dbblog275

[barley-st-band]

hey does anyone know how we’re supposed to survive it all. asking for a friend

[finalset]

♡

If it wasn’t obvious I’ve been feeling very reflective lately and I kinda just wanna talk about the changes I’ve gone through in the past year. Almost a year ago, after doing odd jobs inconsistently since I was a teenager and relying on what I made off just my artwork, I took a stab in the dark for some financial stability with the intention of eventually leaving town and going back to the city. I took a normal job working nights about five minutes away from my house. At that point I was very guarded, distrusting of others, had zero intentions of putting any emotional investment in the enviornment around me. I’d been isolating myself more and more and just overall hated my life, living situation, being away from my best friend and not being closer to where I was raised. I spent my late teen years and emerging twenties chasing a false sense of comfort I thought I lost in my childhood. I thought the only way I could get it back was to run from my present, unknowingly going backwards, it never worked and I felt wronged and resentful over how my life was leading. As deeply uninterested as I was in others around me at my work someone somehow managed to wake my interest and make me think differently. For some reason I still try to understand, something about him made me question and confront myself and my beliefs, and for an even wilder reason I thought if I had a chance with him that I really needed to be better and stop wallowing in my own pity, stop letting my bad moods keep me unapproachable, just generally not be the human embodiment of my pain and not be the person my loved ones were always concerned for. I had the realization that if i wanted something nice then I needed to take care of myself, be more patient with myself, and believe I actually deserved something good if I wanted to be able to care for another. A realization I’m still grateful I chose to pursue today. The thing with trying to handle years of trauma and undo every terrible belief and self destructive habit you taught yourself to cope is that it absolutely can’t be done alone, after never even earnestly attempting recovery in my life i thought i could carry this unmeasurable weight I’d accumulated and try to ‘fix’ myself on my own. I made a lot of mistakes, was presumptuous, unclear, naive, strange, the list goes on. After months of self reflection, and some genuine progress mixed with some failed attempts at communicating myself properly I hit complete burnout. It was discouraging to see how I ended up back deep in my depression and anxiety, feeling sick, stuck, suicidal, especially after trying my hardest to show myself some empathy and actually seeing growth. As I’ve talked about in the past few months I finally reached out for help, went to inpatient psychiatric care, started medication, did intensive outpatient therapy for a little over a month and have been regularly attending traditional therapy since. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself in my life. The genuine peace and patience I feel for life and myself is something I never could have imagined achieving, especially in just shy of a years time. I’m really happy and proud of myself for the person I’m turning out to be. The pain it took to get to this point was hell, it felt endless until it wasn’t. I’m understanding that recovery is an ongoing process, but one I fully believe I have what it takes to manage.

As for the boy I feel helped spark this unimaginable growth, it just doesn’t seem to be happening, and i can finally say I’m okay with that. Ive learned tough lessons and harsh truths throughout my life through cruel and unjust means and this wasn’t one of those. I can honestly say I’m grateful for how this year has transpired, I’m grateful I learned what I have this way, I’ll always have a soft spot for him, I felt a range of untapped emotion I didn’t know I was capable of, i would’ve very much loved to express this to him and what it’s all meant to me, but I think what I’ve gained is fulfilling in and of itself. I operate from a more loving and faithful place. I didn’t have to burn bridges or hurt others to get here and that’s something I’m very proud of. I’m doing things the best way I can, the way I want to, it’s tough, it requires endless patience, but it’s been immensely rewarding. It’s been an odd year, one I had no idea would ever turn out this way, I’m a little tired but I’m okay and it’s been worth it in more ways than I could say

[birdsandspades]

Teenage Dirtbag - Chapter 2

-You and Todoroki were exact opposites. He was clean cut, driven, focused on his future. You were to most a burnout kid, spending your time at the skate park. But opposites attract right? Or was it birds of a feather flock together? Whatever it may be, you would have fun finding out.

(Soft Todoroki paired with skate kid Y/N.)

Word Count - 2,862

----

Todoroki sat back on his bed, turning to the next page on his comic. It was a Friday night, not that it really mattered. He preferred to spend his time in his room, weekend or not.

He had walked to the bookstore earlier in the day to get this exact comic, the weeks newest release. It was a Friday ritual at this point. Walk to the store after school, take the long way home through the park, order soba when he got back to the dorms, stay in for the remainder of the night.

It was his perfect night, it had been since he was a kid. He didn’t have the fondest memories of his childhood, but he always had the money for a new comic. They were a constant in his life, he could always look forward to a new issue.

He had accumulated quite a collection over the years, all alphabetized back in his actual room. The likes of which he never visited unless absolutely necessary. Why go home when you had everything you needed on campus?

Todoroki whipped around, eyes widening as a loud knock sounded behind him. There you were, standing on his balcony.

You smiled as he turned around, waving frantically. He could see your lips moving, unable to hear you through the thick glass.

“L/N-san, what are you doing here?” Todoroki questioned, sliding open the door. He poked his head out, looking around the dark balcony. “How did you get up here?”

“My quirk, whatcha doing?” You gave him an amused smile, how else would you have gotten up to the fifth floor of the UA door building.

“I’m reading…” He took a step to the side, letting you come inside.

“Oh, so you're free!” You glanced around the room. It was spacious, traditional. It was exactly how you pictured it.

“That's not what I said…” He watched you walk around the room, spinning around suddenly to face him.

“Cool, I want to take you somewhere tonight.” You rocked back and forth on your heels, lacing your hands together behind your back.

“It’s past curfew L/N-san. Someone would see me leave.” He shook his head, holding the patio door open for you to leave.

“Well I guess you better be quiet then!” You stared at each other for a moment before he let go of the door, the glass sliding closed behind him. You smiled, “Get dressed in something you can move around in.”

Todoroki walked over to the closed, pulling out his gym uniform as he gave you a confused look.

“Not that…” You shook your head, walking over to his bed. You flopped down on the comforter, picking up the open comic.

“Uh.” He looked between you and the closet.

“Don’t worry I won’t look.” You flipped to the next page, back turned to the uneasy boy.

Todoroki waited a moment before pulling a shirt out of his closet, slowly getting changed as he watched you flip through his new comic.

“Is this the new Kamui Woods comic?” You questioned, reading over the panels.

“Yeah…” Todoroki slipped on his pants leg.

“He’s cool.” You thumbed through the rest of the pages, flipping to the back of the book.

“Who is your favorite pro hero?” Todoroki zipped his pants, walking over to the door to pick out a pair of shoes.

“All Might of course.” You chuckled, setting down the comic on the bed as you sat up.

“I would have thought you would like someone…”

“Still working? I don’t think it’s about how much power someone holds, but what they do with what they have. All Might gave everything to protect us, I don’t know what could be more heroic.” You stood up, giving Todoroki a soft smile. “Ready?”

