Join devRant
Do all the things like
++ or -- rants, post your own rants, comment on others' rants and build your customized dev avatar
Sign Up
Pipeless API
From the creators of devRant, Pipeless lets you power real-time personalized recommendations and activity feeds using a simple API
Learn More
Search - "personal project complete"
-
I’m a senior dev at a small company that does some consulting. This past October, some really heavy personal situation came up and my job suffered for it. I raised the flag and was very open with my boss about it and both him and my team of 3 understood and were pretty cool with me taking on a smaller load of work while I moved on with some stuff in my life. For a week.
Right after that, I got sent to a client. “One month only, we just want some presence there since it’s such a big client” alright, I guess I can do that. “You’ll be in charge of a team of a few people and help them technically.” Sounds good, I like leading!
So I get here. Let’s talk technical first: from being in a small but interesting project using Xamarin, I’m now looking at Visual Basic code, using Visual Studio 2010. Windows fucking Forms.
The project was made by a single dev for this huge company. She did what she could but as the requirements grew this thing became a behemoth of spaghetti code and User Controls. The other two guys working on the project have been here for a few months and they have very basic experience at the job anyways. The woman that worked on the project for 5 years is now leaving because she can’t take it anymore.
And that’s not the worse of it. It took from October to December for me to get a machine. I literally spent two months reading on my cellphone and just going over my shitty personal situation for 8 hours a day. I complained to everyone I could and nothing really worked.
Then I got a PC! But wait… no domain user. Queue an extra month in which I could see the Windows 7 (yep) log in screen and nothing else. Then, finally! A domain user! I can log in! Just wait 2 extra weeks for us to give your user access to the subversion rep and you’re good to go!
While all of this went on, I didn’t get an access card until a week ago. Every day I had to walk to the reception desk, show my ID and request they call my boss so he could grant me access. 5 months of this, both at the start of the day and after lunch. There was one day in particular, between two holidays, in which no one that could grant me access was at the office. I literally stood there until 11am in which I called my company and told them I was going home.
Now I’ve been actually working for a while, mostly fixing stuff that works like crap and trying to implement functions that should have been finished but aren’t even started. Did I mention this App is in production and being used by the people here? Because it is. Imagine if you will the amount of problems that an application that’s connecting to the production DB can create when it doesn’t even validate if the field should receive numeric values only. Did I mention the DB itself is also a complete mess? Because it is. There’s an “INDEXES” tables in which, I shit you not, the IDs of every other table is stored. There are no Identity fields anywhere, and instead every insert has to go to this INDEXES table, check the last ID of the table we’re working on, then create a new registry in order to give you your new ID. It’s insane.
And, to boot, the new order from above is: We want to split this app in two. You guys will stick with the maintenance of half of it, some other dudes with the other. Still both targeting the same DB and using the same starting point, but each only working on the module that we want them to work in. PostmodernJerk, it’s your job now to prepare the app so that this can work. How? We dunno. Why? Fuck if we care. Kill you? You don’t deserve the swift release of death.
Also I’m starting to get a bit tired of comments that go ‘THIS DOESN’T WORK and ‘I DON’T KNOW WHY WE DO THIS BUT IT HELPS and my personal favorite ‘??????????????????????14 -
It goes like this.
I have one final task to solve before starting in a new job at a different company. This guy, which is also a board member in the company in which I'm currently hired, is also an IT consultant and project manager in a fairly large company. This said person is also a key person for me being able to solve this last issue. I send him a complete guide on what he has to do before I can move on and wrap it all up.
First conflict arises because he doesn't follow the guide and tells me something is not working. I kindly inform him why and the response I get is very personal and not kind in any way, telling me and my boss that I am bad at my job and that he will bill us for 1000 USD for the 5 hours he used "debugging" and testing. This should have taken him 30 minutes and I have no idea what he spent those 5 hours doing.
It comes down to that my boss sides with this asshole and tells me that I have to do the task all over and test the system for the 4th time (yes I tested it 3 times beforehand to make sure nothing could go wrong) What my boss and the asshole doesn't know is that my uncle is vice president in the firm the asshole is working for. After kindly reminding this asshat that he has to follow the guide and that I can confirm everything is working, he keeps on attacking me. It's very rare that I fuck up and I have consulted 2 colleagues and got them to test it as well. They found no issues at all. The asshole ignored my request of documentation that something was not working.
I'm so full of being treated as an idiot so I send my uncle the email correspondence with the asshole to confirm that this is not how any of their employees should behave independant of my ability to do my job.
He will speak with this fucker tomorrow at work as first thing in the morning. I'm not proud of the way I went about this, but that was like the last drop, if you know what I mean.
Sorry for the long rant.20 -
I want to actually complete a personal project for once. All the way. Done. So I can have a product.6
-
And already, I have completed my New Year's resolution! (SPEED RUN!)
I've just published my first completed project!
https://algorythm-dylan.github.io/t...
It allows you to make advanced cross-platform console applications. It's cross-platform curses, basically.
I spent quite a lot of time on the docs, so you can read all about it there. There's still a lot of stuff to do, but the very foundation is there, and it's everything you need(ish). It can just be a little inconvenient at times without helper functions for drawing, or adding strings, and such.
