Week 356

At this point on the project, towards the end, I’m trying to get through my list of outstanding tasks as rapidly as possible. As one colleague suggested, I’m keeping in mind the list of finished tasks, rather than the never-shrinking list of tasks yet to complete.

The deadline for the internal beta has shifted by a week, but there’s still more to do than I’m comfortable with. I like to think I cope well under pressure, keeping calm, getting on with it. And maybe I do in tense we’ve-got-to-get-all-this-done-RIGHT-NOW kind of situations (maybe; I’m struggling to think of examples), but I’m not sure I do in more drawn-out periods of pressure. As more tasks appear than I’m comfortable with completing to a decent standard I don’t feel like I’m coping well. I certainly feel grumpier than I would like.

One thing I was doing this week was making a multi-page quiz using JavaScript. Thirteen years ago I was doing something very similar while working at Syzygy. I can’t remember what the project was but, like so many things at the time, it was a horrific mess, using HTML frames and scripting (back when JavaScript was Evil). In 2010 I could quickly make something elegant using CSS and jQuery. So, while this might not be much of a career progression on my part, I sure am glad the technologies have improved.

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18 Apr 2010 at Twitter

  • 8:29pm: @Popjustice At least the Observer linked direct to your Twitter page. @samuelpepys and others obviously don't merit the extra work.
  • 4:03pm: If I didn't know about #ashcloud, I wonder how long it would have been before I realised there were no planes in the sky.
  • 3:25pm: Sitting on the beanbag in the sun, with tea & cake, sunglassses & sunhat on, catching up with http://soulsummer.blogspot.com/ on headphones.
  • 1:23pm: @ianbetteridge Dev differences aside, yr right: iPad apps focus more on reading articles; fewer distracting sidebars etc. Hope web copies.
  • 1:20pm: @maxgadney What @tomtaylor said re iPhone note-taking. He is wise.
  • 10:12am: The only way I can force myself not to do computing is to stay in this coffee shop even longer. It's a hard life.
  • 7:44am: Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday @maryloosemore, Happy birthday to you!

18 Apr 2010 in Links