Todoroki nodded, zipping up his jacket. “How are we going to leave the dorm without someone seeing?”

“The same way I came in?” You laugh, opening up the glass door to the balcony.

“And how did you get in?” He followed you outside, closing the door behind him.

“I jumped.” You lifted yourself onto the balcony ledge, dangling your legs over the edge. You waved a hand in front of you, a black hole opening up under your legs.

“I’m not so confident in that idea…” He looked over the ledge, backing up a bit. He was starting to regret his decision to come with you, you were clearly crazy.

“Oh come on you big baby!” You grabbed a fistful of his jacket, pushing yourself off the ledge. The momentum pulling Todoroki over with you as you both disappeared into the hole.

Black bled into white as Todoroki fell out of the back end of the portal. The world upside down as the ground rushed towards him. Todoroki fell out backwards, tripping over his own feet as he tumbled over onto the tree trunk.

You stepped out of the portal, the hole disappearing behind you as you walked over to Todoroki.

He looked up, your amused smile quite literally upside down as he tried to piece together what just happened.

“Nice landing peppermint!” You laughed, offering him a hand.

He rolled over, holding onto you as you pulled him to his wobbly feet. “I didn’t like that.”

“It’s funner when you don’t land on your head.” You reached into a nearby bush pulling your skateboard from the foliage cover.

“What's that for?” He pointed to the board.

“Oh, i’m gonna teach you how to ride this tonight!” You beamed, handing him the board.

“I’m ok…” He took his first step, the feeling in his legs returning.

“We can get you a helmet.” You motioned for him to follow you as you started down the park path.

Todoroki looked back at his room window for a moment before sighing. “Is that thing even safe?” He ran after you down the sidewalk.

----

The skate park came into view as you came down the hill, the park entrance crowded with kids.

“Looks like everyone is here tonight, come on I want to introduce you to some people!” You tugged on Todoroki’s sleeve as you ran down the hill.

He had spent the majority of the walk over worrying about the ins and outs of skateboarding. You could safely assume that the poor boy had, 1. Never rode let alone touch a skateboard 2. Had no clue what to do with one in his possession and 3. Was absolutely terrified of the thing.

“Hey V!” A tall boy waved at the two of you from his seat on his car hood. He slid off, walking over.

“Hey Ryu, was there a race tonight?” You pointed to the car, Todoroki inching behind you.

“Yeah, of course I won.” He laughed, head tilting as he met eyes with Todoroki (who was in fact doing a poor job at hiding behind you). “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is Todoroki. He goes to UA.” You wiggled your eyebrows, nudging the boy.

“Big UA kid, how did you two meet?” He chuckled, eyes glued on the shy boy.

“Oh he saved me from Aiko and her friends a few weeks back. You should have seen him, he was absolutely crazy.” You teased, Todoroki’s cheeks growing red.

“Oh I bet, he looks almost ravenous. Just don’t break any of the park ramps killer, we build those ourself.” Ryu patted Todoroki on the back before winking at you.

“I didn’t scare those girls off, they ran off…” Todoroki mumbled, following you into the park.

“You didn’t? Could have fooled me.” You winked, setting down the skateboard.

“They called you V?” Todoroki bumped into you as he moved out of the way of a skateboarder, eyes following the kid around the park.

“Yeah it's short for Void. It’s my hero name.” You positioned the board in front of him, stretching out your hands. “Hop on.”

“No thank you.” Todoroki stated bluntly, stepping away from your reach.

“Come on, it’s easy. Just stand on the thing.” You wiggled your fingers at him.

“What if I fall, I was promised a helmet.” He looked down at the board, leaning away from it.

“Fresh out of helmets, but you can hold my hands!” You leaned over the board taking his hands in yours. You moved him to the board, guiding him up.

“If I fall, I'm taking you with me.” He glared, wobbling as the trucks shifted.

“You had half the stadium up in flames at the sports festival, and you're scared of a wooden board.” You teased, walking forward. The skateboard moved with you, inches along as you pulled Todoroki around the park.

“I’m fireproof, not crack proof. Falling would hurt F/N.” He groaned, tightening his grip on your hands.

“And I won’t let you fall, don’t you worry that handsome face of yours.” You giggled, moving him towards a small hill.

Todoroki looked away, his face heating up at your comment. Did you really think he was handsome? You did invite him to hang out with you, was this a date? You would have told him if it was a date, right? You did just kind of show up at his front door.

The board tipped down the hill, the nose dipping over as the wheels picked up speed. “Todoroki bend your knees!” You yelled, Todoroki looking down as the board came out from under him. He fell backwards, pulling you with him as he slipped off the board. He braced for impact, squeezing his eyes shut as his head connected with something soft.

He opened his eyes, the blush returning to his cheeks as he met yours. You were straddling him, hand behind his head as you leaned over.

“You ok? You have to bend your knees on hills.” You smiled down at him, hand still cradling his head.

Todoroki struggled to form words, let alone thoughts as you moved the cushioning out from under his head, sitting up as you looked down at him.

“Hey, did you get hurt? I tried to keep your head from hitting the concrete…” You looked over him, worry working it's way over your features.

“I..you..on top of me...F/N.” Todoroki looked down at your legs, still straddling his chest.

“Oh man, I think you may have hit something.” You stood up, offering him a hand.

Hei took it, easing to his feet as Ryu walked over with your board.

“He ok?” He handed you the board, looking between you and Todoroki.

“I think he may need an ice pack...he’s not um speaking right? You took the board from him, setting it down on the ground.

“Want to head to the corner store?” Ryu questioned, looking at the back of Todoroki’s head.

“Yeah, Todoroki just stay here. I’ll be right back ok.” You unwrapped your hand from his, giving him a once over before following Ryu out of the park gates. Turning around you shouted, “and don’t touch the board, just stay away from it!”

Todoroki watched you disappear down the street with your friend, letting out a long sigh as he lost sight of the two of you. He pulled the board over, sitting down on the top. “What a proper sentence Shotou, you did it now…” Todoroki rocked back and forth on the board as he watched the kids skate around the park, nervously waiting for you to come back with Ryu.

----

“Hey peppermint, you still with us?” You smiled, walking into the park with a bag.

Todoroki turned around, given you a soft smile. “I’m ok.”

“Good, hold this on your head.” You fished out a bag of frozen peas from the bag, handing it to the seated boy.

Todoroki lifted it to his very much fine head, looking at the rest of the full bag.

“Oh I brought you something else…” You pulled out a few things from the bag, handing one to Todoroki.

“What are these?” He looked over the bag in his hand, pressing his thumb into the wrapper.

“Oh some trashy chips from America. I figured you may have never tried them.” You crumpled the bag up, pushing into your jacket pocket, in your other hand an oversized fountain soda.

Todoroki looked up at you, setting the bag in his lap.

