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It's harder to read the code than to write it so if you can barely comprehend the thing you just wrote, you probably won't understand it in the future: https://sonnet.io/posts/code-sober-debug-drunk/
2) I think it's more like speaking with ghosts (including a spoiler for The Sixth Sense):
In my opinion, good code is like a Brita filter. It does its job, will one day need to be replaced, and it should be easy to replace. More importantly: metaphors are not a healthy way to understand an idea. Ideas are more nuanced than a metaphor could possibly account for. Abstaining from metaphors might not make for a catchy headline though.
Sorry next developer, I'm on a tight deadline, used to love this craft, now I just do what the product people tell me to get a nice paycheck.
Yep. Yesterday I ran into a job opening asking for "Java developer who delivers 3x faster than the other developers" in one of the bullet points. It's such a weird point to emphasize that you want speed with no concern to trade-offs, and the maintainability and scalability of the codebase will be the first victims sooner or later.
And remember, the next maintainer could very well be you.
Yeah, it's humbling enough when you are reviewing some old code and thinking "what idiot wrote this" only to git blame and realize it was you. What's even more jarring when you find some code, surprised the capability/feature even exists, then git blame and realize again it was you (this time hopefully with a pat on your own back because of how well it's written). Yes this has happened to me.
I realized that when I did that project I "had the time to care" which is not the case lately!
"Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live."
In my opinion, good code is like a Brita filter. It does its job, will one day need to be replaced, and it should be easy to replace. More importantly: metaphors are not a healthy way to understand an idea. Ideas are more nuanced than a metaphor could possibly account for. Abstaining from metaphors might not make for a catchy headline though.
You should expect some additional nuance when receiving a metaphor.
Years later when I desperately needed that rack to keep the site up I was able to roll it in and light it up without waiting 6weeks for an electrician change request.
He saved my bacon by thinking ahead. It was a gift he gave me, never mentioned and was not around to receive thanks for.
I aspire to be more like him in everything I do.