FORTUNE: Trapped in cubicles – Mar. 9, 2006
My favorite quote from the article:
It is the Fidel Castro of office furniture.
I’ve lived in more than a few cubicle farms, and I have to say that the fact that one person – one man – designed it is surprising. Surprising because I would have expected it to have been a committee sort of thing.
The fact that it’s not being used as it was originally designed? Well, that’s not very surprising at all.
I have a new project getting ramped up, and I’m trying to decide if I should stick with my standard blogging software, MovableType, or try something new. If I stick with MT, then I’ll be using an older version as I’m not willing to upgrade at this time. If I go with something new, it will be – well, new.
I’ve played with several different engines in the past, but nothing recent – with the exception of Geeklog for Mc108.com and a copy of TextPattern I have installed for an experiment.
I want something that I can control – meaning something that lives on my server, and preferably something that’s open source and preferably free or low cost. I don’t mind paying someone money, but I want to feel like the software is worth it – and frankly, some of the stuff out there just isn’t.
I know that Lee will suggest the ExpressionEngine, which I haven’t yet played with – but I’m not sure what else is out there. I did just find this breakdown, and it’s helpful, but I have a feeling that there’s going to be some experimenting either way.
Either way, I’ll announce my decision – not that anyone cares 
– and the site itself when I have something working – hopefully in about a week or so.
Doesn’t EE cost big bucks?
I’m using WordPress – I like it, it’s simple and easy to use. Much lighter on the server than MT. There’s a big upgrade coming to the 1.3 version. On the downside, not much in the way of dealing with comment spam.
Another one to try: WebGUI from PlainBlack Software (www.plainblack.com). We’ve been using it for the DC for Democracy website (www.dcfordemocracy.org) with quite a bit of success. Its interface is markedly different than the MT/EE/WordPress/Nuke stuff, and the company that makes it is quite good.
Worth a look-see.
Actually, I suggest you try pMachinePro, http://www.pmachine.com, which costs a grand total of $45. I love it for sites that don’t need the full EE deal. You could try the free version, but I don’t think it has capchas (sp?) to block the comment spam. I’m using the free version for a simple little blog on jimandalice.com/current/index.php and it seems to be working out pretty nicely. (I set it up so registration is required for commenting.)
I spent today at my employers second location – it’s in the middle of CT, so it’s more “central” – but less frequented by customers and techs. There were several computers for me to fix, so I was busy for most of the day, but I miss going out and dealing with people face to face. Weird.
I was just trying to clean out my inbox, and I found, as usual, a lot of old email. This in turn lead me to dig through the outbox for replies I sent to this same person – replies and discussion about an old employer.
What struck me most about these emails, and mostly the actual conversation, is how much it predicted events that occurred at that employer. From my own layoff half a year later to things that happened to other people shortly thereafter. I also found it interesting that I noted the level of mistrust at that time, and that it didn’t get any better….
ME, that’s who.
After over a year of being without a job – unemployed, as it were – I have managed to secure employment. I start Monday. Leave your praise, kind words and alms for the poor in the comments.
This is a sweet little display. There are a bunch of new LCD’s on the market that combine the computer monitor and a TV tuner so you can watch TV at the same time as you’re doing things on the computer. This particular model apparently has nice speakers, and offers nine different locations for the picture in picture – and let’s not forget that the smaller picture can be either the tv or the computer – so when you have a long download or installation, you can watch Carson Daly until the install is done, then switch them back.
Ahhh, I can picture it now…..
It’s been one year since I was laid off. Technically, I can now name names, identify clients, and just generally mess with them – I’m no longer bound by any non-disclosure agreements or anything. But do I want to do that? No. Why? ‘Cause I really don’t want to. I don’t care about that company any more. They don’t seem to be doing any better than they were when I was “let go,” and the only reason I even think about them any more is that I still have friends who work there. Plus, I really don’t see the need to give them any free publicity. If they wanted to pay for advertising, on the other hand….
Oh, wait – I don’t really have anything like that setup. Yet.
Well, it’s your anniversary but I don’t exactly want to say congrats, do I? I don’t exactly remember when my one-year is — is it the day I found out about it, or is it the day I went in and formally got the letter?
I do remember when you where given your sayonara notice — those of us who’d survived that round were pretty steamed that they couldn’t wait until Monday. The I proceed to get whacked while on vacation two months later — when I couldn’t log on to web email, I just knew …
At any rate, I managed to get MT up and running on the new server. It was a bitch. But it works. I decided not to do the MySQL thing yet because I just need to get them moved fast.
BTW, you have more than a “chunk”–you have fully half of the bandwidth and fully half of the GBs that aren’t used for the OS and admin crap. And an IP address! (Though I’m not quite sure what to use our random IP address for.)
Anyway, uncongratulations. Hope you hear good news about the mentioned j-o-b-s — I have a hunch when it happens for you, you’ll have to choose between offers, which is always nicer.
I got the offical, on company letterhead, complete with the usual “wish you much success in your future endeavors” kiss off letter today from one of the jobs I’d been hoping to get.
Once again, I am left wondering if I crossed the line between “I really want this job” and “Oh my god I NEEEEEEED this job.” Do you know the difference?
