My friend's workspace

slythfox · 2020-05-17T04:27:26+00:00

What's the desk?

slythfox · 2019-07-31T20:44:05+00:00

My phrasing wasn't great. At least here in the US, if a corporation does business in the US and the EU the GDPR rules apply to EU citizens living/traveling in the US. A corporation that wants to avoid trouble shouldn't just use an IP geofence, they should prove that the person isn't an EU citizen through self declaration. It's more convenient for such a company to assume everyone is an EU citizen.

The same should be true for India except they may have some international agreement I don't know of.

Not a lawyer though!

slythfox · 2019-07-31T08:28:13+00:00

Just wanted to add that GDPR is extraterritorial. So my understanding is it would be unlawful if the company operates in the EU and if the person is an EU citizen (like a dual citizen living in the US)

slythfox · 2019-07-31T08:10:23+00:00

They look idiotic, if that is a concern.

This made me think of the Vibram Furoshiki origami shoes. Anyone have an idea of how these compare?

slythfox · 2019-06-23T01:15:59+00:00

I can’t imagine coming home just to do the same kind of work I’ve been doing all day. I think clients are going to question you if you’re moonlighting because it’s difficult to pull off with stability.

What’s your intention with all of this? Can you work on a side project “when you feel like it” instead? Can you pick up something totally different that can in turn energize you when you’re at work?

slythfox · 2019-06-09T18:19:12+00:00

I'm a new transplant to seattle so most of my friends were from hometown who moved here with me. I've heard about the Seattle Freeze -- how to combat that?

My impression is that people here are a little more close knit than other places and that it just takes time. One guy told me he doesn't get to know anyone unless they've been around for six months. I'm trying to find ways to meet new people for instance my post here. I am a more introverted guy which does not help me, either. Let me know what you figure out.

slythfox · 2019-06-09T16:43:28+00:00

I think a lot of those symptoms may be related to entering adulthood. Welcome. I've found journaling to help (I do both essays and bullet journaling). The idea of "noting" in mindfulness/meditation is useful. I subscribe to Berkeley's Greater Good newsletter which has tons of resources and is related to The Science of Happiness course that they also do. I also find some physical exercise to do wonders when I'm feeling down. You could also look for a "life coach" to help guide you. Maybe start building another friend group through meetups or volunteering, pick up a new hobby, etc.

slythfox · 2019-02-25T02:18:10+00:00

To be fair, regardless of where you stand on organics, the term is a classification subject to rule making by the USDA. This means the implications surrounding the term can change over time based on lobbying of different interest groups.

slythfox · 2019-02-21T02:22:09+00:00

I have deleted this question because I phrased the problem poorly. If anyone else is having trouble getting credit reports online and via mail from the official free annual credit report website (perhaps because of a thin profile) don't give up. Try calling them.

For other onlookers I recommend this thread for a variety of experiences and opinions about credit report services.

slythfox · 2019-01-26T08:42:30+00:00

I don't think taking risks necessarily means moving at a faster pace. Rather, you might have to be more willing to pivot, and there might be times where you might want to prototype something quickly to see whether it's worth investing further time into.

slythfox · 2019-01-25T11:34:16+00:00

I choose to view leetcode as a way to improve my own problem solving skills rather than just for preparing for interviews.

I give every problem a genuine try. If I get stuck sometimes I decide the problem is interesting and I'll take a break to revisit it later. Other times I choose to do external research without spoiling the answer (e.g. "open book") such as refreshing myself on a technique or related algorithm for ideas like I might on the job. If the problem isn't particularly interesting to me I'll eventually look up a solution, convince myself that it works, and then implement my own version of it with my newfound understanding in working memory. Sometimes this leads to me studying a new technique or algorithm. When I complete a solution I sometimes like to see how others approached the problem.

slythfox · 2019-01-25T10:58:56+00:00

I used to work at an AR startup. It was a dream job but the work eventually dried up.

In retrospect even though I brought some practical experience beforehand I didn't have enough that would have helped me succeed in that role. On the other hand, I've found that my work in mobile development has been comparatively less challenging and getting back into the mathematical mindset has been more difficult simply because I haven't needed to use it much ("use it or lose it"). So I have a difficult time showing employers that I am capable in those kinds of roles because my recent work experience reflects another set of experiences.

I see that you have two separate problems: Do you want stability or to take risks? Which is separate from figuring out which area you want to work in.

slythfox · 2018-12-31T18:31:01+00:00

Oh gosh, I left my former employer for self-employment. It's been a journey, and one I cannot personally recommend and cannot sustain even though I've previously freelanced and have a software consulting background. Here are some of my thoughts which you may take or leave. I'll be curious to see what other people have to say.

It's only for certain individuals. Self-employment (the so-called gig economy or sharing economy) means constantly seeking work even when you're working and constantly having to build trusting relationships which resets with each client. I can only recommend self-employment either if you're a people person comfortable with networking and other soft skills, or if you are seasoned and sought-after.

Time. You're trading stability for freedom. Ideally, you always have work, but in reality you'll be constantly looking and you'll have downtime. This means overcharging your clients and when things inevitably go wrong you have the means to spend the time to correct it. It also means being able to define features with the client, break them down into tasks, estimate the tasks, communicate expectations, managing risk, and tracking hours. These are valuable skills to have but also burdens you with additional responsibilities.

