I am not a fan of this kind of extreme maximalism; surely there has got to be a decent compromise? That's assuming, of course, that purely utilitarian pragmatism vs. lofty, academic architecture idealism is a valid dichotomy, and that there don't exist a variety of third ways and composite profiles. Of course, any useful generalisation that posits a continuum can be torn down, but I really think that in this case it needs doing.

There has got to be a better way than being a "duct tape programmer." It seems to me that one can practice good design, architectural grace, and hold true to a variety of other tendencies that seem theoretically and aesthetically appealing (the latter is very important; every good programmer I have ever met sees an artistic aspect to programming, even if it is not necessarily the central or principal one - it is a craft) without being the guy that never actually puts out any concrete deliverables.

I think this is just an angry, bitter overreaction - and a very understandable one that I fully endorse - to the dogmatism of many test-driven development acolytes and pig-headed "patterns" people.