War on Perfect

Posted by Nick Sieger Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT

I intended to give this brief as a lightning talk at RubyConf 2010, but unfortunately did not get a chance. Though I kept the message simple, I think if you sympathize with being a perfectionist you can find some part of these points that rings true. I know I still have a ways to go in heeding my own advice, and not only in software but in my life as a whole.

Thanks to Hiro Asari for the Japanese translations and Jeremy Hinegardner for the Rubygems.org numbers.

War on Perfect

I want to start a war.

宣戦布告

A war on Perfection!

完璧主義への宣戦布告!

Perfect.

完璧

I hate this word.

この言葉が大嫌いです。

I want to eliminate it from our vocabulary.

私達の語彙から抹消したいのです。

What is Perfect?

そもそも完璧とは何でしょう。

Ask 10 people, get 10 answers.

訊けば十人十色の答えが返ってくるでしょう。

Different answers means disagreement.

答えが違うという事は、いずれ食い違いが起こるという事に他なりません。

Perfection cannot accept compromise.

完璧主義には妥協の余地がありません。

Without compromise, we cannot get along, or get anything done.

妥協無しには、仲良くやって行ったり 何かを成し遂げる事は出来ないでしょう。

(Just look at politics in the USA.)

アメリカの政治を見れば解りますね。

Perfect is lonely if you can’t agree or share with anyone else.

他人と合意や共有が出来ないので 完璧主義とは孤独でもあります。

We are human. No one wants to be alone.

僕らは人間。孤独は厭です。

Perfect is contagious

完璧主義は伝染し易い。

If you’re not embarrassed when you ship your first version you waited too long.

「初めのリリースで恥ずかしくないのはリリースを遅らせ過ぎた証。」

-- Matt Mullenweg マット・マレンウェグ

How many Ruby gems have never seen 1.0?

Rubyのgemで1.0に到達しないものは幾つありますか。

Any guesses?

けんとうはつきますか。

17864 Rubygems 86837 versions バージョン

13496 gems without a version that does not start with “0”. 75 Percent!

75%

I challenge you all to release 1.0 on your first push to Rubygems next time.

この次にRubygemsにプッシュする時はバージョンを1.0にしましょう。

Perfect is impossible

完璧は不可能

If you seek it, you will never quite attain it.

求めても得る事は難しい。

You will worry it’s not perfect enough, and it will escape your grasp.

あなたが完璧か心配しているうちに完璧は逃げて行ってしまう。

Perfect keeps you too focused on one thing.

完璧主義は視野を狭くする。

Your mind will cripple you.

そして足枷になる。

You won’t be able to finish it.

プロジェクトを完成出来ずに

You’ll feel helpless because nothing is ever good enough.

よくやったと思えずに、絶望感に襲われる。

Perfect ruins your productivity.

完璧主義では生産性が損なわれる。

You’ll feel like your work is never done.

いつまで経っても仕事が終わらないように思えるから。

Perfect is harmful to your health.

完璧主義は健康に悪い。

We work too hard to achieve perfection.

完璧を求め、働き過ぎる。

We set our personal standards too high.

水準が高過ぎる。

And rarely reach them.

しかも滅多に到達する事もない。

So we worry about not being good enough.

だから、「これで充分」と思えずに心労する。

This makes us ANXIOUS.

それで不安になる。

Anxiety can give you stress,

不安はストレスに繋がり

make you sick,

病気に繋がることもある。

or even kill you.

最悪の場合死ぬことすらある。

We can’t be happy if we’re anxious or unhealthy.

不安だったり不健康では幸せにはなれない。

We can’t be happy if we accept no compromises.

妥協無しには幸せにはなれない。

We can’t be happy if we’re alone.

独りぼっちでは幸せにはなれない。

We can’t be happy if we strive for perfection.

完璧主義では幸せにはなれない。

Matz knows this. He is WISE!

Matzはこのことを知っています。聡明なまっつ。

Ruby is not perfect.

Rubyは完璧ではない。

(Matz knows this too!)

これもMatzは知っています。

Matz made Ruby so we could be happy.

