[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
That's funny. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: > > I bet EVERYONE here is happy for you and no one is looking forward to seeing you be disappointed. I've often thought you're quite intuitive, avoiding the word psychic which always makes me think of Psychic Friend's Network (-: Thanks for sharing your excitement, not only about Paris but about the work as well. For me, taking the train might be the very best part. I LOVE trains. > > > > From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Monday, March 4, 2013 9:10 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Free Man In Paris v1.04 > > >  > Well, it's beginning to look more like a Done Deal, so I guess I'll > start forwarding these musings to others. *Nothing* can be considered an > absolutely Done Deal when working with the client in question, but it's > looking WAY good, so I'll start posting these cafe rambles as a kind of > occult whammy, the way I used to do in New York after interviewing for > gigs that weren't certain, but that I wanted to be. I'd leave the > interview and celebrate, as if the gig *were* certain; once I even > celebrated by going out and buying a new suit to wear to the job, even > though it hadn't really been formally offered to me yet. It always > worked, so I'll try it again. > > The project itself, having now talked with the project leader, is > exciting, literally the highest-profile, highest-priority project that > the client's got going right now, and one on which its entire future > business plan to some extent depends. I *like* that in a project; it > really helps when you're trying to get something done and run into > obstacles -- all you have to do is invoke the name of the project you're > working on, and the obstacles magically disappear. > > But best, it's in Paris. > > It looks as if I'll rent a small flat there and commute via Eurostar. > From past experience, that's just as fast -- feet in one city center to > feet in another -- as flying, and almost as cheap. The bullet train is > also far more comfortable, because you can get up and wander around, > dine on something more than airline food, and drink good wines in the > Bar Car, conversing with your Netbuddies via WiFi. My kinda commute. :-) > > I'll miss the dogs and the rest of my extended family, of course, but > I'll be home on weekends, and fortunately they have no problem taking > over my dog-walking duties while I'm gone. To be honest, all of the > adult members of the family are already making plans to take regular > jaunts to Paris themselves, the idea of having a free pied-à -terre > there not being exactly anathema to them, either. > > So. A new chapter of the novel -- or pulp fiction or comic book...your > call -- of my life. Cool. Sacré bleu. > > And what's fun, even for the people on this forum who wish me less than > the best, is that it might not even happen. If it doesn't, you'll get to > see me deal with disappointment, and have to keep working from home as > usual. Won't THAT be something to look forward to? :-) >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
Ditto. Best of luck. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Ann" wrote: > > No, it's great Barry. This is the most child like and excited I've ever seen you so I wish you the best and that this job comes through for you. What a cool,cool opportunity. > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: > > > > Well, it's beginning to look more like a Done Deal, so I guess I'll > > start forwarding these musings to others. *Nothing* can be considered an > > absolutely Done Deal when working with the client in question, but it's > > looking WAY good, so I'll start posting these cafe rambles as a kind of > > occult whammy, the way I used to do in New York after interviewing for > > gigs that weren't certain, but that I wanted to be. I'd leave the > > interview and celebrate, as if the gig *were* certain; once I even > > celebrated by going out and buying a new suit to wear to the job, even > > though it hadn't really been formally offered to me yet. It always > > worked, so I'll try it again. > > > > The project itself, having now talked with the project leader, is > > exciting, literally the highest-profile, highest-priority project that > > the client's got going right now, and one on which its entire future > > business plan to some extent depends. I *like* that in a project; it > > really helps when you're trying to get something done and run into > > obstacles -- all you have to do is invoke the name of the project you're > > working on, and the obstacles magically disappear. > > > > But best, it's in Paris. > > > > It looks as if I'll rent a small flat there and commute via Eurostar. > > From past experience, that's just as fast -- feet in one city center to > > feet in another -- as flying, and almost as cheap. The bullet train is > > also far more comfortable, because you can get up and wander around, > > dine on something more than airline food, and drink good wines in the > > Bar Car, conversing with your Netbuddies via WiFi. My kinda commute. :-) > > > > I'll miss the dogs and the rest of my extended family, of course, but > > I'll be home on weekends, and fortunately they have no problem taking > > over my dog-walking duties while I'm gone. To be honest, all of the > > adult members of the family are already making plans to take regular > > jaunts to Paris themselves, the idea of having a free pied-à-terre > > there not being exactly anathema to them, either. > > > > So. A new chapter of the novel -- or pulp fiction or comic book...your > > call -- of my life. Cool. Sacré bleu. > > > > And what's fun, even for the people on this forum who wish me less than > > the best, is that it might not even happen. If it doesn't, you'll get to > > see me deal with disappointment, and have to keep working from home as > > usual. Won't THAT be something to look forward to? :-) > > >