“Here scoot over and we share them.” You nudged him over, sitting on the other end of the skateboard. You took the bag from his hand, pull it open. “Here.” You tilted them towards Todoroki.

He reached in, taking one bright red chip. He took a bite, nose wrinkling. “These kind of taste bland…”

“That’s because they're cheap.” You laughed, offering him a drink of your soda.

Your phone started to buzz in your back pocket pulling your attention away from Todoroki. You pulled it out and slid the green button, lifting it up to your ear.

He watched you talk for a minute in English before you hung up the phone.

“I have to get home, and that means I have to get you back to the dorm.” You stood up, taking the soda from him.

He stood up as well, picking up the skateboard as he followed you out of the park. Everyone waved to the both of you as you walked back down the park path home, a chorus of goodbyes behind you.

“You speak english?” Todoroki question, the sound of the park growing distant.

“Yeah, I was born in America.” You took another drink of the soda, throwing it in a nearby trash can.

“When did you move to Japan?” He rolled up the chip bag, handing it to you. His other hand on the thawing bag of peas.

“When I was sixish. My parents went to jail so I ended up moving in with my uncle here.”

“Jail?” He looked at you confused.

“Yeah, they got in trouble for having me. I was “planned” just like you, but it's illegal in America so they went to jail. They were doing other bad stuff too, but that's what got them in the end.” You chuckled, it was always funny to you. Your crummy parents getting caught because they had a baby, what a way to end a career.

“Planned? Your parents had a quirk marriage too?” Todoroki had never met someone like him. He had thought quirk marriages had died out years ago.

“Yeah, my mom wanted a kid with two quirks. When she graduated from school she asked my grandpa to find her a husband. He ended up buying out a guy from Japan. I guess they got pretty lucky because I was there first try.” You could see the UA building in the distance as you rounded the corner.

“What is your second quirk?” Todoroki looked between you and the building a few times. He slowed down, trying to extend the walk.

“Mana manipulation. I can make this purple stuff in any shape or size, whatever density I want. I just need atoms, and since everything is made of them…” You met his curious eyes.

“Mana manipulation and teleporting…”

“Mom wanted a kid that could bend space and time. My mom could teleport and my dad could stop time. It was just her luck that I got my grandfather's quirk instead.” You laughed, who would have guessed some quirks skip a generation.

Todoroki stayed silent as he walked beside you. He had never thought about the fact that other people were made like him. He hated his father, what he did to his mom, to his siblings. He hated being bred, not from love but for purpose. Did you feel the same way?

“Ok, so I can get you back in your room from here, but you're gonna have to actually land this time ok.” You touched Todoroki’s shoulder as you pointed at the UA dorm building, his eyes focusing back in on you.

He followed your finger to his far away room window, “You don’t want to get closer?”

“No, this is perfect. Just run for it and you’ll land in your room.” You waved your hand, opening a portal.

“Just run?” He repeated, staring into the void of black.

“Just run, and like jump in. It requires coordination, but I believe in you hot stuff.” You patted his back, smiling as he turned towards you.

He nodded slowly, the back of his neck heating up. Your backhanded compliments were going to kill him. He offered you your skateboard, your hand pushing it back into his chest.

“You keep that. Who knows, I may come harass you again.”

He smiled, nodding again. He turned his focus to the black portal, digging into the ground as he got ready to run for it. He took off, jumping into the black mass. It seemed perfect, until his foot knicking the edge of the circle.

His room came rushing forward as he tumbled out of the hole and onto his dorm room floor, falling face first as he tried to catch himself.

He could hear you laughing behind him,”Good thing you still have those peas!”

The portal closed behind him as he stood up. “I really don’t like doing that.”

----

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

----

[docfuture]

Princess, part 14

        [This story is a prequel, set in an alternate 2012, several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16.  Links to some of my other work are here.  Updates are theoretically biweekly, but it’s 2020 8-)  Next chapter is partly done so I’m going to try for before the end of the year.]

Previous: Part 13

      Memories.       Flicker was sensitive to anything that might disrupt them.  With her speed, subjective versus objective time was hopeless from the start.  Even 'When was that again?' and getting things in the right order was difficult.  She needed to forget the vast majority of things that happened when she sped up.  There just wasn't space in her squishy biological brain for what she could accumulate at a million times the speed of normal human subjective consciousness.  She had always felt close to the edge of what was possible to remember.       At least for as long as she could remember--and she didn't remember anything episodic before she was nine.       How did normal humans remember, really?  It was frustrating to ask them.  They didn't know, they just did.  And the scientific literature was frustratingly poor at providing the answers she most wanted, because they were hard to quantify and measure.  Doc said recalling social interactions from episodic memory was partially a learned skill--itself stored in implicit memory.  Which Flicker was a lot better at, but didn't really understand either.       Today she remembered bits and pieces while she prepared for work.       She remembered talking to Sealord about trying to act human when you weren't.       Sealord was a... Well, you couldn't really call him superhuman anything, because he wasn't human.  He wasn't alien, either; he'd lived on Earth longer than most humans.  He was a supercephalopod giant squid, who'd had the kind of origin event that might turn a human into a superhuman if they were very lucky--and kill them if they weren't.       He was good at shapeshifting, but going from a deep sea invertebrate to a land biped was a big ask before you even got to the human part.  He looked like a handsome, Polynesian-appearing man in his social landform.  But when he started to talk, he seemed to move into the uncanny valley for many people.       Not Flicker.  She didn't expect human.  She expected 'communicate well enough to be understood', and he did.  He wasn't trying to 'pass' as human--he was a powerful being assuming a form compatible with air-based speech and human infrastructure.       She actually thought his old utility surface form suited him better.  He was more comfortable with it, and that showed.  At least to her.  It looked like a human body with a squid for a head.  It let him use tentacle waving and pigmentation changes for non-verbal communication--which he was very good at--and tentacle type at a keyboard, which was easier for him than using hands, even when he had them.  But its appearance triggered fear even worse than his social form.  Which made it counterproductive for diplomacy.       "No," he had said.  "I am not better.  At acting human.  Than you."       His speech was slow when he wasn't in a hurry, and his verbal cadence was unusual.  Using lungs and vocal cords and a human-style mouth together in the right way had taken him a long time to master.  Flicker didn't get impatient.  Getting the timing of speech right was tricky.  She did remember learning that, and the frustration.       "I am better at shapeshifting," he said.  "Squid are better at body mimicry.  Than humans.  I started with an advantage.  I am worse at other things.  You are better at human things.  As a human."       "But I'm not better," said Flicker.  "Not at the hard things."       A shake of the head.  "Yes.  Difficult things.  Humans learn as children.  And don't think them hard.  They start with an advantage."       "What hard human things do you think I'm good at?"       "Running."  Sealord smiled.  "Throwing rocks."       Flicker thought about that for a long time.

