I've got a lot of experience. I've been programming for 24 years.... I've written a book in this field and about 20 articles. And I have trouble finding work. That's not a good sign.
It's hard for people with 1/8 your credentials, too:(
I think a lot of the problem is companies have become irresponsible. They don't want to do training, they don't want to pay for relocation, and they don't want W2 employees. What they do want is some magic contractor-fairy to come in, do six months of work, and disappear into a cloud. They think that they can invest practically nothing, yet get someone who will make all their problems disappear.
I wonder if the reality is that all the good jobs are taken, and my observation above is based on the chaff left over?
Systems analysts, for example, are becoming more in-demand, focusing on the successful application and integration of technologies to achieve business needs, rather than focusing on purely technical matters.
So we all become "systems analysts"? Is that like being a telephone sanitiser?
Whenever I read a job description for "analyst" it either reeks of Microsoft Certified Solutions Providor or includes out-of-character things like requirements for J2EE and Oracle-specific implementation skills. Are they looking for a PowerPoint jockey or a programmer-in-disguise? Job descriptions for "programmer analyst" are even more mystifying.
And, when we do really all become analysts, what do we do? Send e-mails with PowerPoint attachments to eachother and read eachother's PowerPoint attachments each and every day? Instead, I think I'll just talk into the phone all day saying things like "I'll get right to it!" It won't matter if someone is actually at the other end or not, I suppose.
What will the sense of purpose be in the future? Or, will all the people in the U.S. be making a new country on Mars, by then? My personal prediction is that we will all either be auto mechanics or cell phone salespeople by then.
For mathematics typesetting, I'm not sure LaTex/TeX can be beat. For large documents, it probably cannot be beat. LaTeX plus RCS/CVS and Make is truly awesome. Add gnuplot for graphs, GIMP for images, and you've got one hell of an Open Source solution for blowing away your academic buddies.
I also used to do resumes with LaTeX, which made for a distinctive look. However, once I got StarOffice, I started using it for resumes. StarOffice/OpenOffice.org does just fine, although it isn't quite possible to replicate the look of LaTeX output.
You should also ask around about Docbook, but I've never used it. Docbook, being XML-based, might be useful as a basis for web page output in addition to type-set output.
The best part about all this, is that it can all be done without Microsoft Office!!!
This should be two full semeseters, where a passing grade is mandatory for graduation. Students, at least, should leave high school with a firm understanding about the future cost of a loan. I feel really bad for people who keep balances on credit cards and do small-time financing for electronics and home repairs. Millions of people have lifesytles supported only by unhealthy debt, and it is easy to argue this will lead an economic caste system of terrible proportions.
Every student should also be fully trained how to use condoms properly. If they are going to live up to cultural ideals of gangstas and hos, then they should at least be able to graduate school not pregnant and free of chronic STDs.
Your plan is good, but getting politicians to fund schools over rent subsidies and food stamps would be an uphill battle.
For starters, how about removing all of the scantily clad, oversized breast equipped, fat lipped "hoes" from the majority of interactive entertainment.
I suggest we start by removing them from our junior high schools, first!
Fat American kids + low-cut stretch pants and half-length tank tops is quite the sight.
(My point: We can "get girls interested in computers" by giving them computers that they'd be interested in using. Easy? Not necessarily, but we could gain a lot of insight with a spot of good ol' market research.)
Since word play is all that matters (dolls vs. action figures), why not just call computers "supportive home economics facilitators" and paint 'em purple? The branding is automatic: S.H.E.F.
What woman wouldn't what that in their kitchen? Put Mahjonng or Tetris on the start menu, and you've got a sale!
Big Brother sounds good to me. I don't want to be robbed and killed by some inner city negroes and don't want to die from from some extremist groups.
Historically, people have valued freedom more than their lives, when government oversteps its bounds. For a real tear-jerker, go see Les Miserables, or, alternatively, read up on wars fought in the name of independence.
As far as your fears of extremeists and "negroes" goes, you should realize these problems exist for reasons far beyond what can be cured with surviellence and law enforcement.
