... here.

(Similarly: "The Consititution isn't perfect, but it's better than what we have now.")

I swear I'm going to add this to the next bit of code I write:

/* This comment was put in one part of the code. If I ever find it copied and pasted into another part of the code, I'm going to yell at you. Then I'm going to subjection to serious enough burnination to reduce you to a pile of ash. And then I'm going to kick your ash. */

Problem is, I really am in a position to can the ashes of some of these people. That only means I have to deal with the problem in a responsible, adult-like manner. I can't yell, I can't scream.

At least I can vent here.

[There are no CMM methodologies, and the very notion is pretty much exactly the opposite of Extreme Programming. I've seen (and posted) a lot like this. Another, not worth its own entry: "Specific skills should include many of the following: ... the Rational toolset, UML, RUP, CMM, CMMI, TogetherJ, MS Framework, Agile Methods and startup environments...."]

The pluses for this position include CMM (Capability Maturity Models) Methodologies ... We are searching for engineers that are heavy coders, handling extreme programming ...

Salary: From 70.00 to 100.00 USD per year

The reasonable man is willing to compromise. The unreasonable man is not. Therefore all arguments are won by the unreasonable man.

Some parts of my job I like, some parts I don't. Earlier this week, I was able to do one of the parts I've really come to like: reply to a few people and say, got your resume, yes, we're interested. (Northern New Jersey, C++; I read the Job Center journal and we've got ads on at least one of the big job boards, so I'm likely to find you.)

I remember what it's like to be out of work. I remember how frustrating it was not to hear anything. I remember what a relief it was to hear something, anything ... and what a huge relief it was to get an offer.

I can't help give those good feelings to many, but it feels wonderful to help give them to at least a few.

TechBookReport.com has some very good book reviews.

According to an article titled "Silicon Valley must outsource to survive," offshore outsourcing is:

... Silicon Valley's future, says job outplacement expert (read: "consultant looking to make money off this trend") John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.... "It is a matter of survival for these firms, especially those in the information technology sector where the company's highest costs can be payroll. One venture capitalist even told our researchers that it would be virtually impossible to start a new IT or software company in Silicon Valley without offshore outsourcing," Mr. Challenger says.

Warren Weiss, general partner at Menlo Park-based Foundation Capital, told Challenger researchers, "There's no way you can have a Silicon Valley company without outsourcing. You simply cannot make the numbers work."

That's echoed by Venetia Kontogouris, managing director for Trident Capital, based in Westport, Conn., with offices in Palo Alto, who said to Challenger interviewers, "It is far too expensive today to start a technology business in Silicon Valley without outsourcing."

Morons.

Do they think Silicon Valley was built around a cluster of existing venture capitalists? That it's a mecca of cutting edge marketeers? The natural hub for top flight executives?

Silicon Alley is a high-tech haven because of its huge population of great techies. It was born of students from great schools like Stanford and Berkeley, then grew in a positive feedback loop, startups begetting and attracting more startups. I sadly agree, the Valley's gotten so expensive, it'll be hard to sustain itself.

The answer, though, isn't to outsource engineering but leave everything else there. The VCs, the executives, the sales and marketing guys who today outsource the tech jobs, could be the next wave watching their own jobs disappear from this part of the world. It'd be ironic, but not very rewarding; if they can no longer afford McDonalds, what happens to programmers reduced to working there?

They think they're selling the techies down the river. Don't they know they're on the same barge?

I stumbled across this article, which loads slowly, so I'm going to quote few choice bits.

Backlash: What scares US of A?

Backlash will soon be passe, but what scares the outsourced community is the ripple effect. Here is a run down on what fuels the backlash fire!

NEW DELHI: Anti-outsourcing legislation, presidential candidates calling it treachery and the biggest scare of all times--job migration, what exactly is the US of A worried about? Perhaps it is the fear of the inevitable--in the times of global economy, true as it was for the manufacturing jobs--passing the work to cheap labor that can deliver on time and with the right quality. Experts say that what the US is trying to do is unnatural for true economical development.

Historically, the US government realized that agricultural jobs could well be made into manufacturing jobs, which later turned into more service jobs and finally letting them into the other destinations and generating better employment opportunities. With a strong lineage talking about getting cheap labor, what is it that is [sic.] withholding federal government to curb this phenomenon?

Four reasons that are fueling the backlash fire are: 2004 being the election year, the job drain, the historical prejudice against India [emphasis mine] and other developing nations and the issue of patriotism....

... many observers expect the offshore trend to continue. And its long-term implications for the US IT industry have some people deeply concerned. As the bulk of technology work moves offshore, the deep, experiential knowledge and IPs might move offshore, which can be a prime concern for the US.

The other reason is more emotional in nature. Americans have refuted the usage of Linux, saying that it is not made by Americans or not made in America. [Honest, folks, that's what it says.] Absolutely similar sentiments are prevailing for the outsourcing backlash. Why get serviced by non-Americans? These sentiments too have been passed down historically, and with time and experience, as US realizes the pros of outsourcing, this too shall pass.