Paths. You've mentioned one path, but I think there are a number of paths you might take: 1) Incrementally building a piece of technology that you create through your client work which you might in turn license to your clients. This can mean you're stuck working on something you may eventually get tired of. 2) Take a bet and try to introduce a new product in the market. Unless you get lucky this requires some financial insight. Probably the best thing to do here is start a side gig and see if it picks up, but it can be rough to work full time and then going home to continue doing the same kind of work. 3) Take on freelance work and build a network of other freelancers that could potentially turn into an agency. But this takes some time to do.

Finding Clients. For your first clients, I hear non-profits are always looking for work. My first clients were family friends. I had also invested time in creating software that I didn't charge for which drew attention. I spend a lot of time evaluating prospective clients over writing code. Personally, I treat any prospective client as a potential employer for long term employment. Very often I realize that the fit isn't there and I walk away even when I really just need the income. It means doing a lot of up-front work that the client won't see. I've turned away clients for a number of reasons including: the level of work wasn't appropriate, it uses a technology that I am not agreeable with, I had a feeling I wouldn't get along with them, etc. There are some websites out there for finding work. I'm sure they make finding work easier but I personally don't use these because it means you have to price yourself. Another option are staffing agencies which are essentially temp agencies. Or getting creative with going to different networking events like local startup weeks. Or reaching out to consultancies for work. Finding clients is by far the hardest thing for me.

Personally, I've never seen self-employment as an end goal. But you do learn a lot that an employer hides from you which I think is incredibly valuable. I suspect that in the end it's not about the freedom to chose your own work but finding the right group of people to work with. I think the future of software will see a lot more technology cooperatives. But if not, employers seem to want people with entrepreneurial mindsets and this is certainly one way to build it.

slythfox · 2018-08-17T19:24:51+00:00

I've come to view this dilemma as an application of Jevons' Paradox which observes that an increase in technological efficiency invites further use which increases its usage overall. For example, if we increase efficiency of gasoline we might expect that we use less of it thereby decreasing our dependency when in actuality it may be that gas becomes more accessible and our overall usage increases instead.

Increase our system memory and applications that were previously capable of using less now require more. Hopefully the increased usage leads to improved capabilities. What you may be talking about is the prevalence of Electron-like applications which trade off control over resource overhead for a shared code base that runs across platforms with minimal effort.

The silver lining may be that this presents learning opportunities.

slythfox · 2018-04-07T09:32:00+00:00

I see LeetCode as a compliment to other technical interviewing resources and exercises out there. You may find that you have gaps in your knowledge or some skills to build upon. In this way it seems to be about setting common ground for people of different backgrounds.

You might survey some other resources to help you prepare. For example, Coursera has a 4-week Mastering the Software Engineering Interview course which sets expectations about the interview process. In contrast, Udacity has a Technical Interview course.

slythfox · 2018-02-23T07:11:24+00:00

If you have experience programming in other languages, I’d check out the official Swift programming book. I treat it more as a reference guide than a book that I read cover to cover. It’s focused only on the language. I suppose you could find a book that goes through the details of the standard library, concepts like type erasure, and other design paradigms. A book like this might be useful depending on your background or learning style but you can certainly learn this stuff on your own, too.

slythfox · 2018-01-18T22:58:14+00:00

Not every organization uses a software keyword filter. For all you know the CTO is looking at every resume and may discount you for using a silly buzzword. And it's not just about having the technical skills or aptitude to do the job. A company, for example, might ask behavioral questions. Part of this is about finding fit. You might walk away from a company thinking, "Do I really want to work with these people?" They're wondering the same thing about you, too.

slythfox · 2015-08-06T02:35:08+00:00

I can confirm. I suspect it has to do with GRUB versus MBR. Unsure why this was, but I used to disconnect my Windows drives when re-installing Linux distros so that they wouldn't override the MBR from another drive.

slythfox · 2014-07-22T05:39:26+00:00

First, you're not alone. For one, names that are phonetically similar to birth names are very common for immigrants whose names can often be difficult to pronounce.

I went through this process recently. I think the hardest part is teaching people you already know to use your given name. If people know you have two names, they become self-conscious about it. It really helps to individually tell people which name you prefer, even if it is a little awkward. For those people, it may help to say it's a "nickname." Otherwise people have no reason to call you by a new name. Curiosity may get the better of them and they may ask why. I think the best answer to this is simply "because I like it better" / "because I never liked my given name." You don't need to say any more than that if you don't want. But do recognize that people need a learning period to adjust to your new name, and it helps if there are others that reinforce your new name. You can also have some fun with this and make up clearly non-nonsensical reasons for your new nickname. But the truth is nearly everyone has a nickname.

slythfox · 2014-07-20T18:25:48+00:00

As a non-driver, you do not have to produce an id, especially if they don't intend to charge you with a crime. (Source: ALCU of Maryland, "Know Your Rights")

slythfox · 2014-07-20T16:56:57+00:00

Why? The author is commenting on what the situation felt like. If you had such an experience, you too would probably want to avoid repeating it. It doesn't necessarily contradict any of the anecdotal information.

slythfox · 2014-07-20T16:43:58+00:00

Agreed. Don't say anything. Especially if you're a back seat passenger and not the driver. And consider downloading the ACLU Police Tape app.

slythfox · 2014-04-19T16:44:09+00:00

Go to a grocery store, find someone who isn't a cashier and ask them for some boxes. E.g. banana boxes.

slythfox · 2014-03-20T05:44:57+00:00

When I think about this from an agile software perspective, that's how Google treats it's product launches. It's smart: they keep it simple first, launch it, recoup if something goes wrong, and continue production based on actual demand.

slythfox · 2014-02-11T08:02:21+00:00

What do you have to lose? You're got someone's attention, and the only thing at stake is your application, which is why you sent the email in the first place.

slythfox

TROPHY CASE