The USA, and other countries, can largely stop this problem from recurring by adopting an educative welfare program to put inner-city children through school, give them employment opportunities, and mainstreaming vouchers, including post-secondary education in the program.
I hate to say it, but if normal economic forces cannot motivate people or if resources are too scarce to provide opportunities, then I propose that there are too many people or that there is a higher population density than can be maintained. Population for the sake of it is not sustainable, and it is miserable. Unfortunately, telling a person to not reproduce is immoral. What a dillema.
Anonymity is no longer a guarantee. "Hmmm....Mr. Smith voted against me (public official) last election. Why should we release this evidence that shows his son is clearly not at fault for (insert accident/crime scenario)."
You never speed, you never pick up a hooker, you never go and buy drugs, you never pick up anything that you've paid cash for and not asked about the sales tax.
This is the problem. Human nature goes so fiercely against the grain of the idealism programmed into these databases that they are destined to become a constant burden for free and good people. The worst outcome would be that this data is admissable in court. "So, Mr. Smith, you were just asking Mr. Pusher and Ms. Hooker for directions, weren't you?" "The jury finds Mr. Smith guilty of attempting to purchase narcotics and soliciting a prostitute."
Screw the over-the-counter stuff. Get your hazmat permit and go straight to the rocket-fuel supply store. Some of that hypergolic pure hydrogen peroxide will blow you away with whiteness! Guaranteed results with the first application!
Warning: be very careful to not spill product during application. All surfaces, including the countertop, the cabinet, and likely the walls and foundation of your house may incur noticable damage. Perhaps the housing association won't notice the new windows...but you can't be too careful!
From what I've seen (not very much, but enough for me), a person doesn't have to be technically competent to become a PHB. Usually, it seems, the eventual PHB is the last person standing in a high-turnover firm, the default choice by seniority, or someone who knows someone. It is more politics and powerpoint presentations than substance or genuine accomplishment.
Of course, I work in an industry where organizational inefficiency and slow progress leads to profit, so my point of view is probably very skewed.
From my shoes, 169 million would buy one hell of a beowulf cluster, several admins, and a nice group of software developers to write and modify the programs needed. Not to mention that they could earmark parts of that money to fund grants for academically interesting projects that could help further the technology used by the TIA.
Nah, actually, 100 million is for Oracle licenses, 50 million is for "requirements meetings" that give managers an excuse to go to some interesting place, and the remaining 49 million will be for amazing offices with gourmet coffee machines with spare change going to a website mockup to show customers. In the end, no real work gets done, but that doesn't stop the project from getting 200M next year for looking so good.
Even now, the credit records of all consumers in the United States can be fit onto a single hard disk (assume a 200mb disk, 200 million consumers, and 1000 bytes per record).
Then why would TIA require 169 million dollars a year, if a five-year-old Sun Enterprise 450 and an Oracle license would be more than enough for the task?
The more I watch "The Running Man" the more I realize how close we are to living in that kind of society.
Funny, just the other day, I realized that The Running Man is prophetic. For example, what is the natural conclution of "reality TV"? Pitting America's worst convicts against eachother in a cage match. It's merely the task of combining Real TV, America's Funniest Home Videos, and Ultimate Fighting all under a Britney Spears Pepsi marketing campaign.
Onyx4 "supports" up to 32 graphics GPUs, but more can be added. Each pipe can drive one or two displays or up to 16 GPUs can be used together in parallel for increased performance.
Trash! My new PC supports AGP 31.415x and has DDR 7000pHz RAM all for $8.65! Hyperthreading and RAM hacks to the max!
(I'm just joking, here; my most powerful PC is actually a old SunPCi card, for better or worse)
What would be interesting is a comparison of the recent high-end offerings. Sun released their V880z machine recently, and I'm sure IBM could throw something into the mix. However, I guess the manufacturers would hesitate to mail $150,000 samples to magazine reviewers:(
But, according to Microsoft, after version 6, there will never be a higher version of IE available for this machine. So what am I to do? I'm not going to spend money on a new machine, at least not another x86 machine.
