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Side projects

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Re: Side projects

#221

Post by belorn »

icebraining wrote: post #181
mrec wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And by choosing liberal licenses, those original projects have indicated that they're fine with that. Seriously, I don't see the problem. If you don't want people to use your code without making their changes available to you, license it under the GPL. That's what the GPL is for. Criticizing GPL projects for the fact that some projects are not GPL seems an odd way to spend your outrage budget.

I'm not outraged. I'm torn over the ethics of my personal creations and contributions to GPL-licensed projects. And I don't agree that choosing a license means the authors are necessarily fine with their code being used in such a way - it might just mean they don't believe in using (copyright) law to enforce it. And even if they are fine with my activity, that still doesn't mean I must be OK doing it. As an analogy,…

A copyright license is the tool used by authors to tell the world how they want their code to be used. If someone publicly state that they like vanilla ice cream, but personally don't, then their public statement is silly.

If someone do not believe in using copyright law and dislike those who do, they should act accordingly and not deal with proprietary companies at all. Those are the majority users of copyright law in the software industry, as the number of GPL law suits vs proprietary ones is several order smaller.

Re: Side projects

#222

Post by krisgenre »

jldugger wrote: post #183
bglazer wrote: post #42

I'm working on a side project now that will eventually be an open source project. I think it could benefit a lot of people. My problem is that I have a full time job. When I come home at night I want to cook dinner, run, socialize, drink a beer with a friend, or work on an art project. I don't particularly want to configure Ansible or read the OpenVPN docs. At most I can get 3-5 hours of productive work per week on t…

> If anyone has been in a similar situation, I would greatly appreciate advice. You can't have it all. A wife & kids, a full time job, a social life and an open source hacker reputation. Many of the biggest names in open source have none of those other things.

Doesn't Linus have all of those?

Re: Side projects

#223

Post by tempestn »

krisgenre wrote: post #222
jldugger wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If anyone has been in a similar situation, I would greatly appreciate advice. You can't have it all. A wife & kids, a full time job, a social life and an open source hacker reputation. Many of the biggest names in open source have none of those other things.

Doesn't Linus have all of those?

Because he managed to combine the job, open source work, and to a large extent I expect, social life, into the same thing. That's the chicken and egg problem; you can do it once you 'make it', but getting there is tough without significant sacrifice.

Re: Side projects

#224

Post by icebraining »

belorn wrote: post #221
icebraining wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not outraged. I'm torn over the ethics of my personal creations and contributions to GPL-licensed projects. And I don't agree that choosing a license means the authors are necessarily fine with their code being used in such a way - it might just mean they don't believe in using (copyright) law to enforce it. And even if they are fine with my activity, that still doesn't mean I must be OK doing it. As an analogy,…

A copyright license is the tool used by authors to tell the world how they want their code to be used. If someone publicly state that they like vanilla ice cream, but personally don't, then their public statement is silly. If someone do not believe in using copyright law and dislike those who do, they should act accordingly and not deal with proprietary companies at all. Those are the majority users of copyright law…

If someone do not believe in using copyright law and dislike those who do, they should act accordingly and not deal with proprietary companies at all.

Sure. But that still doesn't resolve my dilemma, it just narrows it down.

Is it legitimate to take code published under a liberal license by someone who doesn't deal with proprietary companies at all and use it in a GPL project, knowing that it prevents the original project from using that derived code?

Re: Side projects

#225

Post by krisgenre »

xhrpost wrote: post #94
joshdotsmith wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking of side projects and learning to cook, I'm working on a side project that helps people learn to cook. Happy to share if interested.

Does it happen to help with the attitude or process of cooking? It's probably the bachelor mentality in me but I honestly just hate cooking. The amount of time (purchase food, prep, cook, clean pots/pans) for a 5 minute meal when I could be, ya know, working on a side project, seems ridiculous. However, I do feel like I could eat a little more natural and better if I did cook more.

Cooking is therapeutic :)

Re: Side projects

#226

Post by ff_ »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #131
freebs wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can start by putting together a list of ingredients you like. Many of these will be common ingredients for multiple recipes and go together in different ways. Nearly every time I go grocery shopping I get these things because my SO and I like them. EG: chicken, beef, tomato, onion, peppers, mushroom, cheese, rice, quinoa, pasta, potato, carrot, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, corn, sauce, etc. Make sure you have a…

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, the game of "lets see what I can make with what is still in the fridge" sounds totally fun! :D.

As a bachelor I do it like every day, two times per day ;)

(Yes, sometimes is a really hard game.)

Re: Side projects

#227

Post by kendallpark »

jldugger wrote: post #183
bglazer wrote: post #42

I'm working on a side project now that will eventually be an open source project. I think it could benefit a lot of people. My problem is that I have a full time job. When I come home at night I want to cook dinner, run, socialize, drink a beer with a friend, or work on an art project. I don't particularly want to configure Ansible or read the OpenVPN docs. At most I can get 3-5 hours of productive work per week on t…

> If anyone has been in a similar situation, I would greatly appreciate advice. You can't have it all. A wife & kids, a full time job, a social life and an open source hacker reputation. Many of the biggest names in open source have none of those other things.

Wow. What a great discussion. I'm sad to have missed it.

