25+ yr Java/JS dev
Linux novice - running Ubuntu (no windows/mac)

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Joined 7 months ago
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Cake day: October 14th, 2024

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  • Sure, there’s overlap. Democratic orgs often share staff, money, and office space—it’s a dense web. But none of that makes McGowan responsible for the app’s failure, nor does it suggest any connection between her relationship with Murphy and the breakdown of a software development process. It’s innuendo, not evidence.

    Hostility to Bernie, if true, has no bearing on code quality. Nor does a relationship with the Buttigieg or Biden campaigns.

    And as a developer, I can tell you: it’s much harder to sabotage an app in a specific way than it is to simply build one that works. If there’s a conspiracy here, it’s hiding behind a wall of very ordinary technical incompetence.




  • I read the Washington Post (via Seatle Times) article instead of the free beacon garbage.


    So… a software company with piss-poor development discipline got bought by a bigger company that seemingly knows even less. And they were contracted by the Democratic party to create a vote reporting application, which they largely failed to do.

    I’ve been a software developer for almost thirty years, mostly working for contractors. The only scandal I see here is how god-fucking-awful software project management is, and believe me that isn’t news. This is what you get for hiring a bunch of developers who are either green or don’t give a shit about the quality of the software they write. I could write an epic fucking rant here about that.

    But what I don’t see is a single relevant detail in the actually submitted article.





  • Man, nothing we can do about it but I think IT hiring is so fucked right now. I have worked with so many people and on so much code that has no place in a development shop.

    I always blow hacker rank stuff but honestly that shit isn’t even that important to the job. You need maybe one person on a team who is good with algorithms and can reverse binary trees and bullshit.

    And every time I get a job I’m coding circles around the rest of my team. To the point where the most painfully part is being unable to write it all myself or just sit everyone down and teach them. But I was out of work for 5 months last year and I’m getting near 30 years of experience.

    To be fair, could be selection bias and big fish in a small pond. If I can’t land jobs with great companies I’m not comparing myself to the best of the best.

    Anyway, the system isn’t designed to help folks like us succeed. I’d like to see some kind of IT workers union that functions as peer mentoring, and certification that once someone learns an environment they are effective. Based on what I’ve seen, there is a lot of room for something like that because education and certifications aren’t getting it done.

    OTOH dealing with seniority over aptitude and skill is a big detriment of unions in my observation. I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind seeing someone give it a try.

    As for advice, networking. As far as I can tell, every job mostly comes down to looking a manager in the eyes, shaking his hand, and convincing him you’re someone who can make things happen. And sending out CVs is the most circuitous and fraught route to getting that ten minutes.

    Recruiters get me almost all of my jobs. But I also have a decent network of folks I’ve impressed along the way, it’s just that few of them are in hiring positions. They have recommended me to their managers for positions before.