mdlbear | Done this week (20120817 Mo

Bad week. No biscuit.

I went in to my interview on Tuesday with $COMPANY feeling very optimistic. I was wrong. Thursday I found out that they didn't want me. CRASH.

Now, of course, I can see all the ways I screwed myself over. Going back years, to not being more involved in open source projects and not keeping my skills up-to-date. And back six months to the layoff, not keeping office hours and browsing the web instead of working through the skill-building list I set up right at the beginning. And back one month to the interviews at $COMPANY, not starting in right away playing with their software. Sure, I spent a lot of time reading the documentation, but I didn't have anything to show for it.

That was stupid.

I get my last severance check at the end of next week. Damned if I know what happens to my COBRA health coverage -- they were paying for it up until now. I'm going to have to spend all next week scrambling.

Um... in other news, I've been doing a fair amount of walking, finally. Including a nice ramble around the Convention Center and Freeway Park, after my interview.

Lots of good links, including the awesome xkcd: Click and Drag (zoomable view and more in the notes) and some great open-source stuff by way of Linux Weekly News, which I'm finally catching up on.

0817 Mo
  * up 7:30; W=195.2; d, n, t; shower, hair, beard, laundry, exercise
    beard color is a closer match this time, but I'm concerned that I went too far.
  @ Neil Gaiman's Journal: A Letter from a Scared Actress. 
  * 10am second phone interview with $A.  Interviewer:  Yu.
    The teams include front-end, back-end, and tools work, so could be
    interesting work in spite of the unfortunate end product
  * reading openstack documentation.  Scripted install for the compute service
    (nova) was designed for 11.04 natty, which is what I'm running on Cygnus,
    but now seems to have been updated to 11.10 or 12.04 :P
    -> want me in for an on-site
  * buy: dishwasher soap
  & called (headhunter) Liz re: tomorrow's interview.  Apparently less at stake
    than a regular interview, more along the lines of meeting the new manager
    and the other dev and making sure we get along.  So that's good.
  @ The power of non-cooperation « Building My World Jury nullification FTW
  @ Microsoft pushes software subscriptions on home users—whether they like it or not 
  @ Globe Records Fourth Warmest August as Arctic Ice Melts | Climate Central 
  @ Culture hacking, reloaded (esr)
    longish, but worth reading.  The differences and parallels between the hacker
    and agile cultures.
    Mystical Poetry and Mental Postures

0918 Tu
  * up 7ish; W=192.8; d, n, t; hair, laundry, dishes
    ! delighted about the weight loss.
  * finally got around to reading LWN again, after a long lapse.  
  * 10am HP.  Jim Cooley 701 Pike suite 1100 - 522/312 bus
    leaving home 8:15ish gets me there at 9am via the 522
    -> went downstairs for coffee -- very informal.  Good talk.  Not clear
       exactly where I'd fit in -- that's the only iffy part.
  & nice ramble around the convention center -- there was an art exhibition set
    up on the second or third floor, Freeway Park, City Center, Pike St. and vicinity.
  * Catching up on LWN back-issues
  @ Michael Meeks - Linux on the (consumer) Desktop (LWN)
  @ Scientist Provides Blunt Prediction of Total Arctic Ice Loss in Four Years 
    I'd want a second opinion, but it's scary if true.
  @ Tom Smith and his Digital Acoustic LJ - The 47% 
  @ firecat | Interesting article about weight and health
    More Data Suggests Fitness Matters More Than Weight - NYTimes.com DUH
    "In study after study, overweight and moderately obese patients with certain
     chronic diseases often live longer and fare better than normal-weight
     patients with the same ailments." 
  * emptied USB/Cat5 box (to bedroom shelves)
  @ The Warp Drive Could Become Science Fact : Discovery News Color me skeptical.
  ! depression and anxiety again.  They tend to hit in late evening/night.

