DEV Community: Vincent Grovestine

Laptops... How much computing power does a dev really need?

Vincent Grovestine — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 20:13:45 +0000

Yesterday, I sought the community's recommendation for a Wunderlist replacement.

To-do list app recommendations

Vincent Grovestine ・ Dec 9 '19

Today, there's another dilemma on my mind: How much "oomph" (computing power) does a developer honestly need?

My own laptop--a Thinkpad T520--is getting a bit long in the tooth. Sure, it still works for daily tasks thanks to SSD and RAM upgrades; however, I'd like to have something that's a bit more portable, with a FHD screen, and a battery that I can squeeze more than 4 hours out of, etc.

So, it's laptop shopping time!

I'm conflicted, however. The Thinkpad T-series is my gold standard, but do I really need that much machine? For example, my wife picked up an Acer Spin 1 not long ago--a spiffy little aluminium rig with ~6 hr battery, 11" FHD touch screen, 64 Gig eMMC storage (but open M2 slot), and expandable RAM, but only a Pentium Silver N4200 processor. Honestly, it's a rather nice ultra-portable that cost less than $400 CAD.

BUT... My instinct says "Pentium processor. Yuck! Too slow."

Am I being fair?

Obviously, anyone working with graphics or video, virtualization, or crunching data will want at least a modern, mid-range processor. Yet what about those of us who spend most of our time in VS Code with a few browser windows open?

What do you feel is the baseline for dev laptop specs these days?

To-do list app recommendations

Vincent Grovestine — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 17:42:31 +0000

Today, TechCrunch reported Microsoft to finally shut down to do list app Wunderlist on May 6, 2020. It was only a matter of time before Microsoft pulled the plug on Wunderlist following its 2015 acquisition.

As a dedicated Wunderlist user, however; now what...?

After trying a handful of options many years ago, I settled on Wunderlist thanks to its simplicity. It has enough features to do the job and never felt like its process got in the way.

What are other folks using for reminders and to keep themselves on task?

My basic requirements:

List format; not cards, not workflows.
Dirt-simple status indicators: To-do, in-progress, done, favourite.
Reminder and/or due date notification.
IFTTT or Zapier integration.
OS agnostic; either PWA or cross-platform. (aka: Linux support)

Otherwise, I'm going back to pen and paper! :)

The Lazy Desk-Worker Diet

Vincent Grovestine — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 20:36:47 +0000

In my 20s, I had an enviable metabolism. I gobbled down donair pizza, Chinese food, zesty cheese Doritos, chocolate chip cookies, and all other manner of university student comfort food--hardly gained a pound!

Now in my early-40s, my body protests. I'm a sedentary desk-worker facing down classic middle-age spread.

A little over a year ago, my weight peaked. I was 50+ lbs heavier than in my younger years.

*grumble* ...now where did I put that bag of chips?!

This spring, my family physician gave me a stern talking to. I had dropped a few pounds as often happens when winter breaks and spring...well...springs; however, my cholesterol numbers were slipping.

Hmmm... My father had a stroke in his 40s. I sit in front of a computer all day fuelling myself with coffee and sugar. Maybe it's time I take my health more seriously.

I started to...

Last week, I checked in again with the doctor: Good news; my cholesterol is improving. Doubly good news; my resting heart rate and blood pressure have come down. Triply good news; I've dropped 30 pounds in the last nine months.

So what is my secret, you may ask? Stay lazy.

Yes, laziness! I'm still largely sedentary, sitting behind a desk 8 hours each day. I don't work out. I've never set foot in a gym in my life and, frankly, I don't have time for a regimented exercise routine.

What I have done is make a few low-effort, high-reward changes to my daily routine:

No snacking within 2 hours of bedtime
Be mindful of simple carbohydrates (Until recently, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every. single. day. for lunch.)
Replace one snack with raw fruit or veg (But I'm not militant. If I've eaten my carrot sticks, I'm still allowed to eat a donut--but just one, not three!)
Walk an extra 1000-2000 steps each day (None of this 10K steps/day business. I take my dogs around the block before work each morning. Combined with regular daily activity gets me to 6000 steps, and that's plenty.)

