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 INFYMUS .COM
© 2006-2008
Michael S. Hoenie
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PLEASE NOTE:
If you have reached this page from an outside source such as an Internet Search or forum
referral, please note that this page (the one you just landed on) is an
archive containing articles on
"EMPLOYMENT"
from a Blogger named Infymus. This website,
INFYMUS.COM
- is a blog belonging to INFYMUS.
Click Here to visit the main blog page.
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EMPLOYMENT
Total Articles:
9
This topic covers Infymus work related items.
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| | First Day On The Job At PSI
Posted: Dec 29, 2003, at 06:19 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus |  | |
Today was my first day on the job at Priority Solutions. I wasn't impressed. It's nothing like Proquest. The entire company is cramped into this little room with three year old computers (1.4ghz machines with 256mb memory on 17 monitors). I didn't get a single thing done today except peruse the network and look at some of the documentation. Tried out the program Psiam a few times, but wasn't impressed. Then later in the day, two of the coders got in a heated argument over what needed to be done with a particular project. The manager was insistent that the project needed to be done on time, while the developer was arguing that it should be done a particular way. I left at 4:30pm.
So far I'm not impressed, but I must give it more time. No cubes, no nice fat 2.5ghz machines with 1gig memory and dual monitors. Bad chair, bad tables, bad lighting. I'm really not sure if it is my thing, but we'll have to see. It is a job, and it does pay $65,000 a year. That's still 10,500 a year less than Proquest, but it's still very modest - in fact, it's the same salary that I went into Proquest making. Wow, 10,500 raise in 2.5 years at PQE wasn't bad.
So we shall see. I'm irritable right now and I have to get up and make dinner for my wife and baby.
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| | Infymus, A Very Tiny Bio
Posted: Dec 10, 2006, at 12:16 PM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
Infymus, aka Michael S. Hoenie, is the owner and operator of Infymus.COM.
Michael has operated Bulletin Board Systems from 1982 to 1993. In 1995 he moved from the BBS world to the Internet now running five separate full-time websites.
Michael has been programming computers since early 1982. Michael started with the TI-994a, then to the Atari 800, the Apple II and then into the IBM PC and PC Compatibles. An avid programmer, he has been working in Pascal since 1984 and Delphi since 1996. He makes his living along the Wasatch Front coding various projects for clients ranging in the Title Industry, Automotive, College Book Store Software and recently the Medical Industry. Michael's passion has always been computers and gaming. Michael is one of the most experienced Delphi Engineers in Utah.
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| | London Ambulance CAD Interface
Posted: Feb 1, 2006, at 05:21 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
Last week I finished up a TCP transport protocol to interact with an Computer Ambulance Dispatch [CAD] program that is in England.
London Ambulance is one of the largest ambulance services in the world and I'm writing a transport protocol between our program and theirs to pass medical triage cases to and from it.
It's pretty cool. The CAD system sends TCP/ip messages to my code. My code translates the message into a triageable (medical) call and imports it into our system. When the call is finished, it sends information back to the CAD system letting it know.
I'll always be a coder.
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| | Is It Done Yet?
Posted: Aug 2, 2006, at 07:12 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
At work I manage a great group of developers. It includes 3 Delphi guys (including myself), 2 Q&A guys and 1 database guy.
I often joke to my colleagues the phrase, "Is it done yet?" since that was parroted to me so many times in my past as a developer.
So Matt, courtesy of The Cup Joke, has created the following image for me. Thanks Matt.
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| | The Pointy Haired Boss
Posted: Aug 19, 2006, at 09:04 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
At work I have been given the pointy haired boss doll. As you can see, it sits on the end of my PC. Here I am relaxing on a Friday afternoon eyeballing my database guy.
Is it done yet?
