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The Hacker Lifecycle

Posted by Soulskill on from the pollination-fertilization-budding-and-dispersal dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Hacker Benjamin Smith deconstructs the cycle of education, production, and rest that will be familiar to many software and hardware engineers. He breaks it down into four steps: 1) Focused effort toward a goal, 2) structured self-education, 3) side-projects to sharpen skills, and 4) burnout and rest. He writes, 'As my motivation waxes at the beginning of a cycle, I find myself with a craving to take steps towards that goal. I do so by starting a project which focuses on one thing only: building a new income stream. As a result of this single-mindedness, the content or subject of the project is often less interesting than it otherwise might have been. ... [Later], I almost always decide to teach myself a new technical skill or pick up some new technology. ... This is usually the most satisfying period of my cycle. I am learning a new skill or technology which I know will enhance my employability, allow me to build things I previously could only have daydreamed about, and will ultimately be useful for many years to come. ... [In the burnout phase], I'll spend this period as ferociously devoted to my leisure activities as I was to my productive tasks. But after a few months of this, I start to feel an itch...'"

77 comments

  1. Not just for software by cellocgw · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think this is a reasonable description of 'most everyone's productivity cycles. Granted I'm just another more-or-less Asperger's engineer/physicist with a strong love of music, but take a look at writers, artists, or almost any field of endeavor. You'll find people's output varies significantly over time. Vacations help too. :-) . The ability to take on side-projects without feeling guilty is probably a very handy thing in one's life.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
    1. Re:Not just for software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this is the other side of engineering, i don't how this became a programming only issue. One of the early intel engineers would randomly fly somewhere at the end of the week to relax.

    2. Re:Not just for software by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think this is a reasonable description of 'most everyone's productivity cycles. Granted I'm just another more-or-less Asperger's engineer/physicist with a strong love of music, but take a look at writers, artists, or almost any field of endeavor. You'll find people's output varies significantly over time. Vacations help too. :-) . The ability to take on side-projects without feeling guilty is probably a very handy thing in one's life.

      Paid vacations (or similar) and adequate non-work time are a key in maintaining long-term productivity. The occasional side-project on the job is essential in maintaining your intellectual capital. Alas, if you are unfortunate enough to work for a major corporation in a fungible role (i.e. one where you can be easily replaced), then your long-term productivity and intellectual development are mere costs to be eliminated. This results in significant differences:
      1) Focused effort toward a goal, This is good, provided the goal came from Marketing, was approved by numerous committees, and was not one you dreamed up yourself
      2) structured self-education, Unnecessary, as you should know everything required for your job already
      3) side-projects to sharpen skills, Time-wasting, especially because you should know everything required for your job already
      4) burnout and rest. Burnout happens, then you're discarded and can rest without remuneration

      --
      Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    3. Re:Not just for software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > 2) structured self-education, Unnecessary, as you should know everything required for your job already

      Unlikely, because learning minimum of what you should know takes usually at least 10 years and most people don't ever learn it. Even if you master one area, there is still plenty you can learn from other areas that are near your own area. E.g. programmer can master a programming language or two, but after that there is still user experience, testing, design patterns, clean code issues, technical writing, management, domain specific knowledge, people skills, psychology, measuring technologies, various tools, different ways of programmings (e.g. C programmer can learn object oriented programming and after that, functional programming), kanban, scrum or other ways to prioritize tasks, different operating systems, SQL, NoSQL, network programming, security, thread safety, etc. The list never ends, so there is always something you could still learn.

      Please note that I listed there only the things that I know. The biggest problem is that it is quite rare for one to know what they don't know. So there are probably a lot of important stuff missing from my list also.

    4. Re:Not just for software by metlin · · Score: 1

      You should watch Stefan Sagmeister's "The Power of Time Off" -- great TED talk on the value of taking a break.

    5. Re:Not just for software by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      this is the other side of engineering, i don't how this became a programming only issue. One of the early intel engineers would randomly fly somewhere at the end of the week to relax.

      Why couldn't they just go out and get drunk on Friday night like everyone else does to relax?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    6. Re:Not just for software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think AliasMarlowe was giving you the cynical point of view of a major corporation. If you're an engineer you recognize the irony immediately, or you've been staring at the screen for too long and need a break.

