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A comment on I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days. Today is day 115. Parent comment

Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by samstave on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @03:25PM (#6098467)
One of my first jobs out of highschool was as a cad drafter for an architecture firm. As the low kid on the totem-pole, I was given the tasks that were not liked by the architects: drawing detail sheets and reproducing blueprints. -- both tasks were highly repetative.

I took both as opportunities to find a meditative cadence to the work. I actually really enjoyed the rhythm of taking plots of large 30x42 inch drawings, marrying them with a blueprint sheet and sending it through the machine. The room was rather small - so you had to pickup a sheet, flip it over, rotate it, stack them, rotate the pair and feed it to the machine. It became a beautiful meditation in movement and was really enjoyable.

With details - I had to draw so many and build so many of the same sheets - I became exceedingly proficient and soon was an exceptionally fast cad drafter...

There is a lot one can learn through mass repetition especially if you do so with the right frame of mind - and not lament the task.

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Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by hkmurakami on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @06:37PM (#6099574)
I've definitely had that moment before through repetition, in a rather unlikely subject: manually doing Fourier Transform integrals.
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Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by samstave on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @11:45PM (#6100792)
Is this something you could teach me?
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Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by wensing on Thursday July 25, 2013 @01:31AM (#6101076)
Oh my goodness -- you too?!

I spent many a summer day matching blue paper against printed sheets and the occasional Mylar! I found the same zone you're talking about.

Except ... did you ever get a paper cut and then reach over the ammonia fumes coming out the back? :-P

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Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by walshemj on Thursday July 25, 2013 @11:21AM (#6102886)
Ah I remember the joys sharing the basement with our printing section though a dyline printers fumes did wonders for cutting through a heavy head cold.

Only down side is they kept flooding the basement having tide marks on you computer rooms walls is not ideal :-)

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Re:I'm learning to code by building 180 websites in 180 days... by gridspy on Thursday July 25, 2013 @10:53PM (#6106301)
I really liked your take on viewing a repetitive task as a way to improve and relax.

Another nice thing about a repetitive task is that it is perfectly predictable. You know exactly how long you should take because you've done it before and can expect very few surprises.

Much unlike any sort of difficult debugging or implementation which can be unpredictable, although enjoyable.

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