What to do when there is nothing to do
-
I thought I was the only one left in this field who has been in it for more than 30 years. Nice to see another has made it this long... Steve
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
Hey Steve, Dunno what else I'd do at this point. I still like to write code just as much as I did back when I started. Obviously the tools are different now and I can't do it until 3AM like I used to, but coding is still coding. I doubt I'd have approached six-figures doing anything else. I always tell the kids - just find something you really want to do and let the money take care of itself. Seems to work. -Max :D
-
Hey Steve, Dunno what else I'd do at this point. I still like to write code just as much as I did back when I started. Obviously the tools are different now and I can't do it until 3AM like I used to, but coding is still coding. I doubt I'd have approached six-figures doing anything else. I always tell the kids - just find something you really want to do and let the money take care of itself. Seems to work. -Max :D
Max... What type of coding do you like to do? Steve
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
You are lucky... I have been at a client for close to 10 months. I have completed numerous projects at their request and not a single one has entered into production. For whatever reason as soon as I near completion on a project they come up with a reason as to why they can't implement it. Sort of reminds me of the English pilot in "Shogun"... Its a pay-check so I don't complain...
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Along those same lines, I was at a client for 14 months, did 3 projects and none of them got implemented. They paid $1.5 million for some specialized software, paid me for 14 months and another consultant for 7 and threw away the results. How Odd?
At my last position I was a full-time employee. I worked mostly as a technical lead in the New York branch on a project that had approximately 10 technicians assigned to it at a cost of around 1.6 million a year. At most, the product only pulled in about $140,000.00 a year. I assume with the economy it is less now. and they still have about 7 or 8 technicians assigned to it... Go figure...
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Max... What type of coding do you like to do? Steve
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Hey Steve, I like to write code for just about anything but I'm strongest in business-intelligence coding. My primary job right now is building and maintaining a rules engine that drives our time and attendance application. -Max
Hi Max... I am currently working on developing a complete SharePoint web interface application for my client. I have gotten quite a bit accomplished and the application is working quite nicely. However, working with SharePoint is not for the "feint of heart". The documentation is atrocious both for its web-services and API. And half the time you are not sure which version the documentation is referring to, 2.0 or 3.0 (I am implementing this work against 3.0). And the technical sites are for the most part simply terrible since most people involved with SharePoint development have all approached it from the same messy vantage point as I have. As a result, a tremendous amount of time has to be spent on research. I am also in the process of developing my own document management application that I believe will be far more efficient than SharePoint for small to medium-sized companies. Besides, the full SharePoint Portal Server is terribly expensive to implement. I want to implement my document management application against Postgwill preSQL so that it can be implemented in a fully open-source environment. And this leads me to my next set of projects, which involves developing database access layers for a number of databases I am interested in working with. Two are already complete and are available for download if you are interested at the following link... http://databasedals.codeplex.com/
I am trying to get my Oracle version released as well but have been having trouble completing the documentation from a lack of time. Hopefully, I'll get that done in the next few weeks as it robably be quite popular... Of course, none of this includes my planned game-development projects... At close to 60 I am still an addict for this stuff...Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Hi Max... I am currently working on developing a complete SharePoint web interface application for my client. I have gotten quite a bit accomplished and the application is working quite nicely. However, working with SharePoint is not for the "feint of heart". The documentation is atrocious both for its web-services and API. And half the time you are not sure which version the documentation is referring to, 2.0 or 3.0 (I am implementing this work against 3.0). And the technical sites are for the most part simply terrible since most people involved with SharePoint development have all approached it from the same messy vantage point as I have. As a result, a tremendous amount of time has to be spent on research. I am also in the process of developing my own document management application that I believe will be far more efficient than SharePoint for small to medium-sized companies. Besides, the full SharePoint Portal Server is terribly expensive to implement. I want to implement my document management application against Postgwill preSQL so that it can be implemented in a fully open-source environment. And this leads me to my next set of projects, which involves developing database access layers for a number of databases I am interested in working with. Two are already complete and are available for download if you are interested at the following link... http://databasedals.codeplex.com/
I am trying to get my Oracle version released as well but have been having trouble completing the documentation from a lack of time. Hopefully, I'll get that done in the next few weeks as it robably be quite popular... Of course, none of this includes my planned game-development projects... At close to 60 I am still an addict for this stuff...Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
Hey Steve,
Steve Naidamast wrote:
At close to 60 I am still an addict for this stuff...
Heh ... I know what you mean. I'm almost 52 myself and I still don't think there's much of anything else I'd do for a living. I've gotten too used to creating code to make stuff work. I got my private pilot certificate back in 2005 - if I were starting over I might look at that as a career path but the conditions out there now aren't at-all what it was in the 60's. At this point my main job is so slow that I've got tons of dead time. So I'm building a black-box component that I'm planning to sell in a few years. Working on it is accomplishing several things. A) Keeping me busy when the company doesn't. B) Strengthening my .Net (C#) knowledge and C) creating something I've been thinking about for a number of years. I dunno if I'll ever make any money from the thing but, if nothing else, I will have enhanced my skill set. -Max
-
Hey Steve,
Steve Naidamast wrote:
At close to 60 I am still an addict for this stuff...