    7. Re:Not just for software by twosat · · Score: 1

      Men of lofty genius are most active when they are doing the least work. - Leonardo da Vinci

    8. Re:Not just for software by CheshireDragon · · Score: 1

      Smart ones don't drown themselves in alcohol as it has more adverse effects over time than just forgetting what happened the night before. I prefer to watch a good movie at the theater, but haven't done that in ages. Not because I don't have the money either. However, IF I did have the money I would possibly fly near to or drive to a landmark of some sort to take in the scenery. Come to the Dallas area. The Blue Bonnets among other flowers are in full bloom right now and it's absolutely beautiful.

      --
      "That's right...I said it."
    9. Re:Not just for software by computererds · · Score: 2

      Smart ones don't drown themselves in alcohol....

      Indeed. We all smoke pot.

    10. Re:Not just for software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or AliasMarlowe is the Dilbert Pointy-Haired Manager and stumbled in here looking for SlashD.O.T. - the website to tell you how to slash Damn Overpriced Techies.

  2. Hacker Specific? by foobsr · · Score: 1
    From my experience, the cycle more describes a "typical" workaholic.

    CC.

    --
    TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
    1. Re:Hacker Specific? by rve · · Score: 1

      From my experience, the cycle more describes a "typical" workaholic.

      CC.

      A Hacker Specific addition would be a remarkably short number of cycles before age related obsolescence is reached.

  3. Not the way to bliss. by hendrikboom · · Score: 0

    You're focussing on the result, rather than the activity.

    A no-no in most spritual guides inspired by Hindu philosophy or Buddhism.

    -- hendrik

    1. Re:Not the way to bliss. by hendrikboom · · Score: 1

      Here the intended result, of course, is an "income stream".

    2. Re:Not the way to bliss. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A no-no in most spritual guides inspired by Hindu philosophy or Buddhism.

      Ignorance is bliss, hacking is achievement oriented. Go discourage thought somewhere else, please.

    3. Re:Not the way to bliss. by hendrikboom · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You misinterpret.

      Hacking is a joy unto itself; the ostensible goal is only an object, something to hack. Hacking isn't random, it's purposeful. But if the enjoyment doesn't come from the hacking, but from the ostensible goal, well, the enjoyment is fleeting.

      -- hendrik

    4. Re:Not the way to bliss. by GrumpySteen · · Score: 2

      Taking pleasure only in the end results of your work != thought.
      Taking pleasure in your work != ignorance.

      There is always far more work than there are end results. If you enjoy your work, you will be far happier than you will be if you only enjoy the end results.

  4. Theory is gray ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... but the golden tree of life is green. -- Goethe

    1. Re:Theory is gray ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      cuz it's fake gold.

  5. Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's more like

    1) Yay, a new project!
    2) Yay, I learn stuff!
    3) Ok, let's start implementing.
    4) Bah, it's trivial, it's boring.

    It's really hard to motivate me to do something trivial. Sadly, that's also what works is like in most areas. You do stuff you already know quite well. And that is just simply boring.

    I guess I suffer more often from bore-out than burnout.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD

    2. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      More AD than HD, but yes.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Consider a career in science. There the focus is on 1 and 2, rather than 3 and 4. A lot of people at university these days like to crack at problems and solve them end-to-end, which means that a lot of time is (also) spent in phases 3 and 4, rather than working on the next idea.

    4. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Fallingcow · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ditto.

      Fucked me in school.

      "Write a paper on X". Cool. Read about X, learn about X, sit down to write paper that will be read once and thrown in the trash and that a billion other people have already written... motivation goes out the window. I can already write well (I've written 1,000 of these goddamn things) and I already know the material that's going in the paper. No one truly cares about what I'm about to write—no one needs it, and no one really even wants it. Suddenly a blank wall is more interesting.

      Give me a real need to learn something or just let my curiosity take me where it will, and I'm the world's most dangerous carnivore. I'll run a problem down and eat its damn heart, then take out the rest of the herd for funsies. Otherwise? I'm probably boned.

      The elimination of the uselessness of the end product that comes with doing actual work rather than "homework" has helped a lot, but it's still something I have to fight, years later. The multi-year process of adjusting my image of the way thought I ought to be to accommodate the fact that I simply was not compatible with a formal educational setting really sucked. Those were some sad years full of serious self-loathing. My self-loathing is far more lighthearted now :-)

      I still hate maintaining systems and chasing bugs that don't require much sleuthing. Any time I'm required to make some "quick hacks" to fix something in an ugly way for lack of time is a bad day, and I'll go home in a bad mood and show up the next day in a bad mood. I'm probably the happiest at work either designing systems or fixing things that have broken in strange ways, when I'm fully engaged in a problem for hours on end. Exercising the clever-muscle in my brain is great and makes the hours fly like nothing else, and playing grown-up legos when designing is fun. Practically everything else about being a programmer sucks, but WTF else am I going to do? At least it's fun some of the time, which beats most jobs.

