6 ms·

Puppy (or, details on Joel Spolsky's retirement from blogging)

102 points by 100k 17y ago

hristov 17y ago
a. I totally agree on Twitter, and b. That is a nice puppy, Joe but you have to make sure you give him proper exercise. It is not nice to keep a dog like that cooped up in an apartment.
- spolsky 17y ago
  Don't worry, as soon as he gets his shots he's going to doggy day care.
  - imajes 17y ago
    Joel, if you need to use a 'day care' to facilitate looking after a dog, you shouldn't have gotten him in the first place. Sorry, but that's not how it works.
    - compay 17y ago
      Damn, Spolsky can't even get a puppy without people second-guessing him. Can't a guy catch a break?
    - houseabsolute 17y ago
      Because daycare will ruin the animal or in some way constitutes abuse? Those are the only reasons I can think of why it wouldn't "work" that way.
    - raganwald 17y ago
      My co-parent and I have a nanny to facilitate looking after our two kids. Pick the next sentence that appeals to you the most: a) Fuck you for making me feel like I am neglecting them. b) Thank you for making me think long and hard about the decisions in life that really matter.
    - philk 17y ago
      This sort of feedback is the very definition of bikeshedding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding I'm sure Joel can work out how to raise a husky and keep it happy and healthy without all of us giving our 2c
    - parfe 17y ago
      The comment originally started wtih "Honestly, fuck you." And had a few ranting paragraphs, but instead, here you go: I adopted a dog and i don't exercise him nearly enough. The other option? He'd be dead. Fucking dead at two months old because people like you think animals need the perfect life. http://fora.tv/2008/12/12/Mike_Rowe_on_Discovery_Realization_and_Lamb_Castration http://fora.tv/2008/12/12/Mike_Rowe_on_Discovery_Realization...
      - barrkel 17y ago
        That's a very interesting clip - editorializing to raise attention to it, in case other folks miss it.
      - philk 17y ago
        Pretty much every time there's a discussion of dogs on the internet there'll always be at least one guy who pipes up and tells you you're a monster because you haven't sold your house, moved to the country, bought a farm and spent all day carving statues of the dog out of marble. It's quite annoying given that there's a lot worse that can happen to a dog than being owned by an attentive and intelligent owner in less than ideal circumstances.
        gamble 17y ago
        I've been taking my dog to daycare since she was six months old. She gets far more attention and exercise throughout the day than anyone with a day job or kids to watch could provide. And - though I'm biased =) - I don't think you could find a better behaved or more pleasant dog. She's so eager to leave for daycare each morning, I think that at this point it would crush her not to go.
        philk 17y ago
        Great to hear that it's working out for your dog :)
  - bh23ha 17y ago
    I have to agree with the gp, a husky is not an average dog... unless doggy day care runs them about 50 to 100 miles a day.
    - philk 17y ago
      I think you may be overestimating just how much exercise your average husky requires. Yes, I'm aware that huskies in the Iditarod do that much running. But frankly, those dogs are athletes, burn ~11,000 calories per day [1] and would break very quickly if you expected them to do that indefinitely. [1] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race
bugs 17y ago
In regards to huskies there are a few important things: - they need a lot of exercise everyday (like a few hours) - they need training (not good couch potato dogs) - they need high and secure fencing (many will try to escape if left alone and to their own devices and they are master escape artists)
- machrider 17y ago
  Doesn't Joel live in NYC? A husky in an apartment is a terrible idea.
  - bugs 17y ago
    I don't really know all that much about Joel but huskies can behave pretty well indoors with supervision as long as those guidelines are met (exercise and training) but if the apartment is small the exercise is going to have to make up for it in time and amount. I have had huskies that could and would run for hours on end with no sign of slowing (as they should be able to) and currently have a husky akita mix that takes full reign of five acres.
  - spolsky 17y ago
    my apartment has a half mile elliptical snow track -- he does 20 laps a day with a team pulling a sled full of New York phone books
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
    - jerf 17y ago
      Joel, I just wanted to say that despite the fact the evidence suggests you are an intelligent person and I know nothing more about your position than the fact you have a puppy, I want to join the horde of people ensuring that we stick our nose in your business to remind you (since nobody else has) that dogs need to be fed rather a lot for optimum health (once every two days just doesn't cut it in my experience). They also require water, and unfortunately despite my best efforts most of the food and water just comes out again several hours later. No, despite what you think you can't seem to just reuse the stuff that comes out. I'm not certain if you were aware of these things so let me call you out in public as someone who doesn't. ... Jeez, people, lay off with the dog advice already. You don't know enough about the situation to advise meaningfully.
j_baker 17y ago
"We need to stop rewriting the same things again and again (fail fast! NDAs are worthless! Execution matters, not ideas! Use the right tools for the job!)." Couldn't agree more. I agree with these ideas 100%, but it's getting to the point where they're all beginning to feel cliched.
- 9oliYQjP 17y ago
