Done Since 2018-05-27

[mdlbear]

My first full week without N and the kids. The house seems very empty without them. They came up Sunday to swap cats, and I drove down to Rest Stop Monday to put j's bed (bunk over desk) back together. Offered to leave my drill and some driver bits, but G didn't want them.

I had three phone interviews with SunBasket on Tuesday. Friday I got their rejection email, which hurt probably more than it should have. That's really because I obviously haven't sent out enough job applications -- I put in three on Saturday.

It's tough finding jobs to apply for. (Non-geeks can skip ahead.)

Front-end is pretty much out, because that requires Javascript and typically one of the popular frameworks (usually React, but sometimes Angular). I should probably stop chasing Elm for a while and do something with React, but it would still take me a month or two to get even minimally good at it, and most places want a couple of years with code in production.

Back-end jobs still have a lot of Java, which is really the only thing I'm good at anymore, but a lot of them (the more interesting ones) want either Ruby (mostly Rails) or Python. And some want PHP, which for some reason hasn't died yet. And most also want relational database experience and/or container experience.

The real problem is that, except for the last five years as a Java code monkey, almost all my prior experience was in R&D rather than production. I picked up a lot of interesting skills, usually before they went mainstream, and ignored the stuff that wasn't interesting. A lot of it was at least somewhat in demand -- five years ago. But for the last five years the world has gone on without me.

And for the last year, when I could have been learning new programming languages, building stuff like phone apps, writing, and recording, I've been stagnating. Gun, meet feet. I'm doing that stuff now, but it's probably too late.

Add depression, impostor syndrome, low self-esteem and self-confidence, and decades worth of bad financial decisions. Things look pretty bleak. Sorry about that.

Notes & links:

0527Su
  * Up 4:50; S=6:22, ;
    % meloxicam, because although the elbow is better, the hand is worse.
  @ The Lesbian Pulp Fiction That Saved Lives - Atlas Obscura (ysabetwordsmith)
  @ ArtStation - Jakub Rozalski surreal art (emo_snal)
  : Mom in Normandy right now, so that she can scatter (some of?) Dad's ashes there on
    Memorial Day.
  * N and kids coming up to visit and swap cats.  Leaving ~11:30
  * asked C if it's ok if I go down to Rest Stop to put j's bed back together -> yes
  @ Python 2 vs Python 3: Practical Considerations | DigitalOcean 
  : 6:30; they're gone.   Sent the massage table, its accessories, and m's Backpacker back
    with them and the kittens.
  @ FBI tells router users to reboot now to kill malware infecting 500k devices | Ars
  : 7:40 Desti seems very relaxed.  I'll turn out the light when I leave the room in a few
    minutes.  I still don't seem to have reacted to the kittens being gone.  It'll be very
    different, but I'm not sure how yet.  Besides not having to lock them up every time I
    go outside.

0528Mo Memorial Day
  * up 5:40ish; S=;
  * don't forget to feed Desti!
    -> poor critter has been meowing at the door all morning.
  * power-cycle all routers.  * repeater  * gw  * telco - install inline switch
  : Desti is a lap cat.  I love having a cat on my lap.
  & re-assembled the broken cat tree without the damaged column and middle shelf.  It's
    way too short, but a start.  Might be able to fix the column with gorilla glue.
  @ Learn web development | MDN I'm going through the CSS course
  @ general | Elm Slack
  * gave Desti Ticia's box and towel; put Desti's blanket on the bed for Ticia.  Curious
    sniffing on both sides.  No growling, which is a good sign.
  * go down to Rest Stop to put j's bed together.  Leave the 12v drill and a bit-holder if
    G wants them.  Not the quick-release because I don't have a replacement
    -> he doesn't.  Went pretty quickly with j helping.  Had a can of chili for lunch.
    The house isn't terribly C-friendly at the moment.  Front steps need to be ramped.
    Back entrance is a bigger step than N thought it was, I think -- about a foot.
    -> left arm, predictably, is hurting.
    -> took a naproxen. 2ish, so okay to take meloxicam in the morning if needed
  % sleepy a couple of times on the way back.
  * open the lemondrop melon.  Refrigerate what doesn't get eaten.
    -> not quite as good as I remembered.  Maybe I let it get too ripe?
  * evening - feed Desti and Ticia on opposite sides of the door.
    -> Ticia didn't eat much.  They seem to be mostly ignoring one another at this point.
    -> later, a little growling.  They're still mostly curious.
  * a little guitar noodling
  @ DenisKolodin/yew: Rust framework for making client web apps inspired by Elm
  @ asm.js spec
  @ Structured TodoMVC with Elm to exemplify real-world apps various ways of
    organizing a multi-module app in Elm.

