Details
-
AboutI like making things, adding features, fixing things. I've got too many things on the go at once for repetitive, so I'll automate instead.
-
SkillsC++, Python, ML
-
LocationLondon, UK
Joined devRant on 10/9/2016
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
![](/static/devrant/img/pipeless-devrant-banner-white.png)
From the creators of devRant, Pipeless lets you power real-time personalized recommendations and activity feeds using a simple API
Learn More
-
"Make a good version of something that already exists but has a dogshit implementation" is my current idea. And it's an idea that would be worthwhile but just plain annoying to do.1
-
There's a moment when you're looking at a reStructuredText parser, you have a basic idea of the spec, and you know with absolute certainty it's not parsing it correctly. It gets the basics right, sure. But now you know why the tools that use it have disclaimers like "Any para lists or other directives must be at the end of the string". And you're thinking "how hard would it *really* be to write one?". After all, I'm now extracting all the docstrings from the code... Is it really that much more? Shit...
-
I think a lot of pissed off devs are working at companies that see them as cost centres. Happy devs are at companies that see them as profit centres.
Like, a cereal company may have a tech team for their website and ordering and whatever, but having the best website isn't going to make them more money. Selling more cereal is.
If a company sells video processing software, having the best software is going to make them money. Tech is a profit centre.
So, anyway, I'm looking for a new job. Any rec for profit centre tech teams?2 -
Bit of an essay. TLDR: come Monday I'm either getting fired or promoted. And the CTO is a dickhead. If you think you work with me or know who I am, no you don't, shut the hell up.
Was having a discussion with my team, went on for a bit, at one point my manager mentioned that the CTO wanted me to go into the office occasionally, same thing I've had since I joined when they literally wanted me to move hundreds of miles to be close to the office mid covid when the office was closed. I give a nondescript answer. He's a bit more persistent, I snap a little but the conversation moves on. Discussion of company and team dynamics, at one point he makes a comment about people at another company being told if they don't go into the office they won't be eligible for promotion.
I ask everyone else on the call to leave.
I point out that 2 years ago me and him were interviewing candidates. He on a few occasions introduces me to candidates as a _senior_ engineer. My job title does not contain the word senior. I let it slide the first time, not worth it for a slip of the toung. Happens a couple more times, I take him aside and privately point out my job title does not contain the word senior. He says he didn't realise and thought I was.
My take away then: I'm expected to do the work of a senior without being paid for it and without being given the acknowledgement of the appropriate job title. I remind him of this. My job title hasn't changed. Fuck, I took a low ball offer when I joined and have had a minimal pay rise in like, 3 years. My tone is "not happy".
His response? He discussed promoting me with CTO however budged constraints. I somewhat understand, however.
We have promoted several people in the last few years. We have grown by hiring new people in the last few years (5 in a company of 30). There are ways to compensate someone in ways that do not impact day to day budget (shares, TC, total compensation, is normal terminology in the tech field for this). I ask why the hell should I travel a few hundred miles to the office to get get to know people, put effort in to a company that demonstrably doesn't value me? Particularly as all levels of management have completely failed at developing a social atmosphere during covid? My first month, I had 3 5 minute meetings with my manager a week. That was all of the communication I had with people. I literally complained and laid out what they should do instead, they adopted most of it.
I also ask him if he genuinely thinks being here is in my professional interest? My tone has well passed pissed off.
I will say, I actually quite like my manager, we have a good working relationship and I've learned a lot from him.
He makes some mediocre points, tries to give advice about value of shares. To me, the value of shares is zero until they are money. The value to the company, however, is that it's a sizeable chunk on their balance sheet and shares sheet that they have to be willing to justify. If I wanted money, I'd go work at a high frequency trading bank and make 5x what I'm on now. No joke, that's what they pay, I could get a job, came close in the past but went to amazon. He understands.
He says will discuss with CTO. They were on a call for like an hour. His tone has changed to "you will be promoted ASAP, comp may be structured as discussed". Point made.
I'm in this job because it's convenient, is easy for me. Was originally lower challenge than previous, has a range of chances to learn and _that's_ the value to me. He's suitably nervous.
Point made I think.
So given I swore a few times, at least once about the CTO. Interesting to see how it goes.
Message from him to the effect that he spoke to CTO, has been told to write a proposal for promotion (kinda standard), will discuss with HR on Monday as they're on holiday.
So, maybe not getting fired today?
Blood pressure still very high.9 -
I write python that's faster than most people's c++. My c++ smokes everyone. Current project runtime has gone from 90 minutes to 90 seconds. Fuck yeah. I'm really not paid enough...15
-
LLMs as compilers and optimizers. Oh hey look it's hallucinated some assembly... Fucking what? Who thought that was a good idea...
https://venturebeat.com/ai/...4 -
I've spent too much time online... I'm in a zoom meeting, I missed what someone said, reached to my keyboard to rewind then realised it was live... 🙈13
-
Currently doing algebra to work out which of 2 slightly different functions is wrong and all this tells me is that both are crap.1
-
In a slack call just realised I've zoned out for the last half hour and it's now lunch time and I'm hungry...7
-
Is this the beginning of the end? Seems like devRant ++ is bugged. Payment for April was taken but I'm nolonger a ++ member.16
-
Using chatGPT. Seems about as cooperative and willing to do its job as I am.
Can you make me a word cloud in svg format?
"I'm sorry, I can't directly generate svg content, here are some other tools for that"
Can you write code?
"Yes, certainly, here's some python to generate a word cloud"
Can you write svd code?
"Yes, certainly, here's an example word cloud in svd format"
Can you make the words get bigger when I mouse over them?
"Yes, here's the code".
It's mastered "have you tried googling it?"2 -
Fucking hypocrite, tell me to create a review for fucking version changes, they create a review of significant build system changes, don't add all their changes to the review and merge it while it's being reviewed... And I'm super unhappy with their changes...
-
You ever get the feeling that you work with a chisel and there's that one colleague that works with a 16lb sledge hammer?
I'll make a nice elegant fix for a problem, they'll struggle to work with it so pound it with a hammer, I'll come back to it and try to iron out some of the dents...1 -
Go, Rust, C#, Swift, Java, Ruby, Python, Delphi/Object Pascal, Ada.
Those are the "approved" memory safe languages of the us gov. Seriously, go fuck yourself.
https://readwrite.com/the-nsa-list-...24 -
The difference between having a million dollar idea and having a million dollars is, unfortunately, a awful lot of work.8
-
I'm doing a thing that I *think* will save time, but it's weighing the time saved in having to maintain the secure password against having to convince my manager that using a random string in an ansible deployment for a database is fine because everything that connects to it is in the same stack... What could go wrong?2
-
Someone found a shiny GPU library and asked us to support said library. We now support said library. Now they're finding out their hardware isn't supported by said library. And this is apparently now our problem...2