Forum Post: TechJunkie
Posted 12 years ago on Sept. 30, 2012, 6:46 p.m. EST by richardkentgates
(3269)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
You have exhausted my thread about living in poverty and refuse to accept what is said to you time and time again so let me tell it to you like this...
There are millions of people in this country living in poverty, once you have spoken to each and every individual who lives in poverty and take the time to discredit and blame every one of them for living in poverty, check back with me and we'll continue the conversation.
Maybe all this technology is taking society into a regressive state... I'm seeing a lot of technology being horded and monopolized and created to cut employees and for negative purposes. If those who did study in this field would use their skills for better purposes than to join the one percent, maybe I could get on board with the current speed of things, but... instead of curing diseases, all of our would be scientists, are working on the latest APP hoping to get rich in a hurry/ or working for for a giant evil monopoly corporation...Higher math is a special skill, not everyone has the brain for it - and those who do I fear have lost a sense of greater good and are working on stock dividends and i phone apps vs curing diseases or solving the worlds problems. Maybe the tech types should get out of the box and take a look at the worlds needs get back to nature, stop thinking about money. Think about how Wall Street accomplishes all it's dirty deeds it's all done on computer. And noone in the tech field seems to have a conscience about helping them create the programs to do it. It takes good math to figure out for instance all those insurance statistics, and all those equations on screwing people or baking up chemicals that pollute or make GMO foods... who is doing that... hmmm begs the question who are the sell outs selling us out to Wall Street? Tech Junkies? Math and Science types? Maybe we do need less math and science? !
Your theory has been tested before:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g3/
People don't like change. Change is hard and sometimes dangerous. The older we get the more difficult it is to adapt. But if someone tells you that they yearn for the good old days just mention one thing: dentistry.
It's Moore's Law.
I have a question its not an attack so dont worry.
Why do you live in poverty? I know its a complex issue but what major things external and internal contributed to you living in poverty?
Being diagnose with ADD at 7 years old landed me in an E.H. class throughout my school career which caries a social stigma, provides poor learning material because you are assumed a loss to society, and invites bullies that lead to fighting. My parents being impoverished did not allow for a second chance at an education so after my second try at the 9th grade (kicked out for fighting) I took up the family line of work and began cooking. At 19 I started building computers and went to trade school with the hopes of getting a career in computer repair, shortly after I became qualified to actually take up the field, Best Buy came out with Geek Squad and turned it into a 10 dollar an hour job and I regressed, stayed cooking. At 28 took up web design as my path out of poverty and that is the goal I'm still pursuing today.
Sounds like you have background for a six figure job, with a little more training. Tech Junkie and other claim there is a lot of computer engineering jobs.
I don't know if this would work specifically for you, but inquire what Microsoft seeks in employee.
We need cooks too.
Working wages for all workers. Workers unite!
My state's minimum wage is increasing to $9.15. Not much to raise family on, but our state gives some other supports to families.
Minimum ought to be $17.00 at least, for someone who has kids, in my humble opinion. Also, we should have universal health coverage for everyone. And USA should increase food stamp availability, and stop wasting money on military.
We have 11 aircraft carriers, and the whole rest of world has 10 total.
Poverty happens in USA. Because of lack of wages and job insecurity.
It would be nice to eliminate it, and get back to an even playing field for all, by ending tax breaks for corporations and millionaires, and becoming beacon for peace instead of war.
People seem to look down on strikers as overly greedy.
Below interesting article on public sector strikes.
http://www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/public-strikes-explained-why-there-arent-more-of-them-85899419275
He DOES have the background for a six-figure job, and that's what I've been trying to point out. He's five years or less away from a six-figure job if he commits to it. I know that because he had demonstrated the aptitude. I'm in the business of hiring people with the skills that he's trying to develop, and I can see that he has the talent. I'm in his industry, his state, and his niche. I've explicitly said that I'm hiring, and I've provided him with training resources.
But he doesn't want that six-figure job. He wants to be the boss. He's insulted by the suggestion that he could refine his skills by working web development contracts or a job. Okay, I can understand that since I've also never wanted to work for somebody else (but I have worked plenty of contracts, which is not the same thing at all) so I also have a lot of advice on how to go about running a small web development business. But he also finds that advice insulting.
