1.
Things I Believe
Now That I'm Old
@rosstuck
Codemotion Milan 2014

2.
“How old are you?”

3.
30
-15
15

4.
30

5.
4509 years remaining

6.
Advice

7.
Not data
Not facts
Not related resources

8.
Advice

9.
Answers
Dear Abby

10.
Cheap to give
Easy to get

11.
78~ years avg

12.
45 09 years remaining

13.
Distilled Experience

14.
Optimize

15.
Advice
about advice
with advice I was given

16.
Recursion

17.
7 Steps

18.
Step 1
Consider the source

19.
Unable Able

20.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable

21.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Lead dev
Unable

22.
Helpful
Junior dev
Unable Able
Not helpful
Lead dev

23.
Not about right or wrong

24.
Weight

25.
Good and Bad

26.
“Listen to your elders.”

27.
“Stop with this HTML stuff.
Flash is the future.”

28.
2000

29.
Seemed legit.

30.
Spoiler alert:
Flash didn't make it

31.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Colleagues
Unable

32.
am
I was an idiot.

33.
Consider the source

34.
Broader View

35.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable

36.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable

37.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable

38.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable

39.
Tinfoil hats aside

40.
“Your money is safe with
Goldman Sachs.”

41.
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Banks
Unable

42.
“You should be...”

43.
“You should be...*hic*...”

44.
“You should be more of a shark.”

45.
Step 2
Consider the context

46.
1 laptop bag
2 suitcases
14 cardboard boxes

47.
Kids
House
Spouse
Pet Mouse

48.
Different situation

49.
Everyday Example

50.
“Just hack it up.”

51.
Sometimes it's the right thing to do

52.
Context is important

53.
BDD is about gathering context
Design Patterns often miss context

54.
“Right tool for the right job.”

55.
Which is better for chopping vegetables?

56.
“Chainsaws are an antipattern.”

57.
Context

58.
Step 3
Be open to advice

59.
Answer

60.
“You're never going to learn
anything with your mouth open.”

61.
Hard way

62.
Humiliating story of my career

63.
No idea.

64.
Ummm...

65.
It was a long time ago, ok?

66.
“Read these books.”

67.
I left the interview...

68.
...with a reading list.

69.
I did.

70.
And I got better.

71.
Hacker

72.
Hacker > Engineer

73.
Thanks.

74.
Be open

75.
“Do you know why this cup is useful?
Because it is empty.”
-Bruce Lee

76.
Step 4
Use it

77.
“Advice is what we ask for when we
already know the answer but wish we
didn’t.”
-Erica Jong

78.
Pardon the profanity

79.
“Shit or get off the pot.”

80.
“Don't be a chickenshit.”

81.
Indecision
Fear

82.
“Will I regret not doing this in 48.5 years?”

83.
Habit

84.
“Everything comes with a price.”

85.
Different kinds of prices

86.
Moral

87.
“You have to do
what you think is right.”

88.
Nathaniel Borenstein

89.
destroyBaghdad();

90.
destroyCity();

91.
destroyCity('Baghdad');

92.
Ethics

93.
Dark Side

94.
There's a price

95.
Pay it

96.
Don't pay it

97.
Choose

98.
“Say thank you.”

99.
Step 5
Meditate on it

100.
Did it work as expected?

101.
Would you do it again?

102.
Did you get what you wanted?

103.
Are you happy?

104.
sydneypadua.com

105.
Cognitive Dissonance

106.
“I want the grapes”
+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress

107.
Something's gotta give

108.
“I want the grapes”
+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress

109.
“Those grapes probably suck”
+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress

110.
“Those grapes probably suck”
+ “I can't have the grapes”
Bearable

111.
Cognitive Dissonance

112.
Lying to yourself

113.
Remember where you started

114.
Be honest with yourself

115.
“Don't be too hard on yourself.”

116.
Realistic expectation

117.
Realistic expectation

118.
SMART goals

119.
S
M
A
R
T

120.
Specific
M
A
R
T

121.
Specific
Measurable
A
R
T

122.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
R
T

123.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
T

124.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-Bound

125.
SMART

126.
Continuous Improvement

127.
“You can do better.”
“At what?”
“At life. Everything.”

128.
“...That standard must be our standard. If you
are going to be a builder, no other standard is
worthwhile. That is what I expect of myself in
my own buildings, and it is what I expect of
my students.”

129.
“Gradually, I show the students that they
have a right to ask this of themselves, and
must ask this of themselves.”

130.
Honesty

131.
Don't be discouraged

132.
“Wow. That's amazing.”

133.
Step 6
Give it

134.
“I always pass on good advice. It is the
only thing to do with it.”
-Oscar Wilde

135.
“Watch one. Do one. Teach one.”
- Ancient Med School Proverb

136.
Small things

137.
Like this

138.
“Use a stuffed animal.”

139.
Advice is a meme

140.
Memes evolve

141.
Improve

142.
“Be humble.”

143.
You owe that.

144.
“We must be very careful when we give
advice to younger people:
sometimes they follow it!”
- Edsger Dijkstra

145.
Step 7
Collect Advice

146.
Environment

147.
Code Review
Sprint Retrospective
360 Feedback
Internal Workshops

148.
Safe

149.
Ask

150.
Ask a lot

151.
DFQ

152.
Continuous Improvement

153.
You never know what you're going to need.

154.
“You'll understand when
you're older.”

155.
It's true

156.
Understanding
Time

157.
Stockpile the crap out of it.

158.
55+ developers

159.
The Motherlode

160.
“Find a mentor.”

161.
Epilogue

162.
Art by Nat Alt | natalt.co.uk

163.
If it's broke, check your
assumptions.

164.
Keep your users safe.

165.
Consider every solution.

166.
Using something well
means learning it well.

167.
Lessons from other domains
can work in your domain.

168.
Sharing vocabulary helps
share solutions.

169.
Art is important.

170.
The impact of automating a task
is greater than just that task.

171.
Curiosity is at the core
of what we do.

172.
Accessibility is always the
first challenge.

173.
We build for people.

174.
Programming,
Mother F******!!!!
Actual title of his talk

175.
Make your time count.

176.
Meet New People

177.
Advice comes from people

178.
Learned

179.
Lived

180.
Paid For

181.
Open Source

182.
Things I Believe Now That I'm Old

183.
in
People
Things I Believe Now That I'm Old(er)

184.
45 09 years remaining

185.
Thank You

186.
Image Credits
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1281623
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1146398
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/480556
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/seldaek/9647408557/sizes/h/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chartres_Cath%2BGare.JPG
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1124522
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/190426
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/cappellmeister/5926625/sizes/o/
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1128251
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/5557057223/sizes/l/
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Charlton_Heston_in_The_Ten_Commandments_film_trailer.jpg
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/2859826117/sizes/l/
• http://www.iconarchive.com/show/looney-tunes-icons-by-sykonist/Marvin-Martian-icon.html
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B000NZW3KC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382383730&sr=8-1&k
eywords=three+wolf+moon+t-shirt
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/126380
• http://www.amosphotography.com/data/photos/256_1greatwhitesharksmiling.jpg
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_moments/5170055335/sizes/l/
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1166351
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtrah/5005443977/sizes/o/
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/285330
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/134456
• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1426482
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbystevejohnson/4667347603/
• http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/3775517/The-chainsaw-chef.html

187.
Advice Appreciated
me@rosstuck.com
@rosstuck
Ross Tuck joind.in/12866