As a programmer myself, I found that the point of Asimov's robot stories is that most of the robots' fuckups might have been prevented if the human programmers had done some thinking.
I object to corporations as currently constituted in the United States for the same reason I look askance at the Federal government: concentrated power is dangerous to those who lack power. It doesn't matter if that power is political, religious, or economic.
I only chose it because I was young, bitter, directionless, and had some natural talent with computers despite not growing up with a programmable computer at home. I decided I wanted to be a writer, and thought I needed a "respectable" day job and my own apartment instead of just working a couple of part-time jobs and sharing a place with an amiable stranger or three.
I've been in a union, Stormy Dragon, and they were always there when I needed them. Unfortunately, I listened to my parents and my culture and got a "real job" because cleaning toilets was "beneath me".
If your ideals actually meant anything to you, you'd despise corporations and government itself with the same fervor with which you speak against unions. Instead, you're a typical secular Republican: you rail against any form of collectivism that helps workers, but rally around all forms of collectivism that serve to preserve the privileges and wealth of America's ruling classes.
Get rid of corporations and government, show me a real free market, and I'll happily compete without seeking recourse from a union of my fellow workers.
Is there a threshold value at which conditions do become bad enough to warrant organization? Private-sector unionization is on life-support, and the public sector isn't much better. Meanwhile, wages for the average worker in constant dollars have stagnated while prices and corporate profits continually increase. It's not like the government gives a shit about us, so maybe it's time we banded together and started looking out for ourselves and each other.
And drinking beer is a basis for a life? Look, AC, I started writing because I wanted something in my life that was wholly my own. I gravitated toward SF because I OD'ed on Judas Priest albums and thought androids on nuclear-powered motorcycles were cool.
You think talking union is left-wing? Man, your perspective is fucked. I haven't even started talking about work-for-hire alienating developers from their work.
I write SF, but it's hard to let go and not give a shit at my day job because I'm still enough of a Randroid to want to give people their money's worth.
Save the right-wing talking points for somebody who gives a shit. And stop conflating unionization with government-mandated licensing. If you're smart enough to code for a living, you're smart enough to know better.
Get out of my trade. Unions are not your friends. I've watched as union workers fucked me over at trade shows. If you feel that unionizing is what you need, then I submit that, as a developer, you aren't capable enough keep a real job.
Pay me enough, and I'll happily GTFO of the programming trade. $50,000/year will do.
I wish I had known to pick a different trade instead of programming. Programming isn't a profession like law or medicine. It's a skilled trade like plumbing, masonry, or electrical work. But unlike plumbers and electricians, programmers aren't smart enough to unionize, and so they get fucked in the ass by management.
If you have to live in the United States, don't become a programmer. There are better ways to earn a living.
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As a programmer myself, I found that the point of Asimov's robot stories is that most of the robots' fuckups might have been prevented if the human programmers had done some thinking.
Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Good for you, bro. A lot of us aren't so fortunate.
I object to corporations as currently constituted in the United States for the same reason I look askance at the Federal government: concentrated power is dangerous to those who lack power. It doesn't matter if that power is political, religious, or economic.
I only chose it because I was young, bitter, directionless, and had some natural talent with computers despite not growing up with a programmable computer at home. I decided I wanted to be a writer, and thought I needed a "respectable" day job and my own apartment instead of just working a couple of part-time jobs and sharing a place with an amiable stranger or three.
I've been in a union, Stormy Dragon, and they were always there when I needed them. Unfortunately, I listened to my parents and my culture and got a "real job" because cleaning toilets was "beneath me".
I don't have the figure or the winning personality for that kind of work. :)
I can dodge a punch. Dodging a bullet is just a bit tougher.
Last time I checked, the USA isn't the rest of the world, and in most Western countries the Democrats would be a right-wing party.
I was busy clawing my way out of indentured servitude back then. :)
Sure we do. Do you want to code shitty social apps that separate fools from their personal data?
If your ideals actually meant anything to you, you'd despise corporations and government itself with the same fervor with which you speak against unions. Instead, you're a typical secular Republican: you rail against any form of collectivism that helps workers, but rally around all forms of collectivism that serve to preserve the privileges and wealth of America's ruling classes.
Get rid of corporations and government, show me a real free market, and I'll happily compete without seeking recourse from a union of my fellow workers.
But corporations getting special privileges is fine with you? You think you're going to be rich someday, don't you.
Is there a threshold value at which conditions do become bad enough to warrant organization? Private-sector unionization is on life-support, and the public sector isn't much better. Meanwhile, wages for the average worker in constant dollars have stagnated while prices and corporate profits continually increase. It's not like the government gives a shit about us, so maybe it's time we banded together and started looking out for ourselves and each other.
And drinking beer is a basis for a life? Look, AC, I started writing because I wanted something in my life that was wholly my own. I gravitated toward SF because I OD'ed on Judas Priest albums and thought androids on nuclear-powered motorcycles were cool.
I assume the guy succeeding me has nastier anger issues than I do, lacks my reluctance to initiate violence, and knows where I live.
You think talking union is left-wing? Man, your perspective is fucked. I haven't even started talking about work-for-hire alienating developers from their work.
Try DuckDuckGo. No ads, no tracking, no Microsoft.
Can you get manage a 40 hour workweek as a coder in NYC/SF/Austin/Boston or Chicago (as another reply mentioned)?
I write SF, but it's hard to let go and not give a shit at my day job because I'm still enough of a Randroid to want to give people their money's worth.
As somebody who started working in the trade in 2000, what do you mean by 'good times'? :)
Going by my wife's experience, I can suggest a better way to discourage somebody from learning to code. It's called Java.
Save the right-wing talking points for somebody who gives a shit. And stop conflating unionization with government-mandated licensing. If you're smart enough to code for a living, you're smart enough to know better.
Get out of my trade. Unions are not your friends. I've watched as union workers fucked me over at trade shows. If you feel that unionizing is what you need, then I submit that, as a developer, you aren't capable enough keep a real job.
Pay me enough, and I'll happily GTFO of the programming trade. $50,000/year will do.
I wish I had known to pick a different trade instead of programming. Programming isn't a profession like law or medicine. It's a skilled trade like plumbing, masonry, or electrical work. But unlike plumbers and electricians, programmers aren't smart enough to unionize, and so they get fucked in the ass by management. If you have to live in the United States, don't become a programmer. There are better ways to earn a living.