How to Be a Programmer: A Short, Comprehensive, and Personal Summary (2002) [pdf]
Okay, I’m going to be a little bit far out there. A lot of this seems to be grounded in the negative. “How to deal with x” how to “do y when z has failed”. Some of it technical and some of it interpersonal. Why have we created this sphere around programming? What makes /this/ profession so different from any other? And my believe is: nothing. It’s not hard. It’s not better. It won’t “eat the world”. Heck it probably didn’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme. It’s just sitting on your ass and either do as you’re told or come up with something better, like 90% of all work. Software is just like any other job, and chances are it is completely stupid like most other desk jobs out there. And if not, the same general skills apply.  Stop feeling like it is difficult or even special.