programming and human factors
by Jeff Atwood
Back in September 2008, I mentioned that we were spawning a new process. Well, that process arrived today, and its id is Henry Burton Atwood.
We're starting him off right with a little light reading.
You may recognize this book from Apple's Mac vs PC ad series, specifically, the "Gift Exchange" Mac vs PC ad.
Because, truly, what better gift is there for a newborn than the C++ GUI Programming Guide? Watch the ad to see what I mean. "I've been eyeing that myself."
All credit for creation of this new process of course goes to my wife Betsy who did the real work. I now truly understand the meaning of the classic Bill Cosby skit on childbirth.
Helping my wife walk the pain scale, going from pain level 7/10, 8/10 and then seeing the maw of darkness that lies at pain scale 10/10 and beyond, was quite an experience. How much pain? Well, imagine the worst pain you've ever experienced. Now imagine taking that pain, packing it in to a rickety Oldsmobile, setting it on fire, then driving it off the edge of a cliff at maximum speed. Into a valley filled with white-hot molten lava.
It's a little bit worse than that.
You may have heard that childbirth is a mystical, spiritual process. The thing that ties every human being together as one long continuous string of life, extending all the way back to the beginning of time. To a point, it is. As my friend Phil said, it's all ponies and butterflies. Until the ponies and butterflies start spontaneously screaming. But, it was all worth it to get Henry, who is genetically engineered to be awesome. Being a geek from birth, Henry has his own Twitter account, which was opened with exactly the first message you'd expect:
Hello World. Literally.
If you've been reading my blog for a while, I'm sure you know I will approach our new parenting adventure the same way I do programming -- with absolutely no freaking idea what I'm doing. And often hilarious results.
Here's to you, little guy, and every other little programmer being born around the world.
Congratulations!
Daniele Muscetta on March 14, 2009 3:37 AMCongratulations Jeff!
To paraphrase RMS: It doesn’t take special talents to reproduce—even plants can do it. On the other hand, contributing to a website like Stack Overflow takes real skill. That is really something to be proud of.
crocodilexp on March 14, 2009 3:49 AMCongratulations you guys, its both magical and terrifying at the same time - the kid will have root access to you and he is something of a noob, so stuff will go wrong. I found that most of the time you end up laughing at the clever solutions kids come up with when they are confronted with problems.
It does get frustrating when they get stuck in an endless loop though: why?...why?...why?...
On the other hand, the feeling you get when you realise that you are the coolest, strongest, most amazing person in his world and you can even do magic tricks, is incredible. He will love his mum, but you will be his dad and - for a while at least - no one can top that. Enjoy it.
Inksmithy on March 14, 2009 3:50 AMCongratulations Jeff!
BTW, I'm a C++ programmer and I particularly don't like GUI programming myself -- which is why I stick with server-side system-level applications.
At any rate, enjoy being a father -- I believe it's one of the greatest gifts a man can ever receive.
Dean Michael Berris on March 14, 2009 3:55 AMCongrats Jeff!
Good to see some projects still make it on time ;)
Gabri on March 14, 2009 3:57 AMCongratulations, Jeff!
gregs on March 14, 2009 4:33 AMNot always, but usually on time. Even having children is not 100% reliable.
Congrats
Silvercode on March 14, 2009 4:34 AMJust wanted to echo everyone else's statement: Congratulations Jeff!!!
MattyT on March 14, 2009 5:13 AMCongratulations and best wishes to all the three of you.
-GB.
GB on March 14, 2009 5:17 AMI know you've heard it a million times on here, but here's one more. Congradulations Jeff. All the best to you and your family!
TonyV on March 14, 2009 5:33 AMCongratulations !!!
Javier Alvarez on March 14, 2009 5:50 AMIs he core dumping a lot?
aris on March 14, 2009 6:11 AMCongratulations!
Christer on March 14, 2009 6:27 AMCongratulations , and welcome Henry!
Snark on March 14, 2009 7:14 AMas the saying goes...
I weep for the future
Good for you.
Best wishes for the future.
On the pain - likened to stretching your lower lip up and over the back of your head.
Paul on March 14, 2009 8:23 AMAaaaaaghn, what a cutie!