0919 We
  * up 7am; W=192.8; d, n, t, exercise; dishes, laundry
  @ GUADEC: open source and open "stuff" [LWN.net]  Applying OS concepts to
    non-software projects.
  & out erand-running with N, then shopping with Colleen.
  & buy: bicycle pump
  * walk:  d=.85mi, t=18min roads running behind the apartment complex
  @ Group: Chick-Fil-A Backing Off Anti-Gay Agenda - Chicago lawmaker will
    allow new store to open in city We'll see whether their actions match
    their words.
  % if my application at $COMPANY fails, it'll be because I haven't been an
    active open source contributor.  Fixable, but not in the next week.
  @ The Linux digital audio workstation - Part 1 [LWN.net]
    The Linux digital audio workstation - Part 2 [LWN.net]
  @ xkcd: Click and Drag is awesome
    Everything You Need to Know About xkcd Comic "Click and Drag" | Geekosystem
    (filkertom | It's Official: XKCD is The Greatest Comic In The World)
  ! feeling stupid and discouraged.  Not getting things done
    % I have all this free time, and all I do with it is read and do a little
      puttering around the apartment.

0920 Th
  * up 6:10; W=193.4; d, n, t; shower, dishes, laundry
  : darkish and misty at 7am
  @ Salesforce talks security: From passwords to animatronic ponies | ZDNet 
  @ A distribution for less-powerful systems: antiX-12 [LWN.net] Cool!
    Debian testing with lightweight window managers
    Conky highly configurable system monitor.
  @ Cryptocat (LWN.net)
    This Cute Chat Site Could Save Your Life and Help Overthrow Your Government 
  @ DEFCON: Why conference harassment matters (LWN)
  : $COMPANY (HP) fell through.  That super-sucks, especially after telling me 3
    weeks (and a re-org) ago that they were going to make me an offer.  After
    being the best thing to come along.  
    ! crappy, discouraged, depressed, scared, stupid
    % I have been wasting a lot of time.  I don't have -much- any left.  In
      particular, all of my skill-building goals have been ignored, and in the
      end that's what cost me HP.
  * walk:  d=2.75, t=1:00; to Third Place.  Bought WD-40 and 3-in-1 oil.
  @ Collaborative book authoring with Booktype [LWN.net]
  @ The CoDel queue management algorithm [LWN.net]
  * have bveen spending much of my reading time yesterday and almost all of it
    today catching up on LWN
  * dinner:  Chinese-style chicken with white rice and a cucumber/carrot salad

0921 Fr
  * up 7:20; W=193.4; d, n, ; dishes, 
  @ Scantily Clad People Reading Dr. Seuss. Just Let It Happen. 
    "Oh, the Places You'll Go", Filmed at Burning Man 2011 -- wonderful!
  @ Job Seekers | Workaholics4Hire.com (fractalwolf)
  @ Coursera.org (roaringmouse) 
  & call from Xavier somebody - doesn't have any contracts in the Seattle area,
    but will keep an eye open for me
  @ Collaborative book authoring with Booktype [LWN.net]
    Sourcefabric | Booktype
  @ Best Way to Introduce Yourself | Inc.com (linkedin)
  & set off hallway fire alarm by turning on the wrong burner for coffee.  :P
    -> moved fan to window; opened door.
  @ How To Protect Yourself From PayPal Identity Theft - Forbes password
    hygene, and treat the security questions like passwords:  not a real answer.
  * applied at Adobe (via Indeed; online app on Taleo, which sucks rotten eggs
  * buy:  pantsu 
  * walk:  d=1:27, t=~:30; down to 135th St.
  @ OSTree "git for operating system binaries"- GNOME Live!  Cool!
    for OS deployment.  Alternative to installing packages.
  * 3:30 phone interview - contract-to-hire Disney identity group $75/hr
  & quick store errand for N
  @ naamah_darling | Dysfunctional Families Day.
  @ elf: Educational music - will make a good s4s
  @ Small Linux PCs overview - Raymii.org
  * clean piggie cage