[thelist] Professional Philosopy (long)

Jeremy Ashcraft ashcraft at 13monkeys.com
Thu Aug 30 17:44:45 CDT 2001


 > We've got some awfully high class people on this list, ranging from
 > novices to utterly advanced pros. I sure would like to know about
 > your own, personal work philosophy. 

Well, guess I'll throw my hat into the ring.......

>Why do you do what you do?

I write web applications.  I do it because I love it.  Just being able to 
create something, share it with others, and see them enjoy using it brings 
makes me feel warm all over.  The medium of the web makes this even greater 
since it opens the opportunity for me to share with others all over the 
world.  Also, like someone has said before, being able to finish something 
and say "I did that!"  gives me a great sense of accomplishment.  I can't 
think of any other job I'd rather have.

>What's important about that?

You should do what you love and love what you do.  Otherwise, why do it?  I 
think its great that I get paid to do something that I would sit at home and 
do for free anyway.  Work isn't really work when you love what you're doing.

>What are the values that you reach for?

Larry Wall explained it best in the Camel Book(Programming Perl):

"...the three great virtues of a progammer: laziness, impatience, and hubris."

laziness:
I try to make everything I do user-friendly as possible.  I'm probably going 
to use them, so why would I want it to expend a lot of energy using it?

impatience:
Larry defines this differently than I do, but I take it as getting the job 
done.  Don't wait to try something, DO IT!  Be impatient with yourself when 
it comes to your work.  Don't ever be completely satisfied.  We can all be 
better at what we do.

hubris:
I take pride in my work.  I want everyone who uses one of my apps to say 
"WOW!" and have a unique experience.

Pretty much: Do your job efficiently, do it well, and take pride in what 
you've done.

>How do you measure whether you've fulfilled them or not?

I measure that by the feedback I get from endusers and my peers.  
Criticism(good or bad) is what drives us in this industry to perform.  

>Who are mentors or peers for whom you have a great respect, and why?

Mentors:
David Brunkow and Rien Heald.  My first two bosses.  They showed me that 
there should be a process in everything that I do.  Structure will always out 
perform chaos.  Always have a plan of attack before embarking on something 
new.  Don't dive in head first and hope for the best.

Peers:
Joe Jenett( http://www.coolstop.com ).  He was a coworker of mine before the 
great dotcom genocide of 2001.  Some folks on thelist may know him or have 
heard of him.  he's the only person I know that loves what he does more than 
I do.  He has such a great passion for the web and everything that is good 
about it.


I've rambled on long enough.  Hope you've enjoyed it.

jeremy
http://www.webhack.com




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