October 24, 2007
Interview Checklist
I had an interesting discussion with a potential cofounder last night. We had met online, and were kind of feeling each other out for whether or not a partnership would be a good match. Today I have an interview with...
October 17, 2007
Sapir-Whorf and Hackers
Not this guy Philosophers have a lot to say about how to write good programs. It might not seem that way, but they do. Take the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which basically says that the shape and structure of a language molds...
October 16, 2007
Waiting...
The big guy upstairs has decided for me to cool my heels this week, it seems. I've got a lot of stuff happening, but none of it is happening right this minute. I have a large client in the Midwest...
September 18, 2007
Google Interview Questions
Here's a list of interview questions you are supposedly likely to face at Google. Do you know the answers?...
May 14, 2007
IBM: It's Being Mean
I've been getting my head around a post over, on all places, PBS.org. Seems like one of the rabble-rousers, a Cringely fellow, predicted that IBM will cut 150K jobs for cost savings. This was like red meat to a pack...
October 30, 2006
No I don't wanna do that
I got into an interesting conversation with somebody over the weekend. He was also an IT person, and had been a contractor for many years. I wonder how many other people are out there who feel the same way he...
May 2, 2006
Are you a World-Class Idiot?
There's an old joke that goes that 1 out of 3 people are crazy. Take a good look at the person on your right. Do they look okay? Now, how about taking a good look at the person on your left. Do they look okay? If they do, then I've got some bad news for you.
We've got some changes to make.
April 24, 2006
Rummy Vs. the Arguing Experts
I'm watching a retired general on CBS this morning talkng about how our current Secretary of Defense should resign.
April 21, 2006
Are Technical People Natural Suckers?
I was reading a good book yesterday, "The Word is Flat", by Thomas Friedman. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, especially if you are a little outside the technology sector.
September 7, 2005
So Long, Little Buddy
Denver passed away yesterday at the Duke University Medical Center. He was 70.
September 4, 2005
Dynamics Of Groups
Been a member of an internet group? Then you will identify with this one.
"How many list members does it takes to change a light bulb?"
August 18, 2005
It's Your Free Time
It never ceases to amaze me what people do with their free time. Here is a guy who took 15 million popcycle sticks and made a Viking Boat from them!
July 27, 2005
Santa Kicks Back
What does Santa do in the off season? Party hardy, at least according to these Santas. More than 100 Santa Clauses and their helpers danced and bellowed ho-hos at the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark. The Nicks were...
July 26, 2005
Blogging Changes Staffing Relationships
Fed up with parking at where you work? It used to be you just had to suffer. Now you can take pictures and put it on your blog for the world to see, like this Yahoo employee did. Everything is more public these days, for better or worse, like this meat manager who marked down the beef then sent his wife to buy 47 pounds of it. Great plan, if you don't get caught. And any more it's not just caught, you get to appear on blogs all over the world (like this one).
July 25, 2005
Women and Men Trust Differently
A recent study in Ohio concluded that men and women trust differently. Men were more willing to trust someone if there were some sort of symbolic relationship -- membership of the same clubs, or working at the same company. Women,...
July 24, 2005
Cyclic Nature Of Performance
People have cycles, and I'm not talking about the two-wheeled contraptions in their garage. A good team leader understands this, and uses the cycles to his advantage. Take my last week -- boy, what a mess!
July 22, 2005
More Smoke than Fire: The Real Story of CEOs
There's a great article in Computerworld today about how CEOs are faking it a lot more than most people expect. If you think about how large and complex some of today's businesses are, isn't that kind of obvious?
Continue reading "More Smoke than Fire: The Real Story of CEOs"
July 21, 2005
Giant Gummy Bear Threatens Waistline!
I like gummy bears a lot. Yes, I know what's in them, but something about the chewy texture is endearing to me. So when I saw the biggest durn gummy bear I've ever seen, I had to share it with you.
Taking 13 pounds of gummy bears, sorting them out, and melting them in a big tub, this is quite a creation. People do the neatest things with their free time.
Aggressive Women -- Workable in IT?
I had a client tell me once, "I don't understand how to be an effective woman manager. If the guys are aggressive, they get kudos from the executives. If I act aggressive, they just call me a bitch."
I thought it was a good question. I've had experiences with a number of women managers in IT, and I didn't have the heart to tell her, she really was a little on the bitchy side.
July 20, 2005
Don't Get The Lawyers Involved
Word today that Microsoft is suing Google and a former employee over jumping ship. While I think Microsoft has an obligation and every right to protect its intellectual property, this is a waste of time, and a bad sign for the software giant.
July 17, 2005
HP Eliminates 15,000 Jobs
CNet is running with a story that HP is going to cut close to 15,000 jobs next week. If you're worrying about what's going to happen to your job, have you considered "individual outsourcing" -- where you personally find somebody in India to do your job, pocket
July 16, 2005
Give Up Trying To Understand People
I remember when I was new in the business world, I kept trying to understand why people acted the way they did. I eventually learned two lessons: Everybody makes sense if you take time to understand them, and people in general make no sense at all. It's the difference between the micro and macro -- the importance in knowing at what level to operate on.
