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Snow and Ice Coming!

The wife implied that if we get snowed in we might get to do something adult! I dust off the supplies to find we have two winter coats. Woot! We are prepared to be snowed in for weeks!

So I thought I would peruse the Intertubes and brush up on my etiquette. Hmm. Apparently I’m not doing so well missing 3 out of 4 of The Big Don’ts for iced in and trying to stay warm exercises. Let’s examine.
Number One Don’t

Jump immediately up and run to the bathroom

Has someone been spying on us?
Number Two Don’t

Turn to one side of the bed and immediately sleep

That directly conflicts with The Man Manual!
Number Three Don’t

Make any sarcastic or joking remarks about the previous moments

Not fair! Natural noises, cramps, children’s footsteps on the stairs, curious pets, and light sleeping babies can turn what should be a feature length drama/action adventure with great special effects into a high speed, 3 minute YouTube comedy. How could one not joke?
Number Four Don’t

Check your mobile phone for messages or missed calls

Not a problem there. We just take the calls and keep going! Let your imagination wander next time we talk…

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On Programmers – you are one or you aren’t

I started college as a computer science student. I switched to the college of engineering because I knew "electrical engineers make all the money." One of the professors (actually, I think he was a department head) tried to convince me to stay in computers or "at least take one more class" to which I declined and he said, "you’ll be back." True to his word I returned, battered and bruised with a diminished gpa, to the college of liberal arts to study computer science. I asked why out of 500 students he tried to encourage me in such a way. He simply said, "you have a knack for computers." That remains on of the biggest compliments I have received.

I read more frequently articles that reference programmers and non-programmers. I read one that documented my case claiming that early in an intro to computer science course you can separate which students will succeed as programmers and the ones that will never understand.

But the dirty little secret of the software development industry is that this is also true even for people who can program: there’s a vast divide between good developers and mediocre developers. A mediocre developer can program his or her heart out for four years, but that won’t magically transform them into a good developer. And the good developers always seem to have a natural knack for the stuff from the very beginning. [Source]

I don’t have the ego to say I am a great programmer but my work frequently has me altering code done by lesser programmers and, although the teacher in me wants to reach out to them, I have to wonder if they wouldn’t be better served by a career change.