No Job.

Soon after the last blog post I was notified that the state is not willing to put forward the necessary funds for my position. Tybrin is working with the state on ironing everything out, but they said it could take a while if it happens at all.

New Job!

About three weeks ago I was doing my bills and becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that we haven't really splurged on anything in a while and still weren't coming out very well. So I went to careerbuilder.com and started applying for jobs. I applied for all sorts of IT jobs that weren't helpdesk and seemed like that may pay well. I even applied for stuff that I was clearly unqualified for.
Of at least fifteen jobs, I heard back from two that they didn't feel I was qualified, and I only got one interview. It was for a company called Tybrin that does contract programming for the Florida Department of Management Services.
The interview went well enough going an hour over as we just talked tech stuff. I thought that was a good sign if they like me enough and thought enough of my opinions on technology to just sit and chat.
Two weeks went by and I didn't hear anything so I left a voice-mail message. They returned my call and asked me to come in that day before 4:30 so I did. At this interview they asked me to throw up some SQL code and diagrams, which I did. They where impressed that I formatted my code properly making certain stuff uppercase and indenting properly. I wasn't sure how well this one went as I hadn't worked in SQL for about four weeks and I had to think about a few things to get it right.
They also asked if I knew the software development process. I read the Ubuntu, Mozilla, and Gnome blogs daily. I have followed the devlopment process of each of these three peices of software for quite some time. Using that knowledge I was able to lay out something that made sense. Even thow it wasn't put the way a formal text book would have put it. I didn't have many official names for the processes except for Alpha and Beta releases. It sure did make countless hours of reading seem all of the sudden worth while beyond mere entertainment.
They said they where going to make a decision on Friday. I contacted them on Tuesday and they said they had a meeting on Wednesday to come to a decision. Yesterday I contacted them again and they said I got the position.
So in about two weeks I will FINALLY be programming. I've wanted to be a programmer since high school, and have been going to school to do it for quite some time, but I still don't have my degree.
I should have me degree in about a year, maybe less, so tacking on the job experience I will be gaining first hand, I should really be making my way into the industry properly.
Tybrin has had a contract with DMS for ~15 years, but it is renewed on a year-by-year basis. So every January there is the possibility of of finding yourself without a job. Barring any extenuating circumstances I plan on staying with Tybrin for as long as possible. I like the people there so far, and the work seems right up my ally. The good news is that in the event that the contract does not get renewed one year I will have experience under my belt to get another job programming.
So overall this is extremly great news for us. Kim and I are bouncing off the walls about all the new things this will enbable us to do. Not get a plasma TV or anything like that, but we can start paying bills without fretting. Woooo!

New Job

I applied for a new job working as a contract programmer for DMS. I interviewed about two weeks ago, and they are set to make a decision tomorrow. I cannot be still until I hear the decision. I am so completely anxious to get this job. It will be a huge pay increase as well as a huge leap in my career. Programming is what I've always wanted to do. It is hard to get a programming job without either a college degree or prior experience. I am working on the degree, but if I could get a job to give me experience that would be golden.

Poetry

As a general rule, I don't like poetry. It's not really that I don't like poetry as it is I don't like bad poetry, and most poetry is complete rubbish. There's lots of good poetry out there, but finding it is rarely easy. It seems that many people study different kind of poetry, make a poem that conforms to those rules, and then they call it art because the followed some predefined rules.
Of course, art doesn't really work like that. Artshould be clever and create nice visuals. Each consumer of art should come away with something different.
Most artist fail at creating art that is worth its time. This holds especially true with poetry.

Obnoxious posting on the net.

If you read around the net, you will notice that for each clique of ideas (technology, fashion, art) there are certain posts that come up on a semi-frequent basis. Here's one I see all the time when problems with Windows (surprise, it's not 100% perfect) are reported:

News: Some problem with Windows has been discovered.
Commentor 1: Simple solution, switch to Linux.
Commentor 2: Linux isn't ready for the mainstream yet.

Flame-war commences.

