IT skills shortage — fact or fiction?

Here's an interesting article.... one of many I saw on digg.com. Thanks K for introducing me to the site.

Basically, Linda Musthaler makes a case - and a good one I think - for blaming the lack of available IT skills on the avarice of corporations. This is something close to my heart too. No, not because I got laid off, but because I believe it IS a cold blooded way to operate when the accountants look at the bottom line, and then tell the KL branch manager "Look, your GP isn't double digit - give 3% of your staff their walking papers."

Of course, the fault (if such a deep, systemic, fundamental can be called a fault) is not purely with the corporation or the accountants. Responsibility also is shared by us shareholders. Why? Because if a stock does not perform, you unload it of course.

"Dear stockholder. Despite a 30% growth in revenue, there are indications that the projected 33% growth in GP may not be achieved in the near term.

This will be corrected in the next reporting period, however, as the corporation is taking prudent steps to improve our control posture in expenses.

Your sister Mavis and uncle Martin are being laid off with 498 other employees next week."

iTalk: The New Mobile Phone from Apple?

What if Apple created a mobile phone?
What if it was also an iPOD?
What if it had a camera and PDA function?

UTUBE has an entry that breathes life into these "what-if's" . Let me tell you, it blew my mind! The simulated ad is remarkably Zen, and yet succeeds in delivering a dream of technology convergence that will make you drool from the corners of you mouth, or dribble from the tip of ... well, never mind.

Just remember to read the intro text - this is fiction. At least, until Apple works out the bugs......

Procrastination #2, and a job interview.

This is better than the little verse i penned some time ago. But this time, it's not original. Thanks to the G-man for brightening up my day.
(the usual caveats - I do not own the rights to this, and I dont know if this is really public domain - i got it via email. If this infringes on anyone's copyright, please inform me and I will remove this picture immediately)

In other developments, I have (sort of) re-entered the job market - was called for an interview last Friday.
The guy was really friendly, partly because we had previously met (years ago) and he knew me by reputation (some of it good, judging from the way it went).
Anyway, this is a job that will throw me back into a purely technical job. And here I have been slowly learning how to think in terms of process and management.
Well - I will have to wait and see if they make an offer. Meantime, I should really think more deeply if I want to go back into being technical, or moving on into management.

Sweet dreams...

Where email jokes come from.

Do you ever wonder where email jokes come from?
At least once a week, i get spammed by a friend with a joke that has been making the email circuit. Sometimes these are jokes I saw 2 or 3 years ago, but are rolling through new audiences.
Well, I may have found the home base of at least SOME of those old (yet undeniably funny - the 1st time you read them) jokes.
Here it is: the

Owain F Carter

homepage. Below are a couple of jokes I remember reading in email:
The Bank of Canada's president's balls - love this one....
Special High Intensity Training - I read this before 1997. Thats how old this stuff can be.And here is something new (to me at least)
Student Bloopers — History of the World.

Enjoy....

Why Is It Malaysians dont want to come home? #2

One more thing I thought I'd like to blog about.... below is an article from the SUN news service. To see the page I got it from, go [here].
==================start of paste===========================
An open letter to the PM
Jacqueline Ann Surin

Dear Prime Minister Abdullah, When you first came into power after the 2004 general election, you promised us that you would be prime minister for all Malaysians.

In fact, I still have the letter you sent out to voters before the elections that promised you would fulfill your duties with sincerity, integrity, efficiency and fairness.

It was a letter that moved people, including staunch Opposition supporters.

There was hope that a new leadership which was more conciliatory, more willing to listen to differing views and more just was in store for the country.

And people invested in that hope by voting the Barisan Nasional back into power with a clear majority.

But recent events, including your administration's reactions to these events, have been deeply troubling.

The most recent has been the disruption of a peaceful and legitimate public forum in Penang organised by a group of non-governmental organisations that wanted to help people reclaim their rights under the Federal Constitution.

It was unfortunate, but really no longer inconceivable, that those who opposed such a civil discussion should frame their opposition in ways that incite hostility, threaten violence and make false accusations in the name of Islam, a religion that in fact promotes peace and justice.

