Hello World! (a.k.a. Enter the Cutting Board)

I know, I know, that's probably the most overused title for a first post. But I'm a programmer... what else am I supposed to say?

I'm starting this blog as I move on to a new job and hopefully plenty of new learning and opportunities. I wanted a place where I could chronicle my thoughts for my own record, and, in the spirit of Atwood, I figured why not put it online in case something interesting comes out of it.

The name of the blog was inspired by recent events in my life, namely many months of using a cement cutting board. Now, this was a beautiful cutting board. Nice and shiny, it was a deep blue gray to match the counters it sat upon. Being cement, the knives used on it didn't leave a scratch and I'm sure it will retain it's shiny surface for years to come.

However, there was a problem with the whole cement cutting board situation - the knives didn't leave a scratch. When your cutting board is harder than your knife blades, pretty soon you have a lot of cooking knives that might as well be giant butter knives. Blades that once cut thin slices off a ripe tomato could now only mangle and eventually smash whatever they were cutting in two.

You might wonder who would buy (or manufacture!) such a thing. After a decent bit of thought I came to only one conclusion - someone who never uses cutting boards. After a bit more thought I realized I was surrounded with cement cutting boards. Software designed by people who never used it. Processes created by people who weren't affected by them. The list could go on and on.

I realized that nearly every institution I had ever known was riddled with cement cutting boards. I began to think it was just how the world had to work due to some unseen saturation of illogical thought. It was as omnipresent as the laws of physics - objects fall when you drop them and you will have to do things that are counter-productive and make no sense.

Yet deep down I knew there must be some oasis of nice, soft, wooden cutting boards, or at least a group of people that despise the cement ones as much as I do. I think I've found such a group, so here begins my journey to see if the grass really is greener on the other side.

- Ian