Category — General

Joel on Software: “Here's the thing: the very best candidates have come to realize that they have a choice of where to work, and when they apply for a job, they are applying because there's something intriguing about that particular job, not because they'll take any work that comes along. And you can see it in their cover letters. For example, if I were to see something like “I'm happy where I am, but I've always wanted to move to New York and if Fog Creek is anything like you describe it on your website, it sounds like a great place” you would sound a lot more desirable than someone who writes, “You will find that I am a very hard worker.”

[Poorbuthappy Guide to Ease]

yes, well, i must admit that I've had the best luck using a slightly personalized version of a standard letter. I think that the more that you write, the less chance you actually have of attaining the position because there is more information by which to rule you out of competition.

MSNBC's Blogspotter. Here's something interesting.  MSNBC's website has a column called “Blogspotting” that talks about blogs The latest article is about the importance of Google ranking, and it mentions Denise Howell (referred to as “a conference blogging star”).  It also mentions this blog because of the nice article that Jerry Lawson wrote. 

Too bad the column doesn't have an RSS feed.

[Ernie the Attorney]

this again, is a recreation of normal reward systems found in media, it will aid in the construction and replication of hegemony throughout the blogosphere. nothing new there though.

Digital librarian position. Public-service announcement: A very nice gent at Colonial Williamsburg contacted me by email to ask if I’d be interested in this position (hope the link works! if not, surf here and hunt for the Digital Librarian listing). I can’t take it, obviously, as my time is spoken for, the next… [Caveat Lector]

this is an interesting job, i was just talking about digital history and digital humanities the other day

Hear Comes Everybloom. Did you miss Paddy Dignam's wake? Ah well, there's still time to celebrate Bloomsday — if you're in Dublin, you can (among many other delights) take a stroll across the newly-opened James Joyce Bridge. Or, if you have a spare $60,000, you could even buy your very own Ulysses first edition. As for me, I'll be hoisting a crystal cup full of the foaming ebon ale which the noble twin brothers Bungiveagh and Bungardilaun brew ever in their divine alevats, cunning as the sons of deathless Leda. (And as for Paddy? — Dead! says Alf. He's no more dead than you are. — Maybe so, says Joe. They took the liberty of burying him this morning anyhow.) [MetaFilter]

damn it all, i missed bloomsday, this is the first time in 3 years. with no guiness or irish whiskey at home, it is pointless to do anything other than waive in its general direction and hope someone else drinks my share.

Graduate School Culture. And if I waved a magic wand and fixed all those problems, that would leave… oh, most of the people I went to school with. Some of them quit partway through, feeling like failures; some are still at it; some… [Invisible Adjunct]
avoid it if you can, get a job while you are going to grad school, get someone else to pay, break the mold, etc. but read the post over on invisible adjunct nonethless, the comments are good also.

Games That Should Be Remade [Dungeons And Dreamers]

i agree with many on this list, especially darklands. i hope to be able to play darklands soon because i am getting a dos simulator for os x shortly.

R.I.P., Bernard Williams.

Chris is cataloging obits.

• Guardian
• Times
• Telegraph

[A blog doesn't need a clever name]

Williams was a touchstone for me in my undergraduate work in ethics and philosophy, works like Ethics and the Limit of Philosophy and his work on moral luck, came to me as virtue theory alongside Alasdaire MacIntyre, and others. He provided a model for a publicly engaged iconoclastic philosopher, able to find real problems in philosophy and explain their historical development and implications for contemporary thinking. In short, thoughts and philosophy don't arise outside of historical context and maintain that context to the current day as explanatory device. But if you've not read the any Williams, i recommend it.

I was away at Brian and Julie's Erbe' wedding in richmond, i was in the wedding party(i'm not much for weddings otherwise). It was a nice wedding, lots of family were there. Now I'm back, and I'll post a bit more today.

On his last day in office as Director of the OMB, …. On his last day in office as Director of the OMB, Mitch Daniels gave up on his attempt to let federal agencies outsource their printing jobs and bypass the Government Printing Office (GPO). This is a victory for open access to government documents, since many agencies wanted to bypass the GPO precisely in order to bypass its open-access and library deposit policies. More coverage. [FOS News]

This is good news for continuing easy access to our documents. When the government wants to make it more difficult to read what it is doing, we should be afraid. I would not be surprised to see this reintroduced. [A Man with a Ph.D. - Richard Gayle's Weblog]

yes, it would have been a tragedy of the public domain if precisely what we pay to have produced was then outside of the public domain, but wait, isn't this what happens with research in higher education…. we pay, they privatize… we keep paying, business ultimately keep the money.

Pissed Off.

With the world a it is and education – (thanks Dave – I don't know how to link to Blogger)

[Robert Paterson's Radio Weblog]

Why do some people express their anger so eloquently and others just resort to expletives? Who are you more likely to listen to? [A Man with a Ph.D. - Richard Gayle's Weblog]

i am more apt to listen to anyone that backs up their argument with some substance.