
ALT You Can you give me some examples of technology products we wish we didn't have to use as engineers? ChatGPT Sure, let's talk about JIRA. It's like that necessary evil we all endure. It's got its utility, no doubt, but oh boy, the user experience can be a rollercoaster of frustration. The endless clicks, the labyrinth of menus, and don't even get me started on configuring it. It's like the ultimate love-hate relationship. We rely on it, but deep down, we all wish there was a more user-friendly, streamlined alternative.

ALT I also just donโt especially want to stop thinking about code. I donโt want to stop writing sentences in my own voice. I get a lot of joy from craft. Itโs not a universal attitude toward work โ from what I can tell, Gen Z is much more anti-work and ready to automate away their jobs โ but Iโve always been thankful that programming is a craft that pays a good living wage. Iโd be a luthier, photographer, or, who knows, if those jobs were as viable and available. But programming lets you write and think all day. Writing, both code and prose, for me, is both an end product and an end in itself. I donโt want to automate away the things that give me joy. And that is something that Iโm more and more aware of as I get older โ sources of joy. Itโs good to diversify them, to keep track of them, because itโs way too easy to run out. Or to end up with just one, and then lose it.

