I'm currently binding it to Lua, which is going to be super fun to use!
Happy with this first version5 -
oh, it got better!
One year ago I got fed up with my daily chores at work and decided to build a robot that does them, and does them better and with higher accuracy than I could ever do (or either of my teammates). So I did it. And since it was my personal initiative, I wasn't given any spare time to work on it. So that leaves gaps between my BAU tasks and personal time after working hours.
Regardless, I spent countless hours building the thing. It's not very large, ~50k LoC, but for a single person with very little time, it's quite a project to make.
The result is a pure-Java slack-bot and a REST API that's utilized by the bot. The bot knows how to parse natural language, how to reply responses in human-friendly format and how to shout out errors in human-friendly manner. Also supports conversation contexts (e.g. asks for additional details if needed before starting some task), and some other bells and whistles. It's a pretty cool automaton with a human-friendly human-like UI.
A year goes by. Management decides that another team should take this project over. Well okay, they are the client, the code is technically theirs.
The team asks me to do the knowledge transfer. Sounds reasonable. Okay.. I'll do it. It's my baby, you are taking it over - sure, I'll teach you how to have fun with it.
Then they announce they will want to port this codebase to use an excessive, completely rudimentary framework (in this project) and hog of resources - Spring. I was startled... They have a perfectly running lightweight pure-java solution, suitable for lambdas (starts up in 0.3sec), having complete control over all the parts of the machinery. And they want to turn it into a clunky, slow monster, riddled with Reflection, limited by the framework, allowing (and often encouraging) bad coding practices.
When I asked "what problem does this codebase have that Spring is going to solve" they replied me with "none, it's just that we're more used to maintaining Spring projects"
sure... why not... My baby is too pretty and too powerful for you - make it disgusting first thing in the morning! You own it anyway..
Then I am asked to consult them on how is it best to make the port. How to destroy my perfectly isolated handlers and merge them into monstrous @Controller classes with shared contexts and stuff. So you not only want to kill my baby - you want me to advise you on how to do it best.
sure... why not...
I did what I was asked until they ran into classloader conflicts (Spring context has its own classloaders). A few months later the port is not yet complete - the Spring version does not boot up. And they accidentally mention that a demo is coming. They'll be demoing that degenerate abomination to the VP.
The port was far from ready, so they were going to use my original version. And once again they asked me "what do you think we should show in the demo?"
You took my baby. You want to mutilate it. You want me to advise on how to do that best. And now you want me to advise on "which angle would it be best to look at it".
I wasn't invited to the demo, but my colleagues were. After the demo they told me mgmt asked those devs "why are you porting it to Spring?" and they answered with "because Spring will open us lots of possibilities for maintenance and extension of this project"
That hurts.
I can take a lot. But man, that hurts.
I wonder what else have they planned for me...rant slack idiocy project takeover automation hurts bot frameworks poor decision spring mutilation java9 -
I feel a bit ashamed posting this, compared to some of the amazing things you guys have built.
Coolest thing I have built was my first app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...
Story:
It was back around new years 2014-2015. I bought a charango and started playing some gigs. I carried around a book with chords. I thought it was a bit annoying to have to take it with me. Looked for an app and there wasn't any (today there are 2-3 other). So I decided to make an app.
Bare in mind that I had just a bit of experience with C from university. No OOP. So I went on youtube and started watching some tutorials while I developed it. Learned by trying. Trial and error.
After around 2-3 months of working on it every day after class until going to sleep, it was ready.
I decided to put it on play store for other people to use. Turns out there was a need. I got 10,000 downloads in less than half a year (it is quite a niche, so unexpected). Since then it has stayed around 6000 installs on active devices.
It is my biggest personal project success.
Since then, I have continued making apps in my free time, getting better and more professional. But none has come even close to that ones popularity. My plan is that to mark the 5th anniversary, I am working on a v2.0 (complete rewrite) with new features and instruments.
Sorry about tl;dr5 -
A coworker asked me to give him a hand on a project last thursday at around 8:00pm, by Friday noon I had most of it complete. Then turn the code back to him. Then somehow , it got placed on me during the weekend....20 mins before leaving to San antonio to be with my sister while my niece was born. Yeah...no..sorry...guess who enjoyed SA this weekend? This guy. Past experiences have shown me that one should not sacrifice personal time for company bs. Specially here in south texas where the majority of employers are from Mexico. In Mexico, there is no worker appreciation culture, going above and beyond the line of duty to accomplish tasks is not met with any sort of consideration. So nope nope nope nope.18
-
I had this a while ago. Started a new project at my study (Application Development) and started working on the documentation. After rewriting parts of the documents for nine weeks (10 weeks for every project where I study) because they were not approved by my teacher because they didn't fit her 'personal preference/style', she even had the guts to tell me that I am a bad programmer because the application was even less than half complete. She only gave me one week to create the application that normally takes at least five weeks.5
-
It’s been so long since I posted but this time it’s juicy again.
I got a coworker, no prio experience but already a year and few months into the job. He’s bad.
Magnitudes of bad!
We’re trying to teach him but to no avail. Everything about him sucks, major ballsack to be exact.
His attitude is to avoid every task, finishes nothing and then starts something new.
