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How long do you spend at PM?

by johnnywang (Priest)
on May 12, 2005 at 08:13 UTC ( [id://456283]=perlmeditation: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??

I think I spent at least an hour on PM each day, even during weekends. I notice that if I skip a day or two, the "Newest nodes" section gets filled up, and there is nothing I can do but to lie with the button: "I've checked all of these". I've seen some monks present all the time (probably virtually with a script?), and some answer at least half the questions (I guess there are typically around 30-50 questions per day?) How do these people do it? don't you have a life? actually don't you have other languages to tend to? I have at least java and python, and recently PHP and ASP!

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by g0n (Priest) on May 12, 2005 at 10:15 UTC
    Honest answer? FAR too much!

    During the week I tend to lurk around the CB while working, clicking 'talk' every few minutes, although I rely quite heavily on cbhistory if something comes up that I need to do. Whilst waiting for code to run (or for someone to give me work to do when things are quiet) I'll go through the list of questions on SoPW and see if there's anything I can (and want to) answer, and chat a little in the CB.

    At the weekend I tend to come to the monastery for a couple of hours in the morning while my partner sleeps in, and a couple of hours in the evening while she watches 'Strictly Dance Fever' or some other godawful dreck.

    I also pop in if I'm at a loose end, bored or just fancy a chat. Working away from home and only getting back about every other weekend I rarely get chance to see my friends, and most of the people here are bright, well informed and fun, so I can think of worse ways of spending time.

    --------------------------------------------------------------

    g0n, backpropagated monk

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by bradcathey (Prior) on May 12, 2005 at 11:54 UTC

    We all have "seasons" in our lives. I'm in my web programming season, which has led me to the monstery. But there are other reasons I frequent this place:

    • I have lots of questions. And what better place to get answers than from the knowledgeable monks that hang out here. I've learned a lot.
    • I can help others. I'm no guru, but I've had enough experience here, and programming in general, that I can occasionally offer a bit of advice.
    • Strange as it may sound, this is a community. I find people here of like mind. My family doesn't share my interest, my friends don't, but the monks do. Here I find a sympathic ear (most of the time ;^)

    I just wish there was a monastery for other parts my life.


    —Brad
    "The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men." George Eliot
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by Limbic~Region (Chancellor) on May 12, 2005 at 12:56 UTC
    johnnywang,
    Hello, my name is L~R and I am an addict. Any computer I log into with access to the Internet results in a browser opened to PerlMonks for the duration of the time I am on that computer.

    Cheers - L~R

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by tlm (Prior) on May 12, 2005 at 10:45 UTC

    I am a Visual Basic robot, training for the upcoming Loebner Prize Contest.

    the lowliest monk

      That I believe.


      holli, /regexed monk/
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by 5mi11er (Deacon) on May 12, 2005 at 14:06 UTC
    I have similar thought trains to several of the posts above.

    For several weeks, I spent FAR to much time here, maybe like 6 of the 8ish hours I'm supposed to be working. But at the time, I was also incubating some ideas, and did find help in very odd places for things that helped bring more clarity to the project as a whole. Unfortunately most of this might just be rationalization to help me feel better about spending so much time here because I'm unable to come up with any example, off the top of my head, of this "help". :-/ But I do think it was probably helping to tune my mind up a bit.

    However now that I'm at the place where things are falling into place quickly, and I'm semi-motivated to actually work on the code, I find I've cut back my addiction to 2-3 hours per work day.

    At one point I was using the java script chatterbox to keep the conversations so I could scan/read interesting bits that happened while I was away. I think I've actually said like 3 things on CB though, I've just never been one that enjoyed IM in any flavor, I'm much more of an email guy. I need time to think about my questions/answers/etc...

    I also think Brad has some good insights about "seasons" and I feel the same way about my interests not being shared by anyone around me. I'm a senior network engineer, so as far as networking goes, I've got some people that actually GROK networking around me (as well as the requisite turkeys), but I'm the only scripter on the team, so when I'm deep into projects that attempt to make my teams' lives better, I definitely feel this community fills an important need.

    -Scott

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by ghenry (Vicar) on May 12, 2005 at 09:26 UTC

    Well, I for one am trying to learn as much as possible about perl, and this is the best place to learn that in my eyes.