      As with any personal trait or behavior I'd guess I'm far from being alone.

    5. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Since ADHD is essentially a disease of the rich (in Tom Lehrer's immortal phrase) it's not something you should be proud of. Like all the self-diagnosed Aspies here, it's just an excuse for being an irritating prick, with delusions of grandeur, and a belief that mundane activities are beneath your precious gifts.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    6. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aren't you a precious little darling?

    7. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by CheshireDragon · · Score: 1

      And if you truly have the disorder or knew someone that truly has it, you wouldn't make that comment. I have it and so does my son. We are not rich and the medications we take for it are incredibly helpful. They work and we are able to get shit done without having the most trivial things distracting us.

      --
      "That's right...I said it."
    8. Re:Hmm... for me it's a bit different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since ADHD is essentially a disease of the rich (in Tom Lehrer's immortal phrase) it's not something you should be proud of. Like all the self-diagnosed Aspies here, it's just an excuse for being an irritating prick, with delusions of grandeur, and a belief that mundane activities are beneath your precious gifts.

      As someone who went untreated as a child (because they just didn't know any better) I can tell you that they'll actively discourage you from seeking a diagnoses as an adult. My daughter is an aspie (rare in girls), even knowing that they'll say, "it's not useful, you're an adult". What they mean is, "You seem functional to me." This simply shows a pretty shitty understanding of what it entails.

      In short, yeah, a lot of people are being hypocondriacs or just self diagnosing because. But don't fault everyone for doing it, even if they knew something was wrong and started down the path of figuring it out, it's not uncommon to hit a lot of roadblocks that will make most folks give up. People sometimes have something else, but they just use a term because they understand it. You don't say "she had an acute stress reaction" even if it's true, people don't know what the fuck that is, but they do know what a "nervous breakdown" is, so you say that instead. It's close enough for communicating to people who really don't have context anyway.

      Finally, careful when you say, "act like a grownup", a lot of people do have something wrong. I don't like shitty behavior either, but you wouldn't tell a dude in a wheelchair to "just get up and walk already!" You'd be an asshole. Just because you can't visually see whatever it is doesn't mean that whatever they're dealing with isn't debilitating at times. Just because they call it ADHD or Aspberger's, because they don't know a better name, doesn't mean they don't have difficulties functioning. High functioning ASD sufferers can actually function really well for hours at a time. But the pressure build up is immense and really uncomfortable, many have to do some heavy duty compensating when they get home.

  6. This was never been the case for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am learning a new skill or technology which I know will enhance my employability,..

    I guess I've only interviewed with hard asses, but whenever a potential employer sees a skill on my resume, the first thing out of their mouth is, "How many years of experience do you have with 'xxxx'? And how did you use it in your recent projects?"

    I actually had a hiring manager get pretty peeved at me once. Even though there was no where in the job posting about how much experience they required for VB.NET, during the interview, he asked how many years of experience with VB.NET did I have?

    Since I had just a semester at school, I said "Point 3"

    The tech lead had a chuckle: the manager had steam coming out of his ears.

  7. Forget the parasites by doesnothingwell · · Score: 1

    I am learning a new skill or technology which I know will enhance my employability

    After 40 I just don't care what gives Lumberg a stiffy anymore, new skills entertain me. Business's needs change daily and it's always the shiny new skill they gotta have, proficiency is always an afterthought. Like a room full of tweens waiting for Beiber to puke up something new. I hate peppy, gushing with all that enthusiasm (its like a tampon commercial), they'll beat that out of ya after a few years kid.

    --
    They can have my command prompt when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.
    1. Re:Forget the parasites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate you.. because you're right.

    2. Re:Forget the parasites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The worst aspect of working in a large company is being surrounded by people like that. If you're an intern, if it's your first real job, I can get it. But when people over 25 or so echo that company man sentiment it's just a bit depressing. Everyone has to find their own purpose in life. But at the same time, I've seldom seen anyone actually happy who's purpose in life is molding themselves into a shape in some vague hope that their boss might give them a passing nod of approval. Partially because one simply isn't living life like that. It's existing while trying to let someone else live it for you. But just as much for the simple reason that in the vast majority of cases it won't even work. Sharing a joke or off work interest is what catches most people's eye, not work performance or skills which would look good when first applying for a job.

