I usually say I have 25-30 computers, and ask them to tell me which one has the problem. Reasoning that they called me and must be able to know which unit it is. They will either be confused and pass me to the "next support level" or say it doesn't matter which unit I log in to. At that point I insist they tell me which unit it is. By this time they usually use some foul language and/or simply hang up. Mission accomplished.
I'm free to use non-free or free software, and I like it. If you are true believer in freedom, then let me be. I'm smart enough to make the choice and responsible enough to accept the consequences.
These scum posted thousands of stolen passwords. It is reported pay p@l accounts were compromised. How loudly you would cry if the acts of these criminals lead to your identity theft. Thank you FBI!
I've been doing this for nearly 10 years. Don't kid yourself about office politics. It can easily become worse when you are not there to monitor the day to day wrangling. Ignorance doesn't make the problem go away.
Never ever let anyone tell you what you can or should earn. Your salary is your choice. Do what you love, take control, and don't whine. This approach has worked well for me for the past 30 years. I've survived more than a few industry changes over that time.
When I was a child, I though like a child;
When I was an adult, I thought like an adult;
When I went completely insane, I converted my cube to a house...
Yes, it is unreasonable to say the Mechanics caused the problem. I was using them as a model. There are also unions for the Flight Attendants and Pilots, and other ground support workers. They have all contributed. Due to the "good" contracts the airlines could not cope with the high cost of the contracts when the number of flights dropped off suddenly. It's difficult for businesses to be competetive with that kind of millstone around their neck. By the way, the airplanes need to be maintained even if they don't fly all the time. Again, I think unions have their place, just not here.
I worked for General Electric for over 10 years, and what I learned there is exactly what you described about Amex. I learned that I was not going to thrive in that environment so I left. Applying the prinicples I described in previous replies, I have acheived a level of success that I feel proves my approach. My peers who stayed at GE are making about $100,000 less than I am in 10 years since I left. I have accomplished this by good old fashioned hard work, and paying attention to what makes business tick. Of course money is not a measure of success, but it is what we are discussing when it comes to business. I am successful in other ways too, like working full time out of my home office, etc.
I have been fortunate, yes; but I find the harder and smarter I work, the luckier I get.
I think the out of work Airline Mechanics might not agree with your point about working conditions. Afterall, one needs to be working in order to have "working conditions".
Also, Airline Mechanics are professionals and should not be unionized. They should compete with each other, to maintain favorable working conditions, and are educated enough to represent themselves to management. Competition is good, unions tend to weaken it in these situations.
I think unions have there place. Except I have not seen professionals benefiting from unions in the long run.
Oh jeez, be a man, be the bread winner and always contribute to that role. We have not evloved far enough to not be the breadwinner. Maybe when men start having babies, then we can swap roles, but not now.
I suspect if you "take a break" as soon as your wife gets going with her career, she will lose some respect for you no matter what she says. I've seen it happen too many times. Remember, it takes a man to be a man, do it.
Yes, I second that. I also telecommute on a full time basis to a company that is 750 miles away from my home/office.
It takes the right kind of person to do this effectively. You need to learn discipline and the ability to communicate in various mediums. We use phone, email, and instant messaging; there is place for each, but effective use is paramount. The discipline comes in because the benefit of working at home is also its liability. You are always at work! Don't let yourself or anyone else take advantage of that.
The part about the office is key. A separate room is the only solution.
One last point. You need to be supportive of your coworkers. Not seeing people face to face can allow negative feelings to grow where they would otherwise not. Always give your coworkers the benefit of the doubt and be generous. I work with about 6 other people up and down the east coast, all telecommuting, and we have been doing great/profitable work for the past 2 years. So I know this works.
I can empathize with your wanting to solve this problem quickly and with a single shot, but unions are not the answer.
Cases in point; airlines and teachers. Lucrative union contracts increased cost in the airline industry even when profits were going down, a self destructive approach for sure. In New York, where I live and grew up, we have some the of the highest paid teachers on the planet and most of the worst performing students (per dollar spent) on the planet. It does not add up.