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| | The Office MMOG
Posted: Aug 23, 2006, at 03:50 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
RocketJuice, my DB guy and I were chatting on IM one day when a manager walked over and began talking to one of the coders. Suddenly the following conversation broke out between RocketJuice and I:
(12:38:12) Infymus: ron suffers 15 points of managment damage
(12:38:23) Infymus: ron suffers 23 points of managment damage
(12:39:17) RocketJuice: LOL
(12:39:12) Infymus: ron casts sigh
(12:39:34) RocketJuice: ron's resist middle manager absorbs 12 management damage
(12:39:06) Infymus: ron casts dispell manager
(12:39:03) RocketJuice: manager casts request TPS report
(12:39:04) Infymus: manager dies
(12:39:05) RocketJuice: LOL
The manager then turned his attention to Manny:
(14:16:51) Infymus: manager hits manny for +12 damage
(14:17:10) RocketJuice: manny's feign death is resisted by manager
(14:17:33) Infymus: manager's trump card of "always worked before" hits manny for +200 crit
(14:17:44) RocketJuice: manny's health is low
(14:18:07) Infymus: manny casts doubt, causing both managers to argue among themselves
(14:18:30) RocketJuice: manager's "mkay" damages all Manny's items. 10% durability penalty.
(14:19:07) RocketJuice: Manny casts dispel managers. Manager resists Manny's dispel manager.
(14:19:24) RocketJuice: Manager attempts to run away in fear.
(14:21:10) Infymus: manager casts doubt on manny
(14:21:19) Infymus: manny casts compare on manager
(14:21:23) RocketJuice: manny attempts to explain himself
(14:21:45) Infymus: manager casts twiddle glasses, causing 10 damage
(14:21:46) RocketJuice: manny's autolookup spell GPFs and inflicts 120 code damage to him.
(14:22:15) RocketJuice: Manager casts recollect "the phone pad incident"
(14:22:18) RocketJuice: Manny quavers.
(14:22:31) Infymus: manny calls out for healing
(14:22:57) RocketJuice: Manny realizes his friends quit World of Managementcraft last week and cries.
(14:25:07) Infymus: manny dies
(14:25:20) RocketJuice: manny takes a dirt nap
(14:25:24) Infymus: manager loots manny's corpse taking manny's pen protector
(14:25:28) RocketJuice: lol
(14:25:38) RocketJuice: and his souvenir aussie pen
(14:25:41) Infymus: and his breath mints
(14:26:43) RocketJuice: Infymus casts headphones rank 6. Manager is now being completely ignored.
(14:27:05) RocketJuice: Alma takes 250 damage from John's middle management aura.
(14:27:12) Infymus: oh noes
(14:28:14) Infymus: manny returns to his corpse, rezzes and /rasps manager
(14:28:30) RocketJuice: Manager aggroes
(14:28:45) RocketJuice: Manny needs a fresh pair of pants
(14:33:11) Infymus: manny aggros manager
(14:33:33) RocketJuice: Manny's bird aggroes all the managers in the room. Bird dies.
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| | What It Is Like To Be A Software Development Manager
Posted: Dec 6, 2006, at 07:03 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
Being the manager of a software development company is a difficult task. When you are just an employee, you only need to worry about what is assigned to you and when it is to be completed. You spend your time working on the project that someone else has created for you, and follow that project and get your work done to make sure you get your project done when you have committed to having it done.
When you are a manager, it is far different.
Now you are responsible for the entire development department. You have to watch out for all of your employees under to you to make sure they are all getting the work assigned to them completed. You have to report to upper management on the status of work being done. You have create and maintain reports based on project management, employee time tracking, customer problems / technical support and a host of other items.
The sole responsibility of the department falls on my shoulders. Not only do I have to get my own work assigned to me done, I also have to make sure that everyone else on my team is getting their work done.
I have been a manager now for six months and it always surprises me things that I learn about those I manage - those who I consider my friends. Different personalities, different ways of dealing with issues.
It truly is a challenge as the employees who work for me - for my company - have little knowledge of the amount of time I spend in meetings, design and functional specifications. I work hard to make sure their work is smooth and they are not bothered with company politics. I work hard to make sure they are taken care of with human resources, health care and other company issues.
It is truly an interesting, difficult and challenging position to be in - and I am very happy to be doing what I am doing.
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| | New Database Guy, In Search Of A Delphi Coder
Posted: Apr 23, 2007, at 05:09 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
This week I finally found a new database guy. It has been a long search to find someone who was knowledgeable in both Microsoft SQL Server and Delphi.
For the moment we have had a temporary DB guy in house to help us finish up our last build. I'm glad he is here because we would be in serious trouble without him.