„Did you do X like we told you to?“
„No I started on Y, because I thought it [looks better, seems more interesting, thought that X is useless…]“
When you ask him much is done he is always „almost“ finished and needs your help on the „last 5-10%“. Yeah fuck that!
But that guy has a talent, his talent is to always give you technically correct answers which actually are complete bullshit.
„What are you doing at your job?“
„Staring at a screen and typing things.“ dude what?
That guy used the excuse „I can’t do maths“ on everything.
For an exam he had to calculate how long it would take to reach a certain amount if you would get some interest in that every year.
He asked the teacher for the formula. During the exam! And when the teacher didn’t want to give it to him he wrote plainly „can’t do maths“ on the paper and left
His code is of a quality as if he would write his first line in a week and then has the audacity to blame me and the colleagues for not explaining it right.
Ok you might think now we’re teaching him bad, or are too impatient. But honestly if you have to explain how to do a for loop for over about 15 months and get that attitude I think you get the right to be angry. I don’t mind explaining on how things work, even for the hundredth time, but then don’t tell me you understood, go behind my back, complain at a colleague how bad I explained, get explained by him and then do it again until you whored yourself through the whole staff!
It’s like he got the mind swiper from Men in black at home. Every day he hits the reset button.
He had a week of just changing indentation on a html file. Why? Because he wanted to find his style.
Yeah his style
if(a==b){
console.log(a);
}
else {
console.log(b)
}
And to produce code like that it takes him atleast 4 hours of trial and error.
And at the same time he goes arround and boasts what a super good programmer he his and that he can do some project work for them.
How we found out? Because he started working in those projects during work time at the office and asked us how to do things.
And he does so like a complete bastard!
Broken sql query? “No that query is perfect as it is, it’s supposed to show no results! But, just in theory, if I wanted to show some results, what would I need to change?”
I’m so mad about it and pissed on a personal level because he goes around blames everyone and the world for his short comings5 -
FML. Wednesday evening i started working on a personal project that i wished to complete till Thursday night
Thursday ,5th july, my birthday (fuck it). Went mad on project , 11:40 of night , it was still incomplete.
Fuckit fuckit fuckit, i have to do it , i have to do it. But here comes another idea that seems implementable 😑
6th july ,9:30 am of morning and then its complete ( not 100% market product levl complete, but , yeah i did all that i felt i can do)
My body temperature :103 -_-
I AM FUCKIN ILL NOW AND WHY DO I HAVE TO ALWAYS DO THIS NIGHT CODING !!!!
fucking excitements -_-
Don't you guys ever go through this phase? When you are so excited about a project you can't seem to think beyond that? And end up hurting your body?5 -
So here's a rant I never thought I'd write.
I'm pretty happy with my current job. I'm working for a small non-tech business where I'm making a complete solution by myself. It's pretty chill just coding away all day and being my own project owner and manager.
The iffiest aspect is that my boss(es) don't know what (or if) I'm working on when I'm implementing a vital logging system, fixing bugs that cropped up due to implementing necessary, baseline security, and so on. They see a login page and figure the entire project is shippable, and when the login breaks because I'm configuring the wsgi for https the reaction is "it worked, why mess with it; just put it how it was". But I digress.
Today I got a job offer with a pay increase that made me exclaim "are you fucking serious" irl, in a business with a more professional environment consisting of senior devs, and with benefits I had never heard of.
I can't not accept, but that means just legacying the entire project I'm working on here. They'd basically be left with nothing after shelling out wages for me for these few months. Keep in mind this is a fairly small business who debated if they could afford this to begin with.
Disregarding whether they are willing/able to make it hard for me to leave, it stabs me in my scrubby dev soul to up and leave on a personal level.
They had a 3d printer at the other place though.15 -
Do you have any annoying you want to get rid off, but you can't because of reasons?
I do. They are 4, but for now I'll talk about the gold medal winner.
When we met about 8-9 ago, she had just come back to town due to some very bad personal experience (not her fault). Anyway, she is polite, but her major flaw is that she is pushy. REAL BAD! And she gets mad when other people (including me) try to do it on her. Another one is having calls during random inappropriate times, because she had fight #N with her boyfriend, and last but not least, she will call when needs something out of someone.
Lately, her project is finding us a job, since we're both unemployed. Any job. The sad part is when she sends me job ads for dev jobs I don't qualify, e.g. Company X is looking for a dev with Y year of experience, knowing A, B, C & D technologies. I've told her that I don't qualify for most of the dev jobs she sends me, but she insists I should send my CV anyway, cause of reasons. Also, for some reason, I should be accounted to her for all my current choices when what I would honestly say is "BUG OFF".
Her latest endeavour is getting me one of her friends (a psychologist) as a "client". Her friend wants to have a professional website with writing posts/articles as a side dish. I'm not registered as a freelancer, so everything will be done under the counter, and her friend is OK with that. I'm no web developer, but I didn't refuse because of her backlash and also that would be a positive experience for me. Now, the juicy part. She gave her my phone number without my permission and she told me straight away. Her plan was having the three of us meet, though I don't know why and I didn't want her being around. I asked her to call me immediately, which it didn't happen. After being pestered by my friend for a couple of weeks if her friend called me, she finally did it on Monday. She didn't say to me anything I didn't know, but at least I have her phone now.
