<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/society">society</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/marketing">marketing</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/quality">quality</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/sethgodin">sethgodin</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.coderholic.com/free-python-programming-books/">Coderholic » Blog Archive » 10 Free Python Programming Books</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">Free books!</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/development">development</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/python">python</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/django">django</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/documentation">documentation</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/books">books</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/computer">computer</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/free">free</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/programming">programming</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/library">library</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/10/11/7-must-read-linux-tutorials/">7 "must read" Linux tutorials | Linux Screw</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">Putting the "i" in Linux</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/linux">linux</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/unix">unix</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/reference">reference</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/shell">shell</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/bash">bash</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/list">list</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/os">os</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.pomonahistorical.org/12times.htm">Folding Paper in Half Twelve Times</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">Two to the twelfth power is 4096 layers.</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/howto">howto</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/geek">geek</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/interesting">interesting</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/paperfolding">paperfolding</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/mathematics">mathematics</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/research">research</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/puzzles">puzzles</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/geometry">geometry</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/security">security</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/humanrights">humanrights</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/immigration">immigration</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/rights">rights</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/dhs">dhs</a>)</div>
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This morning I had a dentist appointment to have a couple of small cavities filled. Growing up when I did, I have a almost paralyzing fear of the dentist. Between braces, three abscessed teeth, a couple of root canals, and one root amputation, I’ve had more than my fair share of difficult dental procedures. My childhood dentist was a fearful character in my life; he used to tell me that he was spraying rat poison in my mouth, to keep me from swallowing when he sprayed fluoride on my teeth. “Don’t swallow! Rat poison!”
I believe that we are all born with a certain amount of dental courage, and once it is used up, there isn’t any more. I used mine up long ago.
Finding a dentist you like isn’t easy. Finding one you like, who is compassionate to your fears without being condescending or saccharin is next to impossible. Last winter, at the recommendation of one of Sibylle’s friends I tried a new dentist. I hadn’t been in a number of years and I was afraid, not only of going, but that he would find lots of problems.
I was hugely relieved when there weren’t any problems that couldn’t be taken care of by some more rigorous flossing. Unfortunately, the dentist himself was less than I’d hoped for. Still, first impressions are sometimes wrong, so I thought I’d give it a go, and scheduled a second, six-month cleaning. At the cleaning last week the hygienist discovered two small spots that concerned her. The dentist agreed and said I needed fillings.
My worst fears realized.
Upon arriving at the office, and being led back to the treatment station, the assistant said that Sibylle would have to wait in the lounge. I said that I was terrified of the dentist and that if she couldn’t stay with me, the procedure wasn’t going to happen. She excused herself to talk to the dentist, and came back saying that they would recommend another dentist.
I said, “Thank you, I’ll find my own dentist,” and we left.
Part of the fear equation when I was a child was that I had no choice but to go to the dentist. It was scary, and often painful. The lack of control only added to the situation. Even as an adult, it is hard sometimes to disagree with authority - especially medical authority. We are all conditioned to respect and listen to doctors. Listening to myself, and doing what took care of me this morning, was hugely empowering.
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/security">security</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/privacy">privacy</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/surveillance">surveillance</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/freedom">freedom</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/identity">identity</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/schneier">schneier</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/society">society</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://kk.org/kk/2008/08/very-longterm-backup.php">Long Term backup</a></div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/interesting">interesting</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/history">history</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/technology">technology</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/storage">storage</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/backup">backup</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/kevinkelly">kevinkelly</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/johnmccain">johnmccain</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/politics">politics</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/opinion">opinion</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/2008election">2008election</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/vietnam">vietnam</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/18/cafferty.mccain/index.html">Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush? - CNN.com</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">In a word - yes. Be afraid.</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/cnn">cnn</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/johnmccain">johnmccain</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/politics">politics</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/opinion">opinion</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/president">president</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/2008election">2008election</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/toread">toread</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/was-mccain-tort.html">The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">Violence begets more violence, and torture, it seems, begets more torture.</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/history">history</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/johnmccain">johnmccain</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/vietnam">vietnam</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/hypocrisy">hypocrisy</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/torture">torture</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/bush">bush</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://philip.greenspun.com/humor/eecs-difference-explained">EE versus CS</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">Once upon a time...</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/engineering">engineering</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/programming">programming</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/science">science</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/funny">funny</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/humor">humor</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/geek">geek</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.wesg.ca/2008/06/automatically-update-your-computers-uptime-on-your-website/">Automatically update your computer’s uptime on your website | wesg</a></div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/bash">bash</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/uptime">uptime</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/script">script</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/interesting">interesting</a>)</div>
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<div class="delicious-link"><a href="http://www.governmentsecurity.org/articles/DefaultLoginsandPasswordsforNetworkedDevices.php">Default Logins and Passwords for Networked Devices</a></div>
<div class="delicious-extended">For when you want to "borrow" your neighbor's router</div>
<div class="delicious-tags">(tags: <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/reference">reference</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/list">list</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/wifi">wifi</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/passwords">passwords</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/default">default</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/wireless">wireless</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/useful">useful</a> <a href="http://delicious.com/zanshin/hack">hack</a>)</div>
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The front page of today’s Kansas City Star has an article about an incoming freshman basketball player who has been arrested on suspicion of shooting a passerby with a plastic BB from a BB gun, possibly while intoxicated.
