Picoftheweek

Picoftheweek
Waaaaaaaay too many to count...

My Statement

"Let me emphatically say that I am not anti-Facebook (Fleecebook), anti-smart phone, anti-Microsoft, anti-Apple, anti-Google or anti-Internet. I do believe, though, that the consumer is being ripped off of his privacy, identity and purchase history. We are being herded into a Facebook corner where what we "Like" and where we go physically and on the net will be scrutinized and sold numerous times to actually corrode and erode our culture while tempting us only with convenience, high tech and flashing video screens. The unsuspecting consumers need to be aware..." - Gary Lapman

Quote of Note

“If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”-W.C. Fields

"For the strength of the Wolf is in the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is in the Wolf." - Rudyard Kipling

"Common sense is not so common. " -Voltaire

“Fame is vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, but only character endures.” - Matthew McConaughey

"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him"

"Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason" - Jerry Seinfeld

"Fleecebook is free, you (and your identity) is the product!" - Gary Lapman


"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves." - Eric Sevareid

"'Smart' phones are only smart for the cell phone providers!" - Gary Lapman

"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." -- Charles Babbage (1791-1871)

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.” -Albert Einstein

"Technology creates the illusion of companionship without the intimacy of friendship." - unknown

"No worry, there's an app for that..." - Gary Lapman

Friday, February 14, 2014

Anti Stove-pipe Thinking

It has been a while since my last post, but let me assure you, not much has changed except for my level of anxiety.  Apparently experience and flexibility no longer means what it did.  Now one must have keywords in your repertoire that match the advertised ones to matter.  This is a shortcut for the HR people, but doesn't scratch the surface of one's true experiences.  What is a good employee?  What is a good engineer?

Over the years, remembering individual algorithms or formulas has been replaced with recognizing the need and recalling where to look for that information.  This method adds to the flexibility needed in problem solving based on analysis and design.  There were not any specific acronyms or keywords involved.  The problem was recognized and a solution was at hand.  I suppose this makes me believe that I am a bit old-school...

It has been very interesting explaining this conundrum to interviewers or in a letter of introduction.  Why are they too stove-piped in their processes to see that, and how will I explain my methods' perceived worth?

Being back in the job market has provided me with an opportunity to witness an eye-opener first hand.  I am not grateful for the opportunity, but certainly I am willing to share my experiences to ease someone else grief.  The job market, albeit bad for the most part, is worse here in the Santa Barbara area. One advantage that we do have is the local university.  There are several start-ups locally which could provide some opportunities that I wouldn't normally have.


The way you say it
It's not what you say, but the way you say it.
On a blind date, the boy said to the girl: "Time stands still when I look into your eyes."
The girl was very flattered.
What the boy had really meant was, "You have a face that would stop a clock."


Big ethical dilemma
Upon seeing an elderly lady for the drafting of her will, the attorney charged her $100.
She gave him a $100 bill, not noticing that it was stuck to another $100 bill.
On seeing the two bills stuck together, the ethical question came to the attorney's mind: "Do I tell my partner?"