belmarca

Hi author,

I have an uncannily similar physical and symptomatic profile. Do you experience anxiety? My symptoms were so intense and unpredictable that I developed anxiety from it. I had to learn to manage and distinguish both issues, which helped a ton. I never had any formal diagnostic as every doc basically says "everything's normal", but I now suspect a heightened stomach sensibility due to multiple COVID-19 infections coupled with a highly stressful period in my life. I haven't had COVID in a while now and my stress levels are much lower so symptoms are mostly gone.

I understand how debilitating and hellish it can be. I wish you all the best!

Location: Montreal

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Scheme, JavaScript, C, Vagrant, Docker, Ansible, PostgreSQL, VueJS, AWS Lambda, OpenBSD, ESP32, DICOM, Healthcare, Compiler, Interpreter, Web, Full-stack, Backend, etc...! Worked all over the stack.

Resume: On request

Email: See profile

SEEKING WORK, Montreal, Remote

Finishing an MSc in compilers, ideally looking for contract work to fund further studies. Keeping it short:

I work mostly in Python, JavaScript, Scheme and C. I have experience anywhere from building and maintaining full-stack web apps in the healthcare sector to working on research (but production-ready) Python and Scheme compilers or debugging WebSockets implementation issues using WireShark to web scraping to programming ESP32, etc. Working at all levels of abstraction, throughout the stack, is what I love about compilation. Fundamentals are universal. Do what you must.

Some buzzwords: Vagrant, Ansible, Docker, Lambda, Python, JavaScript, Scheme, C, VueJS, PostgreSQL, OpenBSD, etc...

Oh, nice trick. Thank you.

That's what I thought but we are already on June 3. I will wait :)

And "outliers" aren't necessarily exotic. Idiopathic disease isn't rare and difficult to diagnose.

So, "please starve so I can get paid more"?

Ah, good to know. I suspect that might be the case for Canadian or Quebec resident.

Can I ask how you filter candidates?

I have applied to numerous companies and get what look like mostly automatic rejections despite many years of experience, shipping products, research, etc. I also have experienced friends who say hiring is very slow and cold right now, it's not just me. Do you use any sort of automation?

That's my impression. Anything more complicated and you're starting to filter based on your appreciation of the candidate's choices, style, etc. I.e. things that can be worked on or fitted to the company's work style.

Exactly. I get why interviewers want some sort of "can they code" filter. The test can be extremely simple though. If knowing data structures and algorithms were by heart was so central to every developer's work, then they wouldn't be interview questions.

I haven't been interviewing full-time, but these past couple of years I have had barely any success. Currently getting insta-refused even for jobs with lower skill requirements. I've heard similar from friends and colleagues.

There's a bootstrap issue as well. A developer with a brand name on their resume is much more desirable than one without, even for equal skill and experience.

I just (barely) failed an automated interview by some company who posted on the last Hiring thread. Their approach was interesting but they definitely measure the wrong thing IMO. They were looking for senior Python devs yet assumed that every senior Python dev knew X, Y or Z Python API/feature by heart. I failed a single question, precisely one where I wasn't familiar with the particulars and couldn't "figure it out" live due to the nature of the platform.

I've worked on a Python interpreter (not CPython) for many years now, I just never used that particular module (because we do it differently in our implementation). I suppose businesses try their best, but aren't always measuring what they think they are...

Your "solution" is just another coding interview.

A typical engineer doesn't begin their day thinking "I should implement a streaming algorithm" out of nowhere (and if they do, they can always seek reference). They analyze a (typically underspecified) problem, figure out the constraints, and then start thinking about a solution. Note that both processes, analysis and solution, can take hours, days, weeks or months!

Coding interviews have everything backwards by providing synthetic solutions to mostly out-of-context problems.

For example, interviewers could:

- Share some portion of a codebase with the candidate prior to the interview

- Go over the code with the candidate

That's it. You will know really fast who's senior and who's never wrote software. It can't be faked. And it can be adapted to mostly any positions (backend, frontend, devops, architecture, whatever).

Gerbil compiles its own pegged version of Gambit. No need to build it yourself.

Gerbil is built on top of the Gambit Scheme Compiler which supports that.

Hey Steve, I don't have a book recommendation but rather some short advice.

