tat45

I was a manager and a lead technical analyst (basically a CTO with a much narrower scope than a full company). I now refer to the nine years I spent doing this so-called "work" as The Lost Years, because I wrote very, very little code and my skills dried up.

There are some people who enjoy it. But I found it to be exactly as unfulfilling you described it, for much of the same reasons (spent too much time fighting management fires and not enough time solving technical problems), and it ultimately drove me back to being a software developer. Thank goodness my skills hadn't atrophied completely, but I'm definitely behind my cohort in terms of expertise, and I spend too many cycles regretting the lost time I could have spent growing my skills.

I took it as a statement of a fact, followed by a statement of astonishment at that fact.

Speaking from personal experience only, I work with people who are on the other side of the fence from me politically. We manage to have conversations on political matters without it boiling over into contempt and dislike. Probably the fact that it is a workplace and we all want to keep our jobs serves to keep a lid on it.

I find it far easier to depersonalize someone who I don't see in the flesh on a daily basis.

That was her one redeeming statement in that blog post. :)

I would imagine that the go-to for situations like this is "Ma'am, just following my training."

As a prospective organ donor, I am comfortable with "dead enough" organ harvest for myself as long as my living will and my family's wishes (subordinate to the living will) were respected.

I can't draw that line for anyone else, though. From my perspective, the moral thing for the government to do is to make it legal and require an extra opt-in above and beyond the typical DDR version of organ donation enrollment we have now.

"Typical lawyers" make well under $100k per year.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Attorney_%2F_Lawyer/...

Average salaries are skewed because the top-end is so high. If you have all the bona fides (top-tier law school/clerking opportunities, high-paying specialty, good track record of winning cases) you can command an astronomical hourly rate.

However, the vast majority of lawyers don't get those opportunities, and are working schlubs just like the rest of us.

My favorite podcast "Judge John Hodgman" has the honorable judge singing Happy Birthday more than once to the tune of the Alphabet Song.

Happy birthday to you! hap- / -py birthday to you! Happy / birthday to you! Happy birth- / -day to you! Happy birthday / to you! Happy birthday to / you! Happy birthday to you!

I can't select more than 3 or so words at a time before being bugged to go premium, and some words refuse to translate altogether, just bringing up the "go premium" box.

Neat idea though.

How easily we forget that people change, and sometimes not for the better. It's easy to start well; ending well -- that's the trick.

To a certain degree this is true, but to a much greater degree how other people feel is largely outside of your control.

Yes, being kind is one of the cornerstones of empathetic reciprocity (i.e. the Golden Rule), and being kind as a matter of personal principle is sane; but being kind because you believe you are responsible for the feelings of others... that way lies madness. It leads you into the morass of having to please all of the people all of the time (or else someone's feelings will get hurt), which simply isn't possible (nor should it be).

I find the author's tone to be matter-of-fact, and respectful of the dignity of the person being hired and fired. I know I would prefer this method of being fired, should that day ever come for me.

Not to mention those people who live in areas still not serviced by any broadband providers. I know, insane, right? I thought everyone lived in cities too!

Another former AOLer here. They tried to make a run at the broadband market in the early aughts by partnering with various telcos (I know; I was part of the team that built the back-end interface with the ISPs), but it was too little, too late. I never understood how AOL thought that would be sustainable in the long term.

A few months after I left the entire billing department saw deep cuts after AOL nixed their monthly subscription fees for dial-up.

You win the internet for today.

"BUT EMOTE ABOUT THE CHILDREN!"

FTFY. =)

Ah, memories. A lot has happened over the past several years that could be added to the code.

Having said that, GCS/MU d-- s-:++ a C+++$ UL+(+++) P+++ L++ E--- W+++ N++ w+ M++ PS+ PE++ Y+ PGP- !t X-- R++ tv-- b+ DI++++ D+ G+ e++ h---- r+++.

I've always been super-impressed with Chick-Fil-A's service even though their food is sometimes sub-par. That's why I continue to return. I know I'm going to get a decent, if not great, meal, and the service will be fantastic.

The yardstick for measuring the potency of a corporate culture is consistency over time.

Short answer: You don't.

Do what makes you happy. Ultimately, your subconscious is going to work against you until you are aligned with your true desires. Better to wake up and realize that sooner rather than later. Ultimately, the life you think you want to lead is probably out of alignment with the life you actually want to lead.

Honestly, you sound like me. Being the best is just super hard work, and I've recognized that I'm not. I'm 38 and I've just returned to software development after a 10 year hiatus in management during which I wrote maybe two small perl programs. Now I'm happy just to be back writing code, and I don't feel like I have to change the world any more.

So you're not the best. You pick up and continue. Honestly, your anxieties look ridiculous to a 38 year old, just like my anxieties must look ridiculous to a 50 year old. You could die tomorrow. Live life in the way that brings you the most joy.

I've found networking events to be somewhat pointless unless there is someone attending the event who knows of you by reputation and wants to introduce you to other people. In other words, I've found it to be somewhat pointless to attend an event at which I know no one.

On the other hand, networking in the course of day-to-day work can be invaluable. I call this "making friends at work". I've gotten my last several jobs through friendships that have endured past the shared work environment.