Herding Cats

Yup, it’s true.  I put a 4 inch nail through my left thumb with the ole’ DuoFast pneumatic framing gun.

Here’s a pic.  Don’t worry, it’s not too graphic:

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to build my own house. Not sure why.

I’d go through the whole process in my mind.  From the foundation to the roof, step-by-step, building an imaginary house.  Fell asleep many a times with those visions in my head.

My main problem in realizing this dream was money. A bank won’t even consider giving you a mortgage unless you own the land or you’re a licensed builder.

Well, I didn’t own any land and I wasn’t a builder.  

But after a lot of searching, I managed to find a company in California that was willing to lend money to do-it-yourself home builders. Yeah, they charged a big chunk of money for the service, but this was really the only way.

It wouldn’t be easy. I had worked a few construction jobs before I joined the military and again throughout college so I had some experience. But this was different. This was a big project.

It turned out to be a long, tough year. Yup, per the terms of the mortgage, it had to be complete in 1 year!

For the most part, it went pretty well. Still, with a big project like a house, there’s so much detail.

And what I learned was that it’s very difficult to get something exactly right the first time you do it.  

There is a list of things I wish I had done differently. But, unfortunately, when it comes to house-building, it’s not too easy to go back and make fundamental changes.

So why am I writing about this? Well, aside from getting a chance to show off a really cool picture of a nail through my thumb, I’ve found this to be true in a lot of different areas.

It’s hard to get something right the first time.

As a matter of fact, this is especially true with software programming. Software is usually complex, with a lot of details. It’s very difficult to get all those details right the first time.

But the big difference is that it is easy to go back and change software. You don’t have to jack-hammer a foundation.  Just re-write and re-compile.

And when it comes to building an EA, you should expect the same thing. It won’t be right the first time.

I think this fact is actually the best argument for either:

(1) learning MQL, or

(2) using a tool like VTS.

It’s just so much easier to be able to tweak and tune your EA yourself – without having to work with a programmer (like me!).

You know what they say: “Managing programmers is like herding cats”.

Whatever path you choose for your EA development, don’t worry, I doubt you’ll put a nail through your thumb!

NOTE:  I took that picture with one of those disposable cameras while I was driving myself to the emergency room.  I was back to work about 1 hour later.  I’m kinda proud of that!  The truth is I got extremely lucky and did not hit any bone.

Truly, it was merely a flesh wound.