Avatar photoSteven Savage

Geek Pride: Giant Robots, Inspiration, and You

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So there I was, taking a break from being, well, busy, and giant robots helped me get my working mojo back.

I know, you may need to reread that line again.

Essentially I was watching Gurren Lagann, an unusual anime that is hard to describe.  It's a giant robot show, a space show, a drama, parts of a comedy, strangely sincere yet with winking nods and references.  A big part of the show is the power of fighting spirit and people's emotions to drive them on and empower them.  This is an anime that people who don't watch anime won't get.

It was actually quite inspiring, and it struck me that's something we geeks and fans need to keep in mind – we can find inspiration in seemingly mundane things, and that can push us on.

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Frustration Friday: Curse of the Awful Resumes

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One of my great arch nemeses are the Archetypically Bad Resumes, or ABRs for short.  They're out there, mocking me and in general screwing up the resumes of decent people who see the ABRs and take them for templates.

You're out there, ABRs, somewhere.  You have to be because the only way I can explain some of the awful resumes I've seen, some of the terrible advice I've seen people follow, is that out there there must be some universally awful resumes that innocent people have used as examples.

It's the only logical explanation . . . OK it's not logical really. I'm ranting.  But honestly, when I see bad resumes or see people having problems with resumes it's almost always the same things.  It's like there's some mind-controlling Platonic Lousy Resumes out there burrowing into people's minds.

Seriously.  The bad resumes I see or the mistakes people make always seem to be the same ones.  It's gone beyond amusing in that painful human folly sense to downright creepy.

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Your Career Is A Bunch Of Investments

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I manage my own investments (which I'm kind of glad of considering the market).  Now you may not be up for managing your investments, but there is one you should manage – your career.

Think about what an investment is – you put money into something (stocks, land, a business), from which you expect to get benefits that are greater than the money and effort you put into it.  The benefits may not be the same (an investment of time may make money, and investment of money may yield fame, etc.), but the principle is the same – put something in that yields more.

Your entire career is a series of investments.  Indeed your life is.

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