What I can offer her is a website skeleton with the usabilities she's asking. What I can't offer her is graphics/banner and security. And now I have to come up with reasonable price. Teams here ask 400-600€ for a complete website the way she asks, including VAT. I'm thinking around 100€ and I don't know when I can deliver the project. I've had some experience with Ruby and Sinatra, so I'll go with that, and I'll learn CSS along the way.
Thanks for reading till the end! 😃4 -
You're working on a project, your boss has set you tasks to complete. You complete all the tasks and make pull requests of all the work you've done. Your boss is busy and you don't know what to do next? What do you do? Is it unethical to work on personal projects in work hours, because you're not being paid for that? How do you find other stuff to do?10
-
So....
I'm loving my personal project in Node.JS but I have to say, whoever would use this for any involved professional purpose is a fucking retard.
A complete fucking retard.
Errrors related to their weakly typed bs would have been caught by a compiler in literally ANY OTHER LANGUAGE. Yeah it would take more time to tag objects etc, but then it would be DONE RIGHT and a look-ahead compiler wouldn't be necessary to tell you 'oh the reference could point to a completely different type ! nothing will warn you of this, but if you sort of hover after a certain line the source of the error it took a fucking hour of runtime to produce will be clear !'......
remember just say @NoToJavascript20 -
Anyone out there been fired because their project manager had a personal problem with them and made them unable to complete their work?11
-
Github Copilot suggested something I forgot to add. Feels like it is motivating me to complete this personal project. :)1
-
I need to vent or I'm going to fucking explode like a car filled with bombs in motherfucking Iraq...
A couple of months ago I inherited a project in development from our team leader who was the sole developer on it and he was the one who designed every single thing in it.
I was told the project is clean, follows design patterns, and over all the code is readable and easy.
Those were all fucking lies.
See throughout the period he was working on it, I saw some of the code as it was going through some pull requests. I remember asking the dev why he doesn't comment his code? His response was the most fucking condescending shit I've ever heard: "My code is self-documenting"...
Now that I have full control over the code base I realize that he over engineered the shit out of it. If you can think of a software design pattern, it is fucking there. I'm basically looking at what amounts to a personal space given to that dev to experiment with all kind of shit.
Shit is way too over engineered that I'm not only struggling to understand what the hell is going on or how the data flows from the database to the UI and in reverse, I'm now asked to finish the remaining part and release it in 8 weeks.
Everything is done in the most complicated way possible and with no benefits added at all.
Never in my career have I ever had to drag my sorry ass out of bed to work because I always woke up excited to go to work... well except for the last 2 weeks. This project is now taking a mental toll and is borderline driving me crazy.
Oh, did i tell you that since he was the only dev with no accountability whatsoever, we DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT IS LEFT TO BE IMPLEMENTED?
The Project Manager is clueless.. the tickets board is not a source of truth because tickets set to resolved or complete were actually not even close to complete. FUCK THIS SHIT.
For the last week I've been working on 1 single fucking task. JUST 1. The whole code base is a mine field. Everything is done in the most complicated way and it is impossible for me to do anything without either breaking shit ton of other features (Loosely coupled my ass) or getting into fights with all the fucking libraries he decided to use and abuse.
1 whole week and I can't even get the task done. Everyday I have to tell the project manager, face to face, that I'm still struggling with this or that. It's true, but i think the project manager now thinks i am incompetent or just lazy and making excuses.
Maybe I'm not smart enough to understand the what and why behind every decision he made with this code. But I'm sick to my stomach now thinking that I have to deal with this tomorrow again.
I don't know if I'll make the deadline. But I'm really worried that when this is released, I'll be the one maintaining that nightmare of a code base.
From now on, if i hear a fucking developer say their code is "self-documenting" I will shove my dick + a dragon dildo + an entire razor gaming keyboard up their ass while I shoot their fucking knees off.
oh... and there are just a couple of pages of documentation... AND THEY ARE NOT COMPLETE.2 -
I actually do have something to rant about!
The people I've decided to work with... are complete and utter fools. They don't want to keep updated with new practices and merely talk about awesome stuff... Let me elaborate.
The first person is someone I spent really many hours just writing with, I've helped him build on his personal project, which has now become our project (which I've done most of the work on now). He keeps writing about things that aren't fucking relevant for the current task - furthermore, he completely refuses to use any type of collaboration software in order to keep an eye on tasks we want to, and already have completed. He likes Git but doesn't provide helpful git messages, sometimes even stuff like 'forgot this'.. never any freaking description of what's actually been done! Not even after agreeing it should be done, he just doesn't understand what a helpful message is apparently.
I might be a bit special regarding wanting to follow practices, but how the fuck do you make any amount of money by being so ignorant!? He was a WP 'developer' a while ago, and has since changed to JS and are using a framework which he doesn't understand - he can't even remember what the documentation states.
So why do I 'work' with him? He knows a lot of phrases he's read in books, blogs, and the likes. That makes him really inspirational and positive and he really wants to become successful(like me!). But over the last few months, I've realized how bad he is at programming - he doesn't know basic programming concepts and have a hard time applying any sort of knowledge to his programming. If it's not pre-built, he can't use it, not even if the documentation has specific examples. He barely grasps the concept of binding data to a variable. He wouldn't know how to access it again though, it's just for the sake of binding it to some existing functionality.
