Friday Fun: A couple of laughs for the end of the week

As these two clips show some tools that shouldn't be allowed at work.





Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Funny Computer Cats

I don't know what it is about this video, but I love it!



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Loituma - Leva's Polka

Today I found out I have a new job, so in celebration of my being un-unemployed I decided to post a "happy" song for today's Friday Fun. The two songs that instantly came to mind were "Leva's Polka" by Loituma, or the Renn and Stimpy classic "Happy Happy Joy Joy". I decided on "Leva's Polka" because I have alway found it an up beat and cheery song.



If you are currently unemployed then try listening to this song when ever you're a feeling down. Hopefully it will cheer you up, and remember to keep on plugging on. I'll post more about my new job in a later post. Take care, and have a great weekend ~ Jim

SF Weekly.com: Funemployment

While trundling around Digg.com today I came across an entry for "Funemployment" from SF Weekly.com, and I have to say that I found the article very engrossing.

Recently I've been dealing with a lot of "inertia" due to the extended length time that I have been unemployed, and reading this article helped me refocus my view of the situation.

The article is primarily focused on Twenty and Thirty Somethings in the San Francisco area, and how they are coping with their extended unemployment, and while the title of the article does imply these Twenty and Thirty Somethings are having fun while being unemployed there is more to the it than that. Many of those interviewed in the article are using their free time to rediscover their goals and the paths that they really want to follow, or at least that is the impression I got from the article.

One line from the article that really hit home for me was this "More psychologically significant than the income loss, she says, is the morbid condition of "feeling ineffectual in the world."

Without a doubt that has been the biggest hit for me, and reading this article helped me recognize that the feeling of being ineffectual in the world has led to inertia that I have been struggling with. While the feeling of inertia is still there, I now have clearer view of the situation and I believe I can get past it and move forward.

If you are in a situation similar then I strongly suggest you give this article a read. Also be sure to check out the blogs Funemployment Blog and Unemploymentality for more interesting reading on the subject..

Cheers ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Max Headroom - Paranoimia

Here's a little blast from the past that those of us who remember the 80's might enjoy:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Keep It Simple

Some times it's just best to keep it simple and consider the obvious solution:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday Fun: The Internet Is Down!

Given recent events this is so appropriate.



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Problems accessing Google via Qwest DSL

UPDATE TO THE ORIGINAL POST @ 6:30 PM PST 05/14/09: Computerworld - Google suffers major failure Well it does look like there was an issue with Google today, though not everyone affected in the same way. My plan now is to develop a protocol for dealing with such outages by taking such steps as "Don't panic", take a deep breath, do a little more research before calling tech support, and wait it out if all practical. I still believe though that ISPs should have a better way of alerting their staff when such acute outages occur so that they can change the way they deal with end users who call in.


ORIGINAL POST:

Sorry for throwing this entry up here, but I have been dealing with an ongoing problem, and I am trying to connect with others who have also been dealing with this same problem in the hope of getting to the root cause. I have been having problems with temporary outages to all Google services (search, GMail, Blogspot, etc.) via my DSL connection from Qwest. I am still able to access other sites when this problem occurs, it is only Google services that are affected.

So far the outages have occurred on the following days:

• Tuesday, May 12, 2009 from Noon to 1:00 PM PST
• Thursday, May 14, 2009 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM PST
• Note: My location is in Seattle, WA. and because I am expecting more outages I will update this list as they occur.

For the first two outages I went through the steps of calling Qwest customer service and went along with the standard triage of my DSL router/modem. Of course checking the DSL router/modem didn't fix the problem, and only after a lengthy conversation with Qwest was I told that there seems to be a problem with accessing Google. In each case prior to calling Qwest I checked with friends via chat to see if they could access Google and they could. Some of the friends were in the Seattle area while others were out of state, but in all instances they were using ISPs other than Qwest for Internet access.

If you live in the Seattle area and are a Qwest customer, and you have been having trouble accessing Google, please leave a comment or send me an email. I have been trying to find out what has been going on, but Qwest hasn't been very helpful. One manager even went so far as to tell me to call Google at 650-253-0000 which was useless, since Google doesn't offer tech support. By the way, if you work for either Qwest or Google, and you know what is going on feel free to leave an anonymous comment.