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
On 03/04/2013 11:55 AM, turquoiseb wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: >> On 03/04/2013 09:44 AM, turquoiseb wrote: >>> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: You're lucky at your age a company will hire you. In the US you would be considered "over the hill" regardless of how good you are. Hell, you would be "over the hill" if you were even 20 years younger. That's how screwed up jobs are in the US. They're rather hire someone cheap with 5 years of experience than someone with 6 times even though in the long run it saves money because the person with 5 years experience might take 3 times as long to do the project or screw it up entirely. >>> I understand. The client would not be able to hire me as >>> an employee, because the mandatory retirement age in France >>> would forbid it. But as a consultant I'm fine. Go figure. >>> >>> I also come with a track record that the client values, >>> because the project is so high-profile. I have a proven >>> history of having a Protestant Work Ethic in a country that >>> does not necessarily value them. I simply don't miss project >>> deadlines; never have, in my entire career, and never will, >>> even if I have to invest double the hours they're paying me >>> for to achieve that. >>> >>> Plus, this is a team on which I will be the senior person, >>> working with a number of less experienced people and at >>> least one intern, so they're hoping I'll provide a bit of >>> leadership. And *without* having to be a project leader >>> myself, which is of interest to me, because I've been there >>> done that with that, and I'm a really shitty manager. I'm >>> best as a "hired gun" and as an advisor, and in this gig >>> I'll get to be both, without having to get bogged down in >>> endless meetings and red tape and bureaucracy. >>> >>> All good, as dem Chrisschuns say. :-) >> One thing I noticed though slowly after going back to working >> at home after leaving the software company in the 1990s was >> the lack of social scene. For one thing I only lived a couple >> miles from the company where I had worked so was still invited >> to things and often had a weekly lunch get-togethers at an >> Indian restaurant. Even after some of the other folks who >> worked there got laid off when a larger company acquired >> the company we still got together. So noticing this was slow. >> But eventually the large company closed that office and some >> still working there moved closer to the large company way out >> of this area. What also made it a slow transition was doing >> projects for a friend who was a former worker there who had >> his own software company located in Oakland. Though I did his >> projects as a contractor he would often have some social events. >> I still do projects for him but those are getting fewer and he >> has started using offshore companies such as one in Brazil >> (in fact talked of us flying down there to visit it). > I understand. I left the world of going to an office of my > own volition, after having worked in the offices of ILOG in > Paris for a few years. I still enjoyed the work, but an > opportunity arose that I simply couldn't pass up (to move > to the south of France and live next door to my best friend > and Robert Crumb). So I threw myself on my French company's > mercy and told them first that I was moving, and *then* asked > if they'd allow me to telecommute and continue working for > them. To my everlasting joy, they went for it. So I got to > enjoy life in the south of France, and then Spain, and then > here in the Netherlands, all while working from home, > wherever home might have been at the time. > > That said, did I miss the camaraderie of the folks I knew in > the offices back in Paris? You betcha. The whole social routine > of logging out and going "off the clock" and then continuing to > hang with the people you work with at a cafe or bistro or club > or restaurant was WAY cool, and yes, I missed it to some extent. > That's what I'll be going back to in Paris. I still have many > friends there. > > [snip] > >> So maybe you might enjoy the social atmosphere of the company. >> Personally I hate big businesses as they have "too many rules". > This is definitely Big Business. But I know the rules, and > have no problem following them because, as your acquaintance > who later went to Microsoft said, sometimes the rules make > sense. Actually the rules for developing "shrink wrap" software for consumers were being invented back then. No one knew for sure how you manage companies producing it. If you put too loose a leash on your team you might have a comfortable work environment but you might get bugs and late deadlines. After walking way on my own volition I determined that if I ever managed a group again I was going to be more black and white about expectations. Otherwise your team member tend to get in trouble. > >> Be sure to check out the
