Archives: work
- Outlook 2007 & Gcal
I’m one of those stiffs who loves his Powerbook, but is forced by necessity (and Corporate IT) to work in Windows XP and Outlook all day. Meeting requests come in and tasks are assigned, all using Outlook. However, because I rely so much on Gmail in my personal life, I store personal events online with Google Calendar. Everything works seamlessly on my mac, as Apple’s iCal software allows subscriptions. But there is no way to get Outlook 2003 to sync or share data in the iCalendar format… in fact, I think that Outlook stores its information in some Microsoft proprietary... - Productivity
I may diss Microsoft Windows as a home Mac user, but I’ve always thought that it is a more productive OS. Working in a corporate environment on a Mac is still such a headache, probably because corporate IT is so built around MS technologies. Whatever the reason, I get things done on my work PC. Dual-Display It’s no secret that designers love screen real estate — but, everyone can benefit from more desktop space. There was an article in the NY Times just last week. The company I work for is notoriously frugal, shall we say… so, a while back,... - Latitude
Well, I feel a bit guilty about this, but they gave me a laptop at work this week… a Dell Latitude C640, 1GB RAM, 40MB GB HD, etc. Why do I feel guilty? Well, my friend used it until she quit last week… so, it feels like someone else’s PC. Now, I can VPN in, and work at home! Hooray! “sacrilege” on Flickr.... - Trados 6.5 dongle
For 2 years, working in Localization, I had to scramble around for a Trados dongle whenever I had to do some analysis or Translation Memory maintenance. Though I work for a major localization vendor, with global offices and almost 2000 employees, we still had to share dongles… expensive little buggers. Today, however, I finally received my own. I was so accustomed to the old Parallel-port version, that I was excited to get my hands on the smaller USB one. Only problem is, now I can’t use the excuse “I don’t have a dongle”, when my boss asks why I’m not... - October Scare - 2000 Redux
What happens when you're a new publicly-traded company, and you announce that you're not going to meet the quarterly projections? Stock free-fall. * *Bad news*? Lay-offs and termination. 10 people at our site, about 10%. * *Good news*? They fired some really useless people. Also, the only team mentioned in the meeting as doing _well_, was my team and my project. Whew. Still, it is scary-- like it's the year 2000 all over again. Strangely, I wore my defunct _dot com_ fleece jacket to work today. What a bad omen.... - Backup
My boss is "Out of Office":http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;311107 again this week, so suddenly Project Managers are turning to _me_ in meetings, and asking the tough questions. It's been interesting... and _gratifying_, to know that I can manage to sound articulate and knowledgeable, when called upon.... - Old Times...
Presley and I were invited out last night with my old boss, who is visiting Boston on holiday from his teaching gig in Japan. It was the usual shitty service at the Enormous Room, and then across the street for a little rock n' roll Upstairs, courtesy A.M. Stereo and The Glow. A.M. Stereo was fun, Indie post-punk -- each member singing in turn, (except the drummer, who looked like something out of Spinal Tap). The Glow was a tighter, keyboard-driven, cross-over ska outfit, which I really enjoyed -- their guitarist reminded me of Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse... decide... - Doppelganger
Apparently, I have an evil twin in my office building... people keep telling me that they say "hello" to me, and I act as if I don't know who the hell they are. Doppelganger!... - W32.Welchia.Worm
It's worm week here at my workplace. The lastest little virus is the W32.Welchia.Worm, which has attacked our internal servers here, and spread like wild fire. The funny thing about this virus, is that it's purpose seems to be to clean up last weeks' mess, the MS Blast worm. The Welchia goes into a system, deletes the MSBlast virus, and tries to download a patch from Windows Update. How friendly! At least it's a friday -- maybe we can all get out of here.... - Delivery Nights
We have to deliver stuff to that certain $oftware company at 7am, and, here we are, still at work, at midnight -- trying our damnedest. This certain $oftware company is a stickler about scheduling. So, on this 18+ hour work day, I had BBQ for dinner, a few coffees, a diet coke, and 2 beers (gotta love it when the senior manager invites you to make use of his mini-fridge). And it's 93 degrees in this fucking place. I feel like There's More to Life Than This.... - Looking at the Work Week Through the Eyes of a Gigolo
When I leave work tonight, I will submit a timesheet that, on sum, will be greater than 90 hours for this week. 90 hours. My co-worker Akiko will exceed 100 hours. I know we get paid by the hour, but doesn't that strike you as a high-tech sweatshop?... - Job Update
Just a little update on my current employment -- I'm being taken off "contract" status, and made a temporary employee, which is terrific news. That means I don't need to submit for a P.O. every week, which takes around a decade to process. I need cashola. Unemployment ran out in September, don't even ask me how I live. And the sad thing is, since I've got this gig, I've been spending like a madman. Good thing, that. UPDATE: Miria, another contractor that I shared my cube with, quit today. I don't think she liked sitting in front of a computer... - Shoddy Flash
So, my new job involves localizing and updating Flash demos of products by a popular software corporation. The original english files were produced by said corporation, and I'm surprised at how truly spotty they are. We were given a specification document to use as a reference, yet the original files rarely match their own spec. So I find myself rebuilding the movies, tweaking and writing action-script, and debugging... more than just swapping out a little English for Spanish. It's hard to imagine how these things get past their quality assurance people-- the english movies are being used with the general... - Damn the Flavia Machine
I'm absolutely addicted to the Flavia machine here. $0.50 a cup, but a cup is like 6 oz. It's Yum. UPDATE: Note to self: Cafeteria closes at 1:30. You will not eat a late lunch, unless Dorito's and Ramen out of a machine count.... - A New Era
Today marks a change-- I'm finally _working_ again, albeit as a contractor, for a localization company west of Boston. Which means several things: # 1. It actually matters when I get up in the morning # 2. I have somewhere to be # 3. I am in charge of some other people # 4. The words "Flash" and "Specialist" are part of my job title # 5. I have a cafeteria that sells all kinds of hot and cold meals, very cheaply # 6. I like everyone I meet here # 7. My deadlines are intense, and there are whispers... - Fire up the Flash Skills
Good news, mes camarades! Just when I thought my job search had hit another record low, a woman from a multimedia localization company contacted me to do some Flash work. They take English multimedia and websites, and translate them for international audiences. Then they hire people to swap out the english for the Japanese, Spanish, etc. It sounds like grunt work, but I'm just happy to say that I have another interview for next week.... - A Kick in the stomach
Yes, so the other shoe dropped today, as I found out that I finished in second place for the BHCC job. I kind of knew last week, when I called a woman there who was, up until then, giving me terrific signals. She acted very stand-offish, but polite on the phone, and I should have guessed what message was being conveyed. The VP for Communications, the big man, said that they went with someone who had more experience, (yet the person in the position now has no experience, design or technical, in making websites). I really want to wring some... - Jobs, Followup...
Well, after much calling and emailing, I've finally heard that MIT hired an internal candidate for the position I was in the running for. I made it so far, out of a pool of over 100... seems like I was owed a phone call, but apparently not. So, my energies shift to focus on the BHCC job. Options are running out!... - Jobs, etc.
I am starting to think I should create a 'jobs' category in moveable type... but i've got a lot of news lately in that regard. I had 2 final-round interviews today, at MIT and BHCC. In the very unlikely event that I manage to be offered both jobs, it would be a difficult choice... I like both sets of people very much. I can walk to MIT, but BHCC is a great opportunity as well. I don't want to get ahead of myself, though. Wish a brotha luck.... - Dear Sir/Madam
Meg Hourihan said: It's no wonder we're seeing an increase in unemployment, people seem to have no idea how to apply for a job these days. Recent personal experience has shown me that there are a lot of qualified, talented people in the Boston area-- and believe it or not, I think that most know how to address their cover letters. Though I agree with what Ms. Meg says, I do know how to write proper cover letters, and I also know how to market my work to stand out (my professional work is entirely seperate from Suckahs, and this... - More Work
Here's a story, since I don't have much to say today: I applied to a job at a department at Tufts. Heard nothing. A freelance client of mine forwarded me an email from a developer at the Tufts department that I applied to, in which he points out a security hole in my client's site. No wonder I never heard... I guess they weren't impressed. There are two ways of dealing with this, learning some new php coding, like how to flatten dynamic pages... OR, convert the entire site to make use of MySQL, free of charge. Days of work,... - Interviews with a Geek
Guess who got an interview with MIT for a job? Yours truly. I am still waiting for the perfect job at Simmons College to call me back. They have OS X G4s and 22" Cinema Displays there, and, well, it's a girls' college.... - Sleep, Interrupted...
So the past week as been horribly spent, in the form of all-nighters, working on my new portfolio site and resume. I really need a job like I need a money tree. The new identity, website and resume are pretty cool, I have to admit... especially the business cards and letterhead... I wish I could link it here, but I want to always keep work and play seperate. Those of you who know me, probably know where to look... if you don't know me and you're interested in hiring me, christ man! email me. The cool thing about the resume... - Slag
Sometimes I get the feeling that people just don't read me right... or maybe I don't read them. It seems to me that people feel okay saying incredibly rude things to me-- things that they don't expect to come out as rude, however when it happens they seem completely surprised by their choice of words. I don't get it. For example, when I was working at an internet services firm last year, upon shaking a client's hand, he remarked something like "Jesus, what are you, still in college? This looks like the B-team. You look 18." To which his partner... - Freelance Neddie
I got some good news today! I've been working on a website for two women starting a new business, and it's going well (nearly complete). They are so great. Anyway, they passed my name on to someone at Accenture, and it looks like I'll be doing a website for a small group over there. The details need to be worked out, but I'm excited (cos it pays quite well!). Is it bad to want to buy a couple of $4 bottles of champagne at the corner and celebrate? By myself?... - Sometimes i feel undervalued.
Sometimes i feel undervalued.... - firmlist
my group director seona introduced me to the firm list... it is interesting to see what other designers are up to. i've never seen a better directory of 'firms' out there, so buckle-up grandma.... - all work and no play
all work and no play makes neddy a dull boy .... just don't start chopping up bathroom doors with axes while we're in the middle of nowhere new york...... - God bless the dirty, rumor-filled
God bless the dirty, rumor-filled underside of the dot-com revolution....
All
Technorati Profile