Actually the lead story every night is about the gas shortage. The Colonial Pipeline has been off-line since Hurricane Ike and it's the source of all of our gas here in the ATL.
They started up again yesterday, but they're saying it will be the middle of October before we're back to normal.
I met with my former manager for lunch today, she drove 20 miles to meet me, although I offered to meet her half-way. She said she needed to come south to find gas. I'll just bet.
Being in the Bible belt a lot of people are saying that it's the coming of the Apocalypse. No gas, bank failures, markets in free-fall, housing market in the toilet, just waiting for the four horsemen. That's not the Apocalypse, that's just W.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Got Gas?
This is the strangest thing ever. Here in Atlanta there is a gas shortage. This morning on my way to an appointment I passed a QT selling regular unleaded for $3.97 at around noon. There were lines of cars backed up to the street. On my way back to the basement at around one, they were all out of gas.
I filled up last week and I don't drive that much, so I'm good. I encourage James to start looking for gas when he gets down to about a half a tank.
Last week there was a big wreck on 85 that stopped all traffic for about two hours. As bad as that was, dozens of people ran out of gas because of idling in traffic for so long. It's times like these that make me happy that I work from home.
The EPA has allowed stations to start selling less-clean gas, which makes me wonder how that's going to affect engines, but I suppose people have to get where they're going.
A while back James did this blog where he studied the effects of a severe gas shortage and its effects on society. Kind of interesting if you ask me.
People have taken to following tanker trucks around. Kind of awkward if they're full of milk.
Keep on trucking folks!
I filled up last week and I don't drive that much, so I'm good. I encourage James to start looking for gas when he gets down to about a half a tank.
Last week there was a big wreck on 85 that stopped all traffic for about two hours. As bad as that was, dozens of people ran out of gas because of idling in traffic for so long. It's times like these that make me happy that I work from home.
The EPA has allowed stations to start selling less-clean gas, which makes me wonder how that's going to affect engines, but I suppose people have to get where they're going.
A while back James did this blog where he studied the effects of a severe gas shortage and its effects on society. Kind of interesting if you ask me.
People have taken to following tanker trucks around. Kind of awkward if they're full of milk.
Keep on trucking folks!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
What I swore I'd never do again
First of all, a shout out to Scissors. Microsoft, like all fortunes, started with a few crimes. A bit of DOS stealing, snaking Windows from Xerox, that sort of thing.
As for Bell Labs, it was a prestige organization. Bell funded some eggheads to "do science." Very little of it was applicable to actual communications, but it's all very interesting.
As for Lucent (Avaya, ATT Systems, etc.) That's a joke. The old AT&T Equipment used to be ubiquitous, if it wasn't Northern Telecom (now Nortel) it was AT&T. Businesses would buy telephone systems from one of the big two manufacturers and they'd stay that way forever.
Now Cisco, with their IP phones is taking over the market. BellSouth used to have a great relationship with Nortel so in the South you'll find lots and lots of that equipment embedded here.
Avaya is going strong, they have a stronghold at the top of the market with big switches and call center equipment.
Lucent now manufactures large telephone company Central Office equipment. We're all still scratching our heads. I remember in the day that if you went into a C.O. you'd see acres of old switching equipment, rows of clacking switches, blinking lights, old mag tape readers and boxes taking up all the floor space. It's a joke now, with fiber and micro-technologies, all of this is now in once cabinet with some Cisco blades in it. I wouldn't say that the future of telephone equipment was in the C.O., but go Lucent. Love that 5ESS.
Now, to what I swore I'd never do again. Going back to school. When I do a job search I do M.B.A./Atlanta, GA. Usually what I get back is finance and accounting related. I had some of that when I went to Grad School, but it was a smattering of everything and an intensity in not much.
Since our goal is to go to Canada, it occurs to me that if I really want to get out of sales, (and I really, really do,) that what I need to do is to is get some other kind of marketable skill.
I've decided on accounting.
What? Accounting? I already hear the jokes. When I first worked for the phone company I was hired in as a customer service rep. The union and the company offered job placement and aptitude testing and I took them up on it. It was a five week course and I took all kinds of tests. When I went to speak with the counselor she told me, "You have an aptitude and interest in accounting. You already have a bachelors degree, so what if we paid for your M.B.A.?" At first I was resistant, business....ew! But the counselor pointed out that the program met only Friday evenings and Saturdays and that I would complete the program in less than two years. I agreed and I got my degree. So what changed? Nothing.
