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April 26, 2001

Boy, it's a good thing

Boy, it's a good thing racism is over and we've got a level playing field. No need for any of that affirmative action crap anymore that just keeps white guys from getting ahead.

Amazingly enough, I overtook a

Amazingly enough, I overtook a roadie this am.

I saw him a couple blocks ahead of me as I was riding through downtown New Rochelle on my way to the train station. A 'real cyclist' in lycra on a yellow Giant road bike, skinny tires, not carrying anything on the bike. Admittedly, not a 20-something racerboy, probably about my age, but obviously not a fred like myself - riding a hybrid wearing a barn jacket, tb2 bag on back, commuter stuff all over the bike - bell, pump, reflectors, lights, rack, fenders.

After another block I noted with surprise that I was gaining on him. This never happens to me - I get dropped by everybody. But after another block I caught up to him. I would have passed him, actually, but traffic was heavy and we were about a half block from a red light. So I rode behind him to the light.

At the light he stopped and looked behind him and saw me. I said "hey, how's it going?" Without a word, he turned around, stood on his pedals, and went right as I continued on straight ahead. It never fails. I almost yelled "I coulda passed you!"

April 10, 2001

OK, genug, kitty. Time to

OK, genug, kitty. Time to start actually saying some stuff again. The big news is that I got laid off from my job at Oxygen Media, though it's sort of a time-release thing: if I stay and play nice (which meaning I'm not entirely certain of yet) for the next 6 months, then they'll give me 3 months severance.

On the face of it, this seems like a pretty good deal. I have a guaranteed paycheck for the rest of the year, and the co seems like it'll be reasonably liberal in allowing me to look for another job.

The problem is this: if part of my unhappiness here was the result of feeling like I was underutilized, then this period of time feels like attending my own funeral. I don't have anything interesting to do, and I've been put on a project which I think I got simply because noone else wanted to do it. It's certainly a long distance away from the platform and app server changes going on here now.

If you need a good solid Java programmer in the meantime, mostly experienced in servlets and JSP, feel free to contact me at jbm@panix.com. Or take a gander at my resume.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out what to do.