Have a pet peeve? Don't hold back. Tell us about it!
At age 70, I still program computers for a living. I design and code web applications for a defense contractor's local intranet web site. I try hard to not just meet the basic requirements that my in-house customers give me, but to exceed their expectations with their new applications.
And, my users send me gushing "attaboy" emails to thank me for my efforts quite frequently.
One word seems to crop up often: "awesome"
But it seems at least half of those emails say, "Your awesome!"
And, it drives me up a wall. I can't really send back a missive correcting them. I mean, they are being nice and are appreciative of my efforts on their behalf. So, I suffer in silence, well, because I am awesome.
But, please, if you send me an awesome message, try to make it "You're awesome!"
I do have a couple more teeth gnashers that also give me heartburn...
Confusing their with there and confusing affect for effect will normally get a spoken "aaaargh" when I read them.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
What is an invention you would like to see become real?
The best one would be an over-the-counter Get Well pill.
Just imagine. You have a nasty cold. Stop at the drug store and pick up a Get Well pill. (Wonder what they will call drug stores when they no longer have pharmacies inside? CVS, I guess, will become an upscale convenience store.)
You have something more serious? No problem. Stop at the any convenience store and pick up a Get Well pill.
Obviously, the side effects of the Get Well pill will be many fold. Hospitals will be empty and converted into condos, no doubt. Doctors will have to retire and live off of their unreasonable gains acquired pre-pill. Health insurance companies will be lining up for government handouts -- keeping their lobbyists employed for years.
A whole industry will learn what it is to be the stuckee versus the stucker. Which makes for a smile inducing visual, eh?
The best one would be an over-the-counter Get Well pill.
Just imagine. You have a nasty cold. Stop at the drug store and pick up a Get Well pill. (Wonder what they will call drug stores when they no longer have pharmacies inside? CVS, I guess, will become an upscale convenience store.)
You have something more serious? No problem. Stop at the any convenience store and pick up a Get Well pill.
Obviously, the side effects of the Get Well pill will be many fold. Hospitals will be empty and converted into condos, no doubt. Doctors will have to retire and live off of their unreasonable gains acquired pre-pill. Health insurance companies will be lining up for government handouts -- keeping their lobbyists employed for years.
A whole industry will learn what it is to be the stuckee versus the stucker. Which makes for a smile inducing visual, eh?
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Why no college education
When I graduated from high school (Plant High, Tampa, FL, 1957), I had the grades to go to college, but not the bucks. The only university in the area at the time was Tampa University - an expensive school. Hillsborough Jr College, St Petersburg Jr College and the University of South Florida did not exist at the time.
After high school, I worked for a short time doing photostat work for the Clerk of the Circuit Court, then like any hot headed 18 year old, I quit when I disagreed with the boss. While I was looking for other photo job opportunities, I interviewed with a guy and he asked me, "What what you like to do besides photography?" "Electronics," I replied.
He noted my bad arm from polio and suggested I contact state rehab for counseling. He also saw that I wouldn't follow through and so he picked up the phone and called a friend there and made an appointment for me.
I took their tests and they paid my way to Tampa Technical Institute. It was a glorified radio and TV repair school, but they gave a so-called AA degree and that gave me an entry into electronics.
I spent five years as a technician for a company in Sarasota, before getting laid off and then getting a job testing computers for RCA in West Palm Beach. That was the start of 45 years in the computer industry. It has treated me well -- despite the lack of a degree. In fact, for the last 40 of those years, I typically have been the only non-degreed person in my department.
Over the years, I have investigated getting the "piece of paper" a couple of times. The last time was in Melbourne. I visited with the computer science head at FIT. He looked at my resume and said, "If you had the piece of paper, I'd hire you to teach here. Getting the piece of paper will add nothing to your knowledge or your current pay check."
The secret, I think, is that I have never stopped learning -- it was just not in the classroom. The electronics theory I was taught was vacuum tubes, for Pete's sake! So the transistor theory I needed on my first job was all self-taught. I follow the computer industry closely. First by reading the trade publications and now by the internet. I know what the latest and greatest is and can pretty well figure out fad from must-learns.
Don't ever sell the non-degreed short. At Harris, I always mentored the recent college grads and it was always a hidden pleasure when they asked what college I graduated from. Their look of amazement when I told them "I didn't" was always a sense of satisfaction to me.
When I graduated from high school (Plant High, Tampa, FL, 1957), I had the grades to go to college, but not the bucks. The only university in the area at the time was Tampa University - an expensive school. Hillsborough Jr College, St Petersburg Jr College and the University of South Florida did not exist at the time.
After high school, I worked for a short time doing photostat work for the Clerk of the Circuit Court, then like any hot headed 18 year old, I quit when I disagreed with the boss. While I was looking for other photo job opportunities, I interviewed with a guy and he asked me, "What what you like to do besides photography?" "Electronics," I replied.
He noted my bad arm from polio and suggested I contact state rehab for counseling. He also saw that I wouldn't follow through and so he picked up the phone and called a friend there and made an appointment for me.
I took their tests and they paid my way to Tampa Technical Institute. It was a glorified radio and TV repair school, but they gave a so-called AA degree and that gave me an entry into electronics.
I spent five years as a technician for a company in Sarasota, before getting laid off and then getting a job testing computers for RCA in West Palm Beach. That was the start of 45 years in the computer industry. It has treated me well -- despite the lack of a degree. In fact, for the last 40 of those years, I typically have been the only non-degreed person in my department.
Over the years, I have investigated getting the "piece of paper" a couple of times. The last time was in Melbourne. I visited with the computer science head at FIT. He looked at my resume and said, "If you had the piece of paper, I'd hire you to teach here. Getting the piece of paper will add nothing to your knowledge or your current pay check."
The secret, I think, is that I have never stopped learning -- it was just not in the classroom. The electronics theory I was taught was vacuum tubes, for Pete's sake! So the transistor theory I needed on my first job was all self-taught. I follow the computer industry closely. First by reading the trade publications and now by the internet. I know what the latest and greatest is and can pretty well figure out fad from must-learns.
Don't ever sell the non-degreed short. At Harris, I always mentored the recent college grads and it was always a hidden pleasure when they asked what college I graduated from. Their look of amazement when I told them "I didn't" was always a sense of satisfaction to me.
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