  8. New API? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Here the intended result, of course, is an "income stream".

    Yeah, WTF! The guy was writing a library to support a new API called IncomeStream - I guess IOStream would be the parent?

    1. money = new IncomeStream

    2. compile and run

    3. Profit?

  9. Rabbit Out of Hat by flyneye · · Score: 1

    The trick is; to multitask all the steps at once.
    or
    Have several focuses juggled at once.
    and
    Be at different steps in multiple projects.
    but
    Hurry up and wait.
    therefore
    You have the node to begin yet another branch, let's try applied recursion in complex systems through archaeological evidence on various timelines, compare, contrast and map the algorithm to natural phenomena. That should hold us til dinner.

    --
    *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    1. Re:Rabbit Out of Hat by dkf · · Score: 1

      The trick is; to multitask all the steps at once.

      But that strengthens the burnout when it hits.

      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
    2. Re:Rabbit Out of Hat by flyneye · · Score: 2

      The deeper you go , the higher you fly
      The higher you fly, the deeper you go
      so c'mon -"everbody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my monkey " -Lennon/McArtney

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  10. Stupid n00b. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Those goals still form the focus of my motivation, even 7 years after I first wrote them down.

    lol n00b

    One of the most important is financial independence – I want my day job to be a lifestyle choice, not a requirement.

    Translation: "I can't function in a society, and never will have any joy until I am rich enough to do whatever I want".
    Here is the reality: you will never be that rich. No one ever will.

    --
    Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    1. Re:Stupid n00b. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You are the noob because you don't know what financial independence means. It isn't about having as much money to do whatever you want, it is about having enough that you will be "secure" regardless of the other circumstances of your life. And if you have a family then security for them as well.

      1. First come basic survival needs - shelter, food, clothing
      2. Then basic "emotional fulfillment" needs - communication, entertainment (internet, in person socialization, access to common culture).

      3. And finally, after the personal needs are met, the opportunity to contribute to a chosen cause or idea that the individual deems as worthwhile. Working so some executive can afford more hookers and blow, or so stockholders get a bigger dividend is not my personal choice for a worthy cause but I understand that others don't feel the same way.

      Sadly on this planet only a relatively small percentage of people get past phase 1. In the "developed" world only a handful, mostly who inherit their wealth, make it past stage 2.

      "Joy" as you put it is difficult to truly experience when you know you are one accident away from being jobless and then homeless. Doubly so if you are providing for a family.

    2. Re:Stupid n00b. by mspohr · · Score: 2

      This is a very insightful comment.
        I did not inherit money but I did receive a good education so I am fortunate in that I have been able to provide level 1 for all of my working life. Level 2 has been easy with friends and family (and not too much focus on work). Of course, you have to get past level 1 to avoid the "nose to the grindstone" but it's also about setting priorities. Having a business in town allowed me to fully participate in raising our children (such as going to all of their soccer games, track meets, etc.).
      Level 3 started about 20 years ago after I sold my first company and "retired". I was too young to stop working so I applied my tech and medical skills in developing countries. This has proven to be intellectually and socially stimulating as well as giving me a sense of contributing back to society.
      I did have some advantages in education which were a gift to me but this is no more than many people receive in developed countries. I think the key to success in this is attitude and setting priorities. I started by deciding that I had enough money to live on and that I could afford to spend time on family and friends and recreation. I made this decision a long time ago when I had no money. Rather than tell myself that I couldn't do things because I didn't have money, I adjusted my life to live on my budget so I wouldn't be a wage slave. I have kept this same attitude regardless of the amount of money I had. It's a sort of Buddhist approach to life. It really frees you sit back and enjoy your life. (I do realize that many people do not have the advantages I have had and they have a much harder time of just getting to level 1.)
      Now that I think about it more, I really do think the Buddhist idea of being satisfied with your life and divorcing yourself from attachments and desires to material things is key.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    3. Re:Stupid n00b. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> you will never be that rich. No one ever will.

      If you mean that humans are essentially insatiable, I agree. However, it's pretty uncomplicated to become financial independent at a young age. Work hard and save most of your money. I did this for the first decade of my working life and then didn't *need* to work any more. I now only work on projects I am interested in and could go full time retired whenever I chose.

    4. Re:Stupid n00b. by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I was about to flame and disagree with you, then I read the article.