I worked in Sales and have done since I got my degree in 1994. Has it helped. It's helped me. I can have high level discussions with different departments, and if I've needed a job it's something the hiring manager can check the box on. So I can't complain. However, just an M.B.A. isn't worth a whole lot.
What employers are looking for are Accountants, Finance or Marketing folks, with years of experience and the degree.
It's a man's world and brother (and sister) don't you forget it. Men have told women for years that they would be promoted, if only they had the right education or experience. Then they'd hire some guy who had neither.
Early in my career I was persuaded to do my job in addition to the job of a colleague who was going out on maternity leave. I was promised a promotion and a raise if I did a good job. Like a moron, I did it. I worked my tail off and interestingly enough, I did get promoted. But I was never respected because I was willing to audition for the job. Every time I was promoted people expected me to do the work of at least two people, and because I was so eager to prove myself worthy, I'd do it.
Finally, I caught on and I looked around. People do just fine in business and don't slave away at their jobs. I moved from support to sales and have done pretty well.
Transitioning from sales to some other department proves to be a problem though. First of all, if you're any good at sales, your boss doesn't want you to leave. Secondly, if you've been doing sales you're making an artificially high salary and it's hard to match it. Third, the longer you're in sales the longer you're away from your education, the more forget and the less you know about the latest and greatest stuff.
So I looked into going back to school to get a Bachelors in Accounting. Georgia State has a program and every Accounting core class is offered at night. The company should pay for it, but it's a state school, so if push comes to shove I can pay for it myself.
When I get out I hope to get a job working for an accounting firm, one of the big 4 or however many are left. If I specialize in tax and/or Sar/Ox I can do my job in Canada. And make a nice chunk of change doing it.
So that's the plan.
I always said I'd never go back to school because it buys into that whole, "I need more training" thing that women believe, but I think that in this case that it will be a good thing.
I'd love some feedback!
As for Bell Labs, it was a prestige organization. Bell funded some eggheads to "do science." Very little of it was applicable to actual communications, but it's all very interesting.
As for Lucent (Avaya, ATT Systems, etc.) That's a joke. The old AT&T Equipment used to be ubiquitous, if it wasn't Northern Telecom (now Nortel) it was AT&T. Businesses would buy telephone systems from one of the big two manufacturers and they'd stay that way forever.
Now Cisco, with their IP phones is taking over the market. BellSouth used to have a great relationship with Nortel so in the South you'll find lots and lots of that equipment embedded here.
Avaya is going strong, they have a stronghold at the top of the market with big switches and call center equipment.
Lucent now manufactures large telephone company Central Office equipment. We're all still scratching our heads. I remember in the day that if you went into a C.O. you'd see acres of old switching equipment, rows of clacking switches, blinking lights, old mag tape readers and boxes taking up all the floor space. It's a joke now, with fiber and micro-technologies, all of this is now in once cabinet with some Cisco blades in it. I wouldn't say that the future of telephone equipment was in the C.O., but go Lucent. Love that 5ESS.
Now, to what I swore I'd never do again. Going back to school. When I do a job search I do M.B.A./Atlanta, GA. Usually what I get back is finance and accounting related. I had some of that when I went to Grad School, but it was a smattering of everything and an intensity in not much.
Since our goal is to go to Canada, it occurs to me that if I really want to get out of sales, (and I really, really do,) that what I need to do is to is get some other kind of marketable skill.
I've decided on accounting.
What? Accounting? I already hear the jokes. When I first worked for the phone company I was hired in as a customer service rep. The union and the company offered job placement and aptitude testing and I took them up on it. It was a five week course and I took all kinds of tests. When I went to speak with the counselor she told me, "You have an aptitude and interest in accounting. You already have a bachelors degree, so what if we paid for your M.B.A.?" At first I was resistant, business....ew! But the counselor pointed out that the program met only Friday evenings and Saturdays and that I would complete the program in less than two years. I agreed and I got my degree. So what changed? Nothing.
I worked in Sales and have done since I got my degree in 1994. Has it helped. It's helped me. I can have high level discussions with different departments, and if I've needed a job it's something the hiring manager can check the box on. So I can't complain. However, just an M.B.A. isn't worth a whole lot.