July 15, 2005
Who Can You Trust?
Word from The Register that one in three medical studies are wrong? We ran the story recently where an astonishing number of researchers make up results, and nobody gets punished. Here's a blog that makes the point much more harshly...
July 13, 2005
Retail Shrink? Could be Bob
Retail shrink due to BOB, or bottom-of-the-basket items, has long been a problem. Now there's word that a company called Evolution Robotics has invented a system to help cashiers identify items left there. The system called LaneHawk, which costs about $3K per lane, uses cameras to look under the basket for items that might be forgotten (or shoplifted) It's not without problems, however.
India Update
Looks like SAP is doubling staff in India. Meanwhile, American Airlines is planning direct flights there from Chicago. US News hit the nail on the head the other day, there is an emerging alliance with India that is probably the biggest news this year.
July 12, 2005
Any Jobs on DICE For Nuclear Bomb Designers?
Slate is running an interesting article -- seems like the number of people in the United States that design nulcear weapons "could all fit on a bus" according to the story. And most of those are near retirement age. So what happens when these guys are gone? While it would be a great thing to get rid of all nuclear weapons, would it be such a good idea to lose all your exertise before that day happens?
Continue reading "Any Jobs on DICE For Nuclear Bomb Designers?"
July 11, 2005
IT Jobs Continue Growth
Looking over the consulting field, using my intuition (which is worth what you pay for it, folks), my feeling is that a lot of support work is disappearing.
July 10, 2005
So Far, Bulls Zero
Nobody was hurt in the annual running of the bulls, but you can see all the action on this google map hack with injuries posted. The bulls may have scored a long-term victory, however, with news that scientists are considering...
Surf's Up, Dude
- Most damage is done by flooding, not by wind
- Most people die after the storm, not during it
- Dennis will remain a severe flooding threat for days after he comes ashore. Look for flooding as far north as the Ohio valley
July 9, 2005
Looks Matter
E-Harmony -- the jig is up. Now anybody with a profiling tool and this algorithm can be the perfect match-maker.
July 8, 2005
Who Likes Us? Try the Indians
It makes me wonder -- with most of the news and internet sources being in English, will English eventually become the world-wide language?
July 7, 2005
Run With the Bulls, Swim With the Sharks
Staffing is a lot more than just hiring people, you have to make sure they are happy in their jobs. Let's say your job is to run from crazed bulls through the street of a Spanish city, wouldn't it be...
July 6, 2005
The Disease of IT
We IT people are prone to certain kinds of mental illness. Somebody has to ante up and admit it. I figured I would start.
July 5, 2005
Communicating With the Troops
But do I really want to be reminded to get my annual flu shot while I'm picking my nose and staring vacantly off into space?
Microsoft Taken To Task On Hiring Practices
Not exactly the kind of press you want your recruiters generating for you, huh?
Continue reading "Microsoft Taken To Task On Hiring Practices"
July 4, 2005
Things NOT To Look For In Your Staff
Finally, if you've invented a new technique to cover up the smell of hog manure, might be something to include, but you might want to skip the pictures or scratch-n-sniff in the portfolio.
July 3, 2005
The Good Stuff: Fringe Benefits
Usually we look at it from the "how do I get a job" standpoint, but perhaps a better question would be "how do I get the right job?"
Certifiable
The core issues -- do you have good programming habits? Do you work well in a small/large group? Do you have a good attitude? Do you figure things out on your own, or do you need a lot of hand-holding? These are things that a certification can't tell you.
July 1, 2005
Brains Anyone?
Perhaps instead of matching people up with jobs that match their personality, we should try to match them up with jobs that matches the personality traits they would like to have
June 30, 2005
Gates Says Companies Should Not Outsource Core Functions
Turns out process identification is a little more tricky than it first appears. Don't try this at home!
Continue reading "Gates Says Companies Should Not Outsource Core Functions"
June 29, 2005
The Love Boat Meets Santa's Workshop
Can you imagine a day where the waters near major countries are strewn with ships full of low-wage coders?
June 28, 2005
Disaster? Or Training Opportunity?
Obviously somebody in the executive suite took a liking to Joe to put him in a position of such power. If only they had taken the time to mentor him a bit as well, they could have saved their company a lot of money.
June 27, 2005
The Return Of The Archons
While I'm not advocating ringing a bell during our workday for an hour of mayhem, some amount of controlled chaos is a very good thing.
June 26, 2005
Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
"Bahree ... thought he could earn some extra money this way by utilizing his free time."
IBM Sends Thousands More Jobs to India
It's hard enough to run a team in the same location where everybody is a member of the same culture, it's going to be a bear to work the new teams of the 21st century.
June 24, 2005
The Good Guys
Some of these consulting jobs I think were reject episodes for "Mission Impossible", because even with a rubber face and a radio-controlled Lamborghini you ain't saving the ambassador's kid anytime soon.
June 21, 2005
The Confession
After all, shooting a perp running from a liquor store and running a VB project are pretty much the same thing, right?