response 86 of 252:

Oct 11 13:04 UTC 2018

resp:85 sorry, I didn't mean to come across as flippant.
The issue with ident is that when you connect to some remote
system, the distant end connects back to ident service on the
machine you're connecting from (if it can) and queries it
for who you are by sending some metadata about the your
connection to them.

The first problem is that, with all the firewalling and so
forth used these days, more often than not the distant end
can't connect to the machine you're coming from anyway (either
it'll hit a NAT gateway, or the traffic is just rejected).

The second problem is that there's nothing at all that
prevents your system from straight-up lying to the distant
end.

This protocol never worked particularly well, but it made
more sense when the Internet was much smaller, connections
were generally end-to-end, and most users connected via
machines that could be at least somewhat trusted.

Sadly, identd is a relic from a bygone era.

response 88 of 252:

Oct 12 13:30 UTC 2018

Heh.

response 90 of 252:

Nov 4 01:11 UTC 2018

IBB because this new manager job means full time programming and half
time managing and management meetings.  So now I'm working too many hours
each week and starting to think another job would be better.  I like the
system we use and have used it for many years now and know all the
backend parts of it.  But if I have to do 60+ hr. weeks all the time.
I might have to quit and find a more reasonable position.  This week
I logged off at 5:45 p.m. on Friday because I was wanting a reasonable
Friday and we'll see if anyone notices.  Got a lot of stuff done around
the house and garage that needed doing as a result. Winter is coming!

response 92 of 252:

Nov 12 21:12 UTC 2018

Thanks, tod.  Yeah, I've heard other people say they aren't going to
work extra hours anymore.  Of course the last guy that got fired, so maybe
it's not such a good idea. We'll see.

response 94 of 252:

Jan 4 15:07 UTC 2019

I'm sad that the python3 pexpect library isn't installed... could we get it
added? Thanks!

response 96 of 252:

Jan 16 13:33 UTC 2019

You have my sympathy.

response 98 of 252:

Jan 16 19:15 UTC 2019

re #95
Yikes
What's going on?

response 100 of 252:

Jan 17 02:48 UTC 2019

That sounds really awful.  Are you interested in switching at
this time?

response 102 of 252:

Jan 20 00:13 UTC 2019

Unpaid overtime is totally legal if the employee is classified as
"salary exempt." I fall into this classification. Unlimited free
overtime.  Salary exempt is to overtime what the solar panel is to
"clean energy".

Design engineers (my case) are "learned professionals" who are QUALIFIED
as exempt. I'm so lucky.

Please see section 541.400 "computer employees" below:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/regulations.pdf

541.400    General rule for computer 
employees. 
(a) 
Computer systems analysts, 
computer programmers, software 
engineers or other similarly skilled 
workers in the computer field are 
eligible for exemption as professionals 
under section 13(a)(1) of the Act and 
under section 13(a)(17) of the Act. 
Because job titles vary widely and 
change quickly in the computer 
industry, job titles are not determinative 
of the applicability of this exemption. 
(b) 
The section 13(a)(1) exemption 
applies to any computer employee 
compensated on a salary or fee basis at 
a rate of not less than $455 per week (or 
$380 per week, if employed in 
American Samoa by employers other 
than the Federal Government), exclusive 
of board, lodging or other facilities, and 
the section 13(a)(17) exemption applies 
to any computer employee compensated 
on an hourly basis at a rate not less than 
$27.63 an hour. In addition, under 
either section 13(a)(1) or section 
13(a)(17) of the Act, the exemptions 
apply only to computer employees 
whose primary duty consists of: 
(1) 
The application of systems 
analysis techniques and procedures, 
including consulting with users, to 
determine hardware, software or system 
functional specifications; 
(2) 
The design, development, 
documentation, analysis, creation, 
testing or modification of computer 
systems or programs, including 
prototypes, based on and related to user 
or system design specifications; 
(3) 
The design, documentation, 
testing, creation or modification of 
computer programs related to machine 
operating systems; or 
(4) 
A combination of the 
aforementioned duties, the performance 
of which requires the same level of 
skills. 

response 104 of 252:

Jan 21 05:38 UTC 2019

We get a new boss in a little over a week, so we'll see how that goes.
The main driver of all this nonsense is the project I'm on which had
its timeline shortened, is overly complex, with a client who changes
the requirements all the time and has a shortage of people when we need
them (due to competing projects).  On top of this the client changed the
system we use, so that has been a learning curve for everyone. Most
of the team is new people.

