We all know it. We all try to follow it. GeeksWithBlogs.net is a community with many lifelong geeks. Many of them programmers.
In the last year with constant research I feel that I have come futher than I have in the last five years. It goes to show that programming really is a way of life. Nowadays I live, breath eat and sleep it. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that you need to take breaks every once in awhile. It's good to be immersed in new ideas and methodologies, but you need to step away and take a couple of days off once in a blue moon. One of the best things I could have done for myself in the last 6 months is I try to read at least one article on the code project, every other day. I try to focus in what area I read articles. It's easy to waste your time in areas that you don't necessarily need to be researching about. For instance, I am not going to read an article about how to get something to work that is C++ specific, when I use C#.
The technology age is speeding up faster and faster every year. More people get online, more businesses integrate their procedures to computers, and more dollars are spent in computers every day. If you want to be a part of it, you need to be on the cutting edge.
What I've noticed recently that I think has helped me alot is to always be on the edge of the unknown. As soon as I understand something (maybe not fully, but at least working knowledge), I move onto something else I am unfamiliar with. I firmly believe that you always need to be in this "unknown" area. This forces me to learn more and understand more technologies. At the same time you need to really focus what area that is. There are so many technologies out there, that it is easy to start learning stuff that doesn't necessarily apply to you.
If you don't yet have an RSS reader then get one. The BEST information can be found in blogs. Especially experts blogs. I have been using Google Reader for quite awhile and love it. I am subscribed to a large number of blogs and also subscribe to the code project recent articles rss feed. This helps SO much in keeping on top of new information coming into the blogosphere.
Bottom line here is, If you are a good programmer, or even a decent programmer you will always strive to learn more. Not because you have to, but because you want to. If you are going to work from 9-5 and not doing any new learning after hours, you will be left behind choking on the dust. To give you an example:
I once worked with two guys at a telemarketing company that refused to learn any new technologies. So while I was researching multi-threaded applications and how to make their reporting applications more effecient, they were checking sports scores online and reading useless information. As a result, I was making more effecient programs that saved the company more money and helped them meet more of their goals. Within a couple of months the two other programmers were asking me questions. Mind you, they had been programming for 15+ years. I didn't understand how they had lasted as long as they had.
I am not trying to put anyone down here, I'm just sayinig that if you don't have a passion for programming, then perhaps you chose the wrong field of work. When I get home after work and after I relax for awhile, I am surfing programming forums, open source projects and blogs trying to consume more information. This part of technology, above all is moving faster than any other area. All of us need to stay on the very edge of programming technologies no matter how tiring =)
I just posted a new article on thecodeproject. You can find it here
I've been meaning to write it for awhile. It was hard for me to gather together all the information when I first started playing with CI. I was setting up another CI server at home and figured while I was walking through setting it up I might as well take notes and make it into an article.
I hope people find it useful. I wish I had an article that was that well detailed when I was first setting up Cruise Control.
Cheers!
Sean