Actually, no, it's not a surprise. As a "jack-of-all-trades lifer" (over 50 & still in IT), I've noticed most of the guys who are still around (and making above average $$) are the well-rounded ubergeeks, the guys who are interested (read: play) in everything. (If all you care about is money, start out with something involving licking stamps. It'll give you good experience for kissing butt in your later years.) If you want to contribute, really contribute, to the foundation of things, do what you love. Your attitude will be the best thing you contribute.
You think you agree, except when it comes to religion. Sorry, you really don't agree with the parent post at all. S/he has decided that all things must be proven. Understandably, you have said, "All must be proven, except for the stuff that is really personal to me and that I have believed my whole life." It's very tough to submit those beliefs to the Scientific Method, but the more you do, the more your "foundation" will be real, rather than believed to be real. I am very familiar with the perceived "need for faith". My father, was a staunch Southern Baptist Preacher. I am also familiar with the addictions. It's tough to let go, but it really is better without the "security blanket(s)". The view is much clearer.
Grace Murray Hopper (bio can be found at The History of Computing ), generally credited with "developing the first compiler and who led the effort in the 60's to develop COBOL." Cool lady.
What we need is a world free of stereo-types and pecking orders. Pecking orders are for chickens. I realize that this is very idealistic, but I imagine that all real progress must start somewhere. Might as well be you and me. Save brain-power by using a simpler algorithm. After the "Golden Rule", the rest is legalese.
If the customer is not willing to commit (somebody's) significant time to the project, it's pretty much a dead horse, waiting to fall. If the customer is not , at the least, completely involved in defining the requirements and the acceptance tests the final product will not be what the customer wants. Period. It might be what you have on record as what the customer asked for, but it will never "fly" for simple lack of interest, and you will have no follow-on work. If you are not serving the customer, you will not have a customer. This has been my experience, anyway. (Perhaps you have been luckier. If so, don't count on it to stay that way. Lots of out-of-work developers out there.) ttfn
I would just like to see the Govt only approving funding for research that can produce even-remotely-helpful results. Figuring out the latest temperature of a Bose-Einstein Condensate (or any damn thing that only exists or works at 0-50 degrees K) is not gonna help anyone for the forseeable future. And I can @#$%^&*$ forsee a fairly long way into the future. More bang for our buck, please. Thank you very much.
If we only see ~5% of the Universe (and probably only understand about 0.00000001% of that), could it be that we really cannot see most of what is right in front of us? Has anyone postulated that the rest of it is all around us, not just "out there somewhere"? Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.
Well, then you have un-cultured cats, as we always suspected.:) I wonder at the tendency of science to quantumize everything. Why does a species have to intelligent or not, be cultured or not, have consciousness or not? I suspect it's more analog, from none to a little to some more to a lot. Unless they are cats. Then all bets are off.
Hear, Hear! (or is it Here!, Here!) Anyway, Good show! I do however think you give too much credit to blogs. As in any is too much. Jeez, people, READ the BOOK!! The book is always better than the movie (or the blog), unless it's written by a guy named Chritten.
At 18, I had my life planned. At 42, hardly any of my plans had panned out! I was going nowhere, slowly. I dumped all my plans and just started looking to have fun at work and at home. Now, at 50, I own Fairfax,VA...no, just kidding...I now am making very good money and really enjoy my work. (I really am 50, though.) Everything hasn't always been fun, but having the "fun" goal seems to be working. I think people enjoy working and being around people who are having fun. I try to avoid things that can come back and bite me later on. That usually involves TOO much fun so I guess moderation is a good idea, too. So, enjoy, smartly.:})||
Ah, Finally. Something to reply to. As an old guy returning to school, I had forgotten that good teachers at any level are the exception, rather than the rule. Teachers who are interested in whether someone else understands the material and will actually take the time to learn how to teach, learn how people learn, and care whether each and every student does the best s/he can are, unfortunately, in the minority. I have taken 4 classes at a major U. here in VA. Two of the teachers, one a professor, essentially mailed in their work. The third was simply incompetent and never should have considered teaching. The fourth, ah, the fourth, was a little lady, a "converted" Classics Prof. teaching CS I to a auditorium of newbies, made CS a joy. She translated her love of the subject , love of teaching, and concern for her students into a course where going to class was one of the highlights of my week. Sure, life's tough. You gotta take what you can get and do your best, often in spite of the obstabcles. I do wonder, however, how many careers were launched by that lady and how many careers were re-directed or just doused by the others. (ps. And why can't Classic Greek Literature 540 be interesting? Who would you rather talk to? Someone who talks to you because they have to or because they want to?)
