• (cs)

    Simon's boss should have been fired over this.

  • MAG (unregistered)

    I wonder what kind of "manual" labor is Ryan doing now.

  • Steve (unregistered)

    Fire Larry!

  • (cs)

    blah blah hardworking underpaid employee blah blah blah idiot boss blah blah nepotism blah blah blah. seems like we've heard this one before.

  • (cs)

    Well, at least the other managers appologized for their assault on Simon. I've rarely seen manangement admit to their mistakes.

    As for Simon's actions, I'd say he reacted as he should have and is better off without them.

    ... #define G F int n = 0xFFFFFFFG; // wtf!?

  • Bob (unregistered)

    Half of me worries that I'll get into a job that I'm not prepared for. The other half worries that I'll work with people who are totally not prepared for their job.

    As such, I worry a lot.

  • tj (unregistered)

    TRWTF is that there was actually a change after they realized that ryan was an artard

  • Dave (unregistered)

    He's not an artard he just know gexahecimal. He's years ahead of his time I tell you.

  • Carra (unregistered) in reply to MAG
    MAG:
    I wonder what kind of "manual" labor is Ryan doing now.

    I'll bet something like sitting at his uncles desk surfing the internet and gettnig coffee for his uncle once every hour.

  • (cs)

    "Turns out my nephew is really good with computers, so we're going to give him the job!"

    Sure-fire sign that A) The company is run by idiots, B) Your boss is an idiot, and C) You should run as fast as you can away from the place.

  • Dennis (unregistered) in reply to andrewbadera
    andrewbadera:
    blah blah hardworking underpaid employee blah blah blah idiot boss blah blah nepotism blah blah blah. seems like we've heard this one before.

    Possibly because it happens all the time.

    In a former life, I worked at a company where the boss's wife was (officially) a VP, and (in practice) a part-time A/P clerk. Her main duty was (apparently) sending female employees to the washroom in tears, which she did on average at least once a week. (Sorry about the sexist bent on that, but the whole time I was there she never managed to get a single male to cry).

  • Another Kevin (unregistered)

    Believe it or not, in the bad old days when dinosaurs walked the earth, Honeywell computers (notably the 801) used a hexadecimal notation that omitted 'A'. The digits for 10 through 15 were 'B' through 'G' - and were represented by script characters that were not used for the ordinary alphabet.

    Why 'B' through 'G'? Turns out that the letter position was obtained by throwing away the most significant bit of the hex digit. 10(10) == 1010(2), throw away the most significant bit and it's 10(2), so use the second letter of the alphabet, 'B'. And so on up to 15(10) = 1111(2), throw away the most significant bit and it's 111(2), or 7(10), so use the seventh letter of the alphabet, 'G'.

    It was incredibly annoying.

  • (cs) in reply to snoofle
    snoofle:
    #define G F int n = 0xFFFFFFFG; // wtf!?

    Wow... I might have to throw in a few of those defines into the apps I'm porting, just to make sure the next guy has the same headache that I've had for the past 2 years. >:)

  • Dennis (unregistered) in reply to Dave
    Dave:
    He's not an artard he just know gexahecimal. He's years ahead of his time I tell you.

    [homer] Mmmmmm.... Base 17...... [/homer]

  • (cs) in reply to MAG
    MAG:
    I wonder what kind of "manual" labor is Ryan doing now.
    Lifting a coffee cup, I would guess.
  • (cs)

    The "über-programmer nephew" story is very, very common. But a manager getting his comeuppance because of doing this? That's a real good one!

    I've only seen one case where nepotism has actually produced a competent programmer. Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.

  • (cs) in reply to danixdefcon5
    danixdefcon5:
    Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.

    An omen that you should take your lunch break and run away screaming, never to return?

  • Motti (unregistered) in reply to Claxon
    #define G F
    That's not how the processor works "ComeauTest.c", line 2: error: extra text after expected end of number int n = 0xFFFFFFFG; // wtf!? ^

    If it were then you couldn't use

    assertion
    as a variable name.

  • (cs) in reply to danixdefcon5
    danixdefcon5:
    Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.

    "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" translates as "I have a (family member) that spends a lot of time playing videogames".

    Dave:
    He's not an artard he just know gexahecimal.

    It's heptadecimal. A little more than four bits.

  • blah (unregistered) in reply to Motti

    [quote user="Motti"][quote]If it were then you couldn't use

    assertion
    as a variable name.[/quote]ERROR! Detected naughty word. Replacing...

    ERROR! Stack overflow.

  • Saaid (unregistered) in reply to Dennis
    Dennis:
    andrewbadera:
    blah blah hardworking underpaid employee blah blah blah idiot boss blah blah nepotism blah blah blah. seems like we've heard this one before.