Unions can help some industries, but not where professionals are the work force. We as professionals need to constantly develop our skills to make us more valuable. Unions hamper that process by enforcing raises no matter what your performance is.
We can become more valuable by developing skills like time management and understanding the business side of the software business. I have been doing software and hardware development for over 20 years, and I've been quite successful by employing the suggestions above.
Re:A contrarian to this thread...
on
Cyber-Attacks?
·
· Score: 1
Thank you for the correction.
My interpretation is meant exactly as you said.
We should sneak around and whack those enemies that attempt to destroy our way of life. Also, as you point out, my version of the quote has been attributed to TR in some places.
Following is the original source, which is true to your correction; thanks again.
According to Nathan Miller in his book "Theodore Roosevelt, A Life", page 337, "Looking back upon his handling of the incident, Roosevelt thought he 'never saw a bluff carried more resolutely through to the final limit.' And writing to a friend a few days later, he observed: 'I have always been fond of the West African proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. "
Re:A contrarian to this thread...
on
Cyber-Attacks?
·
· Score: 1
Thanks Gonrat!
You have stated a perfect illustration of what I alluded to in my post.
SEB
Re:A contrarian to this thread...
on
Cyber-Attacks?
·
· Score: 1
Thank you.
Truely a man who "gets it". Not because I said it, but because it's the truth.
A contrarian to this thread...
on
Cyber-Attacks?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I have read about 15 posts here. It is the naive arrogance of these posts that causes me to be happy we, the USA, are going to be concerned about infrastructure security.
It is true that today Al-Qaeda or who ever are not be able to disrupt our infrastructure anymore than any script kiddie. Of course these enemy forces have a great deal more resources and time than even an army of script kiddies. That is the real problem.
Please assess the situation as it is, not as you want it to be or think it might be. There is an enemy force that killed 2823 Americans on Sept. 11 2001. This force probably spent as many as 8 years and much money planning that attack; since the previous attack in 1993. They are patient. They may field students that get jobs in very vulnerable places, and then do a great deal of harm. This will take time and money, and they have a track record of doing just that.
I appreciate the hubris expressed by everyone here, but as Teddy Roosevelt said, lets "walk softly and carry a big stick".
Slashdot Mirror
A regular hissy fit over something they don't yet control.
I usually say I have 25-30 computers, and ask them to tell me which one has the problem. Reasoning that they called me and must be able to know which unit it is. They will either be confused and pass me to the "next support level" or say it doesn't matter which unit I log in to. At that point I insist they tell me which unit it is. By this time they usually use some foul language and/or simply hang up. Mission accomplished.
It's fun to tell them you have 23 computers and insist they tell you which one is infected.
Dude's got it right. An RB750 or equivalent provides lowest TCO. Others aren't even close.
Go study the guy deciding between MySQL and Postgres. Geez
It doesn't get more craven then that.
Only you can answer that question. Good luck!
I'm free to use non-free or free software, and I like it. If you are true believer in freedom, then let me be. I'm smart enough to make the choice and responsible enough to accept the consequences.
These scum posted thousands of stolen passwords. It is reported pay p@l accounts were compromised. How loudly you would cry if the acts of these criminals lead to your identity theft. Thank you FBI!
It's refreshing to hear from a like minded free market person. I wish you continued success!
If you want to keep it that way, then don't tell anyone. Seriously.
I've been doing this for nearly 10 years. Don't kid yourself about office politics. It can easily become worse when you are not there to monitor the day to day wrangling. Ignorance doesn't make the problem go away.
Never ever let anyone tell you what you can or should earn. Your salary is your choice. Do what you love, take control, and don't whine. This approach has worked well for me for the past 30 years. I've survived more than a few industry changes over that time.
The $1.4B is not tax relief but up front cash. Taken from a state budget that has an $11B shortfall. A genius decision.
The true purpose of GlobalFoundries is to garner $1.4 Billion (yes, billion) in incentives from NY taxpayers.
