Lately the early mornings have been crisp and cool, with the dew glistening on the lawns. The dawn sky is quiet, sunny and deep blue. Before the workaday stirrings of those cursed creatures called "the employed," the air is still. Saturated with the perfume of pine and pungent herbs. And the whispered promise of an abundant harvest.
You can almost hear Autumn coming down the tracks in the near distance like a rumbling westbound freight train.
Wait!
That really is the sound of a train! A tandem team of six big diesel engines pulling a long train of container cars, from the sound of it, probably loaded with Chinese imports headed inexorably for the heartland, or up to Montreal.
My house is just two streets over from the main rail line that handles all the Conrail and Amtrak traffic from Boston's South Station to Worcester and points beyond. When you live near the tracks, you get used to the noise. In fact, most of the time you are not conscious of the passing rail traffic. Like the other sounds in the distance, like birds chirping, dogs barking, lawn mowers, trucks in the street, the trains add to an ambient sound level that you do not notice until they use that high decibel horn. Last year, the Woodlawn Ave bridge was being repaired and every train that went by in either direction sounded the horn to warn workers who might be near the tracks. It made me notice how many trains went past. We are probably talking fifty trips a day, not counting the ones that go by at night.
The trains are the least of my noise problems. Since Spring there has been a crew working on the house next door. Each day brings another big noisy diesel vehicle to dig or deliver or pour concrete or pick up a dumpster or whatever. No one ever turns off a diesel engine, so most of the day there is an idling engine running. The nail guns are driven by a compressor that rattles like a chain saw. So all day you hear this pfft, pfft, phfft, groink, buzz, ghmmmm, phfft,phfft, Outch! Hey I'm bleedin here! (The last sound was the fat carpenter shooting a nail through his boot. Ha ha)
Then across the street, they have been replacing the back deck. It takes a lot of banging to properly replace a deck, apparently. And, not to be outdone, they also need a big idling diesel truck to haul away and bring fresh dumpsters.
In the white house on the other side, the widow lady likes to have here carpets and ducts cleaned. She prefers the work to be done by a crew who come in a huge noisy truck which not only idles noisily, but also runs a high-pressure compressor that is so loud you can no doubt hear it from the engine compartment of a westbound train.
Some times the UPS and Fedex drivers have trouble driving down the street because there are so many vehicles parked on both sides allowing only a narrow passage. Delivery trucks, Landscape vehicles, pickup trucks driven by construction workers and sloppily parked. This is not an urban setting, readers, this is a "quiet" suburban road.
Some days, I think to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice to go to a nice quiet office where you can sit at a nice quiet desk and spend the day getting paid for surfing the web like most employed people?"
Nah. Someday, the construction work will be finished, the workers and their trucks will go somewhere else, all ducts and rugs will be clean, the lawns will be mowed, and I will again be able to sit in the peaceful solitude of my back yard, with a frosty Sierra Nevada, listening for the sound of Autumn.
8/28/2004
8/23/2004
They Said, He Said
The recent flap over the swiftboat vets casting a shadow over John Kerry's heroism leads us to the state of confusion about whose facts are the real facts. Truth is elusive even when we are eyewitnesses to events. But we are forced to realize that we cannot rely on anyone's testimony, especially about events that happened opver 30 years ago.
The discrepancy over what happened on the swiftboats can only be explained by the willingness of one group or another to lie about what happened - to advance their political agenda. We know that some vets were so outraged by what Kerry said after returning from Nam that they would do and say anything to keep him from becoming President. Even to the point of disparaging his wounds and actions. On the other side, there are apparently a lot of medals at stake that depended upon the report that the swiftboats were under enemy fire. The crew members (and recently another eyewitness) have maintained that Kerry's actions were honorable.
We probably will never know the truth. But we know this: If Kerry's military service and subsequent political career do not make him fit for command, how in the world can honest men consider George W's preparation for the office to have qualified him for the job?
I don't question the results of the 2000 election; I lament the system that fails to promote our best and brightest leaders into the ranks of viable presidential candidates.
Job Search Update
No change in status. I lament an economy that fails to seek and hire the best and brightest systems analysts into the ranks of the high paid employed.
The discrepancy over what happened on the swiftboats can only be explained by the willingness of one group or another to lie about what happened - to advance their political agenda. We know that some vets were so outraged by what Kerry said after returning from Nam that they would do and say anything to keep him from becoming President. Even to the point of disparaging his wounds and actions. On the other side, there are apparently a lot of medals at stake that depended upon the report that the swiftboats were under enemy fire. The crew members (and recently another eyewitness) have maintained that Kerry's actions were honorable.
We probably will never know the truth. But we know this: If Kerry's military service and subsequent political career do not make him fit for command, how in the world can honest men consider George W's preparation for the office to have qualified him for the job?
I don't question the results of the 2000 election; I lament the system that fails to promote our best and brightest leaders into the ranks of viable presidential candidates.
Job Search Update
No change in status. I lament an economy that fails to seek and hire the best and brightest systems analysts into the ranks of the high paid employed.
8/15/2004
Stepford Guys
Type Four Hurricane Charley had dwindled down to "A-tropical-depression-formerly-known- as-Hurrican Charlie" by the time it tiptoed through Massachusetts. We got some fairly heavy rain, but my harbor bouy wind chimes hardly acknowledged the gentle breezes that posed no threat to beast or bloom. It was a girlie-storm for the Northeast. It should have been named Charleen.
Speaking of girlie things, I am worried about the next generation of men in this country. There is a baby shower planned for my daughter in a few weeks. Traditionally, this would not have been a matter of manly concern. The wimmens would be invited, go to the shower, sit around watching the soon-to-be-mother open presents, have some chicken salad finger sandwitches and tea and that would be the end of it. Menfolk would tend to their affairs, whatever they might be.
But these days, men think of pregnancy as a shared thing. "We're pregnant," they say. Really, I ask? both of you? Hmmn. One of the young husbands of a female invitee wants to actually attend the shower as a protest to the exclusion of men from the outmoded traditions of the past. He feels that fathers should be just as involved as mothers with childraising, and watching wimmens opening gifts. It worries me. Number one, the lad was not invited. This traditional detail of civility apparently is also outmoded - you feel like going somewhere you just go. Number two, it is unthinkable that a man would CHOOSE to go to a girlie event rather than to simply stay home watch the game, or to sit quietly in the yard with a book and a frosty beer marveling at the gift of manly solitude.
I'm sure these guys seem like sensitive, caring fellows to their wives. I think they might be pod people.
Speaking of girlie things, I am worried about the next generation of men in this country. There is a baby shower planned for my daughter in a few weeks. Traditionally, this would not have been a matter of manly concern. The wimmens would be invited, go to the shower, sit around watching the soon-to-be-mother open presents, have some chicken salad finger sandwitches and tea and that would be the end of it. Menfolk would tend to their affairs, whatever they might be.
But these days, men think of pregnancy as a shared thing. "We're pregnant," they say. Really, I ask? both of you? Hmmn. One of the young husbands of a female invitee wants to actually attend the shower as a protest to the exclusion of men from the outmoded traditions of the past. He feels that fathers should be just as involved as mothers with childraising, and watching wimmens opening gifts. It worries me. Number one, the lad was not invited. This traditional detail of civility apparently is also outmoded - you feel like going somewhere you just go. Number two, it is unthinkable that a man would CHOOSE to go to a girlie event rather than to simply stay home watch the game, or to sit quietly in the yard with a book and a frosty beer marveling at the gift of manly solitude.
I'm sure these guys seem like sensitive, caring fellows to their wives. I think they might be pod people.
8/12/2004
This Page Cannot be Displayed
Just to prove that I haven't totally given up looking for work, I decided to check out some of the local job boards this am before my morning walk down to the nearby Donuts R Us. I don't believe in depleting my energy reserves by aimless exercise. I believe it is good to have a goal in mind. Boston Kremes. Yumm.
So anyhow, I am checking out the jobs listed on this one well known job board, and I find a listing for Usability Analyst, an internal position working for the job board. Now I have always wanted to work as a Usability Analyst. In my many jobs as a systems analyst, my chief interest has been making the interface "friendly" to the users. I wish I had a nickel for every screen or web page I've seen that makes the user say "Huh?" because the data being presented wasn't what they expected or the user has come to a dead link. If I have gained any expertise in my working life, it is in the presentation of data in a usable format. Not too much, not too little.
So, I said to myself, "Self, you should apply to this job. It is the first Usability job description that doesn't require a PHD in heuristics (the science of obfuscation). Your past experience in business and web based applications are quite relevant. If these guys are smart they will at least want to talk to you. Do it."
But an inner voice replied,"But, they probably aren't interested in an experienced BSA with umpteen years of experience. They'll look at the resume, think too old, and toss it in the trashcan. How could they understand that the web is merely another way to present information? You think HTML and Java are great tools, but without a well designed process and superior content management, web pages are empty eye candy. No one wants to hear that sort of stone age thinking. Forget it. Go get your donut!"
"What the hell," I said, "it can't hurt to send them an e-resume. " So I hit the apply button. That took me to a screen that insisted that I login. Which I did. Then I got to a screen that allowed me to select the resume. Funny, no place for a cover letter to explain how uniquely qualified I am for the job. Then I clicked on continue. And got this message:
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.
HTTP 500 - Internal server error Internet Explorer
Huh? (These guys really need someone like me. I wonder what happened to my resume).
Donuts, here I come.
So anyhow, I am checking out the jobs listed on this one well known job board, and I find a listing for Usability Analyst, an internal position working for the job board. Now I have always wanted to work as a Usability Analyst. In my many jobs as a systems analyst, my chief interest has been making the interface "friendly" to the users. I wish I had a nickel for every screen or web page I've seen that makes the user say "Huh?" because the data being presented wasn't what they expected or the user has come to a dead link. If I have gained any expertise in my working life, it is in the presentation of data in a usable format. Not too much, not too little.
So, I said to myself, "Self, you should apply to this job. It is the first Usability job description that doesn't require a PHD in heuristics (the science of obfuscation). Your past experience in business and web based applications are quite relevant. If these guys are smart they will at least want to talk to you. Do it."
But an inner voice replied,"But, they probably aren't interested in an experienced BSA with umpteen years of experience. They'll look at the resume, think too old, and toss it in the trashcan. How could they understand that the web is merely another way to present information? You think HTML and Java are great tools, but without a well designed process and superior content management, web pages are empty eye candy. No one wants to hear that sort of stone age thinking. Forget it. Go get your donut!"
"What the hell," I said, "it can't hurt to send them an e-resume. " So I hit the apply button. That took me to a screen that insisted that I login. Which I did. Then I got to a screen that allowed me to select the resume. Funny, no place for a cover letter to explain how uniquely qualified I am for the job. Then I clicked on continue. And got this message:
The page cannot be displayed
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.
HTTP 500 - Internal server error Internet Explorer
Huh? (These guys really need someone like me. I wonder what happened to my resume).
Donuts, here I come.
8/06/2004
Hardly Working
In the news today:
"The U.S. economy added many fewer jobs than expected in July, raising big concerns about the recovery in the labor market."
Well, welcome to the club. I've been concerned about job growth for more than a year.
I guess this headline helps explain why my phone has not been ringing lately. It's the stupid economy.
That's a relief. I was afraid that somehow the word about me had gotten out.
===============
The other day I finally closed my Fleet bank accounts. Without a steady income, my balance had long since fallen under the no-fee limit, so I was getting slammed with a $12 monthly fee.
Since I have a free account at another bank, I decided to consolidate my remaining funds.
I guess I expected to get at least a mild pitch to get me to stay with the bank. I have had the account since it was South Shore Bank, bought out by Bank of Boston and then Fleet. Now, as Bank of America, I guess they don't want to be bothered by people like me with low balances.
Even if the situation is temporary.
The kid who handled my paperwork never asked me why I was closing the account, or whether I had considered their free checking with automatic deposit. Apparently, he did not care why. He never even said a word, like Hi how are you today? or Gee, hope you will do business here again. Not the type of person I would put in a customer service job. But I suppose I would be a miserable little pissant too, if I had to spend my day closing accounts for geezers who came into my office complaining about usurious bank fees.
"The U.S. economy added many fewer jobs than expected in July, raising big concerns about the recovery in the labor market."
Well, welcome to the club. I've been concerned about job growth for more than a year.
I guess this headline helps explain why my phone has not been ringing lately. It's the stupid economy.
That's a relief. I was afraid that somehow the word about me had gotten out.
===============
The other day I finally closed my Fleet bank accounts. Without a steady income, my balance had long since fallen under the no-fee limit, so I was getting slammed with a $12 monthly fee.
Since I have a free account at another bank, I decided to consolidate my remaining funds.
I guess I expected to get at least a mild pitch to get me to stay with the bank. I have had the account since it was South Shore Bank, bought out by Bank of Boston and then Fleet. Now, as Bank of America, I guess they don't want to be bothered by people like me with low balances.
Even if the situation is temporary.
The kid who handled my paperwork never asked me why I was closing the account, or whether I had considered their free checking with automatic deposit. Apparently, he did not care why. He never even said a word, like Hi how are you today? or Gee, hope you will do business here again. Not the type of person I would put in a customer service job. But I suppose I would be a miserable little pissant too, if I had to spend my day closing accounts for geezers who came into my office complaining about usurious bank fees.
8/04/2004
Forward This to Everyone You Know
I received one of those partisan political propaganda e-mails today from my reborn conservative sister in Uxbridge. In case you didn't get it, it was the one that cites all the bad things Democrats have done to destroy Social Security. (I know you are probably thinking, "Huh?" It just shows how you can distort any piece of information to get what you want out of it. It was in the form of questions and cooked-up answers. At the end it pleads with the recipient to "Send this to everyone you know!" as if that would awaken some manchurian brain cell and make otherwise sensible people suddenly want to vote for Bush.
I could not resist answering her:
" Thanks. I was wondering who was responsible for all the horrors. This type of screed is a lot like Michael Moore's methodology: leave out the facts that are inconvenient to the message.
Anyway, I thought of a few Q's and A's that came to mind.
Q: Was it the evil Democrats who ran up the deficit while giving Tax Cuts to the wealthiest 1%??
A: Well, not exactly.
Q: Was it the lying and cheating Democrats who pay lip service to the war on terror and then fail to fund our border security forces while handing billions to cronies at Halliburton??
A: No, that would be co-president Cheny's idea.
Q: Who hates America most?
A: A) Michael Moore B). Drudge C). People who support the war, but want someone else's kid to do the fighting, D) Ralph Nader
Q: If you knew then what you know now, would you have supported the invasion of Iraq, the alienation of our allies and the expense of men and material?
A: No. And everyone involved with that decision should be fired.
Q: Why doesn't God make the world a nice place.
A: Because he likes to watch us fight.
Q: Who has killed more people Laura Bush or Ted Kennedy?
A: It's a tie
Q: Does sending partisan e-mail around the internet actually change anyone's position?
A: No. Most recipients are members of the choir already, so they nod their heads in agreement. The others, the ones who think for themselves, just delete the propaganda and go back to downloading porn.
I voted against Al Gore in the last election. After listening to the speakers at the DNC, I hate to admit it, but I would vote for Bill Clinton if he was running again. He is clearly the smartest leader we have in America today.
I remain pretty much Opposed to the Republican/conservative agenda
- In favor of same sex marriage (they can have family values too)
- in favor of a woman's right to choose (it's none of your business)
- in favor of spreading the wealth around (middle class tax cuts, against Corporate Welfare)
- In favor of gun control
- in favor of bombing the hell out of the poppy fields in Afghanistan (we know where they are!)
- in favor of using our resources to clean up our own cities so that elderly people and children do not have to live in constant fear of gangs and thieves.
- in favor of an equal opportunity military draft to serve in defense of this country on the Border Patrol and Neighborhood patrols.
I am certainly not in favor of giving taxpayer money to immigrants who come here to go on welfare.
Nor do I agree with mortgaging our grandchildren's future in a vain attempt to transplant Democracy upon a group of people who do not believe in equality or individual liberty.
It is dangerous to give the power of the vote to people who cannot think for themselves (people who need preachers and mullahs to tell them how to think). The founding fathers recognized this when they provided for the Electoral College."
Hope is on the way. I hope.
I could not resist answering her:
" Thanks. I was wondering who was responsible for all the horrors. This type of screed is a lot like Michael Moore's methodology: leave out the facts that are inconvenient to the message.
Anyway, I thought of a few Q's and A's that came to mind.
Q: Was it the evil Democrats who ran up the deficit while giving Tax Cuts to the wealthiest 1%??
A: Well, not exactly.
Q: Was it the lying and cheating Democrats who pay lip service to the war on terror and then fail to fund our border security forces while handing billions to cronies at Halliburton??
A: No, that would be co-president Cheny's idea.
Q: Who hates America most?
