cd /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions

sudo ln -fhsv 1.5.0 CurrentJDK

So far, the work is reasonable and there’s plenty to do. I’m very impressed with the level of intelligence of just about everyone I’ve met. Most of the java folks are well-versed in genetics and lab management. My biology background is pretty weak, so I’m a bit over my head in that area, but I’m finding the work to be just about perfect. It’s the first time I’ve been able to work with java 1.5, so that is a blessing now.

The downside is that I miss my walk across the common and the public garden each day, and I also miss my former co-workers. There are some real talented folks back at Pearson that I’m glad I had the chance to work with, and I already miss them. I might be able to alter my commuting routine to get some more walking in, but it’s hard to make time to get together with folks from the old office. Bernie and Ed did drop by a couple weeks ago and we had a blast. I hope we can make some time to get together again.

Another big change is that I’m working on a mac laptop now for all of my development. I love the fact that I can just take the laptop with me when I have to catch the train and pick right up where I left off when I get on the commuter rail. I’m finding development pretty comfortable with Eclipse for the mac and BBEdit. JBoss and Tomcat run perfectly. I found this great utility (from YouSoftware) that lets me create multiple desktops and then you can switch between them from the menu bar. This helps a lot with the cluttered desktop that is a hazard with macs. If there is one thing I don’t like is the lack of a decent window management system built into OSX. There is the F9 and F10 thing, but that’s a still a little awkward if you have more than ten windows open. So far, I like to have one desktop for development and one for email.

The other batch of news revolves around work. I’ve been searching for a new position for a little while now, since early September, really. It’s been a tremendously enlightening process compared to all of my previous searches. I started out focusing in the academic arena after a good friend of mine had recently moved from an administrative position to a faculty one.

From the very beginning, I received lots of calls from recruiters and head-hunters. I’ve worked with many of them before, and had very poor luck. This time, however, two companies really pulled through. So far, I’ve had second interviews with four companies through these two recruiters, and it looks like two might make offers.

It was my first round of efforts, though, that have delivered. Although the academic world is a bit slow at taking these steps, the Broad Institute at MIT made a very decent offer yesterday. I’m very excited about the opportunity … it’s definitely my top choice at the present.

These companies that I had second interviews at seem like very solid places in case anyone else might be interested:

• Rapid7
• XRefer
• PHTCorp (they still have the typo on their home page)
• Shoebuy

So, some of the concerns I’ve had and things I’ve been looking for revolve around quite a few factors. My current position is as a lead web developer for a product that was built over four years ago and a significant portion of the code is from that era. Over the years, newer technologies like hibernate and struts have been bolted on which have helped quite a bit, but the underlying architecture is fairly dated. Not much is going to change either, so it’s really fairly limited in terms of developing in newer architectures.

Another factor for looking is the current work situation. It looks more and more like our division is looking to shed the development operations here in Boston. We were re-org-ed from Prentice Hall and Scott Foresman to a group that is based out of Mesa AZ. From that point on, it’s become more and more clear that remote operations (i.e. Boston) are less and less viable. For instance, our supervisor moved to Mesa this summer. One of the other two developers left for another company too. That left me and one other in the office. There is no new development now as well. There is only bug fixes and updates to the legacy system until the newly re-architected version is released next year.

More later … it’s getting late

(Updated 10/30/05) A third consideration revolves around development itself. We are two developers, a remote development server, and QA/stage environments. There’s not too much in the vein of refactoring old code, learning from one another, automated testing routines, or significant support for the various server environments. It’s becoming more clear that there’s little money to put into this part of the ‘system’, so it has steadily devolved to its present point. In publishing, the budget is based on the discipline. That discipline has the cash … so they call the shots. Not too many folks care about what’s required for a solid development environment, so few resources go that route. Instead, all efforts are focused on the feature that department X is paying for, and lately, to the detriment of the existing code. It’s also clear that for me to move beyond this, I need to be in an environment that takes this part of the process more seriously.

Lastly, how can I estimate the impact of old friends? Steve Tello, a good friend and mentor from UML, has moved to a faculty position after many years directing the helm of the UMass system’s online education program. His dedication to academia and personal commitment to education were very strong motivators for me to return to the world of education.

Here we go!

