7,709 karma · joined July 6, 2010
Personal: https://www.adamconrad.dev
Consulting: https://anonconsulting.com
Blog: https://www.adamconrad.dev/blog
Portfolio: https://github.com/acconrad
Email: me [at] adamconrad [dot] dev
[ my public key: https://keybase.io/acconrad; my proof: https://keybase.io/acconrad/sigs/q8FDfaHEh-D0cR7rf4KUeVBkqOHB85RSGMPzDgTvJ6Q ]
It's awesome because it has hit the front page a few times so it resonates with this audience [1][2]. I write about front end development, engineering management, and programming (in general). It's also ultra-fast and can work offline, so I practice what I preach on the blog and was fully designed and developed by me.
I also write a weekly, hand-curated newsletter that is specifically targeted at different skill and experience levels:
https://adamconrad.dev/newsletter/
Finally, and most ambitiously, I wrote a companion series to The Algorithm Design Manual to help me learn data structures and algorithms in JavaScript:
https://adamconrad.dev/tag/algorithms/
Oof, I hope not directly. Based on this evidence (also in An Elegant Puzzle) you wouldn't want more than 8-10 direct reports:
Totally! And this is exactly why we are using this TLM role so you can try before you buy into full management responsibilities.
One of the gravest errors we make in software is assuming that the only way to advance in your career is into management. That said, it's also unfair to assume that great coders will never want to manage. Having a trial role that blends the two responsibilities de-risks the business in new management while allowing developers to see if these new sets of expectations are congruent with how they want to develop their careers.
I agree with many parts of your comment but I think this comment warrants some caution.
In many cases, adding in a layer of new leadership is to help spread the EM demands across all ICs, not just those new to their careers. I have TLMs who manage senior and principal engineers.
My job, as director, is to guide those TLMs into understanding the exact needs of those direct reports, regardless of the ICs rank or role. Everyone is unique in their needs - not only in their role but as people.
1. 8 weeks practicing 1-1s
2. 8 weeks practicing positive feedback
3. Introduce constructive feedback
Obviously YMMV so if you build rapport quicker you should totally incorporate things more quickly
It's not about how smart you are or how well you will do. It's about how good you are at studying interview problems/the SAT. And even then it's a crap shoot if your admission reviewer/interviewer was in a good mood that day.
As much as it's suboptimal/unfair/whatever your objection is, your options are to not play the game (and miss out on the wealth of opportunity or cash) or to dive on in and accept reality.
I recently read about the French Revolution. I can't help but wonder if history is repeating itself.
Counter-example: I was on Keto for 2 years and my blood levels became prediabetic (105 and 100 in 2 blood tests over the course of 2 annual doctor visits).
As soon as I reintroduced carbs to normal levels (I bought a glucosometer) my blood sugars went back down to optimal (85). My most recent blood work was at 90.
Your mileage may vary and everyone's GI responds differently to different foods.
Martin Berkhan created a very lucrative coaching platform with Intermittent Fasting: https://leangains.com/
Many books have been written on IF for profit:
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-A...
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Stop-Brad-Pilon/dp/177511080X/ref...
And countless others.
Honestly, what most likely will reverse your prediabetes is that you are now working out more, eating less, and dropped 10 pounds. The IF was simply a compliance tactic to help you achieve that goal. Just something to keep in mind... it's okay if you eventually stop doing IF, what's more important is you maintain the healthy eating and active lifestyle.
What works for you may not work for someone else.
This is SO important in nutritional research because in every single one these threads there is always someone who will say X worked for me and someone else who says X didn't work for me. And BOTH are right.
Example:
I've done IF for years as a competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter. I've gained and lost weight on IF. IF should (until more research is done) simply be viewed as a compliance tactic. In other words, if it helps you eat healthier and maintain a healthy weight: great! If not, don't assume you're missing out on some magical panacea of health and vitality.
Recently I stopped doing IF and eating more frequently for performance reasons so I can reach the national circuit in powerlifting. My blood work is still fine. My weight is still fine. Again, YMMV.
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I usually post this long thing about why we're a great company to work for and I realized that nothing compared to mission and purpose.
So yeah you can read our accolades and I'll reference them below, but the truth is nothing matters more than why we exist:
We're fighting climate change by building better apps for farmers and the agricultural economy.
If I didn't believe this was one of the most important problems of our generation to help future generations, I wouldn't put so much emphasis on this. If you want a mission you can tell your grandchildren about in hopes of creating a better environment for farmers (and really the whole world), we're working on it right here, right now.
I'd love to hear from you and learn more about how you can work with us. Our stack is JavaScript (React front end, Node back end).
For reference, we're a Unicorn company:
https://www.builtinboston.com/2017/09/26/agtech-startup-indi....
We work on the most underhyped sector in startups today (agtech):
http://stateofstartups.firstround.com/2018/#trends-and-takes
CNBC named us the Most Disruptive Company in the world, beating out Flexport, Airbnb, and other companies you've seen here on HN:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/meet-the-2019-cnbc-disruptor....