What employers are looking for are Accountants, Finance or Marketing folks, with years of experience and the degree.
It's a man's world and brother (and sister) don't you forget it. Men have told women for years that they would be promoted, if only they had the right education or experience. Then they'd hire some guy who had neither.
Early in my career I was persuaded to do my job in addition to the job of a colleague who was going out on maternity leave. I was promised a promotion and a raise if I did a good job. Like a moron, I did it. I worked my tail off and interestingly enough, I did get promoted. But I was never respected because I was willing to audition for the job. Every time I was promoted people expected me to do the work of at least two people, and because I was so eager to prove myself worthy, I'd do it.
Finally, I caught on and I looked around. People do just fine in business and don't slave away at their jobs. I moved from support to sales and have done pretty well.
Transitioning from sales to some other department proves to be a problem though. First of all, if you're any good at sales, your boss doesn't want you to leave. Secondly, if you've been doing sales you're making an artificially high salary and it's hard to match it. Third, the longer you're in sales the longer you're away from your education, the more forget and the less you know about the latest and greatest stuff.
So I looked into going back to school to get a Bachelors in Accounting. Georgia State has a program and every Accounting core class is offered at night. The company should pay for it, but it's a state school, so if push comes to shove I can pay for it myself.
When I get out I hope to get a job working for an accounting firm, one of the big 4 or however many are left. If I specialize in tax and/or Sar/Ox I can do my job in Canada. And make a nice chunk of change doing it.
So that's the plan.
I always said I'd never go back to school because it buys into that whole, "I need more training" thing that women believe, but I think that in this case that it will be a good thing.
I'd love some feedback!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
More news from the front
So are we in a recession yet?
I started working, for real, full time in 1984, so it's nearly 25 years, a quarter of a century since I entered the work force.
In the wake of all the investment bank failures, company bankruptcies and general business lunacy I was thinking about how different it all was only 25 years ago.
I started my career at MCI. I had dropped out of school and had moved to San Francisco with my family. I was looking for a job and I answered an ad for MCI, they were looking for part time customer service people at $6.00 per hour. I got the job. I remember distinctly thinking, "this will do until something better comes along." It kind of looks like the joke's on me.
So not only is MCI no longer in business, but IBM has materially changed what they do, the big eight accounting firms are on their way to be the big two (PriceCoopersWaterhouseAndersonChickenOfTheSea.) Merrill Lynch (which has a pretty big part in the destruction of MCI) is now Bank of America, Lehman Brothers is just gone and AIG is circling the drain. If you had told me any of this when I started working I wouldn't have believed you.
There's a good reason for that. You actually have to work in a corporation before you can appreciate the dysfunction of the business world.
There are things I had to experience twice to believe that they happened the first time. I think that there's a pervasive myth out there that the heads of business are these geniuses who have amazing instincts are super-intelligent and who have their fingers on the pulse of...something. Lies. All of it lies.
Business doesn't prosper because of it's management, but in spite of it. It's all The Emperor's New Clothes. There's no killer ap, there's no big idea, there's a whole lot of mediocre white guys at the helms of big corporations and they have no idea what's going on any more than you or I do.
My family is from Pittsburgh, home of many self-made men. Men who took advantage of a changing world and built fortunes that have lasted generations. But really, where is US Steel these days? They're USX now, and they've closed most of the mills in the US. Most steel is imported from eastern Europe now. Where's MicroSoft going to be in ten years? They can't have the monopoly forever.
It took monopolies to make these big corporations. AT&T was a giant, a cumbersome, personnel-heavy, monolith. And why not? Who was competing with them? Telegraph? You must be joking.
It's a fact that AT&T actually stopped technology. Would it surprise you to know that wireless technologies have been available since the Carterphone Decision in 1968. When the Internet was young the engineers had to BEG AT&T to get on board with providing the network for data transmissions because no one at Ma Bell could envision what anyone would do with the capability. All that bragging about Telstar and Bell Labs and there was no real innovation until the Modified Final Judgement in 1984, caused by MCI, which is where I came in.