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: > > On 03/04/2013 09:44 AM, turquoiseb wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: > > > You're lucky at your age a company will hire you. In the > > > US you would be considered "over the hill" regardless of > > > how good you are. Hell, you would be "over the hill" if > > > you were even 20 years younger. That's how screwed up > > > jobs are in the US. They're rather hire someone cheap with > > > 5 years of experience than someone with 6 times even though > > > in the long run it saves money because the person with 5 > > > years experience might take 3 times as long to do the > > > project or screw it up entirely. > > > > I understand. The client would not be able to hire me as > > an employee, because the mandatory retirement age in France > > would forbid it. But as a consultant I'm fine. Go figure. > > > > I also come with a track record that the client values, > > because the project is so high-profile. I have a proven > > history of having a Protestant Work Ethic in a country that > > does not necessarily value them. I simply don't miss project > > deadlines; never have, in my entire career, and never will, > > even if I have to invest double the hours they're paying me > > for to achieve that. > > > > Plus, this is a team on which I will be the senior person, > > working with a number of less experienced people and at > > least one intern, so they're hoping I'll provide a bit of > > leadership. And *without* having to be a project leader > > myself, which is of interest to me, because I've been there > > done that with that, and I'm a really shitty manager. I'm > > best as a "hired gun" and as an advisor, and in this gig > > I'll get to be both, without having to get bogged down in > > endless meetings and red tape and bureaucracy. > > > > All good, as dem Chrisschuns say. :-) > > One thing I noticed though slowly after going back to working > at home after leaving the software company in the 1990s was > the lack of social scene. For one thing I only lived a couple > miles from the company where I had worked so was still invited > to things and often had a weekly lunch get-togethers at an > Indian restaurant. Even after some of the other folks who > worked there got laid off when a larger company acquired > the company we still got together. So noticing this was slow. > But eventually the large company closed that office and some > still working there moved closer to the large company way out > of this area. What also made it a slow transition was doing > projects for a friend who was a former worker there who had > his own software company located in Oakland. Though I did his > projects as a contractor he would often have some social events. > I still do projects for him but those are getting fewer and he > has started using offshore companies such as one in Brazil > (in fact talked of us flying down there to visit it). I understand. I left the world of going to an office of my own volition, after having worked in the offices of ILOG in Paris for a few years. I still enjoyed the work, but an opportunity arose that I simply couldn't pass up (to move to the south of France and live next door to my best friend and Robert Crumb). So I threw myself on my French company's mercy and told them first that I was moving, and *then* asked if they'd allow me to telecommute and continue working for them. To my everlasting joy, they went for it. So I got to enjoy life in the south of France, and then Spain, and then here in the Netherlands, all while working from home, wherever home might have been at the time. That said, did I miss the camaraderie of the folks I knew in the offices back in Paris? You betcha. The whole social routine of logging out and going "off the clock" and then continuing to hang with the people you work with at a cafe or bistro or club or restaurant was WAY cool, and yes, I missed it to some extent. That's what I'll be going back to in Paris. I still have many friends there. [snip] > So maybe you might enjoy the social atmosphere of the company. > Personally I hate big businesses as they have "too many rules". This is definitely Big Business. But I know the rules, and have no problem following them because, as your acquaintance who later went to Microsoft said, sometimes the rules make sense. > Be sure to check out the season finale" of Enlightened. > Anyones guess at the moment if there will be a season 3. I've downloaded it but have not yet seen it. I have been thoroughly enjoying this season, and feel it's achieved a great deal more depth. I think Mike White is one of the most talented people writing for television, and I certainly hope it's renewed.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
On 03/04/2013 09:44 AM, turquoiseb wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: >> You're lucky at your age a company will hire you. In the >> US you would be considered "over the hill" regardless of >> how good you are. Hell, you would be "over the hill" if >> you were even 20 years younger. That's how screwed up >> jobs are in the US. They're rather hire someone cheap with >> 5 years of experience than someone with 6 times even though >> in the long run it saves money because the person with 5 >> years experience might take 3 times as long to do the >> project or screw it up entirely. > I understand. The client would not be able to hire me as > an employee, because the mandatory retirement age in France > would forbid it. But as a consultant I'm fine. Go figure. > > I also come with a track record that the client values, > because the project