What is actually more troubling is that as prime minister, you have also publicly announced that these issues of Constitutional rights are "sensitive" and the organisers of such events must be careful not to tread on "dangerous ground", lest the government has to use the Sedition Act against them.

Why would you lend legitimacy to the argument that Malaysians should steer clear of discussing issues which affect us all as citizens, whether Muslim or non-Muslim?

By continuously telling Malaysians these issues are "sensitive" and "dangerous", isn't your administration really creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? Aren't you in fact supporting the argument that these issues should not be discussed?

Additionally, Malaysians have been reminded by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz that it's not for no reason that the word "amok" comes from the Malay community.

Non-Muslims - and that easily translates to non-Malays in this country - are told we cannot speak out about the way Islam is used to formulate laws and public policies in this country even though they affect all of us.

We are told that not just the Sedition Act can be used, so can the Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial.

In fact, I found it deeply paradoxical that Nazri could repeat the threat of the ISA at an international meeting of experts on Islam and human rights last month.

How can an unjust law be Islamic? We know it cannot, and yet, it would seem your administration is wielding it as a way to silence citizens in a democracy.

The way I see it, naming something "sensitive" and "dangerous" is just a disingenuous way of saying, "This is not open for dialogue and discussion. We might tolerate your views but only to a certain extent."

What that extent is, is left to be seen. We hope your election promises will be kept for all Malaysians, but really, many of us are more fearful than reassured.

From a non-Muslim perspective, the events leading up to the need for public discussions such as the Article 11 forum in Penang, have been disconcerting and troubling.

The painful injustice suffered by S. Shamala who found that her estranged husband could unilaterally convert their children to Islam, and the widow of M. Moorthy who discovered she could not bury her husband according to Hindu rights, are real and frightening.

But those instances of injustice are not being framed as "sensitive" by non-Muslims. They are not being used to threaten violence or incite hostility in order to silence discussion of the issues at hand.

Additionally, when you upheld the decision for the tudung to be used in police parades, did you consider how it would make non-Muslims feel? How can it still be a surprise then that most non-Malays will not join the police force?

Really, I don't need to be a Muslim or a Malay to have a stake in this country. But even that might be delegitimised because in more ways than one, I'm a minority.

And I'm constantly reminded that my views and concerns must give way to the privileges and rights of the dominant race, and a specific interpretation of the faith they profess.

But really what I want to ask you is this: Why do I have to constantly feel afraid in my own country? Why am I continuously told I have less rights to discuss important issues affecting my community?

You promised to be prime minister for all Malaysians. We hope you will remember that promise.

A Malaysian citizen.

Jacqueline Ann Surin believes that you cannot be neutral on a moving train. She is an assistant news editor at theSun.

Updated: 04:32PM Thu, 01 Jun 2006
==================end of paste===========================

Manigorament - Management from a position of ignorance.

Is this an ASEAN or Malaysian trend? Perhaps not, since DILBERT documents the same trends in corporate America.

I see management investing enthusiastically in the development of Managers, and managemet skills. All employees have been instructed to bone up on their 'core skills' of
1. communication
2. taking leadership
3. teamwork

Now the joke:
When a review was done in my location, and gaps were found in key implementation areas, we got the attention of powerful people all the way up to Asian HQ. There must be 5 levels of managers tracking our progress to close the gaps. More spreadsheets, more reports every week, more people calling or dropping by to check your progress.

But there has been not one mention, not one chirp, of technical skills training to make sure the technical grunts know exactly what is required of them, and how to achieve it. The excuse/mantra used is "you are the S.M.E. (subject matter expert) for that system, you should know how it's done". Yeah - right. But you gave me this checklist of system settings.... and your policy is not to know how to implement it?

ok, ok, to be fair, there was the telecon with the Australian who gave us a 1 hour overview of how to implement XXX and YYY. But what we need is a skilled person HERE, on site, to lead the project. We are still grappling with how the technology works.

I still feel we are recreating the wheel. And the reason we are doing that, is that there are more people telling us what gaps to close, than there are people who can show us exactly HOW to go about closing the gaps.

Corporate life sucks. If I had a million bucks, I might just quit and become a voluntary Sunday School Teacher.