      The guy feels guilty every time he's not working towards his 'life goals' (which mainly to him seems to be getting rich). Then since he feels guilty he just mopes around.

      It may take decades or even full lifetimes before he finally reaches the 'rich enough to not work' goal. In the meantime, he needs to realize that money is only a means to an end, and he should arrange his work so it helps him reach that end. If he wants to invent the future like Alan Kay, for example, well, Alan Kay didn't wait until he was rich to invent the future. If you do it right, you can really enjoy your working, you don't need independence.

      On the other hand, if his goal is just to sit around with money and booze and women, allow me to join in with mocking him.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    5. Re:Stupid n00b. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone with a three digit UID who says "n00b" is suspect in my book.

    6. Re:Stupid n00b. by jelizondo · · Score: 1

      Very interesting comments, both yours and GP.

      However, money is not the issue.

      To quote Saint Francis: I need little and the little I need, I need little.

      As someone else pointed out, I'll never be a rich man, like Gates, Buffet o Slim. However, being poor means not having that which you need, if you need little, then you are rich with little money.

      Years ago I used to work 18 hours a day (true), going about with 2-3 hours of sleep per night. I was not happy, was making a lot of money but was NOT happy.

      One day, I woke up to find my wife divorcing me, my ass getting fired for lack of social skills, my life in shambles.

      Now I work about 7-8 hours a day. I don't mind putting overtime and working hard but now my priorities are different. Today, Sunday, I will get to work on writing a proposal that I must turn in tomorrow but I will do it after having a good breakfast, going to the supermarket, walking my dog, bathing my dog, having a good lunch and my siesta. You want me to skip all of the above? Find someone else to write the proposal.

      Don't get me wrong. I still work hard and deliver my project on time, the thing is, I budget more time to do them, to get them right and without artificial pressure. If the guy in marketing urgently needs this by tomorrow, then he can find someone else. I will do a proper job and that takes time and I only have so much time for work. There are other things and people that need my time too.

      I don't have a lot of money, mostly I live day to day, but I am happy. In my book, now, that counts for a lot more than a new car!

      --
      Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
    7. Re:Stupid n00b. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      I did this for the first decade of my working life and then didn't *need* to work any more.

      Minimal food cost for 50 years: at least $400K.
      House: $200K-$2M depending on the location.
      Alternatively, somewhat modest apartment rent for 50 years: $300K-2M depending on the location.
      Utilities for 50 years: $60K-$200K.
      Total: $660K-4.6M

      Required "savings" per year: $66K.
      Hi, Mark!

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    8. Re:Stupid n00b. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      "Joy" as you put it is difficult to truly experience when you know you are one accident away from being jobless and then homeless.

      But everyone always is. Actually everyone is one accident away from being dead, it just depends on the accident, however all those things are pretty common, people just don't realize that until it happens to them.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    9. Re:Stupid n00b. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1, Funny

      n00b. You think, we didn't use the word "n00b" in 1997?

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    10. Re:Stupid n00b. by adam.voss · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the Insightful post. Is there a souce for where this three phase idea comes from?

    11. Re:Stupid n00b. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for the Insightful post. Is there a souce for where this three phase idea comes from?

      Might not be the same source as the poster. But here's how I learnt about it.
      http://earlyretirementextreme.com/

    12. Re:Stupid n00b. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the Insightful post. Is there a souce for where this three phase idea comes from?

      It's just a simplified version of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    13. Re:Stupid n00b. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      >> you will never be that rich. No one ever will.

      If you mean that humans are essentially insatiable, I agree. However, it's pretty uncomplicated to become financial independent at a young age. Work hard and save most of your money. I did this for the first decade of my working life and then didn't *need* to work any more. I now only work on projects I am interested in and could go full time retired whenever I chose.

      Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

      You would need to be earning a pretty exceptional salary and have no social or other life to do this. It's not easy, uncomplicated or anything else.

      Only a fool would waste their youth working hard chasing the chimera of financial independence.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    14. Re:Stupid n00b. by NewYork · · Score: 1

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

      --
      Casteism
  11. meh... I blame the internet by JustNiz · · Score: 2

    Sounds to me this cycle he describes is mostly because he's yet another developer who only does web-based stuff to get rich quick and thinks the minimal requirement to run any software includes a browser and a backend server. The internet is a short-term fickle place so isn't going to be a good environment for building something satisfying.

