@catalinmpit
When I interviewed for my software development job at Disney, there was an initial phone screen. After I passed that, they flew me to Orlando, set me up at Disney's Boardwalk Inn, and then we had a day of in-person interviews. They paid for everything and I had a decision before
@jasonlk
One thing I appreciate about my job as a software developer at Walt Disney World is that I have the opportunity to work in the parks. It's not often, and they don't ask me to do anything complicated, but it keeps me close to the guests and reminds me why I'm here.
This it the perfect example of what
@ScottAdamsSays
refers to as a talent stack. Find your own talent stack by choosing 3-4 things you can do really well and combining them in unique ways.
This is John Lyke, who has a very cool niche.
He went to film school and was a pro rollerblader & snowboarder.
This venn diagram of skills makes him an expert “blade camera operator”, a job that involves filming with a $100k camera while on roller blades.
You may have caught
Loserthink by
@ScottAdamsSays
. This one is a late-entry to my list, as I only discovered it this year.
The book caused me to rethink how I think. Even though the author and I don't always agree, he has caused me to pause and ask myself why.
@iammemeloper
Back in 1999 or so at Compaq, I was hiring for a new VB programmer. I had a problem in our project that we hadn't yet solve, so I asked every candidate, "what would your approach be?" One emailed me later that day with a solution he'd found online. We hired him.
@TheJackForge
And why would you want to? I was almost put on a PIP at HP back in 2005 for my .NET "tantrum." Instead, I gave my manager my notice and left. One of the other devs gave me a timer widget I could put on my desktop that counted down the days/hours/mins to my departure.
@catalinmpit
I'll respectfully disagree. I love my 13" MacBook Air and 13" MacBook Pro. Granted, I have each connected to its own 27" monitor most of the day. But when I have to leave my desk for extended periods, I much prefer the smaller and more lightweight models.
@historyinmemes
Imagine 50-60 years from now someone making a similar discovery, but inside the purse is a USB flash drive containing a Bitcoin wallet.
@ScottAdamsSays
I had a similar experience trying to convert the transcript of a Zoom meeting into a more narrative form. It only lets me paste 15k or so characters, which isn't a lot of words. Then it began adding its own narrative that wasn't in the transcript at all.
PM: You all committed to 50 story points but only completed 40. What can you do to go faster next sprint?
Me: Increase our estimates by 25% on each story.
@dbongino
My cynical prediction is that we'll have both the mask mandate and the lockdown. During the lockdown, the CDC will quietly adjust the PCR test "cycle count" downward to 25 or so. This will reduce the positivity counts. Victory will be declared, all thanks to Joe.
The most important thing I've learned so far from reading How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by
@ScottAdamsSays
is that your job is not your job. Your job is to look for your next job.
I'm looking forward to finding more gems like that.
This morning's chat with
@Asincole
got me thinking about the authors I read who challenge me to reconsider strongly-held beliefs. Some are:
Dr. Thomas Sowell
Dr. Walter Williams
@ScottAdamsSays
Who challenges you to rethink your positions, political, social, or technical?
@damengchen
I had the exact same experience. I considered it a good thing.
On the other hand, I once asked candidates how they would solve a real problem I was having on my project. One of them emailed me later with a solution he found on Google. We hired him.
@ScottAdamsSays
It may be too late for this, but I wonder if things would be better if every piece of legislation had a "circuit breaker" built in, that would automatically repeal it if measurable goals and outcomes were not achieved. Those negotiations would be interesting to watch.
"Loserthink" by
@ScottAdamsSays
inspired me to write my own book, this one on business communication mistakes I have made over the past 25 years in software development.
First two chapters free at
@JackPosobiec
I don't care who the president is. Lying to the Command in Chief about military deployments should be grounds for termination at least, or possibly even a Court Martial.
"everything needed to run this reactor is designed to fit onto a 40-foot truck bed; meaning this reactor can make power accessible to even very remote places."
@ScottAdamsSays
and
@ShellenbergerMD
, is the tide turning on Nuclear?
