It is a complicated subject but the short answer is that they lose the capacity to see what the problems are.
If you don't know what the problem is, you will be incapable of solving it. This happens in software development all the time and many other human endeavors, I am sure. The boss insists that the problem is caused by a lack of positive thinking, when in fact the server simply does not have the correct protocols installed. The boss forbids anybody to suggest the problem is anything other than a lack of positive thinking. The boss knows if he waits long enough, the problem won't go away - it will be replaced in priority by other more serious problems that begin to accumulate as a result of simply being unable to say out loud ... the server does not have the right protocols installed. His nephew runs the server in a nepotistic deal with his company and his nephew tells him the problem is that his staff aren't thinking positive enough to make it work. So the problem becomes just one more intractable difficulty that piles up day by day until the company goes bankrupt. This is so common in my experience that I see it to be the rule, not the exception. You can see why the smart people will always be contractors in environments like these. You get paid no matter what happens and you get paid more.
After you've been doing it for a while, you'll start to recognize the path of least resistance. "Boss, I think you're right. We're not thinking positive enough about this problem. I will keep trying to think positive, you will keep paying my invoice every week and we'll just wait until the problem solves itself." It never does.
VAULT DWELLERS SERVED
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
GZIP'PED Into Vault-OS
I got embedded GZIP files going in Vault-OS last night with correct outgoing content type and file length, loaded directly from inside of the web server executable. The exe file is now around 709 KB with the SQLite and Lua libs compiled directly in. I think I can keep the web server under a single floppy in size with all pages which was my original goal when I built my first prototype in Visual Basic for DOS about 13 years ago.
As you can see, previously my UI has been barebones basic HTML 1.1 with no frills at all but this is the last ugly screenshot of VOS you are going to look at. JQuery decays tastefully where features are unsupported so it will still look good on Arachne - but anything above IE 5.5 will look fantastic. Of course I will now be able to support long polling in AJAX through JQuery for real-time data direct from JSON REST services built-in to the server. I am also converting to support for all datastore access in the form of REST calls.
My main purpose in doing this was to permanently embed the IE6-FF-HTML1.1 compatible JQuery library directly into the server so I could vastly improve the appearance of all the pages, especially the editable forms. I ran out of time before midnight but I will now be adding JQuery enabled functionality throughout the server including the UI so it will look good even on really old browsers. I have a couple plug-ins I am integrating as well including the awesome Sparkline for DAC displays in simple tabular formats.
I have also got mailslot libraries (for running daemons) debugged for Windows, Linux/FreeBSD, Desqview-X and even Microsoft Lan Server(!). All three versions compile from Open Watcom with no warnings.
As you can see, previously my UI has been barebones basic HTML 1.1 with no frills at all but this is the last ugly screenshot of VOS you are going to look at. JQuery decays tastefully where features are unsupported so it will still look good on Arachne - but anything above IE 5.5 will look fantastic. Of course I will now be able to support long polling in AJAX through JQuery for real-time data direct from JSON REST services built-in to the server. I am also converting to support for all datastore access in the form of REST calls.
My main purpose in doing this was to permanently embed the IE6-FF-HTML1.1 compatible JQuery library directly into the server so I could vastly improve the appearance of all the pages, especially the editable forms. I ran out of time before midnight but I will now be adding JQuery enabled functionality throughout the server including the UI so it will look good even on really old browsers. I have a couple plug-ins I am integrating as well including the awesome Sparkline for DAC displays in simple tabular formats.
I have also got mailslot libraries (for running daemons) debugged for Windows, Linux/FreeBSD, Desqview-X and even Microsoft Lan Server(!). All three versions compile from Open Watcom with no warnings.
Calling It "Human Resources" Was Your First Mistake
On six occasions over the past ten years, I was tasked to hire my replacement when the end of my contract was coming up and I was not interested in going permanent.
Each time I hired a person based on the exact opposite criteria that ordinary people use. Each time, my hire worked out so well that wherever the case that company is still doing business, my hire is still working there and is considered one of the best people they ever hired ... only they didn't hire that person, I did.
One of the last people I hired struck me as some kind of village idiot. He was his own worst critic, tried to talk me out of considering him, admitted to being chronically depressed, said he suffered from nosebleeds when he was under stress and said he had trouble sleeping at night because he spent all his time coding. He also told me that he had no interest whatsoever in people, in spectator sports and in his free time mostly practiced writing programs he never seemed to finish. I had interviewed a half dozen super cool Tom Cruise-clones the prior week and had not called any of them back. I knew I would give this guy a start date as soon as the interview ended. Of course, the guy was brilliant and did work of such quality there is no point in even comparing it with that of ordinary people. It is the nature of the species to excel ... for real, not pretend.
Unless by some miracle you accidentally have a guy like me to hire your people, there is no way a Homo Sapiens could ever make a correct choice in personnel. Not in a million years. Like will hire like and when the HR person is a standard Sapiens their hires will suck because they will hire master thespians like themselves who are perfect in every way. In other words, completely useless.
Each time I hired a person based on the exact opposite criteria that ordinary people use. Each time, my hire worked out so well that wherever the case that company is still doing business, my hire is still working there and is considered one of the best people they ever hired ... only they didn't hire that person, I did.
One of the last people I hired struck me as some kind of village idiot. He was his own worst critic, tried to talk me out of considering him, admitted to being chronically depressed, said he suffered from nosebleeds when he was under stress and said he had trouble sleeping at night because he spent all his time coding. He also told me that he had no interest whatsoever in people, in spectator sports and in his free time mostly practiced writing programs he never seemed to finish. I had interviewed a half dozen super cool Tom Cruise-clones the prior week and had not called any of them back. I knew I would give this guy a start date as soon as the interview ended. Of course, the guy was brilliant and did work of such quality there is no point in even comparing it with that of ordinary people. It is the nature of the species to excel ... for real, not pretend.
Unless by some miracle you accidentally have a guy like me to hire your people, there is no way a Homo Sapiens could ever make a correct choice in personnel. Not in a million years. Like will hire like and when the HR person is a standard Sapiens their hires will suck because they will hire master thespians like themselves who are perfect in every way. In other words, completely useless.
Mostly Civilians
It is always civilians.
They do these things because they can and nobody holds them accountable since they killed John F. Kennedy.
Same old game with a different name.
Some people you can fool all of the time.
I gotta give it to this down-low brother, he has got nerve. Trying to go to war without Congress and still cutting pay to the military. That is moxie.
They do these things because they can and nobody holds them accountable since they killed John F. Kennedy.
Same old game with a different name.
Some people you can fool all of the time.
I gotta give it to this down-low brother, he has got nerve. Trying to go to war without Congress and still cutting pay to the military. That is moxie.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Beautiful Views
This place is truly amazing psychologically.
Ever since I saw it I have been planning similar features in my next shelter. I don't know if I can afford quite all of these perks but some of them are definitely going to make it in there. The outdoor veranda is an excellent idea.
Ever since I saw it I have been planning similar features in my next shelter. I don't know if I can afford quite all of these perks but some of them are definitely going to make it in there. The outdoor veranda is an excellent idea.
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