week three reflections

my thoughts for this week in 2023

This week was interesting.

layoffs

This month marks an important point in the history of the big four or the high-tech companies. The Economist has been pointing out for years that they - Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft - enjoy a special economical environment that allows them to be above the laws of Keynesian economics. Recently, we had a chance to observe the parade of massive layoffs. First Amazon on the 5th of Januray, then Microsoft on the 18th, and finally Google yesterday. The numbers are huge, but I do not know how many of them are developers or tech people. Who lost the source of a steady paycheck? I wonder. I know that low-performers and recruiters usually go first in tough times. But I read about a few cases of complete teams made redundant, like this person who seems to be quite an expert in his field. So as big tech companies start to feel the gravity, what does that mean for all of us?

the red book with a boar

This week as many before I am reading Designing Data-Intensive Applications (2017) by M. Kleppman. The book is rich. The author has a strong sense of when a reader needs an anthropomorphic analogy and when a good visualization is due. I hope to write a review once I finish it. For now, I can tell that the content is dense, it is very technical although there is a little number of code snippets. By no means is it an easy read, it requires focus and grasp of the database concepts or a huge interest in the field.

routine

For a while, I wanted to share how I build my day. Two apps - Seven and HeadSpace - are part of my daily rituals. The first helps me to get closer to the body in which I live and the second is the same for my mind, as the mind is not only consciousness...

I am also solving problems on LeetCode daily. Solved an interesting one about the intersection of two linked lists. I used for the first time today WeakSet, as I wanted to use a complex type. My method was using extra space complexity of O(m), while there existed a better solution of O(1). The solution that I did not I frankly found charming. The idea behind it was to make two pointers align after the first loop/iteration of the two linked lists. Today will be my second tournament. Last time I solved 2 problems out of 4. My goal is to solve the same amount a little faster. By continuing to solve problems daily I want to brush up things I know well, like sorting and also learn areas that I seldom touched, like bit manipulations.

what's next

I am a problem solver. As I see myself, I want to be able to compete when it comes to programming assignments, like LeetCode problems. It seems to be a skill that should simply be. I was also always motivated by the (architectural) design of bigger components. That is the reason I am reading the "red book with a boar". It is just one in the pipe of critical foliants that I should swallow along with DDD, GoF and others. Finally, recently I realized that I want to master product management. Without good work on the product that answers "why" certain things should be built and what is prioritized, it is hard to imagine an effective solution. I read Inspired (2018) by M. Cagan last month and found more energy in myself as many thoughts that I had and had been pushing were mentioned in the book. In university, there were several things I learned but I never trusted those skills and knowledge of mine, as I was thinking of myself as a "developer".

I cleaned up my blog and now it is up and running. I still want to improve the visual design, and SEO. I have been pushing commits daily. There have been a few people that I know want to read what I write and a few people that motivate me to write, like Eric and Jahongir. I hope to reach their professionality in the domain of blogging. The goal is to build a community to which I am bringing value with my content.

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