is so high-profile. I have a proven > history of having a Protestant Work Ethic in a country that > does not necessarily value them. I simply don't miss project > deadlines; never have, in my entire career, and never will, > even if I have to invest double the hours they're paying me > for to achieve that. > > Plus, this is a team on which I will be the senior person, > working with a number of less experienced people and at > least one intern, so they're hoping I'll provide a bit of > leadership. And *without* having to be a project leader > myself, which is of interest to me, because I've been there > done that with that, and I'm a really shitty manager. I'm > best as a "hired gun" and as an advisor, and in this gig > I'll get to be both, without having to get bogged down in > endless meetings and red tape and bureaucracy. > > All good, as dem Chrisschuns say. :-) One thing I noticed though slowly after going back to working at home after leaving the software company in the 1990s was the lack of social scene. For one thing I only lived a couple miles from the company where I had worked so was still invited to things and often had a weekly lunch get-togethers at an Indian restaurant. Even after some of the other folks who worked there got laid off when a larger company acquired the company we still got together. So noticing this was slow. But eventually the large company closed that office and some still working there moved closer to the large company way out of this area. What also made it a slow transition was doing projects for a friend who was a former worker there who had his own software company located in Oakland. Though I did his projects as a contractor he would often have some social events. I still do projects for him but those are getting fewer and he has started using offshore companies such as one in Brazil (in fact talked of us flying down there to visit it). Like you, my friend knows I'm reliable and have abilities beyond just programming like artwork and music. But that is really a hard sell to someone who doesn't know me at all as they look at you from some wooden concepts they learned at a hiring workshop. Much of those concepts, having been a manager, I threw out as being ridiculous. I was also brought in-house as an employee in to the first software in the early 90s because I was a reliable contractor and the owner suggested me as a technical director. My first hire was a young 20 something programmer who didn't want to listen to me and typically thought he knew everything and much more than I. One day he came into my office and said he had this problem with some code so I went to his computer and immediately pointed out one line of code and said "you need a 'b' there" and proceeded to walk out. He was staring at me in disbelief. What happened was as soon as he told me that problem I recognized it as a very common problem in using that code which was for reading in a graphic. The graphic of course was a binary file and he was opening it as a text file which on DOS would add a character every time it hit the character which for text would be a line feed. Adding the 'b' opened the file in binary mode. That programmer eventually left the company and went to work for Microsoft and wrote back to the my programmers to listen to me because much of what I was having them do was just policy at Microsoft. After he left Microsoft he even wound up as a CTO for a very major company. So maybe you might enjoy the social atmosphere of the company. Personally I hate big businesses as they have "too many rules". Small businesses are fun because you can help build the business and there aren't so many rules. In fact you wind up helping make the rules. Of course in the Bay Area these days telecommuting vs working at the office is a big topic as Melissa Mayer mandated that Yahoo employees, many of whom telecommute, now must work at the office. To me that shows how novice she is about the industry and how programmers work. For one thing some of the telecommuting workers may not eve
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: > > You're lucky at your age a company will hire you. In the > US you would be considered "over the hill" regardless of > how good you are. Hell, you would be "over the hill" if > you were even 20 years younger. That's how screwed up > jobs are in the US. They're rather hire someone cheap with > 5 years of experience than someone with 6 times even though > in the long run it saves money because the person with 5 > years experience might take 3 times as long to do the > project or screw it up entirely. I understand. The client would not be able to hire me as an employee, because the mandatory retirement age in France would forbid it. But as a consultant I'm fine. Go figure. I also come with a track record that the client values, because the project is so high-profile. I have a proven history of having a Protestant Work Ethic in a country that does not necessarily value them. I simply don't miss project deadlines; never have, in my entire career, and never will, even if I have to invest double the hours they're paying me for to achieve that. Plus, this is a team on which I will be the senior person, working with a number of less experienced people and at least one intern, so they're hoping I'll provide a bit of leadership. And *without* having to be a project leader myself, which is of interest to me, because I've been there done that with that, and I'm a really shitty manager. I'm best as a "hired gun" and as an advisor, and in this gig I'll get to be both, without having to get bogged down in endless meetings and red tape and bureaucracy. All good, as dem Chrisschuns say. :-)