With any luck I can get through the next couple weeks in good shape and
then get back to management tasks.  However, yes, I'm salaried and don't
get any overtime.  On top of this, I have a contract situation in the
job which I need to fulfill before I can reasonably move to some other
position without paying a penalty.  That runs out in Sept. this year.

My previous employer's recruiter called me last week, so we got
connected on Linked-In. That's an alternative for at least discussion.
That company paid straight-time overtime and generally I didn't
work much overtime at all.  But the money was less and I wasn't on
salary. There was not much hope for advancement or raises, either.  This
current job has opportunities for advancement and we usually get some
increase in salary each year as well as some kind of bonus.

It is somewhat the nature of the job that there are occasional times
when extra work is required, but not all the time, usually, like it
has been for many months now.  It is a regulated industry subject to
(unannounced) federal agency audits so not following SOPs is not a
good thing, no matter what the boss says.  I could, perhaps, switch to
another industry.  My goals for employment don't stretch much past 3
years at this point, though that could change.

response 106 of 252:

Feb 9 12:24 UTC 2019

The lesson I learned by observing the media and the "man on the street"
reactions to job cuts, unpaid overtime, etc is this:
If you make a decent living and don't work for a union or work in some
god-awful coalmine no one gives a shit what you go through. 

That said, I was spared being cut. My department was given the all clear
by the president of the company. Next week all departments are going to
be reorganized. The fun never ends and if you complain, "you should be
grateful for having a job." It's far too early in the economic cycle for
this greed and exploitation. 

The media excitement over "the gig economy" where you deliver groceries
or taxi people with no benefits while an app company makes billions is
the future. If you sell everything, invest in a lucrative investment
fund and live in a van, you could do gigs and collect food stamps. It's
the future for millenials. Sign up for the new green deal. Be a hero. My
advice to generation z: learn a trade. Fix furnaces or replace plumbing.
Corporate America is a race to the bottom unless you are a management
type who can live with firing single moms with 3 kids. 

response 108 of 252:

Mar 14 00:26 UTC 2019

Okay, IBB, this place drives me nuts.  I got put on another study and
nothing much is getting done.  People say they're programming but I
don't see the results.  So I asked for a few more programmers, got 3
contractors.  Then 2 of them got pulled back to their previous work so
I put the other guy to work and he got a few things working.  However,
today we found out we've got to change a lot of things and do even more
work, so I asked for a few more programmers and all I got was "I gave
you 3 the other day."  Of course, 3 became 1 so that didn't help as
much as 3 so that's what I told this so-called boss (same level as I
am).  So, I think it's time she started running this project and see
what happens to her.  Supposedly this is the most important project
around, but not when some other project needs people then it's the
most important project.  I keep having to work weekends and things at
home are falling apart even more than before.  So, I'm not all that
happy right now.  Our client likes to dump more work on us that we have
people to do it and then they say 'hire more people.'  But, as I noted,
people are leaving every month.  And replacements take time to come up
to speed. So, that isn't working.  I'm mostly tired all the time and
unmotivated.  I'd like to work for a company that treats people with
respect and work in environment that isn't about blame but about fixing
things if they aren't working. Thankfully, the lead programmer that was
out sick for a month came back today, so he can start dealing with the
nonsense I've been dealing with.  On the plus side, I fixed a couple
Unix issues today for people and that was okay.  Just that it came at
the expense of other work I'm supposed to be doing.

response 110 of 252:

Mar 16 01:19 UTC 2019

Thanks.  Waiting for the end of days here. It's two days later and
very little got done.  I know people are waiting for the end of the
study so they can jump in cause problems but we don't have time
for new validation program development. Today I got word that 4
of the people helping just became potential programmers for other
projects on a moment's notice, so now we are going into the final
phase without the people we need to do the work, and we only
have 5 days to do everthing.  So far they've been working on it
for 9 days and aren't done yet.  So that doesn't bode well.