A: A) Michael Moore B). Drudge C). People who support the war, but want someone else's kid to do the fighting, D) Ralph Nader
Q: If you knew then what you know now, would you have supported the invasion of Iraq, the alienation of our allies and the expense of men and material?
A: No. And everyone involved with that decision should be fired.
Q: Why doesn't God make the world a nice place.
A: Because he likes to watch us fight.
Q: Who has killed more people Laura Bush or Ted Kennedy?
A: It's a tie
Q: Does sending partisan e-mail around the internet actually change anyone's position?
A: No. Most recipients are members of the choir already, so they nod their heads in agreement. The others, the ones who think for themselves, just delete the propaganda and go back to downloading porn.
I voted against Al Gore in the last election. After listening to the speakers at the DNC, I hate to admit it, but I would vote for Bill Clinton if he was running again. He is clearly the smartest leader we have in America today.
I remain pretty much Opposed to the Republican/conservative agenda
- In favor of same sex marriage (they can have family values too)
- in favor of a woman's right to choose (it's none of your business)
- in favor of spreading the wealth around (middle class tax cuts, against Corporate Welfare)
- In favor of gun control
- in favor of bombing the hell out of the poppy fields in Afghanistan (we know where they are!)
- in favor of using our resources to clean up our own cities so that elderly people and children do not have to live in constant fear of gangs and thieves.
- in favor of an equal opportunity military draft to serve in defense of this country on the Border Patrol and Neighborhood patrols.
I am certainly not in favor of giving taxpayer money to immigrants who come here to go on welfare.
Nor do I agree with mortgaging our grandchildren's future in a vain attempt to transplant Democracy upon a group of people who do not believe in equality or individual liberty.
It is dangerous to give the power of the vote to people who cannot think for themselves (people who need preachers and mullahs to tell them how to think). The founding fathers recognized this when they provided for the Electoral College."
Hope is on the way. I hope.
8/01/2004
Playing Games
I couldn't believe it when I read the headline on the sportspage of today's Globe. Garciaparra traded, the words blared. Nomar is gone. To the Cubs. Cripes.
I am not a real Red Sox fan. In fact, I have not been a baseball fan since the strike of 1981. Loyal readers of this humble Blog know how I feel about Unions and strikes. My disdain for the job action antics of overpaid athletic workers is even more than my antipathy for civil servants who refuse to do their jobs and don't want others to work either.
If I was a fan, I would not buy the bullshit being spouted by the Sox Management and their shills in the media. They claim that Nomar was not going to sign anyway. Columnist Dan Shaughnessy says Nomar hates Boston and the Red Sox and was a toxic non team player. If this is true, I believe the situation was caused by stupid management tricks in the first place.
That punk Theo Epstein reminds me of a typical corporate manager. He claims that we need to make hard choices to get a championship team. We need a golden glove defense. Yada-yada.
Hey, when was the last time defense scored a home run? Besides, no one who has grown up in the Boston area, actually expects the Red Sox to Win.
A lot of business guys like to use sports analogies to motivate their workers. Maybe the baseball guys think they should run the team more like a business. This "trade" sounds a lot like a layoff to me. Managers always think that they are the real key to success. (Why else do they give themselves all the good perqs?) Team members are just interchangable parts, they think. The truth is, it is the manager of any organization who is ultimately and seamlessly replaceable. Good all star shortstops are hard to find. The history of the Red Sox is pissing off the star players, then trading them, then having them come back to kick their Fenway asses. Roger Clemens is a prime example of which I speak
If I was a baseball manager, I think I would get Pitchers who can throw lots of strikes instead of praying that my multi-million dollar infielders will quell a Yankee rally with deft fielding. Baseball has always been about hits and runs. Get enough and the errors are not important.
Just like in business. But what am I talking about? I don't know anything. That kid Epstein is getting paid to run the team - this year. Hey how much can we get for Pedro?
Heck, I don't even watch baseball on TV anymore. TV sports coverage is boring and distracting. Besides, these players like to think of themselves as employees, so if I want to spend my valuable time watching people work, I can go next door and watch the craftsmen building the neighbor's stone wall. Not playing games.
I am not a real Red Sox fan. In fact, I have not been a baseball fan since the strike of 1981. Loyal readers of this humble Blog know how I feel about Unions and strikes. My disdain for the job action antics of overpaid athletic workers is even more than my antipathy for civil servants who refuse to do their jobs and don't want others to work either.
If I was a fan, I would not buy the bullshit being spouted by the Sox Management and their shills in the media. They claim that Nomar was not going to sign anyway. Columnist Dan Shaughnessy says Nomar hates Boston and the Red Sox and was a toxic non team player. If this is true, I believe the situation was caused by stupid management tricks in the first place.
That punk Theo Epstein reminds me of a typical corporate manager. He claims that we need to make hard choices to get a championship team. We need a golden glove defense. Yada-yada.
Hey, when was the last time defense scored a home run? Besides, no one who has grown up in the Boston area, actually expects the Red Sox to Win.
A lot of business guys like to use sports analogies to motivate their workers. Maybe the baseball guys think they should run the team more like a business. This "trade" sounds a lot like a layoff to me. Managers always think that they are the real key to success. (Why else do they give themselves all the good perqs?) Team members are just interchangable parts, they think. The truth is, it is the manager of any organization who is ultimately and seamlessly replaceable. Good all star shortstops are hard to find. The history of the Red Sox is pissing off the star players, then trading them, then having them come back to kick their Fenway asses. Roger Clemens is a prime example of which I speak
If I was a baseball manager, I think I would get Pitchers who can throw lots of strikes instead of praying that my multi-million dollar infielders will quell a Yankee rally with deft fielding. Baseball has always been about hits and runs. Get enough and the errors are not important.
Just like in business. But what am I talking about? I don't know anything. That kid Epstein is getting paid to run the team - this year. Hey how much can we get for Pedro?
Heck, I don't even watch baseball on TV anymore. TV sports coverage is boring and distracting. Besides, these players like to think of themselves as employees, so if I want to spend my valuable time watching people work, I can go next door and watch the craftsmen building the neighbor's stone wall. Not playing games.
7/27/2004
The Big Question
Inevitably, during all the bloviation and rhetoric, someone asks "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"
Answer: Hmmn
Four years ago I had a good job at good wages. My mutual funds were at an all time high. My daughter had just given birth to my first grandchild. When I went to the airport, my biggest fear was losing my suitcase. There was no such thing as "Threat Level." Life was pretty good.
Today, my family income is less than half what it was in 2000. For the past year, I have been fruitlessly looking for a job in an economic environment that stubbornly favors cost-control over growth. We are afraid to fly - heck we are even afraid drive to the airport. The cost of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed. The stock market goes apeshit everytime there is a suicide bombing in the news. Most of the robber CEO's walk free as crows, but Martha Stewart has been convicted of crimes against humanity and is headed for jail. My grandchildren moved to California.
Democrats are still talking about "stolen" elections and "coo-day-tat", as if they did not understand the Electoral College. Republicans - with no evil empire to oppose - bark about moral principles, and the evils of those who would deny tax cuts to the richest Americans.
Neither party can produce a leader that the majority of voters can rally around enthusiastically. Most voters support their guy mainly because they are afraid of the other guy.
Read: Afraid of the other guy's Supreme Court appointees.
Republicans - in the ultimate cynical strategy - contribute to Ralph Nader's impotent and vain attempts to become a real candidate, in hopes of spoiling Kerry's draw on independent voters. Nader, once seen as a principled struggler against special interests is now seen as a sad buffoon.
Our confidence in the System is shaken. We now know that the past two Presidents have been making military decisions based on flawed intelligence data about terrorists. Political debate has devolved to mere shouting matches and mudslinging. We seek for the truth in vain. (Maybe Cheney is right - we can't handle the truth).
Are we better off than we were four years ago? Perhaps the key question is, will we be better off or worse following the election in November?
Hmmmn.
Answer: Hmmn
Four years ago I had a good job at good wages. My mutual funds were at an all time high. My daughter had just given birth to my first grandchild. When I went to the airport, my biggest fear was losing my suitcase. There was no such thing as "Threat Level." Life was pretty good.
Today, my family income is less than half what it was in 2000. For the past year, I have been fruitlessly looking for a job in an economic environment that stubbornly favors cost-control over growth. We are afraid to fly - heck we are even afraid drive to the airport. The cost of a gallon of gas has skyrocketed. The stock market goes apeshit everytime there is a suicide bombing in the news. Most of the robber CEO's walk free as crows, but Martha Stewart has been convicted of crimes against humanity and is headed for jail. My grandchildren moved to California.
Democrats are still talking about "stolen" elections and "coo-day-tat", as if they did not understand the Electoral College. Republicans - with no evil empire to oppose - bark about moral principles, and the evils of those who would deny tax cuts to the richest Americans.
Neither party can produce a leader that the majority of voters can rally around enthusiastically. Most voters support their guy mainly because they are afraid of the other guy.
Read: Afraid of the other guy's Supreme Court appointees.
Republicans - in the ultimate cynical strategy - contribute to Ralph Nader's impotent and vain attempts to become a real candidate, in hopes of spoiling Kerry's draw on independent voters. Nader, once seen as a principled struggler against special interests is now seen as a sad buffoon.
Our confidence in the System is shaken. We now know that the past two Presidents have been making military decisions based on flawed intelligence data about terrorists. Political debate has devolved to mere shouting matches and mudslinging. We seek for the truth in vain. (Maybe Cheney is right - we can't handle the truth).
Are we better off than we were four years ago? Perhaps the key question is, will we be better off or worse following the election in November?
Hmmmn.
7/26/2004
Railing Against The Man
The DNC is at last underway. At the very last minute, the Fire and Patrolmen's Union backed-off on their threats to picket the welcome parties in a petulant attempt to spoil things for just about everyone - especially Menino. It will take a 9/11 event to restore their vaunted status as Protectors of the public. The glint of heroism has been etched dull by the acid of greed and extortion.
I'm thinking of going in town today to protest against wanton joblessness. I think the discrimination against aging, well-fed people - who don't want to take orders from assholes - is a blight on our nation. I'm bagging-up some cat poop to throw at any one I see wearing a fur coat. Attention must be paid!
I see Bill Clinton is in town signing copies of "My Lies. " Has he no shame? Is every event just an excuse to engorge the Clintonian coffers? And, did you see the clip of Kerry "throwing" out the first pitch at the Sox Yankees game last night. Maybe he thought it was bocci instead of baseball. You call that a Pitch? The ball dropped like a stone 10 feet in front of the plate and dribbled between the legs of the hapless catcher (was his name Buckner by any chance?). My Grandmother could throw a better pitch than that, lefty. And the next first lady, in Pennsylvania deploring the un-American tone of public discourse. When a reporter pressed her for examples of the un-American speech, she denied having said what she had just said on tape. Further efforts at clarification were rebuffed and the reporter was invited to "Shove it!" Hmmn. I think it should be an interesting 4 years with Theresa in the white house.
I'm thinking of going in town today to protest against wanton joblessness. I think the discrimination against aging, well-fed people - who don't want to take orders from assholes - is a blight on our nation. I'm bagging-up some cat poop to throw at any one I see wearing a fur coat. Attention must be paid!
I see Bill Clinton is in town signing copies of "My Lies. " Has he no shame? Is every event just an excuse to engorge the Clintonian coffers? And, did you see the clip of Kerry "throwing" out the first pitch at the Sox Yankees game last night. Maybe he thought it was bocci instead of baseball. You call that a Pitch? The ball dropped like a stone 10 feet in front of the plate and dribbled between the legs of the hapless catcher (was his name Buckner by any chance?). My Grandmother could throw a better pitch than that, lefty. And the next first lady, in Pennsylvania deploring the un-American tone of public discourse. When a reporter pressed her for examples of the un-American speech, she denied having said what she had just said on tape. Further efforts at clarification were rebuffed and the reporter was invited to "Shove it!" Hmmn. I think it should be an interesting 4 years with Theresa in the white house.
7/22/2004
But Not For Me
There was a help wanted ad in the Globe last sunday for the CIA. Clandestine Services. The job that demanded "superior intellect, ingenuity and courage, facing complex, unstructured circumstances..." That sounded a lot like my kind of work. It was interesting until I ran into the qualifications which included, "Maximum age for entry into the service is 35."
Then paradoxically, "We are an equal opportunity employer..."
Hel-lo Government! "Equal Opportunity" means no discrimination on issues, such as age!
Besides, what is wrong with geezer spies? Do they talk too much? Do they forget their secret codes? Do they nodd-off on stake-outs if the last later than 9:30pm?
So, I had two responses to the ad. One, they don't even understand the definition of EO. Two, the reason we are in such a mess today is that they are a closed shop. They get young people into the organization and brainwash them to do things "our way." By the time they get to be 45 or 50 any creativity, sense of persepctive and autonomy has been breeded out.
According to my research, this is precisely the age group when most anarchists, white collar criminals and terrorists are in their prime. Thus CIA operatives are pitifully outmatched by their non-bureacratic, high risk peers in the enemy camps.
In the mouldy old days, big companies like IBM, NCR, Proctor and Gambel did not hire people from outside the culture. They got people right out of college, fed them the party line and molded them to the culture. When anyone got promoted to a senior staff position, they already had a lifetime career with the company and fully understood the culture, ie,
Good old boys get promoted and renegades get the boot.
But around 15 years ago, things started to change in corporate America. Renegades from IBM and NCR spun off their own companies or joined start-ups. Big corporations and their awkward command and control structures were like huge tankers on the ocean - very hard to turn quickly. The companies with non-bureacratic structures proved to be very adaptable. These new adaptable cultures began to eat the lunch of the big unwieldy firms. For example consider how upstart Microsoft stole the PC operating business from IBM. And how Apple took Xerox discoveries and made many people rich by productizing those ideas.
Pretty soon the old line companies started to open up and let in some new blood. People started jumping from place to place. Companies stopped placing the value on longevity and started spotlighting contribution. Nowadays, nobody talks about "corporate culture," except as a lip service "values" blurb in the annual report. Companies have adopted the EO mantra seriously, to their (and society's) benefit.
In a nutshell, the point is: A truly diverse organization is made up of talented people from all origins and of all ages. Old ones, young ones, Skinny ones, fat ones, short ...you get the idea.
We all know from movies and TV that the FBI and CIA still work under the old bureacratic, command and control style of management. Perhaps the problem with our clandestine operations is that there aren't any old spies with new blood and fresh eyes.
I hear the terrorists are recruiting people of all ages.
Of course, I wouldn't mind having a job where I carried a gun legally, and could intimidate (or even shoot) law-abiding citizens with impunity. But, I still would not apply for a job that required obedience, discipline, ability to keep a secret, or all night stake-outs.
Note: This blog is an equal opportunity rant, no one is safe, regardless of race, creed, breast size, hair color, age, gender preference, or other physical attribute.
Then paradoxically, "We are an equal opportunity employer..."
Hel-lo Government! "Equal Opportunity" means no discrimination on issues, such as age!
Besides, what is wrong with geezer spies? Do they talk too much? Do they forget their secret codes? Do they nodd-off on stake-outs if the last later than 9:30pm?
So, I had two responses to the ad. One, they don't even understand the definition of EO. Two, the reason we are in such a mess today is that they are a closed shop. They get young people into the organization and brainwash them to do things "our way." By the time they get to be 45 or 50 any creativity, sense of persepctive and autonomy has been breeded out.
According to my research, this is precisely the age group when most anarchists, white collar criminals and terrorists are in their prime. Thus CIA operatives are pitifully outmatched by their non-bureacratic, high risk peers in the enemy camps.
In the mouldy old days, big companies like IBM, NCR, Proctor and Gambel did not hire people from outside the culture. They got people right out of college, fed them the party line and molded them to the culture. When anyone got promoted to a senior staff position, they already had a lifetime career with the company and fully understood the culture, ie,
Good old boys get promoted and renegades get the boot.
But around 15 years ago, things started to change in corporate America. Renegades from IBM and NCR spun off their own companies or joined start-ups. Big corporations and their awkward command and control structures were like huge tankers on the ocean - very hard to turn quickly. The companies with non-bureacratic structures proved to be very adaptable. These new adaptable cultures began to eat the lunch of the big unwieldy firms. For example consider how upstart Microsoft stole the PC operating business from IBM. And how Apple took Xerox discoveries and made many people rich by productizing those ideas.
Pretty soon the old line companies started to open up and let in some new blood. People started jumping from place to place. Companies stopped placing the value on longevity and started spotlighting contribution. Nowadays, nobody talks about "corporate culture," except as a lip service "values" blurb in the annual report. Companies have adopted the EO mantra seriously, to their (and society's) benefit.
In a nutshell, the point is: A truly diverse organization is made up of talented people from all origins and of all ages. Old ones, young ones, Skinny ones, fat ones, short ...you get the idea.
We all know from movies and TV that the FBI and CIA still work under the old bureacratic, command and control style of management. Perhaps the problem with our clandestine operations is that there aren't any old spies with new blood and fresh eyes.
