Wes Baker

Wes Baker / Zola en Wes Baker Software Engineering Manager sharing notes on development, leadership, and productivity. https://wesbaker.com https://wesbaker.com/now https://wesbaker.com/uses Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400 The CRY Principle Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/the-cry-principle/ /posts/the-cry-principle/ Most software engineering managers (including myself) start as software engineers themselves. Being technical means they can always jump back into work or better understand a plan devised by someone on the team, both of which I do routinely. However, managers need to learn when it makes sense to continue applying some of the same techniques that got them here and when they need to change their strategy for the changing kinds of work they handle. One such technique is the DRY principle: <blockquote> DRY—Don’t Repeat Yourself Every piece of knowledge must have a single, unambiguous, authoritative representation within a system. </blockquote> This sage advice comes from my favorite book on programming: <a rel="external" href="https://pragprog.com/titles/tpp20/the-pragmatic-programmer-20th-anniversary-edition/">The Pragmatic Programmer</a> by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt (you should definitely pick up a copy). There's more to it than the above, but most engineers hear this and take it to heart and their area of responsibility is all the better for it. Then they apply it to documentation, and the people around them know they can trust that the single source that they find is at least mostly correct and won't conflict with a secondary source. But then, they internalize that they don't need to repeat themselves to others and that's where things go wrong. As a manager, you'll have a team of people listening to you and your direction. Your job is delivering clarity. However, those people who are supposed to be listening may have missed it because they were checking Slack. Maybe they were sick. Maybe their doorbell rang. Whatever. The thing is, they missed what you said and if you don't plan on repeating yourself, they may not hear that really important thing you just said. Find another time and, even better, another medium to repeat the message. Said it in a team meeting? Send a Slack message later repeating everything. Sent an email about it? Follow up in all of your 1:1s and mention it there. My team has heard me say the words "sorry if I've already told you this before" dozens of times, but I'll keep saying them and repeating as necessary. This isn't just a management technique—this is a good skill to practice as a crafter too. I'm always recommending to my reports that they share what they learn and what they build. For my team that means recording demos or writing blog posts and sharing them on Slack or our corporate intranet. But don't share it just once, share it multiple times in different channels and on different days. Give the message time to breathe and spread things out somewhat organically. Not everyone has time on Tuesday, but maybe they do on Wednesday or Friday. The overall advice here is to use DRY when it makes sense: writing code and creating a consistent, cohesive message. But once you have that message ready, repeat yourself until the message is clearly heard (usually three times, in my experience). Wandering Referee Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal https://wanderingreferee.com/ /posts/wanderingreferee/ If you're wondering where all of the hobby content (RPGs, board games, miniatures, books, etc) went from this site, I decided to split my hobby content off into a separate site called <a rel="external" href="https://wanderingreferee.com/">Wandering Referee</a>. I still plan to post about my hobbies, but I wanted to have a dedicated space for it that was separate from the more personal and career-focused content here. Solved Podcast: Self-Help Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal https://solvedpodcast.com/self-help/ /posts/self-help-solved/ I really like how Mark Manson took the various repeated ideas around self-help and ranked them from least helpful to most helpful. At the risk of spoiling it a bit, the number one thing you can do is something I've recommended to my team before: <blockquote> Doing anything when you don't want to do the thing also has robust positive effects. And if you were too intimidated or too scared to do the full thing, breaking it down and only doing part of the thing has highly replicable, repeatable positive effects to the point that it's actually more effective than a number of therapeutic modalities. </blockquote> wanderingreferee.com Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Wes Baker personal /projects/wanderingreferee/ /projects/wanderingreferee/ If you're wondering where all of the hobby content (RPGs, board games, miniatures, books, etc) went from this site, I decided to split my hobby content off into a separate site called <a rel="external" href="https://wanderingreferee.com/">Wandering Referee</a>. I still plan to post about my hobbies, but I wanted to have a dedicated space for it that was separate from the more personal and career-focused content here. Managing Well, Part 1: How You Show Up Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/managing-well-how-you-show-up/ /posts/managing-well-how-you-show-up/ A fundamental part of being a good manager is showing up as a human. That means caring about your team as both employees and people. How was their weekend? How's their family? What vacations do they have coming up? These questions go a long way, but if they come out mechanical and inauthentic they'll do more harm than good. There's a fundamental requirement here as a manager that you both care about the work and the people and hold that tension. I find that sharing my own time outside of work helps folks get comfortable with that idea. That might be a hobby I've been enjoying, a vacation I'm planning, or something my kids did over the weekend. Don't underestimate the value of humor either. Not everyone considers themselves to be funny and that's fine, don't be inauthentic here. However, if you're typically funny lean into that as that can help a team loosen up and start to be more honest with each other. You need to be available as a manager if you want your team to trust that you'll both listen and respond. Obvious statement is obvious, but I've had many managers who haven't made themselves available. I had one manager at a prior company where I had to set three reminders in Slack to get a response from them in under a week. Don't be that kind of manager. At the same time, we're in more meetings and busy with our own work, so you can't always be available, but you can always tell your team you'll get back to them later, but then do it. You have to close that loop in order to build their trust. You also have to set reasonable constraints on what it means to be on your team and then model that behavior. For me, that means working roughly 40 hours a week during normal working hours but using the flexibility we have to make sure family comes first (e.g. chaperoning a field trip and working later that evening). It also means that I rarely work in the evening and when I do, I don't ping other folks, I schedule messages for when they're likely to be on tomorrow. That also means being aware of people who work in different timezones and ensuring you're not burdening them with being up too early or staying on too late. om The counterpoint to this is that team meetings and rituals are important. I want everyone to be there if possible. Keep the overall number of meetings low (2 or fewer per week if possible), provide agendas, and keep the meetings high value. Showing up authentically and being available is the foundation to being a good manager, but there's plenty more to it. Your team needs to understand why they're doing what they're doing and feel safe pushing back when something doesn't make sense. That's where the interesting work begins. In my next post I'll talk about how transparent disagreement and admitting fallibility creates a team that owns their work. Hidden Apps Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/hidden-apps/ /posts/hidden-apps/ A quick tip today to get me back into writing a bit. On <a rel="external" href="https://atp.fm/679">a recent ATP podcast</a>, Marco Arment mentioned a great productivity tip for those distracting iOS apps like Instagram: <blockquote> [...] if you hide any app and require Face ID for it, it will go into [the Hidden] folder. The only way to get to it is to go to the App Library; it won't show up in search, you won't get any notifications for it, your phone will act as though it's not there at all. The only way to get to it is you go to that hidden folder, tap it, for some reason you have to tap it again, it Face ID scans you, then the icon will show up and you can open the app, and you can use the app just normally. But if you leave the app for more than like a second or two, it will not show up in the app switcher, you can't switch back to it, you have to go through that process again. </blockquote> I've done this with Instagram, Reddit, and GoodSudoku. I've also tucked away a few apps that I want to keep installed, but don't want to see because they're situational (e.g. the Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line apps). Apple Photos Raycast Extension Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 Wes Baker personal /projects/apple-photos-raycast/ /projects/apple-photos-raycast/ A Raycast extension for browsing and searching your Apple Photos library directly from the command bar. <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;apple-photos-1.21a82252f14e2f2e.webp" alt="Apple Photos Search" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>You can search the 24 most recent photos in Apple Photos from Raycast, just like screenshots.