Congratulations :D
Congrats Jeff!
Hopefully I'll see ya at MIX 09
Des Traynor on March 14, 2009 9:37 AMYou have to know that all this programmer from birth stuff will drive him toward a career in, say, truck driving, or watercolor-based caricature, or pretty much anything as far from programming as possible.
(Oh, and congratulations.)
Atario on March 14, 2009 9:58 AMCongrats!
Joseph McLaughlin on March 14, 2009 10:04 AMCongratulations Jeff, may you have many happy experiences together! :D Don't push programming and computers on him though, chances are he'll chose something completely opposite of what you want anyway...
Stian on March 14, 2009 10:48 AMCongrats!!
Just wait until you have two or more process going at once, and the older one thinks it has a higher priority....oh man.
Or both processes do something unexpected and say that it's from lack of memory..but no need to get angry, dad, let's reboot and forget about it:)
I remember when my first process spawned. My project collaborator was switching out a smelly drive, when, while not covering over the USB port, became the target of the processes self-inflicted defrag - ewww.
And like Stian said, take it steady and don't push...while he may go the opposite way of you as far as learning and job, know this one thing - no matter how opposite nor similar he may be from you, in his mind and heart, you'll always his be his hero.
Congrats to you both!
Jim on March 14, 2009 11:28 AMJeff-
I have to say- I've been following your blog and the quality of posts has been declining. Please stop posting about dragons, unicorns, opensource, NP complete, babies, and things you don't understand... you're supposed to be a professional.
You need at least ONE of these comments every blog post... right? ;)
Congrats-
Congrats :)
Vivek on March 14, 2009 11:31 AMCongratulations, Jeff. My wife and I had our inaugural baby deployment a little over six months ago (http://scottonlife.com/solblog/archive/2008/09/10/and-then-there-were-three.aspx) and, like most first-time parents, are learning as we go and having a blast. My one word of wisdom: the first three months are hard and tiring, but rest assured that it does get a heckuva lot easier once they find a good sleep schedule and become more interactive.
I expect that you've already downloaded and installed BabySmash? :-)
Scott Mitchell on March 14, 2009 11:33 AMCongratulations, Jeff!!
PS: Spare the baby :P
Just wait until you see how much CPU time and system resources that sucker will eat up.
Congratulations, Jeff.
Jim on March 14, 2009 11:58 AMGreat!!! just be carefull to log all your tasks with screenshots every birthday!!!
Los Cabos Hotel on March 14, 2009 12:37 PMCongratulations!!!
Petr Macek on March 14, 2009 12:41 PMCongratulations Jeff and family!
Steve-O on March 14, 2009 1:05 PMCongratulations to the two of you! I became a Daddy 8 months ago and am loving every second of it.
Matt on March 15, 2009 2:40 AMYawn.
Martin on March 15, 2009 2:58 AMCongrats Jeff :)
samirbenabid on March 15, 2009 3:00 AMw00t. Congrats Jeff :)
seanb on March 15, 2009 3:49 AMWOOO-HOOO!
Congrats, Jeff! Great stuff.
Peter K. on March 15, 2009 4:12 AMI once remember reading an article where the writer made a joke about his subject, a famous computer scientist, moving from the world of digital creations to the ultimate analog creation with the birth of his first child. That bothered me, because DNA replication is definitely a digital process, not an analog one.Spawning a new process is -- by far-- a much better metaphor.
Congratulations, Jeff. You'll never find disruptive context switching more enjoyable than in the form of raising a child.
Mark Kawakami on March 15, 2009 4:46 AMWell done Atwood (and Lady Atwood).
I have a 3yo and all I can tell you is to go with your gut, not what the manual says... but RTFM ANYWAY!
Also, spend more time with the little tyke than you can really afford... all three of you will MASSIVLY benefit.
dp.
ps AND TAKE MILLIONS OF PHOTOS, THEY CHANGE APPEARENCE ABOUT EVERY 30 SECONDS!
Congratulations! Welcome to the club of dealing with living, breathing NP Complete problems!
Peter Meyer on March 15, 2009 8:19 AMCongratulations!