I hear the terrorists are recruiting people of all ages.
Of course, I wouldn't mind having a job where I carried a gun legally, and could intimidate (or even shoot) law-abiding citizens with impunity. But, I still would not apply for a job that required obedience, discipline, ability to keep a secret, or all night stake-outs.
Note: This blog is an equal opportunity rant, no one is safe, regardless of race, creed, breast size, hair color, age, gender preference, or other physical attribute.
7/16/2004
Crossing Lines
As someone who has not had a pay raise since the year 2000, and who has been unemployed for over a year, I am not sympathetic to greedy union members who aren't happy with a 13% pay increase offered by the city of Boston. I cannot be expected to rally to the cause of the Boston police and firemen unionists who are holding the DNC festivities and public safety hostage in their contract dispute with Mayor Menino. I think the term is extortion.
Like the terrorists, the union leaders have adopted the policy of punishing innocent bystanders in order to make their case with the party they disagree with. They hope that the sensible population will exert pressure on the city to settle the contract dispute in their favor rather than risking the decision of the arbitration process.
On one sense this is not much different than the strategy of those cowardly and deadly attacks on civilians by insurgent militants in Iraq. I am not saying that the union leaders are killing innocent people, but their approach is markedly similar to that of bomb throwers everywhere. They feel that their cause trumps everyone else's rights and interests.
In the WSJ today, a cogent piece entitled "Courage Against Evil", written by the foreign minister of Australia, reminds us that "if we give in to terrorists once, what will be demanded in the future?"
History provides ample evidence that giving-in to unreasonable demands creates more demands. (Anyone who has parented a teenager knows this fact of human nature.)
A line must be drawn. Menino should be applauded for taking a stand. When the spotlight is turned on next week, it is the Police and Firemen who will suffer the blame for disgracing Boston if the DNC becomes a fiasco.
Like the terrorists, the union leaders have adopted the policy of punishing innocent bystanders in order to make their case with the party they disagree with. They hope that the sensible population will exert pressure on the city to settle the contract dispute in their favor rather than risking the decision of the arbitration process.
On one sense this is not much different than the strategy of those cowardly and deadly attacks on civilians by insurgent militants in Iraq. I am not saying that the union leaders are killing innocent people, but their approach is markedly similar to that of bomb throwers everywhere. They feel that their cause trumps everyone else's rights and interests.
In the WSJ today, a cogent piece entitled "Courage Against Evil", written by the foreign minister of Australia, reminds us that "if we give in to terrorists once, what will be demanded in the future?"
History provides ample evidence that giving-in to unreasonable demands creates more demands. (Anyone who has parented a teenager knows this fact of human nature.)
A line must be drawn. Menino should be applauded for taking a stand. When the spotlight is turned on next week, it is the Police and Firemen who will suffer the blame for disgracing Boston if the DNC becomes a fiasco.
7/13/2004
The Big Lie
Last week I took a roll of film in for developing at The One Hour Photo store.
The young girl at the counter asked "When Do you need these?"
I was thinking that she should have said These will be ready in an hour. But, not being in a rush, I told her that tomorrow would be ok.
"Tomorrow, after one o'clock?"
"How about tomorrow morning." I was being reasonable, friendly, agreeable. After all, the sign in the window said One Hour Film Developing. In big letters.
"What time?" she persisted.
"I don't know." I was getting annoyed with the harrassment.
"After eleven?"
"You know, you should really take down the 1 Hour sign. You obviously do not want to even try to develop film in one hour."
Overhearing this exchange, the older gal in charge came over, gave the first girl a let-me-handle-this look. "We can have them done today by 5pm."
"Ok," I said, "Have them ready at 5pm and I'll come in sometime tomorrow."
As I left, the one who had been overriden called after me, "Have a nice day," cooly, not meaning it. Giving me the Look - like I was some kind of unreasonable geezer and she was not a muddle headed, gum-snapping teeny bopper with acne.
I gave her the bite me look, but said "See you tomorrow."
When I came to pick up my film, the photos of my grand kids had somehow gotten mixed-up with the pictures that belonged to a dog breeder. Instead of my cute grandkids at the beach, the photos were these ugly newborn puppies and other offal-eating hounds. It took another day before they could locate my pictures. Funny.
Is it just me? Or is 1 hour photo developing a big Lie??
The young girl at the counter asked "When Do you need these?"
I was thinking that she should have said These will be ready in an hour. But, not being in a rush, I told her that tomorrow would be ok.
"Tomorrow, after one o'clock?"
"How about tomorrow morning." I was being reasonable, friendly, agreeable. After all, the sign in the window said One Hour Film Developing. In big letters.
"What time?" she persisted.
"I don't know." I was getting annoyed with the harrassment.
"After eleven?"
"You know, you should really take down the 1 Hour sign. You obviously do not want to even try to develop film in one hour."
Overhearing this exchange, the older gal in charge came over, gave the first girl a let-me-handle-this look. "We can have them done today by 5pm."
"Ok," I said, "Have them ready at 5pm and I'll come in sometime tomorrow."
As I left, the one who had been overriden called after me, "Have a nice day," cooly, not meaning it. Giving me the Look - like I was some kind of unreasonable geezer and she was not a muddle headed, gum-snapping teeny bopper with acne.
I gave her the bite me look, but said "See you tomorrow."
When I came to pick up my film, the photos of my grand kids had somehow gotten mixed-up with the pictures that belonged to a dog breeder. Instead of my cute grandkids at the beach, the photos were these ugly newborn puppies and other offal-eating hounds. It took another day before they could locate my pictures. Funny.
Is it just me? Or is 1 hour photo developing a big Lie??
7/11/2004
Not My Fault
Accused of conspiring to loot his own company and other serious acts of malfeasance, former CEO, Ken Lay was vigorous in his own defense before the microphones yesterday. He admitted that he accepted responsibility for the disastrous collapse of the company but only in the sense that it happened "on his watch."
He, personally, was not guilty of any crimes nor responsible for the instant ruin of many thousands of employees whose life savings and pensions evaporated as Enron's stock values plummeted.
Lay said that he was responsible only in the sense that he had participated in the selection of Mr. Fastow, who Lay points to as the villain in this affair. Mr. Lay admits that he is definitely not to blame because he didn't know what was going on. He did not indicate any plans to return the $10 million bonus he got just before the implosion. It does not seem to occur to him that if he doesn't deserve jail, then he certainly did not earn the bonus.
Now, today, there is a similar item in the news. The Senate Intelligence Committee reports that the CIA unwittingly deceived the President and his staff about the situation in Iraq. At all levels, the presumption of Saddam's WMD's was simply accepted without critical inquiry. Supporters of Co-Presidents Cheney-Bush have been quick to vindicate the actions of the Presidents, because, "It clearly wasn't their fault." The faulty intelligence is the culprit, not the ill-advised decision to act upon the faulty intelligence.
So, you might ask, "Who's fault is it?" The answer is blowin' in the wind, my friend. It's that big sucking sound that CEO's and Politicians make when they are distancing themselves from accountability. It's the sound of finger-pointing - always to some hapless minion who didn't completely cover his own ass.
He, personally, was not guilty of any crimes nor responsible for the instant ruin of many thousands of employees whose life savings and pensions evaporated as Enron's stock values plummeted.
Lay said that he was responsible only in the sense that he had participated in the selection of Mr. Fastow, who Lay points to as the villain in this affair. Mr. Lay admits that he is definitely not to blame because he didn't know what was going on. He did not indicate any plans to return the $10 million bonus he got just before the implosion. It does not seem to occur to him that if he doesn't deserve jail, then he certainly did not earn the bonus.
Now, today, there is a similar item in the news. The Senate Intelligence Committee reports that the CIA unwittingly deceived the President and his staff about the situation in Iraq. At all levels, the presumption of Saddam's WMD's was simply accepted without critical inquiry. Supporters of Co-Presidents Cheney-Bush have been quick to vindicate the actions of the Presidents, because, "It clearly wasn't their fault." The faulty intelligence is the culprit, not the ill-advised decision to act upon the faulty intelligence.
So, you might ask, "Who's fault is it?" The answer is blowin' in the wind, my friend. It's that big sucking sound that CEO's and Politicians make when they are distancing themselves from accountability. It's the sound of finger-pointing - always to some hapless minion who didn't completely cover his own ass.
7/10/2004
Back from the Sub-continent
We are back from the fetid swamps of Florida. Every day the weather was monotonously predictable. Sunny and 95 degrees from 8am to 4pm, followed by 3 hours of thunderstorms, followed by cool humid evening breezes. If we lived in Florida during the summer, we would have to stay inside all day, like vampires.
We spent most of the time we were in Orlando seeing the kids and grandkids. Orlando is nothing more than a huge tourist trap. The "Attractions" are a rip-off (eg, tickets to SeaWorld for a family of four = $169). Not one but two toll booths are located in the 5 mile stretch between the airport and the city as a testament to the municipal participation in the shameless gouging of visitors. Taxes, fees, car rental packed charges are all part of the game. The hotel charges you a daily rental fee for the in-room safe - whether you use it or not. They also warn you that they will charge an "early check-out fee" of $50 if you don't like the place and decide to move. Unheard of in other places.
I do not plan to go back again, and will instead pay for the kids to visit us here.
We drove down to Vero Beach to re-unite with as old college classmate who has retired there. VB is a nice quiet affluent community on a barrier island off the East coast. We enjoyed our visit there but probably cannot afford to retire to a place where the houses we want to live in cost about two million more than we are able to pay.
As we drove down I-95 south, we passed several communities where where there were large mobile home parks. You know, the type of place you see on the TV show COPS - where they go out to the trailer homes to check on a domestic disturbance report. Invariably, the cops end-up dragging some shirtless (and usually dentally challenged) drunken lout out of his rental trailer in handcuffs and putting him into the back seat of the cruiser.
Yesterday's Boston Globe featured a full color photo of a handcuffed Ken Lay (the former CEO of Enron) as he was forced to make the "perp walk" for the news media in Houston. The only thing lacking was letting him wear a tie and jacket rather than dressing him up in an orange standard issue jumpsuit. Lay is charged with conspiracy, fraud and (shades of Martha Stewart) making false statements. Scary stuff!
The guy turns himself in on non violent offenses, but the numbnuts authorities feel obligated by policy to humiliate him by cuffing him for the cameras. I know a lot of you enjoy seeing crooked CEO's brought low, but I see it as pictoral evidence that our justice system is f*cked up.
If this is the way we treat non-violent rich guys, I shudder to think what they are doing to the poor, toothless, cursing, shmucks who get dragged out of their trailers nightly in Brevard County.
When I am Emperor, people who clearly do not pose a risk will not be cuffed just to embarrass them during indictment. They will be treated with dignity, tried fairly, and then, beheaded.
We spent most of the time we were in Orlando seeing the kids and grandkids. Orlando is nothing more than a huge tourist trap. The "Attractions" are a rip-off (eg, tickets to SeaWorld for a family of four = $169). Not one but two toll booths are located in the 5 mile stretch between the airport and the city as a testament to the municipal participation in the shameless gouging of visitors. Taxes, fees, car rental packed charges are all part of the game. The hotel charges you a daily rental fee for the in-room safe - whether you use it or not. They also warn you that they will charge an "early check-out fee" of $50 if you don't like the place and decide to move. Unheard of in other places.
I do not plan to go back again, and will instead pay for the kids to visit us here.
We drove down to Vero Beach to re-unite with as old college classmate who has retired there. VB is a nice quiet affluent community on a barrier island off the East coast. We enjoyed our visit there but probably cannot afford to retire to a place where the houses we want to live in cost about two million more than we are able to pay.
As we drove down I-95 south, we passed several communities where where there were large mobile home parks. You know, the type of place you see on the TV show COPS - where they go out to the trailer homes to check on a domestic disturbance report. Invariably, the cops end-up dragging some shirtless (and usually dentally challenged) drunken lout out of his rental trailer in handcuffs and putting him into the back seat of the cruiser.
Yesterday's Boston Globe featured a full color photo of a handcuffed Ken Lay (the former CEO of Enron) as he was forced to make the "perp walk" for the news media in Houston. The only thing lacking was letting him wear a tie and jacket rather than dressing him up in an orange standard issue jumpsuit. Lay is charged with conspiracy, fraud and (shades of Martha Stewart) making false statements. Scary stuff!
The guy turns himself in on non violent offenses, but the numbnuts authorities feel obligated by policy to humiliate him by cuffing him for the cameras. I know a lot of you enjoy seeing crooked CEO's brought low, but I see it as pictoral evidence that our justice system is f*cked up.
If this is the way we treat non-violent rich guys, I shudder to think what they are doing to the poor, toothless, cursing, shmucks who get dragged out of their trailers nightly in Brevard County.
When I am Emperor, people who clearly do not pose a risk will not be cuffed just to embarrass them during indictment. They will be treated with dignity, tried fairly, and then, beheaded.
7/02/2004
Photophobia
We are back from a week in Mattaposett where the weather was perfect. Sunny days and cool nights. We rented a place on the beach, well across the street from the beach. We could keep an eye on it from where we sat on the deck, under the shade of a wide blue umbrella, sipping our mojitoes and dipping steamers into bowls of butter. We read. We swam. We sat on the beach for no more than ten minutes at a stretch. We returned as pale as when we left. We like it that way. We are photophobes. EPA's (Exceptionally Pale Americans)
This avoidance of the sun's damaging rays keeps our skin young and beautiful, while our sun-worshiping peer group is starting to wrinkle like the prunes that they eat for breakfast - you know, to stay "regular".
People look us over and challenge us. "You don't look like you've been to the beach!" "Where is your Tan?" "Did it rain the whole time?" "You look different."
Like, maybe they suspect us of going off for cosmetic surgery instead of a relaxing week across the street from the beach. I usuallly lose a few tons of fat by swimming every day, so maybe it looks like I've been to the Lyposuctionist. So, I take these jibes as complimentary even though they're intended to convey disapproval.
Anyhow, we are re-packing and doing laundry in preparation for next week in Florida. For those who would ask incredulously "Why the (bleep) are you EPA types going to Florida of all places? In July of all times!" I have only one answer: Grandkids.
We survive in Florida because of ubuquitous and efficient Air Conditioning. When forced to venture outside, we run to the nearest cool place. We dash across the sand to the ocean, then back to the shade of the poolside bar. We listen in on other people's conversations and then write humorous satires of them when we return home. Some people come home with a tan. I return with my notes and my stories.
===========
Job Search Update.
Activity has dwindled from spotty to zero. There may be a recovery going on out there, but it seems to be passing me by. This may force me to invoke Plan B (Retirement).
I'm old enough. I'm eligible. And Doggonit, they owe me.
I'm thinking of retiring this blog and re-tasking it to focus upon exploits of a retired freelance writer instead of working themes. Any thoughts?
This avoidance of the sun's damaging rays keeps our skin young and beautiful, while our sun-worshiping peer group is starting to wrinkle like the prunes that they eat for breakfast - you know, to stay "regular".
People look us over and challenge us. "You don't look like you've been to the beach!" "Where is your Tan?" "Did it rain the whole time?" "You look different."
Like, maybe they suspect us of going off for cosmetic surgery instead of a relaxing week across the street from the beach. I usuallly lose a few tons of fat by swimming every day, so maybe it looks like I've been to the Lyposuctionist. So, I take these jibes as complimentary even though they're intended to convey disapproval.
Anyhow, we are re-packing and doing laundry in preparation for next week in Florida. For those who would ask incredulously "Why the (bleep) are you EPA types going to Florida of all places? In July of all times!" I have only one answer: Grandkids.
We survive in Florida because of ubuquitous and efficient Air Conditioning. When forced to venture outside, we run to the nearest cool place. We dash across the sand to the ocean, then back to the shade of the poolside bar. We listen in on other people's conversations and then write humorous satires of them when we return home. Some people come home with a tan. I return with my notes and my stories.
===========
Job Search Update.
Activity has dwindled from spotty to zero. There may be a recovery going on out there, but it seems to be passing me by. This may force me to invoke Plan B (Retirement).
I'm old enough. I'm eligible. And Doggonit, they owe me.
I'm thinking of retiring this blog and re-tasking it to focus upon exploits of a retired freelance writer instead of working themes. Any thoughts?
6/22/2004
Staying Tuned
Maybe you will think that I have too much time on my hands when I declare that I am sick of the so-called News media.
I generally read two newspapers in the morning: The Boston Globe and WSJ. The intent of course was to acheive a balanced viewpoint after digesting the editorial predilections of these two highly respected organs of information.
On the "news" pages you might expect to see the same factual items about local and world events. After all "news" should be "facts," right? Then in the analysis and opinion sections, you might expect to read more colored interpretations of what the news means to the reader.