</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;apple-photos-2.109fa04c21de870c.webp" alt="Paste to ..." loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>You can paste right to your active app from the selection.</figcaption> </figure> dewey Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 Wes Baker personal /projects/dewey/ /projects/dewey/ A Discord bot for managing a book club rotation. Randomizes who picks the book each month, tracks book picks with Goodreads integration, and sends mid-month reminders. <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;pick.e7adac1e467890c2.webp" alt="&#x2F;pick command" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>The `&#x2F;pick` command lets the book chooser pick their book or the admin to set a book for someone else.</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;reminder.a9eb0476995cfef2.webp" alt="Monthly reminder message" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>Every month a reminder is sent to the current chooser and next month&#x27;s as well.</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;schedule.66ff2e7504843a54.webp" alt="&#x2F;schedule command" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>The `&#x2F;schedule` command shows the upcoming schedule along with anyone who&#x27;s been pinned to a specific month.</figcaption> </figure> Prusa Printer Control Raycast Extension Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 Wes Baker personal /projects/prusa-raycast/ /projects/prusa-raycast/ A Raycast extension for monitoring and controlling Prusa 3D printers from the command bar. <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;prusa-1.1b2da898d53ec0d0.webp" alt="Prusa Raycast Extension" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>The Prusa Raycast extension allows you to look up the status of your printer.</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;prusa-2.0920e54a9eeb17d2.webp" alt="Prusa Raycast Extension Commands" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>In addition to status, you can open the PrusaConnect Dashboard and Print Files.</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="&#x2F;processed_images&#x2F;prusa-3.995f63f7a9112333.webp" alt="Prusa Raycast Extension Menubar" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /> <figcaption>A Menubar option allows you to always see the progress of your current print in the menubar.</figcaption> </figure> Engine Building for Engineering Teams Wed, 24 Feb 2021 11:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/engine-building-for-engineering-teams/ /posts/engine-building-for-engineering-teams/ I'm a big fan of board games. My collection no longer fits in the two bookshelves I have, it sprawls into the closet next to our game room. One of my favorite genres is engine building. This is the idea that you start with basic means of doing something---exploring ruins for instance---and build up your capabilities and efficiencies over time. Therefore an action at the beginning of the game doesn't produce the same output as an action at the end, but without those initial actions, those latter actions wouldn't have the same weight. These games are incredibly satisfying as I see things get more efficient and effective, gaining more points or a better position as my engine starts to hum along. Problematically for board games, I love the feeling of efficiency to a fault: the first time I play a game I'll be focused on building out the engine and miss the point when I need to start thinking more about winning. That might be points or getting far along a path, but I'll miss it because instead of seeing the forest, I'm staring at these fantastic trees. <h2 id="building-your-team-s-engine"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#building-your-team-s-engine" aria-label="Anchor link for: building-your-team-s-engine">Building Your Team's Engine</a></h2> How does this relate to software engineering and teams? Building out that team is much like building that engine in a board game. Your goal is to produce value via software and your initial hand of cards or actions will not produce much. You have to figure out what actions you can take that will improve your efficiency both on an individual action level and a holistic level. If you're working with an existing team, adding process and structure will create tension. Team members with experience will have worked on teams before that added needless structure, hoops to jump through to, and other processes that add no value. When introducing these new processes you'll show how it produces value, potentially as experiments. However, if you run them as experiments you must treat them as experiments and be willing to see them fail and hear feedback from your team. Teams are unlike board games in one important---and obvious---way: in a team, you're working with other people and their opinions matter. You shouldn't approach the building of a team with the mindset of a game player optimizing their own strategy, but that of a coach introducing an improvement and hearing out concerns and feedback. You might be the manager, but you're working with people. Hear them out, change the process to fit your team, and evolve what you know to work best them. Over time your team's engine will start to get more efficient. What was once a deliberate process of following a list becomes normal and easy. The best part is that the inflection point is obvious: once you have enough process that things are getting moving along and getting merged, that's when your engine is working. It's worth watching the processes and checking in from time to time, but let them grow and shift due to how your team works with them. Let them evolve on their own and invite feedback on a regular basis. What steps can you take to build that engine? Stay tuned to subsequent posts. I'm planning on covering written documentation and RFCs next. RSS isn't dead Wed, 17 Feb 2021 11:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/rss-isnt-dead/ /posts/rss-isnt-dead/ I’m not the first person to write that headline, nor will I be the last, but it’s pretty clear that people forget (or never knew) that RSS is a thing. If you haven’t heard of RSS feeds before, they stand for Really Simple Syndication, which may not tell you what they do. They’re XML feeds with content from a website. They can be created statically or generated from an application (e.g. Wordpress or Gatsby). In fact, <a rel="external" href="https://www.wesbaker.com/rss.xml">this website has an RSS feed</a> and I wouldn’t build a blog without one. <h2 id="why"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#why" aria-label="Anchor link for: why">Why?</a></h2> But why would you want to use RSS? <ul> <li>Twitter is a firehose where things get lost</li> <li>Bookmarks require you to regularly visit</li> <li>Individual web sites can be cluttered and hard to read</li> <li>You want all the content you like in one place</li> </ul> You become the curator of the content you want to see, not the people you’re following. RSS can replace Twitter or Facebook, but for others it supplements it. I go back and forth on whether I bother with Social Media, but for the moment I'm on Twitter here and there. <h2 id="how"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#how" aria-label="Anchor link for: how">How?</a></h2> Okay, you’ve decided you want to try it, what do I recommend as next steps? There are numerous options, but <a rel="external" href="https://feedbin.com">Feedbin</a> is the best option I’ve found. It's a paid service, but I find it to be worth the cost for three reasons: <ol> <li>Actions: you can setup automations to mark items as read or starred based on certain conditions.</li> <li>Newsletter email address: an email address is created that imports all content into Feedbin, then you can read those newsletters with everything else in your feed reader.</li> <li>Twitter: you can subscribe to a Twitter feed in Feedbin. I recommend combining this with Actions to cut down on the noise.