It's So Simple: Just Follow Each Other

You spend three weeks crafting your Python masterpiece, push it to GitHub, and within minutes some random dev comments "where's the executable?" These monkeys don't understand that Python IS interpreted. They're probably the same people who ask for the manager's phone number at a self-checkout. Next they'll want you to compile HTML too.

Blind as a bat when reviewing your own code, but suddenly equipped with NASA-grade telescope vision when it's someone else's mess. Nothing quite like the supernatural ability to spot every single anti-pattern, security vulnerability, and poorly named variable in code you didn't write, while your own masterpiece—complete with commented-out debug statements from 2019 and that one function named temp_fix_delete_later_v4 —somehow looks flawless. The real code review superpower isn't finding bugs, it's the selective blindness we develop for our own crimes against computing.

Ah, the sacred text of professional groveling. This is the comprehensive collection of phrases every developer keeps in a text file for when they realize they've been arguing about a bug for 45 minutes only to discover they forgot a semicolon. These aren't just apologies—they're survival tools. Copy-paste these into Slack after your senior dev points out you've been using the wrong API endpoint for three weeks and watch as your performance review magically improves from "concerning" to "shows potential." The best part? After 10 years in the industry, you'll develop the ability to sound genuinely contrite while simultaneously rolling your eyes so hard you can see your own brain.

This developer just casually created an "app skeleton" with 3,163 files changed and +637,124 lines of code in a SINGLE commit. That's not a skeleton—that's an entire digital cemetery! When most of us create a "skeleton app," we mean a few files and basic structure. This person apparently thinks "skeleton" means "fully formed creature with organs, skin, and probably its own consciousness." The PR is even marked "Ready to merge" with no reviews requested. Bold strategy—let's see if anyone survives the code review!

The eternal struggle of picking up where you left off! The proper way? Detailed commit messages. The realistic way? Random notes. The galaxy brain way? Frantically mashing Ctrl+Z until you recognize something, followed by the inevitable panic of realizing you went too far and desperately hitting Ctrl+Shift+Z to recover. Nothing says "professional software engineer" quite like time-traveling through your code history via undo/redo shortcuts while muttering obscenities under your breath.

The secret sauce of looking like you know what you're doing in tech isn't the code—it's the performance art. Turn a monitor vertical, squint thoughtfully at some blue-themed IDE while occasionally muttering "scope issue" or "need to commit these changes," and suddenly you're the office wizard. The best part? The more confused you actually are, the more convincingly profound you appear. Seven years as a lead developer and I still do this during standup when I haven't made any progress since yesterday.