Old Weird Ward
Unless otherwise noted, that which is posted here is opinion, which is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. If you don't like my opinions, go somewhere else. Nobody is forcing you to actually read this drivel.
The presumption exists that you can read at all.
That may be a large assumption.
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Monday, October 28, 2002
- - - - - On The Road in the Wilds of Washington - - - - -
Here I am in Richland, WA. "Where's THAT?" you ask?
How's about on the East side of Washington, just down the road from Hanford, which has a nuclear reactor, and some other potentially nasty stuff that's atomic-related.
Am I nervous? Nahhh... these guys are pretty careful, and a CLOSE examination of their record over the last 10 years shows that they're being Very Careful. Which is a Good Thing, even if the lady at the front desk at my hotel made a joke about not needing a lightbulb because her fingers glow in the dark!
The Richland-Pasco-Kennewick area is much like the Mojave in Southern Calif, i.e., very dry, except it's much cooler. Some very nice folks live here, and if I wasn't so peeved at the reason I'm here (the fouled up license issue), I'd really enjoy this area.
On the gripping hand (see Pournelle/Niven, "The Mote In God's Eye"), I think I'll get to roll on over to Olympia, where my Dad lives. This is a Cool Thing. And, if things go Just Right, I get to finish off two other sites in 1/2 of one day, and I get to hang out with my Dad, and visit with my eldest daughter (she lives with Grand-Dad while attending college), and my niece, and brothers Bob and Tom, and STILL get back to San Jose in time for Halloween with the two youngest daughters (ages 8 and 4). (That was a looooong sentence!)
So, you ask, "Why is OWW traveling around upgrading software?"
Well, I'm working for a contracting agency that has the contract to upgrade software for a Large Medical Equipment Company. And yes, I'm concealing names to protect the...well...not exactly guilty, but not quite innocent, either. Besides, I need the job.
This is not my job of choice.
I'd much rather be doing desktop support, with a leavening of server-side stuff to let me keep my hand in. I'll tell you, professionally speaking, that the most satisfying experience is to have a user call in with a problem, and either have an answer or have the fix readily to hand. For me, having someone say "Thank You!" is the most satisfying of professional experiences.
AND - I'd much rather NOT be traveling all the durned time. My wife, SWMBO, is finishing up her required courses at the University of Phoenix. My two youngest need to have Good Old Dad hanging around, available to fix bicycles, fetch toys from storage, and be a good imitation of a NFL tackling dummy on demand. One of the biggest deals in my life is when one of the girls says "Do It Again, Daddy!"
Well, more tomorrow, or maybe on Wednesday. Depends on how the wonderful "travel" part goes.
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