What's changing? Why are all of these huge, venerable corporations crumbling? Is it bad leadership? No. The leadership hasn't changed much. Business was probably more ruthless before the SEC and government agencies started poking their noses in. I'd say that Sarbanes-Oxley might have something to do with it. Business is like sausage and law, you really don't want to see what goes into it. Once Sar-Ox pulled back the curtain, we all saw that there wasn't a great and all powerful wizard, but just a middle-aged guy, working the levers like hell trying to keep the illusion going.
My money is still in the Standard and Poors 500, with a couple of bucks in Argentinian grain (as a hedge.) It'll all come back. I've seen it before and it always does. We forget the lessons of the past, sort of like Groundhog Day. If you just sit above it all, you can watch as people claim that this time the sky really is falling, meanwhile, you can just do what you do knowing that what goes up, comes down, and what is down, must go up.
People still live in Florida, even after Ivan, Wilma, Andrew and other alphabetical demons. The casinos in Biloxi couldn't wait to re-open. People in California pay half a million dollars for a salt box on a fault, can't afford to insure it and are fool-hardy enough to think of their homes as investments.
My goal is to make money when I can, to do as good a job as possible under the circumstances and to have as much fun as possible in the meantime.
I started working, for real, full time in 1984, so it's nearly 25 years, a quarter of a century since I entered the work force.
In the wake of all the investment bank failures, company bankruptcies and general business lunacy I was thinking about how different it all was only 25 years ago.
I started my career at MCI. I had dropped out of school and had moved to San Francisco with my family. I was looking for a job and I answered an ad for MCI, they were looking for part time customer service people at $6.00 per hour. I got the job. I remember distinctly thinking, "this will do until something better comes along." It kind of looks like the joke's on me.
So not only is MCI no longer in business, but IBM has materially changed what they do, the big eight accounting firms are on their way to be the big two (PriceCoopersWaterhouseAndersonChickenOfTheSea.) Merrill Lynch (which has a pretty big part in the destruction of MCI) is now Bank of America, Lehman Brothers is just gone and AIG is circling the drain. If you had told me any of this when I started working I wouldn't have believed you.
There's a good reason for that. You actually have to work in a corporation before you can appreciate the dysfunction of the business world.
There are things I had to experience twice to believe that they happened the first time. I think that there's a pervasive myth out there that the heads of business are these geniuses who have amazing instincts are super-intelligent and who have their fingers on the pulse of...something. Lies. All of it lies.
Business doesn't prosper because of it's management, but in spite of it. It's all The Emperor's New Clothes. There's no killer ap, there's no big idea, there's a whole lot of mediocre white guys at the helms of big corporations and they have no idea what's going on any more than you or I do.
My family is from Pittsburgh, home of many self-made men. Men who took advantage of a changing world and built fortunes that have lasted generations. But really, where is US Steel these days? They're USX now, and they've closed most of the mills in the US. Most steel is imported from eastern Europe now. Where's MicroSoft going to be in ten years? They can't have the monopoly forever.
It took monopolies to make these big corporations. AT&T was a giant, a cumbersome, personnel-heavy, monolith. And why not? Who was competing with them? Telegraph? You must be joking.
It's a fact that AT&T actually stopped technology. Would it surprise you to know that wireless technologies have been available since the Carterphone Decision in 1968. When the Internet was young the engineers had to BEG AT&T to get on board with providing the network for data transmissions because no one at Ma Bell could envision what anyone would do with the capability. All that bragging about Telstar and Bell Labs and there was no real innovation until the Modified Final Judgement in 1984, caused by MCI, which is where I came in.
What's changing? Why are all of these huge, venerable corporations crumbling? Is it bad leadership? No. The leadership hasn't changed much. Business was probably more ruthless before the SEC and government agencies started poking their noses in. I'd say that Sarbanes-Oxley might have something to do with it. Business is like sausage and law, you really don't want to see what goes into it. Once Sar-Ox pulled back the curtain, we all saw that there wasn't a great and all powerful wizard, but just a middle-aged guy, working the levers like hell trying to keep the illusion going.
My money is still in the Standard and Poors 500, with a couple of bucks in Argentinian grain (as a hedge.) It'll all come back. I've seen it before and it always does. We forget the lessons of the past, sort of like Groundhog Day. If you just sit above it all, you can watch as people claim that this time the sky really is falling, meanwhile, you can just do what you do knowing that what goes up, comes down, and what is down, must go up.