Nuclear energy is 8000x more powerful than fossil fuels & it's environmentally friendly BUT when accidents happen, they're substantial (e.g. Chernobyl).
So BYU researchers created a new reactor, using molten salt, to make nuclear energy production safer.
@ScottAdamsSays
Does it kinda go like this?
"I hate you for <insert something never said or done in your life>, and now it's up to you to prove to me that I'm wrong."
3 years ago, I read Loserthink by
@ScottAdamsSays
. It contains advice about putting yourself into embarrassing situations. I put that into action and started writing books. My latest was released yesterday, about using AI as a software development tool.
@tiny_kiri
This is one of the themes in Loserthink by
@ScottAdamsSays
. Put yourself in embarrassing situations and you’ll soon realize that they really aren’t a big deal. The more you do it, the less likely you are to hesitate doing it again. It becomes a super power.
In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big,
@ScottAdamsSays
suggests that you don't have to be the best in your chosen profession. Instead, build a "talent stack" where you're "above average" in each of those things. This stack becomes your unique professional edge.
I think JavaScript peaked at just the right moment; when we stopped worrying about class-level inheritance and started thinking about functional programming and composition.
Why JavaScript is an OOP Language (Even Though It Doesn't Have Classes)
@catalinmpit
When I was fired from my first programming job, the manager suggested that maybe I should consider another career path. I almost went back to retail, but a former customer took a chance on me. 28 years later, I’m a Lead Software Engineer at Disney. Never give up.
@thechrisbuskirk
I lived through the Compaq “merger” with HP coming from the Compaq side. It was awful. Our team was destroyed, the project mangled, and eventually we all left disgusted.
@ScottAdamsSays
How long before one of these stores implements a "pickup only" policy?
No one is allowed in the store but employees. You order and pay online and they deliver to your car. They could call it a health and safety policy. The infrastructure is already in place.
Release day!
A collection of professional communication mistakes and what to do about them. Available DRM-free until October 16, and then become an Amazon exclusive.
Thanks to
@ScottAdamsSays
and
@dvassallo
for the inspiration to write it.
Yesterday, I shared a personal reflection that has unfortunately led to some misinterpretations and unfounded speculations about my employer. To prevent any further misunderstanding, I have decided to delete the original post.
For clarity: I do not and will not share non-public
@dhh
We got to do this at Disney a few years ago. It was an emergency. We were given a fixed budget and a deadline and told, "do what you can."
We delivered early and under budget, giving the users everything they needed and a few extra things they wanted.
Best project ever.
I'm tired of articles and arguments about which is better: Angular or React; Ionic or NativeScript; NodeJS or PHP. There are plenty of tutorials. Pick a technology or two, build something, then use the one with which you are happy and comfortable.
@BenLesh
I was "anti-tab" until someone pointed out that tabs make it easier for vision-impaired folks. They can make tab widths larger for just themselves, while the rest of the team doesn't see that. It is a compelling argument.
Another gem I discovered during a code review :
function sanitizeHtml(input) {
// Todo: Finish this function
return input;
}
It was called all over the place.
@ScottAdamsSays
Dr. Thomas Sowell spends a lot of words in Basic Economics explaining why price controls are a horrible idea and why price gouging is a good thing in the aggregate. Sadly, being against the latter is attractive to people all across the political spectrum. It's instinctive.
Angular is still the only framework that has the ambition to give an answer to almost every problem you might have. And it somehow keeps getting better.
@GergelyOrosz
I got a bunch of those answers yesterday. I was trying to get it to analyze a document I'd uploaded. Instead of doing that, it told me how I could analyze it myself.
The most important thing I've learned so far from reading How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by
@ScottAdamsSays
is that your job is not your job. Your job is to look for your next job.
I'm looking forward to finding more gems like that.
My current favorite Angular debugging technique. I put this at the bottom of my page component's template file. 😁
<pre>
{{( data$ | async) | json }}
</pre>
@catalinmpit
I paid a local guy $100 to swap out a ceiling fan switch. It took him 15 minutes. I could have done it myself but not as quickly, so he made the equivalent of $400/hour for that job. It’s also very hard to offshore plumbing and electrical work.
