+1 on being the most interesting conference I went to in 2009. The experience is more akin to http://www.burningman.com than to http://www.microsoft.com/events/techednorthamerica

Your post reminds me a lot of how my eagerness to proclaim "your code sucks" has changed as I have matured as a developer. It is harrowing to learn that you don't know everything, but a crucible through which you must pass in order to really grow as a developer. All code can be improved upon. I look at code I've written a few months ago and say "my code sucks" on a regular basis. In the absence of a fully functional automated test suite - refactoring or scrapping code that currently works is dangerous and can be only marginally productive until you understand what the current code is doing and why. Lately, I would rate code on two main metrics - How well does the code work? - How easily can the code be changed? Love the new http://girldeveloper.com site design.