Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Do you sell any clocks in this bookstore?

When I was in college I worked in a bookstore. One day a lady came in and asked us if we had any clocks for sale. Today, that question might not be too strange. After all, mega-bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Borders carry a lot of different stuff, but it was an odd question at the time.

I was reminded of that incident today while thinking about job interviews. Why? Hold on.

Imagine a universe where that lady's question was perfectly sensible. In that world, you might enter a traditional book-only bookstore and be greeted by the proprietor who asks you "What kind of product were you looking for?"

I think some interviewers have been to that world.

I selected your company to send my Resume to. I even applied for a particular job you are offering. Why are you asking about what kind of job I want? If I were looking for something you can't offer, I wouldn't be here.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Who says you don't need your MFC books anymore?

I have a problem with my van. The battery connectors are corroded and I don't have the money to have it fixed. (Did I mention that I approach car repair like the stereotypical grandma approaches installing an operating system on her computer?)

Anyway, I needed something heavy to hold the wires to the battery while I started the van, so Jeff Prosise's Programming Windows with MFC came to the rescue. I also have a copy of Jeff's Programming Microsoft .NET, but I hope to have my van repaired before I need it.