</li> </ol> In addition, I recommend using a feed reader in addition to the service and I like <a rel="external" href="https://reederapp.com">Reeder</a>. Again, it’s paid, but it's been the smoothest feed reader experience I've found and even though I've tried other apps like <a rel="external" href="http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/">NetNewsWire</a> and <a rel="external" href="https://www.goldenhillsoftware.com/unread/">Unread</a>, I always end up back with Reeder. As a side benefit, if you’re not interested in paying for Feedbin (and I suggest you at least try the trial), Reeder can use iCloud to synchronize your feeds and read items between your iOS and macOS devices. <h2 id="what"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#what" aria-label="Anchor link for: what">What?</a></h2> You’re convinced and you’ve setup your tools, what should you subscribe to? That’s up to you, but many sites offer RSS feeds and the ones that don’t usually offer an email newsletter or a Twitter account. Reeder on macOS offers a Safari extension that allows you to subscribe to RSS feeds and on iOS I recommend using <a rel="external" href="https://www.goldenhillsoftware.com/feed-hawk/">Feed Hawk</a>. That being said, here are some general recommendations from my subscriptions: <ul> <li><a rel="external" href="https://www.calnewport.com/">Cal Newport</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://feeds.feedburner.com/StudyHacks">feed</a>) has a lot to say about deep work, the perils of social media, focus and productivity</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://cassidoo.co">Cassidy Williams</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://buttondown.email/cassidoo/rss">feed</a>) is a software engineer and puts out a weekly newsletter with a few links, an interview question, and a damn good attitude</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://changelog.com">The Changelog</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://changelog.com/feed">feed</a>) is a podcast first, but it also has a newsletter and an RSS feed of news in the development community</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://daringfireball.net/">Daring Fireball</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://daringfireball.net/feeds/json">feed</a>) is a blog written by John Gruber about Apple, technology, and news in general</li> <li><a rel="external" href="http://sivers.org/">Derek Sivers</a> (<a rel="external" href="http://sivers.org/en.atom">feed</a>) is an author who has a great outlook on things that I can't help but read his work</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://hackernewsletter.com">Hacker Newsletter</a> is a curated email newsletter with the week's best articles from <a rel="external" href="https://news.ycombinator.com">Hacker News</a></li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://jamesclear.com/">James Clear</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://jamesclear.com/feed">feed</a> is pretty quiet, <a rel="external" href="https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/refer?rh_ref=e5770ad7">newsletter</a> is updated weekly) is an author who’s written a lot about habits versus goals and always manages to make me think with his weekly newsletter</li> <li><a rel="external" href="http://kottke.org/">kottke.org</a> (<a rel="external" href="http://feeds.kottke.org/json">feed</a>) is one of the oldest blogs that I know of and read regularly, it's a potpourri of interesting links</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://www.macstories.net/">MacStories</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://www.macstories.net/feed/">feed</a>) is my favorite source for Apple news</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://nodeweekly.com/">Node Weekly</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://nodeweekly.com/rss/1dj54870">feed</a>) is a weekly newsletter about Node.js</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://react.statuscode.com/">React Status</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://react.statuscode.com/rss/">feed</a>) is a weekly newsletter about React</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://m.signalvnoise.com/">Signal vs. Noise</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://m.signalvnoise.com/feed/">feed</a>) is Basecamp's blog and ta source of insightful articles about software and product development</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://sixcolors.com/">Six Colors</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://feedpress.me/sixcolors">feed</a>) is yet another site for Apple news</li> <li><a rel="external" href="http://toolsandtoys.net/">Tools and Toys</a> (<a rel="external" href="http://toolsandtoys.net/feed/">feed</a>) is a great site for pointing out fun gear you didn't know you wanted</li> <li><a rel="external" href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter">The Wirecutter</a> (<a rel="external" href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/feed/">feed</a>) is a great site for finding great stuff you actually need</li> </ul> OCRing a lot of PDFs Sat, 18 Jul 2020 17:42:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/ocring-a-lot-of-pdfs/ /posts/ocring-a-lot-of-pdfs/ First, some preamble: I very much enjoy RPGs and I'm always finding new ones and reading them to see if I want to run them. My kids are almost always willing subjects to try out systems as well. I recently decided that I want to use RPGs to help teach math and my kids have been running around the house playing Star Wars, so the old West End Games Star Wars D6 RPG seemed like a perfect choice. The GM sets a difficulty number and the players roll a number of D6s and add them up. It's not high math by any means, but by asking him to add several numbers and then compare to another value, it's doing something while keeping him engaged. Please be on the lookout for my TED talk. Lets get back to PDFs though. These days you can generally get all RPGs in printed or PDF format. PDFs are cheaper and take up little to no room. Additionally, if you're interested in an older game--say a Star Wars RPG that was last published in 1998--you may only be able to get PDFs. With Star Wars, many of the PDFs can be easily found, but there's one problem: for the most part, they are not OCR'ed. I spent some time digging around on the internet and the fastest approach that I could find was using something like PDFPenPro, but that was $129 and I wasn't looking to spend that kind of money. So I dug around on <a rel="external" href="https://brew.sh">homebrew</a> and found <a rel="external" href="https://ocrmypdf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#"><code>ocrmypdf</code></a>. Then I wrote a <a rel="external" href="https://fishshell.com">fish shell</a> one liner to OCR all of the PDFs: <pre class="giallo z-code"><code data-lang="shellscript">for file in ./*.pdf; ocrmypdf &quot;$file&quot; &quot;$file&quot;; end</code></pre> Run that and walk away as <code>ocrmypdf</code> does it's thing. My ExpressionEngine Add-On Development Setup Thu, 14 May 2015 17:40:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/my-expressionengine-add-on-development-setup/ /posts/my-expressionengine-add-on-development-setup/ I make an add-on for ExpressionEngine called <a rel="external" href="https://devot-ee.com/add-ons/subscriber">Subscriber</a>. It’s a pretty simple little add-on: when a visitor fills out a form on your website they’re added to a newsletter list either automatically or based on a selection they make. Developing Subscriber has been pretty simple. I have a directory (and therefore repository) for Subscriber and a directory for my test site. I'll work almost exclusively in the test site and copy things over when I'm satisfied with how it's working. I've missed some changes in the past when copying things over. In addition, it was something of a process when I had files in two different directories. I knew I was being inefficient and I knew it could be better than copying and pasting files back and forth while hoping I grabbed everything. I knew my text editor could help me out, so I started doing some digging. <h2 id="sublime"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#sublime" aria-label="Anchor link for: sublime">Sublime</a></h2> It all starts with <a rel="external" href="http://www.sublimetext.com">Sublime Text</a>. Sublime Text is a fantastic editor, one that I’ve been using for a few years now, and I’ve been using <a rel="external" href="https://atom.io">Atom</a> here and there, but I’m still in Sublime Text for the majority of the day. Sublime Text doesn’t look like much, but there’s a lot that makes it powerful under the hood. In particular, it’s ability to let you customize nearly everything and add in various packages and add-ons make it key. For my purposes, the first step was… <h2 id="project-settings"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#project-settings" aria-label="Anchor link for: project-settings">Project Settings</a></h2> As I said before, I keep my add-on's directory separate from the site I use to test my add-on. When I'm working on my add-on I need access to both the test site's files and the add-on. Sublime Text makes this easy, simply open one directory and