Comments on: If you suddenly had a week of free time… http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/ Software development, testing, and techie life Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:19:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Dale Smith http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-230 Dale Smith Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:57:58 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-230 Definitely take some down time. Don't even answer your cell phone for a while. Take your wife away for a couple of days if you can. Take the kids to the zoo, and the pool, and the park, and the back yard. Spend time reminding yourself who you are ultimately working for, and why it's important to excel at your chosen profession. And then jump back in with both feet. Definitely take some down time. Don’t even answer your cell phone for a while. Take your wife away for a couple of days if you can. Take the kids to the zoo, and the pool, and the park, and the back yard. Spend time reminding yourself who you are ultimately working for, and why it’s important to excel at your chosen profession.

And then jump back in with both feet.

]]> By: The Coding Hillbilly http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-229 The Coding Hillbilly Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:19:44 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-229 Oh man, you should *totally* learn to play the banjo. That's the best suggestion of the lot. Oh man, you should *totally* learn to play the banjo. That’s the best suggestion of the lot.

]]> By: Chad Myers http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-228 Chad Myers Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:39:07 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-228 Thanks everyone. Great suggestions. I think I may just take the time off and strategize about what I'm going to do next. Ayende mentioned some Linq for NHibernate tests were failing, and that really interests and excites me, so I think I may take a crack at it and poke at it a little, but nothing serious. I'm very thankful for this time off and I just didn't want to piss it away not doing anything productive, but I think I may actually go along with my family when they go to Story Time and the Library, etc and participate more. I won't get this opportunity again and I'll regret it if I don't. @Havagan Aw man, sounds awesome. But you don't just hop in the car and go on a road trip with 4 kids, lol. Unless you have a big RV or something (which I don't.... yet). Thanks everyone. Great suggestions. I think I may just take the time off and strategize about what I’m going to do next. Ayende mentioned some Linq for NHibernate tests were failing, and that really interests and excites me, so I think I may take a crack at it and poke at it a little, but nothing serious.

I’m very thankful for this time off and I just didn’t want to piss it away not doing anything productive, but I think I may actually go along with my family when they go to Story Time and the Library, etc and participate more. I won’t get this opportunity again and I’ll regret it if I don’t.

@Havagan Aw man, sounds awesome. But you don’t just hop in the car and go on a road trip with 4 kids, lol. Unless you have a big RV or something (which I don’t…. yet).

]]> By: Havagan http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-227 Havagan Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:23:41 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-227 If you want to spend the week recharging mentally, jump in the car and take off for a non-structured road trip. If you want to spend the week helping the community, find a local charity whose website sucks and build them a new one that doesn't. If you want to spend the week recharging mentally, jump in the car and take off for a non-structured road trip.

If you want to spend the week helping the community, find a local charity whose website sucks and build them a new one that doesn’t.

]]> By: Joe Ocampo http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-226 Joe Ocampo Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:04:21 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-226 +1 on going tech free for week. Take the time to cleanse you mind. Spend time with the family and enjoy the spring and it has to offer. If you get the dev bug then pick up something new such as F# or Erlang. Learn something outside of what you have been working on the past couple of months. For that matter you may want to step outside the .Net camp and look into Pylons. You would be surprised of just taking your mind outside the norm with foster creativity and bring clarity to other issues. my two cents. +1 on going tech free for week.

Take the time to cleanse you mind. Spend time with the family and enjoy the spring and it has to offer.

If you get the dev bug then pick up something new such as F# or Erlang. Learn something outside of what you have been working on the past couple of months. For that matter you may want to step outside the .Net camp and look into Pylons. You would be surprised of just taking your mind outside the norm with foster creativity and bring clarity to other issues.

my two cents.

]]> By: erichexter http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-225 erichexter Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:58:46 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-225 +1 on going tech free and being with your family. If you cannot bring yourself to-do that, than make a significant patch to an open source project. Blog post are great but nothing helps the community than solving a problem via an open source project so that the collective group can concentrate on problems that are currently too much effort to solve. These are the types of problem that we could not solve because we spent too much time on reproducing the same code that we did on/at a previous employer or project. Maybe it just costs too much with the business guys get back the estimates and say.. it’s just not worth the effort. Pick one problem domain that you know well and that has a hole in the open source community and make a mark. +1 on going tech free and being with your family.

If you cannot bring yourself to-do that, than make a significant patch to an open source project. Blog post are great but nothing helps the community than solving a problem via an open source project so that the collective group can concentrate on problems that are currently too much effort to solve. These are the types of problem that we could not solve because we spent too much time on reproducing the same code that we did on/at a previous employer or project. Maybe it just costs too much with the business guys get back the estimates and say.. it’s just not worth the effort. Pick one problem domain that you know well and that has a hole in the open source community and make a mark.

]]> By: Matt http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-224 Matt Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:28:54 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-224 Chad - read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/0525950494 Then apply presuppositional apologetics to your anti-anti-Agile series. Chad – read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/0525950494

Then apply presuppositional apologetics to your anti-anti-Agile series.

]]> By: Jimmy Bogard http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-223 Jimmy Bogard Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:24:38 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-223 I seriously don't know how you could stay inside all week. It's probably going to be the best weather all year. You could go on a "tech-free" week. Though it could lead to some serious withdrawal. I seriously don’t know how you could stay inside all week. It’s probably going to be the best weather all year.

You could go on a “tech-free” week. Though it could lead to some serious withdrawal.

]]> By: Ray Houston http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-222 Ray Houston Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:24:23 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-222 If it was me, I'd spend a week with the family and get my thoughts together. I'd take some time to figure out what I wanted to do next. You can always blog and whatever, but you won't always have the time off. If it was me, I’d spend a week with the family and get my thoughts together. I’d take some time to figure out what I wanted to do next. You can always blog and whatever, but you won’t always have the time off.

]]> By: Ray Houston http://lostechies.com/chadmyers/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time/#comment-221 Ray Houston Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:16:36 +0000 /blogs/chad_myers/archive/2008/04/06/if-you-suddenly-had-a-week-of-free-time.aspx#comment-221 Learn to play the banjo. Learn to play the banjo.

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