Heh ... I know what you mean. I'm almost 52 myself and I still don't think there's much of anything else I'd do for a living. I've gotten too used to creating code to make stuff work. I got my private pilot certificate back in 2005 - if I were starting over I might look at that as a career path but the conditions out there now aren't at-all what it was in the 60's. At this point my main job is so slow that I've got tons of dead time. So I'm building a black-box component that I'm planning to sell in a few years. Working on it is accomplishing several things. A) Keeping me busy when the company doesn't. B) Strengthening my .Net (C#) knowledge and C) creating something I've been thinking about for a number of years. I dunno if I'll ever make any money from the thing but, if nothing else, I will have enhanced my skill set. -Max
Hi Max... I know what you mean... I was flying aircraft before I was driving cars. I got my solo ticket when I was 17 and had wanted to be a fighter pilot. But 'Nam came along and the training I was receiving in university ROTC was so bad I had this terrible feeling that I wasn't going to come back so I dropped out. I was also cheated out of a promotion to sergeant in ROTC as the instructor didn't like the fact that I knew more about the US Air Force at the time than he did... As I had said earlier, I keep myself very busy with my own projects. Like the other work I have done for my client I don't see them using my SharePoint web interface so I am looking at selling it as well. I have a bit left to do on it but it is working quite nicely. Like you, I am just keeping a chair warm for my client as the token "60 year old" so they won;t get into any trouble over their "lack of diversity" from the government. Practically the entire company is under 30 except for maybe 2 or 3 people, me included...
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Hi Max... I know what you mean... I was flying aircraft before I was driving cars. I got my solo ticket when I was 17 and had wanted to be a fighter pilot. But 'Nam came along and the training I was receiving in university ROTC was so bad I had this terrible feeling that I wasn't going to come back so I dropped out. I was also cheated out of a promotion to sergeant in ROTC as the instructor didn't like the fact that I knew more about the US Air Force at the time than he did... As I had said earlier, I keep myself very busy with my own projects. Like the other work I have done for my client I don't see them using my SharePoint web interface so I am looking at selling it as well. I have a bit left to do on it but it is working quite nicely. Like you, I am just keeping a chair warm for my client as the token "60 year old" so they won;t get into any trouble over their "lack of diversity" from the government. Practically the entire company is under 30 except for maybe 2 or 3 people, me included...
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
Hey Steve,
Steve Naidamast wrote:
Like you, I am just keeping a chair warm for my client as the token "60 year old" so they won;t get into any trouble over their "lack of diversity" from the government. Practically the entire company is under 30 except for maybe 2 or 3 people, me included...
LOL! Well ... my company isn't keeping me for political reasons, fortunately. I just happen to be the one of the Subject Matter Experts. I happen to be the only one who knows how the core logic of the product works. I and my next "door" companion call our little section "The Geriatric Ward". -Max :-)
-
Hey Steve,
Steve Naidamast wrote:
Like you, I am just keeping a chair warm for my client as the token "60 year old" so they won;t get into any trouble over their "lack of diversity" from the government. Practically the entire company is under 30 except for maybe 2 or 3 people, me included...
LOL! Well ... my company isn't keeping me for political reasons, fortunately. I just happen to be the one of the Subject Matter Experts. I happen to be the only one who knows how the core logic of the product works. I and my next "door" companion call our little section "The Geriatric Ward". -Max :-)
Hey Max... So I am a "political football"? At this point in the game who cares as long as it brings in a paycheck... I have to admit all of their brain-dead assignments have been quite interesting and I have been able to add quite a bit to the old resume as a result. Besides, I can still out do most of the "youngins" in this field without even breaking as sweat considering that most have no idea how to build a complete application or system.
Steve Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
Hey Max... So I am a "political football"? At this point in the game who cares as long as it brings in a paycheck... I have to admit all of their brain-dead assignments have been quite interesting and I have been able to add quite a bit to the old resume as a result. Besides, I can still out do most of the "youngins" in this field without even breaking as sweat considering that most have no idea how to build a complete application or system.
Steve Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
Hey Steve, Heh ... I didn't exactly mean to call you a "political football" - but then again, you called yourself the "token old guy" so I guess if the cleats fit! :-)
Steve Naidamast wrote:
Besides, I can still out do most of the "youngins" in this field without even breaking as sweat considering that most have no idea how to build a complete application or system.
I hear ya. Same here. Most of the "younguns" seem to be sharp - they know all the buzzwords - but when I look at some of the code they produce I often wonder why our application works at all. The concept of SIMPLICITY in code doesn't seem to exist. -Max :-)