まっつは私達の幸せのためRubyを作りました。

Perfection keeps us from:

完璧主義では

making compromises,

妥協は許されない。

getting things done,

何かを成し遂げる事は出来ない。

enjoying each other’s company,

他人と同じ時間を過ごす喜びを見いだせない。

being happy.

幸せになれない。

And that’s why I hate it.

私が完璧主義を嫌う理由です。

So you can either try to be:

選択肢は二つ

Perfect [and be]

完璧である換わりに

Lonely

独りぼっちで

Unproductive

非生産的で

Unhealthy

不健康であるか

or you can be HAPPY.

或いは、幸せであるか。

I’ll choose to be happy. I hope you do too.

私は後者を選びます。あなたはどうですか。

ありがとうございました!

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New Orleans live music this weekend during RubyConf

Posted by Nick Sieger Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:38:00 GMT

My boy Erik Jacobson from way back and also of Mama Digdown’s Brass Band is a New Orleans regular and knows the local scene well.

He graciously gave me the lowdown for this weekend. I’d like to make a few of these gigs; probably at least the Stooges at Hi Ho tonight, maybe Hot 8, Ellis and/or Cotton Mouth Kings tomorrow, and one of Shannon Powell or Wes Anderson on Saturday. Let me know if you’re interested by messaging me on Twitter.

Erik also mentioned that there might be a Second Line happening on Sunday afternoon that I might try to check out before I take off in the evening. Let me know too if you are up for that.

Ok, here’s Erik’s take:

Thursday

Shamarr Allen @ Irvin Mayfields Jazz Playhouse. 8:00pm.

He’s a fantastic young trumpet player and a friend of mine. This is the nice/upscale club that is in the hotel on Bourbon Street.

Kermit Ruffins @ Vaughn’s. 8:00pm.

You probably know, but Kermit is a trumpet player and is a quintessential New Orleans character. Vaughn’s is a great local dive bar that is in the Bywater neighborhood out by the Navy Yard. You’ll want to take a cab there. There is also free beans and rice at his shows.

Stooges Brass Band @ Hi Ho Lounge probably around 10:00pm.

I got a hold of Walter from the Stooges and he said they were playing tonight. They are a fantastic brass band and it’s a great local spot to catch them. Good friends of Mama Digdown’s.

Soul Rebels Brass Band @ Le Bon Temps Roulee @ 11:00pm

This is always a good hangout. There will be a ton of people there. The Soul Rebels are awesome and always play pretty late into the night.

If you felt like being adventurous, you could hit either Vaughn’s or the Playhouse from like 9-10, then take a cab to the Hi Ho for a set until around 11:30 and then finish with the Rebels. That is a lot of music, it’s just so hard to pick which ones to leave out.

Friday

Hot 8 Brass Band @ 12Bar. 7:00pm

HOT, HOT brass band. They are good friends who have been up north many times. This is a new club that is pretty close you your hotel.

Hot Club of New Orleans @ DBA. 6:00pm

This is a great Django style band. I went to college with the violin player Matt Rhoady. He also hails from Mpls and went to Henry High/ This club is over on Frenchman Street near Snug Harbor.

Kid Chocolate Brown @ Irvin Mayfields Jazz Playhouse. 8:00pm

Cool young trumpet player and singer. He also plays in Los Hombres Calientes from time to time.

Ellis Marsalis Quartet @ Snug Harbor 8:00pm

This is certainly worth going to and I am sure he’ll have a good band with him.

New Orleans Cotton Mouth Kings @ Spotted Cat. 10:00pm

This place is really close to Snug Harbor and would be fun to hit after Ellis. Great traditional band with young cats. Good people watching too. This is a cool scene here I think it’s free too!

Saturday

Soul Rebels @ DBA. 11:00pm

If you missed them on tonight, you can catch them here. This would be a good place to hear them.

Shannon Powell @ Irving Mayfields Jazz Playhouse. 8:00pm

He is so badass. You should really try to swing by if you can. He is the drummer that was on that Orchestra Hall gig I played this summer. Cool dude too. At 11:00pm there is also a brass band playing this club called the KinFolk Brass Band.

Wessell Andersen @ Snug Harbor. 8:00pm

I am sure you know him from Wynton records. He is amazing. It is a hard decision between him and Shannon Powell.

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