    I should be working on my main job though, so yeah, I probably need to get a life! ;-)

    Walking the road to enlightenment... I found a penguin and a camel on the way.....
    Fancy a yourname@perl.me.uk? Just ask!!!
      so yeah, I probably need to get a life!

      I'm not familiar with this concept, "life"... did I spell it right? :-\ What is that? :-\

      Update: No, actually I'm not one of those who spends all his time here :-) But if I don't, it's not because I have a life... It's because I have a job! :-\

        Life ;-)

        I like this one:

        A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.

        Walking the road to enlightenment... I found a penguin and a camel on the way.....
        Fancy a yourname@perl.me.uk? Just ask!!!
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by !1 (Hermit) on May 12, 2005 at 19:59 UTC

    I think it depends where you are in your path. Here's pretty much my trip so far:

    • I became interested in Perl only because I was interested in making web apps. I'd come around every now and again, but only to ask questions. I didn't use the search feature at all. At this point, I only spent enough time here to ask questions and get answers.
    • One day I realized just how quickly people would answer my questions. I wondered what sort of gurus were hanging around here to always be able to answer my questions so quickly. I started checking out when people joined. Some of the accounts were only a few months old. I thought these people were probably gurus before they joined. Looking at their initial posts, I realized that some of the people I held in such high regard started with many of the same questions I had. I finally discovered the search and would consult the results before I would ask my question. This was also around the time that I created an account. At this point, I'd spend up to an hour here but not every day.
    • While looking through Newest Nodes for a post I had seen the previous day but hadn't had enough time to read, I noticed a SOPW where someone asked a question that I had asked in my initial days. I answered the question, the person thanked me, and I became addicted to trying to answer questions. At this point, I'd spend every moment that wasn't dedicated to work or sleep to perlmonks. I think this was probably the best time I had here because I'd try to answer every question or at least be able to really understand the underlying problem. This was my favorite time at the monastery because not only did I learn a lot about Perl but I gained a lot more experience in understanding people's problems, figuring out what they need, and delivering a suitable response. It was during this time that I gained sainthood.
    • A few months down the road, I'd start to see a lot of questions that I knew had been answered previously. New questions to research were far and few between. It was around this time that I stopped coming by as much. I created a new account (this one) because I didn't like my other name. Now I only stop by to read Meditations and see if there's an interesting conversation happening in the CB. That's pretty much where I stand right now.

    This is a great place. Everyone wishing to sharpen their Perl skills makes you want to do the same. Not only do you want to sharpen your skills, but you want to come back for more. This is why I stayed and it's the only reason that I understand Perl as well as I do. Needless to say, this is probably the best environment I've ever had for gaining knowledge and developing my skills. I only wish everything else worth learning in life had a PerlMonks.

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by Forsaken (Friar) on May 12, 2005 at 13:10 UTC
    Hello, my handle is Forsaken and I am a PM addict(time for PMAA perhaps?). I work in a callcenter, so whenever the phone's dead I spend my time in the CB, checking out SoPW, etc. Quite a timesink, but most informative, and always something new to learn.

    Remember rule one...

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by coreolyn (Parson) on May 12, 2005 at 15:07 UTC

    I log on every weekday. Read anything that catches my eye while I ++ the nodes at the gates, and troll Newest Nodes whenever a moment presents itself, and keep half an eye on whats being discussed in the cb which often is a great place for a quick chuckle or two.

    I don't get to play in Perl hardly at all anymore, and I've gotten to a period where I want to get as far away from coding as possible when I'm home. I don't know what it is about this place but hanging in the shadows of it still helps me to feel grounded and connected to my code roots.

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by davido (Cardinal) on May 13, 2005 at 04:52 UTC

    My name is Dave, and I'm a PM addict too. I check the Monastery every morning before I head off to work. In the evenings, here I am again. Recently my longtime passion for photography has been rekindled by the acquisition of some new equipment and new subject matter, and that combined with a love for sailing, kayaking, biking, and travel, not to mention my wife have cut a little into my PM time, but I'm still here every day. :)


    Dave

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by bofh_of_oz (Hermit) on May 12, 2005 at 15:09 UTC
    Not much, just about as long as I am at work :) And of course, a few hours on the weekends (well, I do need to spend those daily XP points somehow, and maybe get a few more <grin>...)