I have exactly this problem: NOT ENOUGH TIME. Beyond my 40 hr/week programming job, I play or coach football (depending on the season). I'm a hobby artist but I honestly don't do much art anymore due to time constraints. I also joined the competitive Smash scene a while back but realized that I couldn't invest the time it takes to get good.

I completely agree: you can't have it all. You know that college saying: sleep, grade, friends, pick two? Well I chose sleep and grades. (Not to say that I didn't have friends, but I ended up being THAT friend that never really commits to anything. "I'll see if I have time.")

Post-college time is still my greatest struggle. I don't play Smash that much anymore because of time. There a lot of video games that I think, "Man, I could get really good at this game, but I don't have the time for it. Ugh." Right now I'm playing through the Mass Effect series for the second time. ME2 & 3 will probably be the only games I beat in 2015.

I do many of the things mentioned in this thread. Drop off laundry service. I can cook but I've gotten into the terrible habit of eating out. I spend way too much money on food! Most days I'm so mentally drained that I'd honestly rather eat some ramen than plan out a nice meal.

My two best investments in the kitchen are 1) George Foreman Grill, 2) fancy Japanese rice cooker.

I am very much looking forward to medical school this fall where I'll have more flexibility in my schedule.

Re: Side projects

#228

Post by jorendorffmoz »

seiji wrote: post #95
jorendorffmoz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, if a project is clearly the work of, say, 2-5 individual developers, it's easier to see how those individuals are creating much more value than anybody is possibly compensating them for. I think this is true of anything worth doing. I like your characterization of the mongodb model and the RedHat model. (I don't see anything wrong with RedHat's model, by the way. More power to them.) But your complaint would hav…

the bazaar seems healthier financially than it's ever been. Well, it's the difference between getting paid (salary, fixed, no logical incentive to grow/improve) versus getting paid (percentages of benefit, the more benefit you create the more you make, growing non-linearly with your actual output). All of this is really just complaining around the fact it's not easy to reap rewards proportional to the benefit of soft…

Well, it's the difference between getting paid (salary, fixed, no logical incentive to grow/improve) versus getting paid (percentages of benefit, the more benefit you create the more you make, growing non-linearly with your actual output).

(postlude)

It occurred to me this morning that even in theory, market economies don't pay to the seller a percentage of the buyer's benefit. They never do: it's not how they work. The full area under the demand curve, above the line indicating price, accrues to the buyer. Buyers that get a very great benefit (tangible or intangible) out of buying a pencil, a gallon of gas, or a computer generally pay the same price as those for whom the benefit is very slim; and there is no limit to that benefit.

This is mostly beside your point, I know. I just thought it was a nice idea, worth sharing.

Re: Side projects

#229

Post by bglazer »

capisce wrote: post #218
bglazer wrote: post #42

I'm working on a side project now that will eventually be an open source project. I think it could benefit a lot of people. My problem is that I have a full time job. When I come home at night I want to cook dinner, run, socialize, drink a beer with a friend, or work on an art project. I don't particularly want to configure Ansible or read the OpenVPN docs. At most I can get 3-5 hours of productive work per week on t…

> My problem is that I have a full time job The tyranny of the 40+ hour work week. Why is it that so few people are willing and/or able to negotiate working fewer hours in a week, for example 6 hours a day or 4 days in a week? Is it fear of being fired for making such a request? Are the employers so powerful and the employees in such a weak bargaining position? Or the fear of having to take a pay cut? Maybe people ge…

> Is it fear of being fired for making such a request? Are the employers so powerful and the employees in such a weak bargaining position?

Frankly, yes. I would be literally the only person I know who has such an arrangement.

Have you negotiated reduced hours? If so, I'd be interested in hearing your experience.

Re: Side projects

#230

Post by capisce »

bglazer wrote: post #229
capisce wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My problem is that I have a full time job The tyranny of the 40+ hour work week. Why is it that so few people are willing and/or able to negotiate working fewer hours in a week, for example 6 hours a day or 4 days in a week? Is it fear of being fired for making such a request? Are the employers so powerful and the employees in such a weak bargaining position? Or the fear of having to take a pay cut? Maybe people ge…

> Is it fear of being fired for making such a request? Are the employers so powerful and the employees in such a weak bargaining position? Frankly, yes. I would be literally the only person I know who has such an arrangement. Have you negotiated reduced hours? If so, I'd be interested in hearing your experience.

> Frankly, yes. I would be literally the only person I know who has such an arrangement.

Yeah, I guess the norm is too strongly ingrained, and employers like to keep it that way. If there was a "free" labour market you'd expect more variation, as it can't be right that the standard amount of working hours are perfect fit for everyone. Ditto with number of vacation days in a year, etc - in an ideal world it would all be negotiated based on individual preference. The status quo causes symptoms such as rush hour traffic, overly expensive flights and hotels as everyone goes on vacation at the same time, and people who are wealthy in monetary terms but starved of leisure time. It seems like this often leads to making up for it through overconsumption - to spend the extra income that the full time worker might not really need to satisfy his basic needs and wants.

Unfortunately I haven't made such attempts, and I'm currently a freelance contractor which already means I have more spare time when I want as I decide myself how many hours I work. I know about ex-colleagues who negotiated a four day working week for a commensurate reduction in salary, though that was in Norway.

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