I never set out to insult Richard. I took an interest in the first place because he obviously has the skills that it takes to succeed as a web developer, but he's complaining about being below the poverty line because he works as a cook. Which eats into his training time in web development. If he were working as a web developer for a day job instead of cooking in a restaurant, then he would be learning and practicing his web development skills all day long. But he finds that idea insulting.
So at this point it's really more about his personality and other factors, than his job skills or opportunities. When opportunity comes knocking, he punches it in the face. That's his choice, there's nothing that I can do about it. I've decided to stop wasting my time and I'm focusing on web development today instead. But I just want to clarify yet again that I never intended to "discredit" or "blame" him for living in poverty when I tried to highlight a potential path out of it.
I was also diagnosed in elementary school with ADHD, though it was a very mild case (this diagnosis is way too subjective on the part of MDs IMO). I was very fortunate to be placed in regular classes throughout my school career though because my parents never shared the diagnosis with the school. I often wonder how things may have been different for the worse today if they did.
It is a shame that so many kids carry that stigma, especially considering how the Dx of ADHD is rapidly rising (again, way too subjective) and how many kids will outgrow it as they mature. A lot of stuff we learn throughout our K-12 education and beyond is incredibly boring stuff. Just because a kid is zonking out during class or doing something else to occupy his time shouldn't mean that have a disease.
The irony is the same regimen of tests showed I had an IQ of 172 at 7 years old which I didn't find out about until many years later. I honestly think people, just out of habit, assume something wrong with anyone they can't understand.
Oh I don't doubt it. A lot of people show signs of ADHD because they aren't being challenged. It is likely the reason the ADHD tends to go away in a lot of people as they move into higher levels of education.
It's more likely that they just learned to quit being curious and their appetite for learning was stifled by a very one size fits all school system. People will eventually conform to the system and it's sad to me that the brightest and most talented are put to sleep by the system. I was one of the first teachers to work with the ADH children back in the early 80's. I argued that these children were not trouble-makers but instead, extremely bright and needed to be in a different learning environment where they could actually advance at their own pace. I worked with a group of children one summer who were slated to repeat the 5th grade and the arrangement was that I had 2 months to bring them up to a passing level or they would repeat and so I did. I took them out of the classroom and I taught them in my apartment or out in the field. Every single one of the kids already knew everything I was teaching them! I realized that they were just were bored, depressed, their energy was so diminished and they absolutely hated school. Who could blame them? So, as a result, I recommended that the school put them in an advanced studies program or to move them to a Montessori or Mastery Learning school where they could advance at their own pace. Is it any surprise that we've seen such a rapid rise in ADH/ADHD in recent years with SOL teaching models? Dr. Mel Levine started a program called, ' All Kinds of Minds" in NC to teach teachers and he was a great inspiration to me. At some point, someone accused him of child abuse and he was forced to resign. This does not suprise me at all and I'm sure that given his opposition to the current system, someone wanted him out/stopped.
Teachers either don't want to work that hard or they simply don't have the time or the resources to work with the brightest students. Many teachers are simply not intelligent or creative enough to work with the brightest students. A mind is a terrible thing to waste and we see so many wasted in a system that has such low expectations of everyone and parents who are more than willing to comply. This topic really winds me up!
Exactly
I believe that big pharma invents new reasons for doctors to prescribe their drugs. The test they gave you Richard, should have resulted in a recommendation for Mensa.
I know that, now. The really fucked up thing is that they have statistics showing that those meds lead to drug addiction later in life and that those school programs fuck kids for the rest of their lives, but still it remains.
Even the drugs for ADHD now are synthetic meth. Parents give kids these drugs and the doctors warn the parents that the first few days will be stressful but then it will "work it's magic" which means "hey, you're going to give your kid meth, but after three days they will be burnt out and you'll give them just enough to stay burnt out" and that is how the drug slows down ADHD kids. Good ol Amerika
The big dumbing down.
My son's education was thwarted by the politically correct bullshit that goes down in the school system today. It's happening in all the western countries, unfortunately.
Politically correct is another way of saying "your words make me uncomfortable", we're becoming a nation of pussies.