    Honestly, I usually do have other languages to tend to; however, I am in the Perl phase for a while, so besides reading the books, FAQs etc, I also absorb the spirit of Perl and PM is an excellent place to do that.

    --------------------------------
    An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it...

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by poqui (Deacon) on May 12, 2005 at 16:31 UTC
    My presence is much the same as yours, johnnywang. It depends on how things are at work. If I am executing long running queries, like I am today, then I spend more time here. I usually log in once a day or so. Sometimes from home at night, or on the weekends. I like to try to come by on Fridays to see what the religious argument of the week is in the CB. When I am here I usually spend at least an hour. I leave my Newest Nodes until I have at least scanned all of them to see if I've missed any interesting ones.
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by exussum0 (Vicar) on May 12, 2005 at 18:20 UTC
    For some people, perl is their life. For others, programming languages. For more others, computer science. For even more, it's some other profession. You get out of PM wat you take out of PM.

    Personally, I spend enough time on PM a day so that the synapses fire to get me away from the drudgery of monkey work and to push my wisdom (not knowledge) furhter, particularly to answer design, ethical/moral and the open ended questions.

    ----
    Give me strength for today.. I will not talk it away..
    Just for a moment.. It will burn through the clouds.. and shine down on me.

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by kprasanna_79 (Hermit) on May 13, 2005 at 09:40 UTC
    Hai Johnnywang,
    Thanks for helping me to tell for which i have been longing for.

    My First step into perlmonks was initiated by one of the great monk here. Later when i entered into the site i started reading lot of post, which really fascinated me.

    I love voting and earning xp points. Not only me but all the peoples love to do this because they gain points there by their rank comes up and its common that every one will be attracted to it.

    During the week i tend to lurk into cb when there is something so crucial and i need the solution immediately. Probably browse pm for sometime to gather the some usefull data which i need

    Spending most the time here means, that they gain somethings outof it here. Most the guys learn new things and some practice things here.

    When ever my code needs better standard i get help from PM.

    I love PerlMonks which boosted my perl knowledge.

    --Prasanna.K
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by Short Circuit (Novice) on May 12, 2005 at 21:16 UTC
    Slashdot has a Slashbox that includes some of the latest PM nodes. It's at the top of my page, and I click the ones that look interesting. (Like this one.) I don't usually have much to offer for discussion here...I learn more by keeping my mouth shut.
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by tcf03 (Deacon) on May 14, 2005 at 07:36 UTC
    probably enough time to get me fired. Im a unix admin, and come up with a hundred reasons a day to fire up a vi session and #!/user/bin/perl -w and before I know it a browser window opened to PM. Perl is my only creative outlet during my workday, PM is what keeps me humble by showing me that I don't know enough to code perl for a living yet.
    Ted
    --
    "Men have become the tools of their tools."
      --Henry David Thoreau
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by herveus (Prior) on May 16, 2005 at 11:42 UTC
    Howdy!

    Probably more than I ought to, but...

    I scan the Recently Active Threads several times a day, and I almost always have Katterbox (a Java CB client) up and running. Some days, I run off at the mouth in the CB; other times I'm pretty mute.

    PM in general, and CB in particular are a welcome community. It can get hot and heavy in the CB, especially when contentious topics hit the table (politics and/or religion), and it gets downright silly at times. But that's the attraction...

    yours,
    Michael
Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by Nkuvu (Priest) on May 13, 2005 at 18:27 UTC
    Recently? A lot. My current job has me waiting on reviews of requirements and design, so that I can write tests for the existing code. Yes, it's backwards. The code should not exist with the requirements and design in their current state. But I don't make the policies, of course, so I'm waiting.

    Which means that I have a bit of time to entertain myself and read PM.

Re: How long do you spend at PM?
by TedPride (Priest) on May 13, 2005 at 01:31 UTC
    I spend probably a couple hours a day at PM. I used to spend significantly more, but I'm past the basic syntax phase now and can take things easier. Use strict and use warnings 4tw!

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