gaf@uucs1.UUCP (gaf) (10/14/89)
[ attribution deleted so this doesn't sound like a personal flame ] > If you don't work your butt off, you don't >work for me! If the job needs doing, you stay 'till it's done. What is this? >Bankers ethics in the computer center? Forget it! > > It may be true that sloppy >programmers working in a CASE environment can produce better code than >without CASE, but steps must still be taken to insure that guys like you who >won't stay past quitting time, don't just throw stuff together! > >This isn't really a flame, I was just suprised to see stuff like this in >a news group where I'm certain that most participants dream of the day >when they can work 'regular' hours. May I respectfully suggest that you not be quite so certain. It has been my experience that there are a lot of obsessive people in this business, but I wouldn't say that most are that way. I've also known a few people I regard as tragic. They do "dream of the day when they can work regular hours", but do nothing to bring about that day. Partly it's because they're up to their rears in alligators, so they don't notice their lives slipping away. But utimately each person is responsible for their situation, so it's sad to see a good person kill himself slowly. It's a trite expression, but "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute a crisis on my part" sometimes fits. Last week I did an all-nighter because a system absolutely had to go out the next day. It should never have been that way, and I worry about the quality of our work at 4 AM. It was a failure of planning: an assumption that things would just work out, so nobody watched over the thing to see that steady progress was being made. Situations like that happen sometimes, but I don't mind as long as it doesn't become the norm. If you like what you're doing, great! I don't see anything wrong in enjoying your work so much that you do it longer than "regular" hours. Just be watchful of your own feelings, though. If you hear yourself sounding like a martyr, or complaining to friends that you can't join them because you HAVE to work (or you're too tired FROM working), you're not enjoying it any more. Where, exactly, is the end of the tunnel, and how do you get there? Last year I worked for a 10-person company where we all had to give everything just to stay afloat. I found myself crazy from trying to do quality work in not enough time. I was surly and mean to people I worked with and liked. Well, it turned out the president was a crook and a moron and the company failed (and has subsequently been sued). Looking back I don't think all the king's horses and men could have made it work, since the guy running the place was so bad at his job. Maybe you know all this already, and just have your own alligators to deal with. It's a gray area, alright. -- Guy Finney It's that feeling of deja-vu UUCS inc. Phoenix, Az all over again. ncar!noao!asuvax!hrc!uucs1!gaf sun!sunburn!gtx!uucs1!gaf