The Mediocre Programmer
2021-02-11 18:10 IST
Making a model - Page 27So docker?
Journalling our mistakes - Page 33
These notes?
Fellow travellers - Page 35
Exun has been a great enabler for me, it's exactly what's described in the book.
Granted this can be a good feeling (there are times when I really enjoy being
alone at the computer, fully engaged and focused), but there are other times
when we need to feel like we’re not alone. This is especially true when we’re
learning and pushing ourselves into uncomfortable territory. Finding others in
similar situations can help us with our learning process. Others can help us by
fielding our questions and reviewing our progress. Finding a good community
that is supportive in our learning is essential on our programming journey.
When we have a good community we have a place where we can learn and help
others learn. We can grow in the community and find support. ```
On joining communities of varying skill level (Page 37):
Remember: this is to help you along your journey. Throwing yourself into a
crowded room only to be inundated by the amount of conversations and cacophony
will only make you feel more isolated and unwelcome.
Things to look for in a good community (Page 44):
- Code of Conduct
- Moderators
- Spaces for questions and guidelines for good questions
- Joy
- Compassion and Empathy
- Kindness
Github repos seem like a great place to organize such communities
- Code of Conduct can be part of the repository and enforced by all commentors/contributors.
- Moderators - contributors to the repository/those given collaborator access
- Spaces for questions and guidelines for good questions - Issues and Issue Templates
- Joy - No way to enforce/lead to this
- Compassion and Empathy - No way to enforce this either, but editable comments and people willing to solve bugs are a nice positive
- Kindness
Do they view new folks as friends or as outsiders that must prove themselves?
Anyone with a Github account can participate.
Other than the aforementioned reasons, Github repos provide a high level of visibility and interaction with the larger programming community. It's also much less insulated than platforms like IRC, Reddit or Gitter. Discoverability for new programmers is also much easier, since they don't need to venture out to another platform to participate.
Additionally, the files in the repo can serve as a knowledge base/wiki with instructions, tips and best practices. For programming language/framework communities, a "start here" file with tutorials and resources would be particularly helpful.
Page 44
There’s a problem with always being “on.” When we feel like we always have to
be “on” we never let ourselves feel like we can be “off.” We don’t allow
ourselves any periods of idleness and rest.
Retreats and sabbaticals (like those at basecamp) can be particularly helpful. Giving your employees a month of paid sabbatical time every 2 years is a great way to let them recharge.
Think of this as power-management for a complex machine that the manufacturer
(currently) doesn’t allow you to swap out the battery when it is spent.
"Swapping out the battery" is a great metaphor for taking a sabbatical lmao.
Page 49
What I would recommend is keeping a journal or log of what you were thinking in
as much detail as you need. Either write it on a physical piece of paper or use
a text file to keep these notes so you’ll have enough clues to allow you to
pick up where you left off.
More points for project logs/evergreen notes.
Focus Containers - Page 51 - Pomodoro method?
From what I can understand, the only difference is the length and timing. The author says they can fit in 10 minute chunks of work anywhere in their day, whereas with a Pomodoro session you'd have to find half an hour.