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I no longer build software

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821–830 of 891 posts

Re: I no longer build software

#821
post #777

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how I define "good", but consider this: not all prostitution results in somebody getting hurt -- if it does, that's definitely a serious thing to be addressed -- and when it's consensual, it's about two people connecting (money involved, of course). I know a cliché is to consider every customer/prostitute relationship as predatory in nature, but I'm not convinced this is always the case. People sating th…

The main problem is that since it is illegal, there's no easy way to address abuse (victims will not want to talk because they are potentially at risk of being punished). So if VR can reduce the amount of sex workers (less demand -> less supply), it may (?) lead to less cases of abuse. That sounds to me like something Better, but maybe not as Good as some other alternatives. It's also interesting: why is human connec…

Yes, it feels worse to me as well, but I can't say why, except that it seems fundamentally alienating. But this is subjective. It seems to me connecting to other human beings is part of being human.

Re: I no longer build software

#822

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sales engineering is a great place for being able to tinker, interact with a wide range of clients/prospects, and plus being a revenue center...

How does one break into this? I've tried getting into the sales side of things, but it seems to elude me.

Find a smaller enterprise system integrator in the field you're familiar with. Titles such as Sales Engineer, SE, Solutions Architect. Usually the compensation plan is a 70/30 or 65/35 split between base and commission. Once you cut your teeth and are building out your professional network, then looks for an ISV to be on direct sales...

Re: I no longer build software

#823

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price is on this one ... https://www.flickr.com/photos/fuller_craft/49837855711/in/al...

It looks great, it looks like it's priced as art and not furniture. Is this a correct interpretation?

this is pretty standard pricing for custom made one off furniture. you can't really compare pricing to items off an assembly line style factory.

imo whether you consider it art is irrelevant. the main cost is material (wood) and labor.

Re: I no longer build software

#824

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately I agree with this. A great quote I saw a while ago: “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” –Jeff Hammerbacher Every paying software job I've ever had was in some way involved getting people to click on ads. Either directly making a product where ad click rate is a measured metric, or products that helped people make products where clicking on ads was a metric.…

I'm going to take a wild guess that you are a web developer. I'm a happy low level systems developer. I solve hard and interesting problems that have nothing to do with ads.

Who are your customers? There are plenty of low level systems developers at Facebook and Google and so on. The solve the same hard and interesting problems that you do, probably at greater scale so they're even more hard and interesting. Often they're many layers removed from the people who directly get others to click ads. Being a low-level developer, or being at a separate company, doesn't necessarily put you at any greater remove from the advertising octopus.

Re: I no longer build software

#825
post #476
post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Like I said, “getting directions” used to be a service. Specifically, back then—and still today, in many places!—you’d be expected to retain the services of a guide when you were in a foreign city/country. Who would often double as your translator, and potentially as your driver as well. So previously, travel to foreign destinations was something few could afford, since it required sourcing and hiring a local guide…

Yes, correct. But that’s moving the goal-posts, kind of: “making something available to a wider audience” isn’t the same thing as making something possible . The original claim was that we’re now in a world where these things are possible . But really, we’re “merely” in a world where they’re more widely-available. They’ve been possible for a long time. What I wanted to highlight, was that technology making something…

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Re: I no longer build software

#827

Holy shit, this is me! A couple things to clarify: I posted the original issue as a minor complaint about the docker cli and promptly forgot about it. I never expected it to get any traction or follow-up. At the time I posted it, I was working as a contractor for my former full time employer. I had left full-time work there in early 2017 to attend the full-time program at the (sadly now-defunct) Furniture Institute o…

Some really beautiful pieces. Some unsolicited advice... if you haven't already considered Etsy (I used to work there) it can be a great place to sell your work. I've bought a lot of furniture (some custom) on Etsy and people have been surprised by that / think there isn't necessarily high quality work there. In addition to the larger pieces, if you have work that's easily repeatable you can make a lot with e.g. tiss…

Thanks! It's something I'll look into when I sit down to do some business planning. In case anybody else is interested, I've also been recommended houzz.com. Custommade.com used to deal in furniture, but they seem to have pivoted to jewelry.

I've definitely seen quality work on etsy, and I appreciate your perspective as a now former employee.

Re: I no longer build software

#828
post #239

Seems to be a heavy "all modern software development sucks" vibe in this thread, when the issue is more "software I get paid to write sucks". What software would you write if you could write whatever you wanted using whatever language/technology you wanted? Unless all the joy gets sucked out beforehand, pretty sure I'm going to move to be developing Mobile Apps after I retire. It was the most fun I've had writing App…

I'd be writing what I'm writing, using the stack I chose when I created this job for myself.

Took me a few years to get here, but now I never want to leave.

Re: I no longer build software

#829
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most of it too is just trivial oil and tire changes or changing a basic part of two I bet that it feels better and more rewarding than updating a dependency and spending 2 days fixing all the errors caused by updating, especially knowing that you will have to do the same thing in a few months. There is something that feels good when you create/fix/improve a real object compared to a software one.

As someone who works on engines and writes code, let me tell you that the feeling is exactly the same. All complex systems stir up the same emotions. It's frustrating as can be when it doesn't work, and it feels great when it finally does work. As a human, dealing with complexity is all the same, no matter the medium.

I know it's cliche, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has some of the most valuable advice for software development I've ever imbibed.

His description of the feeling that something is going wrong, and of the emotional shift required to change frame before making the problem worse, that's saved me from more bad decisions than I could count.

Re: I no longer build software

#830

Holy shit, this is me! A couple things to clarify: I posted the original issue as a minor complaint about the docker cli and promptly forgot about it. I never expected it to get any traction or follow-up. At the time I posted it, I was working as a contractor for my former full time employer. I had left full-time work there in early 2017 to attend the full-time program at the (sadly now-defunct) Furniture Institute o…

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