I haven’t posted in a while, because life was busy. It’s amazing how quickly that can change. On Monday, first thing in the morning at work, I was called into a meeting. The company I worked for was taking a different direction with its products and it created a lack of work for software developers. The engineering team was downsized, and I was out of work.

So in the last couple of days, I have been getting organized, applying for EI and writing job applications. As much as I used to hate looking for jobs (work terms that is), I now find it somewhat refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer to have a stable job any day, but job hunting gives you a chance to see what’s out there.

My last two jobs involved programming and software design. In one, I worked on a large system written entirely in Java and JSP with a web front end. In the other, I worked with desktop apps and microprocessors, sometimes fighting to squeeze on more byte out of the size of my code. Now, I get the chance to see what’s out there, decide what’s next. Do I want to continue programming, and if so, will it be “in the large” or “in the small?” Do I want to move to a role with more project management?

I’m not sure where the next weeks will take me, except that in the near future I should have a new job. Until then, I will spend my time working on my thesis, applying for work and catching up on some volunteer work. Wish me luck…

By the title you would think I am writing about just one topic, but not so. I decided I wanted to combine two of my favorite topics, Politics and Movies.

If you have seen a Canada (or even American thanks to “Captain Ed”) channel over the last while, you most likely have heard something about “AdScam.” Well today my mind started wandering (like it does) to some comments made by a former classmate a few years ago who stated that it was no use voting, “because they’ll all be the same.” At the time I tried arguing, but now I not sure if I would.

AdScam focuses on what happened to millions of dollars doled out by our government to firms with strong ties to the governing party. Thus far, prevailing opinion seem to believe that some was kept by the ad firms, and some lined the pockets of the party dishing it out (I stress this is just opinion and not proven, though it does make sense). Now it seems that another political party in Quebec may have been doing the same.
No wonder the youth of our country do not bother to vote. How can they have faith in the institution of government? I’m sure Canada will get out from under this political black cloud, but until we do, we should expect voter apathy to remain high. I mean really, I’m an avid follower of politics and even I find this shakes my faith in my vote.

On a lighter not I saw a refreshing different movie last night, Sin City. Lately, I have been used to Hollywood churning out the same old boilerplate movies (these are the people who remade Ocean’s 11 and then decided it needed a sequel). Sin City however is like nothing I have seen in a long time, if at all. The movie sticks very close to its graphic novel roots, presenting the story almost entirely in B&W and using monologue to drive the story (though without the little square boxes ). It is a little violent, but not real enough to be disturbing. I you are a fan on comics, I suggest you see this movie. If you want something new in a cinematic experience, I suggest this movie. Hell, I suggest this movie.