Happy New Year

[Peter Korsten]

Op 1-1-2016 om 13:37 schreef Jay Vaughan (ibisum):
>> This next job for me is definitely one to deal with the frustration in my current one. It'll be just Java, and not Java, and code reviews, and helpdesks, and JIRA, and Confluence, and Subversion, and Jenkins, and Artifactory, and god knows what else I'm doing. I'm very careful not to label it as an 'in between' job, because it isn't; it's definitely a step up. But I don't think I'll be staying for another 15 years.
> Gotta keep those code reviews going though Peter .. they’re worth it.

But they're also draining, and they were particularly badly organised. 
Nobody really cared, so I stopped doing them. Too many other things to do.

The problems I have with code reviews is that people generally write 
crap code. There's just no satisfaction in it. You nurture some bright 
Indian developer, have him constantly improve, and because he's so 
bright, he moves to a better-paid job, while his successor is someone 
straight from university. And the focus is always on production and 
deadlines.

>> And yes, it's an entry into the online gambling/betting industry. If you work in IT, and you don't mind year-round sunshine, and you're willing to work for a wage that would be considered average in the Netherlands for a similar position: they're happy to hire you, and help you move.
> .. except: Java.  Meh.
>
> ;)

Java is simple. Simple is good. I'm not yet convinced about closures in 
Java 8, and generics are particularly badly done, but Java is everything 
that C++ could have been, but isn't.

> (Also, I already went through interviews for a company like this here in Vienna, called GreenTube.  I realized that I really, really didn’t want to be involved in gambling - which is a huge social problem in this part of the world.  But, they sure were doing some cool things ..)

For me, the defence industry is on the other side of the red line. The 
betting industry doesn't cause social problems, it merely facilitates 
them. :)

> Still, I like the idea of moving to Malta.  Maybe they’ve got a new R&D division that is devoted to technology nobody really cares about?

Unfortunately, the Maltese are very good at making money, even though 
the country itself isn't very rich, or at least not as rich as its 
western European friends. Having said that, the change over the past 15 
years has been momentous. Whereas before the Maltese would go abroad in 
search of a better life, now others are flocking to Malta for the exact 
same reason. Finding Maltese working in restaurants is becoming difficult.

So, because the Maltese like to make money, there isn't a lot of R&D 
going on technology that nobody really cares about. There is some R&D 
done here, but it's very specialised, and less than half of the EU 
average as a percentage of GDP. If you like R&D, move to the Nordic 
countries. Year-round sunshine might be a bit tricky, though. Plus, they 
drive on the wrong side of the road.

- Peter