tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854monkeys and poniesyou like monkeys - you like ponies - maybe you don't like monsters so muchnonelvis2013-08-13T15:00:23Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854:354559The little things that tick me off2013-08-13T14:13:25Z2013-08-13T15:00:23Zpublic0I don't usually discuss much about my personal/business life in unlocked entries, but I think this incident is worth mentioning.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know, I'm the co-owner of a small design firm. I am also female, which is not unusual for people in my industry. Today I received the following call from a (male) tech recruiter.<br /><blockquote><br /><b>Me</b> <i>(answering the phone)</i>: Hello, this is [my name].<br /><br /><b>Recruiter</b>: Hello, I'd like to speak to the head of your software development team.<br /><br /><b>Me</b> <i>(pausing, noting that the man on the other end of the phone hasn't even bothered to give me his name, but willing to give him one chance before I write him off as "he thinks I'm the receptionist")</i>: We don't have a software development team.<br /><br /><b>Recruiter</b>: Okay, then I'd like to speak to whoever's in charge of your technical hiring.<br /><br /><b>Me</b> <i>(frostily)</i>: You are speaking to the principal of the firm.<br /><br /><i>Pause.</i><br /><br /><b>Recruiter</b> <i>(obviously surprised and a bit deflated)</i>: Oh.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />That was a very satisfying little "oh," let me tell you.<br /><br />He then gave me an endless spiel about his .NET rockstar I was never going to hire, which he'd have known if he'd made even the slightest effort to read up on my company, because we are a tiny firm that doesn't offer in-house development. And then I got off the phone and fumed for a little while.<br /><br />The morals of the story:<br /><br />1) WOMEN. WE EXIST. WE RUN THINGS OTHER THAN TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARDS.<br /><br />2) DO YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK BEFORE COLD-CALLING.<br /><br />That is all.<br /><br />ETA: No, wait, that's not all -- because I just got off the phone with an entirely different recruiter. This one was female and confirmed I was the co-founder of the company before saying a damned word about another developer I'm not going to hire. At the end of her spiel, after I told her we're not hiring, I told her I appreciated that she'd taken the time to learn who I was and not assume I was the receptionist, like the last guy. You see, recruiters? Take even half a second to learn something and you won't insult the person on the other end of the phone! You might even get a compliment!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=nonelvis&ditemid=354559" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854:277800nonelvis @ 2011-04-11T14:38:002011-04-11T18:42:47Z2011-04-11T18:42:47Zpublic9If you run a services business, are thinking of running a services business, or freelance, you should watch this. My business has been fortunate enough that we've never had to sue anyone for payment, but have we had problems getting paid? Oh yes, and any small business owner will tell you the same thing. What saves our asses? The contracts we have people sign. It's not about screwing anyone; it's about setting the terms under which we deliver services and get paid, and making sure our interests, as well as the client's, are protected. <br /><br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=22053820&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=22053820&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/22053820">2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me.</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/sanfranciscocm">SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=nonelvis&ditemid=277800" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854:254044APAD(ish) #13: Tools2010-10-15T23:19:11Z2010-10-15T23:19:11Zpublic0Getting a little desperate for photography subjects at home, but this one's got some interesting color, and has a surprising amount to say about me. There's the pink gel pen I like to use for proofreading. The shiny silver and orange ballpoints from two different tech firms I've worked with. The children's pencils with Sanrio and other Japanese cartoon characters, because I love their cheerfulness, and the similarly amusing Peeps pencil with matching eraser. An X-acto knife I used to use to cut line tape and waxed stories on resin-coated paper for the college newspaper.<br /><br />And of course, the talking Dalek pen and a sonic screwdriver.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52784525@N00/5084442251/" title="The pen and pencil jar by nonelvis, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5084442251_ea31fe377d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The pen and pencil jar" /></a><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=nonelvis&ditemid=254044" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854:165136Time travel visualization2009-09-09T19:53:31Z2009-09-09T19:53:31Zpublic3Designers visualize <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/timelines/">how various time travel plots in movies and TV shows overlap</a>. Absolutely gorgeous, and identifies some amusing intersection points, such as where Sam Tyler could arrest Miles Monroe from <i>Sleeper.</i> (Though the pedant in me feels the need to edit out the "and beats" from that callout, since the Guv would be the one administering any beatdown.)<br /><br /><i>Doctor Who</i> is conspicuously absent from the graphic, but as the designers point out, DW will be handled by entirely separate chart to preserve their sanity.<br /><br />Complete thread, along with early sketch attempts, <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/time-travel/">here</a>.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=nonelvis&ditemid=165136" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-20:105854:137884The Font Snob2009-05-11T14:05:40Z2009-05-11T14:05:40Zpublic8<a href="http://www.pvponline.com/2009/05/11/the-font-snob/">"No. Stop. Their logo is Copperplate. We can't shop here."</a><br /><br />(Actually, I think Copperplate has its place, but the rest of the material in this strip is dead-on.)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=nonelvis&ditemid=137884" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments