It's not about the boat or the cloud. Yes, they are self-imposed restrictions, but not the actual point the author is trying to make. The message I got from the text was that all these modern systems we use hurt the preservability of software. The text was about the author's journey in finding a solution for preserving their software for generations to come. A solution that if everything is lost, the runtime can be recreated easily so that the actual software can be run again.
This is something that I have been thinking about myself a lot and it was interesting to see that the thought-process has been similar with LISP, Oberon, Smalltalk, Forth etc.
It's like a carpenter creating his own tools before building a dining room table.
Being interrupted is a killer and that's why I absolutely hate open-plan offices, cubicle hells, or what ever those farms are called. But self-induced "interrupts" are a completely different story for me...
I used to fear my tendency to procrastinate. I looked at people that were able to just sit down and start typing. I tried to do the same, but it was torture to stare at a blank screen. Whatever method I tried to be productive, I always slipped to procrastination. Finally I realized that what I was doing, was simply letting my subconscious to do the work. When I understood that, everything got a lot easier. No more guilt.
So, when PG writes:
> Someone who has decided to write a novel, for example, will suddenly find that the house needs cleaning. People who fail to write novels don't do it by sitting in front of a blank page for days without writing anything. They do it by feeding the cat, going out to buy something they need for their apartment, meeting a friend for coffee, checking email. "I don't have time to work," they say. And they don't; they've made sure of that.
Personally, I am very much opposite of that. I do both writing and coding and with both activities I first do some research or other base work and the I let myself procrastinate guilt-free. I will clean up the house, empty the dishwasher, walk the dog. Go to the grocery store or solve some simple puzzles. Usually these are stuff that don't really require deep thinking or take up too much time. Then, when I get this "feeling" (inspiration?) - even in the middle of my procrastination - I will sit down and type out the work. Then, rinse and repeat. And somehow I always seem to hit the deadline. Although, I have to admit, I have never tried to write a full novel.
Thankfully this was posted again, because I haven't seen this document before. And I'm saddened if Dan Ingalls doesn't attract more attention.
Dan Ingalls seems to be this unsung hero that does not get mentioned often enough in my opinion. Admittedly, when I first learned about him from FLOSS Weekly podcast[0], I've been a bit of a fanboy. Since then I have read and listened his interviews and lectures that I have been able to find. He seems to be a very modest man with a lot of interesting anecdotes.
The whole era when Smalltalk was invented is fascinating. I'm currently reading through the book "The Dream Machine" just to learn more about the Xerox PARC, Alan Kay, Dan Ingalls and his involvement in Smalltalk and related innovations.