Coding matters: TCOY and remember TIMTOWTDI

TCOY - take care of yourself. Photo of a mug, a book and a pair of sunglasses on an outside surface.

TCOY: Acronym for "Take care of yourself".

TIMTOWTDI: Acronym for "There is more than one way to do it".

A little programming background

TIMTOWTDI is associated with the Perl programming language. Larry Wall, the creator of Perl, claims this as one of the slogans of Perl. It might explain why Perl is also nicknamed the Swiss Army chainsaw of scripting languages.

The Python programming language, on the other hand, claims the opposite. According to the Zen of Python, "There should be one — and preferably only one — obvious way to do it." (TSBO-APOO_OWTDI?). But the truth is that, even in Python, there is often more than one way to do something. (You might enjoy this short article on Perl vs Python and acronyms.)

TCOY and beat FOMO

It’s that time of year. Most of us are exhausted and ready for a break. I feel like an old cell phone: my battery runs down really fast and doesn’t hold a charge for long.

As I struggled with the fatigue of looking after elderly sick parents this year, my friends would tell me to take care of myself. It was easier said than done. Some suggestions were just not an option, like a weekend away.

But I have found small things that help. In the morning, I spend at least 30 minutes reading in bed with a mug (or two) of tea. It’s a simple pleasure that I always enjoy. Doing it during the week feels a little indulgent.

That might not appeal to you. But TIMTOWTDI is a good counter to FOMO ("fear of missing out"). When others plan exotic holidays and you can’t, remember that there is more than one way to enjoy yourself. Whether you prefer to read, play a computer game, spend time with friends, take a walk or bake a cake (I actually have a friend who chooses that), it’s all good.

2024 will be here soon, with its own goals and challenges. So it’s important to TCOY now. And remember, TIMTOWTDI.

Thank you for …

The challenges of 2022 continued in 2023. We had more load-shedding in 2023 than in the last 8 years. Every shopping trip seemed to end with a bigger bill and a smaller bag of groceries. But there are still things to be grateful for. And this is my turn to be grateful:

  • Thank you to those clients who treat us like partners. We love being part of your training journey.

  • Thank you to the “golden oldies”. You are the developers and managers whose history with us goes back years. Even if you only send a few people a year, you are very special to us.

  • Thank you to our new clients, who took the risk of trying a new training provider. We hope that you will become golden oldies too.

  • Thank you even if you have not yet booked any of our training. We are grateful for the chance to build a relationship with you.

Thank you for reading my emails. And an extra thank you for every time you reply. It may seem like a small thing to you, but it makes my day.

Our official (South African) festive greeting

We wish you a wonderful holiday season, and a fabulous 2024.

May you have water, electricity and – unless you are taking a tech break – a stable internet connection.

Our offices will close from 14 December 2023 to 8 January 2024. I’ll still check email daily. So please contact me if you need any information or dates – although my response may be delayed. And, as always, the course schedule and course outlines are on the website.

Kind regards

Jacqui The Incus Data Training Team

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