JAFDIP

Just another frakkin day in paradise

Archives for February 2012

The bad boss

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I don’t want this to be a particularly negative post but let’s face the truth we’ve all had at least one. In fact I would wager that if you’ve been working for more than a few years you’ve likely had several. What am I talking about why bad bosses of course.

Whether they had personal hygiene issues or other character flaws it’s obvious that there is no shortage of awful business leadership. So in hopes of getting people to talk about their personal experiences I am going to start off with one of my personal favorites.

It’s no surprise that I have worked in the information technology field for a very long time. Truthfully, I started working with computer systems over 20 years ago in the US Military. During that time I have had my share of obnoxious bosses but one stands out above the rest. While I have decided not to name any names any of my former coworkers who have dealt with this individual while immediately recognize, the boss I call the Zero Personality Gratuitous Moocher (ZPGM).

What distinguishes Mr. ZPGM above all others is his complete and utter lack of inter personal social skills. It always amazed me to think that this individual had somehow seemingly failed his way up to CEO. I always dreaded going onsite with him to any client because he was beyond Nick Burns crass.

I remember visiting one high profile law firm in preparation of a major IT roll out and was approached by one of the attorneys who asked me if I was the CEO of the IT support company. When I pointed out the individual he turned to me and clearly stated, “I can’t believe it he does not act like any CEO I have ever met. I truly believed you were the head honcho because you seem to actually care if this project is successful or not.”

To say that I was flabbergasted is an understatement. However the more that I thought about it and all the previous meetings I had  attended with the boss I came to realize her was an utter moron in regards to conducting himself in any sort of social situation. Nothing was more dreadful than attending a sales meeting with him for a prospective client. As soon as he was done with his ‘schpeal’ and there was a moment of silence he would pack up his things and leave.

Yes that’s right he’d get up from the conference table turn and leave the room without even thanking the client for their time. It always amazed me that he ever won deals because of his blatant lack of regard for the client but it paled in comparison to his disdain for his own employees.

 

English: A pile of potato chips. These are Utz...
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Most of the time he was antagonistic toward the other employees, and had no qualms against inciting the female offices workers to leave early in tears. To say that the work environment was a bit hostile was putting it mildly. Employee turn over tended to be high and it amazes me that I was able to weather the storm for as long as I did. One of his more annoying tactics was to call you when you were at a client usually during some sensitive system restore and immediately reverse the conversation so seem as if you called him. To this day I have never met anyone else capable of pulling that one off.

 

Unfortunately, all of this is minor in comparison to the way he would make his daily rounds during lunchtime. For whatever reason he would always visit the staff members when they had just started to eat their lunch. He always like to pop in and ask questions about a project or client just as you had a mouth full of food. Worse if you have any sort of potato chips, cookies or other snack food he would reach over your head to help himself to the bag. Continuing to casually chat with you while he ate half your lunch. Worse yet he even chewed with his mouth open.

Ok so I’ve aired my bad boss story it’s time for you to weigh in. Please fill up the comment stream with your stories, just remember to keep it clean and avoid saying anything that my end your current employment. Thanks for reading!

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Egregious Anti Open Source Policies

It seems that Apple has taken steps to thwart open creativity with the recently proposed new operating system feature called Gatekeeper. I hate to admit it but I saw this coming with the advent of the OS X App Store in the first place. However, the tell is in the difficulty a imposed by the new Xcode availability and licensing scheme.

Xcode
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For those who are not developers or familiar with the MacPorts Xcode provides the OS X glue that enables one to easily create software for the Mac platform as well as iOS devices. The announcement of 10.8 ushered in a new licensing enforcement policy which requires developers to download and install Xcode in such a manner as to agree to the new licensing model. While the announcement of OS X Mountain Lion and the changes to Xcode may be coincidental I seriously doubt it. Apple has pulled this sort of change before and is likely to do it again. In any event with the release of Xcode 4.3 you will have little choice but to agree to the new licensing scheme unless you wish to stop developing software for many Apple products.

Obviously there are other changes in the Apple camp though subtle are worth pointing out. The most important is the distinction that the next version of OS X will be the first not to carry the ‘Mac’ moniker. I personally believe that Apple has finally decided to lift the ban against installation on other manufacturer’s hardware. In fact I believe that this omission is really a shot directly across the bow of Microsoft.

Ars Technica reports, “All Windows 8 systems that meet Microsoft’s certification requirements must use UEFI firmware with Secure Boot enabled.”

It is also my firm belief that Microsoft has shot back with their new UEFI requirement for Windows 8 hardware. This is personally the more troubling of the two changes made by these big players. It means if you are a like myself an Open Source user who does not need Windows or Os X and prefers to run a FREE operating system like FreeBSD or even Linux you may be out of luck on certain hardware platforms. It also means that if Apple does decide to release OS X into the wild, as a way of unhinging Microsoft’s last hold on your digital life, they will find it a little more than difficult.

In the case of Apple their practice is not discriminatory nor monopolistic but Microsoft, however; has endeavored to tread down that ever slippery slope. I expect that we will see numerous anti-trust and anti-monopoly legal battle break out as a result of Microsoft’s stumbling. I can only hope that enough hardware vendors reject the UEFI plan, because it is just plain wrong.

