[JNRowe]

Love that description.

In many ways watching people describe and choose their spot in the "grab package" <-> "herd goats" spectrum is my favourite part of AoC each year¹. The squirming some people choose to do when justifying their place in a table of magic internet points is a lot of fun.

Edit: Should add I'm one of those squirmers too, often when I'm thinking about networkx/numpy/etc.

1. https://adventofcode.com/

[perl4ever]

I have found satisfaction at least for now in going in the other direction - what can I do with a locked down computer that has absolutely no software installation authorized and only has the standard software for any non-technical employee. In other words, everything that can't be done in that environment is now "herding goats" to me. Sometimes I am tempted to try to get developer-type privileges, but I've resisted so far.

[JNRowe]

Is there an endgame beyond empathy for "normal" users? I'm curious about whether you're doing this to learn more or perhaps with the intent on spotting opportunities to make things better or some other reason entirely.

I can personally see the discussion of how to work with a basic installation being worthwhile, as I know I'm guilty of "why don't you just $bunch_of_experience_option?". However, I don't think I'd want to try to do actual work without the tools I have and the tools I make.

[perl4ever]

For an auto metaphor, suppose you were really good at building race cars, and then you set out to make an entry for the 24 hours of LeMons.[1] Some people do that. I never have been a blank sheet of paper/greenfield sort of person and I always lose interest in computer games if I have unlimited resources.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Hours_of_LeMons