  For the past year at least, it's become tiring for me to even read the headlines for these kinds of articles. I've become more and more cynical as people pump out yet another logical fallacy themed blog post whose headline is carefully crafted to prompt me to get just emotional enough to click on it. I read Hacker News out of habit now, but it's not nearly as enjoyable as it once was. Perhaps I'm just getting old, but I remember the intellectual stimulation of scouring the web for great blog posts around 2002-2004. You know, before people worried about ensuring the content was search-engine optimized, or if they'd be able to sustain the Slashdot (or I suppose Digg/Reddit) effect. There was something special there and people seem to have lost it as they rushed to implement Google Analytics and ensure that their readership kept growing.
  - parfe 17y ago
    There isn't enough stuff. you can consume a blogpost in about a minute, maybe two. during an hour lunch break you can probably finish 20-30 posts. I found that the internet really isn't that big. There's only so many ways to way NoSQL > Sql , or scaffolding is the second coming of Christ, or how to give your VC the perfect handjob. Even with a billion or two people available to you on the net, there just isn't all that much unique stuff. Ya, you've got 5 reasons your startup failed, but they always boil down to "My cofounder didn't work as hard/wasn't as smart as me/I should have listened to PG." The internet itself has basically revealed itself to be 1) A great way to buy books, 2) a replacement for your encyclopedia and 3) porn. The concept that the internet has "more" ideas is bunk. There are just more people.
  - Arrgh 17y ago
    2002? Ha! Try 1994! http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6sok3/either_ive_finally_actually_seen_the_whole/c04rgxo http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6sok3/either_ive_final...
imgabe 17y ago
I've been very skeptical of twitter from the beginning, but as time goes some people are emerging that have figured out how to take advantage of the medium. The first is shitmydadsays, who manages to fit a lot of context into 140 characters, the second is Michael Jordan (probably not the real Micheal Jordan) who's great at some bite-sized non-sequitor humor.
- spolsky 17y ago
  These people will make millions selling page-a-day calendars.
ApolloRising 17y ago
Please DO NOT overexercise a puppy. It is common for people to start exercising puppies way to much early on. They will happily keep themselves busy and tend to exercise quickly and then sleep quite a bit. Puppies need time to grow and their bones harden properly. That is why bigger breed dogs are put on a slower growth puppy formula. You want to avoid causing any hip issues that will be very tough on them later in life. Please do read some of the better authors on the subject and acceptable levels of exercise for the next 12 months.
- spolsky 17y ago
  don't worry... Jared has read everything on the internets.
  - ApolloRising 17y ago
    Look into http://www.thehonestkitchen.com http://www.thehonestkitchen.com my dog loves it and they use top notch ingredients. It is not that well known but quite good.
crosvenir 17y ago
I kinda feel like the guards here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5APFI6kH0#t=6m41s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5APFI6kH0#t=6m41s (spoiler: Truman Show)
bmalicoat 17y ago
The nice thing is there is a huge backlog of articles by Joel to refresh on or read for the first time. I frequently get lost in his cross-linked articles like so many people do with Wikipedia. I know you'll still be around, Joel, but thanks for what you've done this far.
- michaelneale 17y ago
  Yes I actually felt a bit sad as I read that "last blog post" - remembering back to when I first came across the essays. I also enjoy the podcast, I hope that continues on in some form. But I agree with and appreciate the need to do something different - good on you Joel - and thanks for everything. And don't let the VC's eat your soul (unless for a very good price - puppies can get expensive quickly).
SandB0x 17y ago
A big thanks for all you've written (if you're reading, Joel). You've really helped shape my thinking over the last few years.
hackernews 17y ago
I expect this to be the start of a water fall, the baby boomers of the blogosphere. Blogs are hard work and a successful one is a full-time job. I would be more worried if Joel continued to keep it up. (I'm not buying the dog excuse though) That said there should be a graveyard for old blowhards. An invite only site where we can send our stalwarts who can lend a post or two a year. Collectively there would be no pressure to post but we could keep their insight on life support.
samd 17y ago
It would be nice if he went back and updated some posts from 5-10 years ago, or maybe I'm just young and actually believe that things have changed in that time. :D
100k 17y ago
I would like to say thanks for the great essays over the years. I started reading back in college before joelonsoftware.com existed (even exchanged email with Joel back in 1999 or 2000 or something) and his writing turned me on to a lot of great ideas and books that I've learned a lot from. I wasn't sure what Joel's reason for giving up the blog would be, but I agree that not wanting to re-hash the conventional wisdom is a good reason. I look forward to seeing what's in store for the next 10 years. Hey! I think this my first front-page post on HN. So one more thing to thank Joel for.
alaithea 17y ago
When I saw the husky puppy, the first thing I thought of was Philip Greenspun and his Samoyeds. http://philip.greenspun.com/ http://philip.greenspun.com/ Funny coincidence that he mentioned him in the article, as one of his forerunners. Maybe it wasn't coincidence.
adsyoung 17y ago
Thanks for all those essays Joel. They gave me a flying head start into how software development should be done when I got started.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
eplanit 17y ago
I thought he retired. Why are we seeing more from him? Isn't the come-back tour supposed to happen after a longer hiatus?
jcsiracusa 17y ago
No more blogging, but damned if he'll give up responding to comments on Hacker News. (Cute dog.)