      She remembered Jetgirl's laugh.  They'd been having another round in their half-joking, half serious argument about whether Flicker could fly.       "He's right," said Jetgirl.  She grinned.  "You are way better at moving fast than I am at flying."       "But flying is hard."       "Lots of things are.  And humans have no natural ability at it.  But birds and insects do, so people can see what good flying looks like.  You've watched a hummingbird hover.  Impressive, right?"       "Yeah.  But scale matters--a Canada goose taking off is pretty cool, too.  I've watched that more times, because it looks so clunky.  But it works."       The laugh.  "Take-offs and landings are usually the hardest.  Anyway, most humans can run--or at least they could when they were kids--so they don't think running is as impressive.  And if you're moving slow enough to see, you're usually doing your glide thing, which doesn't look hard.  No one sees you move your legs much, just an occasional flash and boom."       "That glide is a convenience and safety habit.  It's quiet, and I don't have to worry about damage if I speed up suddenly."       Another grin.  "Yeah, you've already taken off, so the hard part is over."       "It's only a few centimeters up--I don't fly," said Flicker.  "I just run on air so the ground doesn't get wrecked."         "That's flying like a maglev.  You go higher as you speed up.  Lots of pilots who fly nap-of-the-earth study your patterns of flashes and booms, for educational purposes."       "That's because I have to be real careful to not run into things.  Or even get too close when I'm trailing shockwaves and plasma."       "Not running into things is pretty important for them, too."       "I'm still not flying.  Sealord's point was that humans are already adapted for bipedal locomotion, and I started with that advantage.  You don't fly with your legs and feet."       "I don't.  And that being careful is part of 'way better'."       "A point.  But my speed means I can make time to be careful."       "That's what I meant.  You build on your speed with skill and practice."       Flicker remembered.  It was time to use what she was good at to help people again.             Yesterday had been a test run, logging bio-telemetry and mind coordination to the Database.  Today was Flicker's first try at going 'on duty' since recovering from Speedtest.         She followed Stella's guidelines.  It was easiest to forestall self-deception at a beginning.  Flicker had fallen into a form of metric myopia in the months before Hermes' attack.  A variation of what Doc called 'the tyranny of the easy to measure.'  She had sought to maximize a number, a measure of lives saved.  Because it was clear, when her judgement was hazy and her connection to humanity felt distant.  But it wasn't 'lives saved'.  It was, at best, clearly attributable potential lives saved in the immediate aftermath of action, as estimated by the Database.  And it undervalued anything hard to quantify.       She'd abdicated her judgement.  The numbers had become the purpose.       There probably wouldn't be any 'lives saved' today.  But that wasn't the point.  She'd had the Database sift through lower priority, less well-characterized problems, to see what she'd been missing.       The mudslide on the slope in Borneo might have come today, or tomorrow, or next week.  It was coming, there was too much rain for it not to.  It might have reached the village, or not.  The villagers might have evacuated in time, or not.  But now they wouldn't have to.  Flicker moved it sideways instead of down, to an area without people.  Some heard thunder, or saw a spray of earth and vegetation arcing high--but not towards them.       Twenty minutes of earth moving, a shower back home, and back to reassessment.  It was a start.  And it didn't require her to talk to anyone or contribute to burnout, so she could keep going for a while longer.       Flicker cleared rockslide blockages in the Andes mountains, present and threatened, for another ten minutes.  Then dealt with a few other hazards in remote areas in South America.  Which wasn't well covered by superhero response.  The initial data quality was usually very low.  But so what?  She could always run and look.       And then the first hints of something odd had shown up on satellite scans, the Database had noticed, and Flicker ran and looked--and found giant ants emerging from a fringe of Amazon rainforest.       Giant bugs kept recurring.  Interdimensional 'outsider' intrusions were far more common than most people realized, but the vast majority of them were unable to overcome the more than three-billion-year adaptive advantage of Earth life and promptly got eaten.  If this happened on land, the growth impetus that made many invaders a potential threat was usually absorbed by microorganisms, fungi, and plants.  And bugs, who were typically the first link of the food chain that was really good at moving.       So they could eat, and grow, and move, and eat more, until--if the initial intrusion was large enough--someone finally noticed.  Or they succumbed on their own.  The effects of the square-cube law could be ameliorated with alien energy, but past a certain size, that was hard to sustain.       Ants were good at foraging, calling friends, sharing food, and spreading out with new size and vigor.  A lot at once was only to be expected.       A few locals had spotted them, noped out, and concentrated on getting themselves and their animals to safety.  The ants were about the size of cars, and no longer very fast--they were too big for their body proportions to be efficient at moving anymore.  A few had paused to chew on crops, but most of them were looking for something tastier.  Or at least meatier.  They needed to be stopped.       The familiarity was almost a relief--but it did come with a warning.  Best find the start, to be sure the threat was just ants.       Into the jungle, down a narrowing swath of disruption that eventually ended in a pool of churned mud.  It was still being picked over by scavengers, but no longer seething with extradimensional anything.  Perhaps a day or two old?  But there were no other large outbreaks of gigantism.  The local fauna were already taking care of stragglers who had grown too large for their niches.  Flicker passed a jaguar eating the remains of an oversized but still clearly manageable frog.  And she could see the signs of progressive dilution; the jaguar might get a slight boost, but not enough to be a problem before it faded.       Back to the ants.  And a local soil and drainage map from the Database.       The remains of the ants would be soon be good fertilizer.  And safe, as long as the concentration in any one spot didn't get too high.  But they were too big to move by hand without breaking.  So it was time for entrainment--pulling ants with the wind of her passage.  Up and down, back and forth--running slowly for her, but not trying to limit drag.  Air moved in response, and oversized insects tumbled in her wake.  She scattered them widely.       And then...  "Don't punch anything living" was the rule, but there was an exception.  Antenna quivered above her as she stopped between the open mandibles of the first ant.       Sorry, foragers.  You were never going to make it back to a colony anyways.       Her palm strike sent a shockwave through the ant, and a spray of ex-ant outward.  A widely distributed mess over the surrounding landscape was actually desirable here.  Still, she pulled her punches; she didn't want fireballs.  Hand chops and more blasts of scooped air, together with the liquefying effect of Flicker's inertial damping field, helped her manage the spread.       A few distant figures watched giant ants being turned into goo over their fields and pastures.  Which should be bad tasting enough to avoid problems with livestock until it decayed, but a concentration map would go into the Database notice sent out to the locals--they would know their own fields and animals best.  The Database would keep monitoring for problems until any danger was past.       Ants finished, she slowed down a little away from the nearest group.  She knew hardly any Portuguese, so she used her visor to check her translation.  Her accent was awful, so she settled for saying "They're gone," and a wave of a still-goopy hand.  She acknowledged the Database advisory that she was now over her duty time limit for the first day and headed home.       Her shower matched the one at Doc's HQ, with a customized array of converted waterjet cutters and a selection of decontamination options.  It quickly stripped away the remaining layer of plasma-deposited bug juice.  She then switched it to regular shower mode to help her mind return the rest of the way from 'on duty'.  That took a while.  Habits were stubborn things.       Dried and dressed, she logged her impressions, and looked at her bio-telemetry and reaction analysis with the Database for a bit before formally ending her abbreviated 'workday'.  Not everything had gone smoothly, but it had become a better day--and it was still morning.  It was something.  It was enough, for now.       *****       Stella had a wry smile, a faint twist of the mouth that found humor in a less-than-ideal world.  "I'm not well-qualified to advise you about memory," she said, "because no one is.  I'm doing it because your Database integrity AI doesn't think there's anyone better.  And neither does Doc."       "You have been helping me with my emotional reactions," said Flicker.       "I've avoided triggering any obvious disasters, and you've felt subjectively better.  Whether that is actually helping...  well, we may suddenly find out the answer is 'not enough'."       They were at Stella's office for another session.  It was, if not a comforting place, at least familiar.  It did not add to the inherent stress of a session, which was probably the best Flicker could expect.  Protocols had been set and were being followed, and snacks and beverages were at hand.  Elements of a basic social ritual, which did help, regardless of Stella's current pessimism.       "Well, I think we've been making progress," said Flicker.  "Is there some new reason for you to doubt that?"       "The restrictions on a considerable amount of Database material were lifted for me at the end of last week, in response to your request.  I've been thinking about the implications.  Your AI assistant, Vizier, can speak directly to me in ways the main Database AIs can't, because it doesn't have full access.  That allows it more latitude for speculation and personal advocacy."       Stella looked out through the force screen over the sliding doors to the patio.  "I cultivate an image of implacability because it is useful for my work.  But I'm not infallible."  Another wry smile.  "I have the scars to prove it."       "You're who I've got."       "Yes.  And I will recommend precautions, some of which you will likely find unpleasant, to attempt to limit the damage from mistakes and unforeseen events.  You don't have to follow them.  Many will probably turn out not to have been needed.  But it's part of my best work, and this is a useful time to remind you again.  Do you understand?"       "...yeah."       "An important distinction before we start.  You have an assortment of memory-connected issues.  I don't think precise mechanisms are as urgent as dealing with effects.  We don't want to ease one problem only to aggravate several others.  Your new concern--that your memories may not precisely correspond to past events in this world--does not matter for how I intend to begin today."       "Um.  I think what's actually true does matter a bit."       "Yes, it does."  Another smile.  "But we aren't sitting here together for exterior facts--you have the Database for those.  I'm here to hear and see you talk about what you remember, what has shaped you, what matters to you, how you feel and react, and how it affects you.  And listening to and watching me, my voice and body language and pacing, as I shape my advice for you--talking to another live, flesh and blood person--should help you.  Both in putting your old memories in context, and eventually with some of your other issues."       Stella glanced at her computer display before continuing.  "You intend to use memory compartmentalization before 'correcting' memories using the Database.  That's understandable, and also hazardous.  I believe some of your existing issues are already complicated by memory compartmentalization.  That doesn't mean it's bad.  Some is unavoidable, given your two-part mind, and it's necessary for managing PTSD.  But it has side effects.  I want a better baseline of where you are now before you start anything new.  Memories aren't static--they shift as you recall and relate them.  Do you understand the importance of treating Database records of personally relevant events as potentially fallible as well as incomplete?"       "Yes," said Flicker.  "I've been using the Database for memory backups, but there's no guarantee that anything before my return after Speedtest is still compatible with my speed mind."       "It's more general than that.  You have some reductive assumptions about memory that may be a problem.  May be.  My research has taught me to beware of most generalizations.  Now.  I want you to review certain of your memories for me, starting from the beginning.  That doesn't mean we're starting from scratch.  You've used the resources you had, and are by no means unskilled.  Just the fact that you are currently functional is a remarkable accomplishment.  But that means many of your current problems are subtle, tricky, or tough."       "Because I've already fixed the easy stuff," said Flicker.       A smile.  "At least what you thought was easy."       "...and thought was fixed.  I get it.  So what do you mean by the beginning?  My first memories?"       "Earlier than that.  Start with your arrival on Earth."       "All right, but I got a lot of this third or fourth hand.  I cannot currently access any coherent memories before I was nine."       "I know," said Stella, "But your childhood is important enough to you that even indirect information about it shaped who you are today."       "Okay."       Flicker took a deep breath before starting.  "I was dropped off at that first orphanage in early May of 1997 by some guy.  He was probably an extradimensional entity, and possibly the same guy who arranged payment, checked back on me a few times, and set up my later transfer, but there's no proof or direct evidence of that.  He said that I was born on the first day of spring in the previous year, which would have made me just over a year old.  That matched how I looked and was plausibly consistent with the fact that I could feed myself.  He didn't say where I was born, who the parents were, or provide any surviving documentation, and there are no remaining findable witnesses.       "My birth date was recorded as March 20, 1996--which would make me 16 now--but no paperwork was filed with the state.  The surviving workers at that orphanage remember me by the nickname "Chirpy," after the only vocalization anyone heard me make.  I wasn't yet consciously controlling my speed changes, which cut sounds short.  But they do remember me--as creepily silent most of the time.  I was believed to be haunted or psychic.  No one considered that I might have superspeed and very little awareness of my environment.  Database thinks one of the people who died might have thought I just had hearing trouble and tried to teach me to read.  I apparently picked up more later, because I knew how to read--and even write a little--when my memories start."       Flicker looked down.  "In 2002, that orphanage burned down, and all local records about me were lost.  The details of that fire are still the subject of legal disputes and there's been a long running battle between the surviving relatives of three workers who died in the fire and an insurance company.  The place was a firetrap, records were definitely altered, at least two people died suspiciously after the fire, and the relatives deserve to and probably eventually will win.  The cause of the fire might have been arson.  It also might have been me, based on some models I ran a couple of years ago.  It would be very easy for me to start fires by oblivious fast movement in a wooden structure filled with flammables.  But I have no memory of it.       "Anyway, I was transferred to another orphanage in a different state.  Where there was systematic fraud.  And they now had a live girl with no records--me--who was still being paid for off the books by someone, and a dead girl who they hadn't reported dead and didn't want to because they'd stop getting money.  So they altered records to make it look like I was her.  She was at least a year younger, but as long as no one challenged it or compared things, they were fine."       Flicker smiled briefly.  "Then someone tipped off Gumshoe about the fraud, and he started investigating.  He found the orphanage I was at, and ended up in a confrontation with the director. I apparently came to find out what the commotion was about, and the director did something really stupid.  It's not clear whether he tried to use me as a hostage or just a shield, but I didn't like it.  I killed him."       Flicker shook her head.  "I don't like talking about it because people ask how I felt.  I don't remember.  My emotions didn't reliably connect to memories for a while, and my very first clear memory is watching his head explode.  I don't know whether I entropy dumped to his head or just waved my hand or both, but I wanted him gone, so bam, dead.  I do remember Gumshoe just looking at me for a little bit, then doing something at his wrist, and a little while later I met the Volunteer.  And my life started getting better.  I began remembering things regularly, though it took a while to start putting them in order.  This was 2005."       Stella studied her for a moment.  "How much of your anger over the age issue originated with the identity fraud?"       "A lot.  There was so much I wanted to know, and the altered records kept obstructing everything.  And Gumshoe died before I could talk coherently, so I never got to ask him about a lot of things.  I obviously wasn't the girl I was listed as, but the state didn't have any other birth date for their records so they kept using hers.  