I would bet millions of PC users would form the same conclusion. If they spent $500 - $1000 on a new computer, even one new enough to have Windows XP, when faced with a potential forced upgrade to Longhorn, their response will be, essentially, "WTF? I'd rather go spend my $200 on back-to-school clothes and a family dinner at La Grande Cucaracha!".
I wonder if the WWW ends at IE6? That would be really wierd.
Who's going to put forth the tens of thousands of dollars for CD manufacturing and postage/distribution? I suppose it would be pocket change for IBM's or Sun's marketing departments, but getting them to notice and/or care might be an uphill battle.
Perhaps a brief TV commercial on ABC Family or "Must see TV" or whatever might reach more customers in the "average joe" category. It doesn't have to be a long commercial, as it seems recent tactics are to play the same three commercials for every commercial break during a time slot. (while a commercial is novel the first time, seeing it ten times really only makes me hate the product, the people in the commercial, and the company behind it...but if it works to get large numbers of IQ 65 TV viewers to adopt Firebird, it might be worth a try)
Whatever, the point is that comparing "user choice" to "user choice dictated at gunpoint" is callous.
I agree. However, with respect to the Windows debate, it is a more about "user choice often dictated due to fear of being unemployable." I strive to avoid Microsoft technologies in favor of UNIX, Linux, etc., but I clearly see that I am limiting my options in the IT world. Most jobs for Java programming are even Windows-first others-later. Weak people will see my statements and think they just have to support Windows to maximize their options, but that would simply be naive, in my opinion.
If it ever comes to an apocalypic climax where it is either Microsoft or nothing, I will choose nothing by taking a pay cut and finding work as a landscape worker or something. There are times where my dignity is worth more than money.
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I've got a lot of experience. I've been programming for 24 years. ... I've written a book in this field and about 20 articles. And I have trouble finding work. That's not a good sign.
:(
It's hard for people with 1/8 your credentials, too
I think a lot of the problem is companies have become irresponsible. They don't want to do training, they don't want to pay for relocation, and they don't want W2 employees. What they do want is some magic contractor-fairy to come in, do six months of work, and disappear into a cloud. They think that they can invest practically nothing, yet get someone who will make all their problems disappear.
I wonder if the reality is that all the good jobs are taken, and my observation above is based on the chaff left over?
The grunt jobs will be shipped off to the cheapest place, whereas there will always be a place for higher-end jobs.
So, what do we do with all the left-over grunts?
Systems analysts, for example, are becoming more in-demand, focusing on the successful application and integration of technologies to achieve business needs, rather than focusing on purely technical matters.
So we all become "systems analysts"? Is that like being a telephone sanitiser?
Whenever I read a job description for "analyst" it either reeks of Microsoft Certified Solutions Providor or includes out-of-character things like requirements for J2EE and Oracle-specific implementation skills. Are they looking for a PowerPoint jockey or a programmer-in-disguise? Job descriptions for "programmer analyst" are even more mystifying.
And, when we do really all become analysts, what do we do? Send e-mails with PowerPoint attachments to eachother and read eachother's PowerPoint attachments each and every day? Instead, I think I'll just talk into the phone all day saying things like "I'll get right to it!" It won't matter if someone is actually at the other end or not, I suppose.
What will the sense of purpose be in the future? Or, will all the people in the U.S. be making a new country on Mars, by then? My personal prediction is that we will all either be auto mechanics or cell phone salespeople by then.
For mathematics typesetting, I'm not sure LaTex/TeX can be beat. For large documents, it probably cannot be beat. LaTeX plus RCS/CVS and Make is truly awesome. Add gnuplot for graphs, GIMP for images, and you've got one hell of an Open Source solution for blowing away your academic buddies.
I also used to do resumes with LaTeX, which made for a distinctive look. However, once I got StarOffice, I started using it for resumes. StarOffice/OpenOffice.org does just fine, although it isn't quite possible to replicate the look of LaTeX output.
You should also ask around about Docbook, but I've never used it. Docbook, being XML-based, might be useful as a basis for web page output in addition to type-set output.
The best part about all this, is that it can all be done without Microsoft Office!!!
Woub yoo caar to puht a fyoo mow wouds im my mouf?
I was attempting humor; my post shouldn't be taken at face value.