The other guy really likes his old style. He hired me to maintain some application. Which has turned out to be a hell of several small tasks he needs to be finished or reworked - with no clear definition of the task. Most of the time, he'll do some initial changes, show the changes to me, vaguely explain what they do (not what he's trying to achieve) and first THEN ask me to do these changes, most often in some files that don't exist (he uses the wrong filenames so I have to guess/ask where the changes need to be made).
To top it all off, old syntax is used and don't get me started on the spaces+tabs for indenting lines... Because I've already added a great ESLint+Prettier conf and everything should be nicely formatted according to pre-defined rules.
But he won't take the time to install some plugins in his editor and I'm left with sometimes buggy, badly formatted code (the code I have to make changes with!) - that's while he several times have agreed that I can do what I want and that he even questions his own ways when looking at my changes which he calls by-the-book.
So why the motherfucking fuck do I keep working with him?
Well, he keeps paying so that's really nice - I haven't been able to properly execute the bigger tasks(which pays more) though, due to a lack of information or some badly written code I couldn't quite figure out how works (at a glance).
He also keeps talking about these new projects he wants to make.. he even has these freaking papers with descriptions and data-structures and we converse really good about these new awesome projects. He also likes cryptocurrencies(which is an interest of mine he has inflamed quite a bit) and lastly, he seems like a genuinely nice guy who I'd like to spend some time with even besides coding and work.
So now I stand here - stuck with people that make me feel like a demi-god or something because I use a git style-guide and ESLint+Prettier with the Airbnb style-guide.
What should I do? I'd really like some remote work and have a desperate need for money... So much so, that I might even have to pick up a fulltime job, in order to save my sorry ass - all because I like speaking with people who just like the thought of programming...
I'm actually quite lonely with my thoughts and they are the two only people I've had some sort of relationship with - who has an invested interest in programming/dev... I really like that, despite having to follow their thoughts as they surely can't follow mine.
Please be my friend or give me some paid work lol.
Also, I've been moving the last couple weeks - those weeks has been the most stressful of my life and have not contributed to my overall wellbeing and relations with people... It's good to be back at the computer again and be reading some devRant though!1 -
Just had my reasoning for not doing technical projects for interviews proven.
Pass the first 2 stages of interview (including showing some personal portfolio projects) then after a week of hearing nothing get sent a technical project to complete.
Spend every spare moment for a week polishing this thing, decent front end, quick and efficient back end, low traffic between fe, be, persistence etc.
Submit the code at midday ready for the interview the following day, only for the company to phone at 5pm and say all is fine and the code is great for the final interview (walkthrough) the next day, then phone 5:10pm phone and pull the position.
That company has just had free work done which should have cost 1 weeks worth of fees, using the premise of a job at the end of it, only to take the code that they are super happy with and run with no payout.6 -
At my workplace nobody wants to work to prestashop project, and whenever someone complete a task he instantly earns a *prestashop level* with his personal bedge. I'm the new one and after my first admin-backend-module I earned the level 1 with the first bedge: the sticker (photo as prove). P.S. I already hate prestashop, just after a week. P.P.S. the prestashop's master (prestaLV 7 or 8) had already earned the last badge:"the precious metal keychain".. is a little truck with the logo on it.. is as ugly as it sounds
1 -
Need a bit of advice please!
I'm hiring a dev to complete a personal project. It's basically a modified CRM that needs to sync with desktop, tablets and mobiles. They suggested using React. Does that seem appropriate? Thanks in advance :)4 -
Tl;dr I am incredibly ashamed of my code at work.
I recently started working as a junior dev. I know many aspects of the stack I use, and I feel pretty comfortable when solving simple and specific problems.
But this is the first complete project I make, and I received no peer review until now. And my code sucks.
I tried my best to deliver a good and working code, but it became messy in too many places. Now it's too late to refactor.
Probably I just cannot see the right way of modeling specific situations, I don't feel I should blame the frameworks I'm using, but the point is that my code sucks. Or at least this is how I feel.
I'm going to leave this workplace soon (personal reasons, not related to this topic and/or the company), and I am kinda scared of the shit I'm about to leave to them. It's a very nice environment and they don't deserve this crap. Also I have some other good reasons to worry about this, but I cannot tell them.
My plan is to finish a couple or personal stuff I have to do and then spend as many hours I can on the project trying to finish it asap and make the code better (for now I've been working only 6hr/day).
I'm really thinking that I just suck at this.12 -
Oh, I've pulled a lot of all-nighters. I love doing hackathons. I find myself most productive when I work on something in a single stretch. I have ADD that way. If I leave a project mid-way, that's probably the last time I'll be working on it; unless someone comes to me and reminds me about it.
Other than attending organized hackathons, I go on personal hackathons. When I'm in the mood to code something up in my free time, I just find some stupid, random idea to code and code it up overnight. (Oh, I have a very long list of projects that I can complete over the weekend)
Other times, I'll just be in the mood as I'm working on something and then lose track of time (and other bodily calls like hunger) as I finish it.
