I got inspired to start trying to use Vim when I attended the Python national conference in Pittsburgh in 2025 and I met a hand full of old school coders who were among the fastest and most fluid that I have ever encountered. Watching them use their computers was like watching Yo-Yo Ma play the cello. Absolutely beautiful.

I was so inspired, in fact, I challenged myself to learn enough vim to be able to build the first version of my Pycleball web bot using a Vim extension in VS code. 

Vim is famous among its users because it makes it possible to not have to use your mouse. Essentially, everything is possible with keystrokes and shortcuts, which are called "motions".

Here are some reflections from the experience.  

First, if you want to get started with Vim give yourself an excuse while you browse the web with Vimium C, a keyboard shortcut browser extension. Vimium C makes it possible almost all the time to browse without touching your mouse. Because it's inspired by Vim, it gives you a perfect on ramp to start using some vim motions. For example...

I recently heard of a business analyst who trying to argue that “requirements gathering” and “solutioning” are two completely separate steps in the process of delivering software to clients.

I have encountered this idea before. I think this kind of thinking is a huge problem. This post explains why and offers an alternative, which is to think of “requirements gathering” and “solutioning” as steps in a larger process of principled negotiation.

What We Mean by “Requirements” and “Solutioning”

1.Requirements

As software development as an industry and practice was evolving in the late 20th century, the term the term “requirements” emerged as a way to refer to the set of things detailed in some kind of documentation about how a given system should function and what it should do when it is built. For example, if your daughter asks for a way to get to her best friend’s house 10 blocks away, the requirement might be to “have a means of transportation to get to Shirley’s house.” Great.

2.Solutioning