It's hard to tell what the PC crap is saying on the report cards coming out these days. If a student is "under-performing" they don't get held back. They just get shunted into the next grade, until they hit high-school, and maybe then they will be "assisted" to a "last-chance" school, where attendance is not mandatory, and there are more "student-free" days than attendance days.
My son thought it was a great lark. He's smart enough to take advantage of the system, but is now basically unemployable, which I predicted. I've paid thousands of dollars on various courses that he wanted to do, and he gets bored and drops out.
He needs a reason to find what interests him. He needs a destination in order to find a path. Follow?
He wanted to be a gaming programmer.
Now he wants to "write the story" behind the game, because he hates programming language.
The industry (gaming) has probably out-grossed hollywood, particularly interactive games, so he's on the right track.
He also has a talent for drumming (musical) and I bought him a great set of non-acoustics, so he can drum away without annoying the neighbours.
He's only 22, so I've not given up hope. He just talks in shrugs and monosyllables, so it's hard for me to get the communication thing happening.
That isn't ADHD lol. It sounds like he has a destination but lacks confidence. Accomplishing few short-term but challenging goals is all he needs to build confidence. He can probably produce an entire game on his own if he put forth the effort. Story, sound, programming. Writing code is boring but the result is the big payoff.
Just producing a small but compelling game could land him a lifetime career with a major vendor.
He claimed he was not attending school because he was being bullied. His mother had custody, so I was rarely told the truth until it couldn't be hidden any more. I didn't find out he was at the "last chance" school until I picked him up for his driving licence test.
He does a bit of buy and sell on ebay, but he's following in his mother's footsteps as far as having an excuse book a thousand pages long.
Monkeys don't shouldn't sell bananas. And by that I mean, he will go nowhere if the game box has hold of his mind. If he is going to make and sell games, he cannot be playing them. It's like a crack addict selling crack, it an't gona fly. On that, I have no advice. I know plenty of people who frequent Modern Warfare and there is no room for a life and that game.
I hope it's a phase. He used to love the beach, and snorkelling with me, and fishing. Now he avoids the sun.
I got into everquest, but realised that it was taking me over. Got outta there.
It's scary what is happening to a lot of younger people today. It's like a form of agoraphobia.
Once he realizes he can create his own rewards, that attitude will fade. I have seen many people go thrue that. It all results from lack of confidence which can also lead to depression. Accomplishing some short-term goals are a must for a starting point. It's like one of those old kick-start motorcycles lol :D
I know there's no turning back the clock, but I just want my son back.
We work okay together, when I can get him to come help me.
He games all night, and sleeps all day.
Did you ever try any of the ADHD meds, if you don't mind me asking?
My parents never gave them to me, though I did try adderall 3 or 4 times in college to cram for an exam and it really does make you a much better student, side effects aside. Obviously you would rather make that child better by challenging him more, but I do think most doctors are just trying to help.
Ritalin, of course.
I don't know what doctors are like in the US, but it's rare to find a good doctor that will actually listen to you in Australia.
They exist, but they're mostly writing prescriptions before you finish talking to them. It's common knowledge that our AMA created a doctor shortage to allow them to name their price income-wise.
ok well the best of luck to you
lol, bit of more than you could chew? Go figure.
no it just makes sense and i understand where you are coming from i have had similar problems just had a group that supports me through it
Right on. Good luck to you as well.
Read his thread that he referenced above.
Richard- The logic of your statement was one of the first things that came to my mind today when I woke up. I agree with it completely which is why I object so strongly to people categorizing or pretending that all people of any particular group are exactly the same.
By the same logic then, anyone who posts here suggesting that all of "the rich" or all "conservatives" or all "white people" are "x" or "y" should be held to the same standard. That is "until they have spoken to each and every individual who falls into the group they are attacking, and taken the time to discredit and blame every one of them for whatever they are being accused of" they need to shut the hell up!!!!!
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I was never trying to discredit and blame people who live in poverty in general, and I was also never trying to discredit and blame you. Somehow you misinterpreted attempts to help as attacking you.
You have valuable skills that are in high demand. I'm not talking about the millions of people living in poverty, I'm talking about you. You could leverage those skills more effectively to improve your life so that you don't have to live in poverty. I'm trying to support you by saying this.
