throwaway_java

Discipline and Punish

The software craftsmanship movement seems to be completely divorced from reality. For one, I can't for the life of me work out why they would list "The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp" as a reading. That book was terrible.

It basically seems to just be a short list of tautologies. No one in their right mind would disagree on what is on the list, but they leave off basically anything about software that might actually help you achieve anything or improve the way you do it.

It seems to be some zen-like meditation based method of improvement, completely devoid of substance.

good time to job hop

hopefully you can be honest about it -- if you are discriminated against because of this then that company is not a good fit for you anyway.

I personally would be honest about why you took the break including calling it what it is but framing it as managing stress and looking after yourself, and move on to how that terrible and isolating experience for you might actually increase your value as a co-worker. Eg, perhaps you now have better skills for managing stress, know exactly how much overtime you can handle, have a better idea of what sustainable pace you can work at, be willing to stand up against ridiculous deadlines that you know can't be met even if just for self preservation, will be more caring and compassionate and tolerant to co workers and perhaps recognise symptoms of burnout/depression in them before they do.

Best of luck, look after yourself!

Hi.

Yes, that sounds pretty normal for someone your age. My advice would be stay fit and healthy (eat, sleep, exercise properly) and think about smaller goals that you can realistically achieve rather than dwelling on the big picture too much. For what it's worth I think a lot of people find their teens and twenties a pretty hard time (I certainly did) so don't think you are alone in that. You don't have to know all the answers right now.

About the false friendships thing -- perhaps they are and perhaps not, I suspect it's a combination of not having met people you really click with, over thinking things, and a general effect of your particular age that you're still finding where you fit in.

If you can, keep open communication with your parents/grandparent/siblings and close friends about what you around going through, or a counselor or other trusted adult if you need (there's no shame in getting some good advice about life and help to sift through your thoughts)

Maybe don't frame it as "figuring out what to do with my life" as a whole but rather many smaller experiences which will eventually add up to the whole thing.

Most people can't estimate and plan a 3 month IT project particularly accurately, let alone entire lifetime!

:)

in my experience, it's more effective to lay out a strip of ant poison on some cellotape rather than in the bait traps.

More surface area so more ants can carry the poison away faster, and less deaths occur in the manner that you describe.

Also, switch to different types of bait now and then.

you seem to be arguing that the necessity for controls to counteract systemic racism are evidence that the racism does not exist. That's a total contradiction.

You're also holding up the trades as the potential high point that black folk can aspire to, which (no disrespect to the trades as they are extremely important) seems more than a little racist itself. Electrician is a great job, but isn't it curious that you didn't mention top level management executive, lawyer, knowledge worker, doctor, engineer...

I don't understand the down votes happening here. This is clearly an ingrained facet of Western politics and society.

Why else would minority groups be over represented in prisons and below the poverty line, generally lower educated, generally compensated at a lower level than white male counterparts of the same skill and education level.

Coincidentally because of an inherent superiority of white males? I don't fucking think so.

No.

We emphasise the actions of white men as being more important those of other groups. We write out of history the acts and perspectives and contributions that other groups have made and somehow manage to convince ourselves that we are not biased.

You describe a meritocracy that we aspire to and yet is almost completely detached from reality.

I would pay anything for my kids to sleep through the night.

yeah the article is a bit fluffy. And I probably didn't answer your specific question very well (ie given that you can find the same themes elsewhere, why read Le Guin)

I just think Le Guin works are still worth reading in themselves without having to justify why they are better/more novel/more correct etc than any other particular work.

No. It's not gibberish, but you need to read more broadly because that paragraph itself doesn't explain. Read some of the surrounding text.

Le Guin sort of writes social/political commentary through the vehicle of fiction. Just read more. You'll get it eventually.

I strongly recommend that people think about workplace diversity when considering job offers. Explicitly ask about during recruitment phases and think seriously about passing on roles where the teams are dominated by young white males.

I'm currently in a dev team 60:40 females:males and with a good mix of skills/ages/cultures and it's really great.

that's the difference between solitude and loneliness. Sometimes you need solitude.

good luck getting your kids to do what you want, when you want.

It'd be easier to sell or concrete over your lawn.

Yes. It appears to be some random, obscure, snake-oil like project. These are a dime a dozen. You can't use them all, and in most cases you are just as well off using none.

advice to anyone entering the workforce: form an honest opinion of what your skills can fetch at market by researching salaries, work on your negotiating skills, have a backup plan so you are confident to walk away if you don't get the number you want, hold out for the right deal.

The biggest difference I see (anecdotally, so I might be wrong) between women and men, particularly from women who are complaining about inequality in pay, is that women aren't confident to negotiate about money. Strong, opinionated, skilled women will get pushed over when it comes to money. In many cases they won't even realise they can negotiate.

Negotiate everything -- the price of your cell phone, your tv, your washing machine, ask your bank for better deals on your mortgage or better interest rates on your savings. Then when it comes to job salary you have some practice to fall back on. Stand your ground, use phrases like "that isn't what I was expecting, can you offer any more?" and be prepared to respectfully decline an offer that doesn't make you happy.

I don't think it's about being able to read text written in rows, although if you can't see that kids aren't particularly good at that initially, then you mustn't have spent much time with kids. (Hint, they learn to "read" with picture books and then books with like 5 words on a page.)

The same reason they learn to ride a bike on one with 12 inch wheels instead of 700c. Or cook using recipes with 3 ingredients.

Simplified versions for learning are a good thing.

First they grasp the basics using something simple, then they push the boundaries of that simplified version, and then they extend to the next step up.

The same way I learn at 33 years old, by the way.

A senior recommended this to me when I was a junior. My attitude at the time was that things would take as long as they would take and I wasn't sure how long that would be because I had never done it before. Obviously as a junior you tend not to be very fast or very good at getting things done.

His recommendation was that this was a good way to get better at estimating so that you could manage other people's (your manager, the sales people) expectations better.

This seemed like good advice.

In practice, I'm terrible at logging time and recording details of what I have worked on and tend to rely on version control as a work log (hey, I aim to have multiple commits per day and record reasonably good commit messages which link to defect tickets etc)

So for what it's worth, I don't use PSP, but am kind of interested in it. My estimations, defect rates, and speed have increased over time anyway because experience.

The reason I'm still a developer in an office is that it pays a shitload of Enterprise(TM) dollars into my bank account. I can work my guts out from 8.30 to 5, get a fuck load of code written at someone else's expense, and then down tools at 5pm and go play with my kids and watch GOT.

More money, more spare time, more motivated, less stress.

This strikes me as a fight-club-esque semi-motivational bunch of tripe. The only thing of value in the article is the following paragraph: "If you aren’t finding time every day, in some way, to inspire yourself, to drive yourself to work on things from the heart that help you learn and grow in powerful way, then you’re holding back."

It would have been better as a tweet.

Cereal is a sugar delivery vehicle, but juice is good as gold.

Right.

33 y.o. Dad of 3, and a far better engineer since having kids. Since becoming a Dad, I learnt the value of time, I learnt how to get stuff finished when I have a chance to, I learnt empathy and tolerance, I learnt to look at the big picture. I forgot about many of the frustrations and angst that I felt before I had kids. I simply don't have time to worry about my own feelings much, but at the same time I learnt to look after myself much more efficiently, because I have to, because 3 kids and a wife depend on me. I've never been happier at work, because I have a family.

Definitely start a family, but also think about keeping your career too in what ever form suits you.

Way you go then.

She's a dog. Tie her up.