Month: July 2021

Boring, Bland Resumes: 3 Simple Ways To Stand Out

Published 2021/07/24

Boring, Bland Resumes: 3 Simple Ways To Stand Out

Resumes are one of the worst inventions ever.

Not only do you have to look up what special keyboard keys are needed if you want to type the word resumé correctly (stupid accented é!) but there is also that tiny little detail of boiling down who you are as a professional and a person into one or two pages of formatted text.

Ugh.

Could we have come up with a worse system to try and fill a job?

Even online dating profiles are (just barely) better than this. At least there the goal is to sell yourself as a person.

With resumes, you aren’t supposed to include fun pictures of you and your dog, your likes and dislikes, or really much of anything personal.

Published 2021/07/21

Remote Work Haiku

As the pandemic has changed our life- and work-styles, unfortunately some things got dropped like the creation of calm-inducing workplace haiku. No longer! The wonderful world of workplace haiku is back. Please enjoy these remote work moments of zen.

Blame Fortnite For Why Linux Gaming Isn’t Ready Yet – Part 1

Published 2021/07/19

Blame Fortnite For Why Linux Gaming Isn’t Ready Yet – Part 1

Before writing any words on this piece, let me state that I am fully aware of how polarizing Fortnite can be.

It may be that the whole premise is flawed. Fortnite is so yesterday. Fortnite is so teenage. Nobody plays it anymore.

So let’s just get it out in the open.

Fortnite is holding gaming on Linux back.

Now with that out of the way, let’s step back and please put your personal vitriol on hold for a second.

This isn’t about Fortnite.

Well, it kind of is because I keep mentioning it. What it really is about are games like Fortnite.

100 Posts In: Lessons Learned In Blogging, Engineering, & Life

Published 2021/07/19

100 Posts In: Lessons Learned In Blogging, Engineering, & Life

Ideas are awesome. Ideas are great.

However, ideas don’t pay the bills. Ideas don’t manifest themselves out of thin air, hopes, and dreams.

How often do we have ideas?

MDIs are great. MDI stands for Million Dollar Ideas.

How often do we find ourselves sitting around and some amazing and practical thought worms its way from the back of our heads to a shining spotlight position of prominence right up front?

This would be the type of idea that you find yourself coming back to while sitting around bored. The one that rents space in the back and pops up early and often.

The one that, if implemented and turned into reality, could easily net you at least a million dollars.

Stop Using Me As A Reference On Your Resume

Published 2021/07/13

Stop Using Me As A Reference On Your Resume

Boom! Right smack dab in the middle of my day I get a fresh, unsolicited email dropped into the middle of my inbox. Dear Kevin, So-and-so listed you as a reference and I wanted to reach out and ask you some questions. Can you please provide detailed responses to the following 12 questions about this person for me please? Thanks,Corporate Recruiter Wow. Yeah, that is just what I needed. More work to do today. Hey, so-and-so. Why don’t you just take me off your references list as I don’t have time for that. Whew – deep breath. Let me start over. Having ranted and raved about the whole resume process and how awful it is many times previously, the act of putting references on a resume and then in the recruiter following up and reaching out to said references is just the cherry on top of a putrid pie. However,…

7 Things You Should Get Out Of An Engineering Co-Op/Intern Experience

Published 2021/07/11

7 Things You Should Get Out Of An Engineering Co-Op/Intern Experience

Go get me my coffee!

That is right, you, intern, are here to make my life easier and do all of the grunt work that I don’t want to do.

But you can start by bringing me my coffee.

Two sugars and 1 cream.

This sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Whatever perceptions and expectations that exist in society, whether from badly scripted movie and tv shows or from horror stories from really bad places to work, an Engineering Co-op or Intern experience should not be lumped in with all of that.

A good intern experience should give you just that: experience.

Adventures In Docker, Minecraft Servers, & Mods – Part 1

Published 2021/07/10

Adventures In Docker, Minecraft Servers, & Mods – Part 1

Minecraft is awesome. I also hate part of it with every fiber of my being. Wait… backup, rewind. Let’s start at the beginning. This is not a story about how amazing Minecraft is. It is also not an explanation for someone that doesn’t know what Minecraft is. Honestly, if you aren’t aware of Minecraft at this point then skip this article altogether. However, if you are looking to get up and running with a dedicated home server and don’t know where to start or have started and find yourself stuck then you are at the right place. So… Minecraft. What an amazing game. I have spent countless hours placing simple blocks on a screen. It is amazing how such a simple concept can engross so many people and be so popular. However, there is one aspect to Minecraft that I hate with a burning passion. I. Hate. Minecraft. Mods. If…

Embrace The Creative Spurt

Published 2021/07/10

Embrace The Creative Spurt

Computers are amazing. You plug them in, tell them what to do, and as long as they have consistent power and good data they will keep doing that over and over. And over. And over. Humans are not computers. Humans are biological beings with attention spans and distractions. Also, don’t forget those icky things called feelings. No matter how exciting something feels, or how interesting a topic is right now, at some point, that interest and excitement will fade. Think about it. You are surrounded right now by vast quantities of potential. You could go write a program. Author a book. Create a life-saving device. Design an algorithm to end world hunger and save the environment. Pick your poison here. The possibilities are endless. The world is your oyster and the opportunities abound. Yet you are sitting there reading these words instead of doing something amazing. Why is that? Don’t…

I Have The Power (Toys)!

Published 2021/07/01

I Have The Power (Toys)!

He-Man AND Microsoft PowerToys?!? What year is it again? In the last 45 days what is old has become new again. He-Man is back along with Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Man-At-Arms, Tr-Klops and the rest of the gang. Kevin Smith is resurrecting this classic Saturday morning cartoon. For the uninitiated, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a cartoon show made in the 80s and showed on Saturday morning cartoons. The synopsis from wikipedia says it all: The series takes place on Eternia, a planet of magic, myth and fantasy. Its lead character is Prince Adam, the young son of Eternia’s rulers, King Randor and Queen Marlena. Whenever Prince Adam holds the Sword of Power aloft and proclaims “By the Power of Grayskull!” he is endowed with “fabulous secret powers” and transformed into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. On the tech side of things, Microsoft has released PowerToys for Windows 10! If you aren’t familiar,…