Your code used to be a masterpiece? Ours was more… Amazon basics wall art.

I jest, while in agreement with this whole comment. We used to care about fostering informed developers and maintaining high standards and good quality software.

I literally compared it to being an expert woodworker. Beautiful ornate decoration. Rich, sturdy mahogany, one of a kind, beveled edges and a fantastic stained hardwood.

Now it’s the 30$ Ikea cardboard stuff.

My biggest question is how many tables does the world need, and how many woodworkers will be required to build + maintain those table factories.

Certainly mostly what I did wasn't great but throughout 20+ years I think at some point I found a balance between "doing this shit because someone f'cking overpromised" and "I am doing this because I want a brain teezer". But it is not like I always do the same. I understood that there are times to do things in one way and times to do in another way.

I think with AI, most people are getting lazy to do it properly.

The other day, I deleted 65K LOC that were dead code or stupid explanations over very obvious code from a vibe coded repository which had 95K LOC (but should have 10k imo)

It's getting off topic, but I think a major reason for $30 cardboard tables is the strange modern idea that furniture isn't part of the house.

If you buy a house or rent an apartment in most of the US, any furniture will be stripped out, even if the only thing you plan to do with it afterwards is throw it away. Then the new tenant provides their own furniture, which they either moved from elsewhere at great expense or had to purchase on the spot. No part of this makes any sense. We don't strip countertops when selling a house even if they're unfashionable, we don't replace white goods, but somehow it's expected for the furniture.

If you buy a house in Hawaii, it's understood that you're buying the furniture that's already in the house. I assume the reason is that it's more difficult to obtain new furniture in Hawaii.

If you rent an apartment in China, it will come with furniture, because how else are you supposed to live in it? And if you're not happy with the furniture it's shown with, you negotiate with the landlord for the furniture you need.

If Americans sold their furniture when they moved instead of throwing it away, you'd see everyone using much higher-quality furniture. It would have come with their house. And providing it to houses that didn't have it yet would be an investment, just like the countertops.