I am using my skills to do just that. I don't lack anything but time to look for clients. Right now, I'm headed out to talk to some people about creating a new POS to replace the 15 year old systems that many restaurants in my area are still using.
Self employment isn't just about the money. One look at this should help you understand the beliefs that guide my progress and goals.
Uh, err, and you're planning to build a POS without using a database?
"I don't lack anything but the time to look for clients", was kind of my point with the suggestion that it could serve you well to outsource that portion of your business.
Do you feel that a freelance web contractor who does jobs for web development shops who do the work of acquiring clients is not self-employed? Even if he's diversified by having multiple different clients sending him work?
The market for web talent is a free-for-all right now. It's not hard to get a couple of contracts and work on them in parallel. However it IS hard to get hundreds of clients and work through the backlog one after the other before losing them.
Please be aware that I'm not trying to insult you. I'm trying to help you. I've been doing this for a living for decades. I've done what you're trying to do, and I learned not to do that.
Just got back and I had to leave a message but I did pick up a client and got a contact for another. My my, it happens fast when I have the time. lol, how did you ever make it with such a defeatist attitude.
That's fantastic, Richard!
(And this does not have to be so adversarial. I've only been trying to help.)
I decided long ago that there is no reliability in working for a company or even just a couple of companies that could go belly up or fire me and thats it. A self employed person with many accounts has a much better chance of stability. As a business owner, I also get to translate my political beliefs into business practices (lead by example). It's about so much more than just money, and it's within reach.
I strongly disagree with the idea that owning a small business means more stability. But I guess that's something that you have to learn the hard way. Please don't think that I'm insulting you by telling you that.
And please let me know if you need any help with the database for your POS contract. I'm not suggesting using SQL or a relational database because I know how you feel about them.
POS systems require an integrated payment system which require formatted flatfiles. Check out the VISA security requirements for payment terminals. Also, the data must be in spreadsheet format for management purposes. Why would I want to shift data for every request when it could be stored in the same way it will be viewed and compatible with the payment system?
A spreadsheet format is a representation of data, but your data model doesn't need to be based on a spreadsheet format in order for you to be able to generate a spreadsheet representation. One problem with using a flat spreadsheet file is that it's going to get very complicated to deal with writes from multiple terminals.
One of the key bits of strategic advice that I tried to convey was that if you have limited time then you shouldn't be writing code that you don't have to write. And what you're proposing is basically writing your own database server, because you have to implement a data model one way or another. So instead of outsourcing that work to the MongoDB development community or the Redis community or something, you're going to have to do it yourself. If you don't piggyback on their work for free, then you'll have to deal with things like file locking to prevent multiple terminals from simultaneously writing to the same data at the same time.
You might go with separating your flat files so that multiple terminals never can write to the same files at the same time. But there are two problems with that. One is that your complexity level is increasing because you're basically writing your own database system. The other is that querying for data becomes very expensive because you have to itemize and scan through multiple different flat files.
If you outsource the data model to a database, then the database can do really advanced things for you like indexing. Caching. Network access. Ensuring data integrity.
And if you use a well-supported database then you can use an ORM, which provides a high-level abstraction that enables you to spend more time thinking about your problem and less time thinking about managing your data.
I really think that MongoDB fits your outlook and your needs, and you might want to look into it.
ok. Thats how you would do it. Good to know.
SMH
I see three reasons why Richard is scared of Frameworks and relational databases, 1) he's still learning the basics of coding, 2) he's doesn't have much experience reading and working with other people's code, 3) he's never faced the problem of scaling.
Richard never wrote huge programs. He writes small procedural scripts. There's nothing bad with that, but programming serious applications is a completely different game all together. When you need to create software that can scale that's when the fun begins. That's when you learn about design patterns, unit testing, etc... That's when you realize the advantages of OOP in many circumstances, and why relational databases have a purpose.
Richard loves PHP. If I were him I would start using KohanaPHP as a framework. In my humble opinion, it's the best Framework for PHP. It's small and tight, nicely decoupled, has a nice ORM, and is very secure. I also like it because it doesn't bog you down to doing things in one way. It uses the HMVC pattern, but you can easily use any pattern you want. That would give him a strong base and he could learn a lot from reading Kohana's code which is very clean and nice PHP. He could also learn a lot from the devs in the forum.