People still live in Florida, even after Ivan, Wilma, Andrew and other alphabetical demons. The casinos in Biloxi couldn't wait to re-open. People in California pay half a million dollars for a salt box on a fault, can't afford to insure it and are fool-hardy enough to think of their homes as investments.
My goal is to make money when I can, to do as good a job as possible under the circumstances and to have as much fun as possible in the meantime.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Nice Hat!
I've decided to join the Red Hat Society. Since I'm a few years away from fifty, I'm actually a Pink Hat Lady, but that's cool. I joined with an Internet membership, but I'm hoping someone will approach me locally so I know where I can meet the other ladies for cocktails and Bunko.
Where you been?
I've been out in the sunlight lately!
I took James to the dentist-always an adventure. I've been to the grocery store. But the best place I've been this week has been the lunch I had with some former co-workers at a wonderful lunch spot in Sandy Springs called Joli Kobe.
One lady had recently quit her job, a combination of total disgust with the company and the desire to stay home with her son. No one in their right mind WANTS to stay home with small children, but if your option is either pay someone 2/3 of your salary to watch your kid while you work, you had better LOVE your job, and frankly I don't know too many people at my job who feel that way.
I certainly don't. Although it was a very busy week and I had that really competent feeling that I get when I'm churning out the pricing, contracts and orders while being fabulous at talking with my customers. Example?
Customer: I know we have an installation today, what is the name of the tech who will be dispatching and what time will he arrive?
Me (after stifling laughter): Uh, it doesn't work that way. You know how we're famous for "our tech will be out sometime between now and Christmas?" Then. And his name is Bubba.
You know, being hilariously straight up about the situation, because really, how can anyone keep a straight face?
The bulbs in our ceiling fixtures keep burning out. We replaced the former owners, mismatched, hideola, bug-filled fixtures with some cheap contractor grade lighting. They hold two bulbs apiece. For some reason one burns out immediately and the other flickers menacingly. I can hear Jason in his goalie mask sneaking up on me. Lighting is a big deal in the basement. I have windows, but it's been so overcast and dark lately.
I think we need to reconfigure the desk. I have a twenty-five year old Danish modern desk that can double as a table (and it has.) It's not exactly ergonomic; and with both the desktop and work laptop, things do get a bit scrunched up here. Although the new chair is working out great.
So we head into the weekend. I would like to go to the movies, but I don't think that there's anything James wants to see. I'm a film buff and I'm excited to see the remake of The Women. I understand that it's not as good as the original, but what ever is?
I took James to the dentist-always an adventure. I've been to the grocery store. But the best place I've been this week has been the lunch I had with some former co-workers at a wonderful lunch spot in Sandy Springs called Joli Kobe.
One lady had recently quit her job, a combination of total disgust with the company and the desire to stay home with her son. No one in their right mind WANTS to stay home with small children, but if your option is either pay someone 2/3 of your salary to watch your kid while you work, you had better LOVE your job, and frankly I don't know too many people at my job who feel that way.
I certainly don't. Although it was a very busy week and I had that really competent feeling that I get when I'm churning out the pricing, contracts and orders while being fabulous at talking with my customers. Example?
Customer: I know we have an installation today, what is the name of the tech who will be dispatching and what time will he arrive?
Me (after stifling laughter): Uh, it doesn't work that way. You know how we're famous for "our tech will be out sometime between now and Christmas?" Then. And his name is Bubba.
You know, being hilariously straight up about the situation, because really, how can anyone keep a straight face?
The bulbs in our ceiling fixtures keep burning out. We replaced the former owners, mismatched, hideola, bug-filled fixtures with some cheap contractor grade lighting. They hold two bulbs apiece. For some reason one burns out immediately and the other flickers menacingly. I can hear Jason in his goalie mask sneaking up on me. Lighting is a big deal in the basement. I have windows, but it's been so overcast and dark lately.
I think we need to reconfigure the desk. I have a twenty-five year old Danish modern desk that can double as a table (and it has.) It's not exactly ergonomic; and with both the desktop and work laptop, things do get a bit scrunched up here. Although the new chair is working out great.
So we head into the weekend. I would like to go to the movies, but I don't think that there's anything James wants to see. I'm a film buff and I'm excited to see the remake of The Women. I understand that it's not as good as the original, but what ever is?
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