then drag a second in and all of the files are available. However, I now had a new problem. I heavily rely on Sublime Text's Go to File. If you've not used it before, you hit <code>⌘ + T</code> and it shows you all of the files in your project, start typing and you're now filtering the files. If you have two files with the same name you can tell which directory they're in, but it's a little confusing still. In order to remove one of those directories, you're going to have to create a new Sublime Project from the Project menu (Project -&gt; Save Project As...). It's asks for a name and location for the project file and I chose my add-on's directory, but it can be placed anywhere. Now with that created, you're going to have to edit the settings by selecting Project -&gt; Edit Project. You should see something like the following: { "folders": [ { "path": "/Users/wes/Sites/sandbox", }, { "path": "/Users/wes/Development/ee.addons/subscriber", } ] } All I had to do was add one line to remove the duplicate add-on directory and I removed it from my sandbox site: { "folders": [ { "path": "/Users/wes/Sites/sandbox", "folder_exclude_patterns": ["subscriber"] }, { "path": "/Users/wes/Development/ee.addons/subscriber", } ] } With that in place I'm editing the add-on's files directly in the add-on's directory and the test site's files in the test site's directory. However, I still had a problem: copying the files. <h2 id="build-script"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#build-script" aria-label="Anchor link for: build-script">Build Script</a></h2> Sublime Text has a system in place for project builds. With some projects that might mean a makefile or a rakefile. For my purposes, I only needed to copy files from one directory to another. Back in the project's settings file, we need to define the build system for my add-on project. Just after the closing <code>]</code> for <code>folders</code> I added this: "build_systems": [ { "name": "Copy", "cmd": ["cp", "-r", "/Users/wes/Development/ee.addons/subscriber/system/expressionengine/third_party/subscriber/", "/Users/wes/Sites/sandbox/system/expressionengine/third_party/subscriber/"] } ], The name is pretty self explanatory, but the <code>cmd</code> might need a quick description. You take your raw command and break it up into array items at spaces. For example: cp -r old new Would turn into: "cmd": ["cp", "-r", "old", "new"] Now, all I have to do to copy the files over is run the build by pressing ⌘ + B. Yet, I'm lazy and there should be a way to do this automatically... <h2 id="autobuild"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#autobuild" aria-label="Anchor link for: autobuild">Autobuild</a></h2> The last piece of the puzzle is a package called <a rel="external" href="https://github.com/alexnj/SublimeOnSaveBuild">SublimeOnSaveBuild</a> that does exactly what you're thinking: runs the build whenever you save. However, I ran into two problems with it: <ol> <li>By default it runs Build on any and every project, and I want that off by default.</li> <li>By default it only works when you save <code>css</code>, <code>js</code>, <code>sass</code>, <code>less</code>, and <code>scss</code> files.</li> </ol> In order to fix this, I needed to make changes in two places. First, I went to Preferences -&gt; Package Settings -&gt; SublimeOnSaveBuild -&gt; Settings - User and added the following settings: { "filename_filter": "\.(css|js|sass|less|scss|php|json)$", "build_on_save": 0 } The first line ensures that it runs when I'm saving <code>php</code> files as well as <code>json</code> files and the second line disables the functionality by default. Next, I needed to enable this for my project, so back in the project settings, below the <code>]</code> from <code>build_systems</code> I added this: "settings": { "build_on_save": 1 } This changes Sublime's settings specifically for this project, turning SublimeOnSaveBuild back on. <h2 id="final-project-settings"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#final-project-settings" aria-label="Anchor link for: final-project-settings">Final Project Settings</a></h2> With everything in place, I'm now able to work on my add-on in a test site while leaving it in its own directory so I can ensure that all changes are committed to the repository. I'm saving time by not copying over files and everything is kept up to date instead of missing something from time to time. Here's the final <code>sublime-project</code> file: { "folders": [ { "path": "/Users/wes/Sites/sandbox", "folder_exclude_patterns": ["subscriber"] }, { "path": "/Users/wes/Development/ee.addons/subscriber", } ], "build_systems": [ { "name": "Copy", "cmd": ["cp", "-r", "/Users/wes/Development/ee.addons/subscriber/system/expressionengine/third_party/subscriber/", "/Users/wes/Sites/sandbox/system/expressionengine/third_party/subscriber/"] } ], "settings": { "build_on_save": 1 } } If you have a different approach to building your add-on, I'd love to hear about it. Also, if you've been using Atom to do something similar, I'd definitely love to hear from you. Send me a tweet <a rel="external" href="https://twitter.com/wesbaker">@wesbaker</a>. Wet Shaving Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/wet-shaving/ /posts/wet-shaving/ Disclaimer: All Amazon links are affiliate links. I've been seeing a lot of chatter about safety razors on Twitter lately, men who are either tired of the constant expense of disposables or cartridge razors, or maybe they want some change to their morning routine. I've been shaving with a safety razor for roughly five years now and throughout that whole time, I've probably spent a total of $340 on wet-shaving supplies. If I was instead using a Gillette Mach 3, I would have probably spent somewhere around $550. And if I'm being honest, I've spent too much on wet-shaving supplies since I own two razors and two brushes. You can get away with the essentials for around $110. <h2 id="gearing-up"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#gearing-up" aria-label="Anchor link for: gearing-up">Gearing Up</a></h2> To get started with wet-shaving, you'll need a few things and maybe want a few others: <ul> <li>Razor</li> <li>Blades</li> <li>Styptic pencil</li> <li>Aftershave</li> <li>Brush</li> <li>Shaving cream or soap</li> <li>Travel accessories</li> <li>Scuttle</li> </ul> That's in order from most important to least, with the first three being what I consider "absolute must buys"; aftershave, brush, and shaving cream being "should buys"; and the scuttle and travel accessories being something you pick up later. <h3 id="the-razor"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#the-razor" aria-label="Anchor link for: the-razor">The Razor</a></h3> First, you'll want a razor and the name you'll hear over and over again in wet-shaving communities is Merkur. Safety razors made by Merkur are solid hunks of steel carved down into shaving implements. Compare that to a Gillette Mach3 which is made of mostly plastic and a thin metal veneer. You might be handing down your razor to your kids one day. There are two razors I'd recommend starting with and they're fairly close in price. <h4 id="merkur-34c-aka-hd"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#merkur-34c-aka-hd" aria-label="Anchor link for: merkur-34c-aka-hd">Merkur 34C, aka HD</a></h4> The 34C is what most people learn on. It's the perfect weight for learning to wet-shave since you don't have to push the razor into the skin or pull it away from the skin to shave. You simply rest it on your face at a 30-45 degree angle and simply let it slide down. The strangest thing about the 34C is it's size: it's going to look very small compared to your Mach 3, just hold it loosely by the knob at the end of the razor and you'll be fine. You can typically find it for $45 on <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LYAQ9E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001LYAQ9E">Amazon</a>. <h4 id="merkur-38c-the-barber-pole"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#merkur-38c-the-barber-pole" aria-label="Anchor link for: merkur-38c-the-barber-pole">Merkur 38C, the barber pole</a></h4> The 38C is what some consider to be the step up from the 34C. It's both longer and heavier, so you'll be able to more comfortably hold the razor, but you'll have to figure out how much negative pressure you'll need to apply. I'd recommend taking a look at this razor only once you're comfortable with the Merkur 34C. You can pick this one up on <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RJUZMW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000RJUZMW">Amazon</a> for about $53. <h3 id="the-blades"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#the-blades" aria-label="Anchor link for: the-blades">The Blades</a></h3> Next up are blades and here's where most people buy what they see first and move on. Don't do that. If every single razor blade was the same, there wouldn't be as many brands as there are. Some are manufactured sharper, some smoother, and others duller. Everyone's face is slightly different so different razor blades work