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dark_faust's LiveJournal:
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| Friday, April 18th, 2008 | | 8:13 pm |
Twitter, anyone
Is anyone else trying twitter for mico-blogging? Really a rather strange little program. Still, it's growing on me. | | Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 | | 8:58 pm |
Stepping out of the Tardis
I haven't written a blog here is years. Feels good to be back, tho I don't have anything to say right now. Still recovering from a business trip. more soon. - DF | | Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 | | 10:12 am |
| | Friday, October 12th, 2007 | | 8:54 pm |
Dusting off the cobwebs
October is the proper month to return to cobweb covered haunts. As long as my identity is still secret, I think it's safe to post again. -- DF | | Thursday, September 15th, 2005 | | 9:05 pm |
Apocalyptic Horseman Rides for High-Tech, US Companies
Ah, the bliss of anonymity. Under my nom de plume of Mephisto's errant student, I can write about most anything without the need to weigh my words for "correctness." For example, I really want to tell my readers about an investment banker forum I recently attended in Silicon Valley. "The women were lovely, the wine was superb" but there was something about the presentations that disturbed me. Most of the high tech company’s presentations said almost nothing meaningful about new products or innovation. Instead, they highlighted the fact that they had laid-off significant numbers of people, close facilities in the US and generally outsourced a great deal of work. They boasted about the low debt level and high level of cash. In other words, they were positioning themselves to be bought by another firm, preferably a foreign power with lots of money like China. In a time when the US must really assert itself to remain competitive, the model being followed by more and more companies in the high-tech arena is one of being acquired by a foreign power! We are so screwed, folks, it is no longer funny. If the four horsemen of the apocalypse were adapted for modern sensibilities, surely one of them would be a myopic (short-sighted) business riding abreast the horse of greed. But maybe that’s what the apostle John meant when he wrote about, “a black horse, whose rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand, symbolizing famine and economic depression.” Hmmm….getting that off my chest feels better. Not much, but a little. | | Saturday, March 19th, 2005 | | 9:03 pm |
Welcome to Doomsday
Welcome to Doomsday By Bill Moyers http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17852Where ignorance reins, beliefs will masquerade as wisdom and the masses will confuse their opiate for reality. Those of us who can still think for ourselves must use caution, lest we be discovered and burned as heretics. “By the pricking of my thumb…” | | Sunday, February 13th, 2005 | | 8:55 pm |
| | Friday, February 11th, 2005 | | 6:49 pm |
Looking for a few good hackers
Found this rather dated (1998) job posting while researching an article. The National Infrastructure Protection Center is looking for a few good hacker-trackers. The multiagency government group's purpose is to respond to "cyber-attacks," mostly hacker intrusions into government and private-sector computers. Qualifications for the job include outstanding technical expertise -- or counterintelligence and counterterrorism analysis and operations. Fax your r sum and cover letter to Linda McKetney at (202) 324-0311. No e-mail address is given. http://lists.virus.org/isn-9804/msg00052.htmlInteresting thing is that this post occurred before Microsoft and the big boys announced their hiring of known "hackers." If you can't beat them.... | | Tuesday, February 8th, 2005 | | 9:23 pm |
| | Friday, January 21st, 2005 | | 9:05 am |
Worst day of the year? Why, Jan 24th, of course!
Hmm... who would have guessed? But seems plausible (see below). Monday, Jan. 24, called worst day of the year British psychologist calculates 'most depressing day' LONDON - Is the mid-winter weather wearing you down? Are you sinking in debt after the holidays? Angry with yourself for already breaking your New Year's resolutions? Wish you could crawl back under the covers and not have to face another day of rain, sleet, snow and paperwork? Probably. After all, it's nearly Jan. 24, the "most depressing day of the year," according to a U.K. psychologist. Dr. Cliff Arnall's calculations show that misery will peak this Monday. Read full story at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6847012/ | | Tuesday, January 4th, 2005 | | 9:12 pm |
One must try new things...
Looks like the on-line, graduate engineering program that I helped start 6 years ago is on its last leg (www.cecs.pdx.edu). Just not enough students. It's a self-supporting program (required by our short sighted state budget cuts), so with too few students, the program can not survive. Damn! The program attracted some of the real giants in the systems engineering profession (e.g., Mar, Blanchard, McKinney). Students came from across the country and outside the US to attend our program. Why, I had students from Canada and Austrialia in my courses. Some courses even attacked wider attention, e.g, a version of my technical risk course is still being taught at the Nat. Security Agency in Baltimore, MD. Don’t get me wrong; I have no regrets for the time and energy devoted to the program. Above everything else, it was a bold experiment! We were one of the first university programs to enter the world of on-line learning by in the 90’s. Needless to say, there was quite a learning curve for both instructors and students. Another plus was the growth of my friendship department chair. We still share a wine-and-cigar chat whenever we both can break free from our regular jobs. Plus, most of the material from my risk and hardware-software courses will find a new home in my Elsevier Press book (supposed to be finished by this April – which means I have many, MANY, long nights ahead of me). One must try new things, even if their star will only blaze for a short time. Guess the Sword of Damocles swings for both mortals and their noble creations. C’est la vie! Current Mood:  thoughtful | | Tuesday, December 28th, 2004 | | 8:47 pm |
The grave's a fine and private place...