The new redesign of our product – PHSN – is up on our staging server. Lots of work went into this one. It was a tremendous learning experience for me – Java, JSP, JSTL, Weblogic, and also working with more formal software control and testing systems. Now, it’s time for the next batch.

]]> http://gregrushton.com/archives/197/feed 0 http://gregrushton.com/archives/165 http://gregrushton.com/archives/165#comments Wed, 05 Feb 2003 19:35:07 +0000 Gregory Rushton http://gregrushton.com/wp/?p=165 ...Read the Rest]]> I love getting the Dilbert Newsletter. It really brightens my day, especially when my office desktop has a corrupted C drive and it’s off to the digital surgeons for their expertise in cyber-resurection.

“There are 659,000 members of DNRC. Each of you is capable of emitting a blinding surge of mental energy that can stun small mammals. If you don’t believe me, go to your nearest public park and grimace at the squirrels. I guarantee they’ll be speechless.”

Dilbert Newsletter 46.0

“A Little Ray of Bitter Sunshine”

To: Dogbert’s New Ruling Class (DNRC)
From: Scott Adams (scottadams {at} aol(.)com)
radio flyer download
Date: February 2002

DNRC Status
———–

There are 659,000 members of DNRC. Each of you is capable of
emitting a blinding surge of mental energy that can stun small
mammals. If you don’t believe me, go to your nearest public park
and grimace at the squirrels. I guarantee they’ll be speechless.

[Because children read this newsletter I have omitted a fine pun
that involves the squirrels clutching their favorite type of food
and keeling over.]

Death by Marketing
——————

Did you ever wonder why fuel-efficient cars are always designed to
look like lunch boxes or deodorant cans? I’m no expert on car
design, but it seems to me that an attractive “shape” wouldn’t cost
a manufacturer extra. So why are all the cars that are friendly to
the environment practically bristling with the subliminal message
“DORK ON BOARD”?

Answer: Marketing!

Carmakers want to discourage people from buying cars that have high
gas mileage and low profit margins. If you’re foolish enough to
cross them and buy a planet-saver anyway, automakers are going to
exact some revenge by making sure you have no chance whatsoever of
procreating.

Normally I would applaud the spunky — dare I say Dogbertian? –
attitude of the world’s carmakers. But these aren’t normal times.
There’s a school of thought that if we use less fuel, we’ll be
safer from terrorist threats.

I’m not convinced that oil is the problem. I’m pretty sure we could
fly over the Middle East and drop bags of money and they’d still
want to kill us for blocking the view. But I digress.

The point is that carmakers could easily make a fuel-efficient
hybrid car that looks great and doesn’t cost more to manufacture
than an ugly one. However, thanks to marketing, that ain’t gonna
happen.

And so, as I have often predicted, marketing will be the death of
us all. Our only hope is that our pollution kills the terrorists.

Signs of Induhvidualism
————————

Here are some Induhvidual sign sightings sent in by observant DNRC
members.

–

Sign in front of a motel in Carson City, NV:

STOP! WE BEAT EVERYBODY!

–

On an auto dealership’s marquee in Southern California, home of the
Angels baseball team:

Go Angles!

(Or maybe they support geometry.)

–

On the sign for a U-Haul truck rental center in Brooklyn, two lines
of text:

PRICES YOU CAN AFFORD
WON’T BE BEAT

–

Sign over the office drinking fountain:

“Do not pour anything into the
fountain. It blocks the water
filter and reduces the water
pressure.”

It was on the Engineering floor and — God help us — we make
helicopters.

–

When I was out in L.A. last year there was a furor on the local
radio station regarding a problem with the lighted neon sign at a
nearby Black Angus restaurant. Apparently the “g” had burned out.

Will Dilbert Get Lucky?
———————–

In a prior Newsletter, I said that Dilbert would “get lucky” if my
Weasel book became a New York Times Best Seller. Sales immediately
plummeted, in what will someday be hailed as the worst idea of the
century. Some people objected to the idea on moral grounds. Most
readers objected on the grounds that they didn’t want the most
famous loser in history to have better romantic luck than they
have. I can understand that: If Dilbert is doing better than you
are, that’s gotta sting.

So I hereby take back the offer. Dilbert will remain as unsatisfied
as you.

Quotes From Induhviduals
————————-

These true quotes were submitted by vigilant DNRC members.