When I was a child, I though like a child;
When I was an adult, I thought like an adult;
When I went completely insane, I converted my cube to a house...
I worked for General Electric for over 10 years, and what I learned there is exactly what you described about Amex. I learned that I was not going to thrive in that environment so I left. Applying the prinicples I described in previous replies, I have acheived a level of success that I feel proves my approach. My peers who stayed at GE are making about $100,000 less than I am in 10 years since I left. I have accomplished this by good old fashioned hard work, and paying attention to what makes business tick. Of course money is not a measure of success, but it is what we are discussing when it comes to business. I am successful in other ways too, like working full time out of my home office, etc.
I have been fortunate, yes; but I find the harder and smarter I work, the luckier I get.
I think the out of work Airline Mechanics might not agree with your point about working conditions. Afterall, one needs to be working in order to have "working conditions".
Also, Airline Mechanics are professionals and should not be unionized. They should compete with each other, to maintain favorable working conditions, and are educated enough to represent themselves to management. Competition is good, unions tend to weaken it in these situations.
I think unions have there place. Except I have not seen professionals benefiting from unions in the long run.
Thanks for the fine reply.
I suspect if you "take a break" as soon as your wife gets going with her career, she will lose some respect for you no matter what she says. I've seen it happen too many times. Remember, it takes a man to be a man, do it.
It takes the right kind of person to do this effectively. You need to learn discipline and the ability to communicate in various mediums. We use phone, email, and instant messaging; there is place for each, but effective use is paramount. The discipline comes in because the benefit of working at home is also its liability. You are always at work! Don't let yourself or anyone else take advantage of that.
The part about the office is key. A separate room is the only solution.
One last point. You need to be supportive of your coworkers. Not seeing people face to face can allow negative feelings to grow where they would otherwise not. Always give your coworkers the benefit of the doubt and be generous. I work with about 6 other people up and down the east coast, all telecommuting, and we have been doing great/profitable work for the past 2 years. So I know this works.
Cases in point; airlines and teachers. Lucrative union contracts increased cost in the airline industry even when profits were going down, a self destructive approach for sure. In New York, where I live and grew up, we have some the of the highest paid teachers on the planet and most of the worst performing students (per dollar spent) on the planet. It does not add up.
Unions can help some industries, but not where professionals are the work force. We as professionals need to constantly develop our skills to make us more valuable. Unions hamper that process by enforcing raises no matter what your performance is.
We can become more valuable by developing skills like time management and understanding the business side of the software business. I have been doing software and hardware development for over 20 years, and I've been quite successful by employing the suggestions above.
My interpretation is meant exactly as you said. We should sneak around and whack those enemies that attempt to destroy our way of life. Also, as you point out, my version of the quote has been attributed to TR in some places.
Following is the original source, which is true to your correction; thanks again.
According to Nathan Miller in his book "Theodore Roosevelt, A Life", page 337,
"Looking back upon his handling of the incident, Roosevelt thought he 'never saw a bluff carried more resolutely through to the final limit.' And writing to a friend a few days later, he observed: 'I have always been fond of the West African proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. "
Thanks Gonrat!
You have stated a perfect illustration of what I alluded to in my post.
SEB
Truely a man who "gets it". Not because I said it, but because it's the truth.
It is true that today Al-Qaeda or who ever are not be able to disrupt our infrastructure anymore than any script kiddie. Of course these enemy forces have a great deal more resources and time than even an army of script kiddies. That is the real problem.
Please assess the situation as it is, not as you want it to be or think it might be. There is an enemy force that killed 2823 Americans on Sept. 11 2001. This force probably spent as many as 8 years and much money planning that attack; since the previous attack in 1993. They are patient. They may field students that get jobs in very vulnerable places, and then do a great deal of harm. This will take time and money, and they have a track record of doing just that.
I appreciate the hubris expressed by everyone here, but as Teddy Roosevelt said, lets "walk softly and carry a big stick".
Cheers, SEB