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October 5: National Techies Day
Over the last few weeks, probably thirty million people have submitted the story that Oct. 5 is National Techies Day. Well, the day is here, and I'm still waiting for the parade to come by my door. *grin* Seriously, the point is supposed to be celebrate what "technology professionals" contribute to the world at large.
Just because most managers and directors push paper and do nothing else doesn't mean that that is the only way things can be.
As a *technical* director or manager, there is no reason why you cannot delegate much of your paper-pushing to pure admin staff, effectively your personal assistants, so that the usual pyramid of paper-pushers-on-top is inverted under you. There will always remain a residue of paperwork that you have to do yourself, like reading others peoples' proposals and laying out your own, but then that's something that techies often do anyway within their own teams.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
I can see it now... next to the 'Get Well Soon' section and the Grandparents' Day cards - an aisle of 'Happy Techies Day' greeting cards with all sorts of cute cartoon circuit diagrams and algorithms. ;)
~Ramses
Is it the #1 politician pass-time to name years, months and days. It's really useless. What's next: October 6, the national hookers day!!!
I don't think I'll be advising the Postal service to lay on any extra staff to deal with the flood of cards... :)
Anybody else notice that the only times us techies get recognition is when there is a server or system down ?
You all know what to do....
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Celebrate myself? The arrogance detector just blew a fuse.
:)
For those of you who live a nice sheltered existence among other
`techies', here's a clue; National Techies day may as well be National
Wealthy Persons day, or National Smarter-Than-You day. Don't go
around bragging about National Techie's day to your non-techie
associates because deep down they resent their ignorance and your
competence.
The majority of non-techies have occupations that suck the soul dry.
They do not, like you, hang out at the SlashDot equivalent for
whatever trade they practice happens to have simply because they can't
get enough of it. They don't like what they have to do and they
really don't like people who enjoy their work. They would rather you
hate your work and strive, as they do, to have maximal `fun' whenever
you can get away with it.
OTOH, life is short and they were born to be unhappy. Screw'em
!! National Techies Day !!
Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
How is this different from all the other "Sure glad my employees aren't going postal days"?
National Secretary Day
National Librarian Day
etc.
This is all well and good, but we'll have alot better chance of getting the day off if it's some obscure religious holiday. I proclaim October 6th Hoomaliyali, an ancient Burmese day of fasting.
Maybe yes, maybe no
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
According to the press release the "founders" are CNET and techies.com... hmm, sounds like CNET and and CNET to me. This is just a scam to get lots of hits on a new .com site. Hmm. Save your hits for sites that deserve it.
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
The whole idea behind having a National [insert occupation here] Day is to appreciate people that are traditionally under-appreciated, such as teachers and secretaries. Or to heighten awareness, such as National [insert disorder here] Day, Week, or Month.
Are we under-appreciated? Cripes, most techies in the US are *way* above the poverty line, some are millionaires, and many are overpaid (probably including myself). How many of these Silicon Valley millionaires and 3-digit income geeks have been supporting charities with their new-found wealth? (answer: very few!) How many teachers have become millionaires by teaching, yet use their own paycheck to buy classroom supplies?
This is a stunt I'd expect to see from Microsoft/IBM/Sun/Netscape--push a self-important, over-hyped agenda for the sole purpose of inflating the ego. I for one don't plan to participate, and I'd urge others in the community to nip this idiocy in the bud before it gets any bigger.
Although many teccies are doing well, especially those that have taken the step of going freelance/contracting (the main benefit is not money but having a peer relationship with the people who pay you), there is still a long way to go before our role in industry is properly appreciated.
The proportion of major companies in which there is no career progression to board level if "all" you do is provide technical infrastructure is still huge, and permanent technical staff are usually regarded as low-level grunts well below paper-pushing middlemen in most industries. This is usually even the case where the company's entire existence is founded on the technology, like in almost all the national PTTs.
There's a long way to go still.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
Well the first techie appreciation day is almost over, and by all counts it was a great success.
We heard speeches about the difficulties of holding onto jobs, the instability in a techies life and the isolation caused by it all.
The fact that these problems are caused by massive salaries, a huge job market and owning houses so big that we can't find the front door anymore was not mentioned.
Look in the employment section of any newspaper; techie appreciation day is everyday.
Hotnutz.com
nly instead, we'd really make a "National Spam-The-Spammers Day," and
For Spammer's Day, let's support them in a nationwide effort to locate them and show our support in person at their doorsteps. Imagine a spammer answering his door and receiving the gift of a free clue bat !
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