That made me mad because here were official people--people who were supposed to help--insisting on using information they knew was wrong."       "That took forever to fix, partly because everyone who could testify that I couldn't possibly be as young as that was already involved in the lawsuits over the fire.  Or wasn't talking to anyone because of them.  And no one else cared."  Flicker paused, then corrected herself.  "Okay, no, that's not fair.  Doc did care, but he didn't want to make a fuss at the time because it could have complicated my adoption or my citizenship--not having a birth certificate or any human witnesses to your birth is a pain, legally."       "Indeed.  And not that uncommon a problem," said Stella.       "Anyway, finally I filed a lawsuit," said Flicker.  "And got it almost settled, I thought--and then that stupid insurance company intervened, because some arcane legal thing meant my settlement would make them more likely to lose the lawsuit against them over the fire.  I didn't handle it well.  But Francine--she was my lawyer too by then, not just Doc's--told me that if I gave her time, she would make the insurance company executives, their board of directors, and the stockholders of their parent company regret that intervention thoroughly.  And late last year, she finally won the last appeal of the primary suit.  I'm 16.  But some places don't accept that yet, so Francine's team is still busy."       "I see," said Stella.  "It's clear you're still very emotionally invested in the details.  Is that something you're willing to elaborate on?"       Flicker took a long breath.  "I try to compartmentalize it so I don't keep getting angry again.  But yeah.  I hope you're ready for some ranting."       Stella smiled.  "That's fine."       "Okay.  The fraud at the second orphanage was already a mess, intertwined with several other messes, but sorting it out in one place wasn't enough.  Oh, no..."       Time passed.  At some point Flicker got up and started pacing.       "...and so I was like 'Okay, bonehead, maybe they won't charge you with accessory after the fact to fraud, but I'm also sole director of a corporation to which I've leased the rights to my personal image, and the value of that in interstate commerce is affected by my legal age in your state.  I have money, good lawyers, standing, and a grudge over something you could have avoided for free just by not being a jerk about it'.  But I have to do that in every state that decides to make an issue out of refusing to change my age in their records without a conventional birth certificate.  And a lot of them are fighting it.  So it's still not over.  But at least now I'm legally sixteen for federal and international purposes, in my home state, and in Pennsylvania, where Journeyman lives.  But I've been trying to get this crap fixed since I was twelve, and I'm so sick of it."       "Understandable," said Stella.  "And it's time we take a break, I think."       *****       Stella was getting better at timing the session breaks so Flicker was able to keep a comfortable safety margin.  There was probably something about not having speed that made the psychology of pacing easier to judge.  There were so many indirect effects.       "How did your morning patrol go?" asked Stella, after they started lunch.  "The Database informed me that your stress levels stayed encouragingly low.  But giant ants were mentioned."       "Yeah, they're fertilizer in rural Brazil now.  No one was hurt.  And the rest was just clearance work--the kind of thing the Volunteer is better at, but I can manage.  Didn't feel like much, but it was better than nothing."  Flicker had another spoonful of the soup.  "This is really good soup.  What is it?"       "It's egg drop soup from a local place," said Stella.  "Comfort food.  I like it when I'm recovering from something stressful or debilitating."       "Heh."  Flicker shook her head.  "You keep helping in different ways than I expect you to help."       "Expectations have always been a bit of a mixed bag for me.  On that note, you had a question about my background that you've been very patient about."       "Well, yeah.  It seems kind of silly now, but the Database verified you received your doctorate when you were 17," said Flicker, "but said the university was prevented by a non-disclosure agreement from revealing anything but the title of your thesis.  Which I thought was weird."       "They tried to revoke my doctorate.  After some discussion, they settled," said Stella.  "But the administration never actually had a copy.  The NDA was part of the settlement.  Not coincidentally, they also settled a suit from a group of students and former students at the same time.  People used to wonder why I chose that university and thesis committee.  But what happened to them was part of the point."       "What was 'Alternate Means of Addressing Harmful Behavior Patterns in Entrenched Power Structures' about, anyway?"       "The title gets the point across.  The specific methods were of limited generality and don't scale well.  It was a proof of concept, but there would be issues with it becoming widely accessible."       "I'm still curious."       "I know.  But the NDA was useful to me and still helps protect the former students.  The Database and I both respect it.  If there were a particular threat to one of them that you needed to deal with, then the Database would reveal appropriate information.  There currently isn't."       "I guess... that's good.  Was that your goal?"       "One of them.  The other two were to get a doctorate quickly, and establish a reputation.  Anyone investigating my qualifications in more detail would have no trouble establishing that whatever my methods actually were, they worked:  Nothing else bad happened to the students.  And nothing good to the thesis committee or the administration."       "Oh."       *****       Another hour of indirect memory tests, mostly boring.  But Stella said boring was good; anything exciting here would mean an unexpected problem, and they had plenty of expected ones already.  The one interesting part was a reframing of something Flicker had known for a long time.       "No," said Stella, studying her display.  "I don't think you react any more emotionally to speaking or listening than you do to reading.  Not more than a typical human."       "What do you mean?" said Flicker.  "I've thoroughly documented it."       A smile from Stella.  "You weren't measuring what you thought you were measuring.  You have to restrict your subjective speed to talk and listen, which requires effort by your speed mind.  And you use the ability to freely speed up and consult the Database for several quite effective calming strategies that are less disruptive to reading than listening.  So your coping works better.  After you account for that, the base emotional effect is the same."       Flicker studied the graphs and supporting information the Database provided.  The conclusions were consistent.       "Huh.  I remember interactive things way more emotionally, though."       "You appear to anchor social memories to emotional impact, consolidating out your calming measures, while your reading memories get subsumed in your reaction to what you learned.  So, among other things, your estimates of emotional leakage from compartmentalized memories will be poorly calibrated."       "Oof.  Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to watch out for that."       *****       "We're stopping already?" said Flicker.  "I could keep going--we're making progress, Database says I'm Green, and I still feel fine."       That wry smile.  "Yes, and I'd prefer you stay that way.  You'll have homework.  I want you to summarize your emotional impressions from your pre-sleep memory assimilation, so we can compare with your memories later."       "Huh.  Do you think there will be discrepancies?"       "I don't know.  But if there are, we want to know about them; that's why I'm asking.  We cannot take for granted that anything about your sleep, learning, or memory processing is the same as a typical human."       "Yeah, okay.  Do you want me to record anything else?"       "Not tonight.  I don't want to overload you by trying too many things at once."       Flicker looked down.  "Well, here's an emotional impression already.  That's the opposite of my preferred approach.  I don't like leaving known problems.  I'd much rather solve everything, then recover.  I already know that makes it easier for me to sleep."       "Yes, and you've done a very good job of solving a wide variety of problems where that attitude is helpful.  It's very effective.  Speed is your hammer."       "But not all my problems are nails."       "Exactly."       Flicker sighed.  "Well, okay, then.  I guess this is why I needed you.  You're good at helping."       A raised eyebrow.  "I'm not, particularly.  What I am good at is convincing people to listen who otherwise wouldn't."       "...and that's a problem I have that definitely isn't a nail."       Another smile.       "Okay.  Talk to you later.  And Stella?  Thank you."       "You're welcome."

