Well I'm finally off. Handed my notice in on monday, finally chose which of the lucky companies get to employ me.
Somewhat of a relief it's been hard with only a couple of people knowing. For some reason it's been a bit of a shock to a number of people, I must have been hiding my discontent more than I knew.
Now comes the interesting bits. When you leave you get the obvious questions of why. So far I've managed a number of answers and I think I've got away with it. It's amazing what fun it can be thinking of bizarre reasons and seeing if you colleagues take it.
The other interesting observation is those colleagues who become abit envious. They seem to be the ones who are most interested in knowing where you're going, maybe if you could give them a shoe-in to whereever you are going.
I suspect another would like to leave, and I'm certain for sure another is going to go while the going is hot.
Also interesting the ones that seem totally disinterested, almost seem to avoid me. Perhaps they wish to distance themselves from me as regards to the view from management. They also seem to be the ones on the cushiest wages.
Oh well off for a drink
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Don't believe the lights
Or why flashing lights don't always prove things are working
Just spend an inordinate amount of time today trying to get a fairly simply device working.
A wireless AP from 3Com, which is also now out of production, it takes wireless packets and drops them onto your LAN. Or so I believed.
Now with corporate data sensitivity the way it is, I would not want someone being either able to sniff or abuse our network. So I took the usual security precautions.
Choosing the strongest level of encryption and authentication I could, that was compatible with the wireless cards we use and the aforementioned AP.
However, it seems that one, the other or both seem to have taken different interpretations of the standards. It wasted some of my colleagues time, and alot of mine.
I got to the point were I almost believed the thing was broken (it was handed over from a director who had dubious use from it).
I could connect to the wireless network, but be damned if I could pass traffic. Now the better among you will spot my error, something I should have thought of alot earlier.
This was all until I decided to take off all encryption and authentication and provided full open access.
Now before you security guru's start screaming, I had taken a number of precautions. First of all segmenting it off from the main network, even onto it's own iNet feed.
I now could prove that despite the choices, the encryption was not working.
I then spent a further deal of time trying to find out which combinations actually worked. Despite the advanced nature of both, we've ended up back with no better than a shared key and 128bit WEP.
It'll keep the script kiddies out, but it's looking somewhat less secure than I intended.
So beware of vendors bearing certificates of conformity.
ttfn
Just spend an inordinate amount of time today trying to get a fairly simply device working.
A wireless AP from 3Com, which is also now out of production, it takes wireless packets and drops them onto your LAN. Or so I believed.
Now with corporate data sensitivity the way it is, I would not want someone being either able to sniff or abuse our network. So I took the usual security precautions.
Choosing the strongest level of encryption and authentication I could, that was compatible with the wireless cards we use and the aforementioned AP.
However, it seems that one, the other or both seem to have taken different interpretations of the standards. It wasted some of my colleagues time, and alot of mine.
I got to the point were I almost believed the thing was broken (it was handed over from a director who had dubious use from it).
I could connect to the wireless network, but be damned if I could pass traffic. Now the better among you will spot my error, something I should have thought of alot earlier.
This was all until I decided to take off all encryption and authentication and provided full open access.
Now before you security guru's start screaming, I had taken a number of precautions. First of all segmenting it off from the main network, even onto it's own iNet feed.
I now could prove that despite the choices, the encryption was not working.
I then spent a further deal of time trying to find out which combinations actually worked. Despite the advanced nature of both, we've ended up back with no better than a shared key and 128bit WEP.
It'll keep the script kiddies out, but it's looking somewhat less secure than I intended.
So beware of vendors bearing certificates of conformity.
ttfn
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Ranking your page
Geting your page ranked is somewhat difficult, I've found. Not the blog, but my little site.
I played a game years back, called virtual poohsticks. Fun little thing that doesn't take up too much time at work, and you can beat your friends at.
Effectively you get a free account write a stick description and play in a game against 10 others.
The site does something complicated (to do with emails I believe) and the first to reappear from under the virtual bridge is the winner. Simple great fun. It also had a chat room that you could hurl daftness at fellow poohstickers.
One of the main features of the site was "fruiting" a method whereby children were saved from profanity by the site replacing inappropriate words with names of fruit.
Anyway a few years back it simply stopped working. Eventually I decided to do something similar myself. The basics are there at the moment, just needs a few more bits of candy to keep the kiddies interest.
