C++ 11 is a powerful, elegant language and the right choice for performant general-purpose code. Bash is an excellent lingua franca for chaining a long series of commands. Python is best for everything else.
Data should be passed around in schematic form, with a compact serializations over the wire and a human-readable format at rest. Protocol buffers (and the lesser-known text format) are an ideal cross-language solution.
Grammar development is more important than model building.
Model building is easier than deployment.
Whiteboards are useful.
I can only do certain sorts of work without an office (yes, that thing with a door).