outsourced and homeless

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About Me

Just another IT worker who was outsourced. I got unemployment for awhile but then it ran out. Now, I am just trying to survive. (** Update - I am no longer homeless. Read blog to see the progression**) Since I became homeless I spend most of my time driving my beater around northern NJ, job hunting, blogging, and sleeping in parks or in my car at night. The rest of the time I devote to keeping all of my old projects, ideas, and dreams alive. Other than advertisements,all of the links and graphics on this site have been created by me and reflect my various projects and accomplishments over the years. The point is, even though my formal IT career is apparently gone, I hold out hope that my “Cloud Computing” projects or OLAP application will right the ship for me. I am pinning all my hopes on these so you will find links and articles scattered around the site and in the posts. There may be some who wind up here for reasons of employment or homelessness. Others may stumble on this site because of some linkages to stock market indicators and data. Others may stumble here because they are interested in Cloud Computing. Whatever the reason, I feel that my situation and ruminations may resonate with all people who come here, especially with others like myself. Continued below...

About Me Continued

Not having blogged before I actually look forward to the prospect of sharing ideas and experiences with others who may have suffered a similar fate – not just in the world of IT and outsourcing, but in a larger, more profound way. People who have suffered, lost, fought, triumphed, and perhaps fallen again. People who find themselves contemplating mortality, the past, present, future, the fate our country, and countless other things. I will often include photos or video in the posts if I feel they may enhance them in some way. As long as my laptop and car don’t let me down, I still have the wherewithal and means to keep fighting. I am always in the debt of those who leave their wireless routers in their default state (linksys + no encryption). Hotspots like coffee shops and bookstores also prove useful to me but at the same time, I believe that keen observers can tell that I am homeless no matter how hard I try to conceal it. This is a constant source of stress and embarrassment. I sincerely believe that this blog will ultimately have a happy ending. Frankly, the longer I continue this, the worse it will be for me.

Archive for November, 2009

Buckethead

November 24th, 2009

I thought I would embed this video. I found it kind of funny and intriguing. Apparently this guy is an amazing guitar player. Perhaps the best in the past 30 years. Fairly unique costume and name as well.
Regarding me, I have been applying to jobs in a fairly wide radius but haven’t heard back. I am still up in the NJ Skylands area because the ability to shower, shave, and steal internet access via the back of this convention center is too good to abandon for now. I have gotten some modest and much appreciated donations from a few readers. What I do is transfer this money into my checking acct and this has enabled me to continue to make my cell phone payments as well as the minimum payment on my credit card. There is an interesting area up here where they have built a boardwalk through a marsh. This is part of the Appalachian Trail which cuts through NJ. I have seen a few red-winged blackbirds which I always thought were cool. I think I may take some video from this boardwalk one of these days.

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Google Adwords Ad – IT Black Belt

November 20th, 2009

I am creating this post primarily for those who wind up here by virtue of a modest Adwords campaign which I have setup. On one of my posts a commentator said I was an “IT Black Belt”. I love that term so much I am using it in the ad. I know it’s extremely boastful but what the hell. I am going to list a bunch of things that I know how “to do” so to speak (obviously this won’t include trivial and obvious things). There may be some people whom I can help, and who may be able to help me in return. Much of this stuff I can do remotely but there are obviously many things which would require my physical presence. E.g. a real job. If I get enough of these small jobs I can then get an apartment and work much more efficiently (if providing services which can be done remotely). There is no embellishment here. Yes, there are some skills which are a little rusty; however, the rust can be shaken off quickly. I am going to lump everything together here in one list. Some of these things are simply services which I can provide; others are products which I have used, installed, worked with etc…I won’t mention the applications, hardware, protocols, topologies etc… which I have not used in a decade, or which I have mostly forgotten (Novell). There, I just mentioned one:-)

Now, to the list:
Cloud Computing – Amazon (EC2 and S3)
Data Center experience: Rack and cable servers (primarily Compaq/HP and Dell). Firmware upgrades. Wiring 10/100/1000 Ethernet or fiber to patch panel and to switches or Candela latency inducers. Disassemble servers and replace internals. UPS and HVAC monitoring.

Expert knowledge of ALL Windows operations systems from DOS-Windows Server 2008
Browsers – IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera

Graphics and Web:
Windows Movie Maker, Ulead PhotoImpact, Microsoft Photodraw, SNagit, Adobe Photoshop (v7- CS3), Adobe Premiere Pro (beginner), Flash (CS3), Dreamweaver CS3, Adobe Media Encoder CS3

Most MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, Outlook)

IBM/Lotus Notes – Expert in all of the following: Notes client v4 – v8. Domino Administrator and Designer (some Lotus Script). Domino Server v6.02 – v8 installation and architecture including Web/Application servers including Web SSO. Domino LDAP and LEI servers including clustering, replication, connection documents etc…* I do NOT however, have much experience with Domino Mail or Sametime servers.

