I'm sure there's something in there worth reading, but by God, please have enough pride in the value of what you write to add paragraph breaks and craft your writings in a way that make them worth reading.

.NET doesn't even use a VM. 🤣

... Which was? Links are always appreciated 😉

There's your problem. Without *all* of the updates installed, VS 2015 doesn't have very good nuget support. 2017+ should be good out of the box, but latest updates are always recommended.

Pick up a Nespresso Pixie machine if you like espresso (~$100 - $150). Some of the coffees are truly amazing. If you prefer coffee, get yourself a Kureg and find pods you like (even cheaper). I had my own Nespresso machine at the office for years.

Apologies. That's not an API that I was familiar with. I'm shocked that a TryGet isn't provided!

If you are concerned about finding the maximal intersection of readability, performance and reliability, it is advised to ALWAYS use the `bool TryGet( key, out value )` pattern and avoid `bool Contains( key )` like the plague. Moreover, after a TryGet returns false, do not use the Add method since it checks AGAIN for the existence of the item. Instead, use the set indexer to assign the value to the key's index. `if (!items.TryGet( key, out T value )) { value = GetNewValueLogic( key ); items[key] = value }` Extremely readable, and it provides the best possible performance in all cases.

I know how you feel. That's my experience as well. However, as many on this thread have said, there are MANY dimensions of intelligence. And as you find new dimensions that are initially exciting and full of wonder, they too fade into drudgery of work once you begin to master them and tackle the deeper issues. It really is hard work in every dimension once you get past the initial fun hump. If you are bored, you either aren't challenged, or you don't like challenges and just want the fun. If you're aren't challenged, you can find another job. There are tons of great employers doing exciting work. You can start your own company. You could read more about things you don't know. You could join or start a side project (or six). Lots of options. If you don't like challenges and just like to complain, then you're not as intelligent as you think - intelligent people solve problems. If you are great at coding, how are you at business? How well are you paid compared to your peers? I went into independent consulting over 10 years ago because I couldn't​ find any employers that could match the marketplace. When I'm working with a client's employees, it is not untypical for me to be making more than double what their best paid people make. I work lots of hours and get paid for them. So that's part of the equation. I've been on a pattern of taking two years out of every six to try and start my own businesses. I can the money I save from consulting and use it to fund my entrepreneurial persuits. I'm on the tail end of one of those cycles. I've spent the last two years building some pretty cool tech that I will be releasing this summer. I'm not sure if I will make my money back precisely (especially considering the opportunity cost of not working for two years), but it is worth it to me. If the risk pays off, it could pay off huge. If not, I always learn so much during those self driven cycles. My last venture didn't work out, but I shoot for the moon. This time I bit off something I could chew. It still ended up being a crazy amount of work though. And yet I think I'll have e something that I can grow and build upon (unlike the last venture which I had to fold). Find a pattern that works for you. Don't let your environment or apathy be the reason you don't succeed in your goals.