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I used to love to program. It was something that I think I was really good at, in a certain realm, and it's cool to be able to apply a skill like that that's worthwhile.
Due to various reasons, I haven't had that much fun programming in a while. Part of it has been being busy, and working in a new environment, and having too many things to really be able to sink my teeth into any of them. Today, it was fun to program, in a way that it hasn't been in a couple of years. Why the resurgence? Maybe because I'm up against a deadline. But it's not just that, either. There's a fun in it that I haven't felt in a while.
In thinking about this, I thought I'd list my favorite quote from a programming book ever. This is the book that I taught myself how to program on out of round about 1985 on a TRS-80 Color Computer 2:
The quote:
Section IThe Basics
In this section you'll learn how to program. Before you start, though, put yourself in the right frame of mind...
Don't try to do everything the "correct" way. Don't try to understand everything. Above all, please don't take our word for anything!
Do have fun with your Color Computer. Try out your own ideas. Prove us wrong (if you can). Type anything and everything that comes to mind.
Ready? Turn the page and begin.
I work with new computer systems at work, and so this philosophy continues to serve me, because everything isn't known about how these machines behave, and it's often true that there are undocumented features, both pleasant and unpleasant, that needed to be understood and accounted for.