then I've got an opportunity to offer them a ride there, because if there's one thing high-school girls love, it's a guy with a set of wheels. Especially a convertible. Most boys their age can't afford anything nice yet, but I've got a career, and I paid cash for my '87 LeBaron. And a car like that never fails to turn a few heads around a high-school campus.
The mall is a really great place to meet a high-school girl if you don't have any classes with them. Girls really respond to confidence, so it's important that when you see one you like there, you approach her directly. Even if you're feeling shy on the inside, fake it. If you just lurk around the store where she likes to shop, it's going to make her uncomfortable. I learned that the hard way back in the '80s.
Just walk up to them and introduce yourself. It sounds silly, but it works. So much is about body language, so if you stand up straight, look them in the eyes, and take control, even the most unapproachable ones will suddenly seem innocent and vulnerable.
High-schoolers are dying for someone to compliment them on their hair, their makeup, their bodies. Remember, most girls at that age, no matter how cool they try to act, are still insecure. So a little attention goes a long way. I remember the very moment I figured that out, just before taking a redheaded 11th-grader to see Reality Bites, I knew I had really turned a corner.
Talking to girls is a lot less daunting once you let go of the fear of rejection. Sometimes it doesn't matter how nice I act or how much alcohol I buy for them and all their friends, some girls aren't into me. And that's okay: Some people just never click. Everyone will get rejected at some point--I just move on to the next one, and if she doesn't like me, it's just as well, because I want to be with that special high-school girl who likes me for me.
It's all just part of growing up.
Also, I can't stress enough how important it is to be supportive and aware of her interests and extracurricular activities. These days, when there's a girl I like, I won't just hang around across from the school waiting to catch a glimpse of her. I'll go to her volleyball team practice, or arrange to take her to her track meets, just to let her know I'm interested. And when the time is right to ask her out, trust me: She remembers all those times I was there for her when other guys weren't.
When you do finally score that date, you just have to stay cool and be yourself. If you get nervous, the girl gets nervous, and then the whole date's in trouble. Girls' interests are remarkably similar, so if you take them to the movies or ice-skating, you're fine. If I really want to impress a girl, I take her to the roof of this motel my buddy runs for a little stargazing. But sometimes it's just as romantic to sit in her parents' den. I try to get some alone time with her, but I never
Developers are like artists; they produce their best work if they have the freedom to do so
Kind of like Linux and collaborative OSS in general, right?
As opposed to Microsoft's approach of having a few Marketing/PR guys throwing half-assed moronic requests at a bunch of Indian slave-wage interns...
Mod me offtopic if you wish. My last order with Amazon (co.uk) they broke it into two orders which meant I ended up paying more delivery charges. I wrote to them about it, and despite mailing more then once all I ever got back was a form mail saying that he hadn't charged me the extra (yet my CC said otherwise). Still awaiting an answer to that.
Then I find out they no longer sell electronics to Ireland, although they will send to N.I. I sent a mail on that (twice) to ask why this was and both times I got a form mail back just pointing me to the webpage that just says they don't ship there.
Very frustrating. Soon as I find a better online bookstore I'm off to that.
You seriously think a web page its the pinnacle of large data access?
I work in a bank where we process terabytes of data a day, and no we
don't use 100 services everytime we need to access a load of data. We
use a few f*ck off big RDMBSs and some Big Iron.
Don't make out that serving up a web page is a big deal , compared to
real hard code data processing its mickey mouse.