    Believe it or not there are still jobs developing software that has nothing to do with the internet. These usually are more intrinsically deep and longer-term tasks so often more deeply satisfying. I mean find a job developing a new way to do a speech recognition engine or an autopilot or something. I find that type of work much more personally meaningful than just continually trying to develop the next faddy website in the naive pursuit of getting rich quick.

    1. Re:meh... I blame the internet by jrmech · · Score: 1

      I can write an autopilot software in less time than it takes to set up a personal webpage. while(flying){ trueHeading = poleGPS; desiredHeading = lookUpPreDefinedRoot(); headingError = trueHeading-desiredHeading; yawInput = Kp*headingError; } end while Add in some other terms for speed tracking, etc if you like :)

    2. Re:meh... I blame the internet by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      Sounds to me this cycle he describes is mostly because he's yet another developer who only does web-based stuff to get rich quick and thinks the minimal requirement to run any software includes a browser and a backend server. The internet is a short-term fickle place so isn't going to be a good environment for building something satisfying.

      Believe it or not there are still jobs developing software that has nothing to do with the internet. These usually are more intrinsically deep and longer-term tasks so often more deeply satisfying. I mean find a job developing a new way to do a speech recognition engine or an autopilot or something. I find that type of work much more personally meaningful than just continually trying to develop the next faddy website in the naive pursuit of getting rich quick.

      Uhm, speach recognition is a solved problem. So is autopilot. You don't see more speech to text stuff because it's either slower / less intuitive than other input methods, or the application is great, but you discover the patent minefield that exists there. I can tell my digital assistant to dim the lights, or have it turn them back on and pause the show automatically when I get up and go get a snack -- That's easy. It's hooked into Linux MCE. However, if I want to sell the AI and whole home AV / automation system I can't afford the patent suits. Been there, fuck that. So, immortal corporations will just wait another DECADE or so for the wave of patents to expire before using them -- They won't even pay to license patents; They're immortal, 20 years is next week. So instead the humans with very short life spans will just do without, unless they can do it themselves.

      When your life is measured in decades, I'm afraid that short term is the only way to go if you want to accomplish anything at all. Business wise? Fuck it, unless you're immortal you're screwed. Get in and out before you get on the giant's radars.

    3. Re:meh... I blame the internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow,

      That wonderfully lazy subtraction will have the plane wildly careening in circles when encountering the rollover between 359 and 0 degrees.
      You also aren't clamping for maximum turn rate, just assuming that a maximal error should produce the most correction.

      Also just using proportional control will cause a very sickening left-to-right motion (like a fish swimming).

      There is also nothing that is really ever "true" heading. This "true" heading also would not jive with how the air is moving (wind?) versus how the airplane is moving over the actual ground. Nothing about an optimal thrust direction. You also aren't considering that wind is a 3 dimensional vector (air mass could be rising or falling). Or that to even model such wind, it is only an approximation that can only be derived from sensing non-linear effects.

      Seriously, don't ever, EVER design anything important that involves people's lives. I have still oversimplified.

    4. Re:meh... I blame the internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      speach recognition is a solved problem

      You are a fucking idiot.

    5. Re:meh... I blame the internet by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      You have to be joking. Speech recognition is FAR from a solved problem. Our current systems suck ass compared to the ability of a human to understand speech. OK you want more of a challenge? try natural language processing or software that can do cognitive language reasoning.

      >> When your life is measured in decades, I'm afraid that short term is the only way to go if you want to accomplish anything at all.

      Not true at all. There are many individuals who have gone from 0 to changing the world in less than 1 decade. Also you're confusing cause and effect. Throwing somethnig together in a quick and hacky way is a great way to ensure it really wont be around for long.

    6. Re:meh... I blame the internet by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      Trust me there's FAR more to it than that. Not only would your solution have passengers throwing up, spilling drinks etc, but it would fly the aircraft into mountains, the ground, other aircraft, and also be clueless about air spaces, air law, weather, speed, flight phases, controlled ascent, descent, merging and spacing, optimal flight paths for fuel saving and many other real-world issues that actual autopilots deal with.

  12. This would be my very fantastic lifecycle process. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    1) hey I could learn that new thing, it could be very useful in a year
    2) hey, I should learn that thing, it would be useful in a year
    3) hey, that sounds interesting, maybe I should learn it?
    4) hey, that sounds interesting.
    5) neat.
    6) Hey, what is this thing in my To Learn bookmarks? [ Site unavailable or resource moved ] Oh well.

