Rant Learning things all over again! - Orbiter-Forum

Andy44 · 07-09-2012, 03:24 AM

So for the heck of it I decided to fire up Anim8or this weekend for the first time in well over a year or two at least and try to get back into building meshes, maybe with an eye toward another add-on...good grief am I rusty! I had to open old tutorials to figure stuff out; I couldn't even remember simple stuff like how to change views at first!

I guess building add-ons is not quite like riding a bicycle after all.

Meanwhile at work I have to do some fixing of code that I myself wrote a few years ago, and even with lots of commenting I am having trouble figuring out why I wrote it the way I did.

I feel like I am losing my mojo here.

I guess when it comes to technical stuff I really shouldn't let it go for so long. This is the sort of thing I'm supposed to be feeding myself with! The worst is when I look at the stuff I studied in college and realize how much of a brain dump I've done since then. There once was a time when I actually understood linear system analysis and how to design microstrip circuits, and was building electronic projects any hacker should be proud of.

It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this?

**Enjo** · 07-09-2012, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy44

I guess when it comes to technical stuff I really shouldn't let it go for so long(...)
It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this?

I hear ya. When I try to show off to my wife by docking or landing in Orbiter, she tells me that it looks like I spend most of the time programming this sim, and not flying. So it's a normal thing, but I like it as it is in my case better

**Notebook** · 07-09-2012, 07:22 AM

Re stuff from college, never went, but did three years of the UK Open University distanve learning courses when my maths was going down the tube.
http://www.open-university.co.uk/?KW...Fc8KtAodnlub9w

Looking back at my notes and course-work, it looks like it was written by someone else! I was lucky, my then employer sponsored me.
Orbiter keeps the brain ticking over, and its motivating me to get back to a reasonable standard in maths, might sign up with the OU again, just checked and they still have my details, spooky.

N.

**Urwumpe** · 07-09-2012, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy44

Anyone else here relate to this?

Same here, but the good thing is, that my job now again demands skills from me, that had been in deep hibernation for years and had become a bit rusty over that time. Skills have to be trained.

I couldn't write another VESA-Graphics library over one weekend again, like I did in my teen years. But on the other hand, I could now write one project on the scale of such a library in two to three weeks and do it again and again and again, maintain it even years ago because I learned to appreciate methodic working and documentation. Maybe less exciting and creative, but far more productive.

I have not become rusty as whole, I just learned many new tricks. And my mojo was never lost, because it was always with me.

Also, while I had become worse in Anim8or, I had become much better in Inkscape.

When I look at the SSU sources from time to time, I feel equally lost sometimes... it isn't my project, never was it, but still, even what I had done only months ago is sometimes extremely confusing. Why?

Simply because I did not work as disciplined as I do at work in my free time. I should better be. Maybe a bit less funny, but the results should be much better.

(Sadly, I feel like sometimes I am the only one, who has such negative thoughts about missing source code documentation

)

N_Molson · 07-09-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this?

This is where the virtues of training pay.

07-09-2012, 03:24 AM	#1
Andy44 owner: Oil Creek Astronautix	Learning things all over again! So for the heck of it I decided to fire up Anim8or this weekend for the first time in well over a year or two at least and try to get back into building meshes, maybe with an eye toward another add-on...good grief am I rusty! I had to open old tutorials to figure stuff out; I couldn't even remember simple stuff like how to change views at first! I guess building add-ons is not quite like riding a bicycle after all. Meanwhile at work I have to do some fixing of code that I myself wrote a few years ago, and even with lots of commenting I am having trouble figuring out why I wrote it the way I did. I feel like I am losing my mojo here.I guess when it comes to technical stuff I really shouldn't let it go for so long. This is the sort of thing I'm supposed to be feeding myself with! The worst is when I look at the stuff I studied in college and realize how much of a brain dump I've done since then. There once was a time when I actually understood linear system analysis and how to design microstrip circuits, and was building electronic projects any hacker should be proud of. It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this?

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07-09-2012, 05:23 AM	#2
Enjo Black hole orbiter	Quote: Originally Posted by Andy44 I guess when it comes to technical stuff I really shouldn't let it go for so long(...) It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this? I hear ya. When I try to show off to my wife by docking or landing in Orbiter, she tells me that it looks like I spend most of the time programming this sim, and not flying. So it's a normal thing, but I like it as it is in my case better

07-09-2012, 07:22 AM	#3
Notebook Orbinaut	Re stuff from college, never went, but did three years of the UK Open University distanve learning courses when my maths was going down the tube. http://www.open-university.co.uk/?KW...Fc8KtAodnlub9w Looking back at my notes and course-work, it looks like it was written by someone else! I was lucky, my then employer sponsored me. Orbiter keeps the brain ticking over, and its motivating me to get back to a reasonable standard in maths, might sign up with the OU again, just checked and they still have my details, spooky. N.

07-09-2012, 07:36 AM	#4
Urwumpe Donator	Quote: Originally Posted by Andy44 Anyone else here relate to this? Same here, but the good thing is, that my job now again demands skills from me, that had been in deep hibernation for years and had become a bit rusty over that time. Skills have to be trained. I couldn't write another VESA-Graphics library over one weekend again, like I did in my teen years. But on the other hand, I could now write one project on the scale of such a library in two to three weeks and do it again and again and again, maintain it even years ago because I learned to appreciate methodic working and documentation. Maybe less exciting and creative, but far more productive. I have not become rusty as whole, I just learned many new tricks. And my mojo was never lost, because it was always with me. Also, while I had become worse in Anim8or, I had become much better in Inkscape. When I look at the SSU sources from time to time, I feel equally lost sometimes... it isn't my project, never was it, but still, even what I had done only months ago is sometimes extremely confusing. Why? Simply because I did not work as disciplined as I do at work in my free time. I should better be. Maybe a bit less funny, but the results should be much better. (Sadly, I feel like sometimes I am the only one, who has such negative thoughts about missing source code documentation )

07-09-2012, 08:12 AM	#5
N_Molson Addon Developer	Quote: It's a long hard road to get back in mental shape. Anyone else here relate to this? This is where the virtues of training pay.