I like the story, but I feel it's important to mention that the authors stated opinion on Karma is <i>terrifying</i>.<p>Karma is essentially the worst sort of belief, in that superficially it seems to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. This appeals to a lot of people because of its clear "carrot/stick" mentality and overall simplicity. This is the "Just-World" hypothesis.<p>In reality, this kind of thinking means that if you believe in Karma, you can ignore less-fortunates because clearly they screwed up their lives on their own. Conversely, you can get away with being a jerk to people, because they probably deserved it anyway. It is a self-reinforcing bias of the worst sort.
Remember kids, if you work hard, sacrifice, and have parents with a spare house in Tahoe they can lend you rent-free indefinitely, you too can make it as a programmer.
The bit about having to overcome feelings of guilt about disappointing your advisor in order to live the right life for you really resonated with me. Taking the long-term view to make the right short-term life choices is something that many of my unhappy colleagues still toiling on their doctorates would benefit from. We PhD dropouts have decades of experience meeting and exceeding the expectations of others by the time we reach graduate school, so it feels like a radical step to finally place our own needs and desires above the need for validation from others in our lives.
> If you’ve ever owned a dog, you know just how intelligent they actually are (especially larger breeds)<p>yes, some larger breeds rate higher on obedience scale, and we, humans, equate that to the intelligence in animals. There is another bias also is that large breeds are more frequently working breeds, thus a lot of specialized effort is invested into training them, and thus more of the obedience results achieved.
Quite a bit of discussion around the meaning of Karma in here.<p>As an Indian, I'd like to chip in with the actual meaning of "Karma" - the closest synonym in English is "fulfilling your purpose".<p>The Indian culture is heavy with assumptions that everyone has some purpose in life. The concept of karma urges you to act upon your purpose in life - intended or perceived. It never promises any rewards or punishments by itself. That is primarily taken care of by the rest of the philosophy in these books - unsurprisingly similar to all the other religions of the world.<p>By itself, karma has no positive or negative association. In fact, one of the holy texts dissociates your "karma" with the fruits reaped subsequent to it. "Continue fulfilling your purpose in life without expecting any rewards for your actions whatsoever." In other words:<p>Happiness = Reality - Expectations.<p>The lower the expectations and 'better' the reality, the greater your happiness. :)
I like this guy. Except for when he acted like cat owners couldn't make sacrifices too. I once had to cut a trip short because my cat missed me so much that he made himself sick.
I live in a village of 40 people in the mountains a large part of the year for my dogs. Programming from home. Living in a city and working in an office I thought was horrible for animals so we changed our lives 6 years ago radically to not go to 'the office' (office at home now) and live on a large (30000 m^2) plot of land where dogs can be outside without us worrying about cars.<p>I don't have the karma thing; I just moved because I thought dogs should be able to run around all day instead of sit in a small apartment (the apartment costing actually 4x as much as the villa + large plot of land making it really insane to me now that people actually choose and like living on 80m^2 vs 200m^2+30000m^2 for 4x as much money, but he, I loved it in the city; I'm not sure if that feeling grew or was always there). We would never move back to our previous life; there is no stress anymore and money is simply worth a lot more in the countryside.
The author's opinions on incurring credit card debt strikes me as naive with a hint of survivorship bias.<p><i>> As long as you use the money properly, and investing in yourself is the best possible way to use money, credit cards can give you a new life.</i><p>If by using the money properly he meant investing in his business, then, what would have happened if his business instead failed (as most do)?<p>Incurring high-interest debt like that isn't really advisable unless you have a solid plan B to deal with it in case things go awry (which they probably will).
Great story. However, this clearly was <i>not</i> a sacrifice.<p>It would be a sacrifice if he had made himself miserable for the sake of the dog.<p>We have a culture that glorifies sacrifice, and we need to stop doing that. Sacrifice is a barbaric, religious notion. Nobody truly gains by others' sacrifices.
