Friday, September 13, 2024
Sometimes I get questions.
- Is that hair all yours? Yes, every raggedy strand.
- Why don't you do something with that hair? I keep my hair pinned up until I have to go out or depending on the visitor. It needs color and a good cut, however hairdressers never do what I want. My hair is very thin and a hairdresser tends to want to make it very straight. I prefer more of my natural body to cover how thin my hair is. Not bald thin. Just thin.
- Why are your legs so white in coloring? Though my skin color changes from very pale on some days to a bit darker on others, for some reason my legs always seem very light. A relative once told me I had poor blood circulation. I believe I have a rare blood type like my mother's- AB negative. Not sure if this is the problem.
- Why do you dress old? These days I am old. That said when I was 20 I wore the same style suits. Classics. Did you watch the Gilmore Girls? I have always preferred Emily's style to that of her daughter's or granddaughter's on that show.
- If you are a techie, why is your style more a TV lawyer or the old Charlies Angels wannabe look? I love style and spend time and money in this area. I also like makeup. I like being a girl. When I first started my career, there were not many girls doing the same thing. There were secretaries and support staff, however I was often at the Pentagon or NAVSEA and the support staff was not. Sometimes I had lunches, meetings, travel. That said since high school I have liked what a business suit could do for me. I interned in offices in high school.
- Did you really develop all of the applications found on WiredPages and other areas of your sites? Yes.
Just a few of the old suits in my closets. Yes, some need to go to the cleaners for a good pressing.
Why am I showing you these suits? Because I wanted to show my style is the same as it was 30 years ago. Should I brag that I wear a dated look? My old style suited me and is similar to the outfit I have on in the top right photo of the series. I have a lot of business suits. I have no plans to get rid of them. The problem? The sizes. I am now beginning to fit many of my old suits.
Why don't I look like a vlogger claiming to be a software developer? Software developer roles have changed over the years. In my day, someone with my role owned the software project. Requirements definition, all areas of development, debug, documentation, and customer interaction.
These days, software developers on Youtube own a bug and they have to fix it. Then go through many levels of review to make a change. They also do not wear suits.
I do all of my own work- from soup to nuts and continue to wear suits.
Software development has changed. I like understanding the whole project. I own the project.
I love working, coming up with new business ideas, developing software applications, reading, old movies, shopping for new outfits, and tennis.
Why am I telling you I am not really an agile software developer? Because I do more, which is not really wanted in software developers anymore. Businesses do not want programmers 'owning' the software project. They cannot afford to allow one or two programmers to own the project. I own my software consulting firm.
When I have a problem with a resource I have to work out the issues. For example, Google notified me earlier this year that the Representatives API resource I use for the "Who are my representatives?" application on the WiredPages Government page will retire in April 2025. I have been researching for a new resource, and thought I had a good option, however, today I found out I need to continue searching.
Today, most developers are not required to do this type of research nor engage with outside organizations. Well not the ones on Youtube, in any case. Okay, a little annoyed I thought my problem was resolved.