iTWire – Microsoft strengthens Windows lock-in with JPEG rival
When I saw the above article, I became a little frustrated. As I continued to read, I became just plain ole’ furious. Why do they continue to do this? Don’t they realize that platform lock-in is a bad thing? They started their business off the opposite way. And the openness of the PC is what has brought about the PC revolution and in turn the Internet revolution.
So I’m still on my Orson Scott Card kick and recently finished The Worthing Saga. It’s a collection of stories with a similar theme or at least related from the same concepts.
The main story, previously titled Hot Sleep, but renamed to Hot Sleep: The Worthing Chronicle is very much worth reading. But the other stories (which come after the main story) didn’t really add to the original story and in fact, show several divergences because they are from earlier versions.
SPOILER WARNING: Plot ending and/or details follow.
I’m not sure what the typical engineer deals with each day at work, but lately, I’ve been having way too much “fun.”
The last three weeks have been brutal for me. My team has been working on a new version of our product and everyone has been putting in extra time. I have a different role on our team as the “Life Support Lead.” That was supposed to mean that I lead a team of 2 or 3 in dealing with what we termed “Life Support” issues.
At first, this article made me laugh. But as I continued to read, I realized how very serious they were. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t laugh because I think mothers aren’t worth that. The article indicates that if a mother were to get paid for the many roles she plays at home, she would earn approximately $134,121 annually. That’s for a stay-at-home mom. For mothers that have full-time jobs and then come home to do all the motherly things, they should get an additional $85,876 on top of their actual salary.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about this.
That would make two of my former employers swallowed up by Oracle (PeopleSoft and Novell). At first glance, I didn’t like the thought of Larry Ellison having any type of influence in Happy Valley. But as I considered this more and more, I realized that it might be a really good move for Novell employees.
As much as I agree with Zac, I don’t know that the answer is to just send them all back and make them come here legally. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m not sure I would act any differently given some of their circumstances.
As much respect as I have for the law, in this instance, the law is wrong… or at least not open enough.
But I do agree with Zac that the protestors are going about this all wrong. Mexican flags and chants in Spanish are not a sign of wanting to be American. It’s actually quite devisive. If you are in a country and your protest is all about wanting to stay in that country, then support that country. Show you’re willing to give up a little bit of your nationalism in order to stay in the country.
I was cleaning out my old emails and found the following. It gave me quite the chuckle reading through it again (mostly because my family has been involved in MLM since Amway was still called Amway). So I figured I would share it with others, so here you go:
WardAmerica
by David R. Trottier
My humble plan for the financial salvation and exaltation of every soul who has the sense to sign up.
I have seen a vision. I have become a new man. And boy, am I excited! Not that I was asking for any great blessings, but when your number’s called, hey, you’ve got to go with the flow.
It all began one foggy night on the freeway. I was pondering the difficulties of my stake missionary calling and took a wrong exit. Suddenly I found myself in a dark and dreary suburb. I spotted an iron railing by the sidewalk and followed it right up to a new LDS meetinghouse. On the wall was a sign that read, “WardAmerica. Prosper in the land today!”