I’m definitely somewhat OCD. Not sure that I’m really a “workaholic,” in the destructive sense, as I actually really enjoy doing this stuff, and frequently take breaks to do errands and chill out. I suspect a lot of folks would not find my lifestyle attractive, but it works for me.

I am a bit “on the spectrum,” which makes me an excellent architect and coder, but can cause issues with my interpersonal relationships.

A lot of what looks time-consuming in my code and writing, is actually the level of habit, and just “flows,” without my having to think about it. I write well, and quickly. It has been my experience, that I generally outpace my teammates (break time!).

I’ve been writing all my life, and I come from a fairly well-educated and literate family. My younger brother and I are the “redneck engineers.” Everyone else has Ivy-League sheepskins. My older brothers and sisters have all published books and papers, and whatnot.

As far as rewards go, I would have been happy to work with others. I spent most of my career, on teams. It has been my experience, though, that few people want to work with me, mainly because I'm "chronologically-challenged." Some folks have been quite blunt about it, while most have been fairly weasely.

Others actually don't want to write high-quality product. It's a deliberate decision to embrace mediocrity and "barely tolerable" quality. It may sound ridiculous, but they make money; sometimes, quite a bit. It's hard to argue with results. As long as consumers are willing to pay for poor quality, there will always be a plentiful supply of dross. It can be argued that my development methodology is not cost-effective. I won't lose any sleep over it. I'll do it for free.

Not a big deal. I really enjoy doing what I do, and I don't need anyone else's approval or support, if they aren't willing to give it. It sounds "arrogant" (and I have often been told that I'm "arrogant"), but it's actually just "confident." I don't think I'm God's Gift to Programming, but I know damn well that I am in the upper percentile. I'm aware of quite a few others that are better than me, and I look forward to continuing to learn, and be humbled by the challenges.

I've spent my entire life shipping software. I'm not exaggerating. Here is the first engineering project I ever did[0], [1] (Download PDFs). I architected it, designed the hardware and electronics, wrote the firmware OS, and the host drivers. My very first project was a top-to-bottom hardware/firmware/software design project. It was used in an ATE system for "DC-to-Light Super Bearcat Scanners," made by the company I worked for, back then (they would not be a big deal, these days). That company is long dead.

That same "on the spectrum" thing, means that I also work just fine, alone. I have to greatly reduce the scope of my work, but I can get quite a bit done, all on my lonesome. The project that I'm working on now, is an example. It's the kind of thing that usually is done by a team of engineers.

[0] https://littlegreenviper.com/TF30194/TF30194-Manual-1987.pdf

[1] https://littlegreenviper.com/TF30194/ATE-System-Driver-Manua...