But it does not work that way. The news is virtually indistinguishable from the editorial pages except in the structure of the presentation. Editors filter what we should know about, and slant headlines to ideolgogical ends (i.e., Globe: Kerry=good; Bush=evil. WSJ: Bush=staying the course; Kerry=flip-flopper).
Even on page one, reporters are allowed to speculate on how "underwhelming" the response was to one candidate's speech. And unpopular news - such as the UN oil-for-food scandal, where UN officials are implicated in a corrupt plot to make Saddam rich at the expense of the Iraqi children - is supressed.
And it isn't just the papers. It seems like every time you switch on the TV these days, you are blitzed by the same pictures of some live or dead celebrity. Last week it was Reagan in his prime, smiling and waving. This week it is Clinton, biting his lip, looking chastened, as if that would make you want to read about his life. (No thanks, I already know more about Clinton's checkered past than I can stomach.)
It doesn't matter what channel you watch. They are all alike. You can switch from network to cable and get roughly the same thing. Talking heads spinning their version of what is going on. As if we need to know "What would Laci Peterson think?" Or, those tired out clips of Osama Bin Laden firing his weapon, Saddam having his mouth inspected, and the terrorist training camp clips. It's just tedious. Not news.
For example, I have to chuckle at the 10 O'clock news on Fox. They have an hour to present about 10 minutes of footage on current events. So they fluff up the broadcast with 30 minutes of teasers. The Weather guy grins for the camera, "Will the tornado hit your neighborhood? Stay tuned for details!" An attractive reporter stands alone in front of a building. "You won't believe what happend here to innocent puppies. Details coming up." And so it goes. The ardent news consumer is assailed by non news, commercials and "live", "exclusive" reports. It is a big waste of time. I pick on Fox but it is the same on the other channels as well.
And the cable "talk" shows are nothing but people shouting at each another.
Thankfully we are going on vacation soon, so I can take some time off to lay on the beach and think about Eternity rather than wasting my time trying to understand current events.
Vacation? I know what you are thinking "Don't you have to have a job to get a vacation?" Tune in at 11 for my response.
I generally read two newspapers in the morning: The Boston Globe and WSJ. The intent of course was to acheive a balanced viewpoint after digesting the editorial predilections of these two highly respected organs of information.
On the "news" pages you might expect to see the same factual items about local and world events. After all "news" should be "facts," right? Then in the analysis and opinion sections, you might expect to read more colored interpretations of what the news means to the reader.
But it does not work that way. The news is virtually indistinguishable from the editorial pages except in the structure of the presentation. Editors filter what we should know about, and slant headlines to ideolgogical ends (i.e., Globe: Kerry=good; Bush=evil. WSJ: Bush=staying the course; Kerry=flip-flopper).
Even on page one, reporters are allowed to speculate on how "underwhelming" the response was to one candidate's speech. And unpopular news - such as the UN oil-for-food scandal, where UN officials are implicated in a corrupt plot to make Saddam rich at the expense of the Iraqi children - is supressed.
And it isn't just the papers. It seems like every time you switch on the TV these days, you are blitzed by the same pictures of some live or dead celebrity. Last week it was Reagan in his prime, smiling and waving. This week it is Clinton, biting his lip, looking chastened, as if that would make you want to read about his life. (No thanks, I already know more about Clinton's checkered past than I can stomach.)
It doesn't matter what channel you watch. They are all alike. You can switch from network to cable and get roughly the same thing. Talking heads spinning their version of what is going on. As if we need to know "What would Laci Peterson think?" Or, those tired out clips of Osama Bin Laden firing his weapon, Saddam having his mouth inspected, and the terrorist training camp clips. It's just tedious. Not news.
For example, I have to chuckle at the 10 O'clock news on Fox. They have an hour to present about 10 minutes of footage on current events. So they fluff up the broadcast with 30 minutes of teasers. The Weather guy grins for the camera, "Will the tornado hit your neighborhood? Stay tuned for details!" An attractive reporter stands alone in front of a building. "You won't believe what happend here to innocent puppies. Details coming up." And so it goes. The ardent news consumer is assailed by non news, commercials and "live", "exclusive" reports. It is a big waste of time. I pick on Fox but it is the same on the other channels as well.
And the cable "talk" shows are nothing but people shouting at each another.
Thankfully we are going on vacation soon, so I can take some time off to lay on the beach and think about Eternity rather than wasting my time trying to understand current events.
Vacation? I know what you are thinking "Don't you have to have a job to get a vacation?" Tune in at 11 for my response.
6/19/2004
Fishing
They say a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. I decided to take a day off from not-doing-anything and went fishing yesterday with a group of former workmates from the Urban Diploma Factory. It's been an annual event for them for about twenty years. I have gone along a few times - I think this was my fourth.
The boat leaves the dock in Gloucester at 6:45am, so it is a serious comitment to sign up for the trip. Approximately 25-30 people were on board when I got there. Some of them were looking worried about the fog and drizzle. And the cold. It gets pretty breezy on the water when the sun is not out.
Unlike my historical attendance record at work meetings, I was on-time at the docks. I had stopped at Dunkin Donut for two Boston Kreme donuts, which I refer to as "seasick pills." I have learned that I don't get seasick on a full stomach. Some of the stalwart fishermen were already popping the tops of their cans of bud as we cleared the harbor. Too early for me.
We steamed (steamed sounds more appealing than "dieseled" don't you think) eastward for about an hour. At a depth of about 200 ft under misty skies, we dropped our lines over the side, and to my shock and surprise we started catching fish.
After reeling in what felt like a truck tire I finally landed a big codfish (9-10 lbs easy. For a while it was the biggest catch, but someone on the other side brought in a 12 pounder and my moment of supremacy passed.
I caught 4 more keepers and a few small fry. By the end of the day my arms were so tired that only the vigorous hydration of malt beverages could relieve the discomfort.
It was a good day fishing. Which is second only to winning the lottery.
The boat leaves the dock in Gloucester at 6:45am, so it is a serious comitment to sign up for the trip. Approximately 25-30 people were on board when I got there. Some of them were looking worried about the fog and drizzle. And the cold. It gets pretty breezy on the water when the sun is not out.
Unlike my historical attendance record at work meetings, I was on-time at the docks. I had stopped at Dunkin Donut for two Boston Kreme donuts, which I refer to as "seasick pills." I have learned that I don't get seasick on a full stomach. Some of the stalwart fishermen were already popping the tops of their cans of bud as we cleared the harbor. Too early for me.
We steamed (steamed sounds more appealing than "dieseled" don't you think) eastward for about an hour. At a depth of about 200 ft under misty skies, we dropped our lines over the side, and to my shock and surprise we started catching fish.
After reeling in what felt like a truck tire I finally landed a big codfish (9-10 lbs easy. For a while it was the biggest catch, but someone on the other side brought in a 12 pounder and my moment of supremacy passed.
I caught 4 more keepers and a few small fry. By the end of the day my arms were so tired that only the vigorous hydration of malt beverages could relieve the discomfort.
It was a good day fishing. Which is second only to winning the lottery.
6/11/2004
Another Excuse Not to Work
Thankfully today, is the last day of the Reagan Memorial extravaganza. At first I was appropriately saddened by the memory and passing of the last great Leader this country has had. Now, I am ready to move on.
Our Republican Governor, Mitt Romney has declared this an official day of mourning. He gave all "nonessential" state workers a day off with pay. I think he should just fire all the non-essential workers and cut taxes. But, as usual, he did not consult with me on this decision.
Predictably, the idealogues on both sides cannot stop their partisan yapping long enough to consider the tremendous popularity of Reagan. Look at all the people who cared so much that they would wait hours, and travel hundreds of miles, just to spend a minute in front of a flag draped coffin. (I think it was empty; can anyone prove me wrong?)
For the most part, I remember the Reagan years fondly. We were raising our family, doing well enough to build a vacation house in New Hampshire. Life seemed pretty good.
A life long Democrat, I thought Reagan was wrong about a lot of things (eg, Iran-Contra, bailing-out of Beruit, running up the deficit while giving tax cuts). But I did support the mass firing of the striking Air Traffic Controllers. (Did I mention that I don't like strikers, especially the ones with all those cushy government benefits.) And, his "tear Down this Wall," speech was as powerful oratory as I've ever heard.
He was not perfect, but he had a great sense of humor. He created a semi scandal when he was doing a voice test for the weekly radio broadcast and jokingly announced, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes."
Also he was a courageous Leader. Remember how quickly he recovered from the Hinkley assassination attempt? He was back in the saddle faster than Hopalong Cassidy after a shouldner nick. Certainly the greatest achievement of his administration was hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union. Political opponents cannot take that away from him. I think it trumps any failures of his presidency.
While we are in mourning, let's note the passing of another great celebrity of our times. Ray Charles died of liver problems, but the way I understand it he just did not want to live in a world where Snoop Dog was making more money than him.
Our Republican Governor, Mitt Romney has declared this an official day of mourning. He gave all "nonessential" state workers a day off with pay. I think he should just fire all the non-essential workers and cut taxes. But, as usual, he did not consult with me on this decision.
Predictably, the idealogues on both sides cannot stop their partisan yapping long enough to consider the tremendous popularity of Reagan. Look at all the people who cared so much that they would wait hours, and travel hundreds of miles, just to spend a minute in front of a flag draped coffin. (I think it was empty; can anyone prove me wrong?)
For the most part, I remember the Reagan years fondly. We were raising our family, doing well enough to build a vacation house in New Hampshire. Life seemed pretty good.
A life long Democrat, I thought Reagan was wrong about a lot of things (eg, Iran-Contra, bailing-out of Beruit, running up the deficit while giving tax cuts). But I did support the mass firing of the striking Air Traffic Controllers. (Did I mention that I don't like strikers, especially the ones with all those cushy government benefits.) And, his "tear Down this Wall," speech was as powerful oratory as I've ever heard.
He was not perfect, but he had a great sense of humor. He created a semi scandal when he was doing a voice test for the weekly radio broadcast and jokingly announced, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes."
Also he was a courageous Leader. Remember how quickly he recovered from the Hinkley assassination attempt? He was back in the saddle faster than Hopalong Cassidy after a shouldner nick. Certainly the greatest achievement of his administration was hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union. Political opponents cannot take that away from him. I think it trumps any failures of his presidency.
While we are in mourning, let's note the passing of another great celebrity of our times. Ray Charles died of liver problems, but the way I understand it he just did not want to live in a world where Snoop Dog was making more money than him.
6/09/2004
People Who Don't Want To Work
Nothing annoys me more than people who are willing to disrupt traffic to make their own political statement. On the TV news we see shots of Boston cops and firemen mugging inanely for the cameras, while they carry signs declaiming the lack of a contract. They are threatening to prevent work on the Fleet Center to get ready for the DNC in July if they don't get satisfaction.
Mayor Menino says he has offered over 11% in pay raises. This is apparently not enough for the municipal Patrolmen's Association extortionators. They are picketing even though they are too cowardly to actually go on strike themselves. (Ronald Regan set the very effective precedent as to how you deal with municipal employees who strike.) So instead of laying their jobs on the line, they intimidate electricians and truck drivers to risk their jobs. They call it solidarity, but it is really blackmail.
Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-union. I just think that the union should only exist to protect the workers from being exploited by rapacious management - not to blackmail the citizenry for unreasonable pay raises and benefits.
If I was emperor the rule would be: People who are unhappy with the working conditions do not have the right to block traffic or to harrass others. Shut up and get back to work, or quit and make room for someone who wants to work.
Funny how quickly the Hero status of Cops and Firemen fades when you see them, just like the rest of us, greedy and selfish.
Mayor Menino says he has offered over 11% in pay raises. This is apparently not enough for the municipal Patrolmen's Association extortionators. They are picketing even though they are too cowardly to actually go on strike themselves. (Ronald Regan set the very effective precedent as to how you deal with municipal employees who strike.) So instead of laying their jobs on the line, they intimidate electricians and truck drivers to risk their jobs. They call it solidarity, but it is really blackmail.
Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-union. I just think that the union should only exist to protect the workers from being exploited by rapacious management - not to blackmail the citizenry for unreasonable pay raises and benefits.
If I was emperor the rule would be: People who are unhappy with the working conditions do not have the right to block traffic or to harrass others. Shut up and get back to work, or quit and make room for someone who wants to work.
Funny how quickly the Hero status of Cops and Firemen fades when you see them, just like the rest of us, greedy and selfish.
6/07/2004
The Project Next Door
Ok that fries it. The neighbor’s are having an addition put on. Last week the tree guys came to take down three enormous pine trees that have been over shadowing both of our houses. I was pretty happy about that, since one of the trees was constantly dropping pine sap and dead limbs onto any cars parked in our driveway.
It was pretty entertaining, watching a 70 year-old coniferous work of nature reduced to a pile of wood chips in just a few minutes by three men (two of whom did not speak English) and some big noisy machinery.
Yesterday, the backhoe and the dump trucks arrived.
There goes my nice quiet summer. Reflecting on the nature of work does not take long when you see guys who really are doing physical labor. But the heavy equipment guys make ten times more than office guys and the tree guy says he make more in one day than he made in a whole week as a high wire electrician. He did confirm that the site boss was an asshole, just like working in an office.
But, somehow, going into a nice air conditioned office with indoor plumbing seemed somehow more doable to me than working with big heavy objects and machinery. Even if the wages are chump change compared to a crane operator. I know what you are thinking, comparisons are invidious.
I really need to get a job or join the Peace Corps – anything to get out of here until the construction work is done next door. Anyone need a professional drinking companion?
It was pretty entertaining, watching a 70 year-old coniferous work of nature reduced to a pile of wood chips in just a few minutes by three men (two of whom did not speak English) and some big noisy machinery.
Yesterday, the backhoe and the dump trucks arrived.
There goes my nice quiet summer. Reflecting on the nature of work does not take long when you see guys who really are doing physical labor. But the heavy equipment guys make ten times more than office guys and the tree guy says he make more in one day than he made in a whole week as a high wire electrician. He did confirm that the site boss was an asshole, just like working in an office.
But, somehow, going into a nice air conditioned office with indoor plumbing seemed somehow more doable to me than working with big heavy objects and machinery. Even if the wages are chump change compared to a crane operator. I know what you are thinking, comparisons are invidious.
I really need to get a job or join the Peace Corps – anything to get out of here until the construction work is done next door. Anyone need a professional drinking companion?
6/06/2004
By Their Deeds Measure Ours
Sixty years ago, on this day 6,000 young men were killed on the beaches of France in the D-Day invasion. I was two years old. President Bush wasn't born yet.
In the movie "Saving Private Ryan" the reality of the battle scene was startling and haunting. It made those of us who escaped the horror of battle feel a little guilty to be living in an era where the worst thing we can complain about is that our boss is an idiot and out 401K is not enough to retire at age 55.
Despite terrorist threats, most of us feel pretty secure here in the USA. The freedom and security that was earned by the heroes - those who fought in battle - is appreciated and our job is to be worthy of that gift.
On TV, we see the fields of Normandy where thousands upon thousands of crosses mark the graves of the American dead. This does not include the millions of civilians killed during the war by bombs and in camps. I read in the paper that Russia lost 20 million citizens and that was before Stalin killed a few more million. (By contrast 400 thousand Americans died.)
It is sad to consider the immense amount of destruction and suffering that can be caused by a few evil (or even misguided) men in power.
===========
Job Search Update
The discouraging thing about looking for work on the job boards is that the same companies continue to list the same jobs that were first posted months ago. They have not filled these positions which I have applied to - sometimes more than once. Yet, they have not called me. I am clearly being disqualified on some factor other than experience and knowledge.
Or maybe there are no real jobs. They post a bunch of fictitious jobs to make it look like they are growing, to boost their stock prices. It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
Meanwhile, the tomatoes are planted, the yard looks good, and I have managed to eliminate stress in my life. Well, almost. I still get annoyed when I see squirrels digging up the marigolds. Throwing stones at them is very theraputic, and it doesn't hurt the squirrels either.
In the movie "Saving Private Ryan" the reality of the battle scene was startling and haunting. It made those of us who escaped the horror of battle feel a little guilty to be living in an era where the worst thing we can complain about is that our boss is an idiot and out 401K is not enough to retire at age 55.
Despite terrorist threats, most of us feel pretty secure here in the USA. The freedom and security that was earned by the heroes - those who fought in battle - is appreciated and our job is to be worthy of that gift.
On TV, we see the fields of Normandy where thousands upon thousands of crosses mark the graves of the American dead. This does not include the millions of civilians killed during the war by bombs and in camps. I read in the paper that Russia lost 20 million citizens and that was before Stalin killed a few more million. (By contrast 400 thousand Americans died.)
It is sad to consider the immense amount of destruction and suffering that can be caused by a few evil (or even misguided) men in power.
===========
Job Search Update
The discouraging thing about looking for work on the job boards is that the same companies continue to list the same jobs that were first posted months ago. They have not filled these positions which I have applied to - sometimes more than once. Yet, they have not called me. I am clearly being disqualified on some factor other than experience and knowledge.
