I was recently employed as a contractor. I got, and accepted, an offer for a full time position with another company (with quite nice benefits). I asked friends about whether I should give notice or just quit, they said give notice. So I did, and the next day they fired me. There was no hard feelings, I understood it didn't make sense for them to keep training someone for a job he wasn't sticking around to do. But it did put a bit of a crimp on my finances as I had some unexpected time off before starting the new job.

If I could do it again I'd wait until Friday and just quit.

Schadenfreude: joy at the misfortune of others.

FB example: Catching up with the jock who bullied you in HS, him seeing how successful you are and what an abject failure he is.

CHECK and MATE. :P

The way FB makes me feel better can be summed up with one word: schadenfreude.

Reminds me of our Windoze guy in my previous job. I had run into some kind of problem with XP at home and spent a good amount of time banging my head against it. Finally I told him what was going on and asked what he recommended. "Reinstall XP" was the answer. I thought he was joking, nope he was serious. :P

After the war my mom took her degree in mathematics to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland where she did this kind of work. She said she'd calculate artillery ballistics. She also told me they processed some of the evidence of atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis, though she wouldn't talk specifics. She turns 89 next week. Happy birthday mom!

It's largely just guys like me, calling on a radio, asking for a couple 500 pounders on the ridgeline 3 klicks away, to get two dozen guys with RPGs and machine guns, NOW!. The B-52, B-1, and B-2 just don't fit into that equation.

Beg to differ on the B-1. The B-1's current mission in Afghanistan is to loiter in the area, waiting for a call for support from the ground. They can deliver weapons to the target in 10 to 15 minutes. Here's an example: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qXR3nEFAok4