    Possibly because it happens all the time.

    In a former life, I worked at a company where the boss's wife was (officially) a VP, and (in practice) a part-time A/P clerk. Her main duty was (apparently) sending female employees to the washroom in tears, which she did on average at least once a week. (Sorry about the sexist bent on that, but the whole time I was there she never managed to get a single male to cry).

    Dennis, this sounds like a place where I used to work. Was this in Omaha?
  • (cs)
  • BobB (unregistered) in reply to Matt.C
    Matt.C:

    There's a Spaceballs joke just waiting to bloom from that...

  • Dennis (unregistered) in reply to Saaid
    Dennis, this sounds like a place where I used to work. Was this in Omaha?

    No, Vancouver. I'd guess though that it's pretty common too.

  • Uncle Paul (unregistered)

    We just hired my niece Paula. She's brillant.

    1.) Hire Paula 2.) ????? 3.) Profit!

  • Dave (unregistered) in reply to D0R
    D0R:
    danixdefcon5:
    Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.

    "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" translates as "I have a (family member) that spends a lot of time playing videogames".

    Dave:
    He's not an artard he just know gexahecimal.

    It's heptadecimal. A little more than four bits.

    The g is for G not 17.

  • frf (unregistered)

    I'd complain, except I ended up getting hired for 2 summer internships by way of nepotism. Though at least I was qualified and got pretty nice reviews at the end. =)

    (Well only 1...by the other time the relative had been downsized partly due to losses for the company, and some inter-office politics)

  • Michael Kimsal (unregistered)

    I think I've been brought in one time based on a recommendation of a family member, and I wasn't comfortable in that situation. Was only a short term (few day) project, but even then I was aware that people might have been aware of the relationship with the family member.

    Oh, well, in another case I ran a small consulting practice with my brother, but that was up front and out in the open from day one.

    But in most cases, the 'I've got a nephew' syndrome (IGAN syndrome?) is likely a bad sign. If the nephew/family member doesn't acknowledge the awkwardness at all, it's even worse.

  • jtl (unregistered)

    He should have demanded his bosses job, that might have been worth staying to get the guy axed.

  • (cs) in reply to danixdefcon5
    danixdefcon5:
    I've only seen one case where nepotism has actually produced a competent programmer. Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.
    An omen is just a vision of the future. Omens can be good or bad.
  • SomeCoder (unregistered) in reply to Zylon
    Simon:
    Simon buried his face in his hands, slowly looking up. "Look, my new employer made me a better offer, and how could I possibly want to work here after what happened?" He'd taken all he could, so he just got up and left the room, finishing the day working quietly at his desk.

    It really sounds like this was out of character for either Simon's boss or the company. The beginning of the article says that Simon loved his job (except for the pay) and if your boss is a moron, that automatically makes me hate the job.

  • (cs) in reply to FredSaw
    MAG:
    I wonder what kind of "manual" labor is Ryan doing now.
    Shoveling the remains of the building after Simon torched it?
  • (cs)

    Thirty-odd years ago, I worked for a direct-mail company owned by a neighbor's-neighbor's father-in-law, and managed by the owner's son.

    Although I was originally hired as a stockboy, my real job turned out being the computer operator (!)

    The boss's nephew was the "official" operator, and he would arrive late, leave early, and take loooo-onnnnng lunches, so I pretty well ran things on my own. :o)

    Oh yes, and I was paid a stockboy's wages. :o(

  • muttonchop (unregistered)

    I am embarrassed to even write this comment! An idiot could do this!!!

  • Daiv (unregistered) in reply to D0R
    D0R:
    "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" translates as "I have a (family member) that spends a lot of time playing videogames".

    Amen.

  • Pat (unregistered) in reply to Dennis
    Dennis:
    andrewbadera:
    blah blah hardworking underpaid employee blah blah blah idiot boss blah blah nepotism blah blah blah. seems like we've heard this one before.

    Possibly because it happens all the time.

    In a former life, I worked at a company where the boss's wife was (officially) a VP, and (in practice) a part-time A/P clerk. Her main duty was (apparently) sending female employees to the washroom in tears, which she did on average at least once a week. (Sorry about the sexist bent on that, but the whole time I was there she never managed to get a single male to cry).

    And then the company was sold and management had to do an emergency reevaluation of her son's job so that they could justify keeping him around? And then they rehired one of the women who quit for more than she was making under the old bosses?

    I'm curious how the Simon's boss justified hiring someone new instead of making an offer when Simon gave his notice. It was obvious that he was indispenible and there was money in the budget. Isn't someone checking the department budget submissions?

  • zzzzzzzzzz (unregistered)

    Long story for boring outcome. This one should have been half as long, and probably still rejected.