Yesterday, I bought a $6 book at B&N called "Brush Up Your Poetry." Came across the end to a poem by Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress": The grave's a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace ... Don't know why, but those lines strike the right cadence and meaning to really ring in my thoughts. Strange, eh? | | 8:42 pm |
Down dump in my heart....
Just tucked my little girl (5 yrs old) into bed. She gave me a big hug and said: "I love you down dump in my heart." Took me a minute to figure out that she meant "down deep in my heart". I couldn't help but smile. | | Monday, December 20th, 2004 | | 8:49 pm |
Outlook for 2005: More of the same, at best
Last week was crazy. Went on my first editorial calls with the sales director. Visited the usual "suspects" in the EDA world, plus a fab. Ads look as flat next year as they are this year. We're a smaller pub, so should get by ok. But it's still going to be tough, since all the major vendors seem to be scaling back even further on their print ad dollars. What's a technology writer/editor to do? Not surprizingly, the market for contract writers (including ghost writers) is growing nicely. But the logic is crazy. Cut ads to magazines that cover your products, but increase dollars for folks to ghost write about your products to be printed in the magazines that you no longer help to sustain. It's enough to make a fellow want to return to engineering.
Current Mood:  surprised | | Saturday, November 27th, 2004 | | 8:44 pm |
Onto bigger and better things ...
I'm still here: same place, same professional, but new job. As of last week, I’ve taken over the helm of a technology magazine called Chip Design. Should be about the same amount of work as with WSD, but with much visibility. I’ll also have much more control over what goes into the pub. Should be fun. | | Sunday, September 19th, 2004 | | 4:47 pm |
I'm just about the last one left standing.....
Well, it finally happened. My manager, the editor-in-chief of our magazine, was laid off last week. Now it's just me and a copy editor. I'm sure that the end is near for the magazine. Damn... Publisher wants to turn it into 6 e-Newsletters. Probably the right thing to do, since his goal is to quickly make money. But not sure it's what I want to do. I'll be brushing off my resume this week, while the other editor and I try to do the work of three. Bummer.... Current Mood:  disappointed | | Saturday, September 4th, 2004 | | 9:22 pm |
Fixing my time machine
I really must fix my time machine..... time is running out. Soon the rains will come and I'll be stuck here, again. Current Mood:  weird | | Friday, August 20th, 2004 | | 9:44 am |
Dark side of defense industry
Here's an interesting discussion thread that I've been having with amylgam. My main reason for reposting this thread it so that I don't lose it . The secondary reason is that I'm just not sure how to link back to the original thread on amylgam's journal. Also, I wanted to change it to a reverse order, i.e., so I could read the most current posting first.
Just for reference:
1. Defense Labs Hustle To Regain Wireless Expertise (Sep'03, WSD magazine)
http://www.wsdmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/5970/5970.html
2. History Repeated Over Mojave Desert http://www.wsdmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/8367/8367.html
3. IEEE I&M article on defense and generational gap (just can not find the article, at the moment.)
++++++++++++++
From: [info]dark_faust
Date: August 20th, 2004 - 04:28 pm
Good points. I'd forgotten about the "terminal" salaries, as well as the generational expertise gaps. Both are serious issues, but the later should be of particular concern to our nation’ leaders. Combine this "expertise gap" with the troubling educational deficiencies in the US and we are heading for real trouble. I just finish a piece that touches on some of the related issues; mainly focusing on the point that the US is losing it's technical and education expertise. Very serious problems....
Nevertheless, I'm very glad to have started out in the defense sector. I gained enormous technical experience, since I was allowed to build things that I could never do in the private, non-defense sector. But maybe those day's are gone, with all the base (and national lab) closings and such.
Well, I'm back to work. Cheers
From: [info]amylgam
Date: August 20th, 2004 - 02:04 pm
Well, I've been private-sector from the beginning, so I can't really compare. (I did have an internship at BLM and a scholarship with TRW, but TRW didn't make me fulfill the summer internship part of the scholarship because they didn't have anything for me to do). We have several engineers who are in their 50's and early 60's--more in the mechanical side than electrical, though. I don't know where they sit as far as earning goes, but I do know that even my grade (Principal Engineer) is considered 'terminal', meaning I could be here for the rest of my career.