–

“Hearing something like that really raises the shackles on my
neck.”

“The design team will do everything necessary to exacerbate the
situation.”

“This guy is trying to pull the wool over the donkey’s ass, and
that is not where the wool goes.”

“We’ve got to dig our way out of this puppy.”

“Well, color me a moron!”

“Works like a baby.”

“I found that the faster we worked, the more our
productivity increased.”

“I think we’re on the same page here, just different parts of the
page.”

“Don’t buy antique furniture – it never lasts.”

“That guy’s the sharpest grape on the bunch!”

“He talks like a man with a paper ass.”

“They should be beaten at the stake.”

I said to her, “You’re crazy.” She replied, “Yeah, crazy like a
rock!”

“I’m so angry I could eat a horse.”

“You’ve made your bed, now you have to eat it too!”

She said she would “go over it tooth and nail” looking for
mistakes.

Tip for Lazy Students
———————

The perfect book for lazy students is my non-Dilbert book, “God’s
Debris.” This tiny book takes only 90 minutes to read, and it’s
packed full of ideas that will make you sound smart without even
trying. It weighs a mere 9.1 ounces, so it’s perfect for backpacks.

God’s Debris is most appropriate for classes in philosophy,
critical thinking, logic, literature or religion. It can also be
used as a puck for gym classes, or a pillow for math classes. So if
you have an optional reading assignment, click here:

Another good choice for lazy students is my book, “Dilbert and the
Way of the Weasel.” Although it’s over 300 pages, and weighs more
than a pound, you don’t need to read the whole book in order to
bluff your way through a book report. Just mention the overarching
theme that people are weasels and say, “For example,” then
paraphrase any bit from any paragraph in the book. You’ll need to
add your own smart-sounding analysis about selfish behavior. (See
my discussion of fuel-efficient cars above.) Throw in a few
thoughts about how television has caused the decay of civilization
and you’re on your way to an A+.

Induhvidual Tales
———————-

A manager was viewing the weekly statistical report for several
ongoing projects. She determined the report was in error because
the numbers changed from week to week. Total costs and revenue
seemed to be going up over time.

–

Recently a co-worker told another co-worker, “Man, you are a few
sandwiches short of a picnic.”

She replied, “WHAT?!?! Are you saying I’m FAT?!”

–

After the wedding reception, my husband and I headed for the hotel,
still clad in our wedding clothes. Coincidentally, the desk clerk
was an old friend from high school who looked at me in my Victorian
wedding gown and veil, accompanied by a man in a tuxedo, and asked,
“So, what have you been up to?”

–

At coffee time on the construction site one Monday morning, another
worker asked me what I did on the weekend. I told him that my
union, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, helped
sponsor the MS Society. We had a booth at the mall selling raffle
tickets as a fundraiser.

He asked me what MS is. I explained it stands for multiple
sclerosis. He sat there with a confused look on his face for a few
seconds, and then said, “Is that true? Are there really people with
more than one scrotum?”

–

At the office holiday luncheon, our group of about 50 people played
a variety of games. At one point, four people tied for first place.
The Induhviduals in charge needed to come up with a tiebreaker.
“OK,” one said, “Everyone think of a number. Whoever gets closest
to 75 will win.”

Always the clown, I shouted, “Seventy-four! Doh!”

–

At the phone company where I work, a customer called in one day to
correct his listing because he noticed it was misspelled in the
phone book. It was corrected for him. The next day he called and
complained because when he woke up, he looked in the same phone
book and it wasn’t yet corrected.

[Editor's note: Yeah, I don't believe it happened either. But
wouldn't it be funny if it did?]

–

I am the director of business development. Our president has the
habit of walking throughout our facility periodically peeking into
our offices. One day he came in to my office very excited and
exclaimed, “I have a plan. We’re going to double our business

revenues in two years!”

I replied, “That’s great, what’s the plan?”

He looked at me with a combination of sadness and confusion, then
turned and walked away muttering, “You just don’t get it.”

–

I worked for a man who weighed about 10 pounds and looked like
Skeletor(R) from “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe(R).”
Each morning Skeletor(R) would shave his head AT HIS DESK while
screaming “WRONG” at every answer he received from his staff.

