suboptimal's comments

Upmodded--I think this was sincere advice (wasn't it?).

My advice is to get a temporary e-mail address and put it in your HN profile. I'm sure you'll find some help.

Office of the Future:

http://home.officesnapshots.com/2008/04/07/the-office-of-the...

I've seen a lot of programmers go from writing no tests at all, to TDD (and pair programming, etc.). This extreme shift in behavior makes it seem more like a fad; I prefer a balanced approach. Use what works for you and your team, and if it stops working, do something else.

Watir (Ruby), or for a current project, WatiN (.NET port of Watir).

It's fun to watch.

Good for them. But I think in this situation MS typically swoops in and makes a deal with the customer (and even if it's an unprofitable arrangement, why not keep the other guy from gaining revenue and headlines?).

You are El Gringo,

Regarding the message in your edit, thanks for your post--this is (mostly) a helpful discussion. Just search for the dollar signs (norcalgrrl had a good response, as did a few others).

And good luck with your freelance career!

"every year he tops out at about 60% of his time being billable"

Another general guideline is to estimate 1,000 hours of billable work (which makes it easy to calculate an hourly rate for some amount of desired annual earnings).

"Also, don't forget taxes."

Definitely don't forget the taxes, especially estimated payments. Consider that 40% of that money, once deposited, isn't yours and is untouchable, and you'll be better off.

He's resting.

Wanna hear more! :)

I don't know what an investor should do--I just watch the money move. Money will always flow somewhere, because it has to.

Where will it flow next? Probably wherever it isn't this time.

Right now commodities (a.k.a. "stuff") is getting the attention, as some have predicted for years (someone's always predicting something for years, until it comes true).

Recently: Tech -> Housing -> Stuff -> ?

A problem for people with money to worry about. ;)

Summary: invest in an index fund.

It was pretty cool of the Google v.p. to organize investment seminars. Also interesting to read their list of presenters--the Googleplex is definitely on another planet.

Yeah, legacy COBOL probably equals "huge corporation." I assume, then, that there's an employment agreement covering this scenario.

It's an ethical dilemma, but in my opinion the fundamental right to earn a living (basic economic freedom) trumps the letter of an overly-restrictive contract, _if_ the employee's outside activities don't impact the employer in a material way. That's not law, that's just my opinion, and I realize it could be a bit of a slippery slope. However I just don't see how a company can own an employee's time away from work (again unless the employee is competing in the employer's direct line of business). See the work of Brandeis.

I think he means the PhDs have been flogged by academia longer than the Masters, who thus retain a modicum of self-worth.

I don't know about starting salaries, but DC-area hiring is plentiful, and you should be able to hit $100k in a few years (if not sooner). Of course if you want to be under the bright lights, and not spend your career backstage, then: Go west, young man.

Yeah, it's sort of convincing, isn't it? I have a Canon MP730 that was great, but doesn't talk to Linux or Mac. Faxing's no good since I got rid of the land line a long time ago. Still makes copies. Meh.

Anyway, plastic kills the planet.

Funny it's on go.com.

My interpretation: a perfectly logical argument may convince you to take actions that harm yourself or others, if all you value is intellect (robot builders, please take note).

"Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator, and this must be the heart."

I think your interpretation is spot-on, but I disagree with the quote.

I suspect the author is defining compassion more like "pity" than "patience and understanding" (sympathy, by definition).

A good lesson on why not to hire employees.

Or to own a grocery store, apparently.

Surely someone can cobble such a language together.