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
I both hope you get it, and hope you have resolved all the unkind things you said about French women, the last time you left France. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > Well, it's beginning to look more like a Done Deal, so I guess I'll > start forwarding these musings to others. *Nothing* can be considered an > absolutely Done Deal when working with the client in question, but it's > looking WAY good, so I'll start posting these cafe rambles as a kind of > occult whammy, the way I used to do in New York after interviewing for > gigs that weren't certain, but that I wanted to be. I'd leave the > interview and celebrate, as if the gig *were* certain; once I even > celebrated by going out and buying a new suit to wear to the job, even > though it hadn't really been formally offered to me yet. It always > worked, so I'll try it again. > > The project itself, having now talked with the project leader, is > exciting, literally the highest-profile, highest-priority project that > the client's got going right now, and one on which its entire future > business plan to some extent depends. I *like* that in a project; it > really helps when you're trying to get something done and run into > obstacles -- all you have to do is invoke the name of the project you're > working on, and the obstacles magically disappear. > > But best, it's in Paris. > > It looks as if I'll rent a small flat there and commute via Eurostar. > From past experience, that's just as fast -- feet in one city center to > feet in another -- as flying, and almost as cheap. The bullet train is > also far more comfortable, because you can get up and wander around, > dine on something more than airline food, and drink good wines in the > Bar Car, conversing with your Netbuddies via WiFi. My kinda commute. :-) > > I'll miss the dogs and the rest of my extended family, of course, but > I'll be home on weekends, and fortunately they have no problem taking > over my dog-walking duties while I'm gone. To be honest, all of the > adult members of the family are already making plans to take regular > jaunts to Paris themselves, the idea of having a free pied-à-terre > there not being exactly anathema to them, either. > > So. A new chapter of the novel -- or pulp fiction or comic book...your > call -- of my life. Cool. Sacré bleu. > > And what's fun, even for the people on this forum who wish me less than > the best, is that it might not even happen. If it doesn't, you'll get to > see me deal with disappointment, and have to keep working from home as > usual. Won't THAT be something to look forward to? :-) >
[FairfieldLife] Re: Free Man In Paris v1.04
No, it's great Barry. This is the most child like and excited I've ever seen you so I wish you the best and that this job comes through for you. What a cool,cool opportunity. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: > > Well, it's beginning to look more like a Done Deal, so I guess I'll > start forwarding these musings to others. *Nothing* can be considered an > absolutely Done Deal when working with the client in question, but it's > looking WAY good, so I'll start posting these cafe rambles as a kind of > occult whammy, the way I used to do in New York after interviewing for > gigs that weren't certain, but that I wanted to be. I'd leave the > interview and celebrate, as if the gig *were* certain; once I even > celebrated by going out and buying a new suit to wear to the job, even > though it hadn't really been formally offered to me yet. It always > worked, so I'll try it again. > > The project itself, having now talked with the project leader, is > exciting, literally the highest-profile, highest-priority project that > the client's got going right now, and one on which its entire future > business plan to some extent depends. I *like* that in a project; it > really helps when you're trying to get something done and run into > obstacles -- all you have to do is invoke the name of the project you're > working on, and the obstacles magically disappear. > > But best, it's in Paris. > > It looks as if I'll rent a small flat there and commute via Eurostar. > From past experience, that's just as fast -- feet in one city center to > feet in another -- as flying, and almost as cheap. The bullet train is > also far more comfortable, because you can get up and wander around, > dine on something more than airline food, and drink good wines in the > Bar Car, conversing with your Netbuddies via WiFi. My kinda commute. :-) > > I'll miss the dogs and the rest of my extended family, of course, but > I'll be home on weekends, and fortunately they have no problem taking > over my dog-walking duties while I'm gone. To be honest, all of the > adult members of the family are already making plans to take regular > jaunts to Paris themselves, the idea of having a free pied-à-terre > there not being exactly anathema to them, either. > > So. A new chapter of the novel -- or pulp fiction or comic book...your > call -- of my life. Cool. Sacré bleu. > > And what's fun, even for the people on this forum who wish me less than > the best, is that it might not even happen. If it doesn't, you'll get to > see me deal with disappointment, and have to keep working from home as > usual. Won't THAT be something to look forward to? :-) >
