Heinrich Hartmann

Quality Time

Written on 2018-03-23 in Stemwede, Germany

It was thus said, that the great @poswait once stated:

I just spent some quality time with tcpdump; it really paid off. Remember to spend quality time with your loved ones while you can.

At first I was like: “What? Quality time with … what?. I am pretty sure my wife want’s something different when she demands quality time!” However, that quote stuck in my head for a while. And thinking about it longer, I found it makes indeed some sense.

What is Quality Time?

We live in a world where we are constantly distracted by our phones, slack channels, email, twitter, etc. For me quality time is the opposite of interruptions. “Let me just do that real quick” is not quality time.

It’s much more about being in the moment, and taking enough time for the task at hand. In my romantic fantasies about woodworking, a carpenter spends quality time with his materials. It takes a lot of dedication to make nice furniture. He does not rush to get some grooves in. He takes his time and carves them out one by one.

How can we spent quality time with software?

I sure think it’s possible! Here are some ideas on how to do it:

I am pretty sure that this was not exactly what @postwait did in his quality time with tcpdump(1). That’s OK. Everyone will have a different flavor of quality time, that works for him/her. I hope that this post will give you some ideas to make working with software more enjoyable for you.

Happy Hacking!