Dependecies, Writing process, Time budgets

One of the things that courses and books on software development generally do not teach is how to pick and vet dependecies. So often, before even one line of actual programming is done, tons of code from packages of varying proveninence and quality are pulled in, and it usually doesn't stop there. Any of those packages could turn out to be the next left-pad happens to be that package that some person has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003. Presumably every software-producing organization has their process to deal with their software bill of materials, but the field as a whole seems to have just given up on formulating and formalizing principles...

I've also been thinking a bit about my writing process. The fixed cadance of weekly notes has a liberating aspect: when something doesn't make it in there, there is a place for it next week, or it might even not be important after all. But having a topic for an article in mind makes it easy to move the release further and further, in the worst case until I don't see a point in putting something out anymore. I'm asking myself, if artificial deadlines might be not evil after all? Maybe I should budget a certain amount of time for a given topic I'd like to write about upfront and then just put out what ever I have once that time budget is used up?

And since the timebudget for this week's notes has basically run out and it's quite humid and hot in the appartment, I'll seek a place with more shadow now...