SWE Blog

What did you do this past week?

I did the normal stuff: attending lectures, working on projects, tutoring my students, completing some homework, attending classes, cooking and other chores, talking to friends, and occasionally slacking off. I also registered for next semester and fretted about election results a lot. I’m now no longer fretting.

What’s in your way?

I think I’m mostly in the clear now. The majority of the difficult parts of the semester are over for me, although I do have quite a bit to catch up on in my virtualization class.

What will you do next week?

I will work on projects for another class that I’ve been putting off, work on another project due Wednesday, work on the project for this class, attend lectures, take an exam, empty my fridge, and hopefully hang out with some friends. There’s also a game dropping on Wednesday that I’m eager to play.

If you read it, what did you think of The Dependency Inversion Principle?

It helped define what good code design is like and a good way to approach it. Throughout reading the thing, I was constantly thinking about how the tools we’re using for our current project reflect that principle, with many small, independent, and flexible modules being incorporated into a larger project.

What was your experience of relational algebra in Python?

I have very little experience with relational algebra. I do have some experience with the concepts that use relational algebra, though, and because of that it’s been interesting and easy to keep pace with the class.

What made you happy this week?

A few things. Now that I’m back in Austin and independent, my productivity levels have shot up again. I’m also cooking for myself and I’m thankful my culinary skills haven’t gotten rusty. I hung out with some friends and even reacquainted with an old friend who decided to move to Austin for the time being. The election results give me hope. There are also 2 games that I’ve been eager to play for a while that are dropping in the next 2 weeks. I am very hyped.

What’s your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

It’s worth it to take the time to clean up your room/living space. Not only does cleaning provide a somewhat cathartic feeling, but it also offers a break from other, more mind-intensive work. Additionally, clean and organized spaces boost productivity, so if you’re ever feeling unmotivated, tired of using your brain, and your place is kinda dirty, just go ahead and take the time to clean it up.