Life insurance
There is no single event in your life more strange than buying life insurance, and no stranger industry than one in which they make money betting that you will live. Also, there is no single moment more depressing than realizing that you are not 'prime rate' because you are out of shape.
06:14 PM part of personalJob Titles
Computer Programmer - given a specification, translates this into a specific 'program' or plan of action for the computer. Makes the computer do an action or series of actions that has already been created.
Software Developer - grows software including the specification of what it should do, creation and testing of it. There is no time for testing and the specification was already not done by somebody else, so a software developer is a programmer with a couple of years of experience.
Consultant - consoles the customer when they run the application for the eighth time and it crashes in their face, ruining any hope of running their business.
Software Architect - thinks up the overall environment and layout of the software. Maximizes the amount of lock-in while at the same time achieving a level of inflexibility that is rare outside of software and 80-year old men.
Software Designer - dreams up elaborate goals for the software and 'user models' of how the software will be used. None of these actually occur since no one is stupid enough to buy such a buggy piece of shit.
Manager - expert Excel user, little experience with actual product development concepts or software development ideas, does not read or listen. Person who is heralded or tarred when things come together or fall apart.
12:51 PM part of workAfter recent victories that were not really of my own doing, I have smoked two cigars and enjoyed them incredibly without really knowing why. I have been thinking about this and have come up with a few reasons:
After much internal debate, the last two reasons win.
02:42 PM part ofI want to be a stay-at-home worker with you. I would like our office to be a separate wing of our house, with low cubicle walls and a water cooler/coffee maker/espresso machine room off to the side. You could answer the phones for me and help me plan out strategy; we would schedule meetings together through Outlook (inviting our conference room, which would respond if it was not booked). We would have wild office parties and highly competitive 2-on-2 basketball games with other firms. We would worry over the numbers together and try to figure out how to get Excel to do this and that; you would slowly understand what it is I do for a living, and see me in action. You would be able to relax a little more, because your coworker loves you dearly, and you will never get fired.
03:43 PM part of work"Home", she thought as she stood right in the middle like a rock breaking the stream in half for just a moment. She was tempted to put her arms out and feel them rushing by, but it got the better of her and she just stood there until she got in line, ignoring the strange glances and awkward side-stepping.
06:38 PM part of storiesPC pundits pound their heads against the wall, asking why, if Apple only sells a small percentage of computers, the company receives such a disproportionate amount of media attention. The answer is simply that they’re selling the best computers, to the most interesting people. Maybe it is only two percent of the total PC market, but it’s the most interesting two percent.
I have been trying to get my wife to agree that our next computer will be an Apple despite the fact that neither of us have ever owned one. Here are the reasons that I want one:
