work

I forgot that the reason you get “paid” to do “jobs” is because it’s not something you’d leap up out of bed in the morning raring to do, without the carrot of filthy lucre leading you on … “Real work” for me is something you just do as a consequence of being who you are and doing what you do, towards something you believe in — with money as mere byproduct … Someone told me this anecdote recently: You ask two workers laying bricks what they’re doing — they’re both doing the same thing — and one guy says “I’m laying bricks” while the other guy says “I’m building a cathedral.”

from Caterina

A recent survey of 6,000 people by recruitment company TMP Worldwide found that irritating mobile phone rings are the top workplace nuisance, followed by malfunctioning equipment such as photocopiers, fax machines and printers.

I recently finished my first stint as a contract programmer. (Although I was employed for a few months in 2000 on a contract for Home Shopping Network Direct, a subsidiary of the television channel.) I worked from December 1st until January 31st for a company in City of Industry, CA called 2by2.net. I did some active server page development and worked on their jabber-based IM for a while. It was a decent gig, even though I really didn’t fit into their corporate philosophy. Easily the most annoying aspect of the job - aside from the hour-plus commute (each way!) - was the fact that every single phone in the office had a distinct ring tone. They were all unbearably aggravating. What was even worse was that every single employee had a mobile phone and all of those had distinct, cute-sy rings. If you bring your cell phone to work you really should keep it on silent alert. Research proves that you’re probably bugging the hell out of someone.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), farm workers are risking their lives every time they enter a manure pit.

My drive home is always exciting.

Sitting in the Office
A haiku:

work goes well - music
Alanis M in headphones
battery dies. blah.

Woo hoo! I got my Secret Santa gift yesterday. It’s a very merry Homer Simpson Collector’s Trivia Tin! Thank you, Lee!

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from inessential.com:

Of course, my hope is that any programmer who uses the Web also gives back to the Web, posts their solved problems, tips, sample code, and so on. (I’m lucky that I get to do this as part of my job.)
For a programmer these days, knowing how to learn on the Web is more important than knowing any particular language or environment.
Were I interviewing a programmer today (I’m not), I wouldn’t ask as much about their education or experience with specific tools as I would about their use of the Web. And, because I believe in a sort-of instant Web karma, I’d also find out if the Web for them is a two-way street.
It’s possible that I wouldn’t hire anybody who doesn’t already have a weblog. Given the choice between a programmer with a computer science degree and a programmer with a weblog - everything else being equal, I’d hire the programmer with a weblog.

Today is my last (official) day here at HRI. Tomorrow should be my last day, but it’s my ‘flex’ day. One of the coolest perks of this job was the schedule. They have what’s called a 9/80 work week. You work 80 hours in 9 days instead of the usual ten. The bonus is that you get every other Friday as a ‘flex’ day. I think more companies should adopt this program. It is incredibly beneficial to get a weekday to do the things most people can only do on weekdays - go to the bank, the post office, whatever.

HRI decided to move all of its development / computer programming work to their home office in Kentucky. I was ‘laid off’ a few months ago and they asked me to stay until now to finish several large projects and help the transition.
I’ll probably visit for a little bit tomorrow - in shorts and a t-shirt - to pack the rest of my books and cubicle. But now I’m unemployed. Thankfully I’m not unemployable, so I’m not really freaking yet. I do need to get a new gig soon, so if anyone out there knows anyone in Los Angeles that’s hiring, drop me a line.

Why Don’t You Get a Job - Offspring

Thanks to everyone that pointed out that this was a Song of the Moment a few weeks ago, but I thought it was a great choice since I am - once again - looking for a job!

In an eMail I just received from my boss:

I bow to a superior intellect!!!

I really hope you read this one. He got fired for writing it. He’s probably going to get a few million hits on his web counter - it’s already been linked on me-fi and elsewhere. And it deserves to be. If you read it and don’t get it, consider yourself lucky.

There’s a fascinating article at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology called Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. This is the sort of essay that makes you wonder about yourself. Just in case you weren’t already wondering. Or in case you thought you were more self-aware than maybe you really are, which - according to this - you wouldn’t realize. And even worse, you’ll read this article and think that it’s not about you. Ouch.

” … when people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it.”

I do not like this article. Not one bit.

I don’t know about it being a meme, Ernie, but compare this to this to this.
Sucks, no?
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