We use gcc/javac/etc almost daily and having some understanding of what your toolchain is likely to be very beneficial. Here are a few things I've done with my compiler knowledge:
1. Wrote a simulator of sorts for a 68xx CPU. User passed in assembly files and I simulated the execution and spat out cycle counts. The real-time application had a fixed time window it could not exceed. I did this in my first year out of college with compilers fresh on my mind.
2. Wrote an automated test tool for a proprietary protocol. The protocol had the usual opcodes but they could only be played in a certain order (cannot send B before C or can send B any number of times and have it be idempotent). The QA engineers were doing this by hand. I asked them if they could automated the test case generation and they looked at me as though I was an idiot. I developed a tool with its own simplified grammar that they could use to build test cases which exercised all combinations/permutations of the opcodes. Saved us a ton of time and made the developers more productive.
3. My hackiest project was an SGML parser that was used to generate hypertext documents. Tech writer wrote docs in FrameMaker. My hacky parser found the places where the TOC and the Index could be linked and inserted hypertext links. Net result is we had a document that could be printed and viewed online. Think 1993/1994.
I've sat with a number of engineers who thought the compiler was wrong and sat down and looked at the assembly with them and mapped it back to C only for them to realize the bug was in their code.
Compilers are fun. You should take a compiler course just for that!
I like to know how much incremental disk space I'm using so I have a series of scripts that tell me the files which have been deleted/added and outputs to get the sum (yes, I know there are better ways). The impetus for checking disk usage is a tale in IT stupidity which I don't talk about! But now I use the script for other purposes as well such as verifying that my mirror has the same deltas without doing a full compare. I hope I haven't disappointed you with my usage :-)
I really should rewrite this but it was written many years ago and grew into something more than I originally intended. Plus, it works.
I wrote a novel (action / psychological thriller). Second book is again a thriller but with time-travel, but it isn't sci-fi.
I haven't tried writing science fiction but enjoy reading the genre - currently reading Dust by Hugh Howey. Thus, I tend to stick to the current world as I understand it better.
Can you talk about your two books? Fiction, non-fiction? Genre. I'm always curious to know more about successful writers and what they did - even if I'm not wired to do the same.
I self-published one book and am working on a second. I have done zero marketing as I wrote the book primarily for myself. Those who have read it really enjoyed including people who are extremely blunt about their opinions.
I've now self-published one book and have started a second. I haven't made enough money to even pay for the cover art! But I'm doing this for myself and if it results in a back catalog that generates income, cool. If not, then also cool.
I self-published my first (and only so far) novel last year. It's an amazing feeling when you see your printed book. I still sometimes wonder to myself, "did I really do that?"
John, thanks for the detailed write-up. Much appreciated. Unfortunately, they are out of stock now. I have the tab pinned and will refresh it daily until it's available. Did you order the last 5? :-)
I have a Hakko 888 as well and while I like it, there's a bit of a set up as I'm limited on space. So when you said it's as good as your Hakko, you sold me on it.
Pinecil: Would you recommend this if the soldering job were more than just a few wires (e.g. circuit assembly)? I've had a couple of cordless soldering irons in the past and they were a bust - took too long to heat up, didn't hold their temp very well.
I published my book via Scrivener - both print and ebook. I'll admit it wasn't straightforward but once I "learned" it, I saved that away as a template for my next book. There's a fair bit of customization and not very obvious how it works. I relied on the forums for hints/tips and even then it took some trial/error attempts. I'd say in total, I spent a full weekend figuring it out. I wonder how much of that memory is now lost and will need to be relearned when I publish my second book (template and all).
Edit: I've reached out to the Monument team as well.