
Cottage Computer Programming (1984) - phenylene
http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/cottage_computer_programming.php
======
kjjw
"Overall, I believe the computer age favors the individual and that resistance
to the individual work style is the last gasp of the dying industrial age.
Many software companies put their faith in committees because they believe
this is the way things have always been done. In fact, most unique modern
achievements have been the product of individuals or very small groups,
including relativity theory, the airplane, the laser and the computer itself.
Until now, individual achievement has been exceptional in a mass society, even
though the exceptions often transform that society. The deliberate cultivation
of individual creativity may end up being the most important social result of
computer technology. Either that, or cottage programmers like myself will
simply have more time to cultivate our gardens. "

This is a view I hold but very rarely hear expressed in my day to day working
environment where committees of people from various organisations work
together to agree or disagree on plans that are always proposed by one, or
very few, individuals. The majority, even in a committee environment, are
superfluous from the perspective of productivity, though not from the
perspective of governance.

~~~
joesmo
I think almost any creative task, programming included, is best done by an
individual. Writing, art, and even music are very individualistic disciplines.
When others are involved, there is usually a leader or someone who the small
group revolves around. Large groups are unable to attain a creative vision and
generally resort to compromise and group-think. While these things are useful
in other situations, they kill creativity. In my experience programming both
solo and in various sized teams, the best outcome usually came from individual
effort, even when that effort was split up amongst two or three individuals.
Being able to split up tasks in such a way that the individual pieces allow
for creativity by the individual is key to getting excellent results.

~~~
kjjw
Yes creativity as an individual pursuit, and the acknowledgement (in my mind,)
of nearly every human pursuit as being a creative endeavour, is not a vision
of loneliness, of people performing in isolation not caring for anything else.

These people can work together through their individual pursuits. But how to
accomplish that successfully?

------
jim_lawless
It looks like Paul is still working on his own ( via
[http://www.arachnoid.com/administration/index.html](http://www.arachnoid.com/administration/index.html)
)

"In 1988 Lutus cast off his lines and began what was to become a four-year
solo circumnavigation of the world in a small sailboat. More recently, Lutus
has divided his time between writing articles on diverse topics and exploring
the wilder regions of Alaska to photograph grizzly bears."

~~~
frankzinger
He's also a pretty active HN user:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=lutusp](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=lutusp)

------
gioele
Joey Hess (of git-annex fame, and HN user) lives in quite similar setting.

To have an idea of this home habits, have a look at the notes written for
caretakers of his home while he is away:
[https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/notes_for_a_caretaker/](https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/notes_for_a_caretaker/)

~~~
chadgeidel
Can someone explain or link to the "fridge" that he has that appears to be
some sort of heat-powered device? (light/chimney/warm to touch) I've never
heard of such a thing.

~~~
bsdshepherd
> heat-powered device?

Propane gas appliances such as refrigerators and freezers are common 'off the
grid'.

As one would 'fork' off a code base (e.g. before systemd), the same can be
done with farm / self sufficient technology. Check out _Farm Tools_, by
Michael Partridge.

Everything I did when I moved to a rural area was wrong because I was using a
late 20th century mindset. The late 1800's had tremendously better ways of
doing things.

Try thinking of the Amish as late adopters, instead of being backward. Some of
the things they do, such as converting electrical tools to use compressed air,
will give some great insights.

------
matthewcanty
"A mistress of perfect consistency, the computer rejects all but the flawless,
offering no explanation. When the acceptable is finally offered, the machine's
acceptance is total, unwavering and eternal."

Wonderful.

------
ccallebs
My wife and I are a year or two away from a cottage endeavor. I'm not sure why
I'm wired the way that I am, but hermitage has a romantic appeal. Distractions
and potential interruptions make me anxious. My disconnect with nature and the
food that I eat does as well.

It's an odd juxtaposition -- I love technology. I just dislike what comes with
it.

~~~
bsdshepherd
It would be beneficial to sit for an afternoon or two with someone who's done
it and is willing to talk about it.

Most of the recent technology is pretty weak compared to 100 years ago. This
is what my cordless drill looks like: imgur.com/ZWCcuyr.jpg.

As I mentioned elsewhere here, I did _everything_ wrong when I moved rural.
Much of ESR's Art of Unix Programming is a blueprint for self sufficient
living if you squint a bit.

Begin collecting pre-WWII farm tools ASAP. Sell most everything you currently
own before you move - it's worse than useless.

Understand something - at some point you will become angry about how you used
to live. It's okay. At some point you won't be able to visit a city without
feeling a deep pity for the people living there. That's okay too. You may
reach the point where you know you can't return to city living, because the
people are crazy. They will feel the same way about you by that time. By then,
there's no going back. You will have learned the difference between
civilization and domestication.

Good luck.

------
malvosenior
I'd love to live like this and have an SO that would as well. The problem for
us is: food. We've come to be accustomed to a wide variety of multi-cultural
cuisines.

We both work remotely and can live where we want. We've recently experimented
in living in more "out there" places, but in the end we're moving back to
civilization because we want our Japanese/Mexican/Indian/Vietnamese...

Not sure what the answer is for this problem. We can both cook but even
sourcing the ingredients for a lot of non-American food is nearly impossible
in even a second tier city.

~~~
ccallebs
Amazon is a big help for my wife and I. We get our staples at the groceries
around here, but we get our more "out there" ingredients from the web. For the
fresh ingredients you may be out of luck, but you might be able to grow your
own.

~~~
malvosenior
Cool, I'll have to check it out. One thing we've struggled with is fresh
seafood. I think that's going to be tricky to find although I would definitely
order from some overnight rush delivery if there was such a thing.

------
jason_slack
I couldn't pinpoint exactly how I recognized Lutus before and then I
remembered:

[http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/index.php](http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/index.php)

This was the first app I used when I was about 18 learning HTML...and my first
real understanding of free software with his "Care Ware" philosophy:

[http://www.arachnoid.com/careware/index.html](http://www.arachnoid.com/careware/index.html)

------
jason_slack
Interesting, my wife and I are leaving silicon valley and moving to a house on
a lake in a remote area of another state....We really feel like the goals we
have are accomplished easier with a more remote lifestyle..

