I was reading this (nice article, BTW, particularly about increasing your learning):

http://software.ericsink.com/Career_Calculus.html

When he mentioned being on the Inc 500 list, where I was stunned by this:

http://www.inc.com/app/inc500/viewCompany.jsp?cmpId=2002156

What's even weirder are the years 1997-2002.  So he was doing well all the way back then,  over just 5 years.  Wow!

no fog creek on the list? sink seems like a smart guy

So, can we rest once and for all the notion that programming skills are not economically valuable?!

...Sharkey?  ;-D

I'll take it not being on the list may indicate that FogCreek didn't grow so fast.

Take it as indication that Sink is the real deal and faggy daddy is just a self promoting scam artist.

I've worked on "L" for years.  I still do it. I just don't do it in the same fashion as most.

I just read and hack around.  I don't produce anything. 

For example I've been learning stuff like:  If someone wants me to produce a piece of code for something without any documentation, I can do it. I can reverse engineer it and read the assembly code and probably get something good out of it.

Is this useful?  I don't know. I just learn what I want and follow my nose. It never stops.  It doesn't make my resume shinier, however. I don't think it matters though.  Because I know crazy shit--like how a C++ data structure looks in assembly.

Useful if you want to write a compiler that can link to C++ code.

"Is this useful?  I don't know."

On the one hand, that's really awesome Shark.  OTH, you limit yourself to copying what is out there.

I have this awesome boss.  He knows that I get "stuck in a loop" quite often.  When he gives me a project, he gives me instructions on what to do.  I think he is the absolute greatest all-time at breaking down a coding reqt. into what needs to be done and tips on how to do it, if not a couple lines of critical code thrown in from time to time.

There is another guy there from Harvard, that contributed something to Apache, that guy can throw me a couple lines of code, if I need it, that can get a lot done.

It's great when you are working "around" other programmers.  I mostly don't hear from them, but a little helps a lot.

"OTH, you limit yourself to copying what is out there. "

This is where we differ in view and probably will never agree.

There is nothing new.  Anything you make, someone has made already.

If you were 18, I would post this.  But you are grown--I won't kill your spirit :)

Seriously though, what "new" thing are you building?  You aren't.  You are re-inventing the wheel to fit someone's business process.

That's why I don't care to write code anymore.  Sure, I could work on writing it better.  Again.  And again.  Or I can prepare myself for the day when "they" take over and all software becomes a way to subjugate the people.  I want to learn to un-do what others do so I can do what _I_ want with it.

I know.  I'm crazy stupid.

Dammit.

"If you were 18, I would post this.  But you are grown--I won't kill your spirit :) "

should be

If you were 18, I WOULDN'T post this.  But you are grown--I won't kill your spirit :)

That's not crazy stupid, that's self-defense.  Code fu instead of kung fu.

"Seriously though, what "new" thing are you building?  You aren't.  You are re-inventing the wheel to fit someone's business process."

Actually, that's what I like about it; things are already proven to work.

I understand where you are coming from though, Shark, future survivalism and such.

Well, as long as you are learning skills, that still counts.    I guess right now, I want to be plugged in whenever I get the chance, for professionalism to rub off on me, so it's going to have to be for the man for me to get there, and not quite as much for myself.  At least not until I get down my own set of functional standards, for ways of going about getting things done.

>> Don't work for a manager
who is actively hindering
your practice of
constant learning. <<

Very very true.