Every child that comes is a blessing from God. Rearing him up is hard, yet will deliver you both enormous satisfaction. Remember also that children are really only borrowed, not yours: the moment he will walk away to start his own adventure in life may look incredibly far away from now, but will come faster than you'd expect.
So enjoy every moment!
Joe on March 15, 2009 8:33 AMI really can't imagine life without my four-week-old, and I'm sure you'll feel the same very shortly.
web directory on March 15, 2009 10:36 AMCongrats Jeff! Best wishes to you and your family!
Bob Somers on March 15, 2009 10:42 AMI couldn't find a better post for my first comment on your blogs that i've been following for a while now.Congrats Jeff!
Aathif on March 15, 2009 10:43 AMCongratulations Jeff and Betsy!
I'll tell Ann Marie (Betsy's former boss at Duke) about the new arrival. By now you'll be starting to realize that he is actually an SDU (sleep deprivation unit), but well worth it and substantially more interesting than software development.
David Sheeks on March 15, 2009 10:59 AMCongratulations Jeff! :)
raghava on March 15, 2009 11:13 AMIt's a little known fact that America is the feminised version of Amerigo (all continents are feminised - a Latin tradition). Amerigo is the Itallian man who discovered the American continent (Amerigo Vespuchie). Amerigo is the masculine Itallian of Americ - from the the German Heinrich. In English Heinrich is known as Henry. So America is litterally Henry land. And now there's one more Henry in Henry land.
Just a word of warning though - there are some crazies out there. Be careful about how much information you give out on your family and location. There's nothing worse than a predator knowing where your child will be, what they look like, their name and their interests.
Philip on March 15, 2009 11:57 AMCongrads Jeff, don't be sad if he turns into a sportsman instead, best to keep your options open ;)
Steven on March 15, 2009 12:02 PMDo you mean to say that to transfer data successfully, you do not need to pick up one computer and shove it on the other?
Come one, we knew this long long ago, or did we?
Also, I wonder about all the joys of Kid.Exceptional.Raise()
First you will teach him to C#
Then you will him er... lang?
No, you wouldn't like him to C++, since he is J++
Now what's the J++ angle actually? K-DE? Linux? Rebellion!?!?
And how are you going to /(root) for Microsoft(TM) products when he(nry) will immerse himself wholly in going Ga-ga over goo-goo ?!?!?
I bet you didn't think of all this. :-)
Prograts!!
linuxclown on March 15, 2009 12:04 PMCongratulations! You will find you get more sleep if you get Mom to breastfeed, because then you aren't an implementation of the ICanFeedBaby interface. And you will soon discover a few new SOLID principles...
DoniG on March 15, 2009 12:44 PM#49457;#51648;#49692;#47168;#50772;#49845;#45768;#45796;.
icu on March 15, 2009 12:47 PMCongrats Jeff!
Zach on March 15, 2009 1:51 PMCongratulations to you!
jojosiao on March 16, 2009 2:18 AMCongratulations Jeff!
Jesper on March 16, 2009 3:18 AMCongratulations, Betsy and Jeff!
Prepare to have your sleep frequently interrupted :)
Lars Fosdal on March 16, 2009 3:23 AMCongratulations! I wish a good health for Henry.
Slava on March 16, 2009 3:25 AMCongratulations. I am sure, he would become like his father who is helping thousands of people by sharing his thoughts and knowledge.
Thanks
-abdul
Abdul Qabiz on March 16, 2009 4:27 AMCongratulations to you both!
Adam on March 16, 2009 5:00 AMCongratulations Atwood's
freggel on March 16, 2009 5:48 AMCongrats, Jeff.
KJW on March 16, 2009 6:06 AMWhat a miracle.
Red on March 16, 2009 7:27 AMCongratulations boy!
Jaims on March 16, 2009 9:39 AM
Congratulations, Jeff Atwood, from all your old gaming buddies in the Denver, CO area.
I'm sending along a signed copy of Carmageddon as a birthday gift.
Shawn Holmes on March 16, 2009 11:01 AMBig Congrads sir, from your old pal! Let the geekdome ensue!
Brian Fertig on March 16, 2009 11:09 AMCongrats!!!! I've been reading your blog for a while now, and this post definitely made it worth it.
It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my own child's birth.