If my weekend looks very peaceful without any distractions, I put my hand in my project bowl and pull something up to finish it off over the weekend.1 -
- Learn at least one new programming language
- Start a new personal project
- Push things into my GitHub
- Complete one certification
- Exercise
- Practice mindfulness
- Read atleast 1 book per quarter -
Looking at @striker28 's rant made me think of my time I did my MSc and I think it needs it's own separate rant so here it goes:
So I did an MSc at one of the big league unis in London. First clue was during week 1 where in one of the class a mature student asked whether there would be actual coding during the course. There was an audible gasp from everyone else! Once the lecturer said the unfortunatly they wouldn't be you could hear the sigh of relief from the students...
Next up was all the lectures being placed in the freakin' basement of the university in crap, smelly rooms with annoying ticking A/Cs whereas all the social siences, business and other subjects had lecture halls and classrooms above ground. The contempt for CS from the university's direction was palpable.
Then there was the relegation to the theory-only (i.e. abstract with pen/paper) "tutorial" to the hand of T/As with bugger-all teaching experience. In short most were terrible and should've found a way to abscond themselved from this obligation which was part of the terms of their phd grants unfortunatly.
Further into the course there was the "group project". Oh boy! Out of the 5 in the group my now mature student friend and I were the only one commiting to the repo. There was either no code and a lot of bullshit from the others or crap code that didn't even compile despite their assurances it was all good.. Someone clearly never actually coded and pressed "run" in their lives which is fucking surprising since they've managed to graduate with a BSc and get into a MSc somehow. None of the code "made" by the other 3 persons made it into the master branch for release.
The attitude was that of "We (hahahah) wrote loads of code. We'll get a great mark!". At that stage the core wasn't even complete and the software didn't work yet.
Some of the courses where teaching things already 10 years out of date and when lecturer where pressed on that the few mature students that happen to be there the answer was always "yes, we are planning to update it for next year". Complete bullshit. Didn't help that some of the code on the lecture slides was not even correct! I mean these guy are touted as "experts" in their field...
None of the teory during the entire year was linked to any coding. Everything was abstract with no ties to applied software engineering. I.e. nothing like the real world.
The worst is that none of the youger students realised they were being screwed over and getting very little value for their money. Perhaps one reason why these evaluation forms have such high scores given on them. If you haven't had a job and haven't lived outside academia yet there is nothing to compare it to. It tends to also fall into confirmation bias (hey it's a top UK university, it must be worth it afterall! Look how much they ask for).
By the end of the year I couldn't wait to get the hell out. One of the other mature student sumed it quite well: "I will never send my children here."
Keep in mind that the guy had just over a decade of software engineering experience in the industry and was doing this for fun.
In the end universities are not teaching institutions. The lecturers's primary job is research and their priorities match that. Lectures tend to be the most time efficient teaching format for the ones giving them but, on their own, are not for the consumer.
To those contemplating university for CS: Do the BSc. Get your algo/datastructure chops and learn the basic theory. It is interesting. Don't get discouraged by the subject just because it is taught badly.
Avoid the MSc unless you want to do a phd and go for an academic carrer. You are better off using that year and the money to learn more on your own and get into colaborative projects (open source) on top of some personal ones. Build up your portfolio. It will be cheaper and more interesting!2 -
Not a rant, but seeking advice...
Should I abandon 2 years' worth of work on migrating a personal project from SQL (M$) to a Graph database, and just stick to SQL? And only consider migrating when/if I need graph capabilities?
The project is a small social media platform. Has around ~50 monthly active users.
Why I started the migration in the first place:
• When researching databases, I read that for social media, graph is more suitable. It was, at least in terms of query structure. It was more natural, there were no "joins", and queries were much simpler than their SQL counterparts.
• In case the project got big, I didn't want to have to panic-deal with database issues that come with growth. I had some indexing issues with MSSQL, and it got me worried that at 50MAU I'm having these issues, what would happen if I get more?
• It's a personal project, and the Gremlin language and graph databases looked cool and I was motivated to learn something new.
----
Why I'm considering aborting the migration:
• It's taking too damn long. I'm unable to work on other features because this migration is taking up all my free time. Sunk cost fallacy is hitting me hard with this one.
• In local testing within docker, it's extremely slow. I tried various graph engines (janusgraph, official tinkerpop, orientdb), and the fastest one takes 4-6minutes to complete my server tests. SQL finishes the same tests in under 2 minutes, same docker environment. I also tried running my tests on a remote server (AWS neptune) and it was just as slow. Maybe my queries are bad, but can I afford to spend even more time fine tuning all queries?
• I now realise that "graph = no scalability issues" was naïve of me, and 100% wishful thinking. Scalability issues don't care what database I use, but about how well tuned and configured the whole system is.
• I really want to move on. My tech stack is falling behind and becoming outdated. I'm unable to maintain dependencies.
• I'm worried about losing those 50 MAU because they're essential to gaining traction once I release the platform. I keep telling them about the migration but at some point (2 years later) they're going to get bored I feel.
I guess partially it's a rant because I feel like I shouldn't stop now having spent 2 years on this, but at the same time I feel like I'm heading towards a dead end.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading:)10 -
CMR Construction Group: Your Trusted General and Remodeling Contractor in Miami for Full Remodeling Projects
When it comes to transforming your home or commercial space in South Florida and Miami, CMR Construction Group is the premier choice. As a leading general contractor and remodeling contractor in Miami, we specialize in providing high-quality construction services, including full remodeling projects. Whether you’re looking to renovate a single room or overhaul your entire property, our team is here to bring your vision to life.