Networking – TCP/IP. (Rusty on setting up subnets, CIDR, OSI model, VLAN’s). Pretty good with overall troubleshooting including LAN, WAN, and Internet.
Home networking broadband connectivity (wired and wireless)

Active Directory – primarily administration including creating GPO’s and OU’s.
Very strong IIS
Internal Certificate servers including generating certs for SSL, code signing, and importing to Cisco load balancers (ACE modules)
Installing and configuring WSUS server
Imaging – specifically Ghost. Installation of Ghostcast server for multicasting purposes.
Unattended installations with sysprep etc…
Application packaging – Prizm Software
BlackBox KVM switch installation and configuration

Virtualization:

VMWare ESX, GSX including VMWare converter for P to V conversions. * I have NOT installed the ESX host OS (Linux). I have however used the VIM (both fat and thin clients) and created VMWare guests from scratch and from templates (which I have created). I have also allocated SAN space for guests.
Microsoft Virtual Server and Virtual PC (was learning Hyper-V when I was laid off)
—————
Remote Control – RDP (remote desktop), RAdmin, Timbuktu, PCAnywhere
MS Terminal Server – application server (rusty)
Oracle 9i and 10g client connectivity (tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora)
SQL Server 2005/2008 x86 and x64 including SSAS & SSIS (all used for my Olaptrader application)

Installing and using all versions and flavors of Visual Studio from v.2003 – v.2008 including Team Foundation Server, Team Suite, Team Explorer, and Business Intelligence Studio.
I use Visual Studio 2005 & 2008 for my Olaptrader application.

Google Adwords/Adsense/Webmaster Tools
SEO (websites and blogs)
Signing up for and setting up affiliate advertising (legitimate ones)
In depth knowledge of various types of internet scams and products: work from home, PPC (pay per click advertising), Internet MLM, bogus keyword and traffic generating applications and documents, Twitter and Facebook work from home and Affiliate advertising scams (rampant)
Malware and viruses: how to identify and remove. How they are created and propagated.
Money Mule scams

Knowledge of organized hacking networks – how they work, where they operate, how they install trojans in order to create and “herd” zombies
Utilizing parked domains for advertising purposes
Creating websites and blogs. I tend to be best at Flash based websites although they are not the best for SEO
Offshore IBC creation and web hosting
Internet anonymity networks – how to setup and utilize (TOR network – Onion Routing)
Using anonymous proxy servers for anonymity (not as secure and TOR)
Domain registration, transfer, and 3rd party DNS services

Sample SQL database for Olaptrader application. This is 272mb – http://chilp.it/?0c78ee
Websites:

http://www.officetocloud.com
http://www.harmonicpatterns.com
http://www.garishshirts.com
http://www.olaptrader.com/downloads/portal.html
http://www.harmonicpatterns.com/index.html

http://www.olaptrader.com

All of my published financial documents:
http://www.scribd.com/olaptrader

Products, Services, and Presentations:
http://developer.amazonwebservices.com/connect/entry.jspa?externalID=2691
http://www.officetocloud.com/amiportal.html
http://developer.amazonwebservices.com/connect/entry.jspa?externalID=2498&categoryID=209
http://developer.amazonwebservices.com/connect/entry.jspa?externalID=2612&categoryID=209
http://developer.amazonwebservices.com/connect/entry.jspa?categoryID=116&externalID=2600
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=144-aPNOYyY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mca_e6W7xFw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_4Be5k46lk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXQKc62aB1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2XWzWqX4GA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn318YF-58w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-AO1FCeJA
http://www.olaptrader.com/downloads/portal.html
http://olaptrader.com/downloads/olaptrader-stocks-technical-indicators-only-sqlserver-format.html
http://olaptrader.com/downloads/olaptrader-stocks-baseline-only-sqlserver-format.html
http://www.olaptrader.com/downloads/olaptrader-stocks-candlesticks-only-sqlserver-format.html
http://www.olaptrader.com/downloads/olaptrader-stocks-baseline-only-flat-file-format.html
http://www.officetocloud.com/purchase/index.html
http://www.olaptrader.com/technicalindicators.htm

Will send resume upon request.

ps. I will be perfectly happy to give free advice as well so long as it’s reasonable.

Goodnight.

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Drove Further North to the NJ Skylands Region

November 16th, 2009

I decided to drive up to an area where I used to own a condo. The reason is this; there is a resort up there that I used to be able to sneak into via a backdoor. I could access all of the facilities: exercise, pools, sauna, jacuzzi etc…Now, it IS colder up there and the weather will turn more quickly. It’s at a higher elevation – I think about 2,000 ft. My car had serious trouble getting up some of the mountain roads but managed nonetheless. So, at least I have a place to keep myself presentable without having to furtively sneak shaves and showers. Also, in the back of the place, in a hotel area, there are Ethernet ports with internet access. I don’t want to abuse the privilege however. I am afraid an employee will see me there all the time and call the manager. Not much else going on. I am looking for help desk jobs more often now. Not that I hadn’t been already but I have expanded the geography to include all of NY state, PA and DE (and NJ of course).

