Oy vey!

Rumor is...lay-offs will either start tomorrow or Monday.

I'm supposed to be on the "safe list."

The scary part is...the safe list only leaves three developers working on what has been described as the "world's largest" app of its kind.  Yes, I am shaking in my boots.

I've made inquiries to old friends at the Evil Empire.  They will be staffing up for a big contract they just won.  I kinda miss working there but there are two large caveats:  1) they may have a policy that if you've been gone for less than 5 years, they put you back at the salary you left at (not just "no way" but "HELL NO, no way"), and 2) if I get what I'm making now, if they have another lay-off, I'm guaranteed to be one of the first gone.  ::sigh::

My current company is the subcontractor to the Evil Empire.  I could stay at my current salary and company and work on the Evil Empire's big contract and hop divisions. 

It's been a stressful few weeks.  I've used my leave hours to trim off days since the atmosphere is so unhappy at work, and from sheer exhaustion, since I sleep so badly.

Brain Rot

Digg.com rots your brain.

It's H to a tech news junkie like me.  And it feeds my gadget news addiction like no other site.

So someone links to info about the Picco Z Micro-Helicopter, how it's tiny, cheap, virtually indestructable, and mod-able, and did I mention cheap?  And meant to fly indoors?  And is selling at Radio Shack for $30?
Yep, got one sitting right here on the desk.

Then someone else links to what can only be described as an incredible video of the winner of last year's indoor model airplane contest.  You've just got to see this:  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8185503357916397815

BTW, youtube.com rots your brain, too.

So some World of Warcraft guildies mention their myspace page - after talking on ventrilo with these people for months, of course, I'm curious to put a face to the voices.  To search on myspace, though, you have to be a member of myspace...

So, yeah, go ahead, add me - http://www.myspace.com/jameydee

BTW, did I mention myspace.com rots your brain?

I need earplugs to keep my brain from oozing out.

A National Day of Mourning

I honestly believe that someday historians will look upon September 29, 2006 as the date that marked the fall of the United States of America.

As we speak, if the evil deed has not already been done, the Senate is passing a bill that suspends the Great Writ of Habeus Corpus, that gives George W. Bush the authority to define torture, to declare enemy combatants at will, to hold indefinitely and without charges, anyone he deems necessary, that gives him immunity from being brought up on war crimes.

The war on terror is over.

The terrorists won.

We have betrayed the very foundations of our nation's spirit in the name of fear.

And what is our braying media busy covering?  Clinton vs. Chris Wallace.  Hillary vs. Condi.  Such is the nature of our national discourse.

Shredding the Consitution?  Too dry, no demographics, no money.

Make no mistake, we've begun our descent down the slippery slope.

It's supposed to be verboten to make such comparisons, but I have to wonder if the ordinary folks in Germany saw what was happening to their country?  Did it start slowly?  And then one day you're telling yourself, "Those are only sausage factories," and trying hard to believe it?