zapperdapper

6 ms·

1.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
Depends. What are your objectives? Why are you learning it? Is PHP your first language? Are you trying to get a job, get general stuff done, or have a specific project in mind? Are you primarily looking at web, text processing, database? My
2.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
I see where you are coming from, but I have a built a few big XML processing tools in PHP that run quite happily on the command line. Having said that, it was a few years back, and I tend to reach for Python for text/XML processing the
3.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
Actually COVID stopped a planned relocation for me. To be more exact, I tend to split time between two main locations and was planning to increase the time in the other location, but the bug put that on hold sadly...
4.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
It sounds like quitting to take a less stressful (but probably less well paid) job would be a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I would think seriously about taking some sick leave. Work a bit on your evening projects during the da
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by zapperdapper 6y ago
Had the same problem. I just write a blog for myself primarily, with notes on the things I'm working on, code, tools etc. I'm surprised by how often I go back and read my own articles, so I take that as a sign the idea was a succe
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by zapperdapper 6y ago
For me still Python. It just makes it easier for me to build solutions to the everyday problems I need to solve. When I have a little itch that needs scratching Python is what I reach for first. Although I'd been a dabbler with Python
7.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
I wrote my own static site generator in Python. Source format is GitHub-flavoured Markdown. Both VSCode and Emacs have nice plugins for Markdown. Nothing fancy but it does the job. There are plenty of static site generators out there (a nic
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by zapperdapper 6y ago
I think this is good advice. Tune in to problems. Listening is harder than it seems because we tend to apply our own filters. For example, I did some work for a friend in a non-IT business, and at first I didn't pay attention because I
9.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
Move on. You deserve a better company than that.
10.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
If you really must! A little static site generator is a nice one. The great thing is, it's the kind of thing you can pick up whenever you have a spare few minutes, as there's always some new little feature you can add...
11.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
My thoughts exactly - some very long walks in the fresh air and some good nights of sleep would be my top priority!
12.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
In 3 weeks!? If you want something tricky a compacting memory allocator in C should be doable in 3 weeks. Maybe I'm just slow! :(
13.
by zapperdapper 6y ago
I had a similar thing about a decade or so ago. Thought I might be able to wrangle a (part) remote gig with them. No dice. There's no way I was going to commute to London every day. Nightmare. They kept coming back to me though. In my
14.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
It's real deja vu looking at this thread. Many of the questions/comments here are exactly the same ones that came up in the early 1990s with Taos on CiX, and then later with Elate/intent. :) Chris was far ahead of the curve -
15.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
I have a friend that turns time allocated for other things into paid time. For example, she got certified as a Spin coach, so takes classes a couple of times a week and gets paid to work out. She also does yoga classes and gets paid for tha
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Yes, the peace of mind that comes with it is a good point. I do really appreciate that aspect.
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Yeah most companies in Europe I would say. Even in a non-unlimited PTO company you'd get at least 25 days (paid) typically plus 8 paid public holidays in addition. At some companies you can give up 'points' to get more paid t
18.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
On your first point: In UK there is a minimum usage by law . For full-time workers that's 28 days paid leave and that includes typically 8 public holidays. Not sure if that applies in US though. I agree with you on the other two point
19.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
I'm currently on DTO (Discretionary Time Off) and it works great. Last year I took 7 weeks paid. If I'd had a decent justification I could have taken more. Some colleagues took a lot more (like 3 months). This year I have a coup
20.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
I have some recent experience of this where a friend switched into web dev from a totally unrelated (non-computer) field. Originally she was looking at Python/security as a path, but then changed to web dev as she was more interested i
21.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
Difficult question. But look at the closest competitors and see what they charge perhaps? For example, take a look at Cockroach Labs, or MySQL InnoDB Cluster, or one of the many database as a service providers, or whatever you think is the
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Useful starting point? https://developer.nexmo.com/contribute/guides/writing-style-...
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Stack Jobs has, or at least had, a feature where you can specify you're interested in "remote only".
24.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
Your income is mostly a function of the value you create and deliver. It could be you were not creating or delivering enough value. You say you can create static sites? That's a good start if you know HTML+CSS. Why not as a next step l
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Surprisingly common to feel like this. You've done 4 years. Hope you've been saving hard. You should be able to take a year out and rest up and see what takes your fancy - you might find after a good break your interest in softwar
26.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
Tip, when you get the urge to buy, simply add to your wishlist. Periodically (say every 3 months) go through your list. You'd be surprised at how many titles you can delete! :) It's always handy to have a few unread books availabl
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
Depends. Using the "4% rule" you should be able to drawn down $40k/year, without depleting your capital, so if you can live on that then in theory the answer is yes. There are various provisos with using the 4% rule but I won
28.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
You are 29 with greater than $1M. Assuming you didn't inherit that then you don't need a mentor. Get back to work! :)
29.
by zapperdapper 7y ago
Depends. If you want to work in research I would say go for it...
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by zapperdapper 7y ago
I suspect that stress is "baked into the corporate cake" - in other words, most corporations are quite toxic to mental and physical health by their very nature. A lot of the stress is caused by things like changing requirements, u

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