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Why Build Toys

blog.aaronkharris.com

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Re: Why Build Toys

#71

Post by matkoniecz »

samstave wrote: post #42
armchairhacker wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we produce nothing of intrinsic value Idk about that. You could say the same about a farmer or a banker or a teacher etc. Even the guys who build the Empire State building - there were probably hundreds of them, each only building a small part - and someday that will get lost in time also. “Intrinsic value” is whatever you define it to be. I guess if you’re working for some ad-sales-management company making softwa…

>>“Intrinsic value” is whatever you define it to be. The guy who produces one tomato is worth more than the entire team who produces, say a mobile DLC/Gambling/betting game. CMV

Gambling game is of negative value so it is easy to beat that :)

Re: Why Build Toys

#72

Post by AussieWog93 »

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #70
AussieWog93 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't collect antique furniture, but I do cook with and maintain 100-year old cast iron and a very nice German chef's knife. I think the biggest difference between software maintenance and maintenance of most physical objects is that physical maintenance is calming, tactile and pleasant. Routine software maintenance, on the other hand, is hacky, frustrating and stressful. I would much rather sharpen my knife on a w…

> I think the biggest difference between software maintenance and maintenance of most physical objects is that physical maintenance is calming, tactile and pleasant. A lot of folks don't think this way. I do, but I know many who don't so it's important to remember that, especially when trying to make systemic judgements on fields of industry.

Fair point. I've not met many people who are actually excited by this stuff, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I may be a little bit biased in this area as I had to spend a lot of time dealing with a build system that my company had rolled themselves, with one maintainer that spent his entire week just putting out fires, all while under high pressure from deadlines and also external pressure from home eviction, wedding, side businesses).

I just cannot relax or have fun when dealing with WiX or qmake failures or dependencies disappearing.

Re: Why Build Toys

#73

Post by Nathanba »

_benj wrote: post #30
azhenley wrote: post #13

Exactly. I have a lot of the same feelings, so 6 weeks ago I wrote a similar blog post, "Why I prefer making making useless stuff". I haven't quite figured out how to convert my "useless stuff" into a company yet though... Blog post: https://web.eecs.utk.edu/~azh/blog/makinguselessstuff.html HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27256867 Reddit discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/n…

I loved that article!! Ever since then I've been playing with some techs that I've been curious since forever but without a "project" to try them I hadn't... The notion of doing something for which I don't care about github stars or readability or even good programming practices (1000L files!) it's SO FREEING! Thanks for that article, it has helped me found the joy I had when I was just poking around on the computer,…

I noticed the same about myself but I still wonder if this isn't just a character weakness. Why exactly can't I be just as careless and free about a project that I'm serious about in the sense of its potential to make money if executed fully? I do think it's a weakness.

Re: Why Build Toys

#74

Post by spoonjim »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #43
jonny_eh wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appe…

That's about Ramses II though, and a lot of his statues are still standing. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luxor_Temple_-_panor...

Mind... blown. I never thought about that, that “Ozymandias” was perhaps correct that his legend would stand the test of time.

Re: Why Build Toys

#75

Post by imhoguy »

frompdx wrote: post #50
rpastuszak wrote: post #2

I'm not sure about you, but the more experienced I am, as a developer or "builder", the smaller things I end up making. For instance, I launched a bunch of games that are, frankly, more fun to watch, than to play (e.g. an All-hands meeting simulator: https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands ) or little tools this one https://sonnet.io/posts/reactive-hole/ (it's stupid, completely replaceable, but somewhat adorable). I come…

Out of curiosity, what did you use to make the all hands simulator?

"UnityPlayer.dll" tells me it is Unity. Works nicely on Linux Wine too.

Re: Why Build Toys

#76

Post by cik »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #72
Karrot_Kream wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think the biggest difference between software maintenance and maintenance of most physical objects is that physical maintenance is calming, tactile and pleasant. A lot of folks don't think this way. I do, but I know many who don't so it's important to remember that, especially when trying to make systemic judgements on fields of industry.

Fair point. I've not met many people who are actually excited by this stuff, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I may be a little bit biased in this area as I had to spend a lot of time dealing with a build system that my company had rolled themselves, with one maintainer that spent his entire week just putting out fires, all while under high pressure from deadlines and also external pressure from home eviction,…

Right - whereas I find this the most exciting series of things I get to do, by far. It's always a game of hunt the wocket - especially when you're trying to not just hack a solution together.

Re: Why Build Toys

#77

Post by arthur_sav »

samstave wrote: post #25
spoonjim wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sucks how temporary software is, especially Web software. If you don’t pay the hosting bill it’s gone. If you don’t upgrade to 64 but it’s useless. Essentially it’s a plate spinning on a stick and it needs constant attention to survive. Contrast that to a fine piece of furniture which barring fire or flood can just sit abandoned in a warehouse for 300 years and then be even more valuable than it was initially.

I'm 46. I have been working in SV since ~1996 I have had several existential crisis wondering *"what the fuck am I doing this for, we produce nothing."* --- This happened to me at FB, SF, Lucas, Brocade... I was like "yeah, im doing well professionally, making money - but at the end of the day, it was just "we produce nothing of intrinsic value" I find it ironic that NFTs are now the version of creating something of…

I'm not sure if it's the age but all the coders over 50 that i've met are grumpy and pessimists.

You can choose the type of company and the value it provides... plenty of companies that produce meaningful software products.

Re: Why Build Toys

#78

Post by nicbou »

rpastuszak wrote: post #2

I'm not sure about you, but the more experienced I am, as a developer or "builder", the smaller things I end up making. For instance, I launched a bunch of games that are, frankly, more fun to watch, than to play (e.g. an All-hands meeting simulator: https://rafsters.itch.io/all-hands ) or little tools this one https://sonnet.io/posts/reactive-hole/ (it's stupid, completely replaceable, but somewhat adorable). I come…

I wholeheartedly support this. These "useless" project rekindled my love for programming. They're the ones I enjoy working on, because I know from the start that they're only for fun.

Re: Why Build Toys

#79

Post by forgotmypw17 »

samstave wrote: post #52
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would the hardware for this look like. Is there anything more to it than two Ethernet ports, storage, RAM, and CPU? Anything beyond putting together existing components? Thank you for responding, I am intrigued by your ideas.

Heh, its funny that you boiled it down as such: Network, storage, memory and compute (GPU is included in compute). Aside from any other mortar you may need which can be available as a service, that is the premise of all that we do with machines. Honestly, its a straightforward concept - and products exist in the enterprise for just this: MDM (Mobile Device Management) -- you can deploy and manage (and monitor and spy…

I've tried to find some kind of contact for you, but came up empty...

Re: Why Build Toys

#80

Post by cutler »

pjerem wrote: post #60
armchairhacker wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we produce nothing of intrinsic value Idk about that. You could say the same about a farmer or a banker or a teacher etc. Even the guys who build the Empire State building - there were probably hundreds of them, each only building a small part - and someday that will get lost in time also. “Intrinsic value” is whatever you define it to be. I guess if you’re working for some ad-sales-management company making softwa…

> we produce nothing of intrinsic value Idk about that. You could say the same about a farmer or a banker or a teacher etc. Absolutely not. None of these professionals are ever working on superfluous projects of unknown worth to the society. In fact, their worth to the society is immediate and totally tangible: you couldn’t eat without the farmer’s work, you wouldn’t have a house without the banker, and you would be…

"Wouldn't have a house without the banker". In some societies this is/was called usury - the opposite of intrinsic value. Banks leech value instead of creating any.
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