for different folks. My recommendation is to pick up a sampler pack from <a rel="external" href="http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Sample-Packs_c_1.html">West Coast Shaving</a>. After you settle down on a brand, then take a look on <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;x=0&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;y=0&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;field-keywords=razor%20blade%20sampler&amp;url=search-alias%3Dhpc#/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=hpc">Amazon</a> or <a rel="external" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=personna+razor+blade+israeli&amp;_sacat=0&amp;_odkw=blue+personna+razor+blade+israeli&amp;_osacat=0&amp;_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313">eBay</a> for the blades you prefer, to get the best deals. With my preferred blade and how often I shave, I pay about $0.04 per shave in blades. <h3 id="aftershave"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#aftershave" aria-label="Anchor link for: aftershave">Aftershave</a></h3> This is a highly personal thing since some people like the burn of alcohol and some don't. I myself don't mind either way, but I tend towards the idea that less is more. With that in mind, I'd recommend either using a simple <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S823S6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000S823S6">witch hazel</a> or some <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GCQC6S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000GCQC6S">Nivea Sensitive Skin After Shave Balm</a>. <h3 id="styptic-pencil"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#styptic-pencil" aria-label="Anchor link for: styptic-pencil">Styptic Pencil</a></h3> I'm not going to sugarcoat this one bit: you're going to cut yourself. Most days it won't be bad and can be chased away with a splash of cold water, and other days they'll just keep on bleeding. Styptic pencils are solid blocks of alum which should stop the bleeding and in the process, hurt like a bitch. Hopefully over time you'll use this less and less, but it does help to have this in your kit. I'd recommend picking up the Clubman styptic pencil from <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QM9KQW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000QM9KQW">Amazon</a>. <h3 id="the-brush"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#the-brush" aria-label="Anchor link for: the-brush">The Brush</a></h3> Brushes vary quite a bit in price and seemingly less in quality. I have two brushes: a Crabtree &amp; Evelyn Best Badger Brush that cost me $35 (and is no longer available), and a <a rel="external" href="http://www.qedusa.com/savile-savile-3824-silvertip-badger-24mm-knot-p-137.html">Savile Row 3824</a> that ran me $115. Do I notice a difference? Yes, but when starting out, a lower end brush should be fine. What you're looking for is a badger hair brush, as opposed to a boar hair or synthetic brush. Badger hair is softer and holds more water than either boar or synthetic, but you do end up paying a little bit more. I'd recommend picking up an Omega 63171 for around $32 at <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JMFELY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000JMFELY">Amazon</a> and if you want to splurge, take a look at that Savile Row 3824. <h3 id="shaving-cream-or-soap"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#shaving-cream-or-soap" aria-label="Anchor link for: shaving-cream-or-soap">Shaving Cream or Soap</a></h3> There are a ton of options here, probably more than you want to deal with. First you have to decide between shaving cream and shaving soap. Shaving soap can be a bit more slippery at the expense of drying out your skin a bit more. Shaving cream tends to give you more of a buffer between your skin and the blade and moisturizes your skin more, but isn't as slippery as the soap. I have a little of both and switch based upon the season and the weather. For shaving cream I recommend Proraso for the summer, and Taylor of Old Bond Street for the whole year. Proraso smells a bit like an old barber shop, has a cooling effect and is relatively inexpensive. Taylor of Old Bond Street is a bit more, but doesn't have a cooling effect--which is good during the summer--and comes in a dozen or so different scents. If you're having a hard time picking, try the Sandalwood for a woodsy scent, or Mr. Taylor for an old fashioned scent. When it comes to soap, I've only tried one and from what I hear, I only need to. Tabac soap has an odd name, but dries your skin a bit less than most soaps, smells nice and clean, and comes in a ceramic bowl. <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RI8BZQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000RI8BZQ">Proraso</a> will run around $11, <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QG259K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B002QG259K">Taylor of Old Bond Street</a> runs around $12-$16, and <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GHYXG4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000GHYXG4">Tabac</a> is $22. <h3 id="travel-accessories"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#travel-accessories" aria-label="Anchor link for: travel-accessories">Travel Accessories</a></h3> After a while of getting comfortable with wet-shaving, you're probably going to need to leave the house for extended periods of time. Shoving your brush and razor into your dopp kit will work, but could potentially damage either. I'd recommend picking up a <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036BF97Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B0036BF97Y">shaving brush travel case</a> and a <a rel="external" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O8NCI4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001O8NCI4">razor case</a> for a grand total of $25. <h3 id="scuttle"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#scuttle" aria-label="Anchor link for: scuttle">Scuttle</a></h3> Alright, so you've been wet-shaving for a while and you're into it. What else can you splurge on? Well, my friend, I'd recommend you take a look at a scuttle. A scuttle is a ceramic bowl encased inside of another ceramic bowl. The inner bowl is where you put your shaving cream and the outer bowl is where you put the hottest water you can find. What happens is you make your lather with your brush in the inner bowl and the outer bowl filled with steaming hot water keeps that shaving cream hot for the whole shave. It's a complete luxury and is totally unneeded, but it's fantastic to have and makes a great present for those of us who are impossible to buy for. My wife bought mine from <a rel="external" href="http://www.dirtybirdpottery.com/shavinggear.html">Dirty Bird Pottery</a> and I believe I have the 1.5 Scuttle that's a bit bigger then the original. <h2 id="down-to-business"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#down-to-business" aria-label="Anchor link for: down-to-business">Down to Business</a></h2> Now that you have all of the gear that you want, it's time to get started shaving. Everyone has a different face, so my method might not work for you, but it's a good starting point. Before you start, note the growth pattern of your hair. For a while you're going to want to go with and not against the grain. For me that means shaving from top to bottom until I get to the lower part of my neck where I shave from bottom to top. I cannot stress how important this is and how if you don't pay attention to it, you're going to end up really needing that styptic pencil. Another thing to keep in mind is the angle of the razor to your face. You'll want to keep the head of the razor around 30-45 degrees off of your face. Anything outside of that range and you'll either shave nothing (closer to 0 degrees) or start raking your face with a razor (closer to 90 degrees). <ol> <li>Fill your sink with hot water and throw a washcloth in.</li> <li>Splash some warm water on your face.</li> <li>Create some lather using your shaving brush either directly on your face or in a bowl. Spend a minute or so working it in, but not pushing too hard with your brush.</li> <li>Set your brush down and rub the lather into your face using both your fingers and finger nails to really get your facial hair sticking up.</li> <li>Rinse your hands and wring out the washcloth and place it over the lathered parts of your face and leave it there for about a minute or two.</li> <li>Wipe the lather off using the washcloth.</li> <li>Splash some warm water on your face.</li> <li>Lather up once again, but only give your face a good coat.</li> <li>Take the razor in one hand and lightly hold the end of it between your thumb, index and middle finger.</li> <li>Going from top to bottom, shave your face and then your neck going in the direction of the grain. Don't worry about removing all of your hair since you'll be making a second pass.</li> <li>Rinse your face and then apply another coat of shaving cream and shave your face one more time.