102 points by 100k 17y ago

a. I totally agree on Twitter, and b. That is a nice puppy, Joe but you have to make sure you give him proper exercise. It is not nice to keep a dog like that cooped up in an apartment.

spolsky 17y ago
Don't worry, as soon as he gets his shots he's going to doggy day care.
- imajes 17y ago
  Joel, if you need to use a 'day care' to facilitate looking after a dog, you shouldn't have gotten him in the first place. Sorry, but that's not how it works.
  - compay 17y ago
    Damn, Spolsky can't even get a puppy without people second-guessing him. Can't a guy catch a break?
  - houseabsolute 17y ago
    Because daycare will ruin the animal or in some way constitutes abuse? Those are the only reasons I can think of why it wouldn't "work" that way.
  - raganwald 17y ago
    My co-parent and I have a nanny to facilitate looking after our two kids. Pick the next sentence that appeals to you the most: a) Fuck you for making me feel like I am neglecting them. b) Thank you for making me think long and hard about the decisions in life that really matter.
  - philk 17y ago
    This sort of feedback is the very definition of bikeshedding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding I'm sure Joel can work out how to raise a husky and keep it happy and healthy without all of us giving our 2c
  - parfe 17y ago
    The comment originally started wtih "Honestly, fuck you." And had a few ranting paragraphs, but instead, here you go: I adopted a dog and i don't exercise him nearly enough. The other option? He'd be dead. Fucking dead at two months old because people like you think animals need the perfect life. http://fora.tv/2008/12/12/Mike_Rowe_on_Discovery_Realization_and_Lamb_Castration http://fora.tv/2008/12/12/Mike_Rowe_on_Discovery_Realization...
    - barrkel 17y ago
      That's a very interesting clip - editorializing to raise attention to it, in case other folks miss it.
    - philk 17y ago
      Pretty much every time there's a discussion of dogs on the internet there'll always be at least one guy who pipes up and tells you you're a monster because you haven't sold your house, moved to the country, bought a farm and spent all day carving statues of the dog out of marble. It's quite annoying given that there's a lot worse that can happen to a dog than being owned by an attentive and intelligent owner in less than ideal circumstances.
      - gamble 17y ago
        I've been taking my dog to daycare since she was six months old. She gets far more attention and exercise throughout the day than anyone with a day job or kids to watch could provide. And - though I'm biased =) - I don't think you could find a better behaved or more pleasant dog. She's so eager to leave for daycare each morning, I think that at this point it would crush her not to go.
        philk 17y ago
        Great to hear that it's working out for your dog :)
- bh23ha 17y ago
  I have to agree with the gp, a husky is not an average dog... unless doggy day care runs them about 50 to 100 miles a day.
  - philk 17y ago
    I think you may be overestimating just how much exercise your average husky requires. Yes, I'm aware that huskies in the Iditarod do that much running. But frankly, those dogs are athletes, burn ~11,000 calories per day [1] and would break very quickly if you expected them to do that indefinitely. [1] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

