The wind chill was -20C this morning as I walked from my home down to the Pape TTC station in Toronto. I was wearing my usual winter parka (down-filled), shell, wool scarf, sweater, wool cap, gloves, wool socks and work boots. I was toasty, and didn't even have my hood up.

On my way to Pape station, I passed a young man waiting for the bus. He was dressed in a hoodie with the hood down, a thin scarf, no sweater, no hat, no gloves, and just sneakers. He looked cold. I pondered that as I crunched my way to work and use strict bubbled up from my sub-conscious.

Writing software without warnings is like going out in the winter without being dressed properly. You'll survive, but it's going to be uncomfortable pretty quickly, and possibly later on as well (dealing with a cold, or with long-term bugs that could have been found early by using strict).

If you live in Canada long enough, you learn to start wearing proper clothing -- the Canadian winter can be bloody cold. And if you write software long enough, you start using warnings.

Trust me -- it may not look as fashionable, but you'll have a warm feeling at the end of the day. :)