- Comprehensively teaching financial management skills
This should be two full semeseters, where a passing grade is mandatory for graduation. Students, at least, should leave high school with a firm understanding about the future cost of a loan. I feel really bad for people who keep balances on credit cards and do small-time financing for electronics and home repairs. Millions of people have lifesytles supported only by unhealthy debt, and it is easy to argue this will lead an economic caste system of terrible proportions.
Every student should also be fully trained how to use condoms properly. If they are going to live up to cultural ideals of gangstas and hos, then they should at least be able to graduate school not pregnant and free of chronic STDs.
Your plan is good, but getting politicians to fund schools over rent subsidies and food stamps would be an uphill battle.
For starters, how about removing all of the scantily clad, oversized breast equipped, fat lipped "hoes" from the majority of interactive entertainment.
I suggest we start by removing them from our junior high schools, first!
Fat American kids + low-cut stretch pants and half-length tank tops is quite the sight.
(My point: We can "get girls interested in computers" by giving them computers that they'd be interested in using. Easy? Not necessarily, but we could gain a lot of insight with a spot of good ol' market research.)
Since word play is all that matters (dolls vs. action figures), why not just call computers "supportive home economics facilitators" and paint 'em purple? The branding is automatic: S.H.E.F.
What woman wouldn't what that in their kitchen? Put Mahjonng or Tetris on the start menu, and you've got a sale!
Big Brother sounds good to me. I don't want to be robbed and killed by some inner city negroes and don't want to die from from some extremist groups.
Historically, people have valued freedom more than their lives, when government oversteps its bounds. For a real tear-jerker, go see Les Miserables, or, alternatively, read up on wars fought in the name of independence.
As far as your fears of extremeists and "negroes" goes, you should realize these problems exist for reasons far beyond what can be cured with surviellence and law enforcement.
The USA, and other countries, can largely stop this problem from recurring by adopting an educative welfare program to put inner-city children through school, give them employment opportunities, and mainstreaming vouchers, including post-secondary education in the program.
I hate to say it, but if normal economic forces cannot motivate people or if resources are too scarce to provide opportunities, then I propose that there are too many people or that there is a higher population density than can be maintained. Population for the sake of it is not sustainable, and it is miserable. Unfortunately, telling a person to not reproduce is immoral. What a dillema.
Anonymity is no longer a guarantee. "Hmmm....Mr. Smith voted against me (public official) last election. Why should we release this evidence that shows his son is clearly not at fault for (insert accident/crime scenario)."
You never speed, you never pick up a hooker, you never go and buy drugs, you never pick up anything that you've paid cash for and not asked about the sales tax.
This is the problem. Human nature goes so fiercely against the grain of the idealism programmed into these databases that they are destined to become a constant burden for free and good people. The worst outcome would be that this data is admissable in court. "So, Mr. Smith, you were just asking Mr. Pusher and Ms. Hooker for directions, weren't you?" "The jury finds Mr. Smith guilty of attempting to purchase narcotics and soliciting a prostitute."
...and the part of Dorothy is being played by Bush Jr?
Or Toto? Toto was smart enough to find his way home, if I recall correctly.
Screw the over-the-counter stuff. Get your hazmat permit and go straight to the rocket-fuel supply store. Some of that hypergolic pure hydrogen peroxide will blow you away with whiteness! Guaranteed results with the first application!
Warning: be very careful to not spill product during application. All surfaces, including the countertop, the cabinet, and likely the walls and foundation of your house may incur noticable damage. Perhaps the housing association won't notice the new windows...but you can't be too careful!
I have a book from college called "Applications for Discrete Mathematics" (or something to that effect). I use it as a $75 doorstop. Literally.
From what I've seen (not very much, but enough for me), a person doesn't have to be technically competent to become a PHB. Usually, it seems, the eventual PHB is the last person standing in a high-turnover firm, the default choice by seniority, or someone who knows someone. It is more politics and powerpoint presentations than substance or genuine accomplishment.
Of course, I work in an industry where organizational inefficiency and slow progress leads to profit, so my point of view is probably very skewed.
