Current project: turning my Raspberry Pi into a personal VPN server.

Thanks for making this feel necessary, US Government!

Dev bootcamps? I went to one! Probably the best decision I ever made.

They aren't perfect, they're pricey, and they won't make you an expert, but it's a good way to expedite a new career, gives a good base knowledge to start out.

I'm about to take my first real vacation in about a year. One of the things I'm most looking forward to? Time to work on personal projects.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?

Finally performing that dev rite of passage: working on my personal site.

Would have done it sooner if I had design skills.

Nothing interesting to work on. Weird problems from others trying to force a bad solution to a problem. I just want to go home and finish Westworld!

Worst part (at least that's on my mind today)? People who don't build the app giving the orders of what needs to be done in it. They never know how possible things are, or expect them in half the time it actually takes.

Nothing makes me want to work on my own projects more than spending 40 hours a week trying to solve problems in the boring behemoth of legacy code that is my company's app. Doing everything myself seems downright peaceful in comparison.

Since when are developers supposed to write story scenarios? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be working from?

😒

I keep my desk at work uncluttered, and I haven't set up a workspace at home yet, but when I do, the pride of my desk will definitely be my namesake.

When shit breaks and you don't know whether to be depressed because it may be your fault or mad because poor decisions and seniors refusing to offer help may have made the problem worse. It's a fun Friday.

😣

Oooh, got one. Not a question, but a mind-blowing moment:

For some reason, my parents put my email address on one of their accounts, and it was an old one that I had stopped using years ago. Then, this conversation with my parents happens, at their home with the laptop I gave them sitting open on the table:

me: "you guys should probably give them your email address."
mom: "we don't have one."
me: "what about dad's?"
dad: "no, I don't have an email address."
me: "you used to have one. what happened to it?"
dad: "that one was at the library. I don't have one here."
me: 😑

My father apparently doesn't know the basic concept of the internet and its global nature.

I like when a recruiter calls, decides you're not experienced enough for the role they called for, and immediately ask if you know someone who is. Sure, bro, let me help do your job for you.

The hardest part of a new project is starting it. But it may also be the most exciting. The possibilities!

Have an interview tomorrow with a company using a tech stack I haven't touched in months.

😓

It never ceases to amaze me how the business end can get in the way of sensible, efficient development. I get why, to an extent, but it's really mind-blowing at times.

We're moving our services to a new app interface, and it drives me crazy when a BA tells me to make something look like the old, terrible app because "user's won't like a change." You're making a whole new app! You can fix the terrible appearance and functionality issues! Take advantage of this!

It's starting to feel like I'm putting together an awful Frankenstein's Monster of code and components.

Heads up, fellow tech nerds: if you're an Amazon Prime member and have ever wanted a Raspberry Pi, there's a good deal on a starter kit, 20% off for Prime Day! Search for "CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit".

I've always wanted to build a project with a Pi, and now mine's coming Friday! Build project suggestions?

I've been working on the same (stupid) problem for so long that it's easier to feel defeated than to appreciate the progress made. Angular, and development, can be a cruel, quirky mistress.

My favorite thing is searching a problem on Stack Overflow, and the only example you find was solved by fixing a simple syntax error.

😒

The worst interview . . . .

So I wasn't looking for a job, but I wasn't happy in mine, and I would listen to pitches. Recruiter calls me about a Java job. I tell him I know JS and it's probably not a good fit. He insists my resume looks good and that they are happy to train. I know just enough Java to relent. Eventually we set up an phone interview for a day I happen to have off anyway because I'm going out of town. Morning of, I'm waiting around for the call. An hour after the scheduled time, the recruiter calls and tells me they had an "emergency" and wouldn't be able to speak today. One whole hour of my day, making me late to leave town: no one anywhere in the whole company could give me a call, no explanation, no apologies, for a job I had told them I wouldn't be a good fit for anyway.

I left them hanging the rest of the weekend and then take my name out of the running on Monday. Respect people's time and lives!

There's no easier way to make a developer want to be productive than to stick him or her into business meetings.

My boss just gave me a task that Stack Overflow tells me is impossible. He's a senior architect.

-__-

Most days, I feel pretty good about my skill and contributions, but I still sometimes worry that I might be the cog with the terrible code that all my coworkers rant about.

suggestion for @dfox: two-step reporting! I accidentally reported a comment once. Finger hit the wrong spot. A confirmation would have kept me from making more moderation work.

BA: "Can you design a page for this?"
me (not a designer): "Um, sure, no problem."

Fast forward two days, show the page for approval.

PM: "Hey, can we do it as a pop-up instead?"

:|

On dates now, when someone asks me about my job, I'm using technobabble within 15 words. It's amazing nobody's walked out immediately. Maybe devRant will get that out of me . . .

Anyone else add increasingly snarky or desperate comments and console log messages when things aren't working right? My messages are like watching a coder's mental breakdown slowly progress.

Just got a new phone. First app I download? devRant. #priorities

All of my unit tests are failing. Other devs went and took out or changed all of the IDs I added to elements instead of properly updating their projects with my changes. WHY AM I EVEN HERE?

😞

When your job gets unnecessarily difficult because too many people work on the same files, and then they ignore your changes in version control. I waste more time redoing work that was already done and ignored . . .