Skeletor(R) (and don’t think that we didn’t have the action figures
hidden in our desks) also wrote everything with a dull pencil on
colored stationery. He would beckon a staff member to his office
and make him or her stand at the right-hand corner of his desk
while he wrote a memo that he needed typed immediately. Upon
completion, the illegibly scrawled note would be shoved to the
corner of the desk where we were forced to stand and he would say,
“I need it NOW.” Upon returning to my desk, I would sit down and
promptly hear him call me back to his desk using a
less-than-flattering nickname and repeat this process. Upon
returning to my desk (again), I would hear him scream, “Where’s
that memo you were supposed to be typing?” as if I hadn’t just
spent the entire 15 minutes at the corner of his desk waiting for
him to write the second memo.

And I was the human resources manager. Each of his secretaries
quit within days of being hired. Temps usually lasted until lunch.

–

I’m in a class called Advanced Physical Science, the highest level
of science for freshmen at my school. After we finished discussing
gravity, one of my fellow geniuses asked, “Is the reason the world
is round because people are pulling on the world from all sides,
because we all have a gravitational pull?”

–

Last March I was (un)fortunate enough to spend two weeks on a U.S.
Navy ship involved in a NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea. We were
scheduled to put into a port in Gdansk at the end of the exercise.
One day, while I was in the ship’s gym, a young seaman, who was
riding a stationary bike and writing a letter, paused and asked me,
“Is Poland one word or two?”

divx baby on board I replied, “It’s actually three. North Pole Land, South Pole Land,
and regular Pole Land.”

–

My wife, wishing to convey her appreciation for exceptional service
by one of her employees, said, “Employees like you are a dime a
dozen.”

–

When I arrived at my new company, my new boss said that it had been
touch-and-go whether the company was going to confirm my
appointment. He showed me the glowing reference my old boss had
given. It was great, apart from one of the opening lines where he
misspelled conscientious as “contentious.”

Oh, how I laughed (not).

–

Our company Intranet lists all employees and their titles. The
field size for titles is limited, so some had to be abbreviated.
An Assistant Manager wasn’t amused when I asked him what an Ass
Manager was responsible for.

–

Sadly, I must inform on my wife. While discussing the U.S. Postal
Service and how they operate constantly in the red, she claimed it
must be due to bad management because those little stamps are 37
cents for just a piece of paper – and that’s almost 100% profit
right there.

–

The water department has destroyed the street where I live to
install new water mains. Last week, a worker was going door-to-door
telling us that our water service could be interrupted. One of my
neighbors made this inquiry: “I see. Do you think that will be the
hot water or the cold water?”

Dogbert Answers My Mail
———————–

In this section, Dogbert answers my mail that I’m too polite to
answer myself.

–

Dear Mr. Adams,

My name is Ted. One of my co-workers showed me the Dilbert strip
from Dec. 2, where the mystery weasel was looking for Ted to lay
him off. Two minutes later, a manager I didn’t know popped into my
cube and laid me off.

I assume that either you are a prophet and predicted my layoff, or
you influenced management by using my name. Just in case it’s the
latter, how about having Ted get a high-paying, low-work job?

Ted

Dear Ted,

Thank you for your letter… wait, hold on, Mr. Adams is whispering
something to me. Oh. Umm… he says I don’t need to finish this
letter.

Sincerely,

Dogbert

Technology, No Place for Wimps
——————————

Featuring Dilbert and his computer, this design is available on
clocks and caps.

Dilbert Gifts for Valentine’s Day
————————————

Send your Valentine a special message on a print or clothing:

Valentine E-cards
—————–

Send a free postcard or animated card:

Dilbert Fodder
—————

What’s bugging you about your job? Let me know and you might see
it in a Dilbert comic or newsletter. The best comic fodder
involves workplace peeves, devious strategies, frustrations of
dealing with others, conflicting objectives, unintended management
consequences, and of course my favorite – idiot bosses.

And I love True Tales of Induhviduals.

And if you’re seeing any new management trends that need to be
mocked, I can help. Send your (brief) suggestions to me at:

scottadams {at} aol(.)com.

IMPORTANT: Put “Dilbert” at the end
of your subject line so my spam filter won’t
bounce it back.

How to Subscribe to the Dilbert Newsletter
——————————————

You can request a new subscription to the Dilbert Newsletter by
entering your e-mail address at:

Scott Adams
scottadams {at} aol(.)com