</li> <li>Rinse your face after your second pass, put on your favorite aftershave.</li> </ol> If you need to do some touch up with the razor to remove some hairs you missed, I'd recommend dabbing on some shaving cream and going across--not against--the grain. That should be everything you need to get started, if you have any questions feel free to <a rel="external" href="http://twitter.com/wesbaker">ask me on Twitter</a>. Someone Else's Code Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/someone-elses-code/ /posts/someone-elses-code/ Head down, fingers tapping and teeth gnashing, that's how you'd find me if I was working on someone else's code. I want to rewrite it. I mean, it's awful just look at it. There are no comments and there are ternary operators where they shouldn't be and they aren't used where they should be. And to make it all worse, the code is littered with tons of inane variables like <code>temp</code> and <code>iter</code>. At some point in every programmer's rich and illustrious career, we find ourselves in someone else's code. And, inevitably, we start finding problems, things we would never have done. Ever. However, if you took one look at your code from a year ago, I'd bet you'd start finding problems too. So why, then, do we think that someone else's code is awful and only worthy of a rewrite? Because understanding other people is hard. The act of reading someone else's code is hard, slogging through classes, methods and variables to try and understand what they were thinking. But that takes time, time I don't believe I have. This needs to be finished this week and if I start rewriting it now, I might have time to finish it, but given my track record of estimation, probably not. But how long would it take if I took the time to understand what was happening in the code? What would it take to document it such that I understand the names and the flow? Realistically? Not that long, and it would save me from rewriting code that—for the most part—works. Additionally, taking the time to understand what someone else was thinking could result in the 'why'. That 'why' pushes you from just knowing what the code does to understanding it almost as well as the original programmer did. Sure, you aren't them, you don't think the same and it's a different time and place, but this new viewpoint can answer why they used a ternary when they did and why that variable's name is what it is. With that understanding, it's no longer someone else's code, it's now our code. And the more code you read, the more understanding you gather. With that understanding you now see a whole slew of solutions when your next problem comes up. So how often do you work with someone else's code? I work with it on a weekly basis. Yes, it's usually from a co-worker and because I've read their code a few times I'm starting to understand how they think. But even if it wasn't, it's not really that bad. It might seem like an interruption in productive work, but reading someone else's code could be far more useful for the amount of time you put into it. Think about it, you're gathering some of the understanding that it took to originally write the code in far less time than it took to write it. If that's not productive, I don't know what is. Why I Buy Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/why-i-buy/ /posts/why-i-buy/ Do I need to buy this? Are there alternatives? How long will this last? These are things I think about when buying anything. Questions fly through my head when I start to think about buying something. It's been trained into everyone by our society and whether you like it or not, the vast majority of people approach stuff this way. One time when my then-fiancee (now wife) and I met my parents, my wife brought up my expensive tastes and my father chimed in, "Wes doesn't want much, but what he wants is high quality." Ever since then, how I approach buying things has made far more sense. I'm picky and I'm exacting and if it's not what I want and it's not good enough, I'll most likely gnash my teeth until I realize I simply shouldn't buy it. When I start thinking about buying something, I need to know two things: <ul> <li>How long do I plan on owning or using it?</li> <li>What levels of quality are available to me?</li> </ul> If I don't plan on owning something for a long time, I start to question whether or not I should even buy it. Maybe I can get away with borrowing, renting, substituting or just doing without it. However, if I need to buy something and I don't plan on having it for a while, then I'll get the lowest acceptable quality available. I don't want it falling apart, but I can skip the archival quality. However, if I do plan on owning it for a while---and most things fall into this category for myself---then I start looking at quality a lot more. How long will this last me? Will it still be in good quality when I'm done with it? For example, my safety razor is a very solid piece of steel that has been molded into something that I can shave with. Between the look and the heft, I have a feeling it's something my kids will ask me about one day. Also, my shaving brush is a hand made ordeal, carved, stuffed created by someone else's hands, not a machine. These things will last. In the same vein, I tend to buy hardback books these days because if I'm going to lend it to a family member or a friend, or hand it down to my children, I want to know that it's not going to fall apart between now and then. I want a book that won't fall apart after a handful of readings. At the end of the day, I want things that will pass the test of time and be around and be useful in the future. I want something that has heft and an obvious feel that it's creator loved making it. I want something of quality and substance, if only because so many things these days are made to last only long enough for us to either forget about them or move on to something new. The Tyranny of Self-Help Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/the-tyranny-of-self-help/ /posts/the-tyranny-of-self-help/ We all read for different reasons, some of us read to wind down and strip back the problems of our day. Others read for inspiration. But I want to talk about the people who are reading to learn, more specifically the people who are trying to improve. These folks see themselves as lacking something, imperfect in some way. They're constantly striving to find the next book, the one that'll help them finally get out of that funk they've been in: the holy grail of self-help books that will prove all of the other books wrong and will help them become the person they've always thought they could be. So, they read the book, scribbling notes in margins, highlighting passages, and committing key tenants to memory. And for the next few weeks, they're riding high, feeling as if the world is theirs with a feeling that they can do anything; all because the last book they read said so. But talk to these people a month or so after they finished the book and see how they feel about it. More frighteningly, see what they've absorbed and remembered. Even worse, see what book they're reading now. Typically, the most important---and most difficult---parts have been forgotten first. They openly admit that they're not following the system verbatim, but they're doing a pretty good job and they still feel as if it's helping. They also confide in you that they're planning on starting a new self-help book this weekend, one that promises to do what the last one did, but this one applies the methodology to another deficient part of themselves. This is the crux of the problem. It's not that reading self-help is always a bad thing, I don't believe it is. The issue is determining when to stop reading and take what we've learned and apply it to our lives. We keep going back to try and find another solution, because finding solutions is easy, actually using them is incredibly hard. <h2 id="industry"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#industry" aria-label="Anchor link for: industry">Industry</a></h2> To understand why people keep going back to the bookstore, it might be helpful to see how the self-help industry functions and it all begins with a very successful formula: <ol> <li>Show that the reader is broken in some way, whether or not the reader came to you with this problem. You'll typically find this problem on the cover (front or back) or in the introduction.</li> <li>Explain that you have the cure to this problem. A scrap of the solution---or maybe the whole thing---will be on the cover as well.</li> <li>Explain the cure and show them that life is better on the other side. This is the majority of the book.