Or maybe there are no real jobs. They post a bunch of fictitious jobs to make it look like they are growing, to boost their stock prices. It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
Meanwhile, the tomatoes are planted, the yard looks good, and I have managed to eliminate stress in my life. Well, almost. I still get annoyed when I see squirrels digging up the marigolds. Throwing stones at them is very theraputic, and it doesn't hurt the squirrels either.
6/02/2004
Post Memorial Day Thoughts
Some self-appointed wag sent me an email noting that jobs were opening up every day in places like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Excitement and high pay.
It got me to thinking about the current situation over there. I don't usually use this forum to get political, but I cannot help noticing the big sucking sound coming from Iraq. I cannot figure out if it is the whoosh of US taxpayer dollars being piped into the desert to make us safe from Osama Bin Laden, or whether it is the sound of the Iraqi Governing Council trying to get the hell out of Dodge before the world learns that when you hand democracy to theocrats you get totalitarianism.
In "The Fog of War" Robert MacNamara admits that big mistakes were made during the "Cold War" and Viet Nam, and most of them were because of bad intelligence and the failure to understand the motivation of the enemy. We didn't realize that North Vietnam would never be an ally of China - they had been at war for centuries. They did not want ANY occupying power. Castro had advised Kruschev to go ahead and launch the missiles on the US expecting that Cuba would have been vaporized in retaliation.
There seems to be a general feeling of doom about the future of Iraq. Everyone remembers the pictures of US troops evacuating Saigon which we should recall was followed by the killings of millions in Nam and Cambodia. As soon as we leave Iraq there will be a bloodbath. Those suspected of conspiring with America will be killed or run out of town. In the end, we have not accomplished anything, except to ruin our own economy, bleed our resources, give comfort and hope to our enemies and erode the trust and good will of our allies.
An expensive venture indeed.
It got me to thinking about the current situation over there. I don't usually use this forum to get political, but I cannot help noticing the big sucking sound coming from Iraq. I cannot figure out if it is the whoosh of US taxpayer dollars being piped into the desert to make us safe from Osama Bin Laden, or whether it is the sound of the Iraqi Governing Council trying to get the hell out of Dodge before the world learns that when you hand democracy to theocrats you get totalitarianism.
In "The Fog of War" Robert MacNamara admits that big mistakes were made during the "Cold War" and Viet Nam, and most of them were because of bad intelligence and the failure to understand the motivation of the enemy. We didn't realize that North Vietnam would never be an ally of China - they had been at war for centuries. They did not want ANY occupying power. Castro had advised Kruschev to go ahead and launch the missiles on the US expecting that Cuba would have been vaporized in retaliation.
There seems to be a general feeling of doom about the future of Iraq. Everyone remembers the pictures of US troops evacuating Saigon which we should recall was followed by the killings of millions in Nam and Cambodia. As soon as we leave Iraq there will be a bloodbath. Those suspected of conspiring with America will be killed or run out of town. In the end, we have not accomplished anything, except to ruin our own economy, bleed our resources, give comfort and hope to our enemies and erode the trust and good will of our allies.
An expensive venture indeed.
6/01/2004
The Elixer of Life
I read in the paper today that the former world's oldest person - a woman - has died at the age of 114. The story quoted her relatives as remarking that she loved beer and would order it with every meal.
Now, I don't recall the woman's name or anything else about her life, but if I owned a brewery, I would erect a statue of her in the parking lot to stand as an inspiration to my customers and employees. Of course, I might make her look a bit younger and more buxom.
I would never trivialize this woman's longevity by attributing it to beer consumption, but I think the evidence is compelling.
Now, I don't recall the woman's name or anything else about her life, but if I owned a brewery, I would erect a statue of her in the parking lot to stand as an inspiration to my customers and employees. Of course, I might make her look a bit younger and more buxom.
I would never trivialize this woman's longevity by attributing it to beer consumption, but I think the evidence is compelling.
5/19/2004
Silent Spring
I had some calls - screening interviews - last week for contract jobs doing systems analysis. I was assured there would be requests for in person interviews this week. Hmmn. Today is Wednesday. Is this phone working?
The weather has been fabulous lately, after a rainy start to the spring. I am outside most of the day, puttering, weeding, mowing, and sitting in the shade, marveling at the natural beauty of flora and fauna.
A huge variety of birds pass through the yard if you just sit down for a minute and listen for them. Of course there are our resident cardinals who have built a nest in the very bush that I was planning to cut down - Now, this project is postponed until after the eggs have hatched and the chicks have flown. But there are numerous other species: A Baltimore Oriole was sitting on the cedar fence yesterday. Two red tailed hawks making lazy circles in the sky. A lost Canadian goose flies over, honking desperately. There are also bluejays, crows, doves, robins, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, and many that I cannot identify. Their trillings, squawks, chirps, tweets and caws emanate from the trees like the noisy parrots in the jungle. The ambient noise of life. I heard somewhere that those sweet sounds of birds are actually angry threats identifying territories or requests for mating privileges. It sounds more like a racket when you think the songs are being sung by thugs and harlots.
Well, it still beats the sound of phones ringing, the kid in the next cube who talks about nothing but cars, the paging system, and other typical office related sound track.
Other wildlife abound. I throw stones at the odious squirrels - who dig up my lawn in their frenetic search for...what the heck are they looking for anyway? Chipmunks are left alone to scurry and chirp as they please, although my stand of catmint does attract the local outdoor cats. I like seeing them - they chase away most of the rodentia. In the evening, we are visited by skunks and raccoons. One got into the garage the other night looking for food. My three indoor cats sit on windowsills watching the action outside. They are entertained by the reality show being played out.
Work? Yes I'm working. I have a list of chores and tasks. I am also monitoring the neighborhood building projects. Next door, they are setting up the forms for the extended foundation. Someone has to make sure they are doing it correctly. And later, the concrete trucks will be onsite.
I may not be getting paid in the coin of the realm, but the reward of seeing the newly mown lawn and the dark earth of a freshly-weeded flower bed gives one a sense of satisfaction that must be pre-wired into our DNA from ancient ancestors, embedded in our medula oblongata. You cannot get that same satisfaction from a data model or from a meeting that went well.
Cripes, listen to me. I need to get a job pretty soon, or the next thing you know I'll be one of those old guys sitting on a bench seemingly at peace with the world. Who needs that?
The weather has been fabulous lately, after a rainy start to the spring. I am outside most of the day, puttering, weeding, mowing, and sitting in the shade, marveling at the natural beauty of flora and fauna.
A huge variety of birds pass through the yard if you just sit down for a minute and listen for them. Of course there are our resident cardinals who have built a nest in the very bush that I was planning to cut down - Now, this project is postponed until after the eggs have hatched and the chicks have flown. But there are numerous other species: A Baltimore Oriole was sitting on the cedar fence yesterday. Two red tailed hawks making lazy circles in the sky. A lost Canadian goose flies over, honking desperately. There are also bluejays, crows, doves, robins, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, and many that I cannot identify. Their trillings, squawks, chirps, tweets and caws emanate from the trees like the noisy parrots in the jungle. The ambient noise of life. I heard somewhere that those sweet sounds of birds are actually angry threats identifying territories or requests for mating privileges. It sounds more like a racket when you think the songs are being sung by thugs and harlots.
Well, it still beats the sound of phones ringing, the kid in the next cube who talks about nothing but cars, the paging system, and other typical office related sound track.
Other wildlife abound. I throw stones at the odious squirrels - who dig up my lawn in their frenetic search for...what the heck are they looking for anyway? Chipmunks are left alone to scurry and chirp as they please, although my stand of catmint does attract the local outdoor cats. I like seeing them - they chase away most of the rodentia. In the evening, we are visited by skunks and raccoons. One got into the garage the other night looking for food. My three indoor cats sit on windowsills watching the action outside. They are entertained by the reality show being played out.
Work? Yes I'm working. I have a list of chores and tasks. I am also monitoring the neighborhood building projects. Next door, they are setting up the forms for the extended foundation. Someone has to make sure they are doing it correctly. And later, the concrete trucks will be onsite.
I may not be getting paid in the coin of the realm, but the reward of seeing the newly mown lawn and the dark earth of a freshly-weeded flower bed gives one a sense of satisfaction that must be pre-wired into our DNA from ancient ancestors, embedded in our medula oblongata. You cannot get that same satisfaction from a data model or from a meeting that went well.
Cripes, listen to me. I need to get a job pretty soon, or the next thing you know I'll be one of those old guys sitting on a bench seemingly at peace with the world. Who needs that?
5/13/2004
Suddenly It's Thursday.
I know a man who has been retired for almost twenty years. He is 82 years old. Once, when I asked him how he passed the time he declared that you can get really busy doing nothing. He claims that the title of his forthcoming book is: "Suddenly, It's Thursday." Now I know what he meant.
When the only events on your schedule are Doctors appointments and getting the car washed, it is hard to keep track of what day it is. Some driven people never know how it feels to do nothing. To those of us with a low sense of urgency, the unscheduled day is a gift from the heavens.
For those readers who have a job, you can understand what I am saying by remembering your last long vacation at the beach. (Not a long weekend getaway or a traveling tour of the sites in Mozambique. These trips have too many time-sensitive moments and they don't give you time to get into a relaxed mode.)
But, if you recall your best long vacation, you remember that around the beginning of the second week, you really got relaxed. You forgot your job, your meetings, your backbiting co-workers, your clueless boss, your inept subordinates. The vacation day consists of napping, eating, drinking, reading and thinking. You lose track of time, because it doesn't really matter what day it is. A good day depends on the weather, not on the vagaries of the next phone call from your idiot clients.
Well, an extended time not-working has the same effect. You develop certain strategies to promote a nice stress-free existence. You shop for food and go to the dump during weekdays. Working people clog the streets on Saturdays trying to take kids to soccer matches, getting to the mall, rushing to the super market. They need to do everything in one day, so they can relax on Sunday. It's dangerous to be on the roads when these frenetic souls are speeding to their destinations, multitasking with cell phones glued to their ears, yakking instead of paying attention to their driving. Busy, busy, hurry, hurry. Too much anxiety in the streets.
So, what happens is, non-working people tend to let the week drift along. You do whatever you feel like doing. Then, at some point you again notice that your wife has taped a list of honey-do's to the beer refrigerator. Some of the things on the list are left over from previous weeks' lists, and now they have exclamation marks, arrows and highlights. And you realize in the interest of harmony, that you better get some things done.
That's when you realize that suddenly it's Thursday. Again.
A year in Blogville
It was about a year ago that I started this weblog. People who know me have been getting email HH Updates for years, and before the internet I kept a typewritten journal through decades of all the previous jobs. I plan to publish it all in my book about leadership. The working title is "I should have stayed in bed."
When the only events on your schedule are Doctors appointments and getting the car washed, it is hard to keep track of what day it is. Some driven people never know how it feels to do nothing. To those of us with a low sense of urgency, the unscheduled day is a gift from the heavens.
For those readers who have a job, you can understand what I am saying by remembering your last long vacation at the beach. (Not a long weekend getaway or a traveling tour of the sites in Mozambique. These trips have too many time-sensitive moments and they don't give you time to get into a relaxed mode.)
But, if you recall your best long vacation, you remember that around the beginning of the second week, you really got relaxed. You forgot your job, your meetings, your backbiting co-workers, your clueless boss, your inept subordinates. The vacation day consists of napping, eating, drinking, reading and thinking. You lose track of time, because it doesn't really matter what day it is. A good day depends on the weather, not on the vagaries of the next phone call from your idiot clients.
Well, an extended time not-working has the same effect. You develop certain strategies to promote a nice stress-free existence. You shop for food and go to the dump during weekdays. Working people clog the streets on Saturdays trying to take kids to soccer matches, getting to the mall, rushing to the super market. They need to do everything in one day, so they can relax on Sunday. It's dangerous to be on the roads when these frenetic souls are speeding to their destinations, multitasking with cell phones glued to their ears, yakking instead of paying attention to their driving. Busy, busy, hurry, hurry. Too much anxiety in the streets.
So, what happens is, non-working people tend to let the week drift along. You do whatever you feel like doing. Then, at some point you again notice that your wife has taped a list of honey-do's to the beer refrigerator. Some of the things on the list are left over from previous weeks' lists, and now they have exclamation marks, arrows and highlights. And you realize in the interest of harmony, that you better get some things done.
That's when you realize that suddenly it's Thursday. Again.
A year in Blogville
It was about a year ago that I started this weblog. People who know me have been getting email HH Updates for years, and before the internet I kept a typewritten journal through decades of all the previous jobs. I plan to publish it all in my book about leadership. The working title is "I should have stayed in bed."
5/07/2004
A Year Beyond Hellhole
On Monday I will be celebrating the 1 year anniversary of my unemployment.
I say "celebrating", because I really do not miss working (meetings, status reports, commuting, deadlines, ego-centric a-holes, unreasonable customers, insufficent resources, striving for excellence, competition and did I mention meetings?).
I do miss the fun things (Interesting colleagues, beers at the pub, travel to user conferences in interesting places, occasionally getting something worthwhile accomplished.) And, I do miss getting paid.
The weekly unemployment check ($500) was great for 9 months. And, since it went away, I am getting pressure to fire (oops, I mean "lay-off") the cleaners who still come every two weeks. And, I have had to cut back on lottery investments and lunches with friends and the increasing headcount of unemployed former colleagues. I keep reading about the hot economy, but haven't felt the warmth yet.
So, I continue to check the job boards, and apply to any Business Systems Analyst job that looks interesting and located within a short commute. I remain calm. Sooner or later there will be opportunities to work. These cycles are immutable and I am confident that I will ultimately return to the ranks of the so-called 'gainfully employed'.
But, with gardening, reading and social activities, I really don't know how I will find the time to work at a full-time job. Life is full of such contradictions, I guess.
Hey, the sun is out, I have stuff to do.
I say "celebrating", because I really do not miss working (meetings, status reports, commuting, deadlines, ego-centric a-holes, unreasonable customers, insufficent resources, striving for excellence, competition and did I mention meetings?).
I do miss the fun things (Interesting colleagues, beers at the pub, travel to user conferences in interesting places, occasionally getting something worthwhile accomplished.) And, I do miss getting paid.
The weekly unemployment check ($500) was great for 9 months. And, since it went away, I am getting pressure to fire (oops, I mean "lay-off") the cleaners who still come every two weeks. And, I have had to cut back on lottery investments and lunches with friends and the increasing headcount of unemployed former colleagues. I keep reading about the hot economy, but haven't felt the warmth yet.
So, I continue to check the job boards, and apply to any Business Systems Analyst job that looks interesting and located within a short commute. I remain calm. Sooner or later there will be opportunities to work. These cycles are immutable and I am confident that I will ultimately return to the ranks of the so-called 'gainfully employed'.
But, with gardening, reading and social activities, I really don't know how I will find the time to work at a full-time job. Life is full of such contradictions, I guess.
Hey, the sun is out, I have stuff to do.
5/05/2004
Cinco de Mayo
I was checking out the job boards today and found a perfect job for me. I would have been perfect for this job if I had some relevant experience.
Still, One must be alert to opportunity, so I sent this email:
"I am truly unqualified for the job you described in your Monster.com ad. Not only have I not earned a living as a writer or editor, but, more damagingly, I am possessed by an inexplicable condition which my wife diagnoses as "call reluctance." I cannot explain why I am intimidated by successful business leaders. Perhaps it is because my own job history is pockmarked by an inability to rise above the rabble who sit in the cafeteria, munching on jelly donuts and free coffee, grousing about inept management.
Which brings me to the incentive for this e-query: The job description did mention the thing about free bagels and drinks. So I was wondering whether it was limited to soft drinks or whether you are one of those progressive outfits that has beer in the fridge. Now, that would be an interesting place to work.
You also mentioned that everyone has a great time and no one ever wants to leave. Again, this sounds like the perfect environment for someone like me: Laid off from my high paying IT job, nearing retirement, non-golfer, 30 years experience as an IT project leader, pretty good writer, superior sense of humor, and someone who can really appreciate a free bagel.
Ok, I admit it. I am not really applying for a senior writer position. But your environment sounded so attractive that I had to take time out of my normal job-hunting and blogging to see if you had any work for someone who can write knowledgeably about technology and management issues with a sense of humor. "
Hey, what if there actually was some one in HR with a sense of humor. Maybe they would show it to someone who was thinking about hiring laid off systems analysts to write about data management and other funny stuff.
Stranger things have happened.
Still, One must be alert to opportunity, so I sent this email:
"I am truly unqualified for the job you described in your Monster.com ad. Not only have I not earned a living as a writer or editor, but, more damagingly, I am possessed by an inexplicable condition which my wife diagnoses as "call reluctance." I cannot explain why I am intimidated by successful business leaders. Perhaps it is because my own job history is pockmarked by an inability to rise above the rabble who sit in the cafeteria, munching on jelly donuts and free coffee, grousing about inept management.