Our biggest problem here is that we have a pretty significant gap. We have a lot of engineers who are close to retirement, and a lot of engineers in their late 20's or early 30's, but not many in between. Those who are in mid-career are often being pushed into project management or other non-technical positions (because they have the experience to do so, but they're not so "crusty" that they won't get jiggy with the New And Improved Project Management Process). The thing is, though, that as our senior staff retires, there are going to be some gaping holes in some areas of expertise. Not to mention, a lot of the younger engineers are looking elsewhere, because there really is not a feeling of stability here.
From: [info]dark_faust
Date: August 20th, 2004 - 02:32 am
But there you have it, eh? At least in defense work, older engineers are pretty much forced to become contractors (i.e., job shoppers, not like TI, Hughes, Northrup, etc) or work as civil servants. Contractor work pays well (in $$, not benefits), but it is rather transient work and frequently requires moving one's family. On the other hand, working as a civil servant is fine, but the pay is so-so (even with the DP system). Plus, there are only a few DOD labs/bases that provide worthwhile challenges for engineers. (I spent my first 5 years working for the DOD at China Lake, then the next four working for major defense contractors (not job shops).
Don't get me wrong, working for the DOD it great work when you’re just out of school or if you don't have a family. But it’s a problem later on, especially since the funding is so cyclical – seems to run in 5 year cycles. Working on black programs, which can be very interesting from a technical standpoint, further limits your career choices later on.
The private sector's ok, tho harder to join if you're coming from defense. Still, it has problem with older engineers, too. Just look at the IEEE static’s concerning the age groups that are most likely to be laid-off. It's the folks over 40.
From: [info]dark_faust
Date: August 18th, 2004 - 05:01 pm
Short answer: Because of job discrimination that exists for older engineers (from about 40 to 45 on...), no matter how good their skills or experience. Since I have a family to support, I had to find something that I could respectfully do as I got older. For me, that has turned out to be writing.
Is the TI plant in Tucson really the old Hughes missile facility? Or is that in Phoenix? I don't remember anymore... not that it's important. Cheers.
From: [info]amylgam
Date: August 18th, 2004 - 06:28 pm
A lot of the contractors we get in here are in the 50-60 age range. Most come up from Huntsville. Are you talking about problems looking for new jobs, or staying in an existing job? Or both?
TI: I think it's the old Hughes. Raytheon is in there somewhere too (?). I haven't quite sorted it all out yet.
rom: [info]dark_faust
Date: August 18th, 2004 - 05:01 pm
Short answer: Because of job discrimination that exists for older engineers (from about 40 to 45 on...), no matter how good their skills or experience. Since I have a family to support, I had to find something that I could respectfully do as I got older. For me, that has turned out to be writing.
Is the TI plant in Tucson really the old Hughes missile facility? Or is that in Phoenix? I don't remember anymore... not that it's important. Cheers.
From: [info]amylgam
Date: August 18th, 2004 - 02:02 pm
Yep, EE. What changed your mind?
From: [info]dark_faust
Date: August 18th, 2004 - 03:35 am
Work with TI, eh? Are you an EE? I worked as such for about 16 years, before leaving the profession. Cheers.
Current Mood: working | | Thursday, August 19th, 2004 | | 9:22 pm |
Skidding into hell ... What a ride!
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming WOO HOO - What a ride!" Well put! Found on joannejacobs.net. She wrote an interesting viewpoint piece for my magazine back in March'04 [ http://www.wsdmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/7776/7776.html] Current Mood: good | | Tuesday, August 17th, 2004 | | 9:12 am |
We are guided by the unseen...
The older I get (meaning the more experience I gather), the more I realize that unseen forces shape our lives. O, we set the initial course. We make our plans, reason through all the angles and potential outcomes. But in the end, an unseen hand guides events in ways that no one can know. This loss of control is nothing to fear. In fact, the unseen force often leads us to a better future – tho different than we first imaged. And, oddly enough, this force (or spirit) seems to work in concert with our original intention and action. For our action is the key. We must start the ball rolling before the "hand of providence" can make its appearance. There is a light inside us that sparks to life when we are following our bliss, i.e., acting with sincere intention. Perhaps it's that light that first awakens the unseen force. But we must be the initiator. As they say, “God helps those who help themselves.” Well, enough rambling for now. I've satisfied my muse, for the moment. Before the moment passes, tho, I must thank Sarah for her email this morning. It was this simple letter, in response to my own, that reminded me of the importance of taking action and watching the great and subtle interaction of the unseen. |
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