0529Tu
  * up 6:45ish; S=7:30;
  @ Firefox Test Pilot - Send encrypted and decrypted on client side
  & multiple cleanups.
  : Both V and T' are here.  T' starting with N's room -- I'll have her do j's next week
    after Desti is out of it.
  * 10:30 am- 11:00 am- Daniel Loy -- Sunbasket
  * 11:30 am- 12:00 am- Matson Wade
    actually went to an hour-- good conversation
  @ ReasonML - React as first intended OCaml with braces, compiled into JS
  @ projects/roadmap.md at master · elm/projects
  @ Elm: webgl 2.0.5
  * 2:30 pm- 3:00 pm- Chris Lock
    % I've been having trouble remembering details of the last set of things I worked on
      at Amazon.  Burnout side-effect?  Can't remember the name of the last service I
      wrote.  (Some details are starting to come back, but slowly.  I think I may be
      confusing the two SILs I wrote.) -> Oh, yes:  IPA Service.  Or was that...?
      IPA was the one I designed and Cory implemented.  Mine was IsSIL
  : one of the linen shelves in the bathroom collapsed - one of the braces bent; it's not
    entirely clear how.
  @ Responding to Attacks - Bitcoin Gold 51% attacks
    Cryptocurrency heist worth $20m sees hackers exploit worrying new trend(autoplay)
  : still unsure about how to get Desti together with Ticia.
    -> 7:30ish let Desti out, with Ticia there.  Petted both, offered treats (which Desti
       didn't seem interested in).  They hissed once, then each went under our bed.
       7:48 still no fights.  Desti has been exploring.  Ticia went exploring in j's room
       7:55 one more hiss, in our bedroom.
  @ Sunshine Daydream: Florida Bill Would Make Daylight Saving Time Year-Round : NPR 
    (via elm/time, as an example of why time
    zones are more complicated than one might think)

0530We
  * Up 5:30; S=6.7, W=202.4;
  % Left arm pretty much recovered; hand less so -- still hurts when stretched
  @ FOSTA-SESTA is now law—where does that leave the Internet? | PIA Blog [LJ]
  @ If You Have a Comcast Xfinity Router, You Need to Install a VPN (Now) | PIA Blog
  @ Private Internet Access | Anonymous VPN Service Provider
    Private Internet Access Wins Most Stable VPN Award | Private Internet Access Blog
  * update index page on steve.savitzky.net
  : saw what appeared to be a pigeon in the yard by the rose bushes.
  * posted Understanding Ursine: An Introduction -- earliest mention in DW is 2014 and the
    idea is said to have been around for several years before that.
  * 1:30ish walk to Goss Lake Rd.  No hip pain; tired, of course.
    spoke with a neighbor who asked about m
  * good singing lesson.  Sang "Wheelin'" and "Paper Wings".  Nancy hadn't either of them;
    thought for sure we'd sung Wheelin' at one point.
  % down 10:50.  Left arm hurts; took naproxen

0531Th
  * up 6:30ish; S=7.2;
  @ Minifree Libreboot X200 Tablet now FSF-certified to Respect Your Freedom — FSF 
    PayPal? No way! – Ministry of Freedom
  @ hardware - h-node.org
  @ Why You Should Do It Yourself | Linux Journal
  * did 25min worth on trying to get elm-css into the timer app -- no dice.  It's not a
    drop-in replacement for Html, and causes all sorts of ambiguities between Css and
    Html.Styled.  I'll go with CSS in an html file
  * SL: scrubbie sponges, grated parm, eggs, granola, yoghurt, probiotics, gentle iron,
    cranberry, clorox spray cleaner w\ bleach
    Also, breads, bacon, gin.  It's been a long time since I last bought gin; I can do it
    every couple of months.
  : I'm going to have to empty the greenhouse before the propane tanks get installed.
  & pulled some weeds from the garden next to the garage.
  & some time in the garage, pod, and greenhouse.  Moved tool box and bucket into garage.
    There's hardly anything else I can do on my own, and the garage isn't in a state where
    I can hire someone -- I'd have to install shelves first, and the best wall for
    shelving is where the big shelves used to be, and there's crap leaning against it.
    I'll need shelving before I can get volunteers in.
  % extremely fragile.  C raised her voice when I asked her to repeat something, I took it
    as annoyance, and flaked.
  % discouraged and overwhelmed.rest of the page.
  * chicken stir-fry for dinner.  Ginger, garlic, onion, water chestnut, mushrooms;
    leftover rice
  : Desti is very good at not stepping on my keyboard.
  * wrote css to style my gig list.  Next target is the nav bar, and responsive layout

