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Geek Culture / If you had a chance to sit down and program all day, what would you get accomplished?

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HZence
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 05:53 Edited at: 2nd Mar 2004 05:54
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Why do I ask this question?

Yesterday I got an idea for a feature that I could add to my latest program that would up the user-convenience level at least 5%.

Well, I came home from school today and took a small break. Checked these forums, ate a doughnut, checked E-Mail, ate a doughnut, etc. Around 4:30, I started to program the feature. By 5:00, I still didn't have it done, and it was time for dinner. Took about 20 minutes to eat, and it was back to programming. After about 20 minutes, I was stuck, and STILL didn't have it figured out. I hopped out of my sleek, black leather office chair (obviously very expensive, lol), and layed down on my futon with The Simpsons on. I woke up about 45 minutes later (that takes us to 6:25, if you're keeping track), and went back to programming. I programmed straight through for two hours. Still couldn't figure the damn thing out. Looked through all kinds of articles, researched commands, etc. Nothing. 8:30 - shower time. 9:00 - back down stairs to my room & computer. Programmed for another hour and a half...

Finally. After working on one feature off and on for six hours, I got the thing to work.

Bottom line is, if I had a chance to sit down a program all day, I probably would get very little accomplished (at least if I wasted my time worrying about one feature like I did today).


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
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QuothTheRaven
21
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Joined: 2nd Oct 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 06:19
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All day?

This newly released program by QuothTheRaven allows a user to download porn up to 1000x faster! Said to revolutionize the industry.

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UnderLord
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 06:39
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Well lets see if i had a chance (and 80% of the time i do) i'd get little done as i have gotten freelancer from a friend and have already played it for about 20 hours (in the last 2 days or so) and finished the story line...or so i think...they wernt to clear on if the story line was over but anyhow my also lack of studieing the programming language (DBP) and not working on that 2d engine have really taken a toll on my ability to do anything.

so in all very little to if anything heh.

The search continues.

Current project - A space game
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Magellan
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Location: 001110101
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 06:42
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I would program 1/7th the world. Hey, if god can do it in a week...
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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 10:44
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Sometimes, you don't get stuck on anything. Kevil makes programs in a day, that would take me 6 months to figure out. Some people are stuck on things that are soooooooo Basic...(Not mentioning any names or code examples, which would have been funny!...Damn!)

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Arkheii
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Location: QC, Philippines
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 11:15
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If I had the chance to program an entire day, hmmm... Is that with or without internet access?

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BatVink
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Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 13:56
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You need discipline, which 90% of us, including me, don't have enough of...

1. Cut out games. If necessary, uninstall them.
2. Schedule your email and regular internet pit-stops, allow a specific amount of time. We all know that looking at one site leads you to another..and another.
3. Eat, concentration relies on it
4. Take a break, concentration relies on it
5. Set tasks and milestones, then you will have a feeling of acheivement, which will in turn encourage you to carry on.
6. Prioritise. Some of the stuff that you get bogged down with really isn't that important.
7. Work towards 80% accomplishment. You can get 80% of the work done in 20% of the time.

Any more for any more?

BatVink (formerly StevieVee)
http://facepaint.me.uk/catalog/default.php
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Mattman
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Joined: 5th Jun 2003
Location: East Lansing
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 14:42
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Work on DBG, that's like all I do now. BUt to continue much longer pet rat needs to give me the MySQL info, BEN!!!!
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Van B
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Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 15:23
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Good tips Batvink, I agree with all of them.

I think there's so many distractions that are involved we often have to plan a coding session in advance, especially if you have kids or your own place. For example, if I have the house to myself at the weekend (she works most Saturdays and my son goes to visit granny) I'll get up early and get a lot of work done - but working at night can be really distracting, like you look at the clock and it's 11pm and you still haven't done any real work!.

If you listen to music while coding, use your DVD player, not your PC. If your using your PC you get distracted by that, changing songs, looking at visualisations, changing settings and basically wasting time. Burn a CD with about 140 .mp3 songs and stick it in your DVD player, if your DVD player does'nt support .mp3 discs, get one that does (they're like £35). That way you have enough music for a good coding session without having to change CD's every 45 minutes.

I reckon that one of those little mini-fridges are a good idea, keeps you away from the big fridge and all it's tasty distractions.

I'm planning on moving my PC into the airing cupboard (it's just big enough), like I'll get it setup nice so I can basically hide in there and work in peace and quiet! - PC's in living rooms just annoy girlfriends, wives, and mothers because they're noisy and untidy - if you can, get the PC somewhere that you can work on it anytime you want yet work in peace.

If you like eating while working, get some boiled sweets or Wurthers originals or something that lasts for ages, avoid food that you have to think about.

If you simply can't do without playing a game, get hold of a second hand gameboy and tetris, or some retro handheld thingy that requires very little effort to play. I have a little LED Pac-Man game and it's great for quick games, and you can throw it in the corner when your ready to get back to work. I find that PC games take too long to start up and shut down, I also like to minimise the amount of rubbish my PC is doing while I work.


Van-B


The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!.
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BatVink
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 16:29
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Quote: "I reckon that one of those little mini-fridges are a good idea, keeps you away from the big fridge and all it's tasty distractions"


That was my last birthday present from the missus

Quote: "I'm planning on moving my PC into the airing cupboard"


I'm just converting my loft, due to the arrival of child No. 3. Like you say, Van B, this is going to be good news for me. I am out of the way, I have more space, I have built my own desk (2.4 metres long!), shelving etc. Everything is where it should be, a shelf for the printer, scanner, Hi-Fi, manuals, space for my graphics tablet, notepads and the rest. This will be my little haven. I have a Velux Window looking across the valley, plenty of fresh air...it should be ideal.