bugs 17y ago

In regards to huskies there are a few important things: - they need a lot of exercise everyday (like a few hours) - they need training (not good couch potato dogs) - they need high and secure fencing (many will try to escape if left alone and to their own devices and they are master escape artists)

machrider 17y ago
Doesn't Joel live in NYC? A husky in an apartment is a terrible idea.
- bugs 17y ago
  I don't really know all that much about Joel but huskies can behave pretty well indoors with supervision as long as those guidelines are met (exercise and training) but if the apartment is small the exercise is going to have to make up for it in time and amount. I have had huskies that could and would run for hours on end with no sign of slowing (as they should be able to) and currently have a husky akita mix that takes full reign of five acres.
- spolsky 17y ago
  my apartment has a half mile elliptical snow track -- he does 20 laps a day with a team pulling a sled full of New York phone books
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - jerf 17y ago
    Joel, I just wanted to say that despite the fact the evidence suggests you are an intelligent person and I know nothing more about your position than the fact you have a puppy, I want to join the horde of people ensuring that we stick our nose in your business to remind you (since nobody else has) that dogs need to be fed rather a lot for optimum health (once every two days just doesn't cut it in my experience). They also require water, and unfortunately despite my best efforts most of the food and water just comes out again several hours later. No, despite what you think you can't seem to just reuse the stuff that comes out. I'm not certain if you were aware of these things so let me call you out in public as someone who doesn't. ... Jeez, people, lay off with the dog advice already. You don't know enough about the situation to advise meaningfully.

j_baker 17y ago

"We need to stop rewriting the same things again and again (fail fast! NDAs are worthless! Execution matters, not ideas! Use the right tools for the job!)." Couldn't agree more. I agree with these ideas 100%, but it's getting to the point where they're all beginning to feel cliched.

9oliYQjP 17y ago
For the past year at least, it's become tiring for me to even read the headlines for these kinds of articles. I've become more and more cynical as people pump out yet another logical fallacy themed blog post whose headline is carefully crafted to prompt me to get just emotional enough to click on it. I read Hacker News out of habit now, but it's not nearly as enjoyable as it once was. Perhaps I'm just getting old, but I remember the intellectual stimulation of scouring the web for great blog posts around 2002-2004. You know, before people worried about ensuring the content was search-engine optimized, or if they'd be able to sustain the Slashdot (or I suppose Digg/Reddit) effect. There was something special there and people seem to have lost it as they rushed to implement Google Analytics and ensure that their readership kept growing.
- parfe 17y ago
  There isn't enough stuff. you can consume a blogpost in about a minute, maybe two. during an hour lunch break you can probably finish 20-30 posts. I found that the internet really isn't that big. There's only so many ways to way NoSQL > Sql , or scaffolding is the second coming of Christ, or how to give your VC the perfect handjob. Even with a billion or two people available to you on the net, there just isn't all that much unique stuff. Ya, you've got 5 reasons your startup failed, but they always boil down to "My cofounder didn't work as hard/wasn't as smart as me/I should have listened to PG." The internet itself has basically revealed itself to be 1) A great way to buy books, 2) a replacement for your encyclopedia and 3) porn. The concept that the internet has "more" ideas is bunk. There are just more people.
- Arrgh 17y ago
  2002? Ha! Try 1994! http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6sok3/either_ive_finally_actually_seen_the_whole/c04rgxo http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6sok3/either_ive_final...