From my shoes, 169 million would buy one hell of a beowulf cluster, several admins, and a nice group of software developers to write and modify the programs needed. Not to mention that they could earmark parts of that money to fund grants for academically interesting projects that could help further the technology used by the TIA.
Nah, actually, 100 million is for Oracle licenses, 50 million is for "requirements meetings" that give managers an excuse to go to some interesting place, and the remaining 49 million will be for amazing offices with gourmet coffee machines with spare change going to a website mockup to show customers. In the end, no real work gets done, but that doesn't stop the project from getting 200M next year for looking so good.
Even now, the credit records of all consumers in the United States can be fit onto a single hard disk (assume a 200mb disk, 200 million consumers, and 1000 bytes per record).
Then why would TIA require 169 million dollars a year, if a five-year-old Sun Enterprise 450 and an Oracle license would be more than enough for the task?
The more I watch "The Running Man" the more I realize how close we are to living in that kind of society.
Funny, just the other day, I realized that The Running Man is prophetic. For example, what is the natural conclution of "reality TV"? Pitting America's worst convicts against eachother in a cage match. It's merely the task of combining Real TV, America's Funniest Home Videos, and Ultimate Fighting all under a Britney Spears Pepsi marketing campaign.
Sick? Yes. Suprising? No.
Onyx4 "supports" up to 32 graphics GPUs, but more can be added. Each pipe can drive one or two displays or up to 16 GPUs can be used together in parallel for increased performance.
:(
Trash! My new PC supports AGP 31.415x and has DDR 7000pHz RAM all for $8.65! Hyperthreading and RAM hacks to the max!
(I'm just joking, here; my most powerful PC is actually a old SunPCi card, for better or worse)
What would be interesting is a comparison of the recent high-end offerings. Sun released their V880z machine recently, and I'm sure IBM could throw something into the mix. However, I guess the manufacturers would hesitate to mail $150,000 samples to magazine reviewers
SGI has used purple and blue color schemes for their boxes for years...
Sun has used purple, also, for as long as I can remember. I think there is a consipracy afoot!
I also think that Enlish people should eat irish babies... :-)
Hmmm, those little ones dressed in the Irish blue and gold footie PJs do look tasty! Now if only the parents weren't in the way...
But, according to Microsoft, after version 6, there will never be a higher version of IE available for this machine. So what am I to do? I'm not going to spend money on a new machine, at least not another x86 machine.
I would bet millions of PC users would form the same conclusion. If they spent $500 - $1000 on a new computer, even one new enough to have Windows XP, when faced with a potential forced upgrade to Longhorn, their response will be, essentially, "WTF? I'd rather go spend my $200 on back-to-school clothes and a family dinner at La Grande Cucaracha!".
I wonder if the WWW ends at IE6? That would be really wierd.
Firebird release, AOL style!
Who's going to put forth the tens of thousands of dollars for CD manufacturing and postage/distribution? I suppose it would be pocket change for IBM's or Sun's marketing departments, but getting them to notice and/or care might be an uphill battle.
Perhaps a brief TV commercial on ABC Family or "Must see TV" or whatever might reach more customers in the "average joe" category. It doesn't have to be a long commercial, as it seems recent tactics are to play the same three commercials for every commercial break during a time slot. (while a commercial is novel the first time, seeing it ten times really only makes me hate the product, the people in the commercial, and the company behind it...but if it works to get large numbers of IQ 65 TV viewers to adopt Firebird, it might be worth a try)
Whatever, the point is that comparing "user choice" to "user choice dictated at gunpoint" is callous.
I agree. However, with respect to the Windows debate, it is a more about "user choice often dictated due to fear of being unemployable." I strive to avoid Microsoft technologies in favor of UNIX, Linux, etc., but I clearly see that I am limiting my options in the IT world. Most jobs for Java programming are even Windows-first others-later. Weak people will see my statements and think they just have to support Windows to maximize their options, but that would simply be naive, in my opinion.
If it ever comes to an apocalypic climax where it is either Microsoft or nothing, I will choose nothing by taking a pay cut and finding work as a landscape worker or something. There are times where my dignity is worth more than money.