Well, as you may have noticed (unless you are using an RSS reader), I have changed the look of my blog. I wanted something cleaner. Some things are still a work in progress, but it is getting there. Hope you like it. If it looks broken to you, shoot me an email. Thanks.
Updated: If it looks like crap in IE, I’m sorry. IE is a stinky browser, please use Firefox or Safari.
Before I headed out of town last week, I looked at the three bananas I had sitting on the counter and wondered what to do with them. I realized they were already past their prime and would be goners by the time I got back. Then I had a thought; BREAD!; BANANA BREAD! So I tossed them in the refrigerator so they would not be fuzzy when I got back.
You know I hold Alton Brown in very high regard, so I pulled out his second tome, I’m Just Here for More Food. Pages 98-99, Banana Bread. Muffin Method, here I come.
I got back in town last night and swung by the grocery store to complete the ingredient list. One special note, backing soda with an expiration date 9 years in the past won’t cut it. Yes, I tested it. Get some new.
Beyond the obvious stress and uncertainty of the search for a job is a very interesting process. Each institution does it a little differently and those differences can offer a window into the innards of the company. Some go for the marathon interview session while some do a simple chat, others do one that involves broad challenges that the candidate must solve and some concentrate on a very specific technical topic. A job hunter can learn as much or possibly more about a company from the interview than the interviewer learns about the interviewee. I don’t think there is one method that is superior to any other in an absolute sense. Each method is tailored to the organization it serves. I find this aspect of the process very interesting and have had to restrain the urge to ask an interviewer how well their system works for them on a few occasions and on a few others control the urge to criticize their methodology.
Having gone through any number of phone calls and a few interesting offers I ended up turning down, I am learning that the challenging aspects of this search are different than I expected. It is critical to me that I find an opportunity that is of a very high quality both for my own career and for the organization I end up with. There is a strong urge to accept the first thing that comes along and just run with it even if it may not be the right opportunity. In a perfect world, one would receive all the job offers you will get and then be able to compare and contrast them to pick the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, in reality, you get one offer at a time that must be judged on the merits of itself compared against the hope of getting a better match later. A harrowing decision to make as I am not a gambling man.
I think the later one is in one’s career, the more care and consideration that must be taken at this point. Now is the time to find an opportunity that will allow me to grow to the next level of my career. But finding this opportunity is turning into more of a challenge than I had expected. Finding that small company that has a wonderful technology, smart people, and is on the cusp of needing the skills to grow to the next level is not an easy task. But I am hopeful; patience is just required.
The hunt goes on.
On a slightly less introspective note, I have been doing things other than just hunting for “the next great thing.” I have taken this as an opportunity to try to catch up on the stacks of books that have pilled up over the last year. I thought I would highlight a few that I have finished lately that are worth mentioning. No spoilers, just recommendations.
Beyond reading books, there are plenty of tech issues to keep abreast of; I have started looking at the topic for my Master’s project and will hopefully be nailing that down soon. There have been camping trips (pictures here and here) and lots of other excitement.
Never a dull moment here in sleepy Williamsburg.
You paid $599 for an iPhone; so did I. And then Apple reduced the price to $399. Now you are whining.
Please shut up about it, ok? I don’t want to hear it. If you didn’t think it was worth $599, why did you pay that much for it? Yes, it is cheaper now, so what? Now people who didn’t think it was worth $599 but is worth $399 will be buying it too. It is called supply and demand, that is how the world works, get used to it.
And now you get a $100 credit from Apple which is nice, but you don’t “deserve it,” you are not “entitled to it,” Apple is being generous.
So. Please stop whining.
Lots.
So much in fact that I haven’t been writing about it. But I have a list and links to pictures. (The list is in no particular order.)
That touches the high points. Have fun with the clicky-clicky!
From Daring Fireball
Jobs on the enthusiastic reception to iTunes for Windows:
“It’s like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”