Personally, if I were the coach or athletic directory at a university, I would make it abundantly clear to those students who were there, in part, because of their ability with a ball, that any infraction of the rules of the team, the institution, or society, would result in their being removed from the team and stripped of any scholarship related to their sport.
That we again and again appear to have a double standard when it comes to enforcing the rules when it comes to athletes is appalling. Being able to dunk a basketball or catch a football is not license to treat the rest of the world as somehow less than you.
The game that got you a spot at the university has rules, that when violated bring a penalty. The game of life has rules too. Ones that should be just as true for athletes as it is for other citizens. Break those rules, and you are off the team.
A week or so ago I installed the Close Old Posts plugin to try and combat some of the comment spam zanshin.net receives. The plugin closes comments on any posting older than 14 days by default “on the fly.” No database queries are used, the postings are updated as they are viewed.
The plugin is working fantastically, from my perspective. Nearly all the comment spam I got was to older postings, and now that they are closed for comments, I’ve only had one spam make its way into the Akismet net.
I almost miss my daily ritual of deleting all the comment spam. Almost.
For the past six weeks or so I have been participating in a placement program at my employer. My position was eliminated and this program is designed to locate a new position for me within the company. While I applaud the thinking behind the program - that it is better to retain employees than to release them only to hire others - there are some aspects of it that have been stressful for Sibylle and me.
The most difficult thing is how offers are presented. Assuming that an interview results in an offer I have to accept that position or decline. Should I decide to decline, the position is gone, removed from consideration permanently. If more than one offer should be made, I will only know about the first one, as they are filtered through Human Resources.
In other words, we are playing a form of “Let’s Make A Deal” with my career. At some point I may have a job offer in my hands. And the internal dialog, with my doubts and curiosity playing the part of Monty Hall, will be saying, “Hm. But I had that other interview that went really well, I wonder if they will make me an offer?” If I let go of the first offer and take a chance on their being another one behind door number one, I may strike gold, or I may find myself unemployed come the end of the placement program.
This facet of the program has required that I do some serious evaluating about the merits of potential outcomes. The positions that I am interviewing for are somewhat varied: IT project leader, non-IT project leader, server administration, and mainframe developer. Two are at my present employer and two are at the much larger parent corporation. There is simply no way to compare them, and in the end I think comparing and contrasting them is fruitless. Having a favorite or favored position does me no good unless I receive an offer for that position first.
Twenty years ago I went to work for a utility company, and in the course of the nearly nine years that followed I held a number of positions within that organization. Some were more to my liking than others, but ultimately I was employed and liked my employer. I feel some of the same affinity for my current employer. I’d like to stay, and if that means my title and day-to-day responsibilities change occasionally to something new, then so be it.
No, I don’t care for the “Let’s Make A Deal” aspect of the offer process, but I do, very much, like that I am being given a change to make a deal at all.
The recent upheaval in my employment has knocked me off my emotional center; it is hard to think coherently about my upcoming choice.
Sometime this week, or early next I will be presented with one or more opportunities to accept a new position. The choices as they stand today are, in no particular order:
Like shopping for a new car, each of these seems like a good idea in isolation. Fresh from the test drive of an interview, I’ve been satisfied that I could do the job, that I would like the job, and that I wanted the job.
With the passage of time, or another interview, doubts begin to creep in to my thoughts. That job would have me working in a completely brand new area, technology would change. I’d be in a different building. Adding to the doubt process is the selection process.
Any offers that these interviews generate will come to me on a first come, first served basis. And I have to say yes or no, not knowing if there are others waiting in the wings.
Like a gambler who sits down at the table knowing exactly how much he can wager, and under what conditions he will withdraw from play, I need to have some yardstick, some set of parameters that will allow me to navigate the choices ahead of me. And, like a cautious gambler, I need the resolve to stick to my parameters in the heat of the moment.
I’ve ordered the positions from choicest to least desired in my mind. The ranking was a combination of emotional and intellectual, subjective and objective, factors. But what I haven’t yet come to terms with is the tremendous roll of the dice, should I chose to pass on the first offer made if it is lower in my preferred ordering.
My preferred outcome is that choice number 1 makes the first offer, and that the compensation is within my range. Then the decision is easy. There really aren’t any clearly defined 2nd or 3rd choices as there are too many variables, variables well beyond my ability to control, to list all the combinations.
If my 2nd choice makes the first offer and their compensation is within my range, I think it’s a go. If the compensation is outside of my range, then I don’t know. What if no other offers are made? If I say no, then I have well and truly let go of the bird in the hand for one in the bush - one that got away. What if my least favorite option makes an offer that is in the right compensation range? Even the least desirable position is better than unemployment.
Try as I might, I don’t think there is a strategy that leads me through this process without an element of emotional uncertainty. Each choice has merit, each has some risk, and each has a potential downside. In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell talks at length about the power of making a decision in an instant, relying on instinct and your subconscious, over spending lots of time weighing your options. I think sometimes the best decisions are made with a combination of weighing and instinct. By weighing my options I’ve given my subconscious the data it needs to decide. Now I just need an offer to trigger that instantaneous yes or no reaction.