The last time I interviewed candidates for an Angular job opening, I specifically didn’t ask any algorithm questions.
I did have them review one of my older pull requests, and also asked them what they liked best/least about Angular and RxJS.
I thought they went very well.
@madteamichelle
As a Cast Member myself, it pains me to see other CMs mistreated. I’m happy to say I don’t see it often.
When I visit the parks as a Guest, I try to ensure that young children and families come first. I’ll gladly give up my prime fireworks viewing spot to them.
@Austen
I'm a software developer at Walt Disney World. I've spent hours in the parks making popcorn, doing parade control, parking strollers, picking up trash, and even holding open doors for people. I love interacting with our Guests, who ultimately pay my salary.
Have you ever wanted to help make the magic? We at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are looking for some great developers (Java,
@ionicframework
,
@nodejs
,
@angular
). If you or someone you know think you've got what it takes, send a DM for details.
RTs are welcome and appreciated.
Six years ago our Thanksgiving trip was a somber event. My wife and I had to tell our children about my cancer diagnosis. We weren’t sure if it would be our final Thanksgiving together. I’m grateful to say that it was not.
@dvassallo
That was a joke on Cheers many years ago when Woody was named "Senior Bartender."
More recently on Phineas and Ferb, when Carl went from Unpaid Intern to Paid Intern. "Of course, we won't actually be paying you."
@TheJackForge
My wife and I have a rule that we only live on 75% of my income (at most). The rest gets saved/invested. Given that I was 32k in debt when we were married, this rule has served us very well.
@d_feldman
Throughout my career, if I need something, I simply buy it myself. Asking for permission or reimbursement is usually more trouble than it’s worth.
@GergelyOrosz
Every highly functional, super effective project and team I’ve been involved with was run as an exception to the company’s current rules at the time.
@ScottAdamsSays
I've been involved in both sides of this during my career. Had I refused to provide the source code for review, I never would have made the sale.
Likewise, I was once on a team reviewing software before we purchased it. Had the seller hidden any part of the code, no sale.
@BowTiedBull
Throughout most of my career I was a contractor, who could be let go at any time for any reason. I always followed the "one box rule." All my stuff at the office fit into a single box to make my exit simple.
Though I am no longer a contractor, I still stick to that rule.
Last week's vote winner.
Using .NET Cost Me My Job
I'll put up a vote for this week soon, probably today or tomorrow. Still thinking about the options.
I realized recently that I no longer build
@Ionicframework
apps. Instead, I build Angular apps using the Ionic Framework as my component library.
If I then need to talk to the device, I add
@capacitorjs
.
From there, I can deploy it just about anywhere I want.
Let the festivities begin!!! 🎉
My latest
@Pluralsight
course is now live.
Please RT and let's see if we can break into the top 50 courses.
Thanks to all of those whose input made this course possible.
#webdevelopment
#PWA
Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America by
@ScottAdamsSays
This one helped me see the faulty thinking in my own and others' arguments, allowing me to have more productive conversations.
I published a new article over the weekend describing some of the most influential books I've read. I'd appreciate you taking a look.
It includes titles from
@ScottAdamsSays
,
@DrEades
,
@theRealKiyosaki
, and possibly a few surprises.
@TheJackForge
In 1999, I was billing about $75/hour as a consultant at Compaq. They later hired me at $130k + benefits. It's amazing how much better off I was then than now.
@ScottAdamsSays
We can never know how our actions might affect others. Simply driving to work could theoretically jeopardize someone's safety. We can't stop and try to analyze every possible outcome of every action we take.
PSA - If you implement web services, please do not use HTTP 200 when returning an error. Your front-end developers, and possibly your future self, will thank you.
@flaviocopes
Personally, I'm a huge fan of TypeScript and use it in all of my web projects. That said, if you don't want to use it in yours, that's cool. I just love the fact that we have such choices.