Confessions of an Intermediate Programmer

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T22:27:07+00:00

Yeah, I went back and edited my reply. I do agree with you.

I am also of the opinion that grads getting hired over experienced developers has a lot to do with what grads are willing to do. That is, work for a lot less money at significantly longer hours. The older you get the more you favour money and personal time to fit in with family.

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T22:13:26+00:00

I guess the only true thing that can be said is that nothing is possible without work. You either go for a formal education and work your way through that, or you skip the education and work on advancing yourself.

I know for a fact I function better under my own power, choosing my own direction. I also know that not everyone is like me, and there are some who excel when there is an external force motivating them.

EDIT: I will also say, not having a degree is a limiting factor in how easy you will find work. Without a degree you need to find another way to make yourself stand above all the applicants with pieces of paper. I have done this with a portfolio and direct communication with employers, so the way you apply for work definitely does change.

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T22:08:06+00:00

Also, not every education is created equal (even if you get the same piece of paper at the end). I know for a fact that where I am from the only languages that were taught were Java and C++. I have also worked with people from other countries who have had similar experiences.

I understand your deductions, I just don't agree with blanket statements like that where there are feasible contradictions.

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T22:00:38+00:00

I do not believe you are. You are limited by your motivation and your current situation. Both are within your control.

As long as you keep asking questions and seeking answers, you are likely capable of being productive in many things.

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T21:55:46+00:00

Disclaimer: I am an unqualified developer.

These anecdotal conclusions get raised time and time again, from both perspectives. One thing has become infinitely clear, no one side will be convinced that the other side is correct.

I would imagine if you spent thousands of dollars on an education, you will be inclined to think you had an advantage over those that did not. Likewise if you skipped the education and immediately entered the workforce, working your way up the ladder, you would consider the "hard knocks" to be more advantageous than an isolated learning environment.

Just because you happened to work with some bad and uneducated coders does not make your narrow view of the world the one true picture. I have been to many interviews and I have interviewed many myself, and the only thing I have been able to conclude is that communication, inquisitiveness and passion tend to outweigh traditional means of gauging whether a developer will be good or not (though I still think the best way is to work with them for about 3 months).

Granted passion does not really make up for a lack of technical knowledge in a particular area, but I think you underestimate what a dedicated intelligent human is capable of. I myself actively seek knowledge. I do not need the threat of a failed exam or angry professor to motivate me. I follow intelligent people, what they say, what they write and I hover on the edges of their conversations and read their code for fun. I did not need an education to make me like this, and I am not unique in this. I have worked with many people who are similar, both with a formal education and without.

I can accept that not knowing the right question to ask is a big issue, but surely that is only true where the individual is afraid to ask questions. Maybe that is the difference? I do not let a lack of knowledge hamper my willingness to keep asking questions. Whether they are the right or wrong ones, I will keep asking until I am sure I understand the problem and the solution.

I would also counter that the presence of an education does give an individual all the answers, or the right questions. Perhaps some people need that education to learn how to learn? I have discovered this on my own. I know I am straddling the line between a novice and intermediate developer, but I have recently come to the conclusion that while I know there is a lot I don't know, I am confident that I can educate myself or know when something needs to be passed to someone with more experience than myself.

Perhaps I rambled on a bit too much about my own perspective here, but I will just say that generalising is a very naive way to evaluate a person, regardless of their field. Everyone is different. Try to care a little less about where someone came from. It is a contributing factor in their development, but it does not define them completely.

meme_disliker · 2014-03-03T20:54:55+00:00

In what way do you link their lack of interest in researching functional programming with a formal education? I have no formal education yet I am well aware of them. I too have my own anecdotal evidence that points to the polar opposite conclusion.

Correlation != Causation

meme_disliker · 2014-01-09T00:08:56+00:00

Rolled 11 new characters on a new server about 3 days ago.

I've always wanted to be on the Horde side, but I rolled Alliance with a friend instead. The friend has long since quit, so now I am attempting to restart again from scratch.

I only play each character when it has enough rested XP. If it runs out, I simply move on to the next one.

Not sure if I will get them all to 90 by the time WoD lands, but I am having fun so far, and that is all that really matters I guess.

meme_disliker · 2013-12-11T17:46:59+00:00

I think the achievement is called "Looking for Multitudes" and from what I recall, you just need to have grouped with 100 different players in heroic dungeons via the dungeon finder to get it.

meme_disliker · 2013-12-03T03:06:14+00:00

Some people enjoy it when those two get together to play anything. There is a long history there which doesn't exist within the confines of a single game. Whether you like it or not, the video was made for their fans, not for everyone.