Good luck with the little programmer! :D
Kris Simons on March 16, 2009 1:23 PMRemember, God's gift to parents...
Always remember that.
By the way, he is adorable!
Mac on March 17, 2009 2:18 AMcongrats.
i have my first son due on the 7th, so my little programmer's showing up soon, too.
sven on March 17, 2009 4:15 AMhey congrats! I'd've said something sooner, but I've been in hospital since the 14th getting my daughter :o
Congratulations Betsy Jeff.
Jeff Schwandt on March 17, 2009 7:12 AMRichard Stallman said he's gonna send you a GNU and Friends: Coloring Book a a gift.
lamcro on March 17, 2009 7:40 AMCongratulations and loads of luck
Hidayath on March 17, 2009 7:48 AMYour son is not your belonging. He may have his own opinions about his career.
Jeong on March 17, 2009 8:10 AMCongrats, Jeff!
My wife just spawned two processes(one boy one girl) concurrently (3 minutes' time slice) last November. Currently they're run in an environment powered by four heterogeneous processors. And CPU load remains high during night cuz they're premature babies.
Hope your blog writing won't be affected too much by implementing new interfaces!
Best wishes to little Henry.
Congratulations!
adiel on March 17, 2009 9:54 AMCongrats now go play with the n00b and get him up to speed.
George on March 17, 2009 10:21 AMCongratulations to you and your nice family!
Sajal Dutta on March 17, 2009 11:55 AMCongratulations !!!
Preeti Edul on March 17, 2009 1:12 PMCongratulations!!!!!!
And hope to Henry does not preffer ballet over programming =)
Rulas on March 17, 2009 1:34 PMCongrats!
Tobias op den Brouw on March 18, 2009 7:55 AMThat's the best tweet Henry will ever post. From there they will degrade to the level of all tweets: I'm hungry and so I ate. I'm sleepy so I'm going to sleep.
Brad on March 18, 2009 8:47 AMWell done Jeff!! Congrats...
Ralph on March 19, 2009 3:39 AMfirst time comment here, although somehow i've been a regular reader for some time..
first, congrats to you jeff :)
a little bit advice to prove your/his geekiness more. if your son is old enough to be able to hold a keyboard, perhaps you should try to give him his own keyboard :D, see how he'll respond.
i do it to my son, and even i have a picture of him, early in the morning, with his fingers dancing on the keyboard :). he was 11 months old, and i even living in a third world countries.
beware people of the us of a.. be very beware :))
siroj on March 20, 2009 4:29 AMCongrats.
Over the next few months... Be Zen
Adrian on March 20, 2009 5:55 AMWhoring for gratulatory comments, one diary entry at a time.
sdg on March 21, 2009 11:08 AMCongratulations !
Alex on March 23, 2009 2:37 AMawesome post !!! many congratulations to you and your wife !!! :)
piyush on March 25, 2009 8:39 AMCongratulations! And you MIX show was perfect!
Thanks for writing so many great blog posts.
- Bruce
Bruce on April 6, 2009 4:30 AMHey Now Jeff,
Congrats!
Coding Horror Fan,
Catto
Congratulations Jeff!
Usman Shaheen on April 7, 2009 12:14 PMCongrats!!
Health, piece for your new baby!!
Transportadora Pacto
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What a cute baby!!
Congratulations!
Dentista Ortodontista
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Great!!
Congratulations!
I wish you and all of your family health and success!
Mudanças e Transportadora
http://www.ralftransportes.com.br
It's a little known fact that America is the feminised version of Amerigo (all continents are feminised - a Latin tradition). Amerigo is the Itallian man who discovered the American continent (Amerigo Vespuchie). Amerigo is the masculine Itallian of Americ - from the the German Heinrich. In English Heinrich is known as Henry. So America is litterally Henry land. a href=http://www.zevklivideolar.com title=siki#351; izle target=_blanksiki#351; izle/a And now there's one more Henry in Henry land.
Just a word of warning though - there are some crazies out there. Be careful about how much information you give out on your family and location. There's nothing worse than a predator knowing where your child will be, what they look like, their name and their interests.
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Transportadora on April 27, 2009 8:24 AMMany many congratulations. Start a blog for him too so that i can subscribe to it already :D
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