To sum it up, the waters are rough and first waters will flourish for the times to come.

"... its long-term implications for the US IT industry have some people deeply concerned. As the bulk of technology work moves offshore, the deep, experiential knowledge and IPs might move offshore, which can be a prime concern for the US."

Yeah, in addition to fear of me personally losing my job, and concerns the country's whole middle class might evaporate, that's just about exactly what scares me.

Something else that strikes me as really weird: the offshore guys receiving the jobs are getting just as defensive as the domestic guys losing the jobs.

What do you think?

Overnight I got twenty six e-mail messages. Twenty one were (correctly) caught by Yahoo's "bulk mail" filter. Four were spam not caught by the filter. One ...

... was a "there are openings here that match your dream job, are you interested?" message from a friend who heard about a position about to be created.

Do you have any idea how close I came to, just by habit, marking all my new messages as "spam" and never seeing them again?

Wow.

P.S.: Thanks to TechnoLust and zipwow; right, I wasn't clear (and couldn't add) when I originally posted this.

Poll Guy writes, "One of you slashdotters called WNYC's Brian Lehrer show this morning as he was talking about outsourcing."

The interview is available here (RealAudio).

This will get some people to open the message. Will anyone so tricked ever follow the link?

From Waldorf C. Lancaster Sun Jan 18 04:12:57 2004
X-Apparently-To: nobody@yahoo.com via 216.136.174.206; Sun, 18 Jan 2004 04:16:35 -0800
Return-Path: <dancer@leehom.net>
Received: from 210.181.112.210 (HELO belice.com) (210.181.112.210) by mta114.mail.sc5.yahoo.com with SMTP; Sun, 18 Jan 2004 04:16:34 -0800
Received: from leehom.net (leehom-net-bk.mr.outblaze.com [205.158.62.177]) by belice.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3B0F3829B1 for <nobody@yahoo.com>; Sun, 18 Jan 2004 07:12:57 -0500
From: "Waldorf C. Lancaster" <dancer@leehom.net>
To: "Nobody" <nobody@yahoo.com>
Subject: laws of God, and therefore are to be obser ved with an equal exactness towards good a nd bad men.
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 07:12:57 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html; charset=windows-1251
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.4682
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2505.0000
X-AntiVirus: Checked by Dr.Web (http://www.drweb.net)
Content-Length: 725

Whats up? :)

We are blowing away vacation package you requested is here.
The information is:

-4 days
-3nights

At 0 cost to you.

http://www.makelover.us/trv/?rf=789ABC

We expect your early reply.

Would we therefore make a real progress in religion, we must not only abhor gross and notorious sins, but
This is the state of separation from the world, to which all orders of Christians are called. They must so
by C. Bigg, DD, of Christ Church, Oxford

Here's my version of The List everyone (starting here) is doing.

You must not

be anyone but my wife.

Have I mentioned recently I'm an old married guy?

Here:

Yes, C++ is easy to program once you know the syntax. Unfortunately, even Bjarne only knows about 60% of the syntax.

I got two of these, very similar:

From OnlineCitibank Wed Jan 28 07:38:45 2004
Return-Path: <matsd@dbzmail.com>
Received: from 132.236.23.63 (HELO wartaponsel.com) (132.236.23.63) by mta153.mail.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; Wed, 28 Jan 2004 07:42:11 -0800
Received: from dbzmail.com (dbzmail-com.mr.outblaze.com [205.158.62.177]) by tlcfan.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8ADB7B7E5D; Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:38:45 -0500
From: "OnlineCitibank" <matsd@dbzmail.com>
Subject: Citibank E-MAIL Veerification - nobody@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:38:45 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4024
Importance: Normal
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1123
X-AntiVirus: checked by AntiVir MailGate (version: 2.0.1.5; AVE: 6.17.0.2; VDF: 6.17.0.5; host: tlcfan.com)

Dear Citi-Bank Card_holder,

_This letteer was sentt by_the_ Citicard sevrers to
veerify your_ _email_ address.
You muust ctpmeole this psercos by clicking on_the_link
below and enttering in the litlle window_ your Citi_Bank
Debit_ Card Number and card pin that you use in the ATM Machine.
That_is _done_ for-your porecttion -f- becourse some of our
memebrs no lnoegr have acecss to their email adresdses
and we must verify it.

http://citibankcards.net:%717%51%67%77%67%54%78%71@%64%66%6e%61%61%719%66%63%2e%44%41%2e%52%75/ blahblahblah

To veerify your EMAIL address and accees _your_ _citibank
account, klick on _the link _below_.

Yeah, that looks to me like a professional e-mail message from a major financial institute.

P.S.: The URL "http://citibankcards.net:%717%51%67%77%67%54%78%71@%64%66%6e%61%61%719%66%63%2e%44%41%2e%52%75/" is an obfuscated version of "http://junk@ewjkdnui.nm.ru"; the stuff before the at sign is user/pasword information, the stuff after the at sign is the real host.