And our big climate goal is to use regenerative agriculture to sequester 1 TRILLION tons of carbon from the atmosphere:
================
I usually post this long thing about why we're a great company to work for and I realized that nothing compared to mission and purpose.
So yeah you can read our accolades and I'll reference them below, but the truth is nothing matters more than why we exist:
We're fighting climate change by building better apps for farmers and the agricultural economy.
If I didn't believe this was one of the most important problems of our generation to help future generations, I wouldn't put so much emphasis on this. If you want a mission you can tell your grandchildren about in hopes of creating a better environment for farmers (and really the whole world), we're working on it right here, right now.
I'd love to hear from you and learn more about how you can work with us. Our stack is JavaScript (React front end, Node back end).
For reference, we're a Unicorn company:
https://www.builtinboston.com/2017/09/26/agtech-startup-indi...
We work on the most underhyped sector in startups today (agtech):
http://stateofstartups.firstround.com/2018/#trends-and-takes
CNBC named us the Most Disruptive Company in the world, beating out Flexport, Airbnb, and other companies you've seen here on HN:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/meet-the-2019-cnbc-disruptor...
And our big climate goal is to use regenerative agriculture to sequester 1 TRILLION tons of carbon from the atmosphere:
1. Corn saps nitrogen from the soil. Soybeans add nitrogen to the soil. Since both are cash crops you want to rotate them. Since hemp is a weed and not a legume it would still might have to be rotated in with soy. It's simply not a cut and swap operation like a line of code :)
2. The government isn't incentivizing hemp so now every acre you swap with hemp not only isn't discounted, the demand for it is a fraction of that of corn.
That and it isn't legal to grow in any of the farm belt. Just because you can grow in CA or CO doesn't mean you can in KS or TN.
The major corn and soy producers have faced downward pressure for the last 4 years. It now costs more to plant the crop than to pick and sell it.
And yet, the government pushes and incentivizes farmers to just grow more.
Read This Blessed Earth or Omnivore's Dilemma if you want a primer on how messed up this system has become.
What farmers need are a way to restore profits in a sustainable fashion. Simply growing more corn/soybeans/rice/wheat isn't going to cut it anymore.
Beans (particularly soybeans) help restore nitrogen into the soil and are a net-positive on feeding the soil without harmful chemicals.
> Make a budget for next 2 years. This will show how much money you might actually need.
How much does one need for a child?
Does that mean dividing them into "personality types"? No.
By and large, there is no strong evidence to support personality types.
Of the various kinds, OCEAN is the most reputable, and of that, the only metric that really seems to be thoroughly studied is the O (for Openness to new experiences).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits#Li...
You could make this same argument for all forms of art (music, TV, theater). They can all be explained the same way: the barrier for entry has decreased.
Anyone can upload music to Soundcloud or a video to Youtube. Now there are whole albums/TV series/movies being produced on these content networks as a result of a kind of indie discovery that never existed before. This is wonderful!
The benefit of all of that discovery is the same drawback: that anyone (good or bad) can enter the market. That means in order to capture the "average" audience you have to water down and dilute what is popular to appease everyone. Most pop music is unmemorable. Most pop movies are unmemorable. BUT, they are good enough to capture a wide enough audience to convince them to pay for it.
That doesn't mean there isn't great film to be found. Or music. It just requires a bit more discovery than your local pop Top 40 radio station or whatever they're peddling in the box office.
There have been so many great films in the last 20 years with original stories. Here's a bunch that I just rattled off the top of my head without much thought:
Boyhood, Interstellar, Inception, Spirited Away, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Wall-E, The Intouchables (now called The Upside), Pan's Labyrinth, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Amelie, Slumdog Millionaire
The PR review should take 20-30 min. The phone call before the on site is 45 min. The on site is 5 hrs spread across 5 interviews and includes time for lunch
I've been on both sides of this now and it's such a delicate balance.
As a developer, you want to be fairly evaluated to prove your worth.
As a hiring manager, you want to make sure you don't hire a dud (or worse, someone that will drag down the rest of your team).
I spend more than 1/2 of my day now trying to build out a team that I need to aggressively hire for. I've radically revamped our hiring questions to ensure they are:
* Based on real-world code. That means coding up components if you're a front end developer or API contracts if you're a back end developer.
* Includes a breadth of tasks. PR reviews, writing code, writing tests, and systems design are all a part of the assessment - not just algorithms tests.
* Has clear acceptance criteria. I want to remove as much bias and subjectivity from the assessment as possible. Every question we use has a Wiki page designed to formulate the question, the unit tests, and sample answers as well as grading criteria depending on the level we're hiring for. Expectations for Principal engineers are different than those for mid-level engineers.
It's not perfect. I'm not perfect. But I'm trying. SO hard. I hope that we're resolving this problem in the best way possible for both us as a company and you as the candidate.
As someone who has competed in both bodybuilding and powerlifting, I can attest that you don't want that physique. It's not worth the pain, time, and effort for it. Plus, anyone you see with rock-hard abs looks like that for maybe a 3 hour window. Almost no one looks like that year-round all of the time.