Which brings me to the incentive for this e-query: The job description did mention the thing about free bagels and drinks. So I was wondering whether it was limited to soft drinks or whether you are one of those progressive outfits that has beer in the fridge. Now, that would be an interesting place to work.
You also mentioned that everyone has a great time and no one ever wants to leave. Again, this sounds like the perfect environment for someone like me: Laid off from my high paying IT job, nearing retirement, non-golfer, 30 years experience as an IT project leader, pretty good writer, superior sense of humor, and someone who can really appreciate a free bagel.
Ok, I admit it. I am not really applying for a senior writer position. But your environment sounded so attractive that I had to take time out of my normal job-hunting and blogging to see if you had any work for someone who can write knowledgeably about technology and management issues with a sense of humor. "
Hey, what if there actually was some one in HR with a sense of humor. Maybe they would show it to someone who was thinking about hiring laid off systems analysts to write about data management and other funny stuff.
Stranger things have happened.
4/30/2004
Warming-Up
Today looks like a real spring day here in the suburbs of Boston. The last day of April brings hope, because it means the cold weather is mostly behind us. In about three weeks we can safely plant those marigolds and tomato sets outside. Memorial day marks the last-frost-date for old time farmers, but nowadays we cheat a little and plant in mid-may.
Cleaning day. But instead of evacuating to the library today, I think I will do some garden chores. I have hostas that need to be divided and replanted, shrubs that need pruning, and a lawn full of incipient dandylions that need to be exterminated.
I look at my lawn and garden as a metaphor for the job scene. Things are warming up. A Promise of fecundity lays in the air like a friendly fog. Or is it smoke from a careless fire? I try not to watch the war news, because every piece of bad news translates into a drop in the stock market indices, and this does nothing to promote job growth.
Some recent activity on the job hunting scene:
- Call from a headhunter who did not speak comprehensible English. From the quality of the connection I surmised that she was calling from India. I did not understand most of what she said. Methinks the outsourcing thing is getting out of hand. I told her a lie: that I was no longer looking for work - just to get her off the phone.
- No follow-up from Phone interview from two weeks ago, despite the PM's promise to let me know. Good. That was a daily commute 30 miles to Shrewsbury. Who needs that?
- Assorted Spam from people who have picked up my email from job boards. I must declare that I have not received a single promising inquiry as a result of posting my vitae on any job board. Most of the spam wants to sell me job hunting advice and counseling, insurance sales, or work at home scams.
- Response to job boards. I see one or two promising jobs every day, and dutifully send my resume and a killer cover letter. Sooner or later, one of these seeds will sprout.
That reminds me, I have work to do: as Voltaire says "Il faut cultiver notre jardin."
Cleaning day. But instead of evacuating to the library today, I think I will do some garden chores. I have hostas that need to be divided and replanted, shrubs that need pruning, and a lawn full of incipient dandylions that need to be exterminated.
I look at my lawn and garden as a metaphor for the job scene. Things are warming up. A Promise of fecundity lays in the air like a friendly fog. Or is it smoke from a careless fire? I try not to watch the war news, because every piece of bad news translates into a drop in the stock market indices, and this does nothing to promote job growth.
Some recent activity on the job hunting scene:
- Call from a headhunter who did not speak comprehensible English. From the quality of the connection I surmised that she was calling from India. I did not understand most of what she said. Methinks the outsourcing thing is getting out of hand. I told her a lie: that I was no longer looking for work - just to get her off the phone.
- No follow-up from Phone interview from two weeks ago, despite the PM's promise to let me know. Good. That was a daily commute 30 miles to Shrewsbury. Who needs that?
- Assorted Spam from people who have picked up my email from job boards. I must declare that I have not received a single promising inquiry as a result of posting my vitae on any job board. Most of the spam wants to sell me job hunting advice and counseling, insurance sales, or work at home scams.
- Response to job boards. I see one or two promising jobs every day, and dutifully send my resume and a killer cover letter. Sooner or later, one of these seeds will sprout.
That reminds me, I have work to do: as Voltaire says "Il faut cultiver notre jardin."
4/28/2004
Good Will Hunting
Ok Ok I know. I'm getting slammed with emails because I have been lazy about the blog lately. If you've tried it you know that publishing clever and timely essays on a regular basis is not that easy. I am not looking for sympathy here just a little understanding. If I wanted to write to a deadline I'd get a job on a fucking newspaper. And get paid. Last time I checked this link is free to you, so just cut me a little slack, ok?
The job hunting has not been going well, according to my creditors. They think that I should be paying my bills on a monthly basis! Hey, I thought this was a free country!
No. Seriously folks, despite the recent spate of positive news articles about the economic expansion, my phone has been remarkably not ringing. I guess the corporate world has decided to stop hiring experienced systems analysts - merely because of their exhorbitant salary demands and refusal to work overtime. What? Hiring managers want young, bright, energetic, eager beavers who will work for scut wages?
Or maybe the word has gotton out about me! Crap.
The job hunting has not been going well, according to my creditors. They think that I should be paying my bills on a monthly basis! Hey, I thought this was a free country!
No. Seriously folks, despite the recent spate of positive news articles about the economic expansion, my phone has been remarkably not ringing. I guess the corporate world has decided to stop hiring experienced systems analysts - merely because of their exhorbitant salary demands and refusal to work overtime. What? Hiring managers want young, bright, energetic, eager beavers who will work for scut wages?
Or maybe the word has gotton out about me! Crap.
4/20/2004
Shoot Greenspan
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street tumbled Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, confirming investors' fears about interest rates, hinted in congressional testimony that a rate increase is indeed expected.
Can we put this peckerhead in jail for screwing with the markets? This is worse than anything Martha Stewart has done.
Can we put this peckerhead in jail for screwing with the markets? This is worse than anything Martha Stewart has done.
4/16/2004
Don't Shoot
I have to admit I was feeling bored yesterday. I think it is the cumulative effect of three days of rain. No lunch plans, and unable to get out of the house to take a walk, or work in the yard, I began to experience what housewives call "cabin fever."
After you've read the newspaper and all the magazines and even memorized your mutual fund prospecti, there seems little to do other than to watch TV and drink gin. Please note that I have stuck with my vow not to do either until after 5pm. So the days can drag. My wife has little pity on me "You might try to get a job." she suggests cruelly.
No one has much sympathy for an unemployed man unless he wears the look of a worried jobseeker. Spouses and friends drop not so subtle accusations that perhaps the above-referenced unemployed man (UM) is not trying very hard. Wouldn't a serious job hunter go to bed before midnight, rise with the sun, take a brisk walk, shower, shave, get dressed and get on the phone - to ruthlessly network innocent acquaintances? After all, how can a diligent UM expect to get interviews and job offers sitting on the sofa scratching his butt and reading novels? He claims to have spent hours on the internet scouring job boards for Business Systems Analyst openings. He is weary from scouring the boards, and is taking a well-deserved break.
"I send my resume to every job in my ballpark," he retorts. "Don't shoot the messenger."
He has learned that phrase - don't shoot the messenger - tends to defuse criticism, halts accusations and creates a dramatic rhetorical pause, during which he can slip way practically un-noticed while his confused interlocutor wonders "What the heck did he mean by that?"
This is my gift to readers of this blog. Try it next time someone is berating you for something, even if you deserve it.
Hey, is that the sun? Excuse me I got stuff to do.
After you've read the newspaper and all the magazines and even memorized your mutual fund prospecti, there seems little to do other than to watch TV and drink gin. Please note that I have stuck with my vow not to do either until after 5pm. So the days can drag. My wife has little pity on me "You might try to get a job." she suggests cruelly.
No one has much sympathy for an unemployed man unless he wears the look of a worried jobseeker. Spouses and friends drop not so subtle accusations that perhaps the above-referenced unemployed man (UM) is not trying very hard. Wouldn't a serious job hunter go to bed before midnight, rise with the sun, take a brisk walk, shower, shave, get dressed and get on the phone - to ruthlessly network innocent acquaintances? After all, how can a diligent UM expect to get interviews and job offers sitting on the sofa scratching his butt and reading novels? He claims to have spent hours on the internet scouring job boards for Business Systems Analyst openings. He is weary from scouring the boards, and is taking a well-deserved break.
"I send my resume to every job in my ballpark," he retorts. "Don't shoot the messenger."
He has learned that phrase - don't shoot the messenger - tends to defuse criticism, halts accusations and creates a dramatic rhetorical pause, during which he can slip way practically un-noticed while his confused interlocutor wonders "What the heck did he mean by that?"
This is my gift to readers of this blog. Try it next time someone is berating you for something, even if you deserve it.
Hey, is that the sun? Excuse me I got stuff to do.
4/14/2004
Move over TS
The poet T.S.Eliot nailed it with his observation that "April is the cruelest month." I'm not certain whether he was referring to the tax deadline, the shitty weather, rising fuel prices, psoriasis flare-ups, or lack of employment, but I can identify with the feeling. April starts with the promise of wonderous new beginnings. It sucks you in, seduces you with dreams of verdant spring and just when you think you can get an early jump on the garden, April leaves you cold and wet with little to do but watch the 9/11 hearings. Hey, I am not interested in finger pointing about 9/11. I am much more concerned with the intel that made us attack Iraq. I want to know about the UN corruption that put $3 Billion dollars into Saddam's bank accounts during the Oil-For-Food program.
I learned yesterday that my old company has laid off another large group of people. Suddenly, and cruelly, the axe fell without warning.
Where are all those new jobs?
I learned yesterday that my old company has laid off another large group of people. Suddenly, and cruelly, the axe fell without warning.
Where are all those new jobs?
4/05/2004
Opportunist
Monday morning - the usual drill. Read the newspaper: Hmmn it says 308,000 new jobs were added to the US economy in March. Great! Where are they? Check the phone maybe the ringer is broken. Nope, it's working ok. Hmmn - wonder where those jobs are....Hope it isn't just a convenient statistic floated by the current administration to divert attention from the 9/11 commission inquiries.
Then, I check the Obituaries to see if anyone I know has died. (one needs to be creative in discovering new job openings). Despite the optimism of pundits about the improving job scene, the big problem is the trillions of other unemployed folks out there. The objective is to get a jump on the competition.
There was another Systems Analyst ad on careerbuilder.com for an investment company that has been "in the news" lately. Thinking that some jobseekers might be reluctant to join an organization whose PR people are probably on the verge of self immolation, I decided to apply.
Crap. This company uses the PeopleSoft e-recruitment module. In typical PSoft fashion, this module takes about 1/2hour to enter all the dumb pieces of information that are required. Most web sites allow you to do this in 2-3 minutes.
There are 8 steps, most of which are agonizing and klunkily designed. You can upload your MS word resume, but then you have to spend 20 minutes correcting all the parsing errors. There is no option for a self promoting cover letter. It is totally designed to screen people out. I guess the process of elimination yields the best candidate. After I completed the process, there is a small part of me who will be insulted if I am selected for follow-up (could I really be as boring as the job description?)
On the other hand, the 8 step process will certainly weed-out any competitors who do not have a half an hour to waste correcting informations that they submitted on their resume, or who cannot figure out how to pick their college major and degree from the silliest lookup list I have ever encountered. Paradoxically, you cannnot apply for a job unless you can figure out how the HR group classified it. (Hint: if you think Sr. Systems Analyst is an Information Technology job, hah! you lose!) The job title listed on Careerbuilder is not listed on the company's job search list. This should make a few more of the faint-hearted give up. I found a similar title, however and got my resume into the system, where the incredibly sophisticated software will slice and dice.
Hey, that's what we love about PeopleSoft, it creates jobs - in this case, for somebody in Human Resources to update lookup tables. Hmmn. Come to think of it, maybe those people would be more effective looking at resumes, and cover letters.
It's quiet around here. What happened to Spring?
Then, I check the Obituaries to see if anyone I know has died. (one needs to be creative in discovering new job openings). Despite the optimism of pundits about the improving job scene, the big problem is the trillions of other unemployed folks out there. The objective is to get a jump on the competition.
There was another Systems Analyst ad on careerbuilder.com for an investment company that has been "in the news" lately. Thinking that some jobseekers might be reluctant to join an organization whose PR people are probably on the verge of self immolation, I decided to apply.
Crap. This company uses the PeopleSoft e-recruitment module. In typical PSoft fashion, this module takes about 1/2hour to enter all the dumb pieces of information that are required. Most web sites allow you to do this in 2-3 minutes.
There are 8 steps, most of which are agonizing and klunkily designed. You can upload your MS word resume, but then you have to spend 20 minutes correcting all the parsing errors. There is no option for a self promoting cover letter. It is totally designed to screen people out. I guess the process of elimination yields the best candidate. After I completed the process, there is a small part of me who will be insulted if I am selected for follow-up (could I really be as boring as the job description?)
On the other hand, the 8 step process will certainly weed-out any competitors who do not have a half an hour to waste correcting informations that they submitted on their resume, or who cannot figure out how to pick their college major and degree from the silliest lookup list I have ever encountered. Paradoxically, you cannnot apply for a job unless you can figure out how the HR group classified it. (Hint: if you think Sr. Systems Analyst is an Information Technology job, hah! you lose!) The job title listed on Careerbuilder is not listed on the company's job search list. This should make a few more of the faint-hearted give up. I found a similar title, however and got my resume into the system, where the incredibly sophisticated software will slice and dice.
Hey, that's what we love about PeopleSoft, it creates jobs - in this case, for somebody in Human Resources to update lookup tables. Hmmn. Come to think of it, maybe those people would be more effective looking at resumes, and cover letters.
It's quiet around here. What happened to Spring?
4/02/2004
Raining on my parade
It's cleaning day at home, so I am at the library again researching the world of business.
The latest Computerworld (March 29) has an article about a $510M lawsuit that Cleveland State University is slapping on PeopleSoft. Wow. This sounds very familiar. The charge stems from 1997, when the University began their project to implement Student Admin, Financial Aid, etc. They charge that PeopleSoft's offerings were nothing but "vaporware" and that subsequent versions were "woefully deficient." They are also suing the implementation partner for other crimes and misdemeanors.
Hmmn. I recall being associated with a similar project at the Diploma Factory where I worked at that time. If they decide to sue PSoft, I hope I get a piece of the award. I deserve it because the deficiencies in the software used-up a shitload of my time, and caused me many sleepless afternoons. (Now that I think of it, I never got credit for all the great things I did there at the Diploma Factory. Another environment that failed to recognize my genius. Yet, the guy who insisted that we replace cheap, effective Outlook with expensive, memory hogging, woefully deficient Lotus Notes is still there, making more money than ever! Where's the justice?)
It just shows that the real problem with work life in America is that nobody gets fired for making bad decisions. Executives in government, universities, companies seem to be bulletproof. In Japan when the decision maker screws up, they expiate their shame by plunging a sharp knife into their own chest. You gotta respect that. Yet, most of the working stiffs at ground level work in the shadow of fear - of layoffs, demotions, pay cuts - and are told to be glad they have a job.
Speaking of genius, I got a thing in my email box the other day, that reported research on presidential IQ's. According to the list, Bill Clinton has an IQ over 180 and George W. Bush's IQ is slightly above room temperature (91). I know my liberal friends want to believe the verity of the story but in fact it is an April Fool's Day joke. It first appeared in 2001.
Another article in the above-mentioned Computerworld said the 8 out of 10 CEOs are ready to start spending big bucks on IT again. The author predicts a big demand in Business Intelligence skills in 2004. Great, where do I send my resume? Not so fast, Sparky, says today's Globe. The piece in the Business section declares that 40 % of the people working today are dissatisfied and want to move. Cripes, just what I need: more competition.
This never-ending rain is getting me down.
The latest Computerworld (March 29) has an article about a $510M lawsuit that Cleveland State University is slapping on PeopleSoft. Wow. This sounds very familiar. The charge stems from 1997, when the University began their project to implement Student Admin, Financial Aid, etc. They charge that PeopleSoft's offerings were nothing but "vaporware" and that subsequent versions were "woefully deficient." They are also suing the implementation partner for other crimes and misdemeanors.
Hmmn. I recall being associated with a similar project at the Diploma Factory where I worked at that time. If they decide to sue PSoft, I hope I get a piece of the award. I deserve it because the deficiencies in the software used-up a shitload of my time, and caused me many sleepless afternoons. (Now that I think of it, I never got credit for all the great things I did there at the Diploma Factory. Another environment that failed to recognize my genius. Yet, the guy who insisted that we replace cheap, effective Outlook with expensive, memory hogging, woefully deficient Lotus Notes is still there, making more money than ever! Where's the justice?)
It just shows that the real problem with work life in America is that nobody gets fired for making bad decisions. Executives in government, universities, companies seem to be bulletproof. In Japan when the decision maker screws up, they expiate their shame by plunging a sharp knife into their own chest. You gotta respect that. Yet, most of the working stiffs at ground level work in the shadow of fear - of layoffs, demotions, pay cuts - and are told to be glad they have a job.