  • Andrew (unregistered) in reply to Another Kevin
    Another Kevin:
    Believe it or not, in the bad old days when dinosaurs walked the earth, Honeywell computers (notably the 801) used a hexadecimal notation that omitted 'A'. The digits for 10 through 15 were 'B' through 'G' - and were represented by script characters that were not used for the ordinary alphabet.

    Why 'B' through 'G'? Turns out that the letter position was obtained by throwing away the most significant bit of the hex digit. 10(10) == 1010(2), throw away the most significant bit and it's 10(2), so use the second letter of the alphabet, 'B'. And so on up to 15(10) = 1111(2), throw away the most significant bit and it's 111(2), or 7(10), so use the seventh letter of the alphabet, 'G'.

    It was incredibly annoying.

    That sounds very efficient and appropriate for the time. A bit-mask operation is cheap. Of course, they could have taken the extra step and decremented the 'B' character to an 'A'.

  • (cs) in reply to Motti

    #define F *0x10+0xF) #define G F #define O ((((((((( #define x 0 int n = O x F G F G F G F G F; // wtf!?

  • (cs) in reply to D0R
    D0R:
    "I have a (family member) that spends a lot of time playing videogames".
    You're really good at that Word Art game! You can be a graphic designer or even a programmer!
  • The Wanderer (unregistered) in reply to danixdefcon5
    danixdefcon5:
    I've only seen one case where nepotism has actually produced a competent programmer. Besides that case, the words "I have a (family member) that's good in computers" are actually an omen.

    What about the case where the person doing the recommending of said family member is, himself, good with computers - perhaps even in an IT position himself - and thus actually in some kind of position to judge?

    I'm not necessarily an unbiased judge on that question, since that's how I got my present job, having been turned down for it once before on the grounds that I glanced up at the ceiling instead of keeping my eyes on the interviewer while framing my answers. Still, while I'm no kind of be-all end-all genius in what I do here, I seem to be at least as competent as any of the others in the same job...

  • unklegwar (unregistered) in reply to Bob

    That's why it's important for you to interview your employer while they are interviewing you. It's a two way process.

  • unklegwar (unregistered) in reply to Bob
    Bob:
    Half of me worries that I'll get into a job that I'm not prepared for. The other half worries that I'll work with people who are totally not prepared for their job.

    As such, I worry a lot.

    That's why it's important for you to interview your employer while they are interviewing you. It's a two way process.

  • unklegwar (unregistered) in reply to Bob
    Bob:
    Half of me worries that I'll get into a job that I'm not prepared for. The other half worries that I'll work with people who are totally not prepared for their job.

    As such, I worry a lot.

    That's why it's important for you to interview your employer while they are interviewing you. It's a two way process.

  • mjb (unregistered)

    Was this edited too much? We never got a formal proof/statement the answers simon saw to the test were Ryan's....just a snarky hint

  • Jay (unregistered)

    The company my father worked for had a deliberate policy of hiring children of employees for summer jobs. They even had a special application form for such people. I worked their two summers when I was in college. If you can't fight nepotism, institutionalize it.

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to blah

    [quote user="blah"][quote user="Motti"][quote]If it were then you couldn't use

    buttertion
    as a variable name.[/quote]ERROR! Detected naughty word. Replacing...

    ERROR! Stack overflow.[/quote]

    There we go. Fixed that for you.

  • (cs) in reply to Another Kevin
    Another Kevin:
    Why 'B' through 'G'? Turns out that the letter position was obtained by throwing away the most significant bit of the hex digit. 10(10) == 1010(2), throw away the most significant bit and it's 10(2), so use the second letter of the alphabet, 'B'.

    "use the second letter" is a simplification - with bit masks, it would be 10 = 1010, throw away the fourth bit and you have 010, which you OR with 11000000 to get 11000010, 'B'.

    (or, if it's ascii, 01000000 and 01000010 instead)

  • (cs) in reply to The Wanderer
    The Wanderer:

    I'm not necessarily an unbiased judge on that question, since that's how I got my present job, having been turned down for it once before on the grounds that I glanced up at the ceiling instead of keeping my eyes on the interviewer while framing my answers.

    I normally look down my pants for answers during interviews. But I never find any. :-(

    Seriously, though, what? Are you supposed to stare at the interviewer the whole time you're thinking about the question she asked you? Or were you pretty much staring at the ceiling for uncomfortably long periods of time?

  • (cs) in reply to Bob
    Bob:
    blah:
    Motti:
    If it were then you couldn't use

    buttertion

    as a variable name.

    ERROR! Detected naughty word. Replacing...

    ERROR! Stack overflow.

    There we go. Fixed that for you.

    I don't get it, what's this a reference to?

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