Don't shoot the horse if the cart is broken. This is what I, repeat, I need from the Internet: Assuming that I am not engaging in criminal activity, any data either sent or stored by should not be read in plain-text without my knowledge. (Those that are suspected of criminal activity should lose the above right only after exercising the due process of law currently in effect.) The vast majority of people, like me, view the Internet's biggest problem to be its lack of security during transactions. Most of the people think that the IP question is ranks right up there with abortion and affirmative action -- not on the to-do list today. Having work for Uncle Sam as a cryptologic technician for more than a few years, I know the technology exists to secure each and every transaction. The cost is, however, steep. The cost would include allowing government, or whomever is holding the "key", to have access on demand. *Cough*Hack* That is, apparently, a little tough to swallow for some folk. Until all conversations and transactions are absolutely secured, the Internet is merely an dim image of its potential. Happy New Year.
Geez, surely we can do better! Most of the ones currently in production seem to be defective!! (Get me that guy that figured out what was wrong with HAL...)
Why do I need to sign the credit card receipt at restaurants, grocery stores, etc., but don't need to sign it at gas stations? Gee, Vern, someone could steal my Exxon SpeedPass and gas up New Jersey. (insert NJ gas joke here). How many other "inconsistencies" are there? Just curious.:})||
This article is 99% fluff. Skip it. I do wonder, however, how much of the percentage of out-of-work engineers are simply "between projects"? The End-of-the-Project (and, sometimes, the Project itself) seems to be something many companies do not handle well. (Speaking from experience...) I will say that getting laid-off was the best thing that ever happened to me. During the 9 months I was out of work, I reevaluated just about everything in my life, reworked priorities, and, essentially, woke up to the real world. And survived. First thing you need to do is to be absolutely honest with yourself. On everything. You are simply who you are. Work from there & have fun. Good luck to all who are in tough times.:})||
After careful consideration, I decided that it really does not matter if aliens, BigFoot, or even God(s), really exist or not. If they really do exist, they have so little apparent power to affect my life (as long as I do not buy anything their followers are selling, anyway) that they effectively do not affect my life. Without evidence of any effect on my life, much less evidence of existence, these things do not touch my life. So I don't think about them, unless I get to join a/. discussion on them. I have this same thought, when prompted, about any other similar thing that requires "belief". H0-ho-ho.
is the importance that is placed in American Society on the need for and the importance of the middle and lower echelons to independently collect information and make decisions for the good of the "enterprise" (be that military unit, community, or business). The American middle-class is a phenomena practically non-existent in the rest of the world. Europe has a decent middle-class, but the classes in Europe are far more adversarial. Here, in America, the middle class generally believes that it is a major part of the American "success" story and revels in its newfound culture. The reason for the American edge in anything has nothing to do with its technical superiority. America has no superiority in any science or art. What it has is enough room for each man or woman to either make something of themselves or to hang themselves. Happy Holidays.
...if you have something like the BattleSuits in Heinleins's "Starship Troopers"? That's where we gotta go. If you can stomp on 'em, you won't have to spy on 'em. URAH!:})||
Is there any place (or places) anywhere on the web that can answer the following questions: 1. Is there study that can give us a sense of what percentage of computer programming/development/engineering is being done where? That would help answer a question like are there more web programmers than, say, telecomm. developers, or say, military avionics developers. 2. Expand or modify the above question to show what the #s are for languages, environments, IDES, and OSes, from a developer's point of view.
Just curious. There is so much propaganda that it is really hard to see the real picture. thanks,:})|| "Someday, the words "Christian", "Moslem", "Jewish", "Hindu", and "Buddhist" will be used the same way that today's Christians use the word "pagan."
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Actually, no, it's not a surprise. As a "jack-of-all-trades lifer" (over 50 & still in IT), I've noticed most of the guys who are still around (and making above average $$) are the well-rounded ubergeeks, the guys who are interested (read: play) in everything. (If all you care about is money, start out with something involving licking stamps. It'll give you good experience for kissing butt in your later years.) If you want to contribute, really contribute, to the foundation of things, do what you love. Your attitude will be the best thing you contribute.