I could do with some encouragement, as I seem to be the only one to have found it.
The site is http://poohsticks.crowsfoot.net I'd love a few links and some assistance in where to go with the site.
Things have kind of ground to a halt while I look for a new job, but hopefully a few things will be added soonish.
ttfn
I played a game years back, called virtual poohsticks. Fun little thing that doesn't take up too much time at work, and you can beat your friends at.
Effectively you get a free account write a stick description and play in a game against 10 others.
The site does something complicated (to do with emails I believe) and the first to reappear from under the virtual bridge is the winner. Simple great fun. It also had a chat room that you could hurl daftness at fellow poohstickers.
One of the main features of the site was "fruiting" a method whereby children were saved from profanity by the site replacing inappropriate words with names of fruit.
Anyway a few years back it simply stopped working. Eventually I decided to do something similar myself. The basics are there at the moment, just needs a few more bits of candy to keep the kiddies interest.
I could do with some encouragement, as I seem to be the only one to have found it.
The site is http://poohsticks.crowsfoot.net I'd love a few links and some assistance in where to go with the site.
Things have kind of ground to a halt while I look for a new job, but hopefully a few things will be added soonish.
ttfn
Tough love
Had a few interesting conversations with my boss since he found out my intention to leave.
The obvious question, "Why?". Not entirely sure I convinced him, but he's battered me down to at least giving him a full answer when I hand my notice in.
The good thing is that I have finally convinced him that I don't want to stay and he has wished me luck.
I have to say it has been harder than I thought. Before talking to my boss I did not give two hoots about what would happen when I leave. Now I am wondering what will be left in my wake, most of the others do not deserve to have their livelihoods risked, but listening to my boss he is declaring it a complete disaster.
I think he's playing on the dramatics. That said, it will be when my colleague leaves, as he now declared to do again (personally to me).
It seems my boss is on about outsourcing the IT, and just using my colleague and a recruited tech monkey to observe the system. Not entirely sure what they really will be doing, but personally it's another example of madness that goes on with my soon-to-be ex-boss.
A company that is totally IT-centric, such as the ASP we are surely must control the one thing that the business depends on, i.e. it's IT systems.
My colleague has declared he wants no part of it.
Well they'll learn, either that and they'll bugger up and go under.
ttfn
The obvious question, "Why?". Not entirely sure I convinced him, but he's battered me down to at least giving him a full answer when I hand my notice in.
The good thing is that I have finally convinced him that I don't want to stay and he has wished me luck.
I have to say it has been harder than I thought. Before talking to my boss I did not give two hoots about what would happen when I leave. Now I am wondering what will be left in my wake, most of the others do not deserve to have their livelihoods risked, but listening to my boss he is declaring it a complete disaster.
I think he's playing on the dramatics. That said, it will be when my colleague leaves, as he now declared to do again (personally to me).
It seems my boss is on about outsourcing the IT, and just using my colleague and a recruited tech monkey to observe the system. Not entirely sure what they really will be doing, but personally it's another example of madness that goes on with my soon-to-be ex-boss.
A company that is totally IT-centric, such as the ASP we are surely must control the one thing that the business depends on, i.e. it's IT systems.
My colleague has declared he wants no part of it.
Well they'll learn, either that and they'll bugger up and go under.
ttfn
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Under the sun
Have not given an official reason for leaving yet. In essence I do not think it best to give my real reason. So I've started a little contest with myself to think of another reason. Some preposterous some not so.
- Won the lottery a few months back, and to be honest I don't really want to work any more. (9)
- I'm having a sabbatical, touring round the world for a year in a yacht. (8)
- I've had a better offer, not metioning anything (2)
- I'm not very good at this job and to be perfectly honest I'm doing you a favour, I've going to somewhere where I'm more suited. (3-4)
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Never leave your mobile unattended
Learned a valuable set of lessons today.
1) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away
2) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job
3) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job and you sit next to your boss
4) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job and you sit next to your boss and he picks up the phone and the prat of a recruitment agent says "Hi we saw X's CV on Monster today."
Somewhat iffy silence existed between us when I got back from taking a delivery, but then that often happens.
My boss then asked for a quick meeting. We're having a few of those at the moment as there has been some shuffling around in the department. So I was not unduly worried.
