The Fake You And The Real You

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I'm guessing there's a very good chance that, in your career you're not quite "yourself."  You've got a lot of things you do to get through the day, a lot you put up with, a lot you do or don't do that you dislike.  My guess is you do these things to protect the "real you."

You know what I'm talking about.  You're not taking that initiative at work because you don't want to make waves.  You're not relocating to that place you want because it takes too long to plan.  You're not taking that class you want to take because you want to be in the "right frame of mind."  You don't speak your mind to people because people won't get the real you.

Know what?  You've got a Fake You defending the Real You.  You're probably busy protecting the Real You right now so some day that Real You can get out and do its things.  Except you've got it backwards.

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News of the Day 11/19/2010

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Nasty stuff on Dell is brought to light.  More depressing Fraudclosure-related stuff – including book form! News as games (or games as news!) Plus the inevitable picture of how badass Karl Urban Looks! It's must-know geeky news – with a picture of Karl Urban.

Career:
A pretty good idea: a job-search specific business card.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Sigh. Some petty fraud in the Fraudclosure mess: document fees. Oddly, if this is more widespread it may get more attention on Fraudclosure because it's easily understandable.

If you want to get depressed in book format, there's a new book out called "The Monster" which looks at predatory lending. An exerpt is here, and yes, I'm tempted.

Geek Law:
I'm vaguely putting this under 'Geek Law' since I'm not sure where it should go. Basically it appears Dell lied or at least danced around issues involving a LOT of faulty computers. I vaguely feel this will be taken in stride by the public, but I'm not so sure in these times. Could mean problems for Dell, certainly means plenty of lawsuit material.

Comics:
More on the Batman Live show: which apparently focuses on the origin of Robin. I confess it sounds pretty fascinating and grand – and I suspect the Robin origin story is a great way to get a younger audience into the show (which sounds like it's the intention). I don't see this necessarily spawning any imitators because Batman is, in the end, relatively normal compared to aliens and mutants, and thus easier to do as a live action show.

OK it's all over the internet, so here's Karl Urban as Judge Dredd. I'm pretty positive on the film and sense a chance for a series, and Urban is such chameleon I'm confident he'll do good. Actually I think that this is quite good for him as I don't feel he's really found a "vehicle" that he deserves.

Media:
Games fused with news? Georgia Institute of Technology's Digital Media Program is researching the idea. I'm not quite sure where this could go – and the initial efforts seem simplistic – but the idea is intriguing. Why not drop these folks a line to find out more or get involved?

Yahoo may be having it's problems, but it hired a pretty powerful bunch of people for it's entertainment page. I figure Yahoo really needs to focus on distinguishing itself, and distinguishing itself in media is one way to do it. It'll make them more appealing to AOL when they buy them out . . . (and yes, I'm figuring that's still a possibility).

Publishing:
Amazon to allow e-Book gifting this Christmas. Right on time.

Science:
OUCH. Roche cuts 4,800 jobs and hundreds of them are in San Francisco icon Genentech. It doesn't seem surprising, but . . . well, ouch. Don't think they should go off of a potential employer list (the cuts seem specialize) but it does make them seem a bit less sure.

Technology:
Fan-To-Pro Crush Object Salesforce is doing great financially (and may I say doing well in a reasonable, not-bubble way). I consider Salesforce to be one of those companies that any working geek should keep in mind. Also, they're going to be making a free version of their microblogging software, Chatter.

Television:
Cheaper and smaller cable tiers sound cool, but this author notes this gets you closer and closer to ala carte pricing. He also notes in a way a channel is also a bundle of things . . . and consumers may ask why they even need channels. Great read – and for my money, ala carte of some kind is coming, it's just a matter of time.

Video Games:
Seven45 cuts staff. This does not surprise me.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Will we go to ala carte cable one day – or just straight to program-by-program? Or something else?

– Steven Savage

Frustration Friday: Go Make Something, Numbskulls

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What you say, another raucous rant on the economipocalypse?  Well of course!  Besides, Frustration Friday is focused on foul-ups, frustrating folks, and other things driving us crazy.

And in this case, I've realized what I'd like to say to the various banisters, fraudclosure fiends, mortgage mayhem masters, and the pilots of the rocket dockets.

"Would it have hurt you folks to do something that actually made something?"

I mean really.  New financial tools that were obviously just meant to funnel money away while giving nothing?  Robo-signing that was going to obviously be found?  Sinking the world economy with a shell game?

Would it have hurt all these geniuses to find a way to make money at something that did something, made something, made a difference?

I'd like to know really did they somehow delude themselves into think they were making the world a better place, that what they did mattered?  Did they at least have the honesty to admit they were con-people, deceivers, and exploiters looking for loopholes in and around the rules?

Sadly I'm feeling that some of these econonincompoops really did think they were some great captains of capitalism, some innovators of investments.  That they honestly thought a bunch of resorted loans and quick slice-and-dice of economic items to turn them into investments were going to work.  I'm worried they really, truly, believed they were doing good and making something.

Newsflash.  They weren't.

So when I look at the people that gave us the economic apocalypse, it's another reminder to me to make sure I do something, that I make something, that I build something.

Because damned if I don't want to be like the people that got us into this mess.

– Steven Savage