Thanks ~ Jim

Bits and blurbs for May 14, 2009

Here are few articles that I have come across recently that I found interesting and worth sharing:

• First off is Leo Babauta's article on Zen Habits - 6 Small Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline. Whether you are a job seeker struggling with your job search, or still at your job and trying to stay motivated, or you just keep beating your self up because you feel you are lacking discipline in general, then give Leo's article a read because he gives some really excellent advice.
• OK I admit it, I am a geek and I am proud of it, so I have gone ahead and added GeekAdvancement.com to links lists on three of my blogs (this blog, Geeks Who Care, and 8-Bit Retro). There is a great little video on the site featuring The Woz, Will Wheaton, LeVar Burton, and many other famous geeks. Give it a view, but be forewarned that it can be a little chuggy at at times. If you want to find out more about GeekAdvancement.com then check out the About page.
• Over at Shore Street Software you will find Beware Programming Language Requirements On Job Postings which brings up some good points for employers and recruiters about how to compose job postings so as to bring in the best qualified people, in this case programmers.
• Apple's Woz Boosts Tech for Schools from PCWorld is about Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (aka The Woz) joining the Board of Directors of TechForEducators.com. TechForEducators.com sells software to educators, and partners with the Kids in Need Foundation to offer free school supplies to disadvantaged students here in the US.
• HotHardware.com has an interesting piece titled "iSuppli: SSD Energy Savings Could Power A Nation from" about the projected power savings that would occur if data centers were to switch from using Hard Drives to Solid State Drives. The author makes a good point of questioning the numbers, and how quickly this SSD technology will be adapted, but still the potential power savings of SSD technology is something to consider.

That's it for now. I am still trying to think of something for this upcoming Friday Fun. If you have some suggestions, drop me a line. Cheers ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Who, what, huh?

Fans of Abbott and Costello should enjoy this computer spoof version of their famous "Who's on first?" routine:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Just say yes to telemarketers

Today's Friday fun was inspired by my previous post "Job seeker beware!", and is dedicated to Angela at Employment Select :)

Remember to just say "yes" to telemarketers:



I don't know how this guy keeps a straight face, but he deserves a banana for this one:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Job seeker beware!

Normally I try to refrain from grousing or posting anything negative in this blog, but today just as I was wrapping up today's job search my phone rang and on the other end was a telemarketer (of sorts), and I just have to post about it. Actually this is going to be more of a warning for other job seekers than my grousing about what happened to me because once I figured out what was going on I actually had a little fun by just saying yes and going along with the scam for a while (plus I was kind of bored :)

As I stated above I was wrapping up my job search when the phone rang. As soon as I grabbed the phone and I said "Hello" an automated message started up stating that the call was from a company called Employment Select, and that they are a screening service for an employer who I submitted a resume to. The robo-message went on to say that I was to call back and talk with one of their screeners about the position I applied for. The number that I was supposed to call back was 646-520-0695, which is the exact same number that my Caller ID listed. Now what I found interesting was that my Caller ID listed the caller as "VOXBONE / NYC2". (If anyone can provide some insight about this ID, then leave a comment)

Instantly the little red flags started coming up, but I thought what the Hell, I need a job and the call should be covered by my calling plan. I called the number and right off the bat I got another robo-message, with this one telling me that one of their screeners will be right with me, and that I will need to be in front of a computer with Internet access to facilitate answering the questions. The message went on to say that the ID of the potential employer will be kept confidential at this time. (Hmmm, more red flags went up).

So I waited another 10 seconds or so and BAM! I was once again listening to another robo-message pretty much telling me the same thing as the previous message, and then it told me to wait which I did. Eventually an "Angela" came on the line and started in with her scripted speech about how she was supposed to screen me for an "IT Assistant" position that I applied for, and she needed to verify my information. She asked for my telephone number and after she entered it in her system she then asked me to verify the information she had listed - Name, Address, and all the other rot, which was all correct. She then went on to tell me the process would take up to 45 minutes, and repeated what the robo message said about my needing to be in front of a computer with Internet access to proceed. (I don't know why, but this sent up even more red flags)

Somewhere in the middle of all this I interrupted Angela and asked her why Employment Select didn't offer a toll free number for prospective employees to call in, so as to save us poor unemployed soles some pennies. Her response was something in the line of "Well for you to get the job I need to ask you some questions", and she proceeded on with her ramble.

I interrupted her again, and asked who the employer was, and could she provide me with more details about the job. All she could tell me was the the employer was confidential at this time, and the position was for an IT Assistant. Angela then went on to ask me if I was in the job market and interested in this job, and I replied "yes". She then continued on to ask a few more questions which I now forget, and then she asked me how long I had been in the business. I gave my answer, and she replied "Excellent! You qualify for the job, and I am going to refer you to the employer" I thought "OK, this is cool" and then this is where the sales pitch started.