I agree with you, MongoDB would be a good choice for him. He's going to regret it if he creates his own database system because it's reinventing the wheel and there's no chance he's going to come up with something better than already exists, he would need years and years of experience for that. CouchDB could also work.
His idea of determining his storage system from his program's output is flawed. The output is your view and it should never determine your business logic and storage engine.
Once he feels the problem of scaling limiting him, he'll start looking around for well designed Frameworks and he'll realize the advantages of having a database with security, data integrity, data manipulation possibilities, etc...
He seems obsessed with lo level control, when everyone is moving to interpreted languages, frameworks, third party app integration, etc... My guess is that he bought a PHP learning book and he's coding like we used to in the 90's. You know, good old spaghetti code where PHP, HTML, Javascript, and SQL live in the same file.
I see two problems. Both are pretty common.
One is that he has very limited time, so he doesn't want to spend a lot of time on learning new things, like how to use a framework or an ORM. But as you and I both know, the time spent on learning these tools is an investment that pays off in increased productivity. He could spend LESS time overall by investing the time in learning technologies that could leverage his time. A developer who takes the time to develop basic proficiency with an ORM could spend months less time on a project than a developer who wastes a lot of time reinventing the wheel.
Another problem is DRY. Richard doesn't (yet) realize why "Don't Repeat Yourself" is such a crucial concept. I think that you're right about the monolithic PHP file that includes the view directly in the file. Maybe he uses a template engine but I have a feeling that he doesn't. If he doesn't, then he's planning on customizing that index.php file for each of these 500 clients that he wants to get. Each time he does that he's going to make a separate copy of all of the logic. Each time he does that, he creates mounting technical debt that will eventually snowball out of control. If he finds some simple bug or he wants to add a new feature to his core CMS, then he'll either have to make 500 edits to 500 different files or he'll have to deal with fragmentation. Technical deficit is the kind of problem that you don't realize is a problem until it becomes a problem, and that's why it's so important to pay attention to how more experienced developers do things, so that you can learn from their mistakes.
I'm also fairly certain that he doesn't use SCM.
The only way for Richard to get to the next level will be to commit to doing development full time. He's never going to get to his 10,000 hours by working at night after his day job.
I understand his position because I was there a long time ago. To truly understand the why behind Frameworks, OOP, design patterns, good databases, etc... you need to face the problems that those technologies solve. I don't think he has been coding long enough and has done big enough programs to face those problems yet.
You realize the importance of decoupling when you're constantly changing a part of a file you keep reusing on all projects so that it matches whatever you're working on. You realize the importance of unit tests and try catch blocks when your code has thousands of lines and it becomes very hard to efficiently track down bugs. You realize the importance of MVC when your outputting in various formats, for desktops, mobiles, etc... You realize the benefits of using a Javascript Framework that mostly works on all browsers after you've written Javascript cold and realized it didn't work on such and such browser. You realize the power of git after you had a project in which you kept saving new versions of files only to have the same file 50 times name file1, file2, file3, etc...
If I had one suggestion to Richard it would be to take more time to understand programming before amassing a huge amounts of clients. He should download a bunch of PHP frameworks and read their code thoroughly. He should read about and try to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.
He should work for others for a few years. That's how you learn. I had the ideal situation a few years ago. I had two 20 hour a week jobs. In one I was leading a team of 4 programmers. In the other, I was the most inexperienced programmer in what we were doing. This is perfect. In one job I learned how to lead, in the other, I learned from the other more experienced programmers by seeing how they coded, and by seeing what they didn't want to code by what they gave me to do.
For scaling purposes, data integrity, and data manipulation. You shouldn't be determining your program's data storage system from your program's output. You need to learn the MVC pattern. Your output is basically your view and it should not be determined by your business logic at all. You need to decouple your system.
the gateway service I decided on provides both physical terminals and an API, of which the XML is probably the route I will take.
DBs are for BIG data. you can spend time initializing secondary systems with no justification if you like, I understand pointless structures are a favorite in the Open Collaboration communities. Notice I didn't say Open Source, as you and junkie have been completely misusing the term. Open Source just means you provide an non-copyrighted source and that it's contents are open to the public, which can then be used in Open Collaboration. You guys are funny.