Next:

[ninetytwotechnology-blog]

VELOCITY IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Every unmarried CEO of any it enterprise desires to build software quicker. Time is the most luxurious and valuable resource. You can't waste it on re-work, refactoring, meetings, bodily activities. Right? It depends...

Many groups develop up, slow down, and die. Suitable development pace is vital for surviving. Consider, you've got a in reality wonderful vision confirmed in many instances with the aid of many humans. You already know for certain (properly, this is uncommon in practice, however we're going to gasoline our imagination, adequate?) That this product will be a real hit. All you need is to finish it.

You have a group of dozens proficient and experienced builders, you crunch and ship something in years. The crew is exhausted. The product implements approximately 10% of the vision. There is a massive capability, all and sundry says that, however 10% isn't sufficient to penetrate the marketplace. You conflict for some extra months, have average traction, have below average sales, haven't any money and, in the long run, no company. Amazing imaginative and prescient is terminated by means of slow execution. Who guilty? Perhaps the trouble become too difficult and two years is perfectly affordable time frame for it. Maybe the crew rushed too rapid, had a few correct releases, however got buried with the aid of complexity and technical debt in the long run. Speed in software development is an incredibly complex entity. It's far encouraged by using many stuff, frequently in a shocking way. In this text i will try to proportion my thoughts approximately speed.

SIDES OF SPEED

The general public have a tendency to consider speed as a unmarried entity, but it is not. There are very exceptional forms of speed: quick-term pace (dash) and lengthy-time period speed (marathon). Dash vs. Marathon is an excellent analogy right here. In software program development (and in strolling as well) you can't have both. Allows take a few summary attempt unit, like factor. Working complete throttle in a sprint mode you deliver one hundred factors in line with month. Here is my first argument:

YOU CAN NOT PRESERVE A DASH TEMPO ON AN EXTENDED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DISTANCE.

Maybe you could keep a hundred pt/month pace three-6 months, however it's far extraordinarily not going you could do this for a 12 months. Furthermore, draw back increases considerably with high-tempo development. And some day you'll regret the entirety.

At some point maximum of the developers will reach a "f*** it point" (pink dot) and drop performance noticeably.

Your intention is to run a totally lengthy distance (years) with the best possible pace. That's what marathon is ready. You need staying power and evenness.

The way to create software program faster over an extended time stretch? It's a "1 million greenback" question. Most in all likelihood, the solution is unique for each employer, however nonetheless we will construct an affordable rough version that can be beneficial.

Dash, marathon and... Intervals!

At the beginning sight, there are just three alternatives.

CHOICE 1. EXCESSIVE DASH

You could run complete velocity, 12-14 hours/day, fueled with the aid of lively beverages, caffeine, sugar and god knows what else. You could be an all-nighter, sleep for some hours and spend minimal time on ingesting, washing, exercising, and so on. I'll provide you with a month. Perhaps 3 in case you are in an ideal shape. The best aspect about this mode is that everyone is aware of how terrible it is. Burnout is fast.

CHOICE 2. MODERATE SPRINT

You may work 8-10 hours/day, squeezing each drop of productivity. No small talks, no recreation sports at paintings, no a laugh. A few companies do nothing to make work exciting, tough and a laugh. Tasks are constantly past due and all and sundry is usually underneath strain. Unfortunately, this mode can last for years. Human beings can get used to it and don’t observe how depressing they are. They are attempting to locate compensation at home with households and pastimes. That may be a real chance, when you consider that after several months of such work productivity drops and no one notices. It may take several years to think deep about you and have a few insights.

CHOICE 3. MARATHON

This mode looks foremost. You do your first-rate running 6-8 hours/day, locate time to relax and exercising. You don't trap each single minute and have the posh to think about a hassle for some time. No rush to push matters out of the door proper now! That sounds good. However, many managers are not satisfied with marathon pace. They want to deliver matters faster. I accept as true with this natural mode is pretty uncommon in reality. In most corporations managers attempt to velocity things up and try this within the most silly manner, using time beyond regulation, undertaking pushing and “we're the heroes” motivation.

At the first sight, it looks as if there's not anything extra. But i assume we've got one extra option. I had by no means heard about it, to be honest.

CHOICE 4. DURATIONS

I am now not talking about iterative improvement. In truth, iterative improvement may be similarly implemented to slight sprint or marathon modes. C program language period development is when you blend modes. For a short period of time you could do sprints, and then switch to marathon mode. In my opinion, top schedule can be:

·         1 MONTH - RAPID PACE SPRINT

·         THREE MONTHS - MARATHON

·         1 MONTH - SPEEDY PACE DASH

COMPETENCIES AND REVEL IN

It's miles quite apparent that skills improve development speed. More professional developers resolve problems quicker and create much less complicated solutions. A few say there may be 10x productivity distinction between extraordinarily skilled and less skilled builders. I don’t suppose it's miles a not unusual case even though.

The subsequent trivial question is what can be done to increase developers’ skills? First, you could lease handiest professional developers. That might paintings, but this model isn't always easily scalable. Skilled humans have a tendency to work on hard troubles that demand their capabilities. What number of groups within the international work on simply difficult troubles? No longer such a lot of. On the alternative side, in case your product isn't always rocket technology, you don’t need groups complete of PhD developers. So ability for any given organisation is different. A professional developer at Google does not identical a professional developer at a few outsourcing employer.