</li> </ol> This formula works because the book tends to do a good enough job of instilling a sense of inferiority because we don't know the fix to what ails us, but this author does. Why else would they be a published author? After we buy into the problem, we begin to see the fix, but just a small part of it and this fix gets us exited. We start thinking of all the things we'll be able to do after we're no longer broken: getting a promotion, reading more, living a happier more fulfilling life, or whatever else is being sold these days. But why does this formula exist? Why are there are so many self-help authors with too much snake oil to sell? Easy, in 2008 alone, the self help industry generated $11 billion<a href="#1">1</a>. These authors, and self-help as an entire industry, have gotten greedy. And this greed is producing two kinds of people: <ol> <li>Believers: those with a voracious appetite for self-help who don't know when to stop. These people never feel improved 'enough' and always feel like there's something else to learn, something else they need to know before they can "get started" with whatever they want to start. Your author was---and to some degree still is---one of these kinds of people.</li> <li>Skeptics: people who actively shun self-help, who sneer at it's polished veneer and it's authors who grace the covers of their respective books. These people may or may not have the right answer, but they feel that they'll learn it one way or another.</li> </ol> It's easy to accept that there are skeptics, every industry has them. But how can that same industry also create a group that feels like they have a problem, fixes said problem, and comes right back for another serving of self-help? <blockquote> the most likely customer for a book on any given topic was someone who had bought a similar book within the preceding eighteen months. <ul> <li>Steve Slareno, form self-help book editor for Rodale Press<a href="#2">2</a></li> </ul> </blockquote> Therein lies the irony of self-help, your biggest customers are those that have already "helped themselves." Yet, why would these people keep going back, over and over, creating an industry that rakes in billions each year? One simple idea: <blockquote> [...] if your life does not get better, it is your fault---your thoughts were not positive enough. </blockquote> The self-help industry sells improvement, yet when you don't see the improvement, it's not their fault, you didn't try hard enough. It's obvious that you need this improvement, otherwise why would you be buying this book? So, since you haven't improved at all, you'll just need to keep trying until you truly improve. That's how this industry survives, that's how they can continue selling the same ideas with different packaging. <h2 id="happiness"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#happiness" aria-label="Anchor link for: happiness">Happiness</a></h2> You'd expect with all of this improvement that these people are seeing, that they'd lead happier and more fulfilling lives. However, I'd argue it's doing quite the opposite. All of this reading is introducing doubt, instilling fears and belittling people. That's how it builds interest in 'the cure.' It seems that those skeptics mentioned above might be the happier group: they have no problem ignoring a book that is telling them that they're broken. What about the believers---the customers---are they truly broken? I don't think so, I think they may have been living happy and contented lives, but through the right combination of self-doubt, a desire to improve, and good timing, they determine that they are in fact broken. They need a cure and this book promises it and what is printed must be true. Speaking from experience, this is the road to unhappiness, the wrong path: this search for weaknesses will eventually break you. If you want to obtain the happiness that these authors are promising, my advice would be to do what you love and improve what you're good at. Don't ignore your weaknesses, but don't focus on them either. <h2 id="recovery"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#recovery" aria-label="Anchor link for: recovery">Recovery</a></h2> If you can't tell yet, I'm a recovering self-help 'addict'. Writing this essay has been a cathartic exercise. At one point in my life I wouldn't bat an eye at buying a stack of self-help books all telling me that I'm broken and how they're going to fix me. After reading each, I'd feel two conflicting emotions: a sense of growth and motivation; and a proverbial slap-in-the-face, cautioning me to never read anything like this ever again. After which I'd pick up the next book in the pile and start the process anew. I realize how stupid this sounds---how naive I was---to just keep reading the same thing over and over again, only with a different schtick this time. Yet, it was a way of life for at least two years. I'd peruse Amazon, looking for the latest in self-help. When I found something I liked I'd sometimes add them to my wish list, but more often I add it to my cart. It was when I looked at my bookshelf and saw more than a handful of unread self-help books that I realized that I might have a problem. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe books are intrinsically bad, quite the contrary: I love books. My problem comes from the content of these particular books. How many times does one person have to tell you the same thing? How many ways do you need to learn to not procrastinate before you get off your ass and actually do something? It's a hard lesson to learn and doing things is a hell of a lot harder than reading about them. So far, my 'recovery' has been a long and winding road filled with doubt as to whether I'm doing the right thing and frustration after realizing that these books aren't actually helping. My recommendation is to do what I did: <ol> <li>Take all of the books that you might consider self-help off your bookshelf and put them on the floor.</li> <li>Categorize them according to what you think they might improve; keep the categories broad and try to only have three to five categories total.</li> <li>Pick one or two books from each category that you're going to keep and get rid of the rest. (I got rid of mine through <a rel="external" href="https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/easysell/start.html?ld=SCSeamlessEasySell">Amazon</a> and <a rel="external" href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?r_by=wcbaker@gmail.com">PaperBackSwap</a>.)</li> </ol> If you need help on figuring out which books to keep and which to get rid of, I'd recommend looking at negative reviews on Amazon---they tend to be the most honest. <h2 id="experience"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#experience" aria-label="Anchor link for: experience">Experience</a></h2> How then are we supposed to improve if we can't read self-help books? Start doing. If you want to write, start writing, don't spend time reading a book that explains why you aren't motivated enough to write. If you want to have a better outlook on life, start thinking about everything that makes you happy, don't read a book that explains that a mission statement might make you a happier person. And for the sake of everything that is good in this world, don't listen when someone else says that you're broken and they have the cure for it, especially when that person is trying to sell you something. Experience is one of the best teachers out there. No book can kick you in the ass as hard as experience and no lesson will stick with you as long as that kick in the ass. Hard lessons like these will make you a better person both personally and professionally. Ask anyone you consider to be truly great how they improved the most? Was it by reading the latest self-help book or was it by actually getting out there and doing something and learning from the results? My bet is it's the results and I think Theodore Roosevelt might agree: <blockquote> The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.<a href="#3">3</a> </blockquote> Live your life as if the man who wrote that is watching. <h2 id="rinse-and-repeat"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#rinse-and-repeat" aria-label="Anchor link for: rinse-and-repeat">Rinse and Repeat</a></h2> Even considering all that I've mentioned, the self-help industry is going nowhere. Next year will be a better year than the last. Books covered with grandiose statements will still litter bestseller lists and you'll still see far too many books with the author's likeness plastered all over the cover. People will still be told that they are broken and that the fix is neatly packaged into an affordable $25 book or, worse, a $6,000 life-changing retreat. So, like the skeptics, should we doubt every single self-help book we come across? I don't think we should, but maybe we can learn something from our skeptical friends: <ul> <li>What does this book really talk about?</li> <li>Is the concept new to me or have I read something like it before?</li> <li>Why am I excited about this? Is it just because everyone else is excited?</li> <li>Would I be better served by learning through experience?</li> <li>What do people I know and trust think of it? Have they read it?</li> </ul> My bet is that if you ask yourself those questions, you might find yourself putting that book back more often than not. Real self-improvement starts with figuring out what you want to improve and trying to improve it through hard work and experience, not by sitting down to read a book about it: <blockquote> A hard thing is never done by reading an article about doing it. <ul> <li>Michael Lopp via <a rel="external" href="https://twitter.com/#!