Our last DB guy left us with absolutely nothing. Weeks of work that was said was done, did not exist. As our temporary DB guy got into the work, we suddenly came to the realization that not only had nothing been done, but the amount of work necessary to get us into our next build was so great, we had to add weeks to our project. I was told repeatedly that work had been accomplished on programs - only to find that only the basics of the program actually existed, nothing else. We are now in such a state of disrepair, that we have had to add no less than five extra weeks to our project, at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. For some moments I am so angry, I wish I would have fired him over six months ago. But I gave this guy a chance, and in the end, he screwed me so bad, my job is on the line.
At first I was angry. Angry for being lied to. Weeks upon weeks of being lied to. But then each day as we uncovered the real truth - the truth that nothing had been done, that original plans had been scrapped in place of plans that took hours upon hours to undo, that lack of experience had caused wrong directions - I began to become less angry and more saddened. Saddened that things took such a sour note and such a bad turn. Sad that the realization that the DB guy was no longer on a ship that was sinking - but a ship that had sunk a long time ago and leaving was simply someone throwing a life preserver in to save him. Sadness turned to sorrow and then pity.
Now I am paying an outrageous sum to clean up not only months, but also years of work. We found that if a catastrophic failure had occurred on his machine, we would have lost almost two years of work. Time and time again each day I came to work and was told the state of the database and the installers, I hung my head low.
At least for now things are in hand. The installers are now up to date. Code never checked in is now fully in and onto backups. We press forward. To quote some old guy I remember him saying, That was the past. We go forward.
Now I have to find another Delphi Coder. Most of the Delphi guys that I know have long since moved on from Delphi and into C#, .NET or JAVA - all of which I consider, The Dark Side. All of my best friends in the coding world have all left Delphi, which greatly saddens me - but you must go where the money is.
A few years ago, Borland created Delphi 8 - and made Delphi, which had always been a VCL (windows) product into .NET. This was their attempt to compete with Microsoft's C#. Unfortunately for Delphi coders, .NET was not the direction they wanted to go in. Borland used the Delphi name to inject them selves in the market and while doing so, injected the serum that would ultimately kill Delphi as a VCL coding language.
Today, if you do a search for Delphi Programmers, you will find more or less, 13 jobs total throughout the United States. Delphi is dead. Java, C# and .NET are the only real jobs available anymore.
This is the primary reason that I have changed the direction of my career from coding into management. It is the primary reason I have seen friends drop Delphi and move into either other languages or go into Database Administration.
And so it goes.
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| | Screw You MGIS
Posted: Aug 19, 2007, at 09:15 AM
Stored Under Topic: EMPLOYMENT -GUID-
Posted By: Infymus | | |
At work we have a Cafeteria Plan by a company called MGIS.
As most of you know, a Cafeteria plan allows you to have a set amount of money up to $2500 dollars a year taken out of your paycheck (in monthly increments). This money is taken out of your check before taxes are calculated, so your gross income is actually less and you get taxed less.
MGIS gives you a VISA credit card that allows purchasing "Approved" items from your favorite pharmacy and so forth. By law you are only allowed to purchase items such as prescription drugs, eyeglasses, doctor appointments and so forth. Anything else is illegal and if you bought say a pair of shoes, you'd have to pay it back or face some kind of penalties.
I hate the whole goddamn thing.
MGIS uses computer "profiling" to watch your purchases. It builds a profile of your spending habits on your VISA card and if it finds something it doesn't like, it automatically generates a "PROOF YOU ARE NOT A CRIMINAL" letter. This letter shows the date and the amount spent. You have to then fax your receipts back to MGIS (and it can't be a credit card receipt) to prove you are not spending it incorrectly.
I've been hit SIX TIMES this year. I've had it. I'm tired of having to go back through my files and find the receipts to fax back. I'm tired of being profiled by this company as some kind of criminal that is incorrectly spending money. This time on the last fax, I wrote them a nasty letter. Kim and I tore up our cards and will not be using their system the way they want us to anymore.
At the end of the year, I will fix ALL of my receipts to them and demand money for it. That way no more profiling. No more nasty letters demanding I prove that we are not criminals who are out buying diamonds and cars with our Flex Plan.
Screw you MGIS.
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