Adequate, you described professional developer in your agency, but still conflict to locate lots of them. Scalability problem stays. So you need to lease no longer-so-skilled builders as properly to grow. That is adequate, however it's miles actually required to hire individuals who want to analyze new things. How everybody will accumulate talents in the event that they don’t like to examine? Curiosity, lively thoughts, ardour — those merits are primary.

An organization must offer some thing it could to help human beings examine. A few options are under:

PURCHASE ANY BOOK HUMANS ASK FOR

Any enterprise need to have a very good library. Maximum amazing builders i recognise read plenty. There is no manner to pressure humans examine books, however at least it must be extraordinarily smooth to head and seize an awesome e-book to examine.

SHIP HUMANS TO CONFERENCES

Most of the people assume that meetings are a source of latest information. Maybe, however i reflect on consideration on them as passion-drivers. Meetings motivate you to hold getting to know, maintain trying new things and, within the high-quality case, offers you a few path.

I really like to go to conferences on subjects which are new to me. For example, after i started out to examine consumer revel in, i visited two large conferences. First one changed into especially useful, second one turned into not that top.

PREPARE MASTERING EVENTS

One of the exceptional manner to research something is to write a book approximately the topic. Much less intense way is to put together a presentation or a workshop. A corporation should organize internal meetings to reinforce this method. Now not every person is prepared to talk in audience, but many will strive. In our organization we have 2-day conferences each 6 months. There aren't any external speakers,  all periods are prepared by means of our group individuals.

OFFER TIME TO ANALYZE NEW MATTERS

That doesn’t seem like a obligatory practice. Perhaps it isn't. Nonetheless if a enterprise affords some unfastened time exclusively committed to studying — that’s amazing. Famous 20% Google’s time is a great example (there are rumors that this practice become canceled already, however these rumors aren't proved). At 92 Technology we have orange Fridays.

Each Friday is devoted to non-public tasks or studying. Many human beings do courser guides, examine articles, test new technology. It's miles impossible to measure effectiveness of this exercise, however there are many benefits:

•             In truth it manner four-day work weeks. At least the fifth day is not a common operating day.

•             It attracts individuals who want to study, so it’s a massive plus for hiring.

•             It's far easier to maintain people, considering they have a choice to strive some thing new on their personal.

•             People accumulate new abilities faster.

There may be simplest one drawback — it probable reduces ordinary improvement speed. People work at some point a week much less, which is a right away 20% hit on improvement pace. What is greater critical? It relies upon. In case you are very near release, tactically it isn't wise to spend every Friday on education. In case you are in a marathon mode — it may be really worth it.

WASTE AND NON-COST INTRODUCED SPORTS

We’ve talked about distractions like Facebook or Skype. But, there are numerous risky sports that appear like actual paintings, however don’t generate any price in the end.

MEETINGS

Maximum meetings suck. Right here is a great assembly test i study in some book:

Consider how often you've got stated "wow. That turned into a high-quality meeting!"

I guess it changed into no longer so often. Larger businesses have greater conferences. Small agencies can stay with 0 conferences. Each unmarried meeting may be wasteful. Day by day stand-up meeting? Positive. UX meeting? Why now not. I'm able to easily imagine a completely wasteful each day meeting wherein everyone do popularity reporting and nobody cares what other humans communicate approximately. I attended many UX meetings that were painfully boring and generated not anything.

There are numerous books about efficient meetings. You already know what? They without doubt paintings. Every meeting needs to have a time table, organized individuals, excellent facilitation, sincere and open communication and clear results.

We are able to drop conferences absolutely true meetings are amusing and helpful. It's far an pastime in which you may speak troubles with different people, targeted and fully immersed into a discussion. I think meetings suck at idea era, but they're beneficial for idea sifting. Brainstorming isn't the excellent way to invent new thoughts. I trust in solitude, targeted questioning and time.

To generate something new you need to spend time and think.

Its miles naive to consider you can visit a meeting unprepared and clear up a problem.

GAME AT WORK

I'm hoping more and more corporations accept as true with people. I am hoping it is uncommon to see a scene like that now:

Manager comes to a kitchen at eleven am and see two builders sipping coffee, chatting with every different, smiling and giggling of something. Manager will become purple and shout “why the hell you are doing here? We've got a cut-off date this Friday!” Builders drop cups in a hurry and walk away.

Terrible... Paintings ought to now not be a run of the mill vicinity in which human beings code, take a look at and launch things. Creative paintings needs physical sports, pauses and talks. It is ideal to have a desk tennis, running shoes, yoga/dancing/something instructions right inside the workplace (and a bath of direction). Exercises help to drop stress level and assist people to be more effective in the long run.

Do you certainly think humans will absolutely alternate work for tennis, kicker or some thing else? If so, you have critical problems. Perhaps they may be uninterested and uninterested with tasks they'd remaining month. Or maybe you employed the incorrect human beings. Anyway, this is a manifestation of some thing incorrect occurring there.

So game at paintings is good. You might imagine about this time as a waste, but it is not.

GAINING KNOWLEDGE OF AT WORK

Every software program development agency wants to have individuals who study new things. Nonetheless, not so many corporations offer possibilities to learn new matters. We’ve already mentioned mastering in previous sections, but a few organizations believe that gaining knowledge of at work is a waste. Indeed it doesn’t generate any price, so this activity is non-cost delivered. In software development we ought to focus on “work smarter, not harder” and from this perspective learning at work turns into quite fascinating.

Can we measure the outcome of orange Fridays? Books? Meetings? Side initiatives? It’s truly hard. The final results is long time (years). And there may be no apparent model to quantify know-how into cash.

PAINTINGS / LIFE BALANCE

This section may be quick. We noted burnout already. Software improvement is an interest you may reflect on consideration on all the time. When you have a complicated problem within the software program, you're thinking about it anywhere. It suddenly pops up when you are on foot together with your lady friend, a few mind appear in a shower and your mind even attempts to reinforce the hassle in, well, the maximum beside the point moments. It's miles critical to discover ways to switch off. Sport, touring, yoga and interests are the pleasant applicants.

Organizations have to inspire humans to have some hobbies and aid them. This is actual for sport sports as properly.

0 overtime regulations have to be marketed via top managers. In case you paintings harder and harder at some point you'll work dumber and dumber.

WRAP-UP

I think it will be beneficial to stress a few points.

Software improvement pace / productiveness / pace is a complicated, interdependent and multifaceted concept. It has no smooth solution. You may shout at humans “paintings quicker!” You can’t blindly reduce corners and cognizance on price delivered activities most effective. The most effective answer is to think deeply approximately the organisation, development methods, human beings, gear, and so on. Build a model and suppose.

I am curious to increase the interval development concept similarly. It feels very fascinating to me and might very well be just the proper balance of top pace and proper patience. Marathon and mild sprints blend analogy opens many new guidelines to explore.