Nothing Earth-shattering. Nothing that requires much effort. Easy, really. Just what we desk-workers need!

So, if you're like I was, letting your health sag while spending copious amounts of time at your desk; know that it's possible to feel better.

Make a tiny change. Improve your health. Stay lazy! ;)

How long have you stayed at a job where you were happy?

Vincent Grovestine — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 15:16:11 +0000

Let's flip the perspective on Ben's earlier post...

What's the longest you've stayed at a job you were unhappy with?

Ben Halpern ・ Jun 6 '19 ・ 1 min read

#discuss #career

Granted not every day can be sunshine and lollipops, but let's hear some stories of contentment.

How long have you stayed at a job where you were happy?

For those currently in a "happy place", what keeps you there?

For those who chose to move on from a good workplace, what drove that decision?

What's in your cup?

Vincent Grovestine — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 13:25:11 +0000

As a 2-3 cups per day coffee drinker, things are dire... I'm down to my last four coffee pods!

So I got wondering, what are fellow devs drinking? Maybe it's worth picking up something new to try.

Share your go-to coffee (or tea) brands and varieties. What stores carry it and/or can it be purchased online?

Myself...

@ the office (K-Cup machine):
Jumping Bean Coffee "East Coast Roast" and "Deep Water Dark". Available direct from Jumping Bean, Amazon, and at Sobeys (eastern Canada grocery chain)

@ home (Aeropress):
T.A.N. Coffee "Hondouran", "Peruvian" and "Bolivian" blends. TAN is a small, Nova Scotia-based roaster.

Editor choices through the years?

Vincent Grovestine — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 17:27:45 +0000

First DEV post in a really (...really!) long time, but that's a story on its own for another time.

During my morning skim of Twitter, I came across a string of tweets from various developers regarding their progression over the years from editor to editor. Always interesting to see where people's travels have taken them, so let's give it a go:

// begin late-80s

Atari DOS line editor
Microsoft DOS Editor
Microsoft Notepad, Jove (university studies)
Borland Turbo C++ IDE
Arachnophilia (summer jobs, learning the web)
Allaire/Macromedia ColdFusion Studio (first "real world" job)
BlueFish
NetBeans, gedit (brief, soul-sucking stint with legacy Java support)
ActiveState Komodo Edit (the PHP years)
Microsoft VS Code, xed, Remarkable (operations and "applied" IT)

// end present day

Office Dogs

Vincent Grovestine — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 16:02:27 +0000

Technically, my workplace isn't dog-friendly, but since it's the last Friday before Christmas, I'm breaking the rules. These are my 4-legged coworkers for the day.

Does anyone else bring their dogs to the office? Do you find it has a positive (or negative) effect on morale and productivity?

Drawing career inspiration from movies/TV

Vincent Grovestine — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 23:18:47 +0000

I was 16 when Sneakers was released in 1992. I remember seeing it at the theatre and having to whisper explanations of various plot points to the friend who was with me--she didn't "get" it, but I sure did!

Some 25 years later, I give credit to Sneakers for steering me toward Computer Science during university; and again now for sparking an interest in data science. Mind you, my aspirations are more "benevolent analyst" than Ben Kingsley's "black-hat anarchist" character. :)

"I might even be able to crash the whole damn system."

"There's a war out there, old friend--a world war--and it's not about whose got the most bullets; it's about who controls the information."

Have others drawn career inspiration from movies/TV? A particular clip or character that gets you jazzed up about doing what you do (or perhaps could do) each day?

DEV Community: Vincent Grovestine

Laptops... How much computing power does a dev *really* need?

To-do list app recommendations

Vincent Grovestine ・ Dec 9 '19

To-do list app recommendations

The Lazy Desk-Worker Diet

How long have you stayed at a job where you were happy?

What's the longest you've stayed at a job you were unhappy with?

Ben Halpern ・ Jun 6 '19 ・ 1 min read

What's in your cup?

Editor choices through the years?

Office Dogs

Drawing career inspiration from movies/TV

Laptops... How much computing power does a dev really need?