I'm Only Working

Posted by Ryan Baxter Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:13:00 GMT

When I’m not working, I read a lot of blogs. While eating lunch today, I read a quote from writer J. Robert Lennon on Wil Wheaton’s blog that instantly put a smile on my face. I can attest that the quote applies equally to programmers. In fact, I catch myself doing this several times a day.

The truth, of course, is that writers programmers are always working. When you ask a writer programmer a direct question, and he smiles and nods and then says “Well!” and turns and walks away without saying goodbye, he is actually working.

If a writer programmer is giving you a ride to the bus station and pulls up in front of the supermarket and turns to you and says, “Enjoy your trip!,” she is actually working.

So if you’re talking to me and something similar to the above happens, I apologize. I’m only working.

Comments

Leave a response

Avatar
Scott Thorpe Comment_bubble 2 days later:
Very true. I find it hard to be really social when i'm working on a really tough problem. Its almost as if the practice to solve these problems causes us to apply the same rules on ourselves. Btw, I love your fractal library you wrote. I'm turning it into a gem. :)
Avatar
Ryan Baxter Comment_bubble 2 days later:
I tend to obsess over problems so much that the wheels never fully stop turning. Whether I'm eating dinner, taking a shower, or giving someone a ride to the supermarket. It probably isn't very healthy. Anyway... Thanks! I was just doing some refactoring of the fractal library last night. The next version will be a little cleaner and have a neat little interface for using different image libraries. If I can get the bugs worked out, it'll be easier to construct other fractals too. Cheers.
Avatar
retsoced Comment_bubble 8 days later:
This is great - now I have an excuse to be short, random and slightly obtuse at work....