No, but you did turn into a geek. Same dang thing happened to me. There oughta be a warning on the dang things about that, dangit!
1. Yeah. Uncle Sam . Good money, usually interesting work.
2. Leave the attitude home. No one owes you anything.
Good Luck.
You think you agree, except when it comes to religion. Sorry, you really don't agree with the parent post at all. S/he has decided that all things must be proven. Understandably, you have said, "All must be proven, except for the stuff that is really personal to me and that I have believed my whole life." It's very tough to submit those beliefs to the Scientific Method, but the more you do, the more your "foundation" will be real, rather than believed to be real. I am very familiar with the perceived "need for faith". My father, was a staunch Southern Baptist Preacher. I am also familiar with the addictions. It's tough to let go, but it really is better without the "security blanket(s)". The view is much clearer.
Grace Murray Hopper (bio can be found at The History of Computing ), generally credited with "developing the first compiler and who led the effort in the 60's to develop COBOL." Cool lady.
What we need is a world free of stereo-types and pecking orders. Pecking orders are for chickens. I realize that this is very idealistic, but I imagine that all real progress must start somewhere. Might as well be you and me. Save brain-power by using a simpler algorithm. After the "Golden Rule", the rest is legalese.
If the customer is not willing to commit (somebody's) significant time to the project, it's pretty much a dead horse, waiting to fall. If the customer is not , at the least, completely involved in defining the requirements and the acceptance tests the final product will not be what the customer wants. Period. It might be what you have on record as what the customer asked for, but it will never "fly" for simple lack of interest, and you will have no follow-on work. If you are not serving the customer, you will not have a customer. This has been my experience, anyway. (Perhaps you have been luckier. If so, don't count on it to stay that way. Lots of out-of-work developers out there.) ttfn
I would just like to see the Govt only approving funding for research that can produce even-remotely-helpful results. Figuring out the latest temperature of a Bose-Einstein Condensate (or any damn thing that only exists or works at 0-50 degrees K) is not gonna help anyone for the forseeable future. And I can @#$%^&*$ forsee a fairly long way into the future. More bang for our buck, please. Thank you very much.
What? Well, That stinks!
If we only see ~5% of the Universe (and probably only understand about 0.00000001% of that), could it be that we really cannot see most of what is right in front of us? Has anyone postulated that the rest of it is all around us, not just "out there somewhere"? Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.
Well, then you have un-cultured cats, as we always suspected. :) I wonder at the tendency of science to quantumize everything. Why does a species have to intelligent or not, be cultured or not, have consciousness or not? I suspect it's more analog, from none to a little to some more to a lot. Unless they are cats. Then all bets are off.
Hear, Hear! (or is it Here!, Here!) Anyway, Good show! I do however think you give too much credit to blogs. As in any is too much. Jeez, people, READ the BOOK!! The book is always better than the movie (or the blog), unless it's written by a guy named Chritten.
At 18, I had my life planned. At 42, hardly any of my plans had panned out! I was going nowhere, slowly. I dumped all my plans and just started looking to have fun at work and at home. Now, at 50, I own Fairfax,VA...no, just kidding...I now am making very good money and really enjoy my work. (I really am 50, though.) Everything hasn't always been fun, but having the "fun" goal seems to be working. I think people enjoy working and being around people who are having fun. I try to avoid things that can come back and bite me later on. That usually involves TOO much fun so I guess moderation is a good idea, too. So, enjoy, smartly. :})||
Ah, Finally. Something to reply to. As an old guy returning to school, I had forgotten that good teachers at any level are the exception, rather than the rule. Teachers who are interested in whether someone else understands the material and will actually take the time to learn how to teach, learn how people learn, and care whether each and every student does the best s/he can are, unfortunately, in the minority. I have taken 4 classes at a major U. here in VA. Two of the teachers, one a professor, essentially mailed in their work. The third was simply incompetent and never should have considered teaching. The fourth, ah, the fourth, was a little lady, a "converted" Classics Prof. teaching CS I to a auditorium of newbies, made CS a joy. She translated her love of the subject , love of teaching, and concern for her students into a course where going to class was one of the highlights of my week.