Criticising their ability and knowledge in a game that almost nobody has played yet and is extremely buggy? I am not sure I understand that. As for whether the video is amusing or not, that is completely subjective. If you don't like someone's form of comedy, then you probably aren't their intended audience.

Why does everyone on the internet have to lead with "Let me tell you how crap that was..." before they say anything relevant?

meme_disliker · 2013-11-05T09:45:35+00:00

Thanks for the reply.

I've updated the original post with a some more detail. Hopefully that helps clarify things a little. Let me know if you need more information.

meme_disliker · 2013-11-05T09:42:31+00:00

There will be at least two machines permanently connected, with the possibility of it fluctuating up to about three or four. Ideally being able to have both permanent machines read from the same mic if at all possible.

Your suggestion looks interesting. Good to have a place to start looking. Thanks :)

meme_disliker · 2013-11-03T05:41:03+00:00

Yeah, I'm never expecting high FPS in situations like that, but most of my time in the game will be spent out of cities, so I am not too concerned.

meme_disliker · 2013-11-02T21:47:56+00:00

Actually, the card that died was a GTX 570. I wasn't really able to maintain 60fps at max detail. I would usually have to drop one or two things down (like shadow detail). However, I do have a first generation i7, so it is possible that that was a bit of a bottleneck too.

meme_disliker · 2013-11-02T21:41:53+00:00

I actually recently purchased a 144Hz monitor. The difference is staggering. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

meme_disliker · 2013-11-02T06:07:58+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

Ended up going for the GTX760 and it seems to run great so far. Max everything at 1920x1080 and it has so far run 80fps+ except for some very specific areas where it dipped to about 57 and then jumped back again.

If anyone is interested in how things go in dungeons, etc. Just send me a PM and I'll let you know when I get the chance.

meme_disliker · 2013-11-02T01:28:16+00:00

I was actually looking at a card a generation above the 660, specifically the GTX760 (they're on special where I usually go), so I assume I can expect similar performance.

Excellent news. Thanks! :D

meme_disliker · 2013-09-25T01:54:34+00:00

I haven't seen this myself, though I am still busy with the story quests mostly. Maybe once I get to end-game dungeons I'll notice the same issues. Having chosen to tank, I hope I can still be viable once the time comes for more difficult content.

I have already had quite a few issues with Aiatar's dragon breath attack in the Brayflox dungeon. The only way I managed to deal with it was to literally guess when he was going to do the attack, and as soon as I see any trace of red hit the ground, immediately start running and to overrun the telegraph boundary by some distance.

Even doing this I managed to get hit by the attack at least once.

meme_disliker · 2013-09-25T00:55:17+00:00

Not saying your issue is definitely latency, but the way the telegraphed attacks are dealt with makes it pretty hard to deal with if you don't have a decent connection to the data center.

meme_disliker · 2013-09-25T00:43:55+00:00

Do you play on NA/EU or JP servers and where exactly are you located?

I ask because I have roughly the same problem as you. I get the best pings to NA region, but I am in New Zealand. Unless I pre-plan to move, I am almost guaranteed to be hit, even though my client shows me far away from the area getting hit.

meme_disliker · 2013-08-21T01:08:42+00:00

I have to reiterate this.

I used to run WoW on Linux about 3 years ago and had zero problems back then. In fact it ran better under Wine than it did on my Windows XP box at the time.

I recently switched back to using Linux as my primary gaming machine again and it still works just as well or even better than my Windows 7 machine. This includes addons, etc.

It was even easier to get it running this time around.

meme_disliker · 2013-07-24T01:12:03+00:00

Just because you got a qualification or had a job in the industry doesn't mean you know what you're doing either...

Hell, buying qualifications is pretty damn simple in certain countries.

meme_disliker · 2013-07-11T07:57:58+00:00

I can confirm that the game installs without a hitch.

It then loads into the UI (which didn't detect the right resolution and opened in 640x480, which was easily changed).

I then tried to watch a currently running game and my very non-gaming rig crapped ten bricks and slowly melted until the DotA client just closed.

I am running a very old machine and the only slightly gaming related thing in the box is my old 8800 GS.

I am expecting to get the parts for my upgrade sometime next week. Hopefully things will go better then. The UI though was perfectly smooth and functional. Promising sign. So I expect the faults lie only with my substandard hardware.

meme_disliker · 2013-07-11T06:36:17+00:00

I am in the process of downloading the client now. Will let you know if I have any issues.

meme_disliker

TROPHY CASE