Software Development
So THIS Is Why I Can’t Find Work
I hope you get as big a kick out of this as I did. Here are a couple of recent craigslist ads I did not reply to. I mean, yeah, there’s getting work just to make money. But then, there’s getting work just so you can make fun of your new client.
So, maybe I might [...]
A Programmer’s Empowering Daydream
This morning, at my daughter’s sleep study, as we were waking up, I had a profoundly encouraging and empowering daydream. It wasn’t an intentional visualization, something I wanted to see come about, but purely a spontaneous daydream, of the sort that encroaches upon your consciousness in those fuzzy moments just after you awake.
Last night, I [...]
Hope through Feelings of Hopelessness
I’ve been updating my software-development résumé, trying some different things in hopes of finding a reasonably productive SD gig. Along the way, I think I may rub a few people wrong, but I think it’s for the best. Because it’s the only way I know to ultimately accomplish my goals.
There’s something about the truly great [...]
10 Things I Hate About Software Development
This blog post is intended to sabotage any chance that I’ll get a “normal” software-engineering job, because I don’t think I could ever go back to a “normal” job.
Why I No Longer Belong in a Dilbert Cube
The biggest block of time in my software-development career I spent working in an extraordinary job, a very special place to work, with a very special group of people, for 14 years. Throughout the dot-com boom, I stayed there, ignoring the promises of exciting work and increased salary.
But before I worked there, I tried to [...]
Depression and the Software Developer (part 3)
(This is a continuation from part 2 of “Depression and the Software Developer”.)
[Note: This is a recounting of an experience from several years ago. Read the story from the beginning in order to catch up.]
According to psychologist Joe Griffin, the cycle of depression starts when innate needs are not being met. Among these are a [...]
Depression and the Software Developer (Part 2)
(This is a continuation from part 1 of “Depression and the Software Developer”.)
If one of the most powerful weapons against depression is hope, one of its most powerful fuels is hopelessness.
I attacked my next job with gusto and enthusiasm. The company had previously outsourced a project to an offshore contractor, and now that the fit [...]
Depression and the Software Developer
Knowing what I know now, I wonder how I avoided depression for as long as I did:
Stress causes depression.
Perfectionists are more prone to depression.
Isolation reinforces depression.
As a software developer, those frequently go along with the job description. Seasonal Affective Disorder has gotten the rap for at least some of the funk, because many software guys [...]
Software Bugs, Crawling Everywhere
Software developers have a wonderful explanation for why there are so, so many software bugs. Unfortunately, it’s a highly technical explanation that’s very difficult for the layman to understand. I’ll try to summarize, but be aware that the following is a gross oversimplification.
The root problem is that software is complex. And it’s not just that [...]
Too Late, the Code Is Already Written
One way to deal with poor communication on a software project is simply to ignore the people around you and do what you wanted to do anyhow. Of course, this strategy can backfire, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. But in that case, you probably won’t know enough to notice it backfiring, so [...]