Keeping Up with the Kids

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May 25, 2015
Front-end Smithery

Having worked in web development for 19 years has its advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages too.  Gray hairs and wrinkles are a topic for another post.  I’m talking about all that useless knowledge (table layout, anyone?) you still carry around and how you can get stuck in your ways.  Of course, by “you” I mean me.

The last few years I’ve gotten a little lazy.  With lots going on in my personal life, I've relied on the tools I already had to get me through projects at work.  Besides, at 55 years old, who wants to always be studying up on the latest cool new fad in web development?

Turns out, I do.

It’s shocking just how quickly I got behind.  Within a year or two, young developers on my team are doing things and using tools I’m too nervous to try.  It makes me feel a little dated and old, and that is one thing I will not put up with.

I may be old, yes, but I still adore building web sites and have no intention of retiring to a rocking chair.  It’s time, I realize, for a plan.  So I came up with one, and I’m sharing it with you in case you find it useful or can add some good ideas.

Eat your fruits and veggies.  Seriously, now is the time to take care of yourself.  You need the energy to keep up with the youngsters.  A little exercise probably wouldn’t hurt, either [insert groan].

Don’t rest on laurels.  It sounds harsh, but no one cares (too much) what you built back in the day.  All the world cares about is what you are building now and what you’re going to create tomorrow.

Change your habits.  It’s so easy to do things the same old way.  It's quick, it's painless, and it's familiar enough you could do it in your sleep.  But maybe that's the problem.  If you're sleepwalking through your work, maybe it's time to incorporate some new technologies that could inspire and reinvigorate you.  Shake things up by trying something new--change your development workflow, experiment with a new platform, or play around with a new language.

Listen to and learn from the kids.  Yeah, they don’t have the range or depth of our knowledge.  But they do know what’s trendy, cool and cutting edge.  You may be (almost) old enough to be their grandparent, but you can still learn from them.  Ask a kid you admire to teach you something.  Anything.  

Do something that scares you.  If design terrifies you, join lynda.com and challenge yourself to create a set of graphically rich mockups.  If command line gives you dry mouth, find a tutorial and open up Terminal.  If you’re nervous about Sass, start using it.  Today.

Crack those books...and the online tutorials, courses, blogs, articles, feeds and newsletters.  Anywhere the latest techniques and tools are explained, be there.  Every single day.

Rethink your niche.  Step back and take a high-level view of the industry.  It's changed a lot since you started playing in this game (maybe as a jack-of-all-trades webmaster?).  The explosion of new platforms and technologies means exciting new areas of specialization have opened up.  Find the two or three that interest you most, and focus your time and energy on those.

Recommit to your career. Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we can’t code anymore or that we’re only fit for management.  Unless we’ve stopped trying.  Have you stopped trying?

Don’t. Ever. Stop. Trying.  Because age is fricking irrelevant.

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Noted by Alfredjesia on October 29, 2022

Недостатки Правила диеты Магги Главное правило , без которого ничего не получится — строгое безвариантное соблюдение диеты с первого за некоторое время до последнего дня.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HspCGkUTtq4
обед – индейка, приготовленная на пару, шпинат, огурцы;
Почему детский иммунитет более стойкий к коронавирусу
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4tR6EYhr1Q
Болезни. В период заболеваний жидкость быстрее выводит из организма шлаки как и токсины.
ужин – салат из томатов, огурцов, сельдерея, запеченное постное мясо (курица или индейка).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUdzlyLgTHQ
ужин – листья салата, шпинат, морковь, отварное мясо постных сортов.
Отправляя форму, я даю унисон на обработку персональных данных.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrIR3tY8fvQ
Главное блюдо второго дня – салат, состоящий из разнообразных овощей. В качестве заправки отдайте предпочтение растительному маслу.
Горячие напитки. Чай, какао – можно. Кофе — исключительно небольшими порциями.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ype7mjBbWBE
при регулярных занятиях под руководством наших опытных тренеров.
Благодаря тому, что белковая диета Магги способствует уменьшению объема желудка, в течение в какой-нибудь месяц периода похудения голод практически не ощущается.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Dbayq4k0Rg
ужин – салат из огурцов, помидоров, шпината, отварное филе кролика.
При этом, по ее окончанию, как правило, худеющий начинает испытывать чувство быстрого наполнения желудка. Благодаря этому, после выхода из диеты поддерживать свой только что появившийся вес закругляйся гораздо легче.
Возможно применение не жирного творога в виде творожной запеканки и сырников на пару, не кислых без добавок натуральных йогуртов в свой черед мечниковской простокваши. Причем эти продукты возможно употреблять в пищу один раз в неделю в деликатность заживления язвы.

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