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So I was cleaning my coffee grinder this morning and dropped the little feeder thingie, which proceeded to chip off a number of important bits. After a brief panic, I managed to super-glue it back together, but it reminded me of the perhaps oft casually considered but seldom spoken debt that the software industry owes to South/Central America.
Could it actually even be over-estimated? I'm not sure it could. How many lines of code a year are written under the influence of coffee? What's one of the few, or possible even the only, consistently free amenity that software companies offer their employees?
Of course coffee isn't the only stimulative product from Central America, and others may have often contributed. But coffee is far and away the fuel that powers the software industry. You'd think that the big companies would have long since made moves to consolidate their control over this important resource, sort of the way the US moved to control pitchblende deposits in the early 40s once it became apparent what sort of energies here hiding in there.
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Dean Roddey wrote: But coffee is far and away the fuel that powers the software industry
I probably agree with you; however, in 20 years of doing development work, I've never worked with another developer that drank coffee, including myself.
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Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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ZurdoDev wrote: n 20 years of doing development work, I've never worked with another developer that drank coffee, including myself.
That's very weird, with how many developers have you worked with? I actually never worked with another developer that did not drink off. I am always the weird'o that does not drink coffee.
And I have worked with MANY developers and never met a single one that is not fueled by coffee except me. I am however fueled by caffeine through either capsules or energy drinks, just because I don't like the taste of coffee.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Maybe he arrives after everyone has finished their coffee for the day.
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I think it's South America, Colombia to be specific, that supplies most of the coffee beans for the USA. I could be wrong though and I am not a coffee drinker either.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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I hadn't really thought about it, but a quick check seems to indicate that Brazil is the biggest, and surprisingly Vietnam is the second and Indonesia is fourth. Columbia and Mexico third and seventh.
Oh well, geography was never my strong point.
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I agree - those are surprises.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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While I don't dispute your thesis that Coffee, and caffeine in general, has had a huge impact on software development, Central America has little to do with it:
From Wikipedia: The genus Coffea is native to tropical Africa (specifically having its origin in Ethiopia and Sudan) and Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius, and Réunion in the Indian Ocean
Furthermore the top 5 Coffee producing nations are List of countries by coffee production - Wikipedia
Brazil 2.6 Million Metric Tons
Vietnam 1.7 " "
Columbia 0.8 " "
Indonesia 0.7 " "
Ethiopia 0.4 " "
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Yeh, someone already beat you to it.
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In particular Costa Rica, they're coffee is superb and I'm not sure I could function let alone code without it!
Got my site back up after my time in the woods!
JaxCoder.com
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I just checked and the coffee I've been drinking for a while now is from Guatemala and Brazil. It's single estate stuff, or claims to be, that for whatever reason happens to actually be available in stores here in the rural'ish South East. I'd have to make a bit of a drive to get better.
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"single estate"... is that the coffee equivalent of "single barrel"? I'd definitely prefer the latter (I don't drink coffee). 
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It would be like the wine world's single vineyard I guess. I.e. it's not just some big seller going around and grabbing beans/grapes from various places and blending it all together, losing the specific characteristics of a particular grape/bean.
Not that some coffee blends aren't good, but (in theory at least) single estate/vineyard stuff is more 'ground level' and gives the growers an alternate route to market than the bulk sellers. Of course maybe in reality it's meet the new boss, same as the old boss, I dunno.
Explorans limites defectum
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This meme I encountered says it all for me:
Quote: Coffee spelled backwards is eeffoc.
Just know that I don't give eeffoc until I've had my coffee.
Cheers,
Mike Fidler
"I intend to live forever - so far, so good." Steven Wright
"I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met." Also Steven Wright
"I'm addicted to placebos. I could quit, but it wouldn't matter." Steven Wright yet again.
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Dean Roddey wrote: How many lines of code a year are written under the influence of coffee?
In my case coffee serves the following two purposes:
(1) Brown stuff with cream and sweetener is a required part of my morning. There must be many cups of the stuff. My doctor has convinced me to reduce it to 33% caffeinated, but has no problems with the quantity (a pot-full a day).
(2) As long as (1) is met, I won't have my big debut on CNN in the afternoon and I let the rest of you live.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I thought that's why we had the Munroe Doctrine?
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Since more of my time is spent on writing text, not code, coffee is not helpful.
"Write drunk, edit sober" Hemingway.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Coffee and software development? Not by a long shot. Coffee is kids' stuff.
There's a reason Jolt Cola[^] is the namesake for a 26+ year excellence in software award
Jolt Awards - Deletionpedia.org[^]
modified 25-Feb-19 14:51pm.
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You kids and your hard drugs...
Explorans limites defectum
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LOL! I guess if one would want buggy, non-working code hallucinogens would be the way to go.
Regardless, there were a number of 100+ hour work weeks living off (c)old pizza and soda in my past. You might as well hooked us up an IV for the Jolt colas we were downing to get the project finished on time.
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Sufficient levels of sufficiently potent coffee can accomplish a lot. When I first went out on my own, for the first 5 years I worked 80 to 100 hours a week, without a single day off. That sounds fantastical but it's true. A 'day off' was only working 10 or 12 hours so that I could squeeze in a movie before going to bed. I was wound up like you wouldn't believe, and more than a bit snappish sometimes.
For the last year'ish or so I've started using a little one cup coffee press from fresh ground beans. I'm drinking less than I used to, but it's really good when you make it that way, and pretty punchy as well.
Explorans limites defectum
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I hear you. Been there, done that type of work too. It's a grind on one's mind and body!
But after just under 30 years of slinging code, I'm glad I'm able to put that kind of work behind. This fella now needs his sleep.
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I just went over thirty years myself, last year. But I've kept up the pace all that time, which says something about my social life obviously. Not quite at THAT pace, but I've kept up roughly a 2x rate ever since. My product (an automation system called CQC) is very deep and broad, and no matter how fast I run I'll never even see the finish line, much less get there.
I've started posting some articles about some of the technologies I've created as part of that project.
Explorans limites defectum
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I need to activate the Office 365 that came with the computer.
I can't create an account because the email address I guess I used at one point already exists.
"Forgot my password" link doesn't work because the same email address, which it says already exists, it now says it doesn't exist.
Why doesn't the "Activate" page have a link to "buy this piece of crap???"
And yeah, I need Office because I specifically need to create Office compatible Word templates.
[edit]
And then when I sign in after remembering what email address/password I actually used, Office 365 hangs. Just hangs - no response, nothing. Probably some screen hiding behind some other screen, but I can't even minimize the damn thing. I have to use task manager to kill it.
[/edit]
[edit2]
After TM-killing it and restarting it, now I get a splash screen that asks if I want a 30 day trial or to purchase it. 
[edit2]
[edit3]
And to start the 1 month free trial, I still need to give them a credit card! 
[/edit3]
Latest Article - Slack-Chatting with you rPi
Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
modified 20-Feb-19 11:32am.
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Marc Clifton wrote: asks if I want a 30 day trial or to purchase it.
Thank you. This and the trouble I already had here at work with Mickeysoft's 'How to extract mail addresses' scheme and product activation is truly enough to convince me to avoid all their products in the future. Tell the Kodak guys a nice greeting from me when you meet them.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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