| About InfoWorld : Advertise : Subscribe : Contact Us : Awards : Events : Store |
 |
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
 |
|
|||
 |
||||
|
|
|
||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 COLUMN
Petreley joins the ranks of the 'regular-income challenged' A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago Bob Lewis announced in his column that he was laid off (aka downsized, riffed, cost-synergized, liberated from the shackles of financial security, add your favorite insincere equivalent of "spoot-canned" here). Well, move over, Bob. Not only have I joined you in the ranks, but it all went down exactly the way you described.
It's like the 10 commandments of HR now begin with Miranda. Thou shalt not say anything because anything thou sayest can and will be used against thee and thine ass (as in donkey, of course) in a court of law. Unlike you, Bob, I didn't have a bourbon. I prefer Courvoisier over bourbon, and I save it for happy occasions. But hey, I'm as vulnerable to stress as the next guy. I simply leaned on a Xanax and a prayer instead. Like you, Bob, I immediately looked for the bright side. It was fun working on nonprofit projects as an "artist in residence" paid by Caldera International. But it's also a relief to know that I am now free to say whatever I like in this column about Linux distributions. It has been a major annoyance having to dance around the topic of Linux distributions for the past year to avoid the conflict of interest, especially because I dance with two left feet. It may be true that being downsized is the best thing that can happen to folks like us, Bob, but I'm not sure I want to hang out my own shingle. I've done it before, so it isn't the intimidating thought it once was. But neither is it an exciting adventure anymore. I gave it up more than a decade ago to take a full-time job because I was tired of managing so many details and working outrageous hours. You need either a knack for business or someone to manage your affairs if you're going to work for yourself. Pardon my immodesty, but I know that I'm extremely talented in many ways. But I also know that I'm the world's worst businessman. My business skills rank somewhere below those of an asthmatic Chihuahua. (I was going to say French sewer rat, but then I realized that I know of several successful businessmen who could easily pass for French sewer rats.) On the other hand, the alternative hasn't lived up to its promises, either. It turns out I was rather naive to think that a full-time job meant 40-hour work weeks. These days "exempt" status means, "We expect you to live, eat, and breathe your work, but we're exempt from having to compensate you for it." I really began to understand what full-time meant when an employer let me work at home, yet I still never saw my family. Regardless, I've been scouring the classified ads under B for beach bum and there never seem to be any openings. I guess it's one of those careers with low turnover rates. So I may have to work for myself after all. We'll see how it turns out. I'm optimistic because, like I said in a previous column, a slow economy is actually the best money-making environment for open-source companies such as, well, oh never mind. Speaking of columns, how will this change affect mine? Well, first I have to take a jaunt to New Zealand to give a presentation on Web applications development for Linux and host another Golden Penguin Bowl. Following that, I have a vacation planned. Obviously, this long overdue vacation turned out to be exceedingly ill-timed, but the money is already spent and there are no refunds, so off I go. When I return at the end of May, I expect the column to be a lot more fun to write. As I mentioned earlier, I am now free to tackle a few topics that have been begging to be addressed but have been off-limits due to my connections with a Linux distributor. And I've had the chance to check out a lot of very cool Web development technologies in preparation for my New Zealand presentation, so I have a lot to write about when I return. As for the VarLinux.org web site (www.varlinux.org), fear not my friends. As far as I'm concerned, as long as there is interest in the site, I'll continue to run VarLinux.org or find others who will. Indeed, my good friend and Linux expert Rick Moen has agreed to manage VarLinux.org while I'm away. Time permitting, when I return I have some big plans for expanding the services VarLinux.org provides, including a subliminal message that compels large companies to throw big bucks my way. But don't worry. I promise to be more subtle about such things in future columns. Nick is the founding editor of LinuxWorld and VarLinux.org ( www.varlinux.org ). Reach him at nicholas@petreley.com. Sign up to receive this column free via e-mail each week at www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters .  RELATED SUBJECTS  Professional DevelopmentDiscuss this article in our online forums MORE > SPONSORED WHITE PAPERS 
SPONSORED LINKS
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
