Category: life
08/28/07 05:29 - 84ºF - ID#40787
Decisions, Decisions
Should I give up my business which is finally starting to come together after 2 long years of struggle, and go back to school and try to get a nice permanent job sometime next year at Roswell with (e:Enknot) and (e:Paul)?
Or screw security and keep working at Roswell a couple days a week for the next year or two and try to be awesome the rest of the time / the rest of my life as my own man? After all, big things could be in store!
Lifetime security versus trying for the stars? I have to choose what to do in the next month.
Edited to add: Well thank you everyone! There's really no need to make a decision this month, now that I think about it, I'll just keep trying to do it all :)
Permalink: Decisions_Decisions.html
Words: 143
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: estrip
08/27/07 05:02 - 81ºF - ID#40759
Self Portrait
Edited to add: for new people, if you start a journal and click on the 'draw' button in the edit controls above the title/tag/body entry panel, you can draw pictures too.
Permalink: Self_Portrait.html
Words: 34
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: buffalo
08/27/07 11:26 - 66ºF - ID#40753
Surplus Property Auction
Check out the catalog here:
Includes this building across the street from Roswell Park:
204 High Street: Easy commute slash dream home, or rickety death trap?
Permalink: Surplus_Property_Auction.html
Words: 38
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: computers
08/25/07 04:01 - 78ºF - ID#40730
And Another Thing
This is one of the ideological reasons why I hate Windows: if you run Windows update to get security fixes, it makes you revalidate your Windows installation (it checks your serial number to see how many times it's been used, if it's pirated, etc), and it can lock your computer down to reduced functionality if it thinks there is a problem.
Once you initially purchase software, you should never ever need to go back and verify that you are legit. It's like all those lame warnings on DVD's or before movies telling you not to pirate, when you've clearly just paid for the DVD or movie.
So - the problem: the Windows validation servers are down right now, and may be down until Monday:
Nice. Innocently run software update, and bam! there it goes. Way to treat your paying customers.
Permalink: And_Another_Thing.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY
08/24/07 11:00 - 81ºF - ID#40717
Visiting some old friends...
Permalink: Visiting_some_old_friends_.html
Words: 2
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: music
08/22/07 11:47 - 72ºF - ID#40689
Tapes
I can't even remember the names of most of them, where I got them, or what was on the tapes, but I miss them so much. It's hard to mentally reconstruct the day to day and soundtrack of my life back then, it's so far out of reach and far from the ken of my current life. If I actually ever heard certain tracks again I think my head would explode from nostalgia.
And then I see this:
WTF sea of white baseball caps??! Drinking beer and bobbing your head? Weak. Don't kids dance anymore?
Permalink: Tapes.html
Words: 118
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: photo
08/21/07 09:05 - 66ºF - ID#40666
Visited some old friends...
10 terabytes of storage... 12 processors...
Now I have a sad 533mhz Mac :(
My iPhone has a faster processor then my Mac!
But actually I mostly don't notice how slow it is, except when I run unit tests, those take about 15 seconds to start up versus about 2 or 3 on my laptop.
Permalink: Visited_some_old_friends_.html
Words: 53
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: work
08/21/07 12:15 - 60ºF - ID#40648
My Project
DailyClimber
It's a site that sells one camping or climbing item per day at a really good price. Sort of like [link="http://woot.com"]woot.com[/link] (woot is not my site)
Let me know if you check it out and it looks broken (an all too likely possibility)?
Permalink: My_Project.html
Words: 59
Location: Buffalo, NY
Category: photo
08/20/07 07:54 - 60ºF - ID#40642
Maybe a Repeat
Permalink: Maybe_a_Repeat.html
Words: 2
Location: Buffalo, NY
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But I would take going back to school any day over not going back to school and repenting later.
I am just freaking out this week about it because I'm making two pretty big pitches to big clients, and it is not possible to turn it on or off like a faucet. Doing really small jobs is not worth it in terms of money and time, and the bigger jobs require a certain amount commitment. If someone is paying thousands and thousands of dollars for something, you can't put them on hold if you have exams.
I've got to find out from Roswell just exactly what the hiring requirements are, so I'll talk with my boss about that tomorrow and what I can realistically expect as a potential career path there.
Moreover, I like the feeling that no matter how inane some of my projects are they all contribute in some way to the eventual treatment and cure of cancer and not to some materially obsessed sales objective for exotic whatsits.
There is also plenty of money to be made at Roswell beyond the regular pay. As part of a fulltime employee contract you split patent proceeds from you inventions 60% Roswell, 40% inventor/inventors. Depending, what you make that could be huge. I am sure doctors probably make more money off patents and publications than they do off salary.
Also, as I said at lunch, other benefits include stability of payrates vs self employment ups and downs, and that the job lets you concentrate on what you are good at doing (programming/design) instead of having to do business - which stresses me the hell out. Not to mention the union, pension and health care benefits.
Either way I would go to school and get a degree, so that if it doesn't work out in the future with self employment you don't have to go back when you are 40 and feel really weird about it.
I also just like having you there. Its great to work with someone who is really into what they are doing.
"Indeed," he said. "We must do it."
"Right," I said. "But first we need the car. And after that, the cocaine. And then the tape recorder, for special music, and some Acapulco shirts."
- Z
ANd I think you should give it all up to become a stripper to the stars! Just imagine shaking your expensive booty on Star Jones' lap!
Of course, you would be sacrificing potential big bucks that may come through your business. I give you tons of credit, Jim. I read an article recently that rated Buffalo as the 8th worst place in America to run a small business. Yeah, shocker, I know, we do live in NYS. You have a brain-child, and you want to nurture it.
As long as you are young, and have few financial obligations, I don't see the harm in going for it. Later on in life you might be in circumstances where you would be far more risk averse, and unable to rationally make the choice to just go for it.
Whatever you choose, best of luck to you.
I chose that path and I am not looking back.
Whatever you choose, may it bring excitement and peace to you. :)