Agile development

The current fad in software development is to be "agile". The original intent was that the developers and software company should be able to respond to change quickly, including changes to the design required when something new is learned. The problem I have with this, like most fads, is that many companies and developers are using the term without fully studying the intent. The result is a return to a development style I call "dumb as rocks".

Many developers seem to want to start designing and coding before they have studied and thought through all of the available information. They grab one fact, code, learn something else, code some more, learn more, redesign and rewrite what they have written, etc. This desire to start work before you know what you are trying to do has been ridiculed for ages and many Dilbert cartoons have been dedicated to it. Yet many developers and companies are doing this exact thing thinking that they are now being agile.

The intent of agile development isn't that you charge off with no knowledge. You still need to think and plan. You should only redesign or recode if something unexpected comes up, not something you just didn't bother to think through the first time.

Agile development may be the way of the future or it may be a passing fad, I have no idea which. What I do know is that a lot of what people think is "agile" is really "dumb as rocks".

The older I get the less I like winter

Winter hurts. My joints hurt just walking out into the cold. My legs and back hurt just from using the snowblower and cleaning up the snow. My eyes hurt from the blinding light on those rare occasions when the sun is shining and my soul hurts from the gloom and dark the rest of the time.

Beyond that things are going okay.

Public services

There are several public services that are seriously lacking and need improving in the U.S.

Public transportation - In many places even basic public transportation is absent, and where it is available it is poorly maintained and run. We really could use some decent public transportation.

Mental health care - Long ago the government ran facilities for the mentally ill. These were okay to horrible but at least they existed. Now we don't have the facilities and the mentally ill live as homeless people in the inner cities or as prisoners in the larger prisons.

Care for the elderly - In the past families took care of the elderly. It wasn't always great but it worked. Now that care is lacking. The elderly should not be ignored the way they are. We should have treatment and care facilities available, and services available for those that are independent but need help.

These aren't going to be fixed any time soon nor do I have a solution. I wish I did.

Cheap sex and expensive promises

The title of this entry is a line in a book I am reading. It reminded me it was time to say something.

It may seem odd coming from a man, but I have no interest in sex with a woman I don't care about. To me sex and caring go together. Many men disagree, but I rarely concern myself with what others believe.

If two people who don't care for each other want to have sex that is fine with me. I don't think that sex without emotion is evil or wrong, just wrong for me. To me it is about intimacy and sharing with someone you care about. If it was just about exercise I would go for a walk.

As you can imagine this attitude is somewhat inconvenient. There are times when I regret that I feel the way I do. I see others hooking up for one night stands and it looks like they are having fun. But then again I see people on roller coasters having fun and you couldn't get me on one of those things. We are the way we are. This is the way I am.

Of course some pay a price for their moments of fun. Social diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and such are sometimes a consequence. But we are the way we are and as long as people are aware of the dangers we shouldn't stand in the way of their happiness.

Still, there are times when I regret the way I am. I suppose we all sometimes regret the way we are.

Almost

I thought I had finally found a way to get off my main painkiller. I went two nights and almost two days without it, but late this afternoon the muscle spasms started again and the pain skyrocketed. So I had to start back on it. I am not a big fan of painkillers but I am even less of a fan of pain. I can control most pain but muscle spasms and the pain the comes with them is too much.

It was a good try though and hopefully some day I will be able to dump this painkiller.

A sleepy weekend

I am not good at sleeping, but when I do manage to sleep it can last a long time. This weekend was a sleepy one. I managed to get a couple of things done but mostly I slept. It felt good.

The only major thing I got done this weekend was to go to a fundraiser for a cancer patient. Cancer is a nasty disease. Attending was a bit uncomfortable since I don't like crowds or noise, but it was a worthwhile event so I did it.

Hopefully in the coming week I will have something more exciting to post. Right now I am wondering how long until bed time.

A bit of a rant about police and guns

When you take a job you plan on doing it to the best of your abilities. If you lack abilities then you should hurry up and fix that, or work on the ones you have but are deficient at.

One minute after I posted my last blog entry I read an article about a police shooting in which the police were quoted as saying many, many shots were exchanged. This is absurd. If the police can't hit what they are aiming at then they shouldn't be allowed to carry guns, and if they are shooting without aiming then they shouldn't be allowed to even touch guns.

This particular shooting was in a trailer park, so there are bound to be bullet holes in several houses in the area. Police should be protecting people not putting them in danger. If they can't hit what they are aiming at don't give them guns!

I take pride in my work and my abilities to do it. Every police shooting I read about involves many shots fired and few hits. The police should take more pride in their work and get better at it. Shooting a person may not be a fun job but it is one they agreed to do. Do it right.

Organizing my work shop

Now that I am starting to feel better I am finally cleaning up my garage and organizing my work shop. Due to the freezing weather I can only work for 15 minutes at a time, but still it is nice to be able to work.

One problem with organizing is trying to figure out which things go with which. Should the wood screws get tucked in with the other woodworking tools or should they be up front for standard household maintenance? Should I put the liquids in the house where they won't freeze or should I keep them outside where a spill won't cost so much to fix? Not soul searching problems, which is nice for a change. I do most of my soul searching when I can't sleep anyway.