0601Fr
  * Up 3:30; S=4:37; litter boxen
  * Web: nav bars in s.s.net.  Move style.css to site/;
  @ A Brand Advertising Restoration Project | Linux Journal
  @ How Wizards and Muggles Break Free from the Matrix | Linux Journal
  @ Can Google Properly Crawl and Index JavaScript Frameworks? A JavaScript SEO
    Experiment. | Elephate 
  * 1:15 C at Freeland Clinic
    -> another prescription for loperamide instead of lomotil.  They *keep* doing that.
    -> apparently the substitution happens because Medicare won't pay for lomotil
    -> the infuriating thing is that they didn't _say_ so until I raised my voice at the
       nurse who was trying to tell us that they're the same thing.
    -> her other prescription will be ready for pickup ~4:15
  : grumph - freeland clinic appears to be blocking ssh, and something is wonky about dns
  * lgf/Songs doesn't build on deployment because it's in a subtree
    it was fixed in steve, but not lgf.
  : Harold Harrigan died this morning.
  * order CPAP supplies - disposable filter and nasal pillow
  * rejection email from SunBasket.
    -> that one hurt.  Been feeling like crap all evening.
  * rejection email from Etsy
  @ How I Structure Elm Apps a bit dated - uses Signal
  * wrong license on the html of all my songs -- CC-by-sa instead of -NC-
    -> it's in the metadata.  flktran is fine.
    -> kludged for now -- it's happening when replacing \SomeRightsReserved
  % ear-ache.  Left, of course.
  
0602Sa
  & awake 3am; S=4.5; read Science for a while
    awakened by Ticia.  Stayed in bed cuddling with her for a while.
    ! very depressed.  Can't stop thinking about finances -- I really don't have a way out
      of this mess.
  * up 7:45ish; S=6:50;
  * signed up with Jobspresso.co; apparently I already had an account.  Not in my file,
    though, so it's possible that it was called something else at the time.  Associated
    with Robert Half, so that's possible.
  * responded to follow-up email from Salesforce
  @ Tracking the Kilauea Eruption : Earth Matters : Blogs
  % Noticed while tying up my ponytail (which I've gone back to to help hold my facehugger
    in position) that my hair has gotten distinctly thinner.  Testosterone poisoning.
  * apply at lasso - jobs@lassocrm.com.  The description looks tailor-made for me.
    via jobspresso. https://jobspresso.co/job/lasso-data-systems-senior-software-developer/
    Direct: careers@lassocrm.com http://www.lassocrm.com/senior-software-developer
  * https://boards.greenhouse.io/github/jobs/1083148 Senior Infrastructure Engr.
    unlike many of the others, I meet their minimum qualifications and most of preferred
  * https://boards.greenhouse.io/github/jobs/1160702 Sftw Engr - Data Portability
    " You can be a great candidate even if you don't fit everything we've described
      above. You can also have important skills we haven't thought of. If that's you,
      don't hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. "
  % 9:30ish drifty.  Good thing I'm not driving today.
  : Only steve/Songs has any audio.  tg/Songs is simply missing, but that's okay because
    the concerts (and whatever lyrics they link to) are there and nobody is going to miss
    Songs if we don't link to it
  * a little guitar:  noodling with arpeggios mostly in C and Am
  % so writing three cover letters seems to have used up much of the day.  Ugh.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

That sounds like the problem I had. The Harvard Library was content to work with old versions of Java and not adopt much in the way of new technologies (though they adopted new fads like Scrum which I wish they hadn't), and after I left my skills were behind the times.

[mdlbear]

I'm with you on scrum. Amazon was actually pretty up-to-date on Java; my problem is that I didn't bother to learn any of the languages my team wasn't using. Similar effect, though.

[filkerdave]

Take a look at .NET. It's close enough to Java that you should be able to pick it up quickly.

[mdlbear]

I don't think I've run across any .NET jobs in this round of searching. F# looks kind of intriguing, though.

[fractalwolf]

I really wish I could help. :(

I'm curious why you think PHP is and/or should be on its way out, though. I've been taught a lot of languages in various classes, but I could never figure out how to use them in a practical way. Most of them weren't even usable without being in some sort of special environment (they never even taught us how to run a Visual Basic program outside of the IDE), and the rest were, well... programming languages. Things that required some sort of special action on the part of the user, such as installing an executable (for compiled programs) or enabling Java (which not everyone wants to do in order to do something little like view a web page). I'd pretty much given up on considering myself a programmer when I finally started playing with PHP in response to an employer with a website and no other technical resources, and over the last few years I've just slowly built up my familiarity and done increasingly complex programs that have solved a lot of problems for my team. Maybe it could be a topic for one of your posts?

[mdlbear]

Could be. I've linked to PHP: a fractal of bad design in the past; today looking for it I also found Why PHP Sucks. It's just a poorly-designed language.

It's very popular in part because it's very easy to get started, and it has to be said that there are a lot of major projects written in it, including Wikipedia, Wordpress, and Facebook. Amazon bans it, even for internal-only hacks.