Government Bail Out vs. Shut Down

It looks like we're going to have a Newt Gingrich style government shut-down this weekend.  A friend of mine, who will be affected by this if it happens, mentioned that it seems like this is fall-out for the bail-outs. I've heard various things about the Government bail-outs of banks, auto makers and mortgages.  So, I did a quick search, and found a really great article over at ProPublica.  This is a list of who still has money, and who paid money back already....

8 Apr 2011 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

Go Read Joe

Joe Klein is usually liberal, and always hopes to find the best in people, and frankly, I think we could all learn from people like him. Last night, I read an article in Time Magazine by him called, Palestinian People Power (annoyingly, Time changes the article titles on-line). It talks about how a small, and steadily growing group of young activists in the Palestinian (Isreali Occupied) regions of Isreal are working towards political goals by using peaceful protests, sit-in vigils, and demonstrations....

8 Apr 2011 · 1 min · Gary Allen Vollink

The World vs America: Why the USA is Easy to Hate

Because of the places I've worked, and the jobs I have had while at those places, I've been able to travel to other countries.  While in these places, I've had countless hours of conversations with people from those places, most of whom have never traveled outside of their own countries.  These conversations, frequently, are about America. Today's blog started with me reading something that someone in the UK posted online after a rock concert....

19 Mar 2011 · 8 min · Gary Allen Vollink

From Top Down to Agility

I am a Technical Team Leader.  I have some developers reporting to me.  So let me say this; Regulated, Regimented development.  That's what I try to use most of the time.  Yes, really.  It is extremely important to start a project with good specifications.  First, this means that I have had several conversations with my customers about what they are expecting to get out of the project, and how they expect to interact with it before anybody starts coding....

24 Jan 2011 · 4 min · Gary Allen Vollink