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Tomado de xkcd.com

Llegan momentos en la vida de todo programador en que quisiera que la computadora le gritara donde está ese pequeño error que ha estado buscando (con moderadamente nulo éxito) durante todo el día.

Cuando el programador en cuestión obtenga una herramienta así, pasará el tiempo recordando como antes las cosas eran mejores, tal vez más difíciles, pero a también más personales. Si no hace toda esa reflexión, al menos deseará desactivar la molesta opción para que la computadora ya no le esté recordando sus errores.

Pero todo habrá evolucionado, las nuevas tecnologías ofrecerán opciones de las que la ciencia ficción sólo soñaba ayer (hoy ya algún geek hizo un prototipo moderadamente funcional (mañana alguien más se habrá hecho rico con tal invento (pero ya después hablaremos de eso))). El programador en cuestión terminará adoptando todas esas novedades y su trabajo será más sencillo (su vida, casi más feliz), hasta que llegue otro momento de ansiedad y desesperación, donde se ponga nuevamente la realidad en perspectiva (con los respectivos trabajo sencillo y vida feliz fluyendo agua abajo por el escusado). Me han contado.

If architects had to work like programmers

Tomado de algún otro sitio, carta cadena y/o ambos. Pero de todas formas tan extrañamente familiar que duele.

Dear Mr. Architect:

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.

My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has.

I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.

Spin

Si eres un DJ y el video te parece familiar, has estado fumando demasiada hierba últimamente.

Si eres un ingeniero de software y el video te parece extrañamente familiar, muy probablemente sean sólo tus traumas buscando una válvula de escape.

Been there, done that.

No importa cuánto esfuerzo le dediques a soportar una aplicación, llegará un momento que las cosas no se podrán meter nuevamente en control (me han contado).