BatVink (formerly StevieVee)
http://facepaint.me.uk/catalog/default.php
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Van B
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 16:47
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Sounds idylic! - I've never had any space to work, when I started with DB I had about 2 square feet of desk space, did'nt even have a desk!. I'm planning on building a desk into the airing cupboard - I have a flat panel monitor that can be mounted onto the wall, so I reckon I should be able to get some reasonable space and there's always shelving (I don't mind putting up shelves for myself). My desk right now has one of those pull out trays for your keyboard and another one for the mouse - a damn pathetic design and I can't wait to smash it to bits . The best thing about having your own space to work though isn't the freedom to scratch nuts, it's the freedom to put whatever you like on the wall, like drywipe boards for instance - It's funny how we spend our teenage years trying to move out of our rooms into our own houses, then we spend the rest of our lives trying to get (and keep) our own room!.

Congratulations on the new arrival BTW!.


Van-B


The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!.
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stann65
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 19:36
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if i had a whole day i would sit and create some cool computer graphics for my games and programs.

go onto my site
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Mnemonix
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 21:13
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At home i cannot program at all, i find it very difficult to stay focused. The new game i am making me and my friend are programming it at his house, which i can for hours on end no problem. TOO many distractions at home though

Watch this space if you like getting bored...
http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/?gf=irc <<Visit the chat!.;
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zircher
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Joined: 27th Dec 2002
Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 21:27
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I like Mnemonix's plan. I have a nice set up at home, but if I can get in 30 minutes of uninterupted programming time it is a miracle. Sad as it may seem, I'll sometimes work 'overtime' at the office just so I can get some quality time on my gaming projects.
--
TAZ

Game Beavers
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stann65
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2004 22:10
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i don't get much time programming now because i'm back at school and i get flooded with homework (non of which is computer releated .)

go onto my site
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Preston C
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Location: Penn State University Park
Posted: 3rd Mar 2004 01:20
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Quote: "You need discipline, which 90% of us, including me, don't have enough of...

1. Cut out games. If necessary, uninstall them.
2. Schedule your email and regular internet pit-stops, allow a specific amount of time. We all know that looking at one site leads you to another..and another.
3. Eat, concentration relies on it
4. Take a break, concentration relies on it
5. Set tasks and milestones, then you will have a feeling of acheivement, which will in turn encourage you to carry on.
6. Prioritise. Some of the stuff that you get bogged down with really isn't that important.
7. Work towards 80% accomplishment. You can get 80% of the work done in 20% of the time.

Any more for any more?
"


Well then, if that wasnt inspiring, I dont know what is. I think I'll uninstall UT2K3 and Diablo II. Going to keep Neverwinter Nights though, greatest game ever, but I always keep my play time in bits. As for the internet thing, thats a good idea too. I should use it a bit less. I guess I will schedule everything. Maybe only from 8:00PM to 9:00PM when I've done what I can and I gotta start getting ready for school the next day. As for eating and resting...I just finished a big bowl of popcorn, andy capp cheese fries, and some coffee, and I've been resting all day. Does that count The milestones thing and priority is a good thing to do too, but I never thought of aiming for almost accomplishing something. I'll try that

Well then, if I can actually do what I said in this post, you'll all see much less of me here and on IRC (and to some, that may just be a blessing in disguise).

Cheers,
Preston


Intel Celeron 1.3 Ghrz 512MB Ram NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 128MB
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the_winch
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Location: Oxford, UK
Posted: 3rd Mar 2004 01:58 Edited at: 3rd Mar 2004 01:59
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Ripping out tne network cable is a good idea as well, I get distracted too easerly by the internet.

I never have a problem with music on the pc. Just as long as it isn't a music cd. Having to change the cd every 30mins distracts you.

Not sure removing all the games is a good idea, if you are strict you could use them as rewards for actually getting on with some of you project.

Also I find it can be good to do some form of exercise before you sit down at the computer as I am less likley to get up and go do something else.
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Phaelax
DBPro Master
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2004 13:21
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Well, I practically do sit and code all day. What do I accomplish? About 1-2 hours of real work at most.

"eureka" - Archimedes
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BatVink
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Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 3rd Mar 2004 14:08
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Quote: "...I find it can be good to do some form of exercise before you sit down at the computer"


Sounds like a good idea. Exercise also stimulates the brain, and it's certainly missing in my life at the moment.

BatVink (formerly StevieVee)
http://facepaint.me.uk/catalog/default.php
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DrakeX
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Posted: 4th Mar 2004 00:04
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if i get on a roll i can do a lot in a day. in one day a few weeks ago i programmed an entire sprite commandset and most of an effect commandset into my DX engine. if i had a whole day to program, i'd work on that

athlon xp 2000+ | radeon 9500 pro 128mb | 512MB DDR | winXP pro | DBP 5.1b | B3D 1.85 | VC++ 6
predicted DBP P6 release date: March 28, 2004
DBP has made me bitter.
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Megaton Cat
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Location: Toronto, Canada
Posted: 4th Mar 2004 01:27 Edited at: 4th Mar 2004 01:28
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Man, all you nerds have such a nice and easy life.
Try walking in my shoes for a week...you'l be surprissed how fast you'll fall flat on your face.


DB generation: http://www.excaver.com/dbg
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Matrix Reformated
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MikeS
Retired Moderator
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Posted: 4th Mar 2004 02:04
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Well, I finished my alienware entry in roughly 24 hours.
I usually spend 25% of the weekend on the computer, yet I get only 3-5 hours of good hard code.(Damn forums )



A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
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TKF15H
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Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posted: 4th Mar 2004 02:32
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I guess I'd finish the socket plugin I'm making. But that's top secret, so forguet you saw this post . I hate having to
share my PC with my little brother.

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