Speaking of genius, I got a thing in my email box the other day, that reported research on presidential IQ's. According to the list, Bill Clinton has an IQ over 180 and George W. Bush's IQ is slightly above room temperature (91). I know my liberal friends want to believe the verity of the story but in fact it is an April Fool's Day joke. It first appeared in 2001.
Another article in the above-mentioned Computerworld said the 8 out of 10 CEOs are ready to start spending big bucks on IT again. The author predicts a big demand in Business Intelligence skills in 2004. Great, where do I send my resume? Not so fast, Sparky, says today's Globe. The piece in the Business section declares that 40 % of the people working today are dissatisfied and want to move. Cripes, just what I need: more competition.
This never-ending rain is getting me down.
3/22/2004
Benedict Arnold CEO's
Sen. Kerry has been quoted in the news lately saying harsh things about business leaders who are shipping jobs overseas - where the work can get done cheaper - while their own compensation levels remain obscenely high. Anti-Kerry forces have enjoyed pointing to the numerous offshore operations of his wife's Ketchup plants. I think this level of discourse in unbecoming. It also misses an important point.
Any manager at any level has two priorities these days: Cut costs, and maximize personal reward. The first they do for the company, the latter is for the self. It is the nature of the beast. Outsourcing/ offshoring is merely a smart way to do business. Just like hiring young energetic people for $36K is smarter than hiring a fat old guy for $90 or $100k - if the job can be done cheaper, it just makes good business sense.
Besides, according to this week's Business Week, the real culprit is NOT offshoring jobs. No friends the real cause of lost jobs is productivity. After all these years, all the investment in process improvement is paying off. The BW article says about 300,000 jobs went overseas but 2. 5 million jobs have been simply eliminated by better technology.
This makes a lot of sense. Look at all the clerical and support jobs that have been obsoleted by improvements in telephony, web self service, bar coding, word processing, spreadsheets. And aren't the job losses a bit inflated by all those Y2K COBOL experts who were living large during the Millenium scare.
So, let's not castigate CEO's for being not being patriotic. It is un-american to criticize greed and self interest. Especially if you are sitting on a fortune built on cheap ketchup labor.
Any manager at any level has two priorities these days: Cut costs, and maximize personal reward. The first they do for the company, the latter is for the self. It is the nature of the beast. Outsourcing/ offshoring is merely a smart way to do business. Just like hiring young energetic people for $36K is smarter than hiring a fat old guy for $90 or $100k - if the job can be done cheaper, it just makes good business sense.
Besides, according to this week's Business Week, the real culprit is NOT offshoring jobs. No friends the real cause of lost jobs is productivity. After all these years, all the investment in process improvement is paying off. The BW article says about 300,000 jobs went overseas but 2. 5 million jobs have been simply eliminated by better technology.
This makes a lot of sense. Look at all the clerical and support jobs that have been obsoleted by improvements in telephony, web self service, bar coding, word processing, spreadsheets. And aren't the job losses a bit inflated by all those Y2K COBOL experts who were living large during the Millenium scare.
So, let's not castigate CEO's for being not being patriotic. It is un-american to criticize greed and self interest. Especially if you are sitting on a fortune built on cheap ketchup labor.
3/19/2004
Cannot Understand Why I'm Not Rich
The cleaners come every two weeks. I make it my policy to get out of their way. So, generally I find myself at the Wellesley Free Library periodical room, which is a great inexpensive way to catch up on the latest issue of HBR, Business Week, Computerworld and other items of interest.
I have noticed that there are very few Victoria Secrets models in the periodical room. In fact, I rarely find any attractive females. Moreover the median age of people in the periodical room is about 55, so the guys are not that attractive either.
Not that I have time for such friviolities as ranking the attractivness of my fellow library patrons. I am busy with my research.
One of the mysteries that has always puzzled me is why I am not rich. Every time I pick up a newspaper or magazine, everytime I watch TV, even just sitting in a coffee shop watching the cars go by, I see people who are rich. These people do not typically seem to be smarter, better looking or talented than I , yet they are driving nice Mercedes autos, showing off the new pool, or wearing outfits that probably cost more than I spend on beer in a year.
I suppose I could be wealthier if I had a job. But, strangely I seem not to be in the cohort that appears on the most-wanted-list of potential employers. If I were a hiring manager, I would be looking for people like me: mature, well fed, good sense of humor, willing to show up most of the time, expert in my field - that sort of thing. Ok, some of my former bosses have deemed me an "insubordinate bleeptard", but I call them "micromanaging nitpickers" so, I guess we are even on that score. Anyway, it still seems funny that so many Captains of Industry have opted to set sail without someone like me aboard as moral compass, First Mate, or even as deckhand. Hey, is that an Iceberg ahead? Ha ha I'm just keeding.
I learned something important today. I decided to grab a bagel and coffee. I parked at a meter and put a quarter in for 60 minutes. I had another quarter, but how long would it take to eat a bagel and drink a medium coffee? One quarter would do it. Then I decided that since I had 60 minutes on the meter, I would bring a book to read. Long story short: I got back to the car 63 minutes later. The meter vulture must have been waiting for it to get to zero. I have a $10 parking ticket. Now, I am decidedly less rich that I was when I started, all because of some over eager Meter Maid, probably fat and ugly too. So the lesson is: Some jobs shouldn't be done so efficiently.
I have noticed that there are very few Victoria Secrets models in the periodical room. In fact, I rarely find any attractive females. Moreover the median age of people in the periodical room is about 55, so the guys are not that attractive either.
Not that I have time for such friviolities as ranking the attractivness of my fellow library patrons. I am busy with my research.
One of the mysteries that has always puzzled me is why I am not rich. Every time I pick up a newspaper or magazine, everytime I watch TV, even just sitting in a coffee shop watching the cars go by, I see people who are rich. These people do not typically seem to be smarter, better looking or talented than I , yet they are driving nice Mercedes autos, showing off the new pool, or wearing outfits that probably cost more than I spend on beer in a year.
I suppose I could be wealthier if I had a job. But, strangely I seem not to be in the cohort that appears on the most-wanted-list of potential employers. If I were a hiring manager, I would be looking for people like me: mature, well fed, good sense of humor, willing to show up most of the time, expert in my field - that sort of thing. Ok, some of my former bosses have deemed me an "insubordinate bleeptard", but I call them "micromanaging nitpickers" so, I guess we are even on that score. Anyway, it still seems funny that so many Captains of Industry have opted to set sail without someone like me aboard as moral compass, First Mate, or even as deckhand. Hey, is that an Iceberg ahead? Ha ha I'm just keeding.
I learned something important today. I decided to grab a bagel and coffee. I parked at a meter and put a quarter in for 60 minutes. I had another quarter, but how long would it take to eat a bagel and drink a medium coffee? One quarter would do it. Then I decided that since I had 60 minutes on the meter, I would bring a book to read. Long story short: I got back to the car 63 minutes later. The meter vulture must have been waiting for it to get to zero. I have a $10 parking ticket. Now, I am decidedly less rich that I was when I started, all because of some over eager Meter Maid, probably fat and ugly too. So the lesson is: Some jobs shouldn't be done so efficiently.
3/18/2004
Panic's Over
Day after St Patty's Day. We managed to observe the holiday the way we almost always have: guzzling beer, gorging on corned beef and cabbage, and sipping a wee dram or two of Jameson's.
The threatened storm came and went. Nowhere near the ferocity or depth that was predicted by fear-mongering weather/news people. A annoyed populace was able to dig-out so they could get to work. Many were no doubt hung over from extended pre-celebratory get togethers. And a hair of the dog might have seemed just the thing for lunch.
Have you noticed that when you see a vehicle spun out in a snowstorm, invariably it is an SUV? Does driving a big gas guzzler affect the drivers' judgment, or were they boobs to start with? Meteorological questions, I guess.
Note to self: Vinny T's is practically deserted at lunchtime on St Patty's Day, and they are proud not to serve corned beef. Their tip o' the hat to the green on the daily specials was the pesto chicken, or the chicken stuffed with asparagus. The pubs were no doubt mobbed to suffocation. I didn't check.
After 4 beers, the others went on to another bar where they could get black and tans. I wimped out, knowing that we were going out for a dinner of gourmet corned beef.
When I got home there was a message from a potential employer. They wanted to talk to me about a job I had applied for. Data Services Manager. Hey, that seemed pretty exciting. But, I decided to wait until the 4 beers I had for lunch wore-off before calling back. Good judgment. (I make it a firm rule to be sober when participating in telephone job interviews.)
This morning, refreshed and bushy tailed, I called back. It was a pleasant conversation with a recruiter who sounded interested, until we identified that the job required operational data warehouse management experience in a financial service company. Now, I have had significant experience mucking around in data, specifying ETL processes and designing reports for executives - cripes I even understand multidimensional OLAP cubes. But, as we talked, the stifling truth began to emerge. I am not the right person to administer a beancounter data warehouse. Especially when they want an experienced DW pro.
Well, the day was not a total loss. I went to the New England flower show. It was a nice blast of spring on a cold winter day. I notice they had an equal amount of space set aside for commercial booths as they had for horticultural exhibits. The Parking fee $12 was a rip-off on top of the $17 admissions fee. It's cheaper to go to a Red Sox game, almost.
The threatened storm came and went. Nowhere near the ferocity or depth that was predicted by fear-mongering weather/news people. A annoyed populace was able to dig-out so they could get to work. Many were no doubt hung over from extended pre-celebratory get togethers. And a hair of the dog might have seemed just the thing for lunch.
Have you noticed that when you see a vehicle spun out in a snowstorm, invariably it is an SUV? Does driving a big gas guzzler affect the drivers' judgment, or were they boobs to start with? Meteorological questions, I guess.
Note to self: Vinny T's is practically deserted at lunchtime on St Patty's Day, and they are proud not to serve corned beef. Their tip o' the hat to the green on the daily specials was the pesto chicken, or the chicken stuffed with asparagus. The pubs were no doubt mobbed to suffocation. I didn't check.
After 4 beers, the others went on to another bar where they could get black and tans. I wimped out, knowing that we were going out for a dinner of gourmet corned beef.
When I got home there was a message from a potential employer. They wanted to talk to me about a job I had applied for. Data Services Manager. Hey, that seemed pretty exciting. But, I decided to wait until the 4 beers I had for lunch wore-off before calling back. Good judgment. (I make it a firm rule to be sober when participating in telephone job interviews.)
This morning, refreshed and bushy tailed, I called back. It was a pleasant conversation with a recruiter who sounded interested, until we identified that the job required operational data warehouse management experience in a financial service company. Now, I have had significant experience mucking around in data, specifying ETL processes and designing reports for executives - cripes I even understand multidimensional OLAP cubes. But, as we talked, the stifling truth began to emerge. I am not the right person to administer a beancounter data warehouse. Especially when they want an experienced DW pro.
Well, the day was not a total loss. I went to the New England flower show. It was a nice blast of spring on a cold winter day. I notice they had an equal amount of space set aside for commercial booths as they had for horticultural exhibits. The Parking fee $12 was a rip-off on top of the $17 admissions fee. It's cheaper to go to a Red Sox game, almost.
3/16/2004
SnowStorm!
Somebody help us. We can't talk about anything but snow.
It's like being in a Stephen King movie and feeling the universal dread for the unspeakable horror of a late season Northeaster. Heavens to Mergatroid! How will we survive? It could be up to eight inches of murderous snow, strangling us with Nature's cold and clammy claws. Supermarkets are mobbed with people getting bread and milk and batteries. I'm getting a bit panicky myself - I am low on Dewar's. Be right back....
It's like being in a Stephen King movie and feeling the universal dread for the unspeakable horror of a late season Northeaster. Heavens to Mergatroid! How will we survive? It could be up to eight inches of murderous snow, strangling us with Nature's cold and clammy claws. Supermarkets are mobbed with people getting bread and milk and batteries. I'm getting a bit panicky myself - I am low on Dewar's. Be right back....
3/15/2004
Beware the Ides of March
The umpteenth anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar if you believe in the historical accuracy of Shakespeare. One month before tax deadline. Ten months into my underemployment
Actually, since I've been off the paid unemployment rolls, I have started referring to my situation as "forced early retirement" as opposed to "sabbatical". This choice of words seems to more accurately convey my sense that the festive part of the haitus has turned into a grudging resignation that the prospects of re-employment in my field at the same pay level as the job I left are not imminent.
My optimism about a jobfull economic recovery has been replaced by a sense of je ne sais pas. I am still confident that the growth cycle will happen - eventually. I just do not know the time frame. I am not depressed, just more cynical and pessimistic than normal. Shrinks say that cynics are more in touch with reality. Isn't that a good thing?
Et tu, Greenspan?
Actually, since I've been off the paid unemployment rolls, I have started referring to my situation as "forced early retirement" as opposed to "sabbatical". This choice of words seems to more accurately convey my sense that the festive part of the haitus has turned into a grudging resignation that the prospects of re-employment in my field at the same pay level as the job I left are not imminent.
My optimism about a jobfull economic recovery has been replaced by a sense of je ne sais pas. I am still confident that the growth cycle will happen - eventually. I just do not know the time frame. I am not depressed, just more cynical and pessimistic than normal. Shrinks say that cynics are more in touch with reality. Isn't that a good thing?
Et tu, Greenspan?
3/12/2004
Gimmee Shelter
I heard that there is a proposal in Congress to extend unemployment benefits to those of us poor shmucks who just fell of the rolls. I think the number was 390,000 people who don't get counted as "unemployed." Ironically, this makes the job statistics look better. I can hear Bush saying to his staff "Hey, unemployment is down! Let's invade France."
After two days of dramatic stock market losses, I see a huge setback. The Terrorists can blow up trains in Spain and cause the drop in confidence here. That translates to slower job growth.
It's making me nervous. I'd feel a lot better is that old unemployment check was still coming in. Zero per week is a lot less than $500. Write your congressman and support the extension. Don't let them force me to give up my bad habits (or switch to cheaper brands.) Thank you.
After two days of dramatic stock market losses, I see a huge setback. The Terrorists can blow up trains in Spain and cause the drop in confidence here. That translates to slower job growth.
It's making me nervous. I'd feel a lot better is that old unemployment check was still coming in. Zero per week is a lot less than $500. Write your congressman and support the extension. Don't let them force me to give up my bad habits (or switch to cheaper brands.) Thank you.
3/05/2004
Say it Ain't so, Martha
Breaking news: Martha Stewart's job will be vacant for a soon-to-be-specified period, whilst the Diva lends her design skills to the License Plate stamping division at the federal hoosgow. Martha, you should have testified. Juries these days assume you are guilty if you don't testify on your own behalf.
Still, if all the people who took tips and lied about it were tried and sentenced there would be a lot of company for Martha. This could open up a lot of positions for talented honest men and women.
I don't think the rest of us are served by having Ms Stewart go to jail; let's just fine the heck out of her ass! That would be a good message...
I heard that Mitt Romney our current Governor wants to cut unemployment benefits, rather than cut government worker pay raises. Thus, he joins the ranks of the bad guys, in the eyes of this blog Hey, Mitt, cut Bulger's retirement package! Leave the victims alone and go after the fat cat sleazeballs who are squeezing the life out of this state's once-healthy economy.
Still, if all the people who took tips and lied about it were tried and sentenced there would be a lot of company for Martha. This could open up a lot of positions for talented honest men and women.
I don't think the rest of us are served by having Ms Stewart go to jail; let's just fine the heck out of her ass! That would be a good message...
I heard that Mitt Romney our current Governor wants to cut unemployment benefits, rather than cut government worker pay raises. Thus, he joins the ranks of the bad guys, in the eyes of this blog Hey, Mitt, cut Bulger's retirement package! Leave the victims alone and go after the fat cat sleazeballs who are squeezing the life out of this state's once-healthy economy.
3/04/2004
Outsource This!
I read in the paper this morning that they are splitting Eisner's job at Disney into two separate positions! This could signal a trend back to the old, inefficient days - when people only had one job to do. Since the collapse of the economy in late 2000, the trend in business has been to shrink the payroll. The remaining workers have been asked to assume the responsibilities of their former colleagues, often without increased remuneration. This is probably part of the reason that two thirds of the current workforce says they are "dissatisfied" on surveys.
So, maybe some leaders have figured-out that the old model of separating duties and responsibilities is better in the long run.
My observation is that Super Star performers in business do not value the strength of teams, and their ego-driven effectiveness is often short lived. The best quarterbacks in the NFL know that they will not complete a single pass unless the offensive line protects them. They are less prone to think of team members as mere interchangable parts or boxes on an org chart. Maybe more business executives should watch more football.
There was an article in yesterday's WSJ which alluded to cases where certain outsourcing efforts had proved to be a failure. The problem is with outsourcing jobs that cannot be reduced to an assembly line operation or script. They are finding that in areas such as Customer Service and other work that involves relationship management or ad hoc decisions, the offshore outsourcing model fails.
