Lots of other people had their opinions on it (“you’re doing it wrong and everyone wants it this way,” “you must have this feature” which barely anyone actually uses… the power users), but I held fast with my opinion (did usability testing to prove the it was easier to achieve the goals to back up my opinion) and I’m glad I did. It changed an industry for the better.

Excellent usability and functional design that achieves a goal better and easier will win people over.

I also built it with an API so that people can build their own versions of it with the same data, because others also have strong opinions, and I whole heartedly respect that. Some interesting things have come from it that are more targeted for specific users and situations. Pretty cool to see what others make.

While I don’t know how opinionated the guys that created Dark Sky were with it, I would guess that it’s a good example. It was different from all the other apps in their category in the way it surfaced information. Their new app is good (not quite as great as the original), but they’ve really spent a lot of time making a really usable and functional system.

Edit: About that same time in my life, I also realized that I no longer just wanted functional, I wanted both functional and form. I wanted well designed functional stuff. Turns out that people like that too.

It's buried at the bottom. Had to click on the "sponsoring" link, and then select the package.

Feels like they should make the repository more prominent.

I wouldn't say that I miss those days, but there's some good nostalgia there having done some things that feel pretty similar (early 2000s). Not quite to that extreme though.

Will millions of users, high availability is critical for this functionality.

someone wrote it, someone performed it, someone mixed it, someone approved it, someone developed marketing for it, someone helped get it on shelves, and then someone played it.

There were plenty of points along the way where the disaster could have been averted.

They're going to get blasted with cellular data charges when they fire up their computer in the field.

The last business I started, I was coding at full steam building features that I could make work now although not optimal, so I would add comments reflecting that.

Over the > 15 years the product’s been on the market, there have been several times I’ve come back across those comments when we outgrew the quick solution several years later.

My son competes on the national and international level in two different sports, so we do a lot of traveling. The bonding is very important, just as it is knowing when to get out of the way and let them shine.

In one sport, I drop him off and pick him up for practice (he gets distracted/flustered when someone is there watching him practice). In the other, I practice with him and am trying to stay better than him as long as I can.

There are a few other things I think are important...

If they don't want to do something, don't push them to. My son decided not to compete in a national ranking event in a couple of months because his competitions are on Thursday and Saturday and he would miss three days of school when factoring in travel.

Try to anticipate their eventual needs and make sure the right tools/equipment/etc. are available for them before they realize they needed it. Also, have backup equipment just in case something breaks or fails.

Make sure that they understand the 'why' behind all the things that both they have done, and what you have done, to enable them to get to that level.

Finally, from a young age, teach them to "always do your best, and always do better next time." The first national competition he went to, he literally finished dead last out of over 250. When we were in the airport heading home, I let him know that it's alright if he doesn't want to do more of them. He didn't back down in the slightest, and asked me when the next one was because he knew he could do better. Next month will be the second time he competes in the Junior Olympics for that sport.

West coast food (particularly oysters) seems to be a little bit more salty/briny.

My son and I travel all over the US for various competitions, and there are certain regions where he refuses to get OJ because of the flavor differences.

I don't like the lack of buttons/knobs for things like heat (they can be configured based on the weather though), but most of his complaints are just trash.

The S58 engine is spectacular, the handling on the 2024 M4 is amazing.

My only real complaint is when the CarPlay integration comes up as "Unknown Song, Unknown Artist" and I have to change the media source to get control of it from the steering wheel buttons.

Add in something like Flock license plate reading and you now know which vehicle it was.

I then picked up a sizable rock, and told him I could get into the house faster than he could. He didn't understand for a few moments, but the lesson was learned.

Hard disagreement on that one.

He wrote an epic story known as A Song of Ice and Fire (started in '96) that ended up getting out of hand and tied up with too many Goordian knots to complete. Sadly, we'll probably never get a conclusion to it.

Along the line, a producer came along who thought they could make money with it. First few seasons weren't terrible, but were too short to capture it all. The rest were completely rushed and unable to take on all that was going on. They went off the rails after a few seasons.

I will agree that he doesn't owe anyone anything though. My philosophy is that I create for me, if others also enjoy that, excellent.

Edit: I'm still a little bitter after going to a trivia night and losing a question because I gave the canon answer that was different from the show

The thing that changed it was smartphones (~7 years later). Suddenly, the internet was available everywhere and not just a thing for nerds.

Not sure that AI is quite there yet, currently trying to identify what will be the catalyst that makes it seamless.

Still don't have a contact there. Would have thought I would at least get someone there to talk with if issues come up.

It's mostly a thought process...

I have or need something (entity), lets get data about it (repository/extensions), we need to do something with this now (only extensions).

Lots of "static" and "this" involved, but the separation and eventual simplicity makes it worth the effort.

Edit: I tried going through some of them to anonymize some for examples, but it felt like treading in dangerous territory.