"Mr. Cox, could you tell me about your education? Do you have a degree?" OK, at this point the red flags were really flying because I list my education history and degrees on my resume, and shouldn't this screener have a copy of my resume? I replied that I had an AAS, and then Angela asked if I was offered a chance to work full time and go to school, with all expenses paid would I do so. Knowing that this was way too good to be true I replied "Yeah, sure" She then went to say that she had set me up with a adviser from another, so that I could discuss my educational plans, and that I needed to call them right away. She then gave me the number; 321-249-1490, and once again told me that I must call them right away, "no more then 10 minutes from now". We then said our goodbyes.

I sat at my desk wondering why didn't the call take 45 minutes like I was told (and yes, I am grateful it didn't). Maybe the second call would take that much time, but I wasn't going to find out. Instead of calling the second number I decided to enjoy the Sun and went out for lunch, and then took a walk. Later in the day I called the number just to see who it was and I got yet another robo-message thanking me for calling the Education Advising Division of Education Connection.

What I figure had happened, and let this be a warning to others, is that I applied for a position at one of the less than reputable job search sites, and my information was then passed along to Employment Select / Education Connection just so I could be suckered in to some scam. Now I suggest that if you have read this far and are interested in looking into this scam, you copy the phone numbers I listed and do an online search for them. You'll come up with several sites where people describe experiences similar to mine.

What's really sad is that the people are literally preying on the hopes and dreams of people who are desperately looking for work, and while Angela and her coworkers also need the work, I personally think they could do much better in the food service industry serving burgers and shakes than trying to sucker people in to some sort of scam. Like I suggested above, if you are interested in investigating this scam then search out the telephone numbers, and from there make your own conclusions. If you happened to have a similar experience with these companies, feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

By the way, this experience is inspiration for tomorrow's "Friday Fun"

Cheers ~ Jim

The ultimate air cannon robot from Vex Robotics

A friend recently sent me a link about what has got to be the ultimate air cannon robot, and I just had to post about it!

Check out "Air Cannon Looking for Targets (Video)" from ROBOTS DREAMS!

The robot was produced by Vex Robotics, and this thing is just freaking awesome! Once you view the video in the article showing all the mechanical aspects of the robot then move on to the videos of this thing shooting. Here's a picture of the cannon from the article:



This has got to be the ultimate in cubicle warfare, but you wouldn't dare use it would you :)

This is definitely inspiration for me to get moving with my little NXT robot project, and then move on to bigger and better robotics projects. I'll definitely checking out both ROBOTS DREAMS, and Vex Robotics for lots of ideas and more great articles ~ Jim

Friday Fun: Milton moments

Here are some of my favorite Milton moments from the movie Office Space!





You know you are in trouble when they fix the glitch, take your stapler, and move you down stairs. Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Broadcom makes a bid for Emulex, and someone want's to talk to me about it?

I guess the big news item for me today has got to be Broadcom's unsolicited offer to buy my former employer Emulex for $764 million, or $9.25 a share. For the sake of reference here is the ZDNet article about the offer: "Broadcom makes $764 million bid for Emulex"

While the news of the offer is interesting enough, for me what's even more interesting about this news item is that I didn't find out about it via the normal tech sites or RSS feeds. Instead I found out about the offer via an email from a 2nd tier contact on Linkedin.com. Apparently this person represents a consulting group, and they wanted to know if I was willing to offer my services as a "consultant" and speak with an analyst about Broadcom's offer, and provide any insight into the matter.

Now I am an "Experienced Technology Professional" (who's also unemployed and can use the extra funds), but the fact of the matter is that's all I am, just an experienced technology professional who really can not not provide any insight into this whole shebang. My only guess as to why this person contacted me is that as soon as they found out about the offer they then searched through their Linkedin contacts for anyone who had worked for Emulex, and who also listed their contact info. Once they had my contact info. they they shot off the email.

If this person had actually read my Linkedin profile they would seen that I was never in any real position to be able to offer an insight into something so significant as Broadcom's offer. I can definitely provide insight into some technology not covered by an NDA, but no way in Hell would I be of any use to the analyst, so this whole "consulting" thing is nothing more than a shotgun approach to finding information and profiting from it. I also state in my profile that while I am open to consulting, said consulting must not involve any current or past employers. Of course that fact is only visible if you are logged into Linkedin, but this person had to be logged into Linkedin to get my contact info, so they should have seen the limitations I set.

Such are the joys of being an open networker, lot's of potential offers (aka spam, scams, and shams), and only a few real offers or contacts that mean anything.

Since I am on the subject of Emulex, I want to take this time to mention the "Emulex Alumni Group" on Linked in that I started just last week. If you are a current or past employee of Emulex, you are more than welcome to join. It's sort of weird that I started this group last Thursday, and then this news hits today. Talk about coincidence!

Well that's it for this post. Keep an eye out for the next Friday Fun post ~ Jim