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Planning for the future

Ever have those days where you wonder if your job is right for you anymore? Maybe it's not so much about what you're working on, but where you're working on it. I the first engineer who left (when I first got hired back in '98!) told me one of the reasons he was leaving was because, after being at a place for so long, everybody knows your history. You can't go back and hope to erase your mistakes of the past, you can't get rid of your habits there. It's just better to move on. At the time, it made almost no sense to me...now I know too well what he means.

So, there's always time for wondering, if I was to pick a new job or pickup some new studies, what would I do? Here's some of my options. Some realistic, some not so.

• Switch to a tech company that works exclusively on email abuse software and solutions.
  
• Find a job working specifically on linux and bsd security. Maybe system hardening, or rollout of security applicances (snort on dreamcast!)
  
• Work at a paintball store or company. I actually got offered a job at a store...pay doesn't compare unfortunately.
  
• Go to cooking school. I never cook anymore, but, I don't know, that would be an interesting diversion I think.
  
• Try teaching computer science. It's not like teachers are in great supply.
  
• Consult. If only I was more motivated and business savvy.
  
• Try to figure out how exactly to write music. It's still a mystery
  
• Do nothing...drain the bank account slowly.
  

posted by Brendon at 5:07 PM

 
How Spam destroyed some joy

As you may know, I hate spam. One of the reasons I hate spam is because I work at an ISP and try to control net abuse on the part of our users. Let me tell you, most days it feels like a losing battle.

Personally, there's a reason I really loathe spam that is rarely shared by others in anti-spam discussions. When I used to check mail, and would see the little "new mail" icon, it almost always meant a friend had emailed me. It was exciting, who doesn't like hearing from friends? Now though, it means there's about a 30% chance that an unsolicited email has made it past an excellent, though not 100% accurate, spam filter. Looking at the contents of the inbox, it's oh so easy to weed out the spam, I don't care all that much. But the joy of "new mail" is mostly gone.

Living in California, if I had the brains, time, training, and guts, I'd probably start suing spammers.
posted by Brendon at 4:01 PM

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