wayne_skylar

I do the same thing. Calls go through as normal and messages get checked when I feel like it. There have been a few occasions when I miss out on something or whatever but it's way better my phone dictating when I give it attention rather than the other way around.

This is something that has always bothered me about Linus. There are other extremely gifted programmers out there that don't seem to need to resort to this kind of persona. I always enjoyed hearing John Carmack speak because he is extremely smart and knowledgable and he doesn't look like he has a superiority complex.

But the real problem with Linus is the example he sets. I am not a kernel dev, so I don't know the validity of his rants but I assume he is mostly right. But this certainly sends a message to less-talented developers that it's okay to be a dick when you are right.

Ultimately I feel that the most important thing I have learned as a developer is to never associate your ego with your code. I've done that in the past and take great pains to not repeat it. Don't look at your PR as some great work of art that should be perfect. If both sides of the code review treat it as a collaborative process then you can both learn something from it.

I think we all experience moments of mindfulness from time to time but aren't aware of what it is or that it can be cultivated. At least I always have.

I began to experience it as a kid playing out in the woods alone. Sometimes I'd take a break and lie down on the ground and enjoy the breeze in the trees and all of the sensations that go with it.

Another example would be on a beach vacation when I'll just have a cup of coffee and watch the ocean. You're just focused on the present moment and not being distracted by a million other things. Obviously cellphones take you out of this state of mind.

Mindfulness is basically focusing on what is going on in the current moment (your senses, your surroundings, etc) as opposed to things that are not immediately there in front of you. This may seem boring at first but when you break through the boredom you sort of find yourself thinking in the way many of us haven't since we were kids. It has a bit of a nostalgic feeling to me as it reminds me of how when I was a kid I wasn't thinking constantly about things I need to do.

Obviously it's not a good idea to forget your adult obligations completely but letting them go for a moment here and there is a good thing since it can help you gain perspective.

This is where the bullshit 'making the world a better place' philosophy of Silicon Valley is lacking. Their morals and guiding principles are fucking garbage. Facebook asserts that 'connecting people' is somehow an unambiguously good thing. I'd argue that in its ideal form, social media is neither good nor bad. In practice it's actually an attack vector for those who are willing to sow discord. Facebook will never be able overcome its problems until they decide they want to be a force of good in the world where good is defined by some actual values that are aren't bullshit.

Same goes for AirBnB. They act as if they're providing some sort of amazing benefit to society when in reality, the negatives are felt by far more people than those who take advantage of their service. It doesn't withstand much scrutiny.

How about Uber? Despite what Uber might lead you to believe, it wasn't really necessary in NYC if you were smart enough to know to call a car service if there were no taxis in your area. Now that Uber has come along, all of the old car service drivers are forced to use Uber and taxi drivers are feeling such intense pressure that they are suicidal. Honestly I didn't mind waiting an extra 5-10 minutes for a cab. Now I can't find taxis in my neighborhood because Uber has taken over. So we have the same people doing the same job but are being paid less because Uber's cut is higher. And the benefit to me is that I don't have to talk to a person and might get home 5 minutes sooner? So for me, it's basically a wash, for the cab drivers it's a negative.

What's really sickening is that we've let them get away with it this long. We were so enamored with all of these new technologies we never stopped to consider if all the 'disruption' was actually going to be a net positive instead of a reorganization of existing power structures.

Yep. I got recruited for a job I was qualified for yet didn't really want with a very high paying salary. I decided to go through the process to see if there might be something that made me change my mind. They requested a full-day interview. I asked if it could be broken up into two days and they declined. So I informed them that I didn't think I would be a good fit.

There's so much bullshit that Facebook / Google et. al are responsible for in this area. All of the wannabe startups basically copied their recruiting tactics with zero understanding for why good people were drawn to them in the first place.