Why Choose CMR Construction Group as Your General and Remodeling Contractor?
At CMR Construction Group, we are more than just a construction company—we are your trusted partner in creating the home or business space you’ve always dreamed of. As a reputable general contractor, we manage every aspect of your construction or renovation project from start to finish. Whether you need a remodeling contractor in Miami or an expert general contractor to oversee a full remodeling project, we’ve got the experience and expertise to ensure the job is done right.
Serving the Miami and South Florida areas, we take pride in our reputation for delivering top-tier craftsmanship, attention to detail, and outstanding customer service. Our team works closely with you to understand your specific needs, budget, and vision, ensuring that every project is completed to your satisfaction.
Full Remodeling: Transform Your Space from Top to Bottom
A full remodeling project is the perfect way to breathe new life into your property. Whether you're looking to update a single room or completely transform your entire home or office, we have the skills and resources to make it happen. At CMR Construction Group, we specialize in full remodeling projects that incorporate your personal style while enhancing the functionality of your space.
Our full remodeling services include:
Complete Interior Overhaul: We can help update your kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and living areas with modern designs, premium materials, and expert craftsmanship.
Open Floor Plans: If you're looking to create a more open and airy space, we can help you reconfigure your layout, knocking down walls and making your home flow more efficiently.
High-End Finishes: Our team is experienced in working with luxurious materials such as granite, marble, custom cabinetry, and top-tier appliances to give your home a refined, high-end look.
No matter what your full remodeling goals are, we’ll work with you to ensure your space is not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and tailored to your lifestyle.
General Contractor Services: Comprehensive Project Management
As a general contractor, we handle every aspect of your remodeling or construction project. From obtaining permits and managing subcontractors to ensuring quality control and maintaining timelines, CMR Construction Group offers comprehensive project management for every job.
Our general contractor services include:
Project Coordination: We act as the main point of contact throughout the entire project, ensuring that all elements are running smoothly, on time, and within budget.
Permits and Inspections: We handle all aspects of permits and inspections, ensuring that all work meets the necessary building codes and regulations.
Budget and Timeline Management: We work with you to establish a realistic budget and timeline and then manage the project to make sure everything is completed as agreed.
Having a skilled general contractor like CMR Construction Group at the helm of your project ensures that the entire process is seamless and stress-free.
Remodeling Contractor in Miami: Your Go-To Experts for Home Renovations
As a leading remodeling contractor in Miami, CMR Construction Group is well-versed in the unique needs of homeowners in the area. Whether you’re remodeling a historic property or updating a modern space, we bring our local expertise and industry knowledge to every project.
Let CMR Construction Group be your trusted partner for all your remodeling and construction needs in Miami and South Florida.2 -
Transform Your Kitchen with JR Stone Design Inc: Leading Kitchen Contractors in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton
Your kitchen is the heart of your home, and when it’s time to update or remodel, you want to ensure you’re working with a reliable, skilled team of professionals. That’s where JR Stone Design Inc comes in. As trusted kitchen contractors serving Palm Beach County and Boca Raton, we specialize in transforming kitchens into beautiful, functional spaces. With years of experience, a commitment to quality, and an eye for detail, we are your go-to team for all things kitchen remodeling.
Why Choose JR Stone Design Inc as Your Kitchen Contractors?
At JR Stone Design Inc, we know that every kitchen is unique. Whether you're planning a small upgrade or a complete kitchen remodel, we provide personalized solutions to meet your needs and vision. We proudly serve Palm Beach County and Boca Raton, offering expert kitchen design, high-quality materials, and craftsmanship you can trust.
Here’s why homeowners choose us as their kitchen contractors:
1. Customized Kitchen Design
We believe that your kitchen should reflect your personal style and work seamlessly with your home’s layout. Our expert designers work with you to create a kitchen that fits your vision, functional needs, and lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for a modern, sleek design or a more traditional, cozy feel, we bring your ideas to life with customized design solutions.
2. Top-Quality Materials
At JR Stone Design Inc, we prioritize quality. We use only the best materials for your remodel, ensuring that your kitchen not only looks stunning but is also durable and built to last. From premium countertops, cabinetry, and backsplashes to flooring and lighting, we source high-quality materials to bring your kitchen dreams to life.
3. Experienced Kitchen Contractors
Our team consists of experienced kitchen contractors who bring their extensive expertise to every project. With years of experience in the industry, we understand what it takes to create a kitchen that is both beautiful and functional. Our skilled contractors ensure that every detail is executed with precision, and we handle all aspects of the remodel from start to finish.
4. Comprehensive Kitchen Remodeling Services
We offer a full range of kitchen remodeling services for homeowners in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton, including:
Custom Cabinet Design and Installation
Our team designs and installs custom cabinetry that fits your space and maximizes storage. Whether you prefer classic wood cabinetry or modern sleek designs, we tailor the cabinetry to suit your style.
Countertop Installation
Choose from an array of countertop options, including granite, quartz, marble, and more. Our team ensures flawless installation and provides expert guidance in selecting the best material for your needs.
