Ghost is one of the bands that headlined Bloodstock one year and that I was completely non-pleased about, but then I really got into. The light bulb moment for me was the album Prequelle and its follow up Impera. Tonight, in a 21 song set, which included 4 songs from an album which isn’t out yet, they played only 5 songs from the albums I like. They didn’t play Spillways, my current favorite, the Pet Shop Boys cover or the Genesis cover. There was no surprise appearance from Def Leppard’s Joe elliot. … but they were still brilliant! I wasn't sure what to expect. The sound at the O2 can be so hit and miss, but it was fine this time. We knew in advance that our phones would be placed in a sealed bag and handed back to us on the way in. This actually worked really well and they had A LOT of people available at the end to help return our phones to us. They wouldn’t let me keep the bag once I had my phone back though. There was no support band, which was odd, but given the elaborate...
by Will Larson ISBN-13: 978-1736417911 Will Larson’s staff engineer archetypes didn’t really resonate with me and neither did the use of the word “staff”, which isn't really explained. Some of the descriptions of operating as a staff engineer were really good. They taught me a few things and reaffirmed some others. I loved the idea of a Right Hand, which is like the Hand of the King in Game of Thrones. Also, the importance of ‘being in the room’ was well explained. The book overplays alignment with seniors to the point of sucking up to get what you want, which I found disingenuous. If you’re operating at that level you should be prepared to challenge authority. I didn’t relate to the suggested guidance for getting promoted to staff engineer, perhaps because I’ve always done it by moving to a new company - which Larson also covers, but only really gets a light touch. Just over half the book is stories from other staff engineers. I wasn’t sure I’d get value from reading those, so I a...