that's the difference between solitude and loneliness. Sometimes you need solitude.

good luck getting your kids to do what you want, when you want.

It'd be easier to sell or concrete over your lawn.

Yes. It appears to be some random, obscure, snake-oil like project. These are a dime a dozen. You can't use them all, and in most cases you are just as well off using none.

advice to anyone entering the workforce: form an honest opinion of what your skills can fetch at market by researching salaries, work on your negotiating skills, have a backup plan so you are confident to walk away if you don't get the number you want, hold out for the right deal.

The biggest difference I see (anecdotally, so I might be wrong) between women and men, particularly from women who are complaining about inequality in pay, is that women aren't confident to negotiate about money. Strong, opinionated, skilled women will get pushed over when it comes to money. In many cases they won't even realise they can negotiate.

Negotiate everything -- the price of your cell phone, your tv, your washing machine, ask your bank for better deals on your mortgage or better interest rates on your savings. Then when it comes to job salary you have some practice to fall back on. Stand your ground, use phrases like "that isn't what I was expecting, can you offer any more?" and be prepared to respectfully decline an offer that doesn't make you happy.

I don't think it's about being able to read text written in rows, although if you can't see that kids aren't particularly good at that initially, then you mustn't have spent much time with kids. (Hint, they learn to "read" with picture books and then books with like 5 words on a page.)

The same reason they learn to ride a bike on one with 12 inch wheels instead of 700c. Or cook using recipes with 3 ingredients.

Simplified versions for learning are a good thing.

First they grasp the basics using something simple, then they push the boundaries of that simplified version, and then they extend to the next step up.

The same way I learn at 33 years old, by the way.

A senior recommended this to me when I was a junior. My attitude at the time was that things would take as long as they would take and I wasn't sure how long that would be because I had never done it before. Obviously as a junior you tend not to be very fast or very good at getting things done.

His recommendation was that this was a good way to get better at estimating so that you could manage other people's (your manager, the sales people) expectations better.

This seemed like good advice.

In practice, I'm terrible at logging time and recording details of what I have worked on and tend to rely on version control as a work log (hey, I aim to have multiple commits per day and record reasonably good commit messages which link to defect tickets etc)

So for what it's worth, I don't use PSP, but am kind of interested in it. My estimations, defect rates, and speed have increased over time anyway because experience.

The reason I'm still a developer in an office is that it pays a shitload of Enterprise(TM) dollars into my bank account. I can work my guts out from 8.30 to 5, get a fuck load of code written at someone else's expense, and then down tools at 5pm and go play with my kids and watch GOT.

More money, more spare time, more motivated, less stress.

This strikes me as a fight-club-esque semi-motivational bunch of tripe. The only thing of value in the article is the following paragraph: "If you aren’t finding time every day, in some way, to inspire yourself, to drive yourself to work on things from the heart that help you learn and grow in powerful way, then you’re holding back."

It would have been better as a tweet.

Cereal is a sugar delivery vehicle, but juice is good as gold.

Right.

He probably means juicing, as in sticking fruits and veggies in a juicer and making something akin to a smoothie.

33 y.o. Dad of 3, and a far better engineer since having kids. Since becoming a Dad, I learnt the value of time, I learnt how to get stuff finished when I have a chance to, I learnt empathy and tolerance, I learnt to look at the big picture. I forgot about many of the frustrations and angst that I felt before I had kids. I simply don't have time to worry about my own feelings much, but at the same time I learnt to look after myself much more efficiently, because I have to, because 3 kids and a wife depend on me. I've never been happier at work, because I have a family.

Definitely start a family, but also think about keeping your career too in what ever form suits you.

Since having kids, I've become better at dealing with managers. ;-)

Being a parent is full time management training.

Exactly -- you grow in many ways. I'm a father of two with one more on the way and I've often wondered what I might have achieved if I had the efficiency and discipline I do now before kids when I had more time... Yet somehow I'm now achieving more with less time.

It really a things that all engineers worried. Sometimes, it is like you don’t have time for your family. The work is never going finished. You tried hard to give some time for your family but you can’t. This frustration and anger makes you uncomfortable. But you can’t even share your feeling with your family. You don’t want them to worry.

It is a life of every engineer. But it is always good to choose the options that better suits you.