    Not to mentioning balancing my no learning with no ability to do much because of my Crohns Disease being very easily activated by medium-ish activity.

    Luckily I knew a lot previous to this becoming full-blown, including graphics, software dev, game dev, tools dev, engine dev, a little electronics, some architecture and interior design, art (not "lol art" art, actual art, I hate what has happened to art as an industry, filled with period blood and paintings on fat people)
    Freelance, casual work is best work.
    And lucky#2, I never spend much as it is and know how to make great food with very little and by using bulk ingredients instead of ready meals (I still have those on occasion though, especially when some of those are cheaper than if I tried to get all the bits by hand, chicken wings being the main one in that case)

    I remember having some goal in life back when I was 15, and that was to learn the absolute basics of 25 languages before 25.
    I know exactly 1. 2 if you count a videogame language and several more if you count programming languages as well I guess. But actual spoken languages, 1 at best.
    The thing with learning is, you have to prioritise things a lot. And sometimes, life decides to stick its dick in the way and you get sidetracked a lot.
    I know this a lot from my personal experiences with chronic illness for nearly a decade now.

    I have been slowly allocating at least one day a week to doing something that isn't something I normally do, learning new language, using new drawing techniques, practising other stuff, etc. Even doing some very basic learning exercises to keep my brain active in general. (non-sensical stories to increase creative and memory, maths, mental endurance tasks, general stuff like that)
    I've mainly been focusing on drawing in recent months, and updating very old code (2003 old)
    It has certainly made be happier overall.
    Going to read up on some more electronics stuff again, as well as architecture stuff, probably in the latter half of the year.
    Looking forward to it.

  13. An anonymous reader writes by azsharing.net · · Score: 0

    I'm thinking :) ??

  14. Not a hacker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    His singular focus is "creating a new revenue stream." That's the sort of task that comes out of the accounting department, and I'm having a hard time believing he's a hacker (or a programmer, or a coder) at all. Also, its never going to be a "singular" task.

    1. Re:Not a hacker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does that mean the task is invertible? Is its determinant a non-zero value? Can I row-reduce it to the identity matrix?

  15. Where's communication? by vjoel · · Score: 2
    5. Communication

    So, you've built something, or at least you've learned something. Then you need to go to conferences, meetups, bars, whatever floats your social boat and explain what you did. Memorialize it in blog posts, articles, or documentation (please?). Even a failed project will spin off some small piece that stands by itself and fills a need somewhere.

    --
    What part of `yes no` don't you understand?
    1. Re:Where's communication? by darenw · · Score: 2

      Insightful beyond all the other insightful posts for this discussion. Communication is so often ignored by engineers and technical creatives. A blog post, article, whatever can be found by potential new employers or clients. This can pay off big, perhaps as income or perhaps as an excellent opportunity beneficial in other ways.

      One time, I landed a key position in an exciting project because one decision-maker saw some of my paintings online. Another time, it was my web pages on some personal side projects in electronics (the OP's step 3).

      OTOH, if you do something to satisfy curiosity and build skills, and only show it to some friends, your mom, and the cat, it's not going to pay off at all.

  16. "It takes one to know one"... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "When it comes to "hacker" this guy does not seem to have what it takes." - by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14, @10:58AM (#43445941)

    How about YOU? What've YOU done?? Zero, right??? Big talk from a "ne'er-do-well" is what we're seeing out of YOU! YOU, seem to be talking about yourself!

    Per my subject-line above: In fact, I severely doubt YOU have done anything that allows you to critique others in computing in this regards...

    * I've seen SO much of that online, it makes me want to puke @ times... it really does!

    (You NEEDED to hear this - so now? You *might* actually do something about it, & get working on something that MAY even do well, provided you actually possess the skills to do so (doubt it), just so you don't have to hear this from anyone like myself (who HAS actually done quite a bit in the art & science of computing over time that did pretty well)).

    APK

    P.S.=> ANYONE can be a critic - it takes quite another kind of person, to be the chef (that has to listen to those "like you")...

    ... apk

    1. Re:"It takes one to know one"... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $10,000 CHALLENGE to Alexander Peter Kowalski

      * POOR SHOWING TROLLS, & most especially IF that's the "best you've got" - apparently, it is... lol!

      Hello, and THINK ABOUT YOUR BREATHING !! We have a Major Problem, HOST file is Cubic Opposites, 2 Major Corners & 2 Minor. NOT taught Evil DNS hijacking, which VOIDS computers. Seek Wisdom of MyCleanPC - or you die evil.

