Kent Beck
Programs have two kinds of value: what they can do for you today and what they can do for you tomorrow. If you can get today’s work done today, but you do it in such a way that you can’t possibly get tomorrow’s work done tomorrow, then you lose.
Staying disciplined, motivated and productive is all a state of mind. If it’s high on your list of goals, you will do it.
I strengthened my knowledge of a builder yesterday. It’s really a nice pattern but has one flow: it breaks SRP, but why do you use patterns? To refactor to a better design. And if used in that context, it’s a win.
I’m also learning that someone saying good things about a person, makes them work less hard. But we’re not fooling anyone. I am going to crank up the heat. Crank up the delivery heat. I expect everybody to over deliver as much as possible. For that to work, I will need big things from all of us. If you’re not delivering, then it’s a sign and you’re out. I will need to think about how to deliver the message, but it will happen.
I got a deeper learning about the Bridge pattern yesterday. The book Software Architecture Design Patterns in Java has a pretty good explanation on the subject. It’s one that does not just explain what the GoF book does. They have an example of a Logger with with different type of loggers & different types of messages. To be honest, these are all twisted. Why does a log message concern itself with logging? Instead, it can ask the Logger to log it. Would have been much simpler and conforming to SRP.
I am also getting back to basics. I am reading my old books on refactoring. Refactoring to Patterns is now shining much better than before. I actually enjoy reading tips and suggestions from the author. He actually has good examples that are worth reading.
I need to be more under control with my kids. They’re abusing my patience but I’m also losing it. I want to be strict but I need to find ways to do it.
I’ve learned a new pattern yesterday: compose method. It’s a way to create a method of method calls, each at the same level of detail (abstraction). It simplifies it a great deal. Looking back, I had a chance to do that with the campaign refactoring.
Procrastination. What is the best way to deal with it? Figure out the cue and come up with a routine. I know that if I don’t start with reading or writing in the morning, I will procrastinate. Same situation on the train and at work. So the key is to start doing right away and do it for 20 or 25 minutes. Enough to feel an accomplishment.
Goals. Coming up with goals the night before is such a difference maker. Now I know why. It allows the brain to work on it and keep it in the 4 memory banks. I’ve also changed a bit that under subtasks, I actually write what I am going to do. Sort of, goal for the day.
I go into these stages where I feel good or bad. Now I am feeling “in between.” Things could have been better and they could have been worse.
I am working hard at work. I’m not always super productive and sometimes it’s hard to see progress, but overall my approach is to keep at it, keep making progress.
When the going gets tough… the real winners emerge.
I’ve been there before. Gaining weight during a break. It’s hard not to. I accumulate too many calories with a no “way out.” When this happens over a course of an extended weekend, well, that becomes a problem. When I combine that with snacks and chocolates, well, that’s even a bigger problem. But it’s not an unsolvable one. For one, I can schedule a run every other day. So I should have had a run on Sat morning. I waited till today to do it. When I have off, I need to be more diligent about it.
Have I stayed active with my kids? For the most part, I think so. I can do more and I should do more, but I’m also a lazy bastard.
I finally went out to do some drills with my kids. For the most part, they liked it. They did not like the baseball one, but liked the 2v1.
Am I learning? Am I trying my best?
I need to get better in making sure I don’t waste 20 to 30 minutes after I wake up. That’s one pomo right there that is going to waste. I have to do a better job at that.
Things are getting interesting at work. Yesterday, I stayed up to 8:15pm or so! At work. Trying to debug and help out.
Well, it happens. It’s bound to happen as well.
We keep adding features, many features and then things start to fall apart because of all of the load. There is really no way around that, as new features will always carry more weight then the old ones.
But with all the effort I put in yesterday, I think I learned a lot. I will be able to provide some analysis and document things, and hopefully provide better documentation in the future so this does not happen. In the future, we need to be able to test “new additions to old gen.”
I’m having a hard time controlling my weight. Lately, I’ve got a craving for chocolates and snacks. That has to go. Instead, I can load up on healthier options, like pretzels and nuts. I have to go get them. If I do have a chocolate or cake, I will limit it to one or a very small piece. I don’t see any other way.
We visited Washington, DC. It’s the nation’s capitol and it’s a worthy city. I love the fact that all buildings are lower than the capitol. It makes the city smaller, much easier to navigate. Makes the buildings much more interesting. I think that’s one of the best decisions or laws that the city has. Otherwise, it’d be much more difficult to find a parking spot. It’s not easy, but not impossible.
This country is changing. It’s changing in the nationalistic sense. People are bring up the race. People are protesting the new president who has not been sworn yet! It’s crazy. There is a new hotel in Washington. It’s a beauty. It’s the Trump International Hotel. It’s luxury inside. We went there. Expensive carpets. High ceilings. A fresh smell of the furniture. Blue comfy couches on the first floor. Trump has built it! Trump has earned it?
I am curious what he’s going to do. I hope he does not destroy the country. I really hope so.