Maybe they wanted to highlight to all the linux folks out there that they actually had a mail app. To be honest I had forgotten they actually had one. By the way they should make notepad a full screen, it is a hell of a text editor...

-matt

Based on the posted video I'd say the weight limit is probably a ~100 lbs asian lady.

Good point, that was the first thing that I thought of when I read the article. The alignment issue is not so much of an issue, because potentially you could reinflate the bag and push it back, most likely with the help of some equipment.

More bothersome to me is that potentially the house could just shimmy itself right off of the foundation mid-earthquake with the airbag fully inflated and everything. Then it seems like the only thing your expensive little airbag does is protect the foundation itself from damage, which could potentially save some money on the rebuilding costs, but I highly doubt this is why folks would buy it.

Frankly though based on the video of the lady and the guy getting shaked. I wasn't paying too much attention the first time and thought that the lady (on the airbagged chair) was a person and the guy (on the unairbagged chair) was a manequin, which of course made my day when he got up.

Big advertisers don't care about how much data you push... They care far more about the userbase, if his site is small(ish) as he said in the original post then they most likely won't give him the time of day...

The key thing here is if your costs exceed your revenue then you are doing it wrong and it is unsustainable in the long term, so he needs to be focused on (1) finding unecessary costs and eliminating them - perhaps he has his music files encoded with too high of a bitrate and is wasting storage, perhaps he allows users to choose to listen to whatever songs they want at whatever time - so maybe he should be looking at more of a radio type format and take advantage of multicast (2) finding more revenue, this is easily the harder of the two - because you need to find a way to either charge existing customers more money (to make up for your previously incorrect assumptions about cost) or you need to find new users in a way where they will be self supporting and not just simply dig you further into a hole.

Sounds to me like this is more of a hobby, in order to fix that he needs to price it at a point where he can (1) support the existing service (2) scale to support new users (3) pay for his time to keep all of these pieces together. Or if this is a hobby, then he needs to cut out all of the extra users, host it off of his home internet connection on a non-standard port for his own enjoyment.

-matt

You do understand the definition of "the boss" right? As long as it is legal and I am being paid then I really can't complain. However if my role were to devolve into a janitor or something completely off then you better believe I would look for new work.

I think the original analogy is really pretty close to accurate, however with the distinction being that he has window washer on the corner on contract to perform "windscreen cleaning services" at which point he pulls up to the corner and the window washer points out the dirty windscreen and offers to clean it for $10.

As a Senior Systems Administrator, he can expect to do a little bit of code slinging as well, especially considering that they are a "Small Trade College". Additionally it sounds as if the OP is a W2 employee, which means that his job is whatever his manager says it is. This is true as long as he is not a contractor with a defined SoW (Statement of Work). If he has a SoW and this is not in it, then he can sell away, but it doesn't sound like they have the money to buy it.

For the most part I agree with the parent, though I will be more blunt (though not necessarily short-winded).

You took it upon yourself to develop *something* which makes your (and your team's) job easier. However the only way I see you getting paid for this developed application is so effective that it actually renders you redundant, if it does (and I were in charge) I would not pay more than .5x your salary for the "application" however realistically probably not more than 1K or so, since realistically you can't provide a proper support structure so they would be buying it as/is. If it renders you and your entire team redundant then maybe it would be worth closer to 1x your salary (again lack of a proper support structure really kills the deal at this price point)...

Now bottom line... You did this for a reason, you got something out of it, be it knowledge or what-have-you. Also keep in mind that unless you have a contract which is VERY clear on who owns what property your state might already have laws which sell out your work-product regardless of whose time it was produced on. Even if your state isn't one where they can claim your after-hours work product, if they wanted to make a play for it then you would have to hire a lawyer to prove that (1) you created it without company resources (2) you created it on personal time (3) you had a personal reason for creating it. The third one might be hard to make the case for since it makes your PROFESSIONAL life much easier which would be a professional reason. Either way you are already at a disadvantage. They already have a lawyer (although he/she might not be the top of their class), you will have to find one who thinks you have either (1) a case and a little bit of money (2) no case and a ton of money.

So basically as for actual monetary compensation... It is out of the question... Won't happen. That said these are also the kinds of things which show your value to the business and frankly can be used to justify a promotion, assuming one is due and you weren't being a total schlub at work while developing this application in your "off-time".

Now in the future... If you are developing an application for work in your personal time. Please have a friend slap you. If the application is for work then either know you are working for free or clock the hours worked, this way they can object immediately if they don't want you working on the application in question.

Finally... When did "Senior Systems Administration" stop including at least a smidgen of development?

The premise here is that somehow you will be happier with the job if it were a government job in a war zone. The US Government is actually the most depressing places I have ever worked (I actually had a pretty _cool_ job). With the exception of being in the military, it was not _the most_ depressing places. Malaise will not be resolved by a switch to the government, I would say it would get worse... Now if you simply want to do it for the money then more power to you, but make sure you know why you are doing it...

-matt

I agree with what you have said, however with one minor caveat...

Based on this - "I assumed the position of programmer and sole IT personnel at a thriving e-commerce company." I am assuming...
1) He says he "assumed" the position which would imply that he worked elsewhere in the company and was made the de-facto IT person based on having an Android phone or a PS3 or whatever other metrics they decided to use. I am going to give the Poster the benefit of the doubt, and assume he is not in over his head.
2) If the company is a thriving e-commerce company, which means that they make their money off of this e-commerce platform. Which should mean they are wanting to protect the investment that they have already made.

Now the problem here is that there are all kinds of red flags for doing things on the cheap, which is why you are finding all of these band-aids. If the company is thriving they should have no problem hiring a second person. Regardless of your level of skill mistakes will be made and these can be reduced if you have a sounding board. Someone to logic check things with.
As for actually identifying and making changes the parent has that part spot on. I am just concerned that may not be effective in this organization.

In my experience, I have found more incompetence in folks who were _taught_ than with folks who were _self taught_. Now obviously there are people who use the _self taught_ as an explanation as to why their resume looks like they belong in front of a fry basket. However if someone is legitimately _self taught_ then it means that 1) they probably love what they are doing 2) they have a higher aptitude for learning 3) they won't default to the easiest and/or quickest fix - they will generally find the best fix. These are all fantastic qualities which will reap benefits for the company which hires them. Also keep in mind _self taught_ doesn't always mean no schooling, after all what do you actually learn in a comp sci program which is applicable 10 years down the road (other than the maths and what not) tech changes and if you cannot change with it you are done (or management).

As for this...

You can gauge an individuals ability to learn in an interview, it is a cop out to say that just because someone received some sort of degree that they can learn through a 2 week course - it could have taken 8 years at a full load to get that 4 year degree, the paper makes no distinction. From a business perspective why pay for courses when the individual will learn the same or more with a book and/or community involvement. I have learned far more by getting drunk with really smart people than by taking any courses.

-matt