John McGehee

  There is plenty of good  general advice on how to prepare for termination : build up cash, warm up you network, control your emotions, don't sign anything. In this article I share more specific tips on how tech workers can prepare. In my 14 years as a consultant I must have been "laid off" 30 times; it just means that it's time to move on to deliver value at the next place. So when a layoff became imminent at my last company, I prepared the way I always do. The approach Act like a vendor who lost this sale, but still wants repeat business in the future. No matter what happens, you will see some of your coworkers again. Conduct yourself lawfully with professionalism and honor. In particular, do not take any company property, intellectual or physical; do not violate your NDA or employment agreement. It's not just wrong, I have personally seen people go to jail for it. Begin your preparation as soon as you think your position may be affected. You will do nothing mo...

When faced with a problem, you naturally start thinking of a solution. By immediately jumping to the solution space, you forgo a deeper understanding of the real problem. One of the most famous ( actually, mythical ) examples is the Space Pen: legend has it that NASA commissioned a special  pen  that can write in zero gravity. Meanwhile the Soviets recognized that Cosmonauts would need  something  that can write in zero gravity: a pencil. Extending this example a bit, the Cosmonauts' pencils have a smaller problem space: What if the ink leaks? What if they lose the cap? Those questions do not even exist. Back here on Earth, you sometimes have the opportunity to create a rule that slices off a big chunk of your problem space; a simple thing you can do to eliminate a whole class of problems. It does not matter how infrequent such problems are now. The point is to make a set of problems impossible forever . You'll always have problems, but in a ...

A relative recently fell victim to the virtual kidnapping scam, where criminals demand ransom for a loved one whom they only claim to have kidnapped.  To make their claim more convincing, the perpetrators make their ransom demand when the purported kidnapping victim cannot be contacted.  They might simply know when the person is isolated and unavailable, or they might force them to go incommunicado by stealing their mobile phone.

It was 1986 and the US had recently attacked Libya in retaliation for the Berlin discotheque bombing and other mischief.  I was living In Tokyo, and at a social function for foreigners, I met two young men who worked at the Libyan Embassy.  We had an interesting conversation as I was more willing than most Americans to hear the Libyan side of the story.  Besides, I fancied myself an international man of intrigue whose associates included real live Libyan agents . 

As a boy I spent a summer on my grandfather’s farm in Mississippi. I learned a lot about farming. Grandpa taught me about hog rings, a piercing applied to a pig’s nose to prevent rooting (digging with its nose). He said they came in three sizes: pig, shoat and hog.

It was during my first job as a computer technician in high school that I developed the maxim: first check power, then check clocks .

When I was about four, we vacationed at the Handerly Hotel & Resort in San Diego (formerly the Stardust Motor Hotel).  That place was heaven on earth as far as I was concerned. I loved the pool. Next to the pool there was a bar, and behind the bar was an underwater theater. It was here that I saw one of the most outlandish scenes I have ever witnessed.