This is just a variation on a theme. If the topic of P2P, piracy or the RIAA comes up, similar predictable posts show up.
Here is the formula for such posts:

1. Something is mentioned on the net.
2. In irrelevant post follows it up.
3. A naysayer makes an equally retarded post against the initial retarded poster.

In the above example a problem with Windows is brought up, usually in a news article. Even though this problem has nothing to do with whether or not someone should use Linux or any other operating system, someone find it necessary to make the suggestion as if Linux will solve all of your computing woes. Someone rebuttled that Linux is not ready for prime-time, which still doesn't relate to the news article. It is also likely that that person has absolutely no idea what the current state of Linux is or how usable it is. They probably don't realise that it's already in prime-time running many server, Tivos, Linksys routers, cell phones, etc.

So what we end up is a bunch of people filling the internet up with more useless crap.

Week update

Arianna was sick over the weekend up to Tuesday. Kim stayed home with her on Monday, and I kept her on Tuesday. She was over the worst of it by Tuesday, and the two of us had a great day.
I had an interview yesterday for a company that makes software for DMS. It includes Oracle database and SQL, Java and some other programming as well as web development. It's an entry level position and they seemed to be very interested in me. I was there for over an hour, mostly just talking about tech stuff in general. They also use Linux and Unix systems and only one guy there is well versed in *nix, so that's a plus for me, using it on all of my home systems. The job would also pay enough that I could embark on new ventures, such as paying all of my bills every month. Fancy living stuff.

Awesome picture.

This is the kind of picture that makes you happy to live on such a beautiful planet.

Ubuntu

This is a test!

Arianna is now crawling

She had been struggling with it for a while, but as of last weekend she is officially a crawler. She is really enjoying her new mobility and ability to get in to all sorts of trouble.

Arianna

Arianna has just start really crawling. She had been pushing herself around for a while, but she could never make it more than a few feet. Now she is actually crawling and is starting to make some real progress in mobility. She also has four teeth in now.
I am really enjoying watching her personality grow. She is very lively and loving. I think she will be a cudler just like Athena and I are now.
Her preference for Kim is really starting to show. This is one of the hard parts of being a dad. Kids (at least girls) just like their moms better when they are very young. Aurora is pretty much over it, but Athena is still holding on to that. The best I can do is take every opportunity with her to have a lot of fun and show her just how much fun being with me is. It's a lost cause really though.One of her favorite things to do is jump. I will hold her hands or on to her waist and say "jumpin' jumpin' jumpin'" and she will bounce up and down with some assistance by me. She really gets a kick out of it.Another is for me to grab her hands and her punch my face. This is amusing to no end for her. It's pretty funny.
I have been making all of her baby food, except the last week when we ran out and I didn't have any money to buy any new fruits or vegetables. We have a bunch of baby food Rachel gave us that we have been using for backup. Kim went grocery shopping the other day so tonight I plan on making some more food for her. The difference in taste is incredible.
We have been making her go to sleep by herself the last two weeks. We used to just have her lay down with us, but now she is getting so big and taking up so much space it is time for her to use her crib full-time. The transition is hard, but she is starting to get it. The fact she is cutting teeth doesn't help any. We have to make sure to pump her with Advil a few minutes before laying her down.
Speaking of cutting teeth, she is doing much better with this than any of the other girls did. with Aurora and Athena life was hell when they were cutting teeth. With Arianna, she is mildly cranky during the evening, but not much else. That completely rocks.

Athena's Birthday!

Yesterday was Athena's birthday. The day before she had a major fit when we picked her up from Rachels that laster for hours. It wasn't until it was almost time for bed that she became chearful. I was worried this may carry on to her birthday. I woke her up and she was in very good spirits. I was kind of upset because after work I had a class until 10pm that also had a test in it. I made the best I could of the short amount of time I had with her for the day.
When I got to class my teacher said he was sick, so after the test we where allowed to head home. I was pretty stoked about getting to see Athena, but when I got home nobody was there. Kim had taken the girls out to McDonalds and then to Toys R' Us to spend the gift card Nana got her to get a bike. When they got home it was about 7:30 I think. So we got to get some time in together, which was awesome.