C++ class starts tomorrow. Kinda psyched on it.
Also on deck, my first non-trivial .NET project.
It’s realistic to say that I will be using any / all of :
VB,VB.NET,C#,C++,ASP,ASP.NET,XML,SOAP,HTTP,OOP,OOD,SQL
at some point this week.
How about that for alphabet soup!
Almost there kiddies. Plans for the weekend?
Rolf: We are so easily spoiled, we wants,
1) No installation concerns
2) Complete inter-application isolation
3) Full desktop application functionality
4) AND all the browser capabilities we are used to today.
5) Productivity
I would add:
6) Supports bluetooth
7) Enables grid computing
8) Comes with rich UI support
9) Fully HTML compliant
10) Deploys to watches, cell phones, PC, notebook, handheld, and mainframe
11) Requires less than 10KB to run, but scales up to support terabyte databases
12) Interoperates with everything using all available integration and messaging technologies
13) It’s free
14) It’s easy to learn
15) It’s future-proof
So, when you find that technology, let me know.
I have written my first C program! It’s about 100 lines, just a little command-line program. Takes 3 arguments, a path to a PNG input file, a path to a PNG output file, and a text string. It then takes the input image, paints some lines on it, and writes the text, and spits it out to the ouput file.
I used libgd which is a very easy-to-use graphics library which I was familiar with from my PHP days.
Thoughs on C after years of scripting and VM-based languages:
* It’s easy to use!
* Pointers are tricky, but not that tricky
* working the compiler and the linker is kinda tough, and docs on the web are few.
* It’s not OOP, so you have to get used to doing gross stuff like printing output from a function body.
ASUNDER PRESS is done. Another one down. eyunta.com is still running strong, this time, with more e-crap!
Savier is done. Strike 2 for Nike.
DC Shoes bought by Quicksilver for 85M!
CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE SECTION 515 (2003).
515. Overtime exemption; Additional exemptions.
(a) The Industrial Welfare Commission may establish exemptions from the requirement that an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Sections 510 and 511 for executive, administrative, and professional employees, provided that the employee is primarily engaged in the duties that meet the test of the exemption, customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in performing those duties, and earns a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. The commission shall conduct a review of the duties that meet the test of the exemption. The commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to duties that meet the test of the exemption without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.
If you work in IT, you are probably familiar with the concept of non-mandatory overtime. Simply put, non-mandatory overtime (NMOT) is an effect of the corporate / professional culture climate where the standard workweek begins at 50-60 hours.
In most companies, OT is either mandatory or not – for salaried employees, this typically means some late nights during crunch time, or perhaps dealing with a weekend emergency from time to time.
However, in recent years, especially in IT, NMOT has become the norm. IT workers and other salaried professionals are informally expected to put in NMOT on a regular basis.
This contrasts greatly with expectations of the non-professional salaried employees, like finance, marketing, or clerical staff. While these employees enjoy 40 hour weeks, even a lowliest IT drone typically matches the executive workload of 60 hours a week.
To illustrate that, if an IT employee makes 60k and works 60 hours a week, his hourly wage is just below $20. Contrast that to an exec with salary in the 100k+ range, plus bonuses, working 60 hours a week
Why is this the norm? A few reasons:
* Many IT employees have terrible productivity.
Many IT people spend vast amounts of time chatting and surfing the web. They need to use a 12-hour day to justify their 8 hours of pay. Senior managers don’t notice or don’t care, and think they actually are working.
* Many IT employees are on flex time.
If you arrive at 7 and leave at 5, the only thing the boss sees is you leaving at 5. If you arrive at 10AM and stay till 8 PM, you’re a hard worker, and you’re the last car in the lot. The boss has no idea who got in when, because often, the boss gets in after the lot is already full.
* IT workloads are heavy
After the bust in tech, most of us are doing the work of 3 people. This leads to unmanageable workloads, and hence, OT. After a while, senior management sees that the place hasn’t fallen apart, so they just keep it as it is.
* IT people don’t know how to command respect in an organization
Face it, of all the people in the company, the smelly, hairy guy is not the one Biff Worthington is gonna listen to.
What are the consequences of NMOT for our society? For fathers & mothers it could mean the destruction of their family. For the young, it means the stifling of their social life. It’s all made worse by the constant promotion of NMOT as a desirable ‘American value’.
I’ve always tried hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance, but like any eager up-n-comer, I sometimes get into fits of work which can last days or weeks. These spells are gold to my employer, they are icing on a very productive cake. But to expect this, to think that it can be reproduced endlessley, is madness.