View Larger Map

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Cause of Oil Leak

November 11th, 2009

Someone was asking me about the cause of the oil leak so I will mention it here.

The guy at STS tire and auto center said that the oil pan itself had a puncture in it and that I must have hit something. Unfortunately it cost $400 to fix but I guess that’s better than $500. So, ultimately, finding the cat paid for the leak and left me with $100 extra. Pretty good.

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I Returned the Cat to its Owners

November 9th, 2009

Last night after creating another post with an update on the cat, I decided that enough was enough so I called the people and they came to where I was parked. Fortunately, they were nice people who seemed to sympathize somewhat, so they gave me $500 and I gave them their nice cat back. Frankly, I was sad to part with it. Being such a good cat, I enjoyed the company. I am heading down to a local STS Tire and Auto Center around the corner to see about this oil leak. Hopefully it won’t cost the whole $500 (or more) to fix. I will take a day or two off from posting on the blog until I get situated someplace else and try to work a few things out. Someday, if I get my life back on track, I definitely want to get a white cat like that.

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Update on the Status of the White Cat

November 9th, 2009

I want to assure everyone that this cat is being well taken care of. The owner of the cat was able to somehow find the blog. It could be the result of my posting her Craigslist ad on the blog and Google indexing it. I gave her the same assurance regarding the well-being of her cat, however, as distasteful as it may seem, I am still holding out for donations before I return the cat to her. My dire and desperate situation has driven me to this extreme. I have still not been rousted out of the place in which I am parked, nor have I had the desire to do much else in the intervening two days. I would like to thank the reader named “Eh” for his research and thoughtfulness. His comments are not going completely unheeded despite my fatalism. Unfortunately, I have had my cell service (internet plan) cut off due to lack of payment. Therefore, I am once again beholden to free wireless hotspots in order to continue blogging and to charge my laptop. I am using a nearby Starbucks for this purpose. I can also recharge my camcorder battery there should I decide to do any more videotaping.

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Craigslist Lost Cat Posting

November 8th, 2009

As I suspected, someone has placed an ad on Craigslist regarding their missing cat. As hard as it is to not respond to the ad and simply give them their cat back (name is Vanilla which is quite appropriate), I am going to try and stand fast with my plan. I am still in the same place where I was when I made the videos. Quite remarkably, I havent been hassled but I guess it’s because the location is off the beaten path somewhat.

LOST WHITE CAT

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A Lost White Cat. Did I save him or did he save me? Part 2 of 2

November 8th, 2009

In this video I discuss my reasons for using the cat as leverage in order to save myself. I realize that some will be aghast and disgusted that I would keep an innocent cat from its owner in order to cobble together a few bucks. I don’t expect the owner of the cat to give me all this money, nor would I want them to. I am sure there are many sympathetic souls out there who, while reviling me, will want to throw me a few bucks in order that I might return the cat to its owner. I can only hope to get lucky enough to remain in the (pretty much immobilized) car for a long enough spell so that I can get a few thousand dollars. If the engine seizes and I am kicked out of the broken car by a cop, I cannot take the cat with me obviously. Hate me if you will but, as I mentioned in the video, I don’t much care about that. If you are a cat lover or know of others who may want to help, please send them an email with the link so that they can help both me, and the cat.
Thanks
Rob

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A Lost White Cat. Did I save him or did he save me? Part 1 of 2

November 7th, 2009

As you can see in this next video which I took on Thursday night, things have taken a turn for the worse, but with a bizarre twist. Something totally unexpected occurred when I had to stop en route from the place where I discovered the oil leak, to where I am now. I don’t believe in karma or God or anything supernatural, however, one might say that perhaps this thing which occurred is a form of divine intervention – the ultimate lifeline for me, and, just when I needed it the most. When I was driving away from the place with the leak, I was resigned to my grim fate. I was beaten – shit on by life for the last time. Despite this event which took place, I still feel beaten and done up but I suppose there is a chance for something good to come out of this freak event. You will see what I mean when you watch the video. I had to break the footage into two separate videos because of the Youtube length restriction. In the second video, I explain what I mean insofar as this “thing” possibly offering me the only way out of my morass.

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Oil Leak

November 7th, 2009

My worst fears have now been realized. This is the first of two videos which I took on Thursday afternoon and evening. I could not get online yesterday to upload them. In this first video, I show the tremendous oil leak which sprung from my engine. I am still in the process of editing the much longer second video. In the second video I am at my final destination.

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