This seems like good news to those of us with softer skills, whose potential value to an organization resides in the accrued experiences, charm and wit.
So, maybe some leaders have figured-out that the old model of separating duties and responsibilities is better in the long run.
My observation is that Super Star performers in business do not value the strength of teams, and their ego-driven effectiveness is often short lived. The best quarterbacks in the NFL know that they will not complete a single pass unless the offensive line protects them. They are less prone to think of team members as mere interchangable parts or boxes on an org chart. Maybe more business executives should watch more football.
There was an article in yesterday's WSJ which alluded to cases where certain outsourcing efforts had proved to be a failure. The problem is with outsourcing jobs that cannot be reduced to an assembly line operation or script. They are finding that in areas such as Customer Service and other work that involves relationship management or ad hoc decisions, the offshore outsourcing model fails.
This seems like good news to those of us with softer skills, whose potential value to an organization resides in the accrued experiences, charm and wit.
3/03/2004
Job Abandonment
Yesterday the temp was close to 65 degrees. The forecasted rain and clouds burnt off before noon and the outdoors yanked me from the house, made me take a long unhurried walk followed by some recreational raking up of fallen pine cones. The ground in the back yard is still too soggy to work on, but in front, where the drainage is better, I was able to loosen up some stiff muscles with the rake.
My friend George came by for high "tea" - as we call it. Actually, we finished off the remaining Harpoon Irish red ales. Poured into frosty glasses. Very Refreshing. We discussed the political scene. It was primary voting day here in Kerry's homestate (I voted unenthusiastically for Edwards - mainly as a protest to Senator Kerry, who had not shown-up for work until yesterday (to grand-stand for the ban against assault rifles).
I am annoyed by the spate of local politicians who run for office, get elected and then abandon their posts, because they are more interested in other jobs. ( eg, Gov. Weld, his successor Celluci, and recently - a state senator who quit to become a lesbian activist). How come these folks don't think their jobs are important enough to stay in? Job abandonment should be punished.
This morning there was a picture in the paper that showed a local voting place with a big sign that read "Vote Aqui" under the "Vote Here" lettering. You mean some of the voters don't speak the language???
It reminded me that we should tighten up our restrictions on voting in this country. You know, just establish a few common sense rules about who is allowed to vote: 1) Citizens only 2) Must read and understand English 3) Must be able to vote alone in booth. 4) No inmates or convicted felons. I would also abolish absentee ballots except for Military personnel. Also I would move Voting times to weekends, and while we're at it, let's hire living people to work at the polls. Looking at the death-warmed-over gang who run elections gives me the shivers.
Other than this, I have no strong feelings on the matter.
My friend George came by for high "tea" - as we call it. Actually, we finished off the remaining Harpoon Irish red ales. Poured into frosty glasses. Very Refreshing. We discussed the political scene. It was primary voting day here in Kerry's homestate (I voted unenthusiastically for Edwards - mainly as a protest to Senator Kerry, who had not shown-up for work until yesterday (to grand-stand for the ban against assault rifles).
I am annoyed by the spate of local politicians who run for office, get elected and then abandon their posts, because they are more interested in other jobs. ( eg, Gov. Weld, his successor Celluci, and recently - a state senator who quit to become a lesbian activist). How come these folks don't think their jobs are important enough to stay in? Job abandonment should be punished.
This morning there was a picture in the paper that showed a local voting place with a big sign that read "Vote Aqui" under the "Vote Here" lettering. You mean some of the voters don't speak the language???
It reminded me that we should tighten up our restrictions on voting in this country. You know, just establish a few common sense rules about who is allowed to vote: 1) Citizens only 2) Must read and understand English 3) Must be able to vote alone in booth. 4) No inmates or convicted felons. I would also abolish absentee ballots except for Military personnel. Also I would move Voting times to weekends, and while we're at it, let's hire living people to work at the polls. Looking at the death-warmed-over gang who run elections gives me the shivers.
Other than this, I have no strong feelings on the matter.
3/01/2004
Suddenly Spring
It was 50 degrees today in the Boston area. March has come in like a furry little lamb. I washed and waxed the Caravan. I went to the fire station to get my burning permit, I got the propane tank for the gas grill filled. I got my outdoor chair out of winter storage in the shed and sat in the warmth of the sun, smoking a cigar and sipping on a Harpoon Irish red ale.
As I surveyed my kingdom, my thoughts of job hunting have been elbowed-out by thoughts about what I need to do in the yard and garden. Tomato seeds need to be started. The fence needs work. There is painting to be done on the west side of the house.
Life as an unemployed systems analyst suddenly seems really good.
As I surveyed my kingdom, my thoughts of job hunting have been elbowed-out by thoughts about what I need to do in the yard and garden. Tomato seeds need to be started. The fence needs work. There is painting to be done on the west side of the house.
Life as an unemployed systems analyst suddenly seems really good.
2/27/2004
Thud
That's the sound of a record number of us who have just fallen off the roles of the Dept of Unemployment benefits. The job scene is disappointing. Don't be mad at us for wanting the government to give us some help. We have been putting into the system for thirty of forty years.
I know what you are thinking, "Hey, you got paid for doing nothing for nine months. Quit whining!" Good point. But, don't forget, every cent I got went to taxes, or spent in a retail store - none of it went into savings, I assure you. I did everything I could to keep the economy going....maybe I'm a sort of american hero.
Has anyone been watching "The Apprentice"? In my opinion it has gone from tedious to irritating. Trump is the archtypical asshole who makes most people hate their jobs and fear the ego of the boss.
I'm anxious to get back to work, does it show?
I know what you are thinking, "Hey, you got paid for doing nothing for nine months. Quit whining!" Good point. But, don't forget, every cent I got went to taxes, or spent in a retail store - none of it went into savings, I assure you. I did everything I could to keep the economy going....maybe I'm a sort of american hero.
Has anyone been watching "The Apprentice"? In my opinion it has gone from tedious to irritating. Trump is the archtypical asshole who makes most people hate their jobs and fear the ego of the boss.
I'm anxious to get back to work, does it show?
2/16/2004
The Perfect Gig
We went to the movies the other night. The film was titled "The Cooler." Alec Baldwin was a very convincing old school Casino manager who resists the efforts of younger Ivy league trained management from changing things and pushing him out of the way.
The Cooler was a guy who had such bad luck that people near him also had bad luck. So, the Cooler is on the payroll of the casino to walk around and sit at tables where a patron is having a hot streak and cool him/her down. Interesting concept.
Is it possible to cool down an entire job market? We need to find out who's doing it and get rid of him.
The Cooler was a guy who had such bad luck that people near him also had bad luck. So, the Cooler is on the payroll of the casino to walk around and sit at tables where a patron is having a hot streak and cool him/her down. Interesting concept.
Is it possible to cool down an entire job market? We need to find out who's doing it and get rid of him.
2/12/2004
Easy Money
I was watching the news last night when the idea came to me in a flash. There is a huge reward on Oama Bin Laden - I think it is $25 million US currency. All I need to do is get a couple of buddies with AK-47's, some flack Jackets, MRE's and (very important) handcuffs.
We just catch a plane to Pakistan, go up into the hills and capture him. The money gets divided equally, except I get an extra million for coming-up with the idea. Hey, I wonder if the bounty is tax free?
Who's in?
We just catch a plane to Pakistan, go up into the hills and capture him. The money gets divided equally, except I get an extra million for coming-up with the idea. Hey, I wonder if the bounty is tax free?
Who's in?
2/09/2004
When HR Doesn't Get It
It is common knowledge that a jobseeker should not waste his time sending unsolicited resumes to the HR department. They do not have the capacity or mission to be proactive about staffing. I reminded myself of this fact yesterday when - in an admitted moment of weakness and desparation - sent an email to the HR dept of a local college (Hillary's alma mater). I thought a human might actually read the incoming emails. Clearly, they rely on an automated text scanner to route incoming mail.
Partial text of what I sent:
Subject: Business Systems Analyst
"Please forward to your Chief Information Officer
I am currently an Independent Contractor who is seeking interesting IT projects. I have campus experience and reside locally. As an experienced business systems analyst, with a background as a functional user/manager and project leader," blah-blah-blah.
This morning I got this reply:
" We appreciate your interest in the employment opportunities at Hillary
College. However, it was noted upon receiving your application that the
position for which you wish to be considered is not amongst the
information you have provided. You may visit our website at
www.hillarycollege.edu/HR/careers to view a listing of all our currently
available positions. Please resubmit your resume and cover letter yo us
with this information and we will be happy to process your application.
We regret any inconveniences and wish you the best of luck on your future
career endeavors.
Sincerely,
Human Resources
Hillary College
---------------------------------------------------------
I replied, quoting their excessive verbiage:
"However, it was noted upon receiving your application that the
position for which you wish to be considered is not amongst the
information you have provided.
Dear HR Dept,
I would have edited this sentence to read:
"We don't actually read incoming mail"
And I would have used a spellchecker.
Thanks for your interest
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shortly afterwards I received this email:
Thank you for applying for a position at Hillary College. For further
information regarding your application, please visit
http://www.hillary.edu/HR/careers/AAsurvey.html
Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
It turns out that the system is designed to accept resumes only for open positions.
I really wouldn't fit in there anyway. So I deleted everything and pretended nothing had ever happened. Which in fact is true. Anybody want to do lunch?
Partial text of what I sent:
Subject: Business Systems Analyst
"Please forward to your Chief Information Officer
I am currently an Independent Contractor who is seeking interesting IT projects. I have campus experience and reside locally. As an experienced business systems analyst, with a background as a functional user/manager and project leader," blah-blah-blah.
This morning I got this reply:
" We appreciate your interest in the employment opportunities at Hillary
College. However, it was noted upon receiving your application that the
position for which you wish to be considered is not amongst the
information you have provided. You may visit our website at
www.hillarycollege.edu/HR/careers to view a listing of all our currently
available positions. Please resubmit your resume and cover letter yo us
with this information and we will be happy to process your application.
We regret any inconveniences and wish you the best of luck on your future
career endeavors.
Sincerely,
Human Resources
Hillary College
---------------------------------------------------------
I replied, quoting their excessive verbiage:
"However, it was noted upon receiving your application that the
position for which you wish to be considered is not amongst the
information you have provided.
Dear HR Dept,
I would have edited this sentence to read:
"We don't actually read incoming mail"
And I would have used a spellchecker.
Thanks for your interest
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shortly afterwards I received this email:
Thank you for applying for a position at Hillary College. For further
information regarding your application, please visit
http://www.hillary.edu/HR/careers/AAsurvey.html
Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
It turns out that the system is designed to accept resumes only for open positions.
I really wouldn't fit in there anyway. So I deleted everything and pretended nothing had ever happened. Which in fact is true. Anybody want to do lunch?
2/06/2004
Age Discrimination
This is a topic of interest to guys like me, who have been working for thirty years and would like to keep going while we still have the energy and interest in working - not to mention the desire to have some folding green to pay our bar tabs.
A former colleague and I were discussing the topic of age discrimination the other day. We both agreed that we felt our ages were a challenge in looking for a job in this economy. But, I pointed out, it was not because we were geezers, it was because we have been making too much money. Whether we like it or not, hiring managers don't think they need to spend a lot of money to get their problems solved. Hiring managers today have tight budgets, unlike the glorious period from 1993 to 2001. They are willing to settle for more affordable less experienced employees - who are probably younger.
If we present ourselves as "willing to work for less" they are (rightfully) suspicious of our commitment. They know that as soon as the economy improves we will be looking for that old level of pay again. It's not age discrimination so much as intelligent staffing. we would do the same thing if we were doing the hiring.
I hear Home Depot is partnering with AARP to hire geezers to work in their stores. Who knows, this could be a trend. The phone will probably be ringing soon!
A former colleague and I were discussing the topic of age discrimination the other day. We both agreed that we felt our ages were a challenge in looking for a job in this economy. But, I pointed out, it was not because we were geezers, it was because we have been making too much money. Whether we like it or not, hiring managers don't think they need to spend a lot of money to get their problems solved. Hiring managers today have tight budgets, unlike the glorious period from 1993 to 2001. They are willing to settle for more affordable less experienced employees - who are probably younger.
If we present ourselves as "willing to work for less" they are (rightfully) suspicious of our commitment. They know that as soon as the economy improves we will be looking for that old level of pay again. It's not age discrimination so much as intelligent staffing. we would do the same thing if we were doing the hiring.
I hear Home Depot is partnering with AARP to hire geezers to work in their stores. Who knows, this could be a trend. The phone will probably be ringing soon!
2/01/2004
Superbowl Sunday
Last week I bought a shredder. I've had a lot of time to think about things and lately, I've been thinking about identity theft. I have financial records going back thirty years, but I have been reluctant to just chuck boxes full of cancelled checks, credit card statements, pay slips, tax forms.
Many of these items have important account and SS# on them. (If I was planning to go into the identity-theft business, I'd bribe someone who was working at a dump, to peruse the landfill for documents containing valuable identity info.)
So, when I saw that Staple was selling a shredder for $29.95 (after rebate) I decided to buy it. Since then I have been busier than an Arther Anderson Auditor at Enron, going through dusty shoe boxes of ancient and forgotten papers, shredding anything that had a SS# on it and dumping old bank records and receipts. In those old shoeboxes, I found many items that reminded me of events that had long ago been forgotten: Dr Bill for birth of first child in 1970 ($400); Hospital bill for 5 days maternity confinement ($350), Bill of sale for 1970 Dodge ($2,130), papers on the purchase of our first home - a 5 room ranch in Waltham ($24,000), stuff like that.
There were reams of old resumes, job descriptions, essays on the nature of work. Most of these I am finally relegating to the landfill. Among the papers was a list of all the jobs I had done from High School to about 5 years ago. The list started with my military experience (warrior, painter, cost accountant, disaster control specialist) and included part time jobs (Bus Boy, Ranch Hand at a dude ranch). Jobs that helped pay college expenses (courier driver, bus driver, painter, UPS package handler, clerk in a mountaineering store, mover, lawn maintenance). Then, "real" jobs (Headhunter, Registrar, Sales Administration, MIS Analyst, Marketing services manager, program manager). During the last recession in the early 90's, I did lots of different stuff: Resume writing, doing surveys for IDC, selling refrigerators and stoves, testing software interfaces, researching sales automation tools, freelance systems analysis, writing for Computerworld. Then, back in the mainstream at Bull Express - managing a direct marketing database system. I added to the list, my more recent engagements: the University (where I learned about ERP, data analysis tools,and started the Data Warehouse), finally to the staffing company (where I learned the value of managing relationships with business partners).
Ok, it's a pretty tedious list, but the point is that I learned something of lasting value from every one of those experiences and organizations.
The prospect of learning something new energizes me to look forward to the next stop on this bus ride that I call my career.
Go Pats!
Many of these items have important account and SS# on them. (If I was planning to go into the identity-theft business, I'd bribe someone who was working at a dump, to peruse the landfill for documents containing valuable identity info.)
So, when I saw that Staple was selling a shredder for $29.95 (after rebate) I decided to buy it. Since then I have been busier than an Arther Anderson Auditor at Enron, going through dusty shoe boxes of ancient and forgotten papers, shredding anything that had a SS# on it and dumping old bank records and receipts. In those old shoeboxes, I found many items that reminded me of events that had long ago been forgotten: Dr Bill for birth of first child in 1970 ($400); Hospital bill for 5 days maternity confinement ($350), Bill of sale for 1970 Dodge ($2,130), papers on the purchase of our first home - a 5 room ranch in Waltham ($24,000), stuff like that.
There were reams of old resumes, job descriptions, essays on the nature of work. Most of these I am finally relegating to the landfill. Among the papers was a list of all the jobs I had done from High School to about 5 years ago. The list started with my military experience (warrior, painter, cost accountant, disaster control specialist) and included part time jobs (Bus Boy, Ranch Hand at a dude ranch). Jobs that helped pay college expenses (courier driver, bus driver, painter, UPS package handler, clerk in a mountaineering store, mover, lawn maintenance). Then, "real" jobs (Headhunter, Registrar, Sales Administration, MIS Analyst, Marketing services manager, program manager). During the last recession in the early 90's, I did lots of different stuff: Resume writing, doing surveys for IDC, selling refrigerators and stoves, testing software interfaces, researching sales automation tools, freelance systems analysis, writing for Computerworld. Then, back in the mainstream at Bull Express - managing a direct marketing database system. I added to the list, my more recent engagements: the University (where I learned about ERP, data analysis tools,and started the Data Warehouse), finally to the staffing company (where I learned the value of managing relationships with business partners).
Ok, it's a pretty tedious list, but the point is that I learned something of lasting value from every one of those experiences and organizations.
The prospect of learning something new energizes me to look forward to the next stop on this bus ride that I call my career.
Go Pats!
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