Uh well, first I don't think that I've used the term "open source" but maybe Jack has. And secondly, copyright and open source are not incompatible.
And databases aren't just for big data. They're for saving you time, keeping your data safe, maintaining your data's integrity, making querying your data very fast, arbitrating when multiple nodes want to write simultaneously, and all kinds of other things. They allow you to avoid reinventing wheels so that you can concentrate on your application instead. That's also what frameworks are for.
What you're proposing is allowing the payment gateway to determine your data model for your application. You're letting somebody else decide on your data schema and storage format. That's not something that a person who wants to be in control does. What happens if you change to a different payment gateway? You're going to end up with one pile of data in one format, and a newer pile of data in a different format? What if you need to support more than one payment gateway in the same app? Querying that data would become an unbelievable nightmare. And are you going to reinvent the DB wheel when you need to generate reports? If you want to generate a sales report from your data, you're going to have to write code to parse all of those XML files, possibly in different formats. If you use a database then you can think about your data, not about the format that it's in. If you want to generate a report then you ask your database for the relevant information and it deals with the details. The way that you're doing it, you're going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about XML instead of thinking about your data.
an array with property headers should be translatable into any data system
I am no search method expert
this place is using pointers with children
The structure of that 'array of properties' is extremely important.
this place is using pointers with children
The swallow flies west as the full moon rises.
(Your posts aren't always very clear. But none of this is intended for you anyway.)
You're out of your league. I know you have a lot of code experience but that doesn't apply as broadly as you seem to think it does. I'm tired of this conversation and every time you get proven wrong you shift for more detail and more detail and you'll play this out till I write the code for you because you are a narcissist. You refuse to be equal to someone or even worse, not as experienced or qualified. This time, I must leave you without closure, one because it's a dead end conversation and two because I think learning to cope with being the little guy for once will be good for your personal development.
You still think that I'm trying to argue with you? I'm trying to help you because you and I are equal human beings. But I'm a lot further down a certain path than you are and I can help you. You know a lot more about raising kids than I do and I wouldn't argue with any wisdom that you might care to impart about that. But when it comes to software, you can ignore what I'm telling you at your own peril. And I'm confident that you will.
As the saying goes, when the student is ready, the master appears. A corollary of that is that when the student isn't ready, they can't recognize the master. If that sounds cocky then that's just too bad because I do know what I'm doing when it comes to this stuff and if you choose to reject that then I hope that you have somebody more experienced than you who you do trust to take advice from. In software, no man is an island. You're going to learn that the hard way.
How much experience do you have in restaurant management, as a server, as a cook, with physical payment terminals?
I have two years of working on (repairing and working with engineers on design flaws) DES encrypted payment devices, and 20 years in restaurants at every position from dishwasher to manager and everything between. Being able to provide a web based and in house solution is critical to such a product.
Code is not the only aspect of designing a POS. Form follows function. You do not have the experience to keep pace with me on such a project, nor do you have the time to gain said experience.
This project is at least a year out so don't get your knickers in a knot just yet.
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Databases are not just for big sets of data, they are also for crucial sets of data whatever the size maybe. If your data is important, then you should care about it by using a properly designed database engine. The choice of that engine will depend on the features you need.
For example, data integrity might be an important aspect. With good databases, you have features like support for transactions, rollback support, etc... Perhaps you need to be able to do quick reads, but writing can be slow, or the other way around. Maybe you need something like CouchDB because you cater to mobile applications which need to keep working even if the connection is flaky.
If you're going to make a professional application that you sell to your clients, then I really think you should look into MongoDB. It is a flat file system, is secure, will allow you to scale, will allow you to search the data efficiently, will allow you to pull the data out as objects, etc...
MongoDB is also very simple, and I've already provided him with in-depth training videos from Peepcode on how to use it.
Yes, MongoDB is simple. Richard's idea of using XML files to store all the data is not wise. It will create verbose files in which the data is not normalized properly and it will be a pain to query, scaling will also be a pain. XML was not designed to serve as a database format.
Agreed. I hope that he doesn't think that we're picking on him by offering that input.