Really sweet story. As a two-cat household (no doggies allowed in apartment unfortunately) I understand the desire to be home with them. I always tell people being with my kitties all day is a major plus for being a programmer. And didn't mind the ending line, cat people have their dog people jokes too so it's fun for all of us.
I've got tremendous respect for this man - honestly identifying what's important and then changing direction so fundamentally is very hard. It takes a lot of courage to do all of that, we need more loving people for sure.
I honestly don't know where I'd be without my dog. They really are amazing animals. It's been a rough few years and just knowing that every time I get up from the computer that he's ready to make me smile and go wherever I go, whenever I go... it's a perfect reminder of why I work as hard as I do.<p>Even though I do walk him multiple times each day, I feel bad for sitting at this machine working 70+ hours a week trying to build a business. It's taking longer than expected and it's gotten to where I can't tell if he's just getting old or possibly depressed from lack of stimulation, so I tell him (probably more so myself ;) that we're going to move on soon and have all kinds of fun. That's the main thing that keeps me going. I just hope that by the time I do get back on my feet, there's still time to give him the life he deserves.
<i>There are probably a lot of people out there who balk at the idea of personal sacrifice for a dog. It’s easy to spot these people, however. They are cat people.</i><p>I spent $1000 last month so one of my cats could get an abcessed tooth removed on Memorial day, out of about $2500 that I took in. You're not special.
So dogs don't deserve to be locked up all day inside, but kids, and people, do?<p>Humans are happy outdoors. Children need to be outside exploring, playing, figuring out the earth and nature, not sitting inside on iPads all day. Just because there are "good jobs" in tech doesn't mean it's OK to withdraw your child from nature in order to allow more time tinkering with computers.<p>Let kids get close with nature. Let them connect with animals and the earth. It will lead to calmer, more empathetic adults with less anxiety and more confidence and compassion.
As someone who lived in South Lake many years ago, I do get the Tallac reference. In the spring of 90 I hiked that mountain (started at 2am and reached the top at 9am)and snowboarded down the "cross". That day is one if my best memories. Thank you for the reminder=)<p><a href="http://www.summitpost.org/mount-tallac/150430" rel="nofollow">http://www.summitpost.org/mount-tallac/150430</a>
I really wish this trend of pressing left and right arrow keys to change articles/blog-posts would hurry up and die. Maybe I'm just stupidly clumsy, but so many times I'll try and scroll down on one of these pages and get thrown to some random story that doesn't interest me because I hit the wrong arrow key.
Perhaps the author knew he was on the wrong path subconsciously, but convinced himself it was okay if he was making the change for his dog? To turn his own words around, why would someone who lives a life of 75-80 years decide the course of their life-time for one that will only be around for 10?<p>P.S. I love my dog too but ...
It seems like he might have solved his problem twice. I have a friend who's a serious dog person, and having a significant other who gets home several hours before he does has helped his dog to be happy. Perhaps Lisa also has an easier schedule than dsowers would have if he continued being a chemist.
Just imagine if people were that dedicated to <i>each other</i>.<p>I've often noticed that we treasure the unconditional love and dedication that dogs have for their owners, yet the same behavior seen among people would be considered weak, co-dependent, etc. Why is there such a disconnect here?
Ping-pong tables, ha!!<p>Part of the reason I won't take a higher paying job in an office environment is the satisfaction I get working from home and having my dog(s) by my side. Being able to step out of the house for fresh air and take them on a walk is worth it's weight in gold.
Dogs focus their energies on pleasure and curiosity. Being around them can really change your point of view on things. I'm very glad to be able to work from home and spend that extra time with my 13 year old dog.
I'm in the same situation, getting sick of spending too much time away from home, but I am already a programmer who's made to commute 2.5hrs a day for a job I can do from home :(
A dog is a living creature, just like a child is. Sounds good enough to attempt to make it happy. I wouldn't worry about what others think. ;-)<p>(note: I don't have a dog.)
Clearly the author loved his dog more than his research advisor who supported the author through finance and other things.Glad for him though that it worked out.