imgabe 17y ago

I've been very skeptical of twitter from the beginning, but as time goes some people are emerging that have figured out how to take advantage of the medium. The first is shitmydadsays, who manages to fit a lot of context into 140 characters, the second is Michael Jordan (probably not the real Micheal Jordan) who's great at some bite-sized non-sequitor humor.

spolsky 17y ago
These people will make millions selling page-a-day calendars.

ApolloRising 17y ago

Please DO NOT overexercise a puppy. It is common for people to start exercising puppies way to much early on. They will happily keep themselves busy and tend to exercise quickly and then sleep quite a bit. Puppies need time to grow and their bones harden properly. That is why bigger breed dogs are put on a slower growth puppy formula. You want to avoid causing any hip issues that will be very tough on them later in life. Please do read some of the better authors on the subject and acceptable levels of exercise for the next 12 months.

spolsky 17y ago
don't worry... Jared has read everything on the internets.
- ApolloRising 17y ago
  Look into http://www.thehonestkitchen.com http://www.thehonestkitchen.com my dog loves it and they use top notch ingredients. It is not that well known but quite good.

crosvenir 17y ago

I kinda feel like the guards here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5APFI6kH0#t=6m41s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5APFI6kH0#t=6m41s (spoiler: Truman Show)

bmalicoat 17y ago

The nice thing is there is a huge backlog of articles by Joel to refresh on or read for the first time. I frequently get lost in his cross-linked articles like so many people do with Wikipedia. I know you'll still be around, Joel, but thanks for what you've done this far.

michaelneale 17y ago
Yes I actually felt a bit sad as I read that "last blog post" - remembering back to when I first came across the essays. I also enjoy the podcast, I hope that continues on in some form. But I agree with and appreciate the need to do something different - good on you Joel - and thanks for everything. And don't let the VC's eat your soul (unless for a very good price - puppies can get expensive quickly).

SandB0x 17y ago

A big thanks for all you've written (if you're reading, Joel). You've really helped shape my thinking over the last few years.

hackernews 17y ago

I expect this to be the start of a water fall, the baby boomers of the blogosphere. Blogs are hard work and a successful one is a full-time job. I would be more worried if Joel continued to keep it up. (I'm not buying the dog excuse though) That said there should be a graveyard for old blowhards. An invite only site where we can send our stalwarts who can lend a post or two a year. Collectively there would be no pressure to post but we could keep their insight on life support.

samd 17y ago

It would be nice if he went back and updated some posts from 5-10 years ago, or maybe I'm just young and actually believe that things have changed in that time. :D

100k 17y ago

I would like to say thanks for the great essays over the years. I started reading back in college before joelonsoftware.com existed (even exchanged email with Joel back in 1999 or 2000 or something) and his writing turned me on to a lot of great ideas and books that I've learned a lot from. I wasn't sure what Joel's reason for giving up the blog would be, but I agree that not wanting to re-hash the conventional wisdom is a good reason. I look forward to seeing what's in store for the next 10 years. Hey! I think this my first front-page post on HN. So one more thing to thank Joel for.

alaithea 17y ago

When I saw the husky puppy, the first thing I thought of was Philip Greenspun and his Samoyeds. http://philip.greenspun.com/ http://philip.greenspun.com/ Funny coincidence that he mentioned him in the article, as one of his forerunners. Maybe it wasn't coincidence.

adsyoung 17y ago

Thanks for all those essays Joel. They gave me a flying head start into how software development should be done when I got started.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

eplanit 17y ago

I thought he retired. Why are we seeing more from him? Isn't the come-back tour supposed to happen after a longer hiatus?

jcsiracusa 17y ago

No more blogging, but damned if he'll give up responding to comments on Hacker News. (Cute dog.)