/rands/status/45878757671706624">Twitter</a></li> </ul> </blockquote> I would add the same for books. <h4 id="footnotes"><a class="zola-anchor" href="#footnotes" aria-label="Anchor link for: footnotes">Footnotes</a></h4> <div class="footnote-definition" id="1">1 <a rel="external" href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/15/self-help-industry-ent-sales-cx_ml_0115selfhelp.html">Forbes.com: What People Are Still Willing To Pay For</a> </div> <div class="footnote-definition" id="2">2 <a rel="external" href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sham-scam">SHAM Scam</a> </div> <div class="footnote-definition" id="3">3 <a rel="external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic">Wikipedia: Citizenship in a Republic</a> </div> Too Well Read Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/too-well-read/ /posts/too-well-read/ <blockquote> Seeking advice is addicting and can become a proxy for action. [...] Be suspicious of lists, advice, and lists of advice. </blockquote> That comes from someone I highly respect and is a great suggestion for people who are stuck on self-help books and list posts. I've been hearing this pretty loud and clear for the past six months from a couple of people and yet, I've ignored it. Book purchase after book purchase, I've accumulated a library that would make anyone anxious. What I've been recognizing lately is that all of these books are causing me to lose things that I hold very dearly: time, sanity and common sense. My wife suggested that maybe by reading all of the time, I've trained my brain to stop bothering with thought and simply go to the instructions it's been taught. While I have no clue if that's what's actually happening, it certainly feels like what might be happening. It's with all that in mind that I resolved not to buy a book for the rest of the year. Even with this resolution, I still have too many books to read this year. This resolution is also borne out of the desire to increase the depth with which I read. I want to truly know what a book says, instead of having a table-of-contents-depth-of-knowledge after reading a book. And having all of these books feels like a crushing weight: when I read, I read to finish the book as quickly as possible, not so I can enjoy and learn from it. One part of me worries that this resolution will harm me in the long run, yet I got along just fine before I had all of these books and I'm sure I'll be just fine after I get rid of some of them. Another part of me worries that this is wasteful, that since I have all of these books I should just read them. But, that attitude is what got me here in the first place. Quality Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/quality/ /posts/quality/ In my career, there are plenty of folks with plenty of opinions and they all can build their own soapbox. One thing that comes up time and again is the idea of good versus perfect. I've seen many people who claim that perfection and the best possible outcome is the only way to go. Others claim that in our attempt for perfection we sidestep good and barrel towards top heavy and unpolished. Where do I stand? Somewhere in the middle. Perfect is an impossible ideal. Getting there takes constant unrelenting effort and at some point you are going to collapse from exhaustion. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but somewhere down the road you'll look back and see your time consuming attempt at perfection led to imperfect results. In addition, all of this perfecting can stop you from seeing better solutions along the way. Solutions that aren't perfect, but are better then what you are perfecting. Are you starting to see the problem? Just because you are perfecting the solution you've come up with doesn't mean you've arrived at an ideal solution, let alone the ideal solution. At the same time, we need to keep good enough in check. As humans, we tend towards easier solutions that work at the time; but what will come of those quick band-aid fixes that we put in along the way? I know I've seen my share of those fixes and I've seen their aftermath. There's a certain unspoken standard that you have to suss out over time. Whenever someone says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," I usually respond with, "Is it not broken, or are you just ignoring the problem?" So, we're at an impasse: perfection is an impossible ideal and good enough is a slippery slope. What's a human to do to cope with this kind of problem? Balance. Find that point between good enough and perfection. There's only one problem with balance, it's not immediately evident. It takes time, effort and practice (all future topics) to find the sweet spot. So, take your time when looking for a solution, put in a good honest effort when building it, and continue to practice your craft. Being Genuine Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Wes Baker personal /posts/being-genuine/ /posts/being-genuine/ My attention is a fickle sort, it flits back and forth between topics on Philosophy, Psychology, Business, Design and Programming. The idea of being genuine has seen a sort of resurgence in all of these topics recently and I don't completely understand why it ever went away. It seems that we've pushed genuineness aside in lieu of higher profitability, quicker results or some other batch of snake oil. I see and can comprehend that some folks will ignore their morals and their self in order to profit (financially or otherwise), but I think in the long run you are hurting yourself. Think of the last time you were on the phone for customer support for your credit card. What do you hear every 15-30 seconds? "Thank you for your patience, one of our staff will assist you momentarily." They think constantly spewing that every so many seconds will really tide us over until we start talking with the customer support representative. Yet, it just seems to incite anger in most people. They don't seem to have a genuine care about their customers, just their bottom line and a 15 minute wait time doesn't matter one bit if they aren't losing customers at an alarming rate. Contrast that experience to calling Apple for support. First you have to log in using your Apple ID to their website, it's a hoop but a small one. Then you choose from the hardware you have registered with your account. Then the system checks for your warranty coverage instead of the customer support rep asking for your serial number. (I have to imagine that saves Apple wasted time from misread and mistyped serial numbers.) Then you describe the problem using a few drop-downs and a description. Then you are presented with three options: Call me now, Call me later and I'll call Apple later. It's those first two options that shows that Apple genuinely cares about you, your problem and your time. Why do they care? Well, for one, they aren't wasting your time while you sit with a phone pressed against your head listening to awful hold music for 15 minutes, they call you when they're available. The other real benefit to it, is that they review your case and can take a look at what's going on and come up with solutions before they call you. Marketing is another area where there's a rediscovered interest in genuineness. In Social Media if you aren't being genuine folks will very quickly figure that out. Also, look at books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981348203?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wesslife-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0981348203">Speak Human</a>, a whole guidebook on "outmarket[ing] larger firms by getting personal", and being genuine goes right a long with being personal. Now, traipsing across the internet we end up at <a rel="external" href="http://artofmanliness.com/">The Art of Manliness</a>. In their own words they are "a blog dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man." I think this is another case of folks trying to build a certain amount of genuineness back into their lives. If you take a look at <a rel="external" href="http://artofmanliness.com/2010/01/10/the-decline-of-male-space/">some</a> <a rel="external" href="http://artofmanliness.com/2009/08/23/how-to-apologize-like-a-man/">of</a> <a rel="external" href="http://artofmanliness.com/2010/05/16/what-is-manliness/">their</a> <a rel="external" href="http://artofmanliness.com/2010/07/18/stop-living-for-the-approval-of-women/">posts</a>, you'll see that the core of being a man is being genuine and expressing your needs and wants, not cowing to some image of what you think the ideal man is--typically an over-sensitive people pleaser who's afraid to say what he thinks. So then, what am I getting at? Being genuine is not a self-improvement project that you're going to start next year. It's not some fad that a social media guru concocted. It's not the newest way to curb ADD. It's a way to live that enriches every aspect of your life.