Hi! Weekly hmms are transformed into monthly hmms, mostly because writing mandatory weekly posts is too cumbersome and leaves no time to do more thematic writing. Of course, there are other reasons too. Almost all winter holidays I had a cold (TWICE!) and being ill isn’t the best motivation ever.
#Knowledge bits
I didn’t read or watch much, but some of the interesting findings were:
- A good site&article about service meshes Be wary though, the author is quite opinionated.
- “Crafting effective 1:1s for distributed teams” talk by Spencer Norman.
- What Phil Sturgeon expects from modern Web API frameworks. He expects a lot =)
- Great summary about pair programming by Birgitta Böckeler and Nina Siessegger.
- A very old article by Robert L. Glass on fundamental software engineering facts. Perhaps some of the facts are questionable, but “Reviews and inspections” section is awesome.
#Work things
The company I work for was recognized as one of Montreal’s top employers. While I’m quite skeptical of such ratings and rewards, I know for sure that we are better than some other winners.
#Gaming
Ouch. Even though I was near computers from birth, I never was a gamer. I played only:
- old Tomb Raiders (up until missions with driving: I suck at it),
- Lineage2 (started playing because classmates were talking about it, but it’s impossible to solo there)
- Dofus / Wakfu (to learn French)
Strictly speaking, my approach is more of a “watcher.” I watched my father play Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake. And I’m subscribed to SovietWomble channel. BTW, it’s really awesome, once you watch one or two videos and understand relationships between Soviet, Cy, and others, you’d perceive these videos not as some gaming stream cuts, but as a real-life sitcom. Honestly, way funnier than TBBT.
Recently I’ve read an article about space/volume perception. Usually, you learn how to properly calculate your own “body volume” and other objects’ during childhood. In my case, it didn’t work out well, so I still have trouble navigating narrow spaces. Combined with slow conscious reaction time it’s a no-no for driving. Yet, apparently, computer games prove to be very effective in improving volume perception and reaction times for adults.
I also wanted to do something other than watching YouTube during the braindead moments. So, I’ve decided to find a solo-friendly game, with a big open world, not hardcore, and preferable MMO: even though I prefer to play by myself, there is something comforting in seeing real people around and occasionally helping others (or receiving help). The perfect choice is The Elder Scrolls Online. The other recommended game is Star Wars: The Old Republic, but it’s too much Star Wars today. And TES has great lore. Even though I never played Skyrim or Morrowind, TES wiki is an awesome read for people interested in sci-fi & fantasy genres.
FYI, I play on the PC NA server ;)