Category Archives: advancement of the self

Clown Trousers

An indirect side effect of stopping programming is that none of my trousers fit any more. People who like to explain things before they have all the facts (or “programmers” as we sometimes call them) will justify this observation by … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self, whatevs | 3 Comments

Week Seven

Having spent a few weeks trying all of the things and letting life happen, this week was about selection and focus. What should I actually concentrate on, and put energy into? It’s time to add some structure to this situation. … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | Leave a comment

Week five

“You look so much happier!” I get the best compliments. Also, I feel so much happier. I have put people, friendships, connections, and experiences first, and am taking advantage of the rewards. One such experience was a visit a couple … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | Leave a comment

Week four

Pragma conf was a lot of fun! I met loads of new and old friends, which led to meaningful conversations about what we do, what we sometimes feel we should do, and what we want to do. One such conversation, … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | Leave a comment

Staying power

You would imagine that by now I would have come to realise how long my attention span is and worked to find projects that fit within it, but no. This is one of the changes I need to make soon. … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self, books, learning, Talk | Leave a comment

Week three

This is both an international and a hyper-local update. I say international, although I’m still in an airport less than twenty miles from my house. I’m on my way to Florence, to talk about *-oriented programming at Pragma Conference 2015. … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | Leave a comment

Week Two

As week one featured an observation of how post-work life was similar to working life, this week’s post is a catalogue of differences. Not all of these differences are huge. No watch I own five watches (three wrist, two pocket) … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | Leave a comment

Tempus Fugit

A common concern programmers have when I talk about my year off is that I’ll be unemployable at the end of it. After all, the industry moves really quickly and if I’m off thinking about things that aren’t programming, I’ll … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | 2 Comments

Week One

Nearly eight days ago I stopped working to have a break. I’ve been describing it as a “gap year”, because I’ve arranged my finances to last at least that long with some contingency. Also, I want to set a year … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self | 2 Comments

“When I had that problem”

A common lie in programming is that every project is new, that no problem has been seen before. This is the reason given for estimates being bad, for plans being bad, for design being bad…for anything other than diving in … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self, edjercashun | Leave a comment