Some days, you know how good you are at your job...

I love it when that sort of thing happens.

We're in a bit of turmoil at work at the moment - one department is being closed completely, and because of it there's a good chance I'm going to lose my nice private office. It's good to read posts like Martin's to remind me of the good aspects of IT-type jobs.

(I had a few people ask me about it every couple months or so..)

I feel better today.

similar famous story about a programming help desk at a university that had a stuffed bear on the counter and a sign saying 'don't ask for help until you've explained your problem to the bear' - they found that having to think about how to describe your problem often helped you discover a solution. happens all the time here at work too, people will get halfway through explanations and then go 'ah, yes...'

nice...how do you stand up and say MEEEEEEEE when the bigwigs decide "i need to drive this"

my problem

I might end up redundant anyway cos the company seems a bit flaky, but hey Ive done my bit already and Im happy :)

As my job wasn't something I was initially skilled at or knew much about I have had to learn as I go along (for the past 4 years). My favourite moments are when spurts of knowledge come out of my mouth and without realising it I've just solved a users problem that probably not many other people in my dept could.

But Martin's right ... good days do happen sometimes, which makes it all seem worthwhile.

Even the machines are in awe of Dan's powers! ;-)

*Me, last week

Today he was stumped, after spending many more hours, and we went through it together. We were really struggling, and it was getting more and more hideously complex. We took a break mid-afternoon, and I closed my eyes and started rethinking. Within two minutes I had an approach I was convinced was the right one, and within half an hour I had the code to prove it. It's a thousand times simpler to understand and maintain, took no time at all to write, and is, for all the nasty and awkward test cases we've been given, perfect. I'm 100% positive that it will work for all cases - I think I could prove it mathematically, if there were any point in doing so. It's the kind of success I've had several times by stepping way back from how things are being done to think of what we need to achieve, and then seeing better ways. As satisfying a programming achievement as I've had in months, maybe years.

This is exactly the OPPOSITE of my actual real life mutant ability! OMG UNBREAKABLE