One of those statements implies enthusiasm, and the other implies a willingness to kill to get the position. I have tried, very hard I might add, to restrain myself and not come across as a total nut job. I have tempered my reminder calls to this and other possible employers, trying to remember what it’s like to have work to do when someone gives you an assignment you don’t want – in this case, hiring someone.
But you know what? It doesn’t mean anything anymore. I MUST HAVE A JOB. At this point I’m coming close to applying for work at the mall – I just can’t take it anymore. We need another source of income, Jen needs some time off, and I need to spend some time with adults.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens over the next 7 days (which, incidentally, will bring us to July 5, 2003 – exactly one year after my most recent layoff).
Condolences are appreciated, but so are donations.
Another weekend, another look at the weekend job listings. As usual, there isn’t much, if anything. A job that I’ve already applied for is apparently still available – or they’ve hired someone and need to replace them.
There are a couple of positions that I applied for but haven’t heard back on – not usually a good thing, but at this point at least I’m still being considered for the position, right? That’s all I ask, really.
I was hoping to have another one of those “temp” jobs lined up for this week, but the company I’d be doing the temp work for (aka my headhunter) hasn’t heard back if they’re interested in me. If I did get the work, I’d be amazed if it lasted as long as it’s supposed to – if you recall, my last assignment was supposed to be several weeks to several months, but I ended up only working one day. With this kind of job market, I’m amazed I even got that much…
I’m continuing to hope that I’ll get something – anything – but with the one year anniversary of my layoff rapidly approaching, I’m starting to wonder what the best way to celebrate this occasion is. Do I send my former employer flowers? Do I go get drunk? Have a nice dinner with the family? Any suggestions out there?
Could it be? Did I actually manage to secure work for myself? I went to a “working interview” today, and was offered a one-two week temp assignment that might turn into something more. It would be nice to have money coming in on a regular basis, but…. It’s in Stamford. For those not familiar with the area, that’s about 45 minutes (on a good day) to the south – aka the same direction as New York City. AKA the direction from hell – I’d be going towards NYC with about 10,000,000 other people. All it takes is for one little accident to cause hours of frustration and delay.
The good thing is that the company is fairly close to the train station in Stamford, so if I can get a ticket and parking, I might be all set – with a two hour commute to amuse myself with each day.
Anyway, it’s a start – and since it’s a paycheck, I don’t think it’s anything to sneeze at.
Good! Congrats! Yay!
Would’ve written sooner but I’ve been out of the bloggy loop for a couple of days.
Drop me a line if you get a chance and fill me in, like where and doing what (is it that job we discussed??)
We’re waiting to hear on a decentish job. Will be interesting if it comes through.
So, I managed to make it into the Big Apple for my job interview, despite the impending doom and gloom of the snow.
I feel that I did well during the interview, and I’m supposed to find out either way tomorrow, so cross your fingers and think good thoughts for me, ok?
Normally when I have a job interview coming up, I get all superstitious and don’t tell anyone about it. I don’t know why, exactly, I just get a little nervous if too many people know – it’s like I’ll jinx myself or something. So now that I finally have something coming up – something very promising, I might add – I’ve decided to chance it and try something new.
I’ve applied for many, many jobs. I’ve gotten a few interviews. But no job offers.
This leads me to wonder if it’s something about my resume, myself, or my work that is holding me back. And since I’m not exactly partial, it’s hard to figure it out.
Anyone have any good suggestions for a way to better assess my skills that would give me an insight into whatever it is that I’m missing?
Well, you might consider going to an agency, such as Aquent or Hal Kinion. I had a lot of success with Aquent, but have not re-upped with them since departing that place in Branford (haven’t needed to). I uploaded my resume to Hal Kinion (dba Net-Temps) at one point and have gotten two decent temp-to-hire offers from them and I’ve never even done one job for Hal Kinion (I had to turn them both down)!
If you go to an employment agency, they would probably help you with your resume and/or interview skills.
The job market is better in western CT than central CT–you might consider biting the bullet about commuting … [shudder]
I’ve actually gotten random bites by making my resume publicly available such as on the NYTimes jobs board (free), WSJ Careers, the Boston Globe (which you can do via NYT), and here: http://www.fairfieldcountyjobs.com/, plus I have my resume online at http://www.leefleming.com/resume.htm
Do you have an online portfolio? How about a “professional” website showcasing your skills?
If you want to email me your resume, I’d be happy to take a look at it and see if I spot anything that might be off-putting or maybe be able to rephrase things with a better spin. I’m willing to take a shot!
It was pretty darn good. A local Mexican restaurant was our banquet facility – well, more like buffet facility. We had the “lower level” to their bar all to ourselves. It was a little weird, what with everyone else watching us (and occasionally trying to come down, thinking it was just a hopping happy hour).
shredder 03:57 on 2006/09/14 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Cubicles, bleh. At my work we’re thinking about having a completely open floor plan, which may even be worse. They would be able to see me typing this.
smartboard 03:31 on 2006/10/16 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Lots of things are not used as they were designed and cubicles are no exceptions.