Hacker News Reader

Comment by sili | Hacker News Reader

The notion that a geek will always write a program instead of doing something manually is becoming a cliche.

Aye, you see so many similar postings around that I'm starting to think someone's automated it...

Understanding a subtle recursive humor is what makes one a geek.

Honestly the 3rd or 4th time I have to do something I'll write a program for it, and only if I know they're would be a 5th or a 6th. I've almost written myself out of my job about 3 times now. I got hired to do IT and run manual reports, after a few weeks our internal IT was up to speed (user support isn't that high volume if their systems are in order), and a few weeks later I had no more "manual" reports. Luckily for me I know how to drum up more projects, I go and find "sore spots". Now I've got a trail of automation and reputation for taking the pain out of our processes. I'm valued and it makes me happy. And to think I could be doing manual reports instead..

I also know I'm responsible for work happening on days when I spend all my time reading HN...

I do not know how you can call yourself a geek if you can tolerate boredom 3 or 4 times before even considering making a program instead. For some reason, you (and others here) assume efficiency is an attribute of geekdom. I suggest that efficiency is actually a contraindicates geekdom.

Being a geek is more about fun, it is not about how well you can optimize.

My boss doesn't like me wasting my time on a program for one off reports. In fact I had to sell him on the "let me program something for that" because he can't program and doesn't want any major part of our "process" to be outside his understanding. The way I program a project has to do with what technology I want to try (and of course a bit of what fits) and I have tons of fun doing it. Putting off programming my way out of work has more to do with not fully understanding the requirements (ie, why said report should be run and how often) then being lazy or bored.

I've fallen into the trap of getting things running smoothly enough that there isn't anything urgent coming across my desk. Just a few quick fixes here and there.

This has lead to more than a few days of me sitting at my desk and browsing HN in the afternoons. I soon hope to finish a program that will browse HN for me so I can go home early.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com