We had a quick discussion the usual thing until he practically asked me if I was intending to leave. At that point I could not find anyway around it and had to admit I was intending to leave the company.
He seemed genually shocked and abit upset by it. Personally I found that the most disturbing bit. From what I could see recently I had actually felt that perhaps he would have been gladly rid of me. Just goes to show.
I'll post more in a while as certain details may put certain colleagues under some difficult circumstances.
1) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away
2) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job
3) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job and you sit next to your boss
4) Don't leave your mobile on the desk at work and walk away when you are looking for a new job and you sit next to your boss and he picks up the phone and the prat of a recruitment agent says "Hi we saw X's CV on Monster today."
Somewhat iffy silence existed between us when I got back from taking a delivery, but then that often happens.
My boss then asked for a quick meeting. We're having a few of those at the moment as there has been some shuffling around in the department. So I was not unduly worried.
We had a quick discussion the usual thing until he practically asked me if I was intending to leave. At that point I could not find anyway around it and had to admit I was intending to leave the company.
He seemed genually shocked and abit upset by it. Personally I found that the most disturbing bit. From what I could see recently I had actually felt that perhaps he would have been gladly rid of me. Just goes to show.
I'll post more in a while as certain details may put certain colleagues under some difficult circumstances.
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Happy Blog
It seems despite my urge to have stability in my life, I don't seem to keep in a job for a long period of time. Where I am now I have been for coming up three years. Pretty much a record.
I seem to perhaps get bored or disallusioned too easily, perhaps harking back to a time when I was incredibly happy with my job. Good pay, good colleagues, enjoyable work and stretched but not taxed. Only to watch the company go under due to others bull headedness.
But now I'm happy again, after at least a year of what seems utter drudgery, all stemming from work. I've started roleplaying again, and perhaps this finally made me get back into wanting to do something in my life. So I finally got off my square behind and started looking for that new job, I had been threatening to do for about six months.
The interview offers are now flowing in, and I have the embarrassing situation of trying to pretend I'm not receiving calls from recruitment firms, but old friends, builders, plumbers anyone but who it is.
But I'm happy, I've not even left the job I have resented for so long, just because I can see the end.
A colleague in the know, has asked am I doing the right thing. What is it that is making me leave? And am I likely just to fall into the same problem, he's recently joined believing something similar? Maybe I will, but at least I have belief I'm doing something about what seems to be making me so miserable, every Monday morning. Perhaps he doesn't want me to leave him with all the problems.
Whatever. It's a release and I feel like me again. Perhaps my boss suspects, he'd be a fool not to, as he's asking what he thinks about said colleagues promotion to team leader?
Frankly I don't care. I just say anything to stop talking to him. I'm going, and it make me feel good.
So my final word. If you not happy where you are, try someplace else. What's the worst, you're still not happy. But at least you've tried to do something about it, and perhaps had a thrill in the time being.
Happy job hunting people.
I seem to perhaps get bored or disallusioned too easily, perhaps harking back to a time when I was incredibly happy with my job. Good pay, good colleagues, enjoyable work and stretched but not taxed. Only to watch the company go under due to others bull headedness.
But now I'm happy again, after at least a year of what seems utter drudgery, all stemming from work. I've started roleplaying again, and perhaps this finally made me get back into wanting to do something in my life. So I finally got off my square behind and started looking for that new job, I had been threatening to do for about six months.
The interview offers are now flowing in, and I have the embarrassing situation of trying to pretend I'm not receiving calls from recruitment firms, but old friends, builders, plumbers anyone but who it is.
But I'm happy, I've not even left the job I have resented for so long, just because I can see the end.
A colleague in the know, has asked am I doing the right thing. What is it that is making me leave? And am I likely just to fall into the same problem, he's recently joined believing something similar? Maybe I will, but at least I have belief I'm doing something about what seems to be making me so miserable, every Monday morning. Perhaps he doesn't want me to leave him with all the problems.
Whatever. It's a release and I feel like me again. Perhaps my boss suspects, he'd be a fool not to, as he's asking what he thinks about said colleagues promotion to team leader?
Frankly I don't care. I just say anything to stop talking to him. I'm going, and it make me feel good.
So my final word. If you not happy where you are, try someplace else. What's the worst, you're still not happy. But at least you've tried to do something about it, and perhaps had a thrill in the time being.
Happy job hunting people.
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