You’d think that the holidays would be a quiet time for developers. Sadly, no. Right now I’m in the middle of fighting another round with UTC versus local time and trying to explain it to the quality assurance folks who are backups to the primary folks who actually know the software design. It’s a special way of earning a living.

While I was looking into things, I discovered that the Japanese calendar is about to start a new era because the emperor is stepping down. I don’t think it’s going to affect the Japanese app we’ll be working on next year, but I’ll need to read up on it just in case. One of the worst things about being busy is that it makes it more difficult to find the time to keep up to date on what’s happening in the field. And yet, being too busy with work is almost always a better class of problem than not having enough to do.

Here’s a tip: don’t count on being able to use up your vacation days during the last week of the year especially if you’re on a small team that’s spread thin. Technically I should be off work all next week. Practically? Unless I work this weekend, there’s a good chance I’ll be spending some time in the office (or at least working from home) next week. Luckily I should be able to take a few extra hours here and there in the early part of the year to make up for it. If your employer demands that you be flexible in your schedule to meet their needs, then they should be flexible to accommodate yours as well.

Here’s to a productive and interesting new year.