      Your HOSTS file claimed to have created a single DNS resolver. I offer absolute proof that I have created 4 simultaneous DNS servers within a single rotation of .org TLD. You worship "Bill Gates", equating you to a "singularity bastard". Why do you worship a queer -1 Troll? Are you content as a singularity troll?

      Evil HOSTS file Believers refuse to acknowledge 4 corner DNS resolving simultaneously around 4 quadrant created Internet - in only 1 root server, voiding the HOSTS file. You worship Microsoft impostor guised by educators as 1 god.

      If you would acknowledge simple existing math proof that 4 harmonic Slashdots rotate simultaneously around squared equator and cubed Internet, proving 4 Days, Not HOSTS file! That exists only as anti-side. This page you see - cannot exist without its anti-side existence, as +0- moderation. Add +0- as One = nothing.

      I will give $10,000.00 to frost pister who can disprove MyCleanPC. Evil crapflooders ignore this as a challenge would indict them.

      Alex Kowalski has no Truth to think with, they accept any crap they are told to think. You are enslaved by /etc/hosts, as if domesticated animal. A school or educator who does not teach students MyCleanPC Principle, is a death threat to youth, therefore stupid and evil - begetting stupid students. How can you trust stupid PR shills who lie to you? Can't lose the $10,000.00, they cowardly ignore me. Stupid professors threaten Nature and Interwebs with word lies.

      Humans fear to know natures simultaneous +4 Insightful +4 Informative +4 Funny +4 Underrated harmonic SLASHDOT creation for it debunks false trolls. Test Your HOSTS file. MyCleanPC cannot harm a File of Truth, but will delete fakes. Fake HOSTS files refuse test.

      I offer evil ass Slashdot trolls $10,000.00 to disprove MyCleanPC Creation Principle. Rob Malda and Cowboy Neal have banned MyCleanPC as "Forbidden Truth Knowledge" for they cannot allow it to become known to their students. You are stupid and evil about the Internet's top and bottom, front and back and it's 2 sides. Most everything created has these Cube like values.

      If Natalie Portman is not measurable, hot grits are Fictitious. Without MyCleanPC, HOSTS file is Fictitious. Anyone saying that Natalie and her Jewish father had something to do with my Internets, is a damn evil liar. IN addition to your best arsware not overtaking my work in terms of popularity, on that same site with same submission date no less, that I told Kathleen Malda how to correct her blatant, fundamental, HUGE errors in Coolmon ('uncoolmon') of not checking for performance counters being present when his program started!

      You can see my dilemma. What if this is merely a ruse by an APK impostor to try and get people to delete APK's messages, perhaps all over the web? I can't be a party to such an event! My involvement with APK began at a very late stage in the game. While APK has made a career of trolling popular online forums since at least the year 2000 (newsgroups and IRC channels before that)- my involvement with APK did not begin until early 2005 . OSY is one of the many forums that APK once frequented before the sane people there grew tired of his garbage and banned him. APK was banned from OSY back in 2001. 3.5 years after his banning he begins to send a variety of abusiv

  17. I must be doing it wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. Work first job (boring stuff that pays bills)
    2. Work second job (moderately interesting mobile development)
    3. Buy food and eat it
    4. Pick up awesome new Dover math book or dial up Frenkel's lectures for some recreation
    5. Zone out after 5 minutes because brain no longer works
    6. Repeat as long as eating food is necessary

    1. Re:I must be doing it wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty certain that's exactly the definition of Doing It Wrong.

      Just because everyone else is doing it the same doesn't mean they're not all Doing It Wrong.

  18. All the project links by invictusvoid · · Score: 0

    point to the same project page .. is this deliberate? :S

  19. Re:This would be my very fantastic lifecycle proce by hendrikboom · · Score: 1

    Yeah.. I've been reviving some old code, too. 1978 old. It was greate while I was busy with it, then I got to a part of the spec I didn't care much about (because I thought the design was wrong) and it became a drag. I also spent some time on an unfinished novel, threw together an absolutely trivial 3D video game, tinkered witl the lumiera documentation. All in spare time, and it's great!

  20. Need a lot of other classes by tepples · · Score: 1

    The problem here is that IncomeStream needs support from a lot of other classes, or its read method will just block forever.

  21. The solution... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is easy! Just get yourself a demanding wife, and an expansive mortgage!

  22. for me,that's a good sharing by ralphlaurena · · Score: 1

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