Subj : Re: do serious programmers have a life?
To   : comp.lang.c++,comp.programming
From : Randy Howard
Date : Sat Sep 24 2005 08:13 am

Baxter wrote
(in article <11j9eu7ctufanc4@corp.supernews.com>):

> It's attitudes like this that are the reason that programmers are viewed as
> socially inept dweebs.

Whatever helps you sleep at night, party guy.  When it comes 
time to get a major project out the door, I'll take the ones 
that can get it done over the socialites every time.  

Despite the stereotype you seem to wish to reinforce, it's not 
really accurate.  I've known quite a few socially adept 
programmers that understood that there were times (not all the 
time) where work was important and that they were being paid an 
extremely nice salary to behave professionally.  If you're being 
paid six figures for being a pro, you don't just plead that your 
wife is busting your chops, or you have a party to go to -- 
Sorry we'll be missing our launch date there boss, but you don't 
want me to be a geek, do you sir?

> Myself, I've found I solve more problems and write better code if I go home
> at the end of eight hours.   

Then do it.  As long as you don't leave your coworkers hanging 
out to dry waiting for you, there's no problem with that, as 
I've said already.  If on the other hand everybody else is in 
the lab at 8:30pm, and the one piece of code that keeps tripping 
the analyzer is yours, and you're at home watching Survivor, I 
wouldn't want to be in your shoes.

> My co-worker puts in a late-nighter, but at
> noon the next day we're at the same point - I've got as much finished,
> working code as he does.

Then he probably isn't cut out for that kind of work schedule 
either.  Fortunately, there is a lot of middle ground between 8 
hours and 24.  I know programmers think in boolean terms fairly 
often, but let's not pretend those are the only two options 
here.


-- 
Randy Howard (2reply remove FOOBAR)

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