Inspiration

Something to read when you feel you are burning out…

I like the *process*. I like writing software. I like trying to make things work better. In many ways, the end result is unimportant – it’s really just the excuse for the whole experience. It’s why I started Linux to begin with – sure, I kind of needed an OS, but I needed a *project* to work on more than I needed the OS.

In fact, to get a bit “meta” on this issue, what’s even more interesting than improving a piece of software, is to improve the *way* we write and improve software. Changing the process of making software has sometimes been some of the most painful parts of software development (because we so easily get used to certain models), but that has also often been the most rewarding parts. It is, after all, why “git” came to be, for example. And I think open source in general is obviously just another “process model” change that I think is very successful.

So my model is kind of a reverse “end result justifies the means”. Hell no, that’s the stupidest saying in the history of man, and I’m not even saying that because it has been used to make excuses for bad behavior. No, it’s the worst possible kind of saying because it totally misses the point of everything.

It’s simply not the end that matters at all. It’s the means – the journey. The end result is almost meaningless. If you do things the right way, the end result *will* be fine too, but the real enjoyment is in the doing, not in the result.

And I’m still really happy to be “doing” 20 years later, with not an end in sight.

These are the words of Linus Torvalds, in an interview published here: http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/19/an-interview-with-millenium-technology-prize-finalist-linus-torvalds/ So, I am pleased to see that he is not just an arrogant smart-ass but a promissing philosopher too.

DjangoCon, first day, impressions

I am so happy that I am here! It was one of the best decisions in my professional life. My goal is to grow, and I grew more this one single day than I normally do in a whole year.

The Django community is really awesome! They are really smart people. The speakers all had a very clear way of thinking, and they all conveyed messages worth conveying. They are also open minded and brave in picking their subjects. And above all, they are respectful and welcoming people. The whole community is.

The location is magnificent. The beautiful classical building of the City Hall, and the magical dinner location of the National Museum. They are inspiring, and they help remember: we programmers are in a privileged position. And we should use this power to make the world a better place.

I was sitting at dinner with an Estonian, an Icelandic, a Russian, a Norwegian, a Swedish from Finland and a Czech. Myself being Hungarian. We talked about languages. Not just programming languages.

We had a speaker who opened my eyes: Lucie. An academic researcher from the field of social sciences. And she found Django to be the most useful tool to manage their data. And she just learned it! Wow!

I met Ola Sitarska and Ola Sendecka. The founders of DjangoGirls. Inspiring young women. Strong and smart – and at the same time: kind and friendly.

I listened to modern poetry presented by the author himself. It showed me how wide the world is, and this puts things into perspective. It also woke up the child inside me, who is a dreamer and used to practice poetry and philosophy before computers and maths took over my brain.

I heard a lot about burnout. And I agree, it is a topic worth speaking publicly about. And the conference organizers are well aware of this. I saw that talented and successful people are affected by it too. And I saw how you should never, no matter how depressed you are, forget that you are a valuable person.

I could go on with this list… There is a lot more to take in.
But there is another conference day ahead of me.
I am so happy to be here!