Okay...

Okay, when you just pull it of the the top of your head, you would think Farmington NM sucks.   Well I have to say that is wrong.  And I have been places that sucked, I have been places that redefined sucked.  This is nice.  Comfortable, warm, homey nice. Yeah. that kind of place. And this might seem strange, but the native americans I have met so far really remind me of the nigerians.  There is something so basic and earthy.  I guess the common trait is they don't do bullshit. I have so much more to learn.

The adventure begins.

So the start of a new phase in life. This one is a bit different, the closest thing in my experience is the move to Seattle. But this is different, just me, the wife, and the dog.

A new job. A new adventure.

So it took a bit of looking, okay a whole hell of a lot of looking, but I finally found a job.  And with this new job comes a whole new adventure.

First, the where of it; Farmington, New Mexico.  Farmington is the largest city in the Four Corners area.  Four Corners is the unique juncture where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado come together.  High desert at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.  The scenery is incredible.  Thing is, if you use Google Streetview to do some exploring, you will find that Google did not do Farmington any favors.  Main Street was photographed at night, possibly in the rain.  The rest of the town was done at the height of winter, not a green leaf to be seen.  On top of that you have to do some real searching on the web to find any good news about the place (though this is true for good news in general).  But unbiased information can be found, and while it will be a big change from anyplace we have ever lived (putting aside my misspent youth) it sounds like a nice place.  I will keep you posted.

Then there is the job. Professional Land Surveyor for a native american owned company named iiná bá Inc.  (It will take some practice to learn how to pronounce that correctly.)  They do a lot of work for the Navajo Nation and their values are structured along native american philosophy. Should be interesting.  I am also thinking that it will be a different path than the "dirt butcher" work that has been such a big piece of my career.  It is hard to put into words my growing discomfort with that kind of work.  Again, I will keep you posted.

If you are so inclined take a look at their website: http://www.iinaba.com/

Looking for work...

Looking for work is never fun.  In the current market, with the now accepted practices, it is humiliating.  First you need to prepare a resume/CV.  In my case, having been doing what I do for 32 years, that is not a small task.

Then comes the actual application.  For most firms this is an online process.  A key part of this process involves retyping your resume/CV into their online forms after you upload it.  Why? so their automated system can search for keywords.  The problem with this is who prepared the keyword list?  If you are a surveyor (I am) you know that data collector, datacollector, DC, and jigger all mean the same thing did the poor individual in HR stuck with the task know that?

But say that you got lucky and hit 70% of the keywords the computer was looking for, your application is now ready for initial review by a human being.  Odds are this person will not be have any experience in the field you are applying for, they will just be scanning for some basic yes/no conditions.  The intent of those conditions is not considered, it is a simple pass/fail test.  The net result of this arrangement is best shown in this snippet of an email I recently received:

We have carefully reviewed and considered your application.

The minimum qualifications for this position are:
An Associates degree with course work in civil engineering, drafting, engineering mathematics or a related field AND three (3) years of experience preforming field surveying or engineering technician duties. An LS license is preferred.

Although your application reflects many desirable skills and experiences, they do not meet the minimum qualifications needed for this position.

Damn near crushed my fragile ego.  Okay, not really, I laughed.  At least this entity was courteous enough to respond, most submittals just disappear in the void.  When did "don't call us, we'll call you" quit being rude?  their response was accurate.  I do not have a two year degree that included course work in those areas.  I have though prepared and taught some of those classes.

I am lucky.  I am really exceptionally good at what I do, and have more than a few well placed people in my field that know that.  I find work, not always quickly, or someplace I want to go, but I find work.  The people I feel for are those without connections like that.  People that are chewed up and spit out by a system that really doesn't know how to evaluate them.  Talented people who come away feeling like a 60 year old prostitute in fishnets and a mini-skirt standing on a wintry street corner in Chicago.

New toy

Well it really isn't a toy and I expect to get some serious use out of it, I just bought an Android tablet.  I have been using an Android phone for awhile now and found it really useful.  Well useful for most everything but being a phone, coverage is still bad no matter what the carrier.  Given that the tablet just seemed to make sense.  One of the side benefits should be more frequent posts.  The phone easy to access, but entering anything more than a couple of words was a pain.  Tiny "buttons" not so tiny fingers.  This should work much better.

A thought...

I think all textbooks should be published in an eBook format.  I think it is better that a student pay even $300 for a reader and then $20 - $30 for a text rather than $75 - $175 for a single book.  Because next semester, you do not have to buy the reader and you only pay $20 - $30 for a text.  And if there are new editions, revisions, etc.  the student pays $20 - $30 for the latest.  This way more people can afford important parts of their education, there is a better distribution of current knowledge, and we quit killing trees for books that are outdated in a few years.

About the money.  One of the arguments for textbooks has been; they are expensive because they have a limited readership.  My question is, do they have a limited readership because they are expensive?

And it isn’t like there is extra work to be done to make this happen.  Okay, for the sake of argument, much extra work.  The books are already  in digital format because that is how they are sent to the printing presses.

Time Flies..

Well since it has been a few months I figured it was time to try and catch things up here.  For the last few months I have been working mainly from home, and I can tell you it is a wonderful thing to actually live at home.  Hopefully I will be able to keep this up for awhile.

have I mentioned that Seattle is a beautiful place to live?  It really is.  This photo was taken last Sunday at the Cheery Blossom Festival that ran through the weekend at Seattle Center.  A really wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

And Taiko!  How can you not love Taiko?