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#481
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poor implementation choices
On 10/15/2015 4:02 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Thu, 15 Oct 2015 12:00:49 -0700, Don Y wrote: Actually, you would be surprised how often this continues to occur! I worked at a firm that based their control system on an Apple ][ computer. Long after Apple ][ computers could be *purchased*! (tell customer that you bought the guts of the control system for his $1M production system AT A GARAGE SALE!!) About a decade ago in Chicago there was an incident where a programmer or systems analyst (CICS) left in some sort of dispute and took his source code with him. Code for the air traffic control system of either O'Hare airport, or the entire Aurora regional center. Should be news articles somewhere on the net. I think the feds arrested him before it got straightened out. Ha! I wouldn't doubt it! People/firms don't really know where their "value" resides. I've had clients contact me to recover the source code from ROM images -- because they mistakenly thought that having the ROMs was all they needed to *produce* their product (which is technically true -- as long as you never intend to CHANGE that product! : ) E.g., thinking potato chips and computer chips are of equal value to an economy... Big companies can be ineptly managed. I was sole support for a fixed income system at a major insurance company for about 3 years. $50 billion in assets. They were moving the system from mainframe to client server, but the move wouldn't happen for a year. The investments department had undergone massive changes in the move to client server, and ALL of the mainframe guys who knew anything about the system were gone. My "IT manager" came to my desk one day, and told me my contract wasn't being renewed. Two weeks. I nodded my head and said "Okay." We didn't talk much anyway, just exchanged pleasantries. I was surprised Vince, my client user, hadn't told me first. We had a good relationship, and I respected him, but I never took anything for granted in the corporate world. Still, I was surprised, since I had many high-level friends there, and hadn't caught wind of it. The system was active and doing all the fixed income business, including the CICS trading terminals. I had a couple weeks ago converted to hourly from salaried with the contracting company I worked for. They had boosted my rate with the insurance company. I had become "too expensive." Later that day I went to Vince's office to tell him what a joy it been to work for him - I never burned bridges. All he could say was "What?" and "I'll take care of it" and "You ain't going nowhere" before he stormed out the office. Anyway, I maintained that system until it's demise a year later. Something about "left hand" and "right hand" comes to mind : A firm I worked at early in my career did a lot of subcontract work for an IBM division. One of my friends, there, being the "heart and soul" of that business at our firm. He ended up leaving because he got fed up with *his* boss (who would denigrate his work, take credit for *his* efforts, etc.). That boss (and above) went out of their way to hide my buddy's departure from the client (IBM). One day, the big wigs from the IBM division flew into town and demanded a meeting with our top management. When the conference room door closed, the first words from their mouth we "Does John Doe work here, or not?" I.e., rather than being open with them about this change in KEY (*essential*) personnel, they had hoped to hide that fact -- lest they also have to explain why John Doe had left the firm (and risk John Doe giving them "an earful" -- much to the dismay of *his* boss. The amount of business conducted with IBM thereafter steadily decreased. Probably not from a decrease in quality but, rather, from this (stupid) personal business fallout. |
#482
Posted to alt.home.repair
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off topic: new car advice for senior
On 10/14/2015 09:33 PM, Robert Green wrote:
I'm not sure Nelson could have pulled it off. A lot of people disliked Nelson for any number of reasons: to many he was a filthy rich New Yawker. Maybe, maybe not but Goldwater was a disaster. To some extent I see it as an object lesson for the current GOP woes. |
#483
Posted to alt.home.repair
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off topic: new car advice for senior
"rbowman" wrote in message
... On 10/14/2015 09:33 PM, Robert Green wrote: I'm not sure Nelson could have pulled it off. A lot of people disliked Nelson for any number of reasons: to many he was a filthy rich New Yawker. Maybe, maybe not but Goldwater was a disaster. No doubt about that. To some extent I see it as an object lesson for the current GOP woes. I wish that it would be so. As noted in another thread, "lessons learned" don't last too long. It took less than 25 years for us to get enmeshed in another Vietnam. Goldwater's debacle was too long ago for any of the Young Turks to remember - or learn from. -- Bobby G. |
#484
Posted to alt.home.repair
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poor implementation choices
"Vic Smith" wrote in message
stuff snipped I had a couple weeks ago converted to hourly from salaried with the contracting company I worked for. They had boosted my rate with the insurance company. I had become "too expensive." Later that day I went to Vince's office to tell him what a joy it been to work for him - I never burned bridges. All he could say was "What?" and "I'll take care of it" and "You ain't going nowhere" before he stormed out the office. Almost the exact same thing just happened to my wife. She's contracted out and the company decided she should retire (and they would put a worker in at half her rate). The client went down to the contractor and met with one of the VP's. Problem solved when he said he would not re-up the contract without her. Weeks of worry evaporated instantly. She's happy to know that she's well enough appreciated for her client to visit home base on her behalf. -- Bobby G. |
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