Sure, life's tough. You gotta take what you can get and do your best, often in spite of the obstabcles. I do wonder, however, how many careers were launched by that lady and how many careers were re-directed or just doused by the others. (ps. And why can't Classic Greek Literature 540 be interesting? Who would you rather talk to? Someone who talks to you because they have to or because they want to?)
Pretend you've been modded up for Funny. :})||
Don't shoot the horse if the cart is broken. This is what I, repeat, I need from the Internet: Assuming that I am not engaging in criminal activity, any data either sent or stored by should not be read in plain-text without my knowledge. (Those that are suspected of criminal activity should lose the above right only after exercising the due process of law currently in effect.) The vast majority of people, like me, view the Internet's biggest problem to be its lack of security during transactions. Most of the people think that the IP question is ranks right up there with abortion and affirmative action -- not on the to-do list today. Having work for Uncle Sam as a cryptologic technician for more than a few years, I know the technology exists to secure each and every transaction. The cost is, however, steep. The cost would include allowing government, or whomever is holding the "key", to have access on demand. *Cough*Hack* That is, apparently, a little tough to swallow for some folk. Until all conversations and transactions are absolutely secured, the Internet is merely an dim image of its potential. Happy New Year.
Geez, surely we can do better! Most of the ones currently in production seem to be defective!!
(Get me that guy that figured out what was wrong with HAL...)
Why do I need to sign the credit card receipt at restaurants, grocery stores, etc., but don't need to sign it at gas stations? Gee, Vern, someone could steal my Exxon SpeedPass and gas up New Jersey. (insert NJ gas joke here). How many other "inconsistencies" are there? Just curious. :})||
This article is 99% fluff. Skip it. I do wonder, however, how much of the percentage of out-of-work engineers are simply "between projects"? The End-of-the-Project (and, sometimes, the Project itself) seems to be something many companies do not handle well. (Speaking from experience...) I will say that getting laid-off was the best thing that ever happened to me. During the 9 months I was out of work, I reevaluated just about everything in my life, reworked priorities, and, essentially, woke up to the real world. And survived. :})||
First thing you need to do is to be absolutely honest with yourself. On everything. You are simply who you are. Work from there & have fun. Good luck to all who are in tough times.
No. Possibly unconscious, though. :})||
After careful consideration, I decided that it really does not matter if aliens, BigFoot, or even God(s), really exist or not. If they really do exist, they have so little apparent power to affect my life (as long as I do not buy anything their followers are selling, anyway) that they effectively do not affect my life. Without evidence of any effect on my life, much less evidence of existence, these things do not touch my life. So I don't think about them, unless I get to join a /. discussion on them. I have this same thought, when prompted, about any other similar thing that requires "belief". H0-ho-ho.
is the importance that is placed in American Society on the need for and the importance of the middle and lower echelons to independently collect information and make decisions for the good of the "enterprise" (be that military unit, community, or business). The American middle-class is a phenomena practically non-existent in the rest of the world. Europe has a decent middle-class, but the classes in Europe are far more adversarial. Here, in America, the middle class generally believes that it is a major part of the American "success" story and revels in its newfound culture. The reason for the American edge in anything has nothing to do with its technical superiority. America has no superiority in any science or art. What it has is enough room for each man or woman to either make something of themselves or to hang themselves. Happy Holidays.
...if you have something like the BattleSuits in Heinleins's "Starship Troopers"? That's where we gotta go. If you can stomp on 'em, you won't have to spy on 'em. URAH! :})||
Man, these guys now lead the list for the 21st Century Optimist Award!! :})||
Is there any place (or places) anywhere on the web that can answer the following questions:
:})||
1. Is there study that can give us a sense of what percentage of computer programming/development/engineering is being done where? That would help answer a question like are there more web programmers than, say, telecomm. developers, or say, military avionics developers.
2. Expand or modify the above question to show what the #s are for languages, environments, IDES, and OSes, from a developer's point of view.
Just curious. There is so much propaganda that it is really hard to see the real picture. thanks,
"Someday, the words "Christian", "Moslem", "Jewish", "Hindu", and "Buddhist" will be used the same way that today's Christians use the word "pagan."