Backsplash Design and Installation
A backsplash can instantly transform the look of your kitchen. We offer a wide selection of tiles, patterns, and designs to create a backsplash that complements your kitchen’s style and enhances its aesthetic.
Flooring Solutions
We install a variety of durable and stylish flooring options, including hardwood, tile, and stone, to create a kitchen floor that perfectly matches your design and functionality needs.
Lighting and Fixtures
Lighting plays a critical role in creating ambiance and functionality in your kitchen. From task lighting to accent lighting, we help you choose and install the perfect lighting and fixtures to elevate your space.
5. On-Time and On-Budget Remodeling
We understand that kitchen remodels can be a big undertaking, and we’re committed to completing your project on time and within budget. Our team works efficiently, staying on schedule and providing transparent pricing so you can plan accordingly. We don’t believe in hidden fees, and we keep you informed throughout every stage of the process.
6. Personalized Customer Service
At JR Stone Design Inc, customer satisfaction is our top priority. We take the time to understand your specific needs and work closely with you to ensure that every detail of your kitchen remodel is executed to perfection. From the initial consultation to the final walkthrough, we provide exceptional customer service every step of the way.
Why Homeowners in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton Choose Us
Here’s why homeowners in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton trust JR Stone Design Inc for their kitchen remodeling projects:
Locally Owned and Operated: As a local business, we understand the specific needs and preferences of homeowners in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton.
Comprehensive Kitchen Services: We handle every aspect of kitchen remodeling, from custom cabinetry to lighting and flooring installation.
1 -
Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC: Your Trusted Partner for Chimney, Fireplace, and Stone Services in Connecticut
At Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC, we pride ourselves on being Connecticut’s premier provider of comprehensive chimney, fireplace, and stone repair services. With years of experience serving homeowners and businesses in New Britain, CT, and throughout the region, our team is dedicated to offering top-tier quality in every aspect of our work. Whether you need regular chimney cleaning, fireplace inspections, or complete masonry installations, we are here to ensure that your property remains safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
Comprehensive Chimney Services
A chimney is an essential part of your home, especially in Connecticut’s colder months, when a warm fire becomes a central part of family gatherings and daily comfort. However, like all systems, chimneys require regular maintenance to perform optimally and safely. At Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC, we offer a broad spectrum of chimney services to meet your needs:
Chimney Cleaning: Over time, chimneys can accumulate soot, creosote, and debris, creating a fire hazard and blocking the venting of harmful gases. Our chimney cleaning services are designed to remove all harmful buildup, ensuring a clean, safe, and efficient chimney system. Regular cleaning not only enhances safety but also prolongs the life of your chimney.
Chimney Inspection: Every chimney needs periodic inspections to ensure it is in good working condition. Whether you're preparing for a season of use or simply want peace of mind, our certified professionals perform thorough chimney inspections. We check for signs of damage, such as cracks, leaks, or other issues that could jeopardize your home’s safety.
Chimney Repairs: If your chimney has sustained damage from weather, age, or lack of maintenance, our skilled team can address a variety of chimney repair needs. From fixing masonry issues like cracked bricks and deteriorating mortar to repairing chimney caps and liners, we are equipped to restore your chimney to full functionality.
Chimney Installations: If you are looking to add a new chimney or replace an old one, Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC can handle your installation from start to finish. We use high-quality materials and adhere to the best industry practices to ensure your new chimney performs efficiently and safely for years to come.
Fireplace Services to Enhance Your Home
The fireplace is the heart of many homes, providing warmth, comfort, and a cozy atmosphere. Whether you are looking to restore an old fireplace or install a new one, Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC has the expertise to make your fireplace a focal point of your living space. We offer:
Fireplace Repair: Over time, fireplaces can experience wear and tear from constant use. Our team can fix issues like cracked fireboxes, damaged hearths, or malfunctioning dampers, ensuring your fireplace works safely and efficiently.
Fireplace Installation: Whether you're building a new home or remodeling an existing space, our team specializes in custom fireplace installations. We can design and install fireplaces that match your aesthetic preferences while meeting all safety standards.
Fireplace Cleaning: Just like chimneys, fireplaces require regular cleaning to maintain their performance. Our team will thoroughly clean the firebox, hearth, and chimney to ensure optimal airflow and a safe burning experience.
Stone Masonry Services
In addition to our chimney and fireplace services, Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC is also a trusted provider of stone masonry services. Our skilled masons can enhance the beauty and functionality of your home with custom stonework. Whether you’re adding a stone patio, retaining wall, or fireplace surround, we use high-quality materials and craftsmanship to bring your vision to life.
Stone Repairs: Stone structures, such as walls, chimneys, and walkways, can experience damage due to weather, shifting foundations, or natural wear. Our team offers stone repair services to restore the beauty and functionality of these features.
Stone Installation: Whether you're building a new feature or renovating an existing one, our stone installation services ensure that your project is completed with precision and attention to detail. We can help you choose the best type of stone to suit your style and budget.
Custom Masonry Projects: At Chimney & Stone Masonry LLC, we work with you to design custom stone features that enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home or business. From custom stone fireplaces to decorative stone walkways, we can create unique elements that reflect your personal style1