  - Don't expect your client to understand the work you do the way you understand it.

  - A corollary is that you cannot expect the client to put the same price on your work as you would or want.

  - Another corollary is that you will inevitably lose some bids.

  - Value-based pricing has been way simpler to deal with for me.

  - Hourly pay only for a retainer or a fixed amount of hours per month ("I'll be there when you call."). Otherwise I find that incentives get misaligned.

  - Requirements and client desires can change every single time you speak to them, so communicate often. I've been lucky with inflating time estimates by 25-33% to account for this inevitability.

Please excuse the really contrived example, but you can do this in Gambit:

    ~ cat do-it.scm
  (define (do-it x)
    (if (> x 0)
        x
        'error))
  
  (define (do-it-fixed x)
    (if (and (number? x) (> x 0))
        x
        'error))
  ~ gsi do-it.scm -
  > (do-it (do-it 0))
  *** ERROR IN do-it, "do-it.scm"@2.7 -- (Argument 2) REAL expected
  (> 'error 0)
  1> ,b
  0  do-it                   "do-it.scm"@2:7         (> x 0)
  1  (interaction)           (stdin)@1:1             (do-it (do-it 0))
  2  ##main                  
  1> ,e
  x = 'error
  1> (set! do-it do-it-fixed) 
  1> ,(c x)
  error
  > (do-it (do-it 0))
  error

Per the Gambit docs[1], "The nested REPL’s continuation and evaluation environment are the same as the point where the evaluation was stopped.". The call to ,(c x) is really just calling the reified continuation c with argument x.

[1]: https://gambitscheme.org/latest/manual/#Debugging

I'm sure you can find differences, but here's an example adapted from the docs[1]:

  Gambit v4.9.5
  
  > (let ((x 10) (y (- 1 1))) (\* (/ x y) 2))
  \*\* ERROR IN (stdin)@1.30 -- Divide by zero
  (/ 10 0)
  1> ,e
  x = 10
  y = 0
  1> (set! y 2)
  1> ,(c y)
  4
  >

[1]: https://gambitscheme.org/latest/manual/#Debugging

This is standard in Gambit Scheme as well.

BTW, I have Kranz's Orbit thesis on my desk. Nice and succinct!

I did everything from within Steam. Set up the installer as a Steam app, then set up the BNet launcher as a steam app, and done. It took a few minutes, basically waiting for the installation and download.

And Ribbit: https://github.com/udem-dlteam/ribbit.

Maybe you didn't know what you were doing? There are some tutorials to follow online which makes it easy.

For non-SD users reading this: you can get D4 running in about the time it takes to download Battle.net and the game itself. You basically install Battle.net on the deck, and then create a launcher from within Steam. That's it.

Ok great!

This job offer appears regularly and the site has never been functional. I have seen people complain of not getting replies in the past. I also didn't get one. Not sure what they're looking for.

Are you guys hiring?

Becoming a physician is a choice. Choosing your specialty is a choice as well (to an extent). Staying a physician is also a choice. And an immense privilege.

I have great respect for physicians I have worked with in IT for years. However I do not have patience for this sort of argument. You can always find another job if you'd like to, like everybody else. And unlike the majority of the population, you can set yourself up to have the financial freedom to do so.

No "sane" person "hates" doctors. They just don't pity them.

---

BTW, the tech FOMO is just FOMO. Grass is greener. Software engineering can be very exciting (just like medicine), but also very boring (just like medicine). Compensation is a really bad metric. If you value your time off, then don't become a physician. Sounds to me like some people just can't ever be fulfilled (usually the more privileged)!

Location: Montréal

Remote: Most preferably

Willing to relocate: Maybe

Technologies: Scheme, Python, JavaScript, C, Docker/Ansible/Vagrant/Packer, VueJS, etc

Résumé/CV: Currently finishing a Master's in Computer Science with a focus on compilers. Trained as a chemist. I have previous work experience solo-shipping full-stack web applications in healthcare and I have worked on a lot of other things. From microcontrollers to cloud web apps, DICOM software to a Python -> JS compiler, Docker/Packer DevOps as a necessity, etc. I can provide a resume for serious inquiries. I'm mainly looking for backend work but I don't mind contributing to a well-maintained front-end codebase.

Email: See profile.

Indeed, that's probably the best next step.