Zaemis

As I write more and more Esperanto fiction, I find myself referencing the currency spesmiloj in an attempt to create an immersive Esperanto environment for the reader. Here's an example from my mikronovelo La Kristala Ananso : “Kun aroga certeco, juna entreprenisto proponis unu milionon da spesmiloj. Neniu aŭdacis proponi pli.” The narrative doesn’t change whether it’s a million USD, a million CAD, or a million EUR... so why not a million spesmiloj? I’m certain most of my readers aren’t millionaires, so the exact amount really doesn’t mean much beyond “a lot of money.” But then I wondered: how much is a million spesmiloj, really? According to Wikipedia , the spesmilo was "equivalent to one thousand spesoj, and worth 0.733 grams (0.0259 oz) of pure gold (0.8 grams of 22 karat gold).” So 0.733 g × 1,000,000 = 733,000 g At the current spot price for gold per gram of 107.75 USD / 92.87 EUR, we get: 733,000 g × 107.75 USD = 78,980,750 USD 733,000 g × 92.87 EUR = 68...

Continuing my reflections on how we can better hire software engineers, I'd like to next address the topic of coding interviews. They're a cornerstone of the interview process for software engineers and take many forms, including algorithm challenges, whiteboard sessions, and take-home exercises. On the surface, the practice sounds reasonable. If we're going to pay someone to write code for us, we should verify they know how to program, right? The core problem is that coding interviews focus on superficial indicators of skill rather than the qualities that matter in real-world engineering. They're a tradition that persists not because it works, but because it feels like we're doing something rigorous. Meanwhile, engineers are increasingly refusing to participate, leaving us with a less diverse talent pool. So, if coding interviews frustrate the very people we want to hire, and they don’t generate the insights we actually need, why are we still doing them? It’s ...