So Goes Another Week

No interviews this week, but some potentials soon. Probably not next week either, as it's a short week for all you working stiffs, but here's hoping.

Unethical Head Hunters
This one guy I was dealing with basically wanted me to 'fix' my resume so that it reflected the clients needs. He first wanted me to insert some 'Key Words' into the body of my experience, which I could do. I had done the work, just didn't call it what the client called it. Then he wanted me to put Oracle on there. So I did some googling, downloaded some tutorials on Oracle, and put that in the 'Education' part of my resume. Hey, who hasn't done that? I changed the format of a report written in RPG many years ago and put on my resume that I programmed in RPB, back when RPG mattered. But then he called me and said he wanted me to make it look like I had 10+ years with Oracle. I told him I wouldn't do that. Then he upped the rate they were offering me. I still didn't do it, I have some integrity. I'm sure he's very successful as a headhunter when he modifies all the candidates resumes to fit the clients skillset. But how long do they last at the job? Now, this position was in my realm of expertise, and I could sucessfully perform the duties, I just couldn't 'speak' Oracle. And how long do you think it would take to pick that up? I already understand the concepts of relational databases and SQL queries.

I read an article about companies that do this, request loads of very specific skills, sometimes that don't exist. And why should a BA know VB? They won't be doing any coding, will they? In this case, I'm sure the client could find someone with 10+ years experience with Oracle, but why limit the potential pool of employees? Especially for a BA position?

Movie Review
I like obscure, 'different' movie plots, and last night I watched 'The Station Agent', all about a train geek who inherited an old, small, no longer used train station in northern New Jersey. He moved up there to 'get away from it all', but some of the neighbors kept bothering him. It was a cute story, each of these neighbors had their own quirks and issues they had to deal with. Oh, yeah, did I mention the lead character was a dwarf? There really wasn't any closure, no one fell in love, no one died, no one ran away or got into trouble, it was just a story. About train geeks.

Errands
I didn't leave the house yesterday, having to redo my resume several times and taking calls from the distressed headhunter, so today I have to run errands. I need to get a 'hydration waist pack' for the Pub Crawl. They have to call it that as 'fanny' pack in Europe would mean something completely different than what it is. Ya gotta have some water and an empty bottle to put your beer in as you're walking. At least I have to.

Party Trick
I saw this last night on David Letterman. If you take a 2 liter bottle of Diet soda (they used Diet Coke, but I think it will work with any diet soda), open it and immediately drop a Mento in it, it will become a geyser. Don't shake it, just drop it in. And 3 mentos cause a pretty amazing geyser. Don't attempt this indoors as it makes quite a mess. I fell asleep before they did 121 bottles in a choreographed performance. This gives a new meaning to 'Performance Art'.

More to come...
As things happen, I'll be posting. Thanks for taking the time to read. You're opinions are welcome but if you have to start calling me names, don't bother, I won't read them. As my Dad says 'Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one.'