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The pitfalls of the job searcher

Once again I am writing about the current abysmal state of the employment prospects available to those unfortunate enough to be amongst the ever increasing number of unemployed. I wish there was a silver bullet to fix this problem, however; this really isn’t a single fix for the problem. Many people believe it’s just a matter of dumbing down your resume and accepting a lower paying job with less responsibility. I must sadly report that most of the members of this delusional group have never lost their job before and obviously live a rose shaded wold.

Let’s discuss some of the things I have witnessed over the last few years that I find completely disturbing. Many of these issues are promulgated by the job search industry as being essential to the business.

  1. Confidential listings
  2. Duplicate listings
  3. Fictitious Listings
  4. Misleading application process
  5. Missing POC
  6. Perfect round peg requirements
  7. Resume crafting and coaching
  8. Candidate tracking systems

Confidential listings- Almost every employment coach touts the necessity of tailoring your resume or at least your cover letter to the posted job. Unfortunately, there is an alarming trend of companies posting offerings without any information that will assist in the research necessary to achieve this goal. I tend to steer past these listings as I my experience has lead to the assertion that a company who is not honest up front is not a honest company period end of story. The only exception is a company attempting to oust an existing non-performer and they wish to remain anonymous because they do not want to tip off the current employee. Be that as it may I find their lack of professionalism distasteful and again question their ethics.

Duplicate listings- Seems to be most prevalent with the large recruiting firms as well as on jobs listing sites like the ladders, dice, careerbuilder and monster. I believe this is more of a marketing ruse to lure investor as well as job seeker dollars. There is little you can do to thwart this practice so other than not buying into the services of these sorts of purveyors unless you really find it valuable.

Fictitious listings- I have written about this phenomenon several times and it is probably one of the most disturbing. It’s the utterly dishonest action practiced by several presumably high caliber employment listing sites. The more often I observe this the more I question the reputability of certain sites.

Misleading application process- This occurs most usually as a result of the job poster’s unfamiliarity with the posting system. Of course it could also be a test of the applicant’s ability to follow directions. What I mean is that the company could be attempting to filter the applicants but testing to see if they thoroughly read the listing in question. I know it may seem crazy but think about it 90% of applicants will just click the easy yellow “Apply now” button which could be exactly what the poster wants you to not do. One has to carefully read through the entire posting to discover the ‘real’ application procedure. Of course there is always the possibility that this is simply a duplicate posting cut and pasted from the company web site.

Missing POC- One of the common aspects of the current jobs search criteria is to always address your cover letter to a specific individual. Preferably, this individual should be the one who holds the key to the interview door. Unfortunately, this information is not always available and calling the company may be an issue it we are dealing with one of those anonymously posted confidential listings as noted above.

Another closely related issue I personally find perplexing it properly addressing my correspondence to the original job poster. It is relatively easy when that poster is a male as no male will complain when addressed as Mr. however, I have been called to task once or twice by attempting to foster the appropriate level of consideration and respect by addressing something to Ms. Only to have my application handed to me because she is a Mrs. Gatekeeper. This is a dubious distinction and speaks ill of the company for allowing such an environment to exist.

Perfect round pegs- I wish I had the fortitude to screen capture some of the listing that I read nearly a year ago that I am reading again. In fact many of these listings seem to resurface on at least a quarterly basis which leads me to believe that the posting company is an extremely difficult one to actually work for or that they have  crafted a set of completely unrealistic requirements. After discussing this with several individuals I have come to the assertion that the latter is more likely the case. Far too many companies are searching for the perfect round peg fit for their employment needs. While these candidates may exist it is likely that the prospective hiring managers spend too much time dithering over the details. The likelihood that this candidate has move on is extremely high, because if they have truly marketable skills they will not be on the market for very long.

This phenomenon has created a serious deficit of employed skilled workers and honestly the fault for this lay squarely on the shoulders of the hiring companies themselves. Unfortunately, for the citizenry of the United States too many of these companies have sway with political forces and have called for easing of the immigrant hiring. Thus our unemployment levels will remain higher than acceptable because of corporate ignorance.

Resume crafting services- These services are pushed ad nauseum by the vary companies that claim to assist the job seeker in landing that ever elusive interview. I am certain you have received the email only moments after uploading your resume onto your profile page. Offering unbelievable results for mere hundreds of dollars to completely rewrite your resume into the perfect vehicle for landing you that dream job. However, where are these services for the unemployed? Honestly, far too many are debating whether to put food on their table or pay their mortgage and do not have disposable funding for something so frivolous as hiring a professional resume writer.

The most infuriating thing I have experienced from these supposed ‘Professional’ services is the form email where it is evident that they did not even bother to read my resume in the ‘Free professional critique.’ The other frustrating factor is that so many coaches insist you have to tailor your resume to each listing. Imagine how expensive this endeavor would be if you had to consult a professional each time.

Candidate or applicant tracking systems- These solution have been touted as the solution to the unemployment problem but in reality they are the absolute bane of the job seeker. Each of these systems claim to objectify the job seeker into a database of skills that the hiring department can use to evaluate candidates. Unfortunately, they eliminate all of the value in researching the company, crafting properly addressed cover letters and having professionally tailored resumes. It is a sad fact that in reality these systems promote mediocrity on a 1984 level.

Ultimately, this industry is about one thing and one thing only which is to squeeze both the posting companies and job seekers for as much money as possible. Of all the current solutions at least LinkedIn has the appearance of transparency and objectivity. There is little innovation in the industry and even LinkedIn the 800 pound gorilla that it has become has a long way to go.

The bottom line is that this business is in business to keep you searching for your next job. There is little incentive for anyone to actually help you regain useful employment as the cards are definitely stacked against you.

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Tweeting it up old skewl

Are you one of those techno-leadytes? You know those people who long for the days of your when technology meant rail roads, flushable toilets and telegraphs. Perhaps you’re one of those Ham (err I mean) Amateur Radio affectionados. If so then you will absolutely be thrilled by the homebrewed @tworsekey project that enables you to send tweets using Morse Code.

With the recent growth of the Steam Punk movement it really was only a matter of time before someone cobbled together a gadget like this. The project documentation will help you build this completely standalone device that connects directly to you LAN via the built in ethernet cable. That’s right this is not a USB pseudo keyboard apparatus but a full fledged piece of gear.

The source code, hardware schematics and building instructions are available under the GPLv3 licenses. (c) 2012 by Martin Kaltenbrunner.

tworsekey internal components wiring and circuits

My only question is when will someone develop a wireless version that fits in my pocket?

image credit: [via @Tworskey project]

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Social media can make miracles happen

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A story of accomplishment:

It was almost a year ago that I was presented with the opportunity to change a life. My decision that day was out of friendship, kindness and empathy. In May of 2011 I was working on a special technology project in Genting, MY. Malaysia was at that time exactly 12 hours ahead of New York which made facilitating conference calls relatively easy. I had been in the country for nearly a month and missed my family terribly which I believe gave me great insight into the plight of a friend of mine.

It was very early in the morning on Sunday May 8th and I was catching up on my email as I do most mornings. I read a blog post in my RSS feeds from my friend Brooke Farmer who is also a member of the JAFDIP family. The title simply read My plea for a Mother’s Day miracle. In that post Brooke detailed a heart wrenching account of being not seeing her teenage son for several months because the father had taken steps to intervene. Preventing her form talking with her son et cettera.

All that she wanted was to simple things to be able to talk to her son on Mother’s Day and to find an attorney in Colorado that could help enforce the custody agreement. Unfortunately, it was Mother’s Day and she had not lived in Colorado for several years. To make matter compound her predicament she had gone to Melbourne, Australia in search of work and ended up staying longer than expected. Thus the prospect of locating a sympathetic lawyer in the states was exceedingly grim.

Upon reading the post and all of the subsequent comments I decided that I needed to do something. I think my desire to help besides being the right thing to do is that I was nearly 10,000 miles away from my children. I know that if anything had happened to then I know I would have felt utterly helpless. In fact on one trip I received a call from my wife at approximately 3:30 AM because the truck broke down on the highway and I spent 30 minutes on the phone talking to her calming her down while she awaited help. In any event since it was still Saturday evening in the US which meant that I was in a unique position to help I thought more and more about what I could do a idea took hold of me.

What if I could help bridge a connection between one of my followers or even one of their followers and Brooke? I felt confident that someone in my circle of friends could help her find the local assistance she needed. I mean I have a huge network of attorneys in NY in addition to a respectably focused twitter following. Thus I carefully crafted the following note and sent it out to my stream simply hoping that someone would read it and retweet it.

RT @ mikelking : Ok peeps we gotta help a mom out PLS READ -> http://bit.ly/iBiLMO & RT @ brooke_farmer : Looking for a miracle on Mother’s Day.

As I watched the retweets stream in I decided to reach out to some of those individuals that had DMed me in the past asking for a tweetout. I carefully wrote a personalized message to each asking if they could help but sending out the above message which I DMed separately.

What happened next wasn’t entirely anticipated. Dozens upon dozens of people began retweeting the message. While it did not exactly ‘Go Viral’ on a crazy scale creating a tweet meme or anything the result was better than expected. Ultimately I was able to help Brooke make that important connection through another friend Shelia Rose (@ShebaJo) in my stream. Shelia Rose lives in Colorado and happened to have a few attorneys available to refer Brooke to.

Fast forward to now. Since Mother’s Day Brooke has returned to her home in LA and visited her son several times. They even went camping which is something that Brooke is not known to do. In fact if you read her post on the subject you’ll know she is kind of afraid of the outdoors. What is important is that she did what every parent learns to do sooner or later they conquer that fear even temporarily just to spend that quality time with their child.

I have taken the liberty of linking several key posts from